See Part One for Disclaimers

Clad once again in his black leather trousers and dark shirt, Galen made final adjustments to his instruments.  Whilst Dureena had slept peacefully in his bed he had been downloading instructions from the Circle.  One final tweak and the new sensors were set.  Now, should his ship come within a certain distance of the sole surviving Sharian, automatic warnings would alert him, through his sensors, to its presence.

He slipped on his heavy black coat, feeling the sensors connect; checking that everything was well.  His staff felt warm and familiar in his hand, energy surged through him and he breathed deeply, letting it flow through him, enervating and alive.

Before him lay Isabelle's heavy tome.  From her notations, he had calculated the position to within a sector or two.  It would not be hard to find if he combined his sensors with those of the Excalibur; should Matthew trust him to repeat the procedure.  A wry smile tipped his lips upward, he was not sure Gideon forgave even now.  But, if the virus was to be stopped, they would have to put personal differences aside.

Concentration furrowed his brow as he checked the flyer over.  Introducing any new system could upset the delicate fine tuning he had performed over the years, and he did not hear her soft footfalls.

"Galen?"  Refreshed, bathed and looking stunningly beautiful to him, she entered the flyer with care as though not sure of her welcome.  He watched her gaze travel over his coat and back up to his face.  "We"re leaving."  Not a question, but a statement.

"The book you had last night, it contains what could be the answer to Earth's problems.  Come and look."  He held out a hand to her, taking hers when she seemed reluctant.  He steered her to the open pages, and read with her the relevant passages and clues.  Eager that she should see the significance of the find.

"Will you come with the Excalibur?" she asked quietly.

"Of course."  She flinched at his distracted tone, and her eyes gazed at his coat with all its hidden gadgetry again, as though it was a barrier between them.

"How will you find her?  The captain will have set another destination by now."

Chuckling, he replied, "I have a tracking device hidden in an out of the way corner of the ship.  I know it has been driving Matthew insane trying to discover how I keep track of him."  He laughed down at her and for the first time saw her hesitancy.

"What's wrong?" He crouched down beside the chair so that he no longer loomed over her.

"And when the cure is found, you will leave again."  Her eyes refused to meet his, but her hand was tightly clenched against the chairs metal arm.

He tipped her head toward him, sensing that even now, after all they had been through these last few days, she was unsure of him.

"And you will come with me."  Raising one eyebrow he quipped, "Well, I can hardly teach you how to become a technomage via a correspondence course!"

Leaning in he kissed her soft lips.  "Foolish woman," her breathed against her mouth.  Her arms released his chair from their deadly grip and slipped around his neck, caressing the short hairs that rested under her fingers.

"How foolish?"

"Very," he said softly, kissing her until his head swam.  Instructing the flyer to seek out the Excalibur, he turned all his attention to assuring Dureena of his honest, well almost, intentions.

the end

Authors note:  Yes, I know there is another story to write -- what happens when Galen finds Gideon has the last box!  Well I will get to that, I promise.  Just give me a little time. <g>

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