Espresso Recommendations

Star Trek: TOS/AOS

Nyota Uhura

'Across the room, seated on the only chair, was the oldest Vulcan woman Nyota had ever seen in person. Her face was seamed with age, and her eyes held the tranquility younger Vulcans only aspired to.' A plausible premise, strong world-building & an interesting range of OCs characterise this novelette

[Added 18/10/2011; Drama; 6000-20,000; Star Trek: TOS/AOS; Characters: Nyota Uhura, Spock, OCs]

from the greek "xenos" which means "stranger", but also "guest" by Pogrebin

'This is why Nyota Uhura picks xenolinguistics: the ways in which different cultures communicate might differ, but the ways in which they fail to communicate do not.' An interesting study of Uhura & her relationship with Spock. Powerful precise language

[Added 16/07/2009; Character Piece; 1000-2500; Star Trek: TOS/AOS; Characters: Nyota Uhura, Spock, Gaila]

The Loudest Noise (affannato, affettuoso, agitato) by zvi

'There was difficulty, always, in translating the gestures of a species with wings, prehensile foot claws, and double eyelids to a human's body.' This vignette really nails the frustrations & complexities of communication between alien species

[Added 22/02/2011; Drama; 1000-2500; Star Trek: TOS/AOS; Characters: Gaila, Nyota Uhura, OC]

Lunch and Other Obscenities by Rheanna

' "Look, the only reason we're rooming together is because someone decided that the best phonetic rendering of her name in Standard is almost the same as mine. Can't you just decide to spell Uhu with two O's instead?" Nyota asked, desperate. "Listen: Oo-hoo. That works." ' This starts out as a humorous look at intercultural differences and ends as a sweet affirmation of all that the Federation stands for. Persuasive writing that feels just like canon

[Added 15/07/2009; Drama; 6000-20,000; Star Trek: TOS/AOS; Characters: Nyota Uhura, Gaila, Spock]

Speech by Raven

'Much much later, long after the Eridani petition to join the Federation had been received and granted, Nyota could still read the Federation Charter in scratch 'n' sniff lavender, pepper, citrus and soap.' Sequence of shorts, some stronger than others, the whole piece forms a joyous exploration of what xenolinguistics might mean in practice -- one of the real pleasures of post-film fanfiction

[Added 18/10/2011; Character Piece; 1000-2500; Star Trek: TOS/AOS; Characters: Nyota Uhura, Spock, OCs]

What We Don't Talk About by Ellen Fremedon

'Closer to the city, the first crop of grain on this planet is ripe. In that field, Vulcans walk behind the robot combine; it only leaves a handful of seed for gleaning, but there'll be a ceremony over that handful later.' An intelligent look at the repercussions of the rebuilding of Vulcan. The warm background details highlight the bleakness of Spock's position

[Added 15/07/2009; Drama; 1000-2500; Star Trek: TOS/AOS; Characters: Spock, Nyota Uhura, Sarek, James T Kirk]

With All My Crooked Heart by Igrockspock

"Why is it always the men who are doing and the women who are feeling?" she snaps. "When I explore space, I'm going to smile and tread." Delicate & sweet exploration of Gaila's past via language

[Added 09/07/2012; Character Piece; 1000-2500; Star Trek: TOS/AOS; Characters: Gaila, Nyota Uhura]

The Word for World Is— by Laura JV

' "We are the people of the mountain, and the desert, and the well. I build on the mountain, the highest mountain of Vik, where Laktra meets the sea. Perhaps one day we will be a people of the sea, as well, but we will always need the mountain." ' This interwoven short is at its best in the bittersweet depiction of Vulcan culture. Beautiful

[Added 16/07/2009; Drama; 1000-2500; Star Trek: TOS/AOS; Characters: Spock, James T. Kirk, Nyota Uhura, Sarek, OCs]