The Night Circus

Posted on 01 May 2014 @ 6:46am by Lieutenant Asahi Kita & Commander Norvi Stace
Edited on on 17 May 2014 @ 1:24pm

926 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Episode 06 - Legend of Souls
Location: USS Galileo || Deck 5 :: Holodeck 2
Timeline: MD -3 :: 0100 Hrs

ON

Twenty four hour cycles felt vastly different in space than they did on Earth. If Asahi didn't work alongside other engineers, he would have forgotten that others ran on a different schedule than he did. He may have also very nearly forgotten that he promised a certain Trill that he would meet her at the holodeck. It took two alarms and a gentle reminder from one of the more motherly yellow-shirted crewmembers that he had an appointment with someone other than his extremely independent puppy.

How Asahi managed to fit a shower and a change of clothes that wasn't a uniform, and make it to the holodeck fifteen minutes early was as much a mystery to him as it was to anyone else, but he wasn't going to complain. It gave him just enough time to modify a holodeck program to suit his needs. There were plenty of circus programs, but none were up to par with the image in his head. Simple clowns and elephants were not going to do a full learning experience of the circus justice.

"Hojo, keep a look out." It was late, so Asahi didn't expect too many others to pop up, especially at this time of night. Those who were about were on the Gamma shift, or they were up at odd hours of the night.

He gave the black and white collie pup at his side a pat on the head, before returning to his modifications. "Hopefully she'll be about soon. I should have asked if she likes dogs."

Stace almost ran to the holodeck. She hated to be late and wasn't quite sure whether she was or not but ended up in front of the doors and out of breath. "Asahi. Sorry! Am I late? I think I dozed off." The dog now catching her attention, she smiled. "Aw, who's this?"

Hojo was the first to respond, bolting upright and dashing around the Trill a few times, all while barking loudly, as if attempting to herd her somewhere. Startled, Asahi whirled around to quell his pup. "Hojo! Down boy!" He paused, finally looking up toward the woman, smiling sheepishly as realization washed over him. "I ahm... No, not at all. I was just finishing up the modifications to the program." There was a sudden touch of concern in his voice. "Was it a long night? I don't want to keep you up if something came up."

"No, nothing at all," Stace replied a little out of breath. "It's just a busy time with the mission and everything but I welcome a big distraction so don't worry about me." She bent down fully to pet the dog. "Is he yours?"

Asahi ndoded, brushing his worry to one side. "Hopefully this'll be a big enough distraction... Ah, yeah, he is." The pup in question obediently sat down for sniffs and cuddles, much to the engineer's relief. "His name's Hojo. I picked him up a few days before we took off."

Stace bent down to pet him again. "He's adorable." And then looking back to Ashai added, "So... a circus?" smiling and now looking at the wide, beckoning doors. "Is it ready?"

"Hm? Oh yeah, just finishing up the last bits." Asahi turned toward the console, typing a quick command in, before closing the console and gesturing her inside with a sweeping bow. "After you, fair lady~"

"Why, thank you, kind sir."

The moment they stepped through the door of the holodeck, Asahi just behind Norvi, the program immediately flashed to life. A traditional calliope cadence sounded off as a burst of sparkling, multi-colored confetti erupted from above. The brightly-decorated layout was filled with sights and sounds, much like the fairgrounds just outside the bigtop. A pair of jugglers greeted them with a smile before disappearing into the computer-generated crowd of visitors, throwing about rainbow-colored sticks toward each other. Shouts of all kinds could be heard, each of them trying to grab attention for their various carnival-type games, with an elephant trumpeting in the background.

Asahi seemed beside himself with pride at his programming skills. "So, where to first? We have elephant rides and carnival games of all sorts, cotton candy, and great pre-show entertainments... ooor we could go straight under the big top, where all the big show stuff happens~"

Norvi's eyes widened like that of a four year old child. The sense of wonder germinating inside of her belly was unlike anything she had experienced before in any of her lifetimes. A beaming, unadulterated smile broke across her features like a wave as her eyes lit up with a fire of youth. She grabbed Asahi's hand and spoke above the wonderous din that fell about her ears. "Let's ease me in gently. I don't want to overdose on the fun! Where first?"

Stepping out from behind her, Asahi caught a glimpse of the Trill's child-like smile. He couldn't help but grin just as wide himself, now doubly pleased that he managed to win someone over to the circus with a simple glimpse. "A proper circus takes care of its guests. There's no way you could overdose on fun and not still completely enjoy yourself!" Despite his prideful words, he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, and started to lead her further into the crowd. "Elephant rides are good start, though. You can almost see everything from the back of an elephant."

OFF:

Lieutenant Asahi Kita
(Acting) Chief Engineering Officer
USS Galileo

AND

Lieutenant Norvi Stace
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

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