Pretty Things
by Jessie
Part 6
Disclaimer, etc. in Part 1.
***
"'Uh oh'?" Tyr repeated, emphasizing each syllable with something resembling amusement, though the effect was lessened by his anger.
"Okay- before either of you say anything, I'd like to point out that this entire situation is, in no way, my fault."
"Beka?" Dylan gave her a quizzical, if not somewhat entertained, look. She cringed even more.
"What if they bought a ship?"
"Why would the two of them buy a ship?" Tyr questioned.
"No- I mean, what if Trance bought a ship? And Harper- I don't know- followed?"
"Where would she get the means to . . ." Dylan trailed off, not needing to elaborate.
"You know Trance about as well as I do- maybe even more so. You tell me."
"This is all just speculation- for all we know they've stowed away on the last cargo vessel." Tyr looked somewhat more calm than before, but was still characteristically upset.
"Well . . ." Beka trailed off, fighting the urge to cringe yet again.
". . . this isn't just speculation." Dylan finished for her, and she couldn't tell whether he was just stating the obvious, or asking a question.
"The merchant on level nine that I talked to- he mentioned something about . . . when I asked him if he had seen either of them, he said he wasn't at liberty to divulge anything about his customers. I assumed that he was just being paranoid- you know how ship dealers around here get when people start asking questions."
"You didn't think that perhaps Trance was one of his customers?" Tyr glared at her, but she just glared back.
"No. I didn't. And don't give me that look- you wouldn't have thought of it either."
"I . . ." Both Tyr and Beka took some comfort in the familiarity of a verbal fight, but Dylan quickly interrupted.
"You two can duke it out over the technicalities later- right now why don't you lead the way to this ship dealer."
Beka gave Tyr one last glare, before turning and disappearing into the crowd, the two men hot on her heels.
*
"What's going on Trance?" Harper's face hardened, but this time it was not with pain or fear, it was with resolve.
"Harper . . ." The edge was fading, and she focused her energies on bringing it back.
"Nuh-uh. Tell me what's going on."
"Harper." Again she was only able to get out his name.
"Trance . . ." he mimicked her. And a small smile crossed her lips.
She frowned as quickly as possible, but he had seen it. There was hope. A smile of his own slowly started to spread across his face. The real Trance was in there somewhere- he was certain of it.
"You . . ." She knew she was in trouble the moment the word had left her mouth and could think of no other words to follow it.
The act was failing. Not only that, but she was losing her determination and was starting to doubt herself, to question her own motives. Why was she continuing the ruse, anyway? Was there any more point to it? Wasn't it already too late?
"Just call me Seamus Harper- obscenely handsome boy genius and rescuer extraordinaire- here to get your ass back to the Andromeda where it belongs." His grin was back in full force now, and it would take nothing short of several consecutive natural disasters to remove it.
"No- Harper." This time the edge was completely gone, and her voice took on the tone of a pleading child.
She tried to pull herself together, but whenever she thought she had things under control, she'd see that grin on his face and a smile of her own would start to appear all over again.
"Time to fess up. Come on- what's a sparkly purple space babe like you in such a hurry to run away over?" She was about to abandon the façade all together, but for those last words. Inadvertently he had reminded her of what she was doing in the first place, and why she had originally been so upset and so terrified.
A frown like no other immediately took over her features, and Harper's grin vanished with a suddenness that was not lost to her. She hated making him feel bad- there were enough things in the universe that could do that, and she didn't want to be one of them.
"Oh this isn't good. Not good at all." Her words came out softly as she looked Harper in the eyes, than began to pace about the small command center of the ship. She couldn't hold back the dread that had been escalating in her since he had appeared on her ship.
Harper just watched her, confusion and worry written across his features to replace the casual confidence that had just been there. He had thought he was getting somewhere.
"This really isn't good." She spoke again, her words only barely above a whisper. She sounded like a child who had just done something wrong.
"Uh, hey- I didn't mean to . . ." Harper tried to keep his tone light, but it sounded forced. He took a hesitant step forward, reasoning that whatever she was upset over they could work out- though he felt bad about being one of the causes of her distress.
She shook her head absently, appearing to be holding back tears.
Now he really felt bad.
He took another cautious step forward and reached a hand out to grab her upper arm and stop her pacing. He didn't like seeing her this upset, and was doing his best to stop it. Though he wondered, briefly, if placing his hand on her was the best course of action.
He had never been a very 'touchy' person and could remember only one other time when he had touched her skin like this- the only difference between the two situations being that the first time had been in the heat of the moment, had been out of joy and excitement over seeing her alive again after having certainly been dead for an extended period of time.
At his touch she was forced to stop moving since he wasn't about to let go of her arm. Perhaps she was stronger than he was- and more agile- but the idea of pushing him away did not enter her mind as he coaxed her eyes up to meet his own.
"It's- uh . . . all right." He muddled through the sentiment, so afraid that he was doing or saying the wrong thing. He never did know what to do in situations like these.
Not that he had ever been in a situation even close to the one he was in now.
Their eyes remained locked for a moment in which they each tried to communicate to the other their own emotions, before Trance at last broke away and took a step back. She needed this physical space between them so that she could have a better understanding of the emotional and mental space she had to pretend was there.
"No. No, it's not all right." Her voice was slightly louder than her earlier whispers, but Harper didn't notice. He only watched her in confusion as the last of her defenses began to melt away and she was only left with the realization that there was nothing she could do to make the circumstances right.
"Oh this is all my fault." She again looked ready to burst into tears, but used what was left of her strength to keep them at bay. The upset was clear in her body language and expression, but Harper could only look on in concern and puzzlement- not knowing what to attempt next.
"I should have been more convincing." She went on, though neither was sure if she was now talking to him or herself. "I should have been more mean. I should have . . . been more mean. Now it's too late and . . . and I can't turn around and they're going to kill you now and . . . and . . ."
Harper's eyes widened.
"Whoa Whoa Whoa. Back up there. Why don't you just start at the beginning. Better yet- start with the me getting killed part, and explain from there."
She took a deep breath, part of her wanting to tell him what was going on, but the rest of her still insisting that it was a bad idea.
At least she could take comfort in the fact that all of her was in consensus about one thing: she really wished that there was something she could do to make everything turn out all right. She wished that that one perfect solution was as obvious to her now as it had been so often in the past.
"No. no- you're the one who has some explaining to do Mr. . . . Mr. Stowaway." She catapulted the words at him with all that was left of her ability to maintain this act, but it was a feeble attempt.
Harper smirked. He could see the real Trance shining through and he wanted to grin in triumph, but knew that he had not yet been through the worst of it.
He recoiled inwardly at the thought of what 'the worst of it' might be.
"What are you doing here?" She questioned him, her voice barely holding its own as she desperately attempted to infuse it with something close to the edge that had almost become second nature to her.
"Hey- I was coming after you." Harper's voice was slightly defensive. "I think the question is 'what are *you* doing here?'"
She sputtered a little, not expecting him to throw her question back in her face like that.
He took a step forward, knowing that by doing so he threatened to invade her personal space, but was willing to risk it in order to prove his determination.
Trance took a small step back, but more out of reflex than anything else. He couldn't help noticing that the step was barely half the size of his.
"This is my ship." She replied, trying to sound sure of herself and her assertion, but failing.
"And what a lovely ship it is. What- 'dya steal it?" Even in a tense moment like this, his joking persona never abandoned him, and he was grateful for it.
"I don't *steal*!" She replied defensively and Harper grinned. For a moment they let themselves forget what had brought them to this point and envelop themselves in the playfulness of the conversation. "I'm not a thief. I bought this ship."
Harper quirked an eyebrow at her curiously. "Bought? With what?" Her eyes widened a little as she realized that she had set herself up for this line of questioning, and would now regret it.
"Nothing." She looked away, knowing that not only did her expression betray her, but so did the fake innocence in her voice.
"No wait." He pressed, and she braced herself for his continued questioning. But then he seemed to think better of it and shook his head vigorously. "Wait- you're just trying to get me off the subject."
"I am?"
"Yeah. Now what's going on? What are you so freaked about? And- oh yeah- what's this about me getting killed?" His words came out with an undertone of humor to them, but his message was a serious one. He was really concerned about her and about what was causing her to worry. He just didn't know how to deal with that concern. Or with the thought of his own, apparently upcoming, death.
With Harper's words, Trance was transported back to the reality of the situation. She was suddenly reminded of everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours and everything that would be happening in the twenty-four hours ahead of her.
Everything that would be happening to Harper too, since he was now apart of this as well.
Oh, how stupid she had been. If only she had had more time to prepare, if only she had come up with a better act- a better lie. Something that could have changed the predicament she now faced with Harper.
"I should have been more mean." She mumbled, her feet itching to resume their frantic pacing once more.
She didn't know what to do- didn't know how to explain herself to Harper, or if she even could. Didn't explaining things to him violate everything she held sacred? But then, didn't she owe him at least that much if he was forced to go through this along side her?
Because it was too late to turn around now, she admitted to herself. It was too late, and nothing she did would be able to change that.
TBC
by Jessie
Part 6
Disclaimer, etc. in Part 1.
***
"'Uh oh'?" Tyr repeated, emphasizing each syllable with something resembling amusement, though the effect was lessened by his anger.
"Okay- before either of you say anything, I'd like to point out that this entire situation is, in no way, my fault."
"Beka?" Dylan gave her a quizzical, if not somewhat entertained, look. She cringed even more.
"What if they bought a ship?"
"Why would the two of them buy a ship?" Tyr questioned.
"No- I mean, what if Trance bought a ship? And Harper- I don't know- followed?"
"Where would she get the means to . . ." Dylan trailed off, not needing to elaborate.
"You know Trance about as well as I do- maybe even more so. You tell me."
"This is all just speculation- for all we know they've stowed away on the last cargo vessel." Tyr looked somewhat more calm than before, but was still characteristically upset.
"Well . . ." Beka trailed off, fighting the urge to cringe yet again.
". . . this isn't just speculation." Dylan finished for her, and she couldn't tell whether he was just stating the obvious, or asking a question.
"The merchant on level nine that I talked to- he mentioned something about . . . when I asked him if he had seen either of them, he said he wasn't at liberty to divulge anything about his customers. I assumed that he was just being paranoid- you know how ship dealers around here get when people start asking questions."
"You didn't think that perhaps Trance was one of his customers?" Tyr glared at her, but she just glared back.
"No. I didn't. And don't give me that look- you wouldn't have thought of it either."
"I . . ." Both Tyr and Beka took some comfort in the familiarity of a verbal fight, but Dylan quickly interrupted.
"You two can duke it out over the technicalities later- right now why don't you lead the way to this ship dealer."
Beka gave Tyr one last glare, before turning and disappearing into the crowd, the two men hot on her heels.
*
"What's going on Trance?" Harper's face hardened, but this time it was not with pain or fear, it was with resolve.
"Harper . . ." The edge was fading, and she focused her energies on bringing it back.
"Nuh-uh. Tell me what's going on."
"Harper." Again she was only able to get out his name.
"Trance . . ." he mimicked her. And a small smile crossed her lips.
She frowned as quickly as possible, but he had seen it. There was hope. A smile of his own slowly started to spread across his face. The real Trance was in there somewhere- he was certain of it.
"You . . ." She knew she was in trouble the moment the word had left her mouth and could think of no other words to follow it.
The act was failing. Not only that, but she was losing her determination and was starting to doubt herself, to question her own motives. Why was she continuing the ruse, anyway? Was there any more point to it? Wasn't it already too late?
"Just call me Seamus Harper- obscenely handsome boy genius and rescuer extraordinaire- here to get your ass back to the Andromeda where it belongs." His grin was back in full force now, and it would take nothing short of several consecutive natural disasters to remove it.
"No- Harper." This time the edge was completely gone, and her voice took on the tone of a pleading child.
She tried to pull herself together, but whenever she thought she had things under control, she'd see that grin on his face and a smile of her own would start to appear all over again.
"Time to fess up. Come on- what's a sparkly purple space babe like you in such a hurry to run away over?" She was about to abandon the façade all together, but for those last words. Inadvertently he had reminded her of what she was doing in the first place, and why she had originally been so upset and so terrified.
A frown like no other immediately took over her features, and Harper's grin vanished with a suddenness that was not lost to her. She hated making him feel bad- there were enough things in the universe that could do that, and she didn't want to be one of them.
"Oh this isn't good. Not good at all." Her words came out softly as she looked Harper in the eyes, than began to pace about the small command center of the ship. She couldn't hold back the dread that had been escalating in her since he had appeared on her ship.
Harper just watched her, confusion and worry written across his features to replace the casual confidence that had just been there. He had thought he was getting somewhere.
"This really isn't good." She spoke again, her words only barely above a whisper. She sounded like a child who had just done something wrong.
"Uh, hey- I didn't mean to . . ." Harper tried to keep his tone light, but it sounded forced. He took a hesitant step forward, reasoning that whatever she was upset over they could work out- though he felt bad about being one of the causes of her distress.
She shook her head absently, appearing to be holding back tears.
Now he really felt bad.
He took another cautious step forward and reached a hand out to grab her upper arm and stop her pacing. He didn't like seeing her this upset, and was doing his best to stop it. Though he wondered, briefly, if placing his hand on her was the best course of action.
He had never been a very 'touchy' person and could remember only one other time when he had touched her skin like this- the only difference between the two situations being that the first time had been in the heat of the moment, had been out of joy and excitement over seeing her alive again after having certainly been dead for an extended period of time.
At his touch she was forced to stop moving since he wasn't about to let go of her arm. Perhaps she was stronger than he was- and more agile- but the idea of pushing him away did not enter her mind as he coaxed her eyes up to meet his own.
"It's- uh . . . all right." He muddled through the sentiment, so afraid that he was doing or saying the wrong thing. He never did know what to do in situations like these.
Not that he had ever been in a situation even close to the one he was in now.
Their eyes remained locked for a moment in which they each tried to communicate to the other their own emotions, before Trance at last broke away and took a step back. She needed this physical space between them so that she could have a better understanding of the emotional and mental space she had to pretend was there.
"No. No, it's not all right." Her voice was slightly louder than her earlier whispers, but Harper didn't notice. He only watched her in confusion as the last of her defenses began to melt away and she was only left with the realization that there was nothing she could do to make the circumstances right.
"Oh this is all my fault." She again looked ready to burst into tears, but used what was left of her strength to keep them at bay. The upset was clear in her body language and expression, but Harper could only look on in concern and puzzlement- not knowing what to attempt next.
"I should have been more convincing." She went on, though neither was sure if she was now talking to him or herself. "I should have been more mean. I should have . . . been more mean. Now it's too late and . . . and I can't turn around and they're going to kill you now and . . . and . . ."
Harper's eyes widened.
"Whoa Whoa Whoa. Back up there. Why don't you just start at the beginning. Better yet- start with the me getting killed part, and explain from there."
She took a deep breath, part of her wanting to tell him what was going on, but the rest of her still insisting that it was a bad idea.
At least she could take comfort in the fact that all of her was in consensus about one thing: she really wished that there was something she could do to make everything turn out all right. She wished that that one perfect solution was as obvious to her now as it had been so often in the past.
"No. no- you're the one who has some explaining to do Mr. . . . Mr. Stowaway." She catapulted the words at him with all that was left of her ability to maintain this act, but it was a feeble attempt.
Harper smirked. He could see the real Trance shining through and he wanted to grin in triumph, but knew that he had not yet been through the worst of it.
He recoiled inwardly at the thought of what 'the worst of it' might be.
"What are you doing here?" She questioned him, her voice barely holding its own as she desperately attempted to infuse it with something close to the edge that had almost become second nature to her.
"Hey- I was coming after you." Harper's voice was slightly defensive. "I think the question is 'what are *you* doing here?'"
She sputtered a little, not expecting him to throw her question back in her face like that.
He took a step forward, knowing that by doing so he threatened to invade her personal space, but was willing to risk it in order to prove his determination.
Trance took a small step back, but more out of reflex than anything else. He couldn't help noticing that the step was barely half the size of his.
"This is my ship." She replied, trying to sound sure of herself and her assertion, but failing.
"And what a lovely ship it is. What- 'dya steal it?" Even in a tense moment like this, his joking persona never abandoned him, and he was grateful for it.
"I don't *steal*!" She replied defensively and Harper grinned. For a moment they let themselves forget what had brought them to this point and envelop themselves in the playfulness of the conversation. "I'm not a thief. I bought this ship."
Harper quirked an eyebrow at her curiously. "Bought? With what?" Her eyes widened a little as she realized that she had set herself up for this line of questioning, and would now regret it.
"Nothing." She looked away, knowing that not only did her expression betray her, but so did the fake innocence in her voice.
"No wait." He pressed, and she braced herself for his continued questioning. But then he seemed to think better of it and shook his head vigorously. "Wait- you're just trying to get me off the subject."
"I am?"
"Yeah. Now what's going on? What are you so freaked about? And- oh yeah- what's this about me getting killed?" His words came out with an undertone of humor to them, but his message was a serious one. He was really concerned about her and about what was causing her to worry. He just didn't know how to deal with that concern. Or with the thought of his own, apparently upcoming, death.
With Harper's words, Trance was transported back to the reality of the situation. She was suddenly reminded of everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours and everything that would be happening in the twenty-four hours ahead of her.
Everything that would be happening to Harper too, since he was now apart of this as well.
Oh, how stupid she had been. If only she had had more time to prepare, if only she had come up with a better act- a better lie. Something that could have changed the predicament she now faced with Harper.
"I should have been more mean." She mumbled, her feet itching to resume their frantic pacing once more.
She didn't know what to do- didn't know how to explain herself to Harper, or if she even could. Didn't explaining things to him violate everything she held sacred? But then, didn't she owe him at least that much if he was forced to go through this along side her?
Because it was too late to turn around now, she admitted to herself. It was too late, and nothing she did would be able to change that.
TBC