JP Lt Yito Seja & Lt Edward Spears, MD - Second Dates are Always Trouble Part 1

[Toryn Raga]

((Absolutely entertaining sim. Totally adorable couple.))

 

((Promenade - Starbase 104))

 

::The party was over, the last patients had been transferred to the station, Cadet Malyz had volunteered to oversee the resupply of sickbay after all the materials they had used during the mission. That meant Ed was blissfully free to do the one thing he’d been looking forward to since the mission ended; finally getting some free time with Seja. Ed was sure they both knew what they were getting themselves into. Both were department heads. Both put their roles on the ship before any personal considerations. Ed knew Seja would throw herself in front of a discharging phaser to save any member of the crew, just as Ed would throw himself headlong into the middle of any danger in order to help patch someone up. And despite the adrenaline that accompanied both of their positions, they’d been taking the relationship slowly. Ed was a little worried that things might have ramped up quickly, fuelled by that adrenaline, but ultimately being something fleeting. That had never been Ed’s style, though things don’t always go according to plan. 

 

But here he was, dressed up in his chinos and a button-down shirt, ready to meet the woman he had found himself irresistibly drawn to. And she never kept him waiting. Ed smiled as he watched her walk around the corner.::

 

:: Seja had again struggled to find the perfect outfit and was beaten by Ed to her vandaveer point.  She didn’t want to wear the same outfit she wore last time and realised her civilian wardrobe was lacking in suitable date wear mostly filled with sports gear and casual cargo trousers and tops.  But she wanted to make an impression on Ed and would need to go shopping if this continued. She wore matching dark brown trousers and top with a dark red leather style jacket and she wore the same necklace as previously.  It was of viking design and had been given to her paternal grandmother had given her. ::

 

Spears: Hey Seja.

 

:: Seja smiled he looked handsome in his civilian wear. She had been looking forward to seeing him again ever since their first date on the shuttle but the conference and then work had got in the way.  But with all the scientists of the ship having been assigned quarters on temporary station or tickets on transports and all the reports written. She now had the free time. ::

 

Yito: Hey Ed.  I see you beat me here again. :: Faking frustrated tone. ::

 

Spears: ::Grinning:: Well we can keep trying to one-up each other about who arrives first, but then we might just end up everywhere together all the time.

 

Yito: Next time. :: A determination in her voice. ::

 

Spears: I can be competitive, you know.

 

::Ed thought about the buggy training. Yeah. Everyone had seen his competitive side there.::

 

Yito: As can I. :: Remembering the buggy race and advising the young ensign to cause a sandslide onto the Ed’s fallen buggy. She wondered if Ed had known she was the first to fire. ::

 

::As he recalled, Seja had been pretty driven to win as well.::

 

Spears: Oh I’ve seen it. ::Chuckling::

 

Yito: So, what is the plan?

 

Spears: Well, I was thinking about this cool jazz place. But then I heard about an art exhibit. It’s a pop-up art show by some locals to the sector, and will only be here a week before they tear it all down.

 

:: At the mention of Jazz Seja felt excited she loved music.  Her heart dropped a little when he suggested something else but she kept a straight face not wanting to disappoint. ::

 

Yito: Tear it all down? :: Seja was confused, she assumed he meant move it somewhere else. ::

 

Spears: All in the name of art I suppose. And yeah, when they say tear it all down that includes the art. I heard the last show they ran ended up with them all in the brig for arson. They um, accidentally burned down the whole studio. 

 

:: It seem a little extreme to her. ::

 

Yito: How they manage that?

 

Spears: Well there are a couple of Hinji sculptors who like to make metal sculptures with plasma torches. I guess they got carried away. 

 

Yito: Sounds dangerous. :: This art exhibition was starting to sound more interesting than originally thought. ::

 

Spears: Art, Seja! Probably best to just go with the flow. I also hear they work on the exhibit while people walk through so we’ll see some of the creative processes. And maybe some of those plasma torch sculptures! 

 

Yito: Ok, it sounds fun.  So where this is Art Exhibition?

 

Spears: Oh it’s in some underused engineering space in the Hinji Bazaar. It will probably take a little searching but I’m told it should be easy enough to find if we follow the signs. 

 

Yito: Lead the way

 

((Hinji Sector - Starbase 104))

 

:: They took the lift down the Hinji Bazaar.  As they walked out Seja could feel the buzz. The shouting of sellers and smells of foreign food cooking. It had been a while since she’d travelled through the Hinji bazaar and she wished she had taken the chance to return sooner.  She followed Ed as he led the way weaving their way through crowds and stall. A couple of Hinji pushed wears in front of her colourful pieces of cloth and beads. ::

 

Yito: Thank you.  Another time. :: Seja responded back to sellers. ::

 

:: Seja grabbed hold of Ed,s hand so she won’t lose him and pulled him closer so she could talk to him within the crowds. ::

 

::Ed blushed slightly as he felt Seja’s hand find his. He settled into an easy walking pace. They pasused occasionally as a group of children would run by, or a vendor pushing a cart would roll by. Soon they were at the periphery of the bazaar and the crowds had thinned.::

 

Yito: How much further?

 

Spears: Not far. Should be just through an access point over there and then down to the sub-deck. 

 

:: They moved out of the crowds and around the back where the metal walls were revealed.  Several storage locker with door like those to the cargo and goods that had expanded out piled up next to them.  There was also a carpeted corridor leading back to the Starbase that she assumed contained quarters. They were at the bridge between the two worlds. ::

 

Yito: How did you hear about this exhibition?

 

Spears: From a patient, actually. I guess he keeps up with the counterculture in the region and this was on his radar. He promised it would be worth checking out. 

 

Yito: Interesting, being a doctor you must meet people from all different walks of life.  But I never saw you as into counterculture?

 

Spears: Well I do have some credentials in anthropology. And I’ve always had a soft spot for the people who challenge the status quo.

 

Yito: I’ll bear that mind.

 

:: When Seja had first meet Ed she’d seen him as green and straight laced but now she was starting to see more and more of a rebellious side with the buggies and now this art exhibition.  She found it interesting, fun, sexy. ::

 

Yito: I’m looking forward to seeing what is there.  I’ve never been to counterculture art project as you put it.

 

:: Relk had been to art collections but mostly comic and streampunk.  Seja had nosed at a few of the brochures but had never been along. ::

 

Spears: Well, I have no idea what we’re going to find down here either.

 

Yito: So a surprise for both of us :: A wide smile. ::

 

::They walked through another access hatch and found themselves in a brightly lit space filled with people of every description from across the sector. All of them were speaking in hushed tones as they moved around the improvised studio space and watched the artists at work. Everything was on display from sculpture to graffiti, to dance, to body art. It was a stunning amalgamation of individual expression.::

 

Spears: Wow. I never thought the exhibit would include someone getting tattooed in front of an audience. ::He stared at a muscular man wearing nothing but a pair of trousers, but without more than the occasional bit of skin showing. His body was a canvas of intricate designs and a similarly tattooed woman was working on filling in some of his remaining spaces.::

 

Yito: It sure is different.

 

:: Seja still wasn’t certain of what to make of the space.  She looked at a large piece of graffiti in a language she didn’t recognize. It was set in space with alien planets and ships around the text, it was stunningly done. ::

 

Spears: This is incredible.

 

Yito: They are talented.

 

Spears: I used to think I know what that meant. But there are so many people out there who all find such unique methods of expression. I can’t help but feel awestruck by it all. 

 

:: Seja could see a flickering light coming from the other room.  The colours reminded her of one of the ship board emergency simulations they did at the academy.  Seja moved herself close to Ed, so he could hear her clearly. ::

 

Yito: I think the Hinji plasma sculptures are this way.

 

:: Seja then moved away pulling him by his hand excitedly to the room with the flicking light. ::

 

::Ed allowed himself to be pulled into the next room, glad that Seja was enjoying herself as much as he was.::

 

Spears: Can’t wait to see what they’ve- ::He stopped himself short:: Wow. 

 

:: They entered into a crowded room and had to wait their turn to be pushed to the front.  It was atmospheric as they waited, the different colours and speeds of flashing light like music and the hum of the touches.  Seja anticipation grew and she wasn’t disappointed. There were 3 Hinji at the front working on different structures of animals, all at different stages and there were several finished animal sculptures around. As Seja had visited the Hinji homeworld when she first arrived on Conny, she knew the importance of the connection first hand. ::

 

::The work was unlike any form of sculpture Ed had seen before, and yet it was instantly familiar in a way as well. He figured that was the hallmark of truly incredible art in this modern era. Something both foreign and recognizable. And the method! The Hinji applied the plasma torches with such smooth, somehow melodic grace. Ed had no idea how melody could be translated into physical rather than auditory form and yet… The metal shimmered and glowed under the intense heat and he could watch it morph before his very eyes, but subtly.::

 

Yito: This is amazing

 

Spears: I’ve never seen anything like it… 

 

:: Seja stood in awe for several minutes, just watching and taking all the intricacies of the structures.  Seeing more and more of the tiny details the closer she looked. Her thoughts were interrupted by shouting back in the large main room. ::

 

::Ed had thought about injecting a joke; something to break them both out of the reverie that seemed to be attached to watching these master craftspeople at work. But to ruin the moment seemed like a terrible shame. Unfortunately, the shouts from the next room seemed to break the moment for them.::

 

Yito: You hear that?

 

Spears: Yeah. Some kind of a disturbance back in the main area.

 

TBC

 

JP by

 

Lieutenant Yito Seja

Chief of Security

USS Constitution-B

ID number: E239306LB0

 

&

 

Lt Edward Spears, MD

Chief Medical Officer

USS Constitution-B

C239502ES0