Chapter 2

"Hohne, you know with our recent uh, loss, we're going to need a new engineer." Dylan told him, with a solemn look on his face. "Regardless of the fact that some crew members do not wish to replace the old one, me included, the ship has to have one."

"Dylan, I understand. I would be honored to be chosen for such a revered position."

"Very well then. I will have Rommie show you around the machine shops. There is one, though, that one of my crew has requested that you do not enter."

"Of course, Machine Shop 17. I know Beka will want his possessions."

Trance was in her quarters, thinking about what her gold counterpart had told her. She said that letting Harper die was the only way, but Trance just couldn't believe that. Of all the futures she could see, there were a few with Harper. But her vision was limited, and her older self told her there was not even one he could've survived in. She said that she had saved Harper in the future, and that he had not been able to save the crew. She said that on this new path, Hohne would lead the crew to victory against the Worldship, which they would soon be faced with. Tears rolled down her face. She didn't care about the "perfect possible future" at this point; she only cared about the fact that one of her best friends was dead.

Beka rose from her post beside Harper's bed, wiping the tears from her face. She couldn't afford another breakdown like that, she wouldn't let the crew see her like this. She was the invincible Beka Valentine, and she was going to stay that way. But she wouldn't let Hohne move into the machine shop, she wouldn't let him replace her little brother.

"Trance, Hohne is outside your quarters, requesting permission to enter."

She wiped the tears from her face, she didn't want him to know she wished she hadn't saved him. She had to, that's all that mattered. "Let him in."

The doors opened, and Hohne walked in. "Hello, Trance. I wished to talk to you about, well, why you saved me. I understand that Harper was loved by everyone on the crew, even you, and I am a simple Persied that no one here has any real attachment to."

"When the tesseract machine activated, it changed reality, as you already know. A future version of myself paid me a visit, and she explained to me that you were the one who was meant to save the crew from a formidable enemy in the future. She also described a chain of events that have to happen in the near future, but I don't believe I should go into it. She said it was essential the crew remain, for lack of a better word, ignorant about the future."

"I understand. Thank you, Trance." He walked away, unable to understand how he was supposed to do something Harper couldn't.

There was one more thing he had to do before he could rest. He had to visit Rebecca Valentine. He wanted to apologize to her for, well, being alive. He knew how much Harper had meant to her, Dylan explained it to him. He expected her to present hostile behavior, but he had to try. He was sincerely sorry, and he was beginning to wish that he was not the one who lived.

He didn't have to look long to find her, he met her halfway. "Miss Valentine-" he was cut off by "Don't talk to me, Persied. I was coming to find you, and I only have one thing to say to you. Don't talk to me, don't come near me, and don't even think about going anywhere around my little brother's things. I don't care if we're all going to die unless you move them, I won't let you, and I will kill you. You weren't supposed to live. You took my brother away from me!" She started hitting him, and he backed away, trying to dodge her blows.

"According to Trance, there was a reason I had to live and Harper had to die. I am sorry." He said, as he walked rather briskly back to his quarters.