At least there's always Milliways.
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"But hopefully nothing will, of course."

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"Yeah, I trust you to handle everything."

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"We won't be able to talk... But it'll be fine. Off we go, then?" She walks to the airship and hops aboard, grabbing a handhold with the metal hand on her right arm.

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Off they go then! The ruins are a little less depressing with Liane there.

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She sings while they fly and gives directions by pointing. The words aren't understandable but that cheerful voice is pretty much the same.

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"I like your singing," he says in Ilan. Tone and posture can probably carry that meaning fine, right?

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Probably! She gives a thumbs up. She can't exactly take requests without a shared language, though. 

Her next song is slower, and somehow... Solemn. Mournful almost.

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It would be really nice to understand the words to this one.

If it has a repeating chorus or anything he'll try singing along and see how she reacts.

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He can sing along. She smiles and makes hand motions to guide him along the beat, such as it is.

A few bits and pieces of it are understandable, from what he can remember of translated-English.

"The Lord has ---- good to meeee... His ----"

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He sings. It's a very confusing song for Liane to be singing but maybe it would make more sense if he understood all the words.

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'The Lord' seems to be 'God', if that's what was confusing.

She sighs, shuts her eyes, and hums quietly after this one is done.

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That makes sense of it. Her god's a good one.

He knows some songs in Ilan but they don't seem like a good followup to that.

Such depressing ruins but they have a god and he's probably trying his best.

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They set down a ways away from the hospital and Liane treks over towards them carrying a heat core.

 

She's gone for a while.

 

And then she comes back at a run, frantically waving. She tries to tell him to take the ship closer, it's okay now, they really need the help!

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Where to take who or what has come up a lot in translated conversations, he's mostly sure what she's asking for. He takes off and flies closer, watching Liane's reaction as well as he can given the distance and the movement.

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She's tense, worried. But not about a threat, exactly? She wants to get to the hospital, not away.

They land at the hospital. The people waiting for them are all gaunt, thin, pale, with stringy hair and thin faces. Near-starvation.

They file into the airship with a few small bags, all nine of them... Along with two dozen infants and toddlers, who also look to be mostly in bad shape.

"To Milliways!"

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To Milliways.

What terrifying vast empty unhelpful icy ruins.

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Liane talks quietly with them while Valanda flies.

"...They said they've been robbed three times, and abandoned by other doctors and nurses too. That they were running out of coal and food. They were gonna take care of the babies and pray for deliverance until the very end, until they starved or froze. My god. I suppose Milliways is a miracle."

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From what he understands it sounds pretty awful.

He decides to try talking to them. "I bring you to a safe place. Is not robbed, is not running out of coal and food. Liane said to you what Milliways is, right?"

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"Yes, she explained it. A miraculous place, the answer to our prayers. We are saved!"

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"I think yes but I don't have very many English, 'miraculous' is what?"

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"An act of God."

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"Hmm. Will you be..." he faces them and makes a theatrically sad face before looking where he's going again, "we don't have your god in Har?"

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"God is everywhere. Above all things. Perhaps your world simply has not seen the light of faith."

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"It is a world. Everywhere up, down, north, south, everywhere this world has your god. My world not here, my world is not the everywhere your god is. I have not seen the light of faith in my world. I also have not seen this many cold in my world, cold is everywhere here. If he doesn't come to Milliways with you he isn't in my world."

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"Regardless of what you believe, we believe God is everywhere and we will keep our faith, for he has delivered us and our charges from death."

They are... Weirdly placid about this statement. They start praying, all nine, a chant led by Christopher, the one who brandished the gun at his ship earlier.

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