Holodeck Encounter

Posted on Wed Nov 24th, 2021 @ 9:58pm by Commander Elisabeth Churchill & Lieutenant JG Jane Sinclair
Edited on on Wed Nov 24th, 2021 @ 10:16pm

1,307 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Handling the Fallout
Location: Holodeck Three

::ON::

Elisabeth was on the holodeck, once again making alterations to her Queen Mary program after discovering new information about the historic ocean liner. The art deco styled liners had been easier to recreate thanks to more detailed documentation existing of those liners, but safe to say the challenge came in capturing the essence of the old ships. Photographs were easy to convert into a three dimensional space, but more went into making one feel like they were truly there; small details, such as indentations in the corners of stairwells from countless high heels as women held on in rough seas, were not so easily captured in photographs, and even if they were, were often omitted in recreations, losing that sense of imperfection and thus realism with these idealizations.

Elisabeth was roused from her musings (as well as her fussing over something minute about the Queen Mary's grand staircase) when she heard the arch appear and someone step onto the holodeck, likely indicative that perhaps she had spent too long on the holodeck and was now cutting into someone else's booking.

Jane walked through the holodeck door and found herself on the deck of an old Terran luxury liner. She was immediately in awe of its size, its grandeur, its opulence. She had never been aboard anything like it; cruise sea ships weren't a thing on Proxima, and she never bothered to look into a cruise on Earth. Not that she didn't enjoy resting in a lounge chair in the sun with a drink in her hand, but when she had a vacation-length downtime during her Academy days she usually tried to fly somewhere or visited home.

She spotted the one lone occupant on the deck. "Sorry!" she called. "The door wasn't locked. "What is this place?"

"The RMS Queen Mary" Elisabeth responded. "Former flagship of Cunard-White Star. When her seagoing days were done, she sat and rotted in California until she was eventually scrapped where she sat in the mid 2020s after her final owners let her go to complete shit. But I don't intend to capture that stuff here; I intend to capture the magnificence of the Queen Mary in her prime. I apologize for running overtime into your booking:" She said, about to close the program.

“No, it’s all right,” Jane replied, walking closer to the holodeck’s other occupant. Blonde. Average height for a woman from Earth. Very pretty. What’s the deal? Am I on a ship of valkyries? The Captain and First Officer. The Intel officer I’m seeing tonight. The fighter pilot. I saw a cute security officer with half her chest out earlier today. Now this one. Have I died and gone to Heaven? “Don’t go. If you made this program, I’d like to talk to you. I’m Jane Sinclair. Chief Helmswoman.”

"Elisabeth Churchill, Acting Chief Diplomatic Officer." Elisabeth responded, offering a hand to the admittedly cute woman who had a good few inches on her at least.

Was it possible for a woman to be just about as tall as a man? She thought to herself. Apparently, it is so...

"Commander Takahashi has requested a new diplomatic unit, as the Myogi deals with all possible powers in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants:" She explained. "The Klingons, the Cardassians, even the Romulans. And as for this program; history was the architect, and I am merely the one to bring it back alive for future generations to enjoy; though this particular program is still far from perfect; as the art deco era liners provide their own challenges not present in Edwardian era liners. If you want to see the true magnificence of my work, might I suggest loading in a different program?"

“What do you have in mind?” Jane asked. “I’d love to see your work.”

Elisabeth nodded.

"Computer, close program and load program Royal Mail Ship Titanic:" She instructed.

The scene before them shifted, and the two women now found themselves standing near the top of an ornate rounded staircase. Above them on the landing was Honour and Glory crowning Time in its full magnificence whilst even higher still, light shone through the grand staircase dome of glass and iron, giving the staircase an almost heavenly aura. This was one of the crown jewels of Elisabeth's work: Her award-winning recreation of the ill-fated Earth steamship Titanic.

"Jane Sinclair, welcome aboard the Ill-fated Royal Mail steamship Titanic." Elisabeth said. "Painstakingly recreated in full scale by yours truly."

"Oh my." Jane stared at the magnificence that was the holodeck recreation of the Titanic. She knew the story, of course. But she didn't understand the scale, or the extravagance, until now. "You have a talent, Commander."

"Thank you, Lieutenant:" Elisabeth responded. Jane had not been the first to complement her on her talent, however, Elisabeth elected to stay humble and not mention the award her program had won. "So, if I might ask; what exactly is it about my work you're interested in? Maritime history your thing as well?"

“No, your attention to detail,” Jane explained. “I’m running a holonovel. Are you familiar with the adventures of British secret agent James Bond?”

"I could say so;" Elisabeth said. "In fact, my little brother Rodney's obsessed with the man: We both had this brilliant idea for a sequence that took place on the Queen Mary to form the basis of a holonovel, however; it never went past that, because we were both ballocks at writing plots. Though I will say the scrapped set pieces have been a major stepping stone for the program I was working on just a few minutes ago."

"Well, I'm not much of plot writer either," Jane said, "but I'm playing a James Bond holonovel and I want some help with customizing some set pieces. It's set in the early twenty-first century, but a person like 007 needs to be grounded in their origin. Quite a few portions of the story are set in 007's flat in Chelsea, England. But the game is highly customizable. I think we need something better. Something classic. 1960s nostalgia."

"Well, I do work best with marine archeology," Elisabeth admitted. "But I'll have a crack at it and see what detail I can bring to the set pieces. Perhaps if it's as customizable as you say, if there's an action sequence that takes place in, say, a hotel or an office building, we could swap out the setting for the Queen Mary? 1960s would have been the tail end of her heyday, but there was still a lot to look at back then. But, in return, I must request a role in this holonovel: Perhaps if there is room for an FBI or CIA agent? I'd very much like to practice my American accent; the blokes on my last assignment told me it was more Canadian than American."

"Last point first, I'd love to have you!" Jane exclaimed. "Lieutenant Reno is participating too. The more, the merrier! And swapping out set pieces should be fun! It's set a bit later than the 60s, I just want the nostalgia for style, but it's easy to justify the inclusion of something like the Queen Mary as a fictional reproduction. Some wealthy industrialist who thinks he can make money offering a cruise from fifty years ago." She grinned. "Tell you wot. I'll make the initial customizations and give you access."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Elisabeth grinned, offering her hand for the other woman to shake.

Jane took the offered hand and shook it gently. "I look forward to working and playing with you," she said with a wink.

Posting by

Lieutenant Commander Elisabeth Churchill
Diplomatic Officer

Lieutenant JG Jane Sinclair
Chief Flight Control Officer

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