UNEDITED
Giles nodded. “Yeah. I mean, the talisman I had there and then took to Teshov was the one I found on Earth, if you remember. That means we haven’t found any pieces of the puzzle in the Estarian culture. And with what I showed you and Molly about the similarities in the genetic makeup of the Zhyn and the Estarians, it seems only logical that there will be one in Estarian culture.”
Lance grunted, and Giles continued, “Arlene and I both believe that there are cultural similarities too. Like, similarities in their ascension myths.”
Lance frowned. “You mean you think they’re both talking about the same phenomenon?”
Giles’ face lit up “Exactly!”
Reynolds rubbed his chin, his elbows resting on the table. “Hmm. Yes, Molly had mentioned as much.”
“Molly?” Giles asked, curious.
Lance nodded. “Yeah, she was also interested in getting answers about this.”
Giles thought for a moment. “You mean because of her realm-jumping thing?”
Lance took a slurp of coffee and then pushed the mug away, deciding he’d had enough. “Yes, I believe so.” He paused, watching Giles’ reactions carefully. “Do you think it’s related?”
Giles nodded. “Almost certainly. There’s a bigger picture we’re not seeing yet. I think gathering these two fragments—the oracle from Orn, and whatever the Estarian equivalent is, will give us some definites to work with.”
Lance took a deep breath. “Well, you have my blessing.” He paused, settling back in the seat. “You’ll be taking Arlene with you, of course?”
Giles looked resistant for a moment before quickly realizing that the suggestion Lance had made wasn’t actually a suggestion. He gathered his thoughts. “Yes, Uncle Lance. I’ll be taking Arlene to babysit me,” he teased.
Lance’s face relaxed a little. “Very good,” he acknowledged. “So tell me, this ‘do’ your mother is organizing tomorrow… What time does it start?”
Aboard the ArchAngel, Comms Room AA19
Arlene sat immersed in her holo screens, her audio implants tuning out the sounds around her and playing a brain-synch track to help her focus. She scrolled through one of the holo documents, trying to figure out if there was a connection between that and the other account she had been reading.
She felt a nudge on her shoulder.
She turned, half-expecting it to have been a random muscle spasm or even a sensation from the realm-jumping she had been doing earlier. When she concentrated hard, she sometimes lost her grounding.
But then she saw that there was someone standing just behind her.
She flicked her audio to ambient and looked up. “Oh, Giles. You scared me!” she said, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
Giles pulled a console chair next to her. “No I didn’t,” he told her. “You could have an armed warrior sneak up next to you, and you’d be ready to poke his eyes out with your elbow.
Arlene turned back to her document, her face perfectly straight. “That is true.”
Giles chuckled. “So, I have news,” he offered.
Arlene continued studying her screens, flicking between one and another as if she were on the brink of a meaningful breakthrough. “Uh huh,” she muttered.
Giles leaned back in his chair. “Yeah. You want the good news or the bad?”
Arlene leaned forward a little, and turned her head toward him. She narrowed her eyes. “Gimme the bad first. Always.”
Giles grinned. “The bad news is, I need to take you with me.”
Arlene tried her best to look annoyed. “And the good news?” she asked.
Giles’ grin spread a little wider. “The good news is, the general has put us onto the Orn thing. We can leave wherever we want.” He rocked a little in the console chair, waiting for the praise to follow.
Arlene didn’t answer and went back to her screens.
Giles sat up suddenly. “What? What’s the problem?” he pressed.
Arlene minimized her holo screens and turned to him. “What’s the problem?” she repeated his question, a hint of frustration in her voice now.
Giles eyes opened in bewilderment. “Yeah.”
Arlene clasped her hands together on her lap. “I’ll tell you what the problem is! Apart from the fact that only a few weeks ago you went and surrendered your sorry ass to a known terrorist organization. Apart from that, and the hell you put us all through…you left me.”
Giles’ eyes wrinkled up in confusion. “What? When?” he asked, searching his memory.
Arlene frowned at him. “Seventy years ago. We had a row, and I thought we were going to figure it out. And then I came home one evening and you were just…gone.”
Giles’ mouth dropped open. “I left because you told me to!”
Arlene scowled at him. “I did no such thing!”
—
FROM MICHAEL >>> I’m boarding a plane, and need to drop this quick. If you haven’t check out the stuff below!
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