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Museum Visitation

Posted on Thu Nov 7th, 2019 @ 6:15pm by Ahreva Malana & Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox
Edited on on Sun Nov 17th, 2019 @ 3:30pm

Mission: Family Detention
Location: Louvre, Paris
Timeline: 2396

While Malana knew she had been banished from her homeworld for being a heretic among her people and actually interacting with the organics of the galaxy, it didn't stop her from seeking out those of her own kind. Thus, having a sense of one of her people having come to the Sol system hundreds of seasons ago, she decided that while the USS Hera had some downtime, she would see if she could find the mystery Ashrevanian on Earth that had been watching the humans all these past generations.

This was why she was in Paris visiting some of the more famous museums with the ever talkative three armed pilot that she had grown fond of, glancing over every ancient statue that seemed possibly of Ashrevan origins. Several in particular piqued her interests, particularly in the Louvre itself, which was what brought them to the galaxy famous museum.

"So Malana, you really think one'a these here statues might be one of your people? Like, you folks really do just pop a squat and watch entire civilizations spring up and die off?" The chatty, orange shelled Edosian, Ensign Weiaex, tried to whisper as her three feet click-clacked in the cavernous and utterly silent space as they walked together. "And they think you're the nutter for actually talking to folks? I don't get it. Anyway, glad it wasn't the one back there with her arms busted off. That would'a hurt, I'm guessin'."

The literal stone-faced woman nodded solemnly as she looked down at her datapad and marked another display off her list. "Yes, unfortunately, I'm the crazy one in my species. And yes, having your arms broken off is painful. The dissociation as they slowly crumble to dust separate from you while you can still feel them over dozens, if not hundreds of seasons is, I'm told, a maddening experience. I am quite fortunate that the stoneworkers on Meroset and Doctor Dael were able to recover my pieces and repair me."

As they approached a statue of Zeus and one of his sons, Malana pulled up the history of the statue before staring deeply at it, observing it fully.

The chatty Edosian pilot, who had been talking with her hands, gesticulating wildly, nervously tucked then in slightly at the idea of having one's arms snapped off. "Ewww. Yeah, that sound's beyond messed up." Then, using one of her three hands, she brushed a length of her silvery hair out of her insect-like face and looked up at the statues. 

"So, how can you tell what's just a statue or not, Mal? I mean, some'a these are part of their bases. I mean, you can get up and walk around, but these two here look like one piece of rock to me. But I ain't an expert on this kind of stuff. Wanna know how to get a sweet shine on your carapace that will turn heads, I'm your girl. But this is just beyond me." 

"My people are able to bond with most granite, marble, or similar hardness materials. As for how I can tell... The same way you can tell if an animal is listening to you. I can sense that they are watching me." Malana glanced from the statue towards another one a short distance away - one from off-world of a Vulcan scholar. It seemed very well done, but from the weathering alone she knew it wasn't one of her people so moved on to the next one in the list - a statue of Aphrodite that seemed to be quite famous. "If you stretch out with your senses like you did in the shuttle, you may be able to tell as well."

"I dunno, Mal. Right now I'm stuck on the idea of animals listening to me. I think If I tried stretching out with my senses all I'd do is get hung up on everyone else's whispery little conversations in here. I mean, sure, it's quiet, but it's a LOUD kinda quiet, ya' know? I mean, I'm kinda an expert on loud quiet. Everyone is just kinda mumbling to each other under their breath about not understanding the art, or whining that their kinds could paint better. Ya' know, museum crap. Like any of their kids could even hold a brush without poking their eyes out."

Then the verbose Edosian paused and winced slightly. "Crap, I'm doin' it right now, ain't I? Sorry. This is me bein' super quiet..."

"Uh, that statue sayin' anything?"

As Malana stared up at the armless statue, she slowly tuned out the rest of the world around her. There was something off about this one. Like it was watching her as she watched it. To be honest, it was a bit unnerving being on the other side like this for once, but as she slowly sank in on her senses, she felt it - the connection she once shared with her people before leaving her world.

Then, ever so slowly, the statue before her turned its head to glare directly at her disapprovingly.

Shocked out of her inner senses, Malana blinked a few times, realizing that the statue before them hadn't actually moved and it was still as motionless as it was a moment before. Still, she had what she had come for. Glancing down at her datapad, she memorized the name of this particular statue, just in case, before looking back over at her friend. "No, it says nothing. Shall we take a break before continuing?"

Looking at Malana, Weiaex crossed two of her arms and set the other one on her hip as she raised an eyebrow and tilted her head in the non-verbal equivalency of 'Really?'. But in a rare moment of self-restraint, she simply clicked her tongue and replied, not buying that her unexpected friend didn't just notice something. "Yeaaaah, okay. Let's go take a break. My feet are complaining at me anyway for a rest. This place is seriously huge. If they wouldn't let me, I'da said let's bring the shuttle in. It's class 7, it woulda fit. Well, mosta the hallways it woulda fit."

"Indeed," Malana replied, then slowly grinned before letting out a light chuckle. "Did you know that you are a strange being? I think I like that most about you, my friend. I believe there were some benches near a fountain near the beautifully rendered sculpture of that Buddha figure we passed. Let us sit and reminisce together."

"Ha! Strange. Yeah, that's the sweet way a' sayin' 'pain in the ass' from most folks. But not you, Mal. I like that, too. An' yeah, let's go relax for a bit." The Edosian Ensign said, gesticulating with her hands as the headed out, talking the whole time about nothing in particular until they reached their destination.

Pausing to look up at the Buddha statue in question, the chatty pilot's tone switched from flippant to serious on a proverbial dime. "So, what's the deal, Mal? Was that statue one's your people? It may not have said nothing, but it did something 'cuz you got spooked. And I've never seen you spooked. You blinked. Like, a few times, and you DON'T blink, Mal."

Then, turning to look at her friend, her expression was focused but concerned. "If we were playin' poker, I would have bet the pot against your hand back there, Mal. What's goin' on?"

The stone-faced woman sat on the bench, the wood creaking softly under her weight for a moment as she settled in. Softly, she stared up at the large brass and gold Buddha as she collected her thoughts. "It was that obvious then?" for a long moment more, she was silent, until she let out a long, shuddering breath that sounded like wind through an ancient tomb. "I think that if my people could cry, I would do so now. That may have been the oldest of my people I have met... And the most set in the old ways. I was... Frowned upon with disapproval. I am truly shunned by my people."

Standing there, the was a slight clicking sound from the joints in the Edosian's exoskeleton as she shuddered slightly. If she was capable of flushing visibly with anger through that exoskeleton, she would have. "I KNEW it! I knew that dusty ass greek bitch was giving you shade! I swear, when I get through with her, she's gonna wish that all that was missing was her damn arms!"

Bursting into frenetic pacing, Waiaex began waving her arms as she continued ranting. "I'm gonna go back there and give her a piece of my mind! TWO pieces, even! She thinks because she's some ancient statue that gives her the right to judge YOU?! She don't know that stuff you've done here on the ship! How could she? All she knows how to do is look down on people! I hope some french kid pukes baguette's on her crusty ass fee! I'm gonna..."

Then the exasperated Edosian stopped in her tracks and looked down at her friend. Ahreva Malana didn't exactly emote, but Waiaex could tell that she was in pain, and slowly realized that her freaking out likely wasn't helping. Wringing two of her hands together awkwardly while rubbing her hair back with the third, Waiaex sat down next to her friend on the bench and pun an arm over her. It made the sound of plastic clicking against stone.

"Damn... I'm sorry, Mal. I am. I... I can't imagine what that's gotta feel like. I guess, a whole people that don't ever interact with anyone, even with as old as you are, feelings like this can come outta nowhere and kick you in the ass... proverbially." Waiaex spoke as softly as she knew how to her friend. "Look, I don't know much of nothing about your people, but what she did hurt you, and she oughta know it. I'll go tell her myself if you want. Or I'll go with you if you want... or I'll stay here. But someone oughta say something. An' if all she does is silently judge us, then she should know how shitty that is for the next thousand ass years. I mean, judging ain't observing, is it? I don't see how that's any different from interacting. Except that interacting takes guts."

"It was less an interaction and more... A dedication to an ideal... One that ends in me being shunned," Malana spoke softly and gently rested one hand on one of her friend's knees next to her. "They know it hurts and they did so with that in mind. There's nothing that can be done now."

With her other hand, Malana held up her datapad and looked at the statue in question's information - Venus de Milo. Her eyes then widened slightly as the thinking she had learned from the biologicals came into her head. "But as a member of the crew of a secret intel ship, it would be remiss of me not to report this to the Captain... Would it not? After all, my people have turned on me fully... So I should report when I run across them... Hiding in plain sight... Watching civilizations... Right? After all, biologicals are very paranoid at times and prefer to know when they've been watched for..." Here she had to do some quick math in her head, calculating the local seasons to years. "I believe at least three thousand years."

Eyes going slightly wide for a moment, the Edosian pilot shrugged slightly. "Huh, yeah. Yeah, I'm betting that the Captain'll want to know. At the least, put some eyes on them for a change. I for one still wanna give her more than eyes, shunning you for doing what they won't while they watch everyone and judge you for wanting to do more. It ain't right, Mal. Hurtin' you on purpose."

Letting herself ramp up again, Waiaex had to calm herself down as she patted Malana's hand that rested on her knee. "Look, I'm sorry. If you want, we can get outta here. Is there anywhere else you wanna go?"

Malana thought it over for a moment before replying, finally coming to the conclusion that she was already where she wanted to be and a soft, zen smile crossed her features. "I'm with you. Wherever you want to go, whatever you want to see... That's where i'll go."

Thinking about it for a second, the six-limbed, orange shelled pilot leaned back slightly and clapped two on her hands together while raising a finger in the air with the third. "Well, I can tell you what, I'm kinda hungry. But I ain't in the mood for French food. What'da ya' say we hop in the shuttle and I'll zip us over to New York and we hit the city for a slice. I grew up there after my family moved to Earth for work and if you like watchin' people just bein' people there ain't many better places."

The stone woman's demeanor visibly brightened, her granite cheeks taking on more of a marble hue. "I would be most amenable to the experience of people watching by your side. I may even want to experience this 'slice' you speak of, though I do not consume food as you do."

"Awesome! Well, there's a little hole in the wall place out on 7th that might make a consumer outta you, Mal. C'Mon, let's get outta here." Smiling, the Edosian Ensign patted the stony biologist on the back as she got up, stretched her three legs and shot a mock salute to the Buddha statue. "See ya' around, biggun'. There's Pizza to be ate and crazy people to watch being rude to each other in the name of universal friendship and brotherhood."

Leading her friend to the entrance on the other end of the facility so as to avoid walking past the Venus De Milo, Weiaex nonetheless turned towards the glass door where she could still see the secret Ashrevanian and held up all three hands, extending all three middle fingers and scowling back. Then, feeling a little better, turned and put an arm around her friend's shoulder as they headed towards the exit. "I'm tellin' ya', Mal. You're gonna love New York. And if any of the statures THERE are assholes, we're pouring popcorn all over 'em so the pigeons will shit on 'em."

 

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