as written by barney_fife and Tiko
Once at the cottage, as Sun tried to help the weak woman up the stairs, the process could be described as slow, and arduous as she struggled to put one foot in front of the other.
But with Sun's help she moved slowly and steadily, the chains rattling with her movements.
Sitting down in the chair, she heaved a sigh of relief but still had a visibly confused look on her face, wordlessly she allowed Sun to remove her restraints. The wounds around her neck were raw and the skin red, from weeks of wear the lacerations under her collar had become infected, no doubt a very strange sight for an aschen.
Her hands moved to rub her neck, and she winced in pain as she held out her hand, the discharge from her wounds cased the confused look to intensify.
The sight of the dumplings and Sun speaking to her brought confusion to her face but she replied as best she could.
"Ego non dicere lingua." She said quietly. "Qui te asordo?" She inquired.
____
Sun shook her head. "I don't understand," she answered regretfully.
Unfortunately her language didn't even share the same latin base as the Aschen language, so there wasn't even a shared foundation between the two.
She slid the plate closer to the medic.
"Eat," she said as she offered a weak smile.
She didn't rightly know what she was going to do with the woman. Her only thought at the time was to spare her the fate she would have faced in the hands of one of the syndicate thugs.
The creak of the floorboards drew her gaze to the entryway where an elderly torajin stood with a cane to keep himself on his feet. He had a thick mane of hair that had silvered with age, and the fur upon his face had grown grizzled and silver-tipped as well.
"Father," Sun said as she moved to his side.
He groaned a bit as she helped him to his chair in the other room and the Aschen woman could hear them talking out there in their foreign language.
____
The woman made a face, there might have been a language barrier, but the Aschen were not a stupid people. She looked to the dumplings and carefully placed on in her mouth, chewing thoughfully, she was weak, but was slowly getting her wits about her, slowly feeling comfortable after being taken out of the ration section; and away from Jyunichi.
The family appeared to be a fairly simple Losenji family. The woman had read brief missives about the Losenji people, most of it propaganda from the Imperial Government.
The two languages had no shared base, nothing to go off of, nothing to even begin to communicate. But once more the Medic wasn't completely ignorant, she noted the asian features of the house, and the Losenji people. She croaked out a phrase that she hoped they understood.
"Doh-moh Arrieagahto." She said, butchering the statement with a thick Aschen accent.
She didn't bother to get up though as the Losenji woman walked out, she made a face at the elderly man, and then she glanced at the dirty patch on her shoulder.
Did this strange woman buy her from Jyunichi to provide some kind of medical care? The woman knew nothing about geriatrics, and was only a level three trauma medic. She could treat most injuries, and a few diseases, but she had no tools.
The dumpling was finished by now, even though it was cold, it was still food, and with it she could feel her strength returning.
____
The phrase was not one known within the Losenyu tongue, but it was within the Taiyou language. Unfortunately the two languages had long since diverged to the point of no longer being mutually recognizable. Sun did speak fluent Taiyou, but it was her third language, and the Aschen accent butchered the phrase enough that the exact words didn't quite register. The woman's tone of gratitude did though.
A few minutes later Sun reappeared holding some clean towels and spare clothes in her arms. The clothes were of Losenyu make, but only slightly oversized and cleaner than the uniform she currently wore.
She placed them on the table next to the Aschen woman before moving to a nearby cupboard where she pulled a small first-aid kit out. That too joined the towels and clothes upon the table as Sun opened it. She pulled some ointment out, showing it to the Aschen woman before gesturing to her own neck and laying it atop the clothes.
With that seen to, she pointed towards the ajar bathroom door before moving to retrieve the chain from the floor so she could drop it into the trash. Just touching the thing had her skin crawling and she moved to the sink to wash her hands after it was disposed of, waiting to see what the Aschen woman did next.
____
The Aschen woman silently watched as Sun moved about, producing a fresh set of clothes and a first aid kit. The Aschen woman at first looked at the first aid kit, and the ointment with what at first appeared to be a look of confusion. It wasn't confusion however, simply looking at medical tools that were foreign to her.
She knew a quick beta-cantin injection along with a fresh dose of nanites would tend to her wounds with Aschen medicine, but she did not have access to Aschen medicine.
She looked to Sun and then to the new clothes, her gaze following the gesture to the bathroom. She smiled once she realized what the other woman was offering.
"Gratius, ego indeo un lavatio." She replied, even though the words she spoke wouldn't register.
She made her own gesture, the gesture like grasping a cup and putting it to her mouth. "Aqua." She said. "Aqua cum glacius, comdo." She croaked out, making the gesture once more.
If sun obliged, she would take the glass of water, slowly drinking it down and sighing with relief. If not, she would look at the Losenyu woman with confusion, and opt to drink from the shower faucet.
Moving to the bathroom, she let her fatigue shirt fall from her shoulders, exposing fraile arms, and a barcode tattooed to her right back shoulder blade. This barcode was the only tattoo on the exposed skin. The rest of her torso was covered by the standard issue undershirt, a dark tank top worn over a grey sleeveless t-shirt. The standard issue double-undershirt of the Imperial navy, remaining unchanged since the confederation days.
With the BDU Overshirt off, she draped it on the sink, before returning to get the towels, and the new clothes.
The next thirty or so minutes were spent in the shower, and she seemed to emerge from the bathroom a completely different person. It was quite amazing how a simple shower could humanize you, the oversized losenji clothes were a strange but not unwelcome sight, the dark hair and eyes along with the soft features could even make her a passable Losenyu had her eyes had more of a narrow appearance.
She also had her old clothes draped over her arm, holding them up she spoke.
"Estna aliqua lavem haec?" She asked.
____
Sun was putting a teapot on to boil when the aschen woman reappeared, and the sight of the now clean woman brought a half smile to Sun. Unfortunately she knew that they internal scars the woman likely bore would not wash away as quickly as the grime had.
As the aschen woman held up her old clothes, Sun picked up the gist of her inquiry and she gestured to an empty chair sitting just inside the kitchen doorway.
"There is fine," she said.
Though the woman couldn't understand her words, the gentle tone could be imparted.
Once the aschen woman had placed the clothes down, Sun turned to another matter. She didn't even know this woman's name.
She held up the almost empty glass of water from earlier, repeating the word she had heard.
"Aqua," she said before pointing to herself. "Sun," she iterated before pointing to the woman questioningly.
She hoped the intention made it across.
____
The woman simply made a face as Sun gestured for the clothes to be placed on a chair. The aschen clothes were dirty, smelly and dingy, and the young Aschen medic simply shook her head and held up the clothes.
"Non, ego indeo lavem." She repeated, before she made a gesture like washing on a washboard, moving her hands up and down.
She then moved towards the chair, laying the uniform clothes on the chair.
She followed the glass though, as sun raised it and spoke the word "Agua" The woman nodded and slowly replied. "Etium, Agua." She replied, then she watched Sun, pointing to her and speaking.
"Soon." She spoke aloud, and then gestured to herself. "Ayla." She said slowly. She then made a large circle gesture with her arms. "Ayla ex Paradeen."
____
"Ayla," Sun repeated. "Ayla.."
She smiled again and waved for Ayla to follow her as she led the Aschen woman through the small cottage to one of the bedrooms near the front. The east facing windows within it would once have offered access to the mid morning sunlight, but today it - like the rest of the city - was offered only ominous shadow from the portal that loomed overhead in the sky blotting out the sun.
The room itself was exquisitely decorated with hand carved furniture, red upholstery, and a fresh vase of flowers. Despite the meticulous care that seemed to have gone into its upkeep though, no one appeared to be using the room at the moment. Everything was neatly in its place, clothes folded and tucked away in drawers, and the bed neat and orderly without sign of wrinkle or rumple atop it.
Sitting on top of a dresser was a photograph of an elderly Torajin woman, a smile upon her face even in her twilight years.
Sun moved to the nearby dresser and picked up an ivory hair comb piece that she showed to Ayla. If allowed, she would move to tuck Ayla's hair back behind her ear on one side to attach the hair comb piece before turning Ayla to let her get a look at herself in the mirror atop the dresser.
The whole ordeal was likely somewhat surreal and bizarre for the Aschen woman as Sun's behavior was far more reminiscent of Losenyu cultural expectations between a host and their guest rather than any semblance of ownership or possession, and the offered gift was in itself a traditional hand of friendship.
____
Ayla made a long face at the room she was being provided. She was confused as to why this lone stranger would go through so much trouble to help her. She silently wished to articulate her answer as to why this stranger was helping her.
Was it for some kind of gain? What did this strange woman stand to gain from helping her?
She silently stepped into the room, a hint of trepidation could be picked up in her body language as she moved into the room.
When Sun moved to pull her hair back behind her ear, another tattoo could be made out, this one previously obscured by her hair when she went to change. Close observation of the tattoo would reveal it was a set of numbers, specifically it was her service number, in the event her identification was lost, the military could identify her by the bar-code on her back, or the service number on the back of her neck.
The young woman that stood before Sun was just a cog in the Aschen war machine.
And she was still absolutely confused as to why she was being helped.
"Quare me asordo." She said aloud, the words were faint though, and still indecipherable to the Losenyu woman.
Everything was strange, even as she looked at herself in the mirror, a contrast from the previous times she had seen herself, buttoned up in uniform. The clothes she wore were alien to her.
She looked to Sun intently, formulating words she could make into gestures, she held her spread palm out, and placed it on her chest. "Ego sum Aschen." She said aloud, affirming the gesture with her hand. "Aschen, Imperii de Aschen." She said, affirming the point, before she made a shrugging gesture, both hands out. "Quare." She said, gesturing in a shrugging motion, hands out to her side. "Aschen, necare." She said, making a gesture like holding a rifle, shaking it like it was being fired. "Incursus." She said, emphasizing the word. "Aschen Incursus Terran." She said making the rifle gesture. "Ego sum Aschen." She said gesturing to herself.
"Quare." She said, making the shrug gesture. "Quare tu." She said, pointing at Sun. "Quare tu amacus mei?" She said, making the shrug gesture after pointing at Sun. "Aschen imacus Terran; Aschen incursus Terran." She said, embracing Sun. "Amacus." She said, embracing her tighter with the word, before pulling away. "Imacus!" She said, gesturing angrily, and making the rifle motion.
A few moments she sighed, figuring what she was trying to say was being lost in translation, turning to face the mirror she spoke quietly.
"Gratius."
____
Sun's expression shifted from confused, to surprised, and finally to understanding. She smiled softly as Ayla turned away to face the mirror.
Standing at her back, the pairs reflections couldn't have been more different. Where Ayla was human, with smooth skin, hair, eyebrows, round eyes and pupils, and rounded ears, Sun was torajin. She shared similar characteristics to the Mira people that the Aschen had previously had altercation with. Her skin was furred, her eyes slanted with slit pupils, and her triangular ears were as mobile and expressive as that of a cat's.
Sun turned Ayla around and took one of her hands before raising it up and pressing the palm of her own hand against it. Their fingers splayed together almost identical in length and Sun's palms were smooth like Ayla's. She gripped her and Ayla's hands together to try and emphasize the gesture before moving away to a nearby stand and opening a drawer. She retrieved a pad of stationary paper from it and and ink pen before rejoining Ayla at the dresser and setting the paper down where she could see it.
With the ink pen Sun drew a smooth etching of a gun upon the paper, which she promptly crossed out. Next she drew a pair of shackles bound together by a row of rings, which she also crossed out. Lastly she drew the Imperial Aschen's fleet insignia and that of the TNG upon the paper and crossed them both out. She set the pen down on the paper and shook her head before taking Ayla's hand again and pressing it to her own. She then pointed to Ayla's heart, then her own, then Ayla's nose, then her own.
"Same," she said in Losenyu with each gesture. "Same."
____
Slightly confused, Ayla got the fair gist of what the Torajin was trying to say. But her brows couldnt help but furrow. She was in contact with an unclassified alien species, a Terran native. No doubt she could be deemed irreversibly contaminated by the association with the alien, her mind irreversibly contaminated with crimethink and ungood bellyfeels. She was visibly confused as the entire facade expertly crafted by Aschen propaganda seemed to be shattered.
"Amacus." Ayla said, as her hand was splayed out against Sun's. "Amacus." She said, asserting the word. She looked to the ground, though appearing dejected before she took the pencil and the paper.
"Ex Ego, tu disce." She said, before writing a single Anquietas character on the piece of paper. "Ah." She said aloud, pointing to the character, and then gesturing for Sun to write the corresponding character in her language. Ayla then wrote a second Anquietas character. "Bey." She said, moving on to the next. "Keh." She said, gesturing to the third character. "Dee." She said to the fourth, handing the pen back to Sun after each letter, until both alphabets had been transcribed on the piece of paper.
Once finished, Ayla pointed to the Aschen characters. "Anquietas." She said aloud, furrowing her brow to figure out how to speak it in a way Sun understood. "Lingua Anquietas."
Depending on the Losenji alphabet, if there was one and the language was not ideographic, translation could go fairly smoothly, of course, ideographs would utterly confuse and baffle the young Aschen, causing her brows to furrow in frustration, but she let out a sigh anyway.
"Tam pro me fecisti." She said aloud. "Quid ego reddam vobis?" She asked, before she drew a picture of a square Aschen cubit coin on the paper, gesturing in a giving motion. "retributio." She said, reaching into her new clothes and pulling out a small leather wallet, pulling out a cubit banknote she handed it to Sun, hoping she would recognize the concept of money and what Ayla was trying to communicate. "Retributio." She said again, handing the cubit note over.
____
Sun furrowed her brow as she studied the paper that Ayla was writing upon. No comprehension dawned upon her face though as she shook her head, trying to get across her lack of understanding. There was no traditional alphabet in the Losenyu tongue, and she wasn't sure what it was that Ayla wanted her to write in response to the first alien letter upon the paper.
The cubit proved more recognizable though and Sun picked up quickly as she set the note down next to the paper so she could write the Losenyu character for money before laying a ration card next to the cubit. With the place in the state it was in, it was the only form of currency that still meant much of anything to most people in Little Shintenchi. Though some still harbored their money away in the event that it might hold value again once the city was tamed and order restored.
The small etching on the paper confirmed Ayla's earlier frustration and Sun's lack of understanding. Losenyu was an ideographic language.
In the other room a loud knocking came from the front door and Sun's ears perked up. Confusion and concern filled her eyes and she picked up the paper and pen and handed them to Ayla before pointing at the woman's chest. She then raised a finger to her lips, trying to inform the woman to remain quiet as Sun slipped from the room, pausing to close the door to a crack so Ayla could see out but visibility into the room would be limited. Should Ayla try to follow follow, Sun would shake her head and urge her to remain in the room while she went to see who was at the front door.
She moved one of the curtains a few inches to get a look outside, but upon seeing Rune, Talys, and Adriaan she relaxed and opened the door.
"Come in, come in," Sun invited as the tea pot in the kitchen started emitting a shrill whistle.
She waved to Ayla as well to come on out.
"Rune, Talys, -"
She started to introduce the new arrivals as she pointed to each of them in turn for Ayla.
"Ah..." Sun hesitated as she got to Adriaan.
"Adriaan," the winged avorian male said with a wink.
"Ah yes, Adriaan. My apologies," Sun replied with a smile before giving them Ayla's name in turn. "Ayla."
The Aschen woman looked nothing like what Rune and Talys had seen earlier. She was clean, and her Aschen uniform had been replaced by Losenyu clothes. The woman looked gaunt and tired, but she could almost have passed as one of them now.
"She does not speak Losenyu," Sun explained. "Or any of the other Shintenchi tongues that I can discern."
"Well we certainly do seem to have a colorful lineup of visitors today," Sun's father, Renshu, said from his chair. "You had better get a second pot on to boil, Sun."
The elder torajin stood up with a grunt as Sun moved off to see to the tea while Renshu waved the new arrivals to go ahead and seat themselves. He squinted at Talys in particular though.
"Talys, is it?" Renshu inquired. "Sun tells me that you're something of a young prodigy in the art of yudari. Maybe you can indulge an old man with a demonstration later. For now though, what brings you all here today?"