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"An Affirming Flame"

The Andromeda Ascendant was as beautiful as the day she'd first been commissioned, which was astounding considering all the battle she'd seen in the last few hours, or to be more exact - three hundred years. For Dylan and his ship they'd only sustained the outer hull damage within the last day, while to anyone else who knew any thing about history it was well over three centuries.

Harper found it eerie fixing fried conduits that still smoked from weapons fire that had been sustained by Dylan's first officer. He found it even more unsettling watching Dylan lead a small funeral several hours later for a crewman he'd never met. But he remembered Beka searching for his pulse and remarking that he was still warm.

A kid went to school and learned time was linear and there were no exceptions; everything aged at the same pace and you couldn't escape your own death. Well, maybe it wasn't school where Harper learned that - it could have been anywhere in the galaxy (he'd been to a hundred different stations and planets before Beka discovered him) but the fact remained that up until this day he'd never seen any exceptions. None. Nadda. Zip. You're born, you get old, you die. Sometimes you died young and skipped the second step altogether. But you certainly never preserved yourself within the outer orbit of a black hole.

"You haven't said a single word in over an hour." Beka commented as they left the hanger where the funeral had taken place. "If I didn't know any better I'd think there was something wrong with you. Is there something wrong with you?"

"Me? Nah." Harper replied with an exaggerated flip of his hand. "Just think'n bout this 'n that and the other thing and have you seen how incredible this ship is? Really truly seen? She's a beauty! A heavenly goddess!"

His rant did what he'd expected it to. Beka nodded and quickly changed course to intercept Trance, leaving him once more to his thoughts. It was true, Andromeda was his dream come true. He very nearly drooled from anticipation of exploring every nook and cranny. He'd never been more enthusiastic about repairing damage than he was now, and yet an idea was forming in his head that somehow won priority over everything else. What better way to celebrate his new home than to commemorate it by building a toy for the ship's AI?

"Boy what are you smiling at?"

Harper's focus went from mentally compiling materials he'd need for his project to the giant Nietzschean standing beside him. Tyr Anasazi had the amazingly simple yet incredibly frustrating talent to scare the living crap out of Harper at any given moment. His dislike for anything Nietzschean withstanding, Tyr was larger and scarier than most and most definitely less friendly.

"Ah um-" Harper's tongue refused to cooperate, mostly to the fact he wasn't sending it any single message. It as well as most of his brain was pretty sure that any thing he said would be misinterpreted and turned against him.

Tyr raised his arm threateningly and Harper flinched away, eyes screwed shut in anticipation of the blow, but when it didn't come he quickly peeked and found he was alone once again in the hallway. His face burned from embarrassment.

"Jerk." Harper grumbled. 'Forget him', said the voice in his head, 'let's go explore the ship and find what you need for your project!'

Harper was more than happy to do that. With all the toys aboard Andromeda, it'd be easier than breathing to forget Tyr's uncomfortable presence.