It was several hours later and the two women were still alone on command. They had spent much of their time discussing some of the ludicrous things the men had done since they had been bitten.
"Okay, Rommie; you win." Beka said. "Tyr's space ballet was definitely the worst."
"True." Rommie said with a slight shudder. "But Dylan's dinner came close."
"The dinner was horrible." Beka agreed. "We must remember to ban him from the kitchens from now on. But as bad as the cooking was, the entertainment was much worse."
"Because of his singing?"
"No, the singing was actually okay. But that man can NOT dance." She said as she began to laugh once more.
They were interrupted by the sound of the door opening. Harper and Trance entered command, looking at their two laughing crewmates a little apprehensively.
"You two okay?" Harper asked. "You're not losing it again are you?"
Striving hard to keep her face straight, Beka replied, "Yes Harper, as a matter of fact it is already gone."
"I have looked for it in four hundred and seventy three different locations." Rommie said, her tone completely straightforward. "It is most definitely lost."
Harper looked from one woman to the other, momentarily confused. "Ha ha ha, very funny. I thought I was supposed to be the resident smart ass around here."
"Oh, you are. Don't worry Harper, we wouldn't dream of trying to usurp that position from you." Beka laughed.
"Yes, you are the undisputed king of the smart asses." Rommie agreed. "We would never try to compete with you in that."
"Um, yeah, well good. Cause I would hate to make you lovely ladies look bad." He said, hitching up his pants and sticking out his chest.
The door opened again and Dylan entered. He was pale and looked a little bewildered.
Beka hesitated before asking, "Dylan, are you alright?"
He looked startled as if only just realizing he had company. "I am not really sure. I seem to have been really busy the last two days but I can't seem to recall much of what has happened."
"There is a good reason for that Dylan." Trance said cheerfully.
"Really?" he asked skeptically. "And does that reason include an explanation as to why I have one hundred and twelve messages from Common Wealth members saying they will be honored to attend my wedding to Beka?" He asked with the wild-eyed look of a cornered animal.