Posted by Fleet Captain Balian Ibn Barazan (Captain) in Holodeck - Face on Mars on USS Manhattan Posted by Lieutenant Celina Rodriguez (Chief Tactical Officer) in Holodeck - Face on Mars : Posted by Commander Ardashir "Jack" Creed (XO) in Holodeck - Face on Mars : : Posted by Lieutenant Celina Rodriguez (Chief Tactical Officer) in Holodeck - Face on Mars : : : Posted by Lt. Cmdr. Maxwell Wynter (Chief Engineer) in Holodeck - Face on Mars : : : : Posted by Ensign Mike Gareth (Security Officer) in Holodeck - Face on Mars : : : : : Posted by Lieut (j.g.) Sheriye (Scientist) in Holodeck - Face on Mars : : : : : : Posted by Lieutenant Logan Drake (Chief of Security) in Holodeck - Face on Mars : : : : : : : Posted by Lieutenant Jasmine Wynter (Chief Medical Officer) in Holodeck - Face on Mars : : : : : : : : Posted by Ensign Mike Gareth (Security Officer) in Holodeck - Face on Mars : : : : : : : : : Posted by Captain Balian Ibn Barazan (CO) in Holodeck - Face on Mars : : : : : : : : : : Posted by Lieut (j.g.) Sheriye (Scientist) in Holodeck - Face on Mars : : : : : : : : : : : Posted by Commander Ardashir "Jack" Creed (XO) in Holodeck - Face on Mars : : : : : : : : : : : : Posted by Ensign Kaia (Engineer) in Holodeck - Face on Mars - all welcome : : : : : : : : : : : : : Posted by Lieutenant Celina Rodriguez (Chief Tactical Officer) in Holodeck - Face on Mars - all welcome : : : : : : : : : : : : : Celina and Jack were the first ones to the holodeck. Opening the door Celina was surprised at setting. “We are on Mars,” she said almost dumbfounded looking at Jack. “There is nothing here but dust and rocks and that tourist trap,” she muttered pointing to the large metal structure a couple hundred yards into the Face of Mars excavation site. “Can we go home yet,” she looked at Jack. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : “And why would you ever want to do that,” a super cheery voice piped up. “I mean you are all going to love this trust me,” the image could barely contain her glee looking at the people in front of her. “Okay so my name is Heidi Burns and boy you are going to have an insane time here.” Waving her hand, a holographic PaDD the size found normally on conference room walls appeared next her floating in the air. “Okay so several years ago, my friends and I came here on shore leave and had one hell of an adventure. Now it is your turn. Let me explain.” : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Bringing up an ancient historical document from the now defuct NASA, Heidi explained. “So in 1976, NASA launched a mission to explore Mars. Thier probe, which by today’s standards was nothing more than a tube with two fireworks attached to the side with a camera on the nose, snapped an image on the Cydonia region of the Martian surface. When the egg heads back on earth saw it they freaked.” Heidi brought up three images on the screen. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : “Now remember this was the dark ages of space exploration so the idea that there was other life in the cosmos was unfathomable. They hid the pictures for further study in a place called area 51; however, a reporter got a hold of the image. It’s publication to the general population caused a feeding frenzy. The government called it an optical illusion but they sent orbitor’s back in 1998 and again in 2001 to quiet the conspiracy theorists. Jump ahead a few hundred years and viola you now have this,” Heidi brought up the current image of the face on Mars. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : “Now by this time we knew there were other sentient life forms but the archeological excavations have shown a clear connection to it and ancient Egyptian relics. The kicker is unlike the pyramids of ancient Egpyt, we can’t find a way into the face. Pretty fascinating huh,” Heidi smiled at them hoping their excitement level was on overload like hers. “And now you can say ‘I have been there’. This is going to be great,” Heidi’s voice showed her barely controlled excitement with the adventure. “Here is a map of the site but we are going somewhere special. If you will follow me,” she gestured to the group. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Celina looked at the huge glossy map showing the main attractions to the exhibit. Finding where they were in relation to the map, she folded it up haphazardly shoving it into her backpack. “Maps are for schmucks,” Celina shrugged looking at Jack. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Lt. Celina Rodgriquez, CTO : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : “Really? The last time we tried to go somewhere like this without a map we ended up to the wrong side of the tracks on Perin City. You were soooooo sure this is the right way puppy? I will follow your lead but if I ended up possessed by some book that you started to read and have to put you down, don’t think I won’t say told you so.” Jack said with a smirk. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Creed, XO : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Sheriye had heard that there was going to be a holodeck activity after dinner so when she saw the XO and CTO leave she finished her dinner and followed. She entered the holodeck curiously, her tail swishing back and forth at the tip as she took in the scenery. Her ears and nose twitched incessantly as she attempted to see if there any odors or other sounds to pick up. She was in time to to hear Celina’s spiel and found herself excited at the prospect. This was holo entertainment she enjoyed; a bit of history, mystery and excavation. Her scientific mind was captivated. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Sheriye Sci : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Balian had returned to his quarters and exchanged his uniform for what was his preferred casual wear. He found it comfortable, and that was the part that mattered to him. The Sarong like skirt wrapped his waist and flowed down to near the knees. He was wearing leather shod sandals that laced up to the knees, and a matching sleeveless tunic. The outfit was colored in an Azure blue like the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of any city in the Rivera. In many cultures it would have been considered a woman’s outfit, the Captain had less care of that, and more that it was a comfort for him, and was not woman’s wear when, and wear he adopted it. Many would have called it a Toga, but those were all of one fabric and this was not. Balian opted not of the knife and sword that he often had with the outfit, dressed as such he entered the program about five minutes before the assigned time to do so. The landscape was red and rocky, the sky a very pale blue. Though he had only visited once, he knew the place, it was Mars, the red planet. He wondered what they were doing here, there was not much for Tourists to do there. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Captain Balian Ibn Barazan : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Whilst wandering the halls aimlessly learning the layout of the ship, he spotted the Captain in his odd attire just a bit before getting to the holodeck. What on Earth ..? Curious as to his attire he followed the Captain. He himself was simply dressed in basic attire as he wasn’t currently on duty. He just wore some tan, pocketed pants along with a white T-shirt and some well-worn boots. Stepping in to the holoprogram a bit after the Captain, he was surrounded by the red soil, rocks, and the pale blue sky. He chuckled slightly to himself I guess it’s what on Mars now? Still not really sure what was going on he noticed the female Caitian off to the side and gave a clueless, questioning shrug trying to figure out what this was for. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Ensign Mike Gareth (Security) : : : : : : : : : : : : In response, Sheriye gave Mike her wide Caitian grin of amusement, teeth flashing. : : : : : : : : : He laughed a bit, “Guess we’ll find out, eh?” : : : : : : : : : : : “Well, this is turning into a field trip,” Jasmine smiled walking into the holodeck behind Mike and the Captian. Looking around she was a bit dismayed. She knew the program had dealt with Mars but she did not think it would be in the only bona fida tourist trap the planet had. “Sheriye, Mike....Captain,” she greeted them and walked up next to Jack and Celina. : : : : : : Max followed Jasmine a few steps behind, carrying some kind of pack with him that was compact and had a holder for a bottle on the side, out of which the neck of a wine bottle, probably, could be seen pocking out. “We couldn’t just go with sandwiches and mac n cheese?” he was saying, “who doesn’t like sandwiches and mac n cheese? You know what these tourist cafe’s are like, plastic food and hyped up prices, I don’t think we need to contract our first born into servitude just for a cup of coffee.” He was grinning however, and whatever the discussion had been it was clear he was the loser. : : : : : : : : : : : : “Lieutenant,” Sheriye said in response as Heidi’s voice started up. Sheriye’s ears immediately swiveled and she turned to look at the woman. : : : : : : : : : Mike nodded towards the woman that entered, “Ah, good evening Lieutenant!” : : : : : : : : : : : “So it appears our group is now all together. We’re walking. We’re walking,” Heidi’s voice took on the high pitched tour guide as she began to step backward with her hands up signaling the group forward. : : : : : : : : : : : : Sheriye walked with the others. Caitians did not walk the same as humanoids given the unusual bend of their joints. Their joints were articulated to allow them to run on four paws. So when they walked on two their legs bent back at an odd angle and their upper torso lent forward a bit. It almost looked though like her legs were sprung to absorb the shock of walking which was interesting. : : : : : : : : : : : : Jasmine let out a small laugh and began to follow the perky red-headed holo guide as she led the group to a set of ropes and then unhooked it so that they could enter an area that clearly was not meant for the general public. “While the rest of the universe gets to marvel at the selected areas of the monument we are going into the VIP area,” Heidi said perkily. Anyone choosing to follow the set of couples and Heidi would see they were headed to the back of the monolith and past numerous posted signs that said restricted access, no unauthorized personal allowed past this point, and trespassers will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of Federation law. : : : : : : “What kind of VIP area is this?” Max asked Jasmine, “That’s rather a lot of warnings isn’t it? Maybe they just overemphasized it for the holodeck.” : : : : “Oh Max where is your spirit of adventure,” Jasmine teased. “We are in a holodeck. How dangerous can it be?” : : : : : : : : : : : : This was interesting, Sheriye mused to herself. They were going to get to see things not normally seen by the general populous, she wished she had her tricorder and her paws twitched. : : : : : : : : : : : : Heidi stopped the group in front of a large mosiac. Many of the symbols were unknown and did not match anything anyone would have seen before except in one area. In this area were seven spaces with clearly defined handprints and footholds. It would appear as if the makers of the monolith had stamped their hands and feet into the material upon building the monument. The only difference was the handprints and footholds were on a vertical plane much like a rock wall people climbed for entertainment. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : “Okay up you all go. There are spaces for all of you. Mount the wall and our fun can begin,” Heidi gestured to the mosaic with a large grin. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Heidi the effervescent tour guide : : : : : : : : : : : : This brought back some memories for Logan. He was dressed in basic light tan slacks and a khaki archaeologist’s outfit. “Very well,” he said as he started the climb. “Try to imagine what this must have been like for the original explorers.” : : : : : : : : : : : : Lt Logan Drake : : : : : : CoS : : : : : : : : : : Sheriye grinned again in excitement and due to her unique felinoid physique easily clambered up the monolith, her claws extended giving her easy purchase. She almost looked like a monkey as she clambered up. : : : : : : : : : : Sheriye Sci : : : : : : : : Mike just slowly looked up from the bottom to the top of the giant monument somewhat in awe. “Never had the chance to go to Mars before, but this is amazing …” He was already trying to plot his path up the monument looking for the simplest route up before walking up towards the base and grabbing hold to begin his climb. “Welp, all I’ve got are the clothes on my back, can’t be much more of an explorer than that, right Lieutenant?” He looked over towards his Chief of Security, waiting for him to get to the wall as well. : : : : : : : : Ensign Mike Gareth (Security) : : : : : : Max glanced at Jasmine and smirked. “Bet your glad you wore pants today then right? Would you like a hand to mount the wall?” he asked her as he moved to it and tried out the handholds. The monument was old and looked unused, last thing he wanted was anybody falling off, safety’s or no. Looking up he frowned slightly. “The handholds don’t continue up and over, whats the point?” : : : : : : Lt Cmdr Wynter : : : CE : : : : “Because we can get a great picture,” Celina said patting Max on the shoulders from behind. “Jack get us one will ya,” she said climbing up the wall next to Jasmine. “Now move your butt so that Jack can get us all in at once.” “You make sure I get a copy of that” Max said to Creed out of the corner of his mouth as they both looked up at their partners, “that’s going in an album.”

: “Be grateful you are cute.” Jack said with a wink as he moved off.

“Alright shove over Jaz” Max said as he moved to the wall and in a few short pulls was up beside her, Max on one side and Celina on the other. : : : No sooner did the words leave her mouth did the monument seem to react. All the people who had climbed it felt a tug on thier hands and feet holding them in place as if they were wearing magnetic boots on the hull of the ship. : : : : “Jack…Jack,” Celina said trying to pull her hands off but she stuck like glue to the monument. : : : : “Hold on!” Jack shouted as he looked around, he was assessing the situation trying to decide the next steps. : : : “Max what’s happening,” Jasmine said looking at her husband. “You are the chief engineer. Do something,” she demanded as she pulled her hands and feet but moved no where like the rest of the people stuck to the monument. Max gave the handholds he was on a hard tug, and tried to kick his feet out to drop back to the ground, but it was like they were glued on, and even felt like they were part of the wall. “Um, this is your program” he said to her, “Didn’t you read the manual?” Then he looked up and said firmly, “Computer, end program” to which there was… silence. Nothing happened and they were all still stuck.

: : Lt. Celina Rodriguez, CTO

:

: Jack instincts kicked in as he moved on, trying to follow Celina up, he wasn’t going to loose her again even if this was a holodeck.

:

: Creed, XO

: No sooner had Creed climbed the wall to try and pull the CTO free then the monument reacted. The people on the climbing hand and footholds would feel the start of a small vibration. As the second grew so did the sensation until the vibration began to feel like a steady shock of static electricity. They would have heard a small hum accompany the vibration which rose to a crescendo like the sound of an ocean wave crashing over oneself at the beach. Everything sounded like white noise. The view around them was changing also. A light appeared to shine from the monument that grew brighter and brighter. First a yellow and then culminating into the brightest white anyone had ever seen causing the crew to either squint and see black or be blinded by the white. All in all this process of sights, sounds, and vibrations was fast and occurred from start to finish in under five seconds. It was the five seconds after the event that would leave the group confused. : OCC. Okay because of Exodus, I am going to start the next section with a different tag. If it is okay with everyone I will post this clip on the new site so you can reply about how it felt here or on the new site. I am copying and saving this on Thursday so please post to it by then or wait until it comes up on Exodus : ~ Kate

Max found himself losing consciousness, and try as he might, he felt the world around him grow dark, the heat seemed to disappear from his body as he felt a chill run through his spine and he heard his own voice, seeming far away. “Jasmine, hold on, everything’s going to be fine baby, trust me…” Then everything went black and he knew no more.

Lt Cmdr Wynter
CE

USS Manhattan

Sheriye growled at the face of rock as the feel of being glued to the wall increased, then at the increase of sound and light she yowled in pain. Her feline hearing caused the sound to be much louder then what the rest of the team heard and the light caused her to shut her eyes tightly as she crouched close to the rock, hoping that she would be able to retain her perch. Her tail lashed back and forth in irritation, not liking this experience at all.

Sheriye Sci