DISCLAIMER: Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda belongs to Tribune. I am just borrowing the characters to play with for a while!
Follows Affirming Flame. Before To Loose the Fateful Lightning.ANDROMEDA
by Eryn Grant
"Why does he always have to run everywhere?" Andromeda asked herself with a sigh as she materialised on deck 19 looking up and down. She guessed she had probably just missed Harper. "Harper," she sighed exasperated as she searched her conduits in an effort to locate him, knowing without a doubt that the small engineer was nearby. "Got you," she smiled triumphantly as she blinked out.
Andromeda de-materialised behind Harper. He was sitting cross-legged in the conduit, one of her panels open, intent on his task. She craned her neck - he was studying one of her delicate circuit boards, a tiny screwdriver in his hand."Harper," she snapped.
Harper jumped nearly dropping the circuit board. "Sheesh," he cursed. "Give a guy a heart attack why don't you?" he scowled. "One wrong move with this," he waved the screwdriver at the hologram. "And you coulda had a deep voice," he teased grinning broadly at the hologram.
Andromeda chose to ignore him. "What are you doing here?" she demanded. "Dylan was expecting you in Command over half an hour ago." She glared at him. "All the others turned up on time, even Tyr."
"Good for them," Harper shrugged pulling a face at the hologram. Andromeda stared back at him, narrowing her eyes and folding her arms. "OK. OK. Don't get your torpedo tubes in a twist," Harper protested pushing his hand through his hair making it stick up even more. "I was just..... just," he waved his hand in the direction of the open panel. "Tinkering," he grinned again. "And I must have forgot the time."
"I see," Andromeda said, still glaring at Harper. "With what are you tinkering exactly?"Harper smirked at the hologram, mischief shining in his pale eyes. "With you babe," he winked.
"Harper," Andromeda threatened.
"OK. OK. You win," Harper put his hands up defeated. "I'm upgrading your internal sensors. Don't want any more of those nasty bounty hunters getting on board or any of those wicked salvage types," he feigned a serious expression, although his eyes still glinted with mischief. "You never know what they'll try and steal."
"Harper," Andromeda pointed towards the conduit exit. "Command. Now. Dylan is waiting for you."
Harper couldn't resist it - he stuck his tongue out at the hologram. Andromeda glared at him, folding her arms again. "I'm going. I'm going," Harper grumbled as he carefully re-positioned the circuit board and closed the panel. With a last sullen look at Andromeda, Harper scrambled towards the conduit's exit. "Grouchy warship," he mumbled as he disappeared from view dropping to the floor with a clatter of boots on the deck. His head popped back into view, a cheeky grin replacing the sulky expression. "Still love you though babe," he called.
"Harper," Andromeda sighed in exasperation, but she couldn't help smiling as she watched the engineer disappear from her view once again. In her mind, she saw Harper scurrying along her decks towards Command muttering under his breath. Satisfied that Harper was on his way to Dylan, she turned her attention to her internal sensors scanning the upgrades he had been working on. "Good work Harper," she thought approvingly. "As usual," she added.
Andromeda stared towards the conduit's exit letting part of her mind drift to thoughts of the new crew. She had been horrified when Dylan had asked them to join him and help re-establish the Commonwealth, and even more shocked when they had, without exception, accepted his offer. She had protested loudly to Dylan trying to make him see sense, but he had dismissed her objections with a wave of his hand and a smile telling her that it was worth the risk.
Used to the ordered discipline displayed by High Guard officers and crew, it had taken her a while to get used to the unruly and insubordinate behaviour of her new crew. But during the last few weeks and despite her initial misgivings - and the fact that she was a warship - Andromeda had found herself beginning to warm to her new crew - they made her lonely decks seem less lonely.
She easily admitted to herself that out of the motley band of misfits, Harper was quickly becoming her favourite, and not just because he was an excellent engineer. She genuinely liked him.
He was unlike any engineer she had ever met and worked with. High Guard engineers were not known for their sense of humour remaining cool, aloof and professional in their dealings with her. Harper was different - he cared deeply about his work, about doing a good job, but at the same time he seemed to care about her too, cared when she was hurt. And he called her babe - she smiled at her foolishness.
Although Andromeda found the other crew members interesting, Harper alone intrigued her. When he had joined Dylan, Harper said that he had wanted hot showers and real coffee. But Andromeda hadn't missed the glimmering of hope in his expressive pale eyes. Like he needed to believe in something, something other than misery, pain and hurt.
Harper, she decided, was a man of many contradictions. On the outside, he brimmed with self confidence and brashness that bordered on rudeness. Cocky and full of attitude, Harper was noisy chaos, seemingly full of boundless energy and constant motion, as he bounced along her decks talking a mile a minute and usually planning his next project.
But underneath, carefully hidden behind the wise cracking exterior, Andromeda sensed that there was a small frightened child, one who had been deeply hurt and wounded having seen too many things that a child shouldn't be exposed to. He always expertly dodged any questions about his childhood or past life, changing subjects so quickly that it was difficult, even for a sophisticated warship, to keep up with him.
But Andromeda had seen him - late at night - curled up under his blankets lost in his nightmares, crying out for this mother. It was at these times that she cursed her holographic body longing to reach out and touch him, comfort him.She shook her head at the thoughts. "You're getting sentimental in your old age," she scolded herself. "I will not come to care for him. I will remain professional and aloof as is becoming of a High Guard warship," she chanted over and over in her mind. "Oh yeah," a little voice in another part of her mind whispered as she blinked out.
She de-materialised in Command. Harper was alone staring distractedly at one of the consoles. "Hey," he looked up. "You just missed me being chewed out by Dylan," he smiled, but Andromeda noticed it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Gotta keep watch until Beka gets back here," he kicked at the console with his boot.
"I'm sorry Harper," Andromeda sympathised.
Harper kicked at the console again. "Not your fault," he sighed heavily. "I just get kinda involved in stuff and forget the time," he smiled at the hologram. "Not very High Guard huh?"
Andromeda didn't know how to answer. "I reviewed those upgrades you made to my internal sensors," she said instead. "It was excellent work. A High Guard engineer couldn't have done better."
"Yeah," Harper brightened a little, a small pleased smile forming on his face.
"Yes," Andromeda said. "Perhaps next time we can work together. It may be easier if you connect to my main frame via your dataport. It would speed the process up," she offered.
"Really?" Harper looked surprised at the offer - he hadn't asked about linking to her main frame since the first unauthorised time, and Andromeda hadn't offered. "Well I have got ideas for other upgrades," he said almost shyly, his expression hopeful. "If you wanna hear them, that is."
Andromeda nodded with a smile. "I'll meet you in your workshop," she replied. "And we can discuss your ideas further."
"Yay," Harper jumped over one of the rails in his excitement heading towards the door. "Meet you there babe," he called over his shoulder. He slid suddenly to a halt turning back to the hologram. "What about?" he waved his hand around Command, a frown forming on his face."I will take care of Command until Beka arrives," she put a hand up stopping Harper before he spoke again. "And I will explain the situation to Dylan."
"Hey babe," Harper beamed. "Did you know, you're the best?" he turned hurrying out of Command.
Andromeda could hear him whistling out of tune as he scurried along her corridors. "Yes", she decided with a nod, Harper was her favourite. She blinked out to meet her friend in his workshop.
THE END
eryn.grant@ntlworld.com