Millie paused just inside the arch to Holodeck two. The program from several days before was running, the framed art back to displaying the graceful ballerinas. Emma sat in the chair previously occupied by Edra, a cord running from the back of her neck into the control console, and a bottle of alcohol open on the table in front of her. Millie rapped her knuckles on the archway. “Can I come in?”

Emma waved her forward, not turning to look at the Counselor as a second chair materialized next to her. “Statz send you?”

Millie took the offered seat. “Not exactly. She said you weren’t too happy about the results of our last mission, and mentioned something about you wanting to dismantle the program.” She settled back, looking at the art gallery around them. “You’re pretty good at this. The ballerinas are a nice touch.”

The counselor’s last comment finally got Emma to turn her head. “I borrowed them from the holoframe you have in your office– the one that cycles through art every hour or so.” She gave a shrug. “I thought those would be calming– for all the good it did.”

Millie placed a hand on Emma’s arm. “You did exactly what you were asked to do. I sometimes have to remember that my own planet’s history is full of war and conflict, and remember that cultures sometimes need to learn through experience and make these mistakes themselves.”

Emma sighed. “I talked to a literal god today. Had her–it–in my head. I made first contact with a planet’s gods, and it still didn’t change a thing.”

“Maybe the contact wasn’t entirely about changing them.” Millie gave a soft smile. “Maybe, it was meant to change you.”

Emma gave a scowl. “Their god called me a ‘Daughter of none’. That left a– an unsettling feeling in my mind–or my program, I guess. I still don’t know how to process that.”

Millie shrugged. “It reminds me of some of the terms the Caitians used in their ceremony with Statzia. They always say ‘daughter of so-and-so’ in their formal ceremonies. Maybe, since you are a holographic consciousness, and wouldn’t have a mother, the crystal entity recognized that you are–”

“Clanless.” Emma finished the thought.

“I wouldn’t say that you are clanless.” Millie gave a gentle smile. “You’re practically a sister to Statzia, and I get the sense that she would probably fight anyone who would say you were otherwise. And if you’re family to Statzia, then that makes K’Naut and those close to him your family as well. And I think you’re convincing the kids on this ship that you’re family, too.”

Emma turned to the counselor, confused. “What do you mean?”

“You don’t know what they call you?” Millie smirked at the continued confusion. “Remember how they showed the old Earth film The Wizard of Oz in the lounge a few months ago? The kids have all started referring to you as ‘Auntie Em’ ever since.”

Emma sat there, bewildered. “Auntie Em?” She quirked an eyebrow in a very Vulcan-esque gesture. “But I am not their aunt.”

“But neither are Aunt Millie, or Auntie Trish, or Aunt Statzia.” Millie smiled. “Sometimes our family is the one we all build together.”

“Or here, where everyone marries the Captain’s family.”

Millie laughed so hard her eyes watered. “At this rate, half the ship will be related in another generation or two.” She wiped the corners of her eyes. “So, what are you going to do with the program, now that the mission is over?” She gestured to the bottle of alcohol. “I didn’t think that holograms could drink.”

Emma gave a shrug, and with a wave of her fingers, the bottle turned from vodka, to scotch, to a Picard-vintage wine. “It’s as holographic as I am. I had thought it might make a difference, but–” She waved her fingers again, and the bottle turned to sand and collapsed onto the tabletop. She cocked her head to one side for a moment as she watched the grains of sand topple to the edge of the table. “That was oddly satisfying.” She gave a little wave with her fingers and the table gave a pop, devolving into a pile of tribbles.

“And that,” Millie said, her eyes widening, “is moderately disturbing. Those…aren’t real, are they?”

“I’ve been practicing that one for a while.” Emma gave a smirk. “One morning, I’m going to turn the Captain’s holodeck chickens into tribbles. Maybe on his birthday.”

“Only if I’m there to put the pieces back together when he loses his mind over you meddling with the Ranch program.” Millie chuckled softly, watching Emma stare at the paintings on the wall.

Emma sighed quietly. “I think I’m ready to let this one go, Counselor. Would you walk out with me?” She stood, her chair slowly melting into the floor behind her. As Millie stood, the second chair likewise began to drip into a puddle. She watched for a moment as the partition, the walls, and the framed art also began to melt. She reached behind her head, pulling out the cable and letting it drop to the floor.

“They don’t even realize what they’ve lost.” Emma gave a quiet sigh. “CELIA, end program.”