Disclaimer: I don't own Andromeda or its characters. I am making no money
off of this story.
Title: Guilt and Consequences. It is a sequel to Haunted Past.
Please Read and Review
************************************************************************
Chapter 2
Andromeda began scanning her engineer as he worked on her Slipstream Drive. Everything came back normal, at least normal for a human who had grown up on Earth.
Harper was humming as he worked when Dylan approached. Harper heard the High Guard captain approaching but being right in the middle of pulling off a coil didn't turn around. "Hey Dylan, I'll be with you in a sec. I just have to get this coil off."
Dylan took a seat on the floor next to where the engineer was working and waited. Several seconds later Harper pulled his head out of a conduit and sat down next to the captain.
The engineer picked up a can of Sparky from the floor and took a sip. He was worried about Beka. The blonde pilot was acting moody and Harper could tell she had been avoiding him. Beka even refused to talk the young engineer. When Harper walked into the same room and try to strike up a conversation Beka would mumble that she had to be somewhere or do something and leave the room. Beka had never acted that way towards Seamus Harper. Beka had always been there for Harper ever since he stowed away on the Maru. Had it really been 5 years since Beka took pity on a scared, skinny, hungry mudfoot?
"Thanks for coming up here Dylan," Harper greeted with unusual quietness.
"You're welcome. What's on your mind?" Dylan asked. He was hoping Harper was going to open up about the nightmare. It would be a good sign if it were true.
Harper's expression belayed his concern as he set the soda can down. "I just noticed that Beka seemed on edge lately. I asked her if anything was wrong and she said she just a little stir crazy and needed to get out for a couple days. Dylan, I don't think Beka was telling the truth. I don't have any evidence, but I know Beka and my gut instinct says something else was bothering her."
Dylan had spoken with Beka in the morning after noticing her sour mood. He had hoped he had talked to Beka before Harper noticed her attitude, but the engineer obviously knew her too well to miss it. When Dylan talked to her Beka said she needed some time away after what happened to Harper and Dylan consented. It wasn't doing Beka any good to stay on Andromeda, constantly confronted by her guilt. Having Beka go on a supply run would give Beka a convenient excuse. But Harper knew Beka too well not to have noticed his friend's moodiness. Now Dylan was forced to cover for Beka "I can appreciate your concern for Beka and frankly, I noticed she had been on edge as well and asked her if anything was bothering her. Beka's response was the same one she gave to you. So, unless you have any concrete proof that Beka was suffering from anything other than cabin fever, we'll have to take her at her word."
Harper looked as if he was about to protest but held his tongue. Instead the young engineer merely shrugged and stood up. "If you say so Boss. I'm guessing you two already talked and that's why Beka went on the supply run when Tyr was supposed to go."
Dylan nodded his head in agreement. "Well, if that's all you wanted to talk about then I had better go to my quarters. The Volpons weren't too happy about their vase being found in pieces. They want a complete report and the pieces sent to Volpon ASAP."
Harper laughed at the joke. "Yeah, I can imagine those Volpons aren't happy campers. I almost feel sorry for the guy or guys that stole the vase."
Dylan stood up and left Harper to his work, glad that the earther seemed to believe his lie about Beka. The captain didn't like lying to his crew, but what other choice did he have? None, Dylan reminded himself. Dylan couldn't tell Harper that Beka felt responsible for Harper going into a catatonic state and needed to get away from the engineer.
Harper wished Beka would have confided in him what was bothering her. She had always been a good listener whenever the earther came to her with a problem. Harper wished Beka would let him return the favor. The young engineer followed after his captain and grabbed Dylan's right arm.
Dylan stopped and turned to face the shorter man. "Yes Mr. Harper?"
"Dylan, I'd like permission to go with Beka to San-Ska-Re. I think I might be able to get Beka to open up and tell me what's really bothering her," Harper pleaded.
Dylan was going to have to think fast to keep Harper from becoming suspicious. Fortunately for Dylan, the High Guard captain was used to tap- dancing around issues when on diplomatic missions. And this was going to require some fancy footwork indeed. "Do you really think Beka can't take care of herself Mr. Harper? Look, I know how you feel. I'll admit I don't think Beka was being honest about her reasons for wanting to get away for awhile, but as much as we want to make her open up to us, we can't force her to. Beka is a big girl and can take care of herself. She wants some time alone so I think we should respect her wishes and give her some space."
Harper started to protest, but Dylan raised a hand to stop the engineer. "I mean it Harper. If you choose to force the issue I will order you to stay away from Beka. I don't want to do it, so be reasonable."
"Fine!" the engineer spat out. Before Dylan could say a word, Harper spun around and headed down the corridor, leaving the unfinished work behind.
"I'm not finished Mr. Harper," Dylan called after the engineer, not really believing that it would stop the younger man.
Not surprisingly, Harper continued on. For a moment Dylan considered calling AI Rommie and having her put the engineer under house arrest, but thought better of it. It would just make a bad situation worse. However, Dylan did order Rommie to keep track of Harper and not let the earther near the Maru. It wasn't going to be easy, but Dylan was going to do his level best to keep Harper from going after Beka and thus, from finding out about the disk found on Mantu.
Harper stormed past Trance on his way back to engineering. Trance tried to strike up a conversation with the earther, but Harper just kept walking. Harper didn't intend to be rude, but he was in no mood to talk to anybody right now, even Trance.
***
Beka was on board the Eureka Maru going through her preflight check when Tyr stopped by with his supply list. Tyr made no further mention of his suspicions as to Beka's purpose for taking out the Maru.
Beka was surprised how easily Tyr had relented. At first she was worried the Nietzschean was going to tell Dylan who would have tried to stop her. Beka didn't want to have to fight Dylan, but Beka would have been willing to fight the devil himself to get off Andromeda right now.
Beka started up the Maru and guided the ship away from Andromeda. After getting a safe distance away from Andromeda, Beka set the ship on auto pilot and pulled out a flexi from her blue leather jacket. The blonde studied the flexi for a minute. Beka wanted to be sure she had read it right the first time. There was no way Beka Valentine was going to make a mistake; not now. This mission was too important. Beka read the flexi's information and confirmed that she had read it correctly the first time. The words on the flexi made her heart beat faster and her pulse raced. Beka couldn't believe her luck. Burko was still alive, having recently survived an assassination attempt by a rival for alpha male of the Puma Pride.
Beka's mind raced with the images of Harper's parents being killed and what she was going to do to Burko. Leaning back in the pilot's seat, Beka let her mind wander. She thought of the many forms of torture she would soon be inflicting on the Nietzschean; each one more painful then the next. The blonde sighed deeply; it would still be too good for the monster.
Beka shook her head and pushed the thoughts from her head for now and returned the flexi to her pocket. The blonde then reached over and disengaged the autopilot. Beka engaged the Maru's Slipstream Drive and made her way for Earth and revenge.
.
Title: Guilt and Consequences. It is a sequel to Haunted Past.
Please Read and Review
************************************************************************
Chapter 2
Andromeda began scanning her engineer as he worked on her Slipstream Drive. Everything came back normal, at least normal for a human who had grown up on Earth.
Harper was humming as he worked when Dylan approached. Harper heard the High Guard captain approaching but being right in the middle of pulling off a coil didn't turn around. "Hey Dylan, I'll be with you in a sec. I just have to get this coil off."
Dylan took a seat on the floor next to where the engineer was working and waited. Several seconds later Harper pulled his head out of a conduit and sat down next to the captain.
The engineer picked up a can of Sparky from the floor and took a sip. He was worried about Beka. The blonde pilot was acting moody and Harper could tell she had been avoiding him. Beka even refused to talk the young engineer. When Harper walked into the same room and try to strike up a conversation Beka would mumble that she had to be somewhere or do something and leave the room. Beka had never acted that way towards Seamus Harper. Beka had always been there for Harper ever since he stowed away on the Maru. Had it really been 5 years since Beka took pity on a scared, skinny, hungry mudfoot?
"Thanks for coming up here Dylan," Harper greeted with unusual quietness.
"You're welcome. What's on your mind?" Dylan asked. He was hoping Harper was going to open up about the nightmare. It would be a good sign if it were true.
Harper's expression belayed his concern as he set the soda can down. "I just noticed that Beka seemed on edge lately. I asked her if anything was wrong and she said she just a little stir crazy and needed to get out for a couple days. Dylan, I don't think Beka was telling the truth. I don't have any evidence, but I know Beka and my gut instinct says something else was bothering her."
Dylan had spoken with Beka in the morning after noticing her sour mood. He had hoped he had talked to Beka before Harper noticed her attitude, but the engineer obviously knew her too well to miss it. When Dylan talked to her Beka said she needed some time away after what happened to Harper and Dylan consented. It wasn't doing Beka any good to stay on Andromeda, constantly confronted by her guilt. Having Beka go on a supply run would give Beka a convenient excuse. But Harper knew Beka too well not to have noticed his friend's moodiness. Now Dylan was forced to cover for Beka "I can appreciate your concern for Beka and frankly, I noticed she had been on edge as well and asked her if anything was bothering her. Beka's response was the same one she gave to you. So, unless you have any concrete proof that Beka was suffering from anything other than cabin fever, we'll have to take her at her word."
Harper looked as if he was about to protest but held his tongue. Instead the young engineer merely shrugged and stood up. "If you say so Boss. I'm guessing you two already talked and that's why Beka went on the supply run when Tyr was supposed to go."
Dylan nodded his head in agreement. "Well, if that's all you wanted to talk about then I had better go to my quarters. The Volpons weren't too happy about their vase being found in pieces. They want a complete report and the pieces sent to Volpon ASAP."
Harper laughed at the joke. "Yeah, I can imagine those Volpons aren't happy campers. I almost feel sorry for the guy or guys that stole the vase."
Dylan stood up and left Harper to his work, glad that the earther seemed to believe his lie about Beka. The captain didn't like lying to his crew, but what other choice did he have? None, Dylan reminded himself. Dylan couldn't tell Harper that Beka felt responsible for Harper going into a catatonic state and needed to get away from the engineer.
Harper wished Beka would have confided in him what was bothering her. She had always been a good listener whenever the earther came to her with a problem. Harper wished Beka would let him return the favor. The young engineer followed after his captain and grabbed Dylan's right arm.
Dylan stopped and turned to face the shorter man. "Yes Mr. Harper?"
"Dylan, I'd like permission to go with Beka to San-Ska-Re. I think I might be able to get Beka to open up and tell me what's really bothering her," Harper pleaded.
Dylan was going to have to think fast to keep Harper from becoming suspicious. Fortunately for Dylan, the High Guard captain was used to tap- dancing around issues when on diplomatic missions. And this was going to require some fancy footwork indeed. "Do you really think Beka can't take care of herself Mr. Harper? Look, I know how you feel. I'll admit I don't think Beka was being honest about her reasons for wanting to get away for awhile, but as much as we want to make her open up to us, we can't force her to. Beka is a big girl and can take care of herself. She wants some time alone so I think we should respect her wishes and give her some space."
Harper started to protest, but Dylan raised a hand to stop the engineer. "I mean it Harper. If you choose to force the issue I will order you to stay away from Beka. I don't want to do it, so be reasonable."
"Fine!" the engineer spat out. Before Dylan could say a word, Harper spun around and headed down the corridor, leaving the unfinished work behind.
"I'm not finished Mr. Harper," Dylan called after the engineer, not really believing that it would stop the younger man.
Not surprisingly, Harper continued on. For a moment Dylan considered calling AI Rommie and having her put the engineer under house arrest, but thought better of it. It would just make a bad situation worse. However, Dylan did order Rommie to keep track of Harper and not let the earther near the Maru. It wasn't going to be easy, but Dylan was going to do his level best to keep Harper from going after Beka and thus, from finding out about the disk found on Mantu.
Harper stormed past Trance on his way back to engineering. Trance tried to strike up a conversation with the earther, but Harper just kept walking. Harper didn't intend to be rude, but he was in no mood to talk to anybody right now, even Trance.
***
Beka was on board the Eureka Maru going through her preflight check when Tyr stopped by with his supply list. Tyr made no further mention of his suspicions as to Beka's purpose for taking out the Maru.
Beka was surprised how easily Tyr had relented. At first she was worried the Nietzschean was going to tell Dylan who would have tried to stop her. Beka didn't want to have to fight Dylan, but Beka would have been willing to fight the devil himself to get off Andromeda right now.
Beka started up the Maru and guided the ship away from Andromeda. After getting a safe distance away from Andromeda, Beka set the ship on auto pilot and pulled out a flexi from her blue leather jacket. The blonde studied the flexi for a minute. Beka wanted to be sure she had read it right the first time. There was no way Beka Valentine was going to make a mistake; not now. This mission was too important. Beka read the flexi's information and confirmed that she had read it correctly the first time. The words on the flexi made her heart beat faster and her pulse raced. Beka couldn't believe her luck. Burko was still alive, having recently survived an assassination attempt by a rival for alpha male of the Puma Pride.
Beka's mind raced with the images of Harper's parents being killed and what she was going to do to Burko. Leaning back in the pilot's seat, Beka let her mind wander. She thought of the many forms of torture she would soon be inflicting on the Nietzschean; each one more painful then the next. The blonde sighed deeply; it would still be too good for the monster.
Beka shook her head and pushed the thoughts from her head for now and returned the flexi to her pocket. The blonde then reached over and disengaged the autopilot. Beka engaged the Maru's Slipstream Drive and made her way for Earth and revenge.
.
