A Most Agreeable Arrangement

Chapter 4 - Holodeck

The first officer arrived, and our saucer section was reconnected.

I breathed a sigh of relief as the manual connection was successful.

Data was busy for a while after that, so I stayed on the bridge and searched for more signs of Q.

"Lieutenant Fae," the captain addressed me.

I had been lost in my work before, but when he said my name, my head shot up to look at him.

"Huh? What?"

He smiled ever so slightly, clearly trying to hide his amusement.

"You've been working for quite a while. You should take a break."

"Oh, no Captain, I'm alright," I shook my head. "I've been monitoring for--"

"For Q?" he guessed correctly, raising his eyebrows at me. "You'd do better to be at your best when we meet him again, rather than tiring yourself out looking for him."

I opened my mouth to protest, but it didn't quite reach my lips as I realized the truth of his words.

I sighed. "You're right, Captain."

"Of course I am," he smiled. "Now, take a break, Lieutenant Fae."

He nodded in approval as I backed away from my station and made my way onto the turbolift. As I was stepping out onto another deck, Data was returning from his assignment.

"Data," I gave him a friendly smile, which he mimicked in return.

"Good evening, Fae," his eyes almost seemed to light up, though it may have been my imagination making him seem more human to me.

I began walking alongside him as he made his way down the corridor.

"You've got the whole ship memorized already," I stated more than asked. If he could access information and commit it to memory as quickly as he had before, I knew he would already be sufficiently acquainted with the ship.

"Yes," he said with a nod.

"So, what're you thinking of doing?" I looked up at him. He was staring straight ahead as he walked.

"I was planning on spending some time in the Holodeck."

"I think that's a nice idea," I nodded, placing my hands behind my back. "Do you mind if I join you?"

"Not at all. In fact, it would be pleasant to have you there," he turned to face me with a small, inviting smile.

"Well, then it's settled. Let's head to the Holodeck," I smiled back at him as we walked.

Data's choice for the Holodeck was interesting. He chose a forested area, and the computer generated a terrain with a small stream which had stepping stones across it.

It reminded me of the woods at my home with my parents, back on Earth.

Data hopped across the stones with ease, and I stood at the other end of the bank, staring down at them.

He called out to me, "Is there a problem, Fae?"

"No," I called back.

Truth be told, I was nervous. The stones hadn't looked very sturdy when he had hopped across them; they wobbled under his feet as he went. He made split-second decisions and readjusted his weight, because he was an android and could do that sort of thing.

I was decidedly not an android.

"Yes," I took back my previous answer with a sigh. "I'm nervous about jumping across. The stones looked unstable when you went."