Trekkies United: Going Boldly

(Well, at least we're in the same boat, I guess. No idea what he played, but it was purtty. XD)

Matrix finished the piece with a little flourish before lowering the bow and instrument, giving Brianna a small smile. "Thank you," he told her appreciatively. "Like I said, I've only ever really played classical, so I'll have to learn a new style if we're going to be playing Irish music, but that should be fun."

"well, it's all in a key of D, for starters, so that will make the transition easier for the violin, at least," she smiled. "despite not knowing an instrument myself, one of the things I liked to study was music theory. partly because I got to listen to a lot of music that way, and analyze it."

Matrix tilted his head at her curiously. "Ah, yes, music theory is fascinating," he agreed. "And getting to listen to a lot of different music is probably the best part about it. I find it particularly intriguing how much the styles and genres of music changed throughout the decades, particularly during the 20th and 21st centuries. Do you have a favorite genre or time period?"

"hmm...besides baroque and ragtime, I prefer celtic music," Brianna mused, scratching her chin a little. "I like styles that meld several different instruments from different families. especially woodwinds and strings together. I'm not a huge fan of brass, to be honest, which is probably why I couldn't ever get into jazz. even the 'smooth' stuff was a bit too sharp for me."

(French horns tho)

Matrix nodded. "Yes, woodwinds go very well with strings. As for brass..." His eyes glimmered with amusement. "Commander Riker plays the trombone. I've never cared much for jazz myself, but he loves it." He paused, thoughtful. "I'm not sure what my favorite genre is. I quite like the classics, and otherwise orchestral pieces. Full orchestra is lovely."

"I suppose I can deal with brass in a full orchestra. to be fair I don't like most percussion on its own, either. I like the large flat drums, and the big ones for marching with bagpipe and fife, and I like the marimba when it's well played. the others are too sharp, again. chimes and other super metallic sounds can be jarring to my ears when I just want to relax and get away from mechanical sounds..." she cleared her throat. "I wish I could sing better...a lot of the music I like has lyrics..."

Matrix nodded. "Yes, that is understandable, especially when one is trying to relax," he agreed. He tilted his head a little. "I can sing fairly well. I suppose you could say I'm gifted when it comes to voices. I can imitate any voice I want to with near-perfect accuracy. I've been told I'm great at parties," he added jokingly.

Brianna groaned a little. "oh, I'm so jealous! I don't even like my own voice that much, and you can probably imitate just about anyone you meet!" she griped good-naturedly. "well, let's see...do you know 'scarborough fair'?"

"Just about, yes," he said, in near-perfect imitation of her voice, grinning, his eyes glinting mischievously. At her question, he paused, thinking for a moment before his eyes started flicking back and forth as he searched his databanks for the song in question. "Ah," he announced after a few seconds, using his own voice this time, his eyes refocusing. "Yes, there it is." After a moment, he began to sing, again in his own voice. "'Are you going to Scarborough Fair?/Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme/Remember me to one who lives there/He once was a true love of mine.' Is that the correct song?"

she jumped in shock to hear her own voice repeated back at her, clearly momentarily spooked. as he started to sing, she gave a soft hum of recognition and nodded when he asked if it was the right one. "yeah, it is. there's a lot of others like it in the genre, but it's certainly a classic." she paused and offered a shy smile, cheeks faintly pink still. "your voice is very pretty when you sing."

Matrix nodded. "Yes, I haven't explored the genre much, but that was one that seemed to pop up fairly frequently." He returned the shy smile, his own cheeks turning faintly more gold. "Thank you. I don't often sing because I'm a bit shy, but I seem to feel a little more comfortable around you."

well, I should hope we're comfortable with each other, Brianna thought, turning quite a bit more pink. it was unfortunately only about 1430, and they had to wait for 1600 to try and contact the Enterprise. she named another song that was normally a duet and suggested they try to sing together.

Yes... true, Matrix thought back, cheeks flushing a little more. As she suggested the duet, he agreed, though his face flushed just a bit more in shyness. Making sure he knew the lyrics, he started off, expecting her to join in and hoping no one else would walk in on them singing. That would be embarrassing...

brianna did indeed join in as her part of the duet began, and for all her reticence and statements that she didn't like the sound of her voice, it melded beautifully with Matrix's and made a fine harmony. and while she didn't seem to have perfect pitch, she was certainly very good, only making one or two sour notes through the whole song despite the lack of instrumental music to go off of. she gave him a big smile when the song was over. "do you have a favorite song to sing?" she wasn't worried about anyone walking in on them, given that everyone should be in classes until dinner.

(I have no idea what he would like to sing. It's hard to imagine anyone from that universe listening to music with lyrics, since nobody ever did on the show, that I recall. It was always classical, or jazz, or whatnot. xD)

Once they had finished, Matrix returned the smile. "Not really," he replied to her question. "Like I said, I don't sing all that often, and most of what I listen to on a regular basis doesn't have lyrics." He paused, regarding her for a moment before his smile broadened. "You have a lovely voice, by the way. I've no idea why you dislike it."

(I think that was more a concern about copyright infringement than the fact that people wouldn't listen to or like music with lyrics XD)

she blushed at  the compliment and looked down. "well, probably because it's my voice, I guess. I'm stuck with it, unlike you. that, and the older I get the more I sound like my mother. I think dad was glad to send me off to academy once I was old enough, because hearing my voice from the other room made him sad..." she sighed and her eyes fell on the violin again. "didn't you say we could ask someone about getting a penny whistle? we have time to do that now..."

(Probably, yeah. It just seems a bit odd to think of them listening to what to us is modern music, or anything like it xD)

"...Ah," Matrix murmured, sympathy prickling at him. "I suppose that would be difficult, yes..." He followed her gaze down to the violin, frowning a little. "Yes, I would think whomever assisted you with the replicators would probably be able to help us with that, too. What was his name? Mr. Solus? We could give it a try, at least."

"well, let's go try to find him, then. I remember where his office is, at least, but I doubt he's very often in it. he seemed like a very busy man when I was able to find him last time." the fellow was indeed not in his office, but he'd left a note of where he generally should be, and indeed he was--in a spot under the kitchens, repairing some description of leak that affected the replicators upstairs. "um...Mr Solus?"

Matrix shrugged, following her to his office, and then toward the kitchens, where they found the fellow in question.

Mr. Solus nearly bumped his head on the equipment above him as Brianna's voice chimed behind him. He gave a muffled grunt before backing out from the small space and standing up, dusting off his hands, though there wasn't much on them. He was a jolly-looking man, a little on the short side, with a bright-eyed expression. "Yes? Oh, I recognize you! Never forget a face, me. Brianna, was it? What can I help you with?"

"well, it's hardly urgent this time, of course, but I was hoping you might know how to procure a musical instrument for me. a fife or a penny whistle, to be specific." brianna offered a polite smile, enjoying the man's jolly demeanor. "I've been wanting to take up an instrument and I think one of those would be ideal. and, well, I say not urgent because..." she held up her mittened hand with a bright blush of embarrassment

Mr. Solus regarded her hand with a wide-eyed look of dismay. "Good golly gosh, that looks painful!" he exclaimed. "How did you manage to do that?"

"She hit her thumb with an impact hammer, without safety gloves on," Matrix answered helpfully, frowning at Brianna with concerned bemusement.

"Gee, I'll bet that hurt!" Mr. Solus exclaimed again, wincing. Hit my hand with an impact hammer many years ago. Definitely not a fun experience." He shuddered, dwelling on the memory for a moment, before giving Brianna a cheerful smile. "Gonna learn an instrument, eh? Well, I think I can help you with that." He knelt down and began to crawl back under the equipment as he spoke. "Just give me one second to finish tightening these connections... and..." The broken equipment's lights flickered briefly before lighting up fully. "There we are! All fixed." He backed out again, standing up and dusting his knees. "We can use the replicators upstairs now. Come on, and let's get that penny whistle!" He gave the pair another smile and led the way out and to the turbolift.

(I'm fairly certain nobody would say "good golly gosh" in the 24th century, but I mean. xD)

brianna found she rather liked the cheerful man, especially since he could commiserate with her about her injury. she had the grace to look sheepish again when Matrix informed Mr Solus as to why she was injured (ie that it was her own stupid fault) but it didn't upset her, at least. she smiled politely and followed the man and her friend to the turbolift, eagerly thinking of her penny whistle and wishing she'd be able to start learning right away, but since her hand was firmly bandaged for a few days, that wasn't going to happen...

(Sorry, been meaning to do this for days now but been lazy/keep forgetting. X3)

Matrix trailed Mr. Solus toward the turbolift, glancing back briefly to make sure Brianna was following. They took the lift to the floor above, and headed into the replicator room, where a series of larger replicators sat. Mr. Solus stepped over to one and began a search, mumbling to himself as he went through the listings. After a few seconds, he gave a cheerful "Ah!" and nodded. "Here we are. A penny whistle. Beautiful instrument, if I do say so myself." He pressed a button with a little flourish, and the machine set to replicating the flute. It took a few seconds, and then Mr. Solus reached forward, plucking it gently from the pad and holding it out to Brianna. "There you are, Miss. Enjoy."

(myeeeh that's fine I been real busy myself)

"oh, thank you, sir!" brianna took the whistle with a grin and eager eyes shining. "it's a shame it will be a few days before I can start learning to play it...though I suppose my roommates will probably appreciate the respite!" she turned her happy grin on matrix. "you can test it for me!"

"Ah, well, I'm not too familiar with wind instruments, but I can try," Matrix agreed with a slightly nervous laugh, gingerly taking the whistle and holding it up.  He blew into it lightly, testing the different keys, before, with a slightly shy glance to Mr. Solus, beginning a short, cheerfully lilting tune.  Once it was over, he lowered the instrument with a smile.  "It sounds pretty good to me," he said happily, handing the penny whistle back to Brianna.

"Pretty good? That was marvelous!" Mr. Solus exclaimed, applauding a little. Matrix lowered his head with a blush.