Disclaimer: See above
Spoilers: ATH, TWG, ITL I think...
Notes: Thanks again Zion for playing beta. I hope to have this completed in two more chapters. And thanks to everyone else for giving me all the feedback. :
His first day on the Maru felt... different. Marcus hugged himself and looked around the small confines of the ship, which now housed the new matrix for him before putting his bag down on the floor by the hatchway.
He'd never felt so excited and lonely in his life. On the one hand, this was his chance to make decisions on his own, without his mother or father. On the other hand, however, this meant he'd be responsible for the consequences of his actions. Marcus hated to admit it, but he wasn't sure he was ready for this.
Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life, his father told him just before he merged his AI personality with the data files on the Maru. From what Marcus noticed, this was his way of dealing with everything. Crack jokes, turn up the sarcasm, and hope that no one notices what you're really feeling. Admittedly it was effective, but Marcus was not quite sure this was the way he wanted to approach the people around him.
His mother merely cried. She didn't want him moved quite this soon.
As for Beka... He wasn't sure what to make of his captain yet other than he found her to be nice. And really pretty. He wasn't sure why, but he felt that was a plus somehow. The information he gleamed from the Maru databanks suggested that her life before finding the Andromeda for an employer known only as Gerentex was a lot less respectable than he originally thought. Still, his father was right. She was far from a bad person by the standards of the universe he was born into. Most of her offenses seemed to be for survival purposes, like his father's were.
Marcus asked his father who this Gerentex person was and why he commissioned a search for his mother. His father muttered something nasty under his breath and turned red. The only words he understood were Trance and ratface. Running a search on the rest of what his father said, Marcus took the hint and dropped the subject with a notation to ask Trance about it later.
Marcus ran his fingers through his dark hair and brought up the floor plan of the Maru in his head. Studying it, he picked up his bag and turned left to the bunks to settle in.
He saw Trance watering some plants when he got to the bunk area. "Hi."
"Hi. I was just tending to the babies."
"The babies?"
"Well, they are babies and in space they do need to be taken care of."
"I see." Marcus put his bag on top of a spare bunk that was void of blankets or a pillow. It somehow seemed wrong to put his stuff anywhere else.
Trance sat down and studied Marcus. "This isn't your bunk. Yours is over there." She pointed over to a bunk on the other side of sleep area."
"But that one is dad's."
"Oh, he won't mind. Trust me, you should sleep over there, especially on the next away trip." Trance stood up. "I need to go water some of the plants in Beka's quarters." She disappeared behind a door right next to the bunk she mentioned.
Marcus blinked, shrugged, and moved his bag. "So can I ask you something?"
Trance peeked out from behind the doorway. "What?"
"Who's Gerentex?"
"Oh. He's just a nightsider we worked for a couple of times. He's a nice guy now. Owns a flower shop on Hollywood Drift." Trance seemed a little too happy to announce this piece of information.
Marcus made note to run down both Trance's and Gerentex's records the next time he had a chance.
Run down. Did he just refer to his database searches like that? Dad must finally be rubbing off on him. Marcus stood and faced his reflection in a nearby mirror.
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Harper stood and arched his back in an effort to crack it before he pulled the jack out of his neural port. He loved playing with new toys, but the Magog Swarm ship he was working on was in a language he didn't understand. Usually, that isn't a problem, but with the siblings in his gut doing the rumba whenever he was nervous, he wasn't too keen on being here alone.
And Rommie was stuck on Command with Dylan. Again. Sometimes he hated having to work for Dylan.
At least Rommie has one of her maintenance droids here with him. Should the Divine forbid anything happen, he'd have help here quickly. As it was, the droid stood there with a can of Sparky Cola in her hand, waiting patiently.
Harper took a long sip from the can. "Thanks, doll. Can you translate what the console is telling me now?"
The droid looked over at the console. He could almost see it frown as it paused. "Access denied."
"Crap. I find it annoying that you were able to take this thing and save our asses from Machen Alpha, no problem. That we can access the navigation controls and the PPP weapon, no problem. That we can access the environmental controls, no problem. But hack into their medical data files for a little information? Oops. Access denied."
Rommie's droid stood still. He wondered if she was smiling at him for his ranting like this. "Maybe we should ask Rev Bem for assistance. He is a Magog."
"Yeah, but a Magog whose ancestry is what, three or four centuries away from this technology? And his only experience with Magog technology is the same as ours? I don't know." Harper felt the droid's hands on his shoulders.
"It certainly can't hurt, can it?"
Harper felt those hands squeeze gently. He wanted to lean into those hands and relax, but somehow getting up close and personal with one of Rommie's droids just wasn't the same as getting up close personal with Rommie in the matrix or with the avatar. He tried to explain it to her once but she didn't quite get what he meant. He turned and smiled at her.
"No, I guess it can't hurt. Where is he?"
"In his quarters."
"Alright. Let's go."
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"Well I don't know how much I can be of assistance, but I'll certainly do my best to help."
Harper looked over Rev. It wasn't that he didn't trust him. It was more that since they came in contact with the Worldship, things between them have been a bit off. Harper never expected Rev to be so tempted to become evil the way he did, even if the risk of the temptation was for the purpose of saving him.
Thinking about Rev dressed as an overseer, looking like he wanted to make Harper and Tyr his next meal still gave him the creeps, even after all this time. He never lied to Rev about his reaction, and Rev was remorseful about it afterwards, but he still cringed a little bit every time his clawed hand touched his shoulder.
"Thanks Rev. I could use the help. I keep trying to hack in but I'm not having any luck."
Rev sat down by his altar and offered a space for Harper to join him. "So, how is young Marcus doing?"
"I think he's fine." Harper chose to stand.
"Rommie informed me that he has been asking questions about his existence on board since he found out about your medical condition."
Harper wrung his hands. "I didn't know that. Did she tell you what she said to him?"
"No, she did not. Merely that she could not answer his question as fully as she would have liked."
Harper wondered what Rommie meant by that but nodded anyway. "I wonder when Beka is going to make that supply run she and Dylan have been talking about the past few days."
"Tomorrow, but my understanding is that now that Marcus is operational as the Maru's AI, he should be able to go along with her. I am sure Beka will take good care of him."
"I know she will. I gotta head back to work."
"I'll say a prayer for you." Rev smiled, and Harper had to resist the urge to squirm.
Instead, Harper smiled back. "Thanks."
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Beka studied Marcus as he looked around engineering. To his credit, Marcus never seemed to mind it when anyone watched him.
She wondered how odd it would be to know you are the intelligence of a ship but still needed to explore yourself for the first time. Rommie was the ship before she became the avatar. Marcus was the opposite. She wondered if this meant Marcus would feel confined as he developed into adulthood.
Then again, she wondered if she would be able to shower in peace and solitude without being watched. Having Rommie carry on surveillance when she used her quarters on the Andromeda was bad enough, now her son is living with her and gets to do the same on the Maru. Beka knew she made the right choice in having Harper transfer Marcus onto the Maru's databanks, but it was still an impulse decision on her part.
Not being alone on the Maru anymore was going to take some getting used to.
"So... do you need anything?"
"Need?" Marcus was paying particular attention to one conduit.
"Yeah, as in, is there anything you would like that I can give you?"
Marcus looked around for something. "Where does dad keep the tools around here?"
"Third utility closet on the right."
Marcus went over to the closet and pulled out a nanowelder. Pursing his lips he came back to the conduit. "Actually... I need a place to put my recharge unit. So that no one on board knows I'm not human and I can recharge in private."
Beka thought about it for a moment. "Well, take Rafe's old room. He doesn't use it much anymore anyway."
"Thank you." Marcus began sealing using the nanowelder on the conduit. Beka watched and was reminded of once doing the same thing soon after Harper came on board. Back then, Harper got nervous and slinked away from her staring because he thought she might do something to him like his last employer did.
She found it refreshing that Marcus was not phased one bit.
On impulse she said, "On this supply run, would you mind if I took you shopping?"
Marcus shut the nanowelder off and looked at Beka. "Shopping. I can do that, but where are we going?"
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"The Pheonix Drift? But that's ten jumps away. Why send them there?"
Dylan sighed and put down the flexi he was reading to look at the avatar to the Andromeda. He wasn't trying to upset her, but clearly his choice made her somewhat agitated.
Other Commonwealth captains would have had her dismantled at the suggestion of creating a secondary AI with a member of the crew's scan as a template. Okay, he would have been one of them three hundred years ago. But the fact is, Rommie was alone and much less animated before Marcus came along, and her relationship with the crew and overall productivity has improved tenfold. Even her assistance the search for the cure for the Magog larvae in Harper increased.
Marcus was good for her, but as captain he could not risk having him in her matrix longer than he had to. Now, she's reacting as a mother sending her child off on his first overnight trip.
Dylan did not blame her one bit. "Rommie, the reason why we are sending them to Pheonix Drift is because this is your son's first away trip and I don't want him to go somewhere closer that is less sympathetic to AI's. He's going with Beka so I know he'll be fine."
The avatar pursed her lips. "Can we send Harper along at least?"
"No, I need him here to keep you running in the meantime. Harper took the precaution of installing several self maintenance programs into Marcus' new matrix so he can handle most repairs. Beka can fix anything he can't. You really don't want Tyr working on those maintenance droids now do you?"
Rommie visibly winced at the idea. "Alright. I understand. I'm just worried about him."
"You're his mother, I'd be worried if you didn't."
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Marcus shivered inwardly and contacted his mother through a data channel just as the Maru began to leave dock. "Mom?"
"Yes, hon?"
"Space always feel this cold?"
"Unfortunately. Try filtering out that particular sensation from your input feed."
"Okay... Thanks, that's much better. Is this feeling of vibration also common?"
"Yes. You can filter that out too if you want to."
"No, I think I like it."
"If you like this, just wait until you experience slipstream. Make sure you do what Beka tells you to."
Marcus rolled his eyes and cut the connection. He looked at Beka in the pilot's chair.
Moving the ship forward at maximum PSL, she said, "You know, the first time my dad let me take this baby out on my own, he said Rocket, keep out of trouble. Bad enough Rafe won't listen to me, at least maybe you will."
"Did you listen?"
"Nope."
Marcus smirked. "Mom told me to listen to you."
Beka gave a hearty laugh. "Oh, boy are you in trouble."
Marcus decided he was going to like it here.
-------------------------------------
Harper looked out at the stars and contemplated the can of Sparky in his hands. He knew he shouldn't be drinking it because it makes the larvae jumpy, but he wanted something with caffeine in it again. Having to work without the stuff really cut into his productivity.
He sighed. He spent all day with Rev on the swarm ship, but Rev couldn't help him any more with accessing the medical database than Rommie could. Harper decided to call it quits for the day and have a Sparky.
Besides if Dylan or Rommie knew he was up with Rev until one in the morning they'd kill him before the babies get a chance to.
He heard footsteps behind him entering the room, pausing for several seconds, then continuing until their owner was right behind him. Harper did not bother to turn around.
"Please don't bother reading me the riot act for overworking. I've had a bad day."
Rommie leaned against the railing next to him. "I wasn't planning on it. I just want to look out for a while."
Harper took another sip from the can. "So where is everybody else?"
"Dylan is in his office working, Trance is in Hydroponics, and Rev is with Tyr in the gym. Tyr isn't happy with his current company."
Harper laughed. "I knew there was a reason why I love that Wayist." He looked at his can. "You miss him."
"Yes, I do."
Harper looked at his can again and chose not to finish it. He put the can aside. "Uh... Rev said Marcus was asking about why he's here."
"He did. I answered his question as best I could."
Harper was curious. "What did you say?"
"That I would have asked you even if you weren't sick. The only difference would have been in the timing of it," Rommie stared right at him.
Harper blushed. "Why?"
"You designed these facial expressions. You designed the emotions behind them. Can't you tell?"
Harper shook his head. "I can see it in your face that you are scared and worried every time you look at me. I can see that you care. I can't see the reasons behind them, Rommie." Harper sighed. "Rommie, you have given me a home, a second family, and saved my life more times than I can count. What did I give you that made you think I was worth Marcus?"
Rommie looked away, out at the stars again, and went still for several moments. Harper waited.
Finally she said, "I've been around three hundred seventeen years, four months, and five days. In that time I have had eighty nine engineers, forty seven programmers, and three captains come in and putter around in my mind. Only you stopped to look at the entire package. You stuck around and got to know Rommie the person, not Andromeda the warship. And you made this body so that I can experience life outside of the matrix. I didn't ask for it, but you made it and gave it to me freely."
Rommie took Harper's hand. He felt her shaking and her fingers cold. "I asked you because I'm terrified that I'm about to lose you if I can't keep my promise and fix you. And I asked because I wanted to make sure you left something behind of yourself if I failed you. I thought it might be something you wanted."
Harper turned her cheek so she was looking at him and kissed her. Rommie didn't respond for a second, then began to kiss back, slipping an arm around his waist and pulling him close to her.
Breaking the kiss, Harper leaned back and smiled. "So, should we find a utility closet to make out in?"
"Harper, you're disgusting. And warships do not make out in utility closets."
"Okay, how about Engineering?"
"Not dignified." She let him go, slapped his rear, and walked away. Harper followed her.
Harper's grin grew wider. "How about on Command? Come on, Rommie..."
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Beka paced slowly in front of the stall at a local shop on the drift, the supplies purchased on board the Maru. The shopkeeper was a nice, old Perseid who babbled on way too much about the latest scientific advances in the quality of textiles, but at least knew his stuff when it came to clothes.
"This is the finest in synthetic cotton. Touch it, it feels like the real thing," he beamed. Beka touched the material.
"Not bad. Marcus, try this on."
"Can I finish getting into what you have for me first, or should I come out undressed to get whatever it is from you?"
Beka smiled to herself as she inspected the plum colored shirt she was holding. She wondered when whatever part of him that came from Harper was going to show through. "I'll wait."
The Perseid handed her another pair of slacks in charcoal grey. "They would be fantastic on your friend my dear. Genuine synthetic silk."
Beka nodded, looking around the shop. She was holding the slacks in her hands when Marcus came out of the stall in a tight navy shirt and black pants.
Beka almost dropped the slacks she was holding. "Wow, you clean up good."
Marcus looked confused.
"Never mind. Do you like it, is the question?"
"It's alright. I was fine wearing the other things."
"You were wearing sweats."
"They were functional." Marcus looked at himself in the mirror.
"Functional, but not attractive. This, this is much better."
The Perseid beamed. "Oh yes, definitely much better on the gentleman."
Beka smiled. "Wrap it up. Marcus, we are going to a bar."
"A bar?"
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Dylan sighed and rubbed his eyes, the last of his work done for the evening. Signing the last flexi for the night he yawned, taking off his uniform jacket and standing up. It was time for bed.
He'd gotten only about halfway to his quarters when he heard a faint giggling from the ceiling above him. He wondered who could be in the crawlspaces at this hour...
Annoyed, Dylan said, "Andromeda, where is Harper at this hour?"
"Harper is in the crawlspace above your head, sir."
"Can you send Rommie up there to have him go to bed?"
"I'm sorry, she's initiated privacy mode. I can not contact her."
Funny... "Where is she located?"
"She is with Harper in the crawlspace above your head, Dylan."
Dylan pinched his nose, shook his head, and went to bed. "I did not just hear that one... I can't believe those two are using the crawlspaces."
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Marcus adjusted the noise level his auditory sensors were receiving for the third time that evening before looking around the bar again and sighed. The bar Beka had decided to take him too was way too loud for his taste, and he'd rather be back on the Maru.
He looked around. The place was dingy, with the tables dirty and some of the chairs in need of repair. He could smell the alcohol in the glasses and on the breaths of the people around him, and if he concentrated, he could hear their conversations as well. Beka was in the middle of the dance floor with a tall man, whose looks were not entirely unlike that of Captain Hunt.
Marcus leaned against the bar and watched the two of them interact on the dance floor. He was barely aware of a figure taking the seat next to his until he heard her voice.
"Hey sexy."
Marcus turned his head. He blinked at the woman before him. Blue hair, pierced nose and lip, and perhaps a little too thin for her own good, she was almost as tall as he was. She smelled heavily of alcohol and perfume as she made an attempt to lean closer to him. Marcus leaned back and away slightly.
"My name isn't sexy," he whispered.
"Well it is now, honey," the woman leered at him. Marcus wasn't sure what that look meant, but he suspected he wouldn't like it one bit. "So, what brings you here, Sunshine?"
Marcus looked around the room for Beka. She was still dancing with the tall man in the middle of the floor. She did, however suddenly seem a bit tired and unsteady...
"You haven't answered my question, sugar." The woman put a hand on his thigh. Marcus took it in his and moved it back to the bar.
"I'm with my boss. She's over there on the dance floor."
The woman looked at Beka. "Her? Honey, you can do better..."
Marcus noticed Beka begin to sway unnaturally and the man lead her towards the door. "No, I don't think I can do better, thanks." Leaving the woman at the bar, he made his way to where Beka and the man were dancing and said, "May I cut in, my boss and I have business to discuss."
The man, who was taller than he was and whose hair was long and straggly, eyed Marcus suspiciously before he said, "I think the lady is taken."
Beka seemed wobbly in her response but straightened enough to say. "No, I'm fine. He's with me." She did her best to get out of the man's reach and practically stumbled into Marcus. Leaning into his hear, she said, "I don't feel right, take me home."
Home. The Maru. Marcus held Beka up steadily and hoped the man would get the hint. The man hesitated, then stormed off.
Marcus made his way back to the Maru with Beka in tow.
By the time Marcus got Beka back to the Maru, she was burning up. He set her down on her bed in her room and placed the covers over her, tucking her in. Beka moaned slightly and was shivering. .
"Daddy? Don't go..."
Marcus stood and watched her for a few minutes, accessing a first aid program his father installed before heading for the medical aid kit. On his way, he sent a courier message to the Andromeda, briefing her of their situation.
"Uh... this is the Eureka Maru sending a hail to the Andromeda Ascendant. Our pilot has taken ill and we have no one to navigate the ship. Please advise as soon as possible, Maru out."
--End ch. 5--
Spoilers: ATH, TWG, ITL I think...
Notes: Thanks again Zion for playing beta. I hope to have this completed in two more chapters. And thanks to everyone else for giving me all the feedback. :
His first day on the Maru felt... different. Marcus hugged himself and looked around the small confines of the ship, which now housed the new matrix for him before putting his bag down on the floor by the hatchway.
He'd never felt so excited and lonely in his life. On the one hand, this was his chance to make decisions on his own, without his mother or father. On the other hand, however, this meant he'd be responsible for the consequences of his actions. Marcus hated to admit it, but he wasn't sure he was ready for this.
Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life, his father told him just before he merged his AI personality with the data files on the Maru. From what Marcus noticed, this was his way of dealing with everything. Crack jokes, turn up the sarcasm, and hope that no one notices what you're really feeling. Admittedly it was effective, but Marcus was not quite sure this was the way he wanted to approach the people around him.
His mother merely cried. She didn't want him moved quite this soon.
As for Beka... He wasn't sure what to make of his captain yet other than he found her to be nice. And really pretty. He wasn't sure why, but he felt that was a plus somehow. The information he gleamed from the Maru databanks suggested that her life before finding the Andromeda for an employer known only as Gerentex was a lot less respectable than he originally thought. Still, his father was right. She was far from a bad person by the standards of the universe he was born into. Most of her offenses seemed to be for survival purposes, like his father's were.
Marcus asked his father who this Gerentex person was and why he commissioned a search for his mother. His father muttered something nasty under his breath and turned red. The only words he understood were Trance and ratface. Running a search on the rest of what his father said, Marcus took the hint and dropped the subject with a notation to ask Trance about it later.
Marcus ran his fingers through his dark hair and brought up the floor plan of the Maru in his head. Studying it, he picked up his bag and turned left to the bunks to settle in.
He saw Trance watering some plants when he got to the bunk area. "Hi."
"Hi. I was just tending to the babies."
"The babies?"
"Well, they are babies and in space they do need to be taken care of."
"I see." Marcus put his bag on top of a spare bunk that was void of blankets or a pillow. It somehow seemed wrong to put his stuff anywhere else.
Trance sat down and studied Marcus. "This isn't your bunk. Yours is over there." She pointed over to a bunk on the other side of sleep area."
"But that one is dad's."
"Oh, he won't mind. Trust me, you should sleep over there, especially on the next away trip." Trance stood up. "I need to go water some of the plants in Beka's quarters." She disappeared behind a door right next to the bunk she mentioned.
Marcus blinked, shrugged, and moved his bag. "So can I ask you something?"
Trance peeked out from behind the doorway. "What?"
"Who's Gerentex?"
"Oh. He's just a nightsider we worked for a couple of times. He's a nice guy now. Owns a flower shop on Hollywood Drift." Trance seemed a little too happy to announce this piece of information.
Marcus made note to run down both Trance's and Gerentex's records the next time he had a chance.
Run down. Did he just refer to his database searches like that? Dad must finally be rubbing off on him. Marcus stood and faced his reflection in a nearby mirror.
---------------------------------
Harper stood and arched his back in an effort to crack it before he pulled the jack out of his neural port. He loved playing with new toys, but the Magog Swarm ship he was working on was in a language he didn't understand. Usually, that isn't a problem, but with the siblings in his gut doing the rumba whenever he was nervous, he wasn't too keen on being here alone.
And Rommie was stuck on Command with Dylan. Again. Sometimes he hated having to work for Dylan.
At least Rommie has one of her maintenance droids here with him. Should the Divine forbid anything happen, he'd have help here quickly. As it was, the droid stood there with a can of Sparky Cola in her hand, waiting patiently.
Harper took a long sip from the can. "Thanks, doll. Can you translate what the console is telling me now?"
The droid looked over at the console. He could almost see it frown as it paused. "Access denied."
"Crap. I find it annoying that you were able to take this thing and save our asses from Machen Alpha, no problem. That we can access the navigation controls and the PPP weapon, no problem. That we can access the environmental controls, no problem. But hack into their medical data files for a little information? Oops. Access denied."
Rommie's droid stood still. He wondered if she was smiling at him for his ranting like this. "Maybe we should ask Rev Bem for assistance. He is a Magog."
"Yeah, but a Magog whose ancestry is what, three or four centuries away from this technology? And his only experience with Magog technology is the same as ours? I don't know." Harper felt the droid's hands on his shoulders.
"It certainly can't hurt, can it?"
Harper felt those hands squeeze gently. He wanted to lean into those hands and relax, but somehow getting up close and personal with one of Rommie's droids just wasn't the same as getting up close personal with Rommie in the matrix or with the avatar. He tried to explain it to her once but she didn't quite get what he meant. He turned and smiled at her.
"No, I guess it can't hurt. Where is he?"
"In his quarters."
"Alright. Let's go."
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"Well I don't know how much I can be of assistance, but I'll certainly do my best to help."
Harper looked over Rev. It wasn't that he didn't trust him. It was more that since they came in contact with the Worldship, things between them have been a bit off. Harper never expected Rev to be so tempted to become evil the way he did, even if the risk of the temptation was for the purpose of saving him.
Thinking about Rev dressed as an overseer, looking like he wanted to make Harper and Tyr his next meal still gave him the creeps, even after all this time. He never lied to Rev about his reaction, and Rev was remorseful about it afterwards, but he still cringed a little bit every time his clawed hand touched his shoulder.
"Thanks Rev. I could use the help. I keep trying to hack in but I'm not having any luck."
Rev sat down by his altar and offered a space for Harper to join him. "So, how is young Marcus doing?"
"I think he's fine." Harper chose to stand.
"Rommie informed me that he has been asking questions about his existence on board since he found out about your medical condition."
Harper wrung his hands. "I didn't know that. Did she tell you what she said to him?"
"No, she did not. Merely that she could not answer his question as fully as she would have liked."
Harper wondered what Rommie meant by that but nodded anyway. "I wonder when Beka is going to make that supply run she and Dylan have been talking about the past few days."
"Tomorrow, but my understanding is that now that Marcus is operational as the Maru's AI, he should be able to go along with her. I am sure Beka will take good care of him."
"I know she will. I gotta head back to work."
"I'll say a prayer for you." Rev smiled, and Harper had to resist the urge to squirm.
Instead, Harper smiled back. "Thanks."
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Beka studied Marcus as he looked around engineering. To his credit, Marcus never seemed to mind it when anyone watched him.
She wondered how odd it would be to know you are the intelligence of a ship but still needed to explore yourself for the first time. Rommie was the ship before she became the avatar. Marcus was the opposite. She wondered if this meant Marcus would feel confined as he developed into adulthood.
Then again, she wondered if she would be able to shower in peace and solitude without being watched. Having Rommie carry on surveillance when she used her quarters on the Andromeda was bad enough, now her son is living with her and gets to do the same on the Maru. Beka knew she made the right choice in having Harper transfer Marcus onto the Maru's databanks, but it was still an impulse decision on her part.
Not being alone on the Maru anymore was going to take some getting used to.
"So... do you need anything?"
"Need?" Marcus was paying particular attention to one conduit.
"Yeah, as in, is there anything you would like that I can give you?"
Marcus looked around for something. "Where does dad keep the tools around here?"
"Third utility closet on the right."
Marcus went over to the closet and pulled out a nanowelder. Pursing his lips he came back to the conduit. "Actually... I need a place to put my recharge unit. So that no one on board knows I'm not human and I can recharge in private."
Beka thought about it for a moment. "Well, take Rafe's old room. He doesn't use it much anymore anyway."
"Thank you." Marcus began sealing using the nanowelder on the conduit. Beka watched and was reminded of once doing the same thing soon after Harper came on board. Back then, Harper got nervous and slinked away from her staring because he thought she might do something to him like his last employer did.
She found it refreshing that Marcus was not phased one bit.
On impulse she said, "On this supply run, would you mind if I took you shopping?"
Marcus shut the nanowelder off and looked at Beka. "Shopping. I can do that, but where are we going?"
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"The Pheonix Drift? But that's ten jumps away. Why send them there?"
Dylan sighed and put down the flexi he was reading to look at the avatar to the Andromeda. He wasn't trying to upset her, but clearly his choice made her somewhat agitated.
Other Commonwealth captains would have had her dismantled at the suggestion of creating a secondary AI with a member of the crew's scan as a template. Okay, he would have been one of them three hundred years ago. But the fact is, Rommie was alone and much less animated before Marcus came along, and her relationship with the crew and overall productivity has improved tenfold. Even her assistance the search for the cure for the Magog larvae in Harper increased.
Marcus was good for her, but as captain he could not risk having him in her matrix longer than he had to. Now, she's reacting as a mother sending her child off on his first overnight trip.
Dylan did not blame her one bit. "Rommie, the reason why we are sending them to Pheonix Drift is because this is your son's first away trip and I don't want him to go somewhere closer that is less sympathetic to AI's. He's going with Beka so I know he'll be fine."
The avatar pursed her lips. "Can we send Harper along at least?"
"No, I need him here to keep you running in the meantime. Harper took the precaution of installing several self maintenance programs into Marcus' new matrix so he can handle most repairs. Beka can fix anything he can't. You really don't want Tyr working on those maintenance droids now do you?"
Rommie visibly winced at the idea. "Alright. I understand. I'm just worried about him."
"You're his mother, I'd be worried if you didn't."
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Marcus shivered inwardly and contacted his mother through a data channel just as the Maru began to leave dock. "Mom?"
"Yes, hon?"
"Space always feel this cold?"
"Unfortunately. Try filtering out that particular sensation from your input feed."
"Okay... Thanks, that's much better. Is this feeling of vibration also common?"
"Yes. You can filter that out too if you want to."
"No, I think I like it."
"If you like this, just wait until you experience slipstream. Make sure you do what Beka tells you to."
Marcus rolled his eyes and cut the connection. He looked at Beka in the pilot's chair.
Moving the ship forward at maximum PSL, she said, "You know, the first time my dad let me take this baby out on my own, he said Rocket, keep out of trouble. Bad enough Rafe won't listen to me, at least maybe you will."
"Did you listen?"
"Nope."
Marcus smirked. "Mom told me to listen to you."
Beka gave a hearty laugh. "Oh, boy are you in trouble."
Marcus decided he was going to like it here.
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Harper looked out at the stars and contemplated the can of Sparky in his hands. He knew he shouldn't be drinking it because it makes the larvae jumpy, but he wanted something with caffeine in it again. Having to work without the stuff really cut into his productivity.
He sighed. He spent all day with Rev on the swarm ship, but Rev couldn't help him any more with accessing the medical database than Rommie could. Harper decided to call it quits for the day and have a Sparky.
Besides if Dylan or Rommie knew he was up with Rev until one in the morning they'd kill him before the babies get a chance to.
He heard footsteps behind him entering the room, pausing for several seconds, then continuing until their owner was right behind him. Harper did not bother to turn around.
"Please don't bother reading me the riot act for overworking. I've had a bad day."
Rommie leaned against the railing next to him. "I wasn't planning on it. I just want to look out for a while."
Harper took another sip from the can. "So where is everybody else?"
"Dylan is in his office working, Trance is in Hydroponics, and Rev is with Tyr in the gym. Tyr isn't happy with his current company."
Harper laughed. "I knew there was a reason why I love that Wayist." He looked at his can. "You miss him."
"Yes, I do."
Harper looked at his can again and chose not to finish it. He put the can aside. "Uh... Rev said Marcus was asking about why he's here."
"He did. I answered his question as best I could."
Harper was curious. "What did you say?"
"That I would have asked you even if you weren't sick. The only difference would have been in the timing of it," Rommie stared right at him.
Harper blushed. "Why?"
"You designed these facial expressions. You designed the emotions behind them. Can't you tell?"
Harper shook his head. "I can see it in your face that you are scared and worried every time you look at me. I can see that you care. I can't see the reasons behind them, Rommie." Harper sighed. "Rommie, you have given me a home, a second family, and saved my life more times than I can count. What did I give you that made you think I was worth Marcus?"
Rommie looked away, out at the stars again, and went still for several moments. Harper waited.
Finally she said, "I've been around three hundred seventeen years, four months, and five days. In that time I have had eighty nine engineers, forty seven programmers, and three captains come in and putter around in my mind. Only you stopped to look at the entire package. You stuck around and got to know Rommie the person, not Andromeda the warship. And you made this body so that I can experience life outside of the matrix. I didn't ask for it, but you made it and gave it to me freely."
Rommie took Harper's hand. He felt her shaking and her fingers cold. "I asked you because I'm terrified that I'm about to lose you if I can't keep my promise and fix you. And I asked because I wanted to make sure you left something behind of yourself if I failed you. I thought it might be something you wanted."
Harper turned her cheek so she was looking at him and kissed her. Rommie didn't respond for a second, then began to kiss back, slipping an arm around his waist and pulling him close to her.
Breaking the kiss, Harper leaned back and smiled. "So, should we find a utility closet to make out in?"
"Harper, you're disgusting. And warships do not make out in utility closets."
"Okay, how about Engineering?"
"Not dignified." She let him go, slapped his rear, and walked away. Harper followed her.
Harper's grin grew wider. "How about on Command? Come on, Rommie..."
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Beka paced slowly in front of the stall at a local shop on the drift, the supplies purchased on board the Maru. The shopkeeper was a nice, old Perseid who babbled on way too much about the latest scientific advances in the quality of textiles, but at least knew his stuff when it came to clothes.
"This is the finest in synthetic cotton. Touch it, it feels like the real thing," he beamed. Beka touched the material.
"Not bad. Marcus, try this on."
"Can I finish getting into what you have for me first, or should I come out undressed to get whatever it is from you?"
Beka smiled to herself as she inspected the plum colored shirt she was holding. She wondered when whatever part of him that came from Harper was going to show through. "I'll wait."
The Perseid handed her another pair of slacks in charcoal grey. "They would be fantastic on your friend my dear. Genuine synthetic silk."
Beka nodded, looking around the shop. She was holding the slacks in her hands when Marcus came out of the stall in a tight navy shirt and black pants.
Beka almost dropped the slacks she was holding. "Wow, you clean up good."
Marcus looked confused.
"Never mind. Do you like it, is the question?"
"It's alright. I was fine wearing the other things."
"You were wearing sweats."
"They were functional." Marcus looked at himself in the mirror.
"Functional, but not attractive. This, this is much better."
The Perseid beamed. "Oh yes, definitely much better on the gentleman."
Beka smiled. "Wrap it up. Marcus, we are going to a bar."
"A bar?"
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Dylan sighed and rubbed his eyes, the last of his work done for the evening. Signing the last flexi for the night he yawned, taking off his uniform jacket and standing up. It was time for bed.
He'd gotten only about halfway to his quarters when he heard a faint giggling from the ceiling above him. He wondered who could be in the crawlspaces at this hour...
Annoyed, Dylan said, "Andromeda, where is Harper at this hour?"
"Harper is in the crawlspace above your head, sir."
"Can you send Rommie up there to have him go to bed?"
"I'm sorry, she's initiated privacy mode. I can not contact her."
Funny... "Where is she located?"
"She is with Harper in the crawlspace above your head, Dylan."
Dylan pinched his nose, shook his head, and went to bed. "I did not just hear that one... I can't believe those two are using the crawlspaces."
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Marcus adjusted the noise level his auditory sensors were receiving for the third time that evening before looking around the bar again and sighed. The bar Beka had decided to take him too was way too loud for his taste, and he'd rather be back on the Maru.
He looked around. The place was dingy, with the tables dirty and some of the chairs in need of repair. He could smell the alcohol in the glasses and on the breaths of the people around him, and if he concentrated, he could hear their conversations as well. Beka was in the middle of the dance floor with a tall man, whose looks were not entirely unlike that of Captain Hunt.
Marcus leaned against the bar and watched the two of them interact on the dance floor. He was barely aware of a figure taking the seat next to his until he heard her voice.
"Hey sexy."
Marcus turned his head. He blinked at the woman before him. Blue hair, pierced nose and lip, and perhaps a little too thin for her own good, she was almost as tall as he was. She smelled heavily of alcohol and perfume as she made an attempt to lean closer to him. Marcus leaned back and away slightly.
"My name isn't sexy," he whispered.
"Well it is now, honey," the woman leered at him. Marcus wasn't sure what that look meant, but he suspected he wouldn't like it one bit. "So, what brings you here, Sunshine?"
Marcus looked around the room for Beka. She was still dancing with the tall man in the middle of the floor. She did, however suddenly seem a bit tired and unsteady...
"You haven't answered my question, sugar." The woman put a hand on his thigh. Marcus took it in his and moved it back to the bar.
"I'm with my boss. She's over there on the dance floor."
The woman looked at Beka. "Her? Honey, you can do better..."
Marcus noticed Beka begin to sway unnaturally and the man lead her towards the door. "No, I don't think I can do better, thanks." Leaving the woman at the bar, he made his way to where Beka and the man were dancing and said, "May I cut in, my boss and I have business to discuss."
The man, who was taller than he was and whose hair was long and straggly, eyed Marcus suspiciously before he said, "I think the lady is taken."
Beka seemed wobbly in her response but straightened enough to say. "No, I'm fine. He's with me." She did her best to get out of the man's reach and practically stumbled into Marcus. Leaning into his hear, she said, "I don't feel right, take me home."
Home. The Maru. Marcus held Beka up steadily and hoped the man would get the hint. The man hesitated, then stormed off.
Marcus made his way back to the Maru with Beka in tow.
By the time Marcus got Beka back to the Maru, she was burning up. He set her down on her bed in her room and placed the covers over her, tucking her in. Beka moaned slightly and was shivering. .
"Daddy? Don't go..."
Marcus stood and watched her for a few minutes, accessing a first aid program his father installed before heading for the medical aid kit. On his way, he sent a courier message to the Andromeda, briefing her of their situation.
"Uh... this is the Eureka Maru sending a hail to the Andromeda Ascendant. Our pilot has taken ill and we have no one to navigate the ship. Please advise as soon as possible, Maru out."
--End ch. 5--