‘Barred from Entry’

By Yeoman 1^st Class Vincent Rogers

Mess Hall Cook

Location-Holodeck and then 10 Forward

Vincent thought about his trip to the ship just two hours before, watching the Galaxy Class starship through the simulated window. As they had approached closer and closer, the thought playing around in his mind was that the ship was a nicer looking prison than his other alternative.

Quickly pushing those thoughts out of the way, Vincent looked around for the one place on the ship that would drag him out of his depression...the Holodeck Room. Remembering the standard blueprints of the Galaxy Class, he walked around until he managed to find a door labeled Holodeck-12. Not being picky with holodecks, he pressed the button to automatically open the door.

Vincent entered the Holodeck chamber. He scratched his head as he looked the room over. The black tiles on the walls, floors, and ceilings looked so bland. But, Vincent thought, they were supposed to be covered up most of the time anyway.

"Computer, run program D-23 Earth Acapulco Beach Stardate 47000," Vincent said with an almost eager voice. Looking around, he expected to see white sandy beaches and beautiful girls running up and down the coast, but all he saw was the black tiles staring back at him. He repeated himself louder, but still had no response.

Vincent looked down at his feet, feeling quite dejected. Of all the places on the ship, why did this one room have to have a bug? He tried hailing the computer again, but received no response. Vincent then reached up for his communicator and tapped it lightly, trying to hail the computer that way. All he heard was the silence speech of the black tile walls.

Vincent thought for a moment, then decided to use one of his old tricks for gaining access into the computer. Dredging the code from his memory, he tapped his communicator once more and recited the codes. A warning siren sounded from his communicator, followed by a message.

"You are not authorized to have access to this system. Any further attempt to gain access will result in notification to Starfleet of your actions. This is a warning."

A look of surprise flashed upon Vincent’s face as he heard the computer’s firm feminine voice. A warning? All he wanted to know was why the holodeck wasn’t working. Rubbing his forehead, Vincent asked himself why he wasn’t allowed any sort of computer access, not even to the holodeck. In the back of his mind, the answer was fairly obvious, but it was too hard to believe. He couldn’t believe that Starfleet was so frightened of him that they would cut off all access to the computer.

Frustrated, he smashed the door latch button, once again bringing him to what would be the real world for the next several years. Fuming, he walked down the corridor and to the lift, thinking about the events that had just transpired. This was going to be worse than colony life, Vincent thought. At least he would be constantly occupied in the penal colony, rather than held captive with nothing more than his thoughts.

As he approached the 10-Forward, his mind had cooled off a little, and had moved to a more humorous nature. He entered the already crowded room, and began to smile. If he was to fulfill his roll as mess hall cook, he should at least have access to a food replicator, or there would be many angry crewmen to deal with.