Love In An Elevator
Chapter 3

"…and then they made me their chief."

"Liar."

"I'm not lying."

"That didn't happen Rhade."

"I swear to you it did."

"Nu uh."

"There's pictures."

After that it was finally too much for Beka and she couldn't help but laugh. There were pictures? She could only imagine what they would contain if he were telling the truth. She had so far discovered that his younger nieces and nephews were a highly taught bunchtrained with militarily precision by their fathers to take out a fully grown Nietzschean, namely Telemachus. Quite the bunch of hooligans; Beka couldn't help but think how much they'd get along with Harper.

"It's true, why would I lie in this game?"

"I'm going to need to see proof."

"Then you'll get it," promised Rhade. "If we ever get out of this elevator that is."

'Ah yes, the elevator,' thought Beka. That was one of the sole reasons for their little game of Truth or Dare, the other reason being sheer boredom. Admittedly though, Beka had to say that this game of theirs had turned out to be quite entertaining. As long as Rhade stayed away from asking her any direct questions that is.

"All right apart from a ton of nieces and nephews, how many brothers and sisters are they all coming from?"

"Three brothers and two sisters," said Rhade, "Wasn't it my turn to ask you though?"

Beka smiled, "My game, my rules. So where do you fit in the Rhade Family pecking order?"

"I'm the youngest."

Beka snorted and tried to cover it with a cough, "You're the baby?"

"Is that so hard to believe?"

She shrugged, "I just always thought you'd be from oldest to middle or somewhere. But I guess that just means we have one more thing in common."

"You have siblings?"

"An older brother who I haven't seen in, oh what? Three years now?"

"That's quite a while."

"Yeah well, before he showed up on the Andromeda I hadn't seen him in almost six or seven years."

Rhade's eyebrows shot up, "Six or seven years?"

"I can only imagine what that must sound like to a Nietzschean. Anyway it's my turn."

"Excuse me?"

"You asked your question."

"No I didn't."

"'Ten years?' that was a question so it's my turn."

Rhade rolled his eyes and waited for her to speak.

"Uhhhh…oh I know! What was the High Guard Academy like? All rigid and rule-like? Ever play any pranks?"

"I'm going to ignore the fact that you asked two questions. In short it was rules, standards, procedure, demerit points, you wouldn't have liked it. You've never struck me as a saluter or a 'Yes sir, yes ma'am' kind of woman."

"Definitely not."

"There was the class training, though I preferred the physical training."

"No really?" said Beka wryly, "Can't imagine why."

"Obstacle courses, combat weaponry, hand-to-hand, it was nicer as we moved up in rank and got to choose our specialties. As for pranks there was one involving panty hose and a chicken that I'm not going to get into."

"Please?"

"No, it's my turn."

"What was your specialty then?"

"Beka…"

"Oh come on that's still part of my question about the Academy. If you won't tell me about the chicken in drag then more details on the other parts."

"I would have hoped it was obvious what my specialty was," said Rhade, "Ever since I can remember I wanted to fly."

"Piloting?"

"Exactly."

"But then you were promoted out of it right?"

"Correct. I piloted through most of my junior ranks and first senior ones. When I was promoted to Commander and First Officer I didn't pilot as much as I used to, then came Captain and Admiral and all the bureaucracy and politics that went with those ranks. I remember on my off days, as few as I had, I'd take a slipfighter out and just fly. There's nothing like it in the world."

"Don't I know it." The first time she ever flew was an incredible experience, and even now when she just needed space, time alone, or to take a break, the helm of the Maru was always her favourite place to be.

"So when was your first time?"

Beka almost choked, "What?" she squeaked.

"Flying, when was your first time flying."

"Oh. Right. Flying." Beka cleared her throat and ignored the amused look on Rhade's face. "I was six. My dad promised me that I could flythe Marufor Chiristmas. I sat on his lap while he told me what controls to push and how to handle the grips. It was great. By the time I was twelve I could fly better than him."

"It's no wonder then why you're one of the galaxy's best pilots."

"What about your first flight? Academy?"

"Academy," he confirmed. "You used to run cargo, what was that like?"

Beka chewed her lip while she thought of the old days, "Well if you like not knowing when your next pay is coming in, or where your next job is, and all the credit you make goes on repairs and debt and not eating for a while then it's great, really great."

"Sounds rough."

"All cushy on Tarazed you guys have no idea what it's like out there."

"Since joining the Commonwealth we're starting to."

"Still, you're all High Guard warships not independent little cargo ships being shot at by Resters, Nietzscheans, andeverything elsein this universe."

"It may not look like much but, admittedly, the Maru can take a lot of damage."

"You know I think that's one of the nicest things you've said about my ship all the while I've known you Rhade."

Rhade smiled, "There's something else I've been meaning to ask..."

"You had your turn."

"You did it to me so I'm asking it."

"It's my game."

"It was your idea Beka, you don't own the game and besides your unorthodox rules should apply to the both of us if you're going to use them."

"No they shouldn't."

"About your Clarinthian Angel Doll..."

"Don't go there Rhade."

"I never pegged you as the girly doll type Beka so why..."

"Hey! I can be girly! Besides I love that doll. And what about you? Still sleep with a baby blanket?"

"No, I had a fish," he said smugly before turning thoughtful, "but I think it got taken away because I kept trying to eat it...at least that was the story followed by pictures when my mother gave it back to me for my twentieth birthday..."

Beka giggled, "There's pictures?" She could only imagine a one-year-old Telemachus Rhade chewing on a little stuffed fish before shoving it in his mouth with only the tail sticking out.

"I'm probably going to regret telling you this, but if we ever get out of here just go ask my mother, I'm sure she'd gladly pull out every baby picture she has. She has invited the entire crew for dinner tonight but I'd prefer it if one else saw those pictures."

"You're trusting me?"

"My turn," he said ignoring her.

Beka groaned and hoped she'd be able to dodge whatever he asked her.

"Exactly what have you done blindfolded?"

She groaned. "I don't like this game anymore."

"Well if you wanted we could try it blindfolded."

Beka punched him in the leg, "I'm going to pretend you didn't say that. Besides it's my turn now."

"You didn't answer my question."

"And I'm not going to."

"You told Harper."

"In the exact same way I said it on Obs. Deck that day, and if you must know the original comment came about when I was out-flying a group of Resters."

"Sure it was."

"You don't believe me?"

"I didn't say that."

"Trust a Nietzschean to equate everything to sex."

"I didn't say that either." He smirked.

"You were thinking it, admit it. Even on the Obs. Deck when everyone was staring at me. I knew that look you gave me."

"What look?"

"The one you're giving me now…stop it…"

"What look?"

"You know what look…and stop smiling."

"Beka?"

"What?"

"You're paranoid."

"You trapped us in an elevator, of course I'm paranoid."

"For the last time Beka, I did not trap us in here."

"So you say."

"So I say, what possible reason would I have to trap us in here?"

"I think you know."

"Do you trust me?"

"What?" Beka was momentarily confused as Rhade switched topics. What did trusting him have to do with being stuck? Oh wait. Maybe he meant trust him because he didn't get them stuck.

"I'm not another Tyr Beka."

Or not. So he was getting serious on her now was he? Talks about Tyr always were. They were personal and usually involved one or more of her disastrous relationships. Whatever made Harper tell Rhade about her love life she would never know.

"I've noticed," she said absently.

"Have you?"

Beka hesitated slightly, he was really going in a whole new direction with this trust thing, "I told you about Talia didn't I?"

"You wouldn't have if Aleiss hadn't let it slip."

"I meant on Command, after her wedding. I didn't have to elaborate but I did. I bet your little Nietzschean genes were dancing all over that bit of blackmail."

"Beka…"

He sounded hurt, and why oh why did she have to look up at him, for he looked it too.

"Who else knows?"

His eyes were doing that thing again. Like he could see right through the walls she put up around herself and was unable to understand why she couldn't let anyone close. It was annoying. Annoying because it was just another one of those things that Telemachus Rhade did that made her want to fall into his arms.

"No one. Can you imagine if Dylan knew? He'd be rushing off to Oedekirk to sign them to his Commonwealth and reunite the wayward daughter and her evil mother…"

"Do you really think Dylan would do that to you? That he would care more for Oedekirk and reaching out to the woman who abandoned you? If we reached out at all it should be with a fully charged force lance. As a Nietzschean I can't understand the willing abandonment of ones own child. It's appalling."

"That's one thing Nietzscheans have going for them. You love your children."

"Or in my case nieces and nephews."

"Yeah about that," started Beka. That was one of the things she had always wondered about. She had always expected a double helix wrapped around his arm and when she didn't see one it had surprised her. "Admiral of the Home Guard, Genetic Reincarnation of Gaheris Rhade and you weren't surrounded by a harem of fifty wives because…?"

His mouth lifted into a half-smile, "Well for one thing, Tarazed Nietzscheans are monogamous so the fifty wives is automatically out."

Beka eyebrows shot up. One wife? That's it? They only take one?

"As for the 'why I was never married' portion of your question. Do you know how the Pride Matriarchs have to approve the marriages beforehand?"

"They do?"

"I'll take that as a no. In Nietzschean cultures when a male and female wish to marry they present their DNA to the Matriarch who decides if their combined genes will bring strength to the Pride in later generations."

"And here we go with the kids again. So you're not married because…?"

"Because everyone I brought to my mother she hated. In her opinion none were good enough for me. Though every time I'm home she complains that I'm not married, pressures me to find a wife, and then the cycle of rejected potentials starts all over again."

Beka blinked, did she even want to meet Rhade's mother at dinner tonight? If she had to approve of his choices…wait, Beka shook herself, she wasn'tone of Rhade's choices, heck she might never be one of Rhade's choices. And besides, he needed Mommy's approval for marriage and Beka certainly wasn't planning on marrying him...right?
She wasn't thinking it.
She wasn't.
And why were they talking about marriage again? Oh right, because she opened her big mouth.

"Tough lady," said Beka staring at Rhade.

"Tell me about it."

TBC

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A/N: This was supposed to be last chapter but guess what? There's another one still coming. Thanks for the reviews! This chapter didn't turn out quite the way I imagined it to be but ah well, there's another chapter yet to come...And yes the very first line of this chapter was stolen from 'Pirates of the Carribean'

Maglenan Songbird: I loved your question ideas so much I put them in Not What You Think. It just seemed to fit.

Jade Rhade: I love long reviews, they're my favourite kind! Your Q ideas were great. Some of them are making me think of new stories where they can be fit in or revolved around the plot;) As for Echoes, wow 39 chapters huh? And you do it in a notebook, I re-started keeping notes of my fics, I find it easier to fix things and insert new ideas when I can correct it witha pen and scribble all over. And also it's good for holding ideas that don't get typed right away.

sticks-and-stones123: Why is Rhade so hot? Excellent genes my lady, excellent genes;) He looks good in jeans too btw:)

Jamieson Z: Well if what you were expecting this story to be wasgutter worthythen I know what you're talking about, if not then I'm way off.

Ryua Malfoy: I snuck the demerits in last minute! Thanks for the rest. I can see Rhadde and his brothers starting up an illegal poker club for some reason or another;)

prin69: The review font does look bigger, Maybe they thought we were all becoming blind? Or maybe a new size default...Covert secret agent Rhade working for Dylan and his coffe fixation, hehe I love that! Great mental image!