Chapter Fourteen: Questions Answered

"How're the repairs coming along Mr.Harper?" Dylan asked, the next day down in Engineering.

"Well...it's not as bad as I thought it would be," Harper paused to look at Dylan, "We should be up and shooting down Nietzscheans in just a few days now."

"Allright then," the Captain answered, "Carry on."

Harper grimaced at the old, Highguard tone that came along with Dylan's request. The engineer decided that Dylan needed to get off the ship more often...

"Hi!"

Both Dylan and Harper jumped, when Trance suddenly appeared out of...

"Nowhere!" Harper exclaimed, "How do you keep popping in out of nowhere?"

"Umm..." Trance mused, and glanced at Dylan who—much to her dismay—looked just as questioning as Harper, "...So how are repairs coming along?"

Harper sighed and began explaining what exactly was wrong with the ship, and how long it would take to fix it. Apparently, he'd given up on solving the intricate puzzle that was Trance Gemini. Dylan watched as Harper babbled on about things that the Captain wasn't quite sure were true. Trance simply smiled, nodded and sat there looking pretty and curious.

With a knowing smile on his face, Dylan silently went to exit the room, but before he did, Trance called out to him.

"Beka wants to see you," was all she said.

"The feeling is mutual," Dylan rang back.

The smile remained on his face.

As Beka sat in the Eureka Maru, a familiar tune reached her ears. It took her less than a few minutes to register where she first heard the song and a little more time than that for her to realize that she was humming it herself.

It had been awhile since she'd hummed much of anything, it was something she only did when she was content with herself and those around her. She smiled and went on humming, so lost in the gentle melody that she didn't even notice Dylan walk in and stare at her.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," he said, in a regular voice.

"Hm?" she turned around in her seat and looked up at him, "Nope. Not at all."

"Good," he sat down casually, "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, I did," she took a few moments and thought to herself, musing upon what she was going to say.

It was going to go somewhat along the lines about what her feelings towards him were, or lack there of. She'd taken into consideration the past month's events and had carefully compiled her thoughts to come to a fitting conclusion that would satisfy them both. She hoped.

She wanted to tell him from the very start that perhaps there might have been something between them, but she realized now that it could never be. It wasn't much of a sad thing, no, it was simply a truthful revelation. Beka's eyes traced his figure slowly. He seemed calm, not at all worried or even anxious as to what she was about to tell him. Beka nearly laughed when she realized that he looked as though she could punch him in the face, and he would still have that friendly, endearing smile gracing his lips.

As the words came closer to formation, Beka smiled herself, taking note of the fact that this would be the first time in a long time that she would be able to speak truthfully without having to take a deep breath first. Then, taking everything that had happened in the past while and swallowing it whole, she opened her mouth to let Dylan Hunt know, what was on her mind—or rather, her heart.

"Did you know that Rommie can sing better than I can?" she said.

What a lovely start.

"Well, I wouldn't know," Dylan—as Beka had predicted—went on smiling, "I've never heard her sing."

"Then you should," Beka shrugged, "Because she can really sing, that woman."

"I'm sure she can," Dylan replied wholeheartedly.

"She's up in Command right now, if you want to go ask her to sing for you, I'm sure she would."

"Maybe I will."

"Good..." Beka's smile grew wider, "You know, we made one hell of a couple."

"You bet we did," he returned the grin.

"Hmm...so then, Captain," Beka teased, "You'd better get to Command."

"But how can I leave you, Beka darling?."

It took ten minutes for them to pick themselves off the floor, their stomachs aching from the laughter that had erupted from both the Captain and his First officer.

"Y'know...I kinda got the idea that you had gone off the deep end when you called me enchantingly beautiful," Beka wrapped her arms around her torso.

Dylan winced, "Can we forget that please?"

"I only hope you've never used that line on any other woman."

"Well..."

More laughter.

Tension? What Tension?

They were both just happy that they could be friends again.

Just friends.

And they wouldn't have had it any other way.

"Excuse me?" another voice interrupted the frenzy.

Suddenly, Dylan was gone, leaving a bewildered Beka sitting on the floor looking up into the chocolate brown eyes belonging to Telemachus Rhade.

"Hiya," Beka said casually, pulling the collar of her sweater back over her shoulder.

He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorway with one eyebrow raised and an amused expression on his lovely features.

"Feeling silent today, now are we Mr.Nietzschean?" Beka giggled, and then a few seconds later, wanted to slap her self for saying something so incredibly stupid.

"Feeling like Harper today, now are we Captain Valentine?" he replied in a thick, rich voice, that both mocked and pleased Beka at the same time.

"Yeah, yeah, okay," Beka smiled sheepishly, "I take it back...it was stupid..."

Rhade smiled back and offered her a hand, one which she accepted and used to pull herself up.

"Um..." Beka looked around, "Where'd Dylan go?"

"Up to Command I think," Rhade shrugged.

"Good," she replied in a satisfied voice.

"Why?"

"He wants to hear Rommie sing."

"She can sing?" Rhade looked disbelieving.

"Well, I had to tell him something..." she half-shrugged, half-smirked, "It's about time for him to start admiring her a bit more."

"It's unlikely that there will be any sort of intimate relationship between them," Rhade frowned, "Dylan's too focused on his mission..."

"When has that ever stopped him?" Beka's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Point taken. But I doubt he'd allow himself to engage in any sort of...interaction that would suggest anything more than friendship with Rommie...Hell, I doubt that she would allow it."

"You'd be surprised at what a little persuasion can do."

"No I wouldn't, I'm Nietzschean, I make it a point not to—"

"Be surprised. I know. But you were when Dylan waltzed into Command that splendid day..." Beka grinned and she caught a small glint of a certain emotion in Rhade's eyes which only furthered her amusement.

"Getting back on track..." he lowered his voice, "I don't think any good could come of Dylan and Rommie—"

"Oh ye of little faith," Beka rolled her eyes, "Use those damn Nietzschean senses of yours and try to see that they belong with one another."

"Your theory seems a little one-sided to me..."

"Never stopped me before."

"What are you suggesting?"

"You know...the whole one-sidedness of our feelings for other people..." she sat down and began to explain casually.

"Our feelings?" Rhade asked, as though it was the craziest thing in the world to say.

"I mean people in general."

"Oh."

She peered closely at him, "What did you think I meant?"

"Nothing..."

"Well then you'd be wrong. Because I did mean something and that something is that it sucks when you love someone, and they don't love you back."

"You're one to talk," Rhade half-scoffed, "When have your feelings ever been one-sided? You're not deprived of people returning your feelings. Hell, back on Seefra, all you had to do was look at a guy to get him in bed."

"That's not what I meant," Beka's eyes narrowed in anger, "And are you calling me a—"

"That's not what I meant either," Rhade said quickly.

"Good."

Beka stood up after a few minutes of silence and decided to experiment.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Rhade asked warily, he didn't like the way her piercing blue eyes were boring through him like a buzz saw.

"Hmm..." Beka frowned, but it wasn't a very sincere frown, "I guess my stare only works on Seefra."

She shrugged and started towards the exit, and just as she passed him, she pecked her lips on his cheek.

Once again someone aboard the Andromeda Ascendant had proved that Nietzscheans could indeed, be surprised.

A/N: No. Despite popular belief, Orion is not dead. She is still alive and kicking. Well not so much the kicking part. I'm terribly sorry I've abandoned this fic for over a month. I pray that people haven't lost all interest in it. I don't really like how this is turning out...though, as promised, I will pair up Beka and Rhade. I hope that I've already made it clear that Rhade does have feelings for Beka (hence the jealousy in earlier chapters) now all I have to do is get Beka to return the favour. As for Dylan and Rommie, they will not end up in a relationship, I'm just sort of hinting at something between them because I don't think I could ever write a happily-ever-after ending for them. There is still one more thing to be revealed in future chapters and oddly enough, it has mainly to do with the two "innocent crewmembers"

This should be interesting.