The Comms officer turned to respond to Erik's arrival. "About bloody time you showed up." he said, a thick Scottish accent layering his voice. Erik wondered how such a strong accent had survived the nuclear holocaust Europe had endured. "The Admiral ordered you up here because these Devastators hailed us or something. I assume you're the kind of guy who can figure this out?" the officer asked, raising an eyebrow.
Erik's eyes lit up. "Ja, I can try to understand the communication. Do you have naushniki?" The officer stared at him blankly. "Ah, I'm sorry rebenok, I must've slipped into Russian. Headphones, lad." The officer nodded, confused by the authority this man somehow projected, despite the Comms Officer's years of service. He grabbed a pair of headphones from a drawer, and handed them to Erik. Erik plugged them in, and asked the officer to run the message.
Erik frowned as the sounds started. He was certain he could tell the pattern, but he had no reference material to go on. And then, suddenly, there was. The message played a series of recorded human voices, incoherently arranged, followed by an alien chittering. Erik threw open his notebook and began scribbling furiously. The Comms Officer watched in confusion. The human voices spoke myriad languages, and Erik didn't even attempt to discern the Mandarin or Hindi. He just wrote down what they sounded like, he would translate later.
The series of words ran out, and Erik was left with only a few he could recognize. He played the first message again, and then the second. After three more plays, he wrote out what he could from the message, and stood up, ecstatic. "Færdig!" he shouted. He handed the note to the Comms Officer. The page read: ".....hunger...s-....awareness.....on the..." Erik looked at the officer triumphantly. "The dots are places where I couldn't decipher it, but if I could have a copy of the recording, I'm sure I could have more for you soon. I need to translate the human words I didn't know, and I'll need to listen to the message in further depth."
The Officer nodded, frowning at the rather scant message. "I'll have NO4H give you permission to access the recording. You might want to head down to the Archives when this is over to get those translations, NO4H is pretty slow at Hindi." Erik nodded.
"Thank you Officer. I'll let you know when I find any more." Erik replied. Then, he went back the way he had come. His work was not done yet.
Erik's eyes lit up. "Ja, I can try to understand the communication. Do you have naushniki?" The officer stared at him blankly. "Ah, I'm sorry rebenok, I must've slipped into Russian. Headphones, lad." The officer nodded, confused by the authority this man somehow projected, despite the Comms Officer's years of service. He grabbed a pair of headphones from a drawer, and handed them to Erik. Erik plugged them in, and asked the officer to run the message.
Erik frowned as the sounds started. He was certain he could tell the pattern, but he had no reference material to go on. And then, suddenly, there was. The message played a series of recorded human voices, incoherently arranged, followed by an alien chittering. Erik threw open his notebook and began scribbling furiously. The Comms Officer watched in confusion. The human voices spoke myriad languages, and Erik didn't even attempt to discern the Mandarin or Hindi. He just wrote down what they sounded like, he would translate later.
The series of words ran out, and Erik was left with only a few he could recognize. He played the first message again, and then the second. After three more plays, he wrote out what he could from the message, and stood up, ecstatic. "Færdig!" he shouted. He handed the note to the Comms Officer. The page read: ".....hunger...s-....awareness.....on the..." Erik looked at the officer triumphantly. "The dots are places where I couldn't decipher it, but if I could have a copy of the recording, I'm sure I could have more for you soon. I need to translate the human words I didn't know, and I'll need to listen to the message in further depth."
The Officer nodded, frowning at the rather scant message. "I'll have NO4H give you permission to access the recording. You might want to head down to the Archives when this is over to get those translations, NO4H is pretty slow at Hindi." Erik nodded.
"Thank you Officer. I'll let you know when I find any more." Erik replied. Then, he went back the way he had come. His work was not done yet.