A/N: Well, Chapter 31 didn't take me long to write. Here's 26 to whet your appetites. I went back to clean up some old author's notes from previous chapters and noticed that I had accidentally left the first few chapters written in the present tense. I had decided a few chapters in that I would write the rest of the story in past tense, as it is much easier to do. I thought that I had gone back and cleaned up the old chapters to put them in line with the proper tense, but I guess I was wrong. I may end up spending the next bit of time editing and cleaning up the old stuff before I move on to write Chapter 32. I should be able to get it written by the end of this week, and if I do, that means that I can post Chapter 27 for you guys.

Also, I will be on vacation from June 19th through the 25th to attend my father's third wedding... third time's a charm, I know... During that time, I don't know if I will have any opportunity to do any writing or posting. Just a head's up on that issue. Once I get back, I should be back into the swing of things. (06/13/10)


At first, Will thought he was going to be able to eat his dinner with Cal and Nene as usual, but the words of congratulations from the occasional passing pilot began to go to his head. While Nene couldn't be happier for him, Cal was still letting his sense of envy get the best of him. For reasons he couldn't understand, he felt like he should be the one with the VF-27 kill under his belt, not Will. Fortunately, he was able to put a bit of that jealousy behind him when he remembered the adulation he got from his shipmates back when he defeated Klan in the simulated combat scenarios. He had his time, now he should give some of that spotlight time to his deserving roommate.

Reminded of Klan by his thoughts of her, he began to wonder what she was up to back on Aimo. Without her around, each day was far less eventful for him. He started to ponder her planet-side activities when he was snapped out of his spaced-out state. "Cal!" Nene exclaimed. He jumped a bit because he was startled by her voice. "Wh- What?" he stammered. "Will's been trying to talk to you!" Cal turned his head towards Will, "Huh?" Will looked at Nene with a confused look before turning back to Cal to ask his question. "What the hell's the matter with you? You've been quiet this whole time and you look like you're lost in some other dimension. What are you thinking about?" he asked. Cal quickly took a bite of food to delay having to answer the question for a bit. There was no way he could tell Will about what was going through his mind right now; both his thoughts of jealousy over Will's 27 kill and his thoughts of the whereabouts of their team leader.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it," Cal answered as he involuntarily looked at Nene. Even though he knew she'd be able to figure out what was on his mind by that mere glance, he just couldn't simply look down towards his food instead and save him the grief that she'd give him. Immediately, Nene picked up the signal and moved in to do some damage as punishment for continuing to hold back his thoughts about her sister.

"You know, I'm going to eventually tell him if you don't do it yourself. I'd get on that real soon, if I were you," she casually stated. Once again, Will's attention perked up about this little secret that was being passed between the two individuals he trusted the most. "You guys are really starting to bug me with this secrecy business," he said with an accusing stare at both of them. Nene just continued to focus her gaze on Cal, hoping that he'd eventually crack.

Fortunately for Cal, Ozma approached Nene from behind and let his hand drop onto her shoulder. She flinched from his unexpected arrival. "Nene, I need to see you in my office ASAP," he said as he continued out of the mess. Nene nodded in acknowledgment. The three pilots waited until he left the mess hall before turning back towards each other. Nene stared back at Cal, upset that he was so lucky to be able to wriggle his way out of this predicament once again. He leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head in a taunting gesture. "You'd better get going! You know how the Commander doesn't like to wait long," he said.

Nene just couldn't let this kind of impudence go unpunished. She got up with a smirk and walked around to the other end of the table nearest to the exit of the mess and slowed her pace for a moment. Using both of her index fingers as metronomes, she taunted Cal with a sing-song voice, "Cal's in love with someone and I know who it is..." Her brashness caused Cal to gasp in reaction and he took a swipe at her from his seat to try and quiet her before she said too much. "Shh!" he said as he fought to regain his balance after his half-hearted swing. She effortlessly dodged his attack and walked out of the mess hall with a satisfied, but somewhat evil laugh.

Cal turned back to Will, dreading the reaction from him. Already, Will had begun to dream up a list of potentials to go over so he could finally find out everything about this little secret that had been kept from him for the past couple of days. "So, let's see if I can guess who it is. I'll start at the top of the list, here... You love... Lieutenant Wentz." It was a good guess; Will was much more observant than Cal had expected. "I'm not going to talk about this right now, Will..." Cal said as he began to get up to leave the mess hall. Will just got up from his seat and followed him out the door, continuing to pester him about the truth. Each statement and guess was met with a hostile denial from Cal. "Is it Lieutenant Jensen?" "No!" "Is it Ensign Tucker?" "No! Stop asking!" Nene's single sentence ignited a firestorm of trouble for Cal; she'd accomplished her goal of getting back at him for not telling Will at this point and for his smartass behavior at the table.

She had already made it to Ozma's office and listened while he enlightened her on his thoughts at the time. "I spoke with the commander of Triton Squadron about the decisions you made while you were assisting them earlier today." Nene began to get a little nervous about this. Triton's commander didn't seem at all happy with her, even though she was in the right. Ozma continued, "He wanted to apologize for getting upset with you and said that your assistance was very integral to the success of the mission." Whew! The load of bricks lifted off of Nene's shoulders with the positive words from Ozma. She straightened up her posture in reaction.

"Even though you've been in charge of your team for a couple of days, it seems that you're doing well as the leader. Your sister is poised to take her own squadron, should things work out for her on Aimo. I sent word to Cathy to ask for her help in finding Klan a good squadron to take. I know her well enough to confidently say that she will succeed in finding some leads for Klan," Ozma announced. Nene was a little saddened to think that her sister will not be flying in Skull Squadron for much longer, but it was for the best. She'd be happy that her sister was moving up in her career. Ozma continued, "That means there will be an opening for squadron XO and for Pixie Team's leader. Because you're a first lieutenant, your name came up on the list of possible replacements for XO, but I'm afraid that I can't give you the position just yet. I feel that you need experience as a team leader before you can take on the role of my second-in-command."

Nene was again let down a bit inside, but she totally understood why Ozma had come up with such a decision. She already had her hands full keeping Cal and Will wrangled under control. She knew that she'd be in over her head if she was to become the squadron's XO. "I understand completely, Sir." Ozma smiled at the quick resolution. "However, I do think that you're ready to take over your team. As I said before, you're already showing a lot of promise as a team leader and I think that after some time, you'll be ready for advancement. Your future is up to how well you perform in this role, so make the most of it." "Yes, Sir!"

Ozma turned his chair to the side and looked out of the window into the hangar. "I know you'll miss flying with your sister, but like I said, she needs to move on with her career. I really do need her here to keep things running smoothly, but I wouldn't dream of holding her back. We all have to let our chicklings grow up when they're ready. Remember that as a team leader; you shouldn't ever try to coddle your chicklings or they won't grow their own wings." Nene smiled at Ozma's advice, "Yes, Sir."

Ozma stood up to show Nene out. "Remember, this is only if your sister succeeds in taking over her own brood. I don't doubt hers or Cathy's abilities, but... Knowing Klan, she may choose to be picky with whatever gets thrown her way. If I find out she turns down a good opportunity, she's gonna get an earful from me when she gets back," he said with a smile as he accompanied Nene to the door. She laughed a bit at his idle threat; her sister doesn't take anyone's shit. ...Except maybe Ozma's, so he supposedly had some validity to his statement. They saluted each other before Nene left the office and she began to walk across the hangar towards the living area of the ship.

Red-hued clouds chased the Coral star to the edge of the horizon as dusk fell over Frontier City. Inside of a quiet, street-side bar, the bartender busily dried the last mug from his sink and turned towards the back wall to hang it by its handle. A child-like voice rang out from behind him in a casual fashion, "Tequila sunrise, orange." The bartender turned around expecting the usual customer, but he was instead facing a young girl wearing an NUNS officer's uniform. "I'm sorry hon, but you're too young to be in here. Where are your parents?" he asked. Without a word to say, the girl casually pushed her identification card forward on the bar to verify that she was old enough to be served.

The bartender held the card in his hand for quite a while as he inspected it for authenticity. He looked at the girl, then the card, and back again before he put it back down in front of her. An apologetic smile came to his face as he replied to her request, "I'm sorry about that. You just look very young for your age, Miss Klan. I'm sure you get that a lot, huh?" Of course, she was a bit annoyed at the harmless compliment, but she'd gotten used to it by now and sloughed it off.

Jazzy music played up the dimly lit atmosphere, filling the room with a bit of coziness for the bar's patrons. Klan sat on the barstool, slouched over while she remained deep in her own thoughts. Every few moments or so, she'd reach over to the bowl of mixed nuts and spread them out on the surface of the bar. She held tightly onto her drink with the other hand and would take a sip with every few bites. Such was the behavior of one who was pondering a lot within themselves. Klan's memory took her back to the place that she had been just before she visited the bar for a bit of "alone time"...

The vast, hilly field had an infinite number of neatly-arranged rows of headstones that seemed to stretch forever. A testament to the mortality of every precious life that lived in the colony, the grim monuments only served as a final resting place for even the strongest individuals. Klan confidently stood in front of Michael's gravestone, smiling as she carried on a conversation with him. She held his glasses close to her chest with one of her hands and her backpack stood up near her feet with its top open.

Cheerfully, she told him of everything that's happened to her since she last visited his grave several weeks ago. It certainly did take her a long time to cover such an eventful period of time. "It's amazing how someone can endure so much hardship, come out of it, and look back on those times with a sense of gratification. Had it not been for those happenings, one wouldn't become the person they are today. In life, you brought me happiness, even though you were so hard to reach, emotionally. In death, you taught me what it means to protect the lives of those whom I love."

She looked down towards the ground at her feet as she prepared to dive into a more profound subject. "Love... It can have many meanings, right? You showed me the meaning of your love when you sacrificed yourself to protect me so many months ago. It really means that you will do anything for the one you love; even die for them. For some reason, I performed the very same feat just a few days ago... I sacrificed myself to protect another. Although I did not die, the gesture raises a question in my mind, 'Did I do it because I love him?'"

She felt the urge to fall to her knees and feel the grass growing at her feet with her bare hands. She succumbed to that desire and continued with her conversation with a bit of angst. "Even though I am finally moving on from losing you, I wish daily that you were still with me. I know you are now on another plane of existence, but I sure could use your advice on what to do about all of this mess. I wonder what you'd say if you could say anything at all..."

Silence fell over the cemetery and a light breeze blew past. The cool air chilled the moisture that was beginning to form in her eyes and she closed them to focus on the caressing feeling of the wind. The steady draft was enough to blow her backpack onto its side; the open top allowed several of its contents to spill out onto the ground. A couple of articles of clothing and a book were among the exposed items, but the yellow chickling hat tumbled out and came to rest on top of everything else. The commotion caused her to open her eyes again to see the mess that now lay in front of her; her gaze was fixated on the hat before she looked back up to the gravestone with a gratified smile...

The mixed nuts in front of Klan had not been touched for a few minutes, but the highball glass that once held her drink was empty. "Another one, Miss?" the bartender asked as he wiped down the counter nearby. She was already a bit tipsy from a single serving of her drink of choice. Her micloned body had far less of a tolerance to alcohol and she knew that she had an important meeting tomorrow. Better not push it too far... "No, thanks. I should probably head home." "Already? Well, I hope everything works out for you," the bartender casually stated.

Klan looked at him for a moment, confused as to what he meant by that. He leaned backwards against the counter behind him and crossed his arms. "When you work in the business as long as I have, you can 'tell' things about people just by what they drink and how they sit. You are someone who has a very big decision to make in the near future and you still haven't come close to deciding," he said. Klan was a bit surprised at the accuracy of his diagnosis. "Yeah, you have quite a talent there." "Well, I'm sure you'd rather not talk about it and I don't even know you, but I will say one thing about this 'decision'. Never pass up a good thing," he boldly stated. Klan nodded in acknowledgment and hopped down from the barstool, leaving a tip on the counter for the insightful barkeep.

The assault continued inside of Cal's and Will's quarters. They both laid on their beds, but Will would not stop flapping his mouth while he tried to wrest the truth from Cal. "So, tell me... who is it who's become the apple of your eye?" "Goddammit, Will... It's getting late and I want to go to sleep," Cal barked as he put his pillow over his head to try to muffle Will's voice. "Then just tell me already. I'll leave you alone once you tell me who it is." "Damn you, Nene," Cal thought to himself. She was probably lying in her own bed at that very moment, grinning in complete satisfaction. She knew that Will would eventually wear Cal down to a breaking point at some time.

Cal's thoughts about Nene's current location were spot on. However, she was not grinning. She was worried about the Pandora's box that she'd opened, concerning Cal and her sister. If Klan was going to be serving on another ship, it would probably mean that they would not be able to carry out what Nene had planned for them to do. On one hand, it's a good thing that Klan's career is taking a huge step forward and that Nene will become a team leader in her sister's stead. On the other, it would most likely mean that it would become a barrier between Klan and Cal and there was little chance that it would allow much interaction together.

Perhaps Cal was right to not draw attention to the reality of the relationship between himself and Klan. Shedding too much light on the issue was surely a way to set himself up for disappointment in the future, should things not go as planned. He claimed that it was no big deal, but Nene knew that there was something more to it than he led her to believe. She'd known Klan all her life and she knew that her sister can be unpredictable, based on her life experiences. With the added variable of Klan transferring to another ship, it was a bet that no sane person should be willing to make. She quietly hoped that Will would not be successful in getting Cal to spill the beans. She laid on her bed staring at her phone, seriously considering calling off the dogs until the uncertainties were worked out. Will can be quite unrelenting when he's motivated...

"I'm not going to let you get to sleep until you tell me. Just say it!" Will demanded once again. Cal still had his pillow over his head, clamping it to his ears with both hands in a futile effort to drown out Will's voice. The final prod caused him to snap. Cal yanked his pillow off of his head and violently flipped over onto his back. "Alright! Alright! It's Klan! I told her that I'm in love with her. Happy? Can I go to sleep now?" he yelled. Success! Will's incessant badgering has finally paid off for him. "Wh- What?" Will asked with disbelief in his voice. Cal groaned as he rolled back over and put the pillow back on his head to hide his embarrassment. "You're joking, right? After all of the fighting between you two and how she put you in the infirmary, you're in love with her?"

Will could only hear labored groaning in response. He knew that Cal didn't want to talk about it, but he still pressed on, breaking his promise about leaving Cal alone after he admitted who it was. "How did this happen? Don't get me wrong, I think it's awesome, but still... I would never have guessed." Cal was still adamant about being left alone. "Can... I go... to sleep now?" he slowly said while gritting his teeth. "I guess, but... wow..." Will laid on his back with his arms crossed behind his head. His eyes were in no danger of closing anytime soon as he began to imagine the possibilities.

Bright and early in the morning, Klan was already making her way to the Zentraedi starport to attend her meeting with a potential commanding officer. She had done well to put the events of the previous day on the back-burner within her mind so she could focus her attention on the matter at hand. As she approached the main building on the base, she heard a faint voice calling out her name once again. "Oh, good! I'm glad you made it a little early. I was just about to leave and I hoped to catch you before your big interview." Klan located the source of the voice and responded, "I don't know how you always seem to be in six places at once, Cathy. Did you get some clones of yourself made?" she asked with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

Cathy stood on the roadside near her limousine as several staff members were loading inside. The roadway was elevated for the safety of the miclone motorists who would be using it. Cathy leaned against the railing while Klan moved to a more personal distance to talk to her. "A few more 'me's running around wouldn't be a bad idea, huh? Oh well, I don't think it would sit well with me," Cathy responded to Klan's rhetorical question. "Anyway, I did some research on this post and it jumped out at me as the perfect assignment for you. Not only is it a squadron of some of the best Zentraedi pilots in the fleet, but there's a little bit of incentive for you as well. I know you're accustomed to being in a test-pilot environment, what with the VF-25 currently being given combat evaluations in Skull Squadron. I won't spoil the surprise, but I think you'll appreciate it when you find out what it is."

Klan's imagination began to run wild with the possibilities. Already, she couldn't wait to find out what the surprise was. "As usual, your work is greatly appreciated, Cathy. I'll be sure to return the favor when I get a chance," Klan said with immense gratification. Cathy just shook her head, "It's what I do for a living, hon. Good luck in there! I'll talk to you later." Klan bid a goodbye as Cathy climbed into the limousine and it sped off to its next destination. The day was already starting out well and Klan had high hopes for what was to come.

She approached one of the Quiltra-Quelamitz battleships, as per her instructions from the base personnel office. Several of the ship's crew members, who were standing outside, watched her board the ship at one of the entry points. Klan could hear them talking about her, but she couldn't quite make out what they were saying. As was the behavior of most males when they are in groups, they were probably evaluating her physical appearance amongst each other. She clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes as she entered the ship; typical male behavior is so immature...

Several of the other crew members inside of the ship were friendly enough to point Klan to the bridge, where she was to meet with one of the ship's sub-commanders. After being admitted to the command deck of the ship, she approached the captain's chair. "Lieutenant Commander Klan Klang reporting," she said, standing at attention and holding a salute. The chair swiveled around to reveal the commander who was sitting there. Upon recognizing the individual, she dropped her arm and narrowed her eyes. "Jormun..." she said with a begrudging voice.

He tilted his frame to the side to reveal his uniform's rank insignia to her. "That's Commander Jormun, thank you very much," he said with a strong tone of cockiness. He continued as he approached Klan with his hand out to shake hers, "What, it's been a few years since we've seen each other and you aren't happy to see me again?" he asked. Klan stared at his hand for a moment before she answered, "We went out on one date and you never bothered to call me back. Why would I be?" Jormun thought about her answer for a second and retracted his hand when he realized that he was already being put on the defensive.

He cleared his throat before continuing with his greeting, "Well, I've been put in charge of staffing this ship with the proper personnel and I had an opening for squadron commander. I've been hearing murmurs of a certain 'Blue-haired Nephilim' and I could only think of one person every time I heard that term being thrown around by the miclone pilots. The Office of the Joint Chiefs contacted me about the opening for squadron commander and when I found out that they were trying to place you, I had to let them know that I would settle for none less than a pilot of your skills."

Klan allowed his compliment to stroke her ego just a little bit. "So, how did you manage to get placed as a Commander on this ship? I find it hard to believe that you'd be in such high demand to be given such a prestigious position," she snapped at Jormun. He put his hands up in front of himself in a gesture of non-aggression. "Look, I can imagine that you're still upset at me for something that happened when we were in high school. That's all in the past and I'm just trying to do my job here. Can we please just keep things professional here?" he demanded. Klan took a breath, blew a tuft of hair out of her face, and crossed her arms; the gesture was just enough to say "Alright, just tell me what you want with me".

After a brief moment of hesitation, Jormun began to speak again, "With the arrival of the Zentraedi fleet, the NUNS has done pretty well in assimilating the new forces in with their own. Most of the crew on this ship are new to the colony, but the rest of the crew have lived their entire lives on the Frontier colony during our journey to this planet. I just happen to be the one who has been assigned to help staff this ship." Jormun began to walk past Klan towards the bridge's exit and asked her to follow him while he gave her the standard tour of the ship.

The tour ended in the ship's hangar area, where Jormun introduced Klan to the vehicles that were to be under her command, should she choose to take the position. "These Queadluuns all belong to Charon Squadron. If you take the post, they will be yours to command," he said. Klan looked over the row of power armors and responded, "There's one missing." Jormun laughed as he realized that she was tough to fool. "You've got a sharp mind, there. You're right, there is one missing..." He walked over to a segregated area of the hangar. The door leading into the sectioned-off compartment was under guard by two soldiers.

They saluted as Jormun approached the door. He turned around before opening it and warned Klan of what was on the other side of the wall. "Okay, before we go inside, I am going to tell you here and now that what you see inside is classified. The offer of squadron commander is enticing, indeed, but you won't be able to turn the position down when I show you what's on the other side." Klan nodded in acknowledgment and Jormun opened the door using a keycard and password before they both passed through.

"Will, would you please shut up about it already?" Cal demanded. His voice was slightly muffled because he had buried his face into his crossed arms as they lay on the table in the mess. Nene joined the two for breakfast and she noticed Cal's disposition as she laid her tray on the table and sat down. "What's wrong?" she asked as she turned her gaze towards Will. Cal didn't answer, but Will was nonchalant in his seat. "He told me," he casually stated. Nene's worries from the night before returned to her mind. "Oh..." she said, sounding dejected.

Will saw her reaction and began to doubt his actions, "Was I not supposed to get him to talk?" "No, it's okay... but I did a bit of thinking last night and kind of hoped you didn't succeed." Will was now confused. He didn't know if he was in the right or wrong, when it comes to Nene's opinion. She turned to Will and spoke, "Sweetie, do me a favor and leave Cal alone for a bit. I think I should let you two know about what's going on with Klan right now."

Cal turned his head just enough so he could see Nene from his "hiding place" on the table. Nene sighed before continuing, "Ozma told me that she will probably be promoted and assigned to her own squadron on Aimo. If that happens, we probably won't see her for a very long time. We have no idea if they'll be deployed to serve with us in the fleet, or they'll be used in some other way. That's why it isn't a good idea to get anyone's hopes up." She peered at Cal out of the corner of her eye and saw him simply bury his entire face back into his arms in reaction to the news.

"Aw, she's not coming back then?" Will asked as he sat back in his chair. His posture was indicative of his disappointment. "It's not official yet, but that's probably what will happen. That's why maybe all this wasn't such a good idea. I can only imagine how difficult this makes things for Cal," she said as she reached over and rubbed his back to help comfort him. He sat back up, wiped the disconcerted look from his face, and replaced it with smugness. "See? Didn't I tell you this was going to happen, Nene? I was right to not get my hopes up, wasn't I? Every time I do, I get burned somehow and this was no exception." Cal got up from his seat to leave. "You should be more careful when trying to play the matchmaker in the future," he said with a condescending tone in his voice.

As she watched him leave, Nene sat with a bit of a shocked look on her face. Even Will was surprised at Cal's attitude. He looked at her to gauge her reaction and was not pleased with it. Will appeared offended at Cal's comments and got up to follow him out for a confrontation on the issue, but Nene stopped him. "No, Will... he's right. I'm just glad that he followed his own advice, otherwise he'd probably be hurting a lot." Will sat back down, rather uncomfortably before responding, "Yeah, but he didn't have to be a jerk about it." Nene didn't respond, and only dejectedly looked down at her food. Suddenly, she didn't have much of an appetite.

Cal's facade of confidence quickly faded as he left the mess hall to find somewhere to be alone. He couldn't help the feeling that things were disappearing from around him. Somewhere deep inside, he couldn't help but feel that there was still a tiny chance that things would end up working out somehow. The realist in him, though, would remind him that it was foolish to even entertain such a chance... nothing ever seems to work out his way if he doesn't step in and do something about it himself. Unfortunately, in this case, there was little he could do. It seems that the only thing left is to try to get through the next few days by trying not to worry about it.

He had wandered to the observation deck during his walk and stopped at the last step on the stairs to watch a pair of crew members sitting on one of the benches in front of the large viewport. Easily, he recognized the familiar silhouette of Jen, but he did not know who the other person was. Within moments of merely observing, he saw her comfortably lean over and put her arm around the other figure. She seemed to be enjoying the company of another individual, much like she had done with Cal several times before. Cal's heart jumped at the sight of Jen getting close to someone else, but he quickly realized that she's only human and she desires someone who will give her their time.

It didn't take long for Cal to realize that he had been leaving her on a shelf while he dealt with his growing attachment to Klan. Even then, he didn't quite know why he was so hesitant to take advantage of Jen's advances towards him. Somehow, his subconscious knew of what was really going on, but he couldn't convince himself of it. It was easy to understand that he couldn't blame Jen for moving on from him, but he did wonder why she didn't seem to make much of an effort to let him know of her changing priorities.

Cal turned around and began to walk back down the stairs, unwilling to watch any longer since it was really not his business anymore. Jen was alerted to the sound of his feet shifting when he turned around to head back down the staircase. She whipped around just in time to recognize Cal quietly walking away and hopped up to chase him down. She excused herself before dashing towards the staircase to fix the apparent problem before it became too big to handle.

Even though he wasn't walking very fast, Cal had managed to get some distance between them and Jen frantically searched the corridors at every intersection in the hall to make sure that she didn't lose him. Cal entered an elevator that would take him to the deck that his quarters was on. Just as the doors began to close, a hand jammed itself in between them and they opened back up to let another person on. Cal, who was leaning against the wall to the side, glanced over to see Jen slightly hunched over and panting from her rush to find him.

Jen straightened up and entered the elevator; the doors quickly closed behind her. "Hi." "Hey." They exchanged casual greetings with each other. There was a very uncomfortable silence afterward and Jen began to get nervous because she knew that Cal was waiting for her to say something in regards to what was going on on the observation deck. "I saw you back there. I have been meaning to talk to you about-" "I know," Cal interrupted. His posture continued to make Jen feel uncomfortable; it seemed a bit accusing and condescending.

It didn't take him but a couple of seconds before he unfolded his arms and placed one hand on her shoulder. "Really... it's okay. I have only myself to blame for taking so long to make a decision. You need to do whatever it is that makes you happy, right?" Jen began to smile a bit as Cal continued, "My only question to you is 'How come you didn't tell me earlier?'" She answered quickly, as if she was still being defensive, "Because you're always busy flying out there. It seems that we just live two very different lives, even though we serve on the same ship..." Suddenly, Jen realized that she was beginning to understand what both Cal and Bobby had both been telling her lately.

Cal nodded as she gave her answer. "You know, I have been giving all of this serious consideration. However, I always seemed to run into this brick wall that pops up in between us; the fact that we can't even see each other often when we are on the same ship. I was wondering if you were thinking the same thing I was and it seems that that's the case, huh?" Jen just nodded in response while Cal's demeanor became slightly apologetic. "I'm sorry if I seemed like I was keeping you hanging on unnecessarily. I feel kind of bad that I couldn't make a decision and then it was as if I was ignoring you." In his mind, Cal acknowledged that the real cause for his apprehension was his growing attachment to Klan. Just like with everyone else, though, he couldn't reveal that fact to anyone until it was a done deal.

She shook her head since she felt like she should be the one apologizing. "Don't... You were there for me when I needed someone to talk to. It's because of your words of advice that I've been given the opportunity to move my career forward. I have you to thank for... for just being who you are." Cal blushed a bit at the compliments, "Geez, you make it feel like I go out of my way to do the things that I do. I can assure you that it's certainly not deserving of your gratitude." They both laughed nervously at each other as a pregnant pause found its way into the conversation. "So, who was it you were with?" Cal hesitantly asked...

Several minutes later, Jen slowly climbed the stairs back to the observation deck. Her mind was still saddled with emotional weight. In a way, the conversation with Cal went better than expected, but she still felt like she had lost a piece of her heart to him. Hopefully, they can still remain good friends, despite her lingering feelings for him. She returned to her previous spot and seated herself with a sigh. "What was that all about?" Commander Ortiz asked her. She looked up at him with a proud smile as she answered, "That was Lieutenant Wagner. We first met on Aimo right before the Quarter was deployed..." Jen seemed to take delight in telling him about Cal. Commander Ortiz listened with a bit of apprehension, but he enjoyed her story.

There was a bit of relief that came to Cal over his conversation with Jen. At least now, things were clear between them and he didn't have to worry about a force tugging him in a different direction, away from Klan. He does care about Jen a lot, but it just seems that she's not the one for him; whether it's a personality conflict, or just purely circumstantial. It did seem like the tides were causing him to naturally float towards Klan. She certainly does share a lot in common with Cal, despite their propensity to fight with each other over the smallest things. It sure is nice to be with someone who shares the same interests as you... two pilots who constantly challenge each other probably would make a good couple, but it's like two bullets colliding in midair; it's nearly impossible to do, but if it does happen, it's a pretty awesome thing.

Despite remaining calm and collected during his conversation with Jen, Cal's mental state was taking a bit of a beating over the recent developments. He probably won't see Klan for a long time and Jen has now turned her attention in a different direction than his. It didn't take long for two very important people in his life to figuratively vanish from right in front of him. These events were just another reason for his subconsciousness to terminate the connections he has with the people around him. It seemed like this was becoming a cycle to his life; meeting good people and then having them disappear for various reasons. It's no wonder he's gone through most of his life depending on only himself. Maybe that's why he has had problems accomplishing anything on his own.