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 Civilian Sair Songz (Counselor) in Holodeck 2 - A Musical Introduction
Posted by… suppressed (8) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

He opened his eyes and said “Your people have been affected by a great tragedy.” He looked at her directly and said “Tragedies overshadow everything else for their duration and for sometime after. And while your people focus on the issue at hand and those who are working so diligently to deal with it; I believe in time your people will have the opportunity to look back at this time with a more detached perspective. And then individuals, like your son, will discover the amazing art and music and stories and poetry that were created during this time. And the people who create it, like your father, will be celebrated and focused on like your scientists and medical personnel are right now. And they will be seen as custodians of the soul of your people… like you are a custodian of their physical bodies.” He sighed and looked out over the pond as a breze rippled the water’s surface. “On Earth, many centuries ago, there was a war. It encompassed the entire globe. It was referred to as World War Two, and yes; there had been another war, similar in scope, not long before that one. One of the leaders of a country called Great Britain was named Winston Churchill. His government was seated ina city called London, and their enemies had decimated the city with bombs and rockets and death. One of the government members told Churchill that they needed to cut all funding for the arts to better support the war effort.” He turned and looked at Sair and said “Churchill responded ‘Then what would we be fighting for?’” and he smiled. “That is what your efforts are for, Doctor. To give your people the opportunity not just to survive… but to create beautiful works that show the galaxy the soul of your people. Maybe that is why the music gets to you… it is, after all, hard to bare one’s soul… even to one’s self.”

Cochrane

Eyes still glistening with tears, she gave him a small smile. “Yes, you’re probably right. It’s felt so risky to dig that deep, for fear of being lost to whatever you might find. And even though Koro gives me so much joy and hope, it’s easy to live for him. I lost myself in everything, especially that first time away from Kobliad. I gained something immeasurable during my stint with the exchange, but I also was running away. This time I’ve left with a goal in mind, and maybe finding my own music again is a part of that.”

Sair grinned. “But I do have an objection. We just composed music together… the least you can do is call me Sair. I think we’ve established enough of a rapport for that, don’t you?” He defaulted to Doctor and she didn’t mind or blame him for that. It was natural. But so many people kept her at arms length around here that it was nice to have even a small sense that at least a few people on the Manhattan wouldn’t do so all the time.

~Sair Songz, CNS

Cochrane smiled and said “I will if you call me Alex. Its only fair.” and he picked up the bow and looked at her. “So shall we continue? Or would you like to take a break and go for a walk? I find that the respite is a good indicator of where the music is going to take me.”

Alex

She inhaled deeply, letting her breath pass outward in softness. “A walk would be good, I think. I would like to continue, but you’re right: sometimes you need to pause and give yourself a moment to process.”

Sair plucked the plectra off her fingers and set them in their velvet bag and then she nestled the prizar inside the case. Yes, they were on the holodeck, but that didn’t mean the elements couldn’t damage her special instrument.

Rising, she smiled. “Alright Alex, will you show me about this place?”

~Sair

Alex set the cello to the side and stood. “It would be my pleasure.” and he gestured to the door from the patio into the cabin.

The inside of rhe cabin was both rustic and simple while also being comfortable. It was a large single room with a small staircase going up to a loft area that made the half-ceiling of the lower level which consisted of a seating area, a kitchen, a dining area, and a large fireplace. “Upstairs is the bedroom.” he said nonchalantly as he led her through the cabin and our the front door.

They exited onto a gravel path that wrapped around the small mountain lake behind the cabin and went up over a rise. Mountains loomed in near distance; separated from them by a long, deep valley. As the moved up the rise, Alex stopped and pointed. “Mt. Cavender, Mt. Forreton, and Tacilakika.” he said, pointed at the peaks of the three closest summits. “This is a replica of a spot from Terra, southwest North America. My father had this cabin long before he had children. My sister and I always loved coming here. It always felt… safe.” and he chuckled softly. “That is probably why I made this program and take it with me everywhere. Everyone needs a space they can get away from the constant worries.”

Cochrane, CO

Sair breathed in the crisp air that was so distinctly different from being on a ship or in a city, even if it was all simulated. Her mind immediately took up the game and she felt she was in this valley. She turned her warm brown eyes on Alex. “I can see why you gravitate to being here. It’s lovely. It reminds me a place on my homeworld that I would occasion retreat to.” Retreat to was the nicer way of saying ‘run away to’. She had accepted that that was what she had done, though it had taken awhile for that reality to not feel like an indictment. Something about being here on the Manhattan was allowing her the necessary space to reflect on the various decisions and coping strategies she had made and had. She wasn’t quite at the place where she could accept them without judgement, but she could at least acknowledge them.

“Places like this on Kobliad are protected because many of the mountain areas contain dueridium, even if it’s in small quantities.” She glanced at him again. “The smartest thing we ever did as a people in the face of our crisis was stop mining for the dueridium from our most sensitive ecosystems. There’s no point in extending our lifespans if we trash our planet in the process.”

~Sair Songz, CNS

“A lesson many species fail to learn… at least in time to save themselves.” Alex said. He scowled slightly. “Humans were on the brink of such self-destruction many years ago. If we had not come to our senses and decided as a planet that sustainability was more important than individual wealth… well… I sincerely doubt that you and I would be standing here having this conversation.” His tone was judgmental, and it was obvious that he carried strong feelings around the idea.

Cochrane, CO

Sair returned her gaze to the mountains. “We all have our tipping points. Each world faces them at some point or another,” she said softly and then moved forward on the path.

“Where does this particular path go?” In her mind’s eye, it crept all the way to the mountains, as if they drew you to them like a magnet pull.

~Sair Songz, CNS

“In a kilometer or so, it goes down into the valley and then doubles back along this side.” he said, pointing off away from the cabin. “The lake is drained through a subterranean fissure and it comes out in a waterfall. The path goes behind it, but it’s slippery and you can fall. After that, it climbs back up and circles back to the cabin. All in all, about a three or four kilometer walk.”

Cochrane, CO

Her brown eyes lit up and she beamed. “Oh, that sounds like a wonderful thing to do!” Sair couldn’t remember the last time she had done anything like that. Not certainly since she had returned to Kobliad after her first stint with the exchange. In the back of her mind, the setting they were in and he described was not unlike the music they had composed and there was something deeply satisfying about that knowledge.

~Sair Songz, CNS

“Ok. I’m game if you are.” He ordered the appropriate footwear for them both and then set out, leading her closer and closer towards the edge of the rim of the valley. “Mt. Cavender was named for Horace Cavender. He was a Scottish explorer and the first European to meet the Indigenous people of the area. He lived with them for almost a decade, learning their language and customs. When he returned to Scotland, he became an professor of anthropology specializing in North American Indigenous cultures. A strong proponent of equality and Tribal autonomy, which was a huge issue in the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries. Mt. Forreton was named for a politician that represented this area in the former United States government as a Senator. She was instrumental in legislation that kept the land clear of development and mining and such. And Tacilakika… that is the name the indigenous people called the peak. Legend has it that if you suffer from a broken heart because your love is lost, if you throw yourself from the peak you will be reunited with them.” He srugged and said “I don’t know if there is any validity to the legend, but over the years more than a few have put it to the test.”

Cochrane, CO