Holidays at SPD
By Purplestripe66

Bridge walked into the lounge carrying a large menorah.

Jack looked up from the datapad he was not reading. "What's that?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's a menorah, Jack."

Jack rolled his eyes.

"I know that. I meant what are you doing with it?" he asked watching Bridge set it down on the glass coffee table in front of him.

"Oh. I'm putting it out," he said examining the menorah.

Jack rolled his eyes, "I can see that. Did Commander Cruger say it was ok?"

"Yeah. Actually, to be specific, he said, 'Promoting diversity and demonstrating religious tolerance is an important goal of SPD. Good thinking Cadet Carson,'" Bridge said in a flawless imitation of Commander Crugger.

"Hey Jack, Bridge," Z said walking into the lounge. "Is that a menorah?"

Bridge nodded.

"Wait, are we allowed to put out holiday decorations?"

"As long as there are no objections from SPD officers or staff members and the decorations represent a wide range of religious and non-religious celebrations, there is nothing in the SPD rule book that discourages it," Sky said coming in behind her.

Jack gave him a look that Sky wither didn't see or pretended not to, "Yeah, I guess Cruger's encouraging it."

"Syd and I put up a Christmas tree every year the week before Christmas. We were actually going to do that today. You guys want to help?" Sky asked, sounding unusually cheery.

"Yeah sure," Jack agreed. "Are you getting a real tree?"

"No. Someone on the base is allergic to pine"

"Someone's allergic to pine?" Z asked doubtfully.

"That's what Cruger told us," Sky said in a way that showed that he also had his doubts.

"Please tell me you don't have one of those phony old aluminum trees, do you?" Jack asked.

Sky shot him a sort of lopsided grin, "You'll just have to wait and see."

"Sky!" Syd's voice preceded her into the room. "I thought you were going to help me get the decorations."

"Sorry, I'll be right there."

"No worries," Syd said in her sweetest voice. "It's taken care of." As she said it, three D Squad cadets came in carrying cardboard boxes. "Just set them down anywhere," Syd told them.

Sky shook his head as they all watched them leave. "It's against SPD regulations to make lower ranking cadets help you with personal business," he told her.

"I didn't make them do anything," Syd said cooly. "They volunteered."

Z laughed while Sky rolled his eyes.

"So where's this tree?" Jack asked.

"It's in one of these boxes," Syd told him opening the nearest one. "Come help me look."

"There's a Christmas tree in one of those boxes," Jack said skeptically.

"Yeah, I'm no expert, but isn't a tree a little big to fit in there?" Z asked.

"Oh well it's not really a tree. It's-"

"Bridge," Syd interrupted him, "if they don't know, don't ruin the surprise."

Bridge sat down in one of the chairs adjusting his menorah and looking bored. Jack and Sky each went over to one of the remaining two boxes and started looking through them.

Z sat down on the couch near Bridge. "So I guess you're the only one who isn't Christian," it was more of a statement than a question.

"Yeah. Well, no. I mean, Syd is half Christian, and half Jewish. But between you and me, I think she likes Christmas better."

"I know how that feels," Z said smiling a little.

"You do?"

Z nodded. "I'm Pagan."

Bridge raised his eyebrows, obviously wanting to hear more.

Z smiled, "I've been in foster homes for as long as I can remember. Usually two or three different ones a year. I was never around any one religion long enough to make it stick. After a while, I stopped trying. When I met Jack, I tried doing the Christmas thing, but wasn't for me.

"A couple of years ago, I was at the shelter with Jack handing out clothes when I met this older woman. It turns out that she was there to donate things to the shelter and help out.

"I guess we started talking, and she told me all about the Winter Solstice. It just made sense to me."

Bridge nodded, "That makes sense...that it would, I mean."

Z gave him an inquisitive glance.

"Well you were pretty much living on the streets by then, right? The seasons affected you a lot more than they do most people. So the promise of spring was something I'm sure you looked forward to. And like all of our ancestors so many years ago realized that from the point of the solstice, the longest night meant that the nights wouldn't get any longer, and that the days would get longer, and eventually warmer."

"'The promise of returning light,'" Z quoted from one of the books she had "borrowed" from the library once.

"Exactly," Bridge smiled.

Z smiled back, happy to have someone understand her. It wasn't often she ran into someone who accused her of devil worship, but it was just as rare to meet someone who not only knew what it was she believed in, but also understood why it was important to her.

"Found it!" Syd's voice chirped from across the room, intruding on the moment between them.

"That's the Christmas tree?" Jack said in disbelief.

Syd was holding a silver disk about two inches thick and no more than a foot in diameter. "Yep," she said standing up and walking over to Sky. "Sky, would you do the honors?"

Sky smiled, taking the disk from her and started towards the back of the room. "Oh, wait!" Syd called out, pulling something out of one of the boxes. She ran over to him and put a red Santa hat on his head. Sky rolled his eyes but didn't object. Syd giggled, putting a second hat on her own head as she hurried back to the others.

"You got any more of those?" Jack asked.

"Sure," Syd said grabbing another had from the box and tossing it to Jack. "Anyone else?"

Bridge glanced at Z who shook her head in response to Syd's offer. It was going to be nice to finally not be the odd one out for once. Syd would light the menorah with him, but that didn't give him any company on Christmas day, when half the base was busy celebrating with their families or in the lounge. He didn't mind the holiday, it just didn't appeal to him.

Z must have noticed him staring at her because she turned to look back at him. A little embarrassed, he shot her an awkward smile which, to his relief, she quickly returned.

"All right, ready?" Sky asked kneeling by the disk which was now resting on the floor. He flicked a switch on the underside and quickly stepped back.

A bright beam of light shot out from the disk and quickly spread into a triangular shape. A second later, the details of a Christmas tree complete with lights, ornaments and a star faded it.

"Wow!" Jack exclaimed astonished and clearly impressed. Only when he walked around the tree did it become obvious that it wasn't entirely opaque. Z watched Jack's faint and distorted shape moving behind the tree. She had to admit it was impressive, but she found her attention drawn to the menorah sitting on the table. She glanced at her three friends, gathered around the holographic Christmas tree before turning to Bridge. "So, tell me about Hanukkah," she said smiling.