Chapter Two: Waiting for Reality
A/N: okay, nothing much happen in this chapter... it's basically the lull before all hell breaks loose. Beka and Trance contemplate the last wresting place of the Andromeda Ascendant, and wait for the temporal distortions to start. ***********************************************************
Beka surveyed the space before the Eureka Maru. It seemed no different to any other piece of space in the universe. The stars were just as bright, the lengths and breadths just as infinite, the vacuum just black, the space junk just as deadly.
Yet it was so very, very different.
"Well," she looked back to where Trance was hanging over the rail behind the pilot's chair, "here it is. The last wresting place of the Andromeda Ascendant."
Trance only nodded, grimly. The sight of the shreds of metal that had once been the pride of the System's Commonwealth brought back unpleasant memories and salted itching wounds.
"Now what do we do?" Beka asked, not turning away from the sight before them.
Trance rubbed her hands together in an almost nervous gesture. "We wait."
"I hate waiting." Beka muttered.
She twisted round suddenly, and headed back into the Maru. Trance didn't ask her where she was going, lost in thought.
The once and future greatest pilot in the universe re-entered the bridge a few minuets later, with a pair of fuzzy dice hanging from her fingers. She managed a week smile and waved them at Trance.
"For old time's sake."
Trance drew herself up, her eyes regaining a hint of their old sparkle, the closest to a smile she could generally get these days.
Beka hung the fuzzy dice up, over the top of the Maru's viewing panels, then stepped back, looking vaguely satisfied.
Several long, silent minutes passed. Trance sat down on the floor, her feet hanging over the edge. She felt a sudden urge to return to the blankness of her mind in her quarters, nose touching the bed, fan running, heat filling the air... but shook it off. This was too important.
Beka came and sat down beside her, her one good leg beneath her, her mechanical one out in front.
"What're we waiting for exactly, Trance?"
Trance shrugged. "You'll know when it happens."
Beka rolled her intact eye. "Whatever."
Silence descended heavily again, like snow, Beka supposed. She reached up with her human hand and raked the fingers through her cropped hair, distractedly, then went back to scratching at the burn on her neck.
"Don't scratch." Trance muttered, automatically.
For once, Beka found herself heeding the request. She reached across and gave her friend a gentle punch on the shoulder.
"There's my girl."
Trance looked at her, and her eyes sparked again. A smileless smile.
"Beka?"
"Yeah?"
"Whatever happens next... you're the best friend I've ever had."
Beka gave a slightly bitter sounding half laugh, the only kind of laugh she was capable of making. "Jeez, Trance. Don't start getting mushy on me."
Trance's eyes only sparked, and she turned back to look out into the vastness of space.
Beka narrowed her good eye. "Okay Trance, spill, what's gonna happen here?"
Trance looked back at her. "I don't know completely." She began, calmly. "All I know is that something in the past is changing the future, and we have to be here."
Beka's eyebrows went up. "Freakiness abounds..." she muttered.
Trance watched her for a long few seconds, before drawing breath to speak again, "Beka, how much would you give to change the past?"
Beka frowned, her head snapping round to look at her again. "Change it?"
Trance nodded.
Beka sighed, the tension leaving her shoulders. She slumped forward over the hand rail. "Everything."
"Good." Trance looked back out in the blackness. "We're both about to."
Almost on cue, a bright, blue-white flash crashed into existence behind them, and Beka and Trance both looked round to see a very small boy appearing in the doorway to the bridge.
He took one look at the pair of them and screamed.
"Okay," Beka stood up, "Trance, what the hell is an eight year old version of Rafe doing on my ship?"
Trance shrugged. "Temporal mechanics."
Rafe, still screaming, turned around and fled back the way he had come, disappearing in another blue flash.
Beka looked at Trance and raised an eyebrow. "I'm guessing that was the thing we were waiting for."
"Here we go." Trance stood up beside her. "This is not going to be easy. We're looking for a purple version of me and you when you were still blond, with all four limbs intact and both eyes."
Beka had gone to the metal cabinet at the back of the room and opened it with a well placed punch. Reaching inside, she withdrew a very large, shiny blaster rifle, and smiled grimly, flashing Trance a look. "For old time's sake."
She tossed the rifle at Trance, (who caught it, spun it and loaded it in one horribly fluid movement,) and then took out a pair of pistols for herself, which she holstered, and then took a bigger, heavier Gauze rifle out.
"Alright," she shouldered the gun and turned back to Trance, "let's go save reality."
A/N: okay, nothing much happen in this chapter... it's basically the lull before all hell breaks loose. Beka and Trance contemplate the last wresting place of the Andromeda Ascendant, and wait for the temporal distortions to start. ***********************************************************
Beka surveyed the space before the Eureka Maru. It seemed no different to any other piece of space in the universe. The stars were just as bright, the lengths and breadths just as infinite, the vacuum just black, the space junk just as deadly.
Yet it was so very, very different.
"Well," she looked back to where Trance was hanging over the rail behind the pilot's chair, "here it is. The last wresting place of the Andromeda Ascendant."
Trance only nodded, grimly. The sight of the shreds of metal that had once been the pride of the System's Commonwealth brought back unpleasant memories and salted itching wounds.
"Now what do we do?" Beka asked, not turning away from the sight before them.
Trance rubbed her hands together in an almost nervous gesture. "We wait."
"I hate waiting." Beka muttered.
She twisted round suddenly, and headed back into the Maru. Trance didn't ask her where she was going, lost in thought.
The once and future greatest pilot in the universe re-entered the bridge a few minuets later, with a pair of fuzzy dice hanging from her fingers. She managed a week smile and waved them at Trance.
"For old time's sake."
Trance drew herself up, her eyes regaining a hint of their old sparkle, the closest to a smile she could generally get these days.
Beka hung the fuzzy dice up, over the top of the Maru's viewing panels, then stepped back, looking vaguely satisfied.
Several long, silent minutes passed. Trance sat down on the floor, her feet hanging over the edge. She felt a sudden urge to return to the blankness of her mind in her quarters, nose touching the bed, fan running, heat filling the air... but shook it off. This was too important.
Beka came and sat down beside her, her one good leg beneath her, her mechanical one out in front.
"What're we waiting for exactly, Trance?"
Trance shrugged. "You'll know when it happens."
Beka rolled her intact eye. "Whatever."
Silence descended heavily again, like snow, Beka supposed. She reached up with her human hand and raked the fingers through her cropped hair, distractedly, then went back to scratching at the burn on her neck.
"Don't scratch." Trance muttered, automatically.
For once, Beka found herself heeding the request. She reached across and gave her friend a gentle punch on the shoulder.
"There's my girl."
Trance looked at her, and her eyes sparked again. A smileless smile.
"Beka?"
"Yeah?"
"Whatever happens next... you're the best friend I've ever had."
Beka gave a slightly bitter sounding half laugh, the only kind of laugh she was capable of making. "Jeez, Trance. Don't start getting mushy on me."
Trance's eyes only sparked, and she turned back to look out into the vastness of space.
Beka narrowed her good eye. "Okay Trance, spill, what's gonna happen here?"
Trance looked back at her. "I don't know completely." She began, calmly. "All I know is that something in the past is changing the future, and we have to be here."
Beka's eyebrows went up. "Freakiness abounds..." she muttered.
Trance watched her for a long few seconds, before drawing breath to speak again, "Beka, how much would you give to change the past?"
Beka frowned, her head snapping round to look at her again. "Change it?"
Trance nodded.
Beka sighed, the tension leaving her shoulders. She slumped forward over the hand rail. "Everything."
"Good." Trance looked back out in the blackness. "We're both about to."
Almost on cue, a bright, blue-white flash crashed into existence behind them, and Beka and Trance both looked round to see a very small boy appearing in the doorway to the bridge.
He took one look at the pair of them and screamed.
"Okay," Beka stood up, "Trance, what the hell is an eight year old version of Rafe doing on my ship?"
Trance shrugged. "Temporal mechanics."
Rafe, still screaming, turned around and fled back the way he had come, disappearing in another blue flash.
Beka looked at Trance and raised an eyebrow. "I'm guessing that was the thing we were waiting for."
"Here we go." Trance stood up beside her. "This is not going to be easy. We're looking for a purple version of me and you when you were still blond, with all four limbs intact and both eyes."
Beka had gone to the metal cabinet at the back of the room and opened it with a well placed punch. Reaching inside, she withdrew a very large, shiny blaster rifle, and smiled grimly, flashing Trance a look. "For old time's sake."
She tossed the rifle at Trance, (who caught it, spun it and loaded it in one horribly fluid movement,) and then took out a pair of pistols for herself, which she holstered, and then took a bigger, heavier Gauze rifle out.
"Alright," she shouldered the gun and turned back to Trance, "let's go save reality."