Chapter 5: Sticks and Stones

In the part of this universe that we know there is great injustice, and often the good suffer, and often the wicked prosper, and one hardly knows which of those is the more annoying.

Bertrand Russell
British author, mathematician, & philosopher (1872 - 1970)

The thing Beka resented most—apart from the Nietzschean calculation—was stagnation. Sitting in one place, with nothing to do. True, she enjoyed reading at times, but that was something to do. Wandering around the Andromeda thinking and subconsciously stroking her belly was not. So when Dylan said that they could use doing some supplies, she gladly offered to do the job. A good pretext to move Maru a bit.

From behind her, Harper gave out a long, quite painful sight.

"What is it?" she turned around as much as she could, strapped to the pilot's seat. "You've been doing that a lot since we left."

Harper sighted again. Melancholic Harper? That just didn't seem right.

"Why did you want to take me, Boss?" he asked.

"Because Trance was busy," Beka was never into praising too much. Plus, that was the truth. Trance was doing some major renovating with her plants and probably didn't want to be disturbed. Rhade, naturally, would have offered to join her—luckily his long shift has just finished and he was sound asleep in his quarters. Dylan did not object to her taking Harper, but Harper had, apparently, another opinion.

"But seriously, Harper," Beka pouted her lips. "What is bothering you?"

"Well," Harper didn't know how to start and was genuinely at a loss for words—a thing absolutely uncommon for him. "To start with. I mean, don't take it much personally, Boss. Ermm, not that I, you know, spy on you or something. And I did not hack into Rommie's systems to check. Probably, she wouldn't let me, anyway, but…"

"Harper," Beka grunted. "The point?"

"The point is, Boss, that I care for you wholeheartedly and I don't want to see you heartbroken over another Nietzschean piece of shit."

Beka chocked with laughter.

"Oh. Oh dear. Oh, Harper. You don't need to worry about that," she put a hand on her belly, cupping it gently. "Trust me, I have had enough. Really, really enough."

Harper did the trademark Harper face: wide eyes and disoriented shy smile. Then he looked at the console. "Uh, Boss…"

"What is it again?"

"We are being followed. I think."

Trance stopped, with the Tarazedian Lily in her hands. She was breathing fast, almost panting.

Things have to get worse, really worse. Before they get better.

So this is the trigger. The thing that will start everything.

"Trance," Andromeda's hologram appeared, "are you all right?"

Trance put down the lily and shook her head.

"Yes, I'm fine," she paused for a brief moment. "Andromeda, has Beka made contact?"

"No."

"I need to speak to Dylan. Where is he?"

"Captain Hunt is in his quarters."

"Thank you," Trance started to run. They didn't have much time. She knew that one thing for certain.

Eureka Maru was floating lifeless, an angular shape on the starry backdrop.

"No response, Captain," Andromeda appeared on the screen before Dylan. Her digital face was emotionless, but Rommie's was not. The fear in her dark eyes was evident.

"No life signs detected," she said with disbelief. Then she looked at Dylan.

"Bucky cables," he commended. "Pull her to the hangar. Rhade, Trance, with me."

He left the bridge, checking if the force lance was at his side.

The Maru was quiet, it's shabby looking corridors empty. Dylan stopped at the burned mark, a black spot on the metal wall. Trance looked over his shoulder and went on, obviously searching for something different. Rhade knelt and lifted something from the deck.

The leather strap necklace. Her smell still clang to it.

"Beka's," he stated, trying to stay calm. He could feel the rage growing within and was able to suppress it—but only for a short while.

Dylan nodded, showing the marks on the walls. "She didn't go without a fight."

Of course she did not.

"Dylan! Rhade!" they heard Trance shouting and rushed in her direction. She was standing by the bar, pointing at one of the wall panels. An indented wall panel. "Open it. Remove the panel. Hurry!"

Fear in Trance's voice was never a good sign. Without asking redundant questions, Dylan grabbed one side of the panel, Rhade the other. There must have been some sort of a mechanism installed once, but it broke when something heavy hit the wall. The panel got stuck.

"Beka's stash," Trance was explaining nervously. "Someone's in there… But I couldn't open it the normal way…"

"What…is…the normal…way?" Dylan's face got red from the effort. Suddenly something in the wall clicked—at least Rhade was sure he heard a small noise—and the panel fell off. Both Dylan and Rhade fell with it.

Trance gasped and jumped forward, reaching into the stash. Rhade kicked the panel away, muttering a curse, and saw Harper, unconscious and limp, literally clumped in a small space.

Trance was trying to get him out, whispering his name. She was not really doing any progress, couldn't drag Harper out of the stash. Rhade shoved her aside, quite gently for his current state, and grabbed Harper by the waist. Covering the engineer's head (pesky little engineer's head—as he kept muttering under his breath) he pulled the body out. Then he laid Harper on the deck.

He was not breathing. Felt dead in Rhade's hands.

Trance knelt beside Harper's body and hit him in the chest. Hard. Rhade was not aware that the golden girl can have so much strength in her. The tears were running down her cheeks as she kept pounding Harper's chest, stopping only to breath air into his lungs.

Rhade looked at Dylan, leaning on the wall, his face suddenly much older than usual. Worn out, tired and grey.

"Come on, Harper!" Trance began to shout. "Don't you dare! Don't you dare die here, Harper!"

Seconds felt like hours. Trance's tears formed into tiny crystal beads, that hung in the air—as she was about to punch Harper's chest—and fell down on his face when her fist reached his sternum. Rhade was waiting for the sound of crashing ribs. But he heard another: a heartbeat.

Harper's body curved, the sudden movement startling Trance a bit—but only a bit. He gasped for air with that appalling sound of a hangman, then coughed hard. For a moment his eyes were wandering around the ceiling, the sight still hazy, but he focused on Trance's beaming face.

"Wha-," he began, but another attack of cough stopped him. Dylan knelt beside, helped him sit straight. Rhade remained where he was. It was pointless to make a bigger crowd around the little man; he was clumped in a small container for too long anyway.

"Trance…" Harper was looking into the golden girl's eyes, absolutely mesmerized. "Have I ever told you… That I love you?"

"Only a dozen times, Harper," she cupped his cheek in her hand. "Glad to have you back."

For a moment Harper was disoriented, Trance's smile being the only thing he held on to. Then came the memories.

"Beka!" he tried to stand and Dylan's hand kept him in place. Realizing the truth, Harper started to shake. And even though he tried to control it, he could not. "They… They took her. They came for her. And took her…"

"Who!" Rhade asked with so much anger in his voice that Dylan was shocked. It was the first time—since their fight on the Andromeda's bridge, back in the times when Rhade was an Admiral—that he saw the Nietzschean shrug off the veil of composure. For an instant, he saw Gaheris, turning into a demon of slaughter during combat. The same face, the same fury.

Harper looked at Rhade, but Dylan doubted whether he saw him. He was in a shock and nothing sensible could have been learned from him. Not now, that is.

"I don't know," he simply answered. And then he fainted, right into Trance's arms.

Author's ramblings: I know, I know. No Beka/Rhade this time. Still, you need to trust me--the romance will develop, slowly. These two do not jump on the 'love' bandwagon quickly... Oh, and if anyone finds the final scene of this chapter reminiscent of a certain scene from LOST... I was inspired, not copying. I think it's one of the best scenes in the series. The rain, the angst. You know what i'm talking about...

Thanks for the reviews!

Jamieson Z: You can be nitpicking anytime. I appreciate it very much! I'm glad you liked the story so far.

prin69: Chicken dance... Heh. I think I can picture that. Yup, I definatelly can. I guess that means I need help... And yes, Dylan... I can't say I don't like him. I do. But the whole hero-mode he gets in sometimes (most of the times...). Just gets on my nerves:)

Next chapter will be up soon...