Chapter Thirteen: It's All Fun and Games

 Admiral Jellico's face was a firm expression of disapproval.

"Captain," the older officer spoke, his voice, somehow, holding an audible quality of his superior rank, "the Federation's have been tenuous since their first contact with us decades ago. Do I need to remind you of their level of esteem within the regions formerly held by the Dominion?"

"No, Admiral, I..." 

Jellico cut him off, "Games, for some reason, play a major role in their culture, Captain, and having them aligned with the Federation would be exceeding helpful in our continued exploration of the Gamma Quadrant, "His tone softened slightly," This malfunction you experienced is a bit troubling, but, you say your engineering staff has cleared the holo systems of any actual errors? "

D'arko's antennae bent forward.

"Yes, Admiral. Chief Crad tells me the system is functioning as designed. No errors, flaws or breaks."

"Good. That being the case, assign your Security Chief... Starr? Yes, assign him to escort the Wadi at all times in there, but give the Wadi access to one of the holodecks. That's an order."

In the back of his mind, Da'mi'en wondered how many ways Lieutenant Starr would cripple the admiral for calling her "him."

"Yes, Admiral. I'll make her aware," D'arko subtly corrected him and cut off the subspace channel. He took a deep breath and contacted Syn to explain the situation.

 

 

The Wadi delegation looked in awe at the simulated train they stood on. It was clear to Syndella that, while the holo technology wasn't new to them, the ancient mode of conveyance being simulated was a novelty. 

The holonovel was a simple, well worn one within the Federation. An old Agatha Christie murder mystery. Ingenious, of course, if one wasn't familiar with the story, and, so, she thought, would make for an amusing game for the Wadi.The delegation's leader, a larger male called Falow, seemed particularly eager to investigate the murder scenario, as he questioned quite literally everyone within the holodeck, from the characters to his own people to Lieutenant Starr, even accusing a few fellow Wadi.

This went on for hours and the initial humor Falow's lack of situational understanding wore off, causing Starr to expend far more energy than she liked masking her desire to wring the Wadi leader's neck until his face matched the purple of the markings on his forehead. 

Now in the club car, Falow sat, thoughtfully stroking his large moustache with a strange little stick... a "klon peag" he called it.

"Yes. Yes," he said, softly, "I believe I have won, now I know who the murderer is," a sly smile played his lips.

At this moment, the door at the end of the car slid open and, from the corner of her eye, Starr saw a black-clothed figure lean into the car. A soft puffing sound came and a sharp, inhaled gasp escaped the Wadi's throat as he slumped forward. Lieutenant Starr was briefly stunned to see a small dart protruding from the back of his neck. Quickly checking his pulse, she found it was slowing.

Springing into motion, she tapped her commbadge as she started after the now fleeing man in black.

"Security to Sickbay: Medical emergency holodeck three!" she called to the air as she sprinted down the cars along the train.

She was gaining on the stranger, but he kept maddeningly ahead of her. She had no idea if he was a simulation or some kind of intruder, so she hedged her bets.

Drawing her phaser, she shouted "Computer, end program!"

At this, the train flickered out of existence leaving only the glowing emitter grid, like before with the captain.

This time, however, there was someone who had not been a part of her initial entourage.

He was a tall man with sandy hair and a high forehead. His clothes were somewhat anachronistic, Victorian of upper class, potentially of academic nature. On the top of his head was a clean, black top hat and from his shoulders hung a long black topcoat.

The man looked at Lieutenant Starr and smiled playfully, tipping his hat by the brim, and then he, too, flickered out of existence.