Doing Our Part
"You've got this Teah. It's just one more exercise," Teah Anderson said to herself. She sat in her seat as rigid as a statue. She had gone over all of the elcor pleasantries from "hello" to "your back is most attractive", a thousand times. Still, it was one thing to recite them to a VI, who would correct her. Speaking to the elcor ambassador, who would be literally judging her every move, was quite another.
It wasn't that she wasn't confident in her ability. All Teah wanted was to make sure she lived up to what was expected of her. Her uncle had paid handsomely for her to get into the academy. Part of her had been afraid that she wouldn't have been able to get in otherwise.
It also probably didn't help that her uncle was Councilor David Anderson, one of the most decorated military officers the Alliance had ever seen, and now served as humanity's representative on the Citadel Council. Another part of her thought that the academy had only let her uncle pay her way in was because he was one of the most powerful people in the Alliance, and that made her work extra hard to show anyone who thought that otherwise.
And so far, she seemed to have done a good job. She had only just begun her sophomore year at Grissom Academy, and already she had mastered every alien language in the curriculum: Turian, Hanar, Ancient and modern Asari. Every one of them came as naturally as Alliance Common. Other diplomacy students, who had once looked on her with jealousy and hatred, now regarded her with acceptance, and even admiration. Now it was time to make sure that she had earned it. This exercise had to go well. She was on a ship, bound for Dekuna, the elcor home world, where she would spend the rest of her sophomore year. This exercise would not only prove herself, but show the elcor how far humans would go to coexist with other races.
The ambassador had not made a single move as she had taken her seat in front of him, nor had he taken his eyes off her. Teah started to feel uncomfortable. The ambassador, like other elcor, was an impressive and imposing figure. They reminded Teah of small elephants, and were about as large, only they had no visible ears, and in place of a long trunk, they had a small broad lump of a snout with a series of gill-like slits that served as a nose and mouth. They had long powerful arms that made Teah think of a gorilla, especially since they walked on their knuckles as well as their back legs. Teah held his stare and did her best to swallow her nervousness and focus. Among other species, elcor used intergalactic common, but among their own people, they preferred to speak through pheromones, touch, and small movements, and Teah had to focus hard so she didn't miss the slightest movement.
Suddenly, the ambassador moved. Slight nod, total eye contact: Good afternoon. Teah quickly repeated the gesture, and then added a sweep across her brow with her thumb, and a tap on her forehead with her middle finger: Good afternoon, ambassador. Are you well today?
The ambassador nodded again, this time lower, and drummed three huge brown fingers: Yes, thank you. The minutes ticked by in utter silence.
For Teah it seemed like hours had gone by before the ambassador lifted both sides of his snout in what looked almost like a small, and gave one loud clap of his dinner plate sized hands, the signal to halt.
"Pleasantly surprised," he rumbled in a deep monotone. "You spoke very well, Miss Anderson." Elcor generally explained what they were about to say before saying it, feeling that verbal communication didn't have enough emotion in it.
He held up a data pad and began scanning it thoughtfully. "Thoughtfully," he mused. "Impressive demonstration of knowledge, good reports from your teachers, strong comprehension of material for only studying for one and a half solar years." He set the data pad down and smiled…or at least Teah thought he smiled.
"Glowing praise: I think you will do very well on my world, Miss Anderson. Dekuna does not see many outsiders who are so eager to learn about its people." He leaned forward till he slid out of his seat and onto his knuckles. "Sincere farewell: If you will excuse me Miss Anderson, I will retire to my quarters for the evening. It has been a pleasure to see you in action." He began to lumber away, but then said, over one broad shoulder, "Parting remark: your uncle would be most proud of you."
Teah sank into her seat, feeling drained but very pleased with herself. She had shown that she could not learn, but that she could use it to make her way in the galaxy. Her uncle would be impressed, and that made all of the hard work and toil, all worthwhile.