"A battery is a storage device for containing the raw power generated from the wind mills you helped us set up," Felix replies. "They use the wind to spin rods of magnetic iron, which brush up against coils of copper to generate small amounts of lightning. The lightning is then channeled down more lengths of wire into the ship, where it's stored in the ship's massive array of battery terminals. There are smaller batteries we use to power various other devices. It's how we get a lot of things to do the stuff that we do."

"Patrols and sentries, mostly. With guns, hand-to-hand combat really only comes into play when you want to be very quiet."

"You use lightning to power this?" asks Sir Bevier.

Sir Ulath glances over at Nathan. "A properly sharp axe would have done a better job than a blunt one if you want to be silent," he says. "A blunt axe you've got to really hack at someone, and then your axe might get stuck, plus you've got a really loud thump. For a really swift and silent kill, a sharp weapon is far superior. Even if it means a couple of cold nights."

Nate shakes his head and pulls a whetstone out of a pouch.

"That's why you sharpen it while sitting around the fire after you're finished. A dull axe doesn't cut much wood, or split many helmets, and don't even get me started on shovels."

Sir Ulath frowns. "Let me see your axe."

Nate reaches down to his pack and pulls his tomahawk from it's strap before handing it to Sir Ulath handle first. It is very, very, sharp.

"Hmmm. Not bad. Could be sharper, but... not bad at all. But look, continually re-sharpening it has worn your blade down somewhat. That changes the balance of your axe, which can change how you swing it in battle. Battles have been lost for things like that."

"Something of an oversimplification," Felix says to Sir Bevier, "but that's the basic gist of it. Though lightning is something far greater and more powerful. If we tried to harness it directly it'd destroy everything we tried to hook it up to. But what we generate with the windmills, electricity, is simpler and more refined. Easier to manage and control and far less deadly."

Felix concentrates for a moment to switch back to his native English.

"Hey Thomas. With all the chaos that's been going in since we woke up, I've never gotten the chance. You want to take a look at the hydroponics wing with me after lunch, see what all it'll take to get it up and running?"

Arkady considers what he's been hearing, then comments in English "If we can find one which works, we should set up a fuel cell in the hydroponic section for power. And of course,we need to see what seeds have survived. " He then goes back to the local language and turns to Sir Bevier: "Electricity behaves a bit like water; a huge rushing river of it is lightning, while our wires carry tiny streams we can use without getting washed away. A battery would be a...holding pond."

Then he looks back at Piper, and asks "Do you play a pipe? A flute?"

"Huh." Sir Bevier frowns. "So, it's like... tiny drops of lightning? Lightning is a liquid, then?"

Thomas nods at Felix. "Probably a good idea," he says. "I've been looking over that swamp, it needs some pretty serious work to become a farm."

Piper pulls out a pipe from - somewhere (where does she keep it, that white dress she's wearing doesn't have pockets...). She plays a jaunty little tune.

"Technically lightning is hot enough to be a plasma, which is why trying to do anything with it is a bad idea," Felix explains, "but it and electricity follow certain behavioral patterns that are like water. Water flows into streams and rivers until it reaches an end point like a lake or an ocean. Electricity and lightning do the same, except they're trying to get to ground by following paths of least resistance. Certain metals like copper and steel are easy to flow through, while other substances like glass and plastic are almost impossible to flow through. By building things in a certain way, it's possible to control the flow of electricity to one's liking and harness it however one wishes. If one understands its rules of behavior, one can tame it and control it effectively."

Felix turns back to Thomas and talks to him in English again.

"Alright. After we get done here let's do that, then. At the very least see what all needs doing, anyway."

"Plasma' is like a very hot flame."

Arkady watches Piper play for a moment, then nods. "You are very good. Young one, do you have parents?"

"Been a long time since I worked with 'ponics," says Thomas. "One thing I can tell you right upfront, we'll need distilled water, and lots of it. That was supposed to come from the ship's tanks, but..."

Piper responds to Arkady's question by sticking out her tongue at him, and then continuing her tune.

"We've already got pipes and a pump running to the river nearby," Felix replies. "Once we've sorted out any maintenance issues that might have come up over the past few thousand years, we can see about getting power to the ship's water distillation systems."

Arkady switches to English. "You know, I am not sure, but this little girl might not be what she seems. Well, if she is friendly, so be it." He looks at the Terrans and continues: "Tell me, gentlemen; what are we using for power now?"