Many yellow and golden objects were sorted through by the slender, brown-green fingers. The objects were moved about the table. Picked up, examined, set back down. The Polytimian observed a hunk of gold. He turned it over in his enormous hand. He set it back down on the table and waved his hands in disapproving fashion. Naomi craned her neck back to see the bulging eyes of the eight-foot tall being. His muscular chest heaved.

She wanted to ask him that none of these were what the Polytimians desired. She translated in her head and then asked. Nisch hampen dor norrensteigt?

The Polytimian waved his hands again. “Nisch.”

Naomi looked to Lorne and shrugged. A bead of sweat trickled down Lorne’s forehead but he kept a steely look. His massive gun shifted in his hands. Several Polytimians growled from 30 feet behind the table. Their contoured shoulders and perfectly carved biceps tensed. Naomi began to collect the materials she had set on the table and put them away one by one. Gold, lemon, banana, copper, bronze, mango.

Naomi nodded at the Polytimian across from her. He nodded back. A cool wind swirled by, a refreshing, citrusy smell with it. The lush green trees and plants swayed all around the clearing. Young Polytimians played in the massive bushes and plucked plump, orange-pink fruits off and ate them. Naomi walked back towards the “Community” building. Lorne waited until she passed, eyes trained on the Polytimians, and then followed her.

* * *

Naomi sat at her desk, reviewing her notes. Lorne strolled up to her desk and leaned on the wall opposite her, right next to the window. Naomi looked up, first seeing out the window. Seeing the factories that had been set up by humans in their small enclave of Polytimer. This dusky portion of desert land that the Polytimians let them have. The factories spewed smoke that contributed to the already brown sky and brown landscape. Lorne waved to grab her attention.

“Boss is mad.” Lorne said, chewing on a beige apple. “He doesn’t know why you haven’t figured it out yet.”

“Because it’s tough.” Naomi said bluntly. “This is a totally different language.”

“But you’ve been studying it for six months.”

“Let’s see you study a language for six months and then carry on a full conversation with an alien!”

“You’re the language expert.”

Naomi sighed and caused the holographic display of flowers on her desk to ripple.

“Boss said we need rhodium quick. We’re getting too low. If you don’t figure this out on the next outing he’s shipping us back.” Lorne tossed his half-eaten apple in the trash.

Earth was depleted of rhodium completely. The last bits were in possession of the corporations. They’d continue using it on clean energy vehicles. Polytimer had massive reserves of it but it was heavily guarded by the Polytimians. Here the humans were, trying to orchestrate a trade with them, trying to obtain rhodium for its essential part in clean energy vehicles, polluting away their corner of the planet.

The irony sucker punched you in the back of the head if you thought about it too long.

“What is it that they said they wanted for the rhodium again?” Lorne peered at Naomi’s notes.

“Anhalla.” Naomi answered. “Which just means yellow or gold as far as we know.”

“What’s the mark at the end of the word?” Lorne pointed to a small notation.

“He held on the last syllable a little longer, which was interesting. They don’t do that often.”

“Maybe he was just tired.” Lorne lazily swiped at the holographic display of flowers, causing a flicker each time.

Naomi stared at the display. Her eyes popped open. She flipped through her notes, page after page. She found the page where the Polytimians told her all the words for plants and flowers. Almost every single one she had notated that they held on the last syllable!

“I might have it!”

* * *

Naomi and Lorne marched out towards the table in the middle of the beautiful clearing. The main Polytimian waited at the table, several Polytimians positioned behind him. Lorne gripped his gun and Naomi carried her bag.

“This is so stupid.” Lorne muttered. “It’s our last shot and you didn’t bring anything valuable.”

Naomi ignored him, because she doubted herself slightly. But it made sense when she first thought of this plan.

They reached the table and Naomi gave the standard greeting. She opened the bag up and emptied the contents. The Polytimians’ eyes bulged even wider as he saw she only brought several different yellow flowers.

He picked up a beautiful sunflower and smelled it. He let out a disgusted shriek and dropped it.

Uh oh.

Naomi saw Lorne grimace in anger. Naomi looked down at her feet.

But then she heard a sound of delight. She looked up and the Polytimian was holding a dandelion up to his face and smiling. He waved it in the air to show the others behind him. They all let out sounds of delight. He looked back to Naomi.

“Afflern.”

It was a deal! The Polytimians wanted dandelions in exchange for rhodium!

* * *

Naomi and Lorne dropped off the second shipment of dandelions, imported straight from Earth. The Polytimians gladly took them and handed over a large quantity of rhodium. Naomi thanked them. She and Lorne walked off. The Polytimians rejoiced and returned to their young where they sat in large groups eating dandelion salad and drinking dandelion beverages.

* * *

Naomi and Lorne gave the second of many packages of rhodium to their boss.

He laughed. “Trading away a valuable mineral… for flowers. Not even flowers. Weeds. How lucky we are to do business with stupid animals that don’t know the value of things.”

Naomi looked past him, out his wide windows, overlooking the factories and the brown skies which grew darker and dustier.

Or they understand value far better than we do.

Language Barrier

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