New Arrival
Chapter Three
New Life
"How can you see into my eyesLike open doors?"
"My spirit's sleeping somewhere cold
Until you find it there in me. . .in me."
A quote from the song "Bring Me To Life" by the band Evanescense.
Trance awoke with a pounding headache and a blank spot in her memory of the previous night. She was in bed, and she assumed she was in her quarters. Rolling over onto her side, she rubbed at her eyes and groaned. "Ugh. . .what happened?"
"You drank waaaaay too much alcohol," Hex's voice sounded from nearby. "You really should have given up." She jumped, startled.
"Why are you in my quarters?"
"I'm not. You're in mine." He saw the alarmed look on her face and shook his head, smiling. "Don't worry, you're in no danger of a reputation. No one even knows. Well, Harper knows I outdrank you, but he's passed out in Machine Shop 18, so he doesn't know about you being in my quarters." He walked over to the bed, sat down on the edge, taking her hand in his. "Thanks."
"For what," she asked, confused.
"For making me feel better last night. I really was down in the dumps, but you took care of that. Now it's my turn to take care of you." She smiled despite her pounding headache.
"You're welcome. And that's alright, you don't have to take care of me."
"I do," he replied affectionately. "Because I care about you, and because you helped me when I needed it." He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and smiled. "Now, what kind of medicine do you need from Med Bay?"
"Just some coffee, thanks," she replied, sitting up and realizing she still had her clothes on. "I'm feeling better already." He nodded and bolted out the door to get the coffee. She smiled in appreciation and pondered over how her feelings with Hex had occurred. She had come back thinking about Harper in a slightly romantic way, and she didn't think anybody else would be right for her. At first, she wasn't sure about what could have happened to change that, but now she thought she had a handle on it. Something she'd done to make sure things stayed right, they must have allowed for Hex's arrival. That explained why she'd never met him before.
However, that still didn't explain why she couldn't see into the future with him. She couldn't guess where he was concerned. It was as if he was beyond probabilities. She still couldn't wrap her head around that one. How was it possible? Well, he said he wasn't human, but that didn't really mean anything. There weren't many species that were beyond probabilities. There was only one explanation, but she knew that he wasn't chaos incarnate, so that was out. She supposed he was just "highly unpredictable" and that she would leave it at that for right now.
"Deep in thought," asked a voice from the door. She was startled to see Tyr standing there.
"Tyr, hey. . .what do you need?"
"Just wondering why you're in the quarters of our newest Dylanite."
"First of all," barked another voice, Hex's, from behind the big Nietzschean, "I am most certainly NOT a Dylanite. Second of all, I'M wondering what YOU are doing in my quarters, Tyr." Tyr turned and laughed.
"That, child, is no business of yours." Hex came to stand chest to chest with Tyr.
"First of all, Tyr Anasazi, I am NO child. And second of all, if you insist on invading my privacy, I WILL make sure you regret it."
"And how will you do that. . .child?"
"I can't believe you're really this stupid. Well, I suppose you came here looking for a fight, and I suppose I'm in the mood to give it to you."
....................................
"Are you sure you want to do this, child?" Tyr and Hex both stood, in a fairly large dead end alleyway near the Castle.
"You seem to be insistent upon it, Tyr. The only condition I have is that if I win, you tell NO ONE that Trance was in my quarters. Agreed?"
"And if you lose?"
"You get to name your price."
"Quite a condition. You seem horribly confident of your success in this fight."
"It doesn't have anything to do with confidence. I already know I can win, that's all."
"Like I said, quite confident."
"Quite knowledgeable about my own abilities, that's what it is. Now, I'm hungry, so can we please get on with this? Rommie only serves breakfast for another hour."
"You truly think this fight will be that easy?"
"In all honesty, Tyr? I would be surprised if this fight lasted more than ten minutes." Tyr laughed and charged at the boy, arm cocked back, intending to throw one very large punch. In a flash, Hex was no longer there. "See," his voice called from behind, "that's your problem Tyr." Tyr spun and was met with a flying kick to the face. "You always start out with brute strength," another flash, and he was behind Tyr again, landing a kick to the back of the knee. "Expecting it to knock the opponent out." Another flash, and suddenly Hex was in front of him. "It is only after you've confused the enemy," a strong fist to the stomach, "that you can let lose with your brute force." A strong uppercut to the jaw knocked Tyr out. "And y'know, I almost wish I could let you remember this, just to teach you some humility. But I can't." He sighed, waving his hand tiredly. "So, Tyr. You wanted to go see if there were any interesting weapons. You came down here, ended up in a fight, which YOU, of course, won." He realized that there would be bruises and added, "Though it was a hard fought victory." With that he threw on his shirt and strode out of the alleyway, leaving Tyr to wake up in time.
....................................
Hex strode into the Mess Hall and got some breakfast. It wasn't much really, and he finished it rather quickly.
However, it wasn't the activity in the Mess Hall that had Dylan fascinated. It was the information Rommie had just shown him that drew his interest. "So, what exactly does all this amount to," he asked, trying to hide the rather puzzled tone from his voice.
"Well, the information by itself means next to nothing, really. A LOT of people know how to erase their records, and considering he is either being chased by or chasing what seems to be an at least somewhat dangerous man, it would be in his best interest to erase his records." She sighed, not at all eager to reveal this next bit of information. "Now, the video files, they mean something."
"Video files," Dylan asked, interested. Rommie nodded but stayed silent. "Of what?"
"Of WHO," she corrected him, and played the first video file. It was no more than a minute long, and the second was barely longer. Both, however, revealed a great deal of information.
"Rommie, find Hex. Tell him to report to my quarters IMMEDIATELY."
....................................
"So, Captain," Hex began, picking up on the less-than-casual tone in the room and deciding to use formal titles, "what's this about?" Dylan didn't respond, merely gesturing to where Rommie had displayed the video files. The screen was blank at first, but in a moment the two video files played through. Hex's face grew darker and darker as he watched.
The first video showed someone that was undoubtedly him, dressed as what looked like a late 20th century biker, strolling through a drift, casually firing a Gauss Rifle around at menacing looking aliens.
The second showed him again, though this time he was dressed in plate armor, like a Knight of Earth's middle ages. Things were exploding all around him, and he suddenly spun and mangled the recording device that was behind him.
"Care to explain either of those? Preferably the one that showed you as a murderer first."
"I can only say two things in my defense," he replied. "One: That was a very, VERY dark period in my life. Two: Those aliens would make the Magog look like pussycats."
"And that makes it ok?" Hex simply shrugged.
"Maybe, maybe not. Depends on what world you're on."
"On that one."
". . .That one didn't get a vote," he replied after a moment.
"And why not?"
"Because they made the Magog look like pussycats." He sighed. "I'm talking serious evil here Dylan, SERIOUS evil. The Magog are wild and brutal. These things were capable of that, but trust me; they loved to pull world-class mindjobs. And they were experts at it. They tried to pull one on me, but unfortunately for them, they had finally found someone who saw through their illusions."
"So you took it upon yourself to kill them?"
"No. I actually decided to screw my instincts and let them go about their business at first. Then I heard about some of the more evil things they'd done. Yet I figured that I hadn't heard anything recently, so maybe they were trying to redeem themselves." His tone grew dark. "Something I can understand." He coughed, and his tone was the serious yet neutral tone it had been a moment before. "I was wrong. They were planning to destroy quite a few planets near them, and they all had innocent habitants, many of them. I couldn't let that kind of slaughter happen, so I made the decision. I had to terminate the evil before it spread, and destroyed innocence." He shrugged. "Does that make me a murderer? I don't know. But I know I never have, nor ever will, regret what I did that day."
"You could've gone through the proper channels," Dylan replied, in the same neutral tone.
"Dylan, I tried. But sometimes, the proper channels aren't fast enough," he stated sadly, mixed with a bit of old hopelessness. Something had happened to him, something he'd tried to handle by going through the proper channels, but something that those channels had been too slow to stop.
"How many planets stood to be wiped out," he asked.
"Five. All were technologically inferior to those things. I wouldn't have interfered if there was any chance that the planets could have fended for themselves, but there really wasn't."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"How do you know?"
"Because I didn't act until two were already destroyed."
"What," Dylan asked dumbly.
"Two were already gone, their inhabitants permanently wiped from the universe, never to be seen or heard from again. Possibilities were snuffed out, good possibilities." His voice was full of self-loathing, acid, and pain. "Billions of people dead, because I was too damn nervous about being," he paused, and then sneered, "hasty." He nodded. "So yes, Captain, I suppose I AM a murderer, but not in the sense you think." He jerked his thumb at the paused video file. "I'm not THEIR murderer." There was a rather large star in view and he pointed at it. "I'm THEIR murderer." He sighed and seemed to deflate. "So, you probably need to put me in the brig until you can decide what to do with me. I won't fight it. Just let me get a shower first, ok?"
....................................
"He's WHERE," Trance blurted, upon finding out where Hex was. They were all in the conference room, seated around the table. Rommie and Dylan had just informed them of Hex's current location, and they were about to inform the rest of the crew why he was there. Dylan, knowing of the growing relationship between the pair, spoke in a soft, comforting voice.
"He's in the brig Trance."
"W-why? What could he have done to deserve being in the brig?"
"We're about to show you," Rommie replied gently. Trance wanted to say more but wisely waited until after gathering all the information. The video files played, and silence descended upon the room. Finally, after a moment, Harper spoke up.
"Well, that was. . .ah hell, forget it. I can't think of anything funny to say."
"He must have had his reasons," Trance replied, defending Hex.
"Apparently he did," Dylan replied. "As a matter of fact Trance, I think maybe it would be a good idea if you went and talked to him. Maybe you could help him, and I think he needs it." She was up and out of the room immediately.
"The rest of you should know why he did what he did, but first, you should know why I REALLY put him in the brig. He definitely needed to talk to someone, and I doubted he would pursue that course willingly, so instead I put him in the brig, where he has nowhere else to go."
"What about those," Tyr asked, gesturing to the video files.
"Rommie checked it out after putting him in the brig. I'm not sure if his reasons were real, but what he said about the planets being destroyed and the others being threatened was true. I can only assume he was telling the truth about the rest."
"You can only hope, you mean," Beka replied.
"Yeah," Dylan said, nodding. "Yeah."
....................................
Hex was sitting in a far corner, singing, when Trance came running. Deciding to wait and see what was going on, she stopped, hugged the wall, and listened.
"How can you see into my eyesLike open doors?
My spirit. . .was sleeping somewhere cold
Until you. . .found it there in me. . .in me."
Trance, deciding she needed to add a little pep to what sounded like a very depressed Hex, sprang out into his field of vision, smiling cheerfully. She took one look into his eyes and immediately grew worried. "Something's wrong."
"Just wondering at how much I've changed since stepping onto this ship."
"You've changed?"
"Yeah. More than I thought I would." He sighed, shaking his head. "Tell me: The first time you looked into my eyes, what did you see?" Trance thought back to when they first met, thought about that time he'd bowed to her and called her 'Milady' and asked her if she'd like help going to a more comfortable part of the ship. She'd looked into his eyes then, but looked away quickly. What she saw there, for the briefest of moments, was pain and anguish, and worse: An acceptance. He thought he deserved the pain, the sorrow, and the guilt, all of it.
"A man who was in a great deal of pain, and that felt he deserved it," she said honestly. He began to speak again, but she continued talking. "They say the eyes are the windows to the soul." He stopped in mid-sentence and nodded.
"Yes, that's what they say."
"I think that's true. People can put up mirrors in front of the windows, but in the end, the windows can still be seen through. All you have to do is break the mirrors, or look very quickly, before they can be put up."
"I've heard that too."
"I looked in your windows that first time we met. I looked past the pain, past the anguish, past it all, and I saw your soul."
"And what did you see?"
"A man-a brave, selfless man-who didn't deserve the pain that I had glimpsed in his eyes."
"I'm beginning to wonder whether you're right about that." He sighed. "And I'm sorry."
"For what," she asked, truly perplexed.
"For not telling you about those. . .incidents." She smiled and got closer to the bars, hoping to reach in and take his hands. Instead, however, she watched him suddenly groan and pass out. She immediately called Andromeda.
....................................
Unbeknownst to Hex, however, was that he was seeing some form of odd dream. To him, it was completely real. In reality, it was all just a dream. Either way, Trance called Andromeda in the dream as well as in real life, though in the dream she was calling for a different reason. "Rommie? Think it'd be ok to let Hex out?" There was a pause, and then Rommie's hologram appeared in front of them.
"Yes. And Hex, just to let you know, your story checks out." The bars on his cell parted and Hex walked out. "Except, that is, for one little detail that Captain Hunt said he didn't want to hear."
"Yes Rommie, those incidents were dated. However, in all the confusion of the fighting, they were dated INCORRECTLY."
"Hex, could we, and by we I mean the three of us, discuss something in your quarters?"
"Sure thing. Meet you up there?"
....................................
And sure enough, Rommie was waiting for the pair when they entered. "Ok Rommie, first of all. Privacy mode, if you'd please."
"Already done."
"Ok, so then what is it you want to talk to me about," Hex asked, plopping down on the bed. Trance plopped down next to him.
"Just these," the hologram replied, gesturing to the small viewscreen that Hex had requested in his quarters. The screen turned on and a series of video files played, first a file of him sitting in his quarters, reading the quotation from "The Soulforge" out loud. The second was of him blowing up at Harper, pushing him out into the hallway, and punching the wall. The third was when he was talking about the legend that made him cautious about the asteroid field they had come in contact with. The fourth and fifth were the two that had just been uncovered. And, finally, the sixth was when he was walking down the hallway with Dylan and Harper, dressed in costume. The video file was paused. "Now, here's what REALLY catches my interest. You mumbled something that you thought was inaudible, but I was able to amplify it."
"Can't control everything. I just hope this time it doesn't come back to bite me on my shiny silver ass."
"Care to enlighten us to the meaning of that," the hologram asked.
"In all honesty?" She nodded. "Not really." The hologram looked like she was going to protest, but then Trance stood up and stepped forward.
"I have my secrets too Rommie. So does Harper, so does Beka, so does Dylan, and so does Tyr. None of us gets questioned like this."
"True, but none of us has been as mysterious, or seems to have so many secrets. A few of those I could understand, but those video files, the first few, I didn't even notice until just recently. I'd at least like to know about that strength-"
"I'm a god," Hex replied calmly. When both the women gawked at him, he began to laugh. "A god of luck. That wall was already a little weak. I noticed that flaw and since I wanted a dramatic effect, I made sure I pushed Harper's head near it and then let fly with my fist. No super strength behind that."
"What about that quote," Rommie asked.
"What, the Soulforge thing?" He sighed. "That's just something I wrote when I was a kid."
"And the 'shiny silver ass' comment?"
"I had a nickname once, Quicksilver. Silver, get it?"
"And the legend, how did you know about that?" Trance gave a silent nod, smiling slightly.
"I listen to madmen," Hex replied simply. "Check some files from asylums and institutions. I'm sure you could put the same thing together."
"When did you get the chance to talk to madmen?" Hex sighed, shook his head.
"There were some that didn't make it into an institution or asylum. They ended up in the alleys. And as such, they ended up as my neighbors." Trance's eyes widened. "Yes, that's right. I was homeless, for a long time, really. Let's just say that my parents didn't enjoy my free spirit and lateral thinking, so they kicked me out."
"How old were you," Trance asked, her tone comforting.
"Ten."
"Ten," Rommie repeated, shocked.
"Yeah. When you LIVE on the streets, you learn how to survive there fairly quickly."
"The streets of what planet, if you don't mind me asking," Rommie asked.
"All over. Spent some time on Cintii (they wanted to do an experiment on homeless kids and were paying good money) Earth, and most recently, Sarenal."
"And when did you meet this Ravonas guy?" His face immediately clouded.
"A long time ago. He's a very bad man."
"Did he hurt you?" Hex laughed.
"More than you can imagine." They sat in silence for a few moments, before the hologram cursed and alarms started blaring. Hex was up in a flash, forcelance out and ready.
"Who is it this time?"
"They look like your little friends from Sarenal," Rommie shouted back.
"Shit." The doors opened and a flood of enemies charged in. Hex was ready. He fried the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth ones. It was then Trance got a look at them. The only possible description could be draconian, like the reptilian looking form of Dr. Ravonas.
"So, Knight," roared one in a raspy, scratchy voice, "you fight with a weapon such as that now? Without honor?"
"I fight YOU monstrosities any way I damn well choose," he roared back and fired at the creature's head. One managed to get through and knock the forcelance from his hand. "Ok, you wanna do this the HARD way!" A swift punch to where the gut would be on a human, and Hex's hand came away with blood. He ducked a kick from another reptilian creature and sprang up into the air, delivering one massive uppercut that snapped the creature's neck as he did. He landed on the shoulders of one behind it, and he snapped his feet tightly around that creature's head. He gave a sharp twist and the creature began to fall. He was already in the air again, delivering a flying kick to the next creature. "You creature's are all alike," Hex roared above the sound of alarms and battle. "Kill one, you've killed them all!" Trance had managed to grab his forcelance and he smiled, getting an idea. "Trance, toss me my forcelance and I'll show you a neat trick!" She did, and while it was in the air, he pulled another from his boot. Grabbing the one out of the air he began to spin, and soon he was a blur. Finally the blur stopped, and there stood before them not Hex, but a tall, skinny looking man with curly blonde hair that reached to his chin. His skin was pale and Trance couldn't tell if he wore a shirt, as he was covered from nearly head to toe in a black leather coat, in the old Earth duster style. It was buttoned up; so that only his baggy brown pants and combat boots could be seen. He held two forcelances, and the grin that he gave the creatures was positively psychotic. "Say hello to Scarecrow kiddies," he shouted gleefully, and began shooting. The creatures began dropping everywhere, and he moved among them, faster and faster, alternating between punches and shooting, dodging the physical attacks easily and delivering his own blows. It was a matter of perhaps five minutes before all the creatures lay dead at his feet.
"God of LUCK, huh," Rommie asked sarcastically.
"Ok, maybe more like Guardian of the Light," he replied, "but that's not important right now! Ravonas is attempting to make his way to Command! Rommie, slow him down! Throw whatever barriers you can in his path!" He paused. "Oh, and I should probably inform you of this: Ravonas's real name is Arcanis."
"How do I slow down a god," Rommie practically shrieked at him.
"A god of evil, remember!" He looked around quickly. "Anybody have anything to write with, like a marker or something?"
"What century are you from," Trance asked sarcastically.
"This life or the last one," Hex returned.
"I was being sarcastic," she replied flatly.
"Right. Well, seriously. I need to turn this ship into a holy relic!"
"And HOW do you do that," Rommie asked.
"Just give me something to WRITE WITH," Hex stated, patience beginning to fade. "Oh, forget it! I don't like using blood, but I suppose it'll have to do!" Rommie was about to suggest the closest creature with a bleeding wound, but Hex calmly bit into his finger and let silver blood gush from there.
"Silver blood," Trance asked.
"Silver dragon," Hex returned. "Now everybody be quiet, I need as much silence as possible to concentrate." He made a strange symbol on the ground and somewhere above them; an infuriated and pained scream was heard. "Never could stand up to the Seal of Light," he mumbled.
"You really are a silver dragon," Trance asked.
"I tell you I'm a god and you accept it like it's nothing, but I tell you I'm a big lizard and you question," Hex replied jokingly. "Yes, I'm a silver dragon. After all I've already told you, why would I lie now?" Trance nodded, conceding his point. "Now, I've got to be off to deal with Arcanis. Now that you all know, I won't have to hold back. All I ask is get us both out into space."
"You can breath in space," Rommie asked, shocked.
"God, remember," he replied.
"Right. Have to enter that one in the database," the hologram replied. "So what can I do now?"
"Where is he," Hex asked.
"Obs. Deck."
"Lock him in. He won't be able to touch anything without an enormous, searing pain, considering you're now a holy relic."
"Well, as Harper would say, 'that's nifty.' Is it permanent?"
"As long as the symbol stays on," Hex replied. "It will wash off, don't worry."
"Nice. So what can we do," Trance asked.
"Stay here," Hex replied.
"Out of the question," Trance shot back.
"Trust me Trance, you want to stay here."
"No I don't."
"YES, you do."
"Why are you so damn persistent about this," Trance grumbled rhetorically.
"I just am, OK?!" She noted the fear and desperation in his voice and her tone and attitude softened a little.
"You know something, don't you," she asked. Rommie wisely decided to keep her holographic mouth shut and watch. Hex sighed and shook his head.
"Sure," he said, talking to himself, "why not? You've told them everything else, might as well tell them this." He then directed his next comment at Trance. "You can take peeks into the future, right?"
"Sometimes," she replied.
"Well, sometimes I'm shown the possible futures. And in one of them, the one that definitely seems most likely now, you. . .!" He shook his head violently and walked passed her. "Stay here."
"No," she stated flatly.
"I can easily set up a barrier to keep you from leaving this room."
"You can, but you won't," she replied. Hex nodded.
"You're right." And on that note, he strode out of the room, headed for Obs. Deck.
....................................
Back in the real world, Hex was in Med Bay, lying in a bed. Trance hadn't bothered to scan him for any physical problems, doubting she'd get anything. She may have tried if all the others weren't with them, but they were, and she doubted that he'd want something like that spread around. "Is he ok," Dylan asked.
"I don't know. I scanned him before you all got here," she lied, "and there appears to be nothing physically wrong with him. As for his mental state, you saw those scans yourself. His mind is very active. I think he's dreaming."
"Yeah," Harper stated, "but dreaming about WHAT? Those scans showed some muchos grande activity goin' on in his noggin. What d'ya think could be causin' that?" Trance shrugged.
"My best guess," she stated, covering up the fact that she couldn't see probabilities where Hex was concerned, "he's probably dreaming of something stressful. Maybe he's reliving part of the battle on Sarenal. From what you guys told us, that would definitely cause this kind of activity."
"Could that harm him," Dylan asked.
"Probably not. Everyone dreams, so I wouldn't worry about it too much." The others nodded and slowly left, leaving Trance alone with Hex. She leaned down and gave him a peck on the cheek. "You better wake up," she replied. "Because I think I love you, and I still need to tell you that."
....................................
In the dream world, Hex was fighting Ravonas on Obs. Deck. Ravonas made a comment about growing impatient. "Rommie, he's about to blast through into space! Make sure this room stays closed off!" An explosion sounded, and Ravonas slid out into open space. Hex had no problem standing his ground, but was suddenly faced with another problem. Trance, who had been hiding behind a plant during the fight, was being sucked forwards. Hex calmly grabbed hold of her. "I told you to stay behind," he shouted. Ravonas, who had now become a huge black dragon, laughed from outside as Trance slipped from Hex's grasp.
"Having a problem, dear brother? Well, allow me to fix it for you!" He spat out acid and it struck Trance in the back of the head. She began to fall as she was pulled closer towards the hole leading outside, into space. Hex rushed up and grabbed her, pulling her into his arms. She was dead, and his eyes were burning, his soul was on fire, and all he wanted to do at that exact moment was kill. Without even giving it a second thought, he placed her on the ground and altered gravity to make sure she stayed there. It was then that he remembered where he'd seen these images before. At this point, however, it didn't matter. She was dead, and Arcanis had killed her.
"I WILL DAMN YOU TO THE ETERNAL FIRES OF OBLIVION!!!!" He rushed out into space, taking on his silver dragon form once he was outside. He tore Ravonas to pieces easily, but his rage was still there, still uncontrolled. He scorched two planets with his breath and then flew out, far away into space, and grew enormous, and with a swish of his tail another planet fell. He gazed at the rubble of the planets he had destroyed for long moments, and then he flew off.
The next part of the dream flew by, and he was no longer in it, but watching on his plane of glass. Dylan and the others spending a year and a half to find him, Harper accidentally finding him by flipping a coin and going into a run down bar, the Andromeda crew gradually becoming disillusioned, and one by one the crew dying. And finally, Hex saw himself, walking around surrounded on all sides by blackness. Oblivion, he knew. And the scariest part of it all was the one thought that passed through his mind as he walked.
'Finally, I can have peace.' And then, he woke up.
....................................
Hex's eyes shot open, and the first thing he saw was Trance, smiling down at him. His arms shot out and wrapped around her waist, and he gently buried his face into her stomach. Surprised and concerned by the gesture, Trance gently stroked his hair while reaching down to hold him close to her. "What is it, what's wrong?"
"Dream," he mumbled, muffled. She felt wetness against her stomach, and suddenly she realized that he was crying!
"Ssshhh, it's ok now. Whatever it was is gone, it was just a dream."
"No. More than a dream. Never let it happen."
"What happened," she asked softly, gently taking his head in her hands and making him look at her, sitting down on the bed as she did.
"No. Can't let it happen."
"What is it? Hex, what is it? You know you can tell me."
"I love you," he stated.
"I love you too," she replied. "And that's why I'm so concerned. I-" She was cut off as she felt his lips pressing against hers, and they kissed. She would've normally told him to at least wait for her to finish her sentence, but she enjoyed the warmth and joy and relief radiating from him, so she let it drop and simply kissed back. "Only a dream," he mumbled under his breath. "Still have time to fix it."
....................................
"So, Mr. Mason. Feeling better," Dylan asked from his seated position on a bed across from Hex's.
"Yeah, I am. Thanks for asking."
"You're a member of my crew and a friend. I think its part of the job description." Hex chuckled.
"Either way, thanks." Dylan leaned back.
"Not a problem." They both sat in silence for a moment. "So, what was it you were dreaming about? From the mental scan it seemed pretty intense."
"It wasn't anything you'd be interested in Dylan."
"Try me."
"Really, don't worry about it." Dylan just gave him a look and Hex sighed. "It was about Ravonas, ok? I was fighting him."
"Who won?" Hex's face darkened.
"That depends on what you mean by the word 'won.'" Dylan noticed the considerable darkening of his face and didn't follow up.
"Trance isn't letting you out yet," Dylan asked. Hex's face cleared a bit and he nodded.
"You know how it is."
"Does she think anything is seriously wrong with you?"
"Nah, just being protective." Hex smiled. "Can't say I mind, y'know?" Dylan gave a little laugh and got up, heading out.
"Nice to see you're ok Mr. Mason."
Once Dylan was out of earshot, Hex mumbled, "That depends on what you mean by the word 'ok.'"
....................................
"Harper, for the thousandth time, NO, I will NOT sneak out of Med Bay to go pull some pranks with you!"
"Hey, easy there big guy, just askin'. Tryin' ta lighten the mood, y'know." Hex grinned and nodded.
"Yeah, I know. Still, I'd be willing to bet that if I had said yes, you'd have a plan cooked up in the time it takes me to blink, huh?" Harper laughed and scratched the back of his head.
"Am I that transparent?"
"Sorry to say it, but yeah, you are," Hex grinned. "And, y'know. . .I only said I wouldn't SNEAK OUT of Med Bay to help you with your prankage." His grin grew mischievous as he continued, "Once I'm LET OUT, well that's another story." Harper laughed and clapped Hex on the back merrily.
"I knew you wouldn't let me down big guy, I-"
"Harper, he needs to get some rest," Trance called from her position at one of the scanners, checking Hex's brainwave patterns for signs of abnormalities, something she'd insisted on doing every day after that dream.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Harper replied, then in a hushed whisper, "don't tell her about the pranks!" Hex grinned and made the universal sign for "my lips are zipped." Harper grinned and looked like he was going to say something else, but a look from Trance forced him to hightail it out the door. Hex had to admit, he was a little sleepy, so he laid down and went to sleep instead of coaxing Trance away from the screens for the daily make-out session.
....................................
"What? Where am. . .oh." He was in the run down bar he'd seen in the dream. There were no people there, just as it had been in the dream, a few minutes before Harper walked in. "The question is, why?" Suddenly the red haired man from the alternate plane of existence was sitting next to him, but this time in a faded Commonwealth uniform, open at the chest to reveal a faded gray shirt.
"I'll have a beer, if you wouldn't mind," the man replied.
"Since when have you been a drinker," Hex asked, his tone jovial.
"It fits the motif," he replied, and then gestured down at his attire. "You like?" A slight grin played across Hex's face, the elder version of himself that he'd seen in the dream.
"It fits the motif," he replied. The red haired man smirked. "So, I assume you want to talk to me about something?"
"Yes."
"About my dream?"
"Correct."
"It wasn't a dream, was it?"
"For the time being, it was, and it was not. You were given the opportunity; in what was really only a brief few minutes, to experience the most likely possible future. Things had to be sped up a bit at the end, but you understood what was the most pertinent information to your present situation."
"That I did," Hex replied. "Though I'm not falling for your cover story. You've put enough of the truth in it to clue me in." The red haired man smirked slightly.
"Oh, did I? I didn't notice." He chuckled and took a sip of the beer. "Gah, now I know why I never touched this stuff before." Hex laughed and took a drink from his own bottle, which he had just discovered had been in his hand the entire time. "So," the red haired man continued, still sounding a bit disgusted at the beverage, "I'd like to hear what you think I've clued you into."
"You can't tell me yes or no even if I was right, so what's the point?"
"Consider it idle chatter until you're old friend walks in."
"Alright," Hex replied, still unused to talking about Harper in that manner. "What happened wasn't a dream. It happened that way, and then later, once I discovered the entrance to Oblivion, I was far too pained to care about my actions, and I entered. When I did, the version of myself that currently inhabits this older body, died. However, when I was reunited with that shard of my being, still full of hopefulness, in Oblivion, I blasted my way out, and the different periods of my occurrences in this timeline were placed back where they belonged when I exited. However, for that brief period that I was dead so was he." There was no question among the two about whom Hex was referring to; both seemed to know the person in question rather closely. Hex appeared to detest that fact, while the red haired man wore the same impartial face he always wore when he wasn't smirking or frowning at something he'd put under the proverbial microscope. "And he thus missed whatever opening he had to attack." The red haired man went to take another drink before remembering how it had ended the last time he tried.
"Bartender? A red wine please, the best you've got." He chuckled at his jest and a red wine appeared in front of him out of force of will. The red haired man extended the beer to Hex. "Do you want this?" Hex took the offered drink with a nod of thanks and put it next to him, deciding to finish off his already half gone drink before moving on to his new one.
"So is that all you wanted to talk to me about," Hex asked. "If so, why go through all the trouble of talking to me here?"
"Because that's not all I wanted to talk to you about. I'm warning you now, that future can still come to pass. You must be vigilant, because next time, you won't get that lucky."
"When I die, he dies as well."
"Not for much longer. He's discovered the ancient knowledge." Hex coughed up the drink he'd been in the process of swallowing.
"What," he said, his voice still sounding slightly scratchy from the cough, mixed with shock from the red haired man's statement. "He couldn't have. We were told father locked that knowledge away so none of us could reach it!" The red haired man laughed.
"You know how father was. Always unpredictable, never trusting himself to stay firm on a decision. But I suppose that's par for the course when you're chaos incarnate."
"Just tell me how it was discovered. This could change the entire playing field."
"Indeed it could. That's why I'm here to see you. At any rate, I can see you're getting a little impatient, and you never did have the best temper, so. . .continuing." Hex smirked slightly but stayed silent. "Father, it seems, truly wanted to stay firm on this decision, knowing the irreparable harm it could have on the universe if such information were to get out. However, he knew that he would not be able to stay firm on the decision unless someone else stood behind him. And in order to do that, they would need to know the ancient knowledge." The red haired man stopped, waiting for Hex to inevitably put the rest together himself.
"So father told the ancient knowledge to someone else. And he must have intimidated it out of that someone."
"Precisely." Hex thought for a minute before responding.
"Father would not have entrusted that kind of information to just one person."
"I never said he had."
"Can you tell me if he told anyone else?"
"Certainly." The red haired man took a sip from his wine. "Yes, he did."
"Can you tell me how many people?"
"Curious, aren't you? Yes, I can. There are four other people with the knowledge, not counting the one Ravonas tapped, because that one is dead."
"Can you tell me who they are?"
"Now, I know what you're next two questions are going to be. I can answer only one of those questions. Make your choice."
". . .Where do each of them live?"
"Is that your final choice," the red haired man asked.
"Yes."
"Alright then. One lives on Ciinti, one in a small hut in a forest in Tarn Vedra, one lives on Earth-"
"Earth?"
"Yes, Earth. And the other lives. . .well, you'd really rather not know."
"Where?" The red haired man looked at his watch and drained his wine.
"Oh, look at the time. Just a few seconds before your old friend Mr. Harper walks in."
"Yeah, yeah. Fine, if you're not going to tell me, then at least tell me who it is." The red haired man stopped and considered that before responding.
"Apoxis."
"Oh, great, that little weasel? He could be anywhere."
"Exactly why I said you didn't want to know. Now, I really must be going, and so should you." The red haired man started to fade out, and so did Hex's surroundings. His clothing began to fade, revealing the clothing he'd been wearing previously. Even the beer began to fade away.
"Is this future still possible," he asked as the red haired man had almost completely faded.
"Imminently," rang the red haired man's last words before completely disappearing.
....................................
Hex bolted up with a start, surprising Trance, who was trying to gently nudge him to wake him up. "Hex, what happened?" But Hex was already up, looking like a general ready to command an army.
"Andromeda, shipwide message: Report to the conference room, we have something to discuss."
