(no subject)

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

There has been a lot of chatter going back and forth between the Citadel and the outlying Brotherhood of Steel installations in the Capital Wasteland lately.

(It didn't used to be like this, Ellen's been told. There was the Citadel garrison, and there were some patrols, and that was it. And even the patrols were short on radio equipment; they reported in by walking through the door, or not at all. The world changes. But that was when there was still a Vault 87, and raiders everywhere, and slave-takers and slave-traders at Paradise Falls; the Citadel was the only place the Brotherhood could reliably hold then.)

(The world changes.)

Ellen's only heard a little of it. Most of it's come from the north, where they've been working with the people sent down from the alien ship, so it hasn't been her business. She's starting to wonder, but... well, she'll find out soon enough, she's sure.

For now she's in Milliways with Dogmeat and a small stack of books from Moira Brown's reprint project, strapped securely together with several belts and marked with 'En Francais' on a card on top. It was the best compromise she could manage in terms of getting the things to a translator.

Comments

[g00d_d0ggie]

Bweeoop!

That would be the sound of a combat droid calling to Ellen from the door. He'd wave, but he's got a large package under one arm and he needs the other to hold himself up.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Baroo?" says Dogmeat, and "Oh, hey- hi, D0G!" says Ellen. "How're you doing there? Do you need any help?"

[g00d_d0ggie]

D0G shakes his head, then lumbers over to drop the package heavily onto the table in front of Ellen.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Oh!" says Ellen. "Um. Thank you. I think? Is this for me?"

[g00d_d0ggie]

Mwoop. D0G nods.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Well, thank you, then," Ellen says, and starts very carefully taking the wrapping apart. Hey, someone might need to use that later.

[g00d_d0ggie]

The box is filled with pieces and parts--bins, tubes, wires, light bulbs, water pumps, and other less identifiable things. On top of the parts is a large ziplock bag filled with carefully labeled seeds and cuttings for various herbs and vegetables. On top of that is a stack of papers, with the following note on the cover page:

Dear Ellen,

Enclosed is your and Jerald's wedding present. It's a system for growing plants hydroponically (with just water and no soil), so you can get your own garden started. If you have any trouble with the directions for setting it up, don't hesitate to ask me for help.

Best wishes to both of you.

- Alyx

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Oh, wow," says Ellen as she goes over the note. "Oh, that's just fantastic. D0G, is Alyx here or is she at home with the kids?"

[g00d_d0ggie]

D0G shakes his head and points back toward the Front Door.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Okay," says Ellen. "Then could you tell her I said thank you? And pass this along?"

She grew up with robots. She sees nothing wrong with hugging this one.

[g00d_d0ggie]

Rrp meep! D0G nods eagerly and hugs back, lifting Ellen and her chair up off the floor.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen grins. "Seriously, though, D0G," she says once she's got room to breathe and speak again, "thank you. And Alyx, for thinking of this and doing it. Both of you."

"How have things been, anyway? Is everything all right in your world?"

[friend_of_lucy]

Tumnus is always curious to see what others are reading and over his tea tries to peer at the titles of Ellen's books.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

The titles are, alas, all in French; unless the Pevensies brought the language to Narnia with them, it's unlikely to be all that recognizable stuff. The first couple of books have names like Pasteur and Fresnel on the spines, for whatever that's worth.

[friend_of_lucy]

No, French isn't in Narnia so he doesn't recognize the language but does smile and nod at Dogmeat and Ellen.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen catches the moment and waves. "Sorry- didn't see you there," she offers apologetically. "Just trying to get a few things straightened out...."

[friend_of_lucy]

"No need to apologize. I was curious about your books but don't know the language."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Neither do I, unfortunately," Ellen says. "I'm hoping I can pay someone here to help translate them, at least a little bit. We have them in our archives but we can't really find anyone who understands them."

[friend_of_lucy]

"I see. Translation is important. I'm a historian and often find myself wondering about a word or a phrase that's been put in. Then I have to find who might know and it can get rather daunting."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"That's got to be difficult," Ellen says. "I don't actually do any translation work myself. I've just been tasked with finding someone who can. I'm lucky to even recognize which language a foreign word is in."

[friend_of_lucy]

"I know how to do some but not a great deal as I don't know as many languages as I'd like to.'

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Do they have a lot of languages where you come from?" Ellen asks curiously.

[friend_of_lucy]

"Oh yes, the elves have their own language with dialects as do the dwarves, the naiads, dryads and oreads do as well. Archenland is rather similar but not the Calormen and there are other languages in the Northern Lands and many Animals have their own dialects as well."

[chanter1944]

((OOC: I have zero brain right at the moment, but can I call this a placeholder for Sariel-Ellen translatorness later tonight? Good gosh, that sentence construction proves my point about right now. Anyway, mind if I tag in later?))

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

[OOC: later tonight is fine with me!]