Dylan could not believe his luck. First, he had been hailed. He hadn't been hailed in years. Then, he had been hailed again. This time, by an old friend. Beka Valentine's face glowed at him from the screen. He had missed her.
"Hey Dylan, just stopping by to see how you were doing." Beka flashed a smile at him. The 'I'm up to something' smile.
"Beka." Dylan laughed. "You would never do that. What do you want from me?"
Beka squirmed in her seat. She blew a piece of hair away from her face. "Permission to come aboard captain?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Granted." Dylan smiled as he saw that Harper was watching in the background. "Bring Harper too."
"Aye Captain!" Beka said with a salute, and then terminated the comm line.
Dylan looked over to where Rommie stood. "I haven't seen you this happy since… I don't even remember when." She smiled happily, latching onto the good mood. "It's good to have you back Dylan." She smiled happily.
"Glad to be back." He replied, crossing the room towards her. "And for what it's worth, I'm glad that you stuck by me this long." He hugged her again, and she felt his heart beating to the music in his soul. They didn't pull away until Rommie muttered, "They're here." They separated and Dylan smoothed his clothes. He had put on his High Guard uniform for his first hail, and hadn't taken it off, so as he smoothed it, he felt the soft satin that he missed so much.
"Whew, its dusty in here," Beka said as she stepped off of the Eureka Maru, setting foot on the hangar bay's floor. "It's like it hasn't been walked on for years." She dusted off her arms, which had already accumulated a layer of silt.
"That's because it hasn't," Dylan spoke up, having just entered the hangar bay.
"Dylan!" Beka smiled and walked towards him briskly, leaving Harper and Rafe to fend the dust off themselves.
"Hey Beka." Dylan said, giving her a quick hug. Okay, Beka admitted to herself, that was an awesome hug. And I have missed him…
"Good to see you again, Captain," Rafe tipped an imaginary hat towards Dylan, who nodded in reply.
"Dylan!" a voice called from within the Eureka Maru. "You would not believe all the stuff we've been up to." A small engineer crawled out of the ship and continued. "I mean, for one, we thought we would never see you again, and also, Rev Bem and Trance left us…. I think they're on a mission for universal peace? Oh yeah, and Tyr… don't get me started on Tyr-"
"Harper?" Beka asked.
"Ya Boss?"
"Shut up." Beka glared at him and he once again obliged.
"So," Dylan said, clasping his hands together in front of him. "What can I do for you guys?"
"Well, we have something that belongs to you." Beka said softly, nodding towards Rafe, who opened a bag and retrieved the box. Dylan's face went blank and he stared. It was as though the clocks had stopped ticking, the sun had stopped setting, and the wind had stopped blowing. This was his. From over 300 years ago. But he still remembered it like it was yesterday.
His father had his back to him. "Daddy?" Dylan asked, looking up from his homework. "Why are you packing?" He looked towards his Dad with a question in his eyes.
"I've got to go." His father said, facing him at last. The man looked worn, the crow's feet around his eyes deep, from a life of sorrow. Dylan could see tears in his Dad's eyes.
"Dad? Why are you sad?" Dylan asked, reaching towards his Dad's face. He touched his face childishly, but that gesture made his father weep.
"Son, there are things in this world that you will never understand. But understand this. I love you more than anything." That was the last time he saw his father. The summer of next year, his mother told him that his father was actually a Vedran, and that he had to go into hiding for building a sinister technology. The next week, his dad's face was on the news. Dead. Dylan would never again throw a ball to his father, or play a friendly game of space checkers with him. Dylan wouldn't even get to say goodbye.
But, his father had planned this, and on his 16th birthday, Dylan got a box. It was ornately carved, and the inscription said "Secrets for only Dylan Hunt, the master of the Guard," a joke he had shared with his father years ago. But, instead of opening it, he had hidden it away, so that his broken heart could heal.
"Dylan?" Beka woke him from his reverie. "Are you ok?" she frowned and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Yeah. Yeah fine." Dylan looked at the box again. "I just…" he trailed off.
"I'm sorry Dylan." Beka looked at him sincerely. "If I had known you didn't want to see it-"
"No. I do. I just… I haven't opened it yet."
