==/-\== USS Chimera ==/-\== Major Walsh's presence had been scarce lately, which meant that Cortez and the rest of the ODA had more free time. Today, Richard was in a curious mood which is why when he heard that Specialist Lynch had been ordered to meet up with Petty Officer Williams in the holodeck, he didn't hesitate to go and see what they were up too. As the doors to the holodeck opened up he immediately heard the sound of phaser fire coupled with an odd screeching noise that was unlike anything that he had heard before. Taking a few more steps into the holodeck he now realized that he was on a different type of federation ship. The hallway was a bit smaller than what he'd been used to and the lighting was extremely dim. Continuing further down the dark hallway he realized that the phaser fire that he had been walking towards had suddenly stopped, only to be replaced by a very eerie clicking sound. Not sure exactly what was going on he continued walking down the corridor until he came to a room that looked like some sort of computer core. Cortez was pretty much bored by the thought of all the technical bullshit that went into making these things work and for all he knew the room could have been a very expensive video game arcade. A couple well placed grenades and this place would be toast, he said to himself thinking about the suckers who actually had to work in this type of environment. As he strolled around the room trying to figure out what exactly Williams and Lynch would re-create a room like this for, the sound of phaser fire began to reverberate down the halls again and now the clicking noise was much louder. Stepping back he turned around and began walking towards the exit when he was suddenly knocked to the floor. The fall totally caught him off guard and had knocked the wind out of him. After regaining his whits he quickly scanned the room and finally saw what had knocked him down. Standing over Cortez was the ugliest looking giant bug thingy he had ever seen. It stood around 3 meters tall and must have weighed at least 300 pounds. It was in the shape of giant grasshopper and made the most unnerving clicking sound. As it spread its giant fang-like claws a huge puddle of thick green saliva dripped from its mouth and fell onto Cortez's leg. Before Cortez could react the creature had already thrust one of those fangs right into his gut, which luckily did absolutely no damage. Cortez let out a sigh of relief realizing that the safety protocols had been set. Lethal contact was not allowed, however that didn't stop the bug from swinging one of its massive legs into his ribs knocking him a good 10 feet to the other side of the room. Richard fell back against the wall and grabbed his side, and again before he could react the creature had already quickly ran across the room and landed its fangs right into the middle of Cortez's chest, which again did no damage. At this point Cortez could have ordered the computer to end the simulation, but being a hard headed marine he wasn't about to get his ass kicked by some overgrown grasshopper, especially not on the holodeck. Seeing the bug again getting ready to swing its powerful claw into him, Cortez quickly rolled to the side and managed to dodge the blow. The bug, confused that it had missed was now trying to figure out what happened to its prey. Cortez picked up on this hesitation and immediately ordered the computer to replicate a Type IIIb Phaser Rifle with a Grenade Launcher. The weapon appeared on a nearby console and Cortez quickly began to reach for it, but the bug was now aware of what was happening and again swung one of its huge legs into the back of Cortez knocking him right into the console that he was reaching for, sending the rifle to the floor. As Cortez slumped to the ground he grabbed the weapon which landed next to him. Quickly setting the rifle he aimed it at the bug and let loose a hail of phaser fire followed by a well placed grenade that caused the bug to literally explode, flooding the room with green blood and guts. At that moment Williams and Lynch entered into the room with weapons drawn, expecting to combat the giant bug that Cortez had destroyed. Once they saw Cortez who was still sitting on the ground dripping in green blood, they began to laugh. "Cortez", Williams began, "What in the hell are you doing here". Before he could respond Lynch cut in, "Aye mate, looks like ye could use a shower". Cortez ignored the the two jokers and closed his eyes, "I need a drink", he sighed to himself. ==/-\== End Log ==/-\== Lance Corporal Richard Cortez ODA Weapons Specialist USS Chimera