Lost Souls & Changing Fate Part One: Lost Souls
Chapter Eight: The Calm Before The Storm
"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."- Harold Wilson
Telemachus Rhade was terrified. In all his years in the academy, the Home Guard on Tarazad, or even here on the Andromeda, nothing compared to this. His eyes moved again to the wooden box on the bedside table. Arianna was in a meeting with Dylan, Andromeda had promised to warn his when she was on her way, and he was debating being sick.
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Trance sat in hydroponics staring at her beloved bonsai tree, her hands shaking as she lifted the pruners. She knew what she had to do, but doing it terrified her. Walking, as she had all her life, the edge between the past, present, and future, was exhausting business. Every day, it seemed, the future was changing. Today, however, Trance had a much more difficult task. Today she had to venture into the past.
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Harper was busy fiddling with Rommie in machine shop, while Andromeda's hologram made disparaging remarks on the human nature of her AI. Harper and Rommie both ignored said remarks as they discussed what upgrades and improvements could be made. While Rommie was fully willing the admit that upgrades were always needed, she did not feel that improvements could be made. After all, how can you improve upon perfection?
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Beka was tinkering with the Maru, which always seemed to need work of some sort. As she replaced circuits and tightened valves, she couldn't get that man from the bar out of her head. It had beed almost a day since they left the drift, and Beka still couldn't put her finger on what had bothered her about him. He really didn't stand out from the other bar rats.
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Dylan was having a hard time getting a measure of Arianna. She was a remarkable woman with many facets, who didn't fit any one particular mold. Dylan privately thought she was a fitting match for Telemachus Rhade. Dylan and Arianna had been talking for nearly three hours, mostly about the days before the fall of the Commonwealth. Arianna had studied at the Academy on Tarn-Vedra, and was accomplished in all positions onboard a warship. The Andromeda already had: a pilot, an engineer, a Captain, a medical officer, and a tactics officer, what job was left for Arianna to do?
Andromeda's hologram appeared suddenly, interrupting Dylan's musings.
"Captain, there is an unmarked vessel on approach. Her weapons are charged and ready."
"Alert the crew. Battle stations."
Dylan was out the door, before Andromeda could acknowledge, with Arianna at his heels.