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<blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 4055256" data-attributes="member: 10079"><p><strong>Chapter 564: Language Barriers</strong></p><p></p><p>Once she was sure that Loki was going to handle hyperspace alright, Marix pulled herself out of the pilot’s chair and headed back to her quarters. She’d set a course for the Gateway, and with Loki’s hyperdrive not functioning at full power, the trip was going to take at least a standard day despite the relatively short distance. But that was alright. Importantly, Loki was stable, though still unconscious. His body was recovering slowly, though, according to the readouts she’d checked just after making the jump to hyperspace.</p><p> </p><p>Not only that, but Tobias was okay. No, he was more than okay. According to Varis, the kid had actually contacted him for help. This would not normally have been a feat, as Tobias did have the means to communicate with the Gateway, but Varis had not been at the Gateway. According to his swift report during the short few moments they were in contact, Varis had been doing work on an interesting side project that Jyren had cooked up years earlier.</p><p> </p><p>Jyren had taken an interest in Alraxia’s connection to the ancient Jedi Order of the Old Republic, using the archives in the temples scattered across Alraxia and even a few other planets in the Empire to track down other artifacts of the old order. He was, of course, looking for a connection to his mother beyond that holocron he never let go of, but it wasn’t something Marix would argue with him about. It was a good cause. And, according to Varis, many of the Knights and former Tam’Day’U had taken a great interest in it, too. He had been tracking down an ancient planet that was not on any charts at all, Alraxian, Jendari, or Republic, but was mentioned several times in some of the temple records. It was called Rhen Var, and apparently had been a place that a fallen Jedi Knight thousands of years earlier had exiled himself to.</p><p> </p><p>But Varis never found the planet. On a stop in deep space to check his coordinates and attempt another dangerous, blind jump into uncharted space, he had felt the presence of Tobias. Then the boy had actually communicated with him over a distance of light years. Tobias had done that with no training. While it was a skill that some Tam’Day’U had been taught years ago, it was one few could manage. Even Marix hadn’t been able to.</p><p> </p><p>And Tobias had done it. He’d called for help, then, according to Varis, been the one leading the way in front of his own Jedi Master to the ship after the two of them had battling with a group of Yuuzhan Vong warriors. From her short conversation with Tobias, which was more a series of words than an actual conversation, she could tell he was already different than when he’d left. It wasn’t the words that told her, but the emotions that escaped with them. Tobias was much more grounded in reality than he had been, and though he was definitely still learning, seemed to be understanding much more about the way things worked. Marix’s only worry about that kid was that his constant idolizing of Jyren would mean Tobias would grow up to be just as reckless, impulsive, and every bit as unable to use his brain as Jyren had been. No, that wasn’t fair. It was more that Jyren’s place of judgement and decision making was in his heart and his emotions, not his mind. It was a noble thing, yes, but both dangerous and, in the end, something that Tobias didn’t need to default to.</p><p> </p><p>Now Marix had seen him shifting away from that.</p><p> </p><p>That was the one piece of good news in what seemed like an eternity, and it was extremely welcome.</p><p> </p><p>Entering her quarters, Marix moved to the small washroom. As quickly as she could, Marix got a hold of some cleangel and wiped Loki’s blood off of her face and hands. The rest of her could wait. With that done, she exited the washroom, and walked over to the opposite side of the quarters to a small pile of clothes at the side of the bed. They had been lying there for a long time, but thinking about that Vong she was about to have a talk with brought up an interesting thought about the pile. Digging through it a moment, Marix retrieved a jacket. It was Jyren’s, that damned brown piece of junk that was impossibly comfortable despite how it looked. The last time she had worn it, Marix had come across an interesting item, which she hoped was still in the inside pocket.</p><p> </p><p>When she put her hand into the pocket, she found it. That small, worm-thing that had been in a Rodian’s ear for some reason. Marix inspected it, noticed it was still moving, and wondered how it was actually alive. It had to eat, didn’t it? Even Loki got nutrition, though it was a complicated process that Marix didn’t even completely understand. Maybe it could just survive for long periods of time without food? More to the point, what was it? It had been in that Rodian’s ear, but it hadn’t caused any actual damage. It wasn’t a weapon, then. It didn’t seem to be any kind of controlling device as she had seen other humanoids with pieces of...coral or something similar implanted in them that looked to serve that purpose. There had to be a use for it.</p><p> </p><p>Keeping it in her hand, Marix got to her feet and left her quarters. It only took a few steps to reach the sealed door to the room where she’d thrown that Vong into. She stood in front of the door for a short time, thinking. The Vong hadn’t been tied up and the room, while generally empty, might have provided him with makeshift weapons if he was smart enough. After moving the small worm-thing into her off hand, Marix hit the switch to open the door and prepared for an immediate attack.</p><p> </p><p>When the door irised opened, she was not met with a weapon or a fist or a leg or anything else meant to kill her. Immediately taking in the room, Marix noted the Yuuzhan Vong sitting against the back wall next to a small table that was actually part of Loki’s interior. To her surprise, the Vong did not bolt up to kill her, but simply snarled a curse in his native language. Or at least, she figured it was a curse. But beyond that, he didn’t move.</p><p> </p><p>“No more fight in you, I see,” Marix spoke aloud while she stepped into the room and then made sure the door was good and closed behind her.</p><p> </p><p>The Vong replied with a sharp series of guttural words.</p><p> </p><p>Crossing her arms over her chest, she kept in mind many of those old interrogation techniques taught to her years ago. Marix made sure to look down at him, stand tall, and show through the way she stood that if he tried anything she wouldn’t be afraid to snap his neck. Not that the last of those would scare a Vong, from what Marix understood. Still, it was important. It was time for that time honoured and arduous task of learning the enemy’s language. In previous instances, Marix had the Force to assist with that...but since the Force was telling her there was no on else in the room with her, that was definitely not an option.</p><p> </p><p>“What is your name, Vong?”</p><p> </p><p>The deep-set eyes that were beneath a large, single scar across the Vong’s forehead, regarded her carefully. Eventually, he spoke again, “Nikk pryozz Qroal Fath.”</p><p> </p><p>That caused a slight pause in Marix’s thoughts. It was clearly a response. She had no idea what he’d said, but the way he’d responded was just too perfect, especially when he just stopped and then stared at her, as if waiting for her to ask something else.</p><p> </p><p>Marix’s eyes narrowed, not liking this, “You understand Basic.”</p><p> </p><p>The Vong tilted his head in what very well could have been a nod, “Dwi.”</p><p> </p><p>Yes...?</p><p> </p><p>Unless a nod meant something else to the Vong, which was entirely possible. Marix had encountered at least one species that found such an action to be extremely offensive. Something about showing the top of one’s head...</p><p> </p><p>But no, he had stopped again. Waited for her to speak again. He did understand Basic. But he didn’t speak it. That wasn’t all too uncommon, but it bothered her. It bothered her enough to ask another simple question, “How?”</p><p> </p><p>Or rather, a simple question if she could understand the Vong language. But before saying anything, he tilted his head and reached into his ear with a long-fingered hand that was also covered in an odd, jagged green tattoo. Marix was already beginning to connect dots in her mind, and so wasn’t surprised when he removed a small worm just like the one she was holding, then said, “Tizowyrm.”</p><p> </p><p>There was no surefire way to know this wasn’t some trick. However, Marix had not heard of many Vong being anything but straightforward. Still, something was wrong here. Something was bothering her. He was being too forthcoming, even if she didn’t understand him. Why the hell wasn’t he trying to get free?!</p><p> </p><p>Working on the hunch that she was starting to understand how he understood her, though, Marix waited for the Vong to put the worm back into his ear before asking, “That thing translates languages?”</p><p></p><p>“Dwi,” the same word with the same nod.</p><p> </p><p>Marix raised her hand and opened her palm to look at the one she held. It was dangerous. It was stupid. But...she could morph. If it was an attack or a deception, she could morph around the thing and get it out of her body before it did any damage. Hopefully. Maybe.</p><p> </p><p>After a deep breath and readying herself for a horrible feeling, Marix carefully reached up to put the worm thing into her own ear. There were a few horrible moments where she felt the thing shifting and moving before it finally stopped.</p><p> </p><p>When it stopped, the Vong spoke again, “I am Qroal of Domain Fath.”</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ankh-Morpork Guard, post: 4055256, member: 10079"] [B]Chapter 564: Language Barriers[/b] Once she was sure that Loki was going to handle hyperspace alright, Marix pulled herself out of the pilot’s chair and headed back to her quarters. She’d set a course for the Gateway, and with Loki’s hyperdrive not functioning at full power, the trip was going to take at least a standard day despite the relatively short distance. But that was alright. Importantly, Loki was stable, though still unconscious. His body was recovering slowly, though, according to the readouts she’d checked just after making the jump to hyperspace. Not only that, but Tobias was okay. No, he was more than okay. According to Varis, the kid had actually contacted him for help. This would not normally have been a feat, as Tobias did have the means to communicate with the Gateway, but Varis had not been at the Gateway. According to his swift report during the short few moments they were in contact, Varis had been doing work on an interesting side project that Jyren had cooked up years earlier. Jyren had taken an interest in Alraxia’s connection to the ancient Jedi Order of the Old Republic, using the archives in the temples scattered across Alraxia and even a few other planets in the Empire to track down other artifacts of the old order. He was, of course, looking for a connection to his mother beyond that holocron he never let go of, but it wasn’t something Marix would argue with him about. It was a good cause. And, according to Varis, many of the Knights and former Tam’Day’U had taken a great interest in it, too. He had been tracking down an ancient planet that was not on any charts at all, Alraxian, Jendari, or Republic, but was mentioned several times in some of the temple records. It was called Rhen Var, and apparently had been a place that a fallen Jedi Knight thousands of years earlier had exiled himself to. But Varis never found the planet. On a stop in deep space to check his coordinates and attempt another dangerous, blind jump into uncharted space, he had felt the presence of Tobias. Then the boy had actually communicated with him over a distance of light years. Tobias had done that with no training. While it was a skill that some Tam’Day’U had been taught years ago, it was one few could manage. Even Marix hadn’t been able to. And Tobias had done it. He’d called for help, then, according to Varis, been the one leading the way in front of his own Jedi Master to the ship after the two of them had battling with a group of Yuuzhan Vong warriors. From her short conversation with Tobias, which was more a series of words than an actual conversation, she could tell he was already different than when he’d left. It wasn’t the words that told her, but the emotions that escaped with them. Tobias was much more grounded in reality than he had been, and though he was definitely still learning, seemed to be understanding much more about the way things worked. Marix’s only worry about that kid was that his constant idolizing of Jyren would mean Tobias would grow up to be just as reckless, impulsive, and every bit as unable to use his brain as Jyren had been. No, that wasn’t fair. It was more that Jyren’s place of judgement and decision making was in his heart and his emotions, not his mind. It was a noble thing, yes, but both dangerous and, in the end, something that Tobias didn’t need to default to. Now Marix had seen him shifting away from that. That was the one piece of good news in what seemed like an eternity, and it was extremely welcome. Entering her quarters, Marix moved to the small washroom. As quickly as she could, Marix got a hold of some cleangel and wiped Loki’s blood off of her face and hands. The rest of her could wait. With that done, she exited the washroom, and walked over to the opposite side of the quarters to a small pile of clothes at the side of the bed. They had been lying there for a long time, but thinking about that Vong she was about to have a talk with brought up an interesting thought about the pile. Digging through it a moment, Marix retrieved a jacket. It was Jyren’s, that damned brown piece of junk that was impossibly comfortable despite how it looked. The last time she had worn it, Marix had come across an interesting item, which she hoped was still in the inside pocket. When she put her hand into the pocket, she found it. That small, worm-thing that had been in a Rodian’s ear for some reason. Marix inspected it, noticed it was still moving, and wondered how it was actually alive. It had to eat, didn’t it? Even Loki got nutrition, though it was a complicated process that Marix didn’t even completely understand. Maybe it could just survive for long periods of time without food? More to the point, what was it? It had been in that Rodian’s ear, but it hadn’t caused any actual damage. It wasn’t a weapon, then. It didn’t seem to be any kind of controlling device as she had seen other humanoids with pieces of...coral or something similar implanted in them that looked to serve that purpose. There had to be a use for it. Keeping it in her hand, Marix got to her feet and left her quarters. It only took a few steps to reach the sealed door to the room where she’d thrown that Vong into. She stood in front of the door for a short time, thinking. The Vong hadn’t been tied up and the room, while generally empty, might have provided him with makeshift weapons if he was smart enough. After moving the small worm-thing into her off hand, Marix hit the switch to open the door and prepared for an immediate attack. When the door irised opened, she was not met with a weapon or a fist or a leg or anything else meant to kill her. Immediately taking in the room, Marix noted the Yuuzhan Vong sitting against the back wall next to a small table that was actually part of Loki’s interior. To her surprise, the Vong did not bolt up to kill her, but simply snarled a curse in his native language. Or at least, she figured it was a curse. But beyond that, he didn’t move. “No more fight in you, I see,” Marix spoke aloud while she stepped into the room and then made sure the door was good and closed behind her. The Vong replied with a sharp series of guttural words. Crossing her arms over her chest, she kept in mind many of those old interrogation techniques taught to her years ago. Marix made sure to look down at him, stand tall, and show through the way she stood that if he tried anything she wouldn’t be afraid to snap his neck. Not that the last of those would scare a Vong, from what Marix understood. Still, it was important. It was time for that time honoured and arduous task of learning the enemy’s language. In previous instances, Marix had the Force to assist with that...but since the Force was telling her there was no on else in the room with her, that was definitely not an option. “What is your name, Vong?” The deep-set eyes that were beneath a large, single scar across the Vong’s forehead, regarded her carefully. Eventually, he spoke again, “Nikk pryozz Qroal Fath.” That caused a slight pause in Marix’s thoughts. It was clearly a response. She had no idea what he’d said, but the way he’d responded was just too perfect, especially when he just stopped and then stared at her, as if waiting for her to ask something else. Marix’s eyes narrowed, not liking this, “You understand Basic.” The Vong tilted his head in what very well could have been a nod, “Dwi.” Yes...? Unless a nod meant something else to the Vong, which was entirely possible. Marix had encountered at least one species that found such an action to be extremely offensive. Something about showing the top of one’s head... But no, he had stopped again. Waited for her to speak again. He did understand Basic. But he didn’t speak it. That wasn’t all too uncommon, but it bothered her. It bothered her enough to ask another simple question, “How?” Or rather, a simple question if she could understand the Vong language. But before saying anything, he tilted his head and reached into his ear with a long-fingered hand that was also covered in an odd, jagged green tattoo. Marix was already beginning to connect dots in her mind, and so wasn’t surprised when he removed a small worm just like the one she was holding, then said, “Tizowyrm.” There was no surefire way to know this wasn’t some trick. However, Marix had not heard of many Vong being anything but straightforward. Still, something was wrong here. Something was bothering her. He was being too forthcoming, even if she didn’t understand him. Why the hell wasn’t he trying to get free?! Working on the hunch that she was starting to understand how he understood her, though, Marix waited for the Vong to put the worm back into his ear before asking, “That thing translates languages?” “Dwi,” the same word with the same nod. Marix raised her hand and opened her palm to look at the one she held. It was dangerous. It was stupid. But...she could morph. If it was an attack or a deception, she could morph around the thing and get it out of her body before it did any damage. Hopefully. Maybe. After a deep breath and readying herself for a horrible feeling, Marix carefully reached up to put the worm thing into her own ear. There were a few horrible moments where she felt the thing shifting and moving before it finally stopped. When it stopped, the Vong spoke again, “I am Qroal of Domain Fath.” [/QUOTE]
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