The Doctor walked excitedly down the hall. He had just received the newest holonovel in the data stream from Starfleet. It was, in fact, one of the oldest classic holonovel he now owned. 'The Phantom of the Opera', written by Gaston Leroux in the early 1900's, had been one of the more enjoyable books that Doctor had read. When they finally came around to making a holonovel of it, he quickly requested one be sent in the data stream. It had finally arrived, and he couldn't wait to share it with the crew.
In the Captain's ready room, the Doctor had called together all of the senior staff, Seven, and Ensign Wildman in for a meeting. The 'Phantom of the Opera' was a great experience, and he wanted everyone he cherished to participate in it.
As Tom Paris, the last person to enter the ready room, strolled in, the Doctor started his presentation.
"Long ago, in the 1900's, a short, chubby man by the name of Gaston Leroux wrote the book 'The Phantom of the Opera'. Since then, it has been made into musicals, different versions of books, and in 2004 a very popular movie was made out it, starring…" The Doctor picked up the PADD in which he had stored all of his notes about the history of the story. He thumbed through the information, searching for the name of the actors. "Ah, there they are. Starring Emmy Rossum and Gerard Butler, along with Patrick Wilson, Minnie Driver, and Jennifer Ellison."
The entire ready room stared at the Doctor. Chakotay gave Captain Janeway a curious look, as if saying "Why the heck are we listening to this?" Janeway returned the look, and using eye-language, told him to listen.
"What does this have to do with anything?"Tom asked impatiently. He was just getting ready to have a romantic evening with B'Elanna when the Doctor had called them in for a meeting. He certainly wasn't going to waste his evening listening about some Opera.
"The fact of the matter is, Lieutenant Paris, is that I received the new holonovel for 'Phantom of the Opera' in the data stream from Starfleet. Reg thought I would like it. He said it was very good. I was wondering if- actually, I relying that- the people in this room would participate in it too. I already have everyone's roles out for them, if you would just agree, I would let you see who I chose you to be." The Doctor finished.
There came several sighs from around the table. Seven didn't know if she wanted to be in the holodeck with all of these people, let alone be in an opera. After thinking it over, she decided it would be good for her social skills. After all, if they ever made it back to Earth, she might end up having a career in singing- or in astronomy. She hadn't decided yet.
"I'll join you, Doctor." Seven blurted.
Tom raised his eyebrows. Seven was the last person he suspected to join.
"B'Elanna and I will join, too. It would be good for the both of us." Tom said. B'Elanna shot him an angry glance, but decided to save the ranting for later, in their quarters.
"I'm all game, Doctor." Captain Janeway stood up from her chair. "I think I would enjoy doing this with you, Seven, and Tom. I remember reading the book as a child- I thought that Erik was the greatest mastermind that ever lived when I was about 13."
After Kathryn Janeway had joined, all but one person agreed to it. Samantha Wildman wasn't sure about being in the holodeck with her senior officers. They all worked on the Bridge, all had a special connection with eachother- she, on the other hand, wasn't a 'BO', and wasn't part of the connected group.
"Ensign Wildman, we need you. Please." The Doctor begged.
Samantha smiled. Who knew? It might be fun. "Alright, sir. I'll do it."
The Doctor let a holographic smile stretch across his holographic face.
"Alright then. Here's the cast list, and here are the costumes each person needs to replicate for their part. There are also a few songs that everyone needs to learn. Everyone be at holodeck 3 at 06:00 hours tomorrow morning." With that, the Doctor left the room, humming a tune that everyone knew was from the musical he was just talking about.
"Well, let's see who's playing who. I'm a little curious." Chakotay said as he picked up the three PADDS the Doctor had left for them.
"Ensign Wildman, it looks like you have the part of a young woman named Meg Giry. Here's your costume list, and the songs you need to know by tomorrow." Chakotay said as he handed Wildman her PADDS. Samantha excused herself, and went to go study her part. She didn't want to mess up in front of the senior staff.
"Tuvok, you seem to be a manager of the Paris Opera House, called Andr'e. You and The Doctor- who's playing a man named Firmin- will be in scenes together. Here's your costumes and songs."
Tuvok, who had been one of the more harder crew members to convince, already knew the story of the disfigured musical genious who had supposedly haunted the Opera House, and he wasn't pleased with the character he was playing, but he just bit his lip and took the PADDS.
"Captain, you have the part of Carlotta." Chakotay said.
"Carlotta? Who's that?" Janeway asked as she read over Chakotay's shoulders. "The 'prima donna' that Christine beats? Does the Doctor realize what I could do him for this?" She smiled, and took her PADDS. This was going to be a long night.
"I am playing the role of Pianji, Carlotta's…" Chakotay blushed. Kathryn looked at him, wondering what was wrong. Chakotay cleared his throat, and started again. " I'm playing the part of Pianji, also a star of the Opera, and Carlotta's lover." He heard Harry Kim whistle. He would get his revenge on the Doctor soon enough.
"Who do I play?" Seven asked. She was surprised her name hadn't been called yet.
Chakotay looked through the list, and located Seven's name. "Seven, you have the part of Madame Giry, Meg's mother." Chakotay handed her her PADDS. Seven had a look of disgust on her face. She knew all of the parts from being connected with the Collective. One of the drones on her ship had been what they called a 'Phan', and thus she had assimilated all of the information. Madame Giry wasn't her favorite character, to say the least.
"Neelix, you have the part of Joseph Bouquet."
Neelix nodded excitedly, took his PADDS, and immediately began to read over them.
"Tom, you have the part of the Vicompte Raoul de Changey." Chakotay said with a smile.
"Hmmm…sounds rich, if you ask me. Not so sure about the name, though." Tom said.
"Be thankful. Apparantly, this Raoul is one of the main characters." Chakotay informed. Tom seemed please with that, and took his PADDS, and quickly skimmed over the summary.
"Wait, it says here that I'm someone by the name of Christine Daa'es lover. Who's playing her?" Tom asked.
Chakotay's grin broadened. He liked the way the Doctor had picked the roles.
"Oh, Tom. B'Elanna is playing Christine. She's the second main character in the whole story. The first one- the Phantom of the Opera himself- is being played by Harry."
Everyone in the room looked at Chakotay. They all said, in unison, "Harry? Harry is the Phantom?"
Harry was even more surprised, and slightly embarrassed, that the Doctor had chosen him for the main part. He had played the music from the movie several times on his clarinet. They had been hard pieces, especially the solo "Music of the Night" that the Phantom sung.
"There is no way that I am singing those songs. I'm getting myself out of this." Harry said.
"Sorry Harry, it's an order that you participate. Unless of course, you want to ruin your record." Captain Janeway gave Ensign Harry Kim a intimidating look. Harry quickly shook his head. He didn't like the idea of being Tom's rival, or having to sing, but it was better than ruining his record.
B'Elanna, on the other hand, had mixed emotions about being the star. She had heard that Christine had a beautiful voice, unlike her own, and was stunningly beautiful, also unlike her.
"Captain, I don't know if I can…I mean…that's a really rough role…" B'Elanna started. She then remembered the little speech the Captain had given Harry. She wasn't even supposed to be in Starfleet. She didn't want to ruin her record.
"Alright Captain, I'll do it. But may I please be dismissed? I have lines to learn, and some rather interesting costumes to replicate." B'Elanna said.
The staff was dismissed, and everyone went on their way to start practicing their roles in 'Phantom of the Opera'.