04-09-2024, 05:25 AM
The promenade was alive with the hum of aliens speaking all manner of languages. Qi loved places like this. He would turn off his universal translator and let the sounds wash over him. This Klingon was selling blood pie, that Bolian was selling hats.
Better still, he could hear how language evolved in a place like this. Borrowed words from Federation Standard and Bajoran crept into everyday speech, and he even noticed some speech patterns that were characteristic of the Gamma Quadrant. In another version of his life, Qi would have taken a posting aboard the station, immersed himself in the kaleidoscope of linguistics, and never held a phaser again.
A large, blond Trill broke through the crowd. He was carrying a syrupy jumja stick in either hand. Qi smiled as Lumis drew near. Since reconnecting prior to Qi’s last mission aboard the Geronimo, the two had grown quite close. Qi knew millions of words in dozens of languages, but none seemed to describe their relationship without flattening it.
“They had moba fruit and uttaberry. Which do you want?” Lumis offered. His deep voice was easily discernible beneath the roar of the crowd. Qi took the uttaberry stick, a Betazoid fruit that paired surprisingly well with the Bajoran dessert. The two found a small bench off to the side of the main path and sat together, watching various humanoids go by.
“So, I’ve been here for two days and we haven’t talked about your visit to Trill. Now, my shuttle leaves in an hour. Are we going to talk about it?” Lumis asked, raising an eyebrow.
Qi lowered his head. “I told my mom’s family about the symbiont. Alena said that I should try to have it extracted.”
“Your grandmother said that? She’s been obsessed with getting you joined since the day you were born! She practically cut you off when you left to join Starfleet!” Lumis stammered. A few passersby turned to look at the sudden outburst. Qi shrank into himself.
“Not explicitly, but she implied it. She said that a symbiont without past lives needs to be reared on the home world. She said it was practically abuse to take it back into space.”
“Reared on the home world? Did you explain to her that you found it in a cargo crate aboard a Ferengi pirate ship? That symbiont probably hasn’t spent a day on Trill. Or else it was kidnapped shortly after it was born.”
Qi nodded glumly, forgetting his jumja stick for a moment. “She won’t say it, but her real problem is that I’m half human. I think I’m just realizing that I was never going to be good enough for her.”
“I’m sorry, Arwen. You probably regret going back there.” Lumis put a comforting hand on Qi’s shoulder.
“Actually, I don’t,” Qi replied, a hard edge in his voice. “I think I needed to realize that. I spent my childhood trying to be more Trill to placate Alena, then I ran off to Starfleet to spite her. Getting this symbiont has made me realize that I need to start living my life, or else my next host isn’t going to have anything worth remembering.”
Lumis turned to regard Qi, truly studying him, like he’d never seen him before. A hint of a smile tugged at his cheek. He let the moment hang in the air for some time before standing up.
“Come on, we should start making our way toward the docking port. Your new crew should be arriving soon, too.” Lumis offered a hand to Qi, helping him to his feet. The two walked together in comfortable silence. As they approached the station’s outer pylons, Qi thought about his new posting and the many changes that lie ahead. He said goodbye to Lumis and watched the heavy airlock door roll closed behind him. Whatever happened next, this life would be worth remembering.
== Tag anybody who feels like wandering by ==
Better still, he could hear how language evolved in a place like this. Borrowed words from Federation Standard and Bajoran crept into everyday speech, and he even noticed some speech patterns that were characteristic of the Gamma Quadrant. In another version of his life, Qi would have taken a posting aboard the station, immersed himself in the kaleidoscope of linguistics, and never held a phaser again.
A large, blond Trill broke through the crowd. He was carrying a syrupy jumja stick in either hand. Qi smiled as Lumis drew near. Since reconnecting prior to Qi’s last mission aboard the Geronimo, the two had grown quite close. Qi knew millions of words in dozens of languages, but none seemed to describe their relationship without flattening it.
“They had moba fruit and uttaberry. Which do you want?” Lumis offered. His deep voice was easily discernible beneath the roar of the crowd. Qi took the uttaberry stick, a Betazoid fruit that paired surprisingly well with the Bajoran dessert. The two found a small bench off to the side of the main path and sat together, watching various humanoids go by.
“So, I’ve been here for two days and we haven’t talked about your visit to Trill. Now, my shuttle leaves in an hour. Are we going to talk about it?” Lumis asked, raising an eyebrow.
Qi lowered his head. “I told my mom’s family about the symbiont. Alena said that I should try to have it extracted.”
“Your grandmother said that? She’s been obsessed with getting you joined since the day you were born! She practically cut you off when you left to join Starfleet!” Lumis stammered. A few passersby turned to look at the sudden outburst. Qi shrank into himself.
“Not explicitly, but she implied it. She said that a symbiont without past lives needs to be reared on the home world. She said it was practically abuse to take it back into space.”
“Reared on the home world? Did you explain to her that you found it in a cargo crate aboard a Ferengi pirate ship? That symbiont probably hasn’t spent a day on Trill. Or else it was kidnapped shortly after it was born.”
Qi nodded glumly, forgetting his jumja stick for a moment. “She won’t say it, but her real problem is that I’m half human. I think I’m just realizing that I was never going to be good enough for her.”
“I’m sorry, Arwen. You probably regret going back there.” Lumis put a comforting hand on Qi’s shoulder.
“Actually, I don’t,” Qi replied, a hard edge in his voice. “I think I needed to realize that. I spent my childhood trying to be more Trill to placate Alena, then I ran off to Starfleet to spite her. Getting this symbiont has made me realize that I need to start living my life, or else my next host isn’t going to have anything worth remembering.”
Lumis turned to regard Qi, truly studying him, like he’d never seen him before. A hint of a smile tugged at his cheek. He let the moment hang in the air for some time before standing up.
“Come on, we should start making our way toward the docking port. Your new crew should be arriving soon, too.” Lumis offered a hand to Qi, helping him to his feet. The two walked together in comfortable silence. As they approached the station’s outer pylons, Qi thought about his new posting and the many changes that lie ahead. He said goodbye to Lumis and watched the heavy airlock door roll closed behind him. Whatever happened next, this life would be worth remembering.
== Tag anybody who feels like wandering by ==