Get Rhythm

Posted on 15 Sep 2015 @ 3:05am by Lieutenant JG Lenaris Marika & Jynn
Edited on on 16 Sep 2015 @ 1:25am

1,628 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Episode 09 - Empires
Location: USS Galileo; Deck 7; Arboretum
Timeline: MD03; 1800 hours

ON:

Grabbed by the ears and dragged at a hasty pace Jynn stumbled his way into the arboretum. From whence he came and to where he was going he could not remember, but it didn't matter. He was snagged. Seized. Snatched from his heading and he had no choice but to follow the lead. He was at his apparent destination, but the grasp on his ears was stronger than ever. Had it been as substantial as actual hands it probably would have crushed them, but what had really grabbed ahold of him was a sweet sweet melody.

He couldn't even remember what mood he was in. Probably tweaked to some edge of over-excitement or, given his most recent and grave situation, it could just as easily have been some depth of darkness he had not felt in ages. But it didn't matter. The melody made it all go away. As he got closer to the sound's source he couldn't help but sway to the tune with a carefree look on his face that would have indicated there had never been or never would be anything wrong with him.

Completely engulfed in her own world, Marika made no case of the person now lurking nearby. The area around her was in shambles. Plants and soil lay overturned, many of the previously thoughtfully placed ornaments, now splattered across the floor as the forgotten toys of a giant.
Sitting on a piece of the arboretum’s ceiling, pushing the limits of what one would call music, fueling it with the raw emotions she had felt in the past few days, she let the music flow through her like the messenger that it was.

Exhilaration at first, a series of quick flowing sounds, melting into one another. In stride, walked in confusion and disciplined panic, a few long whiny sounds followed by short rough bursts of varying pitch. Minutes passed and changed to relief, slow flowing movements enhanced by increasing vibrations, gently bringing itself back up to excitement.

As she lost herself in the Erhu, she brought up the faces of those she had met in the past few days. Here and there she would incorporate the emotions they had shown, or inspired in her. The Boatswain’s disciplined calm, came in long, steady strokes of lower oscillations. The various crew working in chaotic order presented themselves as intertwined pieces of follow-up intensities, which then led the way to a more traditional chinese expression of happiness. Oren, it seemed, brought back affections from her childhood.

How a place partially in ruins could bring out the emotion and sound so well, could only go in hand with the wounds inflicted upon the ship’s energy. Many might mock, but she understood how it worked, how the vibrations of the universe spoke to each other. Sometimes pain brought out the best in people, or other beings. The last echoes of her meditation resonated as she opened her eyes and locked into those of her observer.

Jynn smiled at the unknown instrumentalist in front of him, but he could do no more. He stayed silent as his mind continued to process the sounds he had been hearing. So many variations in tone and tempo. The ebbing and flowing of pitch and rhythm. Highs. Lows. Sunny and sorrowful. There were so many different parts with such chaotic variation. It wasn't music at all.

It was life.

She was just like him. Well, not quite, though that remained to be seen. But they did share something very important. Chronicling life. While Jynn had chosen to do so in ink it seemed the person sitting a short distance from him with the very interesting instrument had chosen to do so in musical notation. All of these thoughts ran through Jynn's mind and not a single word was spoken. He just continued his smile, perhaps wondering if the woman would take a bow.

A grin slowly creeped up on Marika’s face. She remembered this one. Ink, sensuality, and joy. She could understand. She could relate. In this instance, she felt connected. The smile grew, and became evidence of why her fellow cadets had nicknamed her the cheshire cat.

Eyes still locked on her visitor's, the young Bajoran's hands came back to life. One long low stride quickly followed by two short high ones, left no doubt about the question being asked. Would he agree? Would he follow her, or would he give her a blank stare like so many others? No. This one would be different. He could feel the vibration, she could tell. She raised an eyebrow, punctuating the unspoken offer.

The young Deltan twirled on the ball of one foot as he stuck the other leg out straight to waist height as a ballerina would. He had never taken lessons, nor did he really realize he was mimicking those most graceful dancers, but the motion seemed an appropriate answer to her question. He finished the spin with a bow, arms stretched out to the sides. With a lift of his head, still in bow, Jynn returned her grin with one of equal cat-ness.

And there it was.

For a brief moment she could do nothing but stare at the Deltan, energy building up inside her. It burst out of her in a high raised and joy filled laughter. As quickly as it started to fade, Marika’s hands started their work again.

A low pitched staccato, similar, but every changing. Then a whine, and a sigh, back to sharp detached rhythm, but higher. A whine, a sigh, another whine. Perhaps a groan or two. Back and forth, quick, sharp and steady. Now changing, ever flowing, notes melding into one another.

As soon as the music picked up so did Jynn. Step. Pause. Step. Twirl. He was floating at times and dragged down at others. He leapted with the highs and slowed with the lows. And oh, how those lows had a hold on his soul. But he kept moving anyway, expressing the emotions of the music as though they where his own, attempting to tell his tale to the one playing the musical accompaniment to his own story.

An argument, a battle, a conflict or perhaps a witty repartee. One, then more, then one again. High and lows, it all made sense, and yet! Inviting, a whispered promise, a hopeful offer. One could lose themselves to the music. Or perhaps win! Open their senses, accepting the story, or even breathe.

He stretched out his arms as though to ask for a dance, but then continued on with some unseen partner. Was he dancing with her music, almost literally? Was life his partner? Whatever it was it did well. They danced around through the stained and dirtied grass with grace and beauty. The story was getting quite interesting.

Letting the echos of her ode die down, she synced herself to the low, almost imperceptible hum of the warp engine. It had been her story sung. It had then been his to dance. It would now be the Galileo’s. Solemn strength and pride swept the area with power. A great ship had been built, and it had flown out into the stars. The music gently but steadily increased in power and intensity, when suddenly, it stopped.

A few echoes persisted for several moments, but the young lady was troubled. This had never happened before. It was as if something had sucked out the inspiration. Perplexed she looked up at her companion and raised an eyebrow.

He was now leaning against a tree, arms crossed and studying the musician intently. When her harmonics had matched Galileo's he had noticed it instantly. This had caused him to stop and listen. It wasn't often he got to hear the ship's side of the story. Galileo certainly sounded strong, stronger than perhaps people gave her credit for even, if her playing was any indication. He'd closed his eyes and smiled, stopping his motion as he heard the story of his unsung partner in flight being told.

Now, as she looked up at him in silence with troubled eyes, a most satisfying smirk had crossed his face. They had already said so much to each other. Why sully the silent moment they where now sharing with the coarseness of spoken word? As he savored the quiet, his emotions and all the beautiful melodies still swirling in his head, he gave the woman a bow once more, free of cat-ness and his normal silliness. When he brought his head back up he locked eyes with her once more with a simple and satisfied gaze that seemed to offer the promise of another encounter.

Pushing aside her concern for a moment, the young Bajoran offered the Deltan a smile and a curtsy. She would have said something, if it weren’t for the fact she really didn’t feel like it. Nor did she really feel a need to. She didn’t really understand why, but she was also used to trusting her feelings and intuitions. The smile she offered was soft and grateful. Turning around, she headed for the exit wondering if she should stop by engineering. By the time she had gone through the doors, her usual spring had come back to her stride.

A few more moments of silence later and Jynn's mind adjusted its course back to its original heading. What a lovely detour it had been, but it was time to get back to it. With a jaunty saunter he made his leave of the disheveled but always beautiful arboretum.

END

Ensign Lenaris Marika
Archaeologist/Anthropologist
USS Galileo

Lieutenant JG Jynn
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Galileo

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