Trance stared at the door after Beka exited Hydroponics. She silently mulled over the conversation. Beka had implied she was aware something was going on. She wasn't really feeling under the weather, and Trance was certain of that. It, on one hand, could be totally unrelated to what Trance was worrying herself almost sick over. Beka could have discovered a piece of her past, which would be nearly as unpleasant. On the other hand, Beka was a very intelligent woman who came to conclusions, usually correct ones, easily. Either way, it didn't seem to end happily for her. 'I only have one option,' she thought grimly.
The Hydroponics door closed behind her as she casually strolled down the corridor. Her movements revealed her tension and fear, even though she tried to feign her normal appearance. 'Where can I go?' she thought, visualizing a map of Andromeda's lay out in her mind. 'No one, except Harper maybe, spends a lot of time near Hangar Bay.' She chose corridors less traveled and soon arrived at her destination without incident.
She leaned down and pulled the cover off of an access cover for the network of tunnels connected to Engineering. She slid inside and replaced the cover. The tunnel was dimly lit and seemed to go on endlessly as she crawled. At random rooms, the vent-like grates over the access covers allowed her to see the interiors of rooms. Every room she encountered was empty. She eventually reached the acess cover leading to Engineering. She sighed. 'I wish I didn't have to do this. It makes me feel like I'm betraying him in some way.' She spied Harper fiddling with a small device. He was completely preoccupied with it.
"Just a little adjustment here...and here...now she should be good as new!" He held up the device and turned in a complete circle, staring intently at the device. "Knew there'd be some use for it someday."
The main entrance to Engineering opened. Beka walked in, looking as smug as she had when she approached Trance.
"What can I do for you, Beka?" Harper asked, shoving the device into one of the pouches on his tool belt.
"I just dropped in to see how everything's going with the engines." She leaned against a beam.
"The slipstream drive's more efficient than ever, and everything else is just great! But I'm kinda busy, Beka, so can we talk later?"
"What's a minute or two going to hurt? The slipstream drive's working, and nothing major is malfunctioning. It's my job as first officer to talk to the crew. How was your evening last night?" she asked tacitly.
"It was all right. The dinner was good." He began examining a piece of equipment.
"Did you enjoy dessert?"
"Dessert?"
"Oh, that's right. It was a beautiful plum dessert that sort of glistened in the light. But I guess you didn't have any of that, did you?"
"Ummmm...no, I didn't." He was growing more nervous and uneasy by the second.
Trance clenched her right hand into a fist, her short black nails digging into the skin. 'Why is she doing this to us? She could just go and outright say she knows. It would be a lot easier.'
"Maybe it's best you didn't. If you have dessert too often, it can cause a lot of problems." With that, she confidently walked out of Engineering.
"Damn!" He began walking towards the access cover that she was hiding behind. She instinctively backed up. "I know you're back there, Trance."
"I'm sorry. I know it's not very nice to spy, but I was worried about you."
"Beka came and talked to you, too, I take it?" He pulled off the cover and hopped in beside her before replacing it.
"Yeah, she did...I'm scared, Harper," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. During her time aboard Andromeda, she had not admitted to being truly scared of anything. It made her feel very vulnerable, almost weak.
"I won't let anything happen to you...to us. We're gonna make it through this, baby." He embraced her tightly and began rocking back and forth. A moment passed. He placed several gentle, comforting kisses on her neck.
She weakly smiled and lifted her head to gaze into his deep blue eyes. This time she was the one to instigate a shower of kisses. Her lips lightly brushed against the most sensitive parts of his neck, causing the formation of goosebumps on all of his exposed skin. A small trail of kisses was made until she reached his lips. She captured them in a passionate kiss, savoring their salty sweetness. Her heart was already beginning to race in her chest.
"Trance," he breathed as the kiss broke. "We can't do this."
She felt a tear slide down her cheek as she stared at the tunnel floor. 'He doesn't want me anymore,' she thought. "Why?"
"Don't cry." He wiped away her tear. "I mean I want you so bad you wouldn't believe it. But this isn't the best place to do this, y'know?"
Relief surged through her. Her thoughts strayed from relief to the matter at hand. "It's a pity we can't do this here, Harper. There's a lot this can do that I haven't shown you yet." She grinned as she ran the tip of her tail down his arm.
"Who cares what everyone else says?" He threw off his colorful Hawaiian shirt, leaving his tighter white shirt exposed.
She admired his biceps, running her fingers over the firm muscles. He was much better sculpted than his usual clothing revealed. Suddenly, it occurred to her that he never told her how he knew she was there. "I was quiet and seeing through the panel grates isn't easy..."
"I've got a new toy," he said, smiling as he pulled the small device from his belt. "It's set to track your life signs. I can have several different people on it."
"Is it just me on it right now?" She was intrigued by the device.
"No. I put Beka on it, too, when she was here earlier. That way we won't get any rude interruptions before we're finished. She wouldn't let me forget it ever." He sighed. "I've had enough of this talking. It isn't as fun as everything else we could be doing right now." He quirked his eyebrow and grinned.
Not needing anymore encouragement, she knocked the device from his hand as she kissed him and wrapped her arms around him.
***
"Have you seen my left sock?" Trance glanced around the tunnel for her sock without avail.
"There it is." Harper grabbed the sock, which on a lower step of a ladder leading towards the slipstream drive. "I've never knocked the socks off anyone quite like that before."
"You didn't knock my sock off. You pulled it off." She was obviously confused.
"It's an Earth expression, Trance. It means sweeping someone off their feet."
"Oh." She was still confused.
"Y'know, falling madly in love...like us." He finished slipping his boots on and tightly embraced her.
She was quiet. Falling in love was one of the concepts she had the most difficulty grasping. She remained uncertain of what she did feel for Harper. There was definitely something beyond the physical affection they had shared. That was wonderful, but this was deeper. Plants were much easier to understand. 'Why can't everything be like Hydroponics?' she thought, which brought her mind back to Beka. "Do you think Beka's going to tell Dylan?"
His expression turned solemn. "I hope not. She might not know anything, though. She's probably just coming to conclusions without any evidence to base them on."
"Do you think everyone's missed us yet?" She rested her head on his shoulder.
"If they haven't by now, they'll be missing us soon. I need to go down to Machine Shop. But we're still on for lunch, right?"
"Of course." She kissed him lightly. "I'll miss you."
"Miss you, too." He kissed her. "You should probably go back the way you came and watch out for anyone that might be passing by."
She sighed and watched him crawl back into Engineering. Pretending she didn't care about him wasn't easy. It was even more difficult coping with his avoidance of her, the way he forced her to go back the way she came or refused her kisses in public. A part of her wanted to turn on the ship-wide communications and announce their love. She wanted him every second, not just when they were alone, and it was convenient.
She emerged from the tunnel into the corridor. She quickly began replacing the access cover, but it simply clattered to the deck plate below. Footsteps approached her, and she silently groaned. If it was anyone other than Harper, she was probably in for a lot of explaining. Excuses ran through her mind, but nothing sounded believable.
"What are you doing, Trance?" The voice was the one she had most wished it wasn't.
The Hydroponics door closed behind her as she casually strolled down the corridor. Her movements revealed her tension and fear, even though she tried to feign her normal appearance. 'Where can I go?' she thought, visualizing a map of Andromeda's lay out in her mind. 'No one, except Harper maybe, spends a lot of time near Hangar Bay.' She chose corridors less traveled and soon arrived at her destination without incident.
She leaned down and pulled the cover off of an access cover for the network of tunnels connected to Engineering. She slid inside and replaced the cover. The tunnel was dimly lit and seemed to go on endlessly as she crawled. At random rooms, the vent-like grates over the access covers allowed her to see the interiors of rooms. Every room she encountered was empty. She eventually reached the acess cover leading to Engineering. She sighed. 'I wish I didn't have to do this. It makes me feel like I'm betraying him in some way.' She spied Harper fiddling with a small device. He was completely preoccupied with it.
"Just a little adjustment here...and here...now she should be good as new!" He held up the device and turned in a complete circle, staring intently at the device. "Knew there'd be some use for it someday."
The main entrance to Engineering opened. Beka walked in, looking as smug as she had when she approached Trance.
"What can I do for you, Beka?" Harper asked, shoving the device into one of the pouches on his tool belt.
"I just dropped in to see how everything's going with the engines." She leaned against a beam.
"The slipstream drive's more efficient than ever, and everything else is just great! But I'm kinda busy, Beka, so can we talk later?"
"What's a minute or two going to hurt? The slipstream drive's working, and nothing major is malfunctioning. It's my job as first officer to talk to the crew. How was your evening last night?" she asked tacitly.
"It was all right. The dinner was good." He began examining a piece of equipment.
"Did you enjoy dessert?"
"Dessert?"
"Oh, that's right. It was a beautiful plum dessert that sort of glistened in the light. But I guess you didn't have any of that, did you?"
"Ummmm...no, I didn't." He was growing more nervous and uneasy by the second.
Trance clenched her right hand into a fist, her short black nails digging into the skin. 'Why is she doing this to us? She could just go and outright say she knows. It would be a lot easier.'
"Maybe it's best you didn't. If you have dessert too often, it can cause a lot of problems." With that, she confidently walked out of Engineering.
"Damn!" He began walking towards the access cover that she was hiding behind. She instinctively backed up. "I know you're back there, Trance."
"I'm sorry. I know it's not very nice to spy, but I was worried about you."
"Beka came and talked to you, too, I take it?" He pulled off the cover and hopped in beside her before replacing it.
"Yeah, she did...I'm scared, Harper," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. During her time aboard Andromeda, she had not admitted to being truly scared of anything. It made her feel very vulnerable, almost weak.
"I won't let anything happen to you...to us. We're gonna make it through this, baby." He embraced her tightly and began rocking back and forth. A moment passed. He placed several gentle, comforting kisses on her neck.
She weakly smiled and lifted her head to gaze into his deep blue eyes. This time she was the one to instigate a shower of kisses. Her lips lightly brushed against the most sensitive parts of his neck, causing the formation of goosebumps on all of his exposed skin. A small trail of kisses was made until she reached his lips. She captured them in a passionate kiss, savoring their salty sweetness. Her heart was already beginning to race in her chest.
"Trance," he breathed as the kiss broke. "We can't do this."
She felt a tear slide down her cheek as she stared at the tunnel floor. 'He doesn't want me anymore,' she thought. "Why?"
"Don't cry." He wiped away her tear. "I mean I want you so bad you wouldn't believe it. But this isn't the best place to do this, y'know?"
Relief surged through her. Her thoughts strayed from relief to the matter at hand. "It's a pity we can't do this here, Harper. There's a lot this can do that I haven't shown you yet." She grinned as she ran the tip of her tail down his arm.
"Who cares what everyone else says?" He threw off his colorful Hawaiian shirt, leaving his tighter white shirt exposed.
She admired his biceps, running her fingers over the firm muscles. He was much better sculpted than his usual clothing revealed. Suddenly, it occurred to her that he never told her how he knew she was there. "I was quiet and seeing through the panel grates isn't easy..."
"I've got a new toy," he said, smiling as he pulled the small device from his belt. "It's set to track your life signs. I can have several different people on it."
"Is it just me on it right now?" She was intrigued by the device.
"No. I put Beka on it, too, when she was here earlier. That way we won't get any rude interruptions before we're finished. She wouldn't let me forget it ever." He sighed. "I've had enough of this talking. It isn't as fun as everything else we could be doing right now." He quirked his eyebrow and grinned.
Not needing anymore encouragement, she knocked the device from his hand as she kissed him and wrapped her arms around him.
***
"Have you seen my left sock?" Trance glanced around the tunnel for her sock without avail.
"There it is." Harper grabbed the sock, which on a lower step of a ladder leading towards the slipstream drive. "I've never knocked the socks off anyone quite like that before."
"You didn't knock my sock off. You pulled it off." She was obviously confused.
"It's an Earth expression, Trance. It means sweeping someone off their feet."
"Oh." She was still confused.
"Y'know, falling madly in love...like us." He finished slipping his boots on and tightly embraced her.
She was quiet. Falling in love was one of the concepts she had the most difficulty grasping. She remained uncertain of what she did feel for Harper. There was definitely something beyond the physical affection they had shared. That was wonderful, but this was deeper. Plants were much easier to understand. 'Why can't everything be like Hydroponics?' she thought, which brought her mind back to Beka. "Do you think Beka's going to tell Dylan?"
His expression turned solemn. "I hope not. She might not know anything, though. She's probably just coming to conclusions without any evidence to base them on."
"Do you think everyone's missed us yet?" She rested her head on his shoulder.
"If they haven't by now, they'll be missing us soon. I need to go down to Machine Shop. But we're still on for lunch, right?"
"Of course." She kissed him lightly. "I'll miss you."
"Miss you, too." He kissed her. "You should probably go back the way you came and watch out for anyone that might be passing by."
She sighed and watched him crawl back into Engineering. Pretending she didn't care about him wasn't easy. It was even more difficult coping with his avoidance of her, the way he forced her to go back the way she came or refused her kisses in public. A part of her wanted to turn on the ship-wide communications and announce their love. She wanted him every second, not just when they were alone, and it was convenient.
She emerged from the tunnel into the corridor. She quickly began replacing the access cover, but it simply clattered to the deck plate below. Footsteps approached her, and she silently groaned. If it was anyone other than Harper, she was probably in for a lot of explaining. Excuses ran through her mind, but nothing sounded believable.
"What are you doing, Trance?" The voice was the one she had most wished it wasn't.
