Chapter 10: The Hollow

Who then devised the torment? Love.

T.S. Eliot

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"I thought I'd find you here."

Rhade jumped a little, surprised at hearing Trance's voice behind his back. He was deliberately using the panels in a machine shop that Harper was not present in at the moment. He wanted to work alone, without the irritating engineer around. Without anyone around, for that matter.

"You've sneaked up… On me?"

Trance just shrugged her shoulders and walked closer, to take a look at the screen he was examining the past twenty minutes.

"You are a woman of amazing abilities, Trance Gemini," he admitted, finally.

She smiled warmly. "Amazing abilities seem to be a common factor for the crew of this warship. Are you…?"

"I'm trying to track down our mysterious kidnapper, if that's what you're asking," he replied. "But the explosion on the Drift created some sort of a magnetic pulse… At least that's what Harper told me earlier today. It scrambled the readings. The last four minutes of recordings before the explosion are practically unreadable."

Trance cocked her head a little. "But you have managed to gather something…" She pointed at the screen. "A small ship. Leaving the Drift way before Andromeda. Signature of the pilot is…"

"Perseid. It was a Perseid," Rhade interrupted. "Left in a hurry and jumped into slipstream."

Trance looked up. "Beka mentioned she saw a Perseid. I believe he was the one who conducted the operation."

Rhade's eyes narrowed. "He sneaked out the door." He remembered. The grey midget. Back then it seemed like nothing important. Back then he was focused on the artificial womb and it's little passenger. But now…

"She also mentioned he was on Flash," added Trance. Rhade smiled.

"Good," he said. Trance raised an eyebrow.

"In what sense?"

"How many Perseids you know take Flash? It will be much easier to find him."

"It's a big universe," she reminded.

"Not as big as it seems," he sighed. "That Perseid was, probably, paid for doing…" Trance noticed that Rhade's hand clenched into a fist, "…what he did. And now he will try to spend this money. If he is a Flash addict…"

"He will search for a dealer," Trance agreed.

"And we will search for this dealer, too."

---

Dylan still felt a bit dizzy when he was standing for too long and that's what he has been doing on the command. He had hit the wall pretty hard back then, on the Drift and—unlike Rhade—he didn't have the Nietzschean physiology. Plus, he had waited with tending to the injuries and they got worse.

He held the console's rim to steady himself and ignored the worried look that Trance just shot him.

"Captain," Andromeda appeared on the screen. "Beka Valentine has left the Med. bay."

"What?" Dylan frowned, then turned to Trance. "Isn't she supposed to be resting?"

"She is but…" Trance hesitated.

"But you cannot hold Beka when she doesn't want to be held," finished Harper. Rhade just raised an eyebrow.

"Andromeda, locate her," ordered Dylan. "And seal the hangar, just in case."

"Captain Valentine is in her quarters… Correction, she is heading towards the command."

Dylan gave out a long sigh.

Beka walked in, confident as ever, stern look on her face. Dressed as her usual self, in tight black pants and black turtleneck with no sleeves. She also made her hair a bit longer, reaching the shoulders and a bit wavy at the tips.

"Reporting to command," she said, looking straight at Dylan. "I am sick of doing nothing."

They eyed each other for a moment, neither backing away.

"Beka, you should be…" Dylan started.

"I've been resting, Dylan," she cut him off. "I'm not going to stay in bed any minute longer. I'm fully capable of doing my duties here. I am not disabled!"

She took a long breath.

"But if this makes you feel any better," she added, "you can dismiss me when you see I'm not handling the situation here."

Dylan smirked. "An ultimatum?"

"You can call it whatever you want."

Trance smiled. "From medical point of view…" she started, "Beka can be allowed to stay… For a limited time, naturally."

Dylan looked at the golden girl and his eyes were saying et tu? Trance just smiled. Again.

"Fine, Beka. But no piloting. Take the console next to Rhade and… No piloting."

"I've heard that," she grumbled, walking past Rhade on the way to the console. She paused, turned to the Nietzschean. "By the way: I'm fine, thanks for asking."

"Excuse me?" he was really puzzled. As were probably everyone else on the bridge.

"Well, since you didn't bother to visit me in the Med., I'm telling you now," she explained, sarcasm dripping from her words. "I'm fine. Glad you've been worrying."

---

Hollow.

She felt hollow inside.

The water run down Beka's body as she leaned her forehead on the shower's wall. The wet hair clung to her head, wrapped her neck. She was trying to catch her breath. A second ago that coldness has overwhelmed her again, though the shower was hot. She staggered and leaned on the wall. She didn't cry, though.

Slowly, she came to her knees. The water was still running, but contrary to what some books said, it did not wash the pain away. The pain was there, a splinter within her.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

Nobody could see her like this. Not her. Not Beka Valentine.

She arched back, the water hit her face and breasts. She felt it pound on the skin, as if trying to get underneath.

Get a grip, Valentine! Now!

She thought she can handle herself. She was the tough Valentine. Valentine Smart. She can't just crack like this. She can't.

It hurt. It hurt even worse than she though it is possible. It didn't hurt that much when she got heartbroken, dumped, betrayed. It didn't. When her mother left. When dad died. When all the men in her life turned out to be a bunch of selfish bastards.

But it hurt now. If only Rev was here. I sure miss his consolations, though I never really listened to any of them. I heard them but never listened.

She left the shower five minutes later, calm and composed. When she was brushing her slightly longer and still wethair, the holo Andromeda appeared.

"Checking up on me?" Beka shook her head, the wet strands splattered tiny beads of water around.

Andromeda pouted her lips in that 'quit-your-smart-ass-act' expression she could put on sometimes. Sure, she probably knew that Beka did not got to her old self quite yet. And now she came to preach. The do-gooder, Dylan style.

"I think you should take a look at this," the holo replied, pointing at the panel to the left of Beka. The screen was flicking.

"What is this?" Beka turned to face Andromeda.

"Something you should see," enigmatic like never. What? Andromeda was now turning into Trance?

"Just wait and you'll turn gold with horns," Beka muttered under her breath. The holo did not looked particularly bothered by the attitude. Andromeda disappeared, leaving Beka by the flickering screen.

"Ah, fine, whatever," Beka grunted, touching the 'play' symbol at the middle of the panel.

She felt her throat tighten. She was looking at herself, in the bed on Med., sleeping, unaware… The camera angle was from above, a bit awkward to see oneself like that. But it was not the reason her heart skipped a beat. Not the reason the coldness returned and got hold of her insides.

Next to sleeping Beka sat Telemachus Rhade.

The clip was played at faster speed, showing the events from the moment Beka was placed in the Med, up to her final waking up. The others came and went, Trance, Dylan. Harper, who spend some time on a bed next to her. But Rhade was there. Everyday. He watched her recover.

"Andromeda, sound!" ordered Beka, her eyes fixed on the screen.

"Not available," answered the AI.

"What do you mean?" Beka couldn't believe. "What do you mean 'not available'?"

"I'm sorry."

The scene froze on the screen: Rhade brushing the strand of hair off Beka's forehead.

"Andromeda, give me Commander Rhade's location!" Beka was not entirely sure of what she wanted to do, but she felt quite guilty and she didn't like the feeling. She also lifted her hand to touch a wet strand that clung to her forehead.

"Commander Rhade had left twenty minutes ago on Eureka Maru with Trance Gemini," the AI's response stopped Beka in her efforts to get dressed decently.

"What!" she exclaimed, suddenly not knowing if she was mad at herself for being a total bitch to Rhade… Or furious at him for taking her ship without asking first. At this moment, the latter prevailed.

And one would have thought the DNA security measures were enough.

Yup, she was definitely going to have a talk with Rhade as he gets back. And if Maru gets scratched…

It was now everything she had.

Author's ramblings: I'm keeping with the regular update pace, as the university starts in October. I hope I can deliver the bigger part of the story till then... From my own experience I know how hard it gets once the classes start... Jeez. I've been working on a novel for a second year now; one more chapter to go (in the novel) and I hit a writer's block;) Tough.

Anyway... Jamieson Z, it's true. Trance knew what will happen. She has a certain goal in mind, she has made certain choices... And as she told Dylan, things need to get worse in order to get better. What she didn't say is how much worse... And it's just a beginning.

Well, Beka is up on her feet and a bit unstable. Though she still values Maru higher than certain individuals... Or that's what she thinks.

Andromeda tried her best. She watches, and she is very thorough. She can recognize emotions. Plus, i'm sure she was listening to everything Rhade could say in the Med. What did he say? Well, I don't know,I wasn't listening...

As in this reality 'Lost in a Space that isn't there' never happened and never will, I felt like giving the two a bedsidemoment (a hospital bedside!). I really liked the way it was played in the episode... Though Rhade did suggest shoting Beka out of an airlock... Ever the practical;)

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OK, the premise... In the next chapter, we will follow Trance and Rhadeon a particualar Drift, a centre of all pleasures... And Trance will admit to some things she used to do back in the days she was purple... And had a tail.

See you then!...