Let's jam...

Posted on 20 Sep 2015 @ 6:51am by Lieutenant Tuula Voutilainen M.D. & Jynn & Lieutenant JG Lenaris Marika
Edited on on 20 Sep 2015 @ 6:52am

1,393 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Episode 09 - Empires
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 3
Timeline: MD 03 - 1900 hours

[ON]

As Tuula returned to her quarters, she found herself mesmerized by a sound emanating through the corridors of the ship. At first it was faint, barely audible and barely recognizable as something musical. But as she homed in on it and approached the source, it got louder and louder, and the beauty of the tune became more apparent.

As she turned a corner, the source came into view. A young Bajoran woman seated on top of an empty cargo crate, playing an odd two-stringed instrument. Tuula simply stared, fascinated by the bow being dragged across the strings, and the tune emanating from the resonator box.

After a moment of staring, the other woman looked up at Tuula and stopped playing. "You know," said Tuula, "the best acoustics on the ship are on Deck 4, near airlock 4B."

Marika simply stared at the woman and blinked. A broad smile appeared as she jumped down from the crate. All signs of the previous calm and measure now completely erased. Unabashedly, she walked around Tuula examining the young doctor’s transportation method. “Is that the new B-7 Andreus Bolius design? Did they correct the slight imbalance in the right wheel? I personally prefered the B-4, but not the Antares, the Potrus Metris variant with the polyweave tritanium alloy. A shame it had a tendency to squeak if you weighed over 40 pounds… which is like anything bigger than a chihuahua.”

Her tirade came to a sudden stop as she beamed another smile at the young woman. “Deck four? Near the 4B airlock? Awesome! Do you play?.” Her head cocked slightly to the left as she looked at the doctor with a sparkle in her eyes.

"Yes, I play the harp," replied Tuula. An excited smile appeared on her face as she looked down at the other woman's instrument, back up at her face, and then down at her instrument again. "Why don't I go get it and we can jam? Oh, my name is Tuula by the way."

The young Bajoran let out a squeal of delight and jump in place. “Awesome! I’ll meet you there. This will be so cool.” Borrowing human expressions as if they were her own, Marika’s excitement seemed only to grow. “Meet you there!” Running off, she left the young doctor there, forgetting to offer her own name in return.

Left behind in the hallway, Tuula took a deep breath and returned to her quarters. This young mystery woman she met reminder her of her a little, albeit without the dark makeup and the faintly glowing turquoise highlights.

About fifteen minutes later, she had finally made her way to , a big bulky case resting precariously on her lap. Marika was there first, and looked like he had been for a while. "I never caught your name," said Tuula as she wrestled with her harp.

"Marika! Tuula suits you well. Beautiful name for a beautiful owner." She looked over Tuula with what one could only describe as pleasurable contemplation. Picking up her Erhu, she started playing a soft traditional Chinese song. It became quickly evident it had been chosen for the ease in which it permitted other instruments to join their voices.

Tuula listened for a few moments, letting the soothing rhythm of the erhu flow through her as she got the feel for the tune before joining in, laying a beautiful melody over the slow, traditional oriental song. For several minutes, the two of them were lost in music, building upon one another, the tune echoing out throughout the ship.

"That was beautiful," said Tuula in a soft voice as the improvised tune came to its natural conclusion. "We should start a band!"

The Bajorans eyes shot open, the content smile she had held throughout the exercise was replaced by a large excited grin. “That would be awesome! We could rehearse and play in the mess hall for everyone. Or do private concertos for the Captain and Admiral. Why do we have an admiral on board anyways? We need to make a list of who plays what on board and schedule auditions. After all of this is resolved naturally, it might come out as unprofessional to do this at such a time. Unless you already had people in mind, which is fine by me, I don’t really know people that much anyways." Taking in a quick breath to continue, she stopped herself and looked at her new friend. Letting people respond was something she was working on.

Tuula smiled at Marika; the two of them had clearly hit it off with their similar interests and personalities. "Great idea, but first things first. We need a band name... how about Spring Winds?" she suggested, a literal translation of both their names.

“That sounds nice. Where does this idea spring from?” She laughed at her unintended pun. “It sounds all soothing and carefree, I love it!” She opened her mouth, but closed it, opened it again, and closed it again, then opened it up once more. “Do you know anyone who would make a fun addition?”

"Oooh, I don't know..." Tuula pondered the question for a moment, trying to think if she knew anyone else on the ship who played an instrument. "This might have to be our little thing for now," she added, positively beaming from beneath her dark makeup, overjoyed at finding someone new on the ship that she could make a connection to.

Marika raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Our thing eh? I can dig that." Taking a dramatic pose she continued "Two vibrant souls, mingling in pure sonic energy. Waiting for the day their message will be heard. Gallivanting across the stars in search of the perfect sound. Up on high they go they go, ever searching, ever learning." She kept the pose for a few seconds, then brusquely turned towards her new friend with a grin.

Are you kidding me, girl? Keep all this talent between the two of you? That just doesn't sound right. You have to get it out there! Show the ship! The strange new thoughts of Tuula stopped for a moment, then, with a sudden burst they returned with more energy than before. She could almost feel a literal explosion. A talent show! Start writing up the fliers and get it goin'! You'd love to see what everyone else can do!

Tuula clenched her teeth for a second and held her hand to her head I don't know who you are, but get out of my head! she thought before returning her focus to Marika. "That's so awesome!" she exclaimed. "The perfect sound..."

Marika observed her new friend closely. There seemed to be much going on in that lovely head of hers. Still smiling she started on a soft and gentle piece, perhaps as background to their talk, perhaps to help the doctor’s thought pattern.

After a few seconds of relieving silence the voice came back. As if! I'm here to stay. But don't mind me. I think you and I will make a great team. Her thoughts were confident, as though they had already been around for years and would be for some time. Besides, I know everything about you!

Shut up! Tuula pressed her fingers against her temple, trying to block them out. Shut up, shut up... "Shut up, shut up, shut up," she whispered. "Shut up!"

Raising an eyebrow Marika leaned her head to the right. “I do believe that I was exercising restraint in that area.” She looked at her companion with an uncertain look. “Is everything alright Tuula?” Fighting off the impulse to reach out and touch her newfound friend, the young ensign waited a moment.

"I'm fine! I just..." Tuula took a deep breath and then smiled at Marika. "I'm sorry. I've just... got a lot on my mind. Yeah."

Perking up and smiling back her best winning smile, the young Bajoran observed the young doctor before nodding her understanding. "Perhaps we should pick this up at another time then?"

"That would be wonderful," replied Tuula. "I'd love to..."


[OFF]

Lieutenant (JG) Tuula Voutilainen
Medical Officer
USS Galileo

Ensign Lenaris Marika
Archaeologist/Anthropologist
USS Galileo

AND

The voice in Tuula's head
(NPC Jynn)

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