> Their language was so foreign, that even the basics were almost completely unintelligible. But the offers of aid and kindness, well that language is universal. -- Anon Guest
"Vada trues!" called the blurry figure lifting up debris. The light made Liis blink, but the words made him wonder if the live feed translator app was broken. Liis was too exhausted, too hurt, and too sick to try messing with his interface.
On the other hand, it might be a concussion. Liis decided to let the Mediks sort it out.
"Dressers! Tricky, now. This'un's near carsey!"
More blurry shapes rushed, babbling over each other. One with a portable medkit came close enough for Liis to focus. The face inside the livesuit helmet _looked_ human enough, but... what the flakk were they _saying_?
"Stay meddies, ducks. We'll have you apples and jooshed, right races."
Liis felt like he had sudden onset aphasia. Except there were words in the mess that he understood. He did manage to say, "What?"
"Shoosh..." their hands almost flew at their work. Bracing. Bandaging. "Grooving soon, ducks."
For all their confounding language, they knew their stuff. Hauling Liis out of his pickle, and into an orbiting ship. Where the attending Mediks actually spoke _GalStand_.
"I thought I was debilitated," said Liis. "That rescue crew sounded... uhm..."
"Like a pack of monkeys with a word picker?" suggested Medik Brok.
"_Yes_! What language are they speaking?"
"They call it 'back', which is their word for 'code'. That sort of thing happens when you have oppressive overlords micromanaging public lives, and monitoring speech. If the legal arm can't understand what the resistance is saying, they can't arrest anyone about it. They're pretty new to the Alliance."
Ah. So there was hope that they would relax into talking normally. Eventually.
[AN: If you want to understand the slanguage here, I can provide some translation. Vada = to see. True = true lies - rhymes with alive. Dress = dressage pace - rymes with brace. Trick = quick. Carsey = khazi - toilet, as in "down the". Meddies = medicine pill - rhymes with still. Ducks = affectionate term of address. Apples = apples and pears - rhymes with "upstairs". Jooshed = fixed up, mended. Races = aces - good/effectively. Grooving = moving.]
[Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@glencarrie?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash">Glen Carrie</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/white-and-black-printer-paper-oHoBIbDj7lo?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash">Unsplash</a>]
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