Lieutenant JG Leran Perax - Song, Acrobatics, and a desire for ground
Peregrine Falcon
Glancing over his shoulder to see what was happening, he couldn’t tell from his angle if Maramox was getting motion sickness or near panicking. Another deep shudder probably didn’t help.
Lystra: With a near global storm like this I wonder if that’ll be an issue on the ground. I can’t imagine it’s much quieter when we land. I’m seeing some heavy rainfall in areas too.
Maramox: I’m doing alright. It’s just nerves. The sound is what’s getting me more than anything.
Yirah: Is there anything I can do to help you?
Maramox: Know any good songs? Maybe we can sing the rest of our way down.
Lystra: I’ll try and keep her steady. But if the sound is the issue can we dampen it somehow?
Perax didn’t know the hobbies of anyone else on the shuttle, but he had two problems to figure out. To dampen the noise of the storm outside the shuttle, and presumably their EVA suits, and to use his musical talent to remember a song that could help alleviate the tension.
Lystra: Know any good sea shanties?
oO Sea shanties? Not exactly but there was a Trill folk song about a sea captain and a lady from a poor harbour town. Maybe singing would take my mind off my own rolling stomach. Oo
Perax: Hey, Yirah, do you know the epic ballad “The Lady from Tsnere”?
Yirah: response
Perax: Well, I’ll try to do it justice. Just note that it was a poem put to music after the fact, and it might occasionally lose something in translation from the middle Mak’alan to Federation Standard. ::he took a deep breath and struck up a solemn tune::
((OOC: this is long, and I won’t blame anyone for abridging or omitting it in their sims. I had a bizarrely light day at work, and had all day to think about it.))
In the town of Tsnere,
a poor young lady did sell by the sea
In the harbour market she sold her wares
She look out upon the ships she’d see
And wondered if a better life could be.
One morn a ship put into port
It’s sails a red as red could be
The captain looked a sailor sort
His hair as red as his sails three
He browsed the market, to look was free
The lady saw the sailor at her stall
He looked upon her wares around
She dreaming, stared blankly at the wall
He, looking dismayed at her frown
thought that she could wear a crown
He asked her to show him the town
And So She took him to see the sights
As the trip lengthened she lost her frown
And as the dusk held twinkling lights
She esteemed the captain with delight.
But Drine a jealous Trill was he
And he had a malicious mind
He hated the sailor who could make so free
And thought to himself that she is mine
Then he plotted a dastardly crime
He went to see a local judge
He accused the captain of being a spy
The judge on a warrant his signature smudged
Triumphant was Drine’s cry.
Tomorrow the captain will die
The lady heard what deed was done
She ran across the town to the pier
She stopped by his ship panting from her run.
To warn the sailor she now held dear
To warn him urgently of her fear
The captain asked for her to wait
If she’d be true, he would return
It was a cruel and horrid fate
He said the reason, she would later learn
She watched his ship set sail and turn.
She many a day came to see
If the ship moored with sails red
Or if there was on upon the sea
She fear the worst that he might be dead
A fear that grew her misery and dread
Drine however made him glee
And tried to court the lady as he had of old
his advances she did flee
Her heart toward him was bitter cold
She forgave him not for lies he told
One year became two then three
The people laughed at her and mocked
“A sailor’s word can you imagine thee”
Still she waited at all hours of the clock
Down by the sea, and by the dock
One evening as the dusk arrived
Red sails appeared on the horizon sky
She ran down the pier feeling alive
Two ships, one at the harbour mouth did lie
The other at the pier did tie
Drine from the town square did see
A rabble he roused to fill the sailors with dread
A shot he fired, and hit not he
But the lady fell down as if dead
A trumpet sounded from the sails of red
A banner raised signaling a fight
A fleet appeared upon the rolling sea
Cannons blazed through the night
The rabble in terror did flee
The wrath of the captain was terrible to see
Towers and walls fell to the ground
The bells in the town tolled and rang
Drine the rabble did surround
His fate in the hands of that gang
Decided they that Drine should hang
The cannon stopped their firing
The crew the sails once more did expand
The battle done with avenging sting
The captain served with a medicine man
He tended the lady with his own hand
Once well she stood at the bow rail
He met her and she ask how far they’d roam
He said they had not far to sail
He pointed to a shore and called it home
A castle on the rock was where they’d come
Her wonder rose her eyes grew wide
And he her hand with his one free
He had built it while in Tsnere she sighed
He asked if she’d be his queen
She consented with all her being
The song ended, and Perax thought the storm sounded slightly more distant, though he wasn’t sure if that was because they had somehow moved away as he had sung so long, the work he had done with reconfiguring the inertial dampeners to double as acoustic dampeners, or just plain wishful thinking.
Perax: The song was about the early third Mak’alan dynasty. Records are harder to come by, but there are a few songs and folk tales still remembered. That one is still sung by Trill freight haulers. I guess we identify with the captain.
Maramox: Thank-you. Anything I can do for you all?
Perax: I could use some of that motion sickness medication.
Maramox: response
Lystra: We’ve made it through the storm so probably scanning everything? I’ll try and see if I can find a suitable place to land. But first. ::She keyed the comm again:: =/\= Little Crow to Iaonaiae. We made it through the storm. You still with us? =/\=
Foster: =/\= Response =/\=
Perax: I’ve got the signal clearer.
Yirah//Maramox: Response
Perax noticed the increase of power from the engines throttling back.
Lystra: =/\= Looks like we’re a few degrees north of the equatorial range. Since we got down here first we’ve got dibs on the Northern Hemisphere. How about you all take the South? =/\=
Foster: =/\= Response =/\=
He didn’t really have an opinion on what hemisphere they were in. He knew nothing about the planet and assumed that one hemisphere would be much like the other.
Yirah/Maramox: Response
Lystra: Before we land, I can make a single circumnavigation around the hemisphere at altitude so you all can get aerial readings?
Perax: I can use the extra power from the engines to try and increase sensor range and power. I can’t guarantee the accuracy of the results however.
Yirah/Maramox: Response
Tapping out the commands and diverting power, Perax heard the proximity alert. He whipped his head around to see what set it off, but…
Lystra: Nope!
He felt his innards go weightless as the inertial dampers strained and failed to keep up with the manoeuvre. oO I’m so thankful I asked for that anti nausea medication, and that it was a fast acting drug Oo
Yirah/Maramox: Response
Lystra: Sorry, stupid mountain came out of nowhere. Wait…what do you mean ‘sudden increase in thermal readings’?
oO Thermal readings?! Great Spots! Lightning from above and now something below? Oo
Perax: Using auxiliary power to reinforce the shields.
Yirah/Maramox: Response
Alerts sounded in multiple directions. The runabout flipped and turned. Perax felt himself turn green despite the nausea medicine. oO Yep, very thankful for that medicine Oo Even though he stayed in his seat, he was completely disoriented for several moments.
Perax watched in horror as Lystra descended into what he considered madness. He brought up a navigation monitor so he could try and brace himself against the erratic flight path.
Lystra: Woohoo! Now this is fun! ::she called out:: Hang on, I’m going to get us through this valley then swing around again. I think I saw a large flat spot between some hot springs back there, can you confirm Yirah?
Perax vaguely was reminded of a movie that he watched back at the Academy. The image of a child in a starfighter shouting, “Now this is pod racing!” came to mind.
Yirah/Maramox: Response
He nearly called Lystra, Lieutenant, then realised that three out of the four of them were lieutenant JGs.
Perax: Hey, Lystra, ::he felt weird about the informality of his words:: I know you’re having fun, but we should probably land pretty soon. ::he paused, then said in an unrelated fashion:: I think I’m going to be sick.
Lystra/Yirah/Maramox: response
Perax: I’m not going to be too picky right now. Anything to get back the sensation of solid ground is good with me.
Lystra/Yirah/Maramox: response
Perax: Did we get an atmosphere reading that tells us if we really need the suits?
Lystra/Yirah/Maramox: response