The Running Man - Friday Event

Posted on 26 Mar 2025 @ 3:25am by Lieutenant JG Douglas McDougal & 2nd Lieutenant Cassandra Mathews & 2nd Lieutenant Melody Hawthorne & Master Sergeant Candice Laramie & Corporal Haden Stroad & Lieutenant JG Thex sh'Zoarhi & 1st Lieutenant Gavin Ross Dr. & Master Sergeant Thomas Zang

2,374 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: General Sim Postings
Location: Holodeck 4
Timeline: 0300-0500

ON:



It was the appointed time to go to the appointed place. Same as the weeks before this one and likely many that were to follow.

It was time for the main event. As the clock counted down and the various players dressed in their game suites. The black jumpsuit with the the identity hiding helmet and their teams colored badges. In small groups those opting in appeared in their teams holding room.

The score board was present against the right hand wall. Announcing the winners of the weeks on going games.

Congratulations Red Team - 50 pts Bingo

Congratulations Yellow team - 50pts Tag

Congratulations -Hide and Seek- Player 6 team Blue 25 pts

MVP of the week: Player 10 Red Team -30pts

Player 12 Red Team- 20pts - you know what you did great job!


The waiting rooms were black trimmed in the teams colors. A tinted window took up one wall. A row of seats in front of it. It would open up to allow team members to watch their peers in the game bellow and to cheer them on.

A fireman's pole went through the floor to an un seen space below. To veteran players this was known as the playground. When players were selected to play they decended via the pole to the room bellow.

Reds 00 materialized in the red teams area and the card that brought him here disappeared from his hand. He looked around and waited for the rest of his team.

Gavin Ross adjusted the collar of his black T-shirt as he stepped into the dimly lit holodeck. The soft hum of the technology just below the surface reminded him of the thrilling chaos that awaited him. He took a moment, standing at the entrance in a swirl of anxiety and excitement.

Today, he had no idea who would be the chosen one—the Runner for the Red team. Luck had bestowed upon him the number 7, a number layered with superstition and lore, and for Gavin, that meant everything to him. He was honored to participate with his secretive teammates. Thomas, Thex, and Cassandra were more than just crewmates; they were his brothers and sister-in-arms.

Gavin took a few deep breaths, feeling the smooth material of his black athletic pants and the weightlessness of his lightweight sneakers. The stark simplicity of his outfit was a purposeful choice—nothing flashy, nothing that would hinder his movement or draw unnecessary attention. Ross had spent the week physically and mentally preparing, each session on the holodeck a calculated drill to enhance his agility, speed, and endurance.

It was now. Ross stepped up and announced, “Number 07.” Before he took his seat behind the team's viewing glass, he breathed outward and cocked himself up, ready to believe he could do this. The pressure was on! It was Running Man Day!

As he sat he watched as eight more bodies materialized into the room he and Thomas waited in. Greetng each other they too went to the row of seats after seeing the score board.

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Thex quarters.

The andorian engineer smiled to herself as she stepped out of the sonic shower and to the bed where she had laid out the gear. Running her hands over the black jumpsuit she smiled to herself. This was going to be fun. Dressing in the black jumpsuit she admired how it fit her like a glove before dressing in the leather boots, climbing gloves, and the utility belt. Smiling at her reflection she compiled her gear with the helmet before picking up the card and activating the transporter.

She appeared in an innocent-looking reception area. Time to play the game she thought as she headed for the double doors.

When Thex stepped through the double door she was transferred to a room of black and red the doors behind her gone she joined the other players in reds waiting room.

In there she found ten people now eleven counting herself waiting in the red team lounge.
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As the timer rolled down to the double 00. People stopped teleporting in. The score board changed showing the following stats.

Red: 12 players in lobby
Yellow: 10 players in lobby
Green: 12 players in lobby
Blue: 15 players in lobby
Purple: 6 players in lobby
Orange: 3 players in lobby


Welcome players to the Friday main event.

Our first warm up event will be the Tug-A-War challenge.

For this challenge we are allowing Orange team and Purple team the opportunity to unite in order to have a sporting chance. If there are any objections to this union teams may voice them now otherwise we will begin with the drawing in of competitors.

There were no objections risen. After a minute the screen flashed:. 00's or team captains step forward and place your hand in the box.

A black box rose up from the floor under the screen.

Red's 00 stepped forward. He glanced back at the other 11 members of red team and nodded his concealed head to them. He was smiling under his helmet as he turned back to the box and reached in.

All eyes were pinned on the enigmatic Red 00, who approached the ominously ornate box, its insides shimmering with a kaleidoscope of intrigue. Each directive he plucked from the depths whispered of fate, sending excitement through the crowd. The atmosphere was thick with anticipation.

Amid this charged environment, Ross’s heart raced in sync with the tempo of his memories. He had reveled in tug-of-war battles back on the Starfleet Campus—where laughter met the clashing of wills, and camaraderie bloomed under the weight of rope. The air smelled of confidence and competition as he rubbed his hands together, nerves tingling. Who would be their opponents? Would they face off against the notorious Blue Team, with their gleaming reputation for triumph? Or perhaps the unpredictable Green Team, legendary for their cunning strategies?

With shattered galaxies behind him and the moment of fate ahead, Ross flexed his knuckles, oiling the gears of his ambition, ready to embrace whatever challenges lay ahead in this labyrinth of athletic prowess and mental wit.

The game was on, and victory was just a pull away.

As the double zero withdrew their hand from the box they held a small key and several sets of shackles.

The curtains opened on the window wall revealing the two towers in the next room as well as the long drop from the edge into total blackness below.

A long rope was strung between the two tall platforms. A giliten looking device held the rope in the middle. It was clear that the losing team would be pulled from the platform and then dropped into the blackness.

A voice and a clock announced :

Red team vs Blue team,

Attach shackles and prepare for transport. Those opting out of the game remain seated.

2 mins.

Red 00 returned to the rest of their team and stopped facing them. When he spoke, their voice was digitally modulated to disguise their true voice. "I have a tactic to win. We need to first have a good leader in the front of the line and our strongest at the back as an anchor. We will alternate our positions where we have one on one side and the next on the other side. We stand with the rope under our armpit and both feet facing the other team. When it starts we lean back almost parallel with the platform . When the leader sees the other team start to falter, that's when we make our move we need to hold the position for at least ten seconds to make the the other team struggle a bit." Red 00's helmeted head turned to look at each member in turn.

The team rose and formed a line to have their hands shackled. When everyone was ready they had a few seconds left. Once transported they would be shackled to the rope and the game would begin.

As Ross stood in line, the cool metal of the shackles pressed against his wrists, he couldn't help but feel a surge of adrenaline. This was the moment he prepared his mind mentally for the endurance.

The ropes tethering the team might limit our movement, but they also fed into our strategy—tight coordination was vital, and the element of surprise was our best weapon.

Gav scanned the faces of his shrouded teammates, each of us wearing a mix of determination and eagerness.

Once the time had elapsed there was a shimmer and they now stood upon the raised platform. The ropes ran through the shackles trapping them together in a line. Across from them stood the opposing team scrambling to find their grip and their footing as a insipid robot voice announced "tug of war round one elimination round..5.4.3.2.1. GO!"

The rope pulled taunt across the open ledge in front of them the game had begun.

Ross stood in the holodeck, the environment shifting like a living canvas. As Chief Medical Officer aboard the Themistocles, his duties extended beyond the infirmary. Today, he wore the red team colors.

In the dim light, he surveyed the arena as his crewmates adjusted their grips on a thick rope, ready for a test of strength and teamwork. Gavin is a Marine Doctor.

Kneeling to secure his footing, he recognized that tug-of-war was more than just strength; it required strategy and teamwork. Adrenaline surged through him, the thrill of competition intoxicating him like the anesthetics he administered in surgery.

Reds 00 leaned back and called out. "And lean! Be ready as soon as they slip." He hoped that the rest are doing the strategy he had told them before it started.

The struggle was short lived. A few moments of back and forth. Then the other team staggered forward having lost their footing. The rope pulled them all over the ledge with much screaming as the red team held their entire weight for a breath of a second before a blade came down slicing the rope and sending the opposing team down into blackness.

"Red team wins elimination round 1. Congratulations" Came the loud booming voice from all around them. A shower of red confetti swirled around them like raining blood.

They had a few moments of listening to the echoes of the other teams screams from the pit below before they found themselves transported back to Reds waiting lounge. Through the large window they watched the next two teams square off.

Thex grinned under her helmet as she slumped onto one of the benches. " Good job team." She said to the rest of them completely untellable through the outfits.

Gavin smiled, not revealing himself, as he sat back in the red team's lounge. Gavin replied, "We believe in you, Red. Fight for every point."

Thomas smiled behind his helmet. "We can keep this up if we stick to our tactics for this."

Ooc: moving forward my apologies for the extended wait time.

One by one the teams squared off. Where there had once started six soon only four teams remained.

There was Red of course,

Purple and orange team combined had been able to defeat yellow,

And now green team needed to compete. A spinning wheel with three wedges Pass,Red,P/I. Divided it's sections. It spun. Click click click... Then after a few moments landed on red.

"Red versus Green- get ready!" Sounded the computer voice.

Gavin didn’t say anything. He had already spoken, and that was enough. As the Red and Green teams were chosen, adrenaline coursed Ross’s spinal column.

He practiced his breathing, which quickly counteracted the adrenal response, a noted distracting hormone for the body rather than perceptualities.

Thomas felt the same adrenaline rush but he embraced it, channeling it through his body. He felt himself feeling revitalized by the natural chemical produced by his body. "Let's do this!" He exclaimed.

The team redecended the pole to the game room bellow as before. The familiar rope appears shacked to their wrists binding them again to the fate of the game. The team opposite of them seemed nervous as they too readied themselves. It was all in vain though. The time counted down 3.2.1 and before the other team had a chance to brace themselves the smaller bodies all but tumbled over the ledge some of them will blood curdling screams. They hung there Red team supporting their weight a hand full of heartbeats... Then the rope was sliced and the other team dissapeared into the abyss bellow.

Red sparks dazzled around them and the voice declared the Red team to be the winner. They felt the familiar tingling of site to site transport.

Instead of the waiting room they found themselves surrounded by a public park on Earth in the 20th century.

"HIDE AND SEEK, ALL TEAMS ON THE FIELD, 00 ARE IT! 00 WILL SEEK OUT THE PLAYERS OF THE OPPOSING TEAM AND TAG THEM OUT.

ONCE ALL OPPOSING TEAMS PLAYERS THAT ARE NOT "IT" ARE TAGGED THE SEEKER OF THE DEFEATED TEAM MUST LEAVE THE FIELD.

ALL OTHER PLAYERS HAVE TEN MINUTES TO HIDE AND AVOID BEING TAGGED BY OPPOSING TEAMS SEEKERS. THE GAME WILL CONTINUE UNTIL ONLY ONE TEAM REMAINS.

RED HOLD THE ADVANTAGE, GOOD LUCK."

a clock began to count down. The park was large containing a flower garden with elaborate rows and archways covered with Ives and clinging flowers. There where various stone pathways in many directions. Directly around them seemingly lining the outer rim of the playing field they could see near them.

A large dense tree line in the center of the field just past the gardens containing large trees and dirt lanes for strolling. About fifty yards past the gardens obscured the view of the rest of the playing field, the other two teams no doubt hidden on their own sides.

A children's playground consisting of a few swings and a large wooden castle with various slides and tubes was surrounded by a sand box and spaced out benches sat to the furthest northern point roughly a hundred yards away.


Some time later- Red team emerged victorious. The details of the epic game lost to legend in the span of only a few short hours. A new portrait hug now in the hall of heros. Red team! Champions of the season.

 

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