The slip drive of Andromeda hummed pleasantly as it glowed a calming blue-white. Seamus Harper stared into the rythmic pulsing heart of the great ship before finishing his diagnostics. He sometimes sat here, on the metal walkway, to think. It felt like home.
~Wow, that's really sappy!~ he thought suddenly and shook his head.
Nonetheless Harper watched the slip drive for a few more minutes before walking away, shoes clanking on metal. And in the echo that followed his leaving came a flash of white light unnoticed by even the Andromeda herself. When the flash was finally gone a figure lay in it's place, unmoving on the cold walkway silhoutted by the pale blue glow of the slip-stream drive.
* * *
Tyr pounded the consol fiercly, his Nietzschean blood getting the best of him. Angrily he punched the inanimate object as if trying to beat it into submission.
"Something wrong?"
Tyr whipped around to find Beka behind him smirking.
"It's...not working," he said calmly in his deep articulate voice.
"Obviously," Beka said still smirking.
"Harper," Dylan called over Andromeda's comm system, "Could you come up here and help Mr. Tyr with his consol?"
* * *
Harper's walk through the hall became more of a strutt when he heard he was needed...especially by everyone's favorite Nietzschean warrior.
"On my way, O Captain, My Captain," he flipped a tool in his hand expertly, "What would they do without me?" he muttered.
"Probably get another engineer," said a hologram of Andromeda that all of a sudden appeared before Harper.
"Oh Rommie, that hurt!" he grasped his chest drammatically for emphasis.
The hologram lingered for moment.
"Something wrong, Rom?"
"Could you check my slip-stream drive after fixing the consol on the bridge?"
"I just came from there...everything's fine," Harper said, confused.
"I know," the hologram persisted, "something just doesn't seem right." It wasn't everyday that Andromeda was this vague.
Something must really be bothering her if she can't pinpoint what it is, Harper thought.
"Sure...no problem, " he said, his words tinged in concern.
"Thanks, Harper." With that the hologram dissapaited.
* * *
The figure stirred. Slowly its eyes opened and it looked around squinting at the discomfort at being in such an odd position for a long period of time. It stretched its legs out scraping its shoes agianst the surface of the walkway. Joints popping it stood up, slowly looking around trying to take in its surroundings. Its silhoute was black against blue as it turned with curious eyes into the slipstream drive.
Recognition came creeping upon the figure as it stood in awe looking at the pulsing heart of Andromeda. Its breath stopped for a moment and then became shallow. Its mouth became dry and it swallowed in an attempt at gaining moisture.
"Oh my god," it said gripping the handrail of the walk. And though fear was dominant in the voice excitment crept in at the end.
* * *
Trance held what looked to be a Bonzai tree in her one hand and a tool similar to sheers in the other. All of a sudden she stopped. A wave of discomfort washed over her small body and made her shiver so much that her fingers lost their friction. The Bonzai tree like plant slipped through her delicate hands and the pot crashed upon the ship's floor, clay bits scattering in all directions.
Trance now stood with sheers in one hand and the other outstretched formally cradling her plant. A look of worry crossed the golden face.
"Something's not right," she said to no one. No one answered.
* * *
With a final zap of his instrument Harper stepped back from the console and took a moment to admire his work.
"Done!" he said excitedly.
"Finally?" the Nietzschean asked, arms crossed as usual.
"Well," the young engineer explained, "it would have been done sooner if someone hadn't insisted on beating it up." Beka chuckled.
Tyr gave her a look. "Sorry," she said defensively holding up her hands, "He's got a point though."
"Well, if someone did more maintenance on this ship then perhaps things like this wouldn't happen. If this had happened during a battle..." he countered.
"I'd like to see you do a better job..." Harper argued. He, nonetheless, stayed a safe distance from the Nietzschean.
The doors to the command deck suddenly opened to reveal a worried Trance. She stood in the entrance way until all eyes were on her. She hesitated to speak.
Maybe it's just my nerves, she thought.
"What's wrong, Trance?" Dylan asked, concerned.
"I don't know."
"Oooh. Kay," Beka said, confused.
"Care to elaborate on that?" Harper asked.
"Somethings..." she started, "not right."
"I think we got that--"Dylan said.
"I feel it too, Dylan," Andromeda said walking behind Trance in her android body.
"On the ship?" he asked the duo. They nodded. "Anywhere in particular on the ship?" he asked still trying to grasp the situation.
A trio of voices answer him, "The slipstream drive."
"Mr. Harper?" Dylan asked looking back at the third voice.
"Andromeda asked me to check it out after I'd finished up here. But I just got through running a diagnostic up there--everything was working perfectly!"
"Well, maybe you should check again. Tyr, Trance, and Rommie go with Harper to the slipstream drive. Give me a full report." Nods followed and the bridge was cleared.
"So," Beka said finally,"What do you think it is?"
Dylan sighed, "Considering the history of Andromeda? Anything."
"Why is that?" Beka asked.
"Why is what?"
"That we always seem to attract weird bad things?" Dylan shrugged in response. Beka continued, "You'd think that odds would be that we would attract at least one weird good thing."
"Like what?" he said suddenly curious.
"I don't know...like...we all of a sudden are transported to a deserted island with lush green foilage and large strong men fanning us with oversized leaves and feeding us peeled grapes as the sun sets into the ocean."
Dylan looked at her bemused.
"What? It could happen!"
* * *
A chorus of feet against metal all of a sudden sounded throughout the slipstream room. The figure took its eyes off of the pale blue energy and excited fear ran through its body.
~What will they do if they find me?~ it wondered, ~What if they think I'm dangerous or something?~
Instinct took hold and the figure scurried into a dark shadow of the corridoor. It knew that it wouldn't be hidden but at least it would look more innocent crouched in the corner cowering than studying the most important part of their ship.
The footsteps grew closer. New figures were silhouted in the blue light; a large one and three smaller ones. The crouched figure gulped again.
"See I told you nothing was here!" said one of the smaller ones a bit frightened. The figure exagerated his movements to show the rest of the group.
It knew that voice as well as the voice that answered him.
"Harper, there's something here. It's not showing up on my sensors but..."
"Something's not right." Another familiar voice came from the third smaller figure finishing the other's sentence.
"Harper, Rommie, and Trance," it said underneath its breath as it crouched deeper into the shadows.
The larger figure looked its way. He had heard it whispering. It gulped for the third time.
~And Tyr~, it thought in fear, ~the Nietzschean.~
* * *
"Come out!" Tyr yelled at the sound in the shadow at the end of the corridor. Everyone looked in confusion at what they couldn't see. Nothing happened at first. But then, slowly, a figure stepped out of the shadows.
"A girl!" Harper said bemused and confused, "All this over a little girl!" He scoffed.
It was indeed a girl. A pair of jeans, ridiculously baggy, a long multicolored sweater, a bandana holding back a bounty of brown hair and glasses slipping off of the bridge of her nose. Hidden beneath the ratty pair of pants she sported ratty shoes that were dangerously untied. She was five feet tall at the most.
She held up her hands defensively, "Don't kill me, please."
"Why are you here?" the question had come from Trance who had been staring cautiously at the girl ever since she had stepped out of the shadows.
"Your guess is as good as mine," she said truthfully.
"Hey Dylan," Harper said through the comm.
"What is it Harper?" came the captain's voice.
"You...might wanna come down here yourself and take a look. You won't beleive this."
* * *
Dylan sighed. He didn't know what Harper meant by that but it was probably something bad. Dylan wasn't known to be a pessimist but lately he was beginning to convert.
"Beka, you're in control of the bridge." He walked out.
"Great," Beka said as the doors shut behind Dylan, "Why am I always in control when no one else is here?"
One of Andromeda's service androids walked up behind her and examined a conduit in the wall.
"No offense," she said to the drone. The drone didn't take any.
* * *
The crew now sat in Dylan's office. The girl had been sitting in the medical room for the last 15 minutes while the crew met. Trance tried to scan her makeup but came up with no reading on the girl's biosigns at all. The only explanation was that she didn't have any biosigns which would mean that she was dead but the scanner didn't even acknowlege her existence, dead or not.
Trance told this to Dylan as he shook his head.
"Anybody have any ideas?" Dylan asked the crew. Silence followed.
"What did she say her name was again, " Beka asked as if hearing the girls name again would spark a dormit part of her memory.
"Evelyn," Dylan answered, "Does that name mean anything to anybody?" Everyone shook their heads, "Didn't think so."
"What do we do now?" Harper asked.
"Find out what she wants....where she's from..." Dylan said.
"If she's dangerous," Tyr added.
"Who's gonna do that?" Harper questioned. He looked around at the 5 pairs of eyes looking at him, "Oh no!" he said holding his hands up, "I'm not gonna be the one babysitting weird, freaky girl!"
"Mister Harper--" Dylan started.
"I'll do it," interrupted Trance.
Dylan looked in the direction of the ever-mysterious crew member, "Are you sure."
"Yeah." With that she left.
"Rommie," Dylan turned to the Android, "you can't read Evelyn at all."
"My sensors are not picking up any other lifeform or any other form at all for that matter. I can see her but other than that it's like..." she sounded uneasy for a moment, "...it's like she doesn't even exist."
"Okay," he turned to the engineer, "Mister Harper, check the slipstream, see if she's done anything to it. Maybe since she was there she had a reason to be there."
"I'm on it," he exited the office but then turned around, "Dylan...why..."
Dylan held up a hand forseeing the question of Andromeda's attraction to weird situations, "I don't know Mr. Harper."
The young engineer nodded uneasily and left.
"Tyr," the Nietzschean looked his way, "Keep an eye on her. She looks innocent but..."
"I understand Captain Hunt."
After Tyr left Dylan looked at Rommie, "What do you think?"
"Honestly?" Dylan nodded. Rommie fidgeted...if an android could fidget, "I don't know."
* * *
Trance entered the hydroponics room. It was the last place to look. She wasn't about to go and tell Captain Hunt that she'd lost the mysterious and most likely dangerous visitor. She was relieved (and perhaps a bit perturbed) to find Evelyn staring at the plumage of some of her favorite plants.
"Hi," Trance said timidly. Evelyn shifted her eyes and acknowledged her and then shifted her eyes back to the plants. "I'm--"
"Trance. I know," she said still not averting her eyes from a particularly odd flower with blue leaves and an orange bud on a tall blue stalk.
"How...do you know that?" Trance wasn't used to being on the opposite end of this kind of conversation. It was usually someone else asking her this question.
"What kind of flower is this?" Evelyn said finally pulling her attention away from the potted plant to look at Trance.
"It's name is unpronouncible. It comes from a planet located in the Lacosian galaxy."
"Where is the Lacosian galaxy?" the girl asked.
"Very far away from here," Trance answered in her usual fagueness.
"Oh."
"When this plant gets to be a certain age," Trance went on trying to keep the conversation going, "its makeup changes and its entire light spectrum switches for about an hour. It looks like it disappears but it's still there you just can't see it. When it switches back it's completely different. Its color, its shape, its entire personality is changed."
"Hm," Evelyn looked at Trance and smiled.
"What?"
"Just sounds like you can...really identify with this flower."
Trance scrunched up her eyebrows, "I guess so." She reached up to touch the blue stemmed bud and the entire flower seemed to shift and disappear.
"An hour?" Evelyn asked. Trance nodded. Evelyn walked away to inspect the other plants.
Trance suddenly remembered why she was here. ~Find out information,~ she reminded herself.
"How old are you?" she asked as the girl stroked a fernlike plant and watched as the leaves moved away from her hand offendingly.
"I'm ninetee--well, technically I guess I would be alot older than that..."
"Where were you born?" Trance moved through the questioning.
Evelyn smiled, "Very far away from here."
Trance smirked.
"You're not the only one with secrets here, Trance." Trance stopped smirking. "I know what you're trying to do. I'm not dangerous. I'm five feet tall and 98 pounds. I couldn't and wouldn't hurt any of you ever, even if I could. I understand your caution. To tell you the truth, I'm a little scared myself. I just can't beleive I'm here."
"Why?"
"Now that would be telling wouldn't it?" She stated meaningfully. Trance looked at her quizically. "Sorry, I got that line off of an old kid's television show," she paused, "a really old kid's television show," she amended.
* * *
"Trance," Dylan said as the golden skinned girl walked onto the bridge, "What did you find out?"
"Well...nothing really," Trance said.
"Is she dangerous?" Beka asked.
"I don't think so. I think she's as confused as to how she got here as we are."
"Did she say where she was from?" Dylan questioned.
"Very far away from here." Trance smirked.
"Sounds familiar," Beka said looking curiously at her friend. She then looked at her consol, "Captain, an unknown transmission is coming through."
"What are they saying?"
"I don't know...it's all in ones and zeros," she answered, confused.
"Binary code? Who would be using that?"
"A ship just appeared right in front of me Captain," Andromeda's image said from the front screen.
"Just appeared?"
"Yes sir. And they are appearing to be firing up their weapons."
"Great," Dylan sighed. Doesn't get any better than being in the middle of two strange occurences in one day, one of whom is trying to kill us, he thought sarcastically.
The crew waited in bated breath after they had put up the shields in expectation of the ship's weapons. Nothing happened.
"Rommie?" Dylan asked.
"Yes, Dylan," she said with a hint of amusement.
"You did say they were going to fire?" Dylan shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Something wasn't right. Hell, nothing was right today.
Rommie's smile grew wider, "They are firing, Captain."
"Right now?" He asked, doubtful.
"Yes."
"Why aren't we feeling anything?"
"Because their weapons are too primitive to damage us."
"That doesn't seem right." Dylan looked at everyone and he was greeted with the same disturbed expression.
* * *
Evelyn had been told to stay in the medical lab. She sat on a table, her legs swaying back and forth. Tyr was behind her. She could see him reflected in one of the instruments. If it wasn't for her happenstance glance to the reflective metal she wouldn't have known he was even there. He was good.
She was just about to turn around and look at the Nietzschean when a flash of light appeared in front of her. When she was finally able to see again she discovered two figures in cloaks grasping her arms. She couldn't see their faces but they seemed to be human by their hands.
"You aren't supposed to be here," one of them rasped angrily. They tried to lead her off the table slowed by her struggle.
"Hey!" she exclaimed.
A dark figure came out of the shadows and grabbed both of the cloaked beings. His dark trendils waved excitedly as he flung the smaller beings to the floor. They collapsed and vanished into a second flash of light.
Evelyn was just about to thank Tyr when he grabbed the collar of her shirt and pushed her against a metal wall.
"Who were they?" he hissed.
Her breath caught at the closeness to the man. His hot breath on her face was enough reason to fear for her life, "Your guess is as good as mine," she squeaked. His grip grew tighter, "I really don't know," she said as her hands flew up. Resigned he let her go and she slid down the wall.
"Dylan!" the Nietzschean barked.
"What is is Tyr?" asked the voice of the Captain.
"There were intruders," he said looking at Evelyn suspiciously.
* * *
"Meet me on the command deck and bring the girl," Dylan said. He looked at Beka.
"The weapons must have been a distraction."
"Ya think?" Rommie said, her android body turning towards Dylan and Beka. She seemed disturbed and annoyed, more annoyed than disturbed. "I didn't sense anything, Dylan," she said even more annoyed.
Dylan sighed for what seemed to be the hundredth time. He was surprised that he didn't hyperventilate.
"Okay, Rommie, I'll talk to Evelyn." He started walking out only to be met by Harper.
"Didn't find anything wrong in the slip-stream..." His voice trailed off, "What?" the young blond man asked.
"Things just got weirder," Beka said.
* * *
Dylan met Tyr dragging Evelyn along in the hallway. She looked very annoyed as her upper arm was held tightly and she stumbled a few times.
"Listen..." she started to Dylan, "I understand you guys are very suspicious of me and I also understand that it might perhaps look like I'm the blame for all of thi-"
Dylan cut her off, "Tyr, I'd like to speak to her alone for a moment."
"Dylan-"
"Tyr, I promise I won't let her do anything..."
The Nietzschean nodded, dissappointingly.
As Evelyn and Dylan walked towards his office Evelyn started talking again, "I didn't have anything to do wi-,"
"Where are you from?"
The girl sighed at the question. "I don't know if I can tell you that."
"What do you mean?" They got to Dylan's office and Dylan took a seat behind his desk. Evelyn sat heavily in a chair on the other side.
"I just don't think it would be a very good idea."
"Why can't our computers read you?"
"I'm an enigma," she said sarcastically, "I don't know. I told you...I have no idea. Maybe your computers suck." She was apparently very annoyed at the questioning. But Dylan proceeded.
"What species are you?"
"What do I look like?"
"Just answer the question."
"I'm human," she said in monotone. She crossed her arms around her green T-Shirt. There was writing on it that Dylan couldn't read. She removed her arms and said, "'The biggest dinosaurs on Earth only ate lush green vegetables,'." Dylan scrunched up his eyebrows. "I'm a vegetarian." He nodded slightly at the archaic reference.
"So you're from Earth," he said softly.
"Sort of," she said evasively.
"At least tell me your full name," he said, going nowhere with the direct line of questioning. She either really didn't know anything or was lying. There was no way for him to tell if she was lying or not because Andromeda couldn't sense her heartbeat.
"Evelyn Megan Green," she said recrossing her arms, "Happy?"
"Not really."
"Yeah, well, me neither."
~Wow, that's really sappy!~ he thought suddenly and shook his head.
Nonetheless Harper watched the slip drive for a few more minutes before walking away, shoes clanking on metal. And in the echo that followed his leaving came a flash of white light unnoticed by even the Andromeda herself. When the flash was finally gone a figure lay in it's place, unmoving on the cold walkway silhoutted by the pale blue glow of the slip-stream drive.
* * *
Tyr pounded the consol fiercly, his Nietzschean blood getting the best of him. Angrily he punched the inanimate object as if trying to beat it into submission.
"Something wrong?"
Tyr whipped around to find Beka behind him smirking.
"It's...not working," he said calmly in his deep articulate voice.
"Obviously," Beka said still smirking.
"Harper," Dylan called over Andromeda's comm system, "Could you come up here and help Mr. Tyr with his consol?"
* * *
Harper's walk through the hall became more of a strutt when he heard he was needed...especially by everyone's favorite Nietzschean warrior.
"On my way, O Captain, My Captain," he flipped a tool in his hand expertly, "What would they do without me?" he muttered.
"Probably get another engineer," said a hologram of Andromeda that all of a sudden appeared before Harper.
"Oh Rommie, that hurt!" he grasped his chest drammatically for emphasis.
The hologram lingered for moment.
"Something wrong, Rom?"
"Could you check my slip-stream drive after fixing the consol on the bridge?"
"I just came from there...everything's fine," Harper said, confused.
"I know," the hologram persisted, "something just doesn't seem right." It wasn't everyday that Andromeda was this vague.
Something must really be bothering her if she can't pinpoint what it is, Harper thought.
"Sure...no problem, " he said, his words tinged in concern.
"Thanks, Harper." With that the hologram dissapaited.
* * *
The figure stirred. Slowly its eyes opened and it looked around squinting at the discomfort at being in such an odd position for a long period of time. It stretched its legs out scraping its shoes agianst the surface of the walkway. Joints popping it stood up, slowly looking around trying to take in its surroundings. Its silhoute was black against blue as it turned with curious eyes into the slipstream drive.
Recognition came creeping upon the figure as it stood in awe looking at the pulsing heart of Andromeda. Its breath stopped for a moment and then became shallow. Its mouth became dry and it swallowed in an attempt at gaining moisture.
"Oh my god," it said gripping the handrail of the walk. And though fear was dominant in the voice excitment crept in at the end.
* * *
Trance held what looked to be a Bonzai tree in her one hand and a tool similar to sheers in the other. All of a sudden she stopped. A wave of discomfort washed over her small body and made her shiver so much that her fingers lost their friction. The Bonzai tree like plant slipped through her delicate hands and the pot crashed upon the ship's floor, clay bits scattering in all directions.
Trance now stood with sheers in one hand and the other outstretched formally cradling her plant. A look of worry crossed the golden face.
"Something's not right," she said to no one. No one answered.
* * *
With a final zap of his instrument Harper stepped back from the console and took a moment to admire his work.
"Done!" he said excitedly.
"Finally?" the Nietzschean asked, arms crossed as usual.
"Well," the young engineer explained, "it would have been done sooner if someone hadn't insisted on beating it up." Beka chuckled.
Tyr gave her a look. "Sorry," she said defensively holding up her hands, "He's got a point though."
"Well, if someone did more maintenance on this ship then perhaps things like this wouldn't happen. If this had happened during a battle..." he countered.
"I'd like to see you do a better job..." Harper argued. He, nonetheless, stayed a safe distance from the Nietzschean.
The doors to the command deck suddenly opened to reveal a worried Trance. She stood in the entrance way until all eyes were on her. She hesitated to speak.
Maybe it's just my nerves, she thought.
"What's wrong, Trance?" Dylan asked, concerned.
"I don't know."
"Oooh. Kay," Beka said, confused.
"Care to elaborate on that?" Harper asked.
"Somethings..." she started, "not right."
"I think we got that--"Dylan said.
"I feel it too, Dylan," Andromeda said walking behind Trance in her android body.
"On the ship?" he asked the duo. They nodded. "Anywhere in particular on the ship?" he asked still trying to grasp the situation.
A trio of voices answer him, "The slipstream drive."
"Mr. Harper?" Dylan asked looking back at the third voice.
"Andromeda asked me to check it out after I'd finished up here. But I just got through running a diagnostic up there--everything was working perfectly!"
"Well, maybe you should check again. Tyr, Trance, and Rommie go with Harper to the slipstream drive. Give me a full report." Nods followed and the bridge was cleared.
"So," Beka said finally,"What do you think it is?"
Dylan sighed, "Considering the history of Andromeda? Anything."
"Why is that?" Beka asked.
"Why is what?"
"That we always seem to attract weird bad things?" Dylan shrugged in response. Beka continued, "You'd think that odds would be that we would attract at least one weird good thing."
"Like what?" he said suddenly curious.
"I don't know...like...we all of a sudden are transported to a deserted island with lush green foilage and large strong men fanning us with oversized leaves and feeding us peeled grapes as the sun sets into the ocean."
Dylan looked at her bemused.
"What? It could happen!"
* * *
A chorus of feet against metal all of a sudden sounded throughout the slipstream room. The figure took its eyes off of the pale blue energy and excited fear ran through its body.
~What will they do if they find me?~ it wondered, ~What if they think I'm dangerous or something?~
Instinct took hold and the figure scurried into a dark shadow of the corridoor. It knew that it wouldn't be hidden but at least it would look more innocent crouched in the corner cowering than studying the most important part of their ship.
The footsteps grew closer. New figures were silhouted in the blue light; a large one and three smaller ones. The crouched figure gulped again.
"See I told you nothing was here!" said one of the smaller ones a bit frightened. The figure exagerated his movements to show the rest of the group.
It knew that voice as well as the voice that answered him.
"Harper, there's something here. It's not showing up on my sensors but..."
"Something's not right." Another familiar voice came from the third smaller figure finishing the other's sentence.
"Harper, Rommie, and Trance," it said underneath its breath as it crouched deeper into the shadows.
The larger figure looked its way. He had heard it whispering. It gulped for the third time.
~And Tyr~, it thought in fear, ~the Nietzschean.~
* * *
"Come out!" Tyr yelled at the sound in the shadow at the end of the corridor. Everyone looked in confusion at what they couldn't see. Nothing happened at first. But then, slowly, a figure stepped out of the shadows.
"A girl!" Harper said bemused and confused, "All this over a little girl!" He scoffed.
It was indeed a girl. A pair of jeans, ridiculously baggy, a long multicolored sweater, a bandana holding back a bounty of brown hair and glasses slipping off of the bridge of her nose. Hidden beneath the ratty pair of pants she sported ratty shoes that were dangerously untied. She was five feet tall at the most.
She held up her hands defensively, "Don't kill me, please."
"Why are you here?" the question had come from Trance who had been staring cautiously at the girl ever since she had stepped out of the shadows.
"Your guess is as good as mine," she said truthfully.
"Hey Dylan," Harper said through the comm.
"What is it Harper?" came the captain's voice.
"You...might wanna come down here yourself and take a look. You won't beleive this."
* * *
Dylan sighed. He didn't know what Harper meant by that but it was probably something bad. Dylan wasn't known to be a pessimist but lately he was beginning to convert.
"Beka, you're in control of the bridge." He walked out.
"Great," Beka said as the doors shut behind Dylan, "Why am I always in control when no one else is here?"
One of Andromeda's service androids walked up behind her and examined a conduit in the wall.
"No offense," she said to the drone. The drone didn't take any.
* * *
The crew now sat in Dylan's office. The girl had been sitting in the medical room for the last 15 minutes while the crew met. Trance tried to scan her makeup but came up with no reading on the girl's biosigns at all. The only explanation was that she didn't have any biosigns which would mean that she was dead but the scanner didn't even acknowlege her existence, dead or not.
Trance told this to Dylan as he shook his head.
"Anybody have any ideas?" Dylan asked the crew. Silence followed.
"What did she say her name was again, " Beka asked as if hearing the girls name again would spark a dormit part of her memory.
"Evelyn," Dylan answered, "Does that name mean anything to anybody?" Everyone shook their heads, "Didn't think so."
"What do we do now?" Harper asked.
"Find out what she wants....where she's from..." Dylan said.
"If she's dangerous," Tyr added.
"Who's gonna do that?" Harper questioned. He looked around at the 5 pairs of eyes looking at him, "Oh no!" he said holding his hands up, "I'm not gonna be the one babysitting weird, freaky girl!"
"Mister Harper--" Dylan started.
"I'll do it," interrupted Trance.
Dylan looked in the direction of the ever-mysterious crew member, "Are you sure."
"Yeah." With that she left.
"Rommie," Dylan turned to the Android, "you can't read Evelyn at all."
"My sensors are not picking up any other lifeform or any other form at all for that matter. I can see her but other than that it's like..." she sounded uneasy for a moment, "...it's like she doesn't even exist."
"Okay," he turned to the engineer, "Mister Harper, check the slipstream, see if she's done anything to it. Maybe since she was there she had a reason to be there."
"I'm on it," he exited the office but then turned around, "Dylan...why..."
Dylan held up a hand forseeing the question of Andromeda's attraction to weird situations, "I don't know Mr. Harper."
The young engineer nodded uneasily and left.
"Tyr," the Nietzschean looked his way, "Keep an eye on her. She looks innocent but..."
"I understand Captain Hunt."
After Tyr left Dylan looked at Rommie, "What do you think?"
"Honestly?" Dylan nodded. Rommie fidgeted...if an android could fidget, "I don't know."
* * *
Trance entered the hydroponics room. It was the last place to look. She wasn't about to go and tell Captain Hunt that she'd lost the mysterious and most likely dangerous visitor. She was relieved (and perhaps a bit perturbed) to find Evelyn staring at the plumage of some of her favorite plants.
"Hi," Trance said timidly. Evelyn shifted her eyes and acknowledged her and then shifted her eyes back to the plants. "I'm--"
"Trance. I know," she said still not averting her eyes from a particularly odd flower with blue leaves and an orange bud on a tall blue stalk.
"How...do you know that?" Trance wasn't used to being on the opposite end of this kind of conversation. It was usually someone else asking her this question.
"What kind of flower is this?" Evelyn said finally pulling her attention away from the potted plant to look at Trance.
"It's name is unpronouncible. It comes from a planet located in the Lacosian galaxy."
"Where is the Lacosian galaxy?" the girl asked.
"Very far away from here," Trance answered in her usual fagueness.
"Oh."
"When this plant gets to be a certain age," Trance went on trying to keep the conversation going, "its makeup changes and its entire light spectrum switches for about an hour. It looks like it disappears but it's still there you just can't see it. When it switches back it's completely different. Its color, its shape, its entire personality is changed."
"Hm," Evelyn looked at Trance and smiled.
"What?"
"Just sounds like you can...really identify with this flower."
Trance scrunched up her eyebrows, "I guess so." She reached up to touch the blue stemmed bud and the entire flower seemed to shift and disappear.
"An hour?" Evelyn asked. Trance nodded. Evelyn walked away to inspect the other plants.
Trance suddenly remembered why she was here. ~Find out information,~ she reminded herself.
"How old are you?" she asked as the girl stroked a fernlike plant and watched as the leaves moved away from her hand offendingly.
"I'm ninetee--well, technically I guess I would be alot older than that..."
"Where were you born?" Trance moved through the questioning.
Evelyn smiled, "Very far away from here."
Trance smirked.
"You're not the only one with secrets here, Trance." Trance stopped smirking. "I know what you're trying to do. I'm not dangerous. I'm five feet tall and 98 pounds. I couldn't and wouldn't hurt any of you ever, even if I could. I understand your caution. To tell you the truth, I'm a little scared myself. I just can't beleive I'm here."
"Why?"
"Now that would be telling wouldn't it?" She stated meaningfully. Trance looked at her quizically. "Sorry, I got that line off of an old kid's television show," she paused, "a really old kid's television show," she amended.
* * *
"Trance," Dylan said as the golden skinned girl walked onto the bridge, "What did you find out?"
"Well...nothing really," Trance said.
"Is she dangerous?" Beka asked.
"I don't think so. I think she's as confused as to how she got here as we are."
"Did she say where she was from?" Dylan questioned.
"Very far away from here." Trance smirked.
"Sounds familiar," Beka said looking curiously at her friend. She then looked at her consol, "Captain, an unknown transmission is coming through."
"What are they saying?"
"I don't know...it's all in ones and zeros," she answered, confused.
"Binary code? Who would be using that?"
"A ship just appeared right in front of me Captain," Andromeda's image said from the front screen.
"Just appeared?"
"Yes sir. And they are appearing to be firing up their weapons."
"Great," Dylan sighed. Doesn't get any better than being in the middle of two strange occurences in one day, one of whom is trying to kill us, he thought sarcastically.
The crew waited in bated breath after they had put up the shields in expectation of the ship's weapons. Nothing happened.
"Rommie?" Dylan asked.
"Yes, Dylan," she said with a hint of amusement.
"You did say they were going to fire?" Dylan shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Something wasn't right. Hell, nothing was right today.
Rommie's smile grew wider, "They are firing, Captain."
"Right now?" He asked, doubtful.
"Yes."
"Why aren't we feeling anything?"
"Because their weapons are too primitive to damage us."
"That doesn't seem right." Dylan looked at everyone and he was greeted with the same disturbed expression.
* * *
Evelyn had been told to stay in the medical lab. She sat on a table, her legs swaying back and forth. Tyr was behind her. She could see him reflected in one of the instruments. If it wasn't for her happenstance glance to the reflective metal she wouldn't have known he was even there. He was good.
She was just about to turn around and look at the Nietzschean when a flash of light appeared in front of her. When she was finally able to see again she discovered two figures in cloaks grasping her arms. She couldn't see their faces but they seemed to be human by their hands.
"You aren't supposed to be here," one of them rasped angrily. They tried to lead her off the table slowed by her struggle.
"Hey!" she exclaimed.
A dark figure came out of the shadows and grabbed both of the cloaked beings. His dark trendils waved excitedly as he flung the smaller beings to the floor. They collapsed and vanished into a second flash of light.
Evelyn was just about to thank Tyr when he grabbed the collar of her shirt and pushed her against a metal wall.
"Who were they?" he hissed.
Her breath caught at the closeness to the man. His hot breath on her face was enough reason to fear for her life, "Your guess is as good as mine," she squeaked. His grip grew tighter, "I really don't know," she said as her hands flew up. Resigned he let her go and she slid down the wall.
"Dylan!" the Nietzschean barked.
"What is is Tyr?" asked the voice of the Captain.
"There were intruders," he said looking at Evelyn suspiciously.
* * *
"Meet me on the command deck and bring the girl," Dylan said. He looked at Beka.
"The weapons must have been a distraction."
"Ya think?" Rommie said, her android body turning towards Dylan and Beka. She seemed disturbed and annoyed, more annoyed than disturbed. "I didn't sense anything, Dylan," she said even more annoyed.
Dylan sighed for what seemed to be the hundredth time. He was surprised that he didn't hyperventilate.
"Okay, Rommie, I'll talk to Evelyn." He started walking out only to be met by Harper.
"Didn't find anything wrong in the slip-stream..." His voice trailed off, "What?" the young blond man asked.
"Things just got weirder," Beka said.
* * *
Dylan met Tyr dragging Evelyn along in the hallway. She looked very annoyed as her upper arm was held tightly and she stumbled a few times.
"Listen..." she started to Dylan, "I understand you guys are very suspicious of me and I also understand that it might perhaps look like I'm the blame for all of thi-"
Dylan cut her off, "Tyr, I'd like to speak to her alone for a moment."
"Dylan-"
"Tyr, I promise I won't let her do anything..."
The Nietzschean nodded, dissappointingly.
As Evelyn and Dylan walked towards his office Evelyn started talking again, "I didn't have anything to do wi-,"
"Where are you from?"
The girl sighed at the question. "I don't know if I can tell you that."
"What do you mean?" They got to Dylan's office and Dylan took a seat behind his desk. Evelyn sat heavily in a chair on the other side.
"I just don't think it would be a very good idea."
"Why can't our computers read you?"
"I'm an enigma," she said sarcastically, "I don't know. I told you...I have no idea. Maybe your computers suck." She was apparently very annoyed at the questioning. But Dylan proceeded.
"What species are you?"
"What do I look like?"
"Just answer the question."
"I'm human," she said in monotone. She crossed her arms around her green T-Shirt. There was writing on it that Dylan couldn't read. She removed her arms and said, "'The biggest dinosaurs on Earth only ate lush green vegetables,'." Dylan scrunched up his eyebrows. "I'm a vegetarian." He nodded slightly at the archaic reference.
"So you're from Earth," he said softly.
"Sort of," she said evasively.
"At least tell me your full name," he said, going nowhere with the direct line of questioning. She either really didn't know anything or was lying. There was no way for him to tell if she was lying or not because Andromeda couldn't sense her heartbeat.
"Evelyn Megan Green," she said recrossing her arms, "Happy?"
"Not really."
"Yeah, well, me neither."