Okay, I edited the first three parts and added a fourth.  Compare this
fourth chapter with the first chapter of volume 2...and enjoy.

Oh yeah.  C&C!

----------

				  *******
			       Blue Lightning
				  *******
                                 Volume III

			  (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...


* Galaxy


	The bridge was silent and empty.  On the viewscreen, a large, 
bluish-white star glowed.
	Chris tramped onto the bridge.
	"Up a bit late, aren't you?"
	"I'll get up when I damn well please."

	"Good morning to you, too."

	She sat down at ops, and shot me an annoyed look.
	I raised an eyebrow.
	"Hmph."  She smiled briefly, finally, then focused on the console 
again.

	"So where are we?"
	"Don't expect an answer any time soon.  I haven't even had a chance 
to look over the other jump data yet."
	I know.  But you came out of your cave, anyway.

	"Am I reading this right?  300 kps from the last jump?"
	"How far?"

	"Assuming we haven't moved out of the Hubble radius, anywhere 
between 500 and 1000 kiloparsecs."
	"If I remember correctly, that puts us in the area of either 
Andromeda or Triangulum."  I'd held a passing interest in Astronomy, but 
never pursued it.
	"Assuming that for the moment, that puts us back about..."  She 
tapped at the console again.  "...two point two million years."

	A low whistle.  I got up and wandered over.

	"That's not including the other jumps.  Hmmm..."  More finger 
dancing.
	"Factoring in the other jumps, we're at most 1200 kiloparsecs from 
where Earth *will* be, and about two point five million years back in 
time."

	"But still, we wouldn't have much of a chance at making it back 
before we left.  I assume that's what you want."
	"You assume correctly.  But I want to head back for the Milky Way 
anyway.  If it turns out we won't have enough time, we'll jump again."

	"*If* this is Andromeda or Triangulum.  But finding the Milky Way 
should be easy, no matter where we are."

	I peered a little more closely at the equations on the ops screen, 
trying to make some sense of them.
	"Go somewhere else while I work, hm?  I want to be alone."

	I sighed.  "All right.  See you later."

**********

	Nick and Andrea were expecting some good news, so I decided to 
visit John and say hello.  Andrea was expecting, all right.  Eight months.

	John waved a medscanner.  "Looking good.  Just remember to stay off 
of your feet as much as you can."
	"Only another few weeks.  I'm happy for you two."

	"Keep us out of trouble for a while then, will you?"
	I smiled back at Nick.  "You got it.  We're going on a nice, easy 
cruise for a few months."

	John and Nick rolled Andrea off of the medbed.  "Thank you."
	"If nothing else, you can enjoy the view."

	Time to leave.  A happy moment, yes, but they'd rather be alone 
together.


	It was time for *me* to relax.  So Steve and I took a walk in the 
park.

	"Lunch, al fresco.  Whaddya think, D?"
	"I like it.  It's been a while.  Too long."

	We sat down by the brook.  Steve opened his old-fashioned looking 
basket, and tossed me a sandwich.
	"I kinda miss being planetside myself.  And not like the last one, 
either."
	I chuckled.  "I know what you mean.  I haven't done this in years."
	"What?"

	"Go camping.  Not the same thing, but--"
	"The time we canoed down the Flint river?"
	"No, the time Kerin and I went.  The country in Pennsylvania's 
great for that sort of thing, if it's not raining."

	He grinned.  "You...and you didn't bring me?"
	I gave him a hearty slap on the back.  "Not that time, Steve.  Not 
that time."

	We munched away.
	"So tell me about it."
	"I don't think so."
	"Why, what happened?"

	"Nothing at all.  I'd just rather keep it to myself."

	"You didn't--"
	"No, I didn't.  But it doesn't matter.  It was perfect, just the 
way it was."
	Doesn't he ever think of anything else?  *sigh*

	"Glad to see you're happy, for a change."
	"So am I.  So am I."

	Steve took the hint.  "So how's Andrea doing?"
	"She's fine.  Now all we have to do is soundproof her room."
	He laughed.


	That was the *one time* I actually let my guard down.  For that 
brief moment, Kerin and I were just a couple in love, nothing more.
	I could forget...everything.  Nothing else mattered.

	Maybe someday, again.  I'll find her, somehow.

**********

	"It's taken a few days, but I've confirmed it.  We're in 
Triangulum."
	"And?"
	"We can head home.  But like I said, we probably won't make it back 
in time."

	"Good work.  If you don't mind, I'd like to take a look at it 
later.  I'm kinda interested in this sort of thing."

	Steve wandered into the room and sat down, kicking his feet up.  
"Morning."

	"Good luck understanding it.  Most of the time I spent running 
simulations, to account for the time difference."
	I smiled.  "Then I'm glad you're here.  I don't think we could've 
found a better astronomer."

	She iced up again.  "Don't remind me.  I don't particularly like 
the way you introduced yourself."
	"Sorry about that.  The CIA operatives just aren't very friendly."
	"What did happen anyway?"

	She glared at Steve with slitted, cold blue eyes.
	"Okay, fine.  I won't ask."

	She walked out.
	"She gives `temperamental' a bad name."
	"I *heard* that."

	We waited until her footsteps faded.  I smirked, and so did Steve.
	"I see diplomacy isn't your strong point."
	"Oh, shut up."

	"Come on.  Let's go head for home."
	"Already?"  He chuckled.  "And I thought we were having fun."
	"Maybe.  But I've got an appointment.  And I don't want to be 
late."

	We made our way to the bridge.

	"She's laid in the course already."  I sat down at the nav console.
	"Remind me to thank her."

	I paused.  "Or at least, remind me to try."
	Steve smiled.

	On the viewscreen, the bluish-white star swung away.

	I settled the control spheres into place, and locked them down.  A 
few more taps to the console.
	On the viewscreen, the stars began to pick up a bluish tint.
	"Point three cee."

	Most of the stars were visibly moving now.  The starlight was 
totally blue, starting to fade a bit in places.
	"Point five cee."

	The colors looked horribly wrong.  Now, only a dim, bluish glow 
suffused the screen.
	"Point seven cee."

	The stars crowded together.
	"Point eight cee."

	"Point nine cee."

	The stars were now just a mass of light looming ahead.
	"Point nine six cee.  Almost there."

	Steve stopped by ops.

	"Point nine nine eight cee.  Cruising speed."
	He checked his board.  "Confirmed."

	"Autopilot mode."  I stood up.  "We'll only stop if we're in danger 
of running into something."

	As I said, a few months of cruising.

	Or so I thought.  A few weeks later, a small dot appeared on the 
screen.  Rapidly, it grew in size.
	The computer slowed the ship down, and the stars spread themselves 
out, the starlight fading from blue back to normal.  On the viewscreen, a 
large, elongated ship hung in space, slowly rotating.

	Another mystery.


* Derelict


	The next morning...
	"Hello..."  Surprise was one word for my reaction.

	I jabbed at the nav console.  "Steve, get up here.  We ran into 
something interesting.  Bring Chris with you."

	Badly damaged.  The hull is pitted and holed in places, and there's 
no sign of life.  It's probably a derelict.

	Steve yawned behind me.

	I really *hate* it when he does that.
	"Great.  Take a look."

	He dropped into the chair at ops.  "So where did that come from?"
	"That's what I'd like to know.  Where's Chris?"

	He looked back at the viewscreen.  "She'll be a few minutes."
	Ah.  Let me guess.

	"You have a knack for finding trouble."
	I grinned.  And I was pretty sure he wasn't talking about the ship, 
either.

	Chris climbed onto the bridge.
	"Don't bother."
	I'd been *about* to say something...

	She traded places with Steve.
	"Can you get me a trajectory?  I want to know where that's been."
	"Working on it.  It'll take a few minutes."

	A few minutes.  Then she stared at the screen, confused.  "Huh?"
	"What is it?"

	She shook her head.  "I've got a heading.  I've projected the 
course backwards, and it comes within a few light years of the galactic 
center."
	"You're right, that *is* odd."

	"So now what, D?"

	I was silent a moment, thoughtful.
	"Jeff and I will take a trip over there.  We'll try to find a 
ship's log or something.  Then...we head back the way they came."
	"I thought you had an appointment."
	"It'll wait.  This is too big of a mystery."

**********

	The scoutcraft drifted forward, and the bay door closed.

	Next to the derelict, it held steady.  A hatch in the bottom 
opened, and two figures in space suits emerged.

	A floodlight clicked on.  Tiny thrusters puffed away into the void, 
and we entered a gaping hole in the side of the craft.

	"Look for the bridge or a computer terminal."  My voice sounded 
tinny inside the helmet.
	Jeff nodded.

	We pulled ourselves along the corridor, stopping at a pair of 
doorways.
	"Now this is damned peculiar."

	It was an infirmary.  And almost *exactly* like Blue Lightning's, 
except for two rather odd looking medbeds.  A few other out-of-place 
devices, but...

	"D, take a look at this."
	I floated down the corridor, into another room.  An oval-shaped 
table.
	He was pointing at two of the chairs.

	They weren't.  Weren't for humans, anyway.  Cupped platforms, with 
long, bumpy ramps leading up to them.
	I'd seen chairs like that before.  Where...?

	We returned to the corridor, and came to a branch.  "I'll take the 
right.  Meet me back here in five."

	It terminated about fifty feet farther down, at a door.

	At my approach, it opened.  And I was blown back down the corridor, 
against the far wall.
	I made my way back to the doorway.  And stared.

	It was a huge garden and hydroponics area.  Or was, before I let 
the air out.  Corn, tomatoes, apple trees, grapes...several others.  Some 
of the plants I couldn't identify, but most of them were from Earth.  
And...a lot of kelp and seaweed.  For imitation meat and poultry?  That 
much?
	Something was going on here.  This ship was built for humans, for 
the most part.

	I floated back out the doorway.
	So what happened to them?

	Jeff was waiting for me.  We continued on down the left branch.  
"You'll like this."
	We passed another room.  A gym, of sorts.

	He floated through a doorway ahead.  When I caught up with him, he 
had already opened his metal suitcase, and was transcribing bits and pieces 
of writing from a computer console.
	"Get a video of it.  We'll decipher it later."
	He acquiesced, and put the stylus away.

	The corridor ended at a blue door.  It slid open.  The bridge.
	No command chair, interestingly enough.  There were terminals 
ringing the walls instead.  Again, most of the chairs were built for 
humans.

	"Finished."  Jeff drifted through the door.
	"All right.  Video the bridge, then let's head back the other way."

**********

	"I want to know what that equipment is.  Judgments from the 
linguistic and engineering angles."
	Heads nodded around the table.  The video clicked off, and the 
lights went up.
	"What are you going to do?"

	"Hopefully, I can find a library computer or log recorder.  
Something that can tell me what this ship's been up to.  After we're done 
here, we head back the way they came."

	"Something's up here.  The ship was built for humans, mostly, I'm 
sure everyone will agree.  There's something..."
	I shook my head.  "Anyway, we'll get a team over there later and 
map out the ship."

	"Chris?"
	"There's an unusual x-ray source at the heart of Triangulum.  I say 
unusual, because we're scanning nothing else from it."
	"Other galactic nuclei are different.  Broad-band radiation.  Not 
Triangulum."

	"Any ideas on what we might find?"

	Steve tossed in his usual.  "Are you sure you want to find out?"
	"I've already made my decision."


* Nena


	The next day, we had another meeting of the minds.

	On the projector screen, the camera played over one of the other 
ship's consoles.  The room was deathly quiet.

	The screen went blue, and the lights went up.

	"Opinions?"
	"From what I can see, that looks a lot like some of ours."  Jeremy 
leaned forward, chin in hands.
	"Except for the writing."
	"I know.  I've seen that writing before, but I can't place it."

	"I can."
	Everybody looked at Steve.

	"Tell me."
	"Remember the spiders' ship, back on Nefaroo?"
	"Go on."
	"On the side of the cell where we were held were two characters 
that looked a LOT like those glyphs."

	*Now* I remembered.  "...of course!"
	"When Weya and I explored an old underground research center back 
on the planet, we found similar writing."  And similar chairs.
	"But those computers were built by humans.  Which means..."
	"Don't tell me."  Steve gazed back at me gravely.

	My expression hardened.  "We're going back there.  I need to know 
who crewed that ship."
	"I thought I recognized those chairs.  I saw some on the way out of 
their `shuttle'", John added.

	First things first.  "I want a damage assessment team."
	"Jeremy, Chris, Ben, and myself.  I want to know how bad, and I 
want to know if it can be repaired."
	"Steve, get a close look at that damage.  I want guesses as to what 
they were hit with.  We'll need to know, in case we run into it."
	"Jeff and Jim, I want you two to work on the language.  Get me 
something I can work with."
	"John, I want to know what happened to that crew.  Find me bodies.  
Find me something."

	"All right, people.  Let's go.  Inform your teams, and be in bay 
four in twenty minutes."

**********

	Two scoutcraft left the open bay, heading for the derelict.


	"The crew quarters are this way, right?"
	"Pretty sure", Jeff replied.

	Ahead, two doors beckoned on either side of the corridor.

	The left one was a bedroom.  A few clothes were scattered on the 
floor.  A chest was tucked under a thin bunk, about two feet off of the 
floor.  There was a desk with a few books on top set against the far wall.
	Jim picked up one of the books.
	He tossed it back on the desk.  "No good.  I don't like Hemingway, 
anyway."
	He picked up another.  Down the page, a few spider characters were 
followed by English text, every few lines.  He smiled.

	Jeff was looking at a bed of sorts, consisting of a gravelly 
substance mixed with sand.
	"We've got something."
	"You could say dat.  I didn't know spiders slept."

	"Come on, let's get back to Blue Lightning."


	"Are you sure?"  Chris ran a gloved hand over the gaping hole.
	"I think so.  Either this was their engine room, or su-
ah..something that would use a lot of power."
	She pointed at a largish conduit, ending at the hole.  "So this 
would be a power line?"
	"Something like that, I guess."

	"So why haven't we seen any bodies, hm?  If they died of 
decompression or power failure, where are they?"  She stalked away.
	Ben shrugged, following.


	John floated down a corridor.

	He entered a door.  "This was it."  Eureka.
	The infirmary was empty, though.

	"No bodies.  So no one was out of it when this happened.  Must have 
been rather sudden."

	He puffed back out the door.  "So where *are* they?"


	Jeremy tugged at a panel under the ops console.  Opening it, he 
reached inside and flipped a few breakers.  "Hmmm...got it."
	No power.  I'll need a generator over here, he thought.

	He closed the panel, and stood up.
	I hope we run on the same energy parameters.  It would be simpler 
that way.

	He pushed a pad on his glove.  "Damon, I'll be getting back to the 
ship.  I'll need a generator to get things running again on the bridge."
	"Confirmed.  Don't take too long; we'll need the scoutcraft back."

	I flipped off the glove's communicator.
	I don't even want to think about it.  And yet, they came from 
Nefaroo, that much is obvious.

	I came to a ladder, and climbed down into another corridor.  It was 
short, with two doors at either end, a few meters apart.

	A scoutcraft bay.  And it was huge.  There were three of them here, 
all undamaged.  But the bay door had been holed.
	No one made it down here, I see.

	Who were they, I wonder...

	The other door.  It slid open, revealing a long, low room lined 
with dusty, seven foot long tubes.
	I rubbed at the nearest one, and some of the grime came off.  
Underneath, a tiny console was blinking dimly.
	And there was something inside.

	I rubbed away a bit more of the grime.
	It was a spider.

	I don't believe it.  A hibernation chamber!

	I rubbed away at another one.  A hand, wearing...a diamond ring?
	*Her* ring?  No...
	Yet, that was the ring.  But how?

	I hurriedly cleared away enough to make out the shape inside.  But 
it wasn't her.
	How could it have been, anyway?

	Then who was it?

	"Jeremy, get back here *NOW*.  John, I'll need you here too."
	Click.  "Where are you?"
	"The hole where we came in?  Two intersections right, down a 
ladder, and through the left door."
	"So where are you?"
	"I'm in some sort of hibernation bay.  Find Jeff and Jim too.  
John, those people are still alive down here!"
	"I'm on my way", he monotoned.  That had gotten his attention.

	I looked back at the tube, thinking.
	I never gave Kerin that ring.  I still have it.  So how did she get 
it?

	"Damon?  I'm on my way down now.  I brought three generators from 
Blue Lightning."
	"You won't be needing them right away.  I need some help with this 
equipment.  It's independently powered, apparently."
	"What is it?"

	"Just get down here."
	"Okay.  A level down, the door on the left, right?"
	"Right."

	Less than a minute later, the door slid open again, and Jeremy 
floated through.
	"Look."

	"We'll need to get an atmosphere in here.  We can't get her out of 
there without it.  I can pressurize this room, but it'll take a few hours 
to set up the equipment."
	"Do it.  ASAP."
	"What's the hurry?"
	"Don't ask.  Just do it."
	"Yes sir", he said in a low voice.

	Jeremy left, as John and company entered.
	"What's the problem?"

	"That.  I don't want her dying when I try to wake her up.  As soon 
as Jeremy's ready, we'll pressurize this room...and turn up the heat."
	"Your job is simple.  Keep everybody alive."
	"Oh, joy."

	"What do I do?"  Jeff tried to look enthusiastic.
	"I want to wake them up, not kill them.  Tell me which button to 
push."

	"We've got a bilingual dictionary", Jim added.  "We'll have 
something in a few hours."
	"Good.  All right, let's go."

**********

	Jeremy secured the door, running a line of sealant over the edges.  
Then he kicked a switch on the compressor sitting next to it.  A grinding, 
thudding sound filled the room, felt more than heard, through the walls and 
floor of the ship.

	He twisted a knob on a green tank, and waited several seconds.  
"Ready."
	Four helmets came off.
	"The oxygen will only last fifteen minutes with all of us in here."

	"Now, this one."
	Jeff hesitated, then pointed at one of the buttons.
	Jeremy pushed it, and it lit up.

	A small LED bar indicator brightened a little.  The panel livened 
up a bit, blinking and beeping in earnest.
	Slowly, the indicator climbed.  Two minutes became an eternity.  
Finally...the tube sighed open.
	She was wearing a translator and voder.
	"She's--"
	She blinked.  And stretched sleepily, sitting up.  "Wh...what 
happened?"
	"Your ship took a pounding.  Doesn't look too good."

	She looked around.  "Everyone else?"
	Jeremy looked up.  "Fine, as far as I can tell."

	"Nena."
	I took her hand.  The one with the ring.
	"What?"

	"Where did you get this?"
	"Who are you to ask?"  Puzzlement and suspicion played over her 
features.

	"It was supposed to be for Kerin.  Kerin Gray.  How did you get 
it?"
	"Kerin?"  She looked up at me again.

	"Kerin was my grandmother."


* Future Imperfect


	Introductions were in order.  And so, back on Blue Lightning...

	"Meet my crew.  Justin..."
	A tall, blond, babyfaced guy waved, smiling nervously.
	"...Erik..."
	A shorter, oriental fellow nodded.  "Hi."
	"...Ariel..."
	Short, petite, and full of energy.  She giggled a little.
	"...Drak..."
	Drak wasn't human, and only remotely human*oid*.  Five feet tall, 
shiny black skin, clammy to the touch, with a vaguely reptilian face 
highlighted by a thin, dark greenish slit where eyes would have been.  A 
mumbly voice seemed to come from everywhere around him.  "Pleased."
	"...and Sala."
	"Meased to pleat you", the seadweller offered.

	That elicited peals of laughter from Steve, and low groans from 
almost everyone else.  Nena chuckled.

	"And I'm Nena.  Damon's granddaughter."

	Steve looked at me strangely.  Then I realized I was blushing.
	"Lucky you."  The other Ben smirked.

	"All right, mixer everybody.  Steve, you're on drinks."  That ought 
to get everybody out of my hair.
	"I hate you, Damon."  Steve clenched his teeth, looking none too 
pleased.
	"Just be glad we couldn't wake up the spiders."
	He groaned, and walked away.

	"I wanted to talk to you about that."
	"Come on, then."

	We crossed the brook and sat down.
	"It's a lot to ask, but I need your help repairing the Seeker."
	"I'll do what I can."

	"What happened?"
	She looked away.  "Please, don't ask.  I don't want you to get 
hurt."

	I thought a moment.  "The X-Ray source, at the center of this 
galaxy?"
	"Don't!  I barely got away.  I'm captain of a junk heap now."
	"At least tell me--"

	"No.  I just...look, just leave it alone."  Her eyes were almost 
begging.

	I nodded finally.  "For now.  But if whoever it is is really that 
dangerous, something has to be done."

	"So.  Anything you *can* tell me?"
	She smiled a little, and some of that personable cheer brightened 
her features again.
	"We built the Seeker on Nefaroo, with the help of the spiders and 
the seadwellers.  Sala, Gvax, Hkkex, and I--"
	"Hkkex is still alive?"  I dimly remembered a sagging brown oldster 
from my visit to the spiders' sleeper ship.
	"They live to about 200 on the average."

	"We returned to Earth, and gathered a crew.  Mostly from the late 
1990's, since the councils formed right afterwards."
	"There's not much else I can say.  We've been in space for about 
six years now, not including our time in hibernation."

	I smiled weakly.  "You've been through a lot.  Time for a vacation, 
wouldn't you say?"
	"Back to Nefaroo.  I'll need the facilities they have there."
	"What facilities?"

	"A lot's happened.  You'll see."
	That was something to look forward to.  Then something else 
occurred to me.
	"How do you expect to get back to Nefaroo, anyway?"
	"My secret.  You'll find out.  Later."

	We stood.  She smiled, shaking her head slowly.  "I guess I still 
don't really believe this."
	"But it's been a long time."  And she hugged me close.

	Umm...
	It's going to be a while before I get used to this.

**********

	Justin heaved the last generator into place.
	"That's all of them",  his suit radio crackled at him.  Jeremy 
dragged the end of the cable over, and clicked it into the open socket.  
"It's set."
	"This should do it.  We should have enough power to bring this 
trash heap home."
	"As long as it doesn't stay that way, I'll be happy", Nena said.
	"Any help you need..."
	"Thanks.  But the spiders back on Nefaroo should be plenty."
	"Really?"  He gave her a quizzical look.  "I'd like to see that."

	"You will.  After we dock at the orbital station, I'll have Justin 
introduce you."


	Meanwhile, Steve was busy prying, as usual.

	"Tell me about the ring.  How come this is the first time I've 
heard about it?"

	"It was just too much.  I didn't want to remember.  Seeing Nena, 
though--"
	"You proposed to her, didn't you?"

	Damn him.

	We walked into my quarters.
	There was a cabinet tucked away into an unobtrusive corner.  I 
pressed the touchpad, and it popped open, recognizing my print.  I pulled 
out a tiny jewelry case, and opened it.

	The ring was silver, inlaid with a twisting design of gold leaves 
in a mobius strip around it.

	"I never even got the chance to give it to her.  She left before I--"
	"That day in the lab?"

	I looked up at him again, eyes glistening.

	Damn him.


	"I'm sorry, I couldn't make it last night.  I was so tired--"  
Kerin stifled a yawn.
	"There was something I wanted to talk about.  Now really isn't the 
time, though."
	"What is it?"

	I'd made a choice, then.  I loved her too much...

	"Remember that night, when we slept out near Punxuatawney under the 
stars?"
	"Yes.  I'll never forget it."
	"I wanted that night to last forever. I wanted for us..."

	I took a deep breath and tried again.  "I wanted for us to be 
together forever.  And that's what I wanted to tell you."

	She stared at me for a second, then looked away.  "I...I can't."
	"I know you won't understand.  Please..."  She was close to tears.

	"I wish I didn't understand."  It hadn't been enough.  I'd thought 
that, maybe...but it hadn't been enough.

	She whirled around, icy with anger, her eyes hard, steel gray.  
"You found out, didn't you?"

	"Say something!  You knew, and you let things go on anyway?  What 
were you trying to do?"
	"I don't know.  I wish I knew."

	She gestured at the desk.  "And when I put the electronic bugs in 
your computers two weeks ago, you knew about that too?"
	"That's why I had them sent away to be `fixed'."

	"Why?"  The anger faded a little, replaced with a questioning, 
plaintive look.

	Then she made up her mind.  "Goodbye.  Of course, I won't be seeing 
you again."
	"Wait!  I--"

	The door opened, and slammed shut, echoing in the dead air.  The 
footsteps outside quickly faded away.

	We never did trust each other.  But I'd wanted to believe.  Believe 
that maybe, she loved me enough to start.  But it hadn't been enough.

	A single teardrop hit the floor.

	Followed moments later, by the ring.

**********

	"The more I try to forget it--"
	"Don't."  He gazed back at me.  "Don't ever let it go."
	"If Nena is here, then that means you *will* save Kerin."

	"I know.  It's just that--"
	"Don't think about it.  It might take years.  But you'll see her 
again."

	"I don't know if I can go on like this for that long."
	He gave me a reassuring smile, and a hearty pat on the back.  "You 
will.  I know you will."
	"I hope you're right."  Because it hurt.  And I couldn't go on 
hurting this much.

**********

	On the bridge, the preparations for the jump were just about 
completed.  The viewscreen flashed, and Nena smiled calmly out at me.
	"I fed the jump data into your console already.  Whenever you're 
ready."
	"Your lead."

	She looked offscreen.  "Engage."
	Erik's voice piped up.  "Hey, we're leaving now."

	The Seeker reappeared, moving away.

	"Here we go."  Tap.  That button would look better if it was big, 
round, and red.

	The stars dimmed slightly, taking on a reddish tint.  The Seeker, 
still visible in the distance, looked warped and twisted in the hellish 
light.
	The jump ring coalesced, ever so slowly, blotting out the view of 
the stars as the darkness engulfed the ship.

	And everything exploded.

	Ahead, a sullen brown dwarf glared stubbornly back at us.  The 
Seeker drifted into view, circling away again.

	Nena appeared again.  "Now we head for Nefaroo.  You have the 
course laid in already."
	"You take all the fun out of life."  I grinned back.
	She smiled, and rubbed at her helmet.  "The fun's just beginning.  
Wait `til we arrive."

	The Seeker shot forward, and away.


Damon Casale, dc56+@andrew.cmu.edu

* Maison Ikkoku * Kyoko Otonashi * Video Girl Ai * Amano Ai *
               * Blue Lightning * Kerin Gray *
                   Blue Lightning forever!!