---Pride---
*pit**pit**pit**clink* is the sound of Qorak’s and my feet as we step from the Starboard lift on Deck 5. It would have been much quicker for us to glide down from Deck 17… but a little rude, given the company we’re in.
Victor walks a few paces ahead, his footfalls silent, as we cross the bridge that connects the ship’s central section to its starboard.
“I can’t wait to see this panel that you’ve all been working on(!)” I say with a bemused smile.
“I can’t wait to see the first one! I’m still not exactly sure what a [Winged Hussar] is but seeing Tcakqaal imagined as one sounds… interesting…” says my lifemate.
“Err… I wouldn’t base your image of the Winged Hussars on our artwork, Qorrie. We went for style over accuracy…(!) There weren’t any mirkbeasts knockin’ about Central Europe, for ’em to make mounts outta(!)” smirks Victor over his shoulder, managing not to break pace or course despite the several seconds his unidirectional eyes are not aimed forward!
We draw up on the balcony of Triple M and hear the clatter and whirr of improvements being made to the Decks below us.
Since the 84% positive vote came back on our ballot regarding whether to take the ODR’s contract, the crews have been working near nonstop, with the guidance of the Bright Plume’s own engineering team, to reinforce the requisite number of Dorms. It’s a good thing that privacy fields exist or the works would be denying sleep to nearly half the ship!
Around 5% of my crew gave their notice, accepted their severance pay, and have either already departed the ship or are taking the offer to be conveyed coreward before deboarding.
It was… a bit of a blow… it’s no one that the ship can’t run without a replacement for but… it still feels like losing 15 friends…
The inhabitants of Starboard Dorms 0-4 all accepted reassignments to Dorms on Portside or Starboard Dorms 6-17. I offered them a small stipend each, for the inconvenience, and, as best I could, accommodated all mutual requests from crew members who wished to be placed in the same Dorms as eachother.
I think at the start of my career, I’d likely have just told the computer to send reassignment notices and then deal with any complaints as they came.
We draw close to the Commonroom door, Victor indicates it to open and says “They’re here, guys!”
There is a flurry of activity from a portion of the room still occluded from view.
After a few moments, Victor seems to be satisfied that the preparations are made and steps over the threshold.
The Triple Ms are all (bar Fluffy who's still at the university) arranged around what they have designated as their mural wall.
“Triple M Art Gallery is proud to present it second collaborative work, under Lead Artist Msia ‘Mage’ Zunberi! You’ve wondered and marvelled at our previous work, The Hussar! Now…”
Victor pauses his showman affectation here, allowing Qorak to ogle the panel depicting me, wearing armour and sat astride Fluffy in our battle charge.
Msia and Brunhilda are stood to the right of that panel, holding up a cloth which presumably covers the next entry in this ‘Gallery’ of theirs(!)
“…Now, without further ado, we are proud to present…” Victor raises his upturned palms toward the sheet suspended between his Dormmates’ hands and flicks them down signalling Msia and Brunhilda to release both sides of the cover, in perfect coordination “…Pride!”
The mural depicts a [savannah] scene with, seemingly, every kind of animal you might find in that biome, their faces turned toward a monolithic landform, acting as a podium.
I stand on this rock platform, facing the host of animals. My legs strike a [power pose], my wings are raised above my head, holding Tcakak in almost the posture that I named her, post hatching, only she’s not facing me… rather, she also faces the multitude of animals.
Behind me, stands a smiling Victor, his copper hair imagined more than octuple in volume, when compared with reality, enfolding the bottom of his chin and spilling down his chest, in a thick mane. Beside him stands a smiling Qorak… reimagined with, noticeably feminine, Terran characteristics…
“It’s… beautiful… everyone… but…” I scrutinise the painting a few seconds more “… I can’t help feeling as if this… might be a cultural reference that’s missing my beak…”
Victor’s face breaks into a broad, tooth baring grin that will never cease to give me a small jolt of terror as something buried deep in my instincts screams ‘He’s about to eat you! Fly away!!!’
“I said you prob’ly ain’t seen this one! I’m so glad I was right! Tuun’s converted it to 350fps in preparation for us to show it to you. You both up for a movie night?”
I narrow my biological eyes “How long is this film you want to show us, Victor?”
Many Terran’s have the ability to maintain unflinching concentration for [hours] at a time… meaning that… if you’re not careful, you can get roped into ‘movie marathons’ that last [12 hours]!
“’Bout an hour and a half, not that long… by our standards.” he smirks.
I cock a browtuft and answer “…It’s just one, right?”
He nods “There’re sequels but… they ain’t quite as good… we only have the original ready to show you guys.”
“Alright… I tentatively accept your proposed movie night.” I say “Qorak, will you be staying?”
Qorak still seems a little lost in the murals but eventually answers “Yes… I think. I’d like to understand the reference of this painting…”
“Great!” cries Victor, clapping his hands together once in satisfaction “… we’ll start getting everything ready!”
Brunhilda frowns “Is Tcakak going to be OK on her own?”
I chuckle “She isn’t on her own. Twila is very kindly [babysitting] her, for us.” gesturing at Twila’s holographically projected form.
Twila nods and summons a live picture feed of my daughter snuggling into her new mirkbeast [plushie], a gift from my Chief Custodial Officer.
Every Triple M lets out an adoring “Aaaaaaaaawwwwwww!”
Robotic appendages enter the view and, synchronised with her holographic arms, gesture “I’ve got a decanter of crop milk for if she wakes up, she has her plushie tucked into the incubator with her, she’s fast asleep and, if she wakes up and I don’t know what to do I can alert her parents immediately… Isn’t she just the cutest!!!” wiggling her fists in front of her chest and her mechanical appendages in front of the camera feed, in a gesture that seems to indicate that she’s having trouble restraining her reaction to all the cute(!)
I turn to Tuun “Before we start this film, may I have a private word with you, Tuun?”
She looks alarmed, saying “Me? Uhhh… sure…? Would my room be OK?”
I nod and she leads the way.
Victor looks as if he would like to follow but seems to decide that he either trusts me, trusts her or trusts both of us enough not to interpose himself into this.
She leads me to her room and says “I… just need to tidy up a bit. Do you mind waiting a moment?” her cheeks flushed noticeably purple.
Ignoring her obvious embarrassment I gesture for her to go ahead and she disappears into the room.
I wait outside the door for a few [minutes].
My understanding is that Victor has mostly moved into this room as well, sharing the living space with Tuun. The same is true for Jennie with Brunhilda and Hasiakh with Krish… though, in those cases, their rooms could be reappropriated for new Triple Ms, in Victor’s case he has maintained his claim on his old room, it becoming a den for Fluffy and the host of the near nightly ‘Cuddle Puddles’… The (now) five spare rooms will be filled by Emiko Miyazaki, Ms. Hunter, Lt. Loper and two more who are yet to be determined… I wonder if Dr. Zunbe… Kas will wish to share a Dorm with her brother…? I’ve still not heard whether she actually will be joining us, from anyone… she probably hasn’t decided yet… understandably. It seems as if she has a life on this planet and is aware of the hurt that might be caused by her decision to leave for a minimum of two years (having been left by both parents at age four, one of whom never returned, from what Wing Commander Naipanoi Zunberi told me, and then watching her brother leave as well, as an adult).
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I won’t say anything to Msia until I’m certain she’s coming, I don’t want to divulge her secrets or play with Msia’s hopes.
Tuun reemerges and gestures me inside, still with that worried look on her face.
She sits on her bed and I climb on her desk chair which she has arranged to face her current position.
“So… what’s this about, Captain? Are you… amInolongerneeded?That’sitisn’tit!?Youdon’tneedsomeone,onamissiontoasapientdeathworld,who’sso…”
In irritation, I raise a wingclaw and the start of her gibbering self-doubt ceases.
“Dear girl… you must value yourself more! I just gave you a raise… [weeks] ago! Why would I have done that if I was considering letting you go so soon afterward?” I say with a calm but firm tone of voice.
She turns her worried eyes down and to the left “Maybe… you changed your mind? Maybe you only gave me the raise so it wasn’t obvious you were going to sack me? Maybe you weren’t planning to but giving me the raise made you realise I wasn’t worth it?”
Unimpressed, I answer “Yes, dear girl, and maybe the Titan tears apart the side of this ship and skewers me on her Spear! You can’t live your life in ‘maybe’s, Tuun! Why don’t you listen first, then make a decision about whether what I say is worth panicking about?”
Choking back her panic and forcing herself calm, she nods.
I begin “Emiko Miyazaki has transmitted over a route suggestion. Her route has a few possible planets where we might make our stops to meet personnel hired from elsewhere in Terran Space… one of these planets caught my eye… Nova Fennoscandia is your homeworld, correct?… My question, Tuun, is would you like us to stop on your planet for a few days before we pass into gardenworlder territory?”
Clearly blindsided, she takes a moment to respond before answering “Really?… I’d love that! I feel sort of guilty for being the only one to have that opportunity… no one else’s homeworlds were on the list?”
I shake my head “Not that I could see, no. I’ll lock in Nova Fennoscandia as a stop then, shall I?”
She nods enthusiastically, smiling.
“Excellent, now, shall we rejoin the others?” I say, making to leave.
She throws out a hand in my direction, indicating she wishes me to stay.
I stop and turn to her, browtuft raised.
“That’s… really it? You’re really… OK with me?”
I smile “More than ‘OK’, dear girl. I’m thrilled to have you aboard my ship! Your selfdoubt is the one thing about you that I would say needs work(!)… Shall we go?”
She smiles and we return to the Commonroom.
Victor is immediately at Tuun’s side, looking up into her luminous eyes with a concerned expression.
“All good?”
“Better than good. I’ll tell you later…” she smiles, bending to kiss him.
No more is said about that as Twila indicates a perch, facing the viewing wall, that is large enough for me and Qorak to share.
Once we have climbed up, I notice that everyone else is still stood and I squint, quizzically, at the Triple Ms who are stood at the side of the space that is about to become our view screen.
Showman persona readopted, Victor starts “Tonight’s opening number will be given by a live performance, backed by the original score sans lyrics! A man of many talents, Msia ‘Mage’ Zunberi, will be on lead vocals with the rest composin' the chorus!”
Immediately, my wing shoots up “Victor, if you are all planning to sing… perhaps just check that the privacy field is engaged?”
He raises his finger, opens his mouth, screws up his eyes and pauses a moment before saying “…Good shout, Cap!” and running over to the control panel, sheepishly engaging the privacy field.
“Without further ado!” he says, indicating Twila to start playing the film and melting into the chorus, stood behind Msia.
The film starts with a bloodred sun cresting the pitch black horizon as Msia cries out with passion and volume I had not imagined him capable of, given his usual placidity, in a language my translator informs me is called isiZulu… which he apparently speaks:
fff♫HERE COMES A LION, FATHER!♫fff
Followed by the chorus behind him, in beautiful harmony… who seem not to be speakers of isiZulu but to have learned it by rote.
mp♫ Sithi uhm ingonyama!♫mp
Msia repeats his initial line as animals of the [savannah] are shown raising their heads toward the rising sun.
Spectacularly vibrant landscapes (though clearly animated by trichromatic Humans, causing me to adjust my main spectrum, mechanical eye to feed me data matching red, green, blue trichromy, rather than my normal maroon, red, green, teal, blue pentachromy) are shown as Msia sings at startling volume, backed by Victor, Tuun, Brunhilda, Jennie, Krish, Hasiakh and Twila.
At [25 seconds] in, Msia stops followed by [25 seconds] of the others’ untranslated harmony, repeating, getting a little more insistent each time, as the screen shows animals moving across these terrains towards I know not yet what (… though… based on the painting…)
When Msia sings again he has switched into Victor’s native tongue, which he also seems to be fluent in! The others continue to back him in incomprehensible isiZulu.
The lyrics are hopeful and vivacious as we continue to watch the animals on their journey.
Having recently flown over [savannah], en route to Naipanoi’s dinner, I can confidently say that the absolute weight of numbers present is not adequately conveyed! Though, the variety does seem to be… based only on my intuition.
Great elephants are shown in low angle to convey their sheer scale. They really do look like grey, four legged Sho’uso…
After around [1.5 minutes] we are finally shown the presumable goal of these animals; the rock, the one that looks as if it could not be a natural landform, the one I was stood atop in the mural.
A blue bird flies toward it and the camera follows revealing a powerfully built lion with a thick red mane. Clearly this is the inspiration for Victor’s depiction.
The bird alights before the lion (in a way I’m sure no bird, absent a [deathwish], ever would!) and bows deeply, in respect.
The lion scowls sternly back for a moment before a smile breaks over his face and he returns a regal nod.
An aged simian is shown parting the crowd and climbing the rock before embracing the powerful lion, as if old friends. The simian is clearly the inspiration for me! I’m… not insulted by that… or I’m trying not to be(!)
The lion and simian then approach, presumably, the lion's mate and cub (the inspiration for Qorak’s and Tcakak’s characterisations respectively, I think) and Msia’s lead vocals are paused again for a tender scene where the simian breaks a gourd and smears the contents across the cub’s forehead before sprinkling dust on him causing him to sneeze… I wonder if this is a real birth ritual from one of the Terran cultures? I don’t remember coming across it in my studies of them!
The chorus chant
ppp♫ Ingonyama nengw' enamabala!♫ppp
Almost inaudibly at first, but grow steadily louder as Victor passes Msia something he keeps concealed behind his back while striding forward, matching the forward motion of the simian carrying the cub.
There is a brief moment I believe that the cub is about to be cast from the rock to its death… Terrans… are fond of whiplash inducing tone shifts… I think that would be too much… even for them.
My horror is disconfirmed as both Msia and the simian raise their arms above their heads, the simian with the cub, Msia with a nanoforged copy of Igthan’s [plushie].
Twila takes over the vocals, maintaining the, pitch perfect, high intensity that Msia had. The animals cry out, trumpet and screech in celebration and we are shown a rotating shot of the cub looking down at them… this looks hand drawn… someone had to imagine every frame of that rotation then transfer that to a drawing! That’s endlessly artistic Terrans for you!
The clouds part and a beam of light illuminates the cub held aloft by the simian, Twila adjusts the Commonroom’s lighting to achieve the same effect.
The animals bow in a sweeping pan shot followed by a shot of the whole scene zooming out then a percussive *Thoom* to introduce the title card.
Twila pauses the film there, all of the Triple Ms are out of breath from their singing and dancing.
I begin clapping my wings together to mimic Terran applause and Qorak follows my example, a little bemused.
Victor takes a seat on the couch beside me and I ask “How much rehearsal was required for that little number(?)”
Still slightly out of breath, he raises his thumb and index finger a [centimetre] apart and says “A bit!”
I smirk “I’m clearly not working all of you hard enough if you have all this time to practice song numbers and paint murals(!)”
His face falls and he starts “Cap, it’s…”
My wingclaw shoots up “A joke, Victor! Take the joke!”
He smiles.
“So there are no Humans in this story at all? It’s an alternate world in which only your uplifts exist in their own atechnological society?” I ask quizzically.
He frowns contemplatively “No… not uplifts… this was made two centuries or so before the first species we uplifted… they’re just animals… imagined a bit more Humanlike…”
I’m surprised… but I suppose it makes sense that Humans would imagine all those possible friends they could make, long before they had the capacity to actually make those friends!
“So, how many more interactive song numbers are we going to be treated to(?)” I smirk.
Victor shakes his head and raises a single finger “Just that one… my rendition of Be Prepared was nixed because it was apparently ‘Too frightenin’! Are you fuckin’ kiddin’?’! Can you believe that(!?)”
I nod “Yes, I can easily imagine being frightened by your singing… in fact it’s happened on multiple occasions!”
He laughs.
“Well…” interjects Twila “…if everyone’s comfortable, shall I unpause?”
---one film viewing later---
I walk with Qorak, back to our quarters.
“I was so shocked when the uncle killed the father!”
I laugh “You wouldn’t be if you had watched more than about five Terran films! That character was too good, too kind, too competent and too much a deuteragonist!… If he’d not died there would have been no story!... I found it very funny when the protagonist and his friends were discussing the nature of stars and the stupid one was the only one who was right… then the other mocked him!”
Qorak nods “That was hilarious!… Maybe we should watch some more Terran films… that was very entertaining!”
I smile “If you can stomach being around Victor’s mirkbeast, when she returns, I’m sure they’ll be happy to indulge you of an endless number of viewings, sweetfruit! Though, I don’t know how often they’ll be willing to rehearse song numbers for us(!)”
He ponders that as we reenter our quarters.
“Thank you so much for giving us the night off, Twila.” I whisper to Twila’s sensor array between the robotic appendages she’s been using to tend Tcakak.
She whispers back “You’re welcome, Captain. I really enjoyed watching the film with you guys. I’ll give you guys some privacy, let me know any time you want me to look after Tcakie! I’ll enjoy both the datastreams from looking after her and hanging out with you guys… win-win as far as I’m concerned(!)”
I smile and she vacates the simple droid she’s been inhabiting.
“Do you want to use the bathroom first?” I ask Qorak.
“Thank you, my okla. I’ll be out in [ten].”
He disappears into our shared ensuite and I go to Tcakak, sleeping in her incubator.
I reach out my left opposable wingclaw and, ever so gently, trace it across her forehead.
“Sleep well, my little lion…”