Star Trek: Starbase 777 - lt-thalass﹢lt-t’kastrir

A Secret Santa Gift arrived for T’Kastrir: At the door were two boxes wrapped in metallic green paper with a simple metallic red bow on top. Inside the smaller box were several assorted items: a small golden sphere with what looked to be a star pattern on the outside, a long strap with a simple green flow pattern across it that looked like it was made to attach to some sort of thing, and some packets labeled 'té de malagueta y otras hierbas'. Inside the larger box - which was much larger, really, was what looked like, to the casual observer, a typical ka'athyra, but anyone who may have known about the history of design of vulcan lutes in more detail would recognize it as what seemed to be a replica of one of the most famous models about ten centuries ago, made by Sajek, a prolific designer and constructor of the instrument, but this particular model was well-known for having just 10,000 genuine models in existence. And of course, in the inside of the box also lay a note written in red pen. The bottom of the note looked a little squeezed in to fit, but it was still readable.

Hey hey! So here's a little note to explain everything. So the little tea packets are this super cool herbal blend from where I grew up, it's got malagueta tree leaves and some other herbs like pimenta racemosa and other such things. It's really good, especially if you like green tea! x_divider

09:50

The little sphere thing is a design that I lowkey stole from this old Earth movie, but all the programming and internal design is completely my own! It's just the basic concept I stole, really. I actually made something like it for a good friend about a year ago now, but it turns out, I really like making them. So basically, the way it works is that when you twist the sphere clockwise, it'll open up and shoot out like, a billion little bright lines of neon light all around the room, and it swirls all around you and settles into this huge projection of a map of the entire universe (well, the universe and all its sectors as we know it). SUPER mega cool in the dark especially. You can zoom in or out with your fingers on any spot to find whatever, it'll give details like a little atlas, and once you zoom out enough it'll show you wherever you are! I actually made some tweaks to this one where like, I mean, I assume in your job you're helping add things to our star charts, so I made it super easy to make edits in once you update a standard charts file on a chip elsewhere that can be linked to it, or you can just update it manually in the thing, both are pretty easy, whatever you wanna do really. And if you wanna do anything else with it that would make your job easier or you just think would make it cooler let me know! I can do it, literally no problem. x_divider

09:50

And then the strap is like - I feel like every string instrument player needs a good strap, you know? So if you already have one, this will be a good backup! I like this one specifically because it's super versatile - it can go on guitars, harps, ka'athyras, and so on, and I put a little tuner in the strap, too - I made it not look too techy, I kinda aimed for the whole classic matte look, so if you flip up the bottom of the strap you can just tune your instrument and the display will sort of blend in with the strap but like, still readable! It just looks like the texture is the same. I dunno, I thought it was cool, I hope you do too! Speaking of the ka'athyra though - this is real! Like, legit! I dunno how but I found it at this old shack back on Vulcan and like, I thought it was fake or like, a replicator dupe, but nah, it's like. The real fucking thing. 15th fucking century and all, and like, I would've kept it, but I don't really play my own that often (I'm more of a guitar guy, especially bass), and then I had you for this whole gift-giving thing and asked around and found out you played it and I was like you know what? Yeah. Something to note about this older model (which, to be clear, is an original Sajek 200-series) though is that like, if you're not familiar with it, you start to notice the wiring is a little bit wonky compared to the later models since it's super old. The resistors and the circuit boards are the most finicky, but only if they break, which they shouldn't, but if they do, you're gonna need some cool engineer who can do some good research on suuuuper old 15th century Vulcan electronics and programming. Which uh, I can do! x_divider

09:50

So if they do break, let me know, but like I said, they probably shouldn't, 'cause they've lasted this far, you know? It's also got your typical eridanite escutcheon on the capstans and tuning pins, but some unique bahun'ahb wood for the body that you know, if I were to guess, is probably also from the 15th century or older depending on how old the tree they used was. OH and I forgot, this is all the original model except for the bridge, which seems it was replaced by an 18th century Separ, so that's pretty fucking metal anyways, soooo yeah! Enjoy. Oh sorry for the addition again I know I'm running out of room here, but if you ever want to like, have a jam sesh or something, I'm down! Like I said I love playing guitar and other string stuff so I think that sort of thing would be fun! Feliz Navidad and Feliz Año Nuevo! ~ Allan Allen

Having been on duty when his gift had arrived, deciding to volunteer to cover the shifts of some of his fellow Science officers as he personally didn’t celebrate Christmas, T’Kastrir returned to his quarters with his hands clasped behind his back only to come to a halt just outside his door. Looking down with a raised eyebrow, he studied the two wrapped boxes, before attempting to pick both up. What he was quick to realise, though, is that the second was in fact heavier than he initially anticipated. Stopping to reposition, he attempted to pick them up again, not because he would’ve been unable, but because he didn’t want to pull his back out by carrying something incorrectly. Stepping into his quarters, he carefully put both boxes down just in front of the coffee table. Still very much so intrigued, he picked up the smaller of the two boxes and moved to sit on the couch. Opening it carefully, his eyebrow raised once more as he unboxed the golden sphere, the strap, and the packets with a language he didn’t recognise written on them. With no explanation, he carefully placed them all to one side and went to open the larger box. Opening it, the Vulcan-raised Human’s eyes ever so briefly widened as he saw the ka’athyra, before returning to their neutral emotionless state mere moments later. x_divider

21:55

Cogs whirring within his mind, he slowly removed it from the box with about as much care as someone might give to a newborn child, studying every single square millimetre of its design and appearance. He couldn’t to claim to be a lute historian in the slightest, but he very much so knew this specific model was very familiar to himself. Moving it away from the box and towards the couch, he stopped briefly as he saw the note out of the peripheral of his vision. Completing his task, he moved back to pick it up and begin reading it. So the packets were herbal tea, and if it was allegedly ‘really good’ herbal tea he was hopeful he would find it agreeable. The sphere was stolen…? No, the idea was taken from a film. Wait, it was a star chart projector? Putting the note down, he immediately moved to pick the sphere up and twist it as instructed. Eyes widening once more as the projections shot outward, the Stellar Cartographer couldn’t help but gaze at it all in pure silence for well over a minute, before eventually trying zoom in on Vulcan and its star to test out the programming. Reading the information that it gave and confirming it with the knowledge in his mind, he shut it off and put it down again to continue reading the note. x_divider

21:55

So he could update it remotely or manually to keep it up to date with current star charts. Even T’Kastrir had to admit that was very well thought out, but as he continued thinking about the sphere he already began coming up with idea for additions that could be made, so he was glad to read that whomever had sent him it was willing to assist him with that. Onto the strap, though, and his running theory had now been confirmed: It was for instruments, and versatile enough for use with a ka’athyra, guitar, or even portable harp, but it also had a built-in tuner which was beyond convenient. But speaking of the ka’athyra indeed… Turning back to face the instrument, the more he read the more his eyes widened yet again. A 15th ‘fucking’ century Sajet 200-series? Wonky wires, finicky circuit boards and resistors, bahun’ahb wood, and the bridge was replaced with a newer replacement but was still very, very old. Glancing between the note and the ka’athyra, his wide-eyed look slowly changed to the slightest, tiniest hint of a smile, but it was only there for a moment as he glanced back at the note once more. The sender would be ‘down’ for a ‘jam sesh’. A term he will have to look up, but something told him he already knew what that meant. Despite up until this point been relatively composed, all things considered anyway, it was as T’Kastrir read the name on the bottom of the note that he had to do a double take, a slight hum escaping his mouth in exchange of a laugh. How coincidental. Putting the note down on the coffee table, he went and picked up his new instrument and sat down, before attaching the gifted strap to it extremely carefully, after which he began equally as carefully tuning it. Now all he would need to get is a new stand, or perhaps a case, considering the historical value of such a piece. Either way, he felt extremely grateful right now.