See part one for warnings and acknowledgements.

Rationalising - Part 3

Dylan stood on the observation deck, staring at the stars and brooding. Trance was gone. "Not forever Dylan", she had said, but she wasn't sure when she was coming back. There were some things she had to take care of, and she couldn't take any of them with her. Important things. Trance Gemini things. He sighed. He still knewnext to nothing about her, and ever since her change into the 'horned killer' Trance she had felt totally alien. more like some stranger that just happened to be on their side for the moment, rather than a friend. He missed the 'purple pixie' Trance. But then he hadn't really known her either, just the mask she'd worn for them.

He was smart enough to realise that Trance had manipulated many of the events since the 'Maru had towed them out of the black hole, and probably a good few before. Lately he was beginning to feel uncomfortable with her presence on the Andromeda, and he wasn't sure how he felt about her leaving. But he did know one thing: they were short a medical officer, gardener, life sciences officer and quantum probability manipulator. He needed more crew. But for now he was just grateful to have found Tyr and Beka in one piece.

"Dylan," hologram Rommie flickered into life next to him," the Eureka Maru has docked safely. Shall I instruct the crew to meet you in command?"

"No, I'll let them settle for a few hours before I give them the bad news." Even Harper didn't know yet. Trance had slipped a few hours ago while he was dirtside fixing the 'Maru, picked up by a sleek but tiny ship of unknown origin. Dylan sighed again. First Rev, now Trance. " How badly is the 'Maru damaged?"

Rommie looked distant for a moment, scanning the ship. "The hull plating shows six major fractures, and I'm detecting some micro-cracks in the infrastructure that are suggestive of end stage metal fatigue. The majority of the internal systems are destroyed, and it has emergency life support, AG, thrusters and com. systems only. It's a wreck." The AI looked thoughtful. "Dylan, I wouldn't recommend using the 'Maru again. The interior systems are repairable, but the condition of the hull is not. Even a low energy impact is likely to rupture it."

Dylan winced. Beka was not going to be happy, the 'Maru was her baby, and her home. But it was only to be expected after the amount of times it had crashed. Three? Four? He sighed again, this day wasn't going well. Down one crew member and half his fleet. Maybe he should give Beka a full eight hours to rest before he told her. He hoped she wouldn't expect him to buy her a new ship.

*

Beka went straight to medical, and tore into the cabinets at the back. Packs of drugs started falling onto the floor as she searched. She didn't know what the emergency contraception looked like, but there was no way she was going to ask for help in finding it. That would be like shouting "Hey, I had sex with Tyr," to the whole ship, and she really didn't want anyone to know. She started swearing quietly as she read the packaging.

"Looking for something?"

Beka jumped, the pills in her hand flying into the air. "Ah. Tyr." Damn, busted! He had to know what she was looking for. "How long have you been there?" She didn't turn round, but started looking through the containers again.

"About half an hour." His voice was soft, controlled. "I have been waiting for you. Andromeda!"

Hologram Rommie shimmered into being. "Yes, Tyr?"

"Captain Valentine and I would like privacy mode."

"Engaging privacy mode." And Rommie flickered out.

Beka couldn't look at him, she kept searching desperately. "What do you want?" It sounded harsh in the quiet room.

"I need to talk to you. I need to talk about what happened between us. Please Beka, look at me."

"You know Tyr, in all the time I've known you I think that's the only time you've said please. Must be important, whatever it is." She kept on looking for the pills.

"Beka please, stop." Huge hands gently gripped her shoulders, she could feel him standing behind her. "Don't do this." He paused, sounding uncertain." Don't ignore me."

"Twice in one day. I'm impressed." She put down the box she was holding. If Tyr was waiting for her in medical he probably knew what she was after, but just maybe he didn't. She decided to bluff. "Look Tyr, I really need to be alone right now. I just want to treat this bite and get some rest. We can talk after."

Tyr sighed, and turned her around to face him. "But, I think, 'after' will be too late," He gestured at one of the tables. There were three small white boxes on it. Beka didn't need to read the labels to know what they were. "These are what you are looking for, I believe." He let go of her, and stepped back, giving her some space. " We need to talk about this before you make your decision. I just want you to consider what I have to say before you act. "

Beka drew in a deep breath, this was the last thing she needed right now."Gee Tyr, could it be something like 'don't waste this once in a lifetime chance at your superior DNA?' Well, thanks for the donation, but I think I'll pass." Beka made a move towards the table, but Tyr shifted to block her.

"I was going to say, 'think about it until tomorrow'. By then a simple medical scan will tell you if you need to take them. If you do, they'll work for up to six days...after." There was an expression close to pain on his face. "If you decide to end it then, I won't stop you. I just want you to consider the possibilities."

"And what would they be? Me playing mommy? I don't think so, I have a life. And you're not my idea of the dream father. I want those pills now!" Beka tried to push past him, but he grabbed her arm and swung her round to face him.

"Beka, I am not being unreasonable."She could see he was struggling with his anger, but his voice remained level. "I don't want you to do something in haste that you may regret. It could be my child..." He took a deep breath. " And it has other implications, for us."

"Us! Tyr, we had sex, we're not married. This has nothing to do with you."

"It has everything to do with me, you could be about to murder my child!"

Tyr stepped back, looking as if he wished he hadn't said that. He paused for a moment, then continued in a more level voice." Beka, what happened between us was not meaningless. We both know that..."

"It was just sex!" Beka cut him off in mid flow. "And it's not like I didn't try to stop you."

Tyr flinched as if she'd hit him, and was silent for a moment. Then in a quiet voice. "If it had just been that one time I would not be here. But the second time, when you looked into my eyes, it was your choice. It had meaning!" He paused again. "At least, it meant something to me."

Beka had no idea what to say to that, she had never been any good at the emotional stuff. And Tyr was just standing there, looking surprisingly vulnerable for someone that big and muscular. It seemed as if she really had hurt his feelings. She began to squirm. Would it really be such a big deal if she left it a few hours? She might not even need the pills, and she could just forget this whole thing had ever happened. No need to deal with this if she didn't have to.

"Okay Tyr. If it will get you off my back I'll wait to see if I need them. Just don't get your hopes up." Beka knew she given in too easily, but it had been a long day and she had no idea how to deal with an emotional Nietzschean. Or an emotional Beka. "I'll see you back here after breakfast. Just... I need some space Tyr, don't crowd me."

Tyr nodded and stepped further away, raising both hands in a gesture of acceptance, or maybe surrender, she wasn't sure which. It took her a moment to realise that this was her cue to leave. He wasn't going to leave her alone in medical, even for a second.

"What's up Tyr? Don't you trust me?" She looked him in the eyes, but only for a second. "Fine! See you in the morning." And then she turned her back on him and walked out.

Tyr let out a long breath, and slumped down onto one of the beds, that had been the most delicately played conversation of his life. It seemed he had been right, Valentine was not capable of dealing with displays of emotion. Assuming the role of the wounded lover had worked, at least for now. It had taken all of his self control, but he had managed to make her feel guilty without feeling coerced. Beka was strong willed, and a fighter by nature. If she felt he was forcing her into anything she would certainly fight him, even if he was acting in her best interest. Emotional blackmail was much more likely to succeed. But obviously she could not be trusted not to try something in between now and breakfast. He hid the EC pills, turned down the lights, and settled in for the night.

*

"I'm a freaking genius!"

Harper grinned like a maniac as the data from the Eureka Maru's security senors downloaded into his hand held data processor. No one but the Harper himself could have saved those corrupted files. He ginned even wider. The rest of the repairs could wait, he was on his way to hit play, in the privacy of his own quarters of course. With the lights off. Naked. This was definitely going to be one for his 'special' collection, like the still shots of Rommie's avatar before she was activated. It had taken him hours of work, but this was going to be worth it.

He left his tools lying on the deck of the 'Maru, and started to make his way to his room, nearly jogging, eyes full of glee, chuckling, " Are we gonna have a party!" as he hurried along. He was halfway to his quarters before he noticed that the corridors were night lit. Must have taken longer than he thought...

"...dammit!" That was Beka's voice, shouting, but some distance away. He could hear Tyr's voice too, but not what he was saying. Never able to fight his curiosity, Harper began to tiptoe closer, hoping Beka's shouting would conceal his approach from Tyr's uber hearing.

"Get your damn hands off me!" It was Beka again.

He could hear Tyr again , but it was too muffled too make out. Whatever it was didn't seem to impress Beka much.

"You arrrogant Nietzschean bastard! And I suppose a kludge like me should be grateful for your attention."

Tyr said something else, a little louder now, but Harper could only make out the word "Beka."

Then there was a long, still silence. Harper froze, if he moved now even Beka would hear him. A few moments later there was the sound of footsteps, and Beka ran past him. She looked really, really upset. Or angry. It was hard to tell. Fortunately for Harper, she didn't see him lurking outside medical, and she vanished round a corner. Harper held still. Then he heard something he'd never heard before, Tyr swearing. There was the sound of things being thrown on the floor. Harper crept away, praying the noise would cover him. Guess things weren't going too well between the lovebirds.

A few minutes later he got into his room, and hopped over the pile of grubby clothes onto the bed. It took him a few minutes of digging through smelly shorts and loud shirts to find the player. Harper was bouncing with anticipation by the time he found it and linked it to the hand held.

"Harper TV is on the air!" He pulled his shirt over his head and his shoes off, then lay back and hit play. Nothing happened. "Ah crap! Don't do this to me." He hit a few buttons. No visual. Damn. He looked at the references, there must have been more damage to the data then he'd first thought. The system had stopped recording completely when they had hailed the 'Maru; and a power surge must have trashed the visual data. If he really worked at it he could recover the audio up to about an hour before he got onto the ship. At least he wouldn't be missing anything interesting, they were probably just doing repairs that last hour. Was he really that desperate for a cheap thrill?

Yes!

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