A Little Evening Music

Posted on Wed Jun 24th, 2020 @ 3:26am by Chief Petty Officer Renora Jassim & Lieutenant Zo
Edited on on Fri Jul 10th, 2020 @ 5:53pm

Mission: Death in Paradise
Location: Recreation Deck
Timeline: After "Normal Again"

Renora slowly walked into the lounge, feeling a bit nervous. She looked around, watching the people. The place was quite crowded, but most of them were preoccupied by doing their own business. Talking, drinking, socializing, romanticizing. She wasn't sure if this is the right time and place. She looked at the small black case in her hand, and felt she'd just order something, sit in quiet, then move out, without doing what she was supposed to. But she promised Doctor Alves. She'll think I'm a coward. So, what? Alexandra was the most awesome boss imaginable, but she had these crazy ideas. Like encouraging her to play music in front of people. Random people she didn't even know. What if they boo her or something? Oh, the Prophets! This was definately not a good idea, she sighed.

The nurse ordered a glass of non-alcoholic kava juice to ease her mood a bit. Okay, what is there to lose, she thought, and finally decided to act. She opened the case and prepared to pick up her Tivara and play something to the crowd, when she suddenly heard the sound of a guitar playing. Her curiosity rose to a new high, as she took a few steps, trying to decipher the source. It was a young, handsome man playing a melody unknown to her. It sounded good. She stood in the crowd around the guitarist, and watched his performance in awe.

The music was lovely. The man's voice was soft, but resonant. It was a song about a man who felt inferior to the person he loved, a man promising to give this person all he had, while admitting that it was less than they would need, and asking for forgiveness. The lyrics were simple, but through the melody they attained a strong emotional depth. It was beautiful.

After the song, those who had been listening applauded, and the guitarist smiled and thanked them. He looked to be a man in his thirties, with sandy-blonde hair and deep brown eyes. He wore the gold colors of Engineering, and the pips of a Petty Officer Second Class. His face suggested a bit of youth, but his eyes... something about them made him appear older, or if not that, wiser.

People began going back to their conversations and drinks while the guitarist sat and tuned his guitar. No one seemed to be talking to him.

Renora listened through the song. It was simple, but great, and the man's voice was charming. She applauded it when the performance was over. People started going back to their places, abandoning the guitarist, however she felt she needs to hear more. She took a deep breath, and gathered her courage to approach the man. She took a few steps closer, with her Bajoran woodwind instrument still in hand.

"Excuse me." she said with a shy smile. "You were great. It was absolutely adorable."

The guitarist smiled. "Thanks. Same to you... the adorable part anyway." He held out his hand. "I'm Zo, Engineering."

"Thank you." the young woman blushed, hearing the man calling her 'adorable'. "Nurse Jassim Renora. Sickbay." she shook the man's hand.

"That's a Tivara, right?" he said, gesturing to the object in her other hand.

"Yes... Yes! It is." Renora replied with a surprised look. "You know what a Tivara is?"

Zo laughed. "Of course I do! You play?"

"Yes. I've played it since I was a child." she admitted with a shy-ish, but proud expression on her face.

"Cool!" said Zo. "I'd love to hear it. You want to play me a song?"

"Okay." Renora said, again with a slight blush on her face. She wasn't sure how the crowd would react to her playing after this great guitar performance, but she was glad that Zo was interested in hearing it, which gave her more courage. "This is a traditional Bajoran folk song." she explained. "It's simple but quite beautiful... at least, I think." She then took a short pause in silence, before beginning to play the slow, ballad-like song on her instrument.

Zo's face was serious as he listened to the song. When she finished, there was some applause from crewmates who had stopped to listen. Zo smiled.

"That was very good!" he said. "You have an excellent touch. I've never heard that song before."

"Thank you! Thank you all!" Renora bowed to both Zo and her small audience. "When I was a child, I thought for a while, that the Prophets have chosen a path in music for me." she explained to her fellow hobby musician. "But I've come to realize that they've wanted me to become a healer like my mother."

"I became interested in music at a young age too," said Zo. "Then I learned of the Federation and Starfleet. They invaded my planet, but a group of them fought back. They saved my life and the lives of my parents and siblings. After that, I decided to join Starfleet. I was curious about different kinds of people, as well as space travel. Plus I wanted to give back the people who saved me and my home. It really changed my life!"

"The Federation has done a lot to help my people after the occupation ended.", the young nurse said. "So, I think I'm doing the same. Giving it back to them." she added. "Also, I loved the sight of those uniforms when my class visited DS9 on a field trip."

"So how long have you been in Starfleet?" Zo asked. "I went to the Academy about thirteen years ago."

"Wowww. So long ago!" Renora said, but then she suddenly realized what just slipped her tongue. "Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean it that way. How silly I am!" she apologized. "This is only my third year, actually. And that includes the two-year nursing course I've done in San Francisco." she said. "Have you ever played in a duet or in a band?"

"I've got one on board," Zo replied. "We're a classical rock band called Sauce Bucket. We performed in the talent show a few months ago. There's five of us, all from different departments. You should jam with us some time. I think a Tivara would add a really cool vibe."

"That sounds cool!" the nurse smiled in excitement. "I must confess, I don't know much about Earth rock music, but it sounds fun." she admitted. "I enjoy playing together with others. In San Francisco, I knew a flight control cadet girl, who's a really great piano player." she recalled. "Sometimes we played duets together. She wanted to name us 'Two Blonde Mustard Poodles', but I thought it was a very silly name idea."

"Hey, the sillier the name the better!" Zo said. "Our bassist came up with 'Sauce Bucket' after eating chicken strips in the Box."

"Yeah. She said the same..." Renora rolled her eyes. "Anyways, I'd be fun to play together."

"Alright!" said Zo. "Hey," he added, getting a mischievous grin, "Want to play a little right now? Do some freestyle guitar/tivara?"

Renora felt a bit shy and surprised when she heard that idea, but she didn't want to ruin the fun. And it actually seemed fun. "Surely! Let's do it!"

Zo did some touch-up tuning on his guitar. "Splendid. I'll start, you jump in any time."

He began playing. It was slower than the song he had previously played, but the rhythm was steady. The tune was simple enough, and even repetitive enough that Renora could easily get the "feel" of it. Once she had the rhythm, she began to play. After a few measures, Zo switched it up a notch, and the song progressed to a more complicated melody. Zo's fingers were fast and careful, and soon the song, whatever they were playing, was vibrant and very bright. It lasted a good eight minutes before Zo brought it all home, the two of them in perfect sync at the very end.

At this point, the entire Rec room had stopped their chatter and everyone was listening to what had started very quiet and then built to a very raucous and thrilling peak, coming back down softly at the end. When the song was finished, the entire room erupted in applause that was much louder than the two of them had received individually. Zo stood and gestured for Renora to stand with him as they held up their instruments and took a big bow. This caused even more clapping and cheers.

Renora started playing as a simple, easy warmup exercise, following the guitarist's lead. However, halfway through the peformance, she felt something has changed. The whole thing vibrated so well together, it gave her a nice feeling and urged her to just play. Don't concentrate on anything else, play with all your heart. Play. When the song ended, and sudden silence fell unto the room, she heard the audience cheering and clapping their hands, feeling like if they were waking her up from a dream. She smiled gratefully as she returned to reality, and saw all the applauding around herself and Zo. She saw a few familiar faces in the crowd: a man whose child she administered an injection the other day, a woman she treated with a broken elbow, and some others.

"Thank you! Thank you!" she smiled, looking at the audience, then at her musical companion.

Zo grinned back, then yelled, "Thank you Pandora! Good night!" This inspired some laughs from the audience.

"So," Zo said while packing up his guitar, "would you like to get together again? Like over a cup of coffee? My shift starts in ten minutes, but I'm available tomorrow morning..."

"Oh, yes, of course." Renora replied, still in a bliss. "I have to do my evening prayers." she said. "But tomorrow morning is fine. And coffee too."

"Alright," said Zo, guitar now in its case. "I'll see you then!"

"See you!" Renora smiled.