> now will never come again [ picard | open ]

[hunthiswhale]

[ perched on the ledge of one of the great windows in one of the halls of the habitat ring, far from the promenade and away from where those trapped on the station have taken up residence, sits one captain jean-luc picard. there's an alien flute in hand that he's playing, filling the adjoining corridors with a soft, sweet melody. ]

Comments

[10_forward]

[At first he wasn't quite certain that he was hearing anything at all, but eventually the sound solidified into music as he continued to listen. It was almost enchanting- to the point that he had to track down the source of it.

What he found, though, was his captain playing that flute, so he waited until a pause before he spoke in a subdued tone.]

There's something about that that seems to draw people in, sir.

[hunthiswhale]

[ picard stopped playing -- he was near the end of the piece, anyway -- and set the flute in his lap. he wished he had the real one, but a replicated version would just have to do. it didn't sound perfectly like the real ressikan flute, but he was certain that he was the only one who would notice such imperfection in the tone. ]

That does seem to be the case, Lieutenant. I was often caught playing in the Jefferies Tubes on the Enterprise-D. Good acoustics, you know.

[10_forward]

[He couldn't help but smile a little, taking a couple of steps closer. He was still just a little nervous about his actions towards his hallucinating captain, though he tried not to show it.

Though, he'd never really been good at that kind of thing.]

I can only guess, sir. It looks like you're feeling better, though.

[hunthiswhale]

[ the nervousness was there, but the captain didn't see why he should point it out. he'd seen it dozens of times in those who were part of his crew, yet had never worked closely or around the senior staff, let alone him, before and understood it well. he'd felt that way in relation to many he'd worked with in the past prior to his captaincy, before the stargazer. lanford would adjust. jean-luc was confident of that. ]

Much now that those whales have stopped tampering with our minds. And you, Lieutenant? How are you feeling?

[10_forward]

Much better than I have been. It looks like everything cleared up when she left, sir.

[hunthiswhale]

Good, good.

Have you been by sickbay for a check up?

[10_forward]

Not recently, sir. I did spend most of my time there, though, so I think I'm about as looked over as it is possible to get.

[hunthiswhale]

And how's Captain Kirk?

[ and he wasn't asking about .50 or .55 -- the look he gave deven, that knowing look, said as much. ]

[10_forward]

Kirk?

[It took a moment, but the meaning came across eventually, and he turned slightly to hide that he was blushing all of a sudden. He might have known that it couldn't be kept a secret forever. Especially after how devoted he'd been in sickbay.]

Recovering, sir. Just like anyone else.

[hunthiswhale]

Good, good.

[ while the captain didn't necessarily approve of intercrew or intertimeline relationships, he could not deny the uplifting note they were giving to people. for now, he would keep his voice of disapproval to himself. ]

[10_forward]

It looks like most everyone is on the mend, sir. I imagine things will be getting back to normal- or as normal as they can be- shortly.

[hunthiswhale]

Might I ask your opinion on something, Lieutenant?

[10_forward]

Of course, sir. Anything.

[hunthiswhale]

Do you believe this...division of crews is proving beneficial for the station?

[10_forward]

Well, it is one way of doing things, and it certainly seems to be taking the stress out of determining who's with who, but there are always drawbacks to any idea.

[hunthiswhale]

What drawbacks to do you see as someone not in a command position?