A/N: you're probably saying: "Huh? this looks like chapter 6." well, I replaced chapter 6 with a new version, I don't know if it came up yet. I'm off school today, and when i wrote this i was functioning off of soda and chocolate, so PLEASE review!
Chapter 7
Gaheris stood in the Mess Hall as the door hissed shut. He waited, then went to follow her.
Andromeda's viewscreen came to life. "What are you doing?"
"I want to talk to Trance," Gaheris said, not stopping.
Andromeda's hologram appeared in front of him. "What if she doesn't want to talk to you?"
Gaheris walked through her, not pausing. "Then she can kick me out of her quarters."
"Rhade, don't bother her," her hologram requested. "She was almost crying when she left the Mess Hall, and she's engaged privacy mode in her quarters." Andromeda paused. "I've never seen Trance cry," she added softly.
Gaheris didn't hesitate. "If I said something to upset her, I have to take it back," he said.
Andromeda sighed and disappeared as Gaheris reached Trance's quarters. He hesitated then pushed the buzzer on Trance's door. "Trance, it's Gaheris," he said. "May I enter? I promised the shi- Andromeda- that if I hurt you in any way I'd let you kick me out."
A/N: I LOVE chocolate pretzels! ok, sorry, but I have off school toady and I'm home alone, so I get to eat chocolate pretzels for lunch! YUM!)
"All right," Trance responded. "Hold on." A pause, and then the door hissed open, revealing a calm and collected Trance- the opposite of what Gaheris had pictured from what Andromeda had said.
"I'm sorry for upsetting you earlier," Gaheris said. "I didn't mean to ask so many personal questions."
"It's alright," Trance said. "You deserve to know."
"Know what?"
"Why I did it," Trance said. She paused. "Do you want to come in?"
"Alright," Gaheris said, following her into her room.
"I'm sorry it's such a mess," Trance said. "I like to keep things where I can find them. There were flexis scattered across half the room and plants almost everywhere else. "You can sit on the bed."
Gaheris sat down, pulling her down to sit next to him.
"I didn't save you just because I would make a better future," she said softly. "Even though it probably will. Gaheris looked and saw tears in her eyes. "It was my way of making peace with myself for what I did."
"Whadda ya mean?" Gaheris asked, walking over and sitting next to her.
"I killed you," Trance choked out. "I loved you, and I had to kill you because it would make a better future."
Gaheris wrapped his arms around her. "You did what you had to, as did I," he said comfortingly. "It was my choice." Trance loved him?!?
"I sent you to your death, Trance sobbed, and her grief was even worse to see because to tears came from her eyes, just an expression of purest anguish. "And no one even knew you were really a hero and I couldn't defend you. And I knew that nothing could ever happen between us because you're a Nietzschean and I am an avatar, and-" she buried her face in Gaheris's shirt, dry sobs racking her body.
Gaheris was caught off guard by the display of emotion by the normally impassive Trance. He ran a hand through her red dreadlocks as he rocked he back and forth. "Shhh," Gaheris whispered, stroking her hair. "It's alright."
"No, it's not," Trance sobbed. "I can't be with you."
Gaheris gently lifted her chin. "Why not?"
"I told you what will happen," Trance said, brushing a hand over her eyes. "My people won't be happy."
For the first time, Gaheris noticed the subtle golden shimmer of her skin, the thin brow tattoos on her wrists, the shining luster of her eyes, so similar to his own. He stroked her face, and he felt a sudden rush of heat swell through his body. "I don't care," he whispered harshly, and he kissed her.
A tingle exploded through his body from head to toe, and he leaned deeper, gently forcing his tongue through her lips. Trance returned the kiss with passion equal to his own, forcing his tongue out of her mouth and into his, running her tongue along his teeth. She ran her fingers through his hair as Gaheris's hands roamed across her body, feeling every inch. Gaheris felt the warmth of her skin, so different from Nietzschean females.
Trance started to unbutton his red uniform jacket, and Gaheris kicked his boots off. The jacket was cast to the side as Gaheris broke the kiss to shrug off his blue turtleneck sweater, revealing a rippling array of muscles. Trance climbed on top of him, running her tongue across his face before kissing his lips again. Gaheris finally found the zipper on the back of Trance's brown leather jumpsuit, and she didn't protest when he peeled it off, throwing it to the side as Trance ran a hand along his six-pack. Her other hand reached playfully for his belt buckle as Gaheris rolled on top of her, nibbling gently on her face and neck...
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Much later, Gaheris held a sleeping Trance in his arms. He gently stroked her bare arm, marveling at the expression of peace on her face as she slept. Gaheris thought back to when he had been captain of the Andromeda, trying to figure out how he had ever gotten by without her. He heard a slight change in her breathing as Trance woke up. "Good morning," he said, smiling. "Go back to sleep. Your shift doesn't start for a couple hours yet."
Trance yawned contentedly. "I know something better than sleep," she said, rolling over and kissing his nose playfully.
Gaheris laughed as he held her, and they were quiet for a while. He felt himself slowly drifting off to sleep...
"What are we going to name him?"
Gaheris's eyes popped wide open. "What?!?"
"Our son," Trance replied patiently. "What will his name be?"
Gaheris blinked in surprise. "How do you know we have a son?"
"I'm the avatar of a sun, Gaheris," she responded. "I know lots of things."
Gaheris hugged her happily. "What names do you like?" he asked. He was going to have a family again! Okay, it wasn't your typical Nietzschean family, but it was better than none at all.
Trance was silent for such a long time that Gaheris thought she had fallen asleep again. "Veghn," she announced finally. "Veghn Rhade." She smiled. "Out of Trance, by Gaheris."
Gaheris had a sudden thought. "What color will he -Veghn- be?" he asked, remembering that Trance had been purple then turned gold. "Will he be purple?"
"No!" Trance gave him a weird look, then comprehension dawned. "Oh, that's right. Avatars are silver when they are first born, Gaheris," she explained. She smiled. "He'll look like you. Same face, hair..." she trailed off as if seeing something Gaheris didn't. "He'll look exactly like you, except silver and with a tail."
"I have a silver son with a tail," Gaheris repeated. He smiled. "I wonder what my wives would say." He felt a dim sadness when he thought of his wives. Most wouldn't expect a Nietzschean to feel grief for so long. (A/N: 6 years)
Trance lightly touched his shoulder. "Hey. You alright?"
Gaheris smiled, pushing away the thoughts he had been thinking. "The Nietzscheans have a saying," he said. "The past is past, the future yet to be, and the present, just that; a gift wrapped for us to enjoy."
Trance smiled. "Maybe being with a Nietzschean isn't so bad," she teased. "It will be a shock to my people," she added seriously. "They won't be happy."
"We'll deal with that obstacle when we reach it," Gaheris said.
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A tall, blue and silver humanoid with pointed ears looked at her companion, an attractive green male.
"She must be controlled," the blue female announced, moving over to the silvery pilot's chair. Both she and her friend were in a new, shiny starship. They had been monitoring a small nebula, and had noticed the formation of a new star beginning.
"Naya," the green male said. "Naya, let her go. You can't change her."
Naya looked back at him. "Apollo, she's out of control," she hissed angrily.
"We must contain he before she lands us all in deep shit!"
Apollo sighed. "Alright," he gave in. "But we give her a chance to explain herself first."
Naya hesitated, then nodded. "But if she refuses..."
"Then we'll do what we must," Apollo said firmly. "In what location is her avatar?"
Naya looked down at the screen below her. "She is still at her last known location."
"Then she is still on board the Andromeda Ascendant," Apollo stated.
Naya nodded. "Entering Slipstream," she announced, pulling down the controls.
Poor Trance, Apollo thought. She has no idea...