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Captain Janeway was in her ready room, going over another series of crew reports when she heard the door chime.
"Come in," she called out. She looked up to see Neelix and Naomi Wildman enter.
"Oh, hello you two," she greeted with a smile.
"I hope we're not interrupting anything important," Naomi replied.
"Not at all," Janeway reassured, setting the PADD down, “How are the preparations for the party going?” Neelix and Naomi had arranged for two Halloween parties in Holodeck 2; the first one taking place tonight and the second one tomorrow on Halloween Night. There was no doubt it was going to be packed since it was the source of gossip amongst half of the crew. Captain Janeway and most of the senior bridge crew couldn’t attend tonight’s party, but they adjusted their shifts so they could attend the second one. Tom Paris had suggested that the costumes be a 20th Century fictional character of one’s choice. Obviously, he was going as Captain Proton. Janeway had already made it clear that she was not dressing up as Queen Arachnia, but she was keeping her costume choice a secret until tomorrow.
“Good, except we’ve got a problem,” Naomi answered, “And we hope you’ll be able to help us.”
Janeway quirked an eyebrow. “What’s wrong?”
Neelix sighed, “We’ve been making sweet treats for the party, and one of the recipes Naomi found was where you dip apples in melted candy, caramel, or chocolate.”
“I remember those,” Janeway beamed, “Every Halloween, my mother would make them for the party guests and Trick-or-Treaters. I would eat any that were left. I love the red candy apples.”
“Well, the problem is that every time we make them, they get stolen.”
“What?” Janeway couldn’t help but chuckle.
“It’s easy to make again, but given the large number of guests we’re going to have, it’s a lot of work,” Neelix added, “And we don’t have enough apples to replace the lost ones for very long. I had to use some of Crewman Dalby’s replicator rations to get them, and he’ll kill me if he finds out they’ve been wasted.”
“That is trouble,” Janeway nodded understandingly. “Do you know the identity of the thief?”
Naomi handed her a PADD with a video playing. “The camera in the mess hall caught these three in the act.” The video showed Ensigns Paris and Baytart and Crewman Jarvin huddling over the tray of apples left out in the open.
“Oh, boy,” Janeway shook her head. She figured those three were the culprits because they had somewhat of a reputation for hogging all the snacks in various parties Neelix held.
“We’ve told them to stop, but they won’t,” Naomi sighed. “Crewman Jarvin keeps telling me that since I’m only a kid, I can’t tell him what to do.”
Janeway winced. She didn’t like hearing about any member of her crew being rude to the little girl. Jarvin wasn’t fond of children, and he was sometimes condescending towards Naomi. She’d heard this story from her and several other crew members, and she was getting tired of his rudeness.
“Normally we wouldn’t ask such a thing from you,” Neelix explained, “but we were hoping you could put a stop to this.”
“Me?” Janeway tensed up. “What should I do? I can’t just order them to not eat your snacks.”
“I was afraid you were going to say that,” Naomi muttered in a disappointed tone, “What are we going to serve the other party guests? We may have to use the vegetables from the hydroponics bay. Yuck! Candy tomatoes? Chocolate turnips? Caramel onions? No thank you!”
“Wait a minute!” Janeway suddenly chimed. She thought for a minute before looking back at Naomi with a devilish grin. “Naomi, I think you just came up with a wicked idea, and I’d like to help you.”
She then explained her plan. After coming to an agreement, the trio headed for the turbolift.
***
The party was a hit. The crewmembers who were able to attend were having a ball in their costumes, dancing to the music, exploring the haunted mansion, watching classic Halloween movies, and so much more.
Even though she wasn’t going to join in the festivities until the next night, Captain Janeway could see the other crewmembers having fun and couldn’t wait to do the same. But tonight, she was on a mission, so she was still in uniform. Naomi, who was dressed up as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, stood near the snack table with Neelix, waiting for Paris, Baytart, and Jarvin to arrive. The captain, meanwhile, was down low, hiding behind the table with a holoprojector in hand.
“Oh, Mr. Paris,” Neelix called out, “Naomi and I just made new candy apples.”
“They’re delicious,” Naomi added, “You can eat these if you want.”
Paris (dressed as Captain Proton, obviously), Baytart (dressed as Frankenstein), and Jarvin (dressed as Gene Simmons from KISS) didn’t waste any time heading to the table. They each took an apple stick and took a big bite.
... ... ...
“Ew!” “Yuck!” “Ugh!” The three crew members scrunched their faces in complete and utter disgust.
“What are these apples?” Jarvin demanded, sticking out his tongue in a completely different gesture from the 1970s metal band.
Baytart examined the apple, or rather what looked like an apple. “These are onions!”
“Onions?!” Paris yelped. “Oh, God, we just fell for one of the oldest Halloween pranks in the book!”
A flash of light momentarily blinded the trio.
“And one even a starship captain would do!” A familiar voice announced. The culprits turned to find Captain Janeway standing behind the table. Their eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets when they realized she had just taken a rather incriminating photo of them!
“Captain?!” The three men shrieked in unison.
Janeway grinned evilly, “We tricked you with the treats.”
“Oh, no!” “You tricked us?!” “Daaaaang!” The mens’ words were spoken one right after the other.
Janeway held up the holoprojector, showing off the picture. “As they say back on Earth, revenge is sweet.”
“Now I think you three owe Neelix and me an apology,” Naomi scolded, her hands on her hips in an adorable, yet stern pose.
“Tch,” Jarvin scoffed, “What for? You’re just a kid. You can’t tell us what to do.”
“Ah-hem!” Jarvin turned at the sound of the captain, who gave him a withering glare. He gulped.
“You realize that Naomi is not like other kids. She is Captain’s Assistant.” Paris informed.
“What?!” Jarvin was stunned.
“I have my own set of duties,” Naomi replied, seemingly unfazed by the former Maquis officer’s insulting attitude.
“And she does her duties very well,” Janeway added.
Baytart nodded, “Besides, we did take their apple treats without asking.”
“Sorry, guys,” Paris and Baytart both said.
Defeated, Jarvin breathed a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry, too.”
“Apology accepted,” Neelix and Naomi answered. The little girl nodded to the captain, who then put the real tray of candy apples on the table. “Here are the real candy apples.” She took two of them and gave each one to Paris and Baytart, which they graciously accepted.
She then looked at the sulking Jarvin before taking another candy apple and walking toward him.
“What is it?” He asked in a grumpy tone.
“You look like you need some cheering up,” Naomi offered, “It is Halloween, and it’s supposed to be fun.”
Jarvin momentarily stared at the little girl before he carefully took the candy apple from her hand. “Thanks,” he muttered before he walked away.
Naomi was a little perplexed. “What’s the matter with him? How come he’s not very nice to me?”
“I don’t know, Naomi,” Janeway sighed, patting Naomi’s shoulder reassuringly. “I’ll deal with him later, but for now I think it’s best that you don’t let what he says bother you.”
Naomi gave her a small smile. “Okay.” She pointed to the apples. “Would you like a candy apple too?”
“Thanks, but I’m not hungry right now,” Janeway answered. “I have to return to the Bridge now, but I’ll be here for tomorrow’s party and I’ll have one then.”
“Really?” Naomi’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “Mr. Paris says everyone’s dressing up as 20th Century characters. Will you be dressing up, too?”
“Yes,” Janeway nodded.
“As whom?”
“It’s a secret.”
“What?” Naomi pouted a little. “No fair.”
“Well, I’ll give you a hint,” Janeway smirked, “It’s a bewitching costume that I’m sure will leave everyone spellbound.” She then attempted a twitch of her nose.
“Uhhh,” Naomi shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know.”
“Tomorrow, you’ll find out,” Janeway smiled warmly, “You’ll be here, won’t you?”
“Of course!”
“Okay, then,” Janeway turned to leave the holodeck. “You and Neelix have fun, okay?”
“We will,” Naomi called out, “Thank you, Captain.”
Neelix reached his hand out to Naomi. The littlest Voyager crewmember then happily accompanied him on a spooktacular adventure through the Halloween holoprogram.