EASE MY MIND
CHAPTER FIVE: TOGETHER AGAIN
"Rommie," Dylan heard himself say once Beka's image had disappeared from the screen. Even after her
face was gone, he stared at the vast and seemingly vacant system that spread before them.
"Captain?" he was asked, simultaneously, by the hologram and the android.
The question took a moment for him to formulate. He wasn't sure of how to ask it, or if it was a valid
question, or if it was a question at all. "You said you weren't picking up any signs of the Maru."
"Affirmative," Rommie agreed, lacing her hands behind her back as she came to stand by his side. She
wore the strangest half-smile, enough to tell Dylan the joke was on him. He only wished he knew the
punchline.
"Then what in the hell was that?" He gestured to the monitor Beka's image had been on only moments
ago.
"According to my sensors and your own perception, it was Beka Valentine piloting a hijacked Nietzschean
alpha-class fighter."
"But you said there was no sign of her."
The half-smile widened as she finally looked at him. Tyr had evidentially been giving her lessons in
looking smug. If so, she was learning well. "I said I wasn't detecting any traces of the Maru in Sarentian
system. There were none."
"Then what the hell was that?" He repeated, feeling incredibly helpless again, for entirely different
reasons than before.
Gently, Rommie nudged him with her side. "You never asked about Beka."
"I--"
"Considering the fact that we were under heavy incoming fire, I decided it best not to bombard you with
unsolicited information."
Dylan almost laughed. "Beka being alive was useless information?"
Feigning innocence and naiveté, she looked up and away. Dylan wanted to say something, some scathing
words of chastisement, but he could only continue to laugh. "You really are getting to be too much."
"Beka's docked," Rommie said, pretending not to hear his comment. "She's disembarking the craft and
heading this way." She turned back to him. "I'm detecting a rise in heart rate, blood pressure, and
adrenaline. She's not happy to see us."
"Aw, come on," Harper said from his battle station. "You've already fooled us once, Rommie. Ha ha,
very funny and all by the way. But you don't honestly expect us to believe Beka's not happy we saved her
butt?"
Though Dylan said nothing, he silently agreed with Harper. They'd saved her after she'd survived a nova
detonation and somehow found her way onto a Dragon fighter. Of course she was happy to see them.
He kept believing that until Beka stormed onto the Command Deck, all but oblivious to the welcome party
that awaited her. Dylan started to rush forward to greet her, and probably to blurt out something stupid to
the affect that he was in love with her, but checked himself when he realized that fury was practically
radiating from her. Harper, however, was so grateful to see her that he failed to notice the jesting Beka
from the enemy fighter was no longer with them.
"Boss!" He bounded towards her, throwing his arms wide to catch her in a suffocating hug.
"Knock it off." Though she spoke with only the mildest of annoyance, Beka found him as appealing as
she would a starving Magog. She pushed him off of her before he had a chance to latch on, leaving him
standing stunned in her wake.
"Welcome back," Rommie said. "We were worried about you."
"Worry?" Beka scoffed. "There wouldn't be anything to worry about if Captain Terrific hadn't decided to
give chase." She turned, shooting Harper an icy stare. "I told you not to say anything."
"I didn't!" Harper insisted. He sighed heavily. "Well, not without--"
Beka didn't wait for the rest of the response, turning her fury on Dylan. "What do you think you were
doing?"
"What happened to glad to see us?" he responded, at a loss for anything else to say. The conversation was
ricocheting with such speed that he could barely keep up with what was being said. Judging from her
appearance, she should have been glad to see them. He hadn't noticed before--he'd been far too elated to
see her alive to notice much or anything--but Beka was a mess. And lucky to be standing. Dried blood
trailed from her hairline around her left eye and halfway down her cheek. Her shirt was ripped, another
clotted cut across her shoulder visible. Her black pants were in shreds, practically falling off her.
"How can I be glad to see you when you ruined everything? Andromeda, reverse course. We're going
back to Sarentia."
"Cancel that," Dylan said immediately. He could tolerate a lot of things, but his second-in-command
trying to go over his head without provocation or explanation was not one of them. "Beka, what is going
on?"
"What is going on?" She repeated, rage mounting, stepping up and into his face. "*What is going on?*"
She shoved him out of the way, her fingers running on auto-pilot over the Andromeda's controls. "What is
going on is because of you, the Drago-Kazov have my ship. Andromeda, Sarentia!"
"Disregard that order and any other orders from Captain Valentine until I authorize you to follow them.
Beka--"
"Stop with the Beka!" She slammed her open palms on the navigation system when the ship failed to
respond to her commands. "Dylan, the Nietzschean have the Maru. They're going to dismantle it. I
*want* my ship back!" She grabbed his sleeve and pushed him back to the controls. "Tell Rommie we're
going after the Maru."
Between the dried blood, the sweat, the ripped clothing, the half-crazed sea of emotions swirling in her
eyes, and the tension rippling through her body, Dylan could not find an ounce of sanity in her. He had no
idea how she'd ever been removed from the Maru's controls or hijacked a Dragon fighter, but he also knew
that in the shape she was in, an explanation would not be forthcoming. "I am not doing anything until you
calm down enough to tell me what's going on."
One side of his face exploded with pain before falling into complete numbness. As he shook his head to
clear his vision, he realized Beka had just delivered one hell of a backhand. In front of the entire crew, he
realized, as his still-fuzzy vision drifted around the deck while he waited for his focus to return. The
clarity came back as his eyes passed Tyr. Dylan tried not to notice the amusement in his expression.
"All right, that is *enough*!" He caught her wrist as she balled her fingers for a legitimate swing. Beka
fought against him with all of her substantial strength. Dylan truly struggled to remain firmly planted in
place without relinquishing his grip on her. If she slipped loose, she would let him have it.
"The Maru is my home Dylan!" She shouted at him. "It's my ship and the Dragons have it! They're going
to break my ship up and sell it for scrap! I am not going to let that happen, so tell Andromeda to go back
to Sarentia!"
Her fight exhausted, the adrenaline flushed from her system, Beka ceased her struggle altogether. Her
breathing fell in hard, labored breaths as she stared up at him with utter helplessness, every part of her
bloodied face a plea for him to stop being difficult and help her. Beaten, bleeding, she'd been through
who knew what in the time since the nova's detonation. He'd thought himself a wreck for passing most of
his day in a state of shock. Beka had been the one who had spent all this time surviving, enduring first a
nova then the Drago-Kazov. He'd reached his breaking point when he'd thought she was dead. He
realized now that she'd reached hers as well.
"Why don't we talk about this somewhere else?" he said, feeling suffocated beneath the stares of his small
crew.
"Dylan--" Barely a breath. Barely a plea.
"I can't do anything until you tell me what's going on."
Unable to do as much as shake her head, Beka's wavering eyes were all the reply he needed. The bright
blue irises were brimming with moisture, to the point of overflowing. Beka, his tough girl, calm and in
charge in the midst of every bad situation, was on the verge of losing her composure. He must have
looked much the same when he'd retreated to his quarters following the nova's detonation.
"I've--I've," she stammered when he did not answer fast enough, "I've already told you what happened.
"The Dragons took the Maru. They're going to dismantle it. We have to get it back."
"We will." He took her gently by the shoulders. "But we need a plan first. We can't go charging in blindly
against an entire Drago-Kazov fleet." He sighed. "Take a walk with me. Tell me what
happened--*everything* that happened. Then we'll come up with a plan--*together*--to get the Maru
back."
Beka pulled free of his grasp and ran her hands through her short hair in frustration. "I don't have time for
a scenic tour of the Andromeda's finer points. Nietzscheans, Dylan, Maru, have. Get back. Now."
"We will," he repeated. "But first, I need information. He gestured to the doors, which Rommie took the
cue to open. "Tell me what's going on. Walk with me."
CHAPTER FIVE: TOGETHER AGAIN
"Rommie," Dylan heard himself say once Beka's image had disappeared from the screen. Even after her
face was gone, he stared at the vast and seemingly vacant system that spread before them.
"Captain?" he was asked, simultaneously, by the hologram and the android.
The question took a moment for him to formulate. He wasn't sure of how to ask it, or if it was a valid
question, or if it was a question at all. "You said you weren't picking up any signs of the Maru."
"Affirmative," Rommie agreed, lacing her hands behind her back as she came to stand by his side. She
wore the strangest half-smile, enough to tell Dylan the joke was on him. He only wished he knew the
punchline.
"Then what in the hell was that?" He gestured to the monitor Beka's image had been on only moments
ago.
"According to my sensors and your own perception, it was Beka Valentine piloting a hijacked Nietzschean
alpha-class fighter."
"But you said there was no sign of her."
The half-smile widened as she finally looked at him. Tyr had evidentially been giving her lessons in
looking smug. If so, she was learning well. "I said I wasn't detecting any traces of the Maru in Sarentian
system. There were none."
"Then what the hell was that?" He repeated, feeling incredibly helpless again, for entirely different
reasons than before.
Gently, Rommie nudged him with her side. "You never asked about Beka."
"I--"
"Considering the fact that we were under heavy incoming fire, I decided it best not to bombard you with
unsolicited information."
Dylan almost laughed. "Beka being alive was useless information?"
Feigning innocence and naiveté, she looked up and away. Dylan wanted to say something, some scathing
words of chastisement, but he could only continue to laugh. "You really are getting to be too much."
"Beka's docked," Rommie said, pretending not to hear his comment. "She's disembarking the craft and
heading this way." She turned back to him. "I'm detecting a rise in heart rate, blood pressure, and
adrenaline. She's not happy to see us."
"Aw, come on," Harper said from his battle station. "You've already fooled us once, Rommie. Ha ha,
very funny and all by the way. But you don't honestly expect us to believe Beka's not happy we saved her
butt?"
Though Dylan said nothing, he silently agreed with Harper. They'd saved her after she'd survived a nova
detonation and somehow found her way onto a Dragon fighter. Of course she was happy to see them.
He kept believing that until Beka stormed onto the Command Deck, all but oblivious to the welcome party
that awaited her. Dylan started to rush forward to greet her, and probably to blurt out something stupid to
the affect that he was in love with her, but checked himself when he realized that fury was practically
radiating from her. Harper, however, was so grateful to see her that he failed to notice the jesting Beka
from the enemy fighter was no longer with them.
"Boss!" He bounded towards her, throwing his arms wide to catch her in a suffocating hug.
"Knock it off." Though she spoke with only the mildest of annoyance, Beka found him as appealing as
she would a starving Magog. She pushed him off of her before he had a chance to latch on, leaving him
standing stunned in her wake.
"Welcome back," Rommie said. "We were worried about you."
"Worry?" Beka scoffed. "There wouldn't be anything to worry about if Captain Terrific hadn't decided to
give chase." She turned, shooting Harper an icy stare. "I told you not to say anything."
"I didn't!" Harper insisted. He sighed heavily. "Well, not without--"
Beka didn't wait for the rest of the response, turning her fury on Dylan. "What do you think you were
doing?"
"What happened to glad to see us?" he responded, at a loss for anything else to say. The conversation was
ricocheting with such speed that he could barely keep up with what was being said. Judging from her
appearance, she should have been glad to see them. He hadn't noticed before--he'd been far too elated to
see her alive to notice much or anything--but Beka was a mess. And lucky to be standing. Dried blood
trailed from her hairline around her left eye and halfway down her cheek. Her shirt was ripped, another
clotted cut across her shoulder visible. Her black pants were in shreds, practically falling off her.
"How can I be glad to see you when you ruined everything? Andromeda, reverse course. We're going
back to Sarentia."
"Cancel that," Dylan said immediately. He could tolerate a lot of things, but his second-in-command
trying to go over his head without provocation or explanation was not one of them. "Beka, what is going
on?"
"What is going on?" She repeated, rage mounting, stepping up and into his face. "*What is going on?*"
She shoved him out of the way, her fingers running on auto-pilot over the Andromeda's controls. "What is
going on is because of you, the Drago-Kazov have my ship. Andromeda, Sarentia!"
"Disregard that order and any other orders from Captain Valentine until I authorize you to follow them.
Beka--"
"Stop with the Beka!" She slammed her open palms on the navigation system when the ship failed to
respond to her commands. "Dylan, the Nietzschean have the Maru. They're going to dismantle it. I
*want* my ship back!" She grabbed his sleeve and pushed him back to the controls. "Tell Rommie we're
going after the Maru."
Between the dried blood, the sweat, the ripped clothing, the half-crazed sea of emotions swirling in her
eyes, and the tension rippling through her body, Dylan could not find an ounce of sanity in her. He had no
idea how she'd ever been removed from the Maru's controls or hijacked a Dragon fighter, but he also knew
that in the shape she was in, an explanation would not be forthcoming. "I am not doing anything until you
calm down enough to tell me what's going on."
One side of his face exploded with pain before falling into complete numbness. As he shook his head to
clear his vision, he realized Beka had just delivered one hell of a backhand. In front of the entire crew, he
realized, as his still-fuzzy vision drifted around the deck while he waited for his focus to return. The
clarity came back as his eyes passed Tyr. Dylan tried not to notice the amusement in his expression.
"All right, that is *enough*!" He caught her wrist as she balled her fingers for a legitimate swing. Beka
fought against him with all of her substantial strength. Dylan truly struggled to remain firmly planted in
place without relinquishing his grip on her. If she slipped loose, she would let him have it.
"The Maru is my home Dylan!" She shouted at him. "It's my ship and the Dragons have it! They're going
to break my ship up and sell it for scrap! I am not going to let that happen, so tell Andromeda to go back
to Sarentia!"
Her fight exhausted, the adrenaline flushed from her system, Beka ceased her struggle altogether. Her
breathing fell in hard, labored breaths as she stared up at him with utter helplessness, every part of her
bloodied face a plea for him to stop being difficult and help her. Beaten, bleeding, she'd been through
who knew what in the time since the nova's detonation. He'd thought himself a wreck for passing most of
his day in a state of shock. Beka had been the one who had spent all this time surviving, enduring first a
nova then the Drago-Kazov. He'd reached his breaking point when he'd thought she was dead. He
realized now that she'd reached hers as well.
"Why don't we talk about this somewhere else?" he said, feeling suffocated beneath the stares of his small
crew.
"Dylan--" Barely a breath. Barely a plea.
"I can't do anything until you tell me what's going on."
Unable to do as much as shake her head, Beka's wavering eyes were all the reply he needed. The bright
blue irises were brimming with moisture, to the point of overflowing. Beka, his tough girl, calm and in
charge in the midst of every bad situation, was on the verge of losing her composure. He must have
looked much the same when he'd retreated to his quarters following the nova's detonation.
"I've--I've," she stammered when he did not answer fast enough, "I've already told you what happened.
"The Dragons took the Maru. They're going to dismantle it. We have to get it back."
"We will." He took her gently by the shoulders. "But we need a plan first. We can't go charging in blindly
against an entire Drago-Kazov fleet." He sighed. "Take a walk with me. Tell me what
happened--*everything* that happened. Then we'll come up with a plan--*together*--to get the Maru
back."
Beka pulled free of his grasp and ran her hands through her short hair in frustration. "I don't have time for
a scenic tour of the Andromeda's finer points. Nietzscheans, Dylan, Maru, have. Get back. Now."
"We will," he repeated. "But first, I need information. He gestured to the doors, which Rommie took the
cue to open. "Tell me what's going on. Walk with me."
