Music in the Arboretum

Posted on Fri Jan 15th, 2021 @ 2:38pm by Lieutenant Commander Junjie Han

5,068 words; about a 25 minute read

Mission: Episode 2 - Echoes Of An Empire
Location: Deck Four
Timeline: MD 6 1600

The arboretum, a small piece of green deep within the center of the Copernicus. In a corner was a small waterfall with greenery surrounding it. A small patch of grass was nearby, and near the waterfall is a wooden bench with cushions. Upon that bench, a woman sat, playing a soft warm melody upon a bamboo flute. The acoustic of the arboretum echoed the music sending it wafting its way through Deck Four where Science, and Medical resided.

If someone were to investigate, they would find that the woman seated there upon the bench, her eyes closed, lost in the music she played was none other than the XO Tamaska Holt. The piece she was playing was titled, Wun Ji. The next one she began to play, titled Chinese Twilight, its soothing music wafting its way through the air. She once again was lost in the music, the song bringing solace to her heart.

Junjie heard a flute playing as he walked past the arboretum. He stopped and spun about and quickly returned to his room and grabbed his violin case and swiftly returned to the arboretum. He opened his case and prepared and listened to the music as she played. Junjie was very surprised to see it was Lt. Holt playing the flute and thought that she was quite skilled in her performance.

As Lt. Holt's song ended, Junjie launched into a rendition of Hi!Salute to Bach by the twelve girls band from 20th century earth. The bow meet the strings of the violin as the music began to swell and fill the air, as he watched to see what her reaction would be.

Tam's eyes widened as she turned to see who was playing, she wasn't expecting this! It was Junjie! She gave a nod towards him, Tam's eyes crinkling up with a smile as she placed her lips back on the flute and joined in on the music.

Just as this music ended, she kicked in with a piece by Vivaldi, Concerto for Flute and Violin in D Major, RV 512 Seeing if he would follow along. She was having some surprising fun. This was being an unexpected treat.

Junjie listened for a moment. " Vivaldi. Hmm This lady knows her classics." He muttered softly under his breath. He waited for his que and joined in at the proper time for his part and joined in. He closed his eyes and his breathing slowed as he began to FEEL the music and get wrapped up in it's melody. The song slowed and ended and he opened his eyes and smiled. " Lt. Holt, you play quite well. Sorry for joining in suddenly like that, but I heard someone playing and I had to get my violin, as well as finding out who on this ship enjoyed playing the classics. I hope you'll forgive my disturbing your private time."

Tamaska lowered her flute giving a warm chuckle. "I didn't mind at all. I was surprised pleasantly. I call it a lovely way to find out something new about a crewmember. It sounds like we made a very good duet with our instruments. Besides Science and the ability to play a violin beautifully, what do you like to do hobby wise? And you can ask me questions as well." motioning him to come sit beside her on the bench near the waterfall.

Junjie accepted the invitation to sit down and stowed his violin back in the case. " Other then playing the violin? Hmm. let's see....I'm a well versed in Wu Shu and practiced in the way of the Tai Chi sword" He thought for a few moments. " I also enjoy rock climbing. Cooking....Mostly traditional Chinese cooking style as well as American style Bar-B-Que. Oh, and Books! I like collecting books. So what type of hobbies do you partake in?"

"Well, I love horse back riding, love doing outdoor activities, I love to cook, I do archery. I also practice both Korean Martial arts, Taekwondo, Hapkido, and Gungdo. I do love reading a good book. I utilize weapons, both muscle powered, bladed weapons and weapons that use gunpowder."

"Hmm...I've never been on a horse before." Said Junjie. " Guess I'll have to put that on my to do list along with trying to learn the Bat'leth and piloting a shuttlecraft. So would you care to play another set or would you like to grab a bite to eat and talk some more?" He asked.

"Lets go grab a bite to eat, and talk. We could just replicate the food or, get the ingredients and cook it ourselves." Tamaska responded, putting away her flute in its case. "Which would you prefer?"

" Fresh is always better then replicated, and I don't mind cooking. perhaps we could both prepare a dish and call it a meal. I could make a meat and vegetable dish over rice with a simple soup like egg flower. What would you like to prepare?"

"How does Bulgogi (Korean Beef Barbecue) sound and Mandoo (Korean Dumplings), that would go good with what you are preparing." Tamaska replied,then heard her stomach growl hungrily. She laughted. "Guess we had better get to work to fill our bellies." She stopped then looked at Junjie, "Just to let you know, you can call me Tamaska or Tam, whichever you wish to do. And what shall I refer you by when not on shift?"

" That sounds delicious. Do you want to cook separately or together? Either way is going to take about an hour. And would you like to dine at your quarters or mine. Lady's choice of course." He paused for a moment. " And you may call me Junjie, Ensign Han is great during work time when formality is needed, but Junjie is fine by me."

"That works for me, Junjie" Tamaska replied smiling. "Let's work on it together. And once we are done cooking in the mess hall, we can take it to... We'll take it to your quarters. I still have work to do on my new quarters. I used to be Chief of Security, but now, I'm the XO."

" Well if we're going to cooking in the mess hall, I'll need to grab a few things from my quarters first if I am to cook properly." After a brief stop at his quarters Junjie picked up a bag with a semi bulky item inside, a hinged and latched wooden box and a tied rolled bundle. " There. Now we can prepare things properly." He said with a smile. " Is there anything you require from your quarters before we go to the mess hall?"

"Sadly, I don't have the gear I had before. I've got to replace it while we are here on the station. I lost it when... well you know, the ship." she stopped not wanting to go on too much about the ship. "Perhaps you would like to come with me to go get some replacements before we go on our next mission."

Junjie gently touched her arm. " Hey, umm... If your not comfortable talking about it then don't. Besides I read over the logs and what you folks went through was pretty terrible, I won't pretend to understand the hardships you all must have faced because I wasn't there. But you survived, and that says a lot right there." He smiled at her. " I do have several pots and pans in my bag so I am willing to share them with you until you can replace them. And yes I'll go with you to find some replacement ones with you if you don't mind my company."

"I wouldn't mind your company at all when we go to replace my cooking gear." giving a smile. "For now, let's get cooking." giving him a friendly nudge with her shoulder. "Show me your treasures, Junjie."

when they arrived at the mess hall and found an open cooking area, Junjie opened the bag. " you wish to see my treasures? Here they are." From the bag he removed a small metal grill plate which he set on top of the gridle. A small wok, skillet and two pots. Each good for about four servings. Next he unrolled the canvas bundle revealing a cleaver, a dozen chef knives, spatula and two pair of long wooden cooking chopsticks. Lastly he opened the hinged box, the fragrance of spices, infused cooking oils , spices and herbs spilled from the box.

Curiously there was something written in Chinese on the inside of the lid and a wooden spoon attached to the inside of the lid as well. " These are my family's cooking treasures, shall we put them to good use?" he asked. He used the wok the quickly stir fry the vegetables as the seasoned thinly sliced beef went on to the grill plate and the egg flower soup went into one of the pots. It won't take long for the vegetables to stir fry so the wok will be available in a few minutes. What will you be preparing?"

Junjie's question brought her up short. "You know, I have no idea if the mess hall kitchen even has the ingredients I need. Obviously you were able to find the ingredients for your part of the prep, but for mine? Did I even go shopping for said items? I've been so busy with the rest of the ship details I have forgotten." heading over to peek inside to find out what was there. "Since you are already using beef, I could make some bbq chicken instead of Beef, as well as the dumplings." getting out the ingredients she found. "I need to make certain I get other supplies." mentally making a list of ingredients she was going to need. She quickly put together the dumplings using ground chicken, then started the bbq process for the chicken. The scent of the spices permeated the kitchen area. "this is going to be a feast." Tamaska crooned slightly, giving a happy smile.

" A feast you say? I certainly hope so. I hate walking away from the table feeling hungry." Junjie joked. " Mmm... That's smelling quite nice." As he quickly prepped the Wok for the pork fried rice and got it going and took the egg flower soup off the heat so it could be put into a container for transport to his room.

After Transferring the soup into a container Junjie stirred the pork fried rice and quickly washed the sauce pan for Tamaska to use. Several minutes later he finished up with the Asian stir fried beef and the pork fried rice. He checked the chronometer. Not to bad. He thought. A three course meal in a half and hour. He turned to see how Tamaska was faring. " So how's it going Tamaska? Anything I can do to help?"

"I am almost done here, perhaps you can scoop the dumpling out of the pan? The chicken is already finished" Tamaska smiling, and definitely enjoying herself.

Junjie moved to the pot where the dumplings were and removed them and put them on a plate with a paper towel to absorb any excess cooking oil. " Ok got them out and ready for your final touches. Are you cooking anything else or shall I start washing down the pots and utensils that are no longer being used?"

"I won't be cooking anything else tonight. With the things you've cooked, as well as what I have, I think its a good amount." Tam stated, as she started gathering the other dishes. picking them up carefully and bringing them over for Junjie to take care of. "I'm sure you probably have your own way of cleaning the cooking utensils and bowls." she said, handing him a bowl while the sink was filling up with warm sudsy water. As she handed Junjie the bowl, Tamaska's hand ended up bumping up against his.

She felt what seemed like an electrical shock race from her hand and up her arm, almost dropping the bowl. "Yikes!" she gasped out reaching to stop the bowl from falling to the ground.

junjie was startled for a moment when he heard Tam cry out. " Are you alright?" He asked as he looked around to make sure she hadn't cut herself on one of the knives. Relieved that Tam was unharmed, He asked. " what happened?" as he continued to finish washing the items.

"Oh nothing much, except my almost dropping the bowl." Tamaska replied, as she placed the bowl into the water. "I didn't want to ruin it." looking around for a dishtowel to dry the dishes that had been rinsed." where is your towel you use to dry the dishes with.

She didn't want to talk about that strange feeling of electricity she had felt. She didn't know what that was all about. Unless she had a sort of burst of static shock, which decided to dissipate when she made contact with Junjie.

" Ok, no harm done so no problem." As he handed her a drying towel. As they were dried he packed them back carefully and in a specific order. " These were given to me by my great grandmother on the day I graduated from the academy." He paused for a moment. " She passed away shortly afterward, I still remember how she taught me to cook and teach me a lot of wisdom about life and family. And plenty of other things I will never forget." He said with a fond smile.' Now let's get this back to the room where we can eat this feast."

"Those are definitely precious treasures" Tamaska stated, as she helped to gather the food that had been prepared and headed to Junjie's quarters.

Once in his quarters, Tamaska looked around at Junjie's quarters, trying to get more clues about the attractive man. One can get an idea of what the person is like from how the quarters have been decorated or not decorated. A hold over from when she had been in security.

Junjie walked in and stowed the pots and pans into the cupboard where they belonged and nodded in agreement about Tamaska's treasure's comment. The first thing notice in the quarters was a four tier book case with about a hundred books in alphabetical order. The unpacked boxes neatly stacked near the areas where they would be put. Some bamboo art pictures depicting nature scenes on the walls and a Tai Chi sword in a bracket hung above the bed.

Junjie got two plates from the cupboard and put them on the table. " Would you prefer chop sticks or regular utensils? Oh and I have a bottle of chilled plum wine I put in before we went down to do our cooking. It's not synthahol, are you ok with that?"

"I'm good with the real wine." Tamaska replied, really liking the decor of his quarters. " Your quarters are wonderful. And there is another treasure." walking over and looking at the books on the bookcase. "Chopsticks are fine, I am good with both."

The book case contained a few books on general science. Some books on Physics, Calculus, Nuclear physics and Quantum Physics. The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The Book of Five Rings by Musashi. The Hagakure by Yamamoto Tsunetomo. The Art of War by Sun Zu. With several mixed books on fantasy and fiction.

As Tamaska looked at the books, Junjie set the table and then walked to the replicator. "Two chilled 250ml glasses with eight ice cubes each." The machine hummed and produced the said items. He then popped the cork and poured the plum wine into the chilled glasses. " Shall we eat?" he asked as he pulled the chair away from the table for Tamaska to be seated.

Tamaska turned around, her mouth opened slightly at how pretty the table looked. "Its beautiful." walking over then sitting down on the chair he pulled out for her. She scooted forward when he pushed it forward.

"This looks wonderful, Junjie!" she stated. "Sure, we've cooked together but you certainly know how to set a table. "

Junjie chuckled. " Being the eldest my mother made sure I knew how to and when she wanted me to help out at home. It annoyed me when I was younger, but I am glad I listened to her." Being the good host Junjie dished up the food in equal amounts and served his guest first and then sat down himself. He looked her in the eyes and smiled. Then lifted his glass. " A toast! To good food and good friends!"

Tamaska raised her glass towards Junjie, "Indeed, to good friends, and delicious food!" then taking a sip of the wine, closing her eyes to enjoy the flavor. She opened her eyes once more, "That has a very good flavor." setting the glass down. "I noticed that you have two Tai Chi swords, are those the weapons you like to use during your katas and practice?"

Junjie glanced up to the swords. " Yes I do use them during practice and Katas, And combat as well. They are quite sharp, I wasn't aware that you had an interest in edged weapons. If you'd like after dinner I could show them to you if that is acceptable." Junkie took a bite of the dumplings. " The dumplings are light and tender and very delicious and so is the chicken. you're quite the chef, Tamaska I am impressed." As he took a sip of the plum wine.

Tamaska smiled, tucking back a strand of hair behind her ear. "Thank you." picking up her chopsticks and eating a couple of bites of the food Junjie cooked. "This is amazing!". She looked back towards the Tai Chi Swords. "Yes I am interested in edged weapons. I carry one with me at all times.. a boot knife. Just don't let Keiben know about it he probably wouldn't like the idea of my having it. It's something my grandfather had given to me before I left. I can show it to you after dinner."

" Thank you. I'm glad my mother's and grandmother's cooking lessons didn't go to waste. And I promise I won't tell the Captain about your boot knife as long as you don't tell him about the butterfly blade I carry in my boot." he said with a grin as he laid it on the table. "Well that's three things we have in common now, Musical instruments, Cooking and Edged weapons. I'm learning I have quite a bit of respect for you as a person. I think this is the start of a wonderful friendship. Cheers." as he raised his glass in salute and took a healthy swig.

"I wholly agree." bringing out her own boot knife and laid it next to Junjie's knife. She took another swig of her own drink and went back to eating her food. Tamaska did savor her food, not going into much small talk, for she wanted to experience every bite. When her appetite was sated, Tamaska looked once more at Junjie. "Sorry for lack of talk, I just wanted to savor every morsel, giving the meal my full attention."

" Well I haven't done much in the way of talking myself, and the way we're eating I don't think we'll have much in the way of leftovers." He stated with a good natured chuckle. He then reached over and freshened both cups of the plum wine. " Besides, I've enjoyed having your company and sharing this delicious meal with you. Thank you." he said sincerely.

"You are welcome." Tam smiled, picking up the glass of plum wine and took another drink of it. "Well they say, good company is the sauce that makes food all the more tasty." giving a chuckle. She looked at her glass, then over towards the Tai Chi Swords. "Though about the swords, we can look but later on we can see about us doing some sparring when we've not had anything to drink." giving a bit of a laugh." I mean, when we end up comparing notes on sparring, we'll just make certain that we are not drinking anything stronger than tea." she was feeling the warmth of the wine in her stomach and beginning to feel a bit more relaxed. Tamaska was certainly enjoying this time with Junjie.

Junjie arched an eyebrow. " So you're interested in sparring? It is always best to do sparring after a light meal and meditation, And I agree no libations prior to the match. I haven't sparred with a person in awhile. I'm not able to find to many people that are willing to spar with live steel." He said with some amount of surprise.

Tamaska chuckled at Junjie's reaction, "I do spar with live steel, with protective gear on. Though I have done so without, got a few cuts from it, nothing that a dermal regenerator couldn't fix. We will have to do some, with protective gear as I am certain that neither Mel nor Keiben would be too happy if I had an... accident that gave me trouble."

Tamaska finished the rest of her food, and sat back in her chair, holding the glass of plum wine. She looked at the bottle, "I think there might be just enough for us to have one more glass each and that will finish off the bottle."

Junjie finished his meal and poured the remainder of the plum wine into the two cups and then pushed his chair away from the table a little. " Now that was and excellent meal and some fine team work. We are going to have to do this again sometime." He listened to her talk about her sparring practice. "That's something my grandfather never let us do....Use protective gear. He believes you learned from your mistakes and the mistakes make you a better warrior, I still carry some scars to prove it."

Tamaska nodded, "Mother as well as Grandfather insisted on us having protective gear, due to our ages. We did practice with live steel but were told that we needed to prepare for cuts and such when using it. And the weapons were not play toys at all. They were to be used with respect and honor."

Junjie templed his fingers in front of him and closed his eyes briefly. " I am not personally used to using protective gear when it comes to live steel combat practice, But aboard this ship I think both the Captain and the Doctor would highly disapprove. So I guess I will have to get use to the protective gear. But at the end of the day protective gear or no, it comes down to your skill and nothing more."

"I agree with that exactly, it does come down to skill and nothing more. " Tamaska drank the rest of her wine, placing the glass upon the table. "I'll help you clean up and then let's take a look at your tai chi swords." smiling at Junjie.

The cleaning up was completed swiftly as there was not much to clean up for with only two people. Junjie then walked over to to the bed where the swords were hung above and brought down one of the blades and laid it flat across both hands and turned to offer it to Tamaska for inspection with a slight bow and held it until she removed the sheath from his hands. " Do you wish to fully remove the blade from it's sheath?" He asked.

"As long as I don't have to cut myself on the blade, before I put it back in the sheath."Tamaska replied. Not joking in her comment. "Some people prefer not to have a weapon drawn if they do not intend on using it."

Junjie slid the blade out several centimeters and tapped his finger against the blade enough to cut and get a drop of blood on the blade. he walked over to the shelf and retrieved a small pocket dermal regenerator and healed the small cut. it has been shown the proper respect, you may remove it fully now. besides I have to fully clean it afterwards anyway. My blade is not the oldest one in my family, this one was crafted back in 2050. So it is still fairly new and has more generations to serve in my family."

Tamaska nodded, "I had wondered if you were the type who felt that tradition was necessary, and it stands to reason with how you've been taught. Mother and grandfather had said, weapons needed to be treated honorably but, the shedding of blood before the blade is fully drawn out they didn't believe in that. Weapons are tools to be used, and taken care of and the craftsmanship to be appreciated." examining the blade carefully, giving attention to the details of the blade.

The cross guard was a engraved demons head with fire gently curving upwards from the side of it's head. on both sides of the blade were three Chinese kanji's at the base of the blade. Which translated to Honor, Duty and Life in that order. " In my family we were taught that a single drop of blood pays homage to our ancestors and respect to the family line. I hope my action did not offend you, I was just showing the respect to my family and it's traditions that had been passed down for generations. So please forgive me if I have upset you in some fashion."

"You haven't offended me, and you haven't upset me. I was just remarking of how we were raised differently. Yet some similarities exist too. We definitely have a respect for our family as well as blades. And we certainly love cooking. Plus love music." Tamaska giving a brief laugh. She sobered up though as she carefully handed the blade back to Junjie. "It is a beautiful blade."

"Thank you." As he accepted the blade back and cleaned it before returning it to the scabbard and placed it back on it's holding stand and placing it next to the other sword. " The swords are a matched set, Identical in every aspect." He let his finger glide down the scabbard as he looked at it. " Every time I hold it, I can feel the love my ancestor poured into it when she crafted it all those years ago. Knowing that her creation would be passed down from generation to generation." He paused and looked to Tamaska. " That didn't sound to odd did it?"

"No, it doesn't sound too odd at all, Junjie."Tamaska replied quietly. "It is like when the Captain and I stepped onto the bridge, after it had been redone, and I felt the spirit of the former Captain touch my shoulder as if in approval and also felt that the Copernicus accepted me as one of her own."

Junjie smiled in agreement. " I know what you mean, I have served aboard several ships and I have never felt so at home on any ship before like I do here on the Copernicus. In the days of sailing ships, Sailors believed that a ship had it's own spirit and would protect them if they in turn took care of her. " Junjie gave a understanding smile. " With the Copernicus I completely understand why they believed and felt that way."

Tamaska nodded, "Indeed." Tamaska went silent just gazing at Junjie, feeling the good food in her stomach and the plum wine, relaxing her even more. Then her mind got her attention, she was tired. Tamaska blinked realizing she needed to go. "You know, I may have to take my leave, I am getting sleepy. Good food, good drink and good company, has made me feel rather relaxed. And I am going to take advantage of that and get a good night's sleep." Tamaska stated with a smile.

Junjie looked at the time. " Yes it is getting rather late, May I walk you back to your quarters?" He asked politely. " I'm getting tired myself and should turn in very soon and it has been a lovely evening. So, umm thank you for allowing me to play in your music session and for the wonderful dinner and company."

"You are very welcome and thank you once again. If you'd like to walk me to my quarters you may." Tamaska replied, smiling gently. "We will have to play together once more. I certainly enjoyed it." liking the fact that he wanted to walk her to her quarters.

" As did I." He responded. Junjie felt his cheeks slightly flush and warm, and was feeling relaxed from the plum wine. Walking her to her quarters.

When they stopped at her door Junjie said, " If you'd like, we could make this say a weekly event? Same time and place in the Arboretum. I really should be going since we both have to work in the morning." He then gently took her hand and tenderly kissed the back of it and looked up into her eyes. " Thank you, This was a very lovely evening and I truly enjoyed it. we should do this again sometime."

Tamaska could feel her heart rate speed up, when he kissed her hand, almost feeling like she could melt into a puddle right then and there. She kept her presence of mind though, barely. "I would love to do that, especially when our schedule permits it." smiling gently at Junjie.

Tamaska was also telling herself to slow down, after all she had just.. broken up with her first love, and wasn't this too soon to fall for someone? It was something she'll have to talk with Mel about. She needed some advice on love.

" I'm Available to talk anytime you'd like." Junjie stated. Pleasant dreams and I'll see you around the ship." With that said he turned and returned to his own quarters and settled in for the night.

Tamaska watched as Junjie headed back down the corridor, and then stepped inside her own quarters. She just couldn't believe her reaction to just a kiss on the hand. What if... what if he kissed her on her lips. What sort of reaction would she have. Tamaska plopped herself on her bed, and covered her face. Too much to think about right now, especially with having had plum wine. She needed to think of it with a more clear head. With that in mind she drifted off to sleep with a smile on her lips.

 

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