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“Grr! Come on, just twenty points to go,” Tom hissed through gritted teeth in deep focus, “I can do this. Nobody fall in, please.”
Tom had just replicated a gaming console, something he had been saving three whole months’ worth of replicator rations for. Being the aficionado of 20th Century pop culture, he asked for the original Game Boy released way back in 1989. Amazingly, after all this time, it was still possible to create a working one with the help of a series of archived blueprints in the computer database. It wasn’t the sleekest console, nor did it have the advanced functions of any 24th Century device, but its old-school sentiment never failed to bring great pleasure to the ship’s pilot. And he had added some features that the original never had, like a rechargeable battery, instead of copper ones, an LED screen that was first used with the Game Boy Advance SP, and a ten-place record chart for the high scores and names of the players.
At the moment, he was hooked on Game & Watch Gallery, the Game Boy compilation of four classic games from Nintendo’s early years in the gaming industry in the early 1980s. Those four games were Manhole, Fire, Octopus, and Oil Panic, all part of a series of mini-games released on devices known as the Game & Watch, the console that preceded the Game Boy. They could be played either in Classic mode, with the original graphics intact, or Modern mode, featuring some the characters from the Super Mario Bros. games, with the levels on Easy, Hard, or Very Hard.
Harry was watching Tom try to reach a thousand points on Manhole’s Classic mode on Hard. Tom had already made the quadruple-digit mark on Easy and was itching to do just that on this level before moving on to the Modern mode and the other three games. This was his twentieth try over a three day period, having failed two-hundred-and-fifty points short on the last attempt. With two miss marks visible, it was a hit-or-miss chance.
“It’s within your grasp, Tom,” Harry urged, “Focus.”
Tom’s hand-eye coordination worked overtime as he focused on catching the pedestrians as they passed over the manholes. Neither he, nor Harry noticed the voice chiming through the comm.
*Janeway to Paris and Kim. Please respond.*
One crew member sitting at the table opposite them tried to intervene. This was the fifth time Captain Janeway had tried to contact them. He had a strong feeling that she would be storming into the mess hall any minute to drag them out by their collars if she had to. “Uh, guys—“
“Not now,” Harry shot back.
“Yes! Oh hell yes, I did it!” Tom’s shouting startled Harry.
“What? You did it?”
“I got there just before the last pedestrian fell,” Tom sighed, “Hallelujah! I’m the King of Manhole. No one can stop me now tha—!” He felt a swift grab pull his Game Boy out of his hand.
“Hey!” Tom rose to face the thief, “That’s my—Wha--! Uh-oh!” Tom turned pale at the sight of Captain Janeway standing at the table, his Game Boy in her small hand. He knew he was really in trouble.
“Mr. Paris,” Janeway seethed, her eyes fixed upon his with her infamous death glare, “did you not hear me contacting you five times or were you ignoring me?"
"Uh, no, Ma'am, I wasn't ignoring you," Tom sputtered, "I didn't hear you call."
"You know that you and Mr. Kim are supposed to join Neelix on today's away mission to find the raw materials we need for our warp engines.”
Tom slapped his face with his palm, “Damn, I forgot about that!”
“We must’ve lost track of time,” Harry explained, his head hanging low.
“Well,” Janeway growled, “unless you both want to be demoted to crewmen, I suggest you report to Transporter Room 3 and beam down to the planet. Now.”
The two ensigns didn’t need to be told twice. “Yes, Ma’am.” They dashed out the doors and headed to Transporter Room 3.
Once Tom, Harry, and Neelix had beamed down to the surface of the planet, Tom realized that Janeway still had his Game Boy! It would be twenty-four long hours before the away team could beam back aboard Voyager, so he would have nothing to do. Plus, he wasn’t sure she would ever give the console back after what happened.
***
Janeway finished reading the last of the status reports in her ready room. This time, there wasn’t very much to look at; it had been smooth sailing for the past two weeks. No Borg cubes in sensor range, no subspace anomalies, nothing. As relieving as it was to not have any trouble forthcoming, she was growing a bit restless. She wasn’t in the mood to run any holonovel programs, nor did she feel like taking a walk around the ship, and Naomi was occupied with her studies, so hanging out with her was off the list. With no one to talk to and nothing to do, she was bored, teetering on the edge of madness.
She stood up to relieve the tension in her legs from sitting in her chair for three hours straight. She then caught a glance of the gray rectangular electronic device on her coffee table.
Tom’s attention was consumed by that, she thought to herself, realizing that she hadn’t taken a good look at it. What is this thing, anyway? Janeway picked up the device and her eyes widened as soon as they finished analyzing what she was holding.
“Whoa,” she gasped, “It’s a Game Boy. The classic one. I never thought I’d see one of these in real life.” She pulled out the game cartridge to see what Tom was playing. Upon seeing the sticker for Game & Watch Gallery, she couldn’t help but smile.
“I remember this game!” she mused quietly, “I used to play this on my friend’s Nintendo Infinity whenever we would hang out together.” She placed the cartridge back in. “I wonder if this works?”
Janeway switched on the power, the descending logo and old-school beep indicating that it was indeed functional. The title screen popped up before she switched the console off. Probably not the best time to be playing video games.
***
Once her duty shift ended, Janeway immediately went to her quarters, taking the Game Boy with her. As soon as she sat down on the sofa, she stared at the device for a moment before switching it on.
“I really want to play this right now,” she muttered, “but should I really be doing this without asking?” She then noticed that Manhole was the only game that had been played so far. Checking the high scores, she saw that the high score on the Classic mode Hard level was one thousand. Her eyebrow quirked; no wonder the guys missed her comm. That was no easy achievement. The five other players on record had only double or triple-digit scores.
She shrugged her shoulders. "Aw, what the hell?" She started out by playing the Easy level. Turns out, she hadn't lost her touch on that game; she made it to one thousand points before she deliberately let herself get the three misses.
Barely a minute had passed before she heard the door chime.
"Come in," she called. The doors opened and Chakotay walked in. Kathryn remembered that tonight was their weekly dinner.
"Sorry I'm late," he apologized, "Finishing the report on this week's crew evaluations took a bit longer than I planned."
"That's all right," Kathryn reassured him, gesturing toward the empty table, "In fact, I should've set the table before you got here. I can't believe I didn't think to do that."
Chakotay noticed the Game Boy in her hands. "Isn't that Tom's--?"
"Yes it is," she quickly answered, "His attention was consumed by this, so he missed my call to remind him and Ensign Kim to accompany Neelix on his away mission."
"Game & Watch Gallery?"
Kathryn's eyes widened in surprise. "How'd you guess? Have you played it?"
"No, I suck at video games," he answered with a lopsided smile, "but I overheard him playing it with the Delaney sisters yesterday in the mess hall. They were the ones who asked what game it was."
"I see."
Chakotay gave her a quizzical look. "And you? I never knew you to be gamer."
Kathryn shrugged, "I used to be when I was a young woman. I was testing my skills on the Easy level. I'm honestly surprised I still have it in me."
Chakotay couldn't help but chuckle, "Like riding a bicycle after several years."
"Exactly."
"So how do you play that game?" Chakotay decided to listen while he cooked for them both.
"Well," Kathryn began, "There are four games in this title that are from the classic Nintendo arcade consoles known as the Game & Watch. Those games are............so you can.......otherwise......." She went on to explain how to play the game while Chakotay listened, "......and that's basically what you do," she finished by the time dinner was ready.
"Wow," Chakotay muttered, "my brain hurts."
Kathryn placed her hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry. It's easier to understand from actually playing it or watching someone else play."
They briefly changed the subject as they ate their dinner. Then, an idea crossed her mind. Tom and Harry still had no excuse for not answering her call, and she had just come up with the perfect punishment!
"Tom thinks he's the King of Manhole, huh?" An evil grin formed on Kathryn's face, "We'll see about that."
"Uh-oh," Chakotay smirked, "you've got that look on your face, Kathryn."
"So are you thinking what I'm thinking of doing?"
"I think so," he answered, "and I'd like to watch you."
"By all means, Chakotay," Kathryn moved to the couch and motioned for him to join her.
Once they were comfortably seated, she switched on the Game Boy and began to play, with him watching over her shoulder.
***
It had been a long, boring twenty-four hours, but finally, Tom, Harry, and Neelix were back aboard Voyager with the raw materials they needed.
Tom wrote the report on their away mission and gave the PADD to the Captain.
Before leaving her ready room, he had to ask her something. "Uh, Captain?"
"Yes?"
Tom did his best to maintain his composure. "I'm sorry about what happened yesterday. I promise, I'll make sure I don't miss any more calls from you."
"I'll hold you to that, Mr. Paris," Janeway replied. She handed him the Game Boy. "I recommend you play this only when your duty shift is over, which I believe is right now."
"Good idea. Thank you, Captain."
"Dismissed."
Tom left her ready room, not noticing the devious smile forming on Janeway’s face.
***
Tom made it back to his quarters and called for Harry to join him. Once Harry arrived, Tom switched the Game Boy on.
"Let's take another look at that high score just to let it sink in that I’m the King of Manhole.” Tom checked the high score chart for Manhole Classic mode with the computer's record log.
"ACK!!!!" Tom and Harry's jaws dropped in shock upon discovering that he had been dethroned as the King of Manhole. The new high score was two thousand points! Even more shocking was the name of the player right next to it.
***
Captain Janeway and Chakotay were walking down the corridor having a lighthearted conversation when a voice echoed throughout Deck 3.
“CAPTAIN!”
Janeway and Chakotay jumped and turned around to find Tom running towards her with Harry trying to catch up. The command duo looked at one another with smirks on their faces.
“Captain, you played my game while I was gone?” Tom demanded while catching his breath.
“Now why would I do that?” Janeway asked, feigning innocence in her tone.
Tom held up the console, “The new high score for Manhole Classic mode on Hard is two thousand points. And it’s got your name written all over it!”
Janeway and Chakotay snorted before laughing boisterously. “You ignore my calls for video games and that’s what you get,” she said.
“Oh, that’s just mean,” Tom whined, “There’s no way I can beat that score.”
“At least she left the other games alone,” Harry reassured. He then asked the Captain with genuine curiosity, “Did you play video games as a child?”
“Actually, yes,” Janeway answered, “I even played the recreational versions on the holodeck.”
“I see. That’s why you were so good at Manhole,” Harry reasoned.
“Our captain has many talents,” Chakotay added, “including some that even surprise me.”
“Aww c’mon, Chakotay,” Janeway narrowed her eyes coyly, “you just love to flatter me, don’t you?”
Chakotay grinned, his dimples clearly visible. “I do.” He was rewarded with a playful swat on the shoulder.
“How’d you do it?” Tom asked.
“Oh,” Janeway answered, “that’s my little secret. If I told you, I’d have to throw you out the airlock.”
“Oh, God, no,” Paris protested in amusement. “Anyway, I guess I have a new rival. Someday, we should compete against one another.”
Janeway’s eyebrow quirked, “You’re on.” She and Chakotay turned around to return to their quarters. “I’ll see you on the bridge tomorrow,” she called over her shoulder.
“Good night, guys,” Tom answered.
Tom and Harry walked back to Tom’s quarters, now eager to play Manhole in Modern mode and the other three games in Game & Watch Gallery. And Tom was excited to know that he now had a formidable rival in Captain Janeway. How would he do in a one-on-one match against her? Someday, he would find out.