drabblewriter

Yesterday, the book Tycho had was Introduction to Mon Calamarian. Today, it's Beginning Bothese.

Wedge drops down onto the couch in the rec room next to his newest squadmate with a raised eyebrow. “Are you really learning two languages at once?”

Tycho gives a one-shoulder shrug without looking up. His mouth moves soundlessly for a few moments over whatever he's reading before he finally looks up. “I like languages.”

“Isn't that hard?” Wedge peeks into the book at a swirl of unfamiliar symbols.

“You could say I'm making up for lost time,” Tycho tells him. “We weren't allowed to study anything about other cultures under the Empire.”

“Really, not even language? How did you communicate with beings who don't speak basic?”

Tycho gives him a look that makes Wedge feel stupidly naive. “They just expect everyone to speak Basic. Once...once, my TIE squadron was operating out of a garrison on Ithor. One of the guys got caught studying the local language so he could help negotiate with the locals, and a loyalty officer broke his fingers.”

“Wow.” Wedge shudders. He'd known the Empire was brutal, of course, but enforcing that sort of punishment on one of its own for such a simple and helpful thing...

“Yeah.” Tycho turns back to his reading, a frown spreading on his face.

“Sorry,” Wedge tries. “I'm sure you don't like thinking about stuff like that.”

“It's fine. It's not like ignoring it makes it not have happened.”

“Sure.” Wedge is awkwardly silent for a few minutes. “So...say something in Bothese?”

Tycho looks him in the eye and lets out a long string of lilting syllables, voice rising and falling with the exotic language.

Wedge's mouth drops open. “And you've got a beginner's book why again? What did that even mean?”

“Nothing.”

“What?”

Tycho laughs. “I'm putting you on. That didn't mean anything. It wasn't even Bothese, just gibberish.” He turns the page of his book, smiling.

Wedge rolls his eyes and glares playfully. “Well, maybe you can make your own language someday if you like them so much. Sounded nice, anyway.”

Tycho grins at him. “Maybe I'll even teach you.”