TEST DRIVE #2 - The Holodeck/Ten Forward

[tenforward_m]

Where were you a minute ago? Well, you aren't there anymore. Instead, you're standing in a very large, dark room lined with yellow. There are doors at either end of it.

Here's where things get a little choose your own adventure-y. You could:



1: Approach a console filled with buttons, located a few feet away. Press one, and it'll let you out of the room. Travel down a long hallway and you'll be in Ten Forward, the Enterprises' entertainment lounge. Have a drink, mingle and try to figure out why you're here.

OR

2: Maybe you just muttered some vague request under your breath. Maybe you wished aloud you were somewhere else. Or for help? If you did, might be in a fire station. Muttered something about killing whoever dumped you here? Surprise - you're in a slasher movie!

Though they're confusing, these visions feel about as real as they can be. And guess what - other people can experience those fantasies with you, as if they too were really there. How ever will you escape? Or do you want to?

[OOC: Welcome to the Holodeck! If you choose this option, whatever your character chooses to say out loud will cause a virtual reality program to load and play. While your character feels as if what they're experiencing and seeing is quite real, they're purely living through the latest and best in what he Enterprise has to offer in entertainment. Make sure to detail what your character's fantasy is, so that those threading with them will know how to react.

Open til next month's test drive!]

Comments

[defendergirl]

Rose has been making observations, people-watching, and doing all the sorts of things she could imagine the Doctor doing in a time like this.

The last bit she feels she needs to do is - well, find out more about this place. Bartenders, in her experience, tend to be pretty reliable when it comes to information.

So that is why Rose has approached the bar.

"'llo, I don't suppose you've got any drinks from Earth, do you?"

[she_listens]

"We have many."

Guinan smiles, inviting her to take a stool.

"What's your preference?"

[defendergirl]

Rose smiles too.

"Well, I was mostly asking out of curiousity, but I wouldn't mind a half pint of cider, if you've got it."

[she_listens]

"The non-alcoholic variety, or the stronger kind? We have both."

And several variations therein.

Guinan quirks a small smirk.

"That's not usually the first question guests ask just out of curiosity."

It isn't a complaint at all, she simply finds it fascinating.

[defendergirl]

"Oh, go on with the stronger kind," Rose says, grinning.

She might as well.

"Yeah, I s'pose not. I was sort of workin' my way up to the rest of it."

[she_listens]

The bartender looks amused, but she merely inclines her head and fetches the requested drink. It may not be exactly what Rose had in mind, but it's tart, sweet, and strong, served in a tall, blue glass.

"Fair enough."

Guinan doesn't prod her. She figures Rose will ask her about whatever's on her mind in her own due time.

[defendergirl]

"You seem awfully calm for someone who's got a whole lot of new people to suddenly deal with," she observes aloud. "Unless this sort of thing happens often?"

Rose decides to try a sip of her drink as she waits for an answer, watching the woman.

"Mm - and this is delicious! Tastes a bit different from what I'm used to."

[she_listens]

"Would it help if I panicked?"

She smirks lightly, shaking her head.

"I wouldn't say this happens that often, but you're not the first person who's arrived in this way lately. We're all still figuring out the best way to get you all home.

"And thank you, I'm glad you like it."

[defendergirl]

"No, I s'pose it wouldn't," Rose says, laughing a little.

In the case of an emergency, the last thing anyone wants is to see the crew going completely mad, inducing panic amongst everyone else.

It's just - well, this woman is very good at being calm.

"Well, it's good on you to help us all find our way home. Thank you." She pauses to take another sip of her drink. "Are you usually the bartender here?"

[she_listens]

"I'm in charge, for now. There are others who serve here, but I'm the one with the office."

Her smile widens, laughter shining in her eyes.

"May I say that you seem awfully calm for someone who has just shown up in a strange place without any warning?"

[defendergirl]

Rose puts her drink down, catching some of the condensation that runs down the side of her glass.

She shrugs, smiling a lopsided smile.

"This might not be the first time I've dealt with something like this," she says. "Not exactly like it, of course, but appearin' in a place where I shouldn't be?

"I'll admit, I've never been on my own when it happens. But it'll be all right."

The Doctor will come soon; she's sure of it.

[she_listens]

A slight line forms between Guinan's brows. She clasps her hands together and leans forward, resting her chin on her interlocked knuckles.

"So you're on your own now?"

[defendergirl]

"Yeah."

Rose flicks a glance over her shoulder as though she expects the Doctor to appear and challenge that, but -



No Doctor.

Oh, well.

"I've been travelin' around with a man called the Doctor. I don't suppose you've ever heard of him, have you?"

[she_listens]

Amusement flashes through her eyes.

"I've heard of many Doctors, to be honest."

From many planets, with many different backgrounds.

This Doctor, however, means something to this girl. It's easy to tell, even without Guinan's keen senses. Something tells her that talking about him might make this girl feel more at ease.

"Tell me about this one."

[defendergirl]

"Well," Rose says, "he and I sort of travel around time and space."

And Guinan would be right in her assumption. Just talking about him makes her feel calmer, more hopeful. He'll find her. He always finds her.

"In a blue police box of all things." She smiles. "It's really sort of ... impossibly brilliant."

[she_listens]

"A blue police box?"

She arches her eyebrows. It's not the strangest mode of transportation she's ever heard of, but possibly the most unfamiliar. It takes a little imagination to approximate the image, and once she does she can't help but snicker.

"Okay. So this 'police box' can take you anywhere you want in both space and time?"

[defendergirl]

"Yeah, that's right."

Mad, isn't it?

But Rose couldn't be happier to get the chance to do it at all.

"It definitely beats what I was doing before I met the Doctor. I was a shop-girl working at Henrik's."

[she_listens]

Guinan makes a sympathetic sound, face pinched.

"Not usually the most satisfying employment."

[defendergirl]

"Definitely not," Rose agrees. "I thought ... well, I thought my life was goin' nowhere."

She'd been feeling stuck until the Doctor showed her freedom. Quite literally.

[she_listens]

"Stuck? A girl like you?"

Guinan clucks her tongue.

"I have a feeling that even without this traveling partner of yours, you're much too bright to be kept under a sewing basket."

She thinks she's used that phrase right, but it may be a little old-fashioned for Rose.

[defendergirl]

It's definitely a phrase Rose has never heard before, maybe something a grandmotherly type might say, but she gets the gist nevertheless.

She smiles, a little shy, and shrugs.

"Thank you," she says. "At the time, it seemed a bit hopeless. But maybe you're right."

Either way, she's grateful for the Doctor.

[she_listens]

"Well, you're here now."

Guinan pauses, smiles, and takes a long look around the room. For someone not used to a Galaxy-class starship, the Enterprise can be an adventure in its own right.

"So what are you going to do while you wait for your friend?"

[defendergirl]

Rose follows Guinan's gaze for a moment, thoughtful.

"Well, there's no point in sitting around, sulking or anythin'," she starts. "Getting to know some of the people here, including yourself, is a start."

After that ...?

"I dunno. If I could help get us all home in some way, I'll gladly volunteer myself."

[she_listens]

Noble.

Heroic, even.

Guinan knew she liked her for a reason.

"Sounds like a good start."

She puts her busywork aside, and folds her arms across the bar. She has staff who can see to patrons in her absence. For now, Rose has her undivided attention.

After all, if she's going to volunteer herself to be the way home for all the refugees aboard the Enterprise, then Guinan's going to keep her eye on her.

"So what would you like to know?"