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heels of the captain. 
“Nice save with the flying truck.  How did you do it?”
    “It wasn’t me,” he said, and he twisted toward
Zerki.  “Here, I got the scanner readings you asked for.”  He lobbed a gleaming
metal cube her way.  He smiled slightly as she caught it and raised a brow.
    “Thanks.”  Zerki examined the cube.  Turning
toward the tall woman, she said, “Valerie, can you plug this in and start
crunching the data?  I’d like to confirm we have the right guy before we dock
with the Shadow .  I know your vision showed you a human man, but I would
cry if it was the rhidorm.”
    Valerie took the cube and casually saluted.  “I’m
on it, Captain.”  She turned about and hurried over to the scanning station,
seated at the back of the bridge.  Carefully, she set the storage device down
into a faintly glowing recess, and the console flickered brightly alive.
    Blowing into her hands through puffed cheeks,
Zerki eased down into a chair near Krane and stared absently at the starry
abyss.  She pulled up her hair as if to tie it into a ponytail, but ultimately
let it drop back to her shoulders.  It would be some time before the shuttle
reached her starship.
    ·· • ··
    Taryn and Takeo waited within the confines of a
small chamber.  Similar to Gavin’s, a double bunk bed took up most of one wall,
and a softly lit washbasin stood near a recessed latrine.  Upon its surface, a
biohazard placard had been emblazoned, decorated with a wealth of scribbled
graffiti.
    “Hey, Takeo,” Taryn began, and he turned to her. 
“What do you think stopped Gavin’s truck?”  She crossed her arms, leaning
heavily against the door.
    Solemnly, Takeo shook his head.  “I’m not sure.”
    “You think maybe it was Gavin, somehow?  I mean,
maybe that’s what all this secrecy is about.”
    “It wasn’t Gavin.  It was someone on the shuttle,
I’m sure.  Shields or a tractor beam.”  He nodded insistently toward her. 
“That gun the captain is carrying is advanced tech.  Military grade.  Who knows
what else they have access to.”
    Taryn smirked disapprovingly.  “Shields would’ve
burned our faces off, and there’s no such thing as tractor beams.”
    “It wasn’t Gavin.”
    ·· • ··
    Valerie stood up from her console, grinning.  “It
was him!  He’s our man, without a doubt.  Not only that, I think he’s the one
that stopped the truck!”  She could scarcely contain her excitement.  “Captain,
you have to take a look at these numbers.  He’s no ordinary Navigator!”
    Zerki opened her eyes and came quickly to her
feet.  At times, there was a certain tone in Valerie’s voice that meant her
subject needed to pay attention immediately, and she was using it, despite her
giddy excitement.  “I’m coming,” and she hurried to her companion.
    Side by side, with Valerie hunched over somewhat,
they poured over the data.  After a moment of silent study, Zerki whispered,
“Are you sure this is right?”
    Valerie nodded.  “Triple checked for data
integrity.  It’s as authentic as it gets.”
    “He’s a Wellcaster.”
    Valerie beamed.  “They really exist, and we have
one!”
    Zerki closed her eyes and exhaled through steepled
fingertips.  “Interesting.”

Chapter
05
     
     
     
    “He who
can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his
eyes are closed.” –Albert Einstein
     
    A loud knock rang through
Gavin’s quarters, and he rose to his feet as the door slid away.  In the narrow
hallway beyond, the captain stood with her arms crossed.  She regarded Gavin. 
“Please, sit down.  We need to talk.”
    He shrugged and sat down on the lower bunk. 
“Sure.”
    She stepped through and closed the door.  “How are
you feeling, by the way?  I know this is probably taking longer than you
thought it would.”
    He answered, “No, it’s fine.  I’m OK.  I don’t
mind.”
    “Good,” she said and turned a kind smile his