Chapter 5

"And I'll have lived it tomorrow

No don't look at me that way

Well I heed the words you say…

But my heart has gone astray."

From The Man Who Would Be King by The Libertines

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Dylan paced, as he always did when worried. His lips were pressed tight together, his uniform rumpled as though he had slept in it. He was practically trembling from frustration and fear. He was the only crewmember left in Command, the others at their various posts. It had been too awkward for them to stay in the same place ever since they had realised that Beka was gone and that they had no idea if she was still alive and, if she was, how to get her back. Finally his head whipped up and he snapped: 'Rommie!'

She materialised next to him. 'You yelled, sir?'

He waved a hand helplessly, trying to remember why he had called her. 'Have you… traced her last position yet? Have you find any residue from where we crashed into that… thing?'

'Dylan, if I had then you would be the first to know about it,' she replied, sounding as exasperated as it was possible for a ship to be.

'Then there's nothing?' he asked hesitantly.

'I didn't say that, captain. I simply said that I haven't found anything yet. There are a few tests that I have yet to run.' She paused, looking at him with concern. 'You should get some sleep. You've been on your feet for the last 27 hours and 47 minutes. What with the crash and the stress you've been under, you must be feeling exhausted.'

'I can't sleep!' he exclaimed, looking at her like she was insane. 'Beka's missing! What if she's dead? What if…' he didn't finish, just sank down onto the deck and put his head in his hands, massaging his temples. Andromeda stood where she was awkwardly, not knowing how to deal with this. She rarely saw Dylan like this, with no idea how to deal with the situation. She just watched him, and then after a while Dylan made an effort to pull himself together and looked up at her, dry-eyed.

'Shouldn't you be running those tests?' he asked her.

'I'm running them as we speak,' she said, trying her best to appear sympathetic. 'But…' she paused, and looked up like someone who thinks they may have just heard something, a whisper, a noise from far away, and is trying to hear the echo.

'What? What is it? Damn it, Andromeda, talk to me!' he yelled, getting more and more agitated until he felt like leaping forward and shaking her holographic form. She didn't respond for a few agonising seconds longer, then looked at him with a furrowed row.

'Captain, there's another ship on my radar.'

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'Reb this is insane! I can't let you do this!' Bren barked, grabbing his determined young crewmate firmly by the arm as Reb's hands flicked frantically over the controls. Bren yanked viciously so that Reb was forced to stop what he was doing and look at him. 'Are you listening to me? We can't do this; it's too dangerous. The mission…'

'The mission can wait!' Reb snapped. Bren was taken aback; he had never heard his friend say those words.

'The mission is paramount!' Bren responded at last, his voice shaking. 'The mission is the reason we're alive. The mission is everything!'

'The hell with the mission!' Reb growled, yanking his arm away. 'Don't try to stop me, Bren. I still have command on this ship, and though I rarely give you a direct order I'm doing it now: back off! I know I can do this. Just think what this could achieve. Slipstream. Did you hear her? Travelling faster than light!' his eyes had a strange glaze over them, his breathing fast like he had just run a marathon, and he was speaking fast, the words tumbling over each other in the rush to escape from his mouth. 'We could get to Earth in no time with that kind of technology at our fingertips. It kills me to think of what we've already wasted, all that time. Over 400 years, and many more to come. But we could cut that time into a mere fraction of what it is now with a slipstream drive! Or maybe we don't even need to get to Earth. Not to our Earth anyway…'

'No, Reb, no,' Bren said desperately. 'The people in our universe, in the real world, are depending on us to repopulate the Earth. You want to let them down?'

Reb seemed to slow down for a moment, looking down at the deck sadly. 'You're right,' he sighed. 'We have a responsibility. But… just imagine. Another Earth, one free from the Pandora virus. It sounds too good to be true.' He shook his head and turned back to the controls. 'But that's hardly the issue here. The point is, I've found some residual gravitational energy where the portal appeared. Somehow… I think it's still there, hidden from us. If I can just find it, I could get us into this other universe. I know I can.'

Bren looked at him, frightened, then asked: 'but can you get us back again?'

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Lise hesitated, then rapped on the door with her knuckles. She winced as the cold metal rasped against her skin. It was just habit; the woman wouldn't be able to hear her. So instead she opened a com line and called 'knock-knock.'

Silence, then… 'Come in!' Beka called. Lise sighed at the dispirited tone in the visitor's voice, but entered anyway. Beka's appearance was shocking: rumpled hair and clothes, dark smudges under her eyes like she'd fallen asleep with make-up on, pale face and so miserable that she barely had the energy to lift her head and see who had disturbed her.

Wow, you look rough! Lise thought, but aloud she said tactfully: 'hey, do you need anything? You look like a girl in need of a pick-me-up.'

Beka smiled wearily. 'I know I look like crap. I'm just tired. Do you have any Sparky Cola?'

'Um… no,' Lise admitted. 'But I can give you something to help you sleep, if you like, and something to perk you up if you don't feel like sleeping. Hang on…' she rifled through the bag she had slung over one shoulder for a bottle of medicine. Beka watched her, smiling despite herself. Lise reminded her a little of someone else, a golden girl with a tendency to cheer people up wherever she went. Finally the auburn-haired girl produced a bottle of viscous, clear liquid and grinned triumphantly. 'Aha! This is a mild stimulant. No heavy drugs or anything, don't worry, just something to make you feel better.'

'I'm fine,' Beka lied. Lise just tossed her head and raised her eyebrows disbelievingly. The doctor unscrewed the cap and produced a plastic spoon from the recesses of the bag.

'Do I have to feed you, Miss Valentine?' she coaxed gently. Despite herself, Beka opened her mouth, and Lise poured some medicine into the spoon and then stuck the spoon in Beka's mouth.

'Swallow,' she said authoritatively. Beka did so, then immediately pulled a face and stuck her tongue out, trying to get rid of the awful taste. 'Nice?' Lise asked brightly.

'Yummy.'

'Right, now let's see about those bruises.' The doctor went into the bag again, and pulled out a battered silver tube.

'OK, I am not eating whatever comes out of there!' Beka insisted stubbornly, folding her arms and pouting like a child. 'I've learnt my lesson.'

'I'm not asking you to,' Lise assured her, rolling up Beka's shirtsleeve and inspecting the yellowish-purple bruises. 'Ouch! Well, no matter, I'll sort you right out.' She squeezed some white cream onto the tip of her index finger and advanced on Beka's bicep. The blonde girl jerked away.

'Woah, what is that stuff, chemical burn?' she demanded suspiciously, half-serious. Lise laughed at her.

'Calm down, it's just some arnica. It's homeopathic, it'll help with the bruising.' She began to gently rub the cool cream into Beka's skin, and despite herself the First Officer enjoyed the tingling sensation. It was better than burning any day. Little by little she relaxed the muscles in her arm, and felt herself slowly unwinding mentally. When it was all rubbed in, Lise rolled Beka's sleeve back down and smiled reassuringly. 'All done,' she proclaimed.

'Thanks…' Beka began, but suddenly the both of them were thrown to the deck as the ship bucked and tossed around. Beka gasped as the landed on her bad arm, then her head gave up the fight against stress and sleeplessness and she slumped onto the deck like a rag doll.

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My muse has done a runner! Hot damn, I gotta go get it back or there isn't going to be a chapter 6! But you know what helps my muse? You got it... reviews! My muse is a review fiend! So please, won't you try to keep it happy?

Oh, and thanks lots to fwe for reviewing, though ya didn't leave an address just letting you know your comments were mucho appreciated!