Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Janna Kingston (Counsellor) in Holosuite HIke

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Serena Stone (Executive Officer) in Holosuite HIke

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Janna Kingston (Counsellor) in Holosuite HIke

(snip)

The redhead nodded, and began leading her down the street. In a few minutes they were nearing the edge of town. They were passing what looked like a single story home, laid out along the street with a good sized front yard, . Hedges lined the front of the house, along with a mixture of colorful flowers growing knee to waist high. The lower half of the house was made from stacked brick and mortar, with the other half made out of wood, painted and sealed. A sloped shingled roof that ran into gutters made up the top. Behind the exterior weather door, the front entry door appeared to be a richly stained wood with large decorative glass inlays, with some of it frosted and others meant to see around or through. Easier to see who was visiting before allowing entry.

Janna took in the home, understanding immediately that it was Serena’s home. She had to admit that she was surprised to be taken to her friend’s home but she was also honoured to be shown the place.

Serena stepped up onto the small formed concrete porch. She opened the exterior weather door then thumbed the latch for the main entry door and stepped inside. “Come on in.” Making her way in, Serena doffed her jacket onto a three-seat couch to her left. The doorway entered into a corner-fed room seven to eight meters square with soft carpeting, high ceiling, warm recessed lighting. An old steel or iron desk was to the immediate left of the door. A couch along the left wall. To the right of the door was a reclining chair with a large table filled with odds and ends, knick-nacks and some tinkering and making tools. A small workstation stood in front of the chair. Farther to the right was a chest of drawers, along with some equipment on top. Along the right wall was more storage and another comfortable looking seat. The back walll had a small library of physical books, along with a large display, suggesting it’s entertainment purposes.

The back wall gave way to a small utility room and laundry, with a door into another room. Likely a small bathroom. There was another door in the right back corner of this common room, and a wide open doorway along the right wall front corner into a kitchen area, with another room beyond that down the way. Along the left back corner, a small wall partition stuck out where the library disappeared around the corner, which was the direction Serena headed.

The interior was cool but comfortable, and the air smelled of recently cooked food, a light and pleasant soap, and the faint dust accompanying a house that didn’t have an endlessly scrubbed and filtered air supply.

Going around the corner, Serena and Janna were in what amounted to be a two meter long two meter wide hallway. A two meter by two meter walk-in closet lay to the right. One side was lined with shelves, and the back wall was lined with coats, and other gear. The short … hall… essentially terminated in a dark stained wooden door that was a little over a meter wide. Pulling this open revealed another room three or four meters by about the same, and sunk down by about a meter, down some steps. The floor was carpeted, and quiet. To the far side were two small closets, and the right middle of the wall was a door. At the end of the stairs was another door to the left which Serena made her way to.

She absorbed all the details of the home and what they told her about the occupants, about what was important to them, and what they had access to. Janna couldn’t help but smile as the smells of food and washing up felt similar to her own childhood home.

Opening it up was the inside of a large single-vehicle garage. In it was a small shuttle-type craft. The doorway fed into the left corner of the garage. Shelves lined the left and right walls, the main door made up the far wall, and the front of the house in that section. The close wall was empty. On the left just past the door too was a cold storage container.

Without hesitation, Serena triggered the garaged door from a small control panel on the wall and made her way around the craft. “Get in.” She clambered in through a side door and into the pilot’s seat.

“Alright,” Janna said, hopping in without hesitation.

Once Janna was in, she reversed the craft out of the garage, triggered the door to shut from her station, and brought their ride straight up, rising above the trees. She took them down the street and in a moment they were past the outskirts of the colony, heading down the valley at a somewhat leisurely pace.

Lt. Cmdr. Stone, Executive Officer

“When was the last time you did this? If you feel okay sharing,” Janna said.

~Janna Kingston, CNS

“Did what? Flying a simulated … basically civilian shuttle? Or …” she trailed off, looking down as though she could see through the decking for a moment. Under her touch the shuttle slewed slowly between trees. Sure she could take them higher, but where was the fun in that. In truth, they weren’t even moving, suspended by force fields with computer generated imagery all around them, but she did her best to put it out of her mind, trying to fall into the fantasy of being somewhere else. Part of her ached for home just then. She’d give anything for it to be real. Just for five or ten minutes.

“No, visited home, I mean,” Janna said.

Once they’d covered a few kilometers, she brought them around in a J-hook style turn and settled down into a clearing just big enough for maybe three vehicles like the one they were in to fit in a tight squeeze. Below the canopy the space opened up a few more meters in every direction but not much. Clambering out, she stretched, arms over her head.

Here the air was cooler with the shade. A soft breeze filtered through the trees, whispering and murmuring through the boughs. Conifers and deciduous style trees mingled and mixed. The air was thick with the scent of loamy earth, grasses and plant-life, pine trees and needles. It was slightly more humid as well, and as they listened, the babbling of water reached their ears.

Janna stepped out and soaked in the setting. It was different than her home, but not so unlike some of the places she’d been. There was a wildness that spoke to her in a very primitive way, even here on the holodeck. It was a feeling she kept very much under wraps at all times. Though… perhaps a little less so lately.

Crossing through the clearing was a foot path a meter or so wide, while not paved, it was well worn. Studying it’s length it descended the valley back the way they had come from, while continuing along the valley in the other direction with at least one visible side trail branching off into the underbrush.

“So this is where I had in mind to go. At least the start of it. It looks like it’s had a lot more use since I’ve been gone.”

Lt. Cmdr. Stone, Executive Officer

She gave a wide grin. “I love it.” Kingston cocked her head in Serena’s direction. “How does this program work, exactly? Is it updated to reflect actual changes or something?”

~Janna Kingston, CNS

Bump

Serena chewed her bottom lip for a moment. “That’s a good question. We’re doing well, the colony that is. It’s not like we’re forging parts and tools by hand or wrangling cattle to clothe and feed ourselves.” Gesturing toward the path and then back at the settlement she smiled. “We keep good survey records and blueprints. We also get good scans now and again. My mom actually keeps up with some of that, so occasionally I get updates. It’s nice to still be in the loop in some ways.”

“It’s the closest I can be to home, I suppose, without actually going home. I haven’t been there since I left for the Academy.”

Lt. Cmdr. Stone, Executive Officer

As they meandered down the foot path, Janna absorbed Serena’s words. “Would you go back for a visit today, if all the variables allowed for it?” She was long overdue for her own visit, which is why one of her mothers had made the extra detour on a work trip to come see her. Which she had appreciated, but had only raised more questions for her parents than answered.

~Janna Kingston, CNS

At Janna’s question, her expression fell, almost becoming a mask. The cop face. Each step seemed to carry her further inside herself, seeing less and less of the trail as her gaze turned inward. “It’s complicated.” The words came out in a mumble. Her chest tightened at the thought of going home and her throat wanted to close up.

Her fingers flexed and tightened into fists at her sides, the cool air no longer filling her lungs as easily. “Part of me wants to,” she said after a long pause, voice low, almost fragile. “But I… I’m not sure I could handle it. Not yet. It’s like, if I go back… everything I’ve been holding together might just break loose.”

Her gaze remained distant, unfocused. “I miss them. I miss home. But I don’t want them to see me like this… wound so tight, barely hanging on. I’m not sure if they’d understand. Or if I would.”

Lt. Cmdr. Stone, Executive Officer