Posted by Fleet Captain Alexander Cochrane (Commanding Officer) in Holodeck 2 - A Musical Introduction

Posted by Civilian Sair Songz (Counselor) in Holodeck 2 - A Musical Introduction

Posted by Fleet Captain Alexander Cochrane (Commanding Officer) in Holodeck 2 - A Musical Introduction
Posted by… suppressed (6) by the Post Ghost! 👻
The doors to the holodeck slid open and Cochrane, dressed in light gray pants and a loose fitting blue shirt, walked into the black room with yellow cross-hatched lines carrying two cases; one in each hand. One was obviously a guitar case, but the other was bigger… much bigger. So big, in fact, that he didn’t actually carry it, but pushed it along on two wheels on the end opposite the neck.

Stopping and looking around, he said =/\= Computer. Run program Cochrane 5 F sharp-2 E sharp-1 F sharp-1 E sharp-D sharp-C sharp. =/\= there was a soft chirp and and a pause, then a lake appeared. It was a small lake, but there was a beautiful cabin set next to it. The back of the cabin on the lake side was a wide deck built out over the water. A single chair and a small table sat facing the water. Alex smiled and walked to the chair and set the cases down.

He sat and watched the water as a gentle breeze blew across the lake, and he exhaled slowly. He then then turned and pulled the guitar case over and opened it. Inside lay a beautiful instrument: solid mahogany construction, abalone pick guard, a rich satin finish. Hand crafted brass tuning pegs completed the look of a very well maintained and very finely crafted guitar.

Alex picked the instrument up and strummed it, smiling as it was in perfect tune. Then he began to play, softly at first, but increasing in volume slowly as the strings warmed under his touch.

After a few long moments, he set the guitar back in the case and opened the large one: a cello. He ran his fingers along the neck as he freed it from it’s confines. He set it against him, resined the bow, and then began to play. The low, smooth tones rolled out from the cello and across the lake, carried towards the mountains far off in the distance.

Cochrane

The holodeck doors slid open and admitted probably one of the few people who knew Alex would be here. She had debated about whether to actually show up, but after settling in her father into the quarters with her mother, she felt slightly more at ease. That worry about something happening before he could arrive had been nearly paralyzing in some moments. Beyond that, though was always the worry about whether someone’s offer was genuine. With some of the crew, Sair had a hard time telling what was simply politeness on their part. At least with the captain, she had no such worries. Cochrane didn’t offer something unless he meant it.

With her prizar in hand, Sair took in the landscape and smiled as the rich vibrance of the instrument he was playing vibrated around her. She approached quietly from the side, hoping to not startle him and simply lowered herself to the ground. Her wide legged purple pant legs were tucked out of the way and her cream fitted sleeveless top allowed her arms free movement. She said nothing but simply watched his fingers forming chords and watching how he used the bow. Her people had bowed instruments as well, though the lucked prizar was more common and had a longer history.

~Sair Songz, CNS

He didn’t stop in his playing, didn’t look in her direction, but he smiled and said “Good morning, Counselor. How are you this fine, fine day?” he asked as he began playing more than just bits and pieces of things. The music was soft and slow, but invoked morning in a setting just like this one.

Cochrane, CO

She listened for a moment, captivated by the melody unfolding before and around her. Sair allowed it to permeate her being and even closed her eyes. “I’m okay. My father is settled into their quarters, more or less, so that is good.” She opened her eyes and drew her prizar case into her lap and pulled out the pale coloured wooden 21-stringed trapezoidal instrument. She ran her fingers over the geometric inlays in metal and stone before she pulled out her bag of plectra and began to fit them to her right hand.

~Sair Songz, CNS

Cochrane continued to play and seemed lost in the music until he turned his head to her. “How are you feeling now that your father has arrived? Less concerned? More? Or are you still processing?” he asked with a slight smile.

Cochrane, CO

Testing the strings with her left fingers so to keep the sound from being jarring while he played, Sair used the action to allow her time to think. “Relieved, in part. Him being here is more about solving a practical issue. She’s deteriorating in some ways more rapidly than I was expecting. I’m honestly not sure if she’d have made it back home before her needs became very consuming. At least this way he gets to have some of this time with her too.” She offered him a smile, small though it was. “And Koro is just plain happy to see him again.”

~Sair Songz, CNS

“I’m glad they could have the time together.” Cochrane said. “I can’t imagine the emotional heaviness that your family is going through.” His fingers moved and he began to draw the bow in deliberate motions, and the music shifted.

( https://youtu.be/1prweT95Mo0 )

Cochrane, CO

The ability for music to capture a fleeting moment, an emotion, a memory, was something the Kobliads understood deeply. They too were moved by a stringing together of notes, and Sair was no different. She closed her eyes, listened, and felt the piece of music, letting it permeate the layers and thick walls that kept her internal world safe. Protected. It wasn’t that what he had said was wrong or too much, but that in this moment she wasn’t sure if she had an adequate response. Yes it was hard, but at the same time they were Kobliad. As sad as it was, it was an everyday reality of their existence. So for the moment she just took in his requisite rendering of the piece.

As the piece came to a close, Sair let out a breath of air that felt more like a sigh of resignation. “It is difficult, yes, but we are Kobliad,” she said, as if that could sum it all up somehow.

~Sair Songz, CNS

Cochrane gave her a small, sympathetic smile. “Just because life is normally heavy doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to be tired of the weight.” he said softly as he entered another piece.

( https://youtu.be/yMRDC_nFFaQ )

Cochrane, CO

Fingers hovering over the prizar, she closed her eyes and plucked with the plectra one string at a time. Despite the relative higher pitch of the instrument compared to his, she was playing the root note of the chords his music was revolving around, but a half beat or so after, like an echo, soft and yet present. “And yet it does no good to fight it. It is what it is. Acceptance is the only path.” And yet those words felt hollow, like they were but a oft-rehearsed maxim.

~Sair Songz, CNS