Past and Present
Chapter 4
First Date
By: Tracy Reager (zara83@yahoo.com)
The usual...I don't own any of the characters.
Dureena and Galen landed the shuttle on a landing bay, and walked into Mars Dome 1. Dureena stopped just before the security checkpoint. "Do you have some kind of ID card? Because I don't want to spend the day in jail, they aren't very nice here."
"Yes, I have ID. The Captain gave me one for the Excalibur, it should do." He grinned and walked towards the guard. Both of them passed through without any problems.
"So Galen, what do you have in mind to do down here?"
"I don't know, I was going to ask you the same. I've never been on Mars before."
"Really?!" Dureena looked shocked. "I've been here a lot, half of the time I spent it in jail for a day or two."
"How come only two days?" Galen asked. He found her comment rather interesting. Hopefully she would tell him more about herself as the day went on.
"Usually after two days, security realized it was more trouble than it was worth to keep me locked up, so they would make me get on a transport and leave." Dureena smiled. "Of course after a months time I would come back here, and sometimes it would start all over again."
Galen laughed. "Sorry, but you sound proud of it. Didn't you ever get tired of getting kicked off the planet?"
"Not really. After awhile it became a game to me. I would make bets with myself to see how long it would take them to catch me the next time." Galen gave her a funny look. "Hey a girl has to have some kind of hobby!" They both laughed this time. "This is a day for firsts! Who knows what will be next!"
"What?" Galen stopped laughing. He was very confused now.
"Firsts. I think this is the first time I heard you really laugh, not just snicker at someone's thoughts, and I've never seen you without your cloak before. What's up?"
"Like I said on the Excalibur, I don't want to attract attention. The cloak makes me stand out too much in crowded areas like this." He kept looking around at everyone. Something about living a solitary life made him nervous around so many people. It wasn't that he was afraid of them, it just they seemed to be staring at him. He started doing mind exercises to keep himself occupied.
"Ah. Do you want to get something to eat? It's lunch time and I didn't eat anything today." Dureena noticed how Galen seemed to be not quite there.
"Lead the way. I'm sure you can think of a good place to eat." Galen followed her into the city. "You do have money right?"
"Not really, why? Don't you have any?"
"Why would I have money? I've been living on a starship, what would I have to buy there? That's why I brought you along." Galen responded calmly.
"Oh really? And where am I going to get money?" Dureena was annoyed: what kind of game was he playing?
"I'm sure you have your ways."
"You're kidding, right?"
"As always." Galen smiled and put his arm around her shoulder. "You need to relax more Dureena. Maybe you need this trip more than I do." Galen wasn't sure what it was about her that made him relax. He couldn't do that with anybody else, well except for Isabelle. He always felt calm when he was with her. But Dureena, what was it about her that... Galen paused in the middle of his thoughts and turned his attention back to his date.
"Very funny. They wandered to an open-air restaurant and ordered some food. This is strange; I'm really enjoying myself. Galen makes pretty good company and as much as it scares me, I think I'm developing feelings for him. They laughed while eating as Galen told Dureena stories from when he was growing up.
"I haven't had this much fun in a long time! Thanks for coming with me Dureena."
"Me either, Galen." She threw away her trash and headed down the main street. Galen followed her. "Come on, I want to show you something. It will really give you a good laugh!"
"Where are we going?" Galen replied and ran after her. He could barely keep up, she was dodging this way and that; in and out of people. He almost bumped into her when she suddenly stopped in front of a huge building. "The Earth Space Museum?" He asked in a not-so-very amused tone. "What in the world are we doing here?"
"Every once in awhile I stop in here. It reminds me of how far we've come over the past few centuries. And it's a good place to kill time." She noticed Galen lacked her enthusiasm on the subject. "Come on, it'll be fun." She led him into the building. For hours they walked along the exhibits, commenting on different ones and laughing at others. They even managed to run into Max there, not that it surprised Galen. He figured this would be a place Max would hang out. After they talked for a few minutes Max left, saying he had other business to attend to. Neither Dureena nor Galen wanted to ask what it was. They finished their tour of the museum and left the building. When they got outside, Galen noticed the sun was beginning to go down. He also noticed that most of the business people had left the streets, and the only people left looked like the kind you didn't want to meet in a dark alley at night.
"Dureena, where did everyone else go?" Asked Galen, keeping his eyes on the crowd. At least they don't seem to be staring anymore. He thought sadly.
"Work hours are over, most of the rich people went home and they will most likely stay there until morning. They think it's safer that way."
"Oh." He decided not to comment on it. They continued to walk back to the main part of the city. But standing to the side of a fruit stand, a man was watching them with evil eyes. He was definitely not happy. How dare she! He said to himself. As he watched them turn the corner a plan formed in his head. He smiled an evil smile and walked off.
"Galen, there has been something I've been meaning to talk to you about. If you don't want to that's ok, but..."
"What is your question?"
"Why did we go to the Well of Forever? I know you said it was a place of answers, but I think you had other reasons for going there."
"Didn't you enjoy being there?"
"Yes, it was very beautiful, I wish I could've went down there."
"And did your question get answered?"
"You already told me it did."
"Really? But do *you* think it was answered?"
Dureena was at a lost for words. She never actually dwelled on the subject before. "Well, I...uh...um I'm not sure. I think it was, but how are you supposed to know?"
"That is for you to decide, not me or anyone else." Galen paused and looked at her. "Do you understand?"
"I'll have to get back to you on that one."
Galen laughed. After a minute he nudged her in the arm. "Dureena, the man about fifteen feet behind us, do you know him?"
"You mean the one who has been following us for awhile?"
"That would be the one."
"Nope."
"Shall we go back to the shuttle?"
"That's probably a good idea." She noticed a few more people walking towards them. "Any chance you can make us disappear?"
"Maybe, are you afraid of them?"
"No! I'm just not looking for a fight." They started to walk faster.
"What would you like me to do?"
"I don't know, think of something scary!" Just then, a rock flew towards Galen's head. It missed him by only a few inches. He quickly put up a shield around himself and Dureena.
"Stay close to me." She looked up and saw what looked like three transparent shapes in the sky. By now most of the people left the streets and they were alone with the attackers. More rocks started flying through the air, but they bounced harmlessly off the shield. One of the men glanced to his side and let out a loud scream.
"Get it away! Someone make it go away!" He ran screaming down the street, waving his arms above his head as he went. But no matter how hard he tried the holo-demon stayed with him, biting him every few seconds. Galen smiled; Dureena just looked relieved even though there were still five other men looking at them with evil grins.
"I think we should get out of here while we can, before the rest of them get any ideas." They jogged up the street, when they bumped into Trace.
"What happened to you Dureena, I heard screaming?"
"It wasn't me, a few men attacked us. Galen saved me." Dureena didn't realize it, but her last comment made Trace want to scream.
"Thanks for your concern Trace." Galen patted him on the shoulder, secretly placing a probe there. Something about the situation didn't make any sense, but he had a feeling Trace knew more than he was letting on. He took Dureena's hand and they walked back to the shuttle.
Forget screaming, now I just want to punch him! Trace was very angry. He walked down the street to where the men were standing.
**************
"Thanks Galen."
"You're welcome." He squeezed her hand, and she returned the favor. As they got on the shuttle, Galen accessed the probe on Trace's shoulder and began recording it.
"You know just for the record, I could've handled that myself."
"I'm sure you could have, but isn't it nice to have someone looking out for you?"
"Yes." The shuttle slowly ascended to the Excalibur. "You never answered my question."
"Which one?" He asked again even though he knew the answer. Why does she keep asking me about this?
"Why we went to the Well of Forever."
"I already told you that..."
"No, I want the real reason." She glared at him.
Galen sighed. "Isabelle."
"What? That's a name not a reason."
"It's both, but it is the reason."
"Not a very good one. How about you tell me more?"
"I don't like to talk about it." Galen parked the shuttle in the spot he took it from earlier in the day. "Well, it's been a fun day, thanks for coming along." He hoped that quickly changing the subject would discourage her from asking again.
"Not a problem, I had a good time. Do you want to go down again tomorrow?"
"Maybe, but I might have something else to do. Let me think about it." They said goodbye and went their separate ways. Just as Dureena stepped into the elevator, she saw Galen's flyer take off and leave the Excalibur. I wonder where he's going? She went back to her room and decided to take a nice long shower. Now if only I had real water!
Galen cloaked his flyer and guided it down to the planet. He wanted to confirm what he just saw from the probe on Trace's shoulder. He landed it outside Mars Dome 1, put a shield up and walked to one of the access doors. He quietly wound his back to the street they were attacked on the find Trace talking to the six men. Actually he wasn't talking, he was yelling at them.
"You stupid fools! How hard can it be to take down one man? One man! Against the six of you! Pathetic!" Trace shouted.
"But you said not to hurt him, just separate the two of them so you could save her!"
"I know what I said, but you have managed to screw it up! Now she thinks I'm just a concerned friend and that Galen is her guardian angel! Exactly the opposite of what I wanted to happen!" He shouted some more, than turned and walked off in disgust.
Galen didn't stay to hear the end of it. He stormed back to his flyer. I can't believe him! Why would he do such a thing? He cloaked his flyer again and followed Trace's shuttle back to the Excalibur, watching the probe the entire time. As soon as Trace got back on board he stormed back to his quarters. He took his jacket off and threw it over a chair giving Galen a perfect view of him and his vid screen.
Galen sat in his flyer recording everything Trace said. He was definitely going to tell Dureena about this. After Trace shut up and left his room, Galen headed for Dureena's room.
Dureena was making herself a snack when she heard the door chime. "Enter." She walked out into the living room to see who it was. "Galen, what are you doing here? I saw you leave before."
"I only went down to Mars." He paused, unsure of how Dureena was going to take his news.
"Is something wrong?" She sat down on a chair. "Why did you go back to Mars?"
Galen sighed. He held out his palm and an image of Trace appeared there. He proceeded to play back the recording for Dureena. "...stupid fools! How hard can it be to take down one man? One man! Against the six of you! Pathetic!" Trace shouted.
"But you said not to hurt him, just separate the two of them so you could save her!"
"I know what I said, but you have managed to screw it up! Now she thinks I'm just a concerned friend and that Galen is her guardian angel! Exactly the opposite of what I wanted to happen!" After it finished, the hologram disappeared.
Dureena just sat there in shock. She wasn't sure to be hurt or angry. "How...Why...?"
"I don't know Dureena, but there's more." He repeated the process and an image of Trace in his quarters popped up.
"I can't believe you did that man!"
"Look I didn't say it was the smartest thing in the world, but it was the first that came to mind. It's no big deal really, the Captain will never find out about it." Trace replied.
"It's not him I'd be worried about. It's Galen. You better hope he never finds out, or you'll likely end up as a pile of goo on the floor!"
"No. Galen doesn't scare me, and he would never hurt me."
"Huh! That's what you think! My advice; forget about the girl, move on to better things. There will always be other girls."
"But not Dureena. And it's not just her, it's that fact that she needs a real man, not some spell-casting trickster!" Trace shouted at the vid screen. The image disappeared.
"Galen, I'm so sorry."
"For what? You didn't have anything to do with this. You're as much a victim as I am. Besides it's not the first time I've been called names."
"Ugh, I'm going to kill him!" She got up to leave, but Galen stopped her.
"No you won't. I have a better idea, one that will make him suffer. Let me handle it."
Dureena gave him a funny look. "How?"
"Trust me, he'll never think of doing it again." Galen patted her on the back and left. I wonder if the Captain is up at this time. He wandered to Gideon's quarters and rang the bell. I'll be nice and knock for once.
"Who is visiting at this hour?" Gideon said aloud. He opened the door and saw Galen standing here. "What no surprise entrances tonight? Why are you here at this time anyway?"
"Can't I be a nice guy for once?" Galen smiled.
"You have something up your sleeve, I can tell by the look on your face." Matthew walked over to the sink and got a glass of water. "So what is the problem?"
"Oh no problem really, I just wanted to report a small case of harassment towards Dureena and myself." He turned to leave. "But if you're busy, I can always come back later."
"Wait. What are you talking about?"
Galen replayed both images of Trace for the Captain. Gideon was not very happy. "Why would he want to do this? And are you really going out with Dureena?"
"No! She just went with me to Mars to avoid going with Trace!" Galen sat down in a chair. "Apparently he's been bugging her about going to Mars for the past week. I guess he got a little jealous that she told him no, then went down with me."
"Why would Trace be jealous of you? You're not even here half the time." Gideon started to pace the room. "Well I'll question him tomorrow about it. Thanks for telling me Galen." He noticed the amused look on Galen's face. "Is there something else I should know about?"
"Sorry, I didn't want to interrupt your idea." Gideon just gave him a dirty look. "You don't have to do anything, I'll take care of it. I just thought you would like to know." With that, Galen left.
"What is he up to?" Gideon played some chess while thinking about it, then went to bed.
Chapter 4
First Date
By: Tracy Reager (zara83@yahoo.com)
The usual...I don't own any of the characters.
Dureena and Galen landed the shuttle on a landing bay, and walked into Mars Dome 1. Dureena stopped just before the security checkpoint. "Do you have some kind of ID card? Because I don't want to spend the day in jail, they aren't very nice here."
"Yes, I have ID. The Captain gave me one for the Excalibur, it should do." He grinned and walked towards the guard. Both of them passed through without any problems.
"So Galen, what do you have in mind to do down here?"
"I don't know, I was going to ask you the same. I've never been on Mars before."
"Really?!" Dureena looked shocked. "I've been here a lot, half of the time I spent it in jail for a day or two."
"How come only two days?" Galen asked. He found her comment rather interesting. Hopefully she would tell him more about herself as the day went on.
"Usually after two days, security realized it was more trouble than it was worth to keep me locked up, so they would make me get on a transport and leave." Dureena smiled. "Of course after a months time I would come back here, and sometimes it would start all over again."
Galen laughed. "Sorry, but you sound proud of it. Didn't you ever get tired of getting kicked off the planet?"
"Not really. After awhile it became a game to me. I would make bets with myself to see how long it would take them to catch me the next time." Galen gave her a funny look. "Hey a girl has to have some kind of hobby!" They both laughed this time. "This is a day for firsts! Who knows what will be next!"
"What?" Galen stopped laughing. He was very confused now.
"Firsts. I think this is the first time I heard you really laugh, not just snicker at someone's thoughts, and I've never seen you without your cloak before. What's up?"
"Like I said on the Excalibur, I don't want to attract attention. The cloak makes me stand out too much in crowded areas like this." He kept looking around at everyone. Something about living a solitary life made him nervous around so many people. It wasn't that he was afraid of them, it just they seemed to be staring at him. He started doing mind exercises to keep himself occupied.
"Ah. Do you want to get something to eat? It's lunch time and I didn't eat anything today." Dureena noticed how Galen seemed to be not quite there.
"Lead the way. I'm sure you can think of a good place to eat." Galen followed her into the city. "You do have money right?"
"Not really, why? Don't you have any?"
"Why would I have money? I've been living on a starship, what would I have to buy there? That's why I brought you along." Galen responded calmly.
"Oh really? And where am I going to get money?" Dureena was annoyed: what kind of game was he playing?
"I'm sure you have your ways."
"You're kidding, right?"
"As always." Galen smiled and put his arm around her shoulder. "You need to relax more Dureena. Maybe you need this trip more than I do." Galen wasn't sure what it was about her that made him relax. He couldn't do that with anybody else, well except for Isabelle. He always felt calm when he was with her. But Dureena, what was it about her that... Galen paused in the middle of his thoughts and turned his attention back to his date.
"Very funny. They wandered to an open-air restaurant and ordered some food. This is strange; I'm really enjoying myself. Galen makes pretty good company and as much as it scares me, I think I'm developing feelings for him. They laughed while eating as Galen told Dureena stories from when he was growing up.
"I haven't had this much fun in a long time! Thanks for coming with me Dureena."
"Me either, Galen." She threw away her trash and headed down the main street. Galen followed her. "Come on, I want to show you something. It will really give you a good laugh!"
"Where are we going?" Galen replied and ran after her. He could barely keep up, she was dodging this way and that; in and out of people. He almost bumped into her when she suddenly stopped in front of a huge building. "The Earth Space Museum?" He asked in a not-so-very amused tone. "What in the world are we doing here?"
"Every once in awhile I stop in here. It reminds me of how far we've come over the past few centuries. And it's a good place to kill time." She noticed Galen lacked her enthusiasm on the subject. "Come on, it'll be fun." She led him into the building. For hours they walked along the exhibits, commenting on different ones and laughing at others. They even managed to run into Max there, not that it surprised Galen. He figured this would be a place Max would hang out. After they talked for a few minutes Max left, saying he had other business to attend to. Neither Dureena nor Galen wanted to ask what it was. They finished their tour of the museum and left the building. When they got outside, Galen noticed the sun was beginning to go down. He also noticed that most of the business people had left the streets, and the only people left looked like the kind you didn't want to meet in a dark alley at night.
"Dureena, where did everyone else go?" Asked Galen, keeping his eyes on the crowd. At least they don't seem to be staring anymore. He thought sadly.
"Work hours are over, most of the rich people went home and they will most likely stay there until morning. They think it's safer that way."
"Oh." He decided not to comment on it. They continued to walk back to the main part of the city. But standing to the side of a fruit stand, a man was watching them with evil eyes. He was definitely not happy. How dare she! He said to himself. As he watched them turn the corner a plan formed in his head. He smiled an evil smile and walked off.
"Galen, there has been something I've been meaning to talk to you about. If you don't want to that's ok, but..."
"What is your question?"
"Why did we go to the Well of Forever? I know you said it was a place of answers, but I think you had other reasons for going there."
"Didn't you enjoy being there?"
"Yes, it was very beautiful, I wish I could've went down there."
"And did your question get answered?"
"You already told me it did."
"Really? But do *you* think it was answered?"
Dureena was at a lost for words. She never actually dwelled on the subject before. "Well, I...uh...um I'm not sure. I think it was, but how are you supposed to know?"
"That is for you to decide, not me or anyone else." Galen paused and looked at her. "Do you understand?"
"I'll have to get back to you on that one."
Galen laughed. After a minute he nudged her in the arm. "Dureena, the man about fifteen feet behind us, do you know him?"
"You mean the one who has been following us for awhile?"
"That would be the one."
"Nope."
"Shall we go back to the shuttle?"
"That's probably a good idea." She noticed a few more people walking towards them. "Any chance you can make us disappear?"
"Maybe, are you afraid of them?"
"No! I'm just not looking for a fight." They started to walk faster.
"What would you like me to do?"
"I don't know, think of something scary!" Just then, a rock flew towards Galen's head. It missed him by only a few inches. He quickly put up a shield around himself and Dureena.
"Stay close to me." She looked up and saw what looked like three transparent shapes in the sky. By now most of the people left the streets and they were alone with the attackers. More rocks started flying through the air, but they bounced harmlessly off the shield. One of the men glanced to his side and let out a loud scream.
"Get it away! Someone make it go away!" He ran screaming down the street, waving his arms above his head as he went. But no matter how hard he tried the holo-demon stayed with him, biting him every few seconds. Galen smiled; Dureena just looked relieved even though there were still five other men looking at them with evil grins.
"I think we should get out of here while we can, before the rest of them get any ideas." They jogged up the street, when they bumped into Trace.
"What happened to you Dureena, I heard screaming?"
"It wasn't me, a few men attacked us. Galen saved me." Dureena didn't realize it, but her last comment made Trace want to scream.
"Thanks for your concern Trace." Galen patted him on the shoulder, secretly placing a probe there. Something about the situation didn't make any sense, but he had a feeling Trace knew more than he was letting on. He took Dureena's hand and they walked back to the shuttle.
Forget screaming, now I just want to punch him! Trace was very angry. He walked down the street to where the men were standing.
**************
"Thanks Galen."
"You're welcome." He squeezed her hand, and she returned the favor. As they got on the shuttle, Galen accessed the probe on Trace's shoulder and began recording it.
"You know just for the record, I could've handled that myself."
"I'm sure you could have, but isn't it nice to have someone looking out for you?"
"Yes." The shuttle slowly ascended to the Excalibur. "You never answered my question."
"Which one?" He asked again even though he knew the answer. Why does she keep asking me about this?
"Why we went to the Well of Forever."
"I already told you that..."
"No, I want the real reason." She glared at him.
Galen sighed. "Isabelle."
"What? That's a name not a reason."
"It's both, but it is the reason."
"Not a very good one. How about you tell me more?"
"I don't like to talk about it." Galen parked the shuttle in the spot he took it from earlier in the day. "Well, it's been a fun day, thanks for coming along." He hoped that quickly changing the subject would discourage her from asking again.
"Not a problem, I had a good time. Do you want to go down again tomorrow?"
"Maybe, but I might have something else to do. Let me think about it." They said goodbye and went their separate ways. Just as Dureena stepped into the elevator, she saw Galen's flyer take off and leave the Excalibur. I wonder where he's going? She went back to her room and decided to take a nice long shower. Now if only I had real water!
Galen cloaked his flyer and guided it down to the planet. He wanted to confirm what he just saw from the probe on Trace's shoulder. He landed it outside Mars Dome 1, put a shield up and walked to one of the access doors. He quietly wound his back to the street they were attacked on the find Trace talking to the six men. Actually he wasn't talking, he was yelling at them.
"You stupid fools! How hard can it be to take down one man? One man! Against the six of you! Pathetic!" Trace shouted.
"But you said not to hurt him, just separate the two of them so you could save her!"
"I know what I said, but you have managed to screw it up! Now she thinks I'm just a concerned friend and that Galen is her guardian angel! Exactly the opposite of what I wanted to happen!" He shouted some more, than turned and walked off in disgust.
Galen didn't stay to hear the end of it. He stormed back to his flyer. I can't believe him! Why would he do such a thing? He cloaked his flyer again and followed Trace's shuttle back to the Excalibur, watching the probe the entire time. As soon as Trace got back on board he stormed back to his quarters. He took his jacket off and threw it over a chair giving Galen a perfect view of him and his vid screen.
Galen sat in his flyer recording everything Trace said. He was definitely going to tell Dureena about this. After Trace shut up and left his room, Galen headed for Dureena's room.
Dureena was making herself a snack when she heard the door chime. "Enter." She walked out into the living room to see who it was. "Galen, what are you doing here? I saw you leave before."
"I only went down to Mars." He paused, unsure of how Dureena was going to take his news.
"Is something wrong?" She sat down on a chair. "Why did you go back to Mars?"
Galen sighed. He held out his palm and an image of Trace appeared there. He proceeded to play back the recording for Dureena. "...stupid fools! How hard can it be to take down one man? One man! Against the six of you! Pathetic!" Trace shouted.
"But you said not to hurt him, just separate the two of them so you could save her!"
"I know what I said, but you have managed to screw it up! Now she thinks I'm just a concerned friend and that Galen is her guardian angel! Exactly the opposite of what I wanted to happen!" After it finished, the hologram disappeared.
Dureena just sat there in shock. She wasn't sure to be hurt or angry. "How...Why...?"
"I don't know Dureena, but there's more." He repeated the process and an image of Trace in his quarters popped up.
"I can't believe you did that man!"
"Look I didn't say it was the smartest thing in the world, but it was the first that came to mind. It's no big deal really, the Captain will never find out about it." Trace replied.
"It's not him I'd be worried about. It's Galen. You better hope he never finds out, or you'll likely end up as a pile of goo on the floor!"
"No. Galen doesn't scare me, and he would never hurt me."
"Huh! That's what you think! My advice; forget about the girl, move on to better things. There will always be other girls."
"But not Dureena. And it's not just her, it's that fact that she needs a real man, not some spell-casting trickster!" Trace shouted at the vid screen. The image disappeared.
"Galen, I'm so sorry."
"For what? You didn't have anything to do with this. You're as much a victim as I am. Besides it's not the first time I've been called names."
"Ugh, I'm going to kill him!" She got up to leave, but Galen stopped her.
"No you won't. I have a better idea, one that will make him suffer. Let me handle it."
Dureena gave him a funny look. "How?"
"Trust me, he'll never think of doing it again." Galen patted her on the back and left. I wonder if the Captain is up at this time. He wandered to Gideon's quarters and rang the bell. I'll be nice and knock for once.
"Who is visiting at this hour?" Gideon said aloud. He opened the door and saw Galen standing here. "What no surprise entrances tonight? Why are you here at this time anyway?"
"Can't I be a nice guy for once?" Galen smiled.
"You have something up your sleeve, I can tell by the look on your face." Matthew walked over to the sink and got a glass of water. "So what is the problem?"
"Oh no problem really, I just wanted to report a small case of harassment towards Dureena and myself." He turned to leave. "But if you're busy, I can always come back later."
"Wait. What are you talking about?"
Galen replayed both images of Trace for the Captain. Gideon was not very happy. "Why would he want to do this? And are you really going out with Dureena?"
"No! She just went with me to Mars to avoid going with Trace!" Galen sat down in a chair. "Apparently he's been bugging her about going to Mars for the past week. I guess he got a little jealous that she told him no, then went down with me."
"Why would Trace be jealous of you? You're not even here half the time." Gideon started to pace the room. "Well I'll question him tomorrow about it. Thanks for telling me Galen." He noticed the amused look on Galen's face. "Is there something else I should know about?"
"Sorry, I didn't want to interrupt your idea." Gideon just gave him a dirty look. "You don't have to do anything, I'll take care of it. I just thought you would like to know." With that, Galen left.
"What is he up to?" Gideon played some chess while thinking about it, then went to bed.