Forum: Andromeda
Title: The longest day
Rating: PG 13
Pairing: Beka/Dylan
Disclaimer: Nope, they're not mine.
Summary: They meet in private for the first time. First fanfic ever.
The longest day
Beka Valentine was looking for the nearest place to dump the large and apparently heavy box filled with a lot of personal stuff, that she had carried from the Eureka Maru to her newly acquired quarters onboard the Andromeda Ascendant. Although she didn't plan to actually move in completely, she was quite happy with the spare room her appointment as first officer to the High Guard heavy cruiser provided her with. The captain's cabin on board the Maru was actually a tiny, cramped space hardly large enough for a bed and some shelves. And with Beka being somewhat of a collector, it had become overstuffed with personal items she „just couldn't do without" the very month she had assumed command of the vessel. As time went by, she had started to replace some old things with newer ones, but she never threw anything away, storing the items that had to go in large boxes she kept buried in hte depths of her ship. And so she relished at the prospect of unpacking them again and putting them on the display in the luxuriously, spacy rooms of the Andromeda's XO. It would be fun to have all clothes, music cds, holonovels, scarfs and all the other stuff she treasured at hand, like meeting again with old friends.
Very, very heavy old friends, Beka thought wearily as she carried in the last of the metal cases. This one had taken her considerably longer to locate, and she just hoped it was worth it.
She didn't bother to go in further into the living room, but dropped the box right where she stood, next to the others already piled up on the left side of the door. It fell down with a loud, dry „thump", followed by Beka herself, who unceremoniously let herslef drop on top of the case, glad that she was finally done.
Beka Valentine smiled to herself. It had been a 24 hours. Salvaging the Andromeda Ascendant from the event horizon of a black hole, surviving the implosion of the said hole, losing and finding the Eureka Maru within hours, joining Dylan Hunt as his second in command and now moving half a dozen metal cases, all of them big enough to store a middlesized chest's contents, all in a day's work. She was headed for exhaustion. Howeverm exhausted ior not, she quickly jumped back on her feet and swirled around, as she heard the door to the bedroom hiss open.
„Captain Valentine!" An equally tired, weary and surprised looking Dylan Hunt stepped into the room, carrying a small box, that was obviously full with a certain amount of personal items, as well. „I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."
„No never mind. I... there seems to have been some misunderstanding... Andromeda had indicated these rooms to be her XO's quarters," Beka began to explain in a hurry, not little embarressed by the fact that she had clearly disturbed her new employer by moving in into his quarters.
„They are, don't worry. I just... I just didn't realize that you people were already moving in." He placed the box in his hands on the dining table at the far end of the room, gesturing somewhat helplessly towards it.
„I... I thought... I simply wanted to give Andromeda a hand at removing and storing the crew's..." he seemed to stumble over the word, but then continued after only a fracture of a second, „I mean, the former crew's personal items."
„I see," Beka nodded and stepped closer to the table. A little curious, she almost involuntarily tried to catch a quick glimpse of its contents. To his surprise, however, Dylan Hunt just snatched the box back from the table and away from her gaze, as if to protect it from her. Beka withdrew from the table, taken aback by his reaction, that had been almost violently abrupt.
„Hey, it's okay," she stated, holding her hands up in a mock gesture of surrender. „I didn't mean to pry."
The Andromeda's captain only stared at her, wide-eyed, his features frozen and kind of void of all expression.
„Dylan..." Beka tried anew, but again got no reaction. „Dylan?..."
He blinked several times as if trying to regain control of his facial muscles, still holding on to the box as for dear life. Then suddently he seemed to snap out of it, whatever „it" was and became aware of her inquisitive look.
Great, she reflected, we signed on with a lunatic.
Her face must have betrayed her thoughts, for he immediately put down the box again and took a few steps towards her.
„I'm sorry," he began in a low keyed voice. „This..." he waved vaguely towards the box, „it all belonged to Gaheris Rhade. He was my XO. Well, actually he was more than that. We were..." Dylan seemed to struggle for the right words, „we were... close... I mean... he was a friend... He was supposed to be best man at my wedding..."
Understanding dawned upon Beka Valentine. Actually, it almost hit her like lightning. Poor guy, she thought, poor, poor guy. For the first time since meeting him, Dylan Hunt became a real person, a breathing, living human being, something more than just another interesting, if intriguing and highly unusual artefact from a time long gone. All of a sudden Beka understood that – to him – all the events she knew as ancient history were lying mere 24 hours ago. Furthermore, they weren't something he had heard of, a tale about some figures of the past. Dylan Hunt had been a part of these events, had known, loved, lived and fought with those people, had seen them walking around... that very morning. Well, his very morning, at least. She didn't know, what to say.
„You were to be married?" she finally heard herself ask in a somewhat shaky voice.
The tall High Guard officer nodded briefly. „In three weeks time... I mean..."
„I know, what you mean. Gaheris Rhade – what happened to him?"
Beka saw Dylan swallow convulsively, as if fighting down nausea.
„He's dead," he then answered in a small voice. „He was Nietzschean. I... I killed him..."
Good grief. Beka could not restrain herself from letting a small sound of surprise escape her lips. Killed him? she thought, eyeing the man in front of her with sudden suspicion, but also with a new expression, one that was reminding of... awe. Dylan Hunt, the last boy scout, has killed his XO, his best friend, his... My, my, Prince Valiant, maybe there's more to you than meets the eye, after all.
Aware of her reaction „the last boy scout" hurried to offer an explanation. „He betrayed us... me, tried to take over... He sabotaged the ship,... killed Lieutenant... Refractions of... Lieutenant Refractions of Dawn..." His voice died out.
Beka had no idea whom or what he was talking about, but made a mental note to herself to check the ship's logs and find out asap. She watched him with both caution and sympathy, still not really knowing what to say to him. She felt compelled to offer him some kind of comfort, yet she didn't find the words. As a matter of fact, she seriously doubted that there were words adequate enough to be said to someone trapped in a living nightmare of the magnitude Dylan Hunt was just experiencing first hand. How do you comfort a man who's been betrayed by his closest friends and lost... universe itself, at least his universe? she silently asked herself, contemplating him through saddened exes. There really wasn't much to say. The silence between the two of them prolonged itself, becoming more and more uncomfortable, until the Andromeda's captain picked up the box again.
„Are you all right?" she asked, inwardly cursing herself for the stupidity of her question.
„I'll live," he replied in a dry voice and turned to leave.
Are you all right? Well done, Beka, she admonished herself harshly. How can you ask him such a foolish thing? What were you expecting him to say? The Eureka Maru's captain sadly shook her head, as if trying to rid herself of the thoughts assaulting her. Yet she couldn't refrain from starting another attempt to properly react to what he had just told her.
„No, I mean, will you be fine?" she tried anew, instantly knowing that she should have left it alone, that reaching out to him was right now nothing but a bad, bad idea. And then it came, breaking out of him like a flood, harsh, bitter words he almost spitted out straight to her face, shaking with anger. At first, Beka attempted to interrupt him, to point out to him that he was barking up the worng tree, having no reason for taking out his hurt and outrage at her, of all people, but then she decided to just let it pass, letting him dry himself out on the matter. Maybe... maybe this was the only thing she really could do for him in this case.
„Of course, Captain Valentine, how nice of you to ask. After all, I have been rescued from a black hole, prevented my ship from being stripped for parts by „salvagers", fought off a band of mercenaries, who were trying to steal it from me, survived an attempt to throw me back in into the black hole again, saved all your petty lives in the process and helped you gain back your poor excuse of a space craft, this flying bucket that – by the way – you lost through no fault of mine, mind you. And right before this whole amusing chain of events set in..." As he ranted on, his already ironic tone became downright sardonic, Beka noticed. „Before this whole amusing chain of events set in, I've just been informed that I have lost a battle that has started the biggest war in the Known Worlds, a war the side I fought for eventually lost, a fact that led to the downfall of the greatest civilization in the history of man. The one, that I swore to protect at all cost. Yet I failed, because my first officer and best friend betrayed me in favour of a band of renegades, who just happened to belong to his race. In the process I was forced to kill him, yet still lost a lot of good men, my crew, my family, my bride, my friends, my home, my world, my time... just about everything. Yes, Captain Valentine, I'll be quite fine, thank you."
He finally seemed to come to an end and stood there, almost panting, his eyes blazing with a cold accusing fury. Beka opened her mouth in a failing attempt to reply, but she couldn't think of anything intelligent to say to him. So she just shook her head again in sadness, her eyes holding on to his and hoping that he would recognize the look she gave him for what it was: heartfelt, genuine compassion for his losses. And then she saw the rage in his eyes dying, replaced by grief and sorrow and regret.
„I..." Realizing that he had yelled at his newly appointed first officer for... well, no reason at all, actually, at least none related to any fault of hers, Dylan just shrugged his shoulders in a meak attempt to apologize for his outburst and dropped his eyes, heading for the door.
„Again, I'm sorry if I startled you, Captain Valentine," he roughly excused himself one last time.
„Beka," she heard herself say, much to her own surprise. „Beka would be fine."
It stopped him dead in his tracks. He lifted his head, his eyes in search of hers, staring widely at her face with an expression of utter vulnerability in them, yet obviously struggling to regain his composure. For a brief moment she feared that he might break, right in front of her, but then she saw resolve setting in on his face and breathed in relief.
„Do you want me to help you with anything?" she offered.
„No, thank you, I think, I'll manage now," Dylan quietly replied. „I'll see you in the morning, make yourself at home on the Andromeda, relax, take a rest."
„I'll do that, thanks. It's been a long day," she admitted, opening the door for him.
„The longest," he agreed with ashort nod and a barely audible sigh. „Good night,... Beka?" He spoke her name with care, as if trying out an unfamiliar language while unsure whether he could do it.
„Good night,... Dylan?" she answered with a smile, mimicking his tone. „See? It's not all that difficult, is it now?" Relieved, Beka saw a little smile appearing in the corners of his mouth, and for the first time since they met, the smile actually managed to make it all the way up to his eyes.
„No, it's not," he nodded. „Good night, Beka," Dylan then repeated in a lighter, more casual tone.
„Good night, Dylan," Beka answered him likewise, her smile now mirroring his own.
And as the doors closed between them, the two commanding officers of the Andromeda Acendant decided for things to just work out after all. At least, they were both willing to give it a shot.