Dr. Mira Montgomery walked with Commander Rebecca Sinclair down the corridor to Holodeck 2 to join their weekly poker game. "If I know Simon, I bet this setting will be the old American West, complete with a saloon and dance hall girls," laughed Mira.

"I don't know about that," replied Rebecca. "I saw him yesterday and when I asked him about the setting he replied that it was something completed different--something that you wouldn't think of."

"He said that? That I wouldn't think of it?"

"Yes," replied Rebecca.

"Hmmm. This might be more interesting than I at first believed," replied Mira, as they reached the holodeck door.

As they entered the holodeck, the scene before them was one of a velvet night sky ablaze with thousands of tiny twinkling stars which reached down to the dark green plains of Earth. Above them hung a large crescent moon.

It was a very peaceful setting--and a little bit strange. In the distance, about 100 meters away was a circle of large stones--megaliths, with a round stone table in the center. Around the table were what appeared to be stone chairs.

The circle of stones was actually two circles with the outer circle stones being five meters in height with stone lintels across the tops. The inner circle was actually two horseshoe configurations facing each other which were 10 meters in height. The stones shone in the moonlight with a eerie blue light.

"Where are we?" asked Mira.

"This seems familiar, but I can't place it," responded Rebecca.

Suddenly a robed figure approached them from behind. "Mira! Rebecca! Glad you could join us!" It was Simon McRaney. "Here, put these on," he said as he handed them white robes which were floor length and hooded. Two hooded figures stood behind him, although with their hoods pulled down over their faces, Mira couldn't tell who they were.

"You startled me, Simon! exclaimed Mira. "What is this place? And where are we?"

"You don't recognize Earth, Mira? I'm surprised. "This is England. Salisbury to be exact."

"Stonehenge!" cried Mira.

"Yes!" said Rebecca. "I thought I recognized this place. This was a religious place, wasn't it, Simon?"

"Well, that was the general belief for many years, but later it was determined to be an astrological observation station, a calendar. Although when it was first constructed, it probably served as a temple for a short time. It has gone through many changes over the years from 3100 to 1130 B.C." replied Simon.

"You know an awful lot about this, don't you?" asked Rebecca.

"Yes, well, I am a geologist!" he smiled. "I have an interest in all kinds of rocks."

"Then what's with these robes?" asked Mira.

"I thought it would be fun to dress the part of the Druids. They were a religious sect who some used to believe sacrificed humans on a table in the middle there," replied Simon.

"Yea, and whoever loses this game tonight gets sacrificed!" said one of the hooded figures standing behind Simon. She tossed her hood back revealing herself to be Cam MacLaughlin.

"I certainly hope not!" said the other hooded figure of Ren Carstairs. "Simon, you didn't say anything about sacrifices!" she said laughing.

"Don't worry, no human, only credits will be sacrificed tonight. And those will go to me!" he said.

"Ah, mon ami, I wouldn't be too sure about that!" said Xavier St. Jean as he walked through the door. "What is all this?" he asked.

"Here, St. Jean, put this on and get into the spirit of things. This is Stonehenge. Explain it to him Cam, if you will."

"Sure Simon," said Cam as she took St. Jean by the arm and led him to the stone table.

"A human sacrifice is starting to look like a good idea," mumbled Simon to Mira. It was no secret that Simon and St. Jean didn't get along very well. They were polite to each other, but underneath their smiles was an undercurrent of irritation. To Simon, it always seemed as if St. Jean was always trying to make him angry for some unknown reason.

"Simon, now now," replied Mira, "be nice."

He smiled, "Is that an order, Commander?"

"Only if it has to be," replied Mira sweetly.

By this time, the other players had entered the holodeck. Antos Bek and Paul Daniels--a new player.

They all took their seats around the stone table, all dressed in their white robes. They made a spectacular sight, all in white, sitting in the center of white stones which glowed faintly blue. As Cam sat down, she exclaimed, "Wow! These stone chairs are really soft and comfortable!"

"Yes," said Simon. "I programmed them this way. I wanted the chairs to fit into the surroundings, but I didn't want to have to sit in a stone chair for hours!"

"What didn't you make these robes with some color in them?" asked Ren. "Blue would have been nice."

"White is the color the Druids used when they held services here. That was in the late 20th century, I believe, "said Simon, "when this was believed to be a Druid site."

"Why are the stones glowing with that faint blueness?" asked Antos Bek.

"That's because the original stones were made from bluestone called dolerite. This was mixed with sarsen which is a variety of sandstone. I exaggerated the blueness a bit. They don't have this much blueness in them now," answered Simon.

"You have done a fine job with the stones, Simon," stated Xavier, "but these robes--I don't believe these are the kinds of robes the ancient Druids wore. No, they are not quite right," he said looking the robes over.

Simon smiled a forced smile. "You are correct Xavier, these robes are not exactly the same style of the Druids, but I like these better. They are more mysterious and that is the effect I was going for tonight." This is going to be a long night, thought Simon.

"Well, I think you did a magnificent job, Simon!" Cam said. "This is very mysterious and I love it!"

"Thank you, Commander," answered Simon."Now what shall we play tonight for starters?" he asked.

Simon sat with Mira at his right. Next to her sat St. Jean, then Ren Carstairs, Antos Bek, Cam MacLaughlin, Paul Daniels and finally Rebecca Sinclair. Mira sat looking at the surrounding countryside when she pointed to a white, wispy figure floating in the background. "Look! What is that?" she asked.

"Oh," began Simon, " I have programmed some interesting objects in this program. During the game, don't be surprised at what all you see. That, my dear is supposed to be a ghost. I programmed them especially for you. I know you like ghost stories."

"This is wonderful!" exclaimed Cam. "I love it! It is so, so eerie!"

"Yes, it is a good rendition of Stonehenge, Simon, but I believe that the center table was not originally round, but rectangular," said St. Jean. "Am I not correct?"

"Yes, Xavier, you are correct,' said Simon, " but I could hardly expect us to play poker at a rectangular table, now could I?"

Mira glanced from Simon to St. Jean. Oh, my, she thought, this is going to be one interesting night!

"First of all, Paul, since you are new to the game, you must remember that whoever is the big winner at the end of the game must program the next holodeck poker game," explained Simon.

"Seems fair," replied Paul.

"Good. Now, let's play poker! First game, 'Five Card Stud', nothing wild," said Simon as he shuffled the cards.

The first two hands were amicable enough with Simon winning the first hand and Cam winning the second. For the third hand Paul decided to go with '5 Card Showdown' in which all cards are dealt face up. He started it by dealing Cam an Ace of Diamonds; Antos got a three of Clubs; Ren pulled a King of Diamonds; Xavier received a Queen of Clubs; Mira got a seven of Hearts; Simon received a nine of Hearts; Rebecca pulled a two of Diamonds; and Paul got a four of Spades.

"Ace opens, Cam," said Paul.

"I bet 10," said Cam. Everyone else called.

Paul dealt Cam a two of Hearts, "possible straight for Cammie," he said. A three of hearts went to Antos.

"Pair of threes for the counselor." Ren got a Queen of Diamonds, "Possible Straight Flush for Ren," said Paul.

"Yea, with my luck," said Ren, "my next card will be a two or three!"

Xavier received an Ace of Clubs. "Looking good, my friends," exclaimed Xavier.

Mira received a six of Hearts. "Oooo, possible straight flush for me!" she exclaimed.

Simon got a 10 of Spades. "Possible straight for you too Simon," said Paul.

"I know we can't all have good hands," lamented Rebecca. "Show me what a nice card you have for me, Paul!"

Rebecca received a five of Spades. "Not too bad. I might could make a straight out of this!"

Paul dealt himself a four of Diamonds. "Let's see, what have we here now? A pair of three's and I have fours, so I'll bet 20." Everyone called. "This next card will be the telling card, people," he said.

Paul dealt Cam a two of Clubs. "Ah, not much help here!" exclaimed Cam.

Antos got an eight of Hearts. " No help for the counselor," said Paul.

Ren received a nine of Diamonds, Xavier got a 10 of Hearts, Mira got a five of Hearts, "The doctor still has her straight flush going!" said Paul. Simon got a King of Clubs. "It's gonna be hard to pull a straight up now, Simon."

Rebecca received a Jack of Hearts and Paul pulled a King of Spades for himself.

"It seems that I still have the best hand, with a pair of fours, so I will bet 10," said Paul.

"Fold," said Cam.

"Threes are close to fours, so I'll call your bet, Paul," said Antos.

"I call and raise you 15," said Ren. "I think "I'll get my straight flush!"

"There is still one King out there," began Xavier, " I think I will call your bet."

"I'm still in," said Mira.

"Fold," said Simon.

"Ah, my friend, you give up so easily," smiled Xavier.

"Just waiting for a bigger pot, my friend," answered Simon.

"I'm out," said Rebecca, turning her cards over.

"Ok, now for the fun part! This is do or die time, people," said Paul.

"How appropriate, Paul. Do or die on a table which was used for human sacrifices!" remarked Cam.

"Hey, I never thought of that! Ok, here we go. Antos gets an eight of Spades. Two pair. Good for this hand, Counselor." Ren received a Jack of Diamonds.

"Hot dog! Told you I was feelin' lucky tonight!" laughed Ren.

"No you didn't!" said Cam.

"Well, I'm tellin' you now!" Ren said with a large grin on her face.

Xavier pulled an Ace of Hearts. "Not a King, but just as good, I think," he said.

Mira got a six of Spades. "Ah, shoot! There goes my straight flush!" she exclaimed.

"You could still get three sixes," offered Cam.

"Possible, but I think not," said Mira, "I'm out."

Paul dealt himself a four of Hearts. "Here's your four, Doctor," he said.

"Cam, if you hadn't dropped out, I would have gotten my four!" exclaimed Mira.

"Sorry," said Cam.

"Well, it appears that I still have the best hand here," said Paul, " so I will bet 30 big ones."

"I'm in, " called Antos.

"I raise you 20, Paul," said Ren. "I'm warning you. I know I have this Straight Flush!"

"Maybe you do, mon ami, but I think you will not get it this hand! I call."

"Last card is the heartbreaker," said Paul. He dealt Antos a seven of Spades.

"That does me in!" he said.

Paul dealt Ren the 10 of Diamonds. "I knew it! I knew it!" cried Ren. "No one will beat this hand!"

"I fear you are correct," lamented Xavier when a seven of Clubs was thrown his way.

"No one can beat Ren's hand now," said Paul. "Start raking your winnings in, Ren."

"Ah," he said as he slowly turned over his last card. Not even close! It was the five of Diamonds.

"Great!" said Ren as she raked her winnings into her pile. "I just had a feeling I'd win this one!" she said, happily.

"Yes, this game is not for the weak, is it, Simon?" asked Xavier.

Simon knew St. Jean was needling him, but he refused to rise to the bait. "No, sometimes it isn't St. Jean. But then again, sometimes one is best at playing when he knows when to fold 'em."

"I think we could all use a break now, don't you?" asked Mira as she got up from her chair.

"Yes, I sure could use something to drink," said Cam. "I've only won one hand so far and I think it was because I was so thirsty!"

"Any excuse is better than none, Cam" said Paul.

"I have real refreshments set up over here," said Simon, "pointing off into a dark corner. "Computer, light up refreshment stand," he ordered. At that order, the others noticed a table laden with drinks and snacks of all kinds to their left.

"Great!" said Ren and she and Antos headed off in that direction. Cam and Paul headed that way too as did Xavier and Rebecca while Simon and Mira walked over to the opposite side of the playing area.

"Don't let Xavier get to you, Simon," said Mira. "He doesn't mean anything by it. It's just his nature."

"Oh, I realize that, Mira, but I can hold my own with him, you know. Shall we get you something to drink?" he asked with a smile as he kissed her. She put her arm around his waist as they headed off toward the refreshments. As they did so, she noticed another wispy figure not too far away from them. It was in the shape of a woman, but was bluish in color this time. Another ghost figure for me! thought Mira. How nice that he made a Bajoran ghost this time!

After eating and drinking, the players returned to their seats just as a falling star graced the night sky.

"Meteors," stated Cam.

"No, Cam, not meteors, falling stars!" said Mira.

"Oh, of course! Sorry. Can't help being the scientist sometimes!"

At the end of the evening, Ren turned out to be the big winner. As they were leaving, Mira turned to Simon, "Simon, that was a really good program you came up with. I thought you might have gone for a western theme, though."

He smiled, "Actually, I knew you would think that and that's why I came up with this one. Just to surprise you!"

"That Bajoran ghost was a real nice touch, too," she said.

"Bajoran ghost? I didn't program any Bajoran ghosts, Mira," said Simon.

"Yes, you did. I saw one!"

"Mira, if you saw a Bajoran ghost, it wasn't one of mine!"

"Really?" said Mira as she and Simon walked arm in arm down the corridor.