Veronica

Veronica smiled as she peered into the tank. "This one, A4-67E, will be ready within the week." she said to Firtulori.

Firtulori nodded as he approach the floating arm. "I would agree he responded," noting down the progress.

"Another three days perhaps, and it should be ready for its new owner. A male named… how would I pronounce this?" She said lowering the clipboard for her assistant.

"Incorrectly." Firtulori teased.

Veronica gently slapped the clipboard against his back. "I'm serious, and slowly this time F.T.".

Taking the chart he paused before continuing "Ge - HEED - or - an - THY- lus. It is actually a rather common name."

Slowly mouthing the syllables to herself, she was not surprised at the claim of it being a common name among the Wtervortyiolpra. It always seemed to her that they chose to drag things out whenever possible; and names were no exception. It's part of the reason she so adored her little fury F.T. Most of the Wtervortyiolpras would have been offended at being addressed like that.

"Tell me again F.T., how many letters are in your alphabet? 239?" She said smiling.

"104, but then again, our alphabet is, far superior. Is doesn't contain such a limited number that we have to use words for more than one thing. No, each word we have means something different. For all the technology humans love to brag about, they still seem to cling to many primitive concepts."

"It must be our ability to multitask, unlike the tervos." She knew that would get him going. And soon the game was on. F.T.'s mastery of English was impressive, and he was able to keep up with each subtle dig as Veronica hurled them.

Their voices became louder and louder as they tried to outdo one another; Veronica forcing back her laughter as the game reached its climax.

And then the game came to an abrupt end. Silenced by a sound Veronica knew neither of them had heard before. A sound she never dreamt she would have to hear. A sound that froze her in her tracks.