Cmdr Herrick: The Chorus (Part 1 of 2)
Mark P
OOC:
Adding (or reintroducing) a touch of additional formatting for readers for this scene, open to evolving it! I’ve also done some substantive stitching between the last couple of sims. This sim will close off the solo Herrick tags, and I’ll have a new post with the open tags.
Example Formatting:
♪♪ Lyrics being sung, sung quietly, or sung loudly ♪♪
[[ STAGE DIRECTIONS / CUES BEING PRESENTED TO THE CREW ]]
IC:
((The Evening Star, Set ???, Location ???))
Had he not served several years in the Gamma Quadrant, Josh would have suspected he was a nightmare of sorts; he and Alora died one moment and were alive the next. But experience had taught him better than that. Trake and Alora being there made sense; they were a trio previously, but Winters was an unexpected but not unwelcome face.
The group had quickly realized they were in a musical, that they were the principals, and that the play would only go on if they acted appropriately. If they didn’t, they would get a ‘helping hint’ in the form of stage directions. And, they weren’t alone in their singing.
ENSEMBLE: ♪♪ Come aboard the Evening Star! ♪♪
He was crooning along, fearful that anything of a higher pitch would cause his voice to crack. As he sang, the ensemble added their voices to the chorus.
Herrick and the ENSEMBLE: ♪♪ Ignore the fading glitter! ♪♪
As he attempted to maneuver the stage in a tighter dress and heels, he ended up sticking both arms out to balance while avoiding a crash to the ground. He was quickly hidden from view by an assembly of backup dancers, allowing him to breathe and regain his balance while the music marched onward.
ENSEMBLE: ♪♪ With swinging, rusted chandeliers
And where the lights just flicker! ♪♪
The stage cues noted that a brief duet was in order, and the pair of officers obliged.
Promontory and Winters: ♪♪ Come aboard the Evening Star! ♪♪
Slowly, each of the officers made their way to the rear of the stage. It was relatively subtle amongst everything happening on the stage as the spotlight-soaking vocalist took centre stage. It was still unclear to whom they were singing.
It took a moment for Josh to clue in that the cap’ was singing different words than the lead. He only picked up on it at first, given the hitch in the rhythm.
The vocalist continued with the first officer backing her up as he taking several quasi-dance steps towards Trake.
PR3ST1G: ♪♪ But in every age an empire falls,
And walls crumble to ruins
The song that once defined an age,
No longer has its tune. ♪♪
As the background talent moved into the next sequence, the CO tried again and XO listened more intently.
It seemed Michelle was going to be the first in the group to chance a reply to the captain.
While the Thor’s leader might have stumbled a bit, the lyrical endings had been more aligned than Michelle’s and as her voice faded out, Josh decided to try his own hand at jumping in.
Well, he was significantly worse than Michelle in retrospect. He could barely keep the rhythm or the tonal shifts while trying to fabricate sentences on the fly. This was going to take some work.
As the group revved up again, Josh took it as an opportunity to practice the chorus pacing before he’d attempt it again. And he
Herrick, along with the ENSEMBLE: ♪♪ Welcome to the Evening Star,
Where heartbreak comes with dinner!
Where singers sound just like saints,
But the curtain hides the sinners! ♪♪
And then, unexpectedly, Trake began to move his feet in a tap dance without the clackity-clack of his heels.
Did he say five years? Josh shook his head… It felt like five or six hours between the game show, the detective agency, and now the cruise liner, plus the group had also been whisked from one locale to the other. Did time pass that differently?
He had no reason to doubt Trake, and this just increased his itch to leave. He joined the chorus as some of the dancers started to pay him more attention for not singing along.
Herrick, along with the ENSEMBLE: ♪♪ Welcome to the Evening Star!
We hope you enjoy your trip here.
Where every crack is gilded gold,
And every star grows dim and old,
Ignore the mildew and the mold,
Some things shine brightest as they fold! ♪♪
They were coming up on the end, and apparently, Michelle was up to close them off.
Winters: ♪♪ Welcome to the Evening Star!
Where our crew isn't far!
Caught in a strange adventure they are!
Soon, we'll be making another run on the Evening Star! ♪♪
Now that she had her own brief solo that seemed engineered to not upstage the star, he couldn’t discount the fact that she seemed to have what someone once told him was the ‘it’ factor.
He tried to recall who had said that to him but it got lost in the haze of his memory.
Ensemble: Welcome!
The abrupt end of the song -- almost a shout -- shook him back to reality; how in the frack were they going to get out of here?
Mark P
OOC:
Updated; my font sizes got lost!