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Chapter 2 (Trance's memories)
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"Harper! Harper, are you in here?" Trance watched herself enter main engineering and call for Harper.
"What's up?" Came the muffled response. Trance squinted into the gloom. Andromeda was running a self-diagnostic and had all routines at half power, this included lights. She could just barely make out the top of Harper's spikey blonde head as it traveled back and forth behind a stack of crates.
"Dylan wants to know how much more time you need to finish the upgrades." Trance approached the crates. She cocked her head as she curiously searched for a way into the maze of boxes that were stacked as tall as she was. She spoke to where she thought Harper was, "Rommie's almost finished with her diagnostic and Dylan said he'd like to have the external sensors up as soon as she's finished."
Harper jumped up to see over the crates, his blue eyes catching sight of Trance, he quickly said, and "I'll be done soon." before landing nimbly back where he started. Startled, Trance narrowed her eyes at the crate behind which the engineer had disappeared. A mischievous glint sparkled in her eyes she crept up to the crate and tensed her legs. She was just about to pounce and scare the pants off her best friend when his head popped up three crates down, she had just enough time to register the cocky grin on his face before he disappeared again.
"Hey Trance," Harper giggled, two crates on her right this time, "ever play wack-a-mole?"
Trance laughed at the obscure reference but she got the idea. She may be a golden warrior now but she still loved playing Harper's games. Especially this one because she knew she could win. She lowered her gaze and followed the strings of possibility. He mind lead her to the left four crates. Certain that Harper would appear there next she quietly lay in wait, ready to grab him and wack his mole, whatever that was.
She thought she heard Harper coming her way and tensed, ready to attack when suddenly a terrifying feeling came over her. She shuddered as her blood ran cold with fear. Harper's game forgotten, she concentrated on the source of the irrational fear. The feeling was a slippery, evil intruder into her thoughts. She mentally latched on to the invader and struggled to bring it into the light so she could examine it. As quickly as it had come, it slipped through the fingers of her mind and was gone.
"Boo!" Harper exclaimed as his head poked up from the crate in front of her. In the split second he saw her, he knew something was wrong. He sprung back up immediately, "Trance, what is it?" He landed back behind the crate and started to make his way out of the maze to be near his friend.
"Harper, finish the sensors and have Rommie abandon her diagnostic." Trance panted, "I have to get to command."
Harper bounced back up in time to see her disappear out the door to engineering.
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Trance flew through the corridors, calling for Andromeda. "Trance, what's wrong?" The ship's hologram appeared immediately and floated alongside Trance as she ran.
"We're under attack. Stop your diagnostic and tell Dylan I'm on my way."
The hologram frowned, "I detected nothing threatening in this sector. Even with my external sensors down, I think I would know if we were under attack."
Trance stopped and gaped at the hologram. "I...I just know something is about to happen. We're all in very real danger." As if to emphasize her point, the ship rocked as explosions ripped along its side.
It was the hologram's turn to gape she flickered and winked out. Trance resumed her trek to command and soon heard Andromeda's melodic voice echoing throughout the entire ship. "Code red, all hands battle stations. Captain to the bridge."
Seconds later Trance recognized Dylan's frantic voice as he called to his engineer over the com, "Harper-we need external sensors--NOW!"
"You got it boss. External sensors online, let's get the son's of...whoever they are!" Came Harper's tinny reply.
The lights in the corridor flickered as the ship was hit again. Tyr's voice thundered over the com, practically vibrating the very walls of the ship. "The ship's weapons are not responding."
Harper, out of breath and more than a little panicked replied almost immediately, "It's the diagnostic, it takes a while to restore all files when a halt has been ordered. I'll get into the matrix and try and speed things up."
"Hurry Harper, I can't out run them forever." Beka said.
Trance increased her speed, her lungs burning for oxygen as she silently cursed the fact that it was so far between engineering and the command deck. A premonition briefly stabbed at her mind. She skidded to as stop, desperately trying to make sense of the warning when her world exploded. The corridor in front of her blew apart, shrapnel and fire surrounded her. She felt herself picked up by the force of the blast and flung like a rag doll to the floor.
***************
TBC
Chapter 2 (Trance's memories)
***********************
"Harper! Harper, are you in here?" Trance watched herself enter main engineering and call for Harper.
"What's up?" Came the muffled response. Trance squinted into the gloom. Andromeda was running a self-diagnostic and had all routines at half power, this included lights. She could just barely make out the top of Harper's spikey blonde head as it traveled back and forth behind a stack of crates.
"Dylan wants to know how much more time you need to finish the upgrades." Trance approached the crates. She cocked her head as she curiously searched for a way into the maze of boxes that were stacked as tall as she was. She spoke to where she thought Harper was, "Rommie's almost finished with her diagnostic and Dylan said he'd like to have the external sensors up as soon as she's finished."
Harper jumped up to see over the crates, his blue eyes catching sight of Trance, he quickly said, and "I'll be done soon." before landing nimbly back where he started. Startled, Trance narrowed her eyes at the crate behind which the engineer had disappeared. A mischievous glint sparkled in her eyes she crept up to the crate and tensed her legs. She was just about to pounce and scare the pants off her best friend when his head popped up three crates down, she had just enough time to register the cocky grin on his face before he disappeared again.
"Hey Trance," Harper giggled, two crates on her right this time, "ever play wack-a-mole?"
Trance laughed at the obscure reference but she got the idea. She may be a golden warrior now but she still loved playing Harper's games. Especially this one because she knew she could win. She lowered her gaze and followed the strings of possibility. He mind lead her to the left four crates. Certain that Harper would appear there next she quietly lay in wait, ready to grab him and wack his mole, whatever that was.
She thought she heard Harper coming her way and tensed, ready to attack when suddenly a terrifying feeling came over her. She shuddered as her blood ran cold with fear. Harper's game forgotten, she concentrated on the source of the irrational fear. The feeling was a slippery, evil intruder into her thoughts. She mentally latched on to the invader and struggled to bring it into the light so she could examine it. As quickly as it had come, it slipped through the fingers of her mind and was gone.
"Boo!" Harper exclaimed as his head poked up from the crate in front of her. In the split second he saw her, he knew something was wrong. He sprung back up immediately, "Trance, what is it?" He landed back behind the crate and started to make his way out of the maze to be near his friend.
"Harper, finish the sensors and have Rommie abandon her diagnostic." Trance panted, "I have to get to command."
Harper bounced back up in time to see her disappear out the door to engineering.
******************
Trance flew through the corridors, calling for Andromeda. "Trance, what's wrong?" The ship's hologram appeared immediately and floated alongside Trance as she ran.
"We're under attack. Stop your diagnostic and tell Dylan I'm on my way."
The hologram frowned, "I detected nothing threatening in this sector. Even with my external sensors down, I think I would know if we were under attack."
Trance stopped and gaped at the hologram. "I...I just know something is about to happen. We're all in very real danger." As if to emphasize her point, the ship rocked as explosions ripped along its side.
It was the hologram's turn to gape she flickered and winked out. Trance resumed her trek to command and soon heard Andromeda's melodic voice echoing throughout the entire ship. "Code red, all hands battle stations. Captain to the bridge."
Seconds later Trance recognized Dylan's frantic voice as he called to his engineer over the com, "Harper-we need external sensors--NOW!"
"You got it boss. External sensors online, let's get the son's of...whoever they are!" Came Harper's tinny reply.
The lights in the corridor flickered as the ship was hit again. Tyr's voice thundered over the com, practically vibrating the very walls of the ship. "The ship's weapons are not responding."
Harper, out of breath and more than a little panicked replied almost immediately, "It's the diagnostic, it takes a while to restore all files when a halt has been ordered. I'll get into the matrix and try and speed things up."
"Hurry Harper, I can't out run them forever." Beka said.
Trance increased her speed, her lungs burning for oxygen as she silently cursed the fact that it was so far between engineering and the command deck. A premonition briefly stabbed at her mind. She skidded to as stop, desperately trying to make sense of the warning when her world exploded. The corridor in front of her blew apart, shrapnel and fire surrounded her. She felt herself picked up by the force of the blast and flung like a rag doll to the floor.
***************
TBC