From: Nai (naomi_lara_at_optusnet.com.au)
Date: Fri Feb 16 2007 - 15:51:23 PST
========= "Puff of Smoke" Con't from Taylor's "Back to the Fray" ========= Location: USS PATRIOT Stardate: 2421 [2.7] 0215.2256 Scene: ILO Office Catherine smiled apologetically as she re-entered her cramped office. Palthainon waited graciously for her to resume her seat so they could pick up their conversation where they had left it a couple of minutes earlier. "These tunnels under the cities, they all intersect, am I correct?" Sterling asked once again as she called up the known existing tunnel network onto the computer screen. The routes were of different colours, green to show frequent use; yellow for less then frequent use, orange was for ancient information, or rumours from unofficial sources and red was the computer's attempts at trying to link the rest of the tunnels together into a network. "Yes, they've been used for hundreds of years. Not often, but every priest knows of its existence, particularly of the tunnels around their domain." Palthainon assured her as he looked at the overlayed map of the terrestrial cities and glanced with longing at his own. Jade's eyes flicked over the layout, she couldn't see what Palthainon wanted to. The answer to their problems. "And in the hundreds of years, there has been no sightings, no signs of evidence to support the existence of another person." This was worse then looking for a needle in a haystack. This was like looking for needles that were never in the haystack to begin with! To make matters worse, she was confined to the ship, so all of her information had to come from history and from Palthainon himself. She couldn't search for her quarry in her own right. "I understand your train of logic, Lieutenant, but you must understand, we believe that the Nearly Perfect One is there." The priest pointed out as he leaned back into his chair. He felt something wedge into his shoulder, and turned around, only to find he had leaned into a bookcase. The priest cleared his throat and straightened up again. "Even if she were real, she would be long dead?" Sterling asked. Palthainon folded his hands across his lap and smiled warmly at the young woman. "We must all believe in something. Even when our knowledge tells us it cannot be so." He said it with a quiet undercurrent of passion that surprised Catherine. To her, he truly believed the things he said. "Somethings transcend logic and reason. They are a link to the past, a window to the other realms where the impossible becomes possible." "Why?" The young woman raised an eyebrow. She knew it was a horribly blunt question, but she was never one for politics and wordsmithing just wasn't her thing. "Because somethings are bigger then you, or I." The man told her and studied her for a moment. "You don't believe." "No." He nodded in understanding. "Well, we are all entitled to believe what we will." Catherine was silently thankful he hadn't chosen to give her a sermon. He was apparently quiet secure in his own beliefs that he didn't need to preach. That or he had her pegged as a lost cause to begin with. Catherine sighed as she glanced at the tunnel layout again. There were no caverns or dead ends, just a road network of intersecting lines carved through rocks. "Look, if this woman is still alive, she has kept her existence a total secret. There is no record of any inhabitation, no evidence of any animal husbandry, or a vegetable garden for sustenance, cloth for clothing, foot prints, or any other remnants that you would expect to see. No nothing." She turned her head and looked at the priest, challenging him to refute her argument. "It's like she's disappeared into a puff of smoke." He leaned back and smiled contentedly. "Like a puff of smoke, a very good analogy for a non-believer." "It is simply an expression." Sterling pointed out. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NRPG: Sorry it took so long for this to get out, have been devilishly busy at work this past week Naomi Lara Lt. J.G. Catherine Sterling-Jade Intelligence Operative USS PATRIOT And Lieutenant Tellah 'Cal' Callishendrack'Hylarmarishnakaashanah Chief of Operations USS PATRIOT And Commodore Teneill Danara-Bennow Deputy Chief of Starfleet Intelligence From HyperNews_at_youth.net
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