Noise, and Neighbours

Posted on Thursday, 9 July 2020 - 1:40pm by

Mission: Operation: Jabberwocky
Location: Risa, Hotel
Timeline: 2393 - MD02

{ON}

As he stepped off the shuttle the heat surrounded Tilian like a blanket chasing away the coldness of space. It could never really chase the coldness away; Trills by nature were cold even in hot climates. He held his bag in one hand and his cat in the other. He moved with the heard until he got to the self check-in section. Risa was almost fully automated something that he found quite efficient. He checked in got his room key code and with the assistance of lit panels he found his way down the maze of hallways to the place he could call home for the days he was here.

He imputed the code and as the doors parted he was pleasantly surprised to see the welcome basket that waited for him along with a PaDD that would serve as guide to the delights of Risa, something he always tended to ignore as he already had a plan in hand.

He placed Luna down to explore while he sanitized the room to his liking. Tilian didn’t travel far without his cleaning supplies. The whole process took the rest of the day and by evening he fed Luna and replicated some light food for himself.

Cleaning up the food he decided to shower and then take advantage of the lovely shimmering moonlight to lay on his balcony and read. He’d come to enjoy Risa but not in the usual way that involved parties and drinking. For him it would be reading, the Museums of Galactic Culture, the Risa healing baths and a few other indulgences that were reasonable.

The shower had been brief but refreshing. He’d forgotten that Risan showers all carried the sent of flowers infused in the water droplets. It was a nice touch. He dressed in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and grabbed his book. He’d finished the Autobiography of Pike and had moved on to a more recent person. The Autobiography of Jean-Luc Picard. He wasn’t a fan but he read as much as he could about as many people as he could.

He settled into the chair on the balcony and opened the book to the very first page. His eyes devoured the words at a rate that was faster then most. He’d always been a good and fast reader. Mostly he read slow to savour the books he loved. This was just information so he read fast.

The moon had risen high and the reflection from the ocean only served to magnify its brilliance. He’d gotten three quarters into the chapter when a sound drew his attention. He stood and walked over to the balcony rail and looked over. Below him and to the right was another balcony. On it was a man playing what looked to be a Vulcan lute. He wasn’t Vulcan and he wasn’t particularly good.

“Excuse me!” Tilian yelled to be heard over the noise.

The man looked up. “Am I disturbing you?”

Tilian raised an eyebrow. “I think you are disturbing the Klingon colonies five light years away.”

The man laughed. “That bad huh?”

“No, no of course not. It’s worse. I am trying to read.”

The man sighed. “Sorry. I’ll knock it off.”

“Much appreciated,” he said.

There was a pause and then the man spoke again, “I’m Dallas Walker.”

Tilian sighed. Really? Was this Chatty Kathy ever going to let him get back to reading. “Tilian Grol. Thanks for the quiet.” He turned.

He returned to his chair lay back and waited. Five minutes passed and there was no noise. “Excellent!” Tilian picked up his book and began to read. Time passed quickly and before he knew it he was half way into the book. It had been a quiet three hours and just as he was turning the page a sound popped his reading bubble.

Grumbling he stood again and shuffled over to the railing. He looked down but his annoying neighbour was not there. In fact the lights were out. Tilian glanced around only to find a fire on the beach below. The drums were going and people were writhing to the beat. He huffed angrily, picked up his book and went inside shutting the balcony door and shutting the noise out.

There was not much else he could do so he decided to brew up some tea and perhaps make a log entry before taking the sleeping hypo.

The tea he’d chosen tonight was Blueberry pie flavour and it made his journal entry flow all the more sparking his creativity. Within the hour he’d written out his heart’s musings and had changed for bed.

If he ignored the noise it had been a relaxing day.

Ordering the lights to turn off he settled under the weighted blanket and into the crisp sheets he’d brought from the ship and closed his eyes. Who knew where his dreams would take him tonight. Hopefully not where they had taken him the last few nights… although… He’d enjoyed the dreaming.

{OFF:}