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Chapter 3
Beka looked after him until he disappeared behind the next corner. Immediately after that she turned around on her heels and almost started to run back to Dylan's office. She arrived in an instant, rushing past the open doors and a startled Rommie, who was just on her way out. Marching through without so much as a nod towards Rommie, Beka practically threw herself into the chair in front of Dylan's desk.
„Beka!" he exclaimed with some surprise, nodding his dismissal towards Rommie, who had stopped for a moment, glancing inquisitively towards him. „Please, do come in and take a seat," he offered with slight sarcasm.
„Cut the crap, Dylan."
„Pardon me?"
„Cut – the – crap. Now, which word didn't you understand? What the hell did you do to Harper?"
„What did I do to Harper? You insane, or what? What did I do to Harper? Down there on that planet..."
„I know what happened down there on that planet, Dylan," she interrupted him impatiently. „You write reports, I read them. I can read, remember? This isn't about the planet then, it's about Harper right now," she carried on without giving him so much as a chance to respond. "And for all the stupid, reckless behaviour you've been displaying over the last two years or so, I never would have thought you mindless enough to scare a boy out of his wits! How dare you?" she shouted, her eyes blazing with cold rage. „Harper, Trance, me, we all have earned our right to be here as much as you have. It took me a long, long time to make Harper feel a little more comfortable with himself and others after taking him along. Eventually he came to trust me, and Rev, and Trance, but he never ever felt truly safe before coming to live on board the Andromeda. It is this ship, her potential, her skills, her abilities that make feel at ease, the more so as he is mainly responsible for her still being the most powerful vessel in three galaxies in the first place. And you... You - of all people - he trusts with his life. Somewhere along the way he decided for you to be his hero, his saviour, his guiding figure, whatever... Yeah, I know! Stupid choice, poor judgement of character, but hey, we are talking Harper here, aren't we? Why should his naive idolatrization remain limited to chicks?"
"Beka..."
"Oh, hold your breath, Dylan. Exactly what kind of knight in shining armour are you to start threatening the ones who trust you and depend on you?"
"Beka, I really am not in the mood..."
"Not in the mood? Poor fellow. Well, what do you know? He's not in the mood! Too bad."
"Beka, please, let's not discuss Harper right now."
"Oh, Dylan, please, let's discuss Harper right now! Because, you see, this..." she gestured towards herself, "this is me being in the mood."
"Yeah, well, this is me being captain and ordering you to stop."
"In that case, buster, this is me being first officer, politely informing the captain that, before he can captain this vessel, he will have to learn captaining his moods. So, Captain, how dare you threaten to throw him out?"
Dylan was increduously staring at her, mouth agape. He now tiredly rubbed his face with both hands, stood up carefully, as if afraid he might loose control and break the thing next to him otherwise, and leaned over his desk, looking intensely right into her eyes.
„I never threatened to throw him out. You're right, the Andromeda is as much your home as it is mine. But she happens to be a battleship, as well. And while my friend Seamus Harper will always have a place with us, Mr Harper, chief engineer and senior officer of my crew, must watch his step in order to maintain his position, as must every single one of us. I thought you knew..." Dylan finished rather uncertain. Beka stood up as well.
„This stupid ‚1,2,3-strike'-talk, Dylan..." she helplessly stated, as she started to pace around the room. „You really scared the boy."
„Oh, Beka, don't you see? This is part of the problem. He's not a boy, not anymore," Dylan exclaimed sounding almost as out of patience as her. He heavily sat back down in his chair.
„What do you mean?"
„He was nineteen when you met him, and the two of you have spent four rather eventful years before rescueing us, haven't you? Anyway, since then he's definitely been through more experiences than most people come to have in a lifetime. He's almost 27, and I'm afraid he's as grown up as he's ever gonna get. You and I are his captains and his friends, not Mom and Dad, and it's our responsibility to see to it that he realizes it," he breathlessly recited, his voice starting to rise. „As captain of this ship I am quite prepared and capable of taking the blame for every wrong decision one of my crew makes. And as Harper's friend I am even willing to do so. However..." his voice trailed off.
Beka looked at him in astonishment. Dylan suddently seemed at a loss for the right words, not an usual with him.
„Dylan, I..."
„No," he fell in on her, „Please let me finish." He took a deep breath and continued. „I know exactly what he means to you. Because fact is, well – over the years he's come to mean more or less the same to me. I grew up one of four siblings, two of them considerably younger than I was. And when Harper came along, he fitted right into the place they had left vacant," he told her in a voice so low that she had to concentrate upon to hear him. „I know first hand that big brothers are meant to look out for the younger ones and even stand up for them, when they screw up. But I am not his big brother, I can't always look out for him. And I also know that – being so much older – I might..." and here he stopped, quickly correcting himself, „no, I will someday not be around to do so. Maybe even you won't be either. And then he will have to be able to stand on his very own two feet, all by himself. I know, he learned early in life to look after himself. But this goes beyond that. This is about taking responsibility for everything around him, as well. And I very much intend to see to it that he does, with or without your help," he finished with a melancholic little smile, but in a quite determined voice.
Beka drew in a sharp breath. Her eyes were carefully weighing the somewhat sagged form of the man seated at the desk. It was one of those moments, when the lines on Dylan's face betrayed every single day of his 340 and some years. He looked utterly spent, yet his eyes remained locked to her own, firmly refusing to give in.
„Then tell him, Dylan, tell him what you just told me, not the bullshit you poured onto him earlier on. This ‚High Guard Captain Terrific'-attitude you've developped lately on top of your ‚Daredevil-flyboy couldn't care less'-routine you've been operating on for almost two years now isn't exactly reassuring. Just tell him," she pleaded.
His eyes went wide. Whether with surprise, hurt or anger she couldn't quite figure out. But as he leaned over his desk, his one hand reaching for the comm, she could plainly see that she had finally managed to strike a nerve with him.
„Very well, Beka, I'll do this your way." His tired voice became alert again. „Mr Harper, this is the captain speaking. Please report to my office right away."
