05-03-2025, 11:49 PM
"Uhm, Lt. Calleja, err, Mara..." The middie’s voice broke as she said the large woman's name. "Your natural accent is very unique. I assume you aren't from Earth or one of it's primary colonies?"
I really fucked this up. Damn it. Guess I gotta try and lighten the mood again after I trashed it…
“You could say that,” Mara replied with a grin. “I’m from a shithole out on the eastern fringe. Bandar IV. We’re only just goin’ through the process of joinin’ the Federation now. Big hold-up was how people are treated. I’m not gonna go into details ‘cause I’ve already dragged the mood down enough, but it’s bad. I came to Earth and I had no idea how to handle it at first. It’s literal centuries into the future compared to what I was used to.”
She paused a second.
“And I agree on the UT. It does a good job but it doesn’t quite pick out the nuances or the slang. Like it has no clue if I drop into Bandaran gutter rat vocab.” When she next spoke her accent was completely undiluted, sounding like a hybrid of British and German with slurred vowel sounds and harsh, sharp consonants. “Y’know, I try this oxxin’ draq, an’ tain’t go’ a clue. Migh’ as well be makin’ t’up as I go. Len’ths I ‘ad ta go ta tone it down so any a’ ya could un’stand a fuckin’ thin’ I said.”
Mara’s battles with her own identity over the years had included her accent. It was still pronounced, and often jarred with the more formal manner of speaking that most Star Fleet crew used to each other. But even compared to how she was when she came aboard Artemis, she’d cleaned it up a lot. At one point someone had jokingly raised a petition to get her added to the UT in her own category. That at least wasn’t necessary any more.
”I like studyin’ languages though,” she said, going back to the voice everyone was used to from her. “I’m fluent in Klingon, spoken an’ written. After our last couple of missions I’ve started with Cardassian too, especially the written. If you’re aboard an enemy vessel, you don’t have time to try and translate their interfaces with tricorders. I wanna know what buttons I’m pushin’, or what the warnin’ signs are sayin’ because we’ve just blown up somethin’ we weren’t supposed to. This crew redefines the term ‘collateral damage’ every time we board someone.”
There was a faint smile on her lips as she took a sip of her coffee.
== Back atcha! Sorry, I hadn’t realised how long it had been since I’d posted…
==
I really fucked this up. Damn it. Guess I gotta try and lighten the mood again after I trashed it…
“You could say that,” Mara replied with a grin. “I’m from a shithole out on the eastern fringe. Bandar IV. We’re only just goin’ through the process of joinin’ the Federation now. Big hold-up was how people are treated. I’m not gonna go into details ‘cause I’ve already dragged the mood down enough, but it’s bad. I came to Earth and I had no idea how to handle it at first. It’s literal centuries into the future compared to what I was used to.”
She paused a second.
“And I agree on the UT. It does a good job but it doesn’t quite pick out the nuances or the slang. Like it has no clue if I drop into Bandaran gutter rat vocab.” When she next spoke her accent was completely undiluted, sounding like a hybrid of British and German with slurred vowel sounds and harsh, sharp consonants. “Y’know, I try this oxxin’ draq, an’ tain’t go’ a clue. Migh’ as well be makin’ t’up as I go. Len’ths I ‘ad ta go ta tone it down so any a’ ya could un’stand a fuckin’ thin’ I said.”
Mara’s battles with her own identity over the years had included her accent. It was still pronounced, and often jarred with the more formal manner of speaking that most Star Fleet crew used to each other. But even compared to how she was when she came aboard Artemis, she’d cleaned it up a lot. At one point someone had jokingly raised a petition to get her added to the UT in her own category. That at least wasn’t necessary any more.
”I like studyin’ languages though,” she said, going back to the voice everyone was used to from her. “I’m fluent in Klingon, spoken an’ written. After our last couple of missions I’ve started with Cardassian too, especially the written. If you’re aboard an enemy vessel, you don’t have time to try and translate their interfaces with tricorders. I wanna know what buttons I’m pushin’, or what the warnin’ signs are sayin’ because we’ve just blown up somethin’ we weren’t supposed to. This crew redefines the term ‘collateral damage’ every time we board someone.”
There was a faint smile on her lips as she took a sip of her coffee.
== Back atcha! Sorry, I hadn’t realised how long it had been since I’d posted…
==