Her rest was troubled.
She tossed and turned under her covers and finally rose, wondering what new horrors the day would bring that her own nightmares had missed.
Captain Beka Valentine of the Andromeda Ascendant. It had an odd ring to it. Beka couldn't help feel that in some strange way, she was being disloyal to the Eureka Maru. That had always been her ship. And now, due to the sudden turn of events beyond her control, she was the captain of two ships. Could one be captain of two ships at the same time? Thrown into the position, she couldn't stop such questions from rising.
Sleep did not nothing to alleviate the shock and confusion.
Her latest orders as Acting Captain, were that everyone get some desperately needed rest, followed by breakfast in the morning.
She idly wondered if all the crew would show up in the galley as she'd requested. What was left of the crew, she amended the thought. Would they care about what she had to say? Breakfast had been a pretense. She wanted to gather everyone together in a less formal setting, because formalities at the moment would only remind them of what they had lost.
Talking to Harper several hours ago, Beka had decided that reminders of that kind were to be avoided. She had broken the news to him gently, knowing how much the young engineer had looked up to the older man, and waited for his reaction.
A pained look flashed into Harper's eyes and he clenched his teeth. "If we had waited for Trance."
"We couldn't wait for her. Like Dylan said, it would have been too late by then."
Harper scowled. The anger in his voice rose. "It was too late, for him anyways. And where did Trance decide to jet off to anyways all of a sudden? Wow, I bet if she'd--"
Beka understood Harper's anger, even if it was misdirected. Dylan dead. Trance missing. "Harper, it's easy to point fingers after the fact. No one knows for sure."
"Yeah," said Harper, turning away. "But maybe if I'd--"
Beka slipped an arm around Harper's shoulder, pulling him into a backwards, one-armed hug. "It's not your fault either, Seamus." Then, she grabbed his shoulders and turned him around to face her. "Quit blaming yourself. The last thing we need is anyone doubting their abilities. You got that?"
Harper stared down at feet, trying to hide his face. "Yeah," he sniffed. "I got it, Beka. I got it. But what do we do now, huh? Without--" Harper stopped, unable to say it. "Well, what then? What now?"
A look of determination came into Beka's face. "We keep going."
"With what? The mission?" Harper's voice shook incredulously. "We know how well that went the last time. So, how can we…"
"Success or failure aside, those people still need our help. If we don't intervene those people become slaves or worse, part of painful scientific experiments. Can you live with that?"
Harper met Beka's eye for a moment, staring defiance. Then, suddenly his shoulders slumped and his expression softened. "I think I better go see about damages and repairs. Where do ya want me to start, boss?"
"Check life support," said Beka, transitioning easily from the role of friend to commanding officer. "Then, defenses."
Harper nodded and jogged off down the corridor, heavy tools swinging on his belt, accounting for his peculiar gait.
She watched him go, grateful there were still some things in the universe that never change.
Walking so deep in her reflections had slowed her progress to breakfast, Beka arrived at last in the hall outside the galley and there she was forced to halt in the corridor.
Tyr stood squarely in her path. "Is this some kind of joke? I am not laughing."
"What?" asked Beka.
"Is what the ship told me true?" Tyr clarified. His tone implied that a ship which so recently had nearly killed them all was not to be trusted.
"Yes." Beka nodded. "About Dylan." She didn't feel much need to elaborate. He could ask Andromeda and easily discover that in the midst of the battle fray, the Andromeda had pulled in several life pods. And that inside one of them--
Tyr persisted. "Dylan? Is that D as in defies all odds."
"That's D as in dead body. D as in DNA matched. D as in definitely."
Tyr's face was blank for a moment. "I would like to say I am not surprised, but I am. Captain Dylan Hunt survived a longer length of time than I would have ever supposed."
"Don't--" Part of her wanted to be angry at him for such a statement. Another part of her wanted to heartily agree. Beka choked back a laugh, admiring how Tyr could be humorous at such a time.
Tyr rubbed his chin once and then folded his hands together and pointed at her with them, as if grasping the thought. "That means you are captain of this ship."
Beka arched her eyebrows and looked back at Tyr. Hearing the words made it seem so final. "Yeah, pretty much."
"Are you ready for that?"
Beka crossed her arms and glanced away from Tyr's inquiring gaze. She couldn't help but remember a similar conversation which had happened when they'd only been aboard Andromeda a short time. Mutiny had been in the air then, and neither of them had trusted Dylan much at all. Tyr had suggested Beka would be a more desirable captain and her reply had been, "I'm not ready for that."
Now, here she was, captain of the one of the most powerful ships in the universe.
Beka raised her chin and snapped, "Is anyone?"
Tyr shrugged once. "What are your intentions now, Captain Valentine?"
Beka held up her hand. "Make you my first officer, so call me Beka." She gestured toward the galley door. "We need to talk with the crew, exchange ideas and map out what we're going to do next."
"Do next?" Tyr asked, quirking an eyebrow. "You are not still thinking of going through with the mission?"
Beka pulled herself up taller. "I made a promise I intend to keep."
Tyr tilted his head. "If the purpose of this meeting is truly to exchange ideas, I am forced to disagree with an endeavor that will end for us the same as it did for Captain Hunt. Dylan was a dreamer. Dreams often do not survive when struck with harsh realities of the day."
Beka moved forward, brushing Tyr out of her way. "Neither do pessimists."
Tyr turned towards her. "I beg to differ, a pessimist would predict imminent failure. I am merely performing my duty. A first officer should always point out the flaws in the plans of his captain before anyone else can find them."
"Oh, really?" Beka walked back to Tyr, grinning. "Don't you think you would serve me better if you heard what the details of the plan are first?"
The Nietzschean had no reply to that.
When Beka headed for the door once more, Tyr followed.