Fic: Galactic Academy - Rescued From the Arrivals Desk
Title: Galactic Academy - Rescued From the Arrivals Desk
Fandom/'verse: Galactic Academy
Rating/Warnings: Should be safe for all
Summary: Stuck waiting at the arrivals desk at the spaceport since the previous part was posted last August, Richard finally meets someone new...
Previous parts: First Class Education (no DW link) and The Computer Is Never Wrong (no DW link). The 30 Days 2nd Semester Prompt #3 post Aliens & Weddings (And on LJ) is set about a year later.
Richard had made a game out of reading the announcements scrolling across the various wall displays visible from the academy admissions counter. It wasn't a very exciting game but it seemed better than trying to talk to Korath again. Any time he tried talking to or even wandered near the vaguely bear-like alien would simply look over and repeat, "Human please to left side stay and wait."
He had just given up on the game and started re-reading the translator's translation of it's instruction manual, so far the Russian version seemed the easiest to understand, when a new voice interrupted.
"You are Richard Logan?"
Richard looked up from the manual and froze. First he'd had to deal with a grumpy blue scaled stewardess on the shuttle. Only then to face a customs and security checkpoint manned, in the loosest interpretation of the word possible, by an actual tentacle monster. Although that had at least been helpful and shown him how to charge and turn on the translator that had been sent to him. Far more helpful than the emaciated teddy bear that informed him he wasn't supposed to have arrived for another week. Now a zebra striped wolf person was staring down at him. At least he thought it was wolfish, the rust and white stripes made it hard to judge.
"I..." after a few seconds he blinked and tried to clear his head. "I mean, yes, I'm Richard Logan."
"I am Kethritia Ghilat Maulidaux, you may call me Miss Keth or Teacher Keth. I am told there has been a mistake in the schedule." Richard was sure he heard a note of tired annoyance in the last part, a feeling he could completely agree with. "You are in luck. We delayed a shuttle while we searched for young Thomas Daniel, who it seems will not be here for another week. Do you have your baggage? Good, good, follow me." With that Keth turned and started walking.
"Yeah. The guy over there mentioned him. Third grader?"
"That would be the one. We just heard he was still on Earth. A little longer and we would have left."
As they got on an escalator Richard had a moment to pause and reflect, only then noticing how Kethritia had been speaking. "Wait, I'm not using the translator? You're actually speaking English?"
"In the Early Education Cohort we find it serves us well to learn our young student's languages."
"If only anyone else I'd met so far today knew even a little English..."
"You are in Third Cohort? I am afraid by then we expect you to start learning the major languages if you don't already know them. You have been given a translator, that should help."
"Sure, they sent me a translator, it would have been nice if they'd sent a manual that made sense."
Keth looked like she was going to say something, only the escalator had dropped them off at a landing bay with a waiting shuttle. One with another alien leaning out a hatch waving to them.
"Perhaps we can look over it after we're on board. I hope you won't mind sitting in the teacher's section. The only remaining student seat was sized for someone rather shorter you."
"Thomas strikes again. If it gets me there I don't have any complaints."
“You are handling this well. That is good. The call from the counter had me a little worried.”
“I might have been a little, mmm, impatient with the clerk. The strip search at the customs line didn't leave me in the best mood.”
“Strip... Maybe you'd better tell me more during the flight. I really must make a proper report about this. After that is taken care of we can discuss where you will stay for the next week. It should only take about an hour for us to arrive on the campus proper.”
With that they climbed up the boarding stairs and Richard sighed with relief as he finally left the spaceport behind.
(This is a crossposting |
replies at the original post on dreamwidth | Comment at dreamwidth | You can comment on DW posts even if you don't have an account there Using OpenID!)
Fandom/'verse: Galactic Academy
Rating/Warnings: Should be safe for all
Summary: Stuck waiting at the arrivals desk at the spaceport since the previous part was posted last August, Richard finally meets someone new...
Previous parts: First Class Education (no DW link) and The Computer Is Never Wrong (no DW link). The 30 Days 2nd Semester Prompt #3 post Aliens & Weddings (And on LJ) is set about a year later.
Richard had made a game out of reading the announcements scrolling across the various wall displays visible from the academy admissions counter. It wasn't a very exciting game but it seemed better than trying to talk to Korath again. Any time he tried talking to or even wandered near the vaguely bear-like alien would simply look over and repeat, "Human please to left side stay and wait."
He had just given up on the game and started re-reading the translator's translation of it's instruction manual, so far the Russian version seemed the easiest to understand, when a new voice interrupted.
"You are Richard Logan?"
Richard looked up from the manual and froze. First he'd had to deal with a grumpy blue scaled stewardess on the shuttle. Only then to face a customs and security checkpoint manned, in the loosest interpretation of the word possible, by an actual tentacle monster. Although that had at least been helpful and shown him how to charge and turn on the translator that had been sent to him. Far more helpful than the emaciated teddy bear that informed him he wasn't supposed to have arrived for another week. Now a zebra striped wolf person was staring down at him. At least he thought it was wolfish, the rust and white stripes made it hard to judge.
"I..." after a few seconds he blinked and tried to clear his head. "I mean, yes, I'm Richard Logan."
"I am Kethritia Ghilat Maulidaux, you may call me Miss Keth or Teacher Keth. I am told there has been a mistake in the schedule." Richard was sure he heard a note of tired annoyance in the last part, a feeling he could completely agree with. "You are in luck. We delayed a shuttle while we searched for young Thomas Daniel, who it seems will not be here for another week. Do you have your baggage? Good, good, follow me." With that Keth turned and started walking.
"Yeah. The guy over there mentioned him. Third grader?"
"That would be the one. We just heard he was still on Earth. A little longer and we would have left."
As they got on an escalator Richard had a moment to pause and reflect, only then noticing how Kethritia had been speaking. "Wait, I'm not using the translator? You're actually speaking English?"
"In the Early Education Cohort we find it serves us well to learn our young student's languages."
"If only anyone else I'd met so far today knew even a little English..."
"You are in Third Cohort? I am afraid by then we expect you to start learning the major languages if you don't already know them. You have been given a translator, that should help."
"Sure, they sent me a translator, it would have been nice if they'd sent a manual that made sense."
Keth looked like she was going to say something, only the escalator had dropped them off at a landing bay with a waiting shuttle. One with another alien leaning out a hatch waving to them.
"Perhaps we can look over it after we're on board. I hope you won't mind sitting in the teacher's section. The only remaining student seat was sized for someone rather shorter you."
"Thomas strikes again. If it gets me there I don't have any complaints."
“You are handling this well. That is good. The call from the counter had me a little worried.”
“I might have been a little, mmm, impatient with the clerk. The strip search at the customs line didn't leave me in the best mood.”
“Strip... Maybe you'd better tell me more during the flight. I really must make a proper report about this. After that is taken care of we can discuss where you will stay for the next week. It should only take about an hour for us to arrive on the campus proper.”
With that they climbed up the boarding stairs and Richard sighed with relief as he finally left the spaceport behind.
(This is a crossposting |
replies at the original post on dreamwidth | Comment at dreamwidth | You can comment on DW posts even if you don't have an account there Using OpenID!)