Backpost - Lor'tan and Linguistics

Posted on Wed Feb 28th, 2024 @ 1:10pm by Lieutenant Avira zh'Kenarh M.D. & Captain Bethsabée Leroux

Mission: Contagion
Location: Barcelona, Spain, Earth
Timeline: Party before the launch of NX-05 Atlantis
2267 words - 4.5 OF Standard Post Measure

Nestled within the historic streets of Barcelona, Spain, the venue for the celebration of Atlantis's assignment to the Xindi mission was an architectural marvel that seamlessly blended tradition with modernity. The venue was a refurbished 18th-century Catalan mansion, adorned with intricate wrought iron balconies and vibrant mosaic tiles. The grand entrance led guests into a courtyard illuminated by the warm glow of fairy lights, where centuries-old olive trees provide a natural canopy for mingling under the starlit Mediterranean sky.

Beth had met everyone of importance but there was still someone she had not met in the form of their Andorian doctor. She had not seen her yet but as she moved through the crowds she spotted the antennas and headed further towards them determined to introduce herself. She was very much looking forward to working with the woman and learning more Andorian if their missions allowed it.

It had been a whirwind getting from Andor to here, going through a bootcamp of sorts all over again in a place looking out of a beautiful misty bay. She had seen different countries during her time there, some of her fellow exchange officers had kept quite close to the bay area but Avira had gone out of her way to explore some of the more exotic places on Earth. She turned heads everywhere she went and this very old place was no different. Some pleasantries had been exchanged, some had even tried to greet her in Andorian. An effort she appreciated but which always made her wonder if she should just politely respond to the thing they intended to say or correct their pronunciation so they could improve.

Parties were not her forte, however, especially in such a foreign place as this. There was an Andorian ambassador, a hand full of Vulcans and she had heard a Tellarite somewhere, though hadn't spotted them yet from her safe spot in the corner of the garden. The thin long glass in her hand remained full, the bubbles happily finding their way to the surface.

Beth grinned as she finally got to her destination and saw the Andorian in the flesh for the first time. Her file was impressive even more so than a human doctor's because she had done it first on Andoria and then for Earth and the cultural exchange. Earth Starfleet had to make sure that cultural exchange personnel were good but the doctor in her opinion surpassed them all. They were lucky there their mission was a high priority and they got the pick of the bunch. "The intricate blend of tradition and modernity in the refurbished Catalan mansion mirrors the potential fusion of our different backgrounds on the Xindi mission don't you think?" Beth said by way of greeting the doctor.

It took a moment for Avira to parse all of the information, in a foreign tongue no less. She had been immersed in what the humans called English for the past year, but most of it had focused on medical stuff, so some of the words she had to parse through context. "I am sure it will. Would." The antennae curled up, a fellow Andorian would immediately spot the distress, "It is a beautiful place, though I have not seen mirrors."

“It is an human expression because a mirror reflects back.” Beth smiled and held out her hand in a human greeting to the doctor. “Commander Bethsabee Leroux and your are our new doctor.” Beth said in Andorian hoping that her accent was not to strong to make her attempts and studies irrelevant.

"Commander," It took a moment for Avira to register the outstretched hand and accept the welcoming gesture, then another beat to parse the fact that she was spoken to in her native language, "Doctor Chiyaviraglin zh'Kenarh." she replied in kind with her full formal name, it seemed appropriate given the circumstances and the person she was facing. "I see I'm not the only one that studied hard of late."

"Doctor Chiyaviraglin zh'Kenarh." The woman repeated with only a couple of stray sounds. She was not perfect and knew that it would take a while for her words to sound less strain but she was trying to make sure that at least every non-human aboard could converse in their natural tongue if they wanted to. "Languages are my gifts and I think it is only fair that if you have been trying hard to learn so should I." Beth explained.

"It's much appreciated." Avira said it hadn't felt like hard work for her to be trying to talk in English. Everyone around her spoke it to some extent, it was easier when fully immersed in a language. "Where did you learn the language, have you ever been to Andor? Your accent sounds a bit southern."

"I spent three months at the communication academy that is being set up as an exchange officer. It was beautiful there. You have an amazing planet that I am really glad I have gotten the opportunity to venture on." Beth said firmly as she closed her eyes for a moment and she was no longer in the middle of a European summer but staring across the ice fields on duty watch.

The doctor had her suspicion confirmed, "Was there some time for seeing the sights?" Avira reverted to English, knowing that despite the offer from the comms officer she'd had to get used to making conversations in an alien language, especially since people in times of stress would find it difficult to express themselves, even in their native language.

Beth shook her head. “Not as much as I wanted.” She admitted sadly. She had wanted to explore more and learn more about the culture other than what the stereotypical view of Andorians were. “I wanted to learn more about what makes you all tick outside of the stereotypical view.”

There was a twitch in Avira's antennae, then a small frown forming on her features. "What is steryotypal?" She'd never heard the word before and couldn't really place it from the context clues of the conversation.

“Stereotypical.” Beth repeated back sounding out the word slower incase she had merged to many syllables in her accent. “ It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group.” Beth explained as she watched in the distance Lexi talking to someone she could not quite make out across the party.

"Stereotypical." Another twitch of the antennae, "Is this always used in a bad way?" The definition helped put it into perspective but more information always helped to make sure she wouldn't use a new word improperly. Also it was unlikely that she'd be able to reproduce the word immediately when the situation called for it. "Stereotypical." She whispered to herself, wondering what audio had to do with it. Now that she was broadening her interactions with people outside of the medical field she wondered if she'd have to re-implement her notepad so she could review difficult words and phrases at the end of a day. "What stereotypicals exist about Andorians?"

Beth smiled as the woman repeated the word. It was how she practice her pose and phrasing so she staged quiet until she was asked specific question. “Unfortunately it is mostly used in a negative and bad way. Well stereotypical Andorians are the warriors and not the woman standing in front of me. Why these exchanges are so important for our worlds going forward.”

There was a moment where Avira considered what Beth had said. There was definitely a warrior culture within the Andorian Imperial Guard, the organisation of which she was a part and that had gotten her on the exchange programme. "I am considered a warrior in my own right, Commander. Had I not had experience helping out my family with the bison I would have gone down the path of marksman."

Beth smiled and nodded. This whole conversation was challenging her own views and she loved that having that happen. She could not grown as a person without it. “That is good to know but I am very relieved that we have you here instead of someone else but bison?” Beth wondered if she had missed something in her file or the word was not the same in standard compared to what was taught.

"Ehm." Avira now had a moment of doubt where she tried to figure out whether or not she had misrepresented what her parents did back on Andor. "Yes. I believe so. My parents owned a ranch. I think the Earth equivalent would be Bison. We kept them for the meat, and in order to get meat one had to make sure they stayed healthy until they got to the point where the meat was edible." She gave a small smirk, "They're rowdy though, and with their horns it wasn't uncommon for them to get into it, so to speak. I stitched up far more Bison than I did Imperial Guard." The memories of home weren't always fond ones, but the Bison always seemed to spark something in her. "They're also a lot easier to convince to take their meds."

Beth had a moment when the mental image the woman’s word conjured up had her dumbstruck before she collapsed into giggles. She could just imagine how much easier it was to make bison take medication compared to humans. “I am sorry I just imagined the bison lining up for jabs and medication. But yes it is hard to get people convinced in their medical needs sometimes.” She admitted. “I would really love to see photos of the bison someday just to give my mental image more accuracy.”

It took a moment for Avira to process the imagery that Beth was conjuring up for herself. A split second before a smile appeared on her face her antennae stretched themselves upward. "I'm sure the cultural exchange database will have an image or two of the beasts. Otherwise I'm sure I can find something in my personal files." She didn't have much from her days at the Ranch, but a couple of photos that included Bison was probably not too big of an ask. "What about yourself? What has gotten you so interested in Alien languages?"

"Well I would love to see it for mental accuracy," Beth said grinning more. She coughed a little and took a swig of her glass to clear her thoughts of what had exactly pushed her to alien languages when she had so many human ones to discover. "I wanted a challenge that would take me from the path that I was on." She finally realised. She had wanted something that would lead her from the path she and Thomas had been on, she had needed to find her own way.

Avira noted that the woman was slightly evasive at her question. People didn't sign up to travel the stars just for the heck of it mostly. They were very driven people, and that came in two flavours. Driven towards something that couldn't be achieved through any other means or driven away from something that couldn't be evaded through any other means. It seemed likely the latter was at play here, the only reason Avira knew how to recognise that was because she was on her own journey away from, rather than towards, something. "I see. Plenty of challenges in Vulcan, Andorian, and Tellarite languages, I suppose."

Beth could see the woman noted her evasive by the tone of her voice but it was not something they had to discuss today maybe in the future when they knew each other better. "They are and I hope that I am fluent in those languages enough to pass muster. I am pretty much fluid in Xindi as well which is why I am on this mission." That was why Leah had wanted her along on this mission over anyone else which was nice.

"Which of the Xindi languages did you focus on?" Avira had gotten her hands on some of the medical information of the Xindi through the cultural exchange database and the access some of her contemporaries had in the Starfleet medical database. It was fascinating to have a planet produce not one or two but six different viable sapient species.

“Reptilian, Aquatic and insectoid. The Aquatics are complicated and enigmatic and are known to over-analyse everything but I think they are the ones I need to push to speaking with as they were against weapons in the first place.” Beth explained the rational that she had put forward to Earth Starfleet and have agreed by people.

Avira had heard some of the insectoid chitter, though she couldn't quite recall where or what context, she couldn't imagine someone focusing their linguistic skills on that. "I see you like to challenge yourself." There was a subtle smile of appreciation in that statement.

“Some people enjoy sports or watching a movie I enjoy learning languages so I might as well use my brain for the greater good.” Beth commented taking a gulp of her drink as she spotted someone through the crowd she had been trying to catch all night. “If you’ll excuse me Doctor I need to speak to someone I have just spotted.” She said in an apologetic tone.

"By all means, Commander." Avira gave a subtle bow as the linguist excused herself, once more left to her own devices standing in the corner observing. This assignment would certainly be a very interesting one.