Posted by Commander Jason Harn (Executive Officer) in Holodeck - Down Time

Posted by Lieutenant Bennie Royce (Chief Medical Officer) in Holodeck - Down Time
Bennie had the entire day off and had booked a couple of hours on the holodeck to do one of her favorite things—shop!!! She had a program she’d been fine tuning for years, of a large department store. It had everything in it she had an ongoing interest in, and even though she was aware she couldn’t actually take things out of the holodeck and into the ship proper, it always gave her ideas that could be replicated by the industrial machine governed by the quarter master.

Today, she had two categories in mind. She’d weeded out her wardrobe before reporting to the Olinski, and hadn’t replaced any of the pieces yet, so she was going to spend her allotted time looking at evening wear and jewelry.

When the doors parted to reveal the yellow and black grid, Bennie smiled and and spoke aloud. =/\=Computer, run program Royce 125QVC (LOL).=/\= Immediately, the bare room was filled with thousands of items neatly displayed in pertinent groupings. She felt a small thrill of excitement as she looked out over the falsely, large store. Dressed in a short, knit skirt and matching striped shirts, she stepped into the smorgasbord of items and gave one further order. =/\=Do not lock the doors. Someone else might want to waste a couple of hours here.=/\=

—Royce, CMO

When Jason arrived at the holodeck, he noticed someone was running a program without the privacy protocol activated. That meant it was okay to enter. Bennie Royce was running the program and that was fine with Jason for he had come down here looking for her in the first place. The last time he had tried to show her a little bit of his world; now he would be seeing some of hers.

As the doors opened he straightened the short black jacket he wore over his matching shirt. Civilian fashion had been a mystery to him ever since he found himself in this century, but serving in Starfleet had allowed him to avoid that issue for almost fifteen years. He glanced down at his black pants and boots and snorted. All he needed was a pair of sunglasses and he would look like the main heavy from a movie. He had come this close to wearing his dress whites that he had instinctively chosen clothes in the opposite color, but now he looked like an undertaker’s hired henchman. He took his eyes off his foot ware and took in his surroundings. He was in… a store, belay that, an entire shopping mall! Jason didn’t know why he was so surprised. Back in his time it was a cliché that women loved to shop but he hadn’t expected the old stereotype to persist into the present age. Could it be that with the invention of the holodeck women had found a way to shop without bringing home more junk they didn’t need? Truly, this was an enlightened era.

The doctor was holding a gold, beaded, gown up next to her body and imagining how it would fit.

It was then that Jason noticed Bennie. With years of experience, he was able to pull his eyes up from her short skirt to her lovely features with practiced casualness. “Hi, Bennie. Doing a little window shopping?”

Jason Harn, XO

She looked up with big, blue eyes and saw Harn. “Oh, hi!” The dress went back on the rack. “Yes, window shopping. I came to the Olinski with very little wardrobe, so I thought I’d come in here and get some ideas for replication.” Her right hand trailed along the dresses as she moved a step closer to him. “What brings you to my endless store?”

—Royce, CMO