Harper glared at her.

Parisindy stuck her tongue out.

"Ya know, some of this mess is your fault. If you hadn't spilt that Sparky knockoff brand on the Slip Core controls, half of these parts wouldn't be here. I had to dismantle the whole damn board. Plus I have to replace most of the compontents." Seeing a frown from Dylan, Harper continued, "I made a quick fix, but it will only keep the Slipstream core from over-loading. Meaning that if we want to Slip before I get it fixed, we'll all need to go to the Maru. So, in layman's terms, WE ARE A FREAKIN' SITTING DUCK!"

"How long do you think it will take to fix Harper?" Dylan asked.

"One hour at the most, but if it was anyone else it would be twelve. That's because I am a freakin' genius!" Harper finished a can of Sparky-Cola and proceeded to open another one. "Of course in one hour, anything could happen on this ship."

"Yeah... well, good-luck with that cutey," and with that Paris bounced out of the room, followed closely by Tyr.

"Have you figured out how to get her back to her own universe and time yet Mr. Harper?"

"I think so, if the slipstream is calibrated precisely right, and we get Beka to drive, I might be able to plot a route back to her universe. You're gonna havta call her back for scans. Because she is from a different universe, she should have a slightly different energy signature."

"Okay, I'll see what I can do." Dylan turned and left Machine Shop.

15 minutes later

"Stop fidgeting Paris," Harper said while holding the scanner.

"I can't help it, I'm bored. Very bored. You wanna play a game?"

"Sure, but if I win then you have to SIT STILL!" Harper almost yelled.

"Okay, do you have a deck of cards? I feel like poker." Paris said sweetly.

Harper's face fell, he was losy at poker, and she probably knew about it. "Do we hav'ta play that?" With a devilish grin, Parisindy nodded. "Fine," Harper rummaged around for a deck of cards in one of the many drawers in Shop 17. "Here," he produced a unopened pack from the fifth drawer he looked through. Harper batted Paris's hand away from the deck, "Ah,ah,ah! What do you get if you win?"

"Weeeellll, you have to give me a Sparky-Cola, and you have to drink one of my soda's. Also, if I win, I'll sit still so you can run your scan."

'Now I have to win, can't let her get her hands on my Sparky', Harper thought. "You're on." He handed her the deck so she could shuffle. "Best outta three wins."

"Okay."

The first game Harper won with a pair of Aces to Parisindy's pair of Threes.

The second game Parisindy won with four Queens to Harper's three of kind, Kings.

The third and final game Parisindy won with a Royal Flush to Harper's four of a kind, Threes.

"Okay, pay up." Parisindy handed him one of her can's and waited for one of his can's.

"Do I really have to?"

"Well, unless you never want to see," Paris looked around to see if she could grap anything of value to him and hold it hostage for a Sparky can, "this again, you'll give me a Sparky-Cola." Paris grabbed onto Harper's nanowelder that he left on the table, and ran out of the room yelling, "Tell Rommie if you wanna negotiate the hostage situation."

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Hearing Harper's footsteps pounding behind her made her run even faster. Paris dashed through the corriders, narrowly missing Beka, but heard a loud thud when Harper collided with her. Paris slid down a few ladders and crawled through various conduits, till she finally stopped near what looked like a disused room. She ran inside and plopped down on the bed, trying to catch her breath. "Rommie?... don't ... tell... Harper... where... I... am." Paris stopped for a moment, "Contact me when he wants to talk about my Sparky-Cola, and his nanowelder."

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TBC