trans_9 | explaining the universe [closed]

Katara had to admit, she was a little taken aback. First off, she had only vaguely heard of the Sensorium being referred to, and even then she was a little skeptical. So her first foray there was going to be daunting, especially when taken in this fashion. She observed the nothingness, which she supposed was space in her limited understanding of it. The glowing ball, however, she was not familiar with, and suddenly wished she had more time to spend in Wa Shi Tong's vast library. If he had only been a bit more receptive and less suspicious about their intentions, she might have been more prepared for what she was seeing now.

"Is the universe so small?" She said, hoping she didn't sound too naive.

"No," he replied, his smile warm, "just young. It's about to get bigger. You see, this is billions of years ago. We're about to witness the birth of the universe." He pointed at the ball, as though by reaching out, he could somehow touch it and make it all the more real.

"That glowing sphere is energy. All the collected energy of the universe is gathering into a tiny focal point, ready to--" his words were muted by a muffled boom, as the glowing ball collapsed in on itself, then spread out in a violent shockwave, scattering tiny glowing motes of light everywhere. "--Explode," he finished. "Those glowing specks are atoms, tiny particles of materials that the naked eye can't normally see. However, those atoms are gathering together, and, as we fast forward..." The specks coalesced and grew, forming burning stars that glowed brightly and in all different colors. Eventually, some even gained planets.

"There is so much history in space," he said. "The universe holds many worlds, with people who, like us, look to the stars and dream. For all our differences, physical, mental, and spiritual, there is always the dream. That fascination with something we do not understand. It reminds me that the universe is big, and we are not alone."

Edited 2009-08-04 11:46 (UTC)

Katara's eyes were actually bugging out of her head now. Of all of the crazy things she had seen today, this had to take the cake. Never in a million years would she have imagined she;d be able to see something like this, and her eyes were absolutely riveted. She couldn't turn away.

She felt a sense of oneness in her, something that was sure Aang must feel every time he entered the spirit world, but had eluded her since she was unable to see what he saw. In this moment, Katara seemed to almost forget everything, and just stared into the heavens. The stars were the best part, seeing them burn endlessly, and for a moment she saw the beauty now in firebending, how lucky it must be to create and control a living breathing spark.

"It's so beautiful," Katara said softly. "And to think...there are so many other planets, so many places to see, and we don't even know. Its overwhelming, to know this exists. How do you deal with it all?"

"I have a special image in my heart that keeps me from going mad at just how huge it is. Milky Way; Sol System," he suddenly intoned to the Sensorium, and the image quickly zoomed in on a spiraling collection of stars, and them down to one star in particular, around which several planets orbited. Picard pointed to each one, naming them, though he passed over the third planet, saving it for last.

"Mercury. Venus. Mars. Jupiter. Saturn. Uranus. Neptune. Pluto." His finger finally settled on the third planet, covered in blue and green and swirls of white. "Earth."

Katara stared in wonder yet again. She was fairly certain Earth was where he was from, although the bother planets looked nice too. Katara could see this was why the Captain could be calmed down: anyone would be brought to stare in wonder at such a sight. even just looking down on it, Earth reminded her of the Earth nation (it was the colors). It looked beautiful.

"Earth," she repeated, looking at it lovingly. "It's very pretty looking at it from here. If that's where you;re from, I can see why you'd calm down looking at it. And this...Sensorium, is it? It's one of the most amazing machines I've ever heard. Can you really just recreate anything with this?"

"It's a beautiful place," the captain replied, "and home to around six billion people." Laughing, Picard set his hand on the hologram, his palm sinking into the image slightly. "Of course, it's much bigger in person," he added wryly. Something about the sight of Earth always made him feel a great sense of responsibility. Despite his explorative nature and love of the unknown of the universe, the captain knew it was his job, like any other Starfleet officer, to defend the planet and its sisters in the Federation.

"Yes, it can," Picard said. He paused, thinking a moment on what next to show Katara about the Sensorium's capabilities. Then he got an idea. Turning to Katara, he asked with a smirk, "Can you dance, Miss Katara?" He had an idea of what her response might be, but he asked the question anyway, just in case.

"Six billion?!" That was astounding! Katara was fairly certain there weren't that many people in her word, maybe a million if they were lucky! There were those differences again, and Katara was still having to make heads and tails from them! She didn't really mind though: when else was she going to have the chance to meet and hear about different worlds? Besides, she could tell he felt a certain responsibility for this "Earth" even if it were her first time hearing about it. Katara had already seen there were some things in common that crossed worlds, like a dedication to help those in need. She could see Picard had that in mind with her, despite not directly asking him.

The question caught her off guard, but she smiled. The last time she'd danced had been with Aang, and it had been one of her favorite memories with him. "Yes," she finally said. "You could say I have something of a crash course because of my element."

"Well, then," Picard invited, "let's see what you can do." without even speaking the words, the Sensorium loaded one of the captain's favorite locations: a 1940s speakeasy. Trumpet and drum heavy music filled the hall, and the room was full of people dancing. No longer in his plantsuit by all appearances, the tuxedo-clad captain held out his hand to Katara.

"It's called the mambo," he explained. "Here, I'll show you."

Katara was definitely more than a little surprised. The music was definitely foreign to her, but she liked it a lot. She looked down and was shocked to see her clothing had changed too: she was now wearing a short red dress that showed her leg and a feather in her hair.

"Okay," she said, unsure what a mambo was.

"Here, watch me for a bit, then join in when you feel you're ready." Grabbing a holographic dance partner, Picard's movements suddenly much more rhythmic, his body shifting in time to the Latin beat. Hands, hips, legs, every part of the captain joined in, and the woman followed suit, her hips sashaying and bouncing from side to side in harmony with the captain's own movements.

Katara watch with rapt attention. At first it seemed almost hard to keep up with, considering the movement and how jarring they could be. After a few minutes though, Katara could see the pattern, the fluidity. A minute later, she started to mimic the step, and then she walked over to Jean Luc,

"May I cut in?"

"Absolutely," he replied cheerfully, letting the holographic partner drift away to another partner before holding out his hand. "Shall we?"

"Ok," Katara said, hoping she wouldn't look too awkward, although that wasn't likely to happen. Katara, after all, had to remember bending moves by looking over scrolls. Watching people dance was at least giving her a visual aid to what it was she needed to do.

Mambo defintely relied on a longer skirt, so Katara's changed again, and she kept in time with the beat, noting the movement started on the second beat of the music. After that Picard led her, and she moved in tandum, her shoulders moving with the music. The spins were a bit harder to do, but after a few times she got the hang of it, and ut came rather naturally.

"Wow," Katara breathed, "You're certainly lively for a captain. In my world, people in that position are usually stiff and don't want anything to do with fun."

"Well, I'd like to think I'm not as stiff as the teachers I studied under back at the Academy. I have my moments, though." Picard had to admit that he was certainly enjoying himself. Katara had been every bit the apt pupil he'd thought she would be, and now here the two were, dancing a fast-paced mambo aboard a living starship. Unable to really help himself, he laughed at the surreality of it. Whatever he might blame Stacy for, he had to give her credit for granting the captain the opportunity he had been presented with.

Another swing and Katara moved into this one, almost backward. She was glad she'd gotten so lithe during all of their adventures: for any other girl, it might have actually been a strain.

"I have a teacher back at home, Master Paku. He was a great instructor, but pretty bad at letting loose and having fun. But I guess a world at war will do that."

Which was exactly why Katara was taking this opportunity to enjoy herself. Who knew how frequently those moments happened here before she had to go fighting?

"Well, you're very good, Miss Katara," Picard countered, pulling the girl into a dip and twirl. "One would think you'd been doing this for years."

Katara gave him a pleasant smile. "Where I'm from, its important to adapt. If I just stay thinking the same things, well, what's going to change? In a way, I guess that includes me, Jean Luc."

She liked the way his name sounded. There was something about him that was very distinguished, very captain about him. One could even call it a crush, but just slight. After all, there wasn't any question to who Katara was waiting for here.

"Captain...what will WE do next?"

WE meant, of course, the crew. She wanted to know what they had to do next.

"We," the captain replied, "are going to continue doing what Stacy expects of us. We don't have the answers or ship access to do anything else at this time. So, in the meantime, Miss Katara, enjoy yourself and learn everything you can. When the time comes to make a stand, we'll be ready." Picard lifted the girl and spun her again, pulling her back in close. If anything, he was coming to view the curious and intelligent young woman as a niece. He had little doubt that she would adapt well.

"I believe you will do just fine, Miss Katara. Now, if I could ask for your help concerning one of my crew from my own home?"

Katara sighed. She figured as much, and not going back immediately was definitely not going to please Sokka. He definitely would not want to hear her say "We'll just have to do whatever Stacy says." Still it wasn't as if she had much of a say either way. She squealed a little in the spin, surprised but definitely having fun. He really was a fun!

Katara did look a little puzzled at his request though. "I don't know what I could do, but I'll try my best! What do you need?"

"I'll show you, Miss Katara," he said, ceasing their dance so the girl could see the scenery change around them. "If you want to see starships, why don't I show you mine? This is the bridge of the USS Enterprise E."

Katara's mouth dropped open as the scenery changed into something far beyond anything she could have comprehended seeing (except, of course, the beginning of the universe). All around her were these...well, they looked like square windows but they actually had a display, but somehow with nothing written, as if it were powered by some unknown force. The seats looked a little uncomfortable, stiff, but Katara could easily see why. This wasn't a place meant for lounging about: it was a ship ready for situations in which it might have to fight its way out. She stared at the imagery on the screens a moment, trying to make heads or tales of the strange writing, then observed the large center "window." It was big enough that Katara imagined it was to talk to someone else on the ship: what else would it be used for?

There were two chairs in the front, and she imagined that one was specifically meant for the Captain, and the one beside it for the Captain's second in command.

"Amazing," Katara said, looking around her. "This is so...well so beyond anything in my world. What could I do for you that your world couldn't?"

"See that console over there?" Picard gestured, pointing behind them. "It's a communications and systems console. I need someone to operate it for a simulation, and I will show you how."

Katara was definitely intimidated. This was more something that Sokka should be doing, he was the one that was into operating and simulations. Still, what bad could come out of this? She would learn something new, and she would have another goal to set for herself is she stayed on this ship for a long time.

"Please show me what to do," Katara said.

"Trust me, everything will be fine. Computer, load Communications Training Simulation Zero-Zero-One." Immediately, the symbols on the console shifted, simplifying into only a few icons. Picard pointed to each of them, stating what they were.

"Incoming transmission notification. Frequency. Identity of ship when registered with the Federation and Starfleet. Universal Translator: This one only alerts if a language is currently being translated.

"When a ship hails us, you will be alerted by this--" Immediately the console beeped, the incoming transmission icon blinking. Picard touched it, bringing up another small window with several icons. "--and pressing the icon will bring up this, which gives you more options. From here, you can communicate on your own through text--" A small keyboard appeared on the screen. "--on audio, through the bridge audio relays--" His voice echoed, transmitting his own voice through the ship. "--or through the main screen." Immediately a picture of himself showed up on the screen, with Katara standing next to him.

"Would you like to try?"

Katara nodded and took the console. She took a moment, pressing the control buttons and looking at her options for a few minutes. For Katara, memorizing had always been key in any situation, particularly when it came to her waterbending studies. Scrolls weren't the easiest form of learning, but they could be studied over and over until she got it right, just like this.

She waited a moment, then heard the beep of the console, alerting her of a ship approaching. Katara clicked the icon to see the ship classification. "Incoming transmission from...Klingon Bird of Prey. I'm going to go through to main screen, captain."

She smiled a little, then was all business. "This is...Ensign? Ensign Katara of the Starship Enterprise. What can we do for you today?"

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