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Everything passed in a blur with only brief moments of such intense clarity that she wondered if she was truly alive most of the time.
Her later childhood and adolescence had been spent submerged in technical manuals and amid disassembled computers, indulging both her calling and fascination while simultaneously distancing the memory of her family��s disappointment. Her family was a long line of warriors, until her, the tech. Even now the bitterness in that statement stung.
Gilina had known from earliest recollection that she simply was not cut out to be a warrior, though she kept that opinion to herself. She was far more interested in the mechanics behind the Prowlers than in actually piloting one. One of those brief moments of clarity was seeing two techs overhauling an engine on the day she had been taken on a tour of the hanger. All the parts and pieces seemed impossibly tangled, but the techs had fitted them together with flawless precision. It had been a struggle to keep her focus on the prowler pilot, a distant relation, and his monologue. She would have given anything to be able to simply go and watch the techs at work, but she did as she was expected to do.
At twelve all Sebaccean children passed through a battery of tests to determine future placement with the Peacekeepers. It was then that Gilina was designated a tech. She had only rarely seen her family, but her older brother had come to visit her and she knew the contempt in his eyes would be echoed in those of their parents. He had said nothing of his feelings, after all it would not have been proper, but as they sat awkwardly at the small table in the common room, Gilina felt the barriers being erected between them. Rylan had never bothered to contact her, much less see her, after that. Gilina had only learned of his death eight years later when she found a message waiting at her station. She did not mourn Rylan, by then it had seemed she had lost him long before.
Her training seemed to have flown by so quickly. It was arduous and demanding, but Gilina had never felt such satisfaction as when she made her assignments and projects come out perfectly. She had left the training program with high marks and been assigned to Crais�� command carrier, a prime assignment with many opportunities for advancement.
Her family continued to snub her, even after Rylan��s death, but Gilina had forged stronger ties with her fellow techs. They understood her talk of circuits, codes and parts, and suffered the same abuse and disrespect from the very warriors who needed their skills to do their duties. Amongst the techs there was a pride that even though they were never appreciated or recognized, they were vital to the continued efforts of the Peacekeepers.
After all, as one of her instructors had been fond of pointing out, without the techs no prowlers would be able to function.
Gilina had come to accept her position, and if the warriors and her own family held her in contempt she had status amongst the techs. They respected her knowledge and she reveled in that respect.
Then she met John Crichton.
He was a scientist and a tech, but he did not accept the abuse or the view that his skills were inferior to those of a soldier. John even had the somewhat grudging respect of Aeryn Sun, an officer! A disgraced officer, but contempt for those who were not warriors had always been deeply ingrained in the Peacekeepers.
Gilina replayed every moment with John on the Zelbinion and on Moya in her mind so many times. The Zelbinion, even the thought of it sent a thrill through her body that was not caused by remembrance of its deeds. Somehow that ancient and revered ship seemed the appropriate setting for her meeting with John.
Somehow, Gilina knew they would meet again and he would once again alter her perspective.