Despite his best efforts, Jupiter could not at first understand much of what the old Japanese man Ajiro said.

A year or so of school boy lessons did not give Jupiter enough to communicate with Ajiro in Japanese. His mother had taken him to Japan one summer. And Japan in December meant a lot of snow, and cold streets, hot restaurants and bars. Good hot ramen featured a lot and so his mouth watered at the thought. But his Japanese had not got much of a work out then either.

Jupiter knew greetings and introductions and he could say where he came from and — that reached about the limit of his Japanese.

Ajiro busied himself making two bowls of ramen noodles and kept their teacups filled. His strange mixture of Japanese and Thaluk did not help. But he and Maggie understood more of his Thaluk, even without connexion. The tulanvarqa sense had taught them more Thaluk than they had realized. The process gave Jupiter a deep sense of wonder and surprise when he thought about it. He knew tulanvarqa had more going for it than some weird telepathy. A better explanation of connexion could be as an expansion of his mind. The opening of a room but with doors that touched the adjacent rooms of others.

This sense of it gelled stronger when faced with a nuvra with little to no tulanvarqa. And that strangeness surprised Jupiter almost more than anything about the old man. Tulanvarqa had become part of him now.

While they waited for Ajiro to prepare the ramen he told them of his long years on Eoth. Ajiro switched to speaking an accented Thaluk and Jupiter strained to understand but got the hang of it as he heard more.

‘I was Kaigun-shōsa - Lieutenant Commander in the Nihon Navy.’

Maggie gasped at this. ‘A Japanese soldier?’

‘Cool it,’ Jupiter said in a soft tone to Maggie. ‘Give him a chance.’

Ajiro continued. ‘Year Showa ju-kyu - Showa nineteen. I count thirty one years here on Eoth. It is year Showa forty eight.’

Jupiter knew the old Japanese years used the names of Emperors and the year of their reign. But he did not know when Showa had been Emperor.

‘And you came alone?’ Jupiter said.

‘My navy unit landed on an island…’

‘Was it during World War two?’ Maggie leaned forward.

Ajiro turned to Jupiter. ‘I do not understand.’

‘The big war,’ Jupiter said. ‘In the Pacific.’

‘Big war. Yes. What is the peaceful thing?’

‘You had metal ships? And flying things?’ Jupiter said.

‘Yes. Large metal ships on sea. Small flying ships. With…’ Ajiro whirled his finger around.

‘Propellers.’ Maggie said. ‘Airplanes.’

‘We know this war,’ said Jupiter ignoring Maggie’s reaction.

‘Dai tō-a sensō — Big East Land War.’

Ajiro told them how he had been taken in the middle of a raging storm when hiding from the elements with his men on a remote island. But after the chaos of the passage between worlds found himself alone on Eoth. On a remote beach.

Ajiro's voice dropped and he said in a whisper...

Rak Thayar

Tarushka Qhathun

Ka Thakar Shaza

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Comrades Advance

And Warriors Bloomed

I Stepped Away

Ajiro fell silent when he said this and Jupiter got the sense of great sadness and guilt. That he had watched his friends die while he had fallen through time and space to Eoth.

‘Jupiter. Do you think he left during the war, like me? Maybe even at the same time. February 1943. For me, that day, a nor-wester blew hot and strong, and as I ran along the beach I almost flew, arms outstretched. The wind pushed and pulled at me. And then I lifted from the ground. Like the wind had picked me up, on a hot blast of air. When I fell, it seemed forever. I woke up on the barrier island. Or I think I woke up. This is still like a dream. Sometimes.’

Ajiro touched at Jupiter’s arm. He and Maggie had fallen back into English.

‘How long did you stay there, on this beach?’ Jupiter said.

‘Two years. The first year fishermen came. The strange people of this land. They frighten me. Devils and demons. I hid. The next year they arrive at night. I sleeping. They show kindness, and brought me here. To Qhayuvakham.’

‘And then thirty years has passed. Thirty one.’ Jupiter said. ‘If you’re right Maggie, and he left the same time as you.'

‘Hai. So desu — Yes. That is so.’

Maggie and Jupiter stared at one another. Their dream of returning home seemed further away than ever.

’Are there many nuvra? Here in Qhayuvakham?’ Jupiter said.

‘Not so many. They tolerate us nuvra. Native born humans are sent away.’

‘Why?’

‘Nuvra live outside society and are Etah — not to be touched. They like my ramen. It is good they say.’ Ajiro placed noodles in the soup bowls. Steam rose in a cloud around him.

‘Humans. They send them away?’ Maggie said.

‘Few here now. This year humans are forced away. Some are taken. They go to human settlements in the interior. Far from quevantaqi — the two thumbed ones.’

‘That explains why we get such a strange reaction,’ Jupiter said.

‘And why we’re in danger. Jupiter. We have to get away from here.’

‘Pari-pari though it worth the risk.’

Maggie shook her head. ‘Zenska had fewer humans. Perhaps she has not been to Qhayuvakham. She did not know this bigger problem.’

‘Yes. Qhayanpa — the Long Land is bad for humans. Qhayuvakham once had more humans than most places. It is bad here these days.’

‘Why? And why now?’ Maggie said.

‘I do not know.’ Ajiro placed the ramen in front of the two hungry teens. ‘But eat. Dozo.’

‘We should not have come here.’ Maggie stared at her bowl of noodles then picked the chopsticks laid across them and puzzled at them.

Jupiter got to work on his ramen straight away. He sprinkled a brown powder over the top, sure that it was pepper, but ready for anything.

‘Nuvra do not have tulanvarqa…’ Maggie said. ‘Is that why?’

Ajiro nodded. He studied Jupiter eating with the chopsticks as if bemused by his ability.

‘So humans with tulanvarqa are the ones targeted. Not nuvra.’ Maggie placed the chopsticks on the table.

‘How did this happen to us? How did we get tulanvarqa?’ Jupiter shook his head and slurped up his ramen. He picked out a piece of fish, or maybe dinosaur, and popped it into his mouth. ‘I dunno.’

‘How do you do that?’ Maggie stared at Jupiter.

‘What?’

‘Use these chopstick things.’ Maggie picked up the chopsticks again. Ajiro passed her a soup spoon with a nod. Maggie smiled her thanks and cut the noodles against the side of the bowl before she brought it to her mouth.

‘It’s good though. Right?’ Jupiter said around a mouthful of hot noodles.

‘Anything would be good,’ said Maggie.

Jupiter could tell the Japanese noodles challenged her in ways the more alien manisaur food never had.

‘Hunger is the best sauce after all,’ Maggie said as she blew on her spoon to cool the soup.

‘Yeah. Tell me about it.’ Jupiter clacked his chopsticks together. ‘Mum always cooked a lot of different dishes. Italian, Chinese, Mexican, Indian, and Japanese. She liked to say we could travel the world at each meal. I’ve always been able to use chopsticks. I don’t remember learning.’

‘Strange. This is a lot like chicken noodle soup. But you’re mad eating soup with sticks.’

Jupiter laughed, lifted his bowl to his lips and took a good slurp of the soup. ‘That’s how it’s done.’

Ajiro nodded while Maggie shook her head. ’Shhh. You’ve no manners,’ she said.

‘It how you’re meant to do it. Just go with the flow Maggs.’

‘I’ve been going with the flow all this time. Doesn’t it get to be too much? And how did we get to speak Thaluk so fast? Is that tulanvarqa too?’

‘Yeah. I know. We are nuvra. We’ve been here less than a month, and Ajiro-san for forty years, yet we have tulanvarqa. And he has none. Why?’

‘Nuvra? You can not be nuvra. Not possible. How long?’ said Ajiro. ‘How long have you been on Eoth?’

‘I think it’s been few weeks hasn’t it? Maybe three?’ Maggie said.

‘It was full moon when we arrived. You remember how the strong moonlight lit the ground? Shone almost as bright as day.’ Jupiter said.

‘Yes. A full moon.’

‘But,’ said Ajiro. ‘It is now jogen-no-tsuki — first quarter.’

‘Yeah. So another ten days until the full moon.’ Jupiter slurped his soup. It warmed him after his crazy day of running from the Air Lord, and then his icy plunge in the river.

‘How can you be nuvra? You speak Thaluk.’ Ajiro stared wide at them. ‘But you only came this last full moon? Impossible.’

‘Yes,’ said Maggie. ‘It is all impossible.’

Jupiter saw the startled look on the old Japanese man’s face.

‘You can go home,’ Ajiro said. ‘To Earth.’

‘Sure.’ Jupiter looked at Maggie. ‘That’s the plan.’

‘How? Tell us,’ said Maggie as she put her spoon down with a clatter.

‘You are nuvra. Sorry. I did not know. You have tulanvarqa. You speak Thaluk. But if you have not been here more than one moon…’

Ajiro paced. Then paused and stared at Maggie then Jupiter as if scared about his next words.

‘In this short time you can go home. It is possible.’

‘Yes. That’s why we’re here,’ said Jupiter. ‘We came to Qhayanpa. We were told of a university in the mountains where we can find out how.’

‘But there is no time. If you are to return it must be before the full moon. After that you will stay here forever.’