cloud! Quick!”
Tessslan veered off sharply and sent everyone who was standing, flying to the starboard side. Somewhat confused he said, “What wasss that about?”
“That green stuff is a very strong acidic gas. It could eat through our hull plating,” replied Lyemad, relieved he had analyzed it in time.
Slabriel had been standing at the time Tessslan veered, and he clumsily staggered around until he tripped over his fins. Finally standing up again he said, “Wow, that was not very dignified was it?”
Tessslan apologized profusely to him and so did Lyemad, while Bellmus and Timsssack reassured him that everything was ok. Bichael, with as much sincerity as he could work up said, “You handled yourself much better than I would have in that situation.”
In the mean time, Tessslan had lowered the ship down to the clearing and they could see many of the city’s inhabitants gathering around it. They were humanoid, but the first thing the crew recognized was that their heads were twice the size of the Electerian or Angelian’s heads. They wore loose fitting, colorful clothing in layers. They averaged about six feet tall and moved slow and methodically as they walked with their hands folded in front of them. They did not appear to be afraid—just curious about the ship and its occupants. Their skin was golden brown, offset by long flaming red hair that curled in big locks around their faces as it flowed down to their waists.
Perplexed by the size of their heads, Bellmus mumbled, “Maybe we had better not drink the water, there may be something in it.”
Lyemad was looking out the front window while the Warp-cells were folding together for landing when he sarcastically said, “And they say that I have a big head.”
By the time the Volkran touched down, more than a hundred beings had surrounded them. They all just stood staring at the ship not saying a word. Bellmus, Timsssack, Slabriel, Lyemad, Tessslan, and Bichael all went to the front hatch to make first contact. The rest of the Ambassadors would join them once everything appeared to be safe.
Bellmus, with his hand on the open button said, “When we get to the bottom of the ramp, I will hold out the translator and introduce myself. I hope that one of them will say something that the translator will be able to decipher. If anything goes wrong, I want everyone to kneel as a sign of non-aggression. Otherwise, remember that we are representatives of the “Styner Alliance of Planets” and must conduct ourselves accordingly.”
Opening the hatch and extending the narrow steel ramp, Bellmus stepped out and once again experienced the shortness of breath that he always felt when visiting Graznos. He noticed that even though it was a clear sunny day the light was not very bright. The reddish-orange light from Paylee tinted the sky and surrounding landscape. It reminded him of a famous painting, on Electerus, of a mythological world full of dragons and brave warriors. Then glancing down at the foot of the ramp he observed an exceptionally large headed being—even for this race—move front and center of the rest.
At the bottom of the ramp, Bellmus held out the translator about waist high and said, “I am Sir Bellmus of the house of Tomolack, we come in peace from the Styner star system.”
Without hesitation, the being responded with a string of sounds something like this; “Cluck click Irp Op, Ip stick mip Stir. Blick mat vind mot, vick low da tee Stin Grut.” After a brief moment of nervous silence, the Translator started squeaking and squawking until out came, “I am Irpis, Keeper of the Truth. Who are you, and why have you come to Noteorius Minor?” That, of course, being the Electerian translation of their world’s name.
Repeating his first greeting, Bellmus added, “I would like to present this Universal Translator to you as a token of our friendship,” as he handed it to Irpis.
“I thank you for this gift, but no one has said we are friends,”
Tessslan veered off sharply and sent everyone who was standing, flying to the starboard side. Somewhat confused he said, “What wasss that about?”
“That green stuff is a very strong acidic gas. It could eat through our hull plating,” replied Lyemad, relieved he had analyzed it in time.
Slabriel had been standing at the time Tessslan veered, and he clumsily staggered around until he tripped over his fins. Finally standing up again he said, “Wow, that was not very dignified was it?”
Tessslan apologized profusely to him and so did Lyemad, while Bellmus and Timsssack reassured him that everything was ok. Bichael, with as much sincerity as he could work up said, “You handled yourself much better than I would have in that situation.”
In the mean time, Tessslan had lowered the ship down to the clearing and they could see many of the city’s inhabitants gathering around it. They were humanoid, but the first thing the crew recognized was that their heads were twice the size of the Electerian or Angelian’s heads. They wore loose fitting, colorful clothing in layers. They averaged about six feet tall and moved slow and methodically as they walked with their hands folded in front of them. They did not appear to be afraid—just curious about the ship and its occupants. Their skin was golden brown, offset by long flaming red hair that curled in big locks around their faces as it flowed down to their waists.
Perplexed by the size of their heads, Bellmus mumbled, “Maybe we had better not drink the water, there may be something in it.”
Lyemad was looking out the front window while the Warp-cells were folding together for landing when he sarcastically said, “And they say that I have a big head.”
By the time the Volkran touched down, more than a hundred beings had surrounded them. They all just stood staring at the ship not saying a word. Bellmus, Timsssack, Slabriel, Lyemad, Tessslan, and Bichael all went to the front hatch to make first contact. The rest of the Ambassadors would join them once everything appeared to be safe.
Bellmus, with his hand on the open button said, “When we get to the bottom of the ramp, I will hold out the translator and introduce myself. I hope that one of them will say something that the translator will be able to decipher. If anything goes wrong, I want everyone to kneel as a sign of non-aggression. Otherwise, remember that we are representatives of the “Styner Alliance of Planets” and must conduct ourselves accordingly.”
Opening the hatch and extending the narrow steel ramp, Bellmus stepped out and once again experienced the shortness of breath that he always felt when visiting Graznos. He noticed that even though it was a clear sunny day the light was not very bright. The reddish-orange light from Paylee tinted the sky and surrounding landscape. It reminded him of a famous painting, on Electerus, of a mythological world full of dragons and brave warriors. Then glancing down at the foot of the ramp he observed an exceptionally large headed being—even for this race—move front and center of the rest.
At the bottom of the ramp, Bellmus held out the translator about waist high and said, “I am Sir Bellmus of the house of Tomolack, we come in peace from the Styner star system.”
Without hesitation, the being responded with a string of sounds something like this; “Cluck click Irp Op, Ip stick mip Stir. Blick mat vind mot, vick low da tee Stin Grut.” After a brief moment of nervous silence, the Translator started squeaking and squawking until out came, “I am Irpis, Keeper of the Truth. Who are you, and why have you come to Noteorius Minor?” That, of course, being the Electerian translation of their world’s name.
Repeating his first greeting, Bellmus added, “I would like to present this Universal Translator to you as a token of our friendship,” as he handed it to Irpis.
“I thank you for this gift, but no one has said we are friends,”
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