Masks

Gaea leaned close to the monitor as she viewed the
computape with Adama in the privacy of his office.
"It was quite remarkable to witness," he told her as
they watched Athena with the gifted toddlers.  "The
children responded instantly to her and actually
started crying when she had to leave."

"I've never seen anything like it," Gaea breathed.
"Perhaps I should work with her more on her perceptive
abilities.  The children actually look like they're
trying to communicate."

"That was the impression we had as well," he informed
her.

Gaea leaned back in her seat to address Adama face to
face.  "Do you think the parents would agree to Athena
tutoring the children?"

He turned his palm up in the air before placing it
back on his thigh.  "I don't see why not.  Athena has
been teaching the Galactica children for over a
yahren.  Once the toddlers are old enough."

"I mean now," Gaea interrupted.  "There's no telling
what we can learn from these children if we can
develop some sort of language that we can understand."

"Gaea, surely you don't think these children hold
secrets of the universe or something like that?
That's an old myth."

"I'm not speaking of myths, Adama.  Haven't you ever
wondered what an infant was thinking when it stared up
at you?" she pressed.  "If we can figure out what
these children are saying, we can simply ask them."

Adama rubbed his hand across his mouth.  "That would
certainly make an interesting study," he commented,
warming to the idea.  "It may be possible to set up
the Languatron to compute and analyze their speech
pattern."

"I think that Athena will be the key," Gaea stated.
"The children are obviously enraptured with her."

"She can work with them to establish the base line we
need for translation," Adama returned, the enthusiasm
growing in his voice.

"Not only that," Gaea said softly as she put her hand
on Adama's arm.  "She will be able to guide the
children, to help them develop whatever powers they
may possess."

Adama's mind followed along her train of thought.
"Perhaps we could get the Disciples involved as well."
 The secret society that they had brought together was
a wealth of knowledge from the Colonies and would be
invaluable in the development of the children.

Gaea nodded her approval.  "We will have to bring it
before them."

Adama reached for a small panel near his seat to click
off the monitor they had been watching.  "Have you
been able to meet with the rest of the Council?" he
asked softly.

"I was close enough," she returned.  "Many of them
were on the planet last night."  She shook her head.
"I know more about some of them than I care to, but I
couldn't sense any sort of conspiracy."

He looked at her shadowy face a little more closely.
"You don't sound very convincing."

She shook her head once more as she sighed.  "The only
one that has me confused is Siress Semele.  I wasn't
able to get any significant impressions from her.  It
was almost as if she had me blocked."

"She practices the ancient ways?" he asked in
surprise.

Gaea was silent for a long moment.  "I'm not sure.  I
haven't noticed anything to lead me to believe she
follows the Ancients, but there are others in the
Fleet as well who have developed the same ability to
block out thoughts."

"An aberration of the agro food?"

"Possibly," she returned evasively.  "With your
permission, I'd like to investigate a few ideas I
have."

"With my permission," he repeated as he leveled her
with stern look.  He knew that Gaea was a wise woman,
but she was also prone to taking wild risks.  "Why
does that make me feel like I'll be the one to blame?"
he asked and sighed heavily.  "On one condition.  You
contact me immediately if you find yourself in a
situation out of your control."

"Of course," she promised.

~~~

"Come on Muffit," Boxey ordered as he raced down the
hill to where the workers were clearing away some of
the trees.  Apollo chuckled as Boxey stumbled his way
down the long hill, but still managed to keep his
footing.

"He's so cute in his cadet uniform," Sheba said.

"You should have seen him when he first tried it on,"
Apollo returned as they walked down the hill at a much
slower pace.  He took Sheba's hand to help her over
the uneven ground.  "He was bouncing around our
quarters like a Triad ball.  Of course, that's nothing
compared to last night.  He is so excited about
getting to take his first Viper flight that it was
nearly impossible to get him to go to sleep."

"I think it's sweet that you volunteered Blue Squadron
to take out the cadets."

He shook his head.  "Purely selfish.  I wasn't about
to miss out on Boxey's first flight.  To tell you the
truth, I'm almost as anxious as he is."

"I'm looking forward to it as well.  I just hope we
don't get a cadet with a weak stomach."

"You and me both."

"Hey Dad!" Boxey called out as he raced back over to
them.  "You should see this tree their cutting up.
It's got all sorts of designs on it."

"Let's go have a look."

Once they reached the bottom of the hill, Sheba had
expected Apollo to release her, but instead he simply
repositioned his grip and kept her hand in his.  She
glanced down at their joined hands then up at Apollo's
profile.  She wouldn't exactly call a trip to inspect
the wood collectors their first date, but he was
treating her as if it was.  Even with Boxey along as
chaperone, he was being attentive and gentlemanly.

"Look Dad!  Isn't it great?"

"Wow," Apollo said appreciatively as they finally
caught up with Boxey.  "It's got to be at least a
hectar long."

"One point three hectars to be exact," a burly man
said as he walked over to them while wiping off his
hands.  "Chief Carver Mica," he said as he held out
his hand to Apollo.

"Captain Apollo," he returned and shook his arm before
gesturing to Sheba.  "Lieutenant Sheba and my son,
Boxey."  He placed his hand on the top of Boxey's
head.

"Cadet Boxey," he corrected.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Apollo returned as he looked down
at his son.  "We're here to support Cadet Boxey on his
inspection of the collectors."

Mica gave Boxey a serious look.  "Welcome to our
facilities Cadet Boxey," he said with a salute.  "How
can I help you?"

"What are they doing to that tree?" Boxey asked and
pointed to the tree with carvings.

Mica gestured for them to follow as he walked closer
to the massive tree.  "This is our gift to the
planet," he explained.  "You see, the Sagitaran
believe that everything in the universe has a life
force, including trees.  Whenever we take trees from a
planet, we always carve a totem to say thank you."  He
ran his hand over the part of the tree that had been
carved into the shape of animals.  "You can touch it
if you wish."

"It's so smooth," Boxey commented as he ran his hands
over the wood.

"We use laser technology to do the carving.  It's much
faster than the ancient hand tools and creates a much
smoother surface."

"You've done some really beautiful work," Sheba
complimented him and she and Apollo touched the
carvings as well.  "Is it all yours?"

Mica looked down the long length of the tree.  "Most
of it is."  He pointed up to several men standing on
top of the tree further down.  "I've been training a
few new carvers, but they're still learning the craft
so it's taking them a lot longer to get their art just
right."

"Do you have a sketch that you're working from?"
Apollo asked.  The size of the job was daunting enough
as far as he was concerned.  He couldn't even imagine
having to decide what was to be carved into it.

"We started with one.  We have a collection of
artist's drawings that we select from."  He gestured
over to a small totem that was complete only a few
metrons away.  "That's what we're using for our model
now.  We'll take that one back with us and put it in
one of the agro pods as a remembrance."  He looked
down at Boxey again.  "Just think, Cadet Boxey.  When
all of your friends are looking at that little totem,
you can tell them that you touched the one twenty
times bigger."

"Wow," Boxey said slowly as he ran his hands over the
prancing equine.

Apollo was pleased at the interest that Boxey was
showing for the history from their home worlds.  "How
is the wood collection going?"

"Everything's on schedule," Mica returned and gestured
over to a massive machine several hectars away that
was turning wood into shavings.  "The bulk of the wood
has already been returned to the Sagitaria and we'll
begin processing it as soon as we're finished here.
Along with recycling the remainder of our paper
products in the Fleet, we should have enough to last
us at least a couple of yahren."

"You can store that much?" Sheba asked as she shaded
her eyes with her hand to get a better look at the
wood grinder.

"Once we have it converted to shavings, it can be
easily stored until needed."

"You mean you turn big trees like this into paper?"
Boxey asked.  "But how?"

Mica chuckled and looked over at Apollo.  "Maybe your
father can bring you over to the Sagitaria and you can
see it for yourself."

Boxey's eyes grew wide as he looked up at his father.
"Can we?"

Apollo laughed as he lightly grasped Boxey's shoulder.
 "I don't see why not."  He reached out to shake
Mica's arm.  "Thanks for your help.  Do you mind if we
look around?"

"Not at all," Mica returned.  "Just stay clear of the
field further down."  They looked in the direction he
referred to and saw a tree topple before hearing a
loud crack.  "They're still clearing a few trees.  I
wouldn't want any of you to become a permanent part of
the landscape."


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X-UIDL: XD]"!\)4"!L9j"!mTF!!

Adama sipped his demitasse as he watched Dr. Quaye
going over the star charts that Delos had made.  She
had flipped through the first several fairly quickly,
but took more time to study the next.  "These notes
are almost illegible," she commented as she shook her
head.  "But the varying texts that he has drawn the
conclusions from make an interesting theory if nothing
else."

"So it is as I had suspected," Adama returned.  "These
are directions to Earth?"

The doctor slipped the magnifiers off of her nose as
she reached for her own demitasse.  "Much of it is
supposition, of course, but whoever made these charts
knew what he was doing."  She took a sip from her cup
then dropped it back onto the saucer with a clink.
"The thing that I find interesting is how he has used
extremely complex mathematical equations to envision
what the next galaxy could look like."

She sifted through the pages as she stood to move over
to Adama's side.  "This chart right here."  She gave
the papers to Adama as he set his cup down onto his
desk.  "We were near this galaxy, but we never
actually entered it.  The only reason I recognize it
is because I was the one who input the data from one
of the long range patrols."

He considered her words carefully.  "So, to the best
of your knowledge, these charts are accurate."

She shrugged slightly.  "Any time you're dealing with
supposition you run the risk of error, but I'd put
this guy on my research team without hesitation.  He
seems to have a clear vision."  She looked up at Adama
and wondered how he came across the charts.  "If you
like, I can compare the charts with what we have in
stellar cartography and then I can give you a better
estimate on how accurate they are."  She gestured over
to the monitor on Adama's desk.  "May I?"

"Of course," he returned and she went to work pulling
up the astrological data that was stored in the
computer.

"This would be much easier to see if we were working
with the three D holograms on the Trinian."  She
shifted over to give Adama more room to see as she
pointed to the screen.  "You see this double set of
binaries?"  She waited for his nod then flipped to the
appropriate page in the charts.  "Here.  He's got
them."  She shook her head.  "Considering the fact
that no one in the Fleet ever saw this galaxy, I'd say
this guy is a flat out genius.  Binaries are rare in
themselves, but a double binary isn't exactly
something you guess at."

"Commander I." Tigh began as he walked into the
Commander's office, but he stopped abruptly when he
saw that Adama wasn't alone.  "I'm sorry sir.  I'll
come back later."

"That's not necessary Colonel," Adama assured him and
gestured over to the attractive woman sitting at his
desk.  "Colonel Tigh.  Dr. Quaye.  She has been
helping me decipher some of the charts that Delos
made."

Tigh gave the doctor a friendly nod before looking at
Adama once more.  "Are they as you had hoped?"

"If you were hoping for a roadmap to Earth," Quaye
responded "then you got your wish."

"You're kidding?" Tigh blurted out.

The doctor pushed herself away from the desk and
stood.  "Only problem is, it looks like we are light
yahrens off course."

Adama and Tigh exchanged a hopeful look.  "Doctor,"
Adama said.  "Would it be possible for you to make a
three dimensional mock up of these charts?"

She smiled broadly.  "I was just going to ask if I
could get copies of the charts to do just that," she
returned.  "The theories this Delos person puts forth
are fascinating to say the least.  Would it be
possible for me to meet this guy?"

Adama shook his head.  "I'm afraid that Delos passed
on some time ago."

She eyed Adama curiously.  He almost sounded
sympathetic which was something that she hadn't
expected from a Colonial Warrior of his rank.  "I'm
sorry to hear that."

"Was there something that you needed Colonel?" Adama
asked before the doctor could question him further
about Delos.  The fact that Delos had died from
consumption of agro pod food was something that had
been kept quiet to avoid a panic in the Fleet.

The colonel touched a hand to his forehead at the
reminder.  His mind was already wondering off with the
possibilities of finding Earth.  "Oh yes.  I brought
the information that you requested on the children in
the Fleet."  He handed over the data pad he had with
him.  "It seems that nearly thirty percent of the
children are missing out on instructional periods for
one reason or another.  Mostly family related."

"Are the reasons correctable?" he asked as he glanced
at the data.

Tigh nodded.  "Many of them are simply jobless.
Finding them a paying position will certainly be a
step in the right direction."

"Have Omega work up a complete listing of positions
available on the Galactica.  Concentrate on the areas
where the warriors have been pulling double duty.  I
want them back on a regular patrol schedule as soon as
possible.  We can extend the job listing to include
all ships in the Fleet eventually.  What about the
other problems with the families?"

"Some are health related.  Some domestic."

Adama nodded.  "Make arrangements with Dr. Salik and
any other medical staff that's needed.  I want all of
those children in some sort of instructional period
before the end of the sectar."

"Yes sir."

"I'm sorry to interrupt Commander," Quaye said "but
has there been any consideration given to a stellar
cartography curriculum?"

Adama's brows shot up.  "Are you offering your
services, Doctor?"

A smile edged up on her face.  "I think that my staff
and I can arrange some sort of training schedule."

Adama smiled as well then looked over to Tigh.  "We
are still trying to form an independent board to
oversee the education of our children, but, until
then, the Colonel can assist you."

"I will be more than happy to arrange instructional
periods with your staff," Tigh told Quaye.  "If you
will follow me, we can get started.  I can get the
copies of the charts for you as well."

Doctor Quaye looked from Tigh to Adama and shook her
head.  "So much for my mental image of military men."

"Excuse me?" Adama said in confusion at her odd
statement.

She smiled as she searched Adama's face.  She had
expected a hard-nosed, hard-hearted military man to be
in command of the Galactica, but that description
couldn't have been further from the truth concerning
Adama.  He cared and that surprised her.  "I hope that
we have the chance to meet again Commander," she told
him as she held out his arm to him.

"I'd love the opportunity to see your holograms," he
said suggestively.

"Of course!" she said a little too enthusiastically
then laughed at herself.  "I'll let you know as soon
as I have them recorded.  The charts I mean."

Adama wasn't quite sure what to make of the sudden
change in the doctor, but he was grateful for her
assistance.  "Thank you for coming by Doctor.  I'm
looking forward to hearing from you."

~~~

Gaea did her best to blend into her surroundings
onboard the Rising Star.  The cacophony of images in
her head was starting to ware on her, but it was
impossible to avoid the crowd and keep a close watch
on Athena.  She was dining early with Leto and his
entourage which didn't settle well with Gaea, but she
was glad to see that Croft decided to tag along.

Gaea's eyes narrowed as she watched Leto lean in close
to Athena to whisper in her ear.  There was something
about Leto and his associates that made Gaea
uncomfortable.  Many of them had the ability to block
out her psychic impressions and that only made her
more suspicious.  When she caught a glimpse of Croft
standing a few steps away from Athena, she continued
moving stealthily.

Tollen and a few of his followers had entered the
lounge and Gaea was curious.  She had seen Tollen's
many broadcasts over the IFB preaching Count Iblis'
doctrine, but she never had the opportunity to meet
with him.  She did her best to focus as much of her
attention on him as she could, but the clamor of the
room only added to her struggle as she neared to catch
snippets of his conversation.

Tollen's arrogance was easy to read as he held court
over those around him.  Several questioned him about
spiritual matters and Tollen answered with authority.
Some came to remind him of a meeting, he told them
that he was amongst his followers and sent them away.

Gaea closed her eyes as she tried to pick up any
psychic impressions from Tollen, but she was
frustrated by the effort.  He could block out random
thought as well.  "This is useless," she mumbled and
started to move away when she saw yet another
messenger heading for Tollen's table.

"The Mistress has called for you," the messenger
whispered.

Gaea's eyes bored into the back of Tollen's head when
she felt a sudden surge of emotions coming from him.
Who's your mistress Tollen? she asked silently as she
closed her eyes once more to try to make sense of the
sudden influx of images she was receiving.

As he stood from the table, Tollen excused himself
from his followers.  "I'm sorry my friends, but I must
take some time to meditate, to hear our spiritual
father."

Gaea's eyes snapped open.  And just how will you be
hearing from him?  In an instant, she memorized the
faces of the people who had been with Tollen then
discretely followed him out.  She paused before
leaving the lounge to glance at Athena.  Gaea shook
her head as she watched her flirting with Leto then
looked for Croft.  He was still standing nearby and
not looking entirely pleased.  "Don't let her out of
your sight," she whispered although no one heard.

~~~
Sender: bsg-fanfic-bounces-
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X-UIDL: MSE!!EcI!!_lX!!0j,"!

"I'm not letting you go until you promise to have
dinner with me," Leto told Athena as he wrapped his
arms around her waist.

"I can't.  I'm on duty."

"What about tomorrow?"

Athena shook her head and smiled at his persistence.
"I'm sorry Leto, but the warrior memorial is being
dedicated tomorrow and I'm expected to be there."

"We can go down to the planet afterwards," he
suggested.  "In fact, I'll hold a celebration in my
tent just for the dedication."

She laughed and rubbed her hands over the silken
material of his shirt as he pulled her close.  "You're
just not going to give up, are you?"

"I'm not use to getting no for an answer."

"I have no idea if there is anything planned for after
the ceremony."

"Don't worry about that," he assured her as he toyed
with a lock of her hair.  "I'll find out what's
arranged and simply have it moved to my tent."

She laughed and shook her head again.  "I believe you
would."

"If it means getting to see you again," he squeezed
her waist, "I'd move mountains."  Leto caught a
glimpse of Croft slowly moving in their direction.
That man was really starting to annoy him.  As he
locked eyes with Croft, he leaned in to put his cheek
next to Athena's and whisper in her ear.  "Just
promise me you'll be there."

Athena closed her eyes as she rubbed her cheek against
his.  She loved all of the attention that he was
lavishing on her.  "All right," she said softly.  "If
it can be arranged, I'll be there."

He pulled back slightly and gave her a warm smile.
"Then it shall be done."  When a young woman hovering
nearby caught his eye, he gestured over to her.
"Jamry!  I was wondering when you were going to get
here."  He looked back down at Athena.  "This is the
young lady I was telling you about.  She has been
studying the history behind the Book of the Word and
was hoping for a chance to meet you."

Athena's eyebrows shot up.  "How interesting!" she
said enthusiastically as she reached out to grasp the
woman's hand and pull her aside.  "Have you had the
chance to research the laws yet?"

"That was one of my first projects," she returned with
a gleam in her eye.

"I was looking into some of the origins of the laws."

Leto turned his attention back to Croft once Athena
was engrossed in conversation with Jamry.  He was
tired of having Croft loom over them everywhere they
went.  "Have you had the chance to get something to
eat?" he asked Croft politely, but only received a
cold stare in response.

Leto sighed.  "Okay, so we can dispense with the
social graces."  He squared off in front of Croft.
"Athena is a grown woman.  She doesn't need you
hovering over her constantly."  Croft folded his arms
over his chest.  He wasn't going anywhere.
"Look.guy," he said after a moment's hesitation trying
to think of his name.  "If you don't give us some
space, I'm not going to be responsible for what could
happen."

Croft's jaw flexed as he grinded his teeth together.
He was well aware of what Leto wasn't responsible for.
 "Look guy," he repeated.  "You lay one hand on that
lady and I'll snap your neck."

Leto pulled back slightly.  He wasn't use to anyone
standing up to him and, from the look on Croft's face
he actually believed that he would do it.  "Okay
then."  Leto smiled broadly and gave Croft a hard slap
on the shoulder.  "As long as we understand each
other."



"There she is," Starbuck said and grabbed Apollo's arm
to start him in the right direction.

Apollo checked the chronometer at his wrist.  "We'd
better make this quick if we're going to get to the
Academy barge on time."  It had taken them longer than
expected to track down Athena on the Rising Star.

Starbuck tried to make his way through the crowd, but
Athena was surrounded by people at the other side of
the room.  When she glanced over in their direction,
Starbuck motioned her over.  "She's coming," he told
Apollo and they stopped to wait.  When he looked back
at Athena making her way through the tables he gave
Apollo's shoulder a nudge.  "Uh, looks like she's not
alone."

Apollo immediately recognized the man following his
sister and extended a hand in greeting when Croft
joined them.  "How are you doing?" he asked.

"Fine Captain," he returned as he grasped his arm
briefly.

"How's the job on the storage barge working out?"

Croft shrugged.  "I haven't gotten my head bashed in
yet so pretty good."

"Listen Croft," Starbuck interrupted.  "Would you mind
giving us a centon?  We need to talk to Athena."

Croft looked over at Athena.  "I'll see if our shuttle
has arrived," he told her before walking away.

"What are you two doing here?" Athena asked once they
were alone.  "I thought that you were supposed to be
on the Academy barge?"

"We're on our way there," Apollo returned.  "But first
I want to ask you about Sire Leto."

Athena looked from Starbuck to Apollo suspiciously.
"What about him?"

Apollo shot a glance at Starbuck.  "I didn't get much
of a chance to talk with him last night, but you've
spent a lot of time with him recently and we were
wondering if he happened to mention any of the ships
he owns?"

She shook her head.  "He hasn't said anything about
owning ships."

"Not even a salvage barge?" Apollo pressed.

Athena's brow furrowed.  "What's this about?"

"Oh nothing much," Starbuck interjected.  "It's just
that Croft was nearly beaten to death on a ship that
Sire Leto owns."  He shot a glance over at the door
Croft had passed through.  "Rather interesting company
you seem to be keeping lately."

Athena folded her arms over her chest.  "And just what
are you implying?"

"We're not implying anything," Apollo interrupted,
gesturing with his hands for her to calm down.  He had
seen that look on her face many times.  She was
gearing up for a fight.  "We just want to know what
you and Leto talked about."

"That's personal," she stated firmly.

Starbuck ran his fingers through is hair.  "Okay then
let's try this.  Did you see him talking with any of
the Council while you were with him?"

She eyed him suspiciously once more.  "We talked with
several Council members," she said cagily.

"This isn't getting us anywhere," Apollo mumbled and
finally decided to simply tell Athena what little they
knew.  "Look, we were never able to prove anything,
but we suspect that Leto might have been behind the
destruction of that satellite from Earth and possibly
even what happened to Croft.  Considering Leto's
connections with the Council, we need to know if any
of them are involved as well."

Her mouth slowly dropped open.  "You want me to spy on
Leto and." she glanced around quickly when her voice
rose then lowered it once more.  "And the Council?"
she finished incredulously.  "Have you gone completely
out of your mind?"

"Yeah, we could ask you the same thing," Starbuck
interjected.  "Since when are you and Croft such good
buddies?"

Athena shot him an angry glare.  "Since when do you
have any right to critique my companions?"

"You're not exactly hanging out with the cream of
society there sweetheart."

"And you would know," she shot back.

"Hold on," Apollo interrupted hoping to defuse the
mounting argument.

"No you hold on," Athena shot back.  "You have got no
right to come in here and question the people I'm
seeing.  You want to know what Leto is like?  I'll
tell you.  He has been a perfect gentleman and I enjoy
his company immensely.  We don't discuss ships and
politics.  We talk about home and the things we miss,
about foods we like or events in the Fleet.  He
introduces me to his friends and we have stimulating
discussions on any number of topics, one of which you
just interrupted."

"Athena," Apollo called to her as she turned and
stormed away.

"That went well," Starbuck commented and received a
sideways look from Apollo.

~~~


"Excuse me.  Is this seat taken?"

Tollen glanced up from his work then did a double
take.  "Well I'll be." he began softly then remembered
his manners and stood.  "Athena, isn't it?" he asked
as he took her hand into his.

She smiled broadly.  "Yes it is.  I'm flattered that
you recognize me."

"It's not like we have a lot of healers in the Fleet,"
he returned smoothly and gestured for her to take a
seat.

"I know who you are, of course," she said as she
leaned on the arm of her seat to whisper
confidentially.  "To tell you the truth, I paid the
steward to make this seat available."

"Now you flatter me."

She glanced down at the data pad he had been working
on.  "I hope that I didn't interrupt anything
important."  He covered the pad completely with his
large hand and slipped it into his pocket.  "Were you
working?"

"It's nothing that can't wait until later," he assured
her.

She smiled at him encouragingly.  "Would I be a total
bore if I asked you to tell me a little about the
Illuminati?" she asked coyly.  "I feel like I've been
so sheltered on the Galactica.  I know next to nothing
about your organization."

"Yes, I would imagine that your father isn't one of
our biggest supporters," he said carefully.

She groaned softly.  "Sometimes I think that he's
stuck in a time warp.  He's so wrapped up in the
Ancients that he can't appreciate a new belief system
no matter how right it may be."

His brows rose slightly in surprise.  "I take it that
you don't share your father's beliefs?"

She shrugged nonchalantly.  "I like to make up my own
mind.  That's why I couldn't resist taking the
opportunity to meet you when I discovered we were on
the same shuttle.  I want to hear more about your
doctrine."

"It's quite simple really.  We believe that there is a
god in each of us waiting to be reborn.  By following
various paths of enlightenment, you can achieve
greater levels of divinity."

"But how do you know what's the right path when your
religion is so new?"

"You know by the gifts that you receive."

"What sort of gifts?" she pressed.

"Gifts such as yours," he returned smoothly.  "You may
not know it, but you are traveling the same path that
I am taking although my abilities lie more in the
metaphysical."

"Yes, I've heard some of your sermons.  You make
everything sound so logical no matter how incredible
it actually is."

"Our lives are full of doors and windows.  We simply
have to choose which ones to open."

"Attention passengers," the throaty voice of the
flight captain came over the unicom.  "Due to
maintenance in the landing bay on the Adena, we will
be altering our flight pattern and will return to the
Adena once the landing bay has been cleared.  Our
apologies for the unavoidable delay."

She looked at him curiously when Tollen sighed
heavily.  "I take it that the Adena was where you were
disembarking?"

He nodded then gave her a charming smile.  "At least I
have good company."