Catching up with an old friend

Posted on Thursday 31 January 2019 @ 13:44 by Captain Melody Jones & Commander Cale Llewellyn DSci
Edited on on Tuesday 12 February 2019 @ 22:07

Mission: The New Collective
Location: Holodeck 2
Timeline: Current
1606 words - 3.2 OF Standard Post Measure

ON:

Melody had recently developed a new holodeck program to help her practice her music. It was a spacious studio with a hardwood floor. One wall was a massive window which looked out over a peaceful lake with mountains in the distance.

There was a grand piano in the center of the room with another music stand off to one side. Sansa also practiced her singing here. Melody had arranged with Cale to meet up, and Melody had arrived half and hour early with Sansa for her lesson. She had sat at the piano and warmed her fingers up by playing the first movement of Beethoven's moonlight sonata, while Sansa waited patently. She then looked at her "A quick warm up first?"

Sansa smiled "Sure"

A few vocal scales later. Melody looked at Sansa "Right, I believe you were working on Hallelujah, shall we start with that?

"Sure mom."

Melody played and Sansa began to sing.

Well I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
Well it goes like this:
The fourth, the fifth, the minor fall and the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Cale received the word that Melody wanted to meet to do something in the holodeck and made his way there from the bridge. He walked in to find Mel playing the piano and a young girl singing. Listening to the wonderful music coming from the room, he said, "'Ello there. And who might you be, little one? You, I know, and it's wonderful to have you back on board but you, I don't know."

Melody stopped and rose from the piano. "Hello Cale. It's good to see you again." She motioned to the young teenage girl. "This is my daughter, Sansa. Sansa, this is Commander Cale Llewellyn."

Sansa held out her hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Sansa. Wait a minute you have a daughter?! How can that be possible? When did you get pregnant? Or did you have her before you joined the Merlin? And why did I not know about this, Melody? I'm so confused but then again I always am. OK OK. Explain, please," Cale said after shaking the young girl's hand. He felt so out of this loop.

Seeing that Cale looked slightly perplexed she addressed the computer. "Computer, access files Jones Alpha 13 and give me a sofa and chair. Also a small table with a pitcher of lemonade and two glasses." These items appeared a short distance away.

Melody looked at her daughter. "Sansa sweetie. Cale and I have some catching up to do, will you excuse us for now. I'll see you back in our quarters OK?"

The young girl smiled "OK mom." She looked at Cale "See you later." And with that she headed out of the holodeck.

Melody motion to the sofa. "Drink?" She asked Cale. "Only a handful of people know what I'm about to tell you so i need to count on your discretion. Well, I met Sansa's father. while I was serving as Chief Engineer on the USS Sarek. He's a Bajoran called Draxx. At first I though he was rather full of himself. He had some rough edges. Turns out he makes this … home brew that really packs a punch. We both got really, really drunk and......… That led to Sansa being conceived. Thanks to my time in a Borg maturation chamber when I was a baby it altered my blood chemistry and as a result, I was pregnant for only about 2 months. Then after she was born she aged rapidly for the next several months until doctors at Starfleet medical were able to stabilize her ageing. It was a shock to her father, I can tell you."

Cale nodded to both comments. Of course his old friend could count on his discretion. "Wow, amazing. I'm so...happy for you, Mel. Is it still alright that I call you Mel?" Cale asked. "So this was after you were assimilated? This is amazing. Whatever happened, I'm so happy to have you back on board. May I ask you one question? What happened to Caleb Mitchell? No one I've spoken to seems to remember him at all," he chuckled nervously.

Melody smiled before taking a sip of her own lemonade "Sure Cale, it's fine. The ship my parents were on was attacked by the Borg when i was only 18 months old. They were both assimilated and i was placed in a maturation chamber. I was never fully assimilated into the collective thanks to an away team from the USS Thunderchild. I'd only been in there 3 months but i was now 12 years old. Looks like we both have lost our childhood to the Borg." She took a sip and brightened "I'm glad to be back onboard too. It's like coming home. I trust you've been keeping out of trouble?"

"Ha, you know me better than that. After the Merlin, I got myself reassigned to the Grissom as its Chief Science Officer and met their First Officer, Commander Dante Martin, and he and I became, how shall I put it, quite...close. And it was hard leaving him and the ship behind but we came to an arrangement that left me free to return to my former ship. I returned as Science Officer and then as Strat Ops, that you know, and now exec. Boy, I get around," Cale stated as he sipped his lemonade.

"You do indeed" She nodded. she placed her glass on the table on moved to the piano "So, lets see if we can get your music back on track as well. You want to warm up first or dive straight into a song or two?"

Let me warn up a bit. It's been a while since I played," Cale said frowning. "What did you have in mind?"

Melody shuffled to one end of the piano stool. "Let's see, do you know Heart and soul?" She started simply with the one note bass line which she started to embellish upon, adding chords and more complex harmonies as the song repeated.

"So" Melody quite happily carried on her conversation while playing "This Commander Martin, tell me more...."

"Yes I know Heart and Soul," he said laughing as he added some even more complex harmonies on top of what Melody was playing. "Well, Jordan was or is rather a very complex person, as with what you would expect me to go for. He's rather tall, built for a command officer, has dark hair and blue eyes. He is a fellow pilot, so I figured you would be pleased. He is an Egyptian with an almost hawk-like facial structure somewhat akin to the statues of Horus or Ra.

"His personality reminds me of a cat; somewhat aloof but at the same time more interested than you would expect. I guess I could explain him as being a social chameleon. He could blend in with almost any social group he was introduced to. Now tell me about Draxx," Cale said after describing Jordan.

Melody stopped playing. "Draxx.... He's complex too. At first I thought he was arrogant, very sure of himself. A bit rough around the edges. Not the type I usually go for. He seems to be reluctant to commitment. He's a bit roguish, but in a good way." She smiled to herself.

"He sounds dreamy," Cale smiled.

"How about something different. Do you know this one?" She put down some chords and started to sing.

A long, long time ago, I can still remember how that music used to make me smile.
And I knew that if I had my chance, I could make those people dance
and maybe they'd be happy for a while.
But February made me shiver
With every paper i delivered.
Bad news on the doorstep
I couldn't take one more step.
I cant remember if I cried, when I read about his widowed bride
But something touched me deep inside,
the day the music died......."

"Do I ever?! I haven't heard this one in forever! Let's get to it, Mel," Cale exclaimed as he began to play an intricate harmony.

Melody relaxed and let the music move her. "See, its coming back to you now. "I was talking to Caroline about Draxx earlier. I want him to be in Sansa life, but then I'm just not sure what he'll think of Sav'ena. I hope they will get along." She mentioned casually before launching into the chorus.

Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die

"I think he will love her, Who couldn't love Sav? She's just so cute...for a female, I mean," Cale said with a smile and a light laugh."I wouldn't mind meeting Draxx myself. I have a feeling that he and I would get along well."

Melody raised an eyebrow "I'm sure you would. I'm hoping he can get some shore leave soon. So..... you think Sav is cute eh?

"I just meant as friends. I don't go after friends' husbands or the fathers or the fathers of their children. Don't want to make things anymore awkward than they already are. For a female. What can I say, I like her fur," Cale said blushing.

OFF:

Commander Melody Jones
CSTO / Second Officer

Sansa Draxx-Jones
NPC