Breaking Stuff

Posted on Wed Mar 11th, 2026 @ 10:03pm by Lieutenant Commander Ryan Keel & Lieutenant JG Jezra Siv MD

2,092 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Peril at the Unification Accords
Location: Holodeck 1
Timeline: MD 10, 1130h

::ON::

A long groan escaped Jezra as she ran her hands through her hair. Chewing out Alex was not something she had wanted to do, but her actions had consequences and rightfully so. There had been too many difficult and unwanted decisions lately, and after several of them the doctor had found herself wandering into a specific holodeck program she had found. Sending a message to Malcolm to let him know he was in charge for the next few minutes, Jezra left Sickbay to head to the holodeck, loosening the collar of their uniform a little just so they could breathe.

Keel was making his way back from a short gym session. The particulars of their current mission had twisted his braincells up tighter than a Girondian noose, and he'd needed time to unpick the knows. A heavy lifting session had helped his mind turn over things in his head subconsciously. Gym bag over one shoulder, rounded a corner and almost collided with Siv.

'Hey there, Doc,' Keel smiled as he took a step to avoid them. 'Didn't expect to run into you here.'

Jezra stopped and almost did a little hop to the side to avoid colliding with Ryan. "Hey," they greeted. As much as she tried to mask the exhaustion, it was still evident. "I just needed a change of scenery. I'm on my way to the holodeck... well, if I can be honest, to blow off some steam."

'What, some kind of relaxing walking-about-a-forest program? I knew a guy who really liked one that involved a lot of mushroom hunting,' Keel replied affably, a little concerned to see Jezra saw drawn and drained in the face. 'Never did see the appeal of that program myself, I much prefer one involving a mountain hike.'

When Jezra chuckled, it wasn't an amused one. It was almost... embarrassed. "That sounds lovely, but the program I have in mind is a bit more... I guess 'aggressive' is a fair descriptor." She did not want to be responsible for more broken equipment. The paperwork for damaged equipment was punishment enough. "I was digging through the archives and came across a program. I guess it was something that existed on Earth back in the 20th and 21st centuries. A 'smash room', I believe?"

'A what?' Keel asked, a confused look crossing his face. 'Mind if I tag along and see what this is all about?'

"By all means," Jezra answered with a shrug. As they began to walk, she explained it to him. "It's this room where you were allowed to destroy things without consequence. It seems to be one of the less common Earth activities."

Keel shook his head, 'sounds like a primitive culture if they needed them.' He blew out a breath, 'the past is alien territory. I don't think I'll ever quite fathom the society that developed in the pre-Third World War era. A whole room who's sole purpose is to destroy things? Sounds like they hadn't developed the talking cure you know.'

"From what I read, they were used for all sorts of reasons. Some needed to let out emotions in an isolated environment, others wanted to destroy items left behind after a breakup, there were a couple of instances where they were used to destroy evidence of a crime... capitalism did strange things to people," Jezra said with a shrug. "I'm a bit more in the 'letting out emotions' category. It may seem strange, but updating inventory is way more effort than it's worth. Just... believe me on that one." It didn't take the pair long to get to the holodeck, and Jezra entered in the program specifications. "It's otherwise pretty straightforward. Put on safety gear, pick the weapon of choice, and just... go at it. It's like baseball, but with random items."

'A choice of weapons?' Keel echoed as the holodeck doors slid open. He waved Jezra through, allowing them to precede him into the program. 'Sounds good to me,' he drawled softly, 'never really did enjoy baseball though. Too much standing around, not enough rough and tumble.'

The room the holodeck generated was meant to feel like they had just walked into the building. A small waiting room with a receptionist's desk. When the holodeck doors closed, it vanished to expose the front of the building with a bustling street outside. Cars from the 21st century were driving along the street, and the sidewalks had a healthy amount of midday foot traffic.

The man behind the receptionist's desk looked up and gave Jezra a smile. "There y'are, Jezzie!" His voice had a distinct drawl that about matched the giant mustache across his face. He had on a casual jeans and a band shirt, and almost looked the part for a band member. "Ah was 'boutta phone yuh in case yuh fergot yer appointment!"

"You really tempt fate with that nickname, Marlo," Jezra shot back, but the smirk on their face hinted to the banter. "Hope a plus one is ok."

Marlo let out a deep chuckle at the jab. "Ah tempt fate just by givin' yuh a bat, hun." He looked over at Keel have gave him a good look up and down. "Nevuh mentioned a boyfriend, Jezzie! Good on yuh!"

While it was all part of the program and Marlo's character was meant to be a pain in the ass, Jezra still felt her face get a little warm. "He's a colleague of mine, and that's it. Don't get any ideas," they warned, pointing at Marlo. "Now, do I get the room or not??"

Keel looked away, partially to ease Jezra's discomfort, but also to hide a blush and a slight smirk. He was finding it easy to hang out with the Medical Chief, and enjoyed their company. But just friends was it for the moment. The man did wonder if this was an off-the-shelf package or a program that Jezra had designed that read them more easily in order to provoke them.

It was obvious that Marlo loved to rile people up by the way he smirked at the reaction. Reaching behind the counter, he grabbed a key with a yellow diamond-shaped label on it and tossed it over. "All yers, hun," he said, though his tone wasn't hiding his amusement.

Catching the key, Jezra rolled her eyes before ushering Keel away from him. "I'm sorry, I should have adjusted his personality matrix first," they told him while leading the way to the room.

He shrugged his shoulders in an aw-shucks fashion, 'it's just a figment. He can't really mean anything by it.' Keel put a gentle hand on her shoulder, and squeezed for a second before withdrawing. 'Nothing to apologise for.' Grinning he jerked his thumb at the room ahead of them, 'besides. There's a whole room to take out any annoyance on.'

Jezra gave him a smile, one that was less strained by burden. "Sometimes arguing with him is enough to get me over whatever is on my mind," they added with a tone of amusement. They got to the door, where some safety gear was waiting for them: goggles, gloves, hard hats, and boots. Next to the wall was a bench to either put stuff or sit, and on the wall were some coat hooks. "I left safeties on so the gear probably isn't needed, but it's good for the true experience. Minus the boots, those are in case you didn't wear close-toed shoes."

Suiting up with a grin, Keel delightedly donned the hard hat and goggles, and pulled the gloves on tight. Holding out his hands and wiggling his fingers he appreciated the warm thickness that made pressing his fingers to his palms very difficult indeed. He caught Jezra's eye, a glint in his. 'Alright,' he drawled slowly, 'which way to the sledgehammer?'

Thanks to the safeties, the need for the jumpsuits was unnecessary. High visibility vests sat in their place, and Jezra replaced her uniform jacket with one of the vests before putting on the other gear. "Sledgehammer, bat, or crowbar," Jezra corrected, guiding him to the weapons bucket. With the smoothness of experience, they picked up one of the thinner and more sleek crowbars, gauging its weight in their hand. "From experience, pick the lighter weapon, unless you want a sore shoulder in the morning."

'Not your first rodeo, huh?' Keel replied with a small smile. He looked over the arsenal bin, the assorted metal and wood implements jumbled together. Pulling at the rubberised handle of one he found a long, flat wooden bat. Hefting it in his hand Keel wondered what it had begun life as, but liked the weight of it.

Once he selected his weapon, Jezra unlocked the door with the key and stepped inside. There was a table with padding on top, a couple small crates of various breakable options. Near the back wall, on a small pile of broken glass, was a cement block, and the back wall also had dense rubber padding. "Ok, rules," they began, shutting the door behind Keel. "Stay aware of your surroundings. Safeties are on but you can still get hit by the weapons or glass. If throwing, aim for the cement block; the back will will bounce stuff back at you. Don't swing downwards, swing sideways, like in baseball."

'Or hurling,' he said, looking around the rubberised room. It was a sad affair he decided, a little drab. Reminded him of ... well, a different time during war when information was profit and the methods of extraction were the cheapest possible. 'I wonder if this place is based on a real location ...' He dipped in to a crate and retrieved a delicate-looking bone china teapot with blue patterning across it. 'Here's my first victim.'

Jezra could see subtle tension in his shoulders as he took in the sight. It made her feel a little self-conscious. Looking through the items in the crates, she picked a medium sized plate that sat nicely in the nook of her hand. Perfect for throwing. They showed the plate to Keel with a self-conscious little smile. "Safe practice is to prop the item on that table if you're using the bat. That way you have maximum control over the weapon. Otherwise..." With that, Jezra looked at the cement block, then overhand chucked the plate at it. The plate exploded on contact, scattering shards across the room.

Keel blew out a breath, and chuckled, 'well done - some fine work there.' He set the china teapot down on the table carefully, turning it so it was just so. Taking a step back, he held the bat at a ninety-degree angle to himself, and gave it a powerful swing, connecting hard with the teapot, shattering it and sending it flying forward in jagged pieces. 'That felt good,' he allowed.

It was a solid hit, and Jezra nodded. A couple small pieces bounced their way back toward them, but with the safeties on they just felt like being lightly pelted by gravel. "I wish I could say there was much else to it, but... this is really all the program is," they commented, grabbing a flower vase next.

'It's well-programmed,' Keel replied with a grin, brushing some hair out of his eyes. 'Looks like a pretty vase,' he commented as he rummaged about and dragged out a heavy, solid biscuit barrel. 'Now this is ugly as sin,' he declared, placing the large brown container on a pedestal. Looking back at Jezra he motioned towards her vase. 'After you.'

Jezra chuckled at Keel's assessment of the brown container. She then put her vase on the table before giving the crowbar a little twirl. Making sure he was out of the way, the doctor lines up the shot before giving it a hefty swing. The coloured glass sprayed across the room, and for good measure they picked up one of the larger surviving pieces and threw it at the cement block for good measure.

::OFF::

Lieutenant J.G. Jezra Siv
Chief Medical Officer
USS Astrea


Lt. Commander Ryan Keel
Chief of Diplomatic Intelligence
USS Astrea

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