Six months later...
I was whistling a happy tune as I finished upgrading Rommie's avatar to include taste buds that would allow her to be even more human than before. "There, Rom doll, I'm finished. Take a sip of this." I handed her my coffee mug.
She cautiously took a sip and immediately spit it out. "That was truly disgusting, Harper. I don't see how all of you can drink that."
"It's an acquired taste. Welcome to our world." I smiled as she and I exited the Machine Shop.
"I think I'll go to Mess Deck and try some more appealing foods."
"Have fun, Rommie. I'll be in my quarters if you need me."
I headed back to my quarters. They were messier than ever. I'd been working on so many projects, and most of the spare parts ended up on the floor somewhere. Even my bed was a total mess. I pushed everything off my bed and plopped down on it. I opened my bedside table drawer, with the intention of pulling out the flexi of my newest schematics, but accidentally grabbed the picture. I found it in Lise's knapsack the day after the services and kept it. I hadn't really looked at it. She was sitting on a Harley, in a black leather jacket, looking very tough.
"You wouldn't believe how much I've missed you, babe..." My missing her had shown in the fact that I'd pretty much avoided any chances I'd had at being with other women. I only wanted her, and I still only wanted her. And having my usual luck, I'd had ten or fifteen offers from beautiful women. I didn't even think of accepting one of them. I had Dylan's magic, but I no longer wanted to be a magician. How ironic my life always ends up being. I placed the picture back into the drawer, remembering that I had never found that 'four dash seventeen' she had mentioned. I went through her possessions and searched a little bit, but didn't really put a full out effort on it. Now that it didn't hurt so much to think about her, I decided to conduct another more meticulous search for whatever was so important that she made it her last words.
There were a lot of places on Andromeda that had 'four dash seventeen' in them. There were a lot of rooms and, depending on the way you counted them, there might be a lot of rooms you could call 'four dash seventeen.' The fourth deck up or the fourth deck down could be the four portion. And you could count a lot of ways to get a seventeen. Or maybe it was a specific area of a room, like room four and area seventeen. Or it could be a two number combination for a lock on something, though I had yet to see a two number combination lock.
Maybe Rommie could help me by providing me a list of all the 'four dash seventeen' numbers on the ship. "Hey, Rommie!"
"Yes, Harper?" Her hologram appeared in front of me.
"Where can I find the number 'four dash seventeen?'"
"There are fifty-two 'four dash seventeen' numbers aboard Andromeda."
"Could you give me a list of the places?"
"Of course. I will have my avatar bring you the list on a flexi."
"You don't have to do that. Just put it on a console or something, and I'll take a look over it."
"The console across from your quarters now has the list on it."
"Thanks, Rom doll."
I exited my quarters and scanned the lists for possbilities. I would begin my search with specific rooms that she might have been in. The first on the list was Hydroponics. I headed there, thinking about how ironic it would be that her services were in the place she wanted me to remember. There were four different areas that held plants. And maybe there was a plant number seventeen she wanted me to see. I started counting the plants to myself, mumbling the numbers so I wouldn't lose track. There were fifty or sixty different ways to count the plants, I realized. This would take a while.
"There are two hundred and thirty-six plants, Harper," Trance said from behind me.
"Hiya, Trance!" I stood and turned around. "But I'm not counting them for a total number. I'm looking for one."
"Which one?" She was very curious.
"I'm not sure yet. I might not even be looking for a plant, though. There's a lot of possibilities."
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
I thought that over for a moment before replying, "Thanks, but this is something I've gotta do. And I think I've finished up here anyways." Lise would have picked something more obvious than this probably.
I returned to the console and asked Rommie for the list again. I laughed when I saw Tyr's quarters on it. He would have killed her if she went in there. And he knows if anything has been changed because of his Nietzchean senses and all that jazz. The list also included a couple of my Machine Shops, but I know those inside out. There were a few storage rooms on the list. Those were very viable options. I decided to visit the first on the list.
Upon entrance to the storage room, I realized what a task I was undertaking. There were boxes and whatnot piled up to the ceiling almost! I groaned as I started climbing up towards the peak of the mountain. I carried down one box from the top and opened it. Inside were a bunch of Wayism pamphlets that were obviously Rev's. I made a place for boxes I had searched. The next box contained some sports equipment, probably Dylan's. The next box reaked from the outside, so I just tossed it onto the pile. I went through all the boxes, and my only noteworthy discoveries were some birthday presents that I knew were for me. My birthday was in only two weeks, after all. I also found some skimpy lingerie that was rather shocking. I couldn't help but to laugh when I pictured either Trance or Beka wearing it.
"I guess I'm done in here. I've only got eight more of these storage rooms to go through," I mumbled.
I went through the other eight rooms, spending all night awake doing it. I found out at least a couple of secrets each about everyone else. Blackmail for all this would be heaven, if I was ever in need of blackmail to get something I wanted. And I knew exactly what I was getting for my birthday, except anything they might have hidden in their quarters. But I was still clueless as to what Lise meant by 'four dash seventeen.' It was definitely time to take a little nap and hopefully get a fresh perspective on this.
***
I threw on some clothes and headed back to the console that had become my home base for the search. I was a quarter of the way done in actual searches, but there were places she wouldn't have gone and that I know well enough that made me about halfway done. My next destination would be Medical Deck. She spent most of her time aboard there, and it was logical that she would hide something there, probably when I was sleeping.
Med Deck was empty, and I began searching through cabinets and files. There was nothing out of place. I found my medical files, which were almost as thick as my arm. I skimmed through them, shocked at how much disease and injury I had faced. I eventually made my way back to the stasis room. I seriously doubted I'd find anything there, but I had no where else to look.
I opened the units one by one, each being empty. I had grown tired of the tedious task when I found something in one of the units. There was a stasis dish and a data rod. I took the rod and noted the number of the unit: #107. I placed the rod in the nearest console, and saw a video of Lise begin. This was what she wanted me to find.
"Hi, Harper. I'm guessing if you're reading this I'm dead." That would be the general consensus. She meant for me to hear this after she was gone. "First of all, don't blame yourself for whatever happened to me. I know you still blame yourself for Delaney's death. I heard what you said about her when I was 'sleeping.' I don't want you to be like that when I die. Enjoy the memories times we had together, and I hope that it was a lot of fun for you. I know regardless of what happened, it was fun for me. I do love you as much as you love me. And you might be wondering why I left this for you, and what's in the stasis unit. Rommie showed me how to do this while you were sleeping and then I asked her if she could 'forget' it ever happened. I don't know if you want children someday or not, if you're hearing this, I must've thought you do." I remembered our conversation about children and the future. "Anyways, there are several of what you need to have my children in case anything happens before we can have them. If it would ever come to that. I really have a feeling it would have, and that we would have been really great parents together. You're going to be a wonderful dad, if you ever have kids. And don't feel obligated to use what I've given you. It's only if you want it, and for when you're ready...I know I'm babbling on, but there's something else you need to hear before I end this message. I'm dead now. You don't need to avoid women because you're missing me or feel like you're betraying me. I want you to have fun and enjoy life more than anything, Harper. If anyone deserves happiness, it's you. I guess this is goodbye. Wherever I am, I do miss you and hope that we get to be together again someday." She smiled as she ended the message.
I expected to be crying, but I wasn't shedding a single tear. She had completely read my mind about everything. Some bonds do transcend all barriers. I wasn't so sure I'd be a wonderful father someday, though. My kid would be scarred for life. I'd make way too many mistakes with him or her, and there's so much that I wouldn't know how to do. I don't have any maternal instincts that tell you indirectly how to keep a child happy. My life would probably be a living hell if I did have a baby around. And to have her child, I would need a surrogate mother, and those are never easy to find. But the thought of being father to her child still made me smile.
I was confused more than anything. The desire to be a father was fighting with the desire to leave things the way they are. Parts of me were screaming that too little time had passed while others told me that it was time to move on and make a change in my life. I would have to sleep on it, and not just one night either. Even though I had just woken up, I felt like going back to bed for a very long time. I snatched the data rod from the console and headed back to my quarters.
I laid in bed again, casting the thoughts of a child aside. Seeing Lise alive again had healed some of the wounds inflicted on my heart by her death. This whole story was about our connection, when I really thought about it. 'If it had a title, it would probably be "bonds without barrier,"' I mused. I fell asleep more content than I had been in a long while.
~The End~
Author's Note: Should there be sequel to this, which I left an option for, or are you all totally sick of it by now? Please include your opinion in a review, and if I get enough feedback, I'll do a sequel.
I was whistling a happy tune as I finished upgrading Rommie's avatar to include taste buds that would allow her to be even more human than before. "There, Rom doll, I'm finished. Take a sip of this." I handed her my coffee mug.
She cautiously took a sip and immediately spit it out. "That was truly disgusting, Harper. I don't see how all of you can drink that."
"It's an acquired taste. Welcome to our world." I smiled as she and I exited the Machine Shop.
"I think I'll go to Mess Deck and try some more appealing foods."
"Have fun, Rommie. I'll be in my quarters if you need me."
I headed back to my quarters. They were messier than ever. I'd been working on so many projects, and most of the spare parts ended up on the floor somewhere. Even my bed was a total mess. I pushed everything off my bed and plopped down on it. I opened my bedside table drawer, with the intention of pulling out the flexi of my newest schematics, but accidentally grabbed the picture. I found it in Lise's knapsack the day after the services and kept it. I hadn't really looked at it. She was sitting on a Harley, in a black leather jacket, looking very tough.
"You wouldn't believe how much I've missed you, babe..." My missing her had shown in the fact that I'd pretty much avoided any chances I'd had at being with other women. I only wanted her, and I still only wanted her. And having my usual luck, I'd had ten or fifteen offers from beautiful women. I didn't even think of accepting one of them. I had Dylan's magic, but I no longer wanted to be a magician. How ironic my life always ends up being. I placed the picture back into the drawer, remembering that I had never found that 'four dash seventeen' she had mentioned. I went through her possessions and searched a little bit, but didn't really put a full out effort on it. Now that it didn't hurt so much to think about her, I decided to conduct another more meticulous search for whatever was so important that she made it her last words.
There were a lot of places on Andromeda that had 'four dash seventeen' in them. There were a lot of rooms and, depending on the way you counted them, there might be a lot of rooms you could call 'four dash seventeen.' The fourth deck up or the fourth deck down could be the four portion. And you could count a lot of ways to get a seventeen. Or maybe it was a specific area of a room, like room four and area seventeen. Or it could be a two number combination for a lock on something, though I had yet to see a two number combination lock.
Maybe Rommie could help me by providing me a list of all the 'four dash seventeen' numbers on the ship. "Hey, Rommie!"
"Yes, Harper?" Her hologram appeared in front of me.
"Where can I find the number 'four dash seventeen?'"
"There are fifty-two 'four dash seventeen' numbers aboard Andromeda."
"Could you give me a list of the places?"
"Of course. I will have my avatar bring you the list on a flexi."
"You don't have to do that. Just put it on a console or something, and I'll take a look over it."
"The console across from your quarters now has the list on it."
"Thanks, Rom doll."
I exited my quarters and scanned the lists for possbilities. I would begin my search with specific rooms that she might have been in. The first on the list was Hydroponics. I headed there, thinking about how ironic it would be that her services were in the place she wanted me to remember. There were four different areas that held plants. And maybe there was a plant number seventeen she wanted me to see. I started counting the plants to myself, mumbling the numbers so I wouldn't lose track. There were fifty or sixty different ways to count the plants, I realized. This would take a while.
"There are two hundred and thirty-six plants, Harper," Trance said from behind me.
"Hiya, Trance!" I stood and turned around. "But I'm not counting them for a total number. I'm looking for one."
"Which one?" She was very curious.
"I'm not sure yet. I might not even be looking for a plant, though. There's a lot of possibilities."
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
I thought that over for a moment before replying, "Thanks, but this is something I've gotta do. And I think I've finished up here anyways." Lise would have picked something more obvious than this probably.
I returned to the console and asked Rommie for the list again. I laughed when I saw Tyr's quarters on it. He would have killed her if she went in there. And he knows if anything has been changed because of his Nietzchean senses and all that jazz. The list also included a couple of my Machine Shops, but I know those inside out. There were a few storage rooms on the list. Those were very viable options. I decided to visit the first on the list.
Upon entrance to the storage room, I realized what a task I was undertaking. There were boxes and whatnot piled up to the ceiling almost! I groaned as I started climbing up towards the peak of the mountain. I carried down one box from the top and opened it. Inside were a bunch of Wayism pamphlets that were obviously Rev's. I made a place for boxes I had searched. The next box contained some sports equipment, probably Dylan's. The next box reaked from the outside, so I just tossed it onto the pile. I went through all the boxes, and my only noteworthy discoveries were some birthday presents that I knew were for me. My birthday was in only two weeks, after all. I also found some skimpy lingerie that was rather shocking. I couldn't help but to laugh when I pictured either Trance or Beka wearing it.
"I guess I'm done in here. I've only got eight more of these storage rooms to go through," I mumbled.
I went through the other eight rooms, spending all night awake doing it. I found out at least a couple of secrets each about everyone else. Blackmail for all this would be heaven, if I was ever in need of blackmail to get something I wanted. And I knew exactly what I was getting for my birthday, except anything they might have hidden in their quarters. But I was still clueless as to what Lise meant by 'four dash seventeen.' It was definitely time to take a little nap and hopefully get a fresh perspective on this.
***
I threw on some clothes and headed back to the console that had become my home base for the search. I was a quarter of the way done in actual searches, but there were places she wouldn't have gone and that I know well enough that made me about halfway done. My next destination would be Medical Deck. She spent most of her time aboard there, and it was logical that she would hide something there, probably when I was sleeping.
Med Deck was empty, and I began searching through cabinets and files. There was nothing out of place. I found my medical files, which were almost as thick as my arm. I skimmed through them, shocked at how much disease and injury I had faced. I eventually made my way back to the stasis room. I seriously doubted I'd find anything there, but I had no where else to look.
I opened the units one by one, each being empty. I had grown tired of the tedious task when I found something in one of the units. There was a stasis dish and a data rod. I took the rod and noted the number of the unit: #107. I placed the rod in the nearest console, and saw a video of Lise begin. This was what she wanted me to find.
"Hi, Harper. I'm guessing if you're reading this I'm dead." That would be the general consensus. She meant for me to hear this after she was gone. "First of all, don't blame yourself for whatever happened to me. I know you still blame yourself for Delaney's death. I heard what you said about her when I was 'sleeping.' I don't want you to be like that when I die. Enjoy the memories times we had together, and I hope that it was a lot of fun for you. I know regardless of what happened, it was fun for me. I do love you as much as you love me. And you might be wondering why I left this for you, and what's in the stasis unit. Rommie showed me how to do this while you were sleeping and then I asked her if she could 'forget' it ever happened. I don't know if you want children someday or not, if you're hearing this, I must've thought you do." I remembered our conversation about children and the future. "Anyways, there are several of what you need to have my children in case anything happens before we can have them. If it would ever come to that. I really have a feeling it would have, and that we would have been really great parents together. You're going to be a wonderful dad, if you ever have kids. And don't feel obligated to use what I've given you. It's only if you want it, and for when you're ready...I know I'm babbling on, but there's something else you need to hear before I end this message. I'm dead now. You don't need to avoid women because you're missing me or feel like you're betraying me. I want you to have fun and enjoy life more than anything, Harper. If anyone deserves happiness, it's you. I guess this is goodbye. Wherever I am, I do miss you and hope that we get to be together again someday." She smiled as she ended the message.
I expected to be crying, but I wasn't shedding a single tear. She had completely read my mind about everything. Some bonds do transcend all barriers. I wasn't so sure I'd be a wonderful father someday, though. My kid would be scarred for life. I'd make way too many mistakes with him or her, and there's so much that I wouldn't know how to do. I don't have any maternal instincts that tell you indirectly how to keep a child happy. My life would probably be a living hell if I did have a baby around. And to have her child, I would need a surrogate mother, and those are never easy to find. But the thought of being father to her child still made me smile.
I was confused more than anything. The desire to be a father was fighting with the desire to leave things the way they are. Parts of me were screaming that too little time had passed while others told me that it was time to move on and make a change in my life. I would have to sleep on it, and not just one night either. Even though I had just woken up, I felt like going back to bed for a very long time. I snatched the data rod from the console and headed back to my quarters.
I laid in bed again, casting the thoughts of a child aside. Seeing Lise alive again had healed some of the wounds inflicted on my heart by her death. This whole story was about our connection, when I really thought about it. 'If it had a title, it would probably be "bonds without barrier,"' I mused. I fell asleep more content than I had been in a long while.
~The End~
Author's Note: Should there be sequel to this, which I left an option for, or are you all totally sick of it by now? Please include your opinion in a review, and if I get enough feedback, I'll do a sequel.
