A little music for morale, Part 1: Just getting started

Posted on Thu Oct 5th, 2023 @ 9:36pm by
Edited on on Thu Oct 5th, 2023 @ 9:48pm

1,598 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: Campor III - Resupply
Location: 10-Forward Lounge
Timeline: MD C8 2100 hours

With everyone feeling a little on edge with some of the away missions not going to plan, and having one of their crew get seriously hurt, the manager of 10-Forward thought it might boost morale to bring in a little live music from time to time. Zeke was a regular and she had twisted his arm to kick them off by bringing his guitar in and playing this evening.

Zeke sat on a stool not far off from the bar and smiled to himself as he picked at his guitar, subconsciously tapping his foot to the rhythm while his head played out the melody. He messed around for a couple of minutes before picking up the intro to the first song, leaning into the microphone and singing,

This thing called love
I just can't handle it
This thing called love
I must get 'round to it
I ain't ready
Crazy little thing called love...

Annika entered Ten Forward, the rather bouncy melody of the song being sung by Zeke definitely had people excited, and happy, Annika had agreed to see Zeke perform mostly because she needed a break, she'd spent the last few days chasing a number of dead ended leads on Jason's attacker, combined with a lack of sleep, she figured a break and some fun might clear her head, she looked around the room, there was an unoccupied table and took a seat, she did like Zeke, in a big brother kind of way, her head space of late was cluttered.

Lissa was in a back corner standing around with some of the medical crew when she saw Annika take a seat in the middle of the room. Lissa sort of jogged as she made a beeline for Annika and sat down with her. She nudged Annika arm to arm. "Hey isn't that the guy who went with you down to Campor? He's cute, especially when he's up there singing," she said with a smile looking for Annika's response.

Annika was making circles on the table with a finger, as she listened, "He is," she paused "it was like having a big brother following you everywhere, he's nice, but not my thing."

"Huh," Lissa said. "I wonder what guys who can sing and play like that are like? I bet he's either super romantic or really cocky," she pondered. "So what is your thing, you and that other guy from security still talking? What's his name... " she asked.

"I haven't seen much of anyone the last few days, this is the first time I've been out of uniform in a day and a half." Annika looked at her friend, "I don't know what kind of person I want in my life, most of the ones I'm interested in are taken."

Sava had heard from her fellow security officers about the small party going down in the bar. She could see a few of them trickling through the door in front of her, in fact, as she ducked her head under the door frame and into the cool environment of the bar. The first and most surprising thing was seeing and hearing Ligan croon love songs into the microphone - she'd never quite pinned him for a singer, and hearing him now quite impressed her. He had a lovely voice. Surely he had to be quite popular with women - or elsewise, if he were so inclined.

Either way, she was here to shake off some of the stress of their first mission, and she planned to do nothing else but that unless needed. She parked herself at the bar counter facing the stage, within hearing range of Zeke's singing.

A date with Sar was something that Sarah was looking forward to, now that things on Campor had calmed down to the point that they were almost done bringing the hospital and various compounds up to date with housing and technology. She felt badly for the refugees-she couldn't imagine the pain of having to leave your home behind. Her ancestors had to, once, when war came, but she never had to, luckily. Now, she was gently leading him into the Lounge-she was maybe a tiny bit more socially-inclined than he-when she was with people she knew. She knew some of the other girls were going to be there, and probably Sar's boss-as far as Sarah knew, Paisley WAS was a party in herself. Her black hair was down, but she was dressed pretty modestly-black slacks, a white blouse, and a pink cardigan. Sar was looking pretty savvy himself.

They walked into the lounge, and she stopped dead in her tracks. Why were there SO many people here tonight?! Some singing from the middle of the room caught her attention. "Someone is playing," she said to her companion. "Should I?" She had brought along her keyboard-her original plan had been to play a bit for Sar later in the corridor that served as the Promenade/Arboretum/Jr Officer hangout area. "Maybe after we get a drink..." She actually wanted to flee, if she were honest.

Sar entered with Sarah, dressed in dark red-brown clothing. His dark hair was freshly trimmed and lined up, down to his pointed sideburns. His golden skin looked a little darker, tanned from the Campor sun.

He studied the room as Sarah spoke, standing close to her. "I believe those gathered would appreciate your music as well". Sar noticed the relaxing effect the music seemed to have on the crowd. The Vulcan was curious to continue his social observations and even more interested to build his ties with Sarah.

Kas entered then he smiled a night of drink and music was a welcome change for the away mission. Keena had wanted to come, but was under the impression that it wasn't considered proper to bring children to this type of gathering. He found Bella sitting at the bar and sat beside her.

Sar noticed Lieutenant Commander Razka headed towards the bar. He turned to Sarah. "Would you care to join others, or would you prefer a more private evening", he asked. Sar recognized Lissa and Annika, the Orion particularly standing out to him.

Sarah was moving closer to the wall. She wasn't good in social situations where actual senior officers were there, watching her interact off the clock-she was always worried she'd spill something on one of them, or worse-her nerves would cause her to drink too much and she'd vomit. "Um. I don't know yet," she said, absently. She was thinking. She was normally very sharp, but her momentary panic had her brain like Jello. "Let's stay for a bit-it is the polite thing to do," she decided. "Humans like that kind of thing," she said. "Your attendance to social events, even for just a short time, is noted and you're called a "team player," she said. She'd figure out how to explain the concept to him. "Perhaps a drink. Do you want a cola?" She asked him. She would normally have a synthehol or something, but she didn't want to even risk that at the moment.

Sar calmly watched her speak, easily sensing her growing anxiety. He thought of the best method for conducting tonight's social experiment, given the conditions of teamwork and camaraderie.

It was then that Sar recognized Annika and Lissa. "Two of my friends and colleagues are here. I believe you would enjoy their company." He had been trying to gauge if Sarah wanted the evening to be just between themselves, or if she wanted to join others. Since she'd mentioned teamwork, Sar figured it would be logical to sit with the others.

"I would appreciate your presence within this social dynamic", Sar said to Sarah. He stood close to her as they spoke quietly.

Sarah nodded. "I know Lissa. Let's ask them if we can join their table," she said. "Come on," she said, leading the Vulcan to the table where the two women sat. "Can we join you?" She asked. "We were supposed to have a meal together but it looks like we stumbled into a party." She sat down, looking around, setting her bag with her keyboard and music books in it down. "Shall I go get drinks?" She asked. She was calming down a little bit. Maybe it was the fact that she knew Lissa and Sar, or maybe it was Lissa's hormones. She didn't know.

Annika was the first to react, "Sure." she said looking over at Lissa.

"Yeah, of course. The more the merrier," Lissa said. "Are you going to play something?" Lissa asked.

Sarah shrugged. "I wasn't really prepared to play for everyone....just Sar," she said. "I was going to try some songs in the corridor near the Arboretum..." she said. "Maybe I'll ask him if he minds...." she said, still unsure.

"Oh yeah?" Lissa said an interested smile spreading across her face as she looked at the two more closely. "So are you two like a couple?" she asked.

Sarah felt her face flush red and hot. "N-no...just...friends for now," she said. "We're exploring mutually beneficial social engagements," she said, scurrying off to get drinks. THAT was a mistake!! Oh gosh.

Lt. Commander Razka Kas
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Columbia

Lt. J.G. Zeke Ligan
Security Officer
USS Columbia

Lt. J.G. Sava
Security Officer
USS Columbia

Lt. J.G. Isabella Rodriguez
Chief Support Craft Pilot
USS Columbia

Ensign Annika Wiseman
Intelligence Officer
USS Columbia

Ensign Sar
Propulsion Specialist
USS Columbia

Ensign Sarah bet Ira
Operations Officer
USS Columbia

Ensign Daisheliss Kerr
Nurse
USS Columbia

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