Star Trek: Starbase 777

The Hell Gate was situated at the front if the festival. There were some informational signs posted in Federation Standard answering Bajoran with other languages being available if one scanned the signs with a PADD. There were a few renjens walking around with what looked like giant hoovers strapped to their backs. The purpose of the festival was to feed the wandering spirits who arrived in the mortal realm for Ghost Month. Not every spirit was friendly though and a few renjens had volunteered to 'suck' up those malicious spirits with comically large vacuums. Anyone who wanted to help could come to the booth near the entrance and grab a hoover. For those not looking to fight ghosts, they could still enjoy the festival by wandering around and enjoying all the food or praying at the shrine or bonfire.

08:51

The warning signs posted listed a couple 'rules' and precautions. - Do not touch the food in the #shrine or #bonfire areas! Living guests can enjoy food at the buffet! - NO SWEARING! It upsets the ghosts - take photos at your own risk, a ghost may photobomb you! - Avoid standing too close to walls, a ghost may grab you! - make sure to leave an extra seats at tables for ghosts!

Starbase 777's self-proclaimed 'greatest detective' had arrived uncharacteristically early to an event. The Insectoid prided itself on its intentional tardiness; "never arrive within the first 10 minutes or nobody will be there, and never be there after the first 20 or all the food will be gone." Today would be a tad different, however. Shears foresaw a great deal of productivity in today--first, identify if the superstitions are true. Second, if they are, study them intently. Third, uncover some mystery and solve it immediately after. Fourth could be possibly studying the Xindi of ancient times. That was for anthropologists, though, he was just a detective. He strolled in rather excitedly. He wore a sort of wraparound tunic designed by his people, inspired by fashion of the humanoids. He had also chosen a yellow design--to match his uniform. It was odd to put on, but it made for a decent casual outfit. It looked flowed nicely on his tall, wide frame, so it felt fitting for this occasion. He rarely wore something other than his uniform, but he figured he would treat himself today.

Dressed in a simple long sleeved green shirt and black trousers with boots,long hair in its pony tail with metal leaf and vine decorations worked into it. He felt uncomfortable with these small concessions to adornment he had indulged in. Part of that he happened to know was for the same reasons as why he felt conscious about the implants. But he reckoned he always had happened to be uncomfortable with the posh outfits being the son of a matriarch had sometimes led him to having to wear. Not that that mattered right now,too late to go and change. So, he headed inside with swift booted steps,paused only briefly to review the rules and started in the direction of the bonfire.

A particularly well dressed Cardassian-Romulan strode toward the Hell Gate, six inch heels clicking a staccato rhythm as they approached. They did not stop to look around or admire the gate, having eyed it from afar as it was being built earlier that day. It was a fascinating sight, but Xal had caught wind of the ghost summoning and was here to test it. If it was true, there was only one thing he was interested in, and that was a conversation he had wished he could have for more than twenty five years. And so, he walked directly into the festival, ignoring the people and decorations and eccoutrement and making a beeline for the shrine.

Iiani walked towards the booth handing out the hoovers. Even though everyone she knew and could want to talk to was still alive, she could still suck up some ghosts! Its hair was in a tight updo, and it was sporting a tank top and some wide pants— perfect for fighting ghosts. At least she thought; she didn’t have much experience with that sort of thing. Anyways, it would be good cardio in any outfit. So it slipped on the vacuum and headed through the gate, towards the bonfire.

Thoughts of afterlife never really crossed the Vulcans mind. He knew before his death, his katra, which was akin to a Vulcan soul, would be transfered and preserved, if possible. Whether his katra would be able to manifest anything or feel anything after that, he was skeptical. Death and souls, however, seemed to be a point of common interest to all cultures and once he heard of the festival he saw no damage in attending. Walking to the gate with a long mahogany colored robe tied to the waist with a golden sash, the man admired the decoration briefly before entering. In his mind, it was illogical to try and summon anyone. How could they manifest here, so far away from his ancestral land and therefore the shrine where their katras were kept? Without him having contact with their very essence? Illogical. He believed there should be an explanation for these apparitions aside from supernatural forces. He had been interested in exploring the possibilities when he heard about the more chaotic spirits that would have been interrupting the festivities. Since he was not set on summoning and he wished to inspect the apparitions closer, he volunteered himself to help “suck” these spirits, grabbing a hoover. The sight of the traditionally dresses Vulcan with a giant vacuum strapped to his back was definitely a sight to be seen.

K'tehka had been aware of the Happy Ghost Festival the prior year, but he hadn't felt the need to go. All of the people who had died that he had loved were in Sto'vo'kor. They would not need to be bothered with his living problems or experiences - they were victorious and living in glory. But this year had been a bit...quieter. Perhaps a bit lonelier. He had not gotten out as much, not met as many people as he had thought he would when he had decided to make the move to uproot his life and come to live on on the Federation Starbase. For whatever reason, he'd become a bit of a hermit, having really only ventured out onto the base when called upon for his mail or a bite to eat here and there. So when it was time for the Happy Ghost Festival this year, he decided maybe he would call on someone he had been longing for their company. So, he arrived at the hell gate and strode in with a purpose.

Allan had been thinking about this festival for months. It seemed silly to say, but after summoning several ghosts in previous years, he was starting to be convinced that this was actually a real way to talk with the dead. But his brain had a hard time with reasoning that if this was real, then it could be a way to talk with T'Alea. Something that, to Allan, was something he both very much wanted to do and was very much afraid of doing. What if something went wrong? What if somehow, if he made the wrong offering or accidentally said 'fuck' and that caused some explosion and - All that had been floating around his mind the past few days, but he ultimately decided to just go for it after talking with some of the Bajoran renjens. Apparently there was not a very high chance of a large catastrophic event being caused by him saying a curse word. Which, of course, was good. Regardless, though, he was avoiding the bonfire. Just in case. So here he was, in a deep red, long sleeved, off-the-shoulder long dress, a container of food in his hands. Uncharacteristically, the engineer avoided eye contact with everyone else as he went to #buffet-tables-2 .

At the Hell Gate the Bajoran renjens all gathered to start with the closing ceremony. Whilst guests were still free to chat and enjoy the buffet, the main festivities were coming to a close. All of the wonderful ghost sucking volunteers were called to the front to be awarded their prize. All participants received a "I SUCKED!" t-shirt with a cute graphic of a ghost being sucked into a vacuum along with the festival name and date 'HUNGRY GHOST FESTIVAL 2415' on the back. The top sucker, Silver, received a little robotic skeleton dog. A GHOST DOG, if you will. It was an android pet that acted just like a real dog! It could learn tricks, walk, all that stuff. The best thing was, since it was an android pet, it wouldn't disappear after ghost month! For the other two, Iiani and Tarsek, they received little trophies of a ghost being sucked up by a vacuum with their names written on it and a food voucher that could be used at pretty much any restaurant on the promenade!