The Sound of Silence....or not
Posted on Fri Nov 1st, 2024 @ 5:53pm by Commander Zhaan D'Sai & Lieutenant Daegan Baas
1,189 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
A Silence of Friends
Location: Private Quarters of Daegan Baas
Timeline: MD001 - 2200
Zhaan was headed back to her quarters, a chance to move in officially and relax a bit after being under the scrutiny of the crew, when she heard music coming from one of the senior staff quarters. Loud music at that. She stopped at the door to listen for a moment before pressing the chime.
Deagan set up his old school amplifier and was going though several guitar rifts from 20th century Earth. No matter how screwed up the period had been...the latter part of that century had some excellent music. He had extra sound dampening put in to keep him from disturbing his neighbors so he was jamming out...putting the new material too the test. With his headphone on he continued playing one after another.
Thinking that he couldn't hear over the sound seeping through the door which Zhaan figured must be ear-splitting inside, she pressed the chime again and followed that up with sharp raps of her fist on the door itself. And when that didn't work, she used her security override as First Officer to open the door. Stepping into the living room, Zhaan immediately clapped her hands to her heads. Good music but deafening and she liked hearing. She crossed the room so that she would be in his line of sight and waited.
His head bobbed with the tempo and his eyes closed as he worked the intricate part of the piece. Coming out into a mellower chord, he opened his eyes. The sight of the woman standing in his quarters wasn't unheard of it was just who was standing there. He went from startled to relieved, pulling back with a sharp inhale as the guitar dropped from his hands cause a rather inharmonious screeching from the amp and he ripped the headset off all in the blink of an eye. He knew he hadn't been summoned because he knew his communicator was linked to his headset, but rolled his eyes at his realization that he hadn't tied in the door chime. Turning off his equipment, he said, "evening Commander."
"You know, the sound is leaking, right?" Zhaan folded her arms across her chest and shook her head. "Good music but ... loud. Very loud."
He wore a bit of a grin, "I guess the extra damping didn't quite do the job. Not to worry, it would be the first time I've had to turn down the volume. I will get that volume to damping ratio balanced out on of these days." Returning the guitar to its stand, "Do you play?"
"One of these days soon," Zhaan said. "And no, I don't. I appreciate good music but never had the patience to learn. I'm more ... outdoorsy ... zipling, surfing, free-diving, that sort of thing. You ever play in public?"
The was no missing the 'soon' and his grin widened as he chuckled, nodding, "Yes Ma'am. I'm one for the outdoors as well. Love the beach. Swimming, surfing, boating, deep sea fishing...all that. But I find nothing more relaxing that some off-grid camping. Just sitting by a fire on a crisp morning with a cup of campfire brewed coffee looking out over a lake; very...laid back. But as to playing in public...No. I didn't even play until I was joined. Although, one of my symbiont's previous host had a musical career."
"The community I grew up with had a tradition. At the end of the workweek, everyone would gather for a night of music and food. Now, the work here doesn't stop, but still, I had been thinking about starting something like that here. Maybe set aside some holodeck time. Campfire in the woods and music. Course, for it to work, we'd need people who played ..." Her voice trailed off as Zhaan waited for Baas to catch on.
"Are we talking command staff or whole crew coming and going as they please? There's a bit of a difference just plucking a guitar around a few friends, which I did at the Captain's mess I hosted, and performing for a crowd."
"My original thought had been to make it open to the crew," Zhaan answered. "We have more than one musician among the crew and I figured that if I left it open long enough, others might show up. Less a command performance and more a sharing among crew members." One corner of her mouth twitched up for the briefest of moments and then settled back into place. "I understand if the thought is a bit ... frightening. I only thought of you when I heard the music pouring out of your quarters as I passed by."
He shook his head, laughing again. "Went with the 'you're not scared are you' tactic huh. Well...I might as well since apparently anyone walking by has been able to hear me anyway. Let's see what kind of other interest is out there and what we can put together. Maybe there's a band out there and we don't even know it."
"Yes, I did," Zhaan said, "though I did have a couple of backup tactics if that hadn't worked. Good. Let's say Friday night. We'll spread the word among the crew and set up a campsite in the woods ... or on a beach." She smiled and then shook her head almost immediately. "Channeling my own interests there. Let's go with the woods. I"ll leave it up to you to find other musicians."
Daegan let out a breath as he he shook his head smiling. "Joy...your idea but I do most of the work...just delegating I'm sure." Adding, a little tongue in cheek, almost without thinking, "What if nobody else shows up to our little campsite?"
"I thought you'd probably ... you know what, Lieutenant, never mind." Zhaan straightened. "Once I get it all organized, I'll send out a notice to the crew. You're welcome to join but I'd wait a week or two. In case no one shows up. You have a good evening and keep the noise down."
Calling out after her as she approached the door. "No no....apologies. My attempted humor crashed miserably. I have no problem putting out a feeler for other musicians amongst the crew. I will reserve the holodeck for a week from now and put the word out."
"I did think that as a musician yourself, you'd know others among the crew," Zhaan said. She stayed where she was rather than reenter the room but her expression softened somewhat. "And I didn't mean to put you on the spot. I'll arrange the holodeck time and send a notice out to the crew." She shrugged lightly. "And hey, if no one shows up, I'll have a backup group, courtesy of the holodeck ready to go, and you can decide then whether you want to stay or not. Either way, I'll have a good time."
"Sounds like a plan. Just let me know when and I will be there with my acoustic."
"Will do," Zhaan said. "Have a good evening, Lieutenant."
"Goodnight Commander."
Commander Zhaan D'Sai
First Officer
USS Thunderbird
and
Lieutenant Daegan Baas
Chief of Security
USS Thunderbird
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