From: Margie Benham (madhron_at_yahoo.co.uk)
Date: Tue Oct 07 2008 - 15:04:54 PDT
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"The Melody Of The Trees"
(Continued from my: "That Monday Morning Feeling")
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Location: E4
Stardate: 2.81007.2304
Scene: Forest
The moon's suns were nearing the zenith of their orbits around the lush forested moon. Their heat adding to the haze that hung over the multi-hued canopy. The buzz of winged insects and the occasional squawk of odd shaped and sized birds, were the only sounds that broke the thick heady silence of the moon's southern continent.
That is until...
[[Oh bugger and blast it.]]
[[What?]] The second voice sounded resigned and long suffering, [[Have you done now?]]
[[I really am sorry..]]
[[It doesn't matter.]] A third voice broke in calmly, if only to help relieve the stress of the second voice. [[Rharn I really think we could do with a rest stop.]]
[[Fine.]] The second voice, which had been revealed to be Rharn's snapped a reply, although it would take neither a telepath or a psychic to realise that Rharn was far from pleased.
A curious bird, a cross between a parrot (in colour) and a bird of prey (in structure) swooped out of the sky and down through the canopy, shooting out of the dense purple canopy and into the cooler depths of the under brush. There it came upon a scene of complete chaos.
Shiona Vel was sitting on the broken trunk of a tree, dark streaks of mud spoiling the flawless finish of her cream skin.
Rharn sighed and walked towards the massive trees, her black eyes staring in wonder at the size of them. Her home planet's surface was barren of trees and shrubs and the only trees that did manage to grow were stunted through living in almost perpetual twilight. Here on E4 they grew to massive size.
Reaching down she slid her feet out of her boots, her rucksack landed on the ground next to them. "One hours rest." She said and then calmly reached upwards, her claws sliding smoothly out of their sheaths to enable her to grasp the branch firmly. With a shrug of her shoulders she gracefully slid up onto the first branches. "I will just go and see if I can find any signs."
Pol'Gra regarded her CO, "Then we shall have a brew." The El-Aurian decided.
Rharn nodded once, "Thanks."
"We all need to escape sometimes Captain." Pol smiled, "Right we are going to need some water. Iphie?"
Rharn grinned and shook her hair from her braids. Then turning her back on her team, she took a deep breath and then half climbed, half jumped up to the next branch. A few minutes later she had settled into a rhythm and was easily climbing her way up to the top of the tree.
The Nocturian breathed deeply and paused in her climbing. Her right arm was securely wrapped around the trunk of the tree, the claws of her feet digging gently but firmly into the branch on which she was standing. Before her lay, like a patchwork quilt, the middle of the canopy.
Trees surrounded her and from her perch she could see that the forest was unbroken for many miles. There were no tell tale signs of smoke that could indicate that the second team were nearby.
Rharn sighed, her blue hair whipping around and behind her in the breeze that rustled the tree tops like a gentle carressing hand. Up here amongst the trees were there was no sounds to make her hearing muted, Rharn could hear the trees. Briefly she wondered if anyone else would hear the forest sing.
Singing was important to Nocturians, it was how they learnt all of their old customs, and now one of the few Nocturians in Starfleet was listening to E4's forest sing.
The beat seemed to flow up from the branch and through her feet, up her spine and into her skull. She turned and with a casual grace started to climb once more.
"Hi-ri, Hi-ro, Hi-ri." Her voice was soft and it would probably have only been another Nocturian who could have heard her sing.
"Hoireann is O, ha hi, ra ha, ra ho ra.
Hoireann is O, ha hi, ra ha, ra ha ra.
Hi-ri, Hi-ra, Hi-ri."
With each syllabol, the muscles in her arms bunched and reached for the next branch. Her legs providing the power to propel her upwards.
"Saol na saol,
Ts go deireadh.
T muid beo
Go deo."
"Saol na saol,
Ts go deireadh.
T muid beo
Go deo."
With a final burst of power, she reached the top of the tree. Here she wrapped her arms around the trunk and allowed the trees to sing their song to her. "Hi-ri, Hi-ra, Hi-ri, Hoireann is O, ho hi, ra ha, ra ha ra."
-[/\]-
Scene: Base of Tree
Shiona Vel watched as Iphie quickly lit a camp-fire and produced some hot tea. Iphie handed the mugs around and then settled herself with her back against the trunk of the tree that Rharn had climbed. "Can anyone else here singing?" She asked quietly.
"No." Eishnala sh'Kor replied. The CEO was currently double checking her equipment. "I know it is very quiet though. The insects and birds seem to have gone quiet."
"It could be your Vulcan hearing," Lexi Margret offered. "The rest of us have a more standard range of hearing." The Science Officer smiled, "I often wish I could hear more clearly."
"It's not all it is cracked up to be," Iphie supplied.
"How come you were dragged along with us?" Shiona finally asked, "It's not like you are one of the secondary Bridge team."
"Family." Iphie rolled her eyes, "Maddie promised my sister that she would keep an eye on me and short of spending the next few weeks with me either on the station or her on the STONEHENGE, she decided to ask Rharn to bring me along, so that Rharn could keep an eye on me."
Pol'gra smiled, "They are only concerned for your welfare child."
"I know." Iphie smiled, properly for the first time, "It is just so frustrating."
"What is?" Rharn asked softly as she dropped the last few feet from the tree. She hummed the melody of the trees as she walked across to her team.
"Being dragged around strange planets." Shiona supplied.
"Well it is best if the young one is out of mischief for a few days." Rharn took the offered cup and glanced at it's contents.
"Hot chocolate, decaffinated." Pol'Gra immediately answered the unspoken question.
Rharn pulled a face, "My thanks."
Iphie was watching Rharn, "It was you that was singing."
"Was I?" Rharn would have raised an eyebrow, if she had any, instead she simply blinked slowly, "When?"
"About five minutes ago." The young Bolian/Vulcan answered.
"Oh yes," A peaceful look passed over the Nocturian's face. "Yes I was. I was singing with the trees."
Shiona snorted and Lexi patted her on the back. "You can't sing with trees."
"You can if you know how to listen to them." Rharn smiled and then tying her boots together tucked a marker into the left one and hung them over a branch. Her clawed toes digging into the mossy soil. "Right are we ready?"
There was a chorus of groans but the other women in her group stowed their cups and lifted their packs.
"Captain?" Lexi started.
Rharn calmly ignored her and picked up her own pack.
"Rharn?"
Finally the crimson skinned Alien turned to face the young human Ensign. "Yes?"
"What do trees sing about?"
"Ever the scientist?" Rharn teased softly.
"No, just rather curious."
"I do not suppose I could really translate it. But I think it is more a sense of being rather then an actual song. They sing of life and lives, of their beginnings and endings, that they are alive and their forests will live forever."
"But you sang actual words, Rharn." Iphie looked puzzled.
"I sang the sounds that I heard the trees sing." Rharn took the lead and headed down the nearest track, "If they sounded like words then I guess that perhaps the trees can communicate. Perhaps Lexie can look into it at a later date."
"Did you see any sign of the others?" Pol'Gra asked.
"Nope not a whiff of smoke." Rharn replied cheerfully, "Just trees and trees and trees."
Lexi was watching Shiona, "Can you *sense* anything Shiona?" She asked the Betazoid Tactical Officer.
"No." The blonde officer shook her head, "But there again for some reason I have never been able to get a fix on Rharn."
"She has telepathic abilities?"
"No, she's just so noisy."
If Rharn over-heard this conversation she gave no notice. Iphie meanwhile was busy thinking things over, "Do Nocturians sing all the time?"
"Most of it yes." Rharn admitted, "But our normal speaking voice is so high above the normal frequency for most humanoids it is not very often that we are over-heard."
"But do you not find it awkward?" Lexi joined in the conversation.
"Do you find it difficult to speak in standard?" Rharn countered, "Our race has lost most of our folk memories as the songs fall out of fashion. Our elders would sing the day into being, as well as the evening. We would paint the sky with stars at night and the caverns of NOCTURIA would respond to our voices and would fill even the darker caves with light." She shook her head. "But that was all so long ago."
"Maybe you could sing to the stars tonight?" Iphie half asked.
"Perhaps, but remember that you probably would not be able to hear me."
"I could fix that I think," Lexi immediately suggested. "I might be able to modifiy one of the tricorders."
"I shall think about it." Rharn looked at the two youngest members of her team and sighed, "Why do you not try and listen to the melody of the trees."
"I'll never hear it." Lexi sighed.
"Perhaps, perhaps not." Rharn took pity on her, "I think Iphie should be able to hear them or at least notice something, Eishnala possibly could as well, after all Aerdan heard T'nnent and I singing." She cocked her head to one side and looked down, "You could try walking without your boots."
"I..." Lexi sighed, "I'll think about it."
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NRPG: Very character centered I know but I hope it gives you a bit more of an insight into Rharn, which is what this mission is supposed to be about.
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Margie Benham <madhron_at_yahoo.co.uk>
Speaking for:
Captain Rharn Alcedo
Commanding Officer
USS STONEHENGE
NCC 12507
-and-
Captain Mad'hron Zanders
Commanding Officer
E4
-and-
Lieutenant Ronnie Zanders
aCEO
USS STONEHENGE
NCC 12507
-and-
Commodore Morelia Amethystina
Director Of Advanced Command Training
Starfleet Academy, EARTH
From HyperNews_at_youth.net
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