Ens. Kudon & Lt. Cmdr. Deveau - "Musical Tastes" (Part I)
Amanda Nordstrom
((Holodeck 4 - Starbase 118 Ops))
Alora arrived a few minutes early, but didn’t start the program yet, nor did she actually go /into/ the holodeck. Rather, out of a sense of politeness, she decided to wait for Kudon’s arrival. She supposed it wasn’t necessary, and she doubted he’d be resentful if she’d gone inside, but considering the nature of what they were doing, she’d let him choose the program and setting.
It had been fun talking with him while they had worked on how to deal with the Death Fog, and she was glad for the opportunity to get to know him better. She hoped for the same with other officers, but she couldn’t spend time with everybody at once. As he arrived, she smiled and waved, then motioned to the controls.
As for Kudon, he felt glad to have a crewmate to socialize with, although he felt somewhat awkward meeting up with someone of such high rank as he was only an Ensign. It was one thing to talk while working, another thing to have a purely social visit. But obviously she wouldn’t have reached Lt. Commander if she did not have a strong professional streak. And from their work together, she clearly did.
DeVeau: Hey Kudon. I thought I’d let you pick first.
Kudon: Hello Alora. Hmm...I have not gone on a Holodeck since Academy training. How about a visit to Lactra VII? It has a rainforest and a desert divided by only a river.
DeVeau: I’m game with that. How are you doing?
That was an interesting thing about Kudon - he was Vulcan, but he didn’t suppress his emotions. Rather, he seemed to embrace them. Recently, she’d met another who seemed to do the same, Luthas. Before meeting them, she’d only heard about Vulcans who embraced emotion. Now she’d met two in the span of a week!
Kudon: I am well, thank you. I feel especially good that we were able to pass along strong data to Commander Galven. That algorithm I developed went through multiple iterations and I was becoming quite attached to it, as you know. How are you doing?
Admittedly, he felt weird calling Galven by rank and DeVeau by first name when they both were of equal rank. Granted Galven was Chief of Science and Kudon did not want to call a superior officer informally without their permission.
DeVeau: Doing well. I have to admit, I’m curious to hear about some of the music you mentioned.
Kudon: That’s right, we had been discussing music earlier. Well, I mentioned I appreciated a style called Terran Metal. Are you familiar with it at all?
DeVeau: No, not really. I have to admit, it’s not a genre I’ve really been introduced to.
Not that Alora was opposed to it. From what she heard /of/ it, it didn’t seem like her particular style of music, though she did have rather eclectic tastes. Maybe she’d like it if she actually listened to it. At the very least, she’d give it a chance.
Kudon: It’s something I only listen to when I am in a particular mood, since it is quite angry music. I developed an interest in it as an adolescent on Vulcan when I wanted to--
He stopped for a moment, realizing that he had unintentionally delved into a topic that needed more explanation.
Kudon: Would you mind if we continued in the Holodeck? I would rather not speak so much in public.
DeVeau: Of course.
Kudon: Thank you.
The doors swished open and the two headed in together to the Holodeck.
Kudon: Computer, initiate a program on Lactra VII, located at the rainforest and desert border. Delete all Lactran slugs. ::To DeVeau:: The scenery is beautiful, but you do not want to look at a slug, nevermind interacting with it.
DeVeau: I know that’s right. Alora was aware of the Lactran slugs, and what they were capable of. Granted, this was just a hologram, but there was no point in making it unpleasant.
DeVeau: Delete away.
The two were suddenly by a gorgeous flowing river in a rainforest possessing an amazingly beautiful variety of sounds, which nonetheless were not so loud as to make it hard to talk. On the other side of the river was a vast desert.
Kudon: Did you know Lactra VII has environments that were manufactured, not naturally created?
DeVeau: Right, through terraforming.
Not a ton was known about them, and while the Federation had received an invitation to return, it was certainly not in THEIR lifetime. Alora had to admit it was kind of sad - she would love to learn more about them.
Kudon: We can admire the scenery in a moment, but I do wish to finish what I was saying before. If you do not mind, it is of a somewhat personal nature.
DeVeau: I don’t mind at all.
It sounded like Kudon wanted a friendly ear, and Alora was happy to provide one. Anything said would be confidential, she was not the sort to go blab about things to others. Hopefully, he knew that, but if she felt any doubt, she’d make sure of it.
Kudon: As I was saying before, as an adolescent I became interested in Terran Metal. During one of my many science competitions, I met a boy my age from Earth who exposed me to it. At first I hated it...but the more I listened to it, it brought something out of me. It was anger. And given certain events that involved my sister being bullied, I certainly was angry. The story is not so important. The details are long and not pertinent at the moment. What I am trying to say is that listening to that music, along with many other factors, planted seeds that made me decide when I was at the Academy that I wanted to live with emotions. It is extraordinarily rare and in fact I have never met someone who has made a choice as I have. As my superior officer, I feel it is only proper for you to know.
DeVeau: As a superior officer, I’d say that’s a decision for you to make and if it doesn’t interfere with your job, then it’s not my place to dictate what you do outside of your duties, or how you decide to live, with or without emotion.
Alora leveled her gaze at the ensign and reached up, miming her fingers closing around a brim, lifting something invisible from her head, then tossing it away.
DeVeau: Okay, superior officer’s hat is off. Here, I’m not your superior officer. Here, I’m Alora, your friendly neighborhood plant lady who has a thing for animals.
Her lightheartedness made Kudon pleasantly laugh. This was an idiom he did understand.
Kudon: Why thank you Alora. A thing for animals you say?
DeVeau: Oh yeah, and plants...after this, come to my quarters and I’ll show you my babies.
Kudon: You have all baby animals?..or human babies?
Alora giggled and shook her head.
DeVeau: Never mind, I’ll clarify later. For now, introduce me to this Terran Metal. You’ve piqued my curiosity.
Kudon: I can get to that in a moment. First, you said that living with emotion is fine if it does not interfere with my job. I had a talk with Galven the other day about this and how I thought my fear impaired my judgment on the last mission. So honestly, I think it did interfere with my duties. He was very kind about the situation and basically told me to not be so hard on myself. It was good advice. I do worry that it will interfere with future missions. After all, emotions do impair cognitive functioning. But I thought long and hard about this decision over a long stretch of time, starting at my adolescence through the Academy. And I still think I made the right choice, both for logical and intuitive reasons.
Alora wanted to say something, but decided that it wasn’t the time. Instead, she nodded and continued to listen.
Kudon: As you know, my people made a decision many centuries ago to suppress emotions to curb their destructive tendencies after periods of horrible war. So I understand the decision. However, I came to realize that those who most ardently cling to logic can not truly believe what they say. On logical grounds I mean.
DeVeau: Oh?
Kudon: Yes, I realize it is a subtle point, but perhaps an example will help. My father clings to the notion that emotions should be suppressed fully for the good of the community. But it is not logic that dictates his choice to suppress emotion, but rather his care for the community. Does that make sense?
DeVeau: Yes. I see your point. He does it for the good of the many, but he still /has/ emotions.
Saveron has pretty much said the same thing.
Kudon: Yes, that is exactly what I am trying to say. Even the Logic Extremists have always been driven by anger. They pretend to be so detached when they are the angriest Vulcans one could ever find. So the point is that if I am going to be an authentic person, I must take stock of my emotions and use them for good as much as I can. I wish I could pick and choose which emotions to feel, but it doesn’t work that way. And I’m left feeling stuck between my desire to be an authentic Vulcan and to not let my feelings interfere with my work.
The two paused for a moment as Kudon let the weight of his final statement sink in.
Kudon: So what do you think?
DeVeau: I think you’re dealing with the same thing that we /all/ have to deal with.
Kudon: You make an absolutely fair observation.
DeVeau: And, I think this makes you far more approachable, and it’s not going to hinder you, it’s going to help you be a better officer.
Kudon: Really? You actually think so?
Alora nodded. Though she had to be careful about how her words were going to be taken, she also wanted to be encouraging.
DeVeau: I respect the Vulcan culture, and I understand why they do what they do. However, I also understand that sometimes - no always - but sometimes, when we suppress our emotions, we suppress our ability to do good for the greater good. We forget to be compassionate, and compassion can help us look through other people’s eyes, relate with them, and help them in a way that isn’t as...complete when one doesn’t have emotion.
She wasn’t quite sure if she made sense. In a way, for Alora, it was more of a feeling than something she could accurately put into words.
Kudon: I will have to think about that some more...In any case, you asked about Terran Metal. Computer, initiate song, Metallica, Master of Puppets. It’s a long song, so we will play just a minute of it. I do warn you, this music is not for everyone.
Alora would probably say the same thing about the music she shared - and that was okay. There was all sorts of music, all sorts of taste.
Kudon: Very well. Computer, play the first minute of song.
The rainforest and desert was suddenly filled with raucous music that did not fit with the scenery at all. The landscapes were beautiful, but the music seemed almost violent. Kudon felt a bit self-conscious about it but DeVeau had seemed genuinely curious, so he let it play for a minute.
Kudon: Be honest, now. What do you think?
DeVeau: It’s interesting. I can see what you mean about being angry. It...almost feels desperate.
Kudon: Fair enough. This was the first such song I was exposed to as an adolescent. As I said, there were so many reasons I chose to feel emotions, but I sometimes wonder if it never would have happened if I had not been introduced to this song and known what being angry was really like. Enough about my issues. I would like to know what music you like. Would you like to play a song that is one of your favorites?
Ensign Kudon
Starbase 118 Ops
Engineering Officer
O239703K10
&
Lt. Cmdr. Alora DeVeau
Science Officer
Starbase 118 Ops
M239008AD0