Past and Present
Chapter 9
Secrets
By Tracy Reager
Dureena found herself surrounded by something warm in the morning. She heard her alarm start to go off, but was too comfortable to move. She slowly opened her eyes and noticed she wasn't in her bed, but on the couch. Strange, I feel rested this morning. Maybe I should sleep on the couch more often. Suddenly, the warm object beneath her groaned.
"What is that noise?" Galen asked sleepily. Dureena realized with a jolt what happened the night before...she must have fallen asleep before Galen left.
"It's my alarm. Off." She stood up and walked to the kitchen to make some coffee. "Do you want some?"
Galen nodded. He stood up and stretched. After checking the time, he asked, "Why do you get up so early?"
"Morning briefings usually, but today where going down to a planet, so I got up a little earlier.
"Oh." Galen replied trying to hide a yawn. "Thank you." He took the cup of coffee and took a few sips.
"I'm sorry about last night." Dureena said after a few minutes of silence.
"Sorry for what?"
"Acting the way I did. It was wrong, I won't do it again."
Galen smiled and walked over to her. "Don't be. You were upset, why would I be mad at you for that?"
Dureena finished her cup of coffee and headed for the door. "We better get going the meeting starts soon." Galen barely had a chance to finish his coffee before Dureena was rushing out the door. He jogged after her and touched her arm. She flinched and jerked away. "Sorry...I'm just a little jumpy in the morning." She stuttered out. What is wrong with me? Galen is my friend, so why am I acting all skittish around him today?
"I didn't mean to startle you, I just wanted to let you know that if you ever want to talk, I'll listen." Galen replied, confused about Dureena's reaction. Dureena just smiled and walked towards the bullet car. Just as they were about to enter the Excalibur shook, throwing everyone to the ground. Lights started flashing and alarms were going off. Over the com system, they could hear Lt. Matheson calling everyone to their battle stations. Galen quickly accessed his probes on the bridge trying to figure out what happened. He helped Dureena to her feet.
"The Drakh are attacking us, but I'm not sure how many there are. Let's get up to the bridge and see what we can do." Galen led her to an empty car and the sped off to the bridge.
"Sir, two more jump points forming behind us!"
"Are all of our fighters out?" Gideon asked?
"Almost, the last squad is preparing to launch now." Lt. Matheson replied back.
Gideon nodded, "Keep firing. Target the bigger cruisers and let the Starfuries take care of the other ones. With luck we can keep some alive and question them as to how they found out about our location." The ship shook again from another hit.
"Direct hit, damage to rear decks. Sending a team to work on it." One of the nav officers explained. "Auto-repair is working on the hull, but is not having...."
"Captain, one of the shuttles is leaving!" Matheson interrupted.
"What?!" Who is it? It better not be Trace!"
"No sir, Trace is still in the brig. Flight bay isn't sure who it was, but they are heading for that Drakh cruiser over there!"
"Have a team of fighters go after it, I want to know who it is!" Just then, Gideon looked to the right of the Excalibur and saw Galen's flyer also heading for the Drakh warship. "No not again! I don't have time for your games Galen!"
"I'm not playing a game." Galen's voice came over the speaker.
"Then what are you doing?"
"Helping you." Galen cut the transmission and focused his attention on the shuttle in front of him. "Computer, lock on and stand by for grapple." The shuttle twisted and turned, but could not manage to escape the flyer. Galen latched on to the shuttle and started heading back for the Excalibur, when a jump point form in front of him. In a few seconds another Drakh cruiser appeared and began firing on him. They must want who ever is in that shuttle really bad. He sent the flyer spinning and diving past the cruiser until he could clearly see the Excalibur when a blast hit him from behind.
"Direct hit, shields refracted most of the impact."
"Captain!"
"I see it Lieutenant, send a few pilots to help him." Gideon sat back in his chair and watched the battle rage on in space. At times like these he wished it didn't take so long to recharge the main guns, they would sure be a big help.
Galen spun around and immediately began firing on the Drakh ship. It began launching fighters. Three of them came straight at him and started to fire. Not wanting to give up on the main ship, Galen conjured three spells of destruction around each one and waited for them to slowly shrink away.
On the bridge, the crew sat in stunned silence as red spheres appeared around the Drakh fighters. No one knew what to say of think until the spheres began collapsing in on themselves. Lt. Matheson could feel everyone's fear pushing at his mind. Gideon's mouth was hanging open when he turned to the nav tech. "Wha...what was that?"
"Unknown sir, but the Drakh ships no longer exist."
"Could it have been some kind of defensive move by the Drakh? Get in close to an enemy and destroy it and themselves?"
"I don't think so. It happened all at once. If it were some kind of sneak attack, they wouldn't have done it in the middle of space with no other ships in their area." Dureena chimed in from the corner. "And the spheres didn't seem that big. It's almost as if they were specifically targeted for the Drakh ships."
Galen noticed two more jump points forming behind the Excalibur. He quickly did a scan of the Excalibur's systems; she couldn't take much more without leaving her stuck in normal space. He opened a channel, "Matthew, can you jump?"
"Not on our own, we need a jumpgate. The engines were hit." Gideon replied.
"Recall your fighters. Go left and don't stop, I'll catch up to you."
"Why?" He replied, but noticed the channel was no longer open. He thought for a few moments. "Ok, recall the fighters, and go left."
"Aye sir."
"Direct hit, minor damage to shields." The computer reported. Galen saw the Excalibur turn and fly off. Time to end this. He chose engines, weapons and different environmental systems on the Drakh ship and conjured spells of destruction. He then turned and flew after the Excalibur. He didn't get far though, when a piece of debris slammed into the bottom of his flyer. The impact sent him into the nearest wall. He put his hand on his now throbbing head and noticed he was bleeding. After quickly checking himself out, he went back to control to make sure the shuttle was still attached and continued on.
"It's happening again Captain!" The nav tech was panicking now.
"What is?"
"The Drakh mothership is...in those red spheres."
"Show me." An image of the warship came on the screen. "Strange it's only on parts of the ship this time."
"Maybe they can only make the spheres so big." Matheson offered.
"But why would they do it to their own ship? It doesn't make any sense." Dureena replied.
Matheson looked at one of the displays. "I don't think they are doing it."
"How so?"
"The spheres and focused only on weapons, engines and environmental areas." Matheson looked up. "I think it's a weapon."
"But who is doing it?"
"Unknown." Matheson looked at the crew. "Incoming message from Galen." Gideon nodded.
"Follow me through, and when I find a safe location we will stop so you can make repairs."
"Follow him to where?" Max asked entering the bridge.
"I thought I told you to stay in your quarters."
"I had to come up and see what all the commotion was."
"Jump point forming!"
"Oh hell, not again." Gideon looked out the window to see that the jump point was orange, not blue. "I thought we couldn't jump?"
"We didn't do it, Galen did."
"I didn't know his ship could do that." Max stated.
"Neither did I, but obviously it can." Gideon retorted.
Once in hyperspace, Galen allowed himself to relax. He checked his database and noticed there was an uninhabited system about and hour away. He sent the information to the Excalibur, then put his ship on autopilot and went to lie down. He washed the dried blood from his forehead and saw the cut was healing thanks to the organelles. Once he was on his bed, Galen noticed how much his head really hurt.
************
"Where are you Galen?" A woman's voice called. "Galen...I've been looking everywhere for you. Why don't you come out from where ever you're hiding?"
Galen opened his eyes and looked around the room. It definitely was not his ship. Sleepily, he examined his surroundings more closely. Odd, this place looks familiar to me. He stood up and checked for his connection to the ship but didn't find one. He decided to walk around and try to figure out who was calling him and where he was. The woman's voice sounded very familiar and he knew he had been in this room before.
"Galen, I've been waiting for you." The voice said again.
"Who's there?" Galen replied. Just for a moment he thought the person sounded like Isabelle, but quickly dismissed the idea. He also knew it wasn't Dureena. "Show yourself!" He added with a bit a force.
"Now Galen, that's no way to talk to me." The voice was closer to the room this time. When Galen spun around to the doorway, he almost passed out.
"Isabelle?"
"Galen! I'm so glad to see you!" Isabelle ran up to him and gave him a big hug and kiss. Galen could only stand there dumbfounded. "What's the matter?"
"I...you...I...uh...I thought you were dead. I was holding you when......." Galen was at a complete loss for words. He didn't know what to think or say.
"I've missed you so much!" She released him from the hug. "Please, tell me everything that has been happening. Have we beaten the Shadows?"
Galen had to laugh. He had no idea what was happening, but he didn't really care. He was with Isabelle and that was all that mattered. "Yes, the Shadow War has been over for a couple of years. There is a new war now, against the Drakh. "They've left a bio-genetic plague on Earth. I've been traveling with the Excalibur, to help them search for a cure on distant planets."
"Have they found one?"
"Not yet. But we have found a nanotech virus shield." Galen couldn't believe he was actually talking to her. "Am I dead?"
"No, you are very much alive. I can't explain what's happening though." Isabelle paused. "Tell me about the other mages. How are our friends, Fed, Gowen and Carvin? What about Elric, how is he?"
Galen lowered his head. Elric, Gowen and Carvin are dead. Fed is still at the hiding place last time I was there."
"The mages went into hiding? For how long?"
"They are still there now. They asked me to leave, said I endangered the hiding place by having too much contact with outsiders.
"That's horrible!" She paused and put her hand to his face. "I'm sorry to hear about Elric, he was a great man. What happened to Carvin and Gowen?"
"Carvin died on Babylon 5 as part of the illusion. She wasn't supposed to be on that ship. Alwyn took it pretty bad. And Gowen took his own life after he found out about the Circle's secrets."
"What secrets?"
"You really don't want to know them, trust me."
"Do the other mages know?"
"Yes."
"Then I deserve to know as well." Her voice was stern and Galen knew he wasn't going to get out of this one.
"Secrets about the tech and its true origin. It has to do with why your mother wasn't allowed to have tech to study. And some things that only I know and have told few others." She looked up at him impatiently. "The Taratimude weren't the ones who created the tech...it was given to them...by the Shadows."
"No! I don't believe that! It's not possible!"
"Yes it is. I didn't believe it myself either until I saw some horrible things. The Shadows also had a way to nullify the tech. It is programmed to destroy; the Taratimude knew this and created the Circle and the Code to put our powers to good use. It's why I was able to find the spell of destruction. It was a one-term equation. I also discovered other one-term equations, your communication spell once I translated it was one, there is also a shield like Shadow skin that is impenetrable and a few others."
"What about the stuff only you know?"
"I left the hiding place before to kill three people, Morden, Elizar and Razeel. When I arrived at Z'Ha'Dum, I found Elizar and Razeel. Elizar lured me there to take control of the Eye. It's the defense net and main control center for Z'Ha'Dum and the Shadows. Like the tech and their ships, it needed a living being to be the CPU."
"Who controlled it before they found you? Elizar?"
"No. Wierden had for 1000 years. Some from the Order had betrayed her and took her to Z'Ha'Dum. She died after forcing control onto me. I didn't know what to do, the Eye controlled me. Everything I did was what the Eye wanted not me. But I managed to escape it but conjuring a spell with no terms. It freed the tech from the Shadow's programming and liberated me from the Eye. In doing this, it let the White Star that Sheridan came in crash into their main city carrying two thermonuclear bombs. It destroyed their entire city and a few other areas. My ship was destroyed when I managed to get back to the surface. I took a Shadow ship, freed it, and left in it. Instead of controlling the tech, I'm now one with it. We work together now."
"Interesting. I've always thought it was possible, but was never sure how to do it."
"I wish you could've been there with me, it would have made the days a lot better." Galen pulled her into a hug, not wanting to let go. Suddenly an alarm started blaring. "What's going on? Where is that noise coming from?" Galen looked down and saw that Isabelle was no longer there. "Isabelle! Where did you go? Isabelle!?" He tried to move but found he couldn't.
"I love you Galen, always remember that." She called. Her voice seemed to come from all around him.
"I love you too, Isabelle." He called to her.
"Be happy, my love. We will meet again someday."
****************
Galen sat up still calling her name. Once he stopped, he realized he was in his room on his ship. He noticed there was an alarm in his head, they reached their destination and were ready to jump back to normal space. He gave the ship orders and changed to go on the Excalibur.
**************
"Galen! Are you ok? You look horrible." Gideon exclaimed when Galen walked in with his prisoner.
"What a warm welcome Matthew." Galen teased. "I'll be fine, I just need some rest. I believe you wanted this man."
"Ensign Williams, would you mind telling me what you were doing out there?" Lt. Matheson asked.
"Yeah I mind. Whatcha gonna do if I don't tell you?" The ensign spat back at him. "You gonna rip it from my mind?"
"That's enough Williams." Gideon intervened. "If I recall correctly, you just signed on with us when we last stopped at Mars."
"That's right, I finally got off that stinkin' planet."
"If you're so happy to be away, then why did you pull this? Now you're going to be imprisoned on Mars...assuming none of my crew arranges for you to have an accident along the way. Most of them are pretty mad you ran to the Drakh in the fight. Which makes me wonder, how they knew we were going to be there. It wasn't a planned stop, and it wasn't on the main route. Makes you wonder if someone was slipping the enemy information."
"You can't prove anything. I'm done speaking to you."
"Fine do it the hard way." Gideon shrugged his shoulders. "Security, take Ensign Williams to the brig and clean him up. John, get back to the bridge and get me a damage report, then meet me in the brig in an hour."
"Aye sir." Lt. Matheson walked off, knowing very well what the Captain wanted him for.
"As for you Galen, I want you to report to Medlab, have Dr. Chambers look you over."
"That really isn't necessary Matthew, I'll be fine."
"Either you go see the doctor, or I won't let you leave this ship."
Galen laughed. "If you say so Matthew. I'll go, only because I'm a nice guy." Gideon managed a chuckle at that. "And just for the record, there isn't really anything you can do to keep me here." With that he walked off leaving Gideon alone with his thoughts.
****************
2 hours later
"Here is what I was able to find." Lt. Matheson was passing out folders in the conference room. "Our prisoner, Williams, was a criminal on Mars colony for quite a few years, until the Drakh came along. They cleaned him up, made his record disappear, and paid his a lot of money to do their spying. When the Drakh learned that we would be coming back to Mars, they made Williams apply for a maintenance job aboard the Excalibur. At our last destination he had a secret meeting with one of their captains, telling him about where we were heading. His plans were ruined when we stopped sector 400 to answer the automatic distress beacon. He quickly worked to get a message through to them about where we were. Unfortunately, they weren't far from our location, so it was only a matter of time before they caught up and attacked."
"You know he would've gotten away with it if he wouldn't took off for the transport." Dureena offered.
"From now on, maybe we should start requiring a telepathic scan of all people wishing to join the crew. Lt. Matheson could do it, or another telepath that we can trust." Dr. Chambers added.
"Well that isn't a bad idea, except you have plenty of crew members already here. For all you know one of them could be a traitor as well." Galen replied.
"Well, it's a start." Gideon replied. "Let me think it over then I'll let you all know my decision. This meeting is adjourned unless someone else has anything to say?"
"I do Captain. Max waved his hand. "When you went over the damage report, did it mention what the hell those red spheres were?"
"No Max it didn't." Gideon replied. "We're no closer to figuring out what they were now, then when we saw them. One thing is for sure, it is a weapon. Whose weapon it is, is beyond me. Have you seen anything like it before Galen?"
"Yes."
"You have? Is it a Drakh weapon?"
"No, they don't have the right technology to do it."
"So it's from a race more powerful?"
"Perhaps."
"Do you know who was there at the battle that did it?"
"Yes."
"Well? Who was it?"
"Think about it."
"When you two get done having your cryptic conversation, please fill in the rest of us clueless people." Sarah stated.
"You did it?" Gideon asked, ignoring Sarah question.
Galen just nodded. He could see the fear appear in everyone's eyes. He reached over and grabbed a blank sheet of paper from the table. He conjured a platform beneath it to hold it in the air. "You don't need this do you?"
"No, why?" Gideon asked.
"Just curious." Galen watched everyone's reaction when the paper was swallowed by a red sphere. The sphere slowly closed in on itself until it vanished, leaving no trace on the paper.
"What is that?" Max stuttered, trying to control his fear.
"It's called the Spell of Destruction, and as far as I know, I am the only one who can do it. The other person who knew how had an unfortunate accident. A few others knew I could do it, but they have all died. Only one living person knows I can do it, but he can't do it himself." Galen explained.
"What happens once the sphere disappears?" Sarah asked.
"I don't know."
"Is that thing safe?"
"Well as long as you aren't on the receiving end, Max, I suppose you could call it reasonably safe."
"So the Technomages are stronger then the Drakh?"
"Some of us are."
"What about the other races?"
"Mostly yes, but we never abused our gifts for power. Some have tried, and were severely punished. I only used the spell because it was necessary, it's not something I like to do."
"I have a question for you then, where does your order come from?" Max inquired.
"That is none of your concern." Galen replied strongly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go rest." With that he walked out the door. The others just sat there, silently, each lost in their own thoughts, until one by one, they got up and left.
By Tracy Reager
Dureena found herself surrounded by something warm in the morning. She heard her alarm start to go off, but was too comfortable to move. She slowly opened her eyes and noticed she wasn't in her bed, but on the couch. Strange, I feel rested this morning. Maybe I should sleep on the couch more often. Suddenly, the warm object beneath her groaned.
"What is that noise?" Galen asked sleepily. Dureena realized with a jolt what happened the night before...she must have fallen asleep before Galen left.
"It's my alarm. Off." She stood up and walked to the kitchen to make some coffee. "Do you want some?"
Galen nodded. He stood up and stretched. After checking the time, he asked, "Why do you get up so early?"
"Morning briefings usually, but today where going down to a planet, so I got up a little earlier.
"Oh." Galen replied trying to hide a yawn. "Thank you." He took the cup of coffee and took a few sips.
"I'm sorry about last night." Dureena said after a few minutes of silence.
"Sorry for what?"
"Acting the way I did. It was wrong, I won't do it again."
Galen smiled and walked over to her. "Don't be. You were upset, why would I be mad at you for that?"
Dureena finished her cup of coffee and headed for the door. "We better get going the meeting starts soon." Galen barely had a chance to finish his coffee before Dureena was rushing out the door. He jogged after her and touched her arm. She flinched and jerked away. "Sorry...I'm just a little jumpy in the morning." She stuttered out. What is wrong with me? Galen is my friend, so why am I acting all skittish around him today?
"I didn't mean to startle you, I just wanted to let you know that if you ever want to talk, I'll listen." Galen replied, confused about Dureena's reaction. Dureena just smiled and walked towards the bullet car. Just as they were about to enter the Excalibur shook, throwing everyone to the ground. Lights started flashing and alarms were going off. Over the com system, they could hear Lt. Matheson calling everyone to their battle stations. Galen quickly accessed his probes on the bridge trying to figure out what happened. He helped Dureena to her feet.
"The Drakh are attacking us, but I'm not sure how many there are. Let's get up to the bridge and see what we can do." Galen led her to an empty car and the sped off to the bridge.
"Sir, two more jump points forming behind us!"
"Are all of our fighters out?" Gideon asked?
"Almost, the last squad is preparing to launch now." Lt. Matheson replied back.
Gideon nodded, "Keep firing. Target the bigger cruisers and let the Starfuries take care of the other ones. With luck we can keep some alive and question them as to how they found out about our location." The ship shook again from another hit.
"Direct hit, damage to rear decks. Sending a team to work on it." One of the nav officers explained. "Auto-repair is working on the hull, but is not having...."
"Captain, one of the shuttles is leaving!" Matheson interrupted.
"What?!" Who is it? It better not be Trace!"
"No sir, Trace is still in the brig. Flight bay isn't sure who it was, but they are heading for that Drakh cruiser over there!"
"Have a team of fighters go after it, I want to know who it is!" Just then, Gideon looked to the right of the Excalibur and saw Galen's flyer also heading for the Drakh warship. "No not again! I don't have time for your games Galen!"
"I'm not playing a game." Galen's voice came over the speaker.
"Then what are you doing?"
"Helping you." Galen cut the transmission and focused his attention on the shuttle in front of him. "Computer, lock on and stand by for grapple." The shuttle twisted and turned, but could not manage to escape the flyer. Galen latched on to the shuttle and started heading back for the Excalibur, when a jump point form in front of him. In a few seconds another Drakh cruiser appeared and began firing on him. They must want who ever is in that shuttle really bad. He sent the flyer spinning and diving past the cruiser until he could clearly see the Excalibur when a blast hit him from behind.
"Direct hit, shields refracted most of the impact."
"Captain!"
"I see it Lieutenant, send a few pilots to help him." Gideon sat back in his chair and watched the battle rage on in space. At times like these he wished it didn't take so long to recharge the main guns, they would sure be a big help.
Galen spun around and immediately began firing on the Drakh ship. It began launching fighters. Three of them came straight at him and started to fire. Not wanting to give up on the main ship, Galen conjured three spells of destruction around each one and waited for them to slowly shrink away.
On the bridge, the crew sat in stunned silence as red spheres appeared around the Drakh fighters. No one knew what to say of think until the spheres began collapsing in on themselves. Lt. Matheson could feel everyone's fear pushing at his mind. Gideon's mouth was hanging open when he turned to the nav tech. "Wha...what was that?"
"Unknown sir, but the Drakh ships no longer exist."
"Could it have been some kind of defensive move by the Drakh? Get in close to an enemy and destroy it and themselves?"
"I don't think so. It happened all at once. If it were some kind of sneak attack, they wouldn't have done it in the middle of space with no other ships in their area." Dureena chimed in from the corner. "And the spheres didn't seem that big. It's almost as if they were specifically targeted for the Drakh ships."
Galen noticed two more jump points forming behind the Excalibur. He quickly did a scan of the Excalibur's systems; she couldn't take much more without leaving her stuck in normal space. He opened a channel, "Matthew, can you jump?"
"Not on our own, we need a jumpgate. The engines were hit." Gideon replied.
"Recall your fighters. Go left and don't stop, I'll catch up to you."
"Why?" He replied, but noticed the channel was no longer open. He thought for a few moments. "Ok, recall the fighters, and go left."
"Aye sir."
"Direct hit, minor damage to shields." The computer reported. Galen saw the Excalibur turn and fly off. Time to end this. He chose engines, weapons and different environmental systems on the Drakh ship and conjured spells of destruction. He then turned and flew after the Excalibur. He didn't get far though, when a piece of debris slammed into the bottom of his flyer. The impact sent him into the nearest wall. He put his hand on his now throbbing head and noticed he was bleeding. After quickly checking himself out, he went back to control to make sure the shuttle was still attached and continued on.
"It's happening again Captain!" The nav tech was panicking now.
"What is?"
"The Drakh mothership is...in those red spheres."
"Show me." An image of the warship came on the screen. "Strange it's only on parts of the ship this time."
"Maybe they can only make the spheres so big." Matheson offered.
"But why would they do it to their own ship? It doesn't make any sense." Dureena replied.
Matheson looked at one of the displays. "I don't think they are doing it."
"How so?"
"The spheres and focused only on weapons, engines and environmental areas." Matheson looked up. "I think it's a weapon."
"But who is doing it?"
"Unknown." Matheson looked at the crew. "Incoming message from Galen." Gideon nodded.
"Follow me through, and when I find a safe location we will stop so you can make repairs."
"Follow him to where?" Max asked entering the bridge.
"I thought I told you to stay in your quarters."
"I had to come up and see what all the commotion was."
"Jump point forming!"
"Oh hell, not again." Gideon looked out the window to see that the jump point was orange, not blue. "I thought we couldn't jump?"
"We didn't do it, Galen did."
"I didn't know his ship could do that." Max stated.
"Neither did I, but obviously it can." Gideon retorted.
Once in hyperspace, Galen allowed himself to relax. He checked his database and noticed there was an uninhabited system about and hour away. He sent the information to the Excalibur, then put his ship on autopilot and went to lie down. He washed the dried blood from his forehead and saw the cut was healing thanks to the organelles. Once he was on his bed, Galen noticed how much his head really hurt.
************
"Where are you Galen?" A woman's voice called. "Galen...I've been looking everywhere for you. Why don't you come out from where ever you're hiding?"
Galen opened his eyes and looked around the room. It definitely was not his ship. Sleepily, he examined his surroundings more closely. Odd, this place looks familiar to me. He stood up and checked for his connection to the ship but didn't find one. He decided to walk around and try to figure out who was calling him and where he was. The woman's voice sounded very familiar and he knew he had been in this room before.
"Galen, I've been waiting for you." The voice said again.
"Who's there?" Galen replied. Just for a moment he thought the person sounded like Isabelle, but quickly dismissed the idea. He also knew it wasn't Dureena. "Show yourself!" He added with a bit a force.
"Now Galen, that's no way to talk to me." The voice was closer to the room this time. When Galen spun around to the doorway, he almost passed out.
"Isabelle?"
"Galen! I'm so glad to see you!" Isabelle ran up to him and gave him a big hug and kiss. Galen could only stand there dumbfounded. "What's the matter?"
"I...you...I...uh...I thought you were dead. I was holding you when......." Galen was at a complete loss for words. He didn't know what to think or say.
"I've missed you so much!" She released him from the hug. "Please, tell me everything that has been happening. Have we beaten the Shadows?"
Galen had to laugh. He had no idea what was happening, but he didn't really care. He was with Isabelle and that was all that mattered. "Yes, the Shadow War has been over for a couple of years. There is a new war now, against the Drakh. "They've left a bio-genetic plague on Earth. I've been traveling with the Excalibur, to help them search for a cure on distant planets."
"Have they found one?"
"Not yet. But we have found a nanotech virus shield." Galen couldn't believe he was actually talking to her. "Am I dead?"
"No, you are very much alive. I can't explain what's happening though." Isabelle paused. "Tell me about the other mages. How are our friends, Fed, Gowen and Carvin? What about Elric, how is he?"
Galen lowered his head. Elric, Gowen and Carvin are dead. Fed is still at the hiding place last time I was there."
"The mages went into hiding? For how long?"
"They are still there now. They asked me to leave, said I endangered the hiding place by having too much contact with outsiders.
"That's horrible!" She paused and put her hand to his face. "I'm sorry to hear about Elric, he was a great man. What happened to Carvin and Gowen?"
"Carvin died on Babylon 5 as part of the illusion. She wasn't supposed to be on that ship. Alwyn took it pretty bad. And Gowen took his own life after he found out about the Circle's secrets."
"What secrets?"
"You really don't want to know them, trust me."
"Do the other mages know?"
"Yes."
"Then I deserve to know as well." Her voice was stern and Galen knew he wasn't going to get out of this one.
"Secrets about the tech and its true origin. It has to do with why your mother wasn't allowed to have tech to study. And some things that only I know and have told few others." She looked up at him impatiently. "The Taratimude weren't the ones who created the tech...it was given to them...by the Shadows."
"No! I don't believe that! It's not possible!"
"Yes it is. I didn't believe it myself either until I saw some horrible things. The Shadows also had a way to nullify the tech. It is programmed to destroy; the Taratimude knew this and created the Circle and the Code to put our powers to good use. It's why I was able to find the spell of destruction. It was a one-term equation. I also discovered other one-term equations, your communication spell once I translated it was one, there is also a shield like Shadow skin that is impenetrable and a few others."
"What about the stuff only you know?"
"I left the hiding place before to kill three people, Morden, Elizar and Razeel. When I arrived at Z'Ha'Dum, I found Elizar and Razeel. Elizar lured me there to take control of the Eye. It's the defense net and main control center for Z'Ha'Dum and the Shadows. Like the tech and their ships, it needed a living being to be the CPU."
"Who controlled it before they found you? Elizar?"
"No. Wierden had for 1000 years. Some from the Order had betrayed her and took her to Z'Ha'Dum. She died after forcing control onto me. I didn't know what to do, the Eye controlled me. Everything I did was what the Eye wanted not me. But I managed to escape it but conjuring a spell with no terms. It freed the tech from the Shadow's programming and liberated me from the Eye. In doing this, it let the White Star that Sheridan came in crash into their main city carrying two thermonuclear bombs. It destroyed their entire city and a few other areas. My ship was destroyed when I managed to get back to the surface. I took a Shadow ship, freed it, and left in it. Instead of controlling the tech, I'm now one with it. We work together now."
"Interesting. I've always thought it was possible, but was never sure how to do it."
"I wish you could've been there with me, it would have made the days a lot better." Galen pulled her into a hug, not wanting to let go. Suddenly an alarm started blaring. "What's going on? Where is that noise coming from?" Galen looked down and saw that Isabelle was no longer there. "Isabelle! Where did you go? Isabelle!?" He tried to move but found he couldn't.
"I love you Galen, always remember that." She called. Her voice seemed to come from all around him.
"I love you too, Isabelle." He called to her.
"Be happy, my love. We will meet again someday."
****************
Galen sat up still calling her name. Once he stopped, he realized he was in his room on his ship. He noticed there was an alarm in his head, they reached their destination and were ready to jump back to normal space. He gave the ship orders and changed to go on the Excalibur.
**************
"Galen! Are you ok? You look horrible." Gideon exclaimed when Galen walked in with his prisoner.
"What a warm welcome Matthew." Galen teased. "I'll be fine, I just need some rest. I believe you wanted this man."
"Ensign Williams, would you mind telling me what you were doing out there?" Lt. Matheson asked.
"Yeah I mind. Whatcha gonna do if I don't tell you?" The ensign spat back at him. "You gonna rip it from my mind?"
"That's enough Williams." Gideon intervened. "If I recall correctly, you just signed on with us when we last stopped at Mars."
"That's right, I finally got off that stinkin' planet."
"If you're so happy to be away, then why did you pull this? Now you're going to be imprisoned on Mars...assuming none of my crew arranges for you to have an accident along the way. Most of them are pretty mad you ran to the Drakh in the fight. Which makes me wonder, how they knew we were going to be there. It wasn't a planned stop, and it wasn't on the main route. Makes you wonder if someone was slipping the enemy information."
"You can't prove anything. I'm done speaking to you."
"Fine do it the hard way." Gideon shrugged his shoulders. "Security, take Ensign Williams to the brig and clean him up. John, get back to the bridge and get me a damage report, then meet me in the brig in an hour."
"Aye sir." Lt. Matheson walked off, knowing very well what the Captain wanted him for.
"As for you Galen, I want you to report to Medlab, have Dr. Chambers look you over."
"That really isn't necessary Matthew, I'll be fine."
"Either you go see the doctor, or I won't let you leave this ship."
Galen laughed. "If you say so Matthew. I'll go, only because I'm a nice guy." Gideon managed a chuckle at that. "And just for the record, there isn't really anything you can do to keep me here." With that he walked off leaving Gideon alone with his thoughts.
****************
2 hours later
"Here is what I was able to find." Lt. Matheson was passing out folders in the conference room. "Our prisoner, Williams, was a criminal on Mars colony for quite a few years, until the Drakh came along. They cleaned him up, made his record disappear, and paid his a lot of money to do their spying. When the Drakh learned that we would be coming back to Mars, they made Williams apply for a maintenance job aboard the Excalibur. At our last destination he had a secret meeting with one of their captains, telling him about where we were heading. His plans were ruined when we stopped sector 400 to answer the automatic distress beacon. He quickly worked to get a message through to them about where we were. Unfortunately, they weren't far from our location, so it was only a matter of time before they caught up and attacked."
"You know he would've gotten away with it if he wouldn't took off for the transport." Dureena offered.
"From now on, maybe we should start requiring a telepathic scan of all people wishing to join the crew. Lt. Matheson could do it, or another telepath that we can trust." Dr. Chambers added.
"Well that isn't a bad idea, except you have plenty of crew members already here. For all you know one of them could be a traitor as well." Galen replied.
"Well, it's a start." Gideon replied. "Let me think it over then I'll let you all know my decision. This meeting is adjourned unless someone else has anything to say?"
"I do Captain. Max waved his hand. "When you went over the damage report, did it mention what the hell those red spheres were?"
"No Max it didn't." Gideon replied. "We're no closer to figuring out what they were now, then when we saw them. One thing is for sure, it is a weapon. Whose weapon it is, is beyond me. Have you seen anything like it before Galen?"
"Yes."
"You have? Is it a Drakh weapon?"
"No, they don't have the right technology to do it."
"So it's from a race more powerful?"
"Perhaps."
"Do you know who was there at the battle that did it?"
"Yes."
"Well? Who was it?"
"Think about it."
"When you two get done having your cryptic conversation, please fill in the rest of us clueless people." Sarah stated.
"You did it?" Gideon asked, ignoring Sarah question.
Galen just nodded. He could see the fear appear in everyone's eyes. He reached over and grabbed a blank sheet of paper from the table. He conjured a platform beneath it to hold it in the air. "You don't need this do you?"
"No, why?" Gideon asked.
"Just curious." Galen watched everyone's reaction when the paper was swallowed by a red sphere. The sphere slowly closed in on itself until it vanished, leaving no trace on the paper.
"What is that?" Max stuttered, trying to control his fear.
"It's called the Spell of Destruction, and as far as I know, I am the only one who can do it. The other person who knew how had an unfortunate accident. A few others knew I could do it, but they have all died. Only one living person knows I can do it, but he can't do it himself." Galen explained.
"What happens once the sphere disappears?" Sarah asked.
"I don't know."
"Is that thing safe?"
"Well as long as you aren't on the receiving end, Max, I suppose you could call it reasonably safe."
"So the Technomages are stronger then the Drakh?"
"Some of us are."
"What about the other races?"
"Mostly yes, but we never abused our gifts for power. Some have tried, and were severely punished. I only used the spell because it was necessary, it's not something I like to do."
"I have a question for you then, where does your order come from?" Max inquired.
"That is none of your concern." Galen replied strongly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go rest." With that he walked out the door. The others just sat there, silently, each lost in their own thoughts, until one by one, they got up and left.