Sojourn by S. H. Jucha

Author:S. H. Jucha
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Hannon Books, Inc.
Published: 2019-03-20T22:00:00+00:00

-21-

Helping Hands

“Speak, Gotlian leader,” the Gotlian fleet’s bridge crews heard, which caused consternation across the battleships. The request was poorly phrased, and the accent was terrible, but the intent of the message was undeniable.

The Gotlian leader, commander, and captain exchanged startled glances.

“Comms officer, can you pinpoint the origin?” Sa-Foosee asked.

“Yes, Captain, it’s the broadcast ID of our abandoned ship,” the officer reported.

“Open the audio pickup,” Di-Orsoo ordered. At the comms officer’s cue, the leader asked, “Are you human?”

Suntred glanced toward Julien for instructions on how to proceed. He whispered, “Please engage the Gotlians in conversation,” and she nodded her understanding.

“I Toralian,” Suntred countered.

“Negative,” Di-Orsoo replied, choosing to keep his phrasing simple. “Not Toralian ships.”

“Human ships,” Suntred replied. “I guest.”

“Humans speak Gotlian?” Di-Orsoo asked.

“Negative,” Suntred replied.

Di-Orsoo shook his head in exasperation, and his tentacles whipped left and right. It had been a slim hope of his that the humans would want to talk. He was convinced that with their technological prowess they would find a means of communicating with his ships. His wish had been granted, except for one minor point. The translator was barely conversant in his language.

Be patient and take it slow, Di-Orsoo mentally cautioned. This is the only opportunity you might get.

Suntred and Di-Orsoo’s conversation tiptoed around each other. They found common ground in discussing events surrounding Artifice’s demise. However, the exchange stumbled when Suntred mentioned the sisters, but she used the Gotlian word for siblings.

“Humans gave siblings to Toralians?” Di-Orsoo asked.

“Affirmative,” Suntred replied.

There were several other mistranslations in the course of the discussion, but the two individuals persevered — one because she was required and the other because he was desperate.

What did help was the longer the conversation went on, the more of Suntred’s training returned to her. As a young trainee, her specialty had been the study of the languages of lesser races. That education had led to the offer of a position on Fleet Commander Tsunamis’s staff. He’d been impressed with her intelligence, and within three annuals, he promoted her to fleet liaison.

It also made it easier for Di-Orsoo. He dropped the truncated language and spoke fluent Gotlian.

The Gotlian leader’s use of complete syntax and grammar allowed the SADEs to compile a richer language database more quickly.

“I might be able to speak this language,” Alex said hopefully. His staff dubiously eyed him. The alien who was speaking continually uttered glottal stops and other odd sounds from deep in his throat. Most of those around Alex wondered why he would want to try.

When Di-Orsoo thought he’d spent enough time establishing a rapport with the translator, he switched to the questions that he’d been anxious to ask.

“Is the human leader listening to our conversation?” Di-Orsoo asked.

<Julien, assume control,> Alex sent.

Julien signaled to Suntred to desist, and he said, “You may speak to me. My name is Julien, and our leader, Alex Racine, will continue to hear the conversation.”

Or-Deebaa and Sa-Foosee shared a surprised glance. The alien spoke Gotlian with the same intonation and speech pattern as their leader.

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