<snip>

NE Poindexter looked up, “..Ah Commander I think Fleet Captain Andone is in Holodeck 1 right now.” He said. Checking then nodded, “..Yes Holodeck 1.”

GM CockRoach

Rhansi nodded and left, leaving the ensign staring at his back.

Holodecks were a technology the Barzan did not have, and were a wonder to him when he first experienced one at the Academy. Most bizarre to him was the lack of a sense of privacy people seemed to have around the programs - which could be anything anyone could imagine. “Holodeck 1,” he requested the lift as he entered, deep in thought about how best to approach this.

The car slowed and opened on Deck 17, and a quick request of the wall panel lit a path to Holodeck 1. He inspected the panel beside the large double doors and found the button he had hoped would be there. The panel chimed when he pressed it, and he spoke.

=^= Captain Andone, Lieutenant Commander Rhansi. May I enter? =^=

His own sense of order appeased, he stepped back to a parade rest, hands clasped behind his back.

XO Rhansi

There was a long pause, almost a moment worth before a reply came. =/\= This is Andone, come in commander, though watch your step the paths are near cliff edges, take the left most path down to a stream then follow it north to a clearing. I’ll meet you there. =/\= She said.

Drudoc Andone CO

Rhansi nodded, though no one was nearby to see, then stepped forward and the doors parted onto a cliff, woods behind him. He paused to take in the scene, ignoring the doors closing behind him, just listening to the birds and letting the breeze blow across his skin. Still the wrong smell.

He spotted the path Andone had indicated and began down it, watching his footing as some loose dirt would occasionally skitter as he walked. At the base, as indicated, he arrived at a stream - and it was then Nivor realized something.

=^= Computer, =^= he sighed. =^= Indicate north. =^=

An indicator, the Federation standard N, appeared and stayed in a fixed position near the stream. He nodded and dismissed the icon, then set about hiking alongside the waterway. He had not been to such a place since a child, so those were the feelings - of exploration, elation, and adventure - that bubbled inside him. He suppressed a grin, glad he had never reached that point of satiation with the outdoors many of his peers had. True, it wasn’t his environment of choice, but that made it a good getaway when he needed one.

The stream broke into the promised clearing, skirting the edge of it. He crossed into it, and it was the emptiness around him that made him realize he and the Captain could not have been more than 10 meters apart since he entered the holodeck, and were merely separated by forcefields, light, and sound dampeners.

The Federation never ceased to surprise him.

XO Rhansi