Well my senior year went well. I graduate on June 10th and will next hail from the University of Maryland. I just got through two AP test and can now focus on other things. Like prom. Hope you enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 10By nine thirty, most of the crew cleared the mess hall, engaging themselves in the rec rooms or on the observation deck, as they waited for the Andromeda to dock at Purgatory Drift. Only Harper and Tristan remained in the eating area. The boy had woken up pretty late, and Harper was keeping him company as he finished the brunch. Tristan was always very active and therefore still slim despite the fact that he ate very well. He'd never quite forgotten his early years of starvation, and the instinct to hold on tightly to his food hadn't yet left him. Harper wondered if it ever would. The Earth-born human had caught himself several times on the same issue, and for Harper, life on Earth was years away. Still he tried to keep things light and while Tristan ate, Harper chatted away on various subjects. He only looked up when Beka and Rhade entered the mess hall.
"Hey, Rip Van Valentine. You tryin' to beat Dylan's record for the longest nap in history?"
Beka would have usually replied with a rude comment, but restrained herself in front of Tristan, instead settling for simply glaring at Harper. She gave her son a hug and kissed the top of his head.
"Hi, baby," she sat down next to him. "How are you holding up with all this excitement?"
"It's not too bad," Tristan shrugged, but pouted a little. "I just never get to see you anymore."
"I know. I'm sorry," Beka apologized. "Believe me, I'd much rather hang out with you, but they pilled all this work on me. How about we take advantage of Dylan's do something together later today while Dylan gave us a little break?"
"Okay," he nodded happily, bringing a spoonful of the cereal to his mouth.
Beka smiled, but her happiness was soon interrupted. The smell of Tristan's breakfast had finally reached her, and the wave of nausea returned. Quickly excusing herself, she ran to the bathroom on he other side of the mess hall. She just made it inside when her stomach completely revolted against her. Trouble was, Beka hadn't eaten anything in over a day
Telemachus was already at the door when she emerged from the bathroom, and Harper and Tristan were giving her worried looks from the table. She took a deep breath and whipped her mouth on the towel in her hand.
"I think it's time for that visit to medical," Telemachus said seriously.
Surprisingly, Beka didn't argue.
"Just tell me I ate something bad, and let me get back to Tristan," Beka couldn't quite see what was on the screen that Trance and Susan were fussing over. The other two women were whispering to each other in hushed voices.
"It's a bit more complicated than indigestion, Beka," Susan hesitated.
The first officer's brow furled in concern, and she pulled herself to a half-sitting position. "What? Am I going to die?"
"No, nothing like that," a smile sparkled across the gold alien's features, as Trance shifted the screen for Beka to see the blurry image. She squinted her eyes, but couldn't make out anything.
"See there?" Trance pointed at the screen. "That's your baby, Beka. You're about six weeks pregnant."
Naturally worried about his mother, Tristan made his way to medical. The past year on the Andromeda had done wonders for his disposition, but he was still extremely cynical for his age. His parents weren't the only ones who knew how to put on masks of content for the benefit of others. Tristan knew of deception.
His Nietzschean half aside, Tristan was never a malicious child, but for the first few years of his life, deception was the only means of survival. He didn't understand the difference between himself and other humans on the drift where he and his biological mother lived, but he knew enough to keep his forearms covered with an over sized jacket. He knew that if anyone approached, the best strategy was to hide in a dark corner and play dead. No one cared about a scrawny little corpse.
Except Beka and Rhade had cared. Which was, of course, why Tristan was so devoted to his parents. His father thought him to be completely innocent. Not ignorant, but also not as someone with understanding of the full malice of the universe. It suited Tristan just fine.
He heard the senator's approach before he saw her. The combination of Nietzschean heritage and years of harsh life on a drift had granted Tristan excellent survival instincts. he didn't understand exactly why the older woman frightened him, but Tristan had no intention of finding out. He quickly looked around for an escape rout.
There was an air of silence in the medical room. Beka stared blankly at the screen, her face not giving away any reaction, neither positive nor negative. Trance and Susan exchanged a concerned look.
"Everything is coming along well," the blond medic tried. "Limbs are developing nicely, the heart beat is strong…"
"She's very healthy," Trance interjected.
"She?" Beka looked up.
"Or he," the gold alien quickly corrected herself. "I suppose it could be a boy."
Beka nodded slowly, the shock finally setting in, but she still didn't move. Trance frowned at this. "Beka? Say something."
After a moment, she dropped back onto the pillow with an angry sigh. "I am going to kill Rhade!"
"No, no," Trance moved closer and touched her arm. "See this is a good thing! Because babies are so wonderful. Now Tristan can have a little sister... or brother."
"Tristan," Beka sat up again, remembering her son's words from earlier in the morning. "He doesn't get nearly enough of my time as it is between Talia and this new mission. I don't have time for this."
"Excuse me," Andromeda's holographic form appeared in front of the women.
"Not now," Beka retorted, closing her eyes and passing a hand over her tiered face.
"I'm sorry," Andromeda said, "but there's something that concerns you. It's about Tristan."
Beka's eyes immediately snapped open. All other thought immediately fled her mind. Talia didn't matter. Her annoyance with Telemachus didn't matter. All she could think about was her son. Beka swung her feet over the edge of the medical table and pulled her shirt back over her belly.
"What's wrong with Tristan?" she demanded of the avatar. "Where is he?"
Andromeda hesitated. "Deck five, third corridor. I have already alerted Rhade. You should hurry."
The closer she got to the corridor, the more Beka's dread grew. Her thoughts didn't even drift to the visit to medical. As she rounded a corner, she saw Rhade standing near an empty escape pod hold. Beka was about to demand what was going on, but then her attention shifted to Talia, who was standing with her arms folded over her chest. At either side of the senator were two of Andromeda's android escorts. She was clearly not happy about her predicament, but Beka ignored her. The deep frown on Rhade's face told her everything.
"What's going on?" she asked her lover, hands firmly planted on hips.
"Ask the senator," Telemachus nodded in Talia's direction.
"Rebecca, I demand that these things release me at once," she gestured at the droids. "I was on my way to my quarters when these things apprehended me."
"Not until you tell me where my son is," Beka told her.
"Look, I don't know where that boy is," Talia shot back, waving her hand impatiently. "I saw him further down the corridor, but then he slipped out of sight."
"Andromeda, show us," Telemachus asked the avatar.
The screen on the wall closest to the trio lit up as a replay of the last few minutes appeared. The footage showed Tristan stopping as Talia approached. The boy looked around, clearly searching for a way out. Beka and Telemachus watched as their son slipped into an opening in the wall, and then the roar of the engines of an escape pod were heard and Tristan was out of sight.