Lack Of Communiation

Posted on Tue Jan 7th, 2025 @ 10:56pm by Petty Officer, 3rd Class Lottie Daglish & Ziu'Liherasefra
Edited on on Wed Jan 8th, 2025 @ 1:21am

Mission: Remnant
Location: Shuttle Bag
Timeline: Day 404
Tags: Monthly Challenge
1949 words - 3.9 OF Standard Post Measure

It was fair to say that Hera wasn't usually a pessimist. More likely to be accused of excess in the other direction, the young alien had thus far approached most of the challenges of joining an alien crew with the delight of someone who actually thrived on being immersed in the unique and unusual. A few shifts in Sickbay helping out as an orderly had given her a purpose beyond the consultation Leroux sometimes required, with the rest of her energy spent on getting to know the crew and absorbing the intricacies of each individual's experience. It hadn't taken her long to realise that, even though the bulk of them were human, there were cultural nuances within the species itself, though she had also developed a private fascination for the Andorian doctor that mostly involved watching Avira work from a distance. Transition hadn't been all that difficult, outside adjusting to the very cramped and unchanging landscape.

It had been different for the past few days, since the Captain and the Communications Chief had sat her down and gently explained their predicament. At the time, Hera had understood the crew's dilemma and had frankly underestimated the challenge of having the translation protocols restricted to such an extent that her own language would be outside the parameters, along with any other regional dialect she might have stood some chance at butchering enough for simple conversation. Almost instantly, a wall had slammed down between her and the people she was starting to consider friends, but most alarmingly, she'd lost the ability to speak freely with Lottie.

In typical fashion, the Ziu'ni had put on a brave face and tried to laugh off the ridiculousness of trying to mime. She had also doubled her efforts to acquire at least some basic conversation, which thankfully had already been something she'd shown an interest in. It wasn't the same, however, and the constant swirl of unfamiliar banter around her was slowly provoking a suffocating sense of isolation that made the ship seem even smaller. She had agreed to leave her ship powered down, despite its power source not really requiring anything from Atlantis to maintain basic functions, but the overwhelming need to retreat had brought her to sit in the cockpit, huddled in the pilot's chair, bathed only in the ambient lighting from the cargo bay outside and thankful, at least, for the illusion of silence. It gave her space to breathe.

Lottie was tired and annoyed from arguing most of the day with the subroutines that kept the sickbay cupboards tidy and organised without her having to poke and prod to much but today it was different thanks to the power saving the ship was trying to do to keep the fuel going just a little longer. It left her just wanting to find Hera when she got off shift but for the life of her she could not find her in one of her usual locations so she decided to start looking further afield which was why she finally found her way to Hera's ship. She smiled as she saw shadows inside and ventured inside. "Hello." Lottie said smiling as she finally found the woman.

All agreements aside, it was difficult to avoid the temptation to use her ship's own translation circuitry to at least alleviate some of the frustration. Though it wasn't entirely fair to say she was at the mercy of the human crew and their captain, Hera was very much aware of the fact that she was a guest whose welcome could be easily out-stayed if she tried to push back too much. As the shuffle of movement behind her made it clear she'd been discovered, the pale alien did her best to tuck her unhappiness behind a smile and rallied enough to attempt some of the basics she'd picked up so far. "Hi. Have care, darkness is very thick here."

"I am with you," Lottie answered simply as she climbed awkwardly through the gap properly and through the darkness to sit opposite the woman and clutched her hand tightly not missing the lines and unhappiness that surrounded the woman. She wished she had learnt more of the woman's language or that they had not had to resort to turning off the translator units. "I have missed you today." She said pressing a kiss to the woman's forehead.

The flutter beneath the woman's lips became a barely-realised frown, just a momentary blip of indecision as Hera grappled with the variations of meaning her lover's native language liked to pile onto its vocabulary. As a literal translation, being 'missed' didn't make sense as there had been plenty of times where they'd crossed paths earlier in the day, nor had Lottie any logical reason to throw projectiles with an intent to make impact. Though she didn't exactly arrive at a definition that matched the show of affection, Hera could at least rely on her people's acute attunement to the emotional state of sentient beings to take a wild stab at what was intended. "This is busy for you," she attempted, her tone indicating reassurance.

"It is. What have you been up to?" She wondered sitting on the seat opposite the woman as she watched her carefully. She wished she had learnt more of her lover's language or something instead of just relying on the translator. It made her sad that they were not able to communicate as well as they had been.

In the absence of her usual eloquence, Hera just shrugged. Other than helping out in Sickbay right at the start of the shift, there hadn't been a lot of options given the crew's current investment in preserving energy and tracking down a viable fuel source. There had been a blissful moment where the Captain had called her in for confirmation of local data, which was the only situation currently that permitted the translation protocols to be reactivated, so at least she'd been able to speak freely for a brief time. She offered Lottie an attempt at a warm smile and replied, "No mischief."

The phrasing made Lottie smile before she sighed leaning back in her chair and looking at the woman carefully. “That is something.” She whispered leaning over to take the woman’s hand in hers. “I am sorry.” She added wishing so much that things were different for the woman.

Hera shook her head quickly. By now, 'sorry' was a word she had at least come to recognise, though more because she had felt compelled to learn it quickly in order to address her own fumbled short-comings of late. "It will change," she reassured, an attempt to point out that she wasn't ready to abandon efforts to grasp the new language just yet. Had she been a better representative of her people, Hera doubted she would have been having quite the same amount of difficulty. Communication was vital to the diplomatic prowess the Ziu-ni were renown for, and most were far more proficient at utilising their telepathy to speed up the process. Hera had been struggling in that regard, mostly through lack of disciplined study over the past couple of years. Seeing the distress in Lottie's eyes, however, was encouragement enough to keep trying.

Lottie still hated it. She should have fought a little harder to make sure that the person on board who could not speak standard was fully aware or better prepared or something. Not struggling to make connections with people and not able to communicate fully. It was painful for someone who prided themselves on including everyone. "I know but still. How can I help?" She wondered hoping the look and tone would convey what she wanted to, to the woman. She wanted to help her and turn her mood around.

Hera stretched out an arm, knowing that curling up together on the pilot's chair would be a little snug and yet physical affection was the best source of communication they had currently. "Tell me more story." Listening to Lottie speak, whilst sometimes a little confusing without contextual clues, nevertheless soothed frazzled nerves purely because the cadence of her voice was a balm. Later, the pair would undoubtedly put on one of the handful of movies available to them, which was proving to be quite helpful, but right now Hera just wanted to hear the words she was struggling to make sense of.

Lottie grinned and curled up on the seat with the woman and cuddled close. She breathed in the woman's presence and just enjoyed the togetherness of them both, it settled her down from her worries. She moved her face to look at the girl and smiled. "Any preference for one?" She wondered hopeful the woman had an idea what she wanted to hear.

If there had been a preference, the words to describe it had escaped the young alien. The slow shake of her head indicated Hera's willingness to surrender control of the decision to the one in charge of telling the story, though a very faint crease of her brow gave a moment's pause for gathered thoughts. "Your favourite," she arrived at, an ambiguous request since it made no definition between a story Lottie had already told and one she might yet to have shared.

Lottie smiled and settled down to think of her favourite story. She had never really had a favourite story growing up but she did have a story that had stayed with her and she had told Hera before. It was more a mythological story about the gods and goddess of India but it was one of those stories where there was good vs evil and a lesson behind it which was why it had most likely stayed with her.

For her part, Hera understood only a very basic gist of it. What was more important to her, and involved allowing herself to focus on the empathetic perception she had and so often took for granted, was how Lottie felt whilst retelling it. The enjoyment, the hope, the amusement in places. As each part of the story evoked an emotional response, the Ziu-ni opened her senses as she had been taught since birth, and finally found a use for her people's legacy beyond the diplomatic peace-keeping that earned them their reputation. As the nurse spoke, the alien, whose head was currently tucked beneath her chin, relaxed enough that her hair shunned the stark white of nervous tension and veered towards the faint glow of a blush rose.

"I love the wat your emotions change your hair." Lottie finally mentioned as the woman's hair changed under her fingers tips from the white to the rose colour that she thought always suited her. She knew it was connected to her emotional state but Lottie had not been sure how to help the woman really, this was her first real relationship outside of random liasons with MACO's on Atlantis and the Civliian communication operator on her last posting.

Head tucked under the human's chin, Hera chose to lay a hand over Lottie's sternum and settled for a common phrase she had mastered early. "Thank you." Under the circumstances, it was a catch-all for a number of things but could comfortably pass as a relevant response. Her eyes had closed as the storytelling had progressed and remained so as it drew to a close, though her lips curled into a faint smile as she pieced together Lottie's affection from the emotional residue of her mood.

“Always.” The nurse replying simply. Always was a simple word with big meaning. It would be okay one way or another, Lottie was sure of that.