-1
First Movement The first few years on
Enterprise were fairly calm. She played often and all fears of
artificial gravity affecting the sound or hurting the instrument
disappeared.
She found herself playing when she was homesick, which in the beginning was quite often. The melodies started out haunting and empty, taking on some of what she was feeling. But as the steel strings warmed and she relaxed, the music became brighter.
The lone Vulcan aboard had stopped by a few times and expressed first curiosity and then pleasure in the music. She was pleased to hear her music move another. While the two of them almost never spoke during their encounters, they did grow closer.
The tall brunette couldn't help but comment that the linguist hadn't played for a long time after seeing all the dead aliens in their first year in space. She shuddered a little and commented that she couldn't concentrate with that image in head.
Although the Vulcan understood and never brought up the subject again, the images faded and music began to fill her soul and flow out through her fingers. It came slowly; the hard worn calluses had started to peel off and the strings bit into her fingers.
She nursed them after playing with warm water and bees wax, like her mother had done when she was a small girl. Slowly her fingers stiffened again and no longer hurt.
She was working her way through a Dvorak concerto when he rang for entry. He walked through her doorway, stopped and watched.
He had forgotten what he wanted when she was done.