Act One, Scene One

[Akirapryde]

The music was soft and everyone was enjoying the first dance of the Winter Festival. Noonia and Skytower were clearly the center of attention as most eyes were watching the unofficial King and Queen enjoy the first dance. Coming up behind Noonia, Ensign Hedril approached with a smile on her face. As she got the attention of the pair, she politely spoke, "Your Majesty" she said almost playfully. Her voice seemed almost artificial as the computer crafted voice box simulated verbal speech. It was a well known fact that Ensign Hedril was a Cairn, and only recently did their species regain the ability to speak verbally. Prior to that, they only communicated via telepathic means.

Ensign Hedril had come aboard the ship just a couple of months prior to leaving the ship yards and was a skilled science officer. She was working on her doctorate in interspecies communications. Like those of her race, to serve in Starfleet, she had to agree to follow a set of telepathic rules of conduct that had been created by the Federation Science Council. She gave a slight bow as she pulled her skirt of her uniform off to the side in a symbolic fashion of old Earth nobility. "Might I enjoy the company of the King for a dance or two?" she said lowering her head. Her artificial voice came from a artificial voice box that had been surgically implanted. This gave her the ability to 'speak' a verbal language. Her playful behavior almost seemed to mirror how much everyone was enjoying playing up the idea of the King and Queen of the Festival.