The walls fritzed and shimmered and then dropped away entirely, leaving the five figures looking sweaty and bedraggled in the now empty holodeck. They looked at each other for a long moment before Ryker finally broke the silence. “Man, the Programmer is really upping the difficulty this go around, isn’t he? I mean, we are almost all melee, and these damned things explode or poison or stone us each time we kill one. That’s just mean.”
They all nodded in assent as Ryker continued, “I mean, I was a little apprehensive about fighting Tiamat again since we beat her once, but…”
“All we did was make her mad last time,” Worf rumbled in that throaty deep baritone that only Klingons are capable of mustering. “Bitch is pissed.”
“And technically the score is tied,” Data added. “Or slanted in her favor considering how many of our avatars she erased in the first go around. But in terms of story, we are tied and a having a tiebreaker only makes sense from a narrative standpoint.”
O’Brien shot the android a sideways look. “Well, you had to go ahead and make yourself a damned cult leader this go around. That ought to give us an edge.”
Data looked confused, then hurt, then a wry smile broke out on his face. “Ah, you aren’t being serious. Well, it makes sense that I should be deified since I am the most advanced lifeform present, currently.” His grin grew wider.
“Well, I am pretty sure my Arnie can take you,” Deanna shot Data a quasi-serious look. “Godling or not. Especially now that I have my magic axe.” She shot Data her fiercest battle expression.
“Great,” the other four groaned in unison with Worf adding, “another berserker axe? That didn’t go so great for us last time around.”
“Yeah,” Ryker said ruefully. “You damn near cut Vashir’s nose off with that thing last time.”
Deanna looked sheepish for a moment but then her face broke into a wicked grin. “Well, Arnie is a lot shorter than Sora. Best I could do this go around is cut you off at the knees.” She emphasized her point by making a chopping motion with her hand as Ryker dodged away in mock terror.
The group chuckled at that for a long moment but were interrupted by the of voice the Programmer over the intercom. “The next module is almost loaded. We will commence in ten minutes if you all are rested and ready.”
Worf called for the holodeck to manufacture a mirror and began stretching in front of it as he prepared for more combat to come, making sure to flex mightily as he did so. “I see the Deux’Dahl doesn’t fall far from the tree,” Ryker chided the brawny klingon with a smile.
“Well, at least I am not the one who chose to play as a teenage girl, you old pervert.”
Ryker’s face reddened. “Yeah, that might not have been the best choice…at least we don’t have to play out all the...awkward bits…in this module.”
O’Brien stepped up and addressed the group. “Look, the way I see it, we are in a lot of trouble. What are we going to do when dragons show up?”
The four stared at him for a moment trying to come up with something to say. Ryker finally spoke up, “Well, we haven’t really had to bother with any dragons yet, but when we do, we will do what we always do.”
“Die?” offered Data, unhelpfully. The android read their expressions and quickly added, “Well, that is what we did last time we faced one, Aruathator the White Death was her name. I believe we lasted a sum total of twenty-seven point three five eight seconds against her before complete termination.”
“Exactly,” O’Brien continued, channeling his inner DD as he began spelling out their deficiencies. “Daggers. Fists. Big Axes. Not a single one of ya has a ranged attack worth a salt, save for a few little spells here and those aren’t gonna be worth a lick against a dragon, so we are going to have to get down and dirty in melee with two tons of fang and fire.”
“Well, you could wrap him up in a net and we could beat on him while he is stuck,” Ryker responded sardonically.
“Yeah, my nets and daggers aren’t going to do much either. We’ve got nothing to to get ‘em out of the sky and nothing to ping at them from a safe distance. All of us up in the fray is going to get us smoked quicker than we did against the frost dragon last time.”
They were all silent for a moment until Deanna broke the uneasy quiet with, “Well, Arnie is real small; one of you can certainly throw me up on a flying dragon’s back and I will knock it right out of the sky.”
O’Brien grinned at her, “Well, it just might come to that. Now who is the strongest of us who can throw ya?” All eyes stared at Deanna. “Oh right, you are. We all skimped on strength and smarts this go around. What could possibly go wrong?”
“I put some points into intelligence,” Data retorted. “As a superior being and speaking with the voice of a deity, I felt it…”
“Ugh, I get it,” Rkyer shot back, then his expression softened. “I mean, I get it, your worshipfulness.” He bowed deeply as he spoke.
The group chuckled softly. “Well, I put all of my points into handsomeness, I supposed I could try charming the dragon when the time comes,” Worf offered helpfully, flexing extra hard at his reflection in the mirror.
“Yeah, you’d like that,” Ryker said with a grin. “Now who’s the pervert?” He turned away and murmured, “Dragonfucker,” just barely loud enough for everyone to hear.
The group shared a laugh as the walls around them began to shimmer and sway.
“I hope you are prepared,” the Programmer’s disembodied voice said over the intercom. “Due to this module’s interference with the BG3 protocol, the difficulty for this next section has been changed from ‘Easy’ to ‘Intermediate.’ Simulation commencing in: Three. Two. One.”
The holodeck began printing a desolate backdrop of hard rock, scraggly brush, and tall cliffs and the air grew warm as a muggy breeze began to blow over them from the south.
Arnie gave her giant axe a few practice swings before stowing the weapon over her shoulder. Lyric practiced as few katas as Eros secured his mask securely over his face. When they were ready, the group of adventurers hoisted their packs and weapons and began their long trek westward.
“BG3 protocol?” asked DD as they walked. Duex’dahl shrugged as he twirled his twin daggers through his fingers before slipping them into their sheathes.
“Wait, that was supposed to be ‘Easy’ mode?” asked Lyric after a long moment.
“Shit,” they all said in unison.