Spooky Shenanigans at Ye Olde Castle, Part 1

Posted on Sun Dec 10th, 2023 @ 7:33pm by Commander Chalan Kendri & Lieutenant Commander Johanna Lyngstad & Commander Jason Elliot & Lieutenant JG Naltar Jerane & Ensign Dramin & Ensign Sar
Edited on on Sun Dec 10th, 2023 @ 8:43pm

2,036 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Mission Zeta: An Eerie Evening
Location: Deck 11, Holodeck 3, USS Columbia
Timeline: Halloween 2396, 1948 hours

Several people milled about in the open courtyard outside of a wooden door. Stone walls stretched for a few hundred meters in either direction, brick and mortar piled high. The castle itself look much less elaborate than many would have hoped. A full moon illuminated the castle's fortified tower. A dark shape could be seen standing high above, eerie red eyes peering down at those gathering below.

A figure stood clad in a black robe, adorned with shimmer golden graphics. A hood covered much of his head, nose and angular jawline peering from beneath the dark shadows. Sar stood, waiting for the door to open along with the others. His head tilted towards Sarah as he spoke. "The festivities shall begin soon. I do hope the festivities proceed in an enjoyable manner." The Vulcan carried a silk sack. He reached into it, showing a wrapped treat to Paisley.

"I come bearing my latest creation. In the spirit of the holiday, I synthesized these candies with a synthahol like infusion. The main ingredient is moonberry extract." He quickly began to unwrap it in front of Sarah. "My hope is to study the effect of its terpenes in relation to my ongoing social research." As usual, the Vulcan spoke quickly. One might almost think he sounded excited, though his facial features remained restrained.

Sarah had spent a few hours this week explaining Halloween to Sar. Of course, she herself wasn't totally familiar-it was more of an American thing but she did understand the basics. It always struck her as interesting which of the old customs humans chose to keep, and which ones they didn't. Halloween was a fun day, and she was kind of glad it had stuck around. She was dressed as a cartoon witch-green face paint, pointed hat, and black clothes. Her black hair complemented the look, and she carried a fake "broom."

"Moonberry what? But...it made you ill!" Sarah looked at Sar, a little dumbfounded. "Please be careful!" She hoped she wouldn't have to drag him to medical later. "And yes, the others should be arriving soon. I hear the children had fun earlier today," she said. There had been a party for the school kids that morning, and the whole ship was buzzing on the sugar highs. She gave his hand a squeeze. "The celebration will be enjoyable if we stay together. I can help you to understand things," she said. They were growing closer, and she had finally stopped pretending they weren't a couple.

"I believe there has been confusion surrounding the effects I experienced. A more correct term may have been an altered state. I credit terpenes within the moonberry for opening my mind to the idea of courting you, on that fateful day. I must study its effects in more detail. A synthahol base will also allow me to safely shrug off its effects." Sar had been hard at work with the fruit, spending much of his free time analyzing compounds within it.

Sarah blinked slowly. "Alright, but please...be careful anyway," she said. "I don't know what kind of effects it may have on your boss-she's not Human, so of course, it could run the gambit from a severe reaction to nothing at all," she said. Really, she was pleased he was doing this sort of scientific endeavor but it seemed out of character for him to not weigh his ideas a bit more harshly. Maybe she was rubbing off on him.

"The effects should be just as easily dismissed for the others as well. Much time and research has gone into this blend. I am confident that there should be no ill effects." Sar spoke quickly, turning to study the crowd. He studied her reaction, sensing her anxiety. "The berries are not responsible for our connection. You mean more to me than the simple sensations of a fruit could portray. The chemical structure of this fruit had a profound effect on my view, allowing me to.. Relax. I feel it may help me acclimate to environments such as these where such a mentality is encouraged."

She chuckled a little. "Well, that's good to know. But still. Just be careful. Part of my human feelings is a sense of concern for people I care about. That includes you," she said. "I am trying to relax. There's already a lot of people here, though," she said.

Walking into the holodeck in his uniform, Dramin felt severely overdressed. Practically everyone in the crowd around him seemed dressed for the occasion in some sort of suitable costume. What was the festival called again, Hallow Wean? Was that what the humans called it? That was what this program was meant to celebrate wasn't it? He approached the two standing at the gate almost apprehensively, clutching his PADD to his chest. "Oh, um. Pardon me." He ventured nervously. "Are- were costumes mandated for this social gathering?" Probably, he thought. The proverbial stiffness of their uniforms was probably something of a mood-killer, really.

Dressed to the nines as the old Earth movie character, Jack Skellington, the good Doctor McEntyre entered the holodeck with glee. Alongside him was Lieutenant Kevin Billingsley from the science department dressed as a bright red devil, complete with horns and a pitchfork. J.R. had large plastic pumpkins full of candy, a joyful glee on his face as he sang:

“Boys and girls of every age
Wouldn't you like to see something strange?
Come with us and you will see
This, our town of Halloween”

His song rang out as he approached all the others already attending the gathering, his tail swishing happily behind him.

Sar nodded to the doctor as he walked by. "Good evening and welcome."

Sarah shook her head at the JAG officer. "No, uniforms are fine, but you might be more comfortable in civilian clothes if you don't want to wear a costume," she said.

The Vulcan studied Dramin, mind watching the reactions of those around them. He had also planned to arrive in his uniform, before Sarah told him how important a costume was to the social environment. He knew guests had been told this was a costume party. The Vulcan could only conclude that Dramin refused to wear a costume in an effort to stand out.

"Bold choice, Ensign", Sar said formally. He stood as stiff as a statue, eyes still hidden by his hood's shadow.

Next to him, Sarah chuckled lightly. That was a term she KNEW he'd picked up from one of the humans. "Sar!" She scolded, gently. "Help me with this," she said, picking up a crate of apples that were for some kind of game later. "Get the other one!"

Sarah's voice rang in his ear. He moved quickly to help her first, before turning towards the second one instead. There was confusion in his expression as he followed behind her. They set them down on a counter next to several large buckets filled with water.

"You can't just say things like that!! I know you're good at suppressing emotions, but the rest of us aren't! Things like that are bothersome sometimes! It wasn't a choice, I don't think. Just an oversight. He doesn't have a person to explain holidays like you do," she said, gently. "Unless he had picked up things at the Academy, he wouldn't know!"

"I can see how he may have been self-conscious about a potential oversight. My compliments were, however.. Genuine." The Vulcan took mental notes about his failed social interaction. He would have to limit his attempts at complimenting others in the future.

Sarah smiled. "Try something like "That color looks well on you," or something. I know it was a genuine compliment. You don't know how to lie," she mused. "Don't give up...I'll try to help you beforehand next time. We can practice some things to say." She sighed. She hadn't anticipated something like that to mention.

A moment later Rachel entered through the doors, excited from her time helping to hand out candy but also glad to be back among adults. Kids were a lot of energy and she wasn't sure she wanted any, anytime soon. After taking a moment to stop by her quarters to freshen up and check where Naltar was, she was just as sharp in her witch costume as she had been earlier, except this time minus the broom. She didn't need to take it around with here here. She gave a wave to the group "Hi everyone!"

Sar's attention turned to Rachel as she called out. He noticed she wore a similar costume to Sarah. Such coincidences were highly likely. He calculated the exact odds that two guests at the party would both wear the same costume. The rumination continued as he calculated the odds that another person might show dressed similarly to another. Sarah may have noticed a distracted look in his eye as his math progressed. "Welcome to the Olde Castle", Sar adjusted himself to face the newcomers.

As if almost just behind Rachel, Naltar entered next. The Cardassian walked in carrying a brief case. He wore a long black trench coat, a pair of black sunglasses (that he was able to see through), a black fedora, and a white dress shirt with black tie on. Upon seeing him, the Operations Chief laughed and smiled at the same time "You actually wore it, I love it!" She ran over to give him a kiss which he returned, but doing his best to keep in character he pretended to half push her away "I'm sorry ma'am, I'm on duty here."

She frowned teasingly "You're a spy, not secret service".

He took of his sunglasses and looked at her "Sorry, I only had a few hours to even get this thing together or now who I was supposed to be, it was busy in Engineering today."

As the parade of folks coming in continued, V'lal made her way in next. Her blonde hair was tied up in a ponytail and she had black on the tip of her nose with drawn on whiskers, a pair of cat ears adorned the top of her head. She wore a black bodysuit and had a cat tail pinned on at the top of her waist behind her. Additionally she put on a set of nails as if to represent claws to get into the festivity. While it was something she never participated in growing up, she had learned to enjoy the custom shortly after arriving on Earth. Making note of the Cardassian and Rachel, she simply walked up to everyone and greeted them "Happy Halloween".

An arm burst through the ground, right in the middle of the gathered officers. The soil began to pull away from the arm as a zombie dressed in a medieval tunic and torn, striped pants climbed out. He laughed with ghoulish delight. The zombie lurched, turning to Sar and Sarah. The Vulcan took a step closer, left eyebrow raising with curiosity. It glowed with bright neon and iridescent colors. It grunted and swatted towards Sar, only to loose its balance and crawl at the Vulcan's feet.

Sar stepped back and reached his arm around Sarah. He began to guide her away from the creature as if concerned.

Sarah felt his arm around her waist, and pulling her away from the fake zombie. She laughed. "It's Ok, Sar, it's called a "special effect." It's a hologram!" She explained. But if he wanted to hold her like that, she didn't really mind. "Alright, I think that people are starting to show up. Let's get the others and get into positions," she said.

Captain Rhyl th'Zheles
Commanding Officer
USS Columbia

Commander Chalan Kendri
First Officer
USS Columbia

Lt. Commander Paisley F'Rar
Chief Engineer
USS Columbia

Lt. Commander Razka Kas
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Columbia

Lt. Commander Johanna Lyngstad
Chief Science Officer
USS Columbia

Lieutenant J.R. McEntyre
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Columbia

Lieutenant Jason Elliot
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Columbia

Lieutenant Rachel Soros
Chief Operations Officer
USS Columbia

Lieutenant J.G. Feeva Drylo
Counselor
USS Columbia

Ensign Sar
Engineering Officer
USS Columbia

Ensign Sarah bet Ira
Operations Officer
USS Columbia

Ensign Dramin
JAG Officer
USS Columbia

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