Looks like I did get the time to do two at once after all.  It probably
won't happen too often, though.  Oh well.

Anyway, enjoy.  The story seems to be going a bit slow here, but don't
worry.  Gherik gets into quite a bit of trouble in the next couple of
parts.  :)

----------

				  *******
			       Blue Lightning
				  *******
				 Volume II

			  (c) 1995 By Damon Casale


	The year is 2008.  Overcrowding, a totalitarian government, and
vicious, constantly infighting intelligence agencies plague the world.
It's not a nice place to live.

	I had a plan.  There was a way out, away from all of the worst
humanity has to offer.  It was only a matter of time...


* Return


	I opened my eyes, drifting awake.

	Someone was moving around in the medical storage room off of the
infirmary.  I waited.

	The humanoid walked out, carrying a small box.  He noticed me.

	"John."
	His voice was deep and resonant, with a surprisingly good 'human'
accent.

	"Yes?"
	John emerged, looking at me.  "Good, you're awake."

	"How long?"  My voice was still little more than a whisper.
	"About a week."
	I nearly jumped off the bed.  "A week??"

	John walked over and pushed me back down gently.  "Give or take a
few hours.  You're gonna feel weak and dizzy for a few days yet.  Those
bugs are still in your system, but not for long."
	He looked back at the humanoid, who was putting the box on a table
nearby.
	"You can thank *him* for your recovery."
	"I envy his immune system.  But for all its efficiency, it wasn't
going to do you any good."
	"Using it as a guide, Nick and I engineered a cure.  But we
couldn't have even come close without him."
	"Then I should say, 'Thank you'.  To both of you."

	"I see he's talking already."
	John nodded.  "You can thank Jim and Jeff for that.  They spent a
while each day with him, learning his language and teaching him English."
	He threw a deadpan look back at the humanoid.  "The hardest part
was showing him how to use the bathroom."

	I smiled weakly.  "I can imagine."
	"That, and figuring out what kind of food he likes."
	Now that's odd.  "He didn't return to the planet?"
	"He didn't seem to want to."

	"Get some rest.  I have a feeling you'll need it."

	They walked back into the storage room, and the humanoid emerged a
minute later, carrying a slightly larger box.  He put it down on the table,
and started arranging the contents on it.
	His arms and hands were quite thin and delicate, I noticed.  He
only had three long fingers, and a short, stubby thumb.
	"What are you two doing, anyway?"

	"Gherik here seems to be interested in practicing medicine.  He's
helping me out with a little project."  John walked back into the
infirmary, carrying yet another box.  The two of them took out petri dishes
and several slides, among other things.
	He picked up one of the gadgets, dusting it off.  He pressed a few
buttons, giving a satisfied nod while Gherik looked on.

**********

	"I've mainly been focusing on nouns, since those are the easiest to
describe to him.  I'll work towards verbs in a few days.  But he seems to
be developing quite a vocabulary on his own."  Jim was flipping through a
few notes, sitting at a long table.
	"I'll remember to have him around whenever I give a speech, then."

	"He's got a fairly rich language of his own.  So far, I think I've
stumbled across three different parts of speech, just for nouns."
	"That's impressive.  Sounds like Greek."
	"There are a few similarities, as far as I can tell right now."

	"Maybe you should've tried teaching him Japanese instead of
English.  It's a lot more of a regular language."
	Jim smiled, looking at Gherik.  "He's picking up English pretty
fast.  I wouldn't worry."

	"I heard from Jeff that you're working on some improvements to that
translator."
	I mumbled.  "I think.  It would be handy if I could memorize his
language as I hear it.  If I can get the translator to do that, it would
speed things up a bit."

	"Probably would.  In the meantime, I'll give him another lesson."

	"See you later then."
	"Bye."

	I looked back at Gherik, a little surprised.  "Later, Gherik."

**********

	"Your move, if I remember correctly."

	Steve looked at the board, frowning.
	He moved a knight.
	I pushed a pawn forward, strengthening my defenses.
	He moved a pawn forward.

	The bishop ploy didn't work this time.  "You noticed."
	"Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice..."

	Heck with it.  I moved my queen out.
	"I don't think you're that crazy."

	He moved his other rook out.
	I moved my queen again.  Now get off of my side of the board.  I
smiled.
	"Tell me something.  Have you learned your lesson yet?"
	"Are you trying to distract me?"

	"You got us captured the first time and got sick this time.  What's
next?"
	He moved another pawn forward.
	I took it with one of mine.
	He decided to go on the offensive, and moved out his queen.  Very
offensive.
	I castled.

	"How's the translator coming along?"
	"Haven't checked yet."
	"Huh.  I figured that's the first thing you'd do."

	I looked at Steve.  "I'm taking it easy, doctor's orders."
	He smiled.  "Now that's funny."
	And moved a rook, indirectly threatening my queen.
	"Hey, stop looking so dangerous over there."

	I leaned back, looking at the board, and sighed.  "You're getting
better.  No fair."
	I finally moved a pawn.
	Steve moved one of his.

	"Damon, there's a problem."
	I glanced at the intercom, flashing, on the wall.
	"I just picked up a video broadcast with us on it."

	We stood.  I pushed the intercom.  "I'll be right there, Lucky."
	"There goes the game again."


	We emerged onto the bridge.  Lucky had already loaded up the log.
	"This was from about ten minutes ago."

	On the screen, an alien commentator was speaking in deep throated
tones.
	The picture changed, now showing three figures in white
environmental suits, digging through the rubble of a collapsed building.
Us.  A sliver of the scoutcraft was visible, on the left edge of the
screen.
	The picture shifted again, this time showing the two dead bodies.

	Lucky pushed a button, and the planet reappeared.
	"Save the soundtrack of that.  I'll want it for later."

	"I noticed they weren't showing the scoutcraft, but they obviously
knew about it."
	Steve harrumphed.  "What would any government do when confronted
with aliens?"
	"Good point.  Now that they know we're here, what will they do?"
	"Wait for us to come back, most likely.  We'd better be real
careful from now on."
	I grinned at Steve.  "I couldn't agree more."

	Gherik emerged from the ladder, gesturing at the planet, then at
us.  "Come on."

	"Shall we go?"


* Battlefield


	Gherik and I walked along a dirt path leading down a hill to a
small building.  Another humanoid was waiting in the doorway, looking
intently at me.
	Gherik took the other's hand in both of his own.  Their way of
shaking hands?

	A conversation ensued.  Half a minute later, they looked at me, the
implication obvious.
	"Damon."
	"Vuin."
	"Nice to meet you."

	The conversation continued, as they stepped inside.  I followed.

	It was a workshop of sorts.  A desk covered with papers sat in one
corner.  A bookshelf dominated another wall.  But the most obviously alien
artifact turned out to be the chairs, thin and angled in a wide V down the
middle.
	Gherik started pulling down several volumes from the bookshelf,
stacking them on a nearby table.
	Of course!  "I'll be back."

	I rushed back down the path to the scoutship, returning with a
gravdisc.  Three feet in diameter, rimmed with a two inch guard, it floated
at about chest level in front of me.
	They stared at it, exchanging a few tense words.

	I put a few of the books on the disc, and after a moment, they
joined in.

	They collapsed into chairs, and I made myself comfortable on the
floor.  Vuin idly picked up a thin card, pressing at it, and part of the
wall lit up with a picture of a familiar looking alien commentator.
	The picture shifted to a view of a battlefield.  Many of the aliens
were holding projectile launchers.  Huge, five foot long tubes, mounted on
rolling tracks.  A few squat vehicles, best described as tanks, rumbled in
the background.  Vuin moved to press the card again but stopped, a look of
recognition on his face.

	He ran to the doorway, looking outside.  In the distance, I heard
an explosion, and saw a plume of smoke rising from somewhere beyond the
hill.

	He gestured at the screen and pushed at the card again, and the
screen went dark.  Tossing it aside, we hurried down the path, with the
platform.

	A high-pitched whistle sounded in the air, growing louder rapidly.
We dived to the ground, and the platform drifted forward a few meters.
Behind us, a mortar struck the ground and exploded, sending us flying.

	Gherik and I got up slowly.  Vuin was lying on his side, clutching
at his back.  A jagged wound ran across it, and a large chunk of metal was
poking out.
	We stood him up, supporting him between us.  I grabbed the platform
with one hand, and we staggered down the path towards the scoutship.
	As we climbed the ramp, another whistle sounded.

	We clambered inside, and the mortar struck.  The ship rocked, and I
was thrown against a console.  I dropped to the floor, a wide gash in my
forehead.  Then nothing.

**********

	I blinked, opening my eyes.  I was back in the infirmary, lying on
a bed.
	The gash in my forehead was covered with a bandage.  I prodded it
lightly.

	John walked over.  "You were lucky that wasn't any deeper."
	I looked around the room, pensive.  "Gherik?  Vuin?"
	"Gherik is fine."  He pointed at the medbed.  "Vuin might not make
it.  That was a nasty wound he picked up."

	"Wait a minute.  How did I get back?"
	"Gherik flew the scoutcraft.  We talked him in.  Pretty good
pilot."
	I stared at him in shock.  "Gherik flew...?"

	"No more questions.  I need to get back to Vuin."  He walked back
over to the medbed, where Vuin is lying face down.  The piece of metal was
still embedded in his back.
	He picked up his medscanner and ran it over the wound.  "Not good.
It's stopped bleeding, but his vitals are very weak."
	"Could you use any help?"

	"No, I'll be fine.  Go on, will you?"  He bent over the wound,
inspecting it closely.
	"You'll let me know?"
	"As soon as it's definite, yes."

	I walked outside, shaking my head slowly.  I hated to admit it, but
Steve had been right.

**********

	"This is gonna speed things up a lot."
	"It's an encyclopedia, isn't it?"
	"Pretty sure."

	I looked at Jeff, sitting across from me at a long table.  Gherik
was sitting next to me.  The books were stacked in front of us.
	He dropped the book he was looking at and picked up another,
opening it.  "And this one looks like a dictionary."
	"Perfect.  Good luck."

	I stood up to leave, but Gherik held me back.  "Thank...you."
	"I only hope Vuin survives.  And thank *you* for bringing me back."

	I wandered down the corridor.  There was something I wanted to
check on.


	Jeremy turned around at his workbench, frowning at the bandage I
was wearing.  "What happened?"
	"An accident on the planet.  There's a pretty nasty war going on
down there."
	"Any progress?"

	"Some.  I'll need Eric to start writing the software for it soon."

	I sat down beside him.  "How will it work, exactly?"
	"John and I came up with a mnemonic enhancer.  Put simply, you
hear a foreign word, and the enhancer supplies a mnemonic, the English
equivalent."
	"What about words with more than one meaning, or homonyms?"
	"We're working on it.  What we can do is set it up to be dynamic,
programming itself as you hear the language.  Every so often, we can dump
its data into the translator itself.  Then we can compare it against
Gherik's brainwaves, and we'll have a translator for his language."

	"Sounds difficult."
	"It'll take months, or even years, before it's ready."
	"Hmmm.  I'm not so sure we'll be staying that long."
	"Learning a language takes time, no matter how you do it."

	I stood.  "Thanks."


	Too much had happened.  And none of it really made any sense.
What's worse, I'm not even sure Gherik and Vuin knew what was going on.
Not that I could find out.

	I smiled crookedly.  What we have here, is a failure, to
communicate.

Damon Casale, dc56+@andrew.cmu.edu

* Maison Ikkoku * Kyoko Otonashi * Video Girl Ai * Amano Ai *
               * Blue Lightning * Kerin Gray *
Blue Lightning forever...Kerin, are you out there?