When the Moon Is Round

Posted on Thu Nov 5th, 2020 @ 1:34am by Lieutenant Commander T'Par & Lieutenant Lily Marlow & Lieutenant Orin Sempton

Mission: End of Line
Location: Starbase Adna, somewhere in the depths.
Timeline: MD 03
2421 words - 4.8 OF Standard Post Measure

Hyacinth was making her way around the promenade of the station admiring the shops and proprietors of all different races and colors. She knew they were holograms but she still found them interesting. Cinth came to a halt as she started to pass what looked to be some kind of club. The dancefloor was fairly full but there were definitely spots to fit in. She contemplated joining but as she didn't really know anyone, it was hard to decide. Going and dancing might make her acquainted with some of them, then again this probably wasn't the best way to get to know someone, but it was fun. She stepped inside and yelled loudly so the other person could hear her. "Hi! Can I cut in?"

Lhaes looked over at Beatrice. "Do you want a break?" he asked his wife, looking over at the younger woman, not immediately recognizing her in the weird lighting on the dancefloor.

"Sure," Beatrice grinned at the idea of some young thing coming in and totally wearing him out. "Have fun."

"Oh," Hyacinth said as she realized whose shoulder she'd tapped on. "Uh, hi. Sorry, didn't know if was you."

"Miss Faust," Lhaes greeted formally now that he recognized her, "don't apologize, we're all here to have fun, and I happen to have fun dancing." He smirked at Beatrice, knowing he was willing to show off on this skill too. "I won't step on your toes, I promise," he added, "but... one dance. My attention does belong to my wife."

"Of course," Hyacinth agreed. "One dance . . . "

T'Par was walking with Lieutenant Sullivan after enjoying the gardens. She was also curious to see the variety of holographic shops. She was examining a tongo board when she noticed the club that several of her fellow officers had already entered. She was slightly cautious but she turned to Lilith. "That place might provide further opportunities for socialization?"

Though it took longer than usual, Sullivan eventually processed the question and nodded in return. The two women walked towards the entrance as Lilith considered the path her day was taking. A fork in the road provided an opportunity to sober up and enjoy a few hours of idle chit-chat with her colleagues - or - she could simply order another drink and keep her buzz going long enough so she wouldn't have to think about her upcoming transfer.

"Terran red ale, please."

"Pyrellian ginger tea," T'Par ordered as well. When the beverage arrived, she brought it slowly to her lips as she scanned the largely holographic crowd for her colleagues.

Herbert Barr walked in with Leyana on his right arm. Although technically not a Princess any more, Barr still saw her as one even if it was just his princess. "You have nothing to worry about, Leyana.' he said resting his free hand on her arm. "You are an equal and everyone here will teach you as such."

Leyana nodded as she clung to Herbert's arm. "I'm still me," she whispered, "just not a royal anymore. I am, who I wanted to be except not the way I wanted to do it. I never asked to be a princess, I just now need to learn how not to be one."

"Exactly my love." Bert said with a smile. "Would you like something to drink?"

Leyana shook her head. "Do you want to dance?"


Orin sat at the club's bar, back toward it, drink in hand, indulging in two of his favorite past times; People watching, and scotch. He took another sip and scanned the room. There were a surprising amount of crew from the ship here, and a few that he actually knew. He had to admit, despite the loud music, he was enjoying watching everyone. It was at times like this that you could see all the little idiosyncrasies inherent in all people no matter their species. Body language, facial expressions, interactions with those around them. He took another sip, enjoying the burning feeling as he did and turned to order another.

Lily was out in the middle of things, dancing up a storm with a person. She wasn't certain if it were a holoperson or a real person. She didn't care, all she cared about, was just enjoying the company, and the music. A few more songs, then she went to take a break and get a drink at the bar. She ordered a lemonade with crushed ice and peppermint leaf, with a bendy straw taking a seat to watch the dancing.

As she turned to get her drink from the bartender, she caught a glance of someone familiar. It was Orin! A quote from Casablanca came to her mind, causing her to smile slightly. "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all of the world..." she stopped there, raised her glass towards Orin. "Hi there, fancy meeting you here." saying her last part to where he could hear her over the music.

"Who's that quoting movies over there?" Sullivan turned on her barstool and cast a sideways glance towards the other patrons at the bar. Most of her speech was articulate, but a trained ear could just barely detect the onset of a few slurred syllables. "I love that movie. I sorta rigged the vote when we had movie night. Casablanca was never losing, baby!"

"That would be me." Lily smiled and turned around to face the other patron who spoke up. "I love Casablanca! And you rigged the vote? That is great! I'm Lily Marlow, the new CMO of the Majestic. What's your name?"

"That's so crazy. My name is Lily, too!" Sullivan gushed between sips of her drink. "And yeah, some things are too important to leave up to chance. Classic films are one of those things, isn't that right T'Par?"

Lily looked on the other side of the woman (Sullivan) who spoke, noticing another one there, quietly drinking a beverage. She didn't seem like a holoperson. "Hi, how are you? I'm Lily." Walking on the other side of Sullivan. "What is your name?" she said to the Vulcan woman.

"T'Par," the Vulcan answered. "Welcome aboard, Dr. Marlow. How are you finding your new posting thus far?"

"It's been more than satisfactory." Lily replied with a smile. "What area on the ship do you serve in?"

"Science," T'Par said rather simply. "I am sure we will get to know one another better soon."

Orin picked up his recharged drink and slid over to join the group. He saw who was there and gave a slight smile. "Lieutenants, it is good to see you both again." He looked over to the third he did not know and greeted her. "Good... Evening, I think it is now? Always difficult to tell. I'm Orin Sempton, the ships xenoarcharologist."

T'Par inclined her head slightly to Orin. "Ensign Sempton. Have you enjoyed much of the station yet?"

"I've seen much more of it than I'd like to admit..." Orin took a sip of his drink to hide a bit of embarrassment. "I had an, encounter, with the exercise program that got a little out of hand."

Without warning the music made a screeching noise that made Hyacinth want to clamp her hands over her ears. From all around her the hologram dancers began to disappear and the only people that remained in the room were from the ship. But no, that wasn't exactly true. in the darkness behind them she could make out other figures and they were slowly coming into the light moving toward them.

From the bar, Lieutenant Sullivan spun around on the rotating seat of the barstool and looked around. Unable to restrain herself, Lilith laughed and addressed the others in the bar, ignorant to the danger the situation was presenting. "Wow, this is an epic prank you guys. What even is this? Did somebody lose a bet?"

"Did anyone else note anything strange about their encounters with the holograms so far?" T'Par asked those around her as she quietly set down her tea and stood. As always, she seemed to regard gathering as much information as possible on the situation a logical first step, although it didn't seem there would be much time for that.

Hyacinth frowned and tried to squint. "Did they have some kind of power loss?"

"That would have cut out ALL the holograms, and that, uh, doesn't look like crew." Orin chimed in, putting down his drink and slinging his messenger bag over his shoulder. "No one is asking questions or trying to talk, or acting confused considering the current circumstances." He adjusted his glasses and tried to get a better look. "If one would just step into the..." He trailed off before adding "Uh oh."

"They've seemed like something was bothering them as if they were seeking something" Lily remarked, then slowly turned around. "Oh dear! Werewolves and Ninjas and Zombies, oh my!" she breathed out. "Are these from peoples fears and night mares?" Looking to see the best way to get out of this club. "We are going to have to see about tactics ." feeling rather glad the opening melody from Thriller didn't start to play.

Lhaes listened to those around him, finding the odd urge to find his wife in the darkness and keeping her close. Still, the starfleet officer within couldn't help but try and assess the situation. "What are werewolves?" he asked, "or zombies?" Ninjas he had a fair idea, as he had trained with the Romulan equivalent for a few years.

"Werewolves, lycanthropes, et cetera," Sullivan lazily waved her hand in the air. "Strictly human mythology. Supposedly they were humans under some sort of curse or affliction that turned them into wolves under a full moon. Zombies are only slightly cooler. They are the undead that have been reanimated by magic, radiation, diseases, or viruses depending on the vintage." The intrepid pilot took another sip from her stein before standing up from her seat and walking over towards the encroaching ensemble of horrors.

"Bro, you smell terrible," Lilith held her nose as she approached a zombie, turning back towards the others with a grin. "Alright, whoever's idea of a prank this was can come clean now. You're not fooling. . . Ouch!" Clutching her left arm, Sullivan felt the warmth of blood beginning to soak through the sleeve of her jacket. Recoiling, she backpedaled towards the others in shock.

T'Par stepped forward as soon as Lilith cried out in pain. Just enough to make sure the other woman got back to the group and to get a better look at the monsters. "We observed passive aggression on the part of Shabol." She froze as one of the werewolves was slinking closer. Not a slow, shambling thing like a zombie but a predator ready to pounce, a mass of corded muscle that made Klingons look slight.

A large glass sailed through the air and smashed into the creature's chest. A cloud of powder burst out and after a sniff, the werewolf began to frantically sneeze.

Orin continued to frantically pull bottles that he recognized from the bar, opened them and liberally distributed them in easily broken receptacles, capping them with smaller glasses as he went. He kept the small bottle of pepper to the side just in case. "If anyone has something capable of starting a fire, I'd suggest making one now. Werewolves; fire, silver or decapitation, Zombies; destruction of the brain or brainstem and please do not get bitten by either." He felt weird that his eclectic historic knowledge was actually useful, but shunted that to the back of his mind, as they had serious issues to worry about.

Lily moved over to go check on Sullivan, bringing out her med kit from her backpack. "Here, let me take care of that." she said, and set to work, cleaning out the wound "I was not expecting something like this to happen." she murmured, as she used a dermal regenerator on the wound.

Lily didn't speak it aloud but she hoped that these nightmarish holographic people hadn't been infected with a mutagen to cause problems.

She heard Orin's call about fire, digging in her kit for some matches she had inside a small container. "Orin here!" Tossing them to him and hoping he would catch it. She was glad at the moment having paid attention to her family members to always keep matches on hand.

As the werewolf confronting her was sneezing uncontrollably, T'Par reached forward and pinched at just the right spot on its building, muscular neck. As it slumped into unconsciousness, she shoved it forcefully away from her, knocking two zombies to the ground. She stomped on both of their heads with enough force to smash the skull and brains and then withdrew to cover Dr. Marlow while she worked, taking one of the bottles Sempton was rapidly filling. "I wonder what their goal is here."

"Scare us?" Lhaes offered, sneezing as a pepper projectile exploded close to him. "Doctor, if you need assistance let me know. For now I suggest we stay together and as far from these creatures as we can. Safeties seem to be disengaged, though I wonder why...."

"If they meant to kill us and have control of the program, logically there are far more certain ways, sir," T'Par added, lacking the human inhibition on saying such things.

"Maybe efficiency isn't the plan," Hyacinth said finally, having been mostly silent. "I mean then it wouldn't be a game. Games are fun for holograms, that is after all what they've been programmed for here right? Pleasure, pain, it's all the same to them. I recommend some of us deal with them, as many as can, and the rest of us try to figure out how to get the hell out of here."

The matches landed on the top of the bar next to the bottles Orin was handing out. Lily finished up taking care of Lilith's wounded arm. She looked towards the newest person whom joined the little group.

"I do wonder about that. Sometimes holopeople can develop their own intellect, their own freedom of thought. "Thinking of the EMH that was on the Voyager. "In any case, like you said we do need a plan.. Lieutenant...?" looking at Hyacinth. "Uh what is your name?"

"Faust," She replied. "Here's the plan, run like hell and don't let them catch you while I try to figure a way out of this."

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To be continued . . .