[G-QTRS] Lt DeVeau and Dr Saveron: Time well spent - Part 2

[Amanda Nordstrom]

((Saveron’s Quarters, USS Garuda))

::Inside was much as Alora had seen before; the low furniture, the
holographs on the walls, his harps on a stand to one side. In it’s cage
at the rear Fluffy the tribble was cooing quietly to itself. On a nearby
side-table a glass enclosure rested atop a small environmental
management system; inside the gifted African violets sat, carefully
guarded from the usual atmospheric settings which would surely cook
them. The Vulcans had taken good care of the plants that even the travel
hadn’t seemed to stress them. Even though she’d clipped some leaves, the
foliage was thick enough the missing leaves weren’t noticeable. Flowers
bloomed brilliantly amidst the green, happy and content with their
treatment.


::As much as Alora was happy to see the plants thriving, she was far
more interested in trying out her new instrument. She lowered down onto
the couch, then accepted the water with a gracious nod. She drank
deeply, then placed the cup aside after it had been drained halfway.
That done, she didn’t beat about the bush, but turned to her teacher,
her green eyes bright with anticipation.::


DeVeau: Please, could we begin?


Saveron: Affirmative.


::Lifting his own instrument from it’s stand Saveron settled next to
Alora on the only couch in the room, kept specifically for non-Vulcan
guests who did not favour floor mats. Speaking quietly, he demonstrated
on his own instrument how the strings were tuned and the relative
relations of the tones achieved on each string, guiding his student to
do the same on her own instrument.::


::Alora flexed her fingers, another indication of the intensity of her
desire to begin. Despite that, she focused upon Saveron and what he was
teaching her. Tuning was done with great care. Even though she’d had
lessons with him, tuning and playing were not the same thing. Until she
was more comfortable, she would go slowly to be sure that no strings
were broken as she attempted to obtain the correct tone for each.::


::Once the tuning was complete, Alora allowed her fingers to flow over
the strings and she sighed at the warm, rich tone that the instrument
produced.::


DeVeau: So lovely...you really shouldn’t have, it’s too much.


::But that didn’t mean she was going to give it back either!::


::At her words her companion turned slightly to give her one of those
dead-pan looks that meant he was trying to deduce the meaning in her
words.::


Saveron: Is the gift culturally inappropriate? ::He asked at length.::


DeVeau: It’s...culturally generous.


::That was about the best way she could say it. Alora fingered the wood,
reveling in its smoothness.::

DeVeau: It’s just not the sort of thing one would expect. An instrument
of lower quality, one more suited to practising, but this is exquisite.


Saveron: I did state my intention to source you an instrument.


::It had, he thought, been the best practice to state such intentions,
thus allowing Alora the opportunity to state any inappropriateness. He
was aware that certain gifts had meaning in certain cultures; a social
mine-field. He had hoped that having a harp of her own to practice on
might help occupy her thoughts and aid in her recovery.::


::Alas, Alora had forgotten and only remembered at Saveron’s mentioning.
She nodded slowly and hesitated as she tried to formulate her thoughts.::


DeVeau: I just didn’t expect it to be so...so...beautiful. I mean, I
could have done with something just for practise til I could have
purchased my own.


::She wriggled a bit in her seat, afraid that she might come across as
ungrateful, which was far from the truth.::


DeVeau: But I love it. And it’s wonderful and...it’s just way more, and
way better than I expected, I guess.


::The Vulcan gave this several moment’s thoughtful consideration.::


Saveron: Then that would be an agreeable outcome, would it not?


DeVeau: Well, yeah, but...you didn’t have to. I mean, I didn’t want you
to feel obligated to do something so nice for me.


Saveron: I did not consider myself obligated. ::He assured her.:: It was
my preference to do so. Regrettably it was necessary to replicate the
instrument. It would have been preferable to source a crafted one for
you, however it may suffice until the opportunity to acquire a superior
instrument presents itself.


::From the Vulcan’s point of view he had given her the less precious
version, because the best was not available. That didn’t mean that he
couldn’t take the time to design it such that it was the best that could
be achieved with a replicator.::


DeVeau: I don’t know.


::The fact that it was replicated didn’t matter. Replication wasn’t as
simple as it seemed. One had to program the replicator, figure out how
to get it to do exactly what you wanted. While some things were
automatically programmed, such as the various food stuffs, items like
her violet pots had taken time and effort to get right. To do something
so intricate as the Vulcan harp - he must have spent hours on it. Or
maybe he was just better than she was at such things. Regardless, the
detail showed care and depth - more than just mere master and student.::


DeVeau: I love this, and youmade it for me. I don’t know if I want
another one.


::Music was a precious gift in any form. If she didn’t have music, Alora
probably wouldn’t have healed as much as she had after the episode with
the Kindred. Saveron had given her more than just a mere instrument.::


Saveron: That is satisfactory.


::He had considered it preferable that Alora find the instrument
agreeable; the fact that she did so was… most agreeable. It was an
impulse that had required meditation, and a thought that perhaps
required need further consideration, but unless there had been some
cultural impropriety he could see no harm in the gift. It hadtaken hours
to program, but that too was time well spent.::


END


**********


A JP by


Lieutenant Commander Saveron

Xenobiologist

USS Garuda


&


Lt. Alora DeVeau

Chief Science Officer

USS Garuda