For the last few days the image had haunted him - his friend, Casela, lying injured and scared in a hospital bed. He had gained from it a focus and a clarity that was rare in these alcohol-washed days. It had forced him to admit how much her friendship and her advice meant to him. It had also forced him to realise how destructive her current lifestyle was and the damage it was wreaking not only on herself but also on those around her.

They needed time out, far away from the Leviathan and the ARU and anomalies and the bloody RTF! And if physical distance was impossible then mental distance would have to do in its stead.

And so, upon returning to her quarters after a long and arduous shift, Synthi-er would find a message on her terminal, requesting her presence on the holodeck with her captain.

If she chose to accept, then beyond those innocent, nondescript doors, Casela would find a moonlit forest, silent except for the chirping of crickets and the snap-crackle of a campfire. Through the trees she could glimpse the welcoming, orange glow and beside it, a lone figure. Toasting marshmallows.

• Captain Zachariah Cobb