Lt Jania Nis - Dirty Dancing
Jania Nis
((Far beneath the surface – A lively transit hub – Liminal Station, Marohu III))
(OOC: Reworked this sim to incorporate Sam's)
There was a vibrating treble in the air for a moment that crescendoed into a fast, skipping beat. She laughed at the silliness of it all. Too bad these people were extinct; she was beginning to like them. The music had a jangly element to it. Some sort of horn instruments, perhaps?
The grin still on her face, Jania turned to Sam. She was glad someone else was controlling this room, and things were going a lot better than they had with the creepy statues.
Greaves: They sound like Earth instruments, and I swear I recognize this song. Or at least the style. It must be pulling from your memory Sam.
Nis: So that’s Human music? It doesn’t sound anything like the Beastie Boys.
Sam also seemed to be having a good time, and he snapped his fingers to the beat he was apparently creating. The music swelled, surrounding them, and a soft glow of distant lighting chased back the shadows in the massive room.
Woolheater: Yes, sir Colonel, I think so. Woo! I could get used to this.
Greaves: Doctor, I think you might be on to something with the dancing idea.
As he said it, the music got less jangly, more modern
Woolheater: Aww, hell yeah. I can play any music in my head, and this’ll recreate it?
Jania shrugged and approached Sam.
Sam took Jania’s outstretched hand, and they stepped out from behind the table. The lights formed on the tracks behind them.
She thought of the last mission they’d had together. The way her blood had dripped from his hands as he desperately tried to fix her arm. To have this moment together felt healing. Still, it took her time to get used to the rhythm of the Earth music. She was used to dancing to Trill deepwave music in clubs, and this certainly was not that. She had to let go of the rules of dancing she knew and let Sam lead the way. He brought her close before stepping away and spinning her again. Her feet pounding, hips swaying, smiling at Sam’s eyes.
Nis: You’re pretty good, Sam!
Greaves: (Shouting over the music) The inscription said something about dreaming, too.
Woolheater: I’m pretty sure I’m unconscious on the floor, sir. Gotta be dreamin’.
Jania snorted and shook her head as Sam broke away from her. It took her a moment to catch on, but she did and kept up the dance, moving to Wes and the other marines. The ancient people who had lived here would have wanted everyone to participate in the art. There was no escaping having a good time. Sam was trying to charge them all up for the trip.
But she couldn’t deny she was happy when Sam made his way back to her. He was the best dance partner she’d had since … never mind. She didn’t have to think of that bastard anyway. She was in tune with Sam’s moves, and she felt his hands lower to her hips. Although she was shocked, she realized what he was going to do right away, and she was able to flow with it. He was lifting her up! She couldn’t stay serious at that; although she followed his motions, she burst into laughter, and she was still laughing when he brought her down. She put her arms around his neck, still laughing, and for one moment, she wasn’t laughing anymore, she was just staring at this handsome man. Then they danced again. This time she brought out the deepwave dancing, just a little. It wasn’t exactly something for professional situations. If anything, it was closer to Orion dancing than Human dancing.
Woolheater: Oh myyyy… dear Doctor! You have got some moves on you.
Nis: We’re just getting started.
She turned, her shoulder sweeping across his chest, glancing back at him out of the corner of her eyes. Her next moves were all close in, her body brushing against his.
Greaves: (Shouting) It’s working.
The rhythm of the song ran together; the drums turning into a single vibration, as the train tracks glowed green. Jania slowed, then stopped, staring at it in awe. She found the timing of the glow to be quite unfortunate, but the shock at seeing the tracks, which seemed to stretch off infinitely in both directions, drew her toward the pods.
Woolheater: ::happy faced:: Well. That was fun.
Jania grinned, suddenly feeling a bit sheepish. She tucked loose hair behind her ear.
Greaves: Looks like that did it.
Woolheater: ::shrugs:: The things we do in the service, ay?
Nis: It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it.
But the fun part was over. Wes’s voice was serious as he investigated the interior of the pod.
Greaves: It’s powered and safe, but I can’t tell where it goes or how to start it yet.
Woolheater: Maybe this is the dream part?
He asked innocently enough.
Jania grinned and tilted her chin down, staring up at him.
Inside each pod was a black, glassy obsidian-like panel. When one got close to it, each tricorder sounded off. Definite, rhythmic energy readings and, most curiously, coordinates.
Greaves: Response?
Woolheater: So, how does this move then, if not on the track?
Greaves: Response
Jania shrugged, but Thasho stepped forward and pointed to a small icon which appeared to be a backwards L with two dots inside it. The universal translator was struggling but failing to translate it, giving the symbol the strange sheen things got when the translator recognized languages but couldn’t make them out.
Thasho: This logo also appeared in the Treasure Room.
Without waiting for assurances that it was safe to do so, Thasho pressed the button, and a holographic map of the planet appeared with thousands of intersecting lines. Wherever there was an intersection, there was a red dot, and a very small name. This was presumably the station. The universal translator again struggled with the names, and what it produced seemed like nonsense: Fingermarks, Snow on the Mountains, J.C.’s Overcoat, Summer Equilibrium, Clouds …. It went on like this, a naming convention that was almost understandable but just out of reach.
Greaves: Response?
Something stirred deep below them. It sounded almost like gears, grinding. Big ones, if that’s what it was. It seemed like a different power mechanism than the rest of this machinery, but she was no engineer. She couldn’t get a grip on how any of this functioned … but to be honest, she had no clue how a replicator functioned either.
Nis: It’s a great point, sir. What about the dream part? That’s the part we haven’t done.
Greaves/Woolheater: Response
Lieutenant Jania Nis
Chief Medical Officer of Physical Health
USS Octavia E. Butler NCC-82850
O240108JN2