See Chapter 1 for Disclaimer
A/N: Here is chapter 3 (finally) :D Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! You guys are the best!
A/N2: Gordon, I split Chapter 2 so this chapter isn't anything new yet :D Chapter 4 coming soon!
(Present)
****************
Trance gasped and opened her eyes as her last memory came to a dark halt. She struggled to slow her ragged breath as the impact of what had transpired threatened to send her over the edge of panic's fragile precipice. She felt stinging tears spring to her eyes and stubbornly forbade them to fall. The time for being weak was past, she needed to gather her strength if she was going to be any good to anyone.
Relaxing as much as possible, she closed her eyes once again and reached out with her feelings for her shipmates. Much of her body's energy was being expended on the healing process; she attempted to shunt some of that energy to her senses, stretching herself to the breaking point. Nothing. She couldn't feel any of them. She told herself it was because she was weaker than she thought, not because they were dead. She made that her litany as she rolled onto her side and brought her shaky legs underneath her. Rising slowly, most of her body's reserves drained, she tried to think of what to do next.
Trance mentally took stock of her surroundings. She had been heading to the bridge but that way was blocked. The only route open to her took her away from the command deck. She bit her lip anxiously. She knew she had to get to Dylan, she had to tell him what she thought was happening. Unfortunately she was not as intimately familiar with the ship as Harper and knew she would get hopelessly lost trying to take an alternate route in the pitch dark. Harper--if she followed this corridor, she would get to engineering and Harper, surely he would be able to lead her to the bridge.
Trance felt her spirits lift at the thought of her friend. Of course Harper would be able to get Andromeda up and running again, he was after all, a super genius. Trance smiled slightly and started walking toward engineering, her feet a little more sure but also more cautious.
Her smile faltered as she came across more rubble in her path. She wound her way slowly through the jagged pieces of metal. There was much more damage than she had anticipated. She noticed with mounting anxiety that the air had begun to smell faintly stale. Trance was certain that had there been light she would have been able to see her breath. Shaking off her concerns as easily as she shook off the cold, she continued on.
After what seemed like an eternity of crawling blindly over and around various obstacles she arrived at her destination. The corridor ended in a "T" junction, the door to engineering lay directly in front of her. She took a deep breath and crossed the corridor, here arms outstretched in anticipation of encountering closed doors.
To her surprise the doors were open. Trance stopped, she held her breath and listened for any sign that there was another living creature in the room. No sound greeted her ears but the insistant beat of her own heart as it commanded she give it some oxygen. "Harper?" She whispered. The sound barely registered in the deafening silence. She cleared her throat and tried again. "Harper where are you?" The only reply was her own voice echoing back to her, hauntingly transformed as it bounced off the metal walls of main engineering.
Her hopes rapidly falling Trance remained still. She felt her strength returning and thought that she might finally have enough energy to summon her own illumination. Closing her eyes she concentrated and soon a small spark of golden light glowed weakly from the tips of the fingers on her left hand.
Out of the gloom rose piles of twisted metal, monstrously transformed into hulking heaps of ruin. Wires that should have been sparking and full of life hung limp from the ceiling like slumbering serpents. Trance's face reflected her inner turmoil as she gazed at the room in shock. She took a couple of tentative steps, searching for something familiar, something that would tell her that she hadn't stepped through the doors into another dimension, that this was indeed the engineering portion of Andromeda. Broken parts, melted steel, a table snapped in two all seemed alien to her, out of place in such a fierce landscape. She knelt as one object in particular gleamed in the soft light of her power. Trance swallowed hard as she touched the crushed can of Sparky cola. Tears glistened in her eyes at the thought of her friend and she blinked several times to clear her vision.
Refusing to accept what was becoming painfully obvious, Trance stood and continued her search. Cautiously working her way deeper into the room her light revealed a mountain. She narrowed her eyes, trying to penetrate the gloom. As she drew nearer she realized that it was not a mountain but stacks and stacks of crates forming a shape that was vaguely that of a pyramid. Gasping, her light momentarly dimming, Trance remembered that within the maze of crates was where she had last seen Harper. Now those boxes were piled 15 feet high, their contents splilling down the from the peak in an avalanche of spare parts and packing material.
The remaining crates formed foothills around the towering monolith. With her heart in her throat, Trance approached the giant stack. Moving her glowing hand over the structure, she searched for any sign that Harper had escaped. She was so intent on her search that she almost missed a two foot gap at the very base of the pyramid. Taking a deep breath, Trance moved her light to the space and peered inside. Her ragged breath sent plumes of dust into the stale air, temporarily blocking her view. She held her breath and waited for the dust to settle. That was when she saw it, a hand, a human hand lying between the crates. It was covered in blood. In her panic, Trance's light went out.
**************
TBC
A/N: Here is chapter 3 (finally) :D Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! You guys are the best!
A/N2: Gordon, I split Chapter 2 so this chapter isn't anything new yet :D Chapter 4 coming soon!
(Present)
****************
Trance gasped and opened her eyes as her last memory came to a dark halt. She struggled to slow her ragged breath as the impact of what had transpired threatened to send her over the edge of panic's fragile precipice. She felt stinging tears spring to her eyes and stubbornly forbade them to fall. The time for being weak was past, she needed to gather her strength if she was going to be any good to anyone.
Relaxing as much as possible, she closed her eyes once again and reached out with her feelings for her shipmates. Much of her body's energy was being expended on the healing process; she attempted to shunt some of that energy to her senses, stretching herself to the breaking point. Nothing. She couldn't feel any of them. She told herself it was because she was weaker than she thought, not because they were dead. She made that her litany as she rolled onto her side and brought her shaky legs underneath her. Rising slowly, most of her body's reserves drained, she tried to think of what to do next.
Trance mentally took stock of her surroundings. She had been heading to the bridge but that way was blocked. The only route open to her took her away from the command deck. She bit her lip anxiously. She knew she had to get to Dylan, she had to tell him what she thought was happening. Unfortunately she was not as intimately familiar with the ship as Harper and knew she would get hopelessly lost trying to take an alternate route in the pitch dark. Harper--if she followed this corridor, she would get to engineering and Harper, surely he would be able to lead her to the bridge.
Trance felt her spirits lift at the thought of her friend. Of course Harper would be able to get Andromeda up and running again, he was after all, a super genius. Trance smiled slightly and started walking toward engineering, her feet a little more sure but also more cautious.
Her smile faltered as she came across more rubble in her path. She wound her way slowly through the jagged pieces of metal. There was much more damage than she had anticipated. She noticed with mounting anxiety that the air had begun to smell faintly stale. Trance was certain that had there been light she would have been able to see her breath. Shaking off her concerns as easily as she shook off the cold, she continued on.
After what seemed like an eternity of crawling blindly over and around various obstacles she arrived at her destination. The corridor ended in a "T" junction, the door to engineering lay directly in front of her. She took a deep breath and crossed the corridor, here arms outstretched in anticipation of encountering closed doors.
To her surprise the doors were open. Trance stopped, she held her breath and listened for any sign that there was another living creature in the room. No sound greeted her ears but the insistant beat of her own heart as it commanded she give it some oxygen. "Harper?" She whispered. The sound barely registered in the deafening silence. She cleared her throat and tried again. "Harper where are you?" The only reply was her own voice echoing back to her, hauntingly transformed as it bounced off the metal walls of main engineering.
Her hopes rapidly falling Trance remained still. She felt her strength returning and thought that she might finally have enough energy to summon her own illumination. Closing her eyes she concentrated and soon a small spark of golden light glowed weakly from the tips of the fingers on her left hand.
Out of the gloom rose piles of twisted metal, monstrously transformed into hulking heaps of ruin. Wires that should have been sparking and full of life hung limp from the ceiling like slumbering serpents. Trance's face reflected her inner turmoil as she gazed at the room in shock. She took a couple of tentative steps, searching for something familiar, something that would tell her that she hadn't stepped through the doors into another dimension, that this was indeed the engineering portion of Andromeda. Broken parts, melted steel, a table snapped in two all seemed alien to her, out of place in such a fierce landscape. She knelt as one object in particular gleamed in the soft light of her power. Trance swallowed hard as she touched the crushed can of Sparky cola. Tears glistened in her eyes at the thought of her friend and she blinked several times to clear her vision.
Refusing to accept what was becoming painfully obvious, Trance stood and continued her search. Cautiously working her way deeper into the room her light revealed a mountain. She narrowed her eyes, trying to penetrate the gloom. As she drew nearer she realized that it was not a mountain but stacks and stacks of crates forming a shape that was vaguely that of a pyramid. Gasping, her light momentarly dimming, Trance remembered that within the maze of crates was where she had last seen Harper. Now those boxes were piled 15 feet high, their contents splilling down the from the peak in an avalanche of spare parts and packing material.
The remaining crates formed foothills around the towering monolith. With her heart in her throat, Trance approached the giant stack. Moving her glowing hand over the structure, she searched for any sign that Harper had escaped. She was so intent on her search that she almost missed a two foot gap at the very base of the pyramid. Taking a deep breath, Trance moved her light to the space and peered inside. Her ragged breath sent plumes of dust into the stale air, temporarily blocking her view. She held her breath and waited for the dust to settle. That was when she saw it, a hand, a human hand lying between the crates. It was covered in blood. In her panic, Trance's light went out.
**************
TBC