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Chapter 20

Dylan was in the mess hall pouring a cup of coffee to get him through the night. There was loads of paperwork to fill out. He had to also search for another chief engineer. Dylan hoped he could find somebody crazy enough to take a job on a High Guard ship with a captain trying to restore the Commonwealth.

Dylan also had to arrange a funeral service for Harper. This was one of the more unpleasant duties that a High Guard officer had to perform. Dylan hated having to think about the funeral; it reminded him too much of the engineer they all had lost.

AI Rommie entered the mess hall and stood in the doorway, observing Dylan. She noticed the strain in her captain's movement and on his face as he turned towards the avatar.

Dylan paused from sipping his coffee as he studied the avatar with curiosity. The captain noticed the same curious expression on her face as he sat down at a nearby table. "Is there something you wanted to tell me Rommie?"

"Not exactly Captain," Rommie hesitated, unsure as to whether to continue.

Dylan sensed AI Rommie's uncertainty and motioned for her to sit down at his table. "It's not like you to be reluctant to talk to me Rommie. Go ahead and spit it out."

The avatar paused a moment before continuing on. "I sense that you are troubled, along with the rest of the crew. You all miss Harper, I can tell. I must confess that I miss Harper as well."

"Yes we all miss Harper, but we'll manage to get through our grief Rommie. I know you're an avatar and not a human, but I'd like to know how you're taking the loss of Harper." Dylan gently questioned as he reached out and took her right hand in his.

AI Rommie took some comfort in the gesture from her captain and smile ruefully. "I am taking the loss of my engineer as well as can be expected. I still have repairs that need to be done and there is nobody qualified to perform them. Not only that, I miss the way he treated me like I was more than just a machine, like I was special to him."

Dylan gave Rommie's hand a squeeze. He could only imagine how hard it must be for the avatar to feel such emotions that she wasn't used to feeling. "I know you were special to Harper."

"Captain, what are your plans for dealing with Apollo and his fleet if you find enough evidence to prove that Harper did not provoke the attack that led to his death?" AI Rommie questioned solemnly. The avatar had to admit for all of her trepidation about asking the question; it finally felt good to have it out in the air now.

"That's a good question Rommie. I wish I knew the answer. We're outnumbered and outgunned by Apollo's forces and he knows it," Dylan reluctantly admitted.

"So are you suggesting that we are going to do nothing to bring Apollo to justice?" the avatar questioned in disbelief, pulling her hand away from Dylan's grasp.

Dylan put a hand on each AI Rommie's shoulders and looked intently into her brown eyes. "Now listen to me Rommie. If Apollo's men fired on Harper's ship unprovoked I intend to see to it that the men responsible are brought to justice. I will find a way no matter what Rommie, I promise."

The avatar straightened her posture and put on a neutral expression on her face." Thank you Dylan," was all she could manage to say right now. Having said what was on her mind AI Rommie left the mess hall.

Dylan leaned forward and slid the coffee mug around on the table. The captain had no idea how he would bring any Dragans to justice with the number of planets that were currently members of the restored Commonwealth. Still, he owed it to Harper and his crew to try.

Beka continued to the follow the tracking beacon from the ship Trance rented. When Beka saw what she thought was Trance's location on the map displayed on the console The blonde had no way of knowing that Trance was no longer in the rented ship. Beka wasn't surprised at the remote location. If Trance was running away she most likely would run away to a remote place where she would try to blend in as much as a purple girl could, which is why the executive officer didn't think twice when she saw that the tracking signal was now remaining fixed. Beka figured the purple pixie had found a planet where she would stay for a day or two.

The galaxy where Trance's ship was located was situated on the outskirts of Dragan-held territory. Beka figured to meet up with some Dragans before she caught up to Trance, which meant the pilot would most likely be able to let out her pent up aggression. Beka increased the Maru's speed, pushing the ship to its limit as much as she dared. Beka hoped she could get to Trance before the Dragans did.

A short time later Beka was able to find a slipstream rout that would take her towards the tracking beam's location. Beka could feel the ache in her tight shoulder muscles as she piloted the slipstream. The stress she had been under lately was catching up to her. Fortunately for Beka the slip jump was only 10 minutes long. Beka exited the slipstream portal and shut off the slipstream drive.

On the monitor Beka could see that Trance's ship had stopped on a small planet. Beka punched a few buttons near the monitor and was able to pull up information on the planet where Trance landed in the Daedalus System.

"Trance you couldn't have picked a worse place to land. I hate planets," Beka muttered under her breath.

Trance and Siegfried climbed out of the shuttle and stood on the hard packed snow.

Trance enjoyed the crunching sound made by their legs sinking up to their calves in the snow. The purple pixie wasn't cold at all as she was able to regulate her body temperature to adjust to the colder climate.

Trance leaned over and picked up a handful of snow and packed it down between her hands, making a snowball. The purple alien grinned mischievously before throwing a snowball at a passing human. The blond human male shot Trance an annoyed look before brushing off the snow and continuing on his way.

The snow wasn't removed for parking. The people had learned to live with year round snow and hadn't bothered to try clearing it away to make any roads or parking lots. The locals had their own version of snowmobiles anyway.

Trance enjoyed the new scenery while Siegfried walked alongside her in silence.

Siegfried eventually turned to face Trance with a confused expression on his face. "Where are we going?"

"We're going to find a friend of mine. But we have to hurry," Trance answered with urgency in her voice.

Siegfried hurried his pace to keep up with the purple alien. It was harder for him to make progress in the snow than it was for Trance. The Nietzschean's heavier weight and greater body mass caused him to sink in the snow more than Trance. Meanwhile Trance bounded along like a snowshoe rabbit.

Siegfried and Trance made it to the outskirts of town an hour later. Trance looked around, surveying the landscape. The buildings on this part of town were more run down than in the center of town where they had come from.

Trance ducked behind an abandoned building and motioned for Siegfried to follow suit. The purple pixie waited in near silence as her mind attempted to sort out the strong presence of Harper she was feeling. She knew the Earther was nearby; it was just a matter of pinpointing his location to the correct building.

Siegfried opened his mouth to speak but Trance quickly put a purple hand over his mouth, immediately silencing the Nietzschean. Trance put a finger to her lips, warning Siegfried to remain silent. The tall, burly Nietzschean meekly complied as he was still under Trance's spell.

Trance got a strong sense as to where Harper was being held. Trance and Siegfried were at one end of a row of buildings and the purple alien knew she would find Harper at the far end of that row.

Trance turned to Siegfried with a serious look on her face. "Siegfried there is a building at the far end of this row of buildings. I need you to help me get in there without being detected."

Siegfried nodded his head in understanding. The Nietzschean began sniffing the air as his sensitive ears listened to the surroundings. "I detect two Nietzschean guards in the front entrance and one in the rear."

"I knew your enhanced Nietzschean senses wouldn't fail me," Trance whispered as loudly as she dared. "I brought us down wind from the clinic so I doubt the guards would smell us. Any suggestions as to how we could sneak inside without getting caught?"

The Nietzschean looked at the lavender alien as he considered her question. "This planet looks to be remote enough to still use ID cards rather than retinal scans to access secure areas. We could dispatch the guards, preferable at the back entrance and take their ID cards."

"Well then let's bring it," Trance replied, mimicking Dylan.