Stopping for the Music

Posted on 27 May 2018 @ 10:15pm by Lieutenant Tuula Voutilainen M.D. & Lieutenant JG Tris Shizn

1,658 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Episode 15 - Emanation
Location: ‘Bowels of the Ship’
Timeline: MD 102 1500 hrs

ON:

After spending 2 hours on a holodeck simulator, going through many standard and non-standard procedures for this new vessel, Tris Shizn finally took a break. As he munched on the fresh clemish salad and stallion stripe, the Andorian’s mind began to wander. He knew that practicing Helm procedures was extremely important, but he realized that knowing just what to expect from the thrusting devices could be decisive in a crisis.

So, after finishing his vegetables and baked fish, Ens. Shizn went about the ship to every Helm control interface and relay junction. In addition to walking the many passageways of the ship, he also crawled through many of the Jefferies tubes, accessing the actual thruster systems across the ship. This was very tiring work, expecially for an Andorian that might overheat, except for his micro-cooling suit under his uniform,.

As Tris crawled through the many Engineering accessways, he began to hear music. He knew it wasn’t too unusual for crewmen in their off hours to endulge and be creative. He also knew that music was a very common interest of many species. What he found unusual was that he was hearing it here in the Jefferies tubes.

Tris stopped moving when he came to a junction. He looked thoughtfully in each direction, as his antennae moved about in an effort to trianglulate the source of the sound in question. He then moved aft for a time, but found the sound dwindling. He could have sworn it was in that direction earlier. He then began to move to the port side of the ship, and then went down a deck or so. Yes. He thought to himself, I think I am getting closer.

Satisfied, Tuula sat in her chair, playing a sonata on the harp near an airlock. She had been lugging around the big heavy instrument for a few hours now, trying to find the acoustically perfect place to practice. She knew from her previous service that every ship had one, and she thought she may have finally found it.

Without warning the airlock door swung open. The Andorian was there crouched with a surprised look on his face.

Tuula simply offered Tris a smile and continued playing, her fingers dancing across the strings of her harp for a minute and a half before the song reached its natural conclusion. Upon playing the last note, she took a deep breath and turned her head to see if he was still there.

Tris had opened the door to find a dark-haired human woman in a wheelchair playing a multi-stringed instrument. He believed it was called a harp. She didn’t seem started by his appearance and the whole situation seemed to stun him as well. He didn’t react much; just continued to listen to the music as he crouched at the door.

When she finally ended, Tris took a breath gently and said, “My, that was truly worth the effort to find its source.” He smiled and didn’t know what else to say.

"Thanks," said Tuula, blushing slightly as she turned her head to face him directly. "I've been looking for the acoustically perfect spot on the ship all day." She let out a bit of a smirk. "I think I found it, what do you think?"

The Andorian looked in the hatch-way and about the area where she was located. With a confident expression he replied, “You may be right. Is this something you usually do on Starships?"

"Yes," explained Tuula, "that and trying to find a broom closet that I can turn into a sauna. Can you believe they don't make them standard on starships?"

Tris was slightly confused by her words, and he parroted back, “Broom closets or saunas?” He angled his head slightly considering the situation further as his antennae both angled the other way. He certainly didn’t understand how either of those places had anything to do with the beautiful music she had stopped playing at this point.

"Saunas," said Tuula, before pausing for a moment. "I normally recommend them to all of my patients for muscle soreness, anxiety, colds, chronic pain, respiratory issues, and so on. Though, I suppose in your case, I doubt it would be as pleasurable..." she added, a reference to the well-known Andorian preference for cold, before trailing off in response to the blank look on Tris' face. "I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself. I'm Tuula. Though my patients call me doctor," she added, with a hint of lightheartedness in her tone to signal that it wasn't an ego thing. Though it kind of was a little. "And you are..."

Tris found her disjointed dialog to be welcoming. That is compared to all the brass and polish of the senior officers. The Andorian simply smiled and completed her comment, “Tris Shizn.” He remembered her ‘doctor’ comment and added, “Helmsman extrodinaire and enjoyer of music.”

"Ooooh, a flyboy," said Tuula, raising an eyebrow. "Well, I hope you're not the cocky Top Gun wannabe sort who I see in sickbay after they've hurt themselves pushing too hard in the holodeck or doing something silly like jumping out of a runabout," she added in a tone reminiscent of playful teasing. His physique matched the description, though not so much his mannerisms. Also, he hadn't been flirting uncontrollably at the sight of a woman his age, so either he was the strong, silent type, or just not interested. For some reason.

Tris’ expression changed to confusion by the end of her comment. He replied, “What ‘good’ pilot would jump out of a perfectly good Runabout?” He had found her comment silly, yet understood it to be provoking and interjecting. He smiled in response and asked additionally, “A Doctor, you say? What is your specialty?”

"Surgery," explained Tuula, in a tone that was a little more bubbly than to be expected. "I love studying alien anatomy; there is just so much diversity under the skin. For example, the redundancies in your Andorian circulatory system are so fascinating..."

“I’ve heard that we are very different,” the Andorian responded. “I don’t have the medical knowledge, just basic first aid.”

"That's too bad," started Tuula. "Our bodies are just so amazing in how they work. Of course, it is sort of my job to know what's inside these bags of meat," she added, gesturing towards Tris' stomach.

Tris felt a little concerned when he was pointed to. He then furrowed his eyebrows, concerning the name she used. He had never heard the phrase ‘bags of meat” before, but a very descriptive comment that seemed quite accurate.

Seeing a confused look appear on Tris' face, Tuula bit her lip. "Sorry," she started. "Some people say I get too excited about my work and it creeps them out. Though I think if you're going in for brain surgery, you want someone who is excited about their work."

Tris replied with a smug smile and nod, “I guess that would make sense.” A strange idea popped into his head and he asked, “Do you also create your own songs and lyrics? I would find it funny to have some of that descriptive words in a song.” He smiled again and shrugged.

"I can't say that I have, though I am also a vocalist," explained Tuula. "I really like Gilbert and Sullivan; their songs are so whimsical and so relevant... one of my former commanding officers was totally the Major General from Pirates." She paused for a moment, realizing she might be losing him again. "How about you; do you play any instruments?"

His lips became a thin line as Tris thought and considered a good answer, as his antenna curved forward and down to his own forehead. He finally looked up and replied, “No. I have not ‘learned’ as yet. My home, as a youngster, was a quiet place. My Mother did not speak, so no singing nor humming going around.”

"Awww, that's too bad," replied Tuula. "It would be nice to have someone to jam with."

An uncertain look came over Tris’ face at the word ‘jam’. He knew there were several meanings for the word. Most had to do with bumping or squishing of something, so he wasn’t sure how it applied here. He asked, “I’m not sure if I follow your meaning?”

"Jam," said Tuula. "You know, hang out and play instruments together? Sometimes when you mix musical instruments from different cultures, you can get pretty interesting results."

A look of astonishment and curiosity came over Tris as his eyes drifted up to the bulkhead. He looked back at Tuula and replied, “I think I understand. Yes, I think I could stir up something, even if it’s just a percussion instrument to provide a beat to go along with a tune.”

"It's a date then!" exclaimed Tuula, before immediately blushing. "I mean... not a date date, but like a date and time where we can jam... on a specific date... like... Tuesday?"

Tris saw the ‘blush’ and understood the humor in the awkward situation of ‘dating’. He really wanted to break out in laughter, but kept a straight face.
He felt he could tease her just a little, changing his expression to one of confusion for a couple seconds, then giving in and smiling real big, as if holding a known surprise behind him.

"Okay, so... Tuesday at 1900 it is then," replied Tuula, her cheeks still rosy red underneath her pale makeup.

Tris nodded slowly, replying, “Yes, Tuesday would be fine. Well, unless we are at Red Alert and in death throws with some ‘alien race’.” He then chuckled and smiled.

With that Tuula smiled again and looked down at her harp. After a deep breath, she began playing once more.

OFF:


Ensign Tris Shizn
Helmsman
USS Schofield

LT. Tuula Voutilainen
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

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