Ensign Sival: A Feather in Your Cap
James Scott Schumann
(( Crew Quarters, Deck 5, USS Juneau ))
If Sival was going to do this, then he couldn’t be fighting every emotion that arises. He had to put this problem, if that’s what it was, aside and try to reset himself to the person he used to be. The one before the Awards Ceremony when he was almost felled by a turtleneck sweater and a slice of moba fruit. The one who expressed himself easily - who regulated, but did not suppress, emotions without consequence. The one full of wonder and ideas. In other words, the one who used to be Sival.
He had to let Sival out of the cage. Even though the experience with overwhelming emotions deeply troubled him, he couldn’t keep up this regimen of suppression. He was a human-Vulcan hybrid, and he needed to get back to hybrding it up.
He believed he could do this, at least temporarily. Before going to the holodeck, he briefly stopped at his quarters in order to meditate. He used a holographic candle where the flame represented his emotions. He allowed the flame to just exist. Was it burning? Yes. Even raging? Yes. But it wasn’t bothering anyone or anything, and it was completely separate from Sival himself. Then he put out the flame, representing his ability to control his emotions at any moment he chose.
He thought about who he was, summoning the essence and fullness of himself. He thought about his son as well, as he always did. Then he took a deep breath.
Sival felt he was ready.
(( Holodeck 1, Deck 4, USS Juneau ))
Everyone has gaps of knowledge, and Sival was no exception. Terran history was simply a topic that he knew little about. Still, as he listened to the program being described, he doubted that 17th-century French kings were so unpopular that even Bolians wanted to kill them.
Although he did consider that it was usually not wise to make enemies with a Bolian.
As Sival entered the holodeck, the program automatically synthesized a costume around his body. Instantly, his vision was obstructed. He reached up to his left eye and noticed it was covered by a patch of some kind. Bemused, he continued to raise his hand until he touched the top of his head. He was wearing a hat. He took it off and examined it. It was black, ridiculously oversized, in his opinion, with a single, white feather, also needlessly large, protruding from the top. What species of bird this feather was from was anyone’s guess. He sighed, and put the hat back on his head.
oO A most unusual costume. Oo
He also saw that he was wearing some sort of sword around his waist. A fencing sword, as it appeared from the handle. Sival reached to take it out from its sheath to make sure, but he couldn’t get the sword to release. Not wanting to cause a scene fidgeting with the weapon, Sival left it in place.
He looked around and he was intrigued by what he saw. He and the others, his newly-minted friends, as he optimistically regarded them, appeared to be in a tavern appropriate to the era. They were surrounded by loud, raucous activity, filled with laughter, song, shouting and minor scuffles. One person even came up to Sival, put his arm around him, accidentally splashing his face with beer from the mug he was holding in the hand of the other, and thanked him for solving that business with the necromancer. Sival managed to say, “you’re welcome,” wiping the liquid from his face and squirming away from the embrace of the man.
Indeed, everyone in the room appeared to be having a jolly good time.
Except for T’Lea.
She looked just as bored sitting in the tavern as when she was sitting on the Bridge, only this time she was able to prop her feet up on a chair. Sitting. Not what the doctor had ordered. And from looking at her face, one thing was for sure: at the moment this was not a moving or a happy body.
T’Lea: The program said semi-historical reenactment. This isn’t exactly what I had in mind. It's a little odd.
Trevok: What, the fact that there are Bolians on Earth in the 17th century or that Louis XIV looks like his mother was a Klingon and his father a ballet-dancer?
Sival: The anachronisms do give the program a curious element.
T’Lea: By odd I meant boring. I've sat more here than on the bridge. ::at John:: Please tell me you found thing interesting.
Kendrick: Apparently there’s a rumor going around that a man in an iron mask is being held in a place called the Bastille. Some believe that the King isn’t the real Louis... whatever the number is. Which may explain why these Bolians want to assassinate him.
Sival found the concept fascinating. Perhaps he should look into history more, or at least history-inspired fiction.
Trovek: So here’s a suggestion. We assassinate the king and blame the Secret Scientists. It’s the perfect cover. We could even let them do it but so far they don’t seem terribly competent. Then we just have to dispose of the heir to the throne, and seize power. France could be ours.
This was also an interesting concept. Plots and counterplots. Deceptions and reveals. Things you just didn’t get working in a medical laboratory. However, he did not like the idea of having to assassinate anyone. Being a doctor, the idea was totally anathema to him, even in play.
T’Lea: Response
Trovek: … You were the queen last time.
Kendrick: ::changing subject:: Perhaps we should just stick to the holonovel as programmed?
Sival: I tend to agree. While I find the prospect of playing the villains most intriguing, as it would allow us to explore elements of ourselves that we could not in real life, the original plot already appears to provide many opportunities for recreation and stimulation.
T’Lea: response
Sival didn’t know much about saving kings, if that’s what they were going to do, but he did know that every good hero needed a map. Even if they were going to play the villains, they would also still need a map. He quietly made his way to the bar and discretely asked for a map to the Bastille. He was told it cost 1/2 livre. Of course. Money. He reached into his pocket, and he was surprised to feel several coins. He took one out and handed it to the barkeep. After receiving the map, he took it back to the group.
Sival: ::spreading the map on the table:: I have taken the liberty of procuring a map. Let us come up with an objective and a plan.
ANY: response
TAG / TBC
Ensign Sival
Medical Officer
USS Juneau, NX-99801
J239808S11