Dylan entered Command to find a very wired First Officer.
"Hello Dylan. How are you this morning? Want some coffee? I just brewed another pot."
"No thanks." Dylan answered. "Becka, how much coffee have you had this morning"
"Only one."
"One cup?"
"No. One pot." Becka said, showing Dylan the newly brewed pot.
"Becka."
"What?"
"Nothing, never mind. I'd tell you to go get some rest, but as much coffee as you've drank, I don't guess that's gonna happen."
"I don't guess." Becka replied. "But I do need to go somewhere." Becka said suddenly feeling a pain in her stomach.
"Where's that?"
"No time to talk Dylan. See you later." Becka quickly left Command, leaving Dylan standing dumbfounded.
"Andromeda, do you know why Becka suddenly ran out of Command?"
Andromeda's hologram rolled her eyes at how clueless her captainwas of this situation.
"Dylan. If you had just drank a whole pot of coffee, wouldn't there be someplace you would have to go?"
Dylan thought for a moment, then it dawned on him. All Dylan could say was, "Oh."
Rommie was walking through the ship's corridors, making her regular rounds. She found it somehow fulfilling doing this every night, although there was really no need. Her main AI's onboard sensors would detect anything out of the ordinary, but since she didn't sleep, she took it upon herself to be a nightly sentinel, watching over her crew. She walked past Rhade's quarters to hear the familiar sound of the Nietchien snoring very loudly. Apparently Nietchiens are superior at everything, she laughed to herself. She then walked by Trance's room only to hear two individuals arguing about something. She could tell that it was the twin Gemini's, but she decided that it would be wrong for her to eavesdrop on them. She wondered why they would be upset with each other as she walked on by. As she neared Command, she was nearly ran over by Becka, as she came running out of Command.
"Becka what's,… "
"No time to talk Rommie!"
As quickly as she came, she was gone. Rommie connected with Andromeda to find out what was wrong with Becka and let out a slight giggle, sounding a bit like Purple Trance. "Becka you're priceless."
Aware of Dylan's presence on Command, she left to check on her last crewmember.
Rommie entered Harper's quarters and walked near his bed. She looked around at the scraps of paper and mechanical parts that were littered all around his room and wondered how he could live in such a mess. Then she recalled a much worse place that he came from. Compared to places he must have lived on back on Earth, this would probably be considered quite immaculate. She diverted her eyes from the disarray, and focused on her engineer, her creator, and friend. She was happy to find him resting peacefully. It was a rare occasion for Harper to have a nights sleep free off nightmares. She reached down to the blanket that had fallen to the floor, and pulled it back up around him.
"Pleasant dreams Harper. You deserve them."
She left his quarters pleased with her nightly duties. Back inside Harper's quarters Harper hugged his blanket tightly.
"Thank you Rommie." He mumbled only half awake.
A few hourswent by, and Rommie decided to confront the Trances about what she heard.
"Trance." Rommie said, standing outside Trance's door. "It's me, Rommie. May I come in?"
The door opened and Golden Trance invited her in.
"Is there something wrong Rommie?" Golden Trance asked.
"I was going to ask you the same thing."
"What do you mean Rommie?" Purple Trance asked.
"As I was making my rounds last night, I heard the two of you arguing about something. I realize it may not be any of my business, but if it concerns the welfare of my crew or the safety of this vessel, I wish you would tell me."
"Rommie." Golden Trance said. "We'll tell you, but you've got to promise not to tell anyone else, especially Harper."
"Trance, what's going on? Is something wrong with Harper?"
"No Rommie." Purple Trance said. "There's nothing wrong with Harper. We just had a disagreement about me powering Harper's BHB."
"You were lying to Harper when you told him that powering the BHB wouldn't harm you." Rommie said.
"I didn't want to Rommie. I never wanted to lie to him, but I need to do this. The Abyss must be destroyed, and Harper's BHB is the best chance we've got."
"And you don't agree with her." Rommie asked Golden Trance.
"I agree that this must be done. What I don't agree with is her being the one to do it. I know how much Harper cares for her. When Harper woke in Medical and saw his Purple Princess again, he was literally glowing. I hadn't seen him that happy for a very long time."
"So you think that it would be better for you to die and your younger self to live? Does that fit in with your perfect future?"
"No." Golden Trance admitted. "But it would be the best for Harper."
"But you don't know that." Purple Trance accused. "You haven't seen this have you?"
"No, but anybody can see that he loves you and not me."
"You Are Me!" Purple Trance argued. "You are also stronger than me. They will need you in the future, even after we destroy the Abyss."
"Is this true Trance?" Rommie asked Golden Trance. "Are you stronger than her?"
"Yes. When I changed into this form I also obtained more energy from my star than I had before."
"With that extra power would you survive powering the BHB?" Rommie asked.
"No. It's hard to explain, but it doesn't matter how much power either of us has. Once we begin discharging our energy toward the collectors to power the BHB, we can't stop. Our energy will continue to discharge until we are totally drained. All that will be left will be the shell of our dead Avatar and our real star."
"Isn't there another way to power Harper's device?" Rommie asked.
"Even all of Andromeda's power and the Maru's put together wouldn't be enough." Purple Trance said. "The only way is for me to do this"
"Or me." Golden Trance added. "I still don't understand why you are so willing to do this. I know that you love Harper, so why throw your life away like this? I could do it and I would hardly be missed."
"I need to tell you something." Rommie said. "If you think that Harper doesn't care for you as much as your younger self, you're badly mistaken. It may have taken him some time to accept you as who you are, but now that he has, his feelings for you are the same as those he has for her."
"How can you know this Rommie?" Golden Trance asked. "Did he tell you"
"Not exactly. Let's just say that when he jacks into my matrix, there's not much he can hide from me"
"All crewmembers report to the briefing room." Andromeda's voice said, bringing an end to the three's discussion.
"Remember Rommie." Purple Trance said. "Not a word to Harper about any of this."
"I promise not to tell him, if you promise that you will. He deserves to know."
In the briefing room, everyone was seated around the table, waiting. Suddenly the door opened and Harper entered, walked over to the table, and took a seat between Purple and Golden Trance.
"Sorry Boss." He said. "I had a hard time getting awake."
"No need to apologize Harper. Rommie told me you were up all night, finishing your BHB. That brings me to whyI called you all to this briefing. The battle simulations have been going much better , and with Harper's Black Hole Blaster completed, I think it's time that we make our move. Harper, Exactly how will this BHB work?"
"Basically, once the BHB is powered, It will open a slip portal with a negative charge. The BHB will then begin to extract all the Hawking Radiation from the black hole and direct itinto the slip portal. When it's all finished, no more black hole."
"Harper, this is a fairly large black hole we're talking about. What kind of power are we going to need to power this thing?" Dylan asked.
"Already got that covered Boss. Trance says she can power it."
Dylan looked at both Trances skeptical.
"Is this true?"
"Yes." Purple Trance replied, without further explanation.
"There is however a detail of which you need to know." Golden Trance stated.
Harper looked at both Traces inquisitively, while Purple Trance gave her twin a pleading look, shaking her head.
"Trance." Becka said. "What's going on?"
"What detail?" Harper asked.
Purple Trance's hand took Harper's in her's.
"I'm sorry Harper." She said. "I didn't want to lie to you, but, I have to do this. You have to live. All of you have to live."
Harper finally realized what Trance was talking about.
"No! Trance I won't let you do this! You can't!"
"I must Harper. It's the only way to defeat the Abyss."
"Then forget the Abyss!" Harper shouted. "We'll leave. We'll get as far away from here as possible. Heck we've traveled through time before. We'll go far into the past before there even was an Abyss, then we'll be safe."
"You don't know what you're saying Harper."
"I know exactly what I'm saying." Harper explained. "If I need to make myself clearer, I love you Trance, and there is no way I'm letting you sacrifice yourself for us."
"Trance." Dylan said. "I feel the same way." Everyone looked at Dylan a bit socked by his statement.
When Dylan saw the looks of shock on the faces of his crew he felt the need to explain himself.
"I mean the part about not letting you sacrifice yourself, not the loving you part."
"Are you saying you don't love me Dylan?" Purple Trance asked, with sadness in her voice.
"We all love you Trance." Becka said. "I think what Dylan meant was that he didn't love you in the same way that Harper does."
"Oh, OK." Purple Trance said. "That's better."
"I believe we have gotten off topic." Telemachus stated.
"You're right Rhade." Dylan said. He then turned to Golden Trance. "You've been quiet during all of this. Do you have anything to say?"
"About love or sacrifice?" She asked. "Never mind. It doesn't matter. They are both connected. When one loves someone, they are bound to make sacrifices for the ones they love. Whether it be a career, your time, money, or one's life, sacrifices are a necessity. There's no greater love than to lay down your life for a friend." Golden Trance took Harper's other hand.
"Are you saying that it's alright for her to kill herself?" Dylan asked.
Harper set there stunned. In each of his hands he held the hand of the woman he loved. There just happened to be two of them. "How can she even consider doing this?" He thought to himself.
"No Dylan." Golden Trance said. "I'm not saying that at all. In fact I believe that it's imperative that she live."
Harper breathed a sigh of relief, but it was short lived.
"That's why I will power the BHB."
"NO!" Harper shouted.
Harper woke up in Medical.
"Huh? What happened?" He asked, when he saw Golden Trance sitting next to him.
"You passed out." She said. "Harper, remember last week when you got those parts for Andromeda on Yura Drift?"
"Yeah." He said groggily. "I remember."
"According to Andromeda, they had a flu epidemic shortly after we left. Harper you've contracted the Hakinkof flu."
"Not the Hakinkof flu! Anything but the Hakinkof flu! Uh,… What's the Hakinkof flu?"
"It's similar to the Kofinhak flu, but not as lethal."
"Define not as lethal Trance." Harper said, starting to worry. "Am I gonna die?"
"Don't worry Harper. We caught it in time. You'll be OK, however you will be confined to Medical for the next two days to rest and prevent anyone else from being infected."
"Two days?" Harper exclaimed. "I can't! What about the Abyss? What about the black hole?" Harper finally realized something.
"Wait a minute! Where's Trance? Where's my Purple Princess?"
"Harper calm down." Rommie tells him, after entering Medical.
"You tell me where my Purple Pixie is first, then I'll calm down."
Rommie and Golden Trance looked at each other, neither one wanting to be the one to tell him.
"She went to do it, didn't she?" Harper asked.
When Harper saw the looks on their faces, he knew he was right.
"Yes." Rommie said. "After making the necessary slip jumps, we are now within sensor range of the black hole. Trance and Becka left in the Maru, with the BHB. If all goes as planned the black hole should be destroyed within the next two hours."
"If all goes as planned? Rommie! How could you just let her leave? I can't believe Dylan's letting her do this! Trance! I thought you said she should live! Why didn't you stop her?"
"I tried Harper." Golden Trance said. "After you passed out, She helped me bring you to Medical. While you were still unconscious, we talked. I tried to convince her that it would be best if I go, but she wouldn't listen. She wasn't even paying attention to me. It was as if she was concentrating on something else. When I had finished ranting, she looked at me and very calmly said, "We both must do what we must. You will know what to do when it's time."
"For some reason my reasons for stopping her didn't matter anymore. I somehow knew that she was doing the right thing. I can't explain it. Harper, I'm sorry. I know that your feelings for her were,… well different than what you feel for me."
Harper put his arm around Golden Trance.
"Trance." Harper said. "I love you. I know that you were once my Purple Princess, but when she came back, I ,… I don't know. I didn't want anything to happen to either one of you. I'm going to miss her." Tears fell from his eyes as he held the golden warrior in his arms.
"I love you too Harper, and I will also miss her. She is a part of me that I will always cherish."
"I just wish there was some way that she didn't have to die." Harper sobbed.
In that very instant somewhere in the universe a star suddenly became twice as bright. At the same time Golden Trance had a vision of something so extraordinary, it was hard for her to comprehend. If Harper could have seen her face he would have seen a small smile begin to form on the warriors face.
"Yes." She said. "That would be nice Harper."