Chapter 28
"Your heart is where your duty lies, son. Your head is just along to help with the driving."
- Fraser Sr., Due South
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"So, what are we going to do?"
Rommie stopped and turned to the projection of herself on the screen in the corridor.
"What do you mean what are we going to do?" How can you even ask that?" she demanded of herself.
Her hologram flickered into existence, completing the triad. "We were given a direct order from a leader of the Commonwealth. We can't disobey that; it would be worthy of a court-martial."
"I don't really care!" Rommie said forcefully.
"We think you're too emotionally involved," Holo-Rommie said.
"You bet I'm emotionally involved! It's Dylan and Harper!"
"There's no real evidence that Harper is still alive," Andromeda pointed out logically. "You analyzed the images."
Yes, she had analyzed the horrible images. She'd been the one who found there was more than one stored on the flexi. She'd accidentally pushed a key on it and the awful image of her young engineer and friend hanging from a wooden cross had been replaced by one equally as disturbing. This picture was a close up of a calloused hand, fingers curled in agony toward the large, iron spike driven through it, pinning it to the wooden beam it lay on. Tears had filled her eyes as she saw it. That hand had built her physical body, had fixed and repaired her, taken care of her, and Felix gleefully hammered a spike through it. Then there was the image of a tortured back, skin torn and bloody from the lash, new wounds covering the layers of old scars she was one of the few people knew existed. Or the one of bare feet gouged by the harsh wires that bound them tightly to a cross, blood running freely. The view of Harper's head hanging limply forward, eyes closed, too weak, in pain, and close to death to even raise it.
Darn right she was emotionally involved!
"Those images were real; that was Harper," Andromeda continued when she didn't answer.
She knew that, too. She'd done one test after another, hoping to prove them faked, but to her growing horror they had all passed. She had no choice but to admit someone had crucified her engineer. But she also trusted her crew. They had something she didn't: instinct. Harper still wore his clothes, complete with rabbit's foot, when he was on that cross. They had been presented with his clothes sans rabbit's foot. Therefore, someone had to have take Harper down from his horrible, tortured position on the cross before they could have been removed and sent away and somehow during that time, the rabbit's foot disappeared. If Beka thought that was because Harper was still alive, she was willing to trust that gut feeling.
"And there's no evidence that he's dead, either," she snapped at the other two. "I get the feeling you want him dead!"
"Of course not," Holo-Rommie answered. "He's our engineer too, remember. We just think we should approach this with a clear head."
"I am. If he was dead, why didn't they send us his body instead of just a few pictures and his clothes as proof? And besides, Dylan is still out there as well. If they are alive, those pictures tell us that at least Harper is desperate for medical attention. We're wasting time."
"But that doesn't change the fact you are going, and letting our acting captain and crew go, against a direct order from the Commonwealth! That goes against everything we're programmed to believe in," Holo-Rommie said, crossing her arms.
"We're also programmed to protect our captain at all costs, correct?" Rommie shot back, her hands on her hips.
"Yes, and right now that captain is Beka Valentine, whom we think is acting rashly and in haste while you are doing nothing to stop her," Andromeda replied coolly.
"Rashly and in haste?" Rommie repeated. "I think our internal time-clock must be off! She's waited, planned, and thought about this for at least four days, all while she's really just wanted to rush off and look for our missing crew. For Beka, that's positively sluggish."
"Still, we have been given orders, Commonwealth orders, and our crew with their sometimes questionable backgrounds don't always realize the importance of following those orders," Holo-Rommie tried to point out calmly. "Perhaps Tri-Jema knows something we don't about Dylan's situation and what he's doing, and having us rush in would put him in danger. Besides, he is rather capable of taking care of himself."
"Do you really believe that – that Tri-Jema is just trying to protect him?" Rommie asked, forcing herself to stay cool and rational. Neither one of her alter-egos answered. "That's what I thought. And those images Felix gave us prove that however capable our boys might be of taking care of themselves, they aren't doing a very good job this time."
She paused to once again control her emotions, lightly cursing Harper for programming them so well.
"Look, the Commonwealth was established to bring peace, justice, and enlightenment to the universe, right?"
Both agreed.
"Well, I fail to see how leaving Dylan a political prisoner when he could do so much to help that goal is in the Commonwealth's best interests. I also fail to see how condemning Harper to a life of pain and slavery fits that creed. And don't try and tell me it's not our concern because technically Harper's been a slave all along because we all know that's just plain wrong. The old Commonwealth would never have stood by and let this happen no matter the risks involved. So let's say I'm just choosing to obey older, long-standing orders and going over a few heads for moral reasons. Dylan would do it in a heartbeat, so I don't want you, me, us…" she shook her head in frustration, "anyone getting in my way, understood?"
Conversation finished, she marched off, right through her hologram because…well…she could. Arguing with herself always gave her such a headache.
And with a brain the size of a planet, that was saying something.
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"All right, now that Rommie's finally here, I think we're ready to get cracking," Beka said, trying to sound official and feeling very out of place while doing it.
"Sorry, I had a bit of a disagreement…um…with myself," Rommie muttered, taking a seat.
Tyr raised his eyebrows at her and breathed something about "schizophrenia" and "committed." Rommie chose to ignore him at this time. She turned her attention to Beka, except for the .005% of it that was currently reprogramming the temperature of Tyr's shower.
"Right," Beka shook her head. "Anyway, let's focus on the reason for this meeting: getting Dylan and Harper back."
"I repeat that there is no solid proof the boy is still alive and persisting in believing it, while comforting, is foolhardy and sentimental," Tyr spoke up.
"Well, I agree with Beka," Trance jumped in. "I think Harper could still be alive and I think we need to go look for him and Dylan. Dylan would do it for any of us."
"Which is exactly what we're going to do," Beka said firmly, glaring at Tyr. "I just had to spend some time figuring out how to do it without getting us all on the Commonwealth's hit list. We have enough troubles as it is." Beka rubbed her forehead. This being in charge thing was harder than it looked, at least here on this ship. On the Maru, she'd had no trouble running her own ship and controlling her crew. She'd said jump, they'd asked how high. But on the Maru she didn't have to worry about pesky little things like chain of command and proper clarification. The only time she troubled herself with rules and regulations was when she had to figure out how to avoid them. It was all so much more complicated this time around.
"So, here's what we're gonna do," she continued. "Tyr, you and Trance are gonna stay here on the Andromeda and take care of business, just like good little Commonwealth employees should. Rommie and I are gonna take the Maru and search this galaxy from top to bottom until we find our missing friends."
There was a moment of silence then all three started talking at once, just as she'd predicted they would.
"You should stay here; you're the acting captain, they will look for you – "
"I will not stay behind and play babysitter to a schizophrenic warship and a golden pixie – "
"Beka! It's so dangerous! Surely we should all stick together – "
She let them sputter and growl until their voices drifted of into silence.
"Are you all finished now?" she asked with a small smile. No one answered. "Good. Now, let me explain. First, I realize I should probably stay on the Andromeda as I'm the acting captain, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that just wouldn't work. I have at least six weeks of vacation time stored up from the last three years; I'm taking it now. If the Commonwealth wants to argue with that, they'll have to fight their own regulations to do it. And besides, for all they know, I could be spending it sipping martinis on some pleasure planet."
She turned to Tyr. "I know you think you should lead this rescue mission, and I admit you're probably the most qualified person on board to do it, but you're not going. Thanks to your inability to keep your hands off other people's stuff, your name tops the Dragan's most wanted list; it's even ahead of Harper's and Dylan's. There's a whole universe of Drago-Kazov out there dying to get their hands on you. The last thing we need is three people to rescue from them." She gave Tyr another glare and he remained silent…for now.
She moved on to Trance.
"Trance, you know I would love to have you come with me, you're my lucky charm, after all, but you're much better at diplomacy and talking your way out of messes than any of the rest of us. With Tyr in charge, we're gonna need you here to keep him from starting any unnecessary wars or blowing up too many planets." She smiled gently at the golden girl, and Trance nodded.
"Yes, I should stay here," she agreed knowingly. "That is best for all of us right now."
"Rommie, that means you're with me. I know you want to stay here and follow orders, but I could really use you as back-up. Besides, with your programming and my wardrobe and hair-bots, we're easily the most disguisable of all of us."
Rommie paused for a moment, but then agreed. She could see that Beka had spent a lot of time thinking this out. It really was the best solution, even if Tyr still looked ready to mutiny.
"And what makes you so sure I will follow your orders and stay here, Captain Valentine?" Tyr challenged. "I owe no loyalty to you or this Commonwealth; I do not have to obey you."
"No, you don't," Beka shot back, refusing to be intimidated. "But, whatever your little personal plans are, I get the feeling they aren't ready yet. And I also get the feeling they would be a lot easier with Dylan and Harper around. Therefore, for your own survival, it's better to follow orders right now. Besides, try as hard as you will to deny it, you miss them, and you're worried about them. You want them rescued as much as any of us and you know my plan has the best chance of doing it."
Tyr was not at all pleased to have been seen through so easily, especially by a human. His glare turned positively glacial as he gazed at Beka. "I will stay and play this little game for now, Beka, but don't think for a moment it's because of your orders. No human orders Tyr Anasazi to do anything he does not wish to do." He rose to leave.
"Yeah, sure, whatever, Tyr," Beka dismissed coolly. "Oh and Tyr," she called before he could leave the room. "Don't get any grand ideas of taking over the ship or trying to rule the universe while we're gone because not only did I promise Dylan I'd fight tooth and nail to keep his ship and his dream safe, but you'd have to get through a very ticked off warship and an angry golden warrior. That doesn't sound very good for one's survival."
She met his eyes and held his gaze resolutely until he finally broke the look with an odd smile.
"Touché, Beka," he laughed. "The ship and the golden girl are safe with me, as is the fool's mission. Go save our lost sheep; we'll be here when you get back." He laughed again and shook his hair back over his shoulders, then purposefully left the room.
Beka let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Well, that went better than expected," she muttered, running a hand through her hair and smiling slightly. "Now, let's get down to business. I want to leave in the next couple of hours and we need to make sure we have everything settled. Trance, I've made you and Tyr a copy of Dylan's upcoming agenda; it would probably be best if you guys stuck to it as closely as possible so the Commonwealth can't holler that we aren't following orders. Next up is a little visit to a planted called Bix Tania, I believe, to conclude the mission that started this whole mess," Beka sighed, wishing Dylan had just never agreed to take on that mission in the first place. Then she forcefully cleared her thoughts and continued.
"Trance, I also want you to outfit the Maru with whatever medical supplies you think we might need and make sure Rommie knows what to do for every situation you can think of, including worst case scenarios. Rommie, pull your favorite weapons out and get them stored onboard as well. Oh, and bring some of those ghastly outfits you're so fond of, they just might come in handy."
She smiled at Rommie's affronted look, but didn't stop to laugh. There just wasn't time. "Rommie, I also need you to generate a list of possible locations for us to search. Find any prison planets, drifts, slave worlds, anywhere that it might be likely Harper and Dylan have been sent to. I doubt they're still on Felix's ship; he wouldn't have been so quick to turn tail and run if he still had them, figuring we wouldn't try to blow him out of the sky with them on board. But, right now, they could be practically anywhere else and we need a way to narrow the options."
Rommie nodded, already starting the search in her matrix as she left the room.
Trance moved to follow, but Beka called her back. "Trance, we've been friends for a long time, despite everything and the changes we've both been through. I trust you with my life and right now I need to trust you're not holding anything back from me. Is there anything you know about all this that you're not telling me? Or even any place you think we should search before another?"
Trance saw the pleading in her friend's eyes and wished with all her heart she could help her, give her the news she wanted to hear. But she couldn't. Not only was she forbidden to interfere like that, but this time she was just as much in the dark as everyone else. Lines and threads of time flowed about her and possible futures opened and closed so fast she couldn't get a grasp on them herself. It left her reeling and feeling rather nauseous.
"Beka, I wish I could help you, but I can't. And I'm not saying that to hide things from you. This whole thing has just spun so far out of control and down paths never intended that I can't follow the threads any more. I know Harper and Dylan are in danger, and in pain. I can tell you the longer we go without finding them the harder it will be to get them back, and the more likely it will be that things can never be the same again after we do. But that's all I know and you probably figured all that out on your own anyway," she said sadly.
Beka sighed then squeezed the girl's hand. "Yeah, but that's okay. Thanks anyway for trying. And we will get them back, I promise. Now, I'd better go let the crew know that Tyr is now officially Acting – Acting Captain, and then I've got to contact Tarazed about this wonderful little vacation I have planned…"