Feb Challenge: Sniper: |\\|00bs!
2377
Deep Space 5
Bobbi March walked into the holodeck, feeling slightly self-conscious. She wasn’t much of a fan of using the holo-deck for play-acting as she thought of it. Training, fine. Playing silly holo-novels? No way. However, she was making an effort. Commander Freeman had invited her and Harry to join him for a game programme he’d worked on.
Harry was standing in the empty gridded room with Freeman and two other human officers she didn’t know.
“Ah, Bobbi. Nice to see you,” Freeman said. “This is Commander Annabel Frost and Commander Craig Robinson. Craig, Annabel; Lieutenant Commander Bobbi March.”
Bobbi nodded as the two officers smiled.
“Okay, this programme’s called Death-Match. It’s based on an old-Earth entertainment form called the First-Person Shooter. Simply put, it’s a free-for-all gun battle. The safeties are on, so when you get shot, you’ll feel a mild stabbing pain, but nothing more,” Freeman explained. He then described the setting – four cargo bays containing crates and drums, with connecting corridors. Next, Freeman ran them through the weapons, each would start with a Desert Eagle automatic pistol and have to find better weapons. These included the 20th century SVD Dragunov sniper rifle, a fictitious rocket launcher, a Klingon disrupter pistol, a SPAS-12 pump-action shotgun from the 21st century and the X-77 Pulse-phaser rifle.
“Everybody clear?” Freeman asked.
They all nodded.
“Okay, move to separate places around the room and we’ll start.”
Freeman waited for them to space themselves out, then instructed the computer to run the programme.
Instantly, Bobbi found herself standing in a cargo bay. Two large crates sheltered her from view. She drew the pistol now hanging from her belt and thumbed the safety off. Allowing the gun to lead the way, she crept around the crates and began to carefully cross the cargo bay.
As she reached the doors, they opened with the familiar deep zung-ung noise. She leaned out around the door. The corridor beyond was empty. Moving slowly and stealthily, she crept out the door and began moving silently along the corridor. Suddenly, she heard footsteps.
Freeman charged around the corner, spraying phaser pulses from the X-77 he carried. Bobbi felt a stabbing pain in her chest as the pulses hit her. She yelped as the corridor dissolved around her. She found herself suddenly standing in another cargo bay on an upper level.
Below her, she could see Robinson firing a Klingon disrupter at Frost who was sheltering behind a pair of drums. The blondehaired woman was holding the shotgun.
Bobbi lined up her pistol and fired five rounds at Robinson. He fell to the floor, then a transporter-effect enveloped him and he vanished. The Klingon disrupter clattered to the floor. Bobbi quickly lined up on Frost as the other woman darted around the drums.
Bobbi fired repeatedly as the blonde woman snatched up the Klingon pistol, slung her shotgun over her shoulder and fired up at Bobbi.
Energy pulses slammed into the wall beside Bobbi, she ducked and then ran across a catwalk connecting two areas of the upper level. She fired again at Annabel. The pistol emptied and Bobbi flicked the small thumb-switch Freeman had told them about. The gun flickered and then the slide snapped back into place. Bobbi fired as Annabel tried to draw a bead on her.
The other woman was hit in the chest and fell to the floor, dropping both her weapons. Bobbi came to a ladder leading down to the lower level and slid down it as the transporter spirited Annabel away. Bobbi holstered the pistol and collected both the shotgun and the Klingon weapon.
She dashed across the cargo bay, weapon at the ready as she sprinted through the opening doors. She saw Harry running along the corridor, carrying the rocket launcher. Even as he brought it up, she fired at her lover, barely able to believe what she was doing. The energy pulse hit him and he dropped the rocket launcher.
Bobbi ran forward, slung the disrupter and picked up the rocket launcher as the transporter claimed him.
She turned as she heard running footsteps. Freeman rounded the corner just as she fired a rocket. He hurled himself out of its path and fired his X-77.
Bobbi crouched and fired a second time.
Freeman literally leapt over the rocket and it streaked down the corridor.
Bobbi fired two more rockets as Freeman staggered, recovered and fired once more.
She threw herself clear. Fired a fifth rocket then dropped the launcher and drew her SPAS-12.
She fired, pumped the slide, fired, pumped, and fired. Freeman wasn’t standing still. He was leaping around like a Kangaroo on a pogo-stick.
“Lol, noob!” he shouted. She had no idea what he meant. He stood still long enough to shoot her and she heard the weapons clatter to the floor as the transporter removed her from the corridor.
Bobbi found herself in a different corridor. She drew her pistol once more and looked around. She suddenly spotted the SVD Dragunov rifle lying nearby. She picked it up, holstering the pistol again.
She hurried along the corridor and entered one of the cargo bays. This was the bay she’d been in earlier. She spotted Harry walking along the catwalk in the upper level. She raised her rifle, sighted and fired. He yelped, dropped his pistol and vanished. Bobbi crossed the cargo bay and moved to the door.
Further along the corridor, she saw Freeman bouncing about as Frost tried to shoot him with the Klingon disrupter she carried. Bobbi sighted on her and fired. The first round missed. The second hit Annabel and she was transported away.
Freeman twisted in mid-air and began spraying phaser-pulses along the corridor toward her. She ducked back into the cargo bay, then drew her pistol, stuck her arm out and blindly fired an entire clip at him.
She leaned out into the corridor again, he was sprinting along the corridor toward her. She holstered her pistol, levelled the Dragunov and fired. The bullet hit him in the chest and he was swept away by the transporter, the X-77 clattering to the floor.
Bobbi collected the other weapon, but kept the Dragunov in her hands. She entered the cargo bay on the opposite side of the corridor and moved cautiously through it. She spotted Craig and fired, ‘killing’ him.
She scrambled up a ladder to the bay’s second level and moved along a catwalk into a third cargo bay near this one. Freeman and Frost were exchanging shots with their pistols on the main level. Bobbi sniped Frost, then Freeman.
She remained where she was, watching the cargo bay. Harry entered after a minute and she shot him.
Moments later, Freeman appeared on the catwalk at the other end. He executed a forward roll as Bobbi fired at him.
“Camping noob!” he shouted before firing three rounds at her. The transporter whisked her away again.
Suddenly the holographic cargo bay vanished.
The five of them were left standing in the empty holodeck.
“What happened?” Harry asked.
“I hit the frag limit,” Freeman replied.
“The what?” Harry asked.
“The number of kills required to end the match.”
Freeman looked up and said, “Scoreboard.”
A holographic display appeared. It listed five names, their scores and another name next to that.
Slayer 15 Ice-Killa
Ice Killa 9 Slayer
Frosty 7 Slayer
CommandoCraig 6 Slayer
Harry 4 Slayer
“What does that mean?” Harry asked.
“First column is the players; Me, Bobbi, Annabel, Craig and you. Second column’s our score. Third column is our ‘nemesis’ – the person who killed us the most,” Freeman explained. “Personal stats for Slayer.”
The display shifted and now showed how many times Freeman had been killed, how many kills he’d made, ‘Killing Spree’ was also listed, then there was a breakdown of his accuracy with each weapon and how many kills he’d made with each. He nodded with a tight smile on his lips.
“Scott, what the hell were you shouting at me?” Bobbi asked.
“When?”
“When you said ‘lol noob’ and ‘camping noob’.”
“Lol means ‘laughs out loud’ – basically I was laughing at you. Noob means ‘newbie’. Calling you a camping noob was an insult because you were staying in one place – camping – and a newbie,” he explained.
“How did you do all that bouncing around?” Craig asked. “You nailed me twice doing that.”
Freeman’s smile broadened. “Bunny-hopping. The programme’s designed to recognise you jumping on the floor and to make the floor springy. It makes it easier for you to bounce around, which makes it concomitantly harder to hit you.”
Annabel sighed. “I think I preferred that sword-fighting programme you showed me,” she said.
Freeman nodded. “You were good at that.”
He looked around at them. “So, noobs, want to play again?”
“No, way, I’ll stick to my Eugenics Wars programme,” Craig replied.
“Nope.” Annabel started for the door.
“I prefer holonovels,” Harry said.
Bobbi shook her head. “I’ll stick to training programmes, or maybe I’ll try a holonovel.”
Freeman blew air through his lips in a rasping noise. “Chickens.”
“Have fun,” Harry tossed over his shoulder as he walked out.
Bobbi smiled and followed.
Bobbi March will return…
2377
Deep Space 5
Bobbi March walked into the holodeck, feeling slightly self-conscious. She wasn’t much of a fan of using the holo-deck for play-acting as she thought of it. Training, fine. Playing silly holo-novels? No way. However, she was making an effort. Commander Freeman had invited her and Harry to join him for a game programme he’d worked on.
Harry was standing in the empty gridded room with Freeman and two other human officers she didn’t know.
“Ah, Bobbi. Nice to see you,” Freeman said. “This is Commander Annabel Frost and Commander Craig Robinson. Craig, Annabel; Lieutenant Commander Bobbi March.”
Bobbi nodded as the two officers smiled.
“Okay, this programme’s called Death-Match. It’s based on an old-Earth entertainment form called the First-Person Shooter. Simply put, it’s a free-for-all gun battle. The safeties are on, so when you get shot, you’ll feel a mild stabbing pain, but nothing more,” Freeman explained. He then described the setting – four cargo bays containing crates and drums, with connecting corridors. Next, Freeman ran them through the weapons, each would start with a Desert Eagle automatic pistol and have to find better weapons. These included the 20th century SVD Dragunov sniper rifle, a fictitious rocket launcher, a Klingon disrupter pistol, a SPAS-12 pump-action shotgun from the 21st century and the X-77 Pulse-phaser rifle.
“Everybody clear?” Freeman asked.
They all nodded.
“Okay, move to separate places around the room and we’ll start.”
Freeman waited for them to space themselves out, then instructed the computer to run the programme.
Instantly, Bobbi found herself standing in a cargo bay. Two large crates sheltered her from view. She drew the pistol now hanging from her belt and thumbed the safety off. Allowing the gun to lead the way, she crept around the crates and began to carefully cross the cargo bay.
As she reached the doors, they opened with the familiar deep zung-ung noise. She leaned out around the door. The corridor beyond was empty. Moving slowly and stealthily, she crept out the door and began moving silently along the corridor. Suddenly, she heard footsteps.
Freeman charged around the corner, spraying phaser pulses from the X-77 he carried. Bobbi felt a stabbing pain in her chest as the pulses hit her. She yelped as the corridor dissolved around her. She found herself suddenly standing in another cargo bay on an upper level.
Below her, she could see Robinson firing a Klingon disrupter at Frost who was sheltering behind a pair of drums. The blondehaired woman was holding the shotgun.
Bobbi lined up her pistol and fired five rounds at Robinson. He fell to the floor, then a transporter-effect enveloped him and he vanished. The Klingon disrupter clattered to the floor. Bobbi quickly lined up on Frost as the other woman darted around the drums.
Bobbi fired repeatedly as the blonde woman snatched up the Klingon pistol, slung her shotgun over her shoulder and fired up at Bobbi.
Energy pulses slammed into the wall beside Bobbi, she ducked and then ran across a catwalk connecting two areas of the upper level. She fired again at Annabel. The pistol emptied and Bobbi flicked the small thumb-switch Freeman had told them about. The gun flickered and then the slide snapped back into place. Bobbi fired as Annabel tried to draw a bead on her.
The other woman was hit in the chest and fell to the floor, dropping both her weapons. Bobbi came to a ladder leading down to the lower level and slid down it as the transporter spirited Annabel away. Bobbi holstered the pistol and collected both the shotgun and the Klingon weapon.
She dashed across the cargo bay, weapon at the ready as she sprinted through the opening doors. She saw Harry running along the corridor, carrying the rocket launcher. Even as he brought it up, she fired at her lover, barely able to believe what she was doing. The energy pulse hit him and he dropped the rocket launcher.
Bobbi ran forward, slung the disrupter and picked up the rocket launcher as the transporter claimed him.
She turned as she heard running footsteps. Freeman rounded the corner just as she fired a rocket. He hurled himself out of its path and fired his X-77.
Bobbi crouched and fired a second time.
Freeman literally leapt over the rocket and it streaked down the corridor.
Bobbi fired two more rockets as Freeman staggered, recovered and fired once more.
She threw herself clear. Fired a fifth rocket then dropped the launcher and drew her SPAS-12.
She fired, pumped the slide, fired, pumped, and fired. Freeman wasn’t standing still. He was leaping around like a Kangaroo on a pogo-stick.
“Lol, noob!” he shouted. She had no idea what he meant. He stood still long enough to shoot her and she heard the weapons clatter to the floor as the transporter removed her from the corridor.
Bobbi found herself in a different corridor. She drew her pistol once more and looked around. She suddenly spotted the SVD Dragunov rifle lying nearby. She picked it up, holstering the pistol again.
She hurried along the corridor and entered one of the cargo bays. This was the bay she’d been in earlier. She spotted Harry walking along the catwalk in the upper level. She raised her rifle, sighted and fired. He yelped, dropped his pistol and vanished. Bobbi crossed the cargo bay and moved to the door.
Further along the corridor, she saw Freeman bouncing about as Frost tried to shoot him with the Klingon disrupter she carried. Bobbi sighted on her and fired. The first round missed. The second hit Annabel and she was transported away.
Freeman twisted in mid-air and began spraying phaser-pulses along the corridor toward her. She ducked back into the cargo bay, then drew her pistol, stuck her arm out and blindly fired an entire clip at him.
She leaned out into the corridor again, he was sprinting along the corridor toward her. She holstered her pistol, levelled the Dragunov and fired. The bullet hit him in the chest and he was swept away by the transporter, the X-77 clattering to the floor.
Bobbi collected the other weapon, but kept the Dragunov in her hands. She entered the cargo bay on the opposite side of the corridor and moved cautiously through it. She spotted Craig and fired, ‘killing’ him.
She scrambled up a ladder to the bay’s second level and moved along a catwalk into a third cargo bay near this one. Freeman and Frost were exchanging shots with their pistols on the main level. Bobbi sniped Frost, then Freeman.
She remained where she was, watching the cargo bay. Harry entered after a minute and she shot him.
Moments later, Freeman appeared on the catwalk at the other end. He executed a forward roll as Bobbi fired at him.
“Camping noob!” he shouted before firing three rounds at her. The transporter whisked her away again.
Suddenly the holographic cargo bay vanished.
The five of them were left standing in the empty holodeck.
“What happened?” Harry asked.
“I hit the frag limit,” Freeman replied.
“The what?” Harry asked.
“The number of kills required to end the match.”
Freeman looked up and said, “Scoreboard.”
A holographic display appeared. It listed five names, their scores and another name next to that.
Slayer 15 Ice-Killa
Ice Killa 9 Slayer
Frosty 7 Slayer
CommandoCraig 6 Slayer
Harry 4 Slayer
“What does that mean?” Harry asked.
“First column is the players; Me, Bobbi, Annabel, Craig and you. Second column’s our score. Third column is our ‘nemesis’ – the person who killed us the most,” Freeman explained. “Personal stats for Slayer.”
The display shifted and now showed how many times Freeman had been killed, how many kills he’d made, ‘Killing Spree’ was also listed, then there was a breakdown of his accuracy with each weapon and how many kills he’d made with each. He nodded with a tight smile on his lips.
“Scott, what the hell were you shouting at me?” Bobbi asked.
“When?”
“When you said ‘lol noob’ and ‘camping noob’.”
“Lol means ‘laughs out loud’ – basically I was laughing at you. Noob means ‘newbie’. Calling you a camping noob was an insult because you were staying in one place – camping – and a newbie,” he explained.
“How did you do all that bouncing around?” Craig asked. “You nailed me twice doing that.”
Freeman’s smile broadened. “Bunny-hopping. The programme’s designed to recognise you jumping on the floor and to make the floor springy. It makes it easier for you to bounce around, which makes it concomitantly harder to hit you.”
Annabel sighed. “I think I preferred that sword-fighting programme you showed me,” she said.
Freeman nodded. “You were good at that.”
He looked around at them. “So, noobs, want to play again?”
“No, way, I’ll stick to my Eugenics Wars programme,” Craig replied.
“Nope.” Annabel started for the door.
“I prefer holonovels,” Harry said.
Bobbi shook her head. “I’ll stick to training programmes, or maybe I’ll try a holonovel.”
Freeman blew air through his lips in a rasping noise. “Chickens.”
“Have fun,” Harry tossed over his shoulder as he walked out.
Bobbi smiled and followed.
Bobbi March will return…
