by Juliet Sem
"We've found it advantageous to keep human ships between the Rillul and Triker, as the Triker's hunting instincts are triggered when they are berthed next to the Rillul. We aren't certain if it's the way they look, move, smell, or act that triggers this, and the Triker aren't forthcoming with a reason."
They entered the middle ring and stood to one side watching carts of goods being wheeled around the storage section of the station. Keestu saw larger teams of maress hauling cargo trains to and from the storage areas flanked by groups of Triker carrying stun staves. Dinus pointed in other direction, and she saw both brightly dressed Autocracy humans and Rillul using electric tuggers to haul trains of wheeled containers around their sections, working in teams with Autocracy personnel who unlocked or sealed the assigned storage bays.
After showing them this, Dinus guided them to the central ring. Once there, the atmosphere palpably changed from one of carefully coordinated frenzied activity to a much more sedate pace, and everyone here spoke in hushed tones, even Dinus.
"The outer portion of the central ring comprises the station's offices. The innermost doors are all private staff quarters, which you are asked to not disturb the occupants."
"Now," Dinus said, pausing at an office door, "I must leave you. Please go back to the outer ring and look over the trade kiosks. Also, please enjoy your meals in the restaurants here. You and your entire ship have unlimited credit for the duration of your stay here." He motioned to several guards, who stayed with him, while the rest of the Autocracy contingent showed no inclination to leave them to their own designs, making speaking freely impossible.
Dinus smiled hugely at Rue before vanishing into the office, and after he left, they made their way back to the outer ring, choosing to walk close to the wall so they could take in their surroundings better.
"Well, it is lunch time," Rue said after checking her chrono. "And I am going to take up the Autocracy on the open meal ticket. She turned to the closest guard. "You, I'm sorry but I never heard your name. Please take me to your favorite on-station restaurant."
The guard had stiffened at the direct address, but immediately relaxed upon hearing what was required. "Certainly, Your Highness. Please follow me to The Happy Crewman." Keestu noted that he failed to provide Rue his name.
Having been given an assignment and replied to the demand, the man stepped out to take the lead and strode off without looking to see if he was being followed.
It was quite some distance to The Happy Crewman, and Keestu took to counting the emergency doors that separated the dock sections into areas that could be closed off in the event of an emergency, and when they reached the eleventh one, The Happy Crewman lay just beyond.
Surprisingly, the first beings Keestu saw when they went in were Triker. The hostess was showing them to their table, leading them through the Triker section, when a waiter carrying a platter passed her, and her appetite nearly deserted her at the smell. It was acrid and stung her eyes, and she instinctively covered her nose and saw that Rue did the same. Vahin looked like he wanted to do the same, but then stiffly controlled the urge. If the smell hadn't been one of near putrefaction, the whole situation would have been funny.
The hostess took them to a different area of the restaurant, which Keestu saw with relief served Rillul and humans, keeping the Triker and their unappealing food odors closed off from their section by a clear curtain.
They were seated in a large booth and Keestu looked over the contents nestled in a well in the center. To her surprise, she saw Chtawlikt nectar in a bottle, clearly marked as such using the various alphabets used in the Autocracy, including the original Unity.
"According to the data that your planet provided, you should be able to enjoy anything on the menu marked as suitable for a human, including any Rillul foods marked as being acceptable for Autocracy citizens." After he spoke, he motioned for the rest of the guards to follow him to the next booth over.
A waitress bustled up to them. She placed two large steaming baskets of miniature loaves of bread on the table, which she identified as yena, and distributed datapad menus to everyone before hurrying off.
She returned and repeated her actions at the table the guards were occupying, but gave them several additional baskets of bread, and Keestu saw they didn't hesitate, but each started to tear chunks of bread off. Some ate the steaming bread plain, while others spread or poured various condiments on theirs. The guard Rue had addressed motioned her closer and murmured something Keestu couldn't hear. She glanced down at her translator cuff, but the microphone wasn't sensitive enough to pick up their voices.
Rue had leaned forward, sniffing appreciatively. "It smells good. Spicy and I'd imagine slightly sweet."
She broke off a small piece and nibbled it, her face lighting up. "It's good!"
"Please refrain from eating too much of any foreign foods until we are certain it won't give you indigestion," Vahin pointedly advised her; a comment Keestu realized was directed at her. Again, she found herself angered, but controlled the reaction when she realized this would probably be her only trip with Vahin traveling as her protocol adviser.
Keestu activated her datapad and selected Unity from the main menu. She found the bread section and read the description.
"Yena is listed as completely suitable for human consumption. In fact, it's one of the recommended bread choices for humanoids. The ingredients are benign–grains, leavening, sweetener, spices, and water. No foreign dairy stuffs or eggs to confound our digestion, Vahin."
She put her datapad down and chose a medium sized piece of the bread. She bit into it with a sigh. "Oh, that's nearly as good as bread at home. I wonder if we could get a recipe? I bet this would make a good holiday breakfast bread, say around Coronation Day."
Tenget and Gontu, after hearing her description tried it for themselves, though unfortunately without comment. Keestu wondered why they appeared to have nothing to say, while Vahin remained so supercilious she felt like dismissing him from their company for the rest of the day. She was certain King Ismer would disapprove of her doing so, but she felt herself in no need of a protocol adviser.
Sighing in exasperation, she pointedly picked up another piece of yena. Vahin looked askance at her, started to open his mouth, saw her glaring at him in an open challenge, and shrugged, finally subsiding.
Keestu turned back to her menu, finding to her surprise some familiar foods. "Look, Rue, they have Weegai whitefish and sereska pudding listed in the Rillul food section! I wonder if the Autocracy knows those come from the Union?"
"Well," Rue commented minute, "Since the Autocracy knows the names of the planets of the Union, I think they probably know the fish comes from Weegai. I read that their ships tend to take on large loads of it when they visit the Hub, but I wonder how often they serve it here? There are no prices listed, and it's simply listed as a delicacy, so I'm thinking it's probably pricey, barter wise."
"Yeah, I was just thinking since there's no real money here, it's a good thing Prince Dinus' house is picking up the tab."
Keestu turned to the beverage section. She considered ordering an Autocracy mineral water, but the Rillul listing for "spice fruit fizz" caught her eye. It was a combination of several fruit flavored waters, spices, and sparkling water, listed as being high in natural sugar, though a reduced sugar version was available and recommended for humans.
Their waitress came back carrying a large platter of drinks for their guards' table. She distributed the tall glasses, and then turned back to Keestu's table, setting her tray on the table as she took up a datapad and stylus.
"Your Highness," she bobbed a bow at Rue. "Your guide just informed me you are from the Union and joining us for your first lunch here. He says this is your first time in an Autocracy restaurant. Do you need any assistance with the datapad?"
"No, thank you," Rue responded. "The design is very intuitive, and as you have thoughtfully programmed your menu in Unity, I am having no difficulty reading it."
"
Have you made your drink selections, or do you need more time?"
Rue glanced around the table, and then smiled briefly at Keestu. "I am feeling adventurous, and I think I'd like to try the human version of the Rillul spice fruit fizz."
"Red or orange?"
"Oh," Rue was surprised by this revelation. "Um, I'll take the red."
The waitress tapped on her datapad, transmitting the order to the bar to be prepared, then turned to the rest of the table. Keestu was surprised when Vahin, Tenget, and Gontu all ordered plain javene. She hadn't even seen the listing. When the waitress turned to her, she had made up her mind. "I'll have the human version of Rillul spice fruit fizz in orange, please."
"Very good," their waitress said, all business, "I'll be right back with those." She bobbed her head at Rue again as she slid the datapad into a pocket, grabbed the tray, and hurried off.
Their waitress placed a large insulated pot of javene on the table and distributed mugs to the men, strategically placing the pot in front of Gontu, who sat between Tenget and Vahin. Then, she turned to Rue and presented her with a large glass of iced spice fruit fizz. As advertised, it was red and audibly fizzed as the waitress placed it in front of Rue, who picked it up and took an experimental sip. Her face lit up, and she nodded approval. The waitress served Keestu last, who tasted her drink while the waitress waited, and quickly nodded her approval of its taste.
Their server smiled. "Have you made your meal selections, or do you need more time?"
"I don't know about everyone else, but since your menu is so large, and it's my first time here, I think we need more time," Rue said diplomatically.
"I thought as much. If you'd like more complimentary bread while you wait, just let me know."
The waitress glanced at the guards' table, and receiving a hand sign from the leader, hurried off to another table.
"So," Tenget said in a low voice, "Do you have any idea what you want?" He was looking at Rue for the sake of appearances, but his glance slid sideways to Keestu.
"I haven't really looked the menu over that well," Rue admitted.
She looked at Keestu, who nodded in agreement. "Me too," was all she offered, beginning to study her menu.
"So, handmaiden," Rue said several minutes later, "Have you decided on what you are going to have?"
"I was thinking the Autocracy mixed ingredient salad and vegetable soup."
"Hmm," Rue said, looking down at her datapad at Keestu's choices. "I was thinking either soup or salad and a half sandwich."
"I couldn't decide on a sandwich bread, since I know virtually nothing about the Autocracy's breads," Keestu replied. "Which is why I went with soup instead of a half sandwich."
"Well, I'm thinking the Autocracy poultry salad sandwich on flat bread sounds intriguing," Rue said, "Along with human variety Rillul creamy vegetable soup."
Rue turned to the men. "And you?"
"I'm having an Autocracy salad and poultry salad sandwich on sliced Autocracy yeast bread," Vahin said.
"I'm having an Autocracy red meat sandwich on sliced Autocracy yeast bread and a side of breaded fried Autocracy vegetables with dip," Gontu said.
"I'm having Autocracy mixed meat soup and mixed meat sandwich on sliced Autocracy yeast bread," Tenget said.
Keestu put her datapad down on the table, and the rest of her companions quickly followed suit. It seemed logical to her that when their waitress saw they had put the menus down, she would know their choices had been made.
It wasn't long before she saw their waitress look in their direction as she distributed food to other customers. She murmured something to that table before hurrying back to them.
"You've decided?"
"Yes," Rue said, taking the initiative. She placed her order. The waitress proceeded around the table in the same manner as she had before, again ending with Keestu. She repeated their orders back to them to make certain she had them right, pushed the send button on her datapad to transmit their order to the kitchen, then went and got the guards' orders before making another trip to the kitchen.
Keestu sipped her drink while looking around the restaurant and was surprised to see a waiter carrying a tray of elongated face masks with metal canisters attached to them by their table. She turned in her chair to watch the man, but he didn't pause in the human/Rillul section, going instead to a table in the Triker section. He passed out one mask and canister combination to every Triker seated at the table. None of the other humans or Rillul had reacted to seeing this sight, so Keestu realized there was no immediate danger to her person, but she couldn't fathom the purpose of the masks even after each Triker had taken up his or her mask and placed it carefully over their snouts, sealing in their nostrils. They activated their canisters, but Keestu heard no noise from this distance. She thought she saw fogging on one of the masks closest to her, but she couldn't be certain.
She waved to the waiter as he made his way back towards the kitchen. The man paused, then bowed to her, speaking in an Autocracy language. Keestu checked her cuff, but it was a dialect variant so the translation had gaps, so she shook her head. The man tried again, "Ganon Triker?" Keestu nodded, pointing to her translator cuff as the query, "Speak Triker?" came out of her cuff. The waiter looked surprised for a moment, but then nodded understanding.
She thought before speaking into the microphone. "What do the masks do that you gave to the Triker?"
After a moment, the speaker growled out her query. The waiter listened, then thought carefully before responding. He spoke towards her cuff slowly and as clearly as he could.
After a few moments, the translation appeared on the screen as the speaker gave her the audio, "Masks give wetness to air that Triker need."
Keestu nodded understanding, then said, "Thank you."
After hearing the growling translation of her thanks, the man smiled, bowed at her again, and went back to work.
"I guess I should have realized their wait staff would specialize in different exolanguages. If I'd paid more attention, I'd have noticed that all the servers stay in certain sections," she admitted with some chagrin to the table in general.
"But, it constitutes a good test of the translation program given to us by Prince Dinus," Vahin said. "The translation into Triker made sense to the Triker speaker, as did his explanation when translated for you."
Their meals arrived shortly, and Keestu stopped their waitress by raising her hand. "You speak Unity very well. Do you speak Triker or Rillul?"
"I speak Unity, Rillul, and the Laringo dialect of Autocracy, since my native planet Hetindi has Laringo as its lead planet. I think Laringo is close enough to both Phaet and Multana that I can usually make myself understood well enough. If you wish to learn any Autocracy language, just remember that Phaet is the language of the Autocrat and Autocress and the three other planets closest to it, Laringo is used on the middle three planets, while Multana is spoken on the three planets on the furthermost outer edge of the habitable planets in our cluster."
"I thought all the habitable planets were rather centrally located in the cluster?"
"Not quite dead center, but Phaet, Vulo I, Vulo II, and Naelia are the most centrally located. Laringo, Hetindi, and Eknor make up the worlds in between those in the center and those closer to the outer back edge of the cluster, which are Multana, Thetron, and Umanya. Since Phaet, Laringo, and Multana never completely lost contact, their languages remained similar, which is why those three are taught as secondary languages on all our planets so anyone in the Autocracy can visit any planet and more less make themselves understood. I wonder what the effect of learning Unity to trade with the Rillul will have on Phaet as time goes on; perhaps some time in the distant future, Phaet will change enough because of the influence of Unity that those who speak it will no longer be understood by those who speak Laringo and Multana."
"Perhaps the Laringo and Multana languages will also evolve if trade with the Union and Unity speaking Rillul continues in those areas as well," Rue offered.
"Maybe. I can't see in this modern age a true rift happening, but I wonder what influence they will have on each other over time. Already I find Unity words infiltrating Phaet, but if I use them when I'm home on Hetindi, I get odd looks in the outer regions, though the larger cities are also adopting some of the Unity terms that are now used in Phaet."
"Thank you for your insight," Rue said. The waitress smiled as she left.
They finished their meal in a companionable silence and were treated to a platter of fresh Autocracy fruits for desert. Keestu could see how The Happy Crewman would be a popular restaurant by providing complimentary items both before and after the meal. However, thinking back to the Hub's free delivery option, she wondered if every other restaurant on station didn't also do the same.
Their guards had finished their meal, and one presented a data chit to the waitress. A broad hand wave included their table. The waitress inserted the chit into her datapad, pressed a few keys, and handed the chit back to the guard, and just like that, their transaction was done. Since the Autocracy dealt mostly in barter, Keestu wondered just what had paid for their meal.
The waitress stopped at their table, smiled at them with what looked like genuine good humor, and said, "Thank you for choosing The Happy Crewman. Please visit us again."
"Thank you for your excellent service. We really enjoyed our meal," Rue responded on behalf of their group.
As they left, Keestu noted that lunch was now in full swing, and they had barely left their table before it was cleaned and another group was being led to it for their meal. As they reached the door, she noted a board with an active display showing several writing systems. She found and read in Unity, "Three two-being tables in the human section and five two-being tables in the Triker section. Wait time for larger tables approximately one quarter Autocracy hour. Sign in for a larger table." There was a datapad fixed to the wall under the sign. She saw two other active displays, each with interested parties signing up for seating using their own writing systems, and realized they were all connected to a central database that queued parties up in the order they were received. Keestu thought it efficient and fair.