Huang Ji's reasoning was simple: in the Galactic Common Language, meaning varied with context.
When a superior spoke to a subordinate, a question was a statement. The subordinate would do well to take it as an order.
The Disruptor had asked question after question, from "Were you attacking me just now?" to "If you don't want anyone to die, why not leave?"
There was also "You're asking me for compensation?" and "Are you going to work for me?" Between a superior and a subordinate, those were orders.
After calling Huang Ji back and hearing his reasoning, Carmen and the others finally understood.
So that was it! "Why not leave?" had actually been an order to evacuate the people.
"Are you going to work for me?" had actually been a demand that they serve him.
Most languages on Earth had similar nuances, but the aliens seemed to have formalized them.
Everyone looked at Maxi. Apart from Huang Ji, he knew the Zetan language best.
"That does seem to be how it works..." Maxi mused.
Maxi wasn't even at a third- or fourth-level proficiency in the alien language. He had picked up a little from Dis and occasionally used it to build rapport with him, but he didn't understand its formal grammar at all.
That was why the possibility had never occurred to him during their earlier analysis. Now, after hearing Huang Ji's explanation and recalling his conversations with Dis, it really did seem to fit...
"The common language?" Maxi asked.
Huang Ji nodded. "What was passed on to me was the common language. The Disruptor's memories didn't call it Zetan. In this language, 'Zeta' means glasses, or surveillance. There's nothing more special about it."
Everyone turned to Maxi. So he hadn't even known the language was the common language, yet he'd