Welcome to the latest Cosmic Dash update with Vol. 3, Ep. 3, page 14, where we catch up with Mara and see some alien language. It looks like a new person is joining the roster here on “Ladies’ Fight,” but who could it be?
We’re following up on the previous page, which was a spontaneous addition that wasn’t in the original script. We’re back on track now. But before we dive into the lore section and transcript attached to the page (I know you’re dying for more on the alien language we see on the signage), here are some updates.
Last week “Blood & Oil” updated! That’s right, two weeks of updates in a row! That story is about done; then we’ll be getting into another tale before returning to the Kracker story that plays into “Ladies’ Fight.”
Now for some miscellaneous updates:
- The latest blog post is “SSA: Fashion in the Silver Spiral”
- The daily doodles slowed down a bit due to some issues, but I plan on catching up tomorrow.
- I have a couple of new Cosmic Dash short stories in the works and plans to port over more of the Wattpad archive.
- My daily hashtag game over on Mastodon now has a cool archive of previous games with linked winning toots. It is a ton of fun, so if you are on Mastodon, why not join #HashItOut?
- Speaking of Mastodon – there was a dearth of webcomic discussions over there, so I have launched Webcomic Talk in the meantime. It will be a once-a-week thing, but the response for other creators on the social network has been great. Please consider joining us!
- Following our live show, the latest Supernatural Selection podcast is another Week In Weird about the UFOs and UAPs shot down recently. Please feel free to join us on Discord.
- RGBots updated twice; I’m so sorry.
And that’s it for news. Onto the alien language discussion!
Common Alien Language
I’ve been trying to sneak periodic examples of the “untranslated” alien language of the series into the comic. The way that I see the comic is that it is read in English, but the characters are speaking in-universe Common. Much of the signage is translated, so important information is carried over. Sometimes I like to throw in the language as it appears in the setting.
So, we have a couple of instances of signage on this page. Here is the character key to the language, including numbers, punctuation, and factional characters. Have fun; I plan on doing more of this when I can.
The alien language is one of several but is the “common” language for established trade, which many businesses and colonies use, given the diversity of the galaxy. The actual name of the language is “Tradespeak,” but everyone refers to it as “Common.” Kracker was asking about signage in Common clear back in the comic’s second issue. We also see some instances of Cyclopasian written language in that story.
I should go all Tolkien and make working rules for all these languages.
Anyway, Tradespeak is a combination of Grey, Terrekin, and Blassnaught elements. For example, numerical expressions are written as stacked, as borrowed from the Grey.
Transcript
The following is a transcript of Cosmic Dash’s “Ladies’ Fight,” Volume 4, Episode 3 – Page 14.
Panel One
The panel shows an establishing shot of a makeshift bar made from a storage container and a more permanent structure with a makeshift canopy erected over them. Several aliens are sitting around and having drinks. Mara Senten can be seen sitting at the bar.
Ij Far (off-screen): I am fortunate enough to have two agents on-site. I will not let this opportunity slip away.
Panel Two
Inset panel featuring Mara at the bar counter, drinking some sweetened alcohol from a carton.
Panel Three
A flashback panel. Ij Far is projected into Mara’s room on the Lucky Strike II. They are continuing a conversation that started at the beginning of the issue. She appears annoyed.
Ij: I had this quantum transceiver installed on your ship in secret so that I could run operations based on your proximity to flags in my information network. Near instantaneous communication at any given moment.
Mara: I’m having second thoughts about all of this.
Panel Four
Ij Far makes a concerted effort to convince Mara this is necessary tech.
Ij: Most do, but they get over them when they realize how important the work they are doing actually is.
Panel Five
Ij Far smirks a mock threat… or perhaps not.
Ij: And also how difficult life can be with me annoyed with them.
Panel Six
Mara sits at the bar, and a figure with red fingerless gloves approaches from behind her.
Ij (off-screen): The operational lead will meet you at Choti’s, a small bar located in the colony. Their code word will also be their code name, “Ransom.”
If you want to spread the word about the comic, a vote on Top Webcomics helps! See you next week at Serreven.com for a new page over there!
That is one deftly-folded-in flashback. very nice.