Chapter 2
Harper walks up to Beka, who is strapped in the pilot seat of the Maru, "So, you're sure you want to do this? I mean, go see him…after all this time?"
"Well Harper, its kind-of hard to ignore something like this," she says while pressing some buttons on the side.
Harper nods in agreement, changing the subject a little, "I convinced Dylan that we needed a little vacation together."
"I still don't understand why you didn't just tell him the truth. Its not like he could have stopped me."
"Yeah, he couldn't…" Harper says.
Beka looks up at him, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing."
"Seamus…" Beka begins—she knew he was thinking of something.
"If I told Dylan, he would have told Tyr—"
Beka cut him off, "Tyr? What does that have to do with anything? Tyr doesn't give a damn what I do, unless it endangers his life or something."
"Hey, I've noticed stuff. Like the way he looks at you, and the way you—"
"Okay stop right there! I do not do anything towards Tyr. And he does not look at me that way! We're just…well, something. We don't have anything…at least he won't have anything," Beka almost whispers under her breath.
"Whatever. Better safe than sorry."
Beka smiles and pilots the Maru out of the hanger-deck and towards oblivion.
~~~~~~~~
They exit their last slipstream and arrive at a humble little planet. It beams with blue colors and white clouds swirl over the atmosphere. Two moons are offset towards the side, and the beams from the sun make the planet truly beautiful, creating even more colors within the planet.
Beka stares at it with intent eyes and a slight smile, then yells back to Harper:
"Harper! Is that coffee ready!"
His voice answers a few seconds later, "Yeah, just a minute!"
Moments later he comes in with a full cup of black coffee and hands it down to Beka, who is admiring the scene. He looks up to see what she is looking so closely at, and discovers it.
"Wow," is all Harper could say.
Beka unbuckles and leans back saying, "Yeah, wow."
Harper quickly breaks the silence, "So, are we going to land or not?"
Beka snaps out of it and replies, "Yeah. Yeah, just taking in the scene."
"You could see this all the time if you'd marry him," Harper implies.
"Excuse me?"
"Well, yeah. I mean, you could marry the guy, and I could go surfing everyday…"
"I don't think so Seamus. This is just a visit. Besides, I can't leave my family on the Andromeda. I have a 'mission' to complete, remember?"
"I know, but it would be nice if you even could."
"I don't think I'd even want to anyway," Beka says, then ponders Harper last comment. "But I guess it would be nice to have the choice."
*
About half an hour passes until they land on the planet. The people of the planet are very tight about their security, which is why it took so long for Harper to find a route to the place. When the hatch to the Maru opens, several men approach Beka and tell her that they need to go through her ship to make sure nothing that shouldn't be there isn't there. She reluctantly agrees and they go through everything. When they're finally done, one of the men comes up to Beka and tells her there were some weapons that were not permissible on the planet, but if she keeps them on the ship she'll be okay. He also says she may carry one handgun with her, because of some of the people that live here, but only one. Beka doesn't understand what he meant by the 'people who lived there', but agrees and signs a flexi.
Harper looks at Beka and says, "They're pretty strict here, aren't they?"
"Yeah," she replies, then quickly changes the subject to their visit. "Do you have the address?"
Harper pulls out a small keypad and shows it to Beka, "Right here. 7 Gardenview Drive, Wakeman, Veruse."
"I can't believe I'm doing this. What was I thinking? What were you thinking? What the hell was he thinking?"
"I think he wanted to, um…marry you?" Harper says—he couldn't drop the subject.
"Harper, please," she says and bumps him on the shoulder.
They step off onto the planet and look up at the sky. It's as blue as it was outside the planet, and there is not a cloud in the sky. The sun is warm and Beka sees purple mountains off into the distant horizon.
"You know, I usually hate planets, but this…this I could get used to. Talk about your Utopia," Beka states while looking up.
Harper can't reply. He is too shocked at the beauty of the place.
They finally make it to a cab and tell the driver the directions. When they arrive at the house, they cannot believe what they are seeing. Huge, ancient gates guard the entrance, and the house itself is an off white, with a very old design that is breath taking. Gardens and unique trees are everywhere, and Harper swears he can hear the waves of the ocean calling him.
"This is like one of those 'white-picket-fence' fantasies, only a little bigger," Beka notes, then looks at all the flowers everywhere. "Trance would love this."
"You never told me he was loaded!" Harper blurts out.
"Last time I saw him he wasn't. He was just like you and me…only living on a drift."
They get out of the cab and pay, get their bags, and move towards the entrance. They see the doorbell and Beka presses it.
"Yes?" a voice comes from the voice box.
Beka hesitates a little then responds, "Um, its…Beka, Beka Valentine. I'm here for Christopher."
There was a pause and suddenly the gates open. Harper and Beka look at each other, then begin to walk into the area. As they walk in, a man comes out the front door and down the steps. Tall, with blue eyes that could be seen a mile away, Christopher comes. Wearing dark pants and a regular shirt (not something you would expect of someone living in a place like this), and his hair, blond and short, spiked a little but a little messy. Strong build, but not too much. He smiles and reveals his white teeth. The only visible imperfection, it seems, is the small scare, right on the corner of his left eye, from when he fell and hit the corner of a table when he was a child. Even so, it couldn't be seen unless you looked for it on purpose. Harper rolls his eyes at the model.
Beka drops her bags just in time before he picks her up, hugging her. Tears almost come from his eyes and he is smiling so hard his face turns red. Beka does the same in return and they kiss quickly a few times before he notices Harper standing there.
"Who's this?" he says gesturing towards Harper.
"Oh, this is my friend, actually my best friend, Seamus Harper. And you already know Christopher here."
Chris holds out his hand to meet Harper's and he accepts it. "I think I remember you…from a very long time ago, on that drift, right?"
"Correcto-mundo," Harper replies in his witty self. "Hey, I think the man deserves a prize!"
"Harper…" Beka warns.
Chris turns and focuses on Beka again, "So, you got my message?"
"Yeah, listen, I know…"
He puts his finger on her lips to quiet her, "It's okay. I know. Believe me I know. You don't have to say anything right away."
"Um, thank you?" Beka says, becoming a little confused.
"Was it hard to find?" he asks.
"Well, Harper had to find it, so you can ask him."
"Okay, but let's go inside first. I'll get my bots to come and get both of your guy's bags," he says, then looks up to Harper, "Come, we must talk about how you found this place."
"Let me tell you something, it was not easy at all…" Harper begins.
The trio all walk inside as Harper is going on about how he found the place and how he thinks this is like the place he only dreams about.
Harper walks up to Beka, who is strapped in the pilot seat of the Maru, "So, you're sure you want to do this? I mean, go see him…after all this time?"
"Well Harper, its kind-of hard to ignore something like this," she says while pressing some buttons on the side.
Harper nods in agreement, changing the subject a little, "I convinced Dylan that we needed a little vacation together."
"I still don't understand why you didn't just tell him the truth. Its not like he could have stopped me."
"Yeah, he couldn't…" Harper says.
Beka looks up at him, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing."
"Seamus…" Beka begins—she knew he was thinking of something.
"If I told Dylan, he would have told Tyr—"
Beka cut him off, "Tyr? What does that have to do with anything? Tyr doesn't give a damn what I do, unless it endangers his life or something."
"Hey, I've noticed stuff. Like the way he looks at you, and the way you—"
"Okay stop right there! I do not do anything towards Tyr. And he does not look at me that way! We're just…well, something. We don't have anything…at least he won't have anything," Beka almost whispers under her breath.
"Whatever. Better safe than sorry."
Beka smiles and pilots the Maru out of the hanger-deck and towards oblivion.
~~~~~~~~
They exit their last slipstream and arrive at a humble little planet. It beams with blue colors and white clouds swirl over the atmosphere. Two moons are offset towards the side, and the beams from the sun make the planet truly beautiful, creating even more colors within the planet.
Beka stares at it with intent eyes and a slight smile, then yells back to Harper:
"Harper! Is that coffee ready!"
His voice answers a few seconds later, "Yeah, just a minute!"
Moments later he comes in with a full cup of black coffee and hands it down to Beka, who is admiring the scene. He looks up to see what she is looking so closely at, and discovers it.
"Wow," is all Harper could say.
Beka unbuckles and leans back saying, "Yeah, wow."
Harper quickly breaks the silence, "So, are we going to land or not?"
Beka snaps out of it and replies, "Yeah. Yeah, just taking in the scene."
"You could see this all the time if you'd marry him," Harper implies.
"Excuse me?"
"Well, yeah. I mean, you could marry the guy, and I could go surfing everyday…"
"I don't think so Seamus. This is just a visit. Besides, I can't leave my family on the Andromeda. I have a 'mission' to complete, remember?"
"I know, but it would be nice if you even could."
"I don't think I'd even want to anyway," Beka says, then ponders Harper last comment. "But I guess it would be nice to have the choice."
*
About half an hour passes until they land on the planet. The people of the planet are very tight about their security, which is why it took so long for Harper to find a route to the place. When the hatch to the Maru opens, several men approach Beka and tell her that they need to go through her ship to make sure nothing that shouldn't be there isn't there. She reluctantly agrees and they go through everything. When they're finally done, one of the men comes up to Beka and tells her there were some weapons that were not permissible on the planet, but if she keeps them on the ship she'll be okay. He also says she may carry one handgun with her, because of some of the people that live here, but only one. Beka doesn't understand what he meant by the 'people who lived there', but agrees and signs a flexi.
Harper looks at Beka and says, "They're pretty strict here, aren't they?"
"Yeah," she replies, then quickly changes the subject to their visit. "Do you have the address?"
Harper pulls out a small keypad and shows it to Beka, "Right here. 7 Gardenview Drive, Wakeman, Veruse."
"I can't believe I'm doing this. What was I thinking? What were you thinking? What the hell was he thinking?"
"I think he wanted to, um…marry you?" Harper says—he couldn't drop the subject.
"Harper, please," she says and bumps him on the shoulder.
They step off onto the planet and look up at the sky. It's as blue as it was outside the planet, and there is not a cloud in the sky. The sun is warm and Beka sees purple mountains off into the distant horizon.
"You know, I usually hate planets, but this…this I could get used to. Talk about your Utopia," Beka states while looking up.
Harper can't reply. He is too shocked at the beauty of the place.
They finally make it to a cab and tell the driver the directions. When they arrive at the house, they cannot believe what they are seeing. Huge, ancient gates guard the entrance, and the house itself is an off white, with a very old design that is breath taking. Gardens and unique trees are everywhere, and Harper swears he can hear the waves of the ocean calling him.
"This is like one of those 'white-picket-fence' fantasies, only a little bigger," Beka notes, then looks at all the flowers everywhere. "Trance would love this."
"You never told me he was loaded!" Harper blurts out.
"Last time I saw him he wasn't. He was just like you and me…only living on a drift."
They get out of the cab and pay, get their bags, and move towards the entrance. They see the doorbell and Beka presses it.
"Yes?" a voice comes from the voice box.
Beka hesitates a little then responds, "Um, its…Beka, Beka Valentine. I'm here for Christopher."
There was a pause and suddenly the gates open. Harper and Beka look at each other, then begin to walk into the area. As they walk in, a man comes out the front door and down the steps. Tall, with blue eyes that could be seen a mile away, Christopher comes. Wearing dark pants and a regular shirt (not something you would expect of someone living in a place like this), and his hair, blond and short, spiked a little but a little messy. Strong build, but not too much. He smiles and reveals his white teeth. The only visible imperfection, it seems, is the small scare, right on the corner of his left eye, from when he fell and hit the corner of a table when he was a child. Even so, it couldn't be seen unless you looked for it on purpose. Harper rolls his eyes at the model.
Beka drops her bags just in time before he picks her up, hugging her. Tears almost come from his eyes and he is smiling so hard his face turns red. Beka does the same in return and they kiss quickly a few times before he notices Harper standing there.
"Who's this?" he says gesturing towards Harper.
"Oh, this is my friend, actually my best friend, Seamus Harper. And you already know Christopher here."
Chris holds out his hand to meet Harper's and he accepts it. "I think I remember you…from a very long time ago, on that drift, right?"
"Correcto-mundo," Harper replies in his witty self. "Hey, I think the man deserves a prize!"
"Harper…" Beka warns.
Chris turns and focuses on Beka again, "So, you got my message?"
"Yeah, listen, I know…"
He puts his finger on her lips to quiet her, "It's okay. I know. Believe me I know. You don't have to say anything right away."
"Um, thank you?" Beka says, becoming a little confused.
"Was it hard to find?" he asks.
"Well, Harper had to find it, so you can ask him."
"Okay, but let's go inside first. I'll get my bots to come and get both of your guy's bags," he says, then looks up to Harper, "Come, we must talk about how you found this place."
"Let me tell you something, it was not easy at all…" Harper begins.
The trio all walk inside as Harper is going on about how he found the place and how he thinks this is like the place he only dreams about.