“What do you mean I have to retake the survival test?” asked the befuddled Rey.

“I’m sorry, Love, but Starfleet records indicated you died. Something about a bear in the outpost?” Charlotte said, reading the report.

Rey grumbled under her breath. “Yeah, some arse programmed a bear to attack me in the outpost. I killed it but was bleeding out when the timer ran out.” The engineer shrugged. “If Starfleet screwed it up, let them deal with this shite. I have too much to do.”

Captain Fawkes handed a PADD to her fiancée. “Lt. Mira will aid you in this endeavor. Good luck.”

Ford took swiped the PADD from Fawkes’ hand. “I’m sleeping in my bunk for a week for this!” she threatened. The crewman knew she would never go through with the threat and caved, calling Mira a moment later.

—

“Reach the outpost and find out the purpose of the distress signal.  Outpost LV4261120196388 is in good condition, though nearly a century old. You may need to use your imagination to fix the problem. Do you understand?”

“Yeah, yeah. I know what to do. Run through the snow and get to the outpost before I croak.”

Mira raised an eyebrow at her friend. “You never fail to amuse me with your colloquial expressions,” replied the Romulan. “I will monitor your progress. You may stop the simulation if you require assistance before completing your objective. But, of course, you will fail the test and be forced to retake it should that occur.”

“Just start it already,” balked Rey.

“As you wish. For this assignment, safety protocols have been scaled. You will feel pain and discomfort, but nothing will harm you in any permanent manner. Good luck.”

—

Before stepping out of the shuttle, Rey checked her gear. “Insulated boots, check. Insulated parka, check.” Ford continued, inspecting each item of clothing, from her winterproof bomber toboggan to her insulated hiking boots. Her backpack contained standard Starfleet water rations, three packed bars marked chicken, beef, and pork, a first aid kit, a phaser, and a tricorder. Finally, Rey found the Swiss army knife in her coat pocket, a gift from Charlotte a few years ago. “Right. I think I’ve got it all.” Ford opened the shuttle door. A blast of cold air smacked her body back. She stumbled, then heard the wind’s howl, daring her to step forward. Rey tapped her combadge.

“Crewman Ford to the North Sea. I’ve got a lock on the distress signal coming from outpost LV4261120196388. From this position, I’ll head northwest. According to sensors, reaching the outpost should take a day or two. Once I get there, I’ll see why they’re not responding. Ford out.”

“Understood – man, Ford. – journ –” Mira’s voice broke into bits as communication began to fail.

“Not a foot out the door, and shite’s gone to hell,” Rey grumbled and headed out.

—

Roughly ten minutes had passed when Rey decided to look back. The shuttle was gone, obscured by howling winds and snow. With near whiteout conditions, Ford quickly retrieved her tricorder to act as a compass. She would have to keep it and her combadge insulated within her coat when not in use. The crewman continued northwest, hoping to meet the halfway point by nightfall.

With the temperature at -18° C and a windchill twice as low, Ford knew she would have to find shelter by twilight. Unfortunately, through the storm, she couldn’t tell if there were any nearby mountain ranges. And Mira was right. As well covered as she was, Rey began to feel the bite of the cold. Pressing on, the crewman tried to put her chilled bones out of her mind.

Hours passed. Clouds obscured the sunlight, but Rey could tell the day had not yet set. What little light showed through the clouds bounced off the white landscape. She would have visibility until twilight. That was something, she thought. Knee-deep in snow, the young woman trudged slowly through the storm. At times gusts threatened to topple her 5’4” inch frame. Her toes began to tingle and sting. Numbness would follow. Ford would gladly give her left arm for it if there were a tree, a hillside, a cave, or anything she could use to build a fire or shelter from. The howl from the wind mocked her.

A few more hours passed. Rey had slowed her pace. Night would fall soon, and she was getting tired. Then, ahead, Ford saw a rock the size of her fist sitting on top of the snow. She saw another and another. A phaser would heat the rock for warmth. Smiling under her toboggan, she waded through the snow until her gloved hands clasped the stone. It was slick to the touch, like glass. Then, using her tricorder, she discovered it wasn’t a rock but a chunk of ice. There wasn’t a pebble in that ice ball. The others were the same, bits of ice. Pebbles, large and small, were everywhere, but they were just ice. Just. Ice.

Rey fell to her knees. Her lips trembled. “M – Mira –” she said, ready to admit defeat. “No. I will not stop. I won’t!” Ford stood on her feet. She wobbled from the wind and weakness. “I know they make fun of me—the Nepo Crewman, they say, or the retard from engineering.” She closed her eyes. I have to do this. I have to. I have to. For Charlotte … prove she wasn’t wasting time with me. Ford examined the chunk of ice in her hand. You had to have come from somewhere, she thought. Rey pressed on again.

More time passed. The snow thickened, though Rey noticed she was moving upwards, and the howl of the wind seemed higher than before. Was the crewman getting close to a mountain range? She hoped so as hunger set in. After walking another ten feet, Ford felt the ground soften. She stopped. Soon, the crewman realized she wasn’t on a mountain. Instead, she stood on a massive drift of snow. She stepped back, but it was too late. Ford fell through the drift as snow toppled down upon her.

Though her muscled burned from the excursion, Rey batted at the snow, desperate to keep it from smothering her to death. Her head, arms, and torso were free, but her legs were trapped under a mammoth pile of snow. She couldn’t move, and the light was fading.

Rey’s first instinct was to dig her way out. Then, sitting up slowly, she dug through the snow around her knees and moved her legs back and forth. It seemed to work, though the crewman had to pace herself. The white of snow turned to bluish-gray as twilight finally arrived. Ford dug further, wiggling her legs side to side until finally, she pulled one leg out. The second leg came out soon after.

Exhausted, Ford thought to relax for a moment, but she didn’t have time. She was still out in the open, and the sun had set. Temps plummeted. She began to shiver. Quickly, the crewman removed her phaser from the backpack. Sitting on her knees, Ford fired controlled bursts into the snow, hollowing out an area. Steam rose in the air in massive billows. Once a large enough space had been cleared, she began to dig down and then up, creating a snow cave. Rey stowed the phaser away, grabbed her backpack, and crawled down and up. She wasn’t a scientist like her girlfriend, but she knew the heat would rise and her body temperature would keep her warm enough for the evening.

—

The next day, Rey crawled out of her snow cave, a piece of the ration bar still in her mouth. She stood and saw the blue sky. Then, quickly, she got out her tricorder. The distress signal was strong and coming just a mile ahead. Turning northwest, she could see the outpost and its large array. Ford contacted Mira.

“This is Ford to North Sea. Come in.”

“We hear you, Crewman. What is your position?”

“I’m about a mile from the target. But, look, there are no bears in the outpost, right?”

There was silence from the other end, then a befuddled voice answered. “Bears?”

“Long story. What about it?”

“Rey, you know I can’t divulge the parameters of this –”

“Yeah, yeah,” Rey said, cutting her friend off. “Fine, but I will hurt someone if I see a bear. Ford out.”

As the crewman moved out, she attempted contact with the outpost but received no answer. The distress signal was stronger since the storm had passed, but the closer she got to the site, the more she knew the outcome would be grim.

—

Arriving at the outpost, Rey, phaser in hand, examined the location, but everything seemed fine. Moreover, the outpost was in good condition from the outside. There had been no attack, and storm damage appeared minimal. LV4261120196388 was small and typically operated by only one person. Unless there was an emergency on the outside, the occupant should have remained indoors in relative comfort and warmth.

“Hello? Can anyone read me? This is Crewman Ford from the USS North Sea. Anyone who can read me, please report.”

Ford received no answer.

Gaining entry to LV4261120196388, Ford immediately understood the problem. It was freezing inside the building. Rey first checked the central control room. Systems seemed to be in working order, except a power conduit had been shut down from the main reactor. According to the schematics, the reactor was deep underground, but the generator was in a smaller building next to the outpost. Rey rushed out.

As soon as she neared the generator, Rey’s heart sank. A Tellarite sat up against the building, frozen, the conduit in his hands.  

“What happened? Why did you wait so long to fix it? Why didn’t you call someone?” Ford looked at the lifeless alien, shaking her head. She called it in. “It was a stupid accident or maybe a lapse in judgment. I don’t know. The caretaker here is dead. Come get me out of here.”

The simulation ended. Mira entered the holodeck.

“Why?” Rey asked. “After all that, the guy’s dead. There was nothing I could do.”

Mira looked at her friend, her eyes uncharacteristically solemn. “That was the point. Sometimes, there is nothing you can do.”