Home Seeing a Dance

Posted on Sun Dec 15th, 2024 @ 9:20pm by Lieutenant Ayana Hillis

Mission: Family
Location: Earth - North America, Houston

Ayana walked the streets of downtown Houston, the sky fairly clear and the weather mild but not quite cold. It was 60 degrees with the sun nearing its setting point. She had stopped at one of the local cantinas and gotten a small bite to eat before moving on to her destination for the evening, walking along Buffalo Bayou. She was treating herself to something she hadn't done since she went to the Academy.

As she approached her destination, she saw a crowd of people arriving and entering, several in uniform. Ayana wasn't concerned, she was wearing a black silk evening dress with matching heels, quite different than her StarFleet uniform, but this was a special treat. She had plans with family in the coming days, but this night was for her. She entered the building and took in the scenery. This was a building that had remained in the same location for nearly 400 years, and she always imagined her namesake ancestor coming here to see the exact same thing she was here to see now.

She walked to the counter and ordered a glass of champagne. The server quickly grabbed it and brought it to her. She smiled as she walked around with her glass, sipping at it. Roughly half the attendees were similarly dressed as she was, in formal attire, while the rest were StarFleet personnel who looked like they had come here after getting off duty, mostly junior officers, though a few flag officers were present. She finished her glass of champagne and handed it to a roaming waiter as the lights flickered, symbolizing the need for people to get to their seats as the show would soon be starting.

She got to her seat and situated herself, the lights soon after dimming as the lights on the stage came up, the orchestra began playing, and the dancers came out to begin the performance. It was perhaps her favorite ballet, a story that was timeless, The Nutcracker. She watched as the nutcracker and other toys began to dance, the sugarplum fairy, and eventually the Rat King arrived. It was the perfect evening, or at least as perfect as she could have without a partner. But she saw this as a good night.