THE JOURNEY CONTINUES: FINDING KOBOL

          They were talking quietly together as they stepped off the lift to the launch bay, all of them wondering what was going on that they had been ordered to report to the launch bay so early.  

          As they reached the line of vipers waiting in their launch tubes, they saw Captain Roark, his laptop resting on a small desk near the first tube.  "Evan," he called out, "check your auxiliary board.  I've got a red light on one of the scanner auxiliary lines."

          "On it!"

          Roark turned and smiled.  "Good morning, ladies.  Welcome to your first mission."

          "Mission, Captain?" she asked.

          "Yes, Captain Deedra," Rodolphus stepped over the lines of tube one to join them, wiping his hands on a towel.  "Rory, check the hydraulics on Viper 7.  I reconnected the line after cleaning it out."

          Roark turned his attention back to his laptop and began to rerun the checks on Viper 7 as Evan appeared from the front of the vipers.  "All set," he said, his intense blue eyes moving over the ladies bunched together, including Rory's Aunt Athena, and his Uncle Apollo's new wife, Serina.  "Ladies."

          "Alright, here's the details of what the mission is," Rodolphus spoke up as in the distance the sound of the lift activating reached their ears.  "The Docs need to return to the planet that Lt.'s Boomer and Jolly landed on to see if they can find out what this damn virus is."

          Footsteps on the metal floor had them turning, some drawing in deep breaths as Commander Roark Durin stepped into view, the lights of the bay drawing out the bluish highlights in his midnight hair, his helmet in hand.

          Arching a brow at his cousin, Roark moved to him.  "Roark?" he asked, noticing how some of the ladies were looking at him.  "Sorry ladies, he's quite happily married, with four teenage kids."

          "Of COURSE, he is," came back in a wry voice, "all the really handsome, rich ones are."

          Roark's head tilted slightly at the comment, but he said nothing, instead looking back at his cousin, : Gold digger. :

          : Oh, absolutely. :  "I will be joining you for this mission if only to keep you three from being reckless."

          "This coming from you, the original troublemaker of Uncle Kendric's lot."

          He affected his most innocent look, his hand raising to his chest.  "Me?  I have no idea what you are talking about, Rory.  You must be thinking of my other personality.  Now HE--"

          "Attention Blue Squadron, mission specs have cleared protocols', launch time T-minus five centons."

          "You heard her," Roark said as he headed down the line toward the last viper before anything else could be said.

          "Well, I guess that solved THAT mystery."

          "What mystery was that, Evan?" Roark asked his lover as his arm went around his waist to keep him from following his cousin.

          "Why there was an extra Viper in the line.  Grab your laptop, beautiful, time to get moving."

                                                                        cccVccc

         Thorin glanced down at his chronometer.  "They're late," he said, his voice tense.  "We need to start the fleet moving again."

          Roark, standing at the viewport, looking out into the blackness of the void, hands liked behind his back, did not turn, but said, "Give them a little--"

          "Galactica, do you read?" came the staticky voice of his son-in-law.

          Roark spun, moving quickly to the nearest com station.  "Blue Leader, Galactica, status?"

          "We're limping.  We ran into trouble with that listening station.  We've lost six of the squadron.  Prepare the landing bay, two of us are coming in hot."

          "Copy.  We'll have a med crew on standby.  The shuttle?"

          "We're fine, thanks to the bravery of Rodolphus's ladies,"  Sebastien answered.  "And we got what we went after."