-----chapter 3-----

1223 hrs EST

Remaining in hyperspace, where the high power signals of the dropped recon probes could get to the Excalibur quicker than through normal space, the ship remained orbiting the system beneath normal space.

By now it was mid day, and designated work shifts were either eating lunch, dinner, or breakfast in the mess hall.

To Maximilian Eilerson, the mess hall like everything else on the mile and a half long research ship was spacious. But nothing like the corporate cafaterium at IPX headquarters.

As Max dabbled with his chili, or so the chef called it, chief medical officer Sarah Chambers walked up to the table he was at and sat down. Without asking of course. Because after a two years serving together on the same starship, formalities between the command staff were literally non-existent.

"Good evening, Max," Sarah said as she grabbed her napkin and placed it on her lap.

"Evening," Max responded, continuing to spin his spoon in the chili. But mostly paying attention to the lap terminal before him.

"Interesting reading?"

"Actually, quite a bit."

Not getting anywhere, Sarah decided to press on. "Something Matthew has you working on?"

"You kidding? It's been three weeks since we've been planet-side with decent ruins. All we're doing is sitting. Waiting for the, my personal favorite, Raiders to show up."

"The intelligence I read up about this sector, has the Raider buildup increasing."

"And how did you get a hold of intel data?"

"I have my sources?" Sarah smiled. "You never said, what is it?"

What is what?"

"What are your reading, Max? What is so interesting that your totally ignoring me."

"Oh, right. Sorry. It's a piece of literature I managed to recover and download from our last target site. Took me two and a half weeks to translate the literature."

"Nearly two weeks for you to translate an ancient language? You sure you shouldn't stop by medbay?"

"I'm perfectly find. My knack that we've all come to know and love is still intact. It's just the dialect is similar to Old English like Shakespeare wrote in."

"Story any good?"

"Actually, yeah. When ever we get back to Earth, after our tour of duty is done on this ship, I'll get a publisher and translate it. It's, very interesting."

"Very interesting?"

"Very," Max said as he scrolled down to the next page. "Oh, have you heard anything about what happened on the bridge this morning?"

"May be. What did you hear?"

"I heard the captain, knocked his head on the conference room table."

"I heard it to," Sarah smiled. The mood between the two associates began to lighten up. "In fact, I think the entire crew's heard about it by now."

"Heard about what?" A voice said, nearly making Max jump out of his seat.

"Jeez, Galen. I told you not to do that."

"I know," Galen smiled, his wicked smile as moved out from behind Max and stand besides Max and Sarah.

"We were just talking about Matthew's mishap on the bridge, this morning." Sarah announced as she took a sip of her water.

"Ah, yes. Gossip. Surely you have something better to do than poke fun of your commanding officer."

"C'mon, Galen. It's boring as hell, waiting, sitting. We haven't heard anything from the Rangers in nearly four weeks, now. It's like we've ran out of planets."

"Highly, impossible, Maximilian."

"Surely, Galen, gossip is nothing under the stature of a Techno-Mage," Max said as he managed to keep the conversation going and continue to read the literature on his screen.

"Techno-Mages do not gossip. Only unless it best suits them."

"Max was just talking about publishing this alien story he recovered from our last target. You should think about your memoirs after the mission is over."

"The Memoirs of a Techno-Mage," Max announced. "I could see it. Just don't release it the week of mine. In fact, give it a couple of months, or a year. Hell, may be five after mine."

"I assure you, Maximilian, that I will not be writing any memoirs of my presence on Excalibur. My journeys are mine, and mine alone."

"Suit yourself," Max responded as he finished his chili, which tasted like soup, and pushed the bowl away.

Galen leaned over Max's shoulder to read the page on his terminal. As he did, Galen's eye brow raised.

"Ah, quite interesting." Galen said before he was off.

"You can read that?" Max asked as he pointed at the alien dialect.

"Do I want to know?" Sarah asked Galen.

"No," Galen responded swiftly and was off.

As he walked out of the mess, Sarah looked at Max.

"What? It's a classic, okay?"

Sarah smiled and enjoyed her lunch.

At junction 5, deck 12 in the BulletCar tube, standing off on the side of the magtracks, Matthew Gideon sat against the bulkhead, watching as the tubes sped past him, simulating a warm summer breeze back home.

Ever since he discovered it a two years ago, when humanity was being falsely accused at tampering with an alien civilization, he would always come to junction 5 fifteen minutes every day. Sometimes after duty he would spend hours at a time. Sitting, watching the BulletCars whiz by and extremely fast speeds, sipping a cold glass of tea or lemonade. Never did he miss this appointment.

Sitting against the cool bulkhead, he sat with his eyes closed, replacing the soft sound of the BulletCars passing with the sound of ocean waves. Picturing that he was sitting on his back deck at his beach house in Mexico on Earth. Watching as the waves crashed against the shore. Hoping one day he would be able to return. If there was a Earth, and a universe still standing.

Opening his eye, looking down the length of the tube supporting two BulletCars, his link chirped.

"Gideon, go," he said as he raised his wrist.

"Captain, recon-sats are picking up Raider activity five sectors from our location."

"Alter course and intercept. Battle stations."

"Aye, sir."

As Gideon opened the junction maintenance hatch, the sound of the ship going to battle stations rang throughout the ship.