Solo 5 - Dave Halston

Bass Guitar, Bass Viol

Born and raised in Canada with the influence of parents who only cared whether Dave was doing something productive rather than destructive with his spare time. In a large house, with no siblings, Dave got the run of two large rooms - filled with art, music and interesting doodads from other countries.

He chose the bass because, in his teenaged opinion, he was not 'good looking enough' to play a lead guitar in a band. By high school he was talented enough to be in a band, and irony aside, he was the best looking member...

Rarely set upon by fans, but often interviewed for local papers and music scene radio shows, Dave became the spokesman for the band before they broke up.

That was only half a year before the abduction...

Dave leaned back and tuned the bass again to perfection. It was his 'ham sandwich' axe, named such because not only did it have a 'sandwich bread' shape cutout, but it had a beautiful tasty sound.

He was glad to be around people who didn't question the name - any name of an instrument. Others in the industry knew that they all had their little histories and quirks. Dave's life perhaps had less of them, and he viewed himself as 'almost normal' around the Solos.

"You ready?" Corsair asked, and Dave gave a grunt as his reply. "Let's go."

They sang and played, a ballad written on one of the revolutionary worlds about one of their historic martyrs. Since gaining access to dragons as well as this fabulous outer-space homestead, the group of Solos had begun branching out and using 'fan mail' to help build their song rep.

Keeping the beat was all he was needed for this time, but Dave did so with care and diligence. He enjoyed the work, as much as the music. It focused his mind, which might otherwise be scattered and distracted.

When they'd finished their set, Dave went to his small 'hut' near the Grid and began to whittle. In his spare time, all their spare time, he and the others enjoyed doing little crafts or things. He had been given a number of tools when young and kept them now only after begging Corsair to bring him back to his childhood home.

He needed to see his folks, to make sure they knew he was okay. After all he was only 20 and barely out of the house anyway. They were elated to see him, and... even more so to see that he was doing something indeed, very productive. He brought back with him clothing and mementos, along with the carving kit.

Now, though, he didn't work with woods that he knew from his childhood. He was given gifts of pieces from exotic planets. Black woods with rich grain, wood that was violet and grey from another. All of them bestowed upon him by people who had somehow gotten the knowledge that he among the group was an artsy-craftsy guy. Smiling to himself, he carved away.

Now, while Dave was a quiet man verbally, given to few words even when doing interviews, he was well-read and educated. He could, as his teen friends said, use the big words. Choosing them carefully like he would choose a line to carve, or a beat to strum.

Inside, Dave's mind worked quickly and thoroughly. Perhaps he was quiet outside because inside, there were so many choices to make, so many words to say. And concerned, he wanted to choose the right ones in all cases. He was in a word, a perfectionist.

Dave finished up, stretched and cleaned up after the whittling. His part of the Grid was dark - it was all dark, but his at least right now, especially so. There was a binary star which loomed close to the nearby event horizon, and sometimes its light would go out completely - its major component slipping entirely 'below' the horizon and into eternity. What force, he wondered, brought it back out to spin around its small dark companion?

To that end, and with those words still echoing in his mind, Dave began to play a solo session. A complicated and slow, powerful piece. It alternated between a strong and fairly high melody, and a deep, very slow rhythm. The two stars.

When he was finished, the others chimed in on their sub-space microphones, "what was that?"

"It's called What Force," Dave said simply. They committed it to memory. They'd work on it later. The group as a whole composed things like this: one would become inspired, perform their heart's desire. The others, always keyed into the performances whether they were near their Grid station or not, heard it and followed along. Sometimes, when it seemed appropriate, one or another would join in with their own unique style. Sometimes, like this, they allowed the creator to just work alone until they were satisfied. Embellishment would come later, and only with approval.

Happy with the production for the time being, Dave slept. His dreams were strange, not troubled but more weird than reality. And given that they were who and what they all were now... that's saying a lot.

Perhaps they were different, because of what was to happen next.

***

"Are you sure?" Dave asked, again. He was always making certain, always worried about the commitment of anyone else to a goal he had.

"Sure, absolutely," Solos 1 and 2 stood side by side, and their dragons nearby nodding as well. "You're going to come along!" Corsair laughed. "I mean, you dragged me to that cold front of your parent's house, so we're going to drag you somewhere nice and warm!"

Laughing, Dave followed along. They'd apparently found a place for him - for a dragon.

"It's sometimes called Renaissance," Todd said. "Chanson De Coeur is it's formal name."

"It's nowhere near the Grid," Dave commented, looking at the sky and knowing. They led him through the place, and slowly but surely he loosened up and realized that perhaps.. .they might be right. This might be the place where he could find himself a companion.

He would stand for a Tatsu, a specific breed. Though... the parents were quite disparate. While he waited for news or for the eggs to hatch, Dave did some research. He wasn't much on magic, but this place was filled with it. He was just coming to grips with the fact that space was filled with life, let alone psionics and magic and gods! But ... he learned shortly that every world had its own special tilt. Some were just ... normal. Some had gods, some others magic, and still others used nothing but mind powers.

A great pride started to rise in him. He'd been chosen to stay here. He among the billions of humans from his world, had had great adventures already. This would be another - perhaps a greater one yet.

Each of the eggs on the warm sands were shaking, and everyone who had been gathered eagerly waited the hatchlings. They were gorgeous, small but beautiful. One after another, the first of them hatched. The Tatsu were amazing and different from the dragons that the other Solos had bonded.

‘Hey now, whatcha staring at? Surely you’re not shocked speechless by my splendid looks, are you?’

Dave was snapped out of his little world, where he had been watching the hatching from a distance, and focused on the posing silver in front of him, “I’m not sure if splendid is the right term, Splendid Pitch. But I could be wrong,”

Dave watched the silver closely, and Splendid Pitch tilted his head, ‘What, do you mean I have to know how to pick those little strings to make music, when I can just as easily sing? Dave, did you know your mind and heart are full of music? If your guitar ever fails you, you’ll have me. And I don’t have strings that snap. Promise.’ Dave nodded once, and then slowly smiled, a new tune already coming to mind each time he heard his bond’s voice.

And there was music - in every motion that the dragonet made. Volatile but confident, Splendid Pitch learned all he could from the help found at La Vie, and then it was time to return to the Grid with his bond.

It is pretty out here, bespoke the dragonet. He lent his voice to a tune that Dave had been thinking about for hours.

"That's it! That's the chord I needed!" Dave said, as they came in for a gliding landing. "I can't believe how good you are at picking those things from my brain!"

It is easy, they are always at the surface. The parts you always look at are too deep sometimes. The dragon nudged his partner, but I'll be here to pick up the spare bits and put them together for you, and I'll even let you call the tune yours.

The dragon smiled toothily. He looked beyond Dave's shoulder and saw shapes in the black sky.

"Ah they're here to see you," Dave said. "When we've all got dragon friends, won't it be great? We can head off to other planets without even worrying about a space boarding by Vocorr."

You will have to tell me about this Vocorr thing, it makes you worried and excited.

"I'm sure that some day we'll meet up with them," Said Todd, Solo 1. He and the others greeted the Tatsu formally, and then they all got down to business. The tune that Splendid had sung on the way in was broadcast through everyone's transcievers, so they started making a full composition around it. Everyone always sang or produced something when they came home - so maybe someday there would be an album filled with 'dragon inspired songs from space'.