OK ya'll I'm really sorry. I left out a chapter... this is supposed to go before the one you just read. Sorry, amd please forgive me!

Chapter 3

Hohne had said there was a reason Harper died, and that Trance knew it. Well, Beka Valentine was going to find that reason, and it better be a damn good one. Trance let her little brother die, it wasn't Hohne' fault alone. She couldn't believe her best friend would do that, even under whatever circumstances there were. She found Trance in her quarters, looking a bit upset.

"Hohne just left." Trance said quietly.

"Yeah, I had a little encounter with him too. Let's just say if he comes near me or any of Harper's things..." she slid her hand onto her force lance.

"No, Beka! If you kill him, then Harper's death will have been for nothing. Harper was going to die anyway. If it wasn't now, it would have been two years from now, and he would have been eaten by a magog. I've told you more than I should, but only because you are my friend."

"How could you kill Harper? You, at least an older version of yourself, were the one who destroyed the machine that would've saved him. Even with whatever reasons you had, Harper was your friend. He was my family. I couldn't do that for any reason."

"Beka, Harper was eaten by a magog in the future, and most of the rest of us are. My future self told me that Hohne had to live, that he could save us all. She also told me not to tell anyone anything. Telling you could be a mistake, but I don't think so. I think my future self would want you to understand, even if she didn't say so."

"Trance, I will never understand how you could do that. You're still my friend, you know nothing could come between us, but I can't even look at you right now." She walked out the door, tears rolling down her face again.

The obs deck was empty. Good. She could have some time to herself, for once not on the Maru. The Maru, where all of Harper's most valued things were. The Maru, where she had so many memories with her little brother were held. She didn't think she could go back there anytime soon. And that broke her heart. The Maru was her home, but it was now tainted with sadness.

Andromeda's hologram popped up in front of her. "Dylan has recommended that you go through therapy. Talking to someone really could help."

"I don't need your help, and I don't need to talk to anyone. Please leave me alone." Beka stormed out.

"Where are you going?"

"My quarters. Please engage privacy mode once I get there. Don't let anyone in. Not even your precious captain." The hologram disappeared.

She had to get away from these people. But she couldn't leave, at least not in the Maru. Too many memories. She just wanted to be detached from all of this. To get out, forget the Andromeda, forget Harper. At least until the pain was bearable. And there was no way she was going to let the crew see her like this, she wouldn't let them see her cry. There was just no way. The only person she had ever truly shared her feelings with, the one person who she let see her pain, was gone. Now she had no one to confide in, other than Trance and Rommie, but they just weren't the same. It would probably scare Trance to see her cry, she had always been so strong before. And she refused to give Dylan the satisfaction of talking to Rommie. She hated him for making Hohne the new engineer. At least he had told him to stay out of Harper's machine shop. That was at least a small comfort. For now, she would go to sleep. In the morning, she would ask Dylan for a slipfighter, and she would get away for a while...