"Andromeda was going to be my last duty station," Scott Rapp glanced from the stones in Beka's hands up to her face. Beka froze when his hand covered hers and turned it slightly. "You need to strike it at a little bit of an angleor you risk shattering the entire edge that's you've been working so hard to form."
"A slight angle," Beka gently pulled her hand from his and began tapping of the rock that was roughly fashioned into the shape of an ax head. "You were saying?"
"After Andromeda, after the war," Rapp took up his story while tapping away on a rock himself. "I was supposed to take a position as a flight instruction at the Academy."
"I knew you were a good pilot," Beka glanced over at the man beside her. Over the last few weeks, she had spent a number of hours in his company. Harper wanted to get a jump on some tool making for the Spring. They had been fashioning ax heads from rocks liberated from the cavern walls. If they were going to attempt to build a new settlement several valleys down river, they were going to need tool to cut down the trees to build the homes that Dylan had in mind.
"Best in the fleet," Rapp smirked as he looked over at Beka.
"Second best … maybe," Beka corrected him with a smile. It was something she had in common with the guy. He was a great pilot but Beka would never have told him that. He handled the Andromeda and slipstream with a skill and grace that rivaled Beka's ability. She enjoyed talking to him and listening to his stories. He was not bad to look at either. His green eyes sparkled when telling a good story. His lips were full and framed his perfect white teeth when he smiled. His hair was dark and shaggily cut by a knife as most everyone's was. "You were saying."
"I planned on heading to Tarazed, teaching the next generation of pilots," Rapp glanced away from her. "Getting married and settling down."
"So you … you had someone," Beka focused on the rock in her hand.
"I did," Rapp answered after a long pause. He sighed deeply.
"Kind of hard to know what to do … how things will stand … if we ever get off this rock," Beka mused as she shaped her rock.
"She was part of the bridge crew on the Valor," Rapp said as he laid his rock to the side.
"I … ummm … I'm sorry for your loss," Beka looked over at the man beside her. The Valor had been lost in the early days of the war. It was assumed the entire crew had been lost.
"It has been more than three years," Rapp turned to look at Beka. His eyes moved slowly over her face. Beka felt a flicker of anxiety run through her as he reached over and tucked a few stray locs of hair behind her ear.
"At some point, it is time to move on," Rapp's voice had lowered as he leaned toward Beka.
"I … ummmm …" Beka put her rocks quickly to the side and got to her feet when she was nearly positive he was leaning in to kiss her. She looked down on his puzzled face. She pointed across the larger main cavern. "I forgot … I was supposed to … I need to find Tyr …"
"I … we … can work on these tomorrow," Beka pointed to the ax heads as she started to back away. "I … ummm … good night."
She turned a walked away, her eyes scanning the main cavern for Tyr. It was getting later in the evening, if one could know what time it was living in a cavern with no real concept of day and night. Perhaps a community above ground was not such a bad thing. Many people had retired to where they slept. There were a few people sacked out near the main fire in the cavern. Tyr was sitting off by himself.
"Hey," Beka glanced over her shoulder and found Rapp's attention focused on her at the moment. She turned back to Tyr. He was sharpening one of the stone ax heads someone had finished.
"Hello," Tyr said as he looked up from the stone in his hand.
"I … you need to … talk to me," Beka glanced over her shoulder again before sitting down beside Tyr. He turned and looked at her for a long moment.
"I do not need to talk to you," Tyr shook his head as a smile crossed his lips. "You need me to talk to you. Why is that Beka?"
"I … Rapp and I are crafting ax heads," Beka gestured to the more refined one in Tyr's hand.
"I am aware that several people are crafting the beginnings of crude ax heads," Tyr gestured to the small basket beside him. While others worked on the basic design, Tyr was part of the group that were refining the shape and creating the appropriate edge for each one.
"He and I were talking. It was starting to become a little too personal," Beka sat down beside Tyr and picked up on of the finished ax heads.
"So you escaped and came to me for protection," Tyr replied as he glanced in the direction of the man Beka was speaking of. Rapp's attention was on them at the moment.
"Not really," Beka turned the stone in her hand. It was much smoother than the first rough shaping. She could tell the edge was thick but sharp for cutting into trees in the spring. Now all it needed was a handle. Beka glanced over at Tyr who had stopped working and was looking over at her. "Not really protection …"
"You left Rapp and came over to me," Tyr replied as he glanced over at the other man who was still focused on them. "You knew he would not follow you or try to strike up another conversation while you are with me."
Tyr turned and looked at Beka once more.
"What you fail to consider is the … difficult position you have put me in," Tyr shook his head slightly.
"What do you mean?" Beka looked over at Tyr.
"It is obvious from observing your interactions with Rapp and your own admission here, Rapp is interested in you in a more … intimate manner … than you are comfortable with at the moment," Tyr began as his focus turned back to the ax head in his hand. "You … abandoning … him and coming over here with me … may send certain signals. Signals which may be construed as the … root of competition … for you attention."
"You mean Rapp might get … jealous … of me spending time with you instead of him," Beka scoffed at Tyr's assertion. "Everyone knows we were friends long before getting stuck on this rock. Everyone knows there is nothing …"
"Are you certain of that?" Tyr replied when Beka's voice trailed off. "Other than Harper, who has a partner and Dylan who has a wife … I am the only other male on this planet with whom you spend a great deal of your time. Most males would see that as a sign of interest of the part of a female. Most males would see that male as their top competition for the attentions of that female. Especially when you leave the company of an interest male for the company of another."
"So you think … by me spending time with you … and coming over here … right now," Beka glanced in Rapp's direction. The guy did seem to be looking at their direction quite a bit. "Rapp and the others see you … as my suitor and a potential obstacle … for me moving forward into a more involved relationship with them?"
"Perhaps," Tyr nodded as the finished up the ax head and placed it in a basket.
"Awesome!" Beka felt a little relieved at the moment. It might be wrong but she had no problem hiding behind Tyr to keep from getting sucked into potential SPLAT worthy entanglements.
"For you perhaps," Tyr shook his head as he wiped his hands on a cloth. "If Rapp were Nietzschean, I might need to concern myself with him burying an ax head or two into my back to prove his superiority over me to entice you into choosing him. Since he is not, I expect only gruffness and a difficult interpersonal relationship."
"I'll talk to him … at some point … and make it clear to him … that I … just don't want to get wrapped up in any relationship," Beka looked back over at Tyr. "Until then … can you be … the rock … I hide behind?"
"For now," Tyr agreed after a long moment. "Have you ever repaired your 'door'?"
"Nah," Beka shook her head. "I have been carving out a new attachment point. It is almost there."
"Would you like me to assist you in completing it?" Tyr asked as his eyes moved slowly over her face.
"That would be great," Beka nodded with a smile.
"I am free now," Tyr offered as he started to get to his feet.
"Now?" Beka was surprised by his response. She got to her feet. "Sure … yeah … now would be good."
"After you," Tyr gestured for Beka to lead the way to her little alcove in the tunnel. As they passed by Rapp, Tyr took the opportunity to observe the man. He did not appear pleased to see Beka leading the Nietzschean male towards her 'quarter'. Tyr smiled to himself as he followed Beka into the tunnel. Although there was nothing between them at the moment, if, in the future, he ever desired her as more than just his friend … it was in his best interest to ensure no other male was in that position, if the time came.