Posted by Civilian Karilan Massat (Owner, Quill and Parchment Books) in Dasca’s Apartment - Let Us Make Mr. Melvil Dewey Proud

Posted by Captain Eela Dasca (Lt. Governor) in Dasca’s Apartment - Let Us Make Mr. Melvil Dewey Proud

(snip)

Eela’s delighted smile was genuine as she pressed her fingers to another scanner and hit the button that would take them directly to the top penthouse. “Oh, I remember those waiting years. Felt like it would never happen,” she said to Fren. “But I’ll give you a bit of advice. When that does happen, soak in every moment. It goes by so fast and you get lost in classes and assignments. Pause every now and again and take it all in, Fren. They can be extraordinarily important years.” Not everyone had a great Academy experience, but Eela treasured hers, even to this day.

The lift took them up swiftly and when it stopped, Dasca stepped out into a small space before a double set of doors. She once again used her biometrics to unlock the door and took them through the right side.

They found themselves entering into a large foyer with matte black stone floors with white veining, and the walls around and beyond them were painted in a taupe colour that was more brown than grey.

The foyer had a closet to the right and another door on the left that led to a storage room. But there were also two comfortable arm chairs in a floral pattern on either side of a console table. On the walls were a couple of art pieces: a delicate pencil drawing of some sort of shop with jars of items on shelves behind the counter, and a watercolour style painting of an aurora sweeping over the night sky, illuminating a lush looking hillside. The sight lines from the front door utilized the floor to ceiling windows that spanned the entire exterior wall of the apartment. It looked right into the open plan dining room which held double doors onto the large patio that spanned two-thirds the length of the penthouse. Already the garden that her and Sharah had started was starting to fill in. There were no buildings right beside hers that blocked the view, so one could see the central part of the colony in and around the Government Tower.

She slipped off her shoes and immediately slid her feet into her sheru, the pair of soft soled and embroidered Hallian shoes meant for indoors. Her coat was laid on a chair and for the moment she kept her workbag on her shoulder.

“Come on in and don’t worry about your shoes. The floors are hard and we have work to do,” Eela said, moving through the foyer and turning left. The hallway spanned the entire apartment and down the right was a closed door, but to the right there was the windowed walls of an office.

The entire wall of the hallway opposite the foyer was filled with framed images that documented the six decades and of Dasca’s life. Family, friends, three quadrants of travel- the highlights of much of her life where there. Though not everything. Nothing from her wedding, and Cory showed up in only one image that was of him and their two teenaged children on Earth. She hadn’t cut him out of her life- that was impossible- but she was giving herself room to disentangle herself from a shared life. Other images on display were also deeply important, like those of all her grandparents and her late parents, or her promotion ceremony when she made Captain. Out in her work life, Eela might be picky about what she showed and didn’t show of herself, but in the sanctuary that was her home, she did not hide herself. What you saw was what you got.

Along the opposite side of the generous hallway from the photos were tall and thin boxes resting up on their sides, doing their best not to take up all the space. And in the dining room and even visible in the locked office were crates upon crates. Eela honestly felt overwhelmed just stepping into the area. Claustrophobic almost. She smiled at Karilan. “Okay, so my thought was that this wall opposite the photo gallery would be all books, all genres, but especially non fiction. But all the valuable and sensitive books would go in the special cases and in my office because it remains locked when I’m not in there. Any overflow of non precious tomes can go on shelves in my bedroom where I have quite of bit of extra space. Unless you have something else you think would work.”

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

Karilan looked at the space, and they and Fren took measurements and looked at some material samples. After limiting the selection down to around five, they looked at Fren and said “What do you think?” He shrugged and said “Doable for sure.” He then looked at the doorframe of an open door in the hall and said “It’s certainly think enough.” Karilan nodded and pulled out a PaDD and began sketching. “Can we go sit and talk for a moment?” he asked Eela without looking up as the stylus moved across the PaDD in swift movements.

Massat, Owner, Quill and Parchment Books

“Absolutely,” Eela said. “We’ll go sit in the kitchen,” she said, leading them down the hall. The hallway led to the side of the apartment with the spare rooms, her office and as you went around the corner to the right, a family area that included a well appointed kitchen with a large island that was open plan to a small casual eating area and a cozy sitting nook. The sitting area formed a U with a central coffee table, flanked by a couple plants and a vase of flowers on the table.

“Have a seat at the table. Can I get either of you anything? Tea? Coffee? I have a variety of options,” Eela said, moving to put some water on for a cup of tea for herself that felt very much needed after leaving work.

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

“Tea would be lovely for me, thank you.” Massat said. French said “Just water, please.” As they sat, Masaat slid the PaDD they had been drawing on towards Eela’s side of the table. On it was a startling accurate depiction of her hall, but the blank wall was now bookcases recessed into the walls themselves. Glass case fronts and metallic hardware had been drawn in as well. “That is what I am thinking off the top of my head. The recessed shelves will leave the width of the hall the same, and it will insulate the books as well as protecting them from damage by eliminating the possibility of the case getting jostled or knocked over. What do you think?” they asked.

Massat, Owner, Quill and Parchment Books

It hadn’t actually occurred to her to inset the shelves, but it made quite a bit of sense. She set a glass of water for Fren down and picked up the PADD. “I like the idea of recessing them a lot actually. While the hallway isn’t all that narrow, the rest of the apartment is so open that shrinking this access way didn’t thrill me.”

The kettle was getting louder, so Eela moved back into the kitchen. She rummaged through her jars of herbs and teas looking for the one she though would suit Karilan and set about making a special blend of subtle spiced black tea with a herb from Halii that had an earthy undertone and a soft floral scent on top of that. A tiny bit of citrus peel to brighten everything went into the infuser and she poured the water over top. For herself she mixed some soothing flowers with a dose of the analgesic that Sharah had approved her to use. The busy day was taking its toll but she didn’t feel she needed a dose of terakine yet.

She set a delicate hand-thrown tea cup before Karilan. The base colour was white but it had very delicate swirls of purple, blue, red, green and yellow. They all intermingled in a very specific way forming something of a net. It was a standard representation of the Hallian concept of interconnectivity. “I hope this blend is okay,” she said. “If you don’t like, I have other options and I promise you won’t hurt my feelings.”

Dasca tapped the edge of the PADD. “I have overhead lights in the hall but I was thinking of picture lights over the shelves for perusing might be nice. They would still work if we recess the shelves but they would stick out more strongly and possibly look out of place but I might be overthinking it.”

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.