Ensign Lyra Voss: Preparatory Coursework
Sarah Terry
((Rooftop, Hauteur Serene Hotel, San Francisco District, StarBase 118))
The three women continued chatting about classic Terran films, which left Lyra feeling a bit out of her depth. She tried to make note of the names to look up later - “Casablanca,” “John Hughes,” “Judy Garland” (that last one sounded familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it). If she could find a syllabus, maybe, from a film survey course, that would give her some good foundational knowledge to… no, that was probably going too far. Her kneejerk reaction was always that she needed to become an expert before she could contribute anything of interest, which meant she was terrible at approaching anything casually. Turns out, people didn’t actually think less of you if you weren’t an authority on the topic of conversation, but she was still working on convincing herself of that.
Willow: Unsure about popcorn and targ jerky as a combination but I’ll bring the coffee.
Lyra had to agree there. She didn’t want to touch targ jerky with a ten-foot pole, but she appreciated Mi’sh’s enthusiasm. Actually, she didn’t have much experience with coffee either. Maybe if you put enough other things in it? She certainly couldn’t handle it black. People swore by it like it was some kind of panacea, but to her, it tasted like burnt toast, anxiety, and dirt. She repressed a little shutter just thinking about it.
Voss: So this is my first time in the San Francisco district - have you had a chance to come here before, Mi’sh? Lieutenant, I imagine you’re familiar with most of Starbase 118. How long have you been stationed here?
Willow: I’ve been stationed here three, almost four years. I could have sworn it was forever. The San Francisco district has wonderful parks and cafes.
Time did have a funny way of ebbing and flowing like that. She’d been here for four months, which felt simultaneously like yesterday and last year. Well, technically, it was about to be last year, but anyway…
sh’Sonora: It’s quite lovely here. Even if I spent a lot of my time at the flight school annex in Marseilles and Jupiter Station, San Francisco is still one of my favorite universe destinations. This is a good approximation, in microcosm no less! Now, if I can only find a good Wing Chun instructor I’d be set.
Willow: I know Tai Chi but that’s the extent of it.
Another topic she knew next to nothing about. She gripped her drink a little harder to try to avoid fiddling with her hair or her necklace in her nervousness.
Voss: Did you pick Wing Chun up while you were at the Academy? Or was it back home?
sh’Sonora: Yeah, my old seifu’s back on Andoria, and the only teachers around here are holographic… or the shaolin temple in the Chinatown district, but they’re not answering my calls.
Mi’shune was nothing if not persistent when she wanted something - if there were teachers available at the temple, she’d surely track them down soon enough.
Willow: Well, if you ever require a gym partner, you're welcome to give me a call sh’Sonora.
sh’Sonora: ?
Willow: Voss, sh’Sonora, likewise, if either of you would like a tour of the station, I can show you my favorite cafes, parks, beaches, walking paths. We could have a movie night. Discuss the cinematography produced by the 1940s camera and the dutch angle.
Four preserve, maybe she did need the film survey class. What was a Dutch angle? Hollywood was in America, but maybe a lot of films from the 1940’s were shot in the Netherlands? She was reasonably sure that’s where the demonym “Dutch” came from. But she had to remember - the point was to learn. Not to show up knowing. She didn’t need to do preparatory coursework for a movie night. Although, if she just read a couple quick primers on the topic… No. Stop. Smile and nod. Talk.
Voss: That would be great. And I certainly wouldn’t turn down a tour. I have to admit that I’m not much of a hot weather/beach person though. Thalzed may not be Andoria-cold, but it is the northernmost continent on Betazed, so I grew up with cold, rocky beaches, not warm, sandy ones. I’d love to find a skating rink though, if there’s one on the station? I have a holosuite program, but it just isn’t the same.
Willow/sh’Sonora: ?
Voss: I’ll have to check it out! My family has a small lake near the back of our property and it’s frozen almost half the year, so my siblings and I would spend forever out there skating. Actually, it might be the one activity we all love. ::smiling:: There’s six of us, so it’s hard to find something we all agree on. What about you, lieutenant? Do you have siblings?
Willow: ?
Voss: Have you had time to go visit them lately? I imagine it’s tough to get away.
Willow: ?
Lyra nodded, and turned to her friend.
Voss: How are your sisters, Mi’sh? Is Mikaiu still on the Galaxy?
sh’Sonora: ?