Joint Duty Log | Capt Ivanova, LtCmdr Waterhouse, Lt Atarah, holo-cast - "Merry Melody"

Posted on Fri Sep 5th, 2014 @ 9:09am by Admiral Rochelle Ivanova & Commander Amelia Waterhouse & Danielle Atarah

4,868 words; about a 24 minute read

Mission: Are You Touched?

The rattlesnake jalapeno poppers might draw Rochelle in, but Dani's use of toon excess might scare her away again, Amelia mused to herself as she waited for their duty shifts to draw to a close. When Amelia got up and Rochelle didn't seem in a hurry to leave, Amelia frowned. She didn't particularly want to bring the subject up on the bridge, but it'd already been a couple days since she'd explored the program. She'd even gone back again to wander the Grand Canyon, and sit in the bar again after.

"Rochelle?" Amelia said softly, approaching the little Phoenix.

The ship was a magnificent creature — burning bright as she traveled through the space in search of greater glory. Or, in this case, in search of a quiet spot on the beach and some sun. It consumed Rochelle, the sound of her engines, the sight of stars being thrown past them at such great velocity. She'd been bred for this, raised for it and now it was finally hers. The cost, however, had been great and in retrospect it was clear she wouldn't have chosen this path if she'd been given the choice.

She'd have chosen him.

The sound of Amelia's voice broke through the void, shattering her thought with the simple sound of her name. "Yes?" She asked, looking up and visibly softening upon recognition of the voice's owner.

Rochelle looked like she'd come back from somewhere light years away, and Amelia smiled at her. "I have something I need to show you, when you're done here," Amelia explained. "Something personal," she added quietly.

A single sanguine brow arched high as she heard what her taller counterpart had to say. Something personal. "I'm done now." Rochelle nodded, moving to slide from her seat. "Helm, you have the conn." The officer nodded to his Captain in understanding, working to pull up other functions onto his console as she took her leave.

Amelia waited for the two red-heads to enter the turbolift — alone — and the doors to slide shut behind them before she spoke again. "Dani left us a holodeck program. She hid it in her comics so I'd find it, not anticipating she'd run into me on the way out. I would have brought it to your attention sooner, but our schedules have been a little at odds."

Leaning against the back wall of the lift, Rochelle nearly choked at what her first officer had to say. Dani. The little rebel. "What kind of holodeck program?" She asked warily, her lips pursing as she considered the options. Knowing Dani it would be something wild and out of place, something would drive the more sensible little Captain completely and utterly batty but Amelia would wind up loving.

"It's a bit layered," Amelia allowed, chewing her a lip. She could tell Rochelle was already skeptical, but she wanted Rochelle to at least see whatever the message Dani had left for her. "She started out with the Grand Canyon, actually a really good holoscan of it from what I could tell. Then she plunked a Toon themed bar into a tourist trap hotel on the rim... but within, that's the jewel of the program." Amelia grinned wide. "And Rattlesnake jalapeño poppers."

"Rattlesnake jalapeño poppers?" Rochelle asked, incredulous, her head shaking as she considered everything with a heavy sigh. Leave it to Dani to create something bridging all layers of extreme insanity and then expect her to climb through each twist and spire to find the hidden meaning. Damn Dani. Another glance at Amelia's face, however, told her there was something deeper than what was being let on — something that may either enlighten or infuriate her, she wasn't quite sure... Yet, and there was only one way to find out, "Deck seven." She called and the computer beeped in compliance.

"They're really good," Amelia insisted about the poppers. She would have preferred to change out of her uniform first, but it didn't seem like a good idea to sidetrack now that she had Rochelle on the scent, so to speak. They probably wouldn't spend much time there this time anyways.

"Uh huh." Ever skeptical, the smaller of the two redheads folded her arms across her chest and waited for the lift to hurry itself up and deposit them at the mouth of what she was certain was a chasm of insanity. It simply had to be.

Amelia let the rest of their trip go in silence. There was no point in trying to explain it yet anyways. All they needed was for someone to get deposited into their turbolift in the middle of the conversation and have it get out to the rumor mill. Amelia couldn't help shaking her head at the thought of Cecil getting his filthy little ears on the topic.

She loaded Dani's program and waved Rochelle inside to the gorgeous view of the Grand Canyon. At least Dani had been smart enough to realize not everyone would appreciate the whimsy of the Toon-bar, and opened with the gorgeous view. When the arch disappeared behind them, Amelia turned. "This way," she said as she lead towards the kitschy tourist trap hotel.

"Why hello there, Watercarrot," the man at the entrance of the hotel greeted Amelia, "Good to see you again. Are you back for another round of our excitingly amazing rattlesnake jalapeño poppers? Oh, you brought a friend. Greetings, and welcome." He grinned, then started pointing, "Hotel registration is right there, if you'd like to call a guest, there's a police box at the end over there, and the bar is right there," he pointed with both arms, and then a third arm popped up to join in pointing towards the third direction.

Amelia peered at the holocharacter suspiciously. He hadn't been that silly the first time. "We need the bar," Amelia explained to Rochelle, leading the way. She had an eye on the door as she approached, remembering the manifestation of the walked into a bar joke she'd awkwardly limboed under before.

The man, still smiling, suddenly paused — and so did the background music. "Oh," he blinked at Rochelle, as if realizing. "Oh! We have a V.I.P." He noted, his eyes expanding. "Captain Ivanova," his arms returned to their natural bipedal state, and he saluted crisply, and bowed. "Captain on the bridge!" he called, and the floor rippled.

The ripple expanded, changing the scenery it touched slightly. It redressed the greeter with crisp white uniforms and a towel that appeared over the arm he didn't use to salute with.

The check in counter rippled, and then passed over the clerk behind it, redressing her with a suit and tie. The floor under Rochelle's feet darkened as a red carpet appeared under her feet, extending to the three directions of the hotel's luxurious options. The door to the bar expanded, then seemed to open like a yawn, two big poles dropping to the floor like a door to a cage, freezing it in its place.

The greeter extended his other arm with exaggerated politeness, allowing Rochelle to pass. "The bar is that way, Ma'am. We have a special guest to take your order. Specials Menu is at the door." he bowed.

Rochelle's eyes narrowed in scrutiny, the entire situation leaving her ill at ease and less than inclined to continue until she looked up at Amelia once again. She'd been about to say something about the entire thing being a joke and a waste of time when something written across the taller woman's face told her that this was, indeed, important. An intricate piece of the puzzle, something brutally necessary for her to endure. She danced lightly as the carpet changed colors, rolling beneath her feet and threatening to trip her, but still she held firm until they ushered her towards the bar. "Thank you." Is all she responded, ever practical and pragmatic as she stepped past Amelia and the greeter to finally slip through the open door and into the bar.

"Why the bar?" She asked Amelia, not bothering to look back or up. There were too many surprises in the cartoon-like environment for her to feel comfortable not giving it her undivided attention. Any minute an anvil could drop or a genius coyote could come out of nowhere to try and turn her into some sort of weapon against the road runner. None of it made sense.

Amelia shrugged, even though Rochelle was in front of her it was an instinctual response. "You fall down Dani's rabbit hole, you go where she says. You gotta see a rabbit about an engineer, and I have to check my messages," the tall woman quipped. She really wasn't expecting anything back from Dani so soon, who knew how often she'd be able to check her messages through this thing with the situation she was traveling through.

"Fair enough." Rochelle replied tiredly as she sidled up to the bar and placed herself on a stool. Even in toon town, the regal little woman was so badly out of place in such an environment.

The place was relatively empty; several tables were occupied with random characters from all over the multiple universe of TV cartoons, but for the most part, when Amelia and Rochelle entered, the closer tables were empty -- and so was the bar itself. Bugs Bunny poked his head out, narrowed his eyes at Amelia, smiled brightly at Rochelle, and swooshed off without a word.

And them, with a slow rumbling hum, a portal appeared just behind the beer taps, floating above. The rumbling intensified into a hum, and then the portal opened, allowing Ironman to land gracefully on his feet. He walked two steps to stand in front of Rochelle and put a hand just below the glowing light on his chest.

"Captain Ivanova, Commander Watercarrot," he bowed his head to the two, "welcome to our humble bar. I will be your server today. We have a special menu for you," he plucked a thin piece of paper from under the table and handed it to Rochelle.

Bugs Bunny.

She should have known better than to assume anything less would come from Dani's mind. She was about to say something sharp witted about such things when all of a sudden everything changed again. There was rumble and a roar, something that sounded like a jet engine -- something foreign and belonging in the past. She froze on the spot, bracing against the bar with intent to run and end the program when Ironman himself landed and clunked his way to her.

She gingerly took the paper from his red and gold hued fingers.

The piece of paper wasn't very big. On its top, the word "ACME BAR & GRILL" were written in cartoonish bold western type letters, like the old signs of a wanted poster. Underneath the words, a list of beverages appeared, and then a box, marked "SUPER SPECIAL SPECIALTIES" and under that, a list:

* Lentil soup.
* Lentil soup with carrot.
* Lentil soup without carrot.
* Lentil soup with rattlesnake jalapeno poppers
* Lentil soup with a cracker
* Lentil soup with duck wabbit! duck! WABBIT! DUCK
* Make your own Lentil soup: Ask your server, it's lentil soup season!

"As you can see, we have a special selection just for you." Ironman nodded and then waited, patiently, cleaning his suit with the bar towel.

Amelia had looked around silently as this all played out. She was especially confused about why Bugs would be giving her the stink eye. When Ironman had finished handing the menu to Rochelle, Amelia cleared her throat. "Do I need to collect the rabbit by his ears, or might you be able to tell me if I have any messages waiting?" she asked with a polite smile, shooting a look towards where the wise cracking toon had disappeared.

"Just for me?" Rochelle asked, eyeballing the slim choices. Lentil soup. It was little secret that Rochelle had an affinity for the warm spicy bowl of wonderful that was lentil soup. Her head shook as she mentally took her hat off to Dani while Amelia threatened to grab Bugs Bunny by his ears. "And what if I choose to make my own?" She asked, turning the coolness of her eyes onto Ironman's metallic face plate.

Ironman looked at Rochelle. "You can order whatever you like, in whatever order you choose, though I personally highly recommend you take the Lentil soup with crackers. We serve it in the Billiards room," he gestured, and then looked at Amelia. "Mr. Bunny might have something for you. He was in a rush to get supplies delivered, he will probably get back for you. You should wait for him here," he gestured at a stool.

The Captain nodded, eyeing the super hero quizzically before following his gesture and nodding. "Then I'll do the soup with crackers and I'll take it in the billiards room." She replied in kind, offering him the slip of paper back as she did so. Her attention, however, was split to Amelia who was told to stay put. They'd be separated. It was only a program, but it was a program designed by one of the strangest minds she'd ever encountered. Drawing a breath, she offered Amelia a small smile before dropping from the bar stool to the floor and making her way to the billiards hall.

* * *

The hall wasn't very big, with several game tables and sofas attached to the wall. It was, however, completely empty, and Ironman, floating ahead to lead the way, produced a small covered tray and put it in the middle of the first table.

"Enjoy," he bowed, floated higher, then whooshed out of the room, closing the door behind him.

With a sigh, Rochelle heard the doors close behind her and all at once she was left in solitude with a table and a covered tray. Her fingers clossed over the polished silver handle, lifting it to reveal her chosen meal piping hot and fresh. It looked divine. A spoonful later proved that divine was the perfect adjective to be used in such a case. No matter how she tried, however, relaxing simply wouldn't happen. This was Dani's world, strange things were bound to occur with every twist and turn of the clock dial.

The program waited only a little for the woman to eat, Dani, seemingly, ordering it to wait for the woman to be more at ease. A chime sounded, and then, as if by magic, the plate cover melted on top of the table, flattening into a round metallic mirror. But the face that stared back through the tainted mirror was not Rochelle's -- it was Dani's.

"Hi," the image smiled and waved, awkwardly, as if feeling embarassed to be there. "If this is playing, it means you're here, Commande-- err.. I mean.. I mean Captain, now. Captain Ivanova, heh," the woman shrugged apologetically. "I wanted to explain some things, and this was the best most secure way to make sure that whatever your feelings about what I did -- no one will ever know you even knew anything about it, or ever heard from me again. That's also why I chose this," she gestured around her, "program. There's a very limited amount of people who'd be interested in going in here -- and even fewer who'd be able to figure out which of the craziness in here is the program and which might be secret messages some AWOL ex-Lieutenant chose to deliver to her friends." She smiled, and the image shimmered.

"Anyways," the image shrugged again and exposed a crooked smile, "if you're still interested in hearing me out, then please touch the plate and say your name. Otherwise, you can finish your food at your leisure and just leave. No one will ever know about this piece of the program, no matter what you choose." The image paused, then vanished, letting Rochelle make her choice.


Startled for a moment, Rochelle dropped her spoon in her bowl and pushed her chair back to allow her to stand up. The plate shone brightly, even in the dim light of the old tavern, before revealing the source of such toon magic. Dani. The face smiled upon at her, sheepish, and as much a toon as bugs bunny or Ironman. The Captain shook her head and folded her arms to listen, peering into the mirror-plate to catch all of Dani's motions.

And then there was silence.

She sighed, her head shaking slightly as she pressed her finger tips to the mirror, "Captain Rochelle Andreevna Ivanova." She said clear as a bell, using her full given name as she knew Dani was a sucker for details, even the smallest of them.

Dani's image shimmered into existence again, dressed in her dirty golden jacket, and she smiled, almost relieved. "Good, you're still here. I wasn't really sure if you'd want to hear me out after... well, after I left like that. So, I guess if you're here, you know that I've left, and you know that I explained things to Waterbuc-- uhm, to Waterhouse. I've left this message to you privately," the face became sheepish, "I think explaining myself is the least I can do. This had nothing to do with you, or you being my new Captain. I've been planning this since Earth was taken over. Before, even, I guess... I've been thinking about leaving for a while now, since you've rescued us from the mines." she paused a moment, her hand unconsciously shifting to her fake eyes. "But what happened with Earth was the last straw. Me leaving this ship was just the last step. I would have left any other ship, I would have just felt less bad about it." She admitted, shrugging with a smile.

The Dani shaped image froze for only a moment, as if Dani had to pause the recording and resume it. Then it continued.

"I stuck with Starfleet for two reasons: the family I found there, and the meaning of what we were meant to do. We were meant to defend and protect the citizens of the federations that gave us our trust. To explore the galaxy in the name of progress and science and freedom. In the past couple of months, I felt the fleet forgot what it stands for. Whatever crimes the so-called Federation has committed -- we should never have abandoned our people. I can't stay here knowing that we're here and they're there, being executed, because the fleet is figuring out what to do." Dani finished passionately, taking a breath to bring herself once again back on track.

Rochelle knew the sentiments well, they'd always been her own right up until the Federation had come to call and pulled their little coup. Having to stand back and wait while so many innocent people died far from sat well with the young Captain. She didn't have a choice, even the Vindicator with all of her fire power didn't stand a chance in a war against the entirety of Federation First.

"Anyways," she took a breath. "I never really told anyone this, but despite the fact it wasn't really my choice to be here," she pointed at her ranks as if they said it all, "I ended up.. well, I ended up finding new friends, and a new family. You were one of those. Family, I guess. I mean, I don't know if it was mutual, since I was mostly... well..." she smiled knowingly, "a troublemaker asshole. Yes. But still. You were my family. Like a sister. With ranks. And authority. And... a big office." The Dani image seemed remarkably embarrassed, but smiled regardless.

"Whatever happens, I hope you at least know that you made the life of a misfit jerk like me pretty damn decent despite the system -- and that says a lot. And also know one really important thing." The image leaned closer, looking through the mirror at Rochelle intently. "I am going to find her. Safe. And I will bring her back. I promise."

The Captain's eyes locked with those belonging to the deserter, gazing back into those liquid pools of knowledge and simply knowing. Andrea. The name didn't need to be spoken, it was simply understood and known, it's importance transcending titles. She nodded, even though the image couldn't see or know it, acknowledging and accepting. "I know you will." She responded softly.

There was a pause, and Dani took a breath, leaning back again, and once again smiling her signature Bugs Bunny grin. "Well, I guess that's it. I've adapted this program to carry messages -- don't ask me how, and, oh, don't worry about any occasional unidentified noise burst from the EPS systems," she smirked sarcastically.

"You can send and receive messages from and to me here. If anything is sent for you, either you or Pond can get them from Bugs Bunny out there," she gestured, and smirked. "I've tried to make sure he doesn't bug you too much, but the program was too complicated to completely mellow out. If you want to send me a message, you'll have to ask him. He'll know what to do."

"Thank you for making my service more than just bearable, Captain Ivanova," Dani smiled, and then, in a gesture that was quite out of character, saluted with a smile. "You be safe now, and don't you ever forget why you've joined Starfleet, and what you're there to do. We'll see each other again sometime. Maybe even soon."

The image stuck for a moment with a final wink, and then shimmered, and vanished, the round metallic mirror already starting to melt into the Billiards table, leaving behind only the plate and bowl of soup.

That was there Rochelle's breath caught for a moment, the familiar prickle of impending tears bombarding the tip of her nose and eyes. Dani had always been a problem, hard to handle, even on the Griffin. They'd worked around her shenanigans and built Engineering as more of her playground knowing it took only certain conditions to make the woman happy and productive. The mines had always felt like Rochelle's fault. She'd known better and ultimately knowing better had seen to their rescue by way of a rat in a camera hat designed by Captain Levine's brilliant little girl. She saluted the image back wishing so very deeply she could hug the bizarre woman on the other side. "I won't forget, Dani... I swear it." And then... Nothing.

It was silent once again with nothing more than her half eaten soup left as restitution for the entire situation. It took her awhile to settle herself, her head bowing in silence as she absorbed everything Dani had said to her. Those words had been the most valuable reward she'd ever received and they would stick with her for the duration of her career. She'd find Dani again, in one piece.

* * *

Outside, Bugs Bunny was still missing in action, although Daffy, sullen as ever, walked back to sit next to the bar, grabbing a beer glass and looking into it. He seemed to be about to say something when ears popped up from under the bar, moving sideways towards Amelia, as if Bugs Bunny was trying to be cartoonishly successful at hiding.

"Gee, I wonder where that damn rabbit got to," Amelia mused aloud, watching the ears carefully. "I was going to ask him if I had any messages, but if he doesn't show up soon, I may have to make myself a rabbit stew, it'll go nice with carrots."

"SHHHH!!" The cartoon rabbit jumped out from behind the bar and onto Amelia's arms, holding her collar with both arms. "Don't ruin the SECRET," he whispered, loudly, and pointed behind him. "The walls have ears!" and as if to emphasize his point, rabbit ears sprouted from the walls, swaying like grass in the wind.

Bugs Bunny shook his head, gestured a "shh" sound and jumped back behind the bar, plucking an oversize drawn envelope. Then, he looked at Daffy purposefully, sliding the envelope at Amelia casually with his other hand. "Heyyy there, Duck. Eeeh, want more beer?"

"I had enuff of your carrot beer, wabbit," Daffy answered. "Don'chu have something else? Oooh," he looked interested, "like corn! corn beer. Give me corn beer!"

"Corn alcohol," Amelia suggested to Daffy, as she accepted the envelope from Bugs. She wondered if she was supposed to take it somewhere private to read it.

The paper bounced once, as if dying to come out. Then bounced again, the seams of the envelope bulging in Amelia's hands.

Out came a knife that'd been tucked into her uniform boot, which she didn't think Rochelle needed to know about but Amelia could quote regs that allowed it for cultural reasons. Particularly her Klingon heritage. She slid the blade under the flap of the envelope.

The paper jumped out and flattened itself on the table, exposing a blotch of ink. The blotch shifted, then formed words.

"On Earth. Safe. I did it!" The exclamation mark danced for a moment, then the message shifted again. "Everyone OK. Didn't eat cookies yet, but found Captain Gorgeous." The letters danced, then another sentence appeared at the bottom. "Tell Ivanova." And then, directly underneath: "Be safe, and C.U.l8r!" the semi 'leet' speech danced around, rotated, then froze, the message staying for a few moments, then fading away slowly.

Amelia grinned. Dani made it, and people were safe. That's good. It made the risk, both Dani's going and Amelia letting her go, at least a little worth it. She looked to Bugs again. "Can you send a message back? Don't forget the cookies, you'll regret it."

Bugs smiled, nodded, and pulled a pad from his back pocket, holding it close to his eyes as if writing down a food order. "Cookies," he mouthed, writing. "You might want to double check," Daffi spat, "he writes cookies with c-a-r-r-o-t."

"Carrot cookies are cookies!" the rabbit protested, but gave Amelia a new pad with a pen so she can write it down herself.

"I'm pretty sure she'd have figured it out, but thanks duck," she returned, collecting the paper and pen. She doodled cookies with chocolate chips, drew a couple of stick figures and a house and scribbled grandparent's puddle on the front of the house. Then a circle with a line through it over the house, cookies, and stick figures, followed by an equal sign and a crying stick figure with 'you' and an arrow pointing to it. She grinned and handed it back to Bugs.

Bugs looked at it for a moment, nodding as if it was a Picasso, then he thought, his eyes narrowing, and drew a carrot in one of the stick figures' hands. "There. Now it's PERRRRRFECT!" he grinned, and shoved the note into an envelope, holding it up. Within less than a second, Road Runner arrived with a cloud of dust, stopped swaying, meeped twice, picked up the envelope, and whooshed off.

"Thank you, I knew it was missing something," she told Bugs with a laugh.

Rochelle stepped out of the billards hall, sullen and quiet as she ignored the insanity and instead made her way to the bar and the rabbit that stood there with the duck and the quarter Klingon. It was the makings of a joke, one she may have found amusing if it wasn't for the seriousness of the moment. "I'm supposed to speak to you if I want to send a message." She said as she once again hopped up on a bar stool and gestured to the toon. "I have one that needs to be sent."

"Eee," Bugs Bunny grinned and offered Ivanova the same pad and pen. "There you go, boss, but maybe you should be clearer than Watercarrot, here," he pointed at Amelia with a "what can you do" look and started cleaning the bar with a cartoon towel.

"Fair enough." She replied and took the pen and paper. Her handwriting was quick, elegant, but quick as she scrawled her thoughts. I know why you did it, it said, and know I'll do everything I can to protect you when push comes to shove. Go to my home and fetch the flying machine, give it to Andrea to bring to me. There's a hang gun in my desk, and old Colt .45, take it and wear it for protection. They'll never expect it. Love, Rochelle. and with that she folded the paper and held it to Bugs. "Thank you." She nodded in kind.

The rabbit exposed his signature grin as the paper folded and inserted itself into an envelope, and then the Road Runner meeped by, picking it up. "You're most welcome, Captain and Watercarrot," he bowed, and then resumed cleaning the bar with a towel.

With that Rochelle let loose a small sigh and tugged on Amelia's sleeve as she turned to leave.

---

Captain Rochelle Ivanova
Commanding Officer
USS VINDICATOR

Lt Commander Amelia Waterhouse
Executive Officer
USS VINDICATOR

Danielle Atarah
Ex-Engineering Oficer and Cartoon Master
AWOL

 

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