Asa fiddled with her collar as she walked down the brightly lit corridor after exiting the turbolift. A few minutes before, Commander Abramov had pulled Asa aside and gave her an order to report to the holodeck, forthwith. She wasn’t sure why she was being asked to report.

Asa walked into the holodeck, seeing others gathered that she assumed were also ordered to report. The assembled members were all from differing departments. She didn’t know them all, but recognized most: Crewman Nash, the “starstruck” crewman from Astrometrics; Lt. Wilson, the “resident” doctor under CMO Dr. Rehman; and Petty Officer Elioisa, the Vulcan propulsion specialist who had helped her eke out faster response times on the ship’s helm. There were two others whom she didn’t recognize, one in the grey uniform of the special services division and the other in sciences blue.

As Asa greeted her friends, she heard the door open again, meaning that someone else had just walked in, but didn’t pay attention as she caught up with Wilson, Eli, and Nash. A tap on the shoulder slightly startled her, and she turned around to see her shipboard best friend, Petty Officer Walters. Asa let out a small squeal (eliciting chuckles and snickers from the assembled crewmembers) as she gave Walters a hug. 
“Fancy seeing you here!” Asa squealed out with delight. 
“Well, as if I had a choice. I was ordered here by Lt. Spencer.” Walters responds, her tone delighted but also confused. At this, others piped in. 
“I was ordered to report by Commander Aranda” Elioisa chimes in, her Vulcan tone very evident.
“Dr. Rehman said I was needed in the holodeck,” Wilson contributes as everyone is confused.

Just as the crewmembers were starting to exchange confusion, a person in the 2230’s uniform variant appears; bald with a neat walrus-style mustache. And a serious expression that meant business. Asa has no clue who he could possibly, be, but Walters whispers to her something. 
“What?” Asa responds quietly, not wanting to draw attention to herself. Or her friend. 
“That looks like Isagi Saroga. He was, like, the security officer for all of Starfleet.” Walters speaks up a little. 
“No idea who that is, Tasha…” Asa responds with a pause after her words. 
“Ugh, you need to study your history…” Walters responds in a playful tone before his voice interrupts the two.
“This will do. Crew, at attention!”  
His voice is stern, authoritative. Years of rigid training suddenly overcome the social atmosphere, and everyone stands at attention. 
“Crew, fall in!” 
Everyone forms a line, standing at attention. Asa looks straight ahead, her mind racing with questions.

“I am the Tactical Training Hologram (TTH), designed to train Starfleet Officers to work together, cross-departmentally, and under the most difficult situations imaginable. If this training is being implemented, that means that it will likely be the worst day of your careers.” He smiles for a moment, then continues. “Fortunately, today will not be that. Today will be about ensuring that all of you are prepared to respond. Does everyone understand?”

A multitude of “Yes, sir!” rings out, all crewmembers speaking perfectly in unison.

“Excellent. To begin, you will introduce yourselves to me, and to each other. Rank, last name, department. We will start with you.” The TTH points to PO Walters. 
“PO Walters, Security.” 
“LT Muthoni, Bridge Officer.”
“LT Wilson, Medical.”
“PO Elioisa, Engineering.”
“CN Nash, Astrometrics.”
“CPO Petry, Mess Hall.”
“ENS Parks, Medical.” 
The TTH nods with approval. 
“Very good. I noticed some of you know each other, others of you don’t. That’s okay. Today, you will learn to work as a team. In a moment, I will give you the scenario, then the holodeck will transform, and I will be team member number 8. After the conclusion of the scenario, I will give you feedback, and after a short break, we will run another, similar scenario to see how you learned. Does this make sense?”
“Yes, sir!” All speak in unison. 
“Excellent! Now, one more piece before we begin. Who are the two highest ranking officers here?”
Asa and Lt. Wilson raise their hands. 
“Ah. LT Muthoni and LT Wilson. Step forward, please. Between the two of you, choose who will be team lead. We will switch for the second scenario, so it does not matter.” 
Asa turns to Lt. Wilson. “Want to lead first?” she offers with a knowing smile. 
“Oh hell no. You first. I’m a doctor, not a captain.” Lt. Wilson returns Asa’s knowing smile with one of his own.
“Dammit, Dee, fine.” She gives him a look, then turns to the TTH. “I will take lead first, then LT Wilson.” 
“Very good. You are team lead, Lt. Wilson. Choose your second.” 
Asa looks around. “I choose PO Walters.” 
“Very good. Now, your scenario.” The TTH turns and a holographic map display appears with the location of the Los Angeles marked with a red Starfleet delta. “Your ship is presently here,” as he points to the red mark on the holographic map, “in the old neutral zone with the Cardassian-Dominion government. Starfleet Command has briefed your Captain that there is an uptick in terrorist incidents all along the border colonies and has ordered a patrol in that sector. While patrolling, your starship comes across a transport vessel that is not answering to hails. After disabling it, your Captain orders you and your team to board the vessel, clear it, and obtain intelligence. Good luck.”

The holodeck changes into a dimly lit corridor, bathing the members assembled in the glow of the red-alert lights. Asa looks around before shaking her head and taking charge. 
“Alright, listen up. We’re going to beam in and we’re probably not going to be welcome. Umm…let’s head to the armory, get some weapons. Tasha, lead the way.” 
The team follows PO Walters straight to the armory, a few doors down in that corridor. After entering the room, PO Walters and ENS Parks begin handing out the rifles. Once everyone readies their weapons and conducts the appropriate checks, Asa leads the team to the transporter room. She taps on her combadge. 
“Bridge, HSRT ready. Energize.”

The team materializes into an empty space onboard the freighter, where alarms rang out and sparks flew, indicating a damaged ship. Asa immediately relied on her (limited) combat training and leveled her phaser. Taking a step, she turns back and faces her team. 
“Okay, here’s what we’ll do. We’re splitting into two teams of four. Team 1 will have myself, Wilson, Petry, and uhh…you.” She points to the TTH, who smiles. “Call me CPO Saroga, for the purposes of the exercise.” 
“Great. Second team, Walters, Nash, Parks, and Eli.” 
“Team 1 will get the bridge, Team 2, engineering. Make sure to clear rooms and compartments. Be safe.” 
The individuals nod, then form up in their teams. Asa in lead, forms her team up and the four begin moving. As soon as the door opens, they are met with a minor explosion, and phaser fire. Being momentarily stunned, Team 1 falls back, and Team 2 returns fire as the doors open. Regaining her bearings, Asa looks to the other members. 
“Everyone okay?” she calls out. 
“Owwww…just peachy!” Wilson calls out. 
“Yep!” Saroga responds. 
“Damn! We’re good!” Petry responds. 
Asa regains her bearings, then shakes her head. Now that everyone was good, she started firing at the individuals, causing them to duck behind hastily assembled shields. “Alright, move, move!” she shouted to her team.

Team 2 had long since vacated, as their destination was down a different corridor. Asa continued returning fire, successfully hitting one of the opponents. Slowly, the other members’ volley pushed their opponents back, and soon, the hallway was clear. Asa slowly moved forward, checking every space in between for more booby traps. Progress was steady, but really slow. Saroga (TTH) came up behind her and tapped on her shoulder. 
“Everything okay, LT? We should move faster.” 
“Uhhh…that…yes.” Asa is flustered, completely out of her element. 
“Alright, let’s advance. Left side?” 
“Left Side clear” Petry advises. 
“Right side?” 
“Right side clear” Wilson responds. 
She picks up the pace, coming to the junction. Her team splits down the middle, ready to check left and right for targets. 
“Ready…and check!” 
Both she and Wilson round the corner to see no one guarding the intersection on either side. 
“Clear right!” Asa calls out. 
“Clear left!” Wilson affirms. 
The team continues in its split formation, rounding to the left to head to the bridge. As they move, Asa notices a strange laser beam near the floor. A trap! She immediately puts up her fist, the universal symbol for stop in a combat situation. She slowly turns to her team. 
“Trap ahead. I saw the laser beam…any ideas?” 
Her team members look at each other, puzzled. This is normally a job for combat engineers, and none of them felt qualified to deal with them. Finally, Lt. Wilson spoke up. 
“Asa, I’ve tinkered around with stuff…let me take a crack at it. Chief, would you mind assisting me?”
“Not at all. Just tell me what you want me to do. Although you’re not the only one who’s messed around with stuff.” Chief Petry chuckles as the two take their place at the device. The two whisper and begin disassembling the improvised device. Suddenly, from another corner, a phaser beam flies over the heads of the team, showering sparks on them. Asa returns fire, along with CPO Saroga (TTH). The cover fire sends the two culprits diving for cover, and an intense exchange of fire begins. 
“Are you two almost done?” Asa whispers urgently, her voice fraught with anxiety and adrenaline. 
“Almost…just decoupling something…patience!” 
“Yeah, easy for you to say, you’re not the one getting shot at.” 
“One more wire…and…there! We’re good!” 
“Good, grab your rifle and shoot back!” Asa shot back at Lt. Wilson. 
“Right!” 
The combined effect of the team’s firepower finally drove back the two individuals, and they retreated. The team kept moving when Asa’s combadge chirped. 
“Lt. Muthoni, Los Angeles here. Do you read?” 
“Affirmative, Captain.”
“Status?”
“Almost at the bridge sir. Team 2 is headed to engineering. We’re facing heavy resistance.”
“Copy that. Scans detect two raiders moving our direction. Time to intercept, guesstimating 20 minutes. You have 15 to get the information and get out.”
“Aye, Sir. Setting 15-minute countdown.” 
“Los Angeles, out.”
Asa tapped her combadge again. 
“Muthoni to Walters.”
“Walters here.” 
“Status?”
“We’re outside engineering. These nuchs barricaded themselves so we’re breaching.”
“Copy. Cap gave us 15 mins to do what we must do. Then we’re out.”
“Copy that. Walters out.”
Asa continued moving through, having her team clear each intersection. Finally, Team 1 arrives at the bridge compartment. Asa puts up her fist, then turns to her team. 
“Instructions for breaching…I’ll head in first, then Chief Petry, then you, and Chief Saroga, you have our back. The doors don’t seem like they’re blocked, but we should watch out for what’s coming. Assume positions. We breach on three.” 
Everyone gets into position, dividing themselves to avoid sticking in the middle. On Asa’s third count, the doors open and…a frenzy of phaser beams meet them. The team returns fire, but on this, Chief Petry is hit by a beam and falls, the wind knocked out of her. Saroga covers her with a tactical slide, shouting “Medic!” as he tries to engage the combatants. Lt. Wilson immediately turns around, and dives for the deck, crawling his way through as he was taught in combat medic school. By the time he gets to Chief Petry, she is coughing and trying to recover. 
“You okay, Petry? Take slow, deep breaths.” Lt. Wilson realizes he doesn’t have his medkit, or any tools. 
“I’m…I’m fine…just…ow! Those beams hurt!”
“Steady. Take slow breaths. You’re okay.” 
“Yeah…ugh, don’t know how I’ll explain the giant bruise to my wife. She’s not going to be happy.”
“Well, it’s okay. At least it was only a bruise.”
Meanwhile, Asa and Chief Saroga have subdued the crew members on the bridge by shooting them or forcing them to surrender. Asa doesn’t waste any time; she begins transmitting all data logs back to the Los Angeles. 
“HSRT to Los Angeles.”
“Go ahead.”
“We’ve managed to secure the bridge. Transmitting all data to you now.”
“Copy. There’s about 5 minutes left before I’m pulling you out. Get all you can, and secure prisoners for transport.”
“Aye, Sir.” 
Asa then taps her combadge again. 
“Team 1 to Team 2. Status?”
“Walters here. We’ve got engineering. The ship is ours. There’s a small bomb-making factory here.”
“Take pictures, then beam back. We’ll wrap up here.”
“Copy that. We’ll try to secure evidence.”
“Do so quickly. Cap says we have five mins left.”
“Yep. Walters out.”

Asa starts reading through the logs, noting that there are several high value targets the terrorists are planning to strike, including Starfleet Headquarters. She transmits all the logs to the starship, then prepares to beam all prisoners over. 
“HSRT to Los Angeles. Ready to beam out.”
“Copy. Standing by.”
Asa again taps her combadge. 
“Muthoni to Walters.”
“Walters here.”
“Ready to exit?”
“We’re already back on the Los Angeles.”
“Copy. See you soon.”
“Los Angeles, do you read?”
“Yes we do.”
“Seven to energize.”
“Energizing.”

As Asa beams back into the transporter room, the room shimmers and disappears, leaving only the individuals and the TTH. Asa breathes a sigh of relief, wiping sweat off her forehead. 
‘That…was one of the most stressful things I’ve ever done. I hope I never have to do that again. Holy hell’ she thinks to herself as she breathes in to steady her nerves. 
The TTH looks at the members of the crew. 
“Very well done, ladies and gentlemen. You performed above and beyond my expectations. Lt. Muthoni, well done on being team lead. You did a superb job, even if you forgot to check your first door for explosives. Remember folks, out here, mistakes can cost you dearly. Had that been a real bomb, you may not have been here to tell the story.”
Asa pipes up, a bit annoyed. 
“Wait a minute, how was I supposed to know there was a booby trap on the door. It was just a door!”
“Excellent question. Did you not see the laser emitter on the side of the door seams? It was there.”
Asa suddenly realized that the door hadn’t been smooth, but rather it had a small box by the seam. The TTH was right.
“Next time, look at the schematics. Preparation will save your life in these situations. Other than that mishap, you completed the mission with one casualty. Well done, all of you. I am gratified that you all embraced teamwork.” The TTH took a “breath.” “Alright, let’s take 15, and we’ll meet back here. LT Wilson, you’re going to be our team lead, so prepare accordingly. Dismissed!”

Asa leaves the holodeck, and heads to the mess hall, processing the experience.