Ten Little Holodeck-ers

Posted on Jan 09, 2017 @ 10:22pm by Captain Michael Turlogh Kane

Mission: Holodeck Havoc

"TEN LITTLE HOLODECK-ERS"

(Continued from "La Fiamma")
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Captain's log, supplemental - as the Phoenix continues to perform systems tests in Spacedock prior to launch, I have been visited by one of the station's yard masters, who is anxious of moving forward with our schedule...

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Location: USS Phoenix, berthed in Spacedock, Earth orbit
Stardate: [2.17]0110.0220
Scene: Captain's Ready Room


Michael Turlogh Kane stood up as the ready room doors opened and Commodore Darrell Young entered. Young was one of Spacedock's several Yard Masters, an administrative position that oversaw ongoing repairs or upgrades to the various starships docked at the gigantic mushroom-shaped space station. Young was the senior officer responsible for the repairs of the Phoenix's battle damage and the upgrades to her various on-board systems.

"Welcome aboard the Phoenix again, Commodore," said Kane. "I take you're here about the test of the main computer?"

Darrell Young was a tall man in his late forties, skin as brown as chocolate, head bald as a cue ball, with a thin goatee beard on his chin. "Yes, Captain Kane." He produced a PADD from behind his back.

They both sat down. Kane reached out to take the PADD and perused its contents. "The main computer has been online for weeks and hasn't given us any trouble."

"And that's good," nodded Young. "But the computer hasn't been under any stress while sitting safely here in Spacedock. We need to run a system-wide test of the main computer, putting as much strain on the processors as possible. Then we'll be able to give a final sign-off on its readiness for service."

Kane looked up at him. "It says here that, among other things, you want to turn on all the holodecks at once."

"That's correct. All holodecks running simultaneously will eat up a lot of active memory, and will be a good way of testing the distribution speed of the ODN relays when we, say, begin cycling power around through the decks."

"I see." Kane put the PADD back on the table. It all looked in order. "Which of my senior officers will be required for this test?"

"I'd suggest assigning your Operations officer to one of the holodecks as a matter of course," said Young thoughtfully. "Your Chief Engineer will need to supervise the monitoring of the power fluctuations from Engineering. Both of us, you and I, will keep track of things from the bridge." He smiled, and looked sidelong at Kane. "If you've got some officers going spare, put them into the holodecks. It might be their last chance to have fun before you launch into the long night."

Kane shrugged. "Alright. We'll be ready to begin on time, Commodore."

Young got to his feet. "Excellent, Captain! I'll return in the morning with my engineering team, and we'll begin the test."

Kane stood up, watched the smiling Young leave the room, and lifted his head to speak into the air. "Kane to Crichton and Malin-Argo. Meet me in Engineering immediately."

As the acknowledgements came in, Kane got to work transmitting copies of Commodore Young's proposed computer test to the department heads.

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Scene: Main Engineering, drive section


A short time later, Kane met Jake and Malin-Argo in Engineering. The two of them were poring over a three-dimensional holographic cross-section of the Phoenix. Amidst all the decks, turbolifts and access tunnels were several bright orange icons.

"Gentlemen," said Kane, approaching them, "what have we got?"

Malin-Argo indicated the hologram of the ship with a meaty hand. "These are the locations of the computer's main and sub-processors. As you can see, they're spread out through the ship - this was an intentional design feature. In the event of damage or destruction of one part of the ship, the main computer would be able to reroute its primary systems through the others."

"Understood. In practical terms, is Commodore Young's test likely to lead to any problems?"

Malin-Argo shook his head, an oddly Human expression from the Grazerite. "Not likely at all, Captain. The processing power of the Phoenix is enough to have all holodecks running at the same time, as well as processing multiple other system tasks. The Commodore and his team will likely be relegated to observers only."

Kane looked at Jake. "Do you concur, Commander Crichton?"

Jake nodded. "If Commodore Young's stats are correct, and there are no other unforeseen circumstances, then this computer test will put the crown on the Phoenix's upgrades. She's a fine ship."

"With a fine crew," agreed Kane. "Commander Crichton, issue invitations to the senior officers to create their own holodeck scenarios. If we're going to be stuck in Spacedock, we may as well have a little fun."

Jake smiled. "Aye, sir."

Kane left them to it.

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Scene: Deck 2, saucer section - Senior Officers' Quarters


Aerdan Jos had put in a whole day finishing up the cataloguing of the Phoenix's medical supplies. There was nothing that he or Sofia Andersson could think of that needed adding the ship's stories, and anything that they ran out of could be quickly replicated in industrial quantities if needs be.

He turned the corner to his quarters and saw Iphigenia Bonviva standing at his door. As if sensing him, she turned to him with a grin. "Heya, Doc. Did you get your invite yet?"

"Invite to what?"

Iphie twirled a finger in the air. "There's going to be a big computer test tomorrow and they want us all to create our own holodeck scenario. Something to do with putting the processors through their paces."

"I hadn't heard, Iphie." Aerdan's antennae were slowly curling up and down, the way they did whenever he was thinking about something. "Anyway, it doesn't sound like it would be something I'd be interested in. I loathe holodecks."

"What?" exclaimed Iphie. "Why?"

Aerdan rolled his eyes. "Half a dozen breakdowns and one insane Counselor." He held up his hands. "It was some time ago. Anyway, Iphie, I'm not interested."

Iphie shrugged. "I hate to see you being left out, Doc. Oh well. We'll have to have the fun without you." She winked and moved past him to the turbolift.

"Holdecks..." the Andorian shuddered, before heading to his quarters. "Something always goes wrong on holodecks."

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Scene: Bridge
Time Index: Next Morning


At the appointed time the next morning, everyone was in their places. Kane, Commodore Young, and a skeleton bridge crew were at their stations, while below them, scattered throughout the ship and waiting patiently outside the various holodecks, the senior staff loitered like miscreant children.

There were also half-a-dozen Spacedock technicians in Main Engineering, suffering under the withering glare of Malin-Argo as they plugged their monitoring equipment into their allocated workstations.

Kane watched as Commodore Young got the nod from one of his bridge assistants. "You're ready, then?"

Young nodded. "Whenever your people are, Captain Kane."

Kane sighed inwardly and touched the comms control on the arm of his command chair. Spacedock was no place for the Phoenix - she should be out among the stars, doing what she was designed to do. Much as he loathed admitting it, though, it was vital that any new on-board system on a starship be tested as fully as possible. An emergency situation far from help could be catastrophic if the computer processors weren't up to task. "Bridge to Commander Crichton."

[[Crichton here.]]

"We're all set, Commander. Everyone is cleared to enter the holodecks and run their programs."

[[Understood. Let's have some fun.]]

Kane sat down in the centre seat, glumly staring at the blank main viewer. Some people had all the fun.

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Scene: Holodeck 1


Iphgenia Bonviva heard the holodeck doors rumble closed behind her. The program she had designed started up automatically, the black-and-yellow squares of the holodeck matrix fizzing away as a new reality asserted itself.

The cliffs were toweringly high, and a stiff breeze blew in off the sea at their base. The headland stretched away to the west, and the morning sun was burning away the mist from the heather-brackened moor behind her.

But Iphie had not come to see the scenery.

Shackled to a great chain that was driven deep into the earth at the top of the cliff waited an enormous red dragon. The beast was tossing its head up and down, stamping one of its mighty claws, wings outspread, anxious to be be free of its confining chain.

Iphie was elated. The whole thing seemed so real. She advanced on the dragon and ran her hand along its flank, feeling the leathery scales, grasping the reins and preparing to swing up into the saddle. At her touch, the dragon calmed itself, knowing it would soon be soaring into the sky.

Iphie clambered into the saddle. The dragon beat its greats wings reflexively, and with a deft movement, Iphie unclipped the chain from the saddle. The dragon lurched forward, tipping itself off the cliff in a movement that left Iphie's stomach in her mouth. The whole world dipped and rolled beneath her.

She was no longer Iphie the bartender.

"Khaleesi is coming to Westeros!" she screamed, as the thump of the dragon's mighty wings caught the zephyrs of the sea-air and launched them both up into the morning sky!

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Scene: Holodeck 2


The blind woman tapped her cane along the rural road. Her black-and-white kimono made her look somewhat ethereal, but there was no sight in her milky-white eyes. She passed the paddy fields, listening to the soft splashes of the rice farmers at their work, hearing the distant sounds of children playing from up ahead. She was coming towards the village.

The six brigands - ronin all - emerged from the ditch nearby. It took her a moment to discern their number by sound, but when she did, she sensed that they had surrounded her. She heard the soft slide of steel being drawn from leather.

"Nobody travels this road without paying a toll to the Ginzo Gang," came a gruff voice in front of her. "If you don't have any money, you can pay in other ways." Several evil chuckles sounded from all around her.

Kassandra Thytos smiled to herself. The program was excellent. By designing a program that she could participate in without her sight, she was seeking to challenge herself in a way that would have been familiar to any blind person a millennium ago on Earth. Her hearing was pronounced now - by chuckling, the fools that surrounded her had given their positions away.

She clutched the hilt of her shikome-zue. The cane-sword's blade was razor sharp, capable of chopping through wooden bo staffs, and its nondescript scabbard meant that nobody ever suspected that a little old blind woman was wielding a deadly weapon.

The splashes of the rice farmers faded away. The birdsong in the trees faded away. The breeze on her cheeks become unimportant, as Kass focused every fibre of her being into her other senses, concentrating on the upcoming confrontation.

When she heard the first man step forward, she pulled the shikome-zue free of its scabbard and leaped into action!

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Scene: Holodeck 3


Jake Crichton made himself comfortable in his cubicle. The office block was a technocrat's dream - rows and rows of identical cubicles, broken by a manager's office and the toilets. He put the headset on, affixing the receiver to his ear, and logged into the company's network.

His desk was pretty much identical to everyone else's around here. Dominated by a primitive computer and keyboard, there was a coffee cup full of pens, a stack of notepaper, and some bizarrely-phrased signs that were obviously there to brainwash employees, or were trying to be funny so that the person reading them might get a smile.

To all new employees - announcing our new incentive plan. Work, or get fired!

Caution! I haven't had my coffee yet!

Do Not Disturb - Brilliant Minds At Work.

All around him there was a background hubbub. Phones rang, people were chattering, but they weren't chatting to each other. All these dozens of men and women dressed in twenty-first century office clothes were simply drones, buzzing their way through a hive of phlegmatic activity that had long ago sucked away their collective soul.

The chair felt comfortable under his butt. Wheeled seats were a strange thing. He wondered about getting a cup of coffee - holo-coffee, he reminded himself - when his phone rang.

Jake reached out with a pencil and jabbed the PTT button. "Hello?"

There was a man's voice on the phone. He was speaking haltingly, like he was drunk or taking some form of narcotic. He didn't sound all that old, either, maybe in his early twenties.

{{Uh, hello? Hey. Uh, I have a, like, problem with my computer, dude?}}

Jake shrugged. This was the program. People used to do this for a living, and he wanted to see what it was like. "What seems to be the problem?" he asked in as kindly a voice as he could muster.

{{Uh, it, uh, won't turn on, dude?}}

Whoever was talking to him was speaking in a tone that suggested every sentence was a question. Jake pursed his lips and wondered how he could help this disembodied soul in need.

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Scene: Holodeck 4


Arak Schad watched spellbound as the holodeck matrix poured out a real-life memory for him. He had been pretty exact with what he wanted the holodeck to show, but hadn't been prepared for the sheer realness of the thing.

The Aamazzarites had joined the Federation over a century ago, and such was their enthusiasm for the great alliance that they marked their anniversary of accession to the Assembly as 'Federation Day'. Federation Day was a public holiday on the homeworld, with every settlement around the planet holding a special celebration to commemorate it.

The Aamazzarite homeworld looked nothing like Earth or any other M-class world Arak knew about. It was all its own, a colour palette to rival any great artist. This representation was of a cliff-top settlement close to Arak's home, a place with an astounding view of ocean and sky. The water, mustard yellow, crashed against the white cliffs - indeed, white was the colour of most of the terrain on the world - beneath the violet sky. Evening was coming on, and the deep purple of the firmament was giving way to the black, star-filled darkness, but hanging in the sky above the ocean were the homeworld's twin orange suns, one darker than the other.

The clash of colours stirred Arak's soul, but there was more. The grass was egg-white, and the leaves of nearby trees were blue-green, clashing with the ground they grew out of. The trees thickened into the distance, forming a forest. In the distance, above the tops of the trees, lights flickered - the tower-hives of his people.

There was a path through the forest, and Arak walked toward it. Aamazzarites regurgitated everything they needed - food, clothing, even furniture - from their own stomachs, much as how Terran bees and spiders created their own building materials from within their own bodies. It was not something that was polite to do in front of off-worlders - Terrans in particular were liable to call for a doctor if they saw the bio-resin being expelled from the mouth - but Aamazzarites saw themselves and their odd biology as part of nature, a part of everything else on their world, and, by extention, in the universe.

The path through the forest was lit with lanterns on poles. The poles were made of bio-resin, as were the lanterns themselves - soft sac-like bags that glowed in the dark and gently lit his way through the trees. The glow came from an epoxy-like bio-resin, tendrils of which were suspended within the sacs.

His heart on fire with memories of home, Arak disappeared into the trees, walking down the path toward the tower-hives.

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Scene: Holdeck 5


Sherlock Holmes sucked greedily on one end of his pipe, puffing a great grey cloud of sweet-smelling tobbacco smoke into the sitting room of 221B Baker Street. Nearby, Doctor Watson stood poised by the window overlooking the famous street, watching the world go back.

Eve Dalziel was grinning inwardly. Everything had been set up straight out of Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective stories - there was Holmes' chemistry set, bubbling away on a side table. There was his oft-cursed violin, victim of his own obsession with learning how to play it, and over there was Doctor Watson's fountain pen and sheafs of paper, where he wrote down all of their adventures together.

She was dressed in a late nineteenth-century black housedress that was in turn covered by a big white apron. Her hair was tied up in a bun, and she pottered aimlessly around the room, tidying up the dishes from this morning's breakfast - eggs, toast, tea. She put them all on to a beautiful china tray while trying to stay out of the way of the two men.

It didn't work for long.

"Mrs. Hudson," said Holmes, "you're dreadfully underfoot."

"I'll soon be out of your hair, sir," said Eve. Holmes was a tall, whip-thin man, with spindly arms and legs. He was dressed in a smoking jacket and seemed on edge this morning. Eve wondered what was going on - she'd asked the computer to randomly create a short Holmesian scenario, a composite of the various elements that made up a typical story.

"He's coming now, Holmes," said Dr. Watson, stepping back from the window. He turned to face the two of them with a look of apprehension on his mustachioed face. "I wonder if there's still time to - "

There were three loud raps on the front door. Eve glanced at the two men. "Shall I see who it is, Mr. Holmes? I mean, this room's a mess, hardly fit for entertaining - "

"Answer the door immediately, Mrs. Hudson!" exclaimed Holmes, leaping into an armchair. "We must not keep our guest waiting!"

Eve put down the tray and hurried to the stairs as a second three-rap knock came again.

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Scene: Bridge


Kane watched as Young and his engineers began monitoring the processors.

"Fifty per cent capacity and rising," one of them said.

"Good," said Young. He smiled at Kane. "So far, so good."

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Scene: Holodeck 6


Lynette Ryan stoked the flames of the campfire with a long stick she had shorn from a nearby tree. Alenn was checking the horses, Bramorin was doing a quick sweep of their campsite, and Elestir was checking the map by the light of the flickering fire, puffing on an old pipe.

So here they were, in the Old Ruins. Nobody knew why they were called that (except, obviously, that they were old), or who had built them, or what had happened here. To listen to the townsfolk in the taverns, it was a toss-up between dark rituals, a temple to one of the gods, and old coaching inn, or an old woodcutter's house.

This genre - fantasy, it was called - had piqued enough of Lynette's interest that she'd developed this little holo-fantasy. Alenn was an Elven Ranger, quick of eye and fast with his longbow. Bramorin was a Dwarf, strong of arm and sharp of battleaxe, while old Elestir was a Wizard, versed in the sorcerous ways. As for Lynette herself, she was dressed in good leather armour, carrying a stout wooden shield on her back and a trusty longsword at her hip.

Bramorin tramped back through the trees. He hawked up a glob of phlegm and spat it into the fire. "Ruins are empty. Time for some vittles and a beer."

Alenn patted the horses down and came back to the fire. The beasts seemed a little skittish, but they might be tired after today's ride. "We should check our equipment before venturing into the ruins tomorrow. If there is an underground entrance like that roadwarden said he saw, then there's no telling what might be down there."

Bramorin ran his thumb along the blade of his axe, leaving a little red line along the tip of his finger. "Ratmen, maybe. I love killing ratmen."

Elestir looked up through the little puffs of smoke from his pipe. Under his hat and travelling cloak, his face was hidden in darkness. "No ratmen here, Dwarf lord. Only the dead."

The party lapsed into silence, unsure of what Elestir meant, the only sound being Bramorin's noisy chewing and the night-wind in the trees.

Finally Lynette spoke up. "So who wants to take first watch?"

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Scene: Holodeck 7


The Vulcan pilot, Stavik, had not had much time to settle aboard the Phoenix before being thrust into this new task, but that was part of life in Starfleet, and it was something that he had signed up for. After thinking it over for an hour, he had devised a holodeck program that both fitted the description of what the Spacedock engineers wanted, and what he himself could put to good use.

It was a meditation program, but not an ordinary one. Most Vulcans practiced meditation of some form or another, seeking to still themselves for a portion of the day. They chose quiet, private places in which to do it, lighting a meditation lamp and calming their thoughts.

It was outdoors. The temperature was hot, comparable to the midday heat of Vulcan - that hot dryness was the environment that felt best to Stavik. There were several old red stones buried into the ground around him, with the writings of Vulcan's greatest philosophers inscribed into them. But this was not some cavern, or a mesa on one of Vulcan's high deserts - it was a small island in the midst of a vast ocean.

His last few years of living on Earth had made Stavik fascinated by the ocean. There was something uniquely primal about such a large body of water, something intangibly elemental about it. There were hidden depths to water, fluid dynamics that you couldn't see but could feel, and the simple noise of soft waves lapping against a seashore made him feel more at peace than any IDIC mantra.

So Stavik sat cross-legged on his small island, in the midst of the vast ocean, surrounded by his rust-red Vulcan meditation glyphs. His eyes were closed, his hands clasped together in front of his chin, index and middle fingers upraised and resting against each other. A pair of seagulls circled overhead, blaring raucously, and a lizard was scurrying through the sand near him, but he barely heard them.

He concentrated on his breathing, deep and regular, the familiar and comfortable surroundings of the island already beginning to disappear from conscious thought as he turned in his focus inward.

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Scene: Holdeck 8


Sofia Andersson felt like she was floating on air. The gravity in this ancient library had been reduced to three-quarters Earth standard, and the holodeck had replicated it perfectly inside a small space like this. Once again, she had a bit of solitude, some time to be alone with her thoughts, away from the reality of her new life aboard the Phoenix, however temporary.

She had picked the Haliian Library of Dreams as her holodeck scenario. Halii, a Federation member world that was home to an empathic humanoid species, was a planet with a rich cultural history, and one of its most famous locations was the Library of Dreams. There, patrons could go and relax in a low-gravity environment and listen to the librarians read their choice of book to them, often slipping away into sleep, perchance to dream.

The walls of the library were stocked with books, like a maze that ran on for miles. Sofia had settled herself into a private booth - the seat sighing softly beneath her like a bed - and had instantly felt relaxed.

One of the librarians passed by. "Something to read?" she asked pleasantly.

Sofia thought about it, and realised she hadn't picked out anything. Still, there was no time like the present. She ran it around her head, then gave the librarian her answer.

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Scene: Holodeck 9


Cantor Von crawled through the mazework of ducts on the Cadassian-built station above Betazed, along with four other members of the Betazoid resistance. Only muted heavy breathing echoed across the gunmetal-gray shafts as the five figures belly-crawled along its length. There was death everywhere around them, just waiting for them to slip up.

Sentok Nor was the Dominion's strategic command post for the sector and a major Jem'Hadar hatchery in orbit above the newly occupied Betazoid homeworld. It was 2374 - the time of the First Dominion War - and Betazed had been conquered by the Dominion.

None of this was real, but it was as real as he could make it. Cantor Von had long had an interest in history, especially the history of his own people. The period of the Jem'Hadar occupation of his homeworld had been a dark time for the Betazoid people, but he had been born in the generation that grew up after the occupation had ended.

One of the great things about holodecks was that they allowed historians (even amateur ones) to recreate pivotal moments in history - to see, hear, feel, and even taste what was happening at any given time or place in the past - and that was how he came to be here, now, crawling on his stomach deep in the guts of Sentok Nor.

Cantor knew of the mass executions and the genocide occuring planetside during this time period, and the desperation that this resistance cell felt to strike a blow against their occupiers. They all knew that this was a suicide mission - not one of them would return from this act of rebellion. But this act would sow the beginning of the end of the Dominion presence in this sector, and the actions of this doomed resistance cell would long be remembered by the people left to survive on the planet they circled.

What sort of emotion drove someone to a suicidal act? Cantor couldn't feel the thoughts or emotions of any of these holographic characters, but he might still be able to touch a little of their feelings by following them along in their story. And so he continued, bringing up the rear, quietly as he could, while the four heroes ahead of him moved inexorably towards their doom.

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Scene: Holodeck 10


Jasmine Yu stepped into her holodeck, fresh and alert and ready to be tested. The holodeck program was loaded, but needed some more information in order to generate the specifics of the scenario she had devised - a mental puzzle involving a maze.

The mazes she had in mind were simple two-dimensional affairs to start off with, but a three-dimensional maze might prove a worthy mental exercise. Once she gave the computer the specifics of the maze - how many dimensions, what it was to be made out of (stone? A hedgerow? Endless choices...), the location (a cavern? A castle dungeon? The great outdoors? An asteroid hurtling through space?), and the difficulty level, the program would initiate.

At level one, there would only be a couple of turns, but level ten would be the most fiendishly difficult and random set-up the main computer could create. At higher levels the computer would also throw in obstacles, like doors or pit-traps, that would need to be avoided or circumvented. The program had been simple to create, but it had a huge scale.

[[Ready to process,]] intoned the computer. [[Please select program specific variables now.]]

Jasmine pursed her lips, thinking about it.

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NRPG: This is the mission opener to "Holodeck Havoc", a story requested by YOU (so you'd better make it work ;) ) In order to run a test of the Phoenix's computer processor, multiple ship's systems are being activated all at once to see how it handles a bit of stress.

Speaking of stress, now it's your turn! You've all given me the basics of your character's holodeck scenario, which I have written in above (by the way, the order was purely random and doesn't constitute any sort of ranking thing), and I hope I've done well by them. Now you have to develop it a little.

Let's have a (at least one) post from everyone that follows up on their holodeck scenario. You are all in a solo setting for this first (couple of) post(s), so you can do as much as you want. I or Shawn, depending on when it happens, will write the post that throws the spanner in the works and sets you all up for those high-jinks you wanted.

Just in case any of you feel like going crazy and blowing something up, the holodecks are all functioning perfectly. The processors are handling the heavy workload without a problem. The holodeck safeties are all ON, so your characters are in no mortal danger. Communications with the rest of the ship are also available. For your first post (or two, or three, depending on how fast you write), have a bit of fun with this story you wanted to tell. No other PC is around to bother your character, so you may as well write some 'me time'.

The only PCs *not* in a holodeck are Kane and Aerdan. Aerdan is doing his own thing (for now), and Kane is on the bridge with Commodore Young. Malin-Argo is glowering at Spacedock engineers who are in Engineering monitoring the power flow through the distribution network.

I hope you're alright with how I interpreted your ideas (or at least, that you can tolerate them!).

Have fun! The grimdark is sleeping, so quiet, so quiet, it scarcely snores...


Jerome McKee
the Soul of Captain Michael Turlogh Kane
Commanding Officer
USS PHOENIX


"He speaks an infinite deal of nothing!"
- Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice", Act 1, Scene 1.117

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