Chapter 15

There's two theories to arguin' with a woman. Neither one works.

Texas Bix Bender

00000

The door to the office smashed open, causing the bored looking Nietzschean, much to his chagrin, to jump.

"Where. Are. They!" Beka demanded, marching right up to the desk, her eyes a terrible calm. Tyr followed her into the room while Rommie stood in the doorway, keeping an eye out for trouble.

"What? Who?" sputtered the captain of the Uber guard in anger. "Just who do you think you are? I'll have you arrested for this! I'll have you killed for this!"

"And I'll have you disintegrated before you can even decide where you want your ashes scattered!" Beka growled, her eyes now blazing with barely contained rage.

In typical Nietzschean fashion, the man had recovered from his shock and assumed a dangerous stance.

"Who do you think you are, Kludge, bursting into my office like this with your pet Nietzschean posing as guard?" His own eyes flashed. "You're way out of line!"

Beka ignored his words. "We're looking for two of our crewmates, and we think you know where they are," she said, her gun emitting a whir as it powered up. "They've been missing for over five days now so we passed asking nicely a long time ago."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," the Niet said smugly, showing instantly that he knew exactly what she was talking about. "How did you get in here? Where are my guards!"

"Your little friends?" Rommie spoke up from the doorway. "Oh, they're just taking a short nap. At least, most of them are. I'm afraid you have a few vacancies to fill in your department."

The cornered man growled with rage, but none of the other three people in the room cared one bit for how he was feeling.

"You will never get out of here alive, you know that!" he said, looking far too superior given his current situation.

"I would be more worried about your own pitiful life if you do not tell us where you are keeping Captain Hunt and the Little Professor. Captain Valentine takes the boy's welfare rather personal and I wouldn't be surprised if her finger should slip and accidentally shoot you," Tyr intoned lightly.

"What makes you think your captain and crewman are even here?"

"We know they came here, and all evidence points to the fact that they never left," Rommie said.

"So where are they!" Beka demanded, her gun never wavering.

"I don't discuss business with Kludges and genetic misfits," the Nietzschean spat, looking with disgust on Beka and Tyr.

With lightening speed, Beka's gun fired and the Niet howled with anger and pain, clutching his right arm.

"Wrong answer," she said. "Try again."

"I will tell you nothing!"

The gun discharged and this time there was a smoking hole in his left leg.

"What have you done with them!" Beka practically snarled. When the Niet looked ready to stall again she added, "You have two other limbs…"

"Fine. Yes, they were here," he hissed, "but they aren't anymore."

"You're lying!" Beka growled.

"Why would I bother to lie to Kludges?" he asked haughtily. "You're welcome to search the whole drift, but you won't find them. They're not here."

"Then where are they?" Tyr pressed, stepping up to the desk.

"Your friends were caught trespassing, just as you are now! Commander Gaius Felix felt like dealing with them personally and he had us escort them to his ship."

Beka noticeably paled and her anger flared.

"Where is the ship now?"

"I don't know," the Uber spat. Beka's gun powered up again but Rommie cut in.

"He's not lying, Beka. I doubt he's important enough to be privy to his commander's agendas," she commented.

Beka absorbed Rommie's words unhappily. This whole affair wasn't turning out the way she'd hoped, not that she'd had high hopes to begin with. Over the years, Harper had confided in her things he'd never shared with the others. And life on a small freighter meant cramped quarters and limited privacy. She'd seen things, accidentally, that told her even more than Harper's own stories had. Because of that, she'd started on this trip knowing full well the shape she'd probably find her friend in at the end of it. She'd just never considered the possibility that they wouldn't be on the drift. Now she felt deflated, worn out. It was like all her energy had been focused on getting to Sommer's Drift and saving her friend from a fate worse than death. (And yeah, rescuing Captain Terrific was on the to-do list as well.) But now that the universe had thrown her a curve ball, she was at a loss how to react.

"Beka."

Trance's voice startled her, pulling her attention once more to the doorway as she realized the golden girl had joined them. "We should go now," Trance told her in that oh so mysterious and yet always right way of hers.

"I found the Maru," she continued, totally ignoring the bleeding Nietzschean starring at her with open curiosity and contempt.

Her words had the desired affect, and Beka found her focus again. "Good work, Trance." She turned back to the Niet. "You're absolutely sure you have no idea where Felix's ship is at?" Beka asked on last time.

"None! Not that I'd tell you if I did," the guard growled.

"Fine then. Let's go people."

Beka strode through the door, Rommie and Trance following. They were partway down the corridor when they heard gunfire behind them. All three women whirled around to find Tyr emerging from the office. Beka quirked an eyebrow at him.

"I'm not a pet," he said simply. "And he would have spoiled our surprise visit to this Commander Felix. I assume we are going after the good Captain and the boy?"

"Of course! We just have to broaden the search area," Beka told him. Beka tried to feel some remorse for the now dead Nietzschean, but all she kept coming up with was the image of a struggling Harper being dragged off by him to meet one of his nightmares face to face. "Come on, let's go get the Maru and get back to Andromeda," she told the others. "We still have a rescue to perform."

00000

Beka sat alone at the counter in the Maru's common room. Before her were five multicolored jewels and the flexi she'd found in Dylan's traveling bag, detailing the mission he was assigned and finally explaining just why he'd set off on this cosmic fling in the first place. She'd read it top to bottom, not caring a wit about the "classified" code at the beginning. It hadn't given her any comfort, however. Just added to the sense of failure she now felt. At least the Niets hadn't found the jewels and the flexi. Thank Harper and his incredibly hard security locks! The Ubers hadn't been able to do more than put a few dents in the airlock before they gave up and just left the Maru alone, waiting for a Tug to come along and tow her out of dock.

Harper.

Beka felt a shiver run down her spin as she though of the young engineer. The last three weeks had been so quiet without him around talking her ear off and causing general mayhem at every turn. Oh, how she missed him!

And to think where he was! He'd told her enough for her to know that wherever he was at, he wasn't enjoying the stay. Dylan, as a High Guard Captain, probably wasn't high on the Dragans' most honored guests list either. She just hoped they could rescue them before irreparable damage was done.

The sound of the airlock opening made Beka glance up as Trance walked in.

"Beka, Rommie says she's picked up the trail of the Charybdis. It'll take a few days, but we'll probably be able to catch up to her."

Beka simply nodded. It was a good thing Harper had been paranoid enough to keep tabs on Felix's ship. Otherwise they never would have had a chance.

"What are these?" Trance asked, pointing to the gems on the table.

"Jewels for some planet or other Dylan was gonna try and get into the Commonwealth. That's why the boys were on Sommer's Drift in the first place. They were supposed to get the last jewel there, but, well…you know."

"What color was this last jewel supposed to be?"

"Blue, why?"

Trance pulled something out of her pocket and held it palm up for Beka to see. On her hand a deep, blue gem sparkled against her skin.

"Trance! What… Where… How did you get that?" Beka asked, stunned.

"Oh, well, after I found the Maru and was coming to tell you guys, I accidentally went in the wrong door. There was all this gold and these thrones lying around, and there in the middle was this jewel. It was so pretty, I just decided to keep it."

With a small laugh, Beka took the jewel from Trance and placed it on the table next to the others. "Why Trance, that sounded almost purpleish."

Trance just shrugged her shoulders with an unreadable look.

A short second later, Beka sobered again.

"Trance, are we gonna find them in time? Will they be okay?" she asked.

"Time is relative, Beka. And there are many definitions of okay," Trance said cryptically.

"Come on, Trance. If you know something, help me out here. I'm floundering."

Trance came up and sat beside her friend, putting her arm around her. "I don't know anything. There are many possible futures and none are any clearer than any others right now. I do feel we should hurry, but that's simply the same emotion all the rest of you are feeling."

Beka sighed. "I miss them, Trance."

"I miss them, too," Trance said quietly, and then the two women drifted into silence, both thinking about their missing friends.