Past and Present
Chapter 8
The Talk
Tracy Reager
***I would like to thank everyone who has left review comments. It is greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading (
The usual, I don't any of the characters.
She whispered the word and looked him in the eyes.
Galen didn't know what to say he wasn't expecting her to be that straightforward about it. "What about us?" The tech echoed his anxiety; he really needed to get away from the Excalibur.
"Can we go some place more private than a hallway?" He nodded. They walked in silence down to Galen's flyer. Once inside, Dureena began pacing the room. By this time Galen didn't know what to think. Her pacing made him more nervous.
"Galen, I don't know how to tell you this, but I think I'm falling in love with you." She put her head down so she didn't have to look at him. For this, Galen was thankful.
He was trying to think of something to say. He didn't want to upset her, but he was afraid to tell her how he really felt. "You think? Sounds to me like you're not sure."
Dureena was definitely not expecting that kind of response. "Are you mocking me? Because I just went out on a limb to tell you that! It's not that easy for me to fall in love again, I've been hurt too many times in the past. But hey, if you're too good for me then I'll just leave!" She started to walk away, not really knowing where the exit was.
"Dureena wait. I didn't mean it that way, it's just...I wanted to make sure you were serious before I told you." He looked hopefully in her direction and found out she stopped her retreat and was staring right at him.
"Told me what?"
"That I...feel the same way about you." He actually felt relieved after saying it, but he was still nervous about the situation. "I didn't want to say anything, because I was a afraid you wouldn't feel the same way." He cast his eyes down, unable to look her in the eyes.
"It's alright, I was thinking the same thing myself." She reassured him, now that her anger was gone. Both of them chuckled. "So what are we going to do about it now?" But neither of them had an answer to the question. Dureena glanced nervously at Galen, but he seemed to be staring into space. "Are you at least going to say something?!"
"What do you want me to say?"
"Well a comment either way would be nice!" Her anger was returning.
Galen's mind was racing, he started to do mind exercises, but they weren't helping. He was getting upset, except it wasn't directed towards Dureena, but himself. He was angry with himself for falling in love with her, angry for letting her fall in love with him, angry for not leaving sooner. His mind was full of emotion and it was looking for an escape. "Fine, I admit, I have feelings for you! Are you happy now?" He yelled at her. She was very shocked, she never saw him act this way before. "Let's see what else would you like me to say? How about how hard it was to open myself up to someone again? Maybe you want to hear that I'm still in love with Isabelle. What else do you want to know?!" He was really angry and he needed to get of the Excalibur...now.
Dureena just looked at him; she couldn't find something to say. He was starting to scare her...the look in his eyes was frightening. She was afraid he would lose control and strike against her. All of her instincts told her to fight now before it was too late. But her head told her to run, because she knew she couldn't defend herself against him. So she gave him one final look and ran down a hallway, hoping it would lead to an exit. Luckily it did. She just took a few steps away form the flyer when the ramp closed and it lifted off the ground.
Galen was relieved when Dureena left his ship he automatically told it to take off. As soon as she was clear, he directed it to fly out of the flight deck and into space as fast as it could. The result was a wave of energy knocking anything over along the way.
"What the hell was that?" Gideon felt a slight vibration on the bridge.
"Control tower reports a ship leaving the area...in a big hurry." Lt. Matheson reported back.
"Who was it, and what were they thinking?" Gideon exclaimed.
"Unsure, they just saw something fly past. It was going to fast and they think the increased pressure knocked out their scanners. The computer says nothing went by." Matheson paused. "Could they really have been going that fast?"
"Sir, look!" One of the navigation people pointed out the window.
"Open a channel, find out why he did that!"
"We're being blocked."
"Weapon control fire a few shots in his direction, but don't hit him."
"Weapons system can't lock on!"
"I know that, just aim in the general direction." Gideon was mad. Why would Galen do something that foolish? The particle beams missed Galen's flyer. Unexpectedly, it turned around to face the Excalibur. To bright orange balls emerged from the front. "What is that?" Before someone could answer his question, they hit the ship above the bridge, shaking the area.
"Direct hit, 5% damage to hull. Autorepair is slowly working." The nav tech looked frantic. "That was just one shot! How could it get through the shields so easily?!"
"Galen! I know you can hear me! Why did you just do that? Are you trying to kill my crew?!"
Surrounded in darkness, Galen realized with horror what he had just done. He was careless in his rage, he only meant for the blast to bounce of the shields. Unable to speak with Gideon, he turned the ship around and speed off. After he was far enough away, he put the ship on autopilot and conjured a blue ball of fire. He brought it down on himself, once...twice...three times...four times, until the pain was too much. He forced the screen to go blank. What have I done? I attacked the people I considered friends. I hurt Dureena, she'll probably never talk to me again...if I'm ever allowed back on the Excalibur. He was emotionally drained. Slowly, Galen went into his room, took off his cloak and lay down. He fell asleep instantly.
*************
"Dureena!" Gideon called. He was breathless from hurrying down from the bridge. He was glad to see she wasn't hurt...well physically anyway. He looked around the flight deck and saw things returning to normal. "Are you alright? What happened?"
"I don't know, Galen and I argued and I got upset and ran out. As soon as I was clear, he took off. I was knocked over by the force, then as I was getting up I felt the ship shake. What happened?"
"Galen fired on us."
"He what?!"
"I tried to raise him on the comm link, but he wouldn't respond. So I had weapons fire a few shots to get his attention, and he turned around and fired back." Gideon decided to take her to Med Lab. "Come on, let's have Dr. Chambers take a look at you."
"I can't believe he would do something like that." She replied, walking towards the bullet car. "Something is wrong with him, he was acting really weird before I left."
"What do you mean?" They stepped in the car and sat down. "Deck 12." It took off.
"Well, when we were talking, he seemed nervous, almost agitated. Then I saw fear in his eyes, and then we laughed, so I thought nothing of it. A few minutes later, he seemed angry again and I was afraid he would hit me, so I ran out." She looked at him. "I'm going to assume this conversation will stay between us?"
Gideon nodded. "I don't understand. Why would Galen want to hurt you?"
"I don't know. He seemed in a hurry to get somewhere, maybe something happened and I just got in his way. He might not have been mad at me, just angry in general. I don't think he'd intentionally hurt me, or any of us. I wonder why he fired at the Excalibur?" Dureena kept asking questions, but neither her nor Gideon had any answers.
"Well I guess we'll have to wait until he gets back...if he comes back." He added.
"I think he will." They sat in silence for the rest of the ride.
**************
Galen woke, twenty hours later. He felt horrible, his head hurt and his skin was still tingling. He stood up and grabbed some clean clothes. Walking to the bathroom, he drank some water and rested his head against the cold surface of the wall. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers. Why did I do that? Galen was so angry at himself. I can't lose control like that ever again! He told himself. "I wonder if Matthew will let me back on the Excalibur?" He said to the wall. Getting dressed, he went into the control room to see where he was. He really didn't have to, he could have checked himself, but walking around made him relax a little. He found he was he was in orbit around Earth. Sighing he looked about the window. He shook his head; there was still the murky color of the plague in the atmosphere. What a tragedy. After one last look, he decided to go back to the Excalibur. They are too many lives at stake for me to leave now. He gave the ship new orders then went to get something to eat.
After working on a few of his projects for a couple of hours, he decided to see what has been happening with the crew. He flipped through various probes until he found Dureena and Mathew in their rooms. He brought both of them up on the monitor. Gideon was playing chess, and he looked like he hadn't had a good nights sleep in a few days. Dureena was watching ISN and sharpening one of her knives. "That can't be a good sign." He said to himself. At least she doesn't look upset. He tried to reassure himself. A small light flashed on the control panel. There was an incoming message. "Receive." A picture of Alwyn appeared on the screen.
"That was a good thing you did." Alwyn stated.
Galen paused, How did he find out what happened on the Excalibur? And why does he think it was good? "I'm not sure what you mean."
"Taking that orphaned girl to Regula 4. I still have a few probes scattered around that place." He noticed the relieved look that washed across Galen's face. "Are you alright? You don't look so good."
"I've had better days." Galen replied coolly.
"What happened? Are you on the Excalibur?"
"No, but I heading back."
"Why did you leave?"
"I usually wonder around from time to time, checking in with my contacts."
"The ones on Centauri Prime?"
"Yes and a few others."
Alwyn zoomed in on Galen's face. "Why do you look so red?" He started to worry; remembering what Galen used to do to stay in control of his emotions.
"A little accident, that's all."
"Looks like more than an accident to me." He paused, deciding on if he wanted to say more. "Are you scouring yourself excessively again?"
Galen just closed his eyes. Figures Alwyn would figure it out.
"What happened this time?"
"Well... it's a long story." He stopped hoping Alwyn would drop the subject, but judging the look on his face, Galen wasn't going to be so lucky. "There is this woman on the Excalibur named Dureena and..." He didn't know how to phase it. He saw Alwyn smile on the screen. "I've fallen in love with her...and I think she feels the same way...it's just..."
"Your still in love with Isabelle?"
"Yeah."
"Galen, don't let the past hold you back. Embrace the future. I'm not saying forget about Isabelle, but don't let past memories rule your life. I'm sure if you talk to this Dureena, she will understand."
"I know, but there's something else."
"What?"
"Before I left, Dureena and I were talking, well arguing was more like it. Anyway she ran out of my flyer and I took off, faster than I should have. It created a shock wave that sent everybody to the ground," he noticed a frown forming on Alwyn's face, "When I was outside, Matthew tried to reach me, but I blocked his call. He fired at me, so being stupid; I turned around a fired back. The blast wasn't supposed to be as powerful as it was I just wanted to fire a warning shot. I was so angry at the time that I was paying attention to what I was doing. It was careless of me to even think of it." He started doing mind exercises. He knew Alwyn wouldn't be happy to hear that.
"I'll say it was careless! You could have killed someone doing that." He shouted back. "You should be ashamed of yourself!"
"Don't worry, I am."
"Well do you some kind of plan to tell the crew or are you going to tell them the truth?"
"I have a few ideas. Now if you'll excuse me, I want to get something to eat before I arrive." Galen again tried to end the conversation.
"Alright, but the next time you want to do something rash, contact me first. I'm sure I can think of better ways to do it." Alwyn replied sternly.
"Yes Alwyn." Galen replied, feeling a little annoyed. They said goodbye and the screen went black. Galen closed his eyes and tried not to think about anything related to the Excalibur, but his mind kept coming back to Dureena and how he probably hurt her. He finally admitted to himself that he loved her, which was the first step. Now he had to tell her that, but that meant getting back on the Excalibur and confronting her. That's the part that made him nervous...and angry with himself for not being comfortable around people. But first things first...he still had to get on the Excalibur. He wasn't sure about that either. After running a few scenarios through his head, he decided to rest before he talked with anybody.
*************
"I would personally like to know what happened! I mean what kind of person does that for no reason?" Max was shouting at the morning briefing in the conference room.
"Maybe he had a reason!" Dureena shouted back at him. "All I'm saying is give the guy a chance to explain!"
"He flew out of here so fast that it caused all kinds of havoc in the flight bay, then he fires on us! I don't know about you but that's enough explanation for me!" Max continued to argue with her.
Gideon walked back into the room and noticed them fighting. He also saw Dureena's hand was a little to close to a weapon. "Alright people, settle down. I brought you all here to talk about what happened, not to argue who was right or wrong." He stopped to wait for everyone to take their seats. "Dr. Chambers, do you have anything to add to our discussion?"
"Not really. I agree with Dureena though, we should hear Galen's side of the story before we jump to conclusions." She offered. Max shook his head and buried it in his hands.
"Clearly the man is dangerous. Why else would he do anything to stupid?"
"Max...you don't even know what dangerous is." Dureena gave him an icy glare.
"Ok, I can see this isn't getting us anywhere and it obviously isn't helping the situation. So, I agree with the women...we'll wait until Galen comes back, if he ever does, and listen to what he has to say. Unless anyone else has comments on other topics, this meeting is over." He stood up and left the room. Dr. Chambers got up and followed him out.
Dureena walked over to Max, "Jerk." She growled at him and left the room, leaving Max alone with his thoughts.
*************
Galen couldn't fall asleep. He just kept thinking about Dureena. He watched her from the moment she came back to her room. She looked even angrier than she did before, definitely not a good sign. I really hope she isn't that mad at me. He was starting to regret his decision to go back to the Excalibur. "Computer, ETA."
"Thirty eight minutes to selected destination."
That wasn't much time. He had to think of something to tell Dureena. He was so focused on talking Gideon into letting him back on the Excalibur, that he almost forgot about her. What can I say to her? Not that it will make a difference, she will probably never talk to me again. He sighed. Why do I always get myself into these situations? He stood up and walked around the room. Trying to get his mind off his problems he went back to the control room to work on his projects. After a few minutes he decided that when he got to the Excalibur, he would just silently follow them until he thought of something to say to everybody.
*************
The next morning
*************
"No I don't think he will."
"Max...shut up. You don't know what you're talking about." Dureena hissed at him.
"Like you do? I didn't know you where his secretary." Max smiled. " I guess you do learn new things everyday."
"That's enough." Gideon interrupted. "We didn't come here to argue, we came to talk about the next target." He looked at both of them. "Save your personal agendas for after the meeting."
"It's not my fault, she started it." Max retorted sounding like a little kid.
"The hell I did, it's all your fault...as always." Dureena shot back. Dr. Chambers just rolled her eyes.
"What do you mean my fault? All of this wouldn't have happened if you would have left him alone!"
"You don't know anything about that matter. Get off your little ego trip and go jump out an airlock!"
"That's enough!" Max jumped up and stood between the two of them. "If I hear one more word out of either of you, you will spend the night in the brig!" He looked at both of them. "Is that absolutely clear?" Both of them just nodded. Gideon sat down. "Now if you will all direct your attention to the screen, we can go over the preliminary data about the planet that the Rangers sent us." No one said anything during the presentation. After an hour, Gideon noticed Dureena and Max were still giving each other dirty looks. Ok, I think it's time to show them that I mean business. He raised his arm and pressed on the comm link. "Gideon to security, send a team up to the conference room please." He let go of the button just as the door opened.
"Now that's not very nice Matthew. You haven't even heard what I have to say and you're calling security." Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up at the door to see Galen standing there.
"Nevermind that order." Gideon replied back into the link. "Well, since you decided to grace us with your presence, how about you tell us what happened a few days ago." He looked around to room and noticed everyone was no longer fighting.
"I'm sorry Matthew, I wanted to explain earlier, but I couldn't. I was getting ready to leave when Dureena came to talk to me. One of my contacts sent me an urgent message, saying they were in trouble so I was in a hurry to get out of here. I'm sorry if I damaged anything, I hope no one was hurt."
"Not seriously." Dr. Chambers told him.
"That still doesn't explain why you fired on us." Max retorted.
"I could ask you the same thing." Galen replied coolly. "When you sent me a message to was trying to get information from my contact and had all other messages blocked. I had my ship on autopilot. When it is in there, it is programmed to defend itself, so your blasts got to close and it fired back." He looked around at everyone, but he could tell by their expressions the he wasn't very convincing. "It's preprogrammed to do that, there's nothing I can do about it." He noticed Dureena was looking at him. He smiled back, and she just nodded.
"Why is it programmed to do that?" Dr. Chambers asked.
"When I'm out by myself, I always have it on autopilot. When I'm sleeping, I can't fly at the same time, so it will alert me and defend itself until I give it new orders." As Galen was explaining, Gideon noticed how he and Dureena kept looking at each other.
"Well, I think I've heard enough. What you did was wrong Galen, but since you're not part of the crew I can't do anything to you. But I would appreciate it f you would be more careful in the future."
"Fair enough." He stood up and left the room waiting for Dureena to come out.
"I can't believe you let him off that easily!" Max shouted.
"Just shut up Max, I'm sick of hearing your voice today!" Gideon snapped back and stormed out of the room.
"What's his problem?"
"You're the problem Max." Dureena walked out after the men. She found Galen waiting outside. "If we try to talk again are you going to flip out on me?
"I'll try not to." He smiled, but found she wasn't smiling back. "For the record, I wasn't angry at you," They started to walk back to Dureena's room. They sat in silence during the bullet car ride. Once inside her room, neither one said anything, just looked around at things.
"Where did you go? I don't exactly believe your story." Dureena broke the silence. "And why do you look like you have sunburn?"
Galen laughed. "It's not sunburn, that doesn't hurt as much. To answer your question I was out among the stars." He could by the look on her face that she didn't like that answer too much. "When I left I set my ship on autopilot, but I didn't realize where I told it to go until I woke up at the destination."
"And where was that?"
"Earth."
"Yeah right."
"No I'm serious. When I woke up I was orbiting Earth."
"If you say so. And uh, who exactly did you meet there, unless they lifted the quarantine and didn't tell anybody."
"I lied about that part." He was starting to get nervous again. He really wanted to tell her the truth, but wasn't sure if it was the right thing.
"That's what I thought. What about the reason why you left in such a hurry, was that a lie too?" She asked. He just nodded. "Why? Why did you run out of here, and why were you upset before you left?"
"I wasn't upset with you, and I really needed to get off the Excalibur and collect my thoughts." He started to pace the room. "Dureena, I've had feelings for you for a few months, but have been afraid to tell you." He paused and put his head down, trying to think of something else to say. "Isabelle was the first person I loved, and after she died I promised myself I'd never fall in love again. Part of it was because of her, but mostly I was afraid of losing someone else again."
"You know for a long time I thought you were cold hearted, no offense, it was just the way you acted with everyone. I guess I was wrong." She led him to the couch and they both sat down. "When I first realized I had feelings for you I was also afraid to say something. I wasn't sure if you were going to take me seriously or laugh in my face." She paused and looked at the ground. "I was also hurt in the past, not by a loved one dying, but at the hands of various masters." She tried to hold back her tears, but it wasn't working. Galen put his hand around her shoulders. "I was afraid of being hurt again." She rested her head on his shoulder.
"I won't hurt you, I promise." For awhile they sat there, not saying anything. Galen held Dureena as she cried for most of the night, until she fell asleep. As he was holding her, Galen realized how happy he felt, and that it was a long time since he felt that way. Eventually he fell asleep as well, with Dureena in his arms.
Chapter 8
The Talk
Tracy Reager
***I would like to thank everyone who has left review comments. It is greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading (
The usual, I don't any of the characters.
She whispered the word and looked him in the eyes.
Galen didn't know what to say he wasn't expecting her to be that straightforward about it. "What about us?" The tech echoed his anxiety; he really needed to get away from the Excalibur.
"Can we go some place more private than a hallway?" He nodded. They walked in silence down to Galen's flyer. Once inside, Dureena began pacing the room. By this time Galen didn't know what to think. Her pacing made him more nervous.
"Galen, I don't know how to tell you this, but I think I'm falling in love with you." She put her head down so she didn't have to look at him. For this, Galen was thankful.
He was trying to think of something to say. He didn't want to upset her, but he was afraid to tell her how he really felt. "You think? Sounds to me like you're not sure."
Dureena was definitely not expecting that kind of response. "Are you mocking me? Because I just went out on a limb to tell you that! It's not that easy for me to fall in love again, I've been hurt too many times in the past. But hey, if you're too good for me then I'll just leave!" She started to walk away, not really knowing where the exit was.
"Dureena wait. I didn't mean it that way, it's just...I wanted to make sure you were serious before I told you." He looked hopefully in her direction and found out she stopped her retreat and was staring right at him.
"Told me what?"
"That I...feel the same way about you." He actually felt relieved after saying it, but he was still nervous about the situation. "I didn't want to say anything, because I was a afraid you wouldn't feel the same way." He cast his eyes down, unable to look her in the eyes.
"It's alright, I was thinking the same thing myself." She reassured him, now that her anger was gone. Both of them chuckled. "So what are we going to do about it now?" But neither of them had an answer to the question. Dureena glanced nervously at Galen, but he seemed to be staring into space. "Are you at least going to say something?!"
"What do you want me to say?"
"Well a comment either way would be nice!" Her anger was returning.
Galen's mind was racing, he started to do mind exercises, but they weren't helping. He was getting upset, except it wasn't directed towards Dureena, but himself. He was angry with himself for falling in love with her, angry for letting her fall in love with him, angry for not leaving sooner. His mind was full of emotion and it was looking for an escape. "Fine, I admit, I have feelings for you! Are you happy now?" He yelled at her. She was very shocked, she never saw him act this way before. "Let's see what else would you like me to say? How about how hard it was to open myself up to someone again? Maybe you want to hear that I'm still in love with Isabelle. What else do you want to know?!" He was really angry and he needed to get of the Excalibur...now.
Dureena just looked at him; she couldn't find something to say. He was starting to scare her...the look in his eyes was frightening. She was afraid he would lose control and strike against her. All of her instincts told her to fight now before it was too late. But her head told her to run, because she knew she couldn't defend herself against him. So she gave him one final look and ran down a hallway, hoping it would lead to an exit. Luckily it did. She just took a few steps away form the flyer when the ramp closed and it lifted off the ground.
Galen was relieved when Dureena left his ship he automatically told it to take off. As soon as she was clear, he directed it to fly out of the flight deck and into space as fast as it could. The result was a wave of energy knocking anything over along the way.
"What the hell was that?" Gideon felt a slight vibration on the bridge.
"Control tower reports a ship leaving the area...in a big hurry." Lt. Matheson reported back.
"Who was it, and what were they thinking?" Gideon exclaimed.
"Unsure, they just saw something fly past. It was going to fast and they think the increased pressure knocked out their scanners. The computer says nothing went by." Matheson paused. "Could they really have been going that fast?"
"Sir, look!" One of the navigation people pointed out the window.
"Open a channel, find out why he did that!"
"We're being blocked."
"Weapon control fire a few shots in his direction, but don't hit him."
"Weapons system can't lock on!"
"I know that, just aim in the general direction." Gideon was mad. Why would Galen do something that foolish? The particle beams missed Galen's flyer. Unexpectedly, it turned around to face the Excalibur. To bright orange balls emerged from the front. "What is that?" Before someone could answer his question, they hit the ship above the bridge, shaking the area.
"Direct hit, 5% damage to hull. Autorepair is slowly working." The nav tech looked frantic. "That was just one shot! How could it get through the shields so easily?!"
"Galen! I know you can hear me! Why did you just do that? Are you trying to kill my crew?!"
Surrounded in darkness, Galen realized with horror what he had just done. He was careless in his rage, he only meant for the blast to bounce of the shields. Unable to speak with Gideon, he turned the ship around and speed off. After he was far enough away, he put the ship on autopilot and conjured a blue ball of fire. He brought it down on himself, once...twice...three times...four times, until the pain was too much. He forced the screen to go blank. What have I done? I attacked the people I considered friends. I hurt Dureena, she'll probably never talk to me again...if I'm ever allowed back on the Excalibur. He was emotionally drained. Slowly, Galen went into his room, took off his cloak and lay down. He fell asleep instantly.
*************
"Dureena!" Gideon called. He was breathless from hurrying down from the bridge. He was glad to see she wasn't hurt...well physically anyway. He looked around the flight deck and saw things returning to normal. "Are you alright? What happened?"
"I don't know, Galen and I argued and I got upset and ran out. As soon as I was clear, he took off. I was knocked over by the force, then as I was getting up I felt the ship shake. What happened?"
"Galen fired on us."
"He what?!"
"I tried to raise him on the comm link, but he wouldn't respond. So I had weapons fire a few shots to get his attention, and he turned around and fired back." Gideon decided to take her to Med Lab. "Come on, let's have Dr. Chambers take a look at you."
"I can't believe he would do something like that." She replied, walking towards the bullet car. "Something is wrong with him, he was acting really weird before I left."
"What do you mean?" They stepped in the car and sat down. "Deck 12." It took off.
"Well, when we were talking, he seemed nervous, almost agitated. Then I saw fear in his eyes, and then we laughed, so I thought nothing of it. A few minutes later, he seemed angry again and I was afraid he would hit me, so I ran out." She looked at him. "I'm going to assume this conversation will stay between us?"
Gideon nodded. "I don't understand. Why would Galen want to hurt you?"
"I don't know. He seemed in a hurry to get somewhere, maybe something happened and I just got in his way. He might not have been mad at me, just angry in general. I don't think he'd intentionally hurt me, or any of us. I wonder why he fired at the Excalibur?" Dureena kept asking questions, but neither her nor Gideon had any answers.
"Well I guess we'll have to wait until he gets back...if he comes back." He added.
"I think he will." They sat in silence for the rest of the ride.
**************
Galen woke, twenty hours later. He felt horrible, his head hurt and his skin was still tingling. He stood up and grabbed some clean clothes. Walking to the bathroom, he drank some water and rested his head against the cold surface of the wall. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers. Why did I do that? Galen was so angry at himself. I can't lose control like that ever again! He told himself. "I wonder if Matthew will let me back on the Excalibur?" He said to the wall. Getting dressed, he went into the control room to see where he was. He really didn't have to, he could have checked himself, but walking around made him relax a little. He found he was he was in orbit around Earth. Sighing he looked about the window. He shook his head; there was still the murky color of the plague in the atmosphere. What a tragedy. After one last look, he decided to go back to the Excalibur. They are too many lives at stake for me to leave now. He gave the ship new orders then went to get something to eat.
After working on a few of his projects for a couple of hours, he decided to see what has been happening with the crew. He flipped through various probes until he found Dureena and Mathew in their rooms. He brought both of them up on the monitor. Gideon was playing chess, and he looked like he hadn't had a good nights sleep in a few days. Dureena was watching ISN and sharpening one of her knives. "That can't be a good sign." He said to himself. At least she doesn't look upset. He tried to reassure himself. A small light flashed on the control panel. There was an incoming message. "Receive." A picture of Alwyn appeared on the screen.
"That was a good thing you did." Alwyn stated.
Galen paused, How did he find out what happened on the Excalibur? And why does he think it was good? "I'm not sure what you mean."
"Taking that orphaned girl to Regula 4. I still have a few probes scattered around that place." He noticed the relieved look that washed across Galen's face. "Are you alright? You don't look so good."
"I've had better days." Galen replied coolly.
"What happened? Are you on the Excalibur?"
"No, but I heading back."
"Why did you leave?"
"I usually wonder around from time to time, checking in with my contacts."
"The ones on Centauri Prime?"
"Yes and a few others."
Alwyn zoomed in on Galen's face. "Why do you look so red?" He started to worry; remembering what Galen used to do to stay in control of his emotions.
"A little accident, that's all."
"Looks like more than an accident to me." He paused, deciding on if he wanted to say more. "Are you scouring yourself excessively again?"
Galen just closed his eyes. Figures Alwyn would figure it out.
"What happened this time?"
"Well... it's a long story." He stopped hoping Alwyn would drop the subject, but judging the look on his face, Galen wasn't going to be so lucky. "There is this woman on the Excalibur named Dureena and..." He didn't know how to phase it. He saw Alwyn smile on the screen. "I've fallen in love with her...and I think she feels the same way...it's just..."
"Your still in love with Isabelle?"
"Yeah."
"Galen, don't let the past hold you back. Embrace the future. I'm not saying forget about Isabelle, but don't let past memories rule your life. I'm sure if you talk to this Dureena, she will understand."
"I know, but there's something else."
"What?"
"Before I left, Dureena and I were talking, well arguing was more like it. Anyway she ran out of my flyer and I took off, faster than I should have. It created a shock wave that sent everybody to the ground," he noticed a frown forming on Alwyn's face, "When I was outside, Matthew tried to reach me, but I blocked his call. He fired at me, so being stupid; I turned around a fired back. The blast wasn't supposed to be as powerful as it was I just wanted to fire a warning shot. I was so angry at the time that I was paying attention to what I was doing. It was careless of me to even think of it." He started doing mind exercises. He knew Alwyn wouldn't be happy to hear that.
"I'll say it was careless! You could have killed someone doing that." He shouted back. "You should be ashamed of yourself!"
"Don't worry, I am."
"Well do you some kind of plan to tell the crew or are you going to tell them the truth?"
"I have a few ideas. Now if you'll excuse me, I want to get something to eat before I arrive." Galen again tried to end the conversation.
"Alright, but the next time you want to do something rash, contact me first. I'm sure I can think of better ways to do it." Alwyn replied sternly.
"Yes Alwyn." Galen replied, feeling a little annoyed. They said goodbye and the screen went black. Galen closed his eyes and tried not to think about anything related to the Excalibur, but his mind kept coming back to Dureena and how he probably hurt her. He finally admitted to himself that he loved her, which was the first step. Now he had to tell her that, but that meant getting back on the Excalibur and confronting her. That's the part that made him nervous...and angry with himself for not being comfortable around people. But first things first...he still had to get on the Excalibur. He wasn't sure about that either. After running a few scenarios through his head, he decided to rest before he talked with anybody.
*************
"I would personally like to know what happened! I mean what kind of person does that for no reason?" Max was shouting at the morning briefing in the conference room.
"Maybe he had a reason!" Dureena shouted back at him. "All I'm saying is give the guy a chance to explain!"
"He flew out of here so fast that it caused all kinds of havoc in the flight bay, then he fires on us! I don't know about you but that's enough explanation for me!" Max continued to argue with her.
Gideon walked back into the room and noticed them fighting. He also saw Dureena's hand was a little to close to a weapon. "Alright people, settle down. I brought you all here to talk about what happened, not to argue who was right or wrong." He stopped to wait for everyone to take their seats. "Dr. Chambers, do you have anything to add to our discussion?"
"Not really. I agree with Dureena though, we should hear Galen's side of the story before we jump to conclusions." She offered. Max shook his head and buried it in his hands.
"Clearly the man is dangerous. Why else would he do anything to stupid?"
"Max...you don't even know what dangerous is." Dureena gave him an icy glare.
"Ok, I can see this isn't getting us anywhere and it obviously isn't helping the situation. So, I agree with the women...we'll wait until Galen comes back, if he ever does, and listen to what he has to say. Unless anyone else has comments on other topics, this meeting is over." He stood up and left the room. Dr. Chambers got up and followed him out.
Dureena walked over to Max, "Jerk." She growled at him and left the room, leaving Max alone with his thoughts.
*************
Galen couldn't fall asleep. He just kept thinking about Dureena. He watched her from the moment she came back to her room. She looked even angrier than she did before, definitely not a good sign. I really hope she isn't that mad at me. He was starting to regret his decision to go back to the Excalibur. "Computer, ETA."
"Thirty eight minutes to selected destination."
That wasn't much time. He had to think of something to tell Dureena. He was so focused on talking Gideon into letting him back on the Excalibur, that he almost forgot about her. What can I say to her? Not that it will make a difference, she will probably never talk to me again. He sighed. Why do I always get myself into these situations? He stood up and walked around the room. Trying to get his mind off his problems he went back to the control room to work on his projects. After a few minutes he decided that when he got to the Excalibur, he would just silently follow them until he thought of something to say to everybody.
*************
The next morning
*************
"No I don't think he will."
"Max...shut up. You don't know what you're talking about." Dureena hissed at him.
"Like you do? I didn't know you where his secretary." Max smiled. " I guess you do learn new things everyday."
"That's enough." Gideon interrupted. "We didn't come here to argue, we came to talk about the next target." He looked at both of them. "Save your personal agendas for after the meeting."
"It's not my fault, she started it." Max retorted sounding like a little kid.
"The hell I did, it's all your fault...as always." Dureena shot back. Dr. Chambers just rolled her eyes.
"What do you mean my fault? All of this wouldn't have happened if you would have left him alone!"
"You don't know anything about that matter. Get off your little ego trip and go jump out an airlock!"
"That's enough!" Max jumped up and stood between the two of them. "If I hear one more word out of either of you, you will spend the night in the brig!" He looked at both of them. "Is that absolutely clear?" Both of them just nodded. Gideon sat down. "Now if you will all direct your attention to the screen, we can go over the preliminary data about the planet that the Rangers sent us." No one said anything during the presentation. After an hour, Gideon noticed Dureena and Max were still giving each other dirty looks. Ok, I think it's time to show them that I mean business. He raised his arm and pressed on the comm link. "Gideon to security, send a team up to the conference room please." He let go of the button just as the door opened.
"Now that's not very nice Matthew. You haven't even heard what I have to say and you're calling security." Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up at the door to see Galen standing there.
"Nevermind that order." Gideon replied back into the link. "Well, since you decided to grace us with your presence, how about you tell us what happened a few days ago." He looked around to room and noticed everyone was no longer fighting.
"I'm sorry Matthew, I wanted to explain earlier, but I couldn't. I was getting ready to leave when Dureena came to talk to me. One of my contacts sent me an urgent message, saying they were in trouble so I was in a hurry to get out of here. I'm sorry if I damaged anything, I hope no one was hurt."
"Not seriously." Dr. Chambers told him.
"That still doesn't explain why you fired on us." Max retorted.
"I could ask you the same thing." Galen replied coolly. "When you sent me a message to was trying to get information from my contact and had all other messages blocked. I had my ship on autopilot. When it is in there, it is programmed to defend itself, so your blasts got to close and it fired back." He looked around at everyone, but he could tell by their expressions the he wasn't very convincing. "It's preprogrammed to do that, there's nothing I can do about it." He noticed Dureena was looking at him. He smiled back, and she just nodded.
"Why is it programmed to do that?" Dr. Chambers asked.
"When I'm out by myself, I always have it on autopilot. When I'm sleeping, I can't fly at the same time, so it will alert me and defend itself until I give it new orders." As Galen was explaining, Gideon noticed how he and Dureena kept looking at each other.
"Well, I think I've heard enough. What you did was wrong Galen, but since you're not part of the crew I can't do anything to you. But I would appreciate it f you would be more careful in the future."
"Fair enough." He stood up and left the room waiting for Dureena to come out.
"I can't believe you let him off that easily!" Max shouted.
"Just shut up Max, I'm sick of hearing your voice today!" Gideon snapped back and stormed out of the room.
"What's his problem?"
"You're the problem Max." Dureena walked out after the men. She found Galen waiting outside. "If we try to talk again are you going to flip out on me?
"I'll try not to." He smiled, but found she wasn't smiling back. "For the record, I wasn't angry at you," They started to walk back to Dureena's room. They sat in silence during the bullet car ride. Once inside her room, neither one said anything, just looked around at things.
"Where did you go? I don't exactly believe your story." Dureena broke the silence. "And why do you look like you have sunburn?"
Galen laughed. "It's not sunburn, that doesn't hurt as much. To answer your question I was out among the stars." He could by the look on her face that she didn't like that answer too much. "When I left I set my ship on autopilot, but I didn't realize where I told it to go until I woke up at the destination."
"And where was that?"
"Earth."
"Yeah right."
"No I'm serious. When I woke up I was orbiting Earth."
"If you say so. And uh, who exactly did you meet there, unless they lifted the quarantine and didn't tell anybody."
"I lied about that part." He was starting to get nervous again. He really wanted to tell her the truth, but wasn't sure if it was the right thing.
"That's what I thought. What about the reason why you left in such a hurry, was that a lie too?" She asked. He just nodded. "Why? Why did you run out of here, and why were you upset before you left?"
"I wasn't upset with you, and I really needed to get off the Excalibur and collect my thoughts." He started to pace the room. "Dureena, I've had feelings for you for a few months, but have been afraid to tell you." He paused and put his head down, trying to think of something else to say. "Isabelle was the first person I loved, and after she died I promised myself I'd never fall in love again. Part of it was because of her, but mostly I was afraid of losing someone else again."
"You know for a long time I thought you were cold hearted, no offense, it was just the way you acted with everyone. I guess I was wrong." She led him to the couch and they both sat down. "When I first realized I had feelings for you I was also afraid to say something. I wasn't sure if you were going to take me seriously or laugh in my face." She paused and looked at the ground. "I was also hurt in the past, not by a loved one dying, but at the hands of various masters." She tried to hold back her tears, but it wasn't working. Galen put his hand around her shoulders. "I was afraid of being hurt again." She rested her head on his shoulder.
"I won't hurt you, I promise." For awhile they sat there, not saying anything. Galen held Dureena as she cried for most of the night, until she fell asleep. As he was holding her, Galen realized how happy he felt, and that it was a long time since he felt that way. Eventually he fell asleep as well, with Dureena in his arms.