Subject: Grail:"Great Brightness"-'Cadenza' (Hargen)

'Cadenza'

by: LtCmdr Janice Hargen

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After wandering about the corridors aimlessly for nearly ten minutes,

Janice Hargen returned to her quarters. She shuddered as she looked at

the mess she had made. Not being able to bear looking at the puddle of

blood she had left on the ground, she entered and left as quickly as she

could, leaving with only a black case, two feet in length and nearly two

feet in height.

She headed directly for the holodecks. The entangled, loathsome feeling

in the pit of her stomach had not ceased for a moment since she had left

her quarters, no matter how much she had tried to block it out. She only

knew of one cure to it. Walking to the nearest holodeck, she tapped on

the console, but grimaced when she found it was busy. It was Captain Epic

Terrakian inside. Her stomach turned itself inside out and her heart

fluttered. Biting her lip, she stepped across to the next holodeck.

Thankfully it was unoccupied.

Stepping inside, she set the case carefully on the ground beside her.

Although her emotions had caused her to break furniture, a mirror, and

even herself, the grip she had held onto the case with was as gentle as

one would have towards a baby. She took a deep breath, trying to find her

voice.

"Computer, create a chair, wooden, high-backed." She waited as a chair

appeared in the center of the holodeck. She didn't need anything else.

Kneeling beside the case, she tipped it gently on its side, the sound of

the wood hitting the ground echoing through the empty room. The black

case was worn and old with use, the real wood showing through torn pieces

of the black leather that covered it. Two metal clasps held the case

shut, and she unhooked them now with great care. Finally, she opened the

case.

A flash of silver met her eyes as she flipped the case open. She gazed at

the silver wonder within. A French horn, finely crafted, more than one

hundred years old, lay within the case. It was the one good thing she had

ever learned from Mandan - the one thing she couldn't curse him for. He

had taught both of his "daughters" the art of music. And it was the one

thing that could calm Janice, even when she was as upset as she was now.

She lifted the horn and almost reverently carried it to the chair, where

she carefully placed it on her lap. She had no need for a music stand,

nor sheets of written music. She could memorize any piece she ever wanted

to play, or determine the notes of any others by just listening. She

supposed she was a natural musician with the way she could just pick up on

any piece. Or perhaps more correctly: an unnatural musician. Her lip

trembled just thinking about it.

"Computer, play piano background for Mozart's third Horn Concerto.

Begin." Her voice shook slightly as she said that, and she hated herself

the more for it.

She brought the mouthpiece to her lips. It had been ages since she had

last played. Much before she had even been transferred to the Grail. But

as the first notes of the piano filled her ears, she channeled all of her

emotion, all her frustration, her anger, her fear, and perhaps, even her

love into the instrument she held in her trembling hands. She waited for

her entrance, and as her first note vibrated through the holodeck, she

poured her heart into the aria, and the pure quality of the horn resounded

off the holodeck walls and through her.

She paused for a moment, the music having stopped to await her cadenza

(1). She began slowly, holding each note for more than twice its given

length. But soon she let her mind loose and her heart took over the

music. She was unaware of the incredible speed at which her fingers flew,

as well as the river of tears that poured down her face. The complexity

of the cadenza was astounding. The reverberating horn sound was such that

any passerby of the holodecks could clearly hear it.

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(1) A cadenza is a section of a song played by a soloist. The soloist

creates this section either beforehand or on the spot. The soloist has

control of the tempo, the volume and the rhythm of the entire section

until the end of the cadenza.