Holodeck Fun
Posted on Thu Jul 30th, 2026 @ 5:26pm by Ensign Nala Rider & Ensign Connor Watts
Edited on on Fri Jul 31st, 2026 @ 7:16am
1,550 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
Episode 3 - The One Who Got Away
Location: Holodeck One - Deck 4 - USS Artemis
Timeline: MD002 1700 hrs
Nala was headed to the Holodeck, not sure what she actually wanted to do, but feeling ready for anything. As she was walking, she spotted a young man headed the same direction.
"Hello there. My name's Nala Rider. Have we met before?" Nala asked, trying to remember if she'd met the man before.
He was on his way to the holodeck, lost in thought, he hadn't realized there was someone in the the same corridor as he was. Startled Connor looked over to the woman who had greeted him.
"Er hello." Connor paused as his mind clicked in as to who was talking to him. "Nala Rider." he mused, his face lit up. "Oh yes well, not officially like this. I did see you on the bridge when Zandrell had brought his daughter on the bridge to show where he worked.
"I'm Connor Watts, communications, how do you do?" the man giving a warm smile.
"Nice to meet you, Connor! Oh yeah, I remember that...she was so sweet!" Nala grinned as she thought about the cute little girl on the Bridge.
"Were you headed to the Holodeck?" Nala asked, glancing around at where they were standing.
"I was headed to the Mess Hall to get something to eat, were you going into the Holodeck or the messhall?" Connor giving a warm chuckle. "And yes the little girl was very sweet, it's not often that happens. Well, not that I can remember."
"Same, about kids on the Bridge. Hey, why don't we split the difference and grab some food in the Holodeck?" Nala suggested.
Connor contemplated what Nala's idea. It tracked made things balanced, and then he nodded.
"Okay, sounds like a good plan. Lets do this. What sort of program are you running?" Connor taking a look towards the entrance to the holodeck.
"It's a bit silly this go round...I'm doing an Alice in Wonderland themed tea party." Nala grinned sheepishly, hoping Connor wouldn't think her silly.
"I've watched the Ancient Earth series: 'Ever After High' and I like the Madhatter's daughter Maddie." Nala explained.
"I've not seen that series but it sounds intriguing. I will have to look it up." Connor looking at Nala, "so we're going to have a mad hatter tea party, interesting." Connor replied with a smile.
"Alright, this is gonna be fun!" Nala chirped happily as she started to skip.
Connor found that Nala was, interesting, with her childlike delight in what or where they were going.
When the doors opened to the holodeck, Connor felt like he had stepped into a wonderland, and he fully expected to see a white rabbit come hopping up, carrying a watch.
"This is extraordinary." Connor commented.
"You ain't seen nothing yet! Hi Maddie!" Nala waved as a young woman seemed to pop out of the wall to their left. She was dressed in wild colors that complimented her multi-colored hair.
"Nala! It's been WAY to long since you visited my Tea Emporium! And who's this?" Maddie and Nala did a silly handshake, then Maddie turned to Connor.
"This is Connor, a newish friend." Nala introduced.
"Any friend, newish or otherwise, of Nala's is a friend of mine! Welcome to Wonderland Haberdashery & Tea Shoppe!" Maddie held out her hand to Connor.
Connor looked around taking in the tea shop. "Fantastic, a little bit of tea and a hat for me, maybe? What sort of hat should I wear for this party?" he asked, taking her hand to give it a shake.
"We've got LOTS of hats to choose from! Big hats, little hats, serious hats, silly hats, tall hats short hats, bird hats, bat hats!" Maddie shook not only Connor's hand, but his entire body before dancing back a bit and pulling all sorts of crazy from a chest by the door...WAY more than should have been able to fit in there mind you! Nala was laughing so hard, that if a purple chair with green stripes hadn't run over, she'd have fallen to the ground!
"Omph! Ah, Harold, thank you!" Nala wheezed between giggles.
Connor was rather taken by surprise with the vigorous hand shaking, and certainly he was feeling like he'd just walked through the looking glass itself.
"Harold?" as his feet drifted back to the ground.
Connor looked towards Maddie and then Nala. "This was definitely unexpected, but you did say we are in wonderland." giving quiet smile, then chuckled.
"Eyup! He's as much a part of the Tea Emporium as sugar biscuits with mooseberry jam!" Maddie chirped, yanking on a rope that suddenly appeared by her head, which in turn caused a table to jump up from the floor, covered in all sorts of tea/ tea-time related things.
"He's like a dog but without the shedding!" Nala laughed as she stroked the top of the chair...that was now panting. Maddie handed Nala a yellow hat with orange rabbits, pink clovers, and seven playing cards in a circle on the left side.
"Now, would you like the upside down green swan, or the purple lopsided sailing-ship, or something else entirely?" Maddie asked Connor, holding up the two hats.
"A purple lopsided sailing ship sounds perfectly lovely. I shall accept that, indeed. " Connor giving a light hearted chuckle.
This certainly was a rather fun experience so far and Connor truly loved this bit of whimsy.
"Okey dokey artichokeys! Let's get this party started!" Maddie handed off the hat, then spun away and started pouring tea from a lime and pink, three spouted teapot.
This was certainly rather creative, and Nala was certainly showing an interesting the side to herself.
Once the tea was poured, Connor took a sip, added a a touch of sugar and lemon to it then sipped again, and called it good.
"Lovely tea, thank you."
"Why thank you! Would you like some cakes, scones, baguettes, bagels, blueberries, strawberries, havelberries, gooseberries, cheese, cheesecake, syrup, OPSI!" Maddie almost knocked the tower of food she'd pulled out of nowhere over! After securing the cake tiered tower, Maddie's mouse appeared and offered Nala and Connor pink and gold candid flowers.
"Aw, thank you Mousetavon!" Nala grinned as she took the pink flower. Mousetavon then hopped over and offered the gold candied flower to Connor.
"Thank you." Connor responded carefully taking the offered flower. He had looked at the leaning tower of cake, wondering if he was going to be wearing it instead of eating it.
Mousetavon squeaked a reply, then scurried over to where Maddie had set up a tiny tea server and set while Nala, Jinga style, pulled a chocolate scone from the tower's right side and a strawberry cream bagel from the other. Now, logic would dictate that that action WOULD have any repercussions since those two items were NOT the same weight, shape, size, etc., but here at Everafter High, it didn't. Nala took a sip of tea as she nibbled her scone.
As for Connor, he watched as Nala deftly removed something from the tower of pasty. He felt he could do so.
After a few moments, he decided he'd carefully pull out what looked like a four berry tart. It looked delicious. He raised it in triumph getting ready to take a bite, when another one fell upon him, he looked upwards, as an avalanche seemed to descend towards him.
Plop in his face something with crème landed.
"Oh n--" the words weren't finished.
"Oh snap! TIMBER!" Nala cried as the tower began to fall all over the place, nailing her directly in the face by a key-lime pie. Maddie yelped as well as she began trying to either catch the falling pieces of tower, or just keep it from falling anymore.
More and more pastries fell and Connor soon felt that he was about to get smothered by the pastry avalanche. He moved towards the edge feeling the cakes and whatever was falling on him. He managed to find a place away from it. Sitting up covered from head to toe in frosting, marshmallow cream, cake and pie. Wiping the frosting from off his forehead, he looked around for Nala, hoping that she was able to get out of the avalanche.
"Yo Nala, are you okay?" Connor called out.
"Pppp! Yeah, I'm mostly-intact...if not a bit messy." Nala swallowed, then spit out a bit of paper wrapper from a cupcake that had caught her with her mouth open.
Conner was relieved.
"Well that was exciting, and I don't think I will be able to look at at stack of pastries in the same way as before. " Connor laughing.
He moved to get up to his feet, slipped and landed on his behind, then scrambled up to his feet. Looking down at himself. "I'm going to head to my quarters and get cleaned up. Thank you Nala, this was great fun." giving a huge smile.
A Joint Post By
Ensign Connor Watts
Communications Specialist, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Ensign Nala Rider
Facial Reconstruction Specialist, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
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