Marine Corps/ Fleet nickname for the Recreation Deck. AKA rec deck, R Reck. It is always called one of these names, irrespective of the actual official designation. On very large ships, there are often 2 or more R Decks,
Perhaps the most important deck of the ship. Recreation and relaxation are extremely important to the efficiency and morale of both crew and marines and the Union Navy and Union Marine Corps has thousands of years experience in such matters.
The R Decks are marvels all on their own. Once you stepped out onto R deck, it appears as if you are outside on a planet’s surface. There are no visible bulkheads, but distant horizons, all clever projections.Force fields and tractor beams make it impossible for you to reach that horizon, so the illusion of unlimited space is nearly perfect.
Many Fleet Marine ships call this area the promenade as it looks like the downtown portion of a small Union town, with shop, restaurants, amusement venues, bars and so forth. The promenade is usually lined with trees, there is grass and always a light breeze. The sun in the light clouded sky appears real and warm, but they can and do make it rain and even made it snow once in a while, to celebrate an old Terran holiday tradition called Christmas. Commonly, there is a nice park complete with a small lake and trees. There is always the Field of Honor, a small virtual cemetery with a large Oak tree and small name plates in regular intervals in the grass around it. Each plate carries the name of anyone who ever served aboard the ship and had paid the ultimate price. (Stahl insisted, the entire Navy and Marine Corps backed him.) Often the entrance to the Field has a plaque "Ne Oblivilcamur". (Lest We Forget.)