A/N: Hey guys! I would first like to apologize for taking so long to
update, RL is crap at the moment. Work is pretty full-on, and for those of
you who will never read a bio, I would like to give you an update on the
situation. First, for the next month, EVERYTHING is on hold. My boss has
some business trips planned and such, so I will have no time to write. At
all. Which is terrible in and of itself, but anyways.
So yes, not much going to happen in the next few weeks. Do not be discouraged, however, please review still, it really does help. I'm going to stop babbling and let you read the latest installment now. Goodbye.
Spoilers: Some specific ones in this chappie, mostly for The Dark Backward. I can't remember if there are any more.
--------------------
Chapter 7: The Only Path
"I do wish this wasn't necessary, little professor. You would have been a great asset if you had simply listened to your instincts. I do not blame you however. Your inherent mistrust of my people would have been a significant factor in your decision, though I had held hopes your old trust of me might have overcome them."
Tyr stood with all the liquid grace of a cat. He slowly circled around the small man standing in the middle of his conference chamber.
"You are still the key, so though you are no longer able to appreciate that, it is a compliment of the highest order."
He stood, contemplating his words and his recent actions, then turned and strode from the room.
The small kludge neither moved nor spoke, nor even thought. He stood, awaiting the words that would give him purpose, for a short time.
--------------------
"Dylan, I need to speak to you alone."
Dylan looked up, slightly confused. "We are alone Trance, there isn't anyone else here."
Trance stepped forward. "I meant, you know." She looked up at the ceiling, and Dylan nodded slowly. "Oh, right. Okay. Engage privacy mode please Andromeda."
"Privacy mode engaged, authorisation Captain Dylan Hunt."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. Now, since you hunted me down in my quarters in the middle of the night, I'm assuming it's something important. Something like our chief engineer maybe?"
Trance nodded. "I have seen another set of futures. Something's happening, something big, and Harper is in the center of it. What Harper has become, I should more accurately say."
Dylan sat on his sofa chair, frowning as he took in Trance's words. "What Harper has become?"
"Yes."
He waited for a moment more before prodding further. "Would you like to expand on that?"
"I can't."
"You can't."
"No. I'm sorry."
"You're sorry? Sorry?"
"Dylan, there is much at stake here, much that I can not tell you, much that even I don't understand."
"What have they done to him, Trance."
Trance refused to back down, stolidly holding Dylan's angry gaze. Dylan finally threw up his hands, flinging himself from his seat.
"Will you at least tell me if we find him?"
"We do, in a manner of speaking. That is consistent."
"Will he be alright?"
"I can't say."
"What can you tell me?"
Ignoring her captain's frustration, Trance shook her head. "Not much more. You have to understand, what I see, it is not perfect. It isn't a science or an art. It isn't even something I create. It just is, and all I can do is choose as best I can."
Dylan watched her for a few moments more, thoughtfully. He nodded once, slowly.
"Then I will trust you to choose. But remember this Trance. This is Harper, not some distant pawn in whatever game your species play. So choose wisely."
--------------------
"How many?"
"At least fifty, possibly more. Wait, I'm detecting another slipstream event. Twenty more ships, including four battle cruisers."
"Damnit!"
"Captain, they are attempting to access me using old codes."
"Harper's?"
"Yes. But another set as well. Tyr's."
"What?! I thought he was dead! Why does no one stay dead around here?"
"It must be your raw animal magnetism."
"Thank you for that Beka. Unfortunately, Tyr isn't exactly my type."
"Captain, two more slipstream events, another... forty ships, at least."
"If we try to fight, we're toast."
"We can't just give up. Rommie, arm-"
"Dylan, no. Don't fight them. You have to let them board. If you don't, we will die."
"You know, Trance, I'm getting really sick of hearing that. I'm not just going to give in. This is my ship, these people are my crew, and I won't just hand them over to the Nietzcheans for whatever mercy they decide to give them. I won't."
"Harper is on those ships, with Tyr. If they board, Harper will come here. The ships, they won't be as vigilant. Please, Dylan, you've listened to me and trusted me this far."
"Captain, they are demanding our surrender."
"Please, Dylan. Trust me."
"Captain..."
"Rommie, disarm weapons. Transmit our surrender on the condition that the crew will be taken to safety, unharmed."
--------------------
"I had forgotten how beautiful you are."
"Thank you." Was Rommie's acid reply.
Tyr looked around himself at the Andromeda's command deck, admiring her sleek lines. Dylan watched him impassively, Beka, Rhade, Trance and Rommie standing behind him.
Dylan, though touched by his crew's solidarity, was annoyed that they had refused to leave. He did understand, but he was getting tired of his orders to evacuate being ignored.
"The crew."
"Ah yes," Tyr faced Dylan again, grinning, "Dylan will be Dylan. They will be fine, they are being given disarmed ships and left to their own devices. Provisioned, of course."
Dylan watched Tyr's men adjusting consoles and stationing themselves around the bridge. He knew that all across the ship, other Nietzcheans were doing the same. He wanted to shoot them right now, but knew he couldn't. No matter how much he hated it, he trusted Trance to do what was right. What was best.
--------------------
Trance watched Tyr's forces come in and occupy the Andromeda, her home and friend. She wanted to scream at whoever made all those futures out there, scream that this was wrong, that they shouldn't have to do this.
But they did, and she knew that better than any of them.
She listened with half an ear to the exchange between Dylan and Tyr, paying more attention to the futures unfolding before her. There was one, there, that was better, but still, she could not see a perfect one.
Maybe there wasn't this time. Maybe this was a futile exercise and she should have let them all be blown up.
Her instincts fought that. It was not in her nature, nor that of her people, to give up. Not yet.
She was prodded into moving by a smug soldier, following the others as they were all escorted down to V-deck.
As the cells were locked, Trance sat on the small shelf that served as a cot, chair and table. Se hoped that Dylan's trust was not misplaced, that she really would choose best.
She did not want to choose against Harper again. She did not want to kill him again.
--------------------
A/N: Hello! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I would like to take this time to beg for reviews, again. I love getting them, and it does encourage me, so go for it! It's easy, it only has to be two words long if you want, and with the way work is piling on top of me, it's great to know my hobbies are appreciated, so yay! Review!
(yes, I do realize that that was a lot more coherent then I normally am, I apologize, I am not myself today. :D)
So yes, not much going to happen in the next few weeks. Do not be discouraged, however, please review still, it really does help. I'm going to stop babbling and let you read the latest installment now. Goodbye.
Spoilers: Some specific ones in this chappie, mostly for The Dark Backward. I can't remember if there are any more.
--------------------
Chapter 7: The Only Path
"I do wish this wasn't necessary, little professor. You would have been a great asset if you had simply listened to your instincts. I do not blame you however. Your inherent mistrust of my people would have been a significant factor in your decision, though I had held hopes your old trust of me might have overcome them."
Tyr stood with all the liquid grace of a cat. He slowly circled around the small man standing in the middle of his conference chamber.
"You are still the key, so though you are no longer able to appreciate that, it is a compliment of the highest order."
He stood, contemplating his words and his recent actions, then turned and strode from the room.
The small kludge neither moved nor spoke, nor even thought. He stood, awaiting the words that would give him purpose, for a short time.
--------------------
"Dylan, I need to speak to you alone."
Dylan looked up, slightly confused. "We are alone Trance, there isn't anyone else here."
Trance stepped forward. "I meant, you know." She looked up at the ceiling, and Dylan nodded slowly. "Oh, right. Okay. Engage privacy mode please Andromeda."
"Privacy mode engaged, authorisation Captain Dylan Hunt."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. Now, since you hunted me down in my quarters in the middle of the night, I'm assuming it's something important. Something like our chief engineer maybe?"
Trance nodded. "I have seen another set of futures. Something's happening, something big, and Harper is in the center of it. What Harper has become, I should more accurately say."
Dylan sat on his sofa chair, frowning as he took in Trance's words. "What Harper has become?"
"Yes."
He waited for a moment more before prodding further. "Would you like to expand on that?"
"I can't."
"You can't."
"No. I'm sorry."
"You're sorry? Sorry?"
"Dylan, there is much at stake here, much that I can not tell you, much that even I don't understand."
"What have they done to him, Trance."
Trance refused to back down, stolidly holding Dylan's angry gaze. Dylan finally threw up his hands, flinging himself from his seat.
"Will you at least tell me if we find him?"
"We do, in a manner of speaking. That is consistent."
"Will he be alright?"
"I can't say."
"What can you tell me?"
Ignoring her captain's frustration, Trance shook her head. "Not much more. You have to understand, what I see, it is not perfect. It isn't a science or an art. It isn't even something I create. It just is, and all I can do is choose as best I can."
Dylan watched her for a few moments more, thoughtfully. He nodded once, slowly.
"Then I will trust you to choose. But remember this Trance. This is Harper, not some distant pawn in whatever game your species play. So choose wisely."
--------------------
"How many?"
"At least fifty, possibly more. Wait, I'm detecting another slipstream event. Twenty more ships, including four battle cruisers."
"Damnit!"
"Captain, they are attempting to access me using old codes."
"Harper's?"
"Yes. But another set as well. Tyr's."
"What?! I thought he was dead! Why does no one stay dead around here?"
"It must be your raw animal magnetism."
"Thank you for that Beka. Unfortunately, Tyr isn't exactly my type."
"Captain, two more slipstream events, another... forty ships, at least."
"If we try to fight, we're toast."
"We can't just give up. Rommie, arm-"
"Dylan, no. Don't fight them. You have to let them board. If you don't, we will die."
"You know, Trance, I'm getting really sick of hearing that. I'm not just going to give in. This is my ship, these people are my crew, and I won't just hand them over to the Nietzcheans for whatever mercy they decide to give them. I won't."
"Harper is on those ships, with Tyr. If they board, Harper will come here. The ships, they won't be as vigilant. Please, Dylan, you've listened to me and trusted me this far."
"Captain, they are demanding our surrender."
"Please, Dylan. Trust me."
"Captain..."
"Rommie, disarm weapons. Transmit our surrender on the condition that the crew will be taken to safety, unharmed."
--------------------
"I had forgotten how beautiful you are."
"Thank you." Was Rommie's acid reply.
Tyr looked around himself at the Andromeda's command deck, admiring her sleek lines. Dylan watched him impassively, Beka, Rhade, Trance and Rommie standing behind him.
Dylan, though touched by his crew's solidarity, was annoyed that they had refused to leave. He did understand, but he was getting tired of his orders to evacuate being ignored.
"The crew."
"Ah yes," Tyr faced Dylan again, grinning, "Dylan will be Dylan. They will be fine, they are being given disarmed ships and left to their own devices. Provisioned, of course."
Dylan watched Tyr's men adjusting consoles and stationing themselves around the bridge. He knew that all across the ship, other Nietzcheans were doing the same. He wanted to shoot them right now, but knew he couldn't. No matter how much he hated it, he trusted Trance to do what was right. What was best.
--------------------
Trance watched Tyr's forces come in and occupy the Andromeda, her home and friend. She wanted to scream at whoever made all those futures out there, scream that this was wrong, that they shouldn't have to do this.
But they did, and she knew that better than any of them.
She listened with half an ear to the exchange between Dylan and Tyr, paying more attention to the futures unfolding before her. There was one, there, that was better, but still, she could not see a perfect one.
Maybe there wasn't this time. Maybe this was a futile exercise and she should have let them all be blown up.
Her instincts fought that. It was not in her nature, nor that of her people, to give up. Not yet.
She was prodded into moving by a smug soldier, following the others as they were all escorted down to V-deck.
As the cells were locked, Trance sat on the small shelf that served as a cot, chair and table. Se hoped that Dylan's trust was not misplaced, that she really would choose best.
She did not want to choose against Harper again. She did not want to kill him again.
--------------------
A/N: Hello! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I would like to take this time to beg for reviews, again. I love getting them, and it does encourage me, so go for it! It's easy, it only has to be two words long if you want, and with the way work is piling on top of me, it's great to know my hobbies are appreciated, so yay! Review!
(yes, I do realize that that was a lot more coherent then I normally am, I apologize, I am not myself today. :D)