The Game Is Afoot

Posted on Mar 06, 2017 @ 12:32am by Lieutenant Eve Dalziel
Edited on on Mar 06, 2017 @ 12:32am

Mission: Holodeck Havoc

“The Game is Afoot”
(Continued from “Playing The Bloody Game”)

=/\=

Location: Holodeck 5, or what’s left of it
Scene: Baker Street residence of Sherlock Holmes
Time Index: Simultaneously to “The Fellowship”

“What is an Iphie?” Watson groused, stroking his moustache.

“Um… nothing. My apologies for the outburst.” Eve blinked as she ran her hands across the white apron that was part of her costume. She had just seen Iphie. And a dragon. Iphie riding a dragon. Iphie riding a fracking dragon through Victorian London. *What the hell is going on?* she thought.

Her internal query was interrupted when Holmes burst through the apartment door just a few seconds later, looking out of sorts. He gave Mrs. Hudson a look that indicated he was struggling to reassert his authority, then respectfully handed her his coat.

Doctor John Watson set down the anatomy book he was perusing, looking far too relaxed for someone who was lifelong friends with the fictional mystery solver. “Holmes, old fellow, you’re looking a bit peaked. How did your trip to the crime scene go?”

The tall man regarded his sidekick with irritation. “Quite... befuddling, my friend. Lestrade’s men seemed particularly... dull for men trained at the Yard. I tried to get at least a grain of information out of them but they were so completely engrossed in what they were doing they didn’t give me so much as the time of day. I felt it best that I return here until such time as more pieces of this murderous puzzle were made clear to me.”

“Dreadful, dreadful,” Watson tutted. “Once more, you’re left to your own devices. Why Lestrade and his men don’t recognize that, I can’t fathom.”

“Come Watson, you know as well as I do that a temporary inattentiveness is not a signal of the entire system going asunder.” Obviously, Sherlock had not seen the dragon overhead. “Mrs. Hudson, you look like a singed cat. Is anything the matter?” he asked sharply.

“N-no,” she stammered. “I’ll just fetch some tea.”

=/\=

Scene: Downstairs

Eve paused in the foyer and hung Holmes’ coat, smoothing out any creases with her hands, then headed into the kitchen. She filled the kettle and put it on to boil, opening a canister of loose tea leaves and selecting a china teapot with little yellow flowers on it in preparation for her duties as erstwhile maid and landlady.

She knew that bringing back tea alone wouldn’t be polite manners. Besides, Watson never seemed to refuse a snack. She thought she had seen some biscuits on the far counter and turned around to look for them. The antique appliances were still there, but the back wall had disappeared, and in its place there was an encroaching display of greenery that was incredibly lush and tropical. She paused, as a curling tendril of ivy seemed to grow *into* the room. She could see a few structures, completely organic in nature, large enough for humanoids to inhabit.

The Counsellor sighed. It was time to do something she should have done the second she saw Iphie on that dragon. “Computer, end program.” Nothing.

“End the simulation.” Nada.

“Dalziel to Bridge.” Zilch. The only response was the whistle of boiling water.

Eve bit her lip, and proceeded to steep the tea. The whole system was down. That explained a lot. But before she had a chance to consider her options, the good Doctor captured her attention.

“Mrs. Hudson! Mrs. Hudson!” Watson yelped from the entryway. “There’s something incredibly queer going on!”

Eve went to check on Holmes’ medical companion. She exited the kitchen and was met with sunlight pouring in through the open front door, with Watson standing dead center, mouth agape.

“What is-” she started to ask, and then stood next to him, and the view validated his befuddlement. The gray, damp cobblestone streets had given way to a tableau of pure fantasy. The sky was robin’s egg blue, with wisps of clouds breaking up the firmament and casting shallow shadows on the land below. The aforementioned sun was somewhere past midday. There were acres of terraced gardens and low fields in the foreground, maybe even a structure or two near a mountaintop. Eve thought she spied a castle or fortress in the farthest reaches of the hybrid land, but it was hard to tell.

“I was going for my afternoon constitutional, and this is what I find! Has the world gone mad?”

Suddenly something clicked. “Wait a moment- you can see that?” The words were barely out of her mouth when the holodeck images became somewhat transparent, revealing the unremarkable edges of the room and their grid. Maybe the newfound sentience of the fictional characters was too much for the computer to handle. However, the hope was short-lived as the real room once again disappeared.

Watson’s eyes widened. “I can’t explain it, but yes, it’s clear as crystal. That is most decidedly *not* London. Do you know what happened?”

=/\=

Scene: Holmes’ Apartment
Time Index: 45 minutes later

It was Eve’s turn to pace. She had hoped by explaining the scenario to both of them, it would cause the computer to overload, but the only thing that seemed to be overloading was Sherlock Holmes’ sense of reason.

He had acknowledged the view outside his window was the same as Watson and Eve had seen. He had even politely listened to Eve’s diatribe about being trapped in a holodeck scenario. “So, you are saying that we must end the story to close this… er, holographic projection?”

Eve nodded. “Yes, but not exactly. The end of my adventure would involve you solving the murder and somehow cornering Moriarty, or at least proving him guilty as he once more escapes. As you can see, the scenery around us belongs to the other stories which are happening at the same time. Based on that, I have to deduce that the only way to resolve this is by traveling in the direction of the new areas.”

Holmes stood up, his conviction still intact. “Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.”

Eve waited for the epiphany to bring the holodeck down, but in a grand gesture of anti-climax, that didn’t happen. She frowned. “Okay, I have to get out of here. The rest of my… group is out there somewhere, and perhaps if we work together as a team we can make some headway.” She removed her apron and cap, and undid her bun, instead making a ponytail and loosely braiding it.

“That settles it then, Mrs. Hudson. We *must* accompany you.”

Watson glared at Holmes. “We must, eh?”

“Indubitably. One of the duties of a gentleman is that he does not leave a lady unattended.”

Eve almost laughed. “I can take care of myself.”

“Nonsense,” Holmes replied. “Besides, what are we to do here? Watch as London completely disappears?” He gestured outside.

The Doctor grumbled. “Right you are. That doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

=/\=

Scene: Asian Countryside
Time Index: Later

The three of them had slogged through fields of grasses and rice paddies, and the landscape had eventually given way to a more tree-filled area. A breeze stirred the branches, making the leaves rustle and allowing light and shadow to play with each other.

The great Sherlock Holmes eyed his surroundings with curiosity. “Mrs. Hudson, this is very peculiar.”

“You’re telling me,” she quipped.

“If we’re not really moving, and this is all one big ‘simulator’, explain to me why my feet hurt,” Watson complained.

Eve smiled but didn’t reply. Trying to explain that he wasn’t even ‘real’ would have likely caused more trouble that it was worth.

“Stiff upper lip, Doctor,” Holmes chided, nodding his head towards their landlady. “You don’t hear her carrying on.”

Eve turned around. “Let’s just keep moving. No time to dwell-” she stopped when she saw someone step out from the thick shrubs lining the area, eyeballing the three of them with utter contempt.

“*What* do we have here? Interlopers?” The Japanese man now making his presence felt was wearing tattered robes and looked grungy and unkempt. The only thing that appeared serviceable and well-cared for was his blade. “Who dares trespass on Ginzo’s land?”

Eve held her hands up to show that they were empty of weapons. “We are just travelers here, passing through. We aren’t looking for trouble.”

“Then *we* require your money… to ensure safe passage.” Three more would-be Yakuza surrounded them, making it clear as to the ‘we’ part of the leader’s remark.

“I don’t have any,” she responded honestly.

Holmes stepped forward. “You’re more than welcome to what I have, sirs. Granted, I only brought enough for carriage fare, but I doubt we’ll be needing that here.” He tossed the man his coin pouch.

He examined the strange currency in puzzlement. “I have never seen money such as this. Are you trying to trick me?”

“Most certainly not! I am Sherlock Holmes and am a man of my word.”

“Am I supposed to be impressed by your odd clothing and accent? Because the only man of any import in this land is my boss, Ginzo!”

“I am a British citizen. The only men I answer to are those of the esteemed Scotland Yard!”

As the two men were verbally engaging between themselves, each trying to convince the other of their intent, Eve decided it was time for all Hell to break loose. She quickly kicked the lead man in the left flank, knocking the wind out of him and causing him to stumble. Angered by this, he made a run at her, but she sidestepped him. The other three ruffians closed in on all of them. She saw one targeting Holmes, and he held up his umbrella in a defensive gesture. The usually stodgy Watson ran off to the right, but Eve was a little occupied with her sparring partner to see exactly where he was headed.

The leader of the gang raised his sword overhead and ran at her with a yelp. This time, Eve slid low, knocking his legs out from under him. She righted herself behind him and grabbed his hair before he could regain his balance, bashing his head against a nearby tree trunk, rendering him unconscious. His weapon became hers.

A second man ran up to her, eager to try and finish what his boss had started. They both slashed at each other, and Eve noticed he had shredded a panel in her skirt. She backed up towards the treeline, wanting to make sure nobody could come in behind her. Her assailant got cocky and tried to strike her shoulder, instead embedding his weapon in the rough bark and soft wood. He laughed as he stood there, thinking she was too scared to continue, as she was nearly against the tree with nowhere to go.

She grabbed the hilt of the now stuck sword and swung both legs up, kicking the man in his abdomen. As he remained doubled over in pain, her right knee made contact with his eye socket, shattering the bones in his cheek.

It was downhill from there as they were now evenly matched, two gang members for Eve and Holmes. What the legendary fictional detective lacked in training, he made up for in bravado, And Eve warmed up to the fight the closer it got to the end. She managed to gruesomely break the arm of the third guy, and then ran the last man through with her weapon with panache.

Lieutenant Dalziel leaned forward, hands on her knees. Her breathing was a little heavier, but she didn’t appear to have suffered any physical damage. The safeties must still be holding out somehow, because by all rights she should have had at least a superficial cut here or there.
“Are you alright?” she asked Holmes, who nodded in the affirmative.

“You as well?” he asked back, his eyes in disbelief. The umbrella he had used to parry with was now utterly broken, but it had allowed him to assist.

“Yes.”

“That was a… most fascinating technique.”

She shrugged. “Not very elegant, but effective.”

Sherlock looked around, realizing they had lost a third of their might due to sheer cowardice. “Watson! Show yourself this instant! Are you a man or a mouse?”

The physician sheepishly came out of hiding. “Aw, Holmes. You know an old man like myself isn’t cut out for combat. Better to tend the wounded than become one.”

Holmes raised his hand as five figures ran up to the edge of the glade. “Steady yourselves. It appears we have more company.”

The dark haired woman squinted a little. It was obvious they weren’t Japanese warriors. But who or what exactly were they? There were two men and two women… and two penguins? The first woman was wielding a traditional sword like the one Eve had wrestled from their attackers, but her stance and coppery hair were very familiar. “Kass?” she called out. “Is that you?”

Kassandra assumed an at ease position. “Welcome to the party.” The men with her were a Vulcan and an Aaamazarite who had to be the new FCO and Science Officer respectively. The woman appeared to be one of the story characters; a young and pretty Asian girl. The penguins were attired as some sort of religious apostates. This here’s Stavik, our Pilot, and Arak Schad, the CSCiO. You may or may not ‘member them from that get-together in the Vulgar Tribble. Eve Dalziel is our Counsellor.”

“And I am Miyaki, trusty sidekick to lady Kass!” Her enthusiasm was off the scale.

“Glad to be welcomed. Let me introduce Mister Sherlock Holmes and Doctor John Watson, my honored companions.”

“Heh. So that’s what yer fantasy was- sleuthin’?”

“I thought it would be fun,” Eve answered defensively. “And yours is some sort of Samurai adventure, judging by the men who just showed up?”

“The Ginzo Gang? Thought I put ‘em out of commission earlier.”

“Well?” Eve asked Kass. “Don’t I get a pat on the back or something?”

“Fer what?”

The Counsellor opened her hands and motioned towards the unconscious and wounded bodies on the ground. “Eve, four points, Ninjas, zero.”

“They’re Ronin.” A grin tickled the edges of Kass’ mouth.

“I didn’t envision you as the technical type when it came to kicking ass.”

The Major chuckled. “You don’t know. My sensor nets ain’t on. Kinda takes the fun out of the holodeck when they are. Besides, I took care of six of ‘em earlier.”

One of the penguins shook a little. “Ahem. Don’t you think it wise to inform the others of the Prophecy?”

“Prophecy?” Holmes asked, still visibly unsettled that there was such a thing as talking penguins who wore clothing.

“The inhabitants of the adventures must join forces to defeat the evil Necromancer and his horde of evil Librarians, and save the Princess, who is captured in a castle,” Schad explained. Peng Win and Pin Guin flapped their flippers in agreement.

“Evil Librarians?” Eve laughed.

Stavik sighed. “As illogical as that sounds, Ensign Schad is correct.”

The second penguin cast a withering glance at the Counselor, well as withering as two shiny dark eyes could make. “This is a serious matter. The whole of destiny depends on reaching the objective.”

Watson had been sitting on a fallen log, rubbing his sore foot. “I don’t mean to burst anyone’s bubble, but whereabouts is this castle supposed to be? I could do with a bit of rest.”

“Behold!” the first penguin said with a flourish. Out of nowhere, in the direction of the afternoon sun, a mossy castle had appeared on a shallow mountain.

“That was convenient,” Eve remarked, making sure all the Ginzo Gang’s weapons had been confiscated and distributed among the ship’s crew and their helpers, and they began heading west.

“No. It would have been convenient if the holodeck exit had appeared,” the Aaamazarite confirmed.

=/\=
Susan Ledbetter
Writing for

Lieutenant Eve Dalziel
Cns
USS PHOENIX