[USS Anaheim – Holodeck 1]

As the USS Anaheim continued it’s latest orbit around the planetary colony below, with shuttles buzzing up and down delivering supplies the senior staff broke into smaller groups and went about enjoying their downtime. 

A solitary man Commander McCleod went and read medical journals in his quarters. Captain Nathan Hawkthorne returned to his Ready Room to let Starfleet know all was going well with the mission. Some went to check up on their duties, even thought off-shift, and others stayed far enough away. Lieutenant Commanders Michelle Mueller and Kan Th’kaotross had a rather awkward and chaste date in the Chief Medical Officer’s quarters while the less said about what Lieutenants Pr’Nor and Tashai got up to the better.

Assistant Chief Security Officer Ensign William Hume and Chief Councilor Lieutenant Junior Grade Yuhiro Kolem headed for a long awaited engagement in the Holodeck. Hume had promised to take care of everything and so spent about ten minutes at the computer console in the black room with yellow grid-lines as he programmed in what it was he wanted. He was careful to meet all historical documents, and even prepared but did not load a program that would add crowds of A.I. simulated people if they so choose. But while A.I. was not really people, it did feel weird being on a date in a large crowd. When he was finished he gestured at it dramatically, “Ta da the happiest place on Earth circa 2110,” he declared.

She looked around dubiously. Though she had been to Earth, it was a simple trip from her home on Mars, she had never heard of Disneyland and this did not look like the happiest place on the entire planet. The Eiffel Tower or the great fields of Idaho were more monumental. Still she understood this was THE Anaheim, the city that the ship had taken its name. Learning a bit about it couldn’t hurt.

”Looks a bit old,” she observed. 

Hume smiled, “Built in the 1960s it should be, though lots of stuff had been built up since then. The castle is original I think. Fixed up sure, but just like Walt Disney wanted it. Come on.”

He reached for her hand, and for a brief moment she paused. Her anger at Hume had mostly been about her, it was not fair to be mad about a thought he had in passing however strong it may be. She could sense the genuine affection that he had, along with a swirl of other feelings that she could not deal with right now. Still hand holding, as sixth form as it sounded, was the real thing. It meant something, though the pair had not decided what that was. In a way it seemed like it was probably easier just to do what Pr’Nor and Tashai had done and kiss in front of the entire senior staff.

She took his hand, intertwining her fingers within his and feeling a surge of excitement and satisfaction from the Ensign. It was weird, when she had first learned that her actions affected the emotional state of others and she could feel that. At first it had mostly been her mother, but now it had become a lot of people. Well more and more people as she saw more crew for therapy sessions, certainly.

They entered first an iron gate that acted as a checkpoint, which Hume explained was where you showed your tickets, and then went under a very old style train track which overlooked the entrance and ran around the park. Nearby the old style futuristic looking track of the monorail stood and a simulated one ran past but did not stop. With no people loaded it was completely empty.

Under the track were posters for things that Yuhiro Kolem did not understand, and on the other side was a seemingly near perfect recreation of 1900s small town America save for the castle at the end of the street. It was definitely not what she expected. It stuck Kolem as a kind of physical Holodeck, built years before the underlying technology had been created. Not having been around for the 1900s, or spent a lot of time off Mars where there had been nothing in 1900, she was not sure how faithful the recreation was, but she took it as probably being pretty good. 

“The buildings are stores, for the sake of the program we can take anything, or eat anything,” Hume said as Kolem wandered into a bakery. She took a cupcake from a display case and even though it was essentially the same food she had on the Anaheim every day it was sweet and caused her to smile. Treats and candies, both packaged and unpackaged ranged for awhile and then things turned to merchandise.

Kolem had been raised culturally like a human so many of the figures on display remained familiar. Though culture had advanced most children still new the stories of Snow White, The Little Mermaid, and other tales of princesses. They both found empty rooms in the back to change out of their uniforms and into merchandise, to better simulate the experience. Hume came out wearing a Mickey Mouse t-shirt, jeans that he must have fabricated with the replicator and the baseball style hat that he had been wearing during the game. Kolem came out wearing a tank top with the Princess Moana on it, and shorts along with sneakers and socks.

”You look cute,” Hume said.

Kolem nodded, “Okay, like powder puff cute?”

”Badass councilor cute,” he said.

”You look cute too,” she said.

Hume approached and kissed her, for once Kolem did not push him away or act like he was invading her personal space. Instead she wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him closer. He smelled good, a mixture of sweat gained from the baseball game and whatever he used to hold his hair in place. 

“Now the rides,” Hume said, grinning.

”Rides?” Kolem said setting back as he took her hand, leading her towards the castle and then to the left to something called Adventure Land and a ride named the Jungle Cruise. There an A.I. boat driver took them down a river (such as it was) filled with various animatronic animals. Today in the days of Data and other cyborgs they seemed quaint and backwards which gave these not very real looking robots a certain charm. 

The rest of the rides were similar. Given that the year was locked to 2110 everything had a backwards out-of-date feel that was kind of creepy and kind of sweet. Some of it, like talking to a holographic Moana seemed almost cool, and others like Mister Toad’s Wild Ride was just a bit unnerving. They ended up in a special room, a hotel suite in the castle where they sat looking out at the park.

”This was nice, but I still don’t understand it,” Kolem said.

”There was a lot less to do back then,” shrugged Hume.

”I remember some of these movies. Classic old films now,” she said.

”Even in 2110 most of them were. Snow White was the first feature length animated movie humans made,” Hume said, “People remember Houdini and Charlie Chaplain, why not Snow White?”

”Who is Houdini?” Kolem asked.

”A magician,” Hume answered, “anyway we should get back.”

”Got a bunk next to a Trill?” Kolem teased. A unique feature of the California Class was that the lower decks, usually ensigns and enlisted crew, slept in the hallway in bunks. She had skipped that by being a Lieutenant Junior Grade and section chief. 

“Trills aren’t supposed to smell weird right, that’s just him,” Hume asked.

”Nope. Not unless something is going wrong medically with their symbiot.”

”He’s not joined, so it’s just him. Alright computer end program,” Hume said and then when their surroundings were replaced with the black room with yellow grid lines he offered his hand and helped Kolem to her feet. Still wearing her Disneyland attire she rose and followed him down the hall to the turbolift and then her own room.

”I could stay,” he said, only partially motivated by the much nicer privacy of quarters. 

She smiled, “You could but we’d both regret it, or I would. We go slow okay, I’m not rushing into some first assignment romance. I mean I am, but not without my eyes open.”

Hume nodded, “See you later Lieutenant.”

”Ensign,” she said nodding as he headed towards the nearest turbolift.