It was once again Christmas time aboard the Enterprise, and the local android officer found himself appointed to the decorations team. For now, his job was fixing up the large pine tree in the recreations room with the ornaments and light fixtures commonly used for the holiday.
It was all going quite well, and everyone who passed by complimented Data on his ability to properly calculate what ornament should go where. Each placement was decided by evaluation on what would be most aesthetically pleasing to his human crew members. He had just finished wrapping around the lights, after much effort on his part, when the senior officers appeared through the automatic sliding doors.
"No Data, those are the wrong lights," Commander Riker noted as he walked in, pointing to the tree. "We need the solid color lights, not the flickering ones," he added as he strode past the confused android.
Shrugging, Data complied and unplugged the string of lights; unwrapping them from the sturdy green branches.
Before long, Data found himself completely wrapped up in the blinking lights. Struggling to move, Data waddled out from behind the tree only to be greeted by laughter from his team members. He failed to see the humor in the situation, as his efforts to free himself from the festive confines were proving to be a difficult feat. "I appear to be trapped."
Having a bow placed atop his head by his friend Geordie, the confused Data looked on curiously as presents began to place beneath his feet; making the android the new Christmas tree aboard the ship. "Good work Data," the captain commented, giving the communications offer a pat of approval on his shoulder. "You've made a fine tree, this year."
There are just some human holiday traditions that Data will never understand.