Grand Opening

Posted on Mon Jun 22nd, 2020 @ 3:19am by Cailus Griffin & Captain Nycolas Temple & Commander Owen Nash & Lieutenant Kalin Brennan-Griffin PhD & Lieutenant Katniss Wakefield & Lieutenant Krysia Kaleri-Smith & Lieutenant Tyson Brookes & Lieutenant Commander James Smith & Lieutenant JG Vecon Fick & Emilie Temple
Edited on on Tue Jul 7th, 2020 @ 2:35pm

Mission: Divided We Fall
Location: Holodeck 4/Little Caesar's Arcade
Timeline: Current

A Mission Post by Lieutenant Mindo & Captain Nycolas Temple & Commander Owen Nash & Lieutenant Cailus Griffin & Lieutenant Krysia Kaleri & Lieutenant Kalin 'Shae' Brennan PhD & Lieutenant Katniss Wakefield & Lieutenant James Smith & Lieutenant JG Vecon Fick & Lieutenant JG Tyson Brookes & Emilie Temple
Mission: Divided We Fall
Location: Holodeck 4/Little Caesar's Arcade
Timeline: current
Sat Mar 24th, 2018 @ 10:13pm

ON

The place was almost ready, and in a few moments the party would begin. Mindo scrambled around the two-story arcade doing his final check.

He had modeled the place after an arcade museum located in San Francisco near the Academy. The museum had been there for a few centuries, a family business passed down since the late twenty-first century. The place back on Earth was named "Caesar's Palace," and since Mindo took his inspiration from that establishment he decided to call it "Little Caesar's."

The first floor consisted of many different arcade games lined up around the walls of Holodeck 4, the place's permanent residence. In the center of the room were another two rows of games sitting back-to-back.

Upstairs, there were more physical games: Whack-A-Mole, Skee-Ball, air hockey... it even had an old fortune teller machine Mindo had seen in a movie made around that time called "Big." The film was about a young boy who makes a wish on a supernatural fortune-telling machine that grants him an adult body. Mindo enjoyed the irony of his putting the machine in its place there, as he'd never quite outgrown his own childhood.

Also upstairs were a few tables and chairs for those looking to relax and socialize. He'd even come up with a bar that served a variety of beverages, both alcoholic and non.

All of the games downstairs were free-to-play, but the games upstairs all required currency. This was because those games rewarded the players with tickets that they could use at the bar to win prizes. The prizes were all displayed behind the bar, along with the various amounts of tickets required to purchase them. Mindo had designed and replicated the prizes himself; everything from toy phasers to stuffed animals (he was particularly proud of the little plush targ he'd created... no doubt K'Laus or Ensign Fick would take interest in that).

On the walls were posters of various Earth films that were popular at the time, including "Star Wars," "Tron," "The Matrix," and the like. Upstairs there was a screen that could be pulled down where films could be shown. Mindo didn't know what he'd show yet, but he was open to requests.

The place looked great, and finally Mindo was ready for his guests.

Krysia had purposely replicated a long slender black dress for Mindo's grand opening, her hair was left long. Heading out to James' quarters she pressed the chime, as the doors swished open she smiled "How do I look?"

Smith paced back and forth in his quarters having changed into a black suit. He hadn’t been on a real date in years, but he was excited for tonight. Smith looked at Krysia as the door opened. “You look amazing”

"You look extremely handsome yourself" she grinned as she leant forward and kissed him on the cheek, "I think we'd best get going we don't want to be late. Taking his arm they walked together.

Mindo was standing near the entrance in his finest white suit, the one he'd purchased from The Flying Pants just months ago. He greeted as many people as he could as they came in.

Tisar had seen several well-dressed people walk past his shop he was setting up. It finally happened enough that he locked his gate and followed the dressed party goers to the apparent party. He was surprised when he was led by the couple to one of the holodecks. Inside, seemed to be some sort of celebration, but the atmosphere inside was so different that the Cardassian was compelled to enter.

"Welcome to Little Caesar's, Tisar," Mindo said in a chipper tone. "Come on in and play a game or two... or twenty, whatever you like!"

"A game?" Tisar asked looking around. "Is that what is happening in here?" He smiled a little. "Interesting choice for a name. I have struggled with naming my own establishment."

"Sometimes you have to just let it come to you," said Mindo. "When you're not thinking about it, then it'll come."

"You are correct," Tisar said, nodding and still looking around. "They are placing my sign today." He smiled a little and looked at Mindo. "I don't think my opening will be quite so grand. Is this your establishment, Lieutenant?"

"Indeed it is," said Mindo, stopping to take a proud look at the already booming activity of the place.

"Well then, my congratulations." Tisar bowed a little to Mindo. "Now, Lieutenant, if you would be so kind... explain to me what people are doing in here?" The Cardassian was smiling and his smile seemed sincere. "It seems rather exciting and loud! I will let you get back to your guests though. I can figure it out." He backed away and turned to wander around the room.

When Cailus had told Shae about the little project Mindo was working on, Shae had been all too eager to come see the final result; she had never been to Caesar's Palace while she was at the Academy, she had been far too busy studying, but she knew of it and was excited to see this place in the form of a holodeck recreation. Upon entering, Shae and Aoife were overwhelmed with all the sounds of the different games; she had forgotten how noisy arcades could be, and Aoife had never been in such a place before, and both of their ears fold in to help drown out the cacophony. But after a minute their ears adjusted to the sounds of the games and all the projectors running until it was simply white noise fading into the background.

Mindo went inside after greeting several people just to check on things. Already he had quite a crowd, and most of them were playing the video games and talking excitedly. He activated his LEGs and hovered up to see the place better. He noticed Shae and Aoife just a few games down and gave a wave.

The movement caught Shae's eye and she looked up to see Mindo waving and she waved back with a smile. "Hey! Nice turnout!" Shae congratulated him cheerfully. Aoife was still looking a bit overwhelmed with all the noise and bright flashing lights, but she was interested, her eyes wide with endless curiosity.

"Sorry for all the noise," Mindo said, raising his voice a little to better be heard. "I wasn't sure about it but I like the ambiance. What do you think?"

"I think it's wonderful, Mindo, you did a spectacular job," Shae replied with a smile of approval. She remembered playing pinball at the pub where she and her brothers used to go to watch rugby matches, and down at the boardwalk there were a couple of skeeball machines, so being here was bringing back some fond memories. "Oh, think maybe on one of the projectors we can get some sports going? Maybe a little Martian football?" she asked with a grin knowing that Cailus would love to see a game of Martian football playing.

Mindo shrugged. "I'll put some on upstairs! You should go up there and check it out. We've got a full bar, but it also has non-alcoholic drinks for the little ones. I know Aoife likes juice a lot."

"Excellent," Shae replied, then picked up Aoife to ascend the stairs. She sought out the bar to get Aoife some juice and a fizzy melon drink for herself, and then she would be checking out the skeeball machines!

Tyson finished at the Gifted. The Pandora’s gymnasium was as always a favorite place for crew members. The complete workout left a relief. Fresh and wearing his new baseball tee with inspector gadget on it, and his cargo shorts. Nothing would be perfect without his Walkman cassette player, Adidas sneakers and a bright flashing… Arcade… “Sega…? “ His heart had skipped a beat… “Donkey Kong!!?” He had new change in his wallet he had stashed in his sagging cargos…

“Shut the front door", he walked in, there countless other crew members dressed to the max, all killing red carpet style.

“This place, Mindo created a place for gaming.”

“Little Caesars." He greeted Mindo once Brookes had come back around to the entrance. "Your Arcade is a Fantastic Idea Mindo." He couldn't help but think Pizza, Pizza though.

"Thanks, Doc," Mindo replied. "Nice shirt! Knock yourself out! Drinks are upstairs!"

The Temple family were running a little late, but only because they were trying to decide on the appropriate outfits. Nyx, in his usual man-that-is-really-a-child mode, was insisting on full themed costumes for the evening, in the style of era-appropriate and entirely meta 'Back To the Future' outfits; whereas Emilie believed black-tie regalia was more suitable. Katrine, for her input, wanted to go as a warthog. Still, a compromise was made and the trio ended up in formal attire, however Nyx was allowed to wear silver Doc Brown sunglasses and Emilie teased her hair out into a frizzy perm that in all likelihood required it's own shield generator. Katrine, meanwhile, had to settle for her favourite green dress.

Arriving at the event, with all the sights and sounds, the room packed full of excited and entertained crew members, Nyx was thrilled. "Wow." he commented as they stepped into Little Caesar's.

"Indeed." Emilie remarked, looking around. "I can't believe Mindo pulled this all together so quickly."

"I'm sorry honey, but I've just now decided to resign my commission and spend the rest of my life here." Nyx replied. "I hope you can support my life choices."

"I'm right there with you, darling." Emilie smiled as they continued inside.

Krysia was having more fun than she’d had in ages, having James around made her feel relaxed and confident which was helping no end with her headaches. She laughed as she played on the various amusements, it wasn’t until she almost fell over Tyson that she stopped to look around.

“Lieutenant.,” Tyson had turned to see Krysia with Lieutenant Smith. They were both taking in the opening of the establishment. “Good to see you. Enjoy the Arcade.” Tyson greeted warmly.

“Sorry Tyson” she smiled sweetly, “I should learn to watch where I’m going!” she brushed her hair back over her shoulder as she waved to Aoife who was enjoying herself with Shae.

Tyson looked at the flashing lights and energy and innovation it had taken Mindo to create this place, for the fun and benefit of the crew. "Snappy idea I say myself, already tried Double Dragon a few times, Sega remasted in THX! Bonkers!"

“To be honest I haven’t felt this good in a long time!” She grinned as she looked towards James then back at Tyson. “So what do you think? Mindo has certainly gone all out on this place hasn’t he?”

Brookes nodded.

Krysia paused for a moment to look back at Tyson then carried on walking over to James who was having fun himself, she held onto his arm enjoying the feeling of simply being beside him, she looked up and smiled as they were approached by Captain Temple. Krysia looked at James she knew Nyx was the friend he’d spoken of briefly before but she didn’t realise Nyx had known James’ deceased wife & daughter. She smiled politely as Nyx’s own family joined him.

Turning around around from the game Smith had been engrossed in he reached out to grab Nyx hand and said, “What do you think of this place captain, it’s amazing.”

"The Lieutenant has done a wonderful job, and it's brought everyone together." Nyx remarked, as he could feel Katrine inching to get away and run amok.

Tyson greeted the Captain and his Family. He was glad seeing how well Captain Temples leg has been healing. Nicholas' leg had metal blades through it, microfractures, tissue repair, cartilage work... The Captain took it in stride. "Captain, Family good to see you." Tyson greeted Nyx with a respectful nod to the Sir and his Family.

"Greetings Doctor," Nyx replied with a nod. "So glad you could make it out to meet the crew."

"Of course. Great gang Sir. Mindo, awesome dude. You Awesome Captain. By the way, I have to pencil you in for a follow up on your leg, its been a while and you need to get that checked."

"Daa-aad." Katrine whinged. "I want to play the games!"

"I'll take you." Emilie smiled, "But we're playing Whack A Mole first."

"YES!" Katrine cried as the two departed.

"I have lost her to the Arcade now." Nyx remarked in faux resignation.

Katniss was hanging around outside, she had still not decided if she was actually going to go inside or not. She had watched several people enter, it looked like most of the ship had turned up. The noise eminating from inside was certainly loud. After a few minutes deliberating, she decided she would give it a miss, she made a mental note to send her apologies and a gift, let's hope she could quietly slip away without being noticed.

But someone had noticed. Mindo, floating at the entrance, had noticed her hanging back, but hadn't said anything as he was busy with other guests. Upon seeing Katniss turn away, Mindo quickly floated over to her.

"Katniss!" he called, catching up to her. "Come on in, play a game or two! We'd love it if you joined us."

Katniss closed her eyes as she was caught in the act, she took a deep breath before smiling, opening her eyes and turning around.

"Lieutenant, perhaps..."

Aeryn had given consideration to staying in her quarters but how would it look if a ship's counsellor didn’t turn up at a crew gathering, she was just in time to see and hear Mindo and Katniss talking it seemed Katniss wasn’t so keen herself. “Katniss...” she smiled warmly, “why don’t you come on in, you wouldn’t want to miss Lieutenant Mindo’s grand opening with that she gave a Mindo a warm smile and headed inside.

Now that really did it, she couldn't possibly decline now, how rude would it seem. "Perhaps for one quick game," she said, as she slowly walked towards Mindo, whom she hadn't really had much interaction in. "Your creation Lieutenant, what was the inspiration?" she asked as the noise got even louder the closer you got.

"Lieutenant?" said Mindo with a small grin. "It's after hours. Call me Mindo. This place is based around an old arcade museum I used to go to back at the Academy. The place was called Caesar's Palace, so when I created this I named it Little Caesar's. We've got plenty of games, an upstairs area with a lounge and full bar, and you can even win prizes! I created this place to be somewhere fun where people could meet and socialize and have various activities to do."

Looking up from where she and James were Krysia sensed that Owen was somewhere nearby, with so many people in the room it was hard to focus where leaning over to James she made her excuses for a moment and turned to look for Owen a few seconds later she found him not far away, "Hey..." she smiled, "what do you think of Mindo's?"

After deciding to wear his tuxedo for the event, Owen was rather glad that he fitted in, although when he saw Doc Brookes he did wonder if the period dress was either by choice or as part of the party. Seeing Krys walk up to him, Owen smiled. "Hey you, I think this place is a great idea of Mindo's... remind me to tell him that," he explained. "What do you think?" he enquired.

"I think it's great" she smiled and waved as Mindo passed by her eyes settling back on James before looking back at Owen, "Forgive me if i don't hang around, I've got a date to get back to."

Owen raised an eyebrow in typical big brother fashion. "Ok... what's his name? I'll need to have security run a check on him before it goes any further..." he said amusingly.

"I know what I'm doing big brother!" She grinned. "I'm an adult after all besides I've never felt so good, James helps me to relax." she turned to head back again, "I'll see you on the bridge in the morning..."

Owen looked on as Krys walked over to join Lieutenant Smith and smiled as he offered her his arm. He was happy that Krys had met someone and reminded himself that he also needed to get to know his fellow colleague better.

Spotting Mindo in his white jacket, Owen walked over to him. "Excellent job you done with the place," he said as he had a quick look around. "Now, where can a guy find a spare arcade version of Spyhunter or Star Wars?" He asked itching to go and have a go.

Mindo nodded and said, "Spyhunter is in this block over here, and I've got the original Star Wars along that wall, which looks like Zo's playing it right now, but he's been there a while so don't be afraid to kick him out... and then there's Star Wars Trilogy on that other wall and it looks like that one is open." Mindo grinned. "I've also got the Star Wars pinball machine upstairs, if you're interested in that. The pinball machines cost credits, but they give out tickets so you can get prizes. All the video games are free of charge!"

Owen patted Mindo on the back. "Spyhunter & Star Wars, I knew there was a reason why I liked you Mr Mindo... I may be here for quite a while," he confirmed as he made his way over to the vacant Star Wars Trilogy machine and got it started.

There came a frustrated cry from Nyx nearby. "I am a Starfleet Captain for frack's sake! Commander of two hundred people, qualified and trained Intel operative, and I cannot get this stupid little plumber man to jump over that many barrels!" He raised his hands up to the Arcade Gods, hoping for some divine intervention.

"Get good," Shae called down from the upper level where she and Aoife were leaning against the railing enjoying a drink while they waited for Cailus.

"I'd like to see you try!" Nyx called back, sticking his tongue through his teeth as he tried once again to reach that damned gorilla.

"I could," Shae replied with a sly grin, but made no attempt to move, choosing instead to wait patiently for Cailus while amusing herself with Nyx's continued attempts to play the game.

Greep was puzzled. He just couldn't figure it out. As Doctor Brookes walked by going to another game, he stopped him. "I'm puzzled, Doctor... I just played an interesting game called 'Pac-Man.' Then I played a game called, 'Ms. Pac-Man,' but other than appearances, I can't tell the difference. Can you tell me what is the point of having a Mister and Ms. Pac-Man?"

Greep was an outgoing and intriguing persona. "Good question. Can't help you with that Mr.?" He questioned the man who didn't seem like a Star fleet officer. But he had no clue.

"My name is Greep," squawked Greep. "I'm an Engineer."

"Nice to meet you Greep." Tyson greeted the Petty Officer 1st Class Greep. He shook hands "You like any games in here?" Brookes asked Greep.

Greep's head cocked to the side, an expression lost on Tyson (or anyone else for that matter). "I like Pac-Man," he squawked. "And The Donkey Kong. And another game called 'Missile Commander' I quite enjoyed. I've never played these kinds of games, but they are quite fun."

Tyson nodded, he then politely left for another game... "The Bionic Commando."

Zo had moved on from the old Star Wars game and was now playing a particularly crazy game called "Tempest," in which there was a 3D funnel and a cursor that had to zap little squiggles and lines all the way back down without touching them. Next to him he saw James Smith and Krysia Kaleri playing some game together. "You guys gotta try this game!" he said.

Krysia grinned as she leant over to have a look, "looks fun to me, what do you think James?"

Looking over to join Krysia Smith looked at the game, “Looks like fun, Let give it a try.”

Krysia grinned and nodded, she never thought she’d enjoy herself in a place like this but she’d definitely visit again.

Owen cried out in triumph as he finally managed to guide the winning shot into the Exhaust Port that led to the destruction of the Death Star on his machine. He sat back in the seat provided and wiped a few drops of sweat from his brow. Who knew how much hard work and concentration was needed for this game...but the fun it offered was amazing. "Right, thats Yavin conquered! Now onto Hoth," he said in preparation of the next level.

Mindo grinned as he hovered past Owen, enjoying his battle cry. He made his way upstairs to check on some other people. There was a Martian Football game on one of the screens, as ordered, and several other memorabilia scattered throughout. He went over to Shae and Aoife's table overlooking the floor below.

"Having fun?" he asked, more to Aoife but also to Shae.

"Absolutely," Shae replied. "It's a little overwhelming for Aoife, she's never been in a place like this before, so we're just taking it slow until Cailus gets here."

"He did show a surprising amount of interest when he saw me building the place. Hopefully he'll get a kick out of it." Mindo looked back at Aoife and gave her a smile and a little wave.

"Well, Cailus isn't that complicated to figure out; he's stern when it comes to duty, but underneath that he's just like any other person, and capable of nostalgia too," Shae pointed out. Then with the opening of the holodeck doors, Aoife's nose started twitching with excitement.

As if on cue the man himself soon materialised from the growing crowd, still wearing his uniform. Cailus at first looked tempted to join Owen as the illustrious XO busied himself with conquering the galaxy, but upon spying Shae and Aoife with Mindo on the top floor, he instead aimed for them.

“Sorry for being late,” Cailus said as he reached their table. “Got pulled away for a personnel issue. It seems this place is proving popular.” Seeing Aoife raising her little arms, plainly demanding a hug, he huffed in exasperation before leaning down and embracing her. “Alright, little one, you only saw me a few hours ago.”

Aoife was always happy to see Cailus, and she squeaked with joy when he hugged her.

Looking to Mindo and Shae as he emerged from the hug, Cailus cocked an eyebrow. “I see this place is proving popular. I’ve been hearing scuttlebutt about it for the last half hour.”

"It seems to be a success," said Mindo with a bit of pride in his voice. "It's nice to have the crew together after what we've all been through."

"Agreed, it's good to see the crew at ease and having fun," Shae said, offering Cailus a smile. "I had Mindo put on a game for you, if you're interested," she said to Cailus, nodding her head in the direction of the projector displaying a Martian Football game.

“Really? Well, that’s...” And then the game caught Cailus’ eye with a huge red-shirted human with an egg-shaped ball in hand, performing a feat of acrobatic insanity over two similarly huge white-shirted players. His attention was immediately and irretrievably hooked. “That’s...really quite kind...”

"Okay, we're not getting any riveting conversation from him until the game is done," Shae remarked with a grin. And Cailus wasn't alone; Aoife seemed quite distracted by the game as well, as she had a tendency to watch along with him in their quarters and she would even raise her arms in a little cheer when anyone would score a goal, though she didn't yet understand that she was only supposed to be cheering for one side over the other. "Yeah, they'll be good for at least an hour," Shae affirmed as she finished off her drink and got up to go explore the arcade.

Mindo stood and followed Shae, catching up with her. "So you ever play any of these?" he asked.

"Pinball, mostly," Shae replied, finding her way to the pinball machines, gazing at them fondly before dropping a credit chip in a slot to start a game. "I used to play when I would sneak away to join my brothers at the pub when they were watching rugby. The mechanics and physics employed are very good, you did a great job here, Mindo."

Mindo's eyes widened as the ball traveled to and fro and then to again with a flick of the flippers. Shae was quite good at the game. Mindo was impressed. "You must've played a lot to get that good!" he remarked, then grinned as he got an idea. "Finish your game and I'll see if I can beat your high score."

"You're on," Shae said with a grin, her eyes darting about as her ball shot back and forth and the points continued to rack up.

Finally, the last ball dropped, her final score in the tens of millions. Mindo knew he had a long way to go. With an impressed little whistle, he put in his credit, cracked his knuckles, and fired the ball.

The ball rebounded here and there, but what was much more interesting was Mindo's darting back and forth from opposite ends of the table, as his arms could barely reach both flippers at the same time. Mindo was fast... very fast! When his final ball dropped he was sure he had surpassed Shae... and found he was only three million points short of his goal. Shae had won the wager.

Mindo turned around and grinned. "You... are very good," he said. There were now about forty or so tickets that had accumulated during both games. Mindo tore them off and handed them to Shae. "I think these are yours."

"You're not so bad yourself," Shae replied, taking the tickets and folding them up to save until she could win something really nice for Aoife. "Have you considered designing a game that's better suited to your size? Your hand-eye coordination suffers when you're fighting with the dimensions of the machine," she pointed out.

"Are you kidding?" he said. "This is the only way I know how to play! If I make it easier, where's the fun in that?"

“Stupid plumber!” Came a groan from somewhere downstairs.

"Captain!" Mindo called over the balcony. "Did you use the hammer? Try throwing it up a ladder, that way you can keep it!"

“This is my Kobayashi Maru!” Nyx shouted back.

Krysia looked round as she heard Owen shout out, she had an apology to make but right now wasn’t the time & she was hoping to be spending the night with James, the only time she’d have now would be after her bridge shift in the morning, so it would have to be then.

Turning to James, Krysia motioned towards the door "I don't know about you but I think I've had my fill of this fun for tonight..." she grinned, "shall we head back?"

James nodded, and wrapped his arm into hers, saying his goodbyes he said, “I’m ready to head back, let’s head back to my quarters.”

Tisar was also ready to slip out of the festivities. He had spent a good deal of time playing a game called Dig Dug and had actually quite enjoyed himself, but the overwhelming noise of the place had finally gotten to him and he was ready for the quiet of his own quarters. As he made his way to the door he spotted the Captain in the room. It had been awhile since they had spoken. He had to admit that Nyx looked a lot better then he had the last time he had seen him. He rerouted his path to the door and tried to make eye contact with Temple.

The Captain was taking a break from the jumping plumber and the gorillia with his stupid, boastful grinning and why does an overgrown monkey hang out in the sewers anyway? And why’s he called Donkey? Plot holes, that’s why. He tried not to let his failures over the archaic game get to him, knowing there was a replica of something called Mortal Kombat near by, which sounded a lot more up his pinball alley.

“Where does he even get the barrels from?” Nyx wondered aloud as he made his way through the crowds. He stopped as he spotted Tisar. “Oh! Leaving already, my friend?”

Tisar grinned and offered his hand for shaking. He had seen a lot of human males do it in form of greeting. "I'm afraid all this excitement is a little much for me. I did have a few rounds of a lovely game called Dig... Dug?" He shook his head and chuckled softly. "You look a lot better than you did the last time I saw you. Are you headed home as well?"

Nyx laughed, “They are terribly addictive. And this is a darn sight more fun than a Ravager vessel.” He gave another laugh to hide his painful memories. “No, I’m having too much fun to leave just yet. And Katrine is beating the bejezus out of the Whack A Mole game. I saw you had a name for your store, perhaps we could swing around tomorrow morning?”

Tisar smiled. "I would appreciate that, Captain. I will be opening my own doors in the morning." He looked around at the party that wasn't showing signs of stopping anytime soon. "After a quiet night's sleep," he added with a little smirk. "I just wanted to say hello, before I made my escape."

“I imagine your store opening will be more subdued.” Nyx remarked, though was glad to have a variety of different vendors now who could cater to the Pandora’s wide range of interests. “I will see you tomorrow.”

Krysia turned to look back as she and James headed out of the door, she had to admit she’d enjoyed herself at Little Ceasar’s although she preferred to think of it as Mindo’s instead.

OFF