Survival 101 - Day 3 - Boomsticks

Posted on Wed Oct 5th, 2022 @ 10:29pm by Lieutenant Commander Bonnie "Bon-Bon" Durnell & Captain Rhenora Kaylen & Patin

Mission: *CD*
Location: Holodeck 2
Timeline: Current

Day 3 - Boom Sticks

Those that had attended the last two days exchanged excited words and glances as they filed into the blank holodeck grid and waited for whatever Patin had in store for them today. The ex-resistance fighter had turned her hands to teaching almost effortlessly and was enjoying her new role immensely.

"Alright you lot. You've been taught how to catch your food, build a shelter, now it's time to defend yourselves." Patin announced, stepping to the side and revealing a crate full of her beloved boom sticks.

Several crew looked at the haphazardly packed box of explosives and tried to ascertain if they were real or not. Surely they wouldn't be. Surely.

"Ok so everybody gather round, you all have your energy weapons with you, but what happens when the power cells run out, or they malfunction? Every kit should have some boom sticks. Good ole fashioned light a fuse explosive. Can get you out of all sorts of predicaments" Patin started, picking up one of the sticks. "Now your countdown is determined by the length of fuse. The longer the fuse, the more run time you get."

"Now, I made these with my own special blend of chemicals and compounds in order to create unique effects. A simple boom is not enough, sometimes," she pulled out a yellow stick, "you need smoke. And at other times," she pulled out a red one. "Other times you want fire." She stared at it momentarily lost in thought before refocusing on the matter at hand.

Standing, she eyed her trainees, "Today, we have two hours to challenge ourselves to survive on the basics. The simplest explosive can be made with three ingredients." She touched the Arch controls, and a blank canvas appeared followed by a grove of trees, some rocky outcroppings and a running stream. She then moved back into the command position.

Eyeing Bonnie, "You, the clumsy one from yesterday right, you're with me. The rest of you pair off. The first one to create a weapon and destroy the enemy wins, simple right?" She then pointed at her boom stick bag. "Winner takes the bag." She offered the yellow stick. "Pop smoke when you feel you've won." Then she dropped the stick.

The gaggle of troops murmured and looked at one another, confused. Before something in the distance let out a piercing roar. She smirked, "what are you waiting for, an invitation? Move!" She grabbed Bonnie's shoulder, ushering her into the undergrowth with every intention of watching first.

Bonnie meanwhile was confused as to why she was chosen even as she knelt in the dirt next to Patin. She was certain this was the wrong training for her to be attempting let alone while working alongside the instructor which would undoubtedly only serve to make her more nervous. She meant to ask when Patin spoke first, her eyes never leaving the battlefield.

“Never doubt yourself, EVER. It’s a recipe to get shot or killed or eaten.” Patin said firmly, watching carefully as the other teams struggled to find something to defend themselves with.

Bonnie wondered why her. Sure she doubted herself but it was more than that, right? She had been unlucky since she was little. An experience which had followed her around until one day she simply made peace with it. "Um, I don't doubt some things, mostly when I'm in my zone… but…" she would have droned on but Patin stopped her with a question.

"What three ingredients make gunpowder?" It was a simple and straightforward redirect. In the distance, there was a scream as one team had met the enemy. She instinctively reached for her flask only to remember she had left it in her quarters.

"Uh, okay, um, sulfur, right?" It was as if she were asking her brain out loud. "Then charcoal and… ooh, I always forget the third thing." She was still trying to think as Patin side-eyed her before returning her attention back to the playing field. "Oh… and saltpeter." She finished when it finally came to her. She was so used to people giving her the answer when she stumbled on the closure.

"Correct. And I chose you because I knew you had that in there somewhere. And also because…" she thought back to her resistance cell days briefly. "Well, because I knew a girl just like you once. She was young, caused trouble everywhere she went, but she kept her head when shit hit the fan and never stopped trying despite her setbacks."

Bonnie listened intently as Patin continued as a sage lost in thought. "Normal people go about their life with minor issues without ever seeing that someone else may have it more difficult. Sometimes they give up at the slightest inconvenience. It's those who struggle every day and keep on pushing through that I've come to admire. I think maybe you're one of these people, or am I wrong?" She fully turned her head to Bonnie for a moment before turning back, the answer was written on Bonnie's face.

Bonnie held her breath, her mind reeling with emotion and trying to come back with something to say. Instead, Patin tapped her shoulder, "come, let's go remove the wounded from the playing field." To which Bonnie nodded.

---

Sometime later…

“ Right, got it” One of the teams scurried around with purpose as they came close to completing their defenses and weapons. “She said send up the smoke when we’re done.” One of them mentioned, nodding towards the crate of explosives sitting innocently in the center of the clearing. “Quick go grab one!” The other announced as they set their plan in motion.

Meanwhile, another group were also finalizing their task and had designed their own explosive, a black powder bomb that would shower their enemy in sharp rocks and other nasties. “ Quick, light the fuse!”

Outside the security detail were waiting impatiently for their use of the holodeck, the doors were still closed as a program was running. Again the team leader paged whoever had booked the holodeck, only to be answered in deathly silence.

“I say we should close down the program…or report it to the Captain” One of the younger officers grumbled.

Patin and Bonnie were standing near the center with a few of the crewmembers who had failed via one reason or another. It probably didn't help Patin had created a powerful enemy to defeat from her own demented mind. Behind them stood the bag of real boomsticks.

Suddenly several things happened all at once. From Patin's left came a crewman running for the yellow smoke stick, while from Bonnie's right came another reaching for the same stick.

At the same time, the holodeck doors parted, authorized by security override, causing Patin to turn, distracted momentarily. As Bonnie turned, she and crewman black boomstick collided, sending the black stick flying, inconveniently, into the bag.

The fuse ignited several other boomsticks within the bag. Patin, eyes wide, dropped to her knees and began pulling lit fuses from their respective sticks. Bonnie saw what she was doing and freaked. "Everybody down!" She yelled even as she ducked down herself.

As Patin pulled the last stick she realized it was not removable and would explode shortly. She looked around for options before making a decision. Without thinking twice she chuckled it towards the corridor behind the security team who were dropping to the floor. They may get hurt, but it was better than her alternatives.

Just as the boomstick passed through the doors, it exploded in a massive fireball.

TBC