Lost Princess
ByLadyNeptune
CHAPTER 1
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
"I'm detecting a distress call from a ship 200 kilometers away," Andromeda reported. Dylan Hunt turned to face the viewscreen.
"Adjust course,"
"Don't you think we should know who we are dealing with first?" Tyr asked, paranoid as usual.
"Rev?" Dylan asked.
"I cannot tell. The ship is losing life support and the person's life signs are fluctuating. I can tell you there is only one living person aboard, located on the bridge. But if we do not hurry he'll join the other seventy-three corpses,"
"Increase speed. Harper, as soon as we're close, tow the ship into the hanger and get the survivor to the Medical Ward," Dylan said, choosing to ignore the disapproving look from both Becka and Tyr.
"Aye. This should prove to be interesting. What species do you think he'll be? " Harper answered.
"Human?" Becka answered.
"Naw, we wouldn't be that lucky," Harper said,"We're in range, tractor beam...got her!"
"Get down there, and pick up Trance on the way," Dylan commanded. Harper gave a slight nod and complied.
"Now what, Captain Hunt?" Tyr asked.
"We wait," Dylan answered.
Harper and Trance hurried down the hallways to the hanger. When the doors opened Harper's breath caught in his throat. The ship had once been a beauty, with sloping sides and long, graceful wings. But now, the hull was burned and a huge hole was in the side. The ship was almost unrecognizable. All most. One thing had survived the wreck: the Common Wealth emblem was embossed on the side of the ship. Harper and Trance exchanged a look and hurried to the wreaked ship. Harper was the first to crawl throughout the hole in one of the wings. All around him the bulkheads had been twisted and parts of the ceiling had collapsed.
"Trance- stay out. It doesn't look too good in here. I'll find the survivor," Harper called out and Trance nodded in acknowledgement. Harper quickly and carefully picked his way between twisted metal beams and dead corpses until he got to what he thought was the bridge. Harper noticed a women in the command chair, who was slowly moving her head and groaning slightly. Her copper-brown hair was streaked with blood from a large cut on her scalp. Harper ran to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder. The first thing Harper noticed was how strikingly beautiful the woman was, even with blood running down her face. Then he noticed the metal nueral jack on the side of her neck, the same one he had.
"Shhh, don't move. I'm here to help you," Harper whispered, trying to calm the young women down. Harper brushed aside a stray piece of hair that was plastered to her face. She looked terrible. Her whole face was stained in blood, and her uniform was ripped and bloody. Harper dug in his pocket for the medical scanner in his pocket, all the while keeping his eyes on the young woman. Harper quickly scanned her, and on deciding it would be safe to move her, slipped his arms around her. She pushed against him with as much strength as she could muster.
"Hey, it's okay. I'm taking you to the Medical Ward," Harper whispered.
"My...ship. Stay with my crew...mission...Common Wealth..." The woman muttered.
"Your ship will be fine. Her crew with it, but only if I get you out," Harper said, telling himself that he was not lying to this fragile woman. Besides, her ship would be fine, as soon as he worked on it a little, and the crew, which was just her, would only be okay if she got out of there. Besides, how could he tell her that her whole crew was dead? He couldn't, not now, not when she was in the state she was. Harper shook his head and proceeded to plow his way through the mess of the ruined ship, the women still in his arms, muttering.
"How is she?" Dylan asked as he walked into the Medical Ward a few hours later.
" She'll be awake in a few minutes. She suffered a concussion, and more things broken, pulled or sprained than I care to explain. She'll be pretty sore when she wakes up," Trance answered.
"Well, she's alive. That's a good thing. Has Harper come here yet?"
"You mean after I had to literally shoo him out of here to get some sleep?" Trance asked.
"He stayed here?" Dylan asked, amused.
"He sure did," Trance said as the doors opened and Harper walked in.
"'He' did what?" Harper asked.
"Nothing. Did you say this woman was muttering something? About the Common Wealth?" Dylan asked, turning to face the engineer.
" Yeah, and there was the Common Wealth emblem on the side of her ship. It's weird. Shouldn't we have known if there was someone else out here?" Harper reported.
"What species is she?" Dylan asked Trance.
"She looks pretty human to me," Harper said, eyeballing the unconscious woman. His eyes went back to her face and stayed glued there, not blinking, as if he was mesmerized.
"She's half human. She's also half Nietzchean," Trance answered.
"Hey, she's waking up!" Harper called the other two' s attention to the woman who was stirring. Harper moved closer to the head of her bed.
The woman's eyes flitter open and focused on Harper.
"Hi," He said.
The first thing Venus noticed was that the pain was gone. And the blood. Then she heard voices. She tried to open her eyes but couldn't. So she moved her head, trying to figure out why she was hearing voices that she knew were not people who were on her crew. Then she remembered, just fragments, a man, whispering that he was there to help her, that her ship was fine, then nothing.
"Hey, she's waking up!" That voice, it sounded familiar. Venus felt a small amount of pressure on her shoulder and her eyes slowly opened and focused on a young man with bright, blue eyes and unruly blond hair. Then Venus began to look around her. There was also another man and a weird purple woman watching her.
"Hi," The man that leaned over her said.
"Where am I?" She asked and was shocked at the weakness in her voice and how it cracked.
" You're on the Starship Andromeda Ascendant. I am Captain Dylan Hunt, and this is our resident medic, Trance," The tall man said, gesturing to the purple woman.
" And I'm Harper, the resident engineer-"
"And the resident idiot aboard," A second woman said who appeared out of thin air. Venus was taken aback by the sudden appearance of this, seemingly holographic, person.
"I am Andromeda," The new woman said.
" The ship?" Venus asked.
"I am the ship's computer formed into a holographic terran female's form-"
"With personality traits given by yours truly. That reminds me Rommie, I need to fix a few of your traits," Harper cut in with an evil grin.
"Watch it Se-"
"All right! Stop it you two! Can't we get back to the interrogation, or first contact, or what ever it is we should be doing?" Trance shouted. Harper opened his mouth to reply, but Trance obviously wasn't done.
"Harper: don't reprogram Rommie, Rommie: don't provoke him: or you'll wake up with a few changes you probably don't want. Now let's get back to work,"
"How can we make first contact without Ms. Politically Correct: Becka?" Harper asked and Captain Hunt shot him a look, then turned to Venus.
" Your ship has the emblem of the Common Wealth. Why?"
" I was taken to Hithren. I built my own ship, and I put the Common Wealth emblem on it. I've always wished it were still here. I've been looking for anyone who still believes in it,"
"Well, you found the right ship," Harper said.
" Why were you in Hithren?" Hunt asked, insure why this beautiful woman had been in the awful prison.
"I am half Nietzchean. My mother mated with a human, thus the offspring would not have the genes required to stay with the pride. To hide the fact that it was a human that was my father, she killed him when I was six, then blamed it on me. I was taken to Hithren and was there for fourteen years. Then my mother died, just before admitting that I was inocent. I was released, and given this ship and a group of seventy-two other people assigned to Hithren to do with as I please. I came looking for a friendly planet to live. There haven't been many since the Common Wealth fell " Venus explained.
"Well, we're friendly, and have plenty of room for you. It's not exactly a planet, but your welcome to stay here," Captain Hunt said.
"Where is my crew?" Venus asked.
"None survived. We barley saved you," Trance said. Venus's eyes dropped.
" They probably would have preferred if I were dead instead," She mumbled.
"They didn't like you very much?" Harper guessed.
" They did not appreciate having a half-breed for a commanding officer or that me and my ship were the only reasons they were not still in that awful place," Venus said, looking up and locking eyes with Harper.
"Well, we have one Nietzchean on board all ready. Why not one and a half?" Harper asked.
"My quarters are this way," Harper said. He had just finished giving Venus the grand tour of the ship and was taking her to his quarters to make some dinner. Harper stopped in front of his door and keyed an entrance code. The doors slid open.
"Come on in. You want something to drink?" Harper asked, moving toward the food processor.
" Sure," Venus said, taking a seat on the couch.
"Anything in particular?"
" Not really. Anything sounds good," Harper nodded and turned to the processor. He then returned to where Venus was sitting and handed her a glass of wine.
"Thanks. You said there was a Nietzchean on board. Do you know what pride he's from?" Venus asked as Harper sat down next to her.
" Tyr's Kodiac. I guess they were mostly killed off a few years ago," Harper answered.
"Yes, they were deceived in a clan war," Venus paused a moment then continued timidly.
" Harper, will you and your captain do me a favor?"
" What?" Harper said, leaning forward.
" Will you not tell Tyr that I'm half Nietzchean? If he knew... Please, don't tell him," Venus whispered. Harper nodded. He understood, and knew Dylan would.
Harper stood and punched a button on the wall console. Instantly, Andromeda appeared.
" What, Mr. Harper?"
"Will you please inform Captain Hunt that Venus has requested that Tyr is not informed of her heritage," Harper quickly commanded
" Of course. I will tell him immediately,"
"Thanks," Harper said and again hit a button and Andromeda disappeared.
"All taken care of. Now, how about some food?"
Harper awoke the next morning and padded out of his bedroom, into the living area. He and Venus had been up half the night talking about everything, anything and, at moments, what seemed to be nothing at all. Both of their pasts were the subjects of conversation and then subjects shifted to the Andromeda and to Venus' s ship the Renewal. At moments both were talking about totally different things at the same time and ended up in a heap of laughter. Harper went over to the small side room and knocked. When no answer came from the other side Harper silently opened the door. He pocked his head into the room, not sure what he'd find. Lying on a small bed was Venus, her brown hair plastered to the pillow. As Harper got closer he realized that her eyes were darting every which way under tightly closed eyelids. Venus's head turned to the side in a quick, sudden gesture and she kept mumbling something in another language that sounded important. As Harper watched, her hands shot up to protect her face and a soft scream escaped her pale lips. Then she began to beat franticly at nothing, yelling in her other language. Harper hurried over to her bedside and took her bare, bony shoulders in his hands and gently shook her, harder and harder, whispering her name earnestly until finally her eyes flew open. With a jerk she sat up, her green eyes wide in a mixture of fear and pure, cold hatred. A piece of her brown hair fell across her forehead and into her eyes. Venus gasped, and, breathing heavily surveyed her surroundings with unseeing eyes, her back to Harper. Harper gently placed his hand on her shoulder and was surprised to find tremors racking through her body, and her skin cold and clammy. Venus spun toward Harper, leaping off the bed to stand only centimeters from him and immediately fell into a fighting stance.
"Venus, it's okay. It's only me, Harper. You're safe. Don't worry," Harper cooed, trying to keep the beautiful woman before him from breaking his face. His words reached something inside her, because she hesitated for a moment, which was just enough time for Harper to grab a pillow off the bed and shield his head from the blow Venus sent his way. Harper lowered the pillow after Venus again attempted to punch him. Harper hurried toward Venus and, before she could again punch him, grabbed both of her wrists in one hand.
"Venus, you're safe. My name is Harper. Remember? Last night we were talking? You just had a bad dream. It's over. It wasn't real," Harper whispered to the fragile woman as if she were a wild animal. Harper reached his other arm out and placed a hand on Venus's cold, bare arm. He hesitated for a moment, then pulled Venus against him. At first her body was still tense, but then she laid her head against his chest and, for the first time, Harper realized exactly how strong the tremors going through her body were. Venus buried her head in Harper's chest and began to sob; her words a mixture of Basic and what Harper thought was Nietzchean. Finally she pulled away from him and turned her back away, taking a deep breath in an effort to regain her composure. When she did turn back her eyes looked more normal, but Harper could still see the pain hidden deep down. Her shoulders were squared and she held her head high, but still Harper saw her as the terrified, fragile woman she was underneath all the sheilds and borders she put around herself.
"I'm sorry for that, Harper. Sometimes memories that I would sooner forget come back to torture me. Thank you for waking me up," She said in a cold, mono tone.
"Venus, that looked bad. Do you want to talk about it? " Harper said, moving closer to her. She shook her head.
"No, I'm fine. Don't worry,"
"All right. But if you ever want to talk, you know where to find me," Harper said. Venus walked forward and buried her head again in Harper's chest. He put his arms around her and nestled his face into her hair.
"Thank you," Venus whispered.
Venus was stretched out on the couch, still in her sleeveless white night gown. Harper was in the small kitchen, making something he called "genius omelet," He stuck his head into the room
"Breakfast is served. Come enjoy some of my famous Genies Omelet" Harper said.
"If it's so famous how come I've never heard of it before now?' Venus asked as she took Harper's offered arm and followed him into the kitchen.
"You'll see," Harper said with a sly smile.
Harper and Venus entered the command deck together, Harper's hand hovering close to Venus's. Tyr and Rev were the only ones on the bridge. Rev looked like he was playing a game on his console and Tyr sat in his chair with his feet up on his console reading a book whose title was in some weird written language.
"Well, I see the crew is nice and busy this morning. Anything new?" Harper asked, making his way to the engineering station to pull up some information.
"The captain would like to see you and that new comer on the Observation Deck, Andromeda has been complaining about not having or having some weird subroutine, Trance has come up here six times,"
"Seven," Rev corrected, not looking up from his game,
"Seven times asking if we'd met the new person yet, or seen it, or know where it is until I promised to send it down when I see it. And Becka wants to talk to it," Tyr said, not looking up from his book.
"Tyr, how many times must I correct you? The new comer should not be refereed to as 'it, he, or she has a name. We just don't know what it is.'" Rev said, glancing up.
" Exactly. Tyr, Rev, I'd like you to meet Venus Reziv. Venus, that's Rev, and the polite dictator over there is Tyr," Harper said, gesturing to his two comrades and ignoring the death look Tyr sent his way. Harper was surprised that Venus didn't flinch or run at the sight of a Magog. But she seemed perfectly comfortable with Rev. It was Tyr that made her uneasy.
"Hello," Venus said, nodding politely to both of them. Rev smiled and Tyr only turned back to his book.
"Come on. Dylan wants us. Then Becka is probably going to interrogate you until your brain overloads. Then I need to figure out what the heck Rommie wants, then what Trance wants, even though she probably just wants to sit you down and talk until your ear falls off. Then we can go have a look at your ship," Harper said, leading the way off the command deck and through the halls.
"Right. Sounds like a busy day," Venus said.
"You have no idea,"
"Venus, Harper. Glad you two could make it," Dylan said as the two entered the Observation Room. Becka walked up to the two from the side carrying two cups of steaming tea.
"You must be Venus. I'm Becka Valentine, the First Officer. Would either of you like some Huten tea?" She asked. Harper shook his head, and taking the clue from the look in his eye so did Venus.
"Okay, then. Let's get down to business. Harper, from the way the ship looked yesterday how long do you suppose it will take to fix it?" Dylan said.
"From what I saw I'm not 100% sure we can fix it, Captain. The ship was in pretty rough shape," Harper said.
"All right, well that makes my next question easier. Venus, you said you were looking for a planet friendly to the Common Wealth. We're not exactly a planet, but we would love to have you join us. We could always use an extra hand," Dylan proposed, taking a sip of his tea.
"You have saved me. I would love to become a part of this crew. What is it I can do to help?"
"Well, since you and Harper have been getting along so well, I'll let him decide where we can station you. But, for now, why don't you help him with your ship," Becka said.
" If we can fix it, it will be helpful to us as an extra ship, to take down to planets or other places, if it can't be repaired the components can be used as spare parts," Venus said.
"That's very generous of you. Thank you, Venus. Dylan already has answered most of my questions, but I do have one more for you. Why was your ship in trouble?" Becka asked, leaning forward in her seat.
" About two days before you arrived we were met by a band of pirates. We were ordered to give up our ship. Naturally, I refused. They instantly fired on us. We had no time to react. No time to save ourselves," Venus said.
" I am sorry," Becka said sympathetically. Venus only nodded and Harper patted her back.
" Well, if we're all done here, Rommie wanted me for something, and then we can go check out how bad a shape your ship is in," He said. Dylan nodded.
"Rev and Tyr already went through and cleared out as many bodies as he could find. We were going to submit them into space this afternoon, if that is okay,"
"Thank you," Venus said and together her and Harper left in search for Andromeda.
The two friends found the hologram in the corner, running into the wall, then turning, and again running into the wall. Harper stifled his laughter and cleared his throat.
"Why Rommie, you look dashing today,"
"Shut up, Harper. If I could see you I'd smack you," Rommie said, trying to turn to face the sound of his voice. Harper smirked and winked at Venus, then leaned in close to Andromeda's right ear.
" I'm right here, Rommie," He whispered, then quickly pulled back as the hologram swung at the sound of his voice and punched a bulkhead. Venus began to laugh as Harper danced around Andromeda, leaning in close to give her an insult, then pulling away quickly before she could hit him. Finally, the hologram gave up and stood in the middle of the hall, hands on her hips.
"Seamus Harper, will you stand still long enough to fix my sight subroutines, or do I need to call Trance in here to sedate you?" Harper stopped, and began to laugh, joining Venus. Andromeda stood there, glaring around her with unseeing eyes.
" Are you two finished? " She asked.
"Yeah, sure Rommie. Let's go to engineering. Follow me," He said, and began to walk away.
" Seamus! Get back here! " Harper turned back and laughed, walking up to a wall console and typing in a command code. He spent the next couple minutes punching buttons and reading.
" Looks like some of your mobility subroutines are shot too. That's all right. I kinda like the idea of you not being able to blink into being in my bedroom in the middle of the night," Harper mumbled.
" Just fix it. It's not like there was ever a chance of me interrupting something important," Andromeda said and Harper frowned at her, punching a couple buttons. Andromeda suddenly shrunk to be about half a meter tall.
"Hey!" She yelled, glaring at Harper. She tried to pick up her feet and walk, but she couldn't move.
"Well? You got your sight back, right?" Harper asked, innocent.
" Fix this. Now," The miniature hologram said, pointing a small finger at Harper.
" I'll make sure no one steps on you," Harper said.
" Seamus Zelanzie Harper! You put me back to the way I was now," Andromeda yelled. Harper and Venus locked eyes and this time Venus was the one to wink.
"All right," Harper said and began to punch some buttons. Venus moved to his side and he flashed a dazzling smile at her.
" I love doing this," He whispered.
" Doing what? Harper!" Andromeda yelled as she grew back to her regular height. She blindly looked around.
"Harper you little-"
" What? You said you wanted to be put back how you were," Harper said and Venus suppressed a giggle.
" Venus, I know you're there. Help me. At least just hit him for me," Andromeda said. Venus shook her head and Harper put an arm around her shoulders.
" What'd you say about going and having a look at that ship of yours?" He asked. Andromeda looked furious.
" Harper, don't make me call Tyr," Andromeda threatened.
" Oh, fine Rommie. You need to take a joke," Harper said and turned back to the console.
" There," He said, turning around to find a very annoyed hologram coming at him, her fists raised. Harper quickly spun around and pocked a button. Andromeda disappeared. Harper turned to Venus, a smile plastered on his face.
" Now, shall we?" Harper asked, offering his arm to Venus. She smiled and slipped her arm around his. The two left to see what Trance had for them.
At 13:17 Harper and Venus entered Harper's quarters, still laughing over the exchange with Andromeda. They both sat on the couch, facing each other.
" So do you have any requests for where you're station on this ship? " Harper asked.
" Well, I'm a great pilot, but since there are so few people on board the auto pilot will do fine to free up an extra hand. I'm pretty good with holograms, and I'm really good with my hands, so I guess if you could use another hand in engineering..." Venus said.
" Are you kidding? I'd love another person to help. It might take a little training but I think I can teach you everything you need," Harper said, enthusiastic.
" I'm a fast learner. That'd be great," Venus said, smiling. Just then Andromeda appeared.
" Rommie. What do you want?" Harper asked, sighing and leaning back on the couch.
" Just wondering if you and Venus have decided on where she's going to stay, I mean she does need some quarters," Andromeda said. Harper and Venus exchanged looks.
" Tomorrow we can fix up the room next door. Consider it your first training mission. For tonight though, you think that room will do?" Harper gestured toward the room she had stayed in that night. Venus nodded.
" I'll warn you though, Venus. Don't try Harper's genius omelet," Andromeda said.
" Hey! I made that this morning!" Harper exclaimed.
" And it was really good," Venus said.
" No wonder you two are friends. You have got to be the only person on this ship who can stomach it," Andromeda said and blinked out as suddenly as she had blinked in.
Harper just smiled and Venus laid her head against his chest.
ByLadyNeptune
CHAPTER 1
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
"I'm detecting a distress call from a ship 200 kilometers away," Andromeda reported. Dylan Hunt turned to face the viewscreen.
"Adjust course,"
"Don't you think we should know who we are dealing with first?" Tyr asked, paranoid as usual.
"Rev?" Dylan asked.
"I cannot tell. The ship is losing life support and the person's life signs are fluctuating. I can tell you there is only one living person aboard, located on the bridge. But if we do not hurry he'll join the other seventy-three corpses,"
"Increase speed. Harper, as soon as we're close, tow the ship into the hanger and get the survivor to the Medical Ward," Dylan said, choosing to ignore the disapproving look from both Becka and Tyr.
"Aye. This should prove to be interesting. What species do you think he'll be? " Harper answered.
"Human?" Becka answered.
"Naw, we wouldn't be that lucky," Harper said,"We're in range, tractor beam...got her!"
"Get down there, and pick up Trance on the way," Dylan commanded. Harper gave a slight nod and complied.
"Now what, Captain Hunt?" Tyr asked.
"We wait," Dylan answered.
Harper and Trance hurried down the hallways to the hanger. When the doors opened Harper's breath caught in his throat. The ship had once been a beauty, with sloping sides and long, graceful wings. But now, the hull was burned and a huge hole was in the side. The ship was almost unrecognizable. All most. One thing had survived the wreck: the Common Wealth emblem was embossed on the side of the ship. Harper and Trance exchanged a look and hurried to the wreaked ship. Harper was the first to crawl throughout the hole in one of the wings. All around him the bulkheads had been twisted and parts of the ceiling had collapsed.
"Trance- stay out. It doesn't look too good in here. I'll find the survivor," Harper called out and Trance nodded in acknowledgement. Harper quickly and carefully picked his way between twisted metal beams and dead corpses until he got to what he thought was the bridge. Harper noticed a women in the command chair, who was slowly moving her head and groaning slightly. Her copper-brown hair was streaked with blood from a large cut on her scalp. Harper ran to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder. The first thing Harper noticed was how strikingly beautiful the woman was, even with blood running down her face. Then he noticed the metal nueral jack on the side of her neck, the same one he had.
"Shhh, don't move. I'm here to help you," Harper whispered, trying to calm the young women down. Harper brushed aside a stray piece of hair that was plastered to her face. She looked terrible. Her whole face was stained in blood, and her uniform was ripped and bloody. Harper dug in his pocket for the medical scanner in his pocket, all the while keeping his eyes on the young woman. Harper quickly scanned her, and on deciding it would be safe to move her, slipped his arms around her. She pushed against him with as much strength as she could muster.
"Hey, it's okay. I'm taking you to the Medical Ward," Harper whispered.
"My...ship. Stay with my crew...mission...Common Wealth..." The woman muttered.
"Your ship will be fine. Her crew with it, but only if I get you out," Harper said, telling himself that he was not lying to this fragile woman. Besides, her ship would be fine, as soon as he worked on it a little, and the crew, which was just her, would only be okay if she got out of there. Besides, how could he tell her that her whole crew was dead? He couldn't, not now, not when she was in the state she was. Harper shook his head and proceeded to plow his way through the mess of the ruined ship, the women still in his arms, muttering.
"How is she?" Dylan asked as he walked into the Medical Ward a few hours later.
" She'll be awake in a few minutes. She suffered a concussion, and more things broken, pulled or sprained than I care to explain. She'll be pretty sore when she wakes up," Trance answered.
"Well, she's alive. That's a good thing. Has Harper come here yet?"
"You mean after I had to literally shoo him out of here to get some sleep?" Trance asked.
"He stayed here?" Dylan asked, amused.
"He sure did," Trance said as the doors opened and Harper walked in.
"'He' did what?" Harper asked.
"Nothing. Did you say this woman was muttering something? About the Common Wealth?" Dylan asked, turning to face the engineer.
" Yeah, and there was the Common Wealth emblem on the side of her ship. It's weird. Shouldn't we have known if there was someone else out here?" Harper reported.
"What species is she?" Dylan asked Trance.
"She looks pretty human to me," Harper said, eyeballing the unconscious woman. His eyes went back to her face and stayed glued there, not blinking, as if he was mesmerized.
"She's half human. She's also half Nietzchean," Trance answered.
"Hey, she's waking up!" Harper called the other two' s attention to the woman who was stirring. Harper moved closer to the head of her bed.
The woman's eyes flitter open and focused on Harper.
"Hi," He said.
The first thing Venus noticed was that the pain was gone. And the blood. Then she heard voices. She tried to open her eyes but couldn't. So she moved her head, trying to figure out why she was hearing voices that she knew were not people who were on her crew. Then she remembered, just fragments, a man, whispering that he was there to help her, that her ship was fine, then nothing.
"Hey, she's waking up!" That voice, it sounded familiar. Venus felt a small amount of pressure on her shoulder and her eyes slowly opened and focused on a young man with bright, blue eyes and unruly blond hair. Then Venus began to look around her. There was also another man and a weird purple woman watching her.
"Hi," The man that leaned over her said.
"Where am I?" She asked and was shocked at the weakness in her voice and how it cracked.
" You're on the Starship Andromeda Ascendant. I am Captain Dylan Hunt, and this is our resident medic, Trance," The tall man said, gesturing to the purple woman.
" And I'm Harper, the resident engineer-"
"And the resident idiot aboard," A second woman said who appeared out of thin air. Venus was taken aback by the sudden appearance of this, seemingly holographic, person.
"I am Andromeda," The new woman said.
" The ship?" Venus asked.
"I am the ship's computer formed into a holographic terran female's form-"
"With personality traits given by yours truly. That reminds me Rommie, I need to fix a few of your traits," Harper cut in with an evil grin.
"Watch it Se-"
"All right! Stop it you two! Can't we get back to the interrogation, or first contact, or what ever it is we should be doing?" Trance shouted. Harper opened his mouth to reply, but Trance obviously wasn't done.
"Harper: don't reprogram Rommie, Rommie: don't provoke him: or you'll wake up with a few changes you probably don't want. Now let's get back to work,"
"How can we make first contact without Ms. Politically Correct: Becka?" Harper asked and Captain Hunt shot him a look, then turned to Venus.
" Your ship has the emblem of the Common Wealth. Why?"
" I was taken to Hithren. I built my own ship, and I put the Common Wealth emblem on it. I've always wished it were still here. I've been looking for anyone who still believes in it,"
"Well, you found the right ship," Harper said.
" Why were you in Hithren?" Hunt asked, insure why this beautiful woman had been in the awful prison.
"I am half Nietzchean. My mother mated with a human, thus the offspring would not have the genes required to stay with the pride. To hide the fact that it was a human that was my father, she killed him when I was six, then blamed it on me. I was taken to Hithren and was there for fourteen years. Then my mother died, just before admitting that I was inocent. I was released, and given this ship and a group of seventy-two other people assigned to Hithren to do with as I please. I came looking for a friendly planet to live. There haven't been many since the Common Wealth fell " Venus explained.
"Well, we're friendly, and have plenty of room for you. It's not exactly a planet, but your welcome to stay here," Captain Hunt said.
"Where is my crew?" Venus asked.
"None survived. We barley saved you," Trance said. Venus's eyes dropped.
" They probably would have preferred if I were dead instead," She mumbled.
"They didn't like you very much?" Harper guessed.
" They did not appreciate having a half-breed for a commanding officer or that me and my ship were the only reasons they were not still in that awful place," Venus said, looking up and locking eyes with Harper.
"Well, we have one Nietzchean on board all ready. Why not one and a half?" Harper asked.
"My quarters are this way," Harper said. He had just finished giving Venus the grand tour of the ship and was taking her to his quarters to make some dinner. Harper stopped in front of his door and keyed an entrance code. The doors slid open.
"Come on in. You want something to drink?" Harper asked, moving toward the food processor.
" Sure," Venus said, taking a seat on the couch.
"Anything in particular?"
" Not really. Anything sounds good," Harper nodded and turned to the processor. He then returned to where Venus was sitting and handed her a glass of wine.
"Thanks. You said there was a Nietzchean on board. Do you know what pride he's from?" Venus asked as Harper sat down next to her.
" Tyr's Kodiac. I guess they were mostly killed off a few years ago," Harper answered.
"Yes, they were deceived in a clan war," Venus paused a moment then continued timidly.
" Harper, will you and your captain do me a favor?"
" What?" Harper said, leaning forward.
" Will you not tell Tyr that I'm half Nietzchean? If he knew... Please, don't tell him," Venus whispered. Harper nodded. He understood, and knew Dylan would.
Harper stood and punched a button on the wall console. Instantly, Andromeda appeared.
" What, Mr. Harper?"
"Will you please inform Captain Hunt that Venus has requested that Tyr is not informed of her heritage," Harper quickly commanded
" Of course. I will tell him immediately,"
"Thanks," Harper said and again hit a button and Andromeda disappeared.
"All taken care of. Now, how about some food?"
Harper awoke the next morning and padded out of his bedroom, into the living area. He and Venus had been up half the night talking about everything, anything and, at moments, what seemed to be nothing at all. Both of their pasts were the subjects of conversation and then subjects shifted to the Andromeda and to Venus' s ship the Renewal. At moments both were talking about totally different things at the same time and ended up in a heap of laughter. Harper went over to the small side room and knocked. When no answer came from the other side Harper silently opened the door. He pocked his head into the room, not sure what he'd find. Lying on a small bed was Venus, her brown hair plastered to the pillow. As Harper got closer he realized that her eyes were darting every which way under tightly closed eyelids. Venus's head turned to the side in a quick, sudden gesture and she kept mumbling something in another language that sounded important. As Harper watched, her hands shot up to protect her face and a soft scream escaped her pale lips. Then she began to beat franticly at nothing, yelling in her other language. Harper hurried over to her bedside and took her bare, bony shoulders in his hands and gently shook her, harder and harder, whispering her name earnestly until finally her eyes flew open. With a jerk she sat up, her green eyes wide in a mixture of fear and pure, cold hatred. A piece of her brown hair fell across her forehead and into her eyes. Venus gasped, and, breathing heavily surveyed her surroundings with unseeing eyes, her back to Harper. Harper gently placed his hand on her shoulder and was surprised to find tremors racking through her body, and her skin cold and clammy. Venus spun toward Harper, leaping off the bed to stand only centimeters from him and immediately fell into a fighting stance.
"Venus, it's okay. It's only me, Harper. You're safe. Don't worry," Harper cooed, trying to keep the beautiful woman before him from breaking his face. His words reached something inside her, because she hesitated for a moment, which was just enough time for Harper to grab a pillow off the bed and shield his head from the blow Venus sent his way. Harper lowered the pillow after Venus again attempted to punch him. Harper hurried toward Venus and, before she could again punch him, grabbed both of her wrists in one hand.
"Venus, you're safe. My name is Harper. Remember? Last night we were talking? You just had a bad dream. It's over. It wasn't real," Harper whispered to the fragile woman as if she were a wild animal. Harper reached his other arm out and placed a hand on Venus's cold, bare arm. He hesitated for a moment, then pulled Venus against him. At first her body was still tense, but then she laid her head against his chest and, for the first time, Harper realized exactly how strong the tremors going through her body were. Venus buried her head in Harper's chest and began to sob; her words a mixture of Basic and what Harper thought was Nietzchean. Finally she pulled away from him and turned her back away, taking a deep breath in an effort to regain her composure. When she did turn back her eyes looked more normal, but Harper could still see the pain hidden deep down. Her shoulders were squared and she held her head high, but still Harper saw her as the terrified, fragile woman she was underneath all the sheilds and borders she put around herself.
"I'm sorry for that, Harper. Sometimes memories that I would sooner forget come back to torture me. Thank you for waking me up," She said in a cold, mono tone.
"Venus, that looked bad. Do you want to talk about it? " Harper said, moving closer to her. She shook her head.
"No, I'm fine. Don't worry,"
"All right. But if you ever want to talk, you know where to find me," Harper said. Venus walked forward and buried her head again in Harper's chest. He put his arms around her and nestled his face into her hair.
"Thank you," Venus whispered.
Venus was stretched out on the couch, still in her sleeveless white night gown. Harper was in the small kitchen, making something he called "genius omelet," He stuck his head into the room
"Breakfast is served. Come enjoy some of my famous Genies Omelet" Harper said.
"If it's so famous how come I've never heard of it before now?' Venus asked as she took Harper's offered arm and followed him into the kitchen.
"You'll see," Harper said with a sly smile.
Harper and Venus entered the command deck together, Harper's hand hovering close to Venus's. Tyr and Rev were the only ones on the bridge. Rev looked like he was playing a game on his console and Tyr sat in his chair with his feet up on his console reading a book whose title was in some weird written language.
"Well, I see the crew is nice and busy this morning. Anything new?" Harper asked, making his way to the engineering station to pull up some information.
"The captain would like to see you and that new comer on the Observation Deck, Andromeda has been complaining about not having or having some weird subroutine, Trance has come up here six times,"
"Seven," Rev corrected, not looking up from his game,
"Seven times asking if we'd met the new person yet, or seen it, or know where it is until I promised to send it down when I see it. And Becka wants to talk to it," Tyr said, not looking up from his book.
"Tyr, how many times must I correct you? The new comer should not be refereed to as 'it, he, or she has a name. We just don't know what it is.'" Rev said, glancing up.
" Exactly. Tyr, Rev, I'd like you to meet Venus Reziv. Venus, that's Rev, and the polite dictator over there is Tyr," Harper said, gesturing to his two comrades and ignoring the death look Tyr sent his way. Harper was surprised that Venus didn't flinch or run at the sight of a Magog. But she seemed perfectly comfortable with Rev. It was Tyr that made her uneasy.
"Hello," Venus said, nodding politely to both of them. Rev smiled and Tyr only turned back to his book.
"Come on. Dylan wants us. Then Becka is probably going to interrogate you until your brain overloads. Then I need to figure out what the heck Rommie wants, then what Trance wants, even though she probably just wants to sit you down and talk until your ear falls off. Then we can go have a look at your ship," Harper said, leading the way off the command deck and through the halls.
"Right. Sounds like a busy day," Venus said.
"You have no idea,"
"Venus, Harper. Glad you two could make it," Dylan said as the two entered the Observation Room. Becka walked up to the two from the side carrying two cups of steaming tea.
"You must be Venus. I'm Becka Valentine, the First Officer. Would either of you like some Huten tea?" She asked. Harper shook his head, and taking the clue from the look in his eye so did Venus.
"Okay, then. Let's get down to business. Harper, from the way the ship looked yesterday how long do you suppose it will take to fix it?" Dylan said.
"From what I saw I'm not 100% sure we can fix it, Captain. The ship was in pretty rough shape," Harper said.
"All right, well that makes my next question easier. Venus, you said you were looking for a planet friendly to the Common Wealth. We're not exactly a planet, but we would love to have you join us. We could always use an extra hand," Dylan proposed, taking a sip of his tea.
"You have saved me. I would love to become a part of this crew. What is it I can do to help?"
"Well, since you and Harper have been getting along so well, I'll let him decide where we can station you. But, for now, why don't you help him with your ship," Becka said.
" If we can fix it, it will be helpful to us as an extra ship, to take down to planets or other places, if it can't be repaired the components can be used as spare parts," Venus said.
"That's very generous of you. Thank you, Venus. Dylan already has answered most of my questions, but I do have one more for you. Why was your ship in trouble?" Becka asked, leaning forward in her seat.
" About two days before you arrived we were met by a band of pirates. We were ordered to give up our ship. Naturally, I refused. They instantly fired on us. We had no time to react. No time to save ourselves," Venus said.
" I am sorry," Becka said sympathetically. Venus only nodded and Harper patted her back.
" Well, if we're all done here, Rommie wanted me for something, and then we can go check out how bad a shape your ship is in," He said. Dylan nodded.
"Rev and Tyr already went through and cleared out as many bodies as he could find. We were going to submit them into space this afternoon, if that is okay,"
"Thank you," Venus said and together her and Harper left in search for Andromeda.
The two friends found the hologram in the corner, running into the wall, then turning, and again running into the wall. Harper stifled his laughter and cleared his throat.
"Why Rommie, you look dashing today,"
"Shut up, Harper. If I could see you I'd smack you," Rommie said, trying to turn to face the sound of his voice. Harper smirked and winked at Venus, then leaned in close to Andromeda's right ear.
" I'm right here, Rommie," He whispered, then quickly pulled back as the hologram swung at the sound of his voice and punched a bulkhead. Venus began to laugh as Harper danced around Andromeda, leaning in close to give her an insult, then pulling away quickly before she could hit him. Finally, the hologram gave up and stood in the middle of the hall, hands on her hips.
"Seamus Harper, will you stand still long enough to fix my sight subroutines, or do I need to call Trance in here to sedate you?" Harper stopped, and began to laugh, joining Venus. Andromeda stood there, glaring around her with unseeing eyes.
" Are you two finished? " She asked.
"Yeah, sure Rommie. Let's go to engineering. Follow me," He said, and began to walk away.
" Seamus! Get back here! " Harper turned back and laughed, walking up to a wall console and typing in a command code. He spent the next couple minutes punching buttons and reading.
" Looks like some of your mobility subroutines are shot too. That's all right. I kinda like the idea of you not being able to blink into being in my bedroom in the middle of the night," Harper mumbled.
" Just fix it. It's not like there was ever a chance of me interrupting something important," Andromeda said and Harper frowned at her, punching a couple buttons. Andromeda suddenly shrunk to be about half a meter tall.
"Hey!" She yelled, glaring at Harper. She tried to pick up her feet and walk, but she couldn't move.
"Well? You got your sight back, right?" Harper asked, innocent.
" Fix this. Now," The miniature hologram said, pointing a small finger at Harper.
" I'll make sure no one steps on you," Harper said.
" Seamus Zelanzie Harper! You put me back to the way I was now," Andromeda yelled. Harper and Venus locked eyes and this time Venus was the one to wink.
"All right," Harper said and began to punch some buttons. Venus moved to his side and he flashed a dazzling smile at her.
" I love doing this," He whispered.
" Doing what? Harper!" Andromeda yelled as she grew back to her regular height. She blindly looked around.
"Harper you little-"
" What? You said you wanted to be put back how you were," Harper said and Venus suppressed a giggle.
" Venus, I know you're there. Help me. At least just hit him for me," Andromeda said. Venus shook her head and Harper put an arm around her shoulders.
" What'd you say about going and having a look at that ship of yours?" He asked. Andromeda looked furious.
" Harper, don't make me call Tyr," Andromeda threatened.
" Oh, fine Rommie. You need to take a joke," Harper said and turned back to the console.
" There," He said, turning around to find a very annoyed hologram coming at him, her fists raised. Harper quickly spun around and pocked a button. Andromeda disappeared. Harper turned to Venus, a smile plastered on his face.
" Now, shall we?" Harper asked, offering his arm to Venus. She smiled and slipped her arm around his. The two left to see what Trance had for them.
At 13:17 Harper and Venus entered Harper's quarters, still laughing over the exchange with Andromeda. They both sat on the couch, facing each other.
" So do you have any requests for where you're station on this ship? " Harper asked.
" Well, I'm a great pilot, but since there are so few people on board the auto pilot will do fine to free up an extra hand. I'm pretty good with holograms, and I'm really good with my hands, so I guess if you could use another hand in engineering..." Venus said.
" Are you kidding? I'd love another person to help. It might take a little training but I think I can teach you everything you need," Harper said, enthusiastic.
" I'm a fast learner. That'd be great," Venus said, smiling. Just then Andromeda appeared.
" Rommie. What do you want?" Harper asked, sighing and leaning back on the couch.
" Just wondering if you and Venus have decided on where she's going to stay, I mean she does need some quarters," Andromeda said. Harper and Venus exchanged looks.
" Tomorrow we can fix up the room next door. Consider it your first training mission. For tonight though, you think that room will do?" Harper gestured toward the room she had stayed in that night. Venus nodded.
" I'll warn you though, Venus. Don't try Harper's genius omelet," Andromeda said.
" Hey! I made that this morning!" Harper exclaimed.
" And it was really good," Venus said.
" No wonder you two are friends. You have got to be the only person on this ship who can stomach it," Andromeda said and blinked out as suddenly as she had blinked in.
Harper just smiled and Venus laid her head against his chest.
