We don't know how to talk to them yet. The linguists are just scratching their heads, and I am too. I suppose that will have to be your job. Good luck, Keyah. Happy swimming. Nadia's voice filtered through Keyah's mind.

Thanks, Keyah thought to herself dryly, peering about nervously as the airlock started to flood with water, lapping at her toes. She thought to check the seal on the rebreather she had been given, perhaps switch over to the other one from her home, in the (thankfully) waterproof duffel she had with her, if it did not work, but she had little time to think of it. The water was soon up past her chest, and she was floating underwater in another few seconds, her breath hissing in her ears. At least the mask worked... and at least it wasn't too cold for the biomimetic wetsuit she wore to keep her somewhat warm. The door in front of her slowly unlatched and groaned open, revealing soft blue lights and a grand, sweeping, submerged room.

The Ambassador from Raemou swam outwards, and entered into yet another alien starship, for the umpteenth time in her life.

The ship was a civilian vessel. There are some things that are immediately apparent in ship design among humanoids, and that was one of them. She supposed it would be some kind of lounge for a race that kept its ship interior mostly filled with water - handholds and floating, neutrally buoyant seats close to the floor and midway through the room, all underneath a magnificent, sprawling glass chandelier that could only exist and support itself for long in water. It was the source of the light that permeated the room.

There were passageways on either side that led to other, submerged, areas of the ship, but what caught Keyah's attention first was the bright, dancing surface of the water far above her, at the chamber's mouth, where there was air. A single, black shape had entered the water and was gliding, soundlessly, down towards her, propelled by slow, sweeping kicks of elongated, webbed feet.

She brought herself horizontal and treaded water, trying to remember her lessons on poise and adapt them to the different environment, even though she felt like an eel with brain damage compared to the grace at which her welcoming party moved.

He swept down in front of her - she supposed he was male, but tried not to presume, remembering suddenly that she was probably the first one in this entire sector to see this species face to face - and curved his upper torso to peer at her, startlingly green irises meeting her own. He looked like the felinoids from her world, and yet shockingly aquatic, covered in silvery hydrodynamic fur, his long tail reminding her of her bio-history lessons, of mustelids from Creator-Earth. She heard him click, and then let out a soundless, bubble-less groan into the water. A greeting, she supposed. One she couldn't understand.

She took a deep breath and delved into his mind, keeping her eyes open, although they drifted out of focus as she sifted through his thoughts, which she couldn't understand, and tried to make sense of yet another alien's thoughts. Some places were guarded, of course - he would not let her see those. He had had anti-telepathy training. And yet he did not resist her efforts to pluck his own language from his mind. In fact, he seemed bemused, perhaps at how quickly she was managing it, furrowing his brow and bringing his hand up to her chin, like an artist considering his work. Had he learned that expression from her in return, without her noticing?

Eventually, she had enough to try a shaky sentence, knitting it together in his mind. 'I am... Keyah of Raemou... Other... Talker... and I am fortunate to greet you.'

'Quite impressive, Escort.' He thought back to her, with clarity. Keyah's head spun as the words clicked in her head. 'I am... David, I suppose you would find it easier to pronounce it that way, yes... the security officer for this ship. I have been sent to meet you and welcome you.'

'Escort?' She tilted her head, one of her ears going up in confusion. She felt a flicker of amusement from him, the type that usually preceded laughter, but he did not react physically.

'Yes. You escorted us to safety. The title is befitting of you, Ambassador. You have heard little of us, but we have heard of you. Negotiator, they call you.'

Keyah's mind flashed back to only a few hours ago, when she had climbed into the cockpit of a barely-finished fighter to threaten away a wing of fighters nipping at the wounded craft's heels, while it raced towards Tibeth for sanctuary. 'I hope they did not damage you too badly...'

'It would have been far worse if you had not been there.' He shrugs. 'The captain would meet with you, but he was injured, as was about a third of the crew. The rest of us are trying to repair what was done, but our sslvdrive is down, and will take at least a day to get back up.'

She supposed this was their word for 'warp drive', but she could not tell if it was the same, or even if it used the same technology - and she was far more curious about other things, anyway. 'Please, give him my best wishes, when you next see him.'

'I shall. You are a curious creature, Ambassador. A desert creature, I presume, and now you are visiting us. We can survive longer without air than we can without water, and I think you will find it colder here than you are used to. If there is anything I can do to make your stay more comfortable, please let me know.'

'Of course... Thank you.' Keyah smiled. 'May we talk in the air, for now, if it will not be uncomfortable for you? I need to practice your language in speech as well, although I'll never be able to speak it down here.'

'Of course. Follow me, please.' He gestured upwards with one hand, turning upwards and swiftly kicking away. Slower, the fennec swum after him, up towards the light of the surface.

Perhaps this would be a more interesting trip than she was expecting.

--

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First of a short series of commissions from two different artists. This image was drawn by  Raikita , an artist I hadn't commissioned before - I'm quite pleased with the result!

Artwork by  Raikita