Letters Home

Posted on Sat Feb 1st, 2025 @ 3:16pm by Lieutenant Azrel Vox & Ensign Jason Reece
Edited on on Wed Feb 5th, 2025 @ 2:56pm

1,643 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Mission 5: The Price of Paradise
Location: Messhall
Timeline: M5 MD11 (2268.08.2) 0706

Aze was sat at a table in the mess hall with a pot of coffee and a mug. In her hand, she had a padd on which she was drafting a letter back to her parents on Trill.

The padd was set to the Trill language, the format when finally transmitted. She heard the doors of the mess hall slide open, and Jason Reece entered. She waved to him, gesturing for him to join her.

When Jason entered the Officer's Mess, he glanced around the compartment, to see whom was already present, when his eyes landed on the Communications Chief waving him over. He raised is hand to indicate that he'd be over shortly, then made his was over to the bulkhead that held the replimat alcoves. He selected a corresponding data card, and slid it into the feed slot. The replimat made a whirling sound, the a bell rung. The alcove door slid open, and the trat containing his breakfast slid out.

After picking up the tray, Jason made his way over to the table where Lieutenant Vox was waiting. "Good morning, Ma'am. Do you mind if I join you?"

"Of course not; please take a seat, Ensign. I welcome the company. " Aze replied, picking up and sipping her coffee.

"Thank you. Ma'am," he replied politely as he fist set his tray down on the table, then sat opposite of the Lieutenant. After sipping his coffee, he asked, "How long have you been on Midway, Ma'am?"

"I came aboard shortly after her launch. I would have been aboard earlier but had some family matters to attend to first, which, fortunately, Starfleet was very accommodating," Aze replied.

Jason nodded as he listened. "I hope it was nothing serious," he said respectfully, then added, "Not that I'm asking what the issue was, of course, Ma'am." He gave her a polite smile as he finished speaking.

"Oh, nothing serious. I am the only person in our village accepted into the Symbiosis Programme, granted a symbiont and joined Starfleet. So I am sort of, what you might call, a celebrity, and I was asked to give a talk to the local community about my experiences off-world and at the Academy. " Aze explained.

Jason nodded as he listened. Of course, he had learned about her species while in the Academy but had never met one before now. "If it's not too personal a question, Ma'am," he began politely. What's it like between not having the symbiote and now having it?"

Aze put down her coffee as she pondered the question. "As an individual, your thoughts and ideas are swirling around in your mind. Picture a glass container containing a swirling white mist. When Vox was joined to their first host, Torbin, the consciousness of both host and symbiont became one. So, let's add a blue mist to the container, which, when mixed with the white mist, turns it pale blue. They are now one individual with the thoughts and experiences of both. When the host eventually dies, the symbiont is transferred to a new host, in this case, me. Before this happens, I am represented by a glass container with a yellow mist. The symbiont, who now has the memories and experiences of Torbin, appears in the container as a blue mist when joined with me, and thus, together, we become green. So now, I have my memories, knowledge and experiences, plus those of Torbin before and whilst I joined to Vox. Does this help?"

Jason thought about what Azrel had explained, then nodded. "I think so, Ma'am. I guess, the closest example would be...that the symbiont, Vox in your case, is a computer mainframe, and each host is a software upgrade?" He looked at her questioningly as he finished speaking.

Aze smiled. "In a way, I guess that computes." She replied laughing. "Those who knew Torbin and who have since met me have said that I am definitely easier on the eyes. So, yes, an upgrade. "

Jason chuckled softly. "As I never knew your symbiont's first host, I'll have to take your word for it." He then thought for a moment, and asked, "How is one selected for a symbiont? Does every Trill get one?"

"There are not enough symbionts available for every Trill and not every Trill can be joined. To be selected, you need to apply for the Symbiosis Programme and become an initiate. This doesn't guarantee you will be joined. The program involves months of training and tests. If you then pass, only then will you be on the list as a candidate for joining."

Jason nodded again slowly. "So, it's considered a great honour and privilege among your people to be joined to a symbiont." He paused, then continued. "Please forgive all the questions, " he said with a boyish grin. "Is there a selection process for getting each symbiont, or is it a first come, first joined situation?"

"It can be like that, but sometimes the current host, before passing, could request if they have a preference for a particular initiate they have worked with during the program. " Aze explained.

Jason nodded again. "That's very interesting." He took another bite of his food, then changed topics. "So, what do you like to do for fun?"

"Well, for one thing, I do read a lot. Being in the communications field, I like to read books and articles in other languages, which helps keep my linguistic skills in top form. " She picked up the padd on which she was writing her letter home and turned the screen towards Jason.

"This is my native language." On the tablet was a written language somewhat similar to that of the Korean Hangul alphabet. "This is the more widely used version of the written form. The other version is more like written English, obviously with different words, meanings, punctuation, etc. "

She opened a blank page on the padd and tapped the screen for a few seconds. She then presented the screen back to Jason. The screen showed the following sentence.

~Y feko iea fuja u teeja vlouphucg~

"I hope you had a good breakfast" she said. "That is what it says."

Jason nodded approvingly. "That's cool. It's cool too, that you can communicate and think in so many different languages. I only know a couple, though, mostly only enough to get myself into and out of trouble," he chuckled softly. "But put me at the flight controls of any type of vessel, and I could perform like a maestro pianist. Flying is what I know and what I'm best at." He paused, then glanced around at the ship around them. "I hope to, one day, be the chief flight officer for a ship like this. Then, one day, maybe even sit in the center seat myself." He grinned a lopsided grin as he finished speaking.

"It's good to have dreams and ambitions. Hold onto them, keep them in sight as you strive forward. I think an old Earth is saying that is appropriate here would be Fortune Favours the Bold. Striving for the best in life is something that is a must for joined Trill's, as we have to ensure we live the fullest we can so the symbiont gets a wealth of experience that can then be shared with future hosts. " Aze replied.

Jason grinned as he listened. "Thank you. I will!" He took a few bites of his food, then washed it down with his coffee. "Where would you like your career to reach, Ma'am?"

"I am always thinking about that very question. Command does interest me. But for now, I am focusing on how my linguistic skills could benefit Starfleet and, ultimately, the Federation."

Jason nodded thoughtfully. "I gotta say, I think it's very impressive that you have such a handle on so many languages. I personally only know three fluently. And two of 'em are from Earth." He chuckled softly as he finished speaking.

"Since I was very young, I seemed to have a good grasp of languages. I also had a keen interest in different languages and their dialects. The Trill language has a planet wide standard but also has over a dozen dialects. Some of them are subtly different and some are very different. One particular dialect is often used for ceremonial purposes, particularly for the writing of laws. "

Aze took a sip of her coffee.

Jason thought about what was said, nodding as he listened. He then let out a soft chuckle. "Still is damn impressive, Ma'am. I may not be as good with languages as you are in linguistics...but, you need me to fly this ship or a shuttle, I could show you exactly what they could do."

"Do you have any objections if I held you to that? I wouldn't mind having a refresher in a shuttle. I haven't flown one in a while and you never really know when you might need to do so at short notice." Aze inquired. She hoped he wouldn't mind.

Jason shook bis head and grinned. "Not at all, Ma'am. Of course, we would need to get clearance from the bridge, to take out one of the shuttles."

"That is totally understandable. When it is convenient for you, we can see if we can get clearance from the bridge. But there is plenty of time to do that at a later date." Aze replied.

Jason nodded in agreement. "Yes, Ma'am." He gave her a boyish, yet polite grin, as he continued. "And now, if you'll excuse me, I wanted to go do a quick check of the shuttlebay, before I head up to the bridge." He paused a beat, then added, "It was nice talking with you, Ma'am. Thank you for taking the time."

"Not a problem at all. Have a good day." Aze replied as Jason left the messhall.

OFF.

 

RSS Feed