Trance yawned as she opened her eyes. The first thing she noticed was a warm body wrapped around her. Her
instinctive reaction was fear. Even in total darkness, she knew these weren't her quarters. She wondered if she had
been kidnapped by one of the males of her species. The memories of the evening were vague, and she wouldn't have
put anything beyond doubt the way her life had been unfolding recently. It all slowly began to return to her mind.
She remembered her tail and the fact that she had two days to mate before she began releasing a psychic energy that
would lure any violent male of her species to Andromeda. She had gone to the dinner to celebrate Jaeron joining the
Commonwealth against her better judgment. She left the dinner and boarded the Maru, more than ready to leave
Andromeda behind to protect everyone. Harper stopped her and proclaimed his feelings for her. She had thought
about the alternative, floating dead in space and waiting for someone she didn't even know to basically rape her. The
right choice seemed all too obvious. He was the warm body, and these were his quarters.
'Harper told me he kept me from making a huge mistake. Maybe I just made an even bigger one. We can't go back
to being just best friends anymore. I've read enough about human relationships to know that. He said that he loved
me, but maybe he was just trying to protect me from my own kind...what happens now?' she thought.
She tried to fall back asleep and save her worries for the morning, but it was a hopeless attempt. She turned over and
shook Harper. "Wake up."
"Huh?" he asked groggily. "What happened? Oh yeah, now I remember. What's wrong, Trance?"
"What happens now?"
"We sleep until morning and then I go to Engineering and you go to Med Bay." He rolled over and buried his head in
the pillow.
"No, what happens to us?"
"Oh...I don't know right this second. Can I have a few more hours to sleep on it?" he murmured into the pillow.
She barely understood his words and was slightly annoyed he seemed unconcerned. "I can't sleep."
A minute passed, and Trance remained in her state of unrest. "Neither can I now." He sat up, leaning against the
wall behind the bed.
"Do you really love me, Harper? Or were you just saying that to keep me from leaving?" She wondered if she really
wanted to know the answer to that question.
He was silent for a moment. "Yeah, I love you."
"I think I love you, too." She still wasn't certain what love was, but she knew that if she felt it for anyone, it was
him. She hoped she wouldn't grow to regret that fact.
"There's something that you've gotta know, Trance. We can't be anything more than friends around everyone else.
Not yet anyway."
"Why?" She thought he was ashamed to admit to being with her.
"Well, everyone, Dylan especially, are kind of protective of you. They wouldn't think it was right that we're
together. They'd think I was using you."
She knew Harper was right. Dylan was a father figure to her and, like a father, he had a tendency to treat her like she
was a child. Actually, she hadn't told him her age and the equivalency that was to human age. She hadn't told him,
or anyone, much of anything about her people. It was safer that way. If he found out that she was romantically
involved with Harper, she knew he would come to the assumption that she was being taken advantage of. Everyone
thought she was more naive and childlike than she really was. "I understand. I know that you aren't just using me."
She was just beginning to realize the implications this could have for the entire crew's relationships. It wouldn't be
just Dylan opposing them. Beka would probably have something negative to say about it. Tyr didn't seem to be very
fond of either of them. It would just give him another reason to dislike both of them. She wasn't sure where Rev
would stand on the issue. He seemed open-minded about most things and might give them a fair chance. Rommie
most likely wouldn't show any concern, unless it started affecting her through lack of repairs.
"It's 2:30 AM. Duty doesn't start for another seven hours. How about you and I have an early breakfast?" he asked,
interrupting her thoughts.
"That sounds good. I'm hungry." She started to roll out of bed, but he grabbed her arm before she could stand.
"No, I'm going to get dressed and go get it. We'll have breakfast in bed." It was still dark, and she heard him trip on
something. He cursed under his breath and kicked the offending item into a wall before turning on his lava lamp.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I just need to pick all this junk up off the floor before I fall and break my neck." She watched him pull on his
clothes and run a comb through his hair in the dim reddish glow. "I'll be back in a minute."
The door closed behind him, covering the room in the brighter corridor light for a moment. She threw the blankets
off of her and tip toed over to his closet, avoiding stepping on the things lying on his floor. She found a robe in his
closet and slipped it on. She started picking up the items on the floor and placing them in a pile in the largest free
corner. She was very organized and would never let this much of a mess accumulate. He was so different from her,
yet they had a strong friendship since the beginning. It perplexed her how two people who couldn't be more opposite
were drawn together.
"I'm back." He walked through the door with a tray. "Did you miss me?"
"Of course." She smiled and crawled back into bed. "What are we having for breakfast?"
"Bacon, eggs, toast and orange juice." He placed the tray on his bedside table and walked over to his bureau. He
opened a drawer and pulled out a large bottle.
"What's that?" she asked.
"Vodka for the orange juice." He poured vodka in the orange juice pitcher until it was full.
"Oh...isn't it a little early to be drinking?"
"It's just a little vodka. We're not gonna get drunk." He poured two glasses of orange juice and handed one to her.
She hadn't had very much alcohol and trusted his judgment. She cautiously sipped the concoction. It was a little
tangy with a burning after taste. She decided she liked it. "This is good." She finished the glass and poured herself
another one.
"Don't take it too fast. It could make you sick," he warned.
"I'll be fine." She glanced at the tray. All the food was on one plate. "Why aren't there two plates?"
"I figured we exchanged enough spit already to get diseases from each other, so why not share?" He flashed one of
his grins at her that would have melted an ice world.
She laughed. "You've got a point there."
They finished their breakfasts, and the pitcher of vodka and orange juice, fairly quickly. He glanced at her strangely
before asking, "How many glasses of orange juice did you have, Trance?"
"Ummmm...well, three maybe?" She blinked several times and rubbed her eyes.
"I had three. You must've had like eight or something! You know what that stuff does if you drink that much?"
"Yeah." She smirked before springing forward and pinning him to the bed, kissing him passionately.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Rise and shine, Trance." She opened her eyes and found that she was very sensitive to light. Her head was
throbbing, and she didn't think she was physically capable of getting up.
"No." She groaned and reached for a pillow. She soon discovered she was laying on the floor. "Why am I not in the
bed anymore?"
"You don't remember? Man, Trance, it was out of this world! I hope your blackout isn't permanent. That was one
of those once-in-a-lifetime things."
She didn't want to cause the crew to expect what had happened, so she reluctantly pushed herself to her feet. She
glanced over at the bed. A folded outfit was set on the bed. 'He must really want to avoid suspicion to do this,' she
thought. "Are we late for duty?"
"No, we've still got fifteen more minutes." He was already dressed and ready for work, sitting on his bed.
She finished getting dressed and fixing her appearance to cover what she had spent her night doing. Her headache
was still showing itself, but she had something in Medical Bay that took care of hangovers. "Let's go."
"I'm going to go first. And when I knock on the door, you can go." He walked out the door.
She heard a knock a moment later and exited his quarters. "Are we going to have lunch together?"
"Well, I don't know, Trance..."
"We've had lunch together almost every day since we've been aboard Andromeda. Won't it look suspicious if we
stop having lunch together?"
"Yeah. I guess you're right." He sighed and stopped in front of the Engineering door.
"Have a good day, Harper." She leaned forward to kiss him, but he turned away.
"We can't risk it. I'll make it up to you later." He walked into Engineering.
She felt hurt, but cast her feelings aside and headed to Medical Bay. She treated herself for the hangover and did a
little tidying. Her duties in Medial Bay were done for the moment. Since she had nothing else planned, she headed to
Hydroponics. The plants seemed to perk up when she entered the room. It didn't make her as cheerful as it usually
would. Not even seeing Aurora significantly raised her spirits.
"Trance." She turned around to see Beka.
"Hi Beka." She smiled to conceal what she was really feeling. "What can I do for you?"
"Nothing. I just dropped by to see how you're doing."
"Why wouldn't I be doing well?" She hoped this wasn't leading to anything about last night.
"Harper said something about you being sick for the past couple of days." The older woman's eyes saw right
through her.
"Yeah. I wasn't feeling very well, but now I'm all better."
"What did you have?"
"Ummmm...just a little bug. One of those forty-eight hour things."
"How did you treat it?" Beka stepped closer to her.
"Well...I used some...unconventional methods to get rid of it. And a little bit of rest helped, too." She was growing
increasingly uncomfortable. 'Way to go, Trance! If she didn't already know something was up, she does now,' she
thought.
"I haven't been feeling great. Do you have anything you used to treat yourself left?" Beka's blue eyes were
accusatory, penetrating through Trance's lies.
"I have some hypos in Med Bay that could probably alleviate your symptoms." She nervously tried to avoid the topic
that was being led to.
"No. I think I'll be all right. I'll be on my way now. I have other places to visit." She walked out of Hydroponics.
Trance sighed. "I wonder how much she knows..."
instinctive reaction was fear. Even in total darkness, she knew these weren't her quarters. She wondered if she had
been kidnapped by one of the males of her species. The memories of the evening were vague, and she wouldn't have
put anything beyond doubt the way her life had been unfolding recently. It all slowly began to return to her mind.
She remembered her tail and the fact that she had two days to mate before she began releasing a psychic energy that
would lure any violent male of her species to Andromeda. She had gone to the dinner to celebrate Jaeron joining the
Commonwealth against her better judgment. She left the dinner and boarded the Maru, more than ready to leave
Andromeda behind to protect everyone. Harper stopped her and proclaimed his feelings for her. She had thought
about the alternative, floating dead in space and waiting for someone she didn't even know to basically rape her. The
right choice seemed all too obvious. He was the warm body, and these were his quarters.
'Harper told me he kept me from making a huge mistake. Maybe I just made an even bigger one. We can't go back
to being just best friends anymore. I've read enough about human relationships to know that. He said that he loved
me, but maybe he was just trying to protect me from my own kind...what happens now?' she thought.
She tried to fall back asleep and save her worries for the morning, but it was a hopeless attempt. She turned over and
shook Harper. "Wake up."
"Huh?" he asked groggily. "What happened? Oh yeah, now I remember. What's wrong, Trance?"
"What happens now?"
"We sleep until morning and then I go to Engineering and you go to Med Bay." He rolled over and buried his head in
the pillow.
"No, what happens to us?"
"Oh...I don't know right this second. Can I have a few more hours to sleep on it?" he murmured into the pillow.
She barely understood his words and was slightly annoyed he seemed unconcerned. "I can't sleep."
A minute passed, and Trance remained in her state of unrest. "Neither can I now." He sat up, leaning against the
wall behind the bed.
"Do you really love me, Harper? Or were you just saying that to keep me from leaving?" She wondered if she really
wanted to know the answer to that question.
He was silent for a moment. "Yeah, I love you."
"I think I love you, too." She still wasn't certain what love was, but she knew that if she felt it for anyone, it was
him. She hoped she wouldn't grow to regret that fact.
"There's something that you've gotta know, Trance. We can't be anything more than friends around everyone else.
Not yet anyway."
"Why?" She thought he was ashamed to admit to being with her.
"Well, everyone, Dylan especially, are kind of protective of you. They wouldn't think it was right that we're
together. They'd think I was using you."
She knew Harper was right. Dylan was a father figure to her and, like a father, he had a tendency to treat her like she
was a child. Actually, she hadn't told him her age and the equivalency that was to human age. She hadn't told him,
or anyone, much of anything about her people. It was safer that way. If he found out that she was romantically
involved with Harper, she knew he would come to the assumption that she was being taken advantage of. Everyone
thought she was more naive and childlike than she really was. "I understand. I know that you aren't just using me."
She was just beginning to realize the implications this could have for the entire crew's relationships. It wouldn't be
just Dylan opposing them. Beka would probably have something negative to say about it. Tyr didn't seem to be very
fond of either of them. It would just give him another reason to dislike both of them. She wasn't sure where Rev
would stand on the issue. He seemed open-minded about most things and might give them a fair chance. Rommie
most likely wouldn't show any concern, unless it started affecting her through lack of repairs.
"It's 2:30 AM. Duty doesn't start for another seven hours. How about you and I have an early breakfast?" he asked,
interrupting her thoughts.
"That sounds good. I'm hungry." She started to roll out of bed, but he grabbed her arm before she could stand.
"No, I'm going to get dressed and go get it. We'll have breakfast in bed." It was still dark, and she heard him trip on
something. He cursed under his breath and kicked the offending item into a wall before turning on his lava lamp.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I just need to pick all this junk up off the floor before I fall and break my neck." She watched him pull on his
clothes and run a comb through his hair in the dim reddish glow. "I'll be back in a minute."
The door closed behind him, covering the room in the brighter corridor light for a moment. She threw the blankets
off of her and tip toed over to his closet, avoiding stepping on the things lying on his floor. She found a robe in his
closet and slipped it on. She started picking up the items on the floor and placing them in a pile in the largest free
corner. She was very organized and would never let this much of a mess accumulate. He was so different from her,
yet they had a strong friendship since the beginning. It perplexed her how two people who couldn't be more opposite
were drawn together.
"I'm back." He walked through the door with a tray. "Did you miss me?"
"Of course." She smiled and crawled back into bed. "What are we having for breakfast?"
"Bacon, eggs, toast and orange juice." He placed the tray on his bedside table and walked over to his bureau. He
opened a drawer and pulled out a large bottle.
"What's that?" she asked.
"Vodka for the orange juice." He poured vodka in the orange juice pitcher until it was full.
"Oh...isn't it a little early to be drinking?"
"It's just a little vodka. We're not gonna get drunk." He poured two glasses of orange juice and handed one to her.
She hadn't had very much alcohol and trusted his judgment. She cautiously sipped the concoction. It was a little
tangy with a burning after taste. She decided she liked it. "This is good." She finished the glass and poured herself
another one.
"Don't take it too fast. It could make you sick," he warned.
"I'll be fine." She glanced at the tray. All the food was on one plate. "Why aren't there two plates?"
"I figured we exchanged enough spit already to get diseases from each other, so why not share?" He flashed one of
his grins at her that would have melted an ice world.
She laughed. "You've got a point there."
They finished their breakfasts, and the pitcher of vodka and orange juice, fairly quickly. He glanced at her strangely
before asking, "How many glasses of orange juice did you have, Trance?"
"Ummmm...well, three maybe?" She blinked several times and rubbed her eyes.
"I had three. You must've had like eight or something! You know what that stuff does if you drink that much?"
"Yeah." She smirked before springing forward and pinning him to the bed, kissing him passionately.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Rise and shine, Trance." She opened her eyes and found that she was very sensitive to light. Her head was
throbbing, and she didn't think she was physically capable of getting up.
"No." She groaned and reached for a pillow. She soon discovered she was laying on the floor. "Why am I not in the
bed anymore?"
"You don't remember? Man, Trance, it was out of this world! I hope your blackout isn't permanent. That was one
of those once-in-a-lifetime things."
She didn't want to cause the crew to expect what had happened, so she reluctantly pushed herself to her feet. She
glanced over at the bed. A folded outfit was set on the bed. 'He must really want to avoid suspicion to do this,' she
thought. "Are we late for duty?"
"No, we've still got fifteen more minutes." He was already dressed and ready for work, sitting on his bed.
She finished getting dressed and fixing her appearance to cover what she had spent her night doing. Her headache
was still showing itself, but she had something in Medical Bay that took care of hangovers. "Let's go."
"I'm going to go first. And when I knock on the door, you can go." He walked out the door.
She heard a knock a moment later and exited his quarters. "Are we going to have lunch together?"
"Well, I don't know, Trance..."
"We've had lunch together almost every day since we've been aboard Andromeda. Won't it look suspicious if we
stop having lunch together?"
"Yeah. I guess you're right." He sighed and stopped in front of the Engineering door.
"Have a good day, Harper." She leaned forward to kiss him, but he turned away.
"We can't risk it. I'll make it up to you later." He walked into Engineering.
She felt hurt, but cast her feelings aside and headed to Medical Bay. She treated herself for the hangover and did a
little tidying. Her duties in Medial Bay were done for the moment. Since she had nothing else planned, she headed to
Hydroponics. The plants seemed to perk up when she entered the room. It didn't make her as cheerful as it usually
would. Not even seeing Aurora significantly raised her spirits.
"Trance." She turned around to see Beka.
"Hi Beka." She smiled to conceal what she was really feeling. "What can I do for you?"
"Nothing. I just dropped by to see how you're doing."
"Why wouldn't I be doing well?" She hoped this wasn't leading to anything about last night.
"Harper said something about you being sick for the past couple of days." The older woman's eyes saw right
through her.
"Yeah. I wasn't feeling very well, but now I'm all better."
"What did you have?"
"Ummmm...just a little bug. One of those forty-eight hour things."
"How did you treat it?" Beka stepped closer to her.
"Well...I used some...unconventional methods to get rid of it. And a little bit of rest helped, too." She was growing
increasingly uncomfortable. 'Way to go, Trance! If she didn't already know something was up, she does now,' she
thought.
"I haven't been feeling great. Do you have anything you used to treat yourself left?" Beka's blue eyes were
accusatory, penetrating through Trance's lies.
"I have some hypos in Med Bay that could probably alleviate your symptoms." She nervously tried to avoid the topic
that was being led to.
"No. I think I'll be all right. I'll be on my way now. I have other places to visit." She walked out of Hydroponics.
Trance sighed. "I wonder how much she knows..."
