Memories and Gifts

Posted on Tue Oct 23rd, 2018 @ 11:06pm by Lieutenant Hel Samedi & Lieutenant Valeria Mordin

Mission: Trills and Thrills
Location: Valeria Mordin's Quarters

There was an odd sound coming from the quarters of the resident Daughter of Ts'usu. It was a sound that usually was never heard, a joyous sound full of love and emotion.

Giggles. Followed occasionally by a moment of laughter. Within the sanctity of her quarters, the rabbitess could usually let go, but for her to be in this form of mirth was rare. She paused what she was doing, and gave the wall comm unit a tap.

"Valeria Mordin to Hel Samedi." she started, after composing herself. Oddly enough, composing herself around the one woman who she could honestly just relax around.

"At your convenience, would you come visit me in my quarters? The ministries back home released some pictures and videos from home and, I want to share them with you first."

"I'd love to, sweetie. Give me like twenty minutes to get changed into something more worthy of your eyes?" came Hel's reply. "Oh, and, I've done some checking up and isn't it your birthday tomorrow? Or rather, in a few hours when the Ts'usu moon starts its next rotation?"

Was it? The rabbitess was a little shocked that she had misplaced the time, but with the way Ts'usu measured the time it was easy to overlook. She suspected the engineer had rigged a subroutine to calculate time on Ts'usu based on guesses and measures, mostly from their conversations about her home system. Very similar to the subroutine that Valeria had set up.

A few taps on the wall console brought up that calculation subroutine, and the system confirmed it. In five hours, it would be her birthday.

"Huh." was the initial response. "You know, that explains a bit." she mentioned, with an audible smirk to her tone.

"Take your time. You're certainly worth the wait." she remarked.

"Explains what? You know, never mind. Tell me in person when I get there." Hel's voice was happy, as it tended to be when reaching those particular, tall expressive ears.

True to her word, twenty-ish minutes later she arrived at the door and rang the chime. She had her hair down and simply combed straight, cascading down her shoulders. Wearing a black dress with gold trim accents on the hems and the moderately low cut neck, and red lacing tying up the sides and pulling them in to form to Hel's body. Heavy black leather boots lacking all subtlety rounded out her outfit. In her hands, a box - about forty centimeters in length, and about twenty by twentytwo centimeters tall and wide.

Valeria, to her credit, looked well in anything she would wear. At the moment, she was in the midst of her off-duty cycle and was dressed very comfortably. A loose shirt with a stylized and punk looking silhouette of a rabbit head gracing the chest, and a pair of very loose and very comfy looking leggings. Rather the opposite for how dressed up Hel looked, and it cast a bit of red to the inner ear of the daughter of Ts'usu.

"Seems I'm underdressed." she admitted, as she welcomed Hel into her quarters. The lighting was far more to the Ts'usugi's liking, around sixty to seventy percent of Federation standard, while over in the other room the lights were off, and something under a covered case cast the room in a soft blue glow of sorts. Though, there was evidence that Valeria was sitting in her common room just prior, watching something on the wall screen. A chair, with snacks and a drink next to it, solved the case.

"You look incredible." she commented once the door was closed. "I especially like the boots. I might have to find a pair in my size." a pause, "Extra wide." as she held a foot gently just off the floor to draw attention to it. "Make yourself comfortable, and... what do you have there? Another sample of human cuisine?" she was becoming a fast fan of human dishes.

"Well, maybe later tonight we can both be undressed, then we don't have to worry about who is overdressed." Hel winked, then leaned forward to rest her forehead against Valeria's for a moment. A Ts'usugi kiss, by way of greeting. "Ah, nope, this box is your birthday present." Beat. "Rather, what's inside, is. I don't know what Ts'usugi birthday traditions are, so I'll just follow human ones and sing you a silly little song later when I give you this."

"Not yet though. Gonna set it aside and let you stew in curiosity for a while, first." She smiled, stepping inside. "I'll cook you dinner if you want me to. Or we can just replicate something and take it easy. First though, you wanted to show me something?"

Valeria relaxed at the contact, her ears slowly drooping along the back of her head at such a simple thing. Contact...

"They're joyous occasions, celebrations of life. The entire family gets together, sings songs, brings out vids and image cards, and we celebrate the life lead up until then. Mistakes are brought to the front as lessons to learn from, and triumphs are successes to be recognized. Our hopes and dreams, our mistakes and our failings." she paused, "And then, food." she giggled, pulling back ever so slightly before she wrapped her arms around the pale engineer. "And for you..." she teased, before she leaned in across the gulf of what little space separated then, and gave the woman who captured her heart a kiss, in the human style of such.

Humans kissed weird, but Valeria was starting to appreciate cross-culture lessons.

"I don't want to put you through any burden." Ahhh, there was the Ts'usugi upbringing. "As for what I was speaking of, I was wondering why of all days I got a broadcast from the Buoys but, today I received a few teraquids of data from a few relays connected to the home moons." she stated. As close to 'Got a call from home' as Ts'usu would allow, no doubt. Valeria's glance slid to the box, the scientist in her curious as to its contents, while the mortal being in her was also curious as to its contents. Her hollow glance slid back to Hel quickly enough, though.

"Images, videos, messages, some old and a few new. Scrubbed to ensure Ts'usu's privacy, of course." Of course, "All from home. Mother, father, my siblings. There are a few... hundred... images and videos of me, as a child. I'd like to share them with you. Because if I can laugh at my antics as a child, then certain I can share such memories."

Hel gave a low whistle at the explanation of Ts'usugi birthdays. Suddenly her own ideas of a birthday party felt entirely insufficient. The kiss was reciprocated though, happy and with that flutter in her chest that would probably show up on a heart monitor, had she been wearing one. She set the box aside, making a show of bending over and wiggling a little bit for Valeria.

"I'll do my best to do the Ts'usugi idea of a birthday celebration justice, though I'm only one person, and strictly speaking not part of your family." she mused apologetically, even while taking out her contacts. The low light in Valeria's quarters suited the Asphodelian Human just fine. "I'd be honored to watch those vids and look at those pictures with you. As for dinner, hmmmm. How about something simple? Replicated beef and pork meatballs with various sauces? It's a comfort food. Simple, fast, easy to eat and filling. Can munch on those as we watch those vids you were sent."

The rabbitess gently put a hand beneath Hel's chin, and brought her glance over equal to her own, "You're family to me." she stated, simply and pure. "And all it takes is one person to be there to stop someone from being alone." she cited, now with a soft smile spreading along her features. "As for comfort food, some munch snacks, sounds perfect."

"I'll be the first to admit it to you, but I'll never be the last Ts'usugi to say it... Federation replicators and Dalacari fabricators leave Insipp devices far behind. Your food stocks actually have taste." she admitted, "A taste that resembles what the food stock looks like." she giggled, and set about setting up the seating arrangements for two. A comfy two. Perhaps a snuggly two.

Hel smiled an honest smile at Valeria's reassurance. She didn't comment on that subject though. "Always a quote of wisdom ready, huh. I love that about you." she replied, heading to the replicator to get the meal ready. "Yeah replicators aren't so bad, really. What do you want to drink, hon?" she called out

Valeria returned Hel's smile with one of her own. One of the few people on the ship she felt comfortable enough around to honestly show her emotions. "A credit to the Ts'usu Educational Bureau, I assure you." she responded with a giggle. "Well, it's a special occasion, and my shift isn't for another few hours. Surprise me." she said with a teasing tone to her reply. "And..." she took a moment to gather herself. "I invite you to stay."

Hel paused, then smiled. She knew Valeria had only a single sized bed. "And I happily accept your invitation." she offered, doing a little happy dance at the replicator. Food and drinks soon ready, and the pale engineer made her way back to the other woman, setting down the meal. Two wine glasses, one for each, with a murky dark drink in them. "This drink is called Hot'n'Sweet. It's from earth, from the twentieth and twentyfirst century. It's a vodka based drink with crushed pepper candy dissolved in it. I recommend caution, it's pretty strong, and the aftertaste takes a few moments to kick in." There was a single plate with a heap of five to seven centimeter sized meatballs, and various smaller dishes with various sauces. Light sauces, dark sauces, red, white and brown sauces, sauces of all kinds. Two forks were also there.

Valeria had, in the meantime, set up the seating for the two. One very comfy looking couch, with just enough room for the two of them and all the pillows that Valeria had amassed. "I'll be careful." she mentioned, at the warning of the drink. She gave the plate and the foodstuffs a glance, and a smile at some degree of satisfaction. "Seafood is a common dish on Ts'usu, but meat products are something of a rare delicacy. I admit, I've been enjoying my term in the Federation a bit more than normal thanks to, certain indulgences." she admitted.

As Hel got comfy, the Daughter of Ts'usu gave her a semi-serious look, "Now, something you should know about the sons and daughters of Ts'usu. When we make a promise we keep it, when we give our word they say not even death can release the vow." she stated. It was hard to tell where hyperbole ended with Ts'usu legend and legacy. "So to that, I give you my word. What you are about to see, if you find humor in it or commentary upon it, I promise I will take no offense." she offered, with a nod. "Now, the audio will be in Ts'usugi, but I think you'll be able to infer the meaning. Not that most of these videos will need commentary." she said with a smile.

"Ready?"

At the sudden serious turn Hel sat up again, then rose to meet Valeria and take both her hands in both of hers. "I do know. A Ts'usugi's word is their bond of honor. This became clear to me the moment we became friends, and even more so the moment we fell in love. Nothing I can say can match the weight of your word, since we Humans are not known for always keeping ours, but I want you to know that when I promise you something, I will keep my word as well. My words are not as fancy as yours, I'm not as eloquent, but I hope that my words are at least as weighty, to you at least."

With that she sat back down again, never quite letting go of Valeria, and settled in with the other woman. Comfort was who you shared closeness with. "I can be honest with you and around you, shed my mask. You can do the same. Ok, ready."

With that settled, Valeria relaxed which allowed Hel to further sink in against the rabbitess. That done, the daughter of Ts'usu speared a meatball and sampled a bit of a sauce before she pressed play on the videos. The lights dulled a bit, and the first sound that was heard was a baby crying. More of a mewl really but still...

The video came to focus, and there was a woman in a hospital gown, holding a bundle on her arms. In that bundle was a bit of a nose and closed eyes. Long ears and a bit of discomfort at the prospect of just being born a few minutes ago. The woman gestured for the camera to come closer, and she spoke.

"Kore wa anata no shimaidesu, Valeera'desu."

Valeria gave a smirk, "That's me." like there was any need for clairity. The next hour or so focused on all the more embarassing moments of Valeria's career as a Ts'usugi. Her hopping around in a nice blue dress, caked in mud. Her and her siblings playing games that only children knew the rules to. Her coming home covered in blue glowing dust of some sorts. Her learning to swim, her learning to sing, her giving up on learning to sing.

The tour down memory lane ended with a video shot, seemingly, in the modern era. It was a group video of her mother and father, and her several siblings. Each of them took a moment to wish a happy birthday to their sister in the stars. Some were more elegant about it than others. They wished her a happy birthday, with some silly song that made Valeria almost bury her head and ears into Hel's back. Judging from how warm those ears were, it was a silly childish song.

After that was a gentle montage of images of Valeria, from her infancy to her success as an adult, while a gentle song played over them. It seemed this was to just be background music while Valeria did whatever she did.

Hel chuckled a few times, laughed out loud a few times, and smiled many times. Valeera burying her face and ears in her neck caused her to close her eyes for a moment and snuggle just that bit closer, though quickly focusing on the show again in order not to miss anything. This meant a great deal, opening up to such an extent.

Some scenes were just too cute and earned a 'D'aww' response, while others yet caused her eyes to widen and quietly go 'Oh no', usually scenes of expensive looking dresses ruined or vases broken. Kids will be kids, and Hel knew she had gotten up to more than enough similar mischief in her own youth. It was a good thing there wasn't nearly so much footage and pictures of her like there was of Valeera.

The meal, drink and the show enjoyed in quiet, but the company most of all. After the final montage had ended, and Hel had quietly hummed along with the music, she closed her eyes and rested her head against the other woman's. "That was wonderful." she quietly offered. "You really were a handful growing up, weren't you." Then a giggle. "Not that that's changed."

"Did I ever tell you about the time I was truant from school because I was attending another, higher school?" she asked, still muffled in something of a snuggle. "I was a terror growing up. Always asking, never satisfied with one answer." she actually giggled, coming out from her burrow of sorts. "Mother knew I was going to go to the stars the moment the prospect of a cultural liaison with the Federation was conceived. She paid for my transporter tests herself." she relaxed, not hiding behind a mask of protocol or duty. Just a woman, enjoying the company with the woman she enjoyed the company of.

"I'm more than a handful now, thank you greatly." she said with a smirk. "But, thank you. It's been a while since I've heard an honest laugh."

"You did tell me about that, yes." Hel smiled. "And that's what made me fall in love with you. Things like that. Always seeking more, reaching for the stars, and when you reach those, you look for something beyond them." A slight pause. "But now it's time for your birthday gift. You've been exceptionally patient, to the point where I don't have the patience to wait with giving it." Hel chuckled, extricating herself from Valeria and collecting the box, giving it to Valeria and watching excitedly.

Valeria accepted the box with grace. Apparently, giving and receiving gifts was somewhat of a tradition on Ts'usu. Carefully she inspected the box, though only for a moment. The box was just as important as the gift within, and she carefully opened the box after that moment's consideration.

Inside the padded and lined wooden box was another, slightly smaller box. This one with a handle on one side, a dial with various inscriptions in a strange language on the top and a number of colored orbs arranged in a concentric manner around a single, central, larger orb colored in blue and green. Valeria would have seen that orb many a time in many a presentation or movie. Earth.

The opposite side of the strange mechanical device had twin dials with simple sliding bars over a concentric spiral pattern, made so that if the spindle of the bars turned, the bars would follow the spiral grooves set in the device's panel. The spirals had similar markings to the front panel and were divided into hundreds of small segments, signifying ... something. The side panels were transparent plexiglass, allowing Valeria a view inside the device, into an intricate and elaborate mechanism of brass gears, some small, some tiny, all interlinked, interlocking, functioning together as one.

Turning the handle would move all the colored orbs and the bars on the back, each in their own pattern, each at their own rate. The moon orbiting earth spun to show the lunar cycle. The colored orbs, planets, five of them, followed their orbits. The bars, a calendar, intricate, elaborate, mechanical.

She puzzled over the nature of the device, marveling at its construction and design. She gave the handle a test turn, and watched the mechanism come to life. A smile played over her features, like a child with a new toy.

"Almost six hundreds years ago, near the Earth island of Antikythera, pearl divers discovered the decaying wreckage of an ancient ship. Many an artifact were brought to the surface, including a decayed and heavily corroded lump of brass. Upon carefully cleaning it up they discovered that it had gears inside. Damaged far, far beyond repair, they carefully preserved the mechanism and put it in a museum." Hel explained, sitting down next to Valeria.

"It wasn't until more than half a century after the device, still just a corroded clump with hints of gears, could be x-rayed, revealing much of the inner workings. It took almost a full century for scientists to understand how the device worked, the mechanical intricacy. It was an orrery, a calendar, made by the ancient greeks, showing the ancient greek years and months, to their understanding." Hel continued.

"Their understanding though was flawed. They had only discovered five of the other planets - " The pale engineer pointed them out " - and some orbits are less than accurate, but all in all, the Antikythera Mechanism, as it's known, showed that the ancient greeks had an understanding of astronomy, engineering and clockwork way beyond anything they believed at the time this was discovered. The Antikythera Mechanism is over two and a half thousand years old, a thousand years older than clockwork was believed to have been invented, and this is a replica of the device."

"So, this was made by some of the greatest thinkers of your world, at the height of the birth of learning?" she asked, amazed at the concept. "Replica or not, it's a copy of the very essence of knowledge. Looking up at the heavens, wondering and thinking, and then building something based on ... on a best guess?"

She twirled the handle gently, letting each piece move in their own track. "This is incredible. Tell me more." and like that, her hunger for knowledge showed.

"Well, this is a replica. The casing is my own design, clear sides to show the mechanism. The original box was likely all wood, with the mechanism hidden. These two bars on the back predict lunar and solar eclipses. The inscriptions are in ancient greek, I thought I'd keep it as original as possible, aside from the casing." Hel explained. "These gears are replicated, but I assembled the device. Some of this replica's design is guess work, the original is in a few broken chunks, with some parts of the mechanism so deteriorated we simply don't know what it looked like. But it is believed this is the most accurate version of it, based on the technology and design of the parts we did manage to decipher."

"But what gets me is that the original was entirely hand made. Thirty seven gears, some with hundreds of teeth, and each and every singly one of them hand filed, positioned and affixed." The entire mechanism was held together with pins rather than screws, and could theoretically be disassembled and put together again over several hours of work. "Pay attention to the moon, over there." Hel said, as she reached over and gently worked the handle. The moon went through its cycle, speeding up slightly through the first half, then slowing down again during the second. "They managed to implement the uneven lunar phase, using nothing but pins and gears. Two and a half thousand years old, two thousand years before heavier than air flight, and they managed to accurately simulate the uneven lunar phase." the pale engineeress spoke with no lack of reverence.

"I'm really glad you like it. I figured this would appeal to your appreciation for science, history and other planets."

"You do the original justice." Valeria said softly as she watched the device turn. Such a simple thing, but ages beyond the norm at its time. This was curiosity and thought given form. She watched with a curious wonder as the Earth's only, lonely Moon made its uneven orbit around the blue and green sphere. She took over the handle, gently coaxing the system through a few more orbitals, watching time tick away on the calendar, in a language that potentially died out an era ago.

"This is incredible." and she rose to regard Hel. "Thank you. I'll... I'll put this someplace where I'll always see it." and then she smiled, "Probably next to my Tattle Tail." and at that, she giggled. With that said, she gently took the device and started off towards her bedroom, before turning towards Hel. "Want to see it?"

Hel smiled, then chucked, as she rose to her feet as well. She tapped a finger to her ear and spoke quietly, as if in a conspiracy, in her best spy-like, secret agent voice. "Agent Samedi reporting. I have been invited into the inner sanctum. I'll soon have the info. Stand by." as she followed the rabbitess.

Valeria's room was bereft of decorations, and very softly illuminated. A simple and plain room to reflect the simple and plain person she pretended to be while on duty. The room, though, was cast in a soft blue light that seemed to come from a covered glass case. Once Hel was in, the cover was removed and what was under the cover was a small sample of flowers. Lotus, maybe, or a species very similar in appearance except the pollen gave off a soft blue luminescence. Judging from the glow, this flower produced an abundance of pollen.

"The Night Warden, also known as the Tattle Tail. The pollen is almost impossible to get out without washing, so if you were playing somewhere you weren't supposed to be, and there was a Tattle Tail field nearby, chances are you'd get caught. And if one kid gets caught..." she just shook her head. "I hated this flower growing up. Now, it reminds me of home."

"It can't thrive in bright light, so it only blooms in the dark or in shade. It's own pollen attracts creatures similar to moths, which spread the pollen." she explained.

"The best example that the most beautiful things live in the darkness." Hel quietly mused, taking the time to fully appreciate the sight before her. The room was dark enough that even she had to take a moment to acclimatize. There was something soothing and entrancing about a soft, blue glow, especially when it was bio luminescence, when it was alive, like this.

After a few moments though she turned back to Valeera and once again reached for her hands, to bring them up and place a soft kiss on them both. "You've shown me so much of you, the real you, your past, your family, and I just can't match that. I feel I have to rely on the majesty and history of an entire planet to come close. But, close is where I want to be."

She gave a soft smile as her hands were taken, and attended to gently, "A planet that produces such wonders as a clockwork computer, to track the heavens that wouldn't be understood for two millennia. A planet that looked to the heavens and wondered, and fell in love. Your planet has a majesty. Your planet has such wonders."

"And has produced such wonders." she said, now looking across at Hel. "I'm just a farmer's daughter." she said, using her usual cover to diffuse the moment from being so firmly about her. She was proud of her heritage, proud of her people, but not at Hel's expense.

"Though, you do come close. And close is where I want you."

"Technically speaking I'm several generations removed from that planet, but - " beat " - I'm ruining the moment, aren't I." Hel chuckled, then sat down on the edge of Valeria's bed, looking up at the other woman with a slight blush on her face.

"Nonsense..." Valeria whispered as she put the cover back on the Tattle Tail case, bathing the room once again in a dim blue shade of darkness, "... I find divergent genetic hierarchy fascinating." she leaned in, almost crawling across the bed to whisper into Hel's ear. The heat radiating off of those lengthy ears would almost heat the room if it were able. She leaned in for a gentle nuzzle, just laying her cheek against Hel's.

"Ts'usugi can talk while we kiss." she teased, before laying down in her bed, beckoning for Hel to join her in comfort. "But, I'm growing fond of the passion in silence."