"Harper!"
The engineer rubbed his eyes and stared into the darkness surrounding him. Had he imagined Rommie calling his name? Well, he had imagined Rommie calling his name before but not quite like this.
"Harper?"
She definitely was calling him, her voice no higher than an urgent whisper. "Yeah, Rommie?" He yawned. "What is it? Are you okay?"
Andromeda's hologram shimmered into being beside Harper's bed. "I'm sorry to wake you Harper-"
"Hey, don't worry about it. It's darkest midnight, and I got you in my bedroom." Even half asleep, he waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Andromeda smiled at this. Harper did know how to make a girl--or warship-- feel good. "I'm not sure what you could plan to do with a hologram," she chuckled. "I'm fine... but Beka's not. Ever since you two returned from Bolivar's complex, she's been waking up in the middle of the night in cold sweats. Sometimes she talks or cries in her sleep. Since you've been... on Nietzscheans' bad sides before, I thought that perhaps you could comfort her. I had hoped that her nightmares would lessen as the days passed, but they haven't."
Harper jumped out of bed, pulling on a tee shirt. "Aw man, I had no idea Beka was doing so bad. I shoulda guessed something was wrong--I've had 'em off and on for years."
"There's no way you could have known Harper; she forbid me from saying anything the first time I asked her if she was all right. I wouldn't have said anything, but I think her dreams have become progressively worse."
Harper was fully dressed by the time Rommie finished. "If her door's locked, will you get it for me?"
The hologram nodded. "Of course. And thank you, Harper."
Harper paused. "She got my off Earth, Rommie. It's the least I can do."
Andromeda smiled briefly, then disappeared. Harper raced through Andromeda's corridors until he came upon Beka's quarters. When he tried them, the door was indeed locked, but it slid open after only a few seconds.
The light from the hall filtered into the dark bedroom, faintly illuminating the figure sitting on the bed. Harper let the door close behind him and padded over to sit next to Beka.
"Harper, what are you doing here?"
The young man could hear his captain trying to control her voice as she spoke. "Rommie told me you were having some rancid nightmares. I thought maybe, you know, we could talk about things... or whatever you want."
Beka sniffed and ran a hand through her matted hair. "Thanks Harper, but you really don't have to do this. I've just been suffering from a little insomnia recently, that's all."
Tentatively, the engineer put an arm around Beka. "Listen, Beka, you know how usually when stuff like this happens, you can say 'you don't understand'? Well, this time I do understand. You know, I've been through all this Uber torture stuff all my life. I have a nightmare about it at least once a month. It used to be everyday, until I escaped from the place on some bucket of bolts that landed from the sky."
Beka half-heartedly elbowed Harper in the ribs. "Hey now, watch it, kid." She sniffled again. "I don't know how you did it, Harper, for all those years. I barely made it a week. I don't know if the feeling of... utter hatred focused on me or my weakness is worse. I can't stop thinking about either of them. I know that if they had kept that up for one more week... one more day... I would've told them everything about the Andromeda, turned her inside-out for them."
Harper was usually the one Beka comforted, and it felt a little strange to reverse those roles. Still, he was glad he could do something for her when she had done so much for him. She probably didn't even remember anymore the nights she had foregone sleep entirely just to stay up with him. "That's the way it always goes. You always think 'tomorrow. I'll give in tomorrow'. But people like you and me, Beka, tomorrow never comes. We keep 'em hanging for just a little longer. And even though they hate you-- and hell if I know why some of them do--they start to respect you, you know?"
Beka gave a short laugh. "Great." She sighed. "It's not the pain. I mean, that was no walk in the proverbial park, but that's not what I dream about most of the time. Usually I'm just... waiting. I know that they're about to return and that this time, they're going to break me. I'm strapped down there, and my eyes are fixed on the door while I'm imagining everything they're going to do to me. I hear footsteps outside the door sometimes, and..."
"And then the knob turns, the door swings open, and you wake up, huh?"
This time, Beka smiled genuinely. "I guess you do understand. That helps, knowing that someone else went through all this. You do know that this means you're now officially on call at all hours of the night?"
"What else am I gonna do? Sleep?" Harper hugged Beka, then stood up as she re-arranged herself and lay down. "Are you gonna be okay?"
"I think so, at least for tonight. Thanks again, Harper. I thought I was going crazy. Oh, and thank Rommie for her interference for me, will ya?" Beka pulled her sheets up to her chin and closed her eyes.
"Will do. 'Night, boss."
"Night."
The engineer rubbed his eyes and stared into the darkness surrounding him. Had he imagined Rommie calling his name? Well, he had imagined Rommie calling his name before but not quite like this.
"Harper?"
She definitely was calling him, her voice no higher than an urgent whisper. "Yeah, Rommie?" He yawned. "What is it? Are you okay?"
Andromeda's hologram shimmered into being beside Harper's bed. "I'm sorry to wake you Harper-"
"Hey, don't worry about it. It's darkest midnight, and I got you in my bedroom." Even half asleep, he waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Andromeda smiled at this. Harper did know how to make a girl--or warship-- feel good. "I'm not sure what you could plan to do with a hologram," she chuckled. "I'm fine... but Beka's not. Ever since you two returned from Bolivar's complex, she's been waking up in the middle of the night in cold sweats. Sometimes she talks or cries in her sleep. Since you've been... on Nietzscheans' bad sides before, I thought that perhaps you could comfort her. I had hoped that her nightmares would lessen as the days passed, but they haven't."
Harper jumped out of bed, pulling on a tee shirt. "Aw man, I had no idea Beka was doing so bad. I shoulda guessed something was wrong--I've had 'em off and on for years."
"There's no way you could have known Harper; she forbid me from saying anything the first time I asked her if she was all right. I wouldn't have said anything, but I think her dreams have become progressively worse."
Harper was fully dressed by the time Rommie finished. "If her door's locked, will you get it for me?"
The hologram nodded. "Of course. And thank you, Harper."
Harper paused. "She got my off Earth, Rommie. It's the least I can do."
Andromeda smiled briefly, then disappeared. Harper raced through Andromeda's corridors until he came upon Beka's quarters. When he tried them, the door was indeed locked, but it slid open after only a few seconds.
The light from the hall filtered into the dark bedroom, faintly illuminating the figure sitting on the bed. Harper let the door close behind him and padded over to sit next to Beka.
"Harper, what are you doing here?"
The young man could hear his captain trying to control her voice as she spoke. "Rommie told me you were having some rancid nightmares. I thought maybe, you know, we could talk about things... or whatever you want."
Beka sniffed and ran a hand through her matted hair. "Thanks Harper, but you really don't have to do this. I've just been suffering from a little insomnia recently, that's all."
Tentatively, the engineer put an arm around Beka. "Listen, Beka, you know how usually when stuff like this happens, you can say 'you don't understand'? Well, this time I do understand. You know, I've been through all this Uber torture stuff all my life. I have a nightmare about it at least once a month. It used to be everyday, until I escaped from the place on some bucket of bolts that landed from the sky."
Beka half-heartedly elbowed Harper in the ribs. "Hey now, watch it, kid." She sniffled again. "I don't know how you did it, Harper, for all those years. I barely made it a week. I don't know if the feeling of... utter hatred focused on me or my weakness is worse. I can't stop thinking about either of them. I know that if they had kept that up for one more week... one more day... I would've told them everything about the Andromeda, turned her inside-out for them."
Harper was usually the one Beka comforted, and it felt a little strange to reverse those roles. Still, he was glad he could do something for her when she had done so much for him. She probably didn't even remember anymore the nights she had foregone sleep entirely just to stay up with him. "That's the way it always goes. You always think 'tomorrow. I'll give in tomorrow'. But people like you and me, Beka, tomorrow never comes. We keep 'em hanging for just a little longer. And even though they hate you-- and hell if I know why some of them do--they start to respect you, you know?"
Beka gave a short laugh. "Great." She sighed. "It's not the pain. I mean, that was no walk in the proverbial park, but that's not what I dream about most of the time. Usually I'm just... waiting. I know that they're about to return and that this time, they're going to break me. I'm strapped down there, and my eyes are fixed on the door while I'm imagining everything they're going to do to me. I hear footsteps outside the door sometimes, and..."
"And then the knob turns, the door swings open, and you wake up, huh?"
This time, Beka smiled genuinely. "I guess you do understand. That helps, knowing that someone else went through all this. You do know that this means you're now officially on call at all hours of the night?"
"What else am I gonna do? Sleep?" Harper hugged Beka, then stood up as she re-arranged herself and lay down. "Are you gonna be okay?"
"I think so, at least for tonight. Thanks again, Harper. I thought I was going crazy. Oh, and thank Rommie for her interference for me, will ya?" Beka pulled her sheets up to her chin and closed her eyes.
"Will do. 'Night, boss."
"Night."