Feed Your Head

Posted on Tue Jul 28, 2015 @ 3:00am by Lieutenant JG Leonora Dell

677 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: Eye of the Beholder
Location: Public Holodeck 14, Deck 161
Timeline: MD03 1800

::ON::

"The users all swear its malfunctioning, but I can't find anything," Lash explained to Lieutenant Leonora Dell.

Leonora, who still had a laundry list of things for Operations to deal with, (and that wasn't even counting all the shit that She had palmed off to engineering (God bless Commander Wyman) or dealing with the computer core repairs that were still, six weeks later (Six!) not completed (Curse Wallace and Darson and all their works)), rubbed the bridge of her nose. If Lash couldn't find anything wrong, then there wasn't anything wrong.

Except there there three different reports of malfunctioning holosuites in the last five minutes. Bits of programming slipping in, or warping or disappearing. A line of pink elephants had high-kicked their way through someones engineering training sim; another group were trying to rehearse their am-dram musical, except it was putting bald overlays on everyone's costumes. Someone facing off against the hordes of Shaka Zulu was suddenly facing off against thousands of Zulu warriors who now looked like his Mother in Law.

Dell looked over Lash's shoulder at the tricorder that was scrolling out code, and at the primary projection array under the panel they had open. Neither were showing signs of errors. "I don't have time for this shit. Lock them off, add them to the to do list, and then go down to QMS, There's a replicator on the fritz, and Gashoh says he thinks its the wave/particle conversion. You may see something he doesn't."

Lash didn't move. "Now, Lash! We've all got work to do and no-one wants to be doing double shifts again."

"But look," the half-vulcan pointed his finger at the wiring inside the conduit. "Its moving!"

Lenora followed his finger. The conduit seemed perfectly normal. Everything neatly bundled. All the boards seated properly. "No its not."

"It is. Look. Look!" he grabbed her arm. "Its breathing!" he whispered, theatrically loud. "Its alive. The holodeck is alive!"

Lenora rolled her eyes. "For the love of pete, Lash. Its a machine. its not a-oh!"

The conduits chose that moment to burst open, and butterflies sprayed into her face. On instinct she covered her head with her arms, and fell back. When she took her hands from her face, the holodeck was covered in butterflies. They sat on every surface, wall, roof, floor, iridescent wings glittering in the fluorescence of the lights, and more still were streaming out of the panel, flying towards the open holodeck doors and out into the station

Lash was grinning from ear to pointy ear, as they little beasties settled on him, covering his hands and arms, even hanging from his floppy fringe. "Isn't this the most awesome thing you've ever seen."

"Its amazing" she agreed. Everytime the creatures moved, the lights changed and bounced and shimmered. She held out a hand and several, beautiful in blues and purple, settled on her outstretched fingers. "Look at them. They've got mandelbrots for wings."

"Look at them fly." Lash slid down to lean against the wall next to her. They were making formations now, "One, Two, thats a three, isn't it?"

Leonora put her head on side, its was stylized, but it was a three, then a five and an eight. "Lash?" She whispered as the butterflies formed thirteen. "Why are the butterflies spelling out the Fibonacci sequence?"

"Becuase they're feeling phi-ne?" Lash dissolved into giggles. The butterflies dissolved into twenty-one "Maybe they don't want to miss a Golden opportunity?"

"I'm banning you from making lame jokes on duty." The butterflies flittered into the shape of a thirty four.

"Don't worry. I won't let it 'spiral' out of control." Lash collapsed completely, holding his sides and curling into a ball, shaking with laughter.

Leonora sighed, content to watch the stately procession of wings moving back and forth as the sequence marched on. All thoughts of everything else that needed doing before she could clock off for the nighthad flown away on tiny wings shaped like mandelbrots.

::OFF::

Lt (JG) Leonora Dell
Acting Head of Operations

Crewman Lash
Holotech specialist

 

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