04-14-2024, 02:49 AM
Qi loved accents. Most people could distinguish the sounds of their own home planet’s various regions (you say mugato, I say mugutu), but to Qi they were as unique as human fingerprints. With his Universal Translator turned off, the promenade’s chatter lost its literal meaning and he was able to focus on the sounds instead.
If you really want to know a person, don’t listen to what they say. Listen to how they say it. The lessons of Qi’s linguistics professor echoed in his mind.
Qi never quite agreed with that adage, but he understood the meaning. To the right ears, an accent was a map of where a person spent time, who they listened to, and how they wanted to present themselves.
As he lost himself in the sounds of the busy promenade, one particular voice seemed to break through the chatter. It was human, unmistakably terran. Qi hadn’t spent much time on Earth before the academy or since, but the so-called “country twang” was easy to spot.
Qi looked up at the voice’s owner. He had skimmed the Philadelphia’s crew manifest, but this woman didn’t seem familiar. Still, a terran accent this far from Earth was most likely Starfleet. Chances were high that she would know something about the ship that was docked on the upper pylons.
“Excuse me, you wouldn’t happen to be from the Philadelphia, would you?” Qi asked, tapping the woman on the shoulder. He looked particularly casual in a crocheted Bajoran vest and a pair of loose-fitting cargo pants. “I’m supposed to transfer there soon, but something seemed to be happening at the docking bay. I hope everybody’s alright.”
== Tag Black ==
If you really want to know a person, don’t listen to what they say. Listen to how they say it. The lessons of Qi’s linguistics professor echoed in his mind.
Qi never quite agreed with that adage, but he understood the meaning. To the right ears, an accent was a map of where a person spent time, who they listened to, and how they wanted to present themselves.
As he lost himself in the sounds of the busy promenade, one particular voice seemed to break through the chatter. It was human, unmistakably terran. Qi hadn’t spent much time on Earth before the academy or since, but the so-called “country twang” was easy to spot.
Qi looked up at the voice’s owner. He had skimmed the Philadelphia’s crew manifest, but this woman didn’t seem familiar. Still, a terran accent this far from Earth was most likely Starfleet. Chances were high that she would know something about the ship that was docked on the upper pylons.
“Excuse me, you wouldn’t happen to be from the Philadelphia, would you?” Qi asked, tapping the woman on the shoulder. He looked particularly casual in a crocheted Bajoran vest and a pair of loose-fitting cargo pants. “I’m supposed to transfer there soon, but something seemed to be happening at the docking bay. I hope everybody’s alright.”
== Tag Black ==