Chapter 9: The Aftermath

Grief teaches the steadiest minds to waver.

Sophocles, Antigone

- - -

Trance was looking at the people they passed by and felt pain, overwhelming her. They looked back, unaware. Not knowing they were doomed. How does it feel, to run through a crowd of people—still walking, but already dead? It hurts. Deep down inside, it hurts so much it's inexplicable.

Dylan was helping Harper. Poor Harper, still weakened after the first close brush with death, now he had to run for his life. Trance knew that Dylan's thoughts orbited around the same thing: the fate of the Venedo Drift inhabitants. The Captain whose sole purpose in life was helping others, was now forced to leave hundreds behind.

He had no choice.

None of them had.

Rhade, carrying Beka's limp body, covered in sheets. What a hilarious group they must have been for the onlookers. With cuts and bruises, running through the corridors towards the dock. Towards the Andromeda, who was waiting eagerly, ready to boost the reverse thrusters and escape.

No other choice.

"You said it was the better future," a voice within Trance teased.

"Because it is better," she hushed it.

"Those people would have lived. You know they would. In that worse future of yours. Is that fair?"

"But others would have died."

"Others. Your friends."

Trance felt tears, running down her face. She hoped nobody else noticed. She didn't have a heart. Not a beating one, that is. Her heart was a star and it was now bleeding with regret.

I've made my choice. It is the right one.

The teasing voice did not reply. For now.

xXx

The moment they came aboard, Andromeda pulled back. Slowly, at first, soon gaining speed. She took parts of the docking bay with her, causing major panic on the Drift.

There were five simultaneous explosions. The Drift trembled, falling apart. Balls of fire rose in deadly silence, then disappeared in an instant as the oxygen was sucked out into the vacuum. Andromeda got hit by the wave. She shook and wobbled, causing everyone aboard to lose balance.

"Minor surface damage and minor short circuits," the holo Andromeda appeared before Dylan, who was trying to stand up. "No substantial damage inflicted."

The coldness in Dylan's eyes caused the AI to pause.

"Captain?" she asked with care.

"Any other ships leaving the drift before the explosion?" Dylan steadied himself against the wall.

"The blast electrocuted some of my sensors. I cannot access the data at the moment," the holo replied. "I'm sure that when Harper…"

There was a moaning sound from the half-conscious engineer, sitting left of Dylan. "Be right there, Romdoll. Just…" And silence. Harper passed out. Again.

"Take us to a safe position," Dylan gave out a long breath and twitched with pain as one of his ribs resonated with ache. "And scan for any survivors… Just in case."

There won't be any. He already knew.

xXx

"Wait," Trance's voice stopped Rhade as he was about to leave the Med. bay. "I have to take care of your injuries."

Rhade turned to look at the Med. Beka was on the main bed, the monitor above her showing her life was not in danger. Harper dozed off on a side bed, with knees pulled close to his chest.

"Tend to them," Rhade said. "I'm not injured."

Trance put her hands on the hips, pouting her lips. "No? Who's the medic here?"

"I'm not injured," he repeated.

"Sure," Trance pointed at the scanner to Rhade's right, "Just like Dylan. He's barely walking but he went straight to the bridge and I couldn't stop him. I know the Nietzschean. But denying an injury is not a survival trait."

Rhade raised an eyebrow. "Getting into Nietzschean rhetoric?"

"If I have to," backed Trance. "You have minor skull fractions, some internal bleeding and two of your ribs are broken. You still think you can handle that on your own?"

"It's been worse," he replied, knowing already that the golden nymph will not let him out of the Med. bay.

"Do I need to shout at you? Because I will if I have to," Trance looked deadly serious. The feisty behavior did not suit her so much, that Rhade couldn't help it and smiled. Just a little bit.

"You do have the gift of persuasion," he noticed.

Trance nodded. "Now, take of the jacket and sit over there. It won't take much time and afterwards you can… Proceed with whatever you want to do."

As Trance was injecting him with special nanobots, Rhade looked at Beka's calm features. Her chest was moving in the slow rhythm of her breath. It seemed as if she was just sleeping, so peaceful. Serene.

"How is she?" he asked. Trance sighed.

"From what I have seen so far…" she hesitated. "The physician that conducted the operation was very skillful. There may be a scar left, though."

The atmosphere was getting dense. Almost too heavy to breathe.

"Physically, she will recover quickly," Trance continued. Maybe she was not aware of the dark spots that started to flow before Rhade's eyes. Not red anymore. Dark. "But when she wakes up… I don't know." She placed her hand on his shoulder. "She may need someone. To talk to."

She has you, Trance. And she has Dylan.

"Tend to them," he stood up, shaking her hand of him, albeit gently. "Thank you for… Thank you. I'll try to send Dylan your way."

She smiled, softly like she used to. Rhade looked once more upon Beka's laying figure and left the Med. bay, trying not to limp as the adrenaline wore off.

xXx

She opened her eyes and for the first time she saw something familiar.

Well, generally familiar.

Harper's face was swollen on one side, making him look like a fluffy child's toy.

"What happened to you, Harper…?"

She wasn't expecting the reaction that followed. Harper cried out and flung himself at her, wrapping her in his arms and cuddling.

"Boss! Oh, Boss, you're alive! You're fine! Boooooooooooss…!"

Beka could not do anything else but cuddle him back.

xXx

The realization came afterwards. It filled Beka's insides with cold and sharp steel. It tightened the metal ring around her head and another one, around the heart. It made her curl up on the bed—when Harper left, when Trance left, after Dylan's visit—and cry. Cry without tears, the sort of silent scream, muttered by the pillow, so that nobody would hear her. The hysterical cry. The one in which only her body trembled.

She pressed her fingers to the scar that almost wasn't there—oh, how perfect the medicine has become!—and wailed.

It wasn't even hers. Not to the fullest. She didn't tame the thought of having it. Of carrying it.

But she thought it was going to be a girl.

It wasn't hers the way it should have been. The way any child should be. The way she wasn't to her mother.

And it has been taken.

Taken!

The tears started rolling down her cheek, unwanted, just like the child. She chocked on them, finally letting out a high pitched shriek—and there was grief, there was anger, there was a question to the universe.

WHY?

The universe remained silent.

Andromeda watched.

A single tear appeared in the corner of Rommie's eye. She brushed it off quickly, but not quick enough for her Captain to notice.

xXx

"You knew," Dylan rested his chin on the hands. Trance just nodded. They were in his office, the private mode engaged. She finally managed to check on the Captain's health condition but he had used the opportunity to question her. "You knew from the start. And you didn't bother to tell me."

Trance nodded again. "She wanted to keep it a secret for a little while."

The question—unspoken—hung between them.

Is this your better future?

And yet, another one.

Did you knew this was going to happen?

And a 'yes' to both of them.

- - -

Author's ramblings: I know, no very thrilling or important things happen in this chapter--still the plot moves forward, Beka woke up, Trance is being enigmatic, Dylan is... Oh, nevermind (I may refrain from Dylan bashing, but I have another fic in mind where I won't...;))

I've read 'Coda' by Robert Hewitt Wolfe and... It's really interesting. The 'original origin' of Andromeda, who Trance really was suppose to be... All I can say is WOW. I'd love to READ the whole thing as an epic book. But I'm not sure if it would work out well in TV series... Still, if there exists a person who had not read the Coda, please do: http/ next? Well, do you really think Beka Valentine can be kept in Med? I don't think so...

As always, thanks for the reviews!