Note : * means that the included text is explaining characters' behaviors, appearance, pasts, and the reasons they are who they are. And now, to the story...
A klaxon is blaring in the background. A plasteel door slides open. Slowly the face of a young girl, no older than ten, comes into focus. Her eyes are closed. Then, in one quick movement, they snap open. All you can really see are the deep, alert, icy blue eyes, pale white skin, and space black hair. She inhales slowly, then begins to move, lifting one hand, then the other. The view gets wider and you can see that she is in a cryo-pod. There are two identical cryo-pods to her right. Each contains a child that is slowly coming out of cryo sleep.
The original girl steps out of her pod slowly, standing on unsure legs. She looks around, sees that her companions are fully awake, and sets out duties, "Okay, I know we're all a little off, so let's try to figure out what's going on so we can get something to eat. If we're lucky, it's just a malfunction, or else we've reached an inhabited planet. Xena, start a tactical sweep of the surrounding space. Taran, try to find out how long we've been in cryo. I'll run a basic systems check on the power generator, and try to get Navigation working."
Slowly they walk up to the control center and begin working. Each child at a different panel. The panels are somewhat beat up, and not all of them are working. After a few moments, they are rewarded by the sound of the engines kicking in. Once they due, however, it becomes apparent why they were awakened. In the resulting confusion, no one notices the light flashing to indicate that they are being hailed.
Reb came running up the ramp to the Command Deck wearing only some black sweat pants and an undershirt. *Reb is 5' 9". He has very light, blond hair cut short and it gives the general appearance of being spiky, but soft. He has striking blue eyes, but is not impressively strong. His eyes show a calm that radiates from his soul. They also show deep emotion, which he puts into everything. Other than his eyes and hair, he looks like your everyday guy off the street. He was born in 1997* When he got to the Command Deck he paused to catch his breath. "Looks like a huge lump of dead rock." He said, gesturing at the main view-screen.
"It is." Yuna replied. *Yuna is 5'9", she has black hair cut into a whimsy pixie. She has blue eyes, and very pale skin. One of the most noticeable things about her is her attitude; she is polite, but headstrong in every way, she almost never gives up. She also has very little regard for her own safety, and is more concerned for others(most of the time...).* She had been taking the late shift tonight. She and Reb Co-Captain the Deepwater, so they split the late watches fifty-fifty with the other qualified pair on the ship, Gret and Bren. *Originally it was Reb & Gret and Bren & Yuna alternating nights, but somewhere in the first week someone anonymously altered the schedule to Reb & Yuna and Gret & Bren. No one was quit sure who had made the switch, but no one really objected. It wasn't a very firm schedule either, whoever wanted to took the watch that night. Gret and Bren enjoyed their time alone on the bridge, because it gave them a chance to be alone together. They were still trying to figure out where exactly they stood with each other. They hadn't really talked about it since they had kissed in Gret's quarters after Kyra had messed with their hormones/chemical balance. The night this story starts, Yuna had taken the watch to have a little time just herself and the stars. She and Reb both had a habit of doing that, and either is qualified to watch the ship alone. While neither knew it, when one took the watch alone, the other thought about them in their quarters. The ship sometimes goes at night on autopilot while eveyone sleeps, but normally they prefer to have someone keeping an eye on things.* She was the ship's pilot, and more than a little strong-willed. Unfortunately/fortunately, Reb was in every way her equal and/or opposite. He had the will and the ability to go heads on with Yuna. And he almost always had another way of doing things. This had ended in some major arguments.
*That was the way that things seemed to go on the ship. They would flirt for a few days, then something would cause a fight that would leave both edgy for several days. Everything went much more smoothly during non-fight periods, and a lot more got done. They had been getting along a lot better these last few days. She had been complimenting his repairs, and he had been teasing her about her flying. [One example of this was during a repair they had had to perform because of a warped wave guide. The conversation went something like this : Reb "Look at this wave guide, no wonder it gave out..." Yuna, looking at the wave guide, "How would it get that way? It's not from the thrusters, that's for sure." he shrugged, looking mock innocent, "Could be alloy fatigue..." Shrugging her eyebrows, "From what?" Reb, leaning in closer to her, lowering his voice, "Probably one of your wild hyperspace maneuvers..." She looked up, right into his eyes, "Those wild maneuvers saved your hide, genius." He looked right back into her eyes, his breath caught in his chest for a second before he answered. "I cannot deny it..." The he had leaned over and kissed her. It had turned out later that a type of "space bug" had been chewing on the outside of the ship, and later gotten inside.] An argument seemed due. And everyone knew it would not be small. Over the past month things had slowly been increasing. The cycle was getting closer and closer to boiling. Arguments getting bigger and angrier although less frequent, while the times between were getting cozier.
The crew had, by now, figured out why this happened. Both were trying as hard as they could to avoid getting into a 'close' relationship. Every once in a while, one or the other would realize how close they were getting to the other and try to push away. That didn't exactly lead to a stable relationship. The other people on the ship, all 4 of them, were considering just locking the two of them in a room until they just ended this. Once and for all. The only problem with this was that Reb and Yuna had highest authorization as Captains. So everyone just kept out of either's line of fire on the really bad days, knowing it would end eventually. Lately they had been getting along really well. So the crew was just enjoying the time that they got.*
"So what did you drag me out of bed for?" he asked, a more than a little annoyed. His words slightly slurred by a yawn. He half suspected her of doing this just to wake him up, but she wasn't that cruel. *Reb had been awake for 36 hours straight before going to bed that night. And he had only been asleep for 4 hours when Yuna had called him to the bridge.*
"This. Shuttle 'Alpha', origin unknown. I tried hailing her, no response." she replied, allowing her eyes to drift over to look at him. She found she had trouble getting her eyes to leave him to look back at the screen. She had to make a serious mental effort to pay attention to his comment. A shuttle appeared on the view-screen, it looked extremely similar to Shuttle(s) Alpha/Beta from their ship, the Deepwater Black. From the look of it, the shuttle had been through a lot.
"It looks like a variation of the shuttle-type we carry." Reb stated, aside from being Yuna's command (and sparring) partner, he was also the ship's engineer. "No notable power, either. That's probably because it's an abandoned hulk. Nice discovery, Yuna. I'm going back to bed." he replied, he was about to head back to his room when he saw the way she was sitting, and walked back over. "I'm sorry, I know you're tired. That was uncalled for." He placed his hands on her shoulders, just standing there with her for a moment to help both of them relax. While his hands rested there, he realized that his whole attention was focused on the place their skin touched. He also realized that she was almost as tired as he was.
Moving slowly, he gently forced her to un-tense the muscles on her back and neck. While he was doing that, he couldn't get his mind off what it had been like when he had kissed her that night on the bridge. Or that night in the shuttle bay "What are you doing to me?" he asked under his breath. It startled her, and she turned around to face his. When she saw the look in his eyes, she realized that they couldn't go on in this cycle. So she leaned over and her eyes closed as her lips touched his. Slowly, tentatively, the kiss deepened. Just as she opened her lips to deepen the kiss further...
They were interrupted by Gen, the computer's hologram interface, "The shuttle is not abandoned. Reading three life forms. All human. Two females and one male." They snapped back to the present, realizing what a situation they had gotten into. As he moved past her Reb whispered, "We'll talk in my quarters later"
"Okay, I'm going to try hailing them again." Reb said in a louder voice. "I'm not getting a response. They're communications equipment isn't working. It might be turned off, but I can't get the general quarantine beacon to work, and that should be remote access. I'm not sure they can hear us at all, and I don't know that they could reply if they wanted to." he called, he had moved over to the comm panel at the copilot's station.
"No weapons or shielding intact. Their defenseless and harmless." said Yuna, having scanned over to the weapons panel at her station.
Reb looked over at Yuna and asked, "Should we bring it aboard?" "Sounds good to me. I could use a diversion, other than that one. That can wait," Yuna answered, anticipating what Reb would say. And she had to admit, that was one hell of a diversion. She locked on a tractor beam. "I'm going to start bringing it in. I, wait. Reb, the tractor beam is acting up again. The shuttle's drifting away." she said. Reb ran over and checked his workstation.
"No, the tractor beam is going at peak. It can't pull any harder. Wait, I found the problem. The engines on the shuttle have started up. Yuna cut the beam, they can't get far. And we don't need the additional power drain. Try hailing them again. Use our shuttle override codes, they might be universal, I don't remember. I'll work on boosting Fusion 5's output." Reb yelled.
Yuna ran over to the comm station, talking to Gret over her communicator at the same time. After a moment of inputting codes, she had the shuttle's comm system working. "Unknown Shuttle, this is Yuna, of the Deepwater. Shut down your engines. We will not harm you. I repeat, shut down your engines." A small frightened face looked up from one of the battered workstations. She had long, dark, black hair running in a braid down her back. "Mama? Are you back? I'm sorry Mama. Xena couldn't get a read out or feeling on the ship. So we had to assume it was hostile. I thought I would never see you again." When the child said that it triggered something in Yuna's subconscious. She went into a deep PREX. Reb noticed her start to fall.
"Yuna! Yuna!" He ran over and caught her as she fell. He was relieved to find that she was only PREXing. He held her until the PREX ended, he would have taken her down to medbay, but she awoke within a few seconds. "Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty." he said. He kissed her lightly on the forehead. She smiled up at him, surprised that he could be so gentle, compared with what they had done a few moments ago.
"Hey, whoever you are. I'm sorry to break the moment, but before I let you do anything to this ship, I have a right to know who you are, and who you are aligned with. So talk." said a sarcastic voice. It sounded familiar to both of them, though neither had met the owner before. Of that they were sure. The voice seemed to belong to a girl with light brown skin and oddly black eyes.
"Xena, shut up. We're hardly in a position to argue. You know as well as I do that the can scan our defenses. And we have none, to speak of. Anyway, if anyone is going to negotiate, it's me. I'm the eldest, and we both know what our parents said if we ever got stuck out here. Mom was in charge, so I'm in charge. You know it. We don't have time to argue." replied the girl with black hair, she seemed to be talking about a familiar argument.
"Hey, calm down Cryst. It was worth a shot. What else are we going to do? Surrender? That's not an option. Negotiation isn't going to work with memories. You know that." Xena replied sullenly.
The black-haired girl, Cryst, glared at her. "What do you mean memories. My dad's been dead for almost six years. So why am I seeing him? That's not a dream. I don't remember him well enough for that!! Mom hid the only images we had of him. She couldn't stand seeing them, it tore her apart. So believe me, I'm not basing what I'm seeing on those. And if you knew what I was seeing, you wouldn't be this scared. I know you Xena. You think they're real too, don't you?" she said, her voice unsteady, yet rising in volume. Xena nodded silently, then her hand flew up to her head. She looked like she was in pain, and she was biting her lip hard enough to draw blood. "Oh my God, Xena, sit down. The emotions are getting too high here." Cryst helped the girl sit down, then she looked back at the screen. She had to know, "Mama, was that Daddy?" she asked in a soft voice, her eyes shining, "Mama?"
"Cryst, I thought Mama was dead. That's what you and Xena told me." said a small boy with hair that was almost white. Like Reb's, it is cut short and sort of spiky.
"Quiet Taran, I'm trying to concentrate. Anyway, your sister's seeing things. I felt your parents, individually, die. I felt your mother die. Believe me, she's dead. Losing you mother was hard on Crysta. It must have triggered this." admonished Xena. *Xena has cinnamon skin, and unnaturally black eyes with almost no whites. She also has curly black hair pulled back into a ponytail. There is one streak of white running back through her hair.* After a moment she stood up. She was at the tactical station, so she began punching buttons. When it didn't comply, she cursed and dealt the offending workstation a furious kick.
Yuna turned back to the screen when she heard the curse. It was very familiar. She noticed the boy with the striking hair. Not knowing what to say, she repeated, "Shut down your engines; we'll bring you in."
"Because we have no other choice, we will comply." said Xena, Then she looked up, and Yuna felt a strange sensation. For a moment she just stood there in a trance, then it was gone. She blinked. Xena suddenly collapsed, holding her head, a small trickle of blood running down from her nose. "They're real, they're real." she was crying over and over, trembling violently. After a moment she stopped shaking, and seemed to doze off.
"Let us bring you on board, we have medical facilities to treat the girl," Yuna offered.
Crysta went over and punched a few buttons, "Engines off line. Bring us in if you feel like it. We're not going anywhere." She said, her tone of voice dull, lifeless, like nothing mattered anymore. Like everything she believed she knew had just been ripped out from under her.
A few moments later the shuttle was safely in the shuttle bay. Yuna was leaning against a wall. She was deep in thought, pondering the girl's words. An arm snaking around her waist brought her back to the present. *And when did that touch, and the person behind it become so familiar?* she reprimanded herself. A little voice in her mind told her the answer, *Since you fell in love with him.* She ignored it, she didn't want to concede that point just yet.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Reb asked quietly, wanting to get Yuna to talk before she withdrew too far. Yuna looked into his warm blue eyes, and started to cry. Reb held her tight, knowing that she needed to cry. To bleed the painful edge off her feelings. She needed the release. She would keep this locked away, until she couldn't hold it back. Then it would explode. It had happened before. If it didn't come out gently, it would simmer until it boiled. That caused real bad days, days where everyone walked on eggshells. And if it never came out, she would hide it away where it would haunt her in her dreams. He knew that happened because her room was next to his, and he heard her screaming in her dreams, or waking up sobbing. But he was afraid to go over. He wanted to, but he didn't know how she would respond. So he took the opportunity that he got, rocking her slowly, stroking her back gently. After a few moments she calmed down enough to talk.
"That girl thought I was her mother, come to rescue her. It reminded me of when my mother went to get help, and didn't come back. She think's I'm her mother. The other girl told the boy that his sister was hallucinating. One said that if she was hallucinating, why was the other so scared. She said that you can't hallucinate what you can't remember. I think her father died when she was very young. And she thinks that you're her father.
"She asked me if her daddy was here. The little boy, her brother I think, had hair that was almost white, like yours. She looked like she'd seen a ghost. I think her parents are both dead." then she changed moods, slipping her tough surface back into place. He was glad that she trusted him enough to show him her vulnerable side, because it wasn't one she showed often. "Well, we might as well go down and greet our guests. Yuna to crew, 'Everyone meet down in the shuttle bay. Lise, bring a medkit." she said and headed for the shuttle bay. She was glad that Reb kept an arm around her waist, it helped her stay in control.
A few minutes later all of them were standing outside the hatch of the shuttle, while Zak rewired the door controls. *Zak is a 6'4" African descended computer genius. He came from a genetic cleansing colony. His sister and father were judged genetically impure, so they were killed* After a moment the door started opening very slowly, its old pressure system slowly coming back on line. "Good work Zak." Reb told him.
"I hate to disappoint you, but I hadn't finished yet. That thing had some nasty encryption. Whoever programmed it knew what they were doing. Someone is opening that door from inside." he replied
Bren, a former officer in the Sentinel Corps, had his weapon at the ready. *Bren is 5'10" black haired, and brown eyed. He takes duty and loyalty very seriously.* "Okay. Lise, what can you tell me about the person on the other side of this door?" Bren asked as the door came close to completing the cycle, "Never mind, I think we'll find out for ourselves."
Lise, *Lise is 5'8", red haired, and hazel eyed. She is the medical officer on the Deepwater* looked on with interest as the door opened. The cycle finished, and they were all surprised at what they saw.
A young frightened girl, no older than ten, holding a small boy's hand, forcing him to stay behind her. After a moment of shock, she slowly walked down the ramp. "Mama?" she asked, her eyes pleading, "Is that you, Mama?" She got most of the way down the ramp before her willpower gave out and she collapsed. Lise went over and ran a scanner over the girl. The boy went running full tilt at Yuna, wrapping his arms around her, and hiding his face against her stomach. "They said you were dead, but I didn't believe them. Even though Xena said she felt it." It was then that the rest of the crew noticed the oddest thing about the boy, he had Reb's unusual blond-to-the-point-of-white hair. Yuna, not knowing what else to do, picked the boy up and balanced him on her hip.
"She's okay. Just dehydrated and lacking nutrients. She's also exhausted. Poor thing looks like she's just seen a ghost. She's free of Pandora, no sign of other pathogens. I'd like to get her to our sickbay for a full exam, just to be sure." Lise said, referring to the unconscious girl. She was concerned over the comments the girl had directed at the group, so she ran a quick check and found the problem. The girl had residual particles of stasis drugs in her brain area. "I think she was having a side effect of Cryo-sleep, hallucinations. It's not common, but it does happen."
"I'll carry her." decided Reb. He picked the child up and carried her to sickbay. A couple of times on the way down she woke up enough to say, "Daddy?" then she would doze off again, snuggling closer on the way. Yuna was surprised to see that the child looked very familiar, a lot like Reb, except for the hair. The child had hair blacker than space. Like her own, but slightly different. Reb set the girl down on one of the beds, and Yuna set the boy down on another. They asked Lise to call and inform the bridge when the children woke up.
"Gret, when you have a minute, could you start a genetic match-up profile on these kids?" Lise asked, knowing that Gret had started a comm check that day. She was giving her a break time-wise.
"Okay, I'll start it now. Then all you'll have to do is read the results." she said. She sat down at one of the workstations and typed for a few minutes. Bren waited for her to finish, then walked her back to the Command Deck. *Bren and Gret have flirted since they woke up, but lately they've been getting more serious* Lise watched them go while covering a smile with her hand. Watching these two work out their feelings was something else.
Yuna and Reb returned to the bridge, and tried to focus on a power flow problem at the helm. After a few minutes, all that could be seen of them was the waist down. They had to get under the console to work on the wiring. While they were under the panel, they talked quietly, discussing what to do with children. A few times one would start when the other brushed their skin. This soon passed, however, and they worked together like a fluid pair. Neither minded the close contact. More than once Reb leaned over and guided her hands through the delicate repairs. Whenever he did that she would shiver slightly, even though it wasn't cold. She decided to take a chance and get something out in the open between them. "What do you think of this connection? Here," she took his hand and gently moved it over a little then stopped. She didn't release his hand when she got there.
"Yuna, there's nothing wrong with that connection. We fixed it a couple of minutes ago." he replied. He was acutely aware of the feel of her hand on his. This occupying the front of his mind, he was not putting his full attention to the wiring controls.
"Not the relay, this connection." she said quietly. She squeezed his hand, and was a little surprised to feel him squeeze back. He understood what she was saying perfectly.
"I think this connection needs an upgrade. It seems to be having interface problems." he replied casually. Then he leaned over and kissed her gently, to illustrate his point.
"What do you suggest we do about that? You are the engineer, it's your job to fix things."
"I suggest that we discuss this later. I personally don't think that this is the best place to discuss this. Unless you want to announce something to Gret and Bren. We might forget where we are, and then..." he left the sentence dangling suggestively, causing certain thoughts to come to mind.
She got his point. "Okay, we'll finish this conversation later. You do have a sick mind Reb Anderson. I guess this will have to last us until then." she leaned over and placed her lips on his. He responded, and for a moment they forgot that Gret and Bren were in the room. Then they broke the kiss, and realized how their movements might have looked to any observers. They quickly separated. "To change the subject, wasn't there a girl sitting at tactical in the shuttle? I wonder what happened to her. She looked like she fell asleep. I think I heard one of the kids call her Xena." she frowned, trying to puzzle it out. When she couldn't, she decided to put it aside. "Oh well, we'll figure it out later."
"I was just thinking and I realized, those shuttle codes aren't universal. That was our Shuttle Alpha!" Reb said, recognition and horror/amazement evident in his voice.
Crysta awoke to the familiar surroundings of the sickbay. Her brother, Taran, lay sleeping on the bed next to her. Lise was over at a lab table working on a DNA coding. Crysta immediately relaxed, it had all been a dream. She decided to tell Lise about it because it had seemed so real. "I just had the weirdest dream. I dreamed that my dad was alive. But that's impossible. He died in that explosion in Fusion three almost six years ago, didn't he?" She was about to go on when she saw the way Lise was looking at her. And then she looked harder and realized that Lise was also missing the streaks that had developed from a radiation exposure.
Lise was shocked, to say the least, at the girl's memories. She decided to inform the bridge, and go from there. "Yuna, Lise here. Yuna? Yuna?" All she got was a sharp intake of breath and a small click. *Fine, I'll tell Gret,* she decided when Yuna wasn't responding. And it was no good trying to get Reb's attention either when he and Yuna were working (Fighting). All you got was hoarse. "Gret, Lise here. I wanted to let you know that one of our guests is awake and lucid. You might want to mention the fact to Yuna, if you feel like it. I'm guessing they're having a good time under the helm?" she joked.
"Actually, they seem to be having a very good time. I'll talk to you after shift. Normally if they hadn't taken a break by now I think that one would be unconscious. You would think they were going to kill each other. A week ago, I would've bet you two night watches at the scanners that Yuna would flatten him. If she can't kill the last of his pride, I don't think anything can. But now, now it's getting a little creepy. They aren't arguing nearly as much as they used to. I'll tell them to head on down, okay?" Gret replied. She waved Bren over, telling him that she was going down to sickbay, did he want to come? He nodded affirmative. He slipped an arm around her shoulders, holding her just close enough to take her breath away. Ever since she and Bren had been spending more time together, a whole new side of her personality had come out.
Gret had responded because Reb and Yuna were under the panel at the helm trying to, among other things, boost power efficiency. Normally one of them would have responded. Because Gret answered, however, and because Lise didn't try to contact Reb, Crysta thought that her father really was dead. This confirmed her suspicion that she had dreamed the whole thing about the cryo-pods and her living father. The last thing she remembered from the dream was her mother's face as she ordered her daughter to get to the shuttle and get out. She hoped it was only a dream.
Crysta sat there swinging her feet and watching Lise work on the genetic match-up profile. After a moment, the doors to the corridor opened. The first people to enter were Gret and Bren, he had his arm around her shoulders, almost protectively. Next Zak came in, absent-minded as ever. He didn't immediately say hi to Lise, this surprised Crysta a fair amount. She heard Gret and Bren chatting quietly, about something to do with the weapons station, she didn't pay much attention. Something else had caught her attention.
There was another couple talking, arguing over Zak's success rate with Gen. She heard Yuna talking to a voice she didn't immediately recognize. There was a pause at one point, then a giggle, which seemed totally out of character for her serious mother. After a moment, Yuna rounded the corner with the owner of the unfamiliar voice. His arm was around her waist, and from the look of it, she was letting him support her. This was very strange. Yuna almost never let anyone help her. Especially not that personally. The only person she'd ever really allowed to help her out was Dad, from what she'd heard.
Then something clicked, no one had any gray hair. She took another look at the man with her mother, and looked over at her sleeping brother. They both had the same color hair. This was a hard enough shock that she almost lost control and broke down, almost. She gripped the iron cord of the control she developed when her father died, and separated herself from her feelings, completely. She would not get her hopes up. Dad was dead. There was no way around that. Her mother had taught her that hopes and dreams can be shattered, memories can't. So, she watched impassively as the five adults entered the room.
Yuna, who had been watching the child since they came in, noticed an odd flicker in the girl's eyes for just a moment. Then it vanished so swiftly that she was seriously doubting that she seen it at all. A hint of recognition flitted through her mind. She had seen that look before, but couldn't place it. Clearing her mind, she asked, "Lise, what do you have to report?" "This girl is an eight year old human child. Aside from being dehydrated and hungry, she's pretty healthy. There is one major thing of interest. She is immune to the Pandora Virus, as the result of a series of antibody injections. At least as far as I can see. So is the boy. She seems convinced that this was all a dream, and that she just woke up here. She told me that she dreamt that her dad was still alive. She said the same thing before she was brought to sickbay."
Bren, a little unsure of the situation, decided to try to get some answers. He had been up almost twenty-four hours and was starting to get tired. "What's your name?" he asked, walking over to stand in front of her.
"Crysta Anderson. Don't you know that, Bren? Why is everyone acting like they don't know me? And why wouldn't I have immunity to the weaker form of Pandora? All of us had it. At least that's what mom told me told me. Dad died before I could talk to him much."
In an effort to distract her from what must be a painful subject, Yuna asked, "Do you remember what your mother looked like?"
"Yes, she looked just like you. She had longer hair, though. Her name was Yuna Anderson." she said softly, anticipating their next question. Looking around she was met by a host of shocked faces.
Reb's head came up slowly his eyes fixing on Yuna's own astonished gaze. In a shocked voice he asked, "Yuna, A-anderson ?" Crysta nodded, not knowing what was making him turn white as a ghost. "Was Anderson your mother's maiden name?" he asked.
"No, she didn't have a last name before she hooked up with my father, I don't think," she replied, "When he died he took a part of her with him. It reminded her of when her mother went away and didn't come back. She was only six." she said. A moment after Crysta said that, Yuna went into a PREX. Reb, having realized that this would probably happen, caught her as she fell. He held her gently while she shook with the repressed emotion of the memories. When the PREX ended, Reb shook her until her eyes opened. When she came to she was not surprised, or upset, to find herself in Reb's arms. He helped her to her feet.
Bren, having had enough of a weird situation, asked, "What did you see?"
"I saw the same thing I saw on the bridge. I saw my mother right before she went away and didn't come back. And when the man came to rescue me, and I found out she was dead. I was only six, it was right after my birthday." she said. She was glad that Reb was the only one to have seen her cry. She didn't need, or want, the sympathy.
Right about then everyone found something else that needed immediate attention. Gret went to run a comm check and Bren went with her. This was natural enough. She was glad for the company, and the help on the manual overhaul. Zak went to work on retrieving files from the shuttle's computer core, and Lise went into the other room to try to finish the DNA match-up. Before she left, she asked Crysta if she knew the name of the boy on the other bed, for identification purposes.
"Of course I know Taran Anderson, he's my brother. He's five years old. Mom always said that he looked just like my dad." she replied, looking at Reb more intently. Her voice had a cold, emotionless edge to it. That edge was familiar to all three adults. It had lived in Reb's voice for days after his double had killed himself to give them a chance to survive. From the way she had slipped it on, they knew that it was not a recent ability. She had developed this perspective changing ability early in life.
"I'm going to go back to the records and see if my hunch is correct. I'll call you if I learn anything." she said, then headed to the other room. She entered the names Reb Anderson and Yuna Anderson into the genetic search, using them as "keywords". In under five minutes she would know for sure.
Suddenly Reb, Yuna, and Crysta were alone. After a minute Yuna sat down on a bobbed. Reb broke the silence, "Crysta, do you know what kind of a ship your parents were on?" he asked. He headed over and sat down next to Yuna, placing his head on her shoulder. He was starting to doze off, and it helped to have her help him stay awake.
"Of course I know, Mechanics and Engineering are some of my favorite topics. Mom said I got that from dad too. They were on a refitted Cargo Vessel. It was called the Deepwater. I always thought that was funny. I never saw any 'deep water'. Those of us who survived the initial explosion went to the shuttles. Mom and Zak had refitted them to power the cryo-pods in case they ever needed to get us, the children, to safety. The last time I saw my Mom was when she ordered me to get to the shuttle. She was bleeding bad, internal and surface wounds, and she had a broken leg. Lise was paralyzed, a chair had hit her in the neck. And Zak was dead. He had been trying to reboot the cryo systems for the gene bank, and was trapped when the shockwave hit.
Mom told Gret to get the kids and get out. The ship had less than ten minutes before it blew. Bren and Gret got the three of us to Shuttle Alpha, and set the autopilot. They said they would come out on the next shuttle. I don't think that they made it. The ship we were on, Deepwater, looked a lot like this. Who are you people, anyway? Xena was right, I do have a right to know."
"Yes, you do have a right to know. My name is Reb Anderson. This is Yuna. She doesn't have a last name that anyone remembers. You are on the Deepwater III? IV? We don't know." Right after Reb said that, Taran stirred. Now knowing what to expect, Yuna decided to wait and tell the boy about his parents later, he didn't need the added shock. Right now he looked like he needed a little love and familiarity.
"Taran, are you okay?" she asked, to keep him from getting scared she had decided to fill in as his mother for a while. She walked over, picked the boy up, and returned to her previous seat. She put the boy on her lap and hugged him. "You know, I think you've grown since I saw you. Did you?" she asked, only stretching the truth a little. He nodded in response to her question. Crysta, getting sort of lonely on her bed came over to where they were sitting. Reb, knowing that she needed support, asked, "Why don't you come over and sit on my lap, just for now, how does that sound?"
"Sounds great, Dad." replied Crysta, grateful to pretend, if only for a little while, that her parents were alive.
At that moment Lise came into the room. Seeing the way they were sitting, talking, she made an educated guess, "Reb, could I see you for a minute?" He followed her out of the room. As soon as the door closed she said, "It's a match, both kids. They're not clones, as far as I can tell. I think they're firs repetitions, or originals. How are you going to handle this?" she asked, having a very good idea what he would say.
"I'd like to speak with Yuna before I decide. Can you run some tests to distract the kids for a couple minutes? Then give Taran a slow working sedative. Give me a hypo for Crysta, she may want to stay up a little longer. They're not going to sleep at all without it. If I'm any judge, they're going to have nightmares for a long time. Maybe their whole lives." he said, knowing she would agree. She nodded.
"Crysta, Taran, Lise has to run a few tests, okay?" Reb said. He motioned toward the hall with his head, Yuna got the message. The two of them left the medbay, and went a few feet down the hall.
"It's a match." she said. It was a statement, not a question. "What do you think we should do?" she asked.
"I think the role of mother suits you very well. I think we should make them our children. We're the closest thing to family they'll ever have, and you know it. They need a family, they're too young to be on their own. They also need a place to stay. The shuttle is way too banged up for anyone to live there. I also wouldn't mind having children on the ship, especially if you were the mother." he said, kissing her lips tenderly, the kiss slowly becoming deeper as she responded. Both became aware of each other and not much else. So they were startled apart when they heard Lise clear her throat. They separated, but his arm stayed around her waist. "I'm guessing you've come to a decision?" Lise asked pointedly. They blushed. She then disappeared back into the sickbay to allow them to regain their composure.
Yuna thought for a moment, then came right out with it, "They're not old enough to be on their own. And we are the closest thing they have to family. Crysta sounds like she had some hard times when she was little. And Taran never had a father. He's going to need one. I think you would do well in that respect."
Reb nodded, then they decided to go back into sickbay before Lise ran out of standard medical tests. When they walked in they told Lise to mark it in the record that the children of Yuna and Reb Anderson had officially joined the Deepwater's personnel. She nodded, then informed Yuna and Reb of something that had been bothering her. "There were three empty cryo-pods in the shuttle. We only have two children. Do either of you know who the third person in cryo was in the shuttle?" she asked. A shocked expression came over Yuna and Reb's faces.
"I did see a third person on the shuttle. A girl with cinnamon skin and black hair. She looked a little younger than Crysta. She was at tactical. Xena, remember?" Yuna said, glad to get a chance to address this question.
Crysta and Taran thought for a moment, then Crysta answered, "Xena Stuart. She probably went into hiding after we left. We were pretty disoriented when we first came out of the shuttle. She's always had a military mind. She won't come out until she has an advantage, or is forced. And she push her own limits, health wise. She'll go for days without eating or sleeping if she has to. I don't think that there's anyway to make her feel safe, now. She saw a message from her parents right before going into Cryo. She saw them die. I think she felt it, too. Since then she's withdrawn completely. No emotions at all. She always had a strong aptitude for weapons. And people too, of course. She's the tactical one. Her dad was Military, Sentinel Corps."
On a hunch, Reb decided to send someone into the shuttle to look for the girl, "Reb to Bren, could you go down and do a sweep of the damaged shuttle? I think there might be one more child in hiding. Be careful, she could be armed." he ordered.
"Acknowledged. On my way." he replied. "Sorry, Gret. I've got to do a sweep of the shuttle for a possible third child. Can I make it up to you? Say with a massage tonight? Your quarters, after the meeting?" he asked.
"I'll come with you." she replied. She stood up, straightening her shoulders. She winced as her muscles protested the unfair treatment. He walked over and massaged her shoulders. "Mmm, that feels so good. I'll definitely take you up on that offer. I haven't been this sore in weeks."
"I've noticed." he replied. He continued massaging until her shoulders were soft and warm before stopping.
"By the way, it's only a child, not a thirty year old clone, I don't think you'll need your sidearm. We should be back here in no time." she said, remembering when they had had a problem with Reb's double. The pair headed down to the shuttle bay. When they got there, Zak had taken some component to his quarters to fix, so they were alone.
Bren, ever cautious, told Gret to wait outside while he used the internal computer to check for heat traces. He found one, in the environment ducts, and approached the specified vent. Just as he was about to open it, a voice behind him said, "Stop, right there." He froze and turned to face the girl. He could see the sentinel corps standard issue in the child's hand, and the safety was off. "Take your gun out of the holster, set it down, and push it toward me, slowly! Now, put your hands behind your head, get down on your knees. Now!"
"Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you. I was told to find you. My name is Bren Stuart" he said, speaking slowly and clearly. This girl did not appear reasonable. His best guess was that she had passed that point a little while back, and was only thinking of immediate survival. She looked overtired, dehydrated, and stressed.
"Bren Stuart?" the child asked, she gave a sharp, humorless laugh, "Bren Stuart is dead. I should know, I saw him die. Felt it too." she said, a strange look went through her eyes, and for just a moment, he saw the great sadness she carried, hidden inside. Just a moment however, then it vanished again.
At that moment, Gret decided that she had had enough waiting. Bren was just being over cautious. She entered the shuttle only to see Bren, on his knees, gun on the floor, hands outstretched, in front of a girl who appeared to be around the age of seven year old girl. She was holding an exact replica of the gun on the floor. "Gret, I thought I told you to wait until I had checked until it was safe. I don't want anything to happen to you." he said, seeing her out of the corner of his eye.
"I didn't think there would be any harm. I wasn't even sure there was anyone in here. And look, she's a seven year old. How was I supposed to know she had weapons training?" she asked in a whisper. She was now kneeling next to him, and her breath in his ear had a very soothing effect on him.
"I'm sorry. I guess I'm a little nervous, she's managed to catch me off-guard. Not many people can do that. That takes a fair amount of training and skill. She also has my gun, and that's sitting on the floor." he replied, still a little unsure of the way this situation was working out.
"Gret and Bren, Stuart? Are those your names?" the girl asked, suddenly sounding very suspicious.
"Yes, my last name is Stuart, why?" asked Bren, slowly turning back to the girl.
"My parents were named Gret and Bren Stuart. But how can you be them? They didn't make it off the Deepwater. I saw the shuttle explode when the shockwave hit. They were in it. I saw the comm message they sent out right before they died. They were still online when the shockwave destroyed their shuttle." when she said that, a little of her control gave out. Both adults saw the tear that slid down the girl's face, and the many more that burned unshed in her eyes.
"That explains a lot. Like why Reb sent me down here. And why she has military training. Crysta must have told him. But there's another problem. If this girl is our daughter, or our clone's daughter, we have a responsibility to take care of her. What do you think we should do?" he asked quietly, wanting to give her some freedom.
She turned, looked up into his loving eyes, and started to cry, softly. He held her close. His body was warm and comforting. She relaxed against him, dropping her defenses. As she cried, he talked to her, telling her to let it go, she would be all right. After a few moments, she was calm enough to talk. He asked her, "Will you be okay?"
"I will as long as you're here." she replied, teasing him slightly.
"Well, I don't plan on leaving anytime soon." he answered. He kissed her lips gently, then helped her stand up. He kept his arm around her waist, to remind her of his presence.
"Very touching. Now, for the last time, your names, and what do you want with me? The truth this time. And don't try anything, I can see just fine." the girl said. She half-closed her eyes and concentrated while he spoke.
He slowly approached the girl. He hoped he had read Gret correctly. "We told you the truth before. She's Gret, and I'm Bren. My last name is Stuart. Someday, her's may be too. This shuttle is in the Deepwater's shuttle bay. And I believe, that we are your parents. Come here. Come on, no one is going to hurt you. You're safe now. Gret and I will take care of you." he said. He had decided to give the girl the support she seemed to need. She was young, far too young, to be expected not to feel pain.
After a moment, the girl opened her eyes. "You told the truth. You are who you say you are. No, I'm not crazy. I'm sorry Dad, I should have trusted you. I know you don't lie." the girl said. She ran over to him, blinking back tears.
Bren picked her up and carried her in the direction of sickbay. About halfway there, Bren's head snapped back, his eyes unfocused he fell to the floor. There were tears streaming down his cheeks. He was sweating, trembling slightly. And he was speaking, but not to anyone they could see. "No, NO! Stop, please. Don't kill her. No. Stop. STOP IT. You're killing her. I can't tell you anything, I can't. I don't know. STOP!! Oh, Gret. I'm so sorry, I never meant for this to happen. Why, why? Why didn't you just kill me?" he was now crying hard. The girl started sobbing uncontrollably. She had lost control of her shields, and triggered a waking nightmare. She had done it before, with the same nightmare. He hid it far in his subconscious, but there it lay. She saw him kneeling next to the lifeless body of her mother, sobbing. It scared her deeply to see her father that helpless.
Gret was becoming scared by Bren's behavior. She had never seen him cry before. And he wasn't talking to anyone in the hall. She had never seen him look this helpless. The only thing which kept her from losing it was the little girl sobbing next to her. Gret hit her communicator, "Lise, I'm in the hallway. It's an emergency, Bren's having a seizure." Then she picked the girl up in her arms and rocked her gently, calming her down.
The girl was at least semi-aware when Lise arrived. Lise came over to her and took her down a small distance to get the story out of her, "Calm down. Xena. Now tell me what happened."
Xena took a deep breath, "I lost control of my Talent, it was an accident. I went into Dad's mind before I could stop. I found that nightmare again. It scares me. It was horrible. Mother was killed in front of him, and he couldn't do anything to help her. Then she was lying on the floor dead, and Dad couldn't do anything. Mom's scared. Dad didn't look so good." she said.
"Okay, let's go." said Lise, medkit in hand. When they got back to where Gret was sitting, they found a different scene.
Gret was sitting on the floor, cradling Bren's head in her lap. He was asleep. She was holding him tightly. He wasn't looking good. Lise gave him a stimulant and he slowly came around. He grasped Gret's hand like a lifeline. After a moment, he calmed down. "What happened?" he asked
Lise scanned him with a bio-scanner. "Nothing, as far as I can see. Xena said something about a nightmare."
Xena started crying again. She was still scared of the image in her father's mind. Gret picked the girl up, and held her. After a couple of moments, the girl calmed down. The rest of the way to sickbay, Gret held her, telling her that it would be okay, and just soothing her nerves. By the time they got to sick bay, Bren had decided that Gret would make a great mother. It would turn out later, he was right.
Once they got down to sickbay, he asked Lise to add her to the Deepwater's official personnel. Luckily, Lise had been expecting this. She discreetly gave Bren a printout with the girl's full name, nicknames, age, and birthday. She gave Xena a nutrient shot and a mild sedative, to help her sleep. A few minutes later, she was going home with her "new" parents. Bren carried her. This time there were no incidents. He and Gret warned her that things would be a little chaotic for a few days, but she didn't seem to mind. They took her to his rooms, telling her that she could reach either one of them via comlink. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, thanks to the sedative. They were both much more comfortable knowing that she would sleep at least fourteen hours. She looked like she needed it.
Everyone was sitting around the table in the meeting room of the communal habitat section. Reb and Yuna had put Taran to sleep in her quarters a few minutes earlier. Crysta had asked to come to the meeting, and they had agreed.
"Anything of interest going on?" asked Reb, a touch of humor in his tired voice.
"Well, new have three new crew members. Other than that, life is pretty normal." replied Lise.
"Does anyone else have anything to report ?" asked Yuna.
"Weapons and Communications are running at peak efficiency." Bren announced. He was feeling rather proud of himself. He and Gret had gotten the work done in record time. He was also feeling better now that he had been able to work the adrenaline out of his system.
"I should have the shuttle's memory back by tomorrow evening, at the latest. It's taking me a little longer because someone added a triple cycling encryption code to the memory access link." added Zak.
Crysta smiled sheepishly, "Sorry, that would be me. I didn't want outsiders to be able to access our memory banks. I guess I went a little overboard."
"That's okay. You're going to have to show me how you did that sometime. It's one of the best encryption codes I've seen." Zak said.
"Good work, all of you. If that's all, I would like to inform you about a small change in the lives of Reb and myself. As you all know, there were three children on the shuttle we brought aboard today. Two of them were the children of Reb and Yuna Anderson. They were obviously from another Deepwater. Because they have nowhere else to go, and are too young to be on their own, Reb and I have decided to raise them as if they were our own son and daughter. Taran and Crysta Anderson are members of the Deepwater personnel from now on. We will consider them our children." Yuna stated, not asking for, or getting, any argument. She knew this would be an interesting arrangement, to say the least, but they thought it was worth a shot, and they had been growing closer anyway.
"Well, I think congratulations are in order." said Lise.
"I'm glad they have someplace to go, now that they're orphans, in a sense." said Zak, surprising them. He wasn't normally very compassionate.
"We have agreed to split the responsibilities equally, so we should be able to handle it." said Yuna.
"You two, split anything? This will be one for the record books." declared Gret, joking. She was actually very happy for them.
"Well, we've agreed to try it. They know their way around the ship, so we shouldn't have too many safety problems. They can also do some of the crawl space work. A child could fit much better than any of us. It also never hurts to have an extra set of eyes at the scanners. We can always change something later if it isn't working out. They need a home and a family, and that's what we're going to try to give them. Now if there isn't anything else that needs to be discussed, I for one am going to get some sleep." Reb said, effectively ending the conversation.
"Before you go, I would also like to inform the crew that Bren and I have agreed to adopt the other child from the shuttle. Her name is Xena Stuart. She is the daughter of our clones, just like the Anderson children. She has advanced tactical training and will probably make a good relief worker. From now on, she is to be considered our daughter, and a member of this crew as well." Gret announced.
A moment later Reb got up and headed for the personnel quarters. "Anyone else who wants to take some down time is free to do so. Get some sleep, or just relax. That is an order, though." he said, ending with a yawn. He disappeared down the hallway.
"Okay" replied Yuna. She got up, and taking Crysta's hand, the two of them followed Reb's example. She took Crysta to her quarters, where Taran was already sleeping. She told her that she and Reb would be right next door if anything happened. She her the hypo, and tucked her in. Than she went over to Reb's quarters.
A moment later Bren and Gret got up to go back to Gret's quarters. Xena was sleeping in his. On their way out Lise stopped them. "Could I see you two in sickbay? I need to talk to you about something."
"Okay." said Gret, slightly bewildered, "Why? Have you figured out the source of today's incident?"
"Yes, I'll show you when we get there." replied Lise.
A few minutes later they arrived in sickbay. Lise walked over to a panel and tapped a few keys. An image of three DNA strands appeared on a monitor. The one in the middle appeared to be a combine of the other two. She gestured at the three DNA strands, "I just wanted to confirm what we already know. You're her parents. I also wanted to let you know that Xena has some slightly abnormal brain patterns. It's nothing dangerous. It just means that, for whatever reason, your daughter is a borderline empath/telepath. I think that is the reason for today's incident. Over all, she has very good control. She can normally shut it off completely when she wants to, I think. I don't know. I think she was just over extended." She gestured for Gret to check the genetic readout.
"She's right. For some reason Xena has a mutation on her twenty-ninth chromosome. It can't hurt her, though. That much I'm sure of." she said. Lise told them to get some sleep, and sent them to the crew quarters. They walked back to their quarters slowly, trying to accept this new information. After a moment or two Gret relaxed her death grip on Bren's arm. He put his arm around his waist and she snuggled closer.
"Don't worry, Gret. We'll figure out some way to deal with this. I just want you to know that, whatever happens, I'll always be here for you. This is a kind of unique circumstance. In fact, until now, I hadn't heard of any telepaths. I'd always hoped to have a family; I guess this will just make it more interesting. I'm glad that you're the woman I chose as my wife, I can't think of anyone better." Bren told Gret when he left her at the door to her quarters.
"Bren, where are you going? Xena's sleeping in your quarters tonight. Anyway, didn't you say something about a massage after the meeting? I could really use it." Gret said. She tried to stretch the worst of the kinks out of her back, and winced at the result.
Bren, noting her efforts, took pity on her. "All right, I'll be right back, I have to get a change of clothes for the morning." he said. He went over and quietly got what he needed. He came back and entered her quarters, pausing in the doorway to admire her decorating choices. They fit her personality exactly. He set his things down on her dresser, then walked over to where she was sitting. He sat beside her, pulling her into an embrace. She fit in his arms perfectly. And she loved the feeling of safety that being cocooned in that warmth gave her.
"I was thinking about what I said about that massage. I think that we both need to relax, but you look like a walking sgimi rope. Why don't you take your shirt off and go lie down on your bed, I'll be in in a minute." he said, hoping that it didn't sound too suggestive, because it wasn't intended to. He just wanted to make her more comfortable. She got up reluctantly, and headed for her bedroom. A moment later he followed her.
She was lying there, waiting for him. He came over and sat next to her, just admiring her dark cinnamon skin. She truly was beautiful. Then he put his hands on her back and started to work. He could feel her relax at his touch. After ten minutes, her back was softer, less rigid, and she looked more peaceful. Today's problems with Xena had taken their toll. A few minutes later he stopped. "Gret, I think you should get up before you fall asleep in that position. I wouldn't mind doing this in the morning, but I think you need to sleep well tonight. I'm going to go set up a place on the couch. We both need the rest. I'll see you in a minute to say good night, okay?" He said, knowing that if they stayed that way much longer, they would both be very sore in the morning, there was a good possibility that they wouldn't get much sleep.
"Okay, but you don't have to sleep on the couch, Bren. We can share the bed. I don't mind, as long as you don't snore. It would probably help me sleep better tonight." she responded. She got up, grabbed her night clothes, and went to the bathroom to change. When she came out a moment later, she found him changed into an old T-shirt and a pair of shorts. They showed off his athletic form quite well. She was wearing a silk aquamarine sleeveless top with matching pants. In his opinion she looked stunning.
"I meant what I said before. I don't want to spend tonight alone." she said. He nodded ascent, then they both got into the bed. He could tell that she was scared of the dreams that she knew were coming. Frankly, he wasn't looking forward to them either. He was glad to have someone to keep the nightmares away. She curled up into a ball. He slowly moved over and put his arm around her. That night, they both slept, more soundly than they had in what seemed to them an eternity.
Yuna entered Reb's quarters carrying a change of clothes and wearing her pajamas. She walked in quietly, not wanting to disturb him if he was already asleep. He wasn't. He was sitting in a chair, staring at nothing. He was already wearing his PJs, a white undershirt and some black sweatpants. She went over and put her hands over his eyes, "Any improvement?"
"Nope" he said, then he took one of her hands and kissed it gently. She scolded him softly, "Reb, I think it's time both of us went to bed. You were falling asleep on your feet an hour ago."
All right... Should I set up on the couch, or should you? Unless you want to share the bed...?"
Yuna thought for a minute, then answered, "I think I'll take m chances in the bed with you. It's safer, especially for my neck. And I think I'll sleep easier knowing exactly where you are. Come on." she said. He got to his feet, took her in his arms, and walked over to the bed. When they got into the bed, he lay down, then she lay on top of him. He put his arms around her, holding her tightly, and they both drifted of to a dreamless sleep.
Gret woke up feeling refreshed and safe. It took her a moment to realize that this was not quite normal. She realized where she was. She was lying in her bed, in the arms of a very peaceful looking Bren Stuart. They were both on their sides, and she facing away from him. He was right behind her, and they fit together perfectly. She turned, to get a better look at his face. She was surprised by the childlike innocence she saw reflected in his face. She sighed with contentment, listening to his heart beat as it echoed hers. After a moment, she decided to wake him up. She leaned over and gently placed her lips on his. His eyes opened immediately, though he made no move to pull back. He pressed back, not giving an inch. The first thing his eyes focused on were Gret's eyes. Then he realized where he was. He was in her bed, in her quarters, the day after they had met their daughter, Xena. He knew from the way that he felt that they had to have slept at least twelve hours. He also knew that he didn't want to break the moment. He was definitely enjoying the moment. Gret looked more relaxed than he'd seen her, and he liked the feel of her weight on his chest. After a moment, he pulled back, knowing that they should get up.
Gret opened her eyes again and smiled. She rolled over and sat up, slowly stretching. She was surprised to find that she had no cramped muscles. She felt better than she had since they had gotten out of Cryo. "We should probably get up and check on Xena. She shouldn't not wake up alone. I know I'm glad I didn't." she said, a sincerity in her words that he hadn't heard before. Also a warmth that felt just like it belonged there. "I have a question that's been lurking at the back of my mind, would you please give me an honest answer? If the problem with the Pandora Virus happened now, instead of six months ago, would you still be willing to go out that airlock?" she asked. She shivered, and he wrapped his arms more tightly around her shoulders hugging her close. She had been having nightmares about that incident again lately.
"If it would save your life, I would. But I wouldn't leave you alone, if there were any other alternative. I'd never leave you alone, I can't leave you without someone to share your pain, your joy with. So even though you've got Xena, she won't be the same as me. She never will, so your answer is no. Not unless it is the only way to save your life." he replied, surprising himself with his honesty. Also his feelings. He smoothed her hair back from her face, then leaned over and kissed her again. Several minutes later both broke apart regretfully.
Yuna awoke with a start. It took her a moment for her to realize what had startled her enough to wake her up. Then it hit her. There was a cool spot at her back where Reb had been lying. He had moved out from beside her and, in the process, had managed to move the sheets covering her enough to cause goose bumps to appear. She reached down to pull the sheets up when she realized that they weren't there. They had obviously been moved, intentionally to wake her up. She saw Reb, he was just about to put his shirt on, but hadn't yet. He grabbed the back of his pant, and gave a quick jerk, knocking him off balance. He tripped and came down next to her on the bed. "Reb, did you know that you're a sheet hog?" she asked. She was not quite awake, so she less defensive than normal.
He grinned mischievously, "Only when I choose to be... in this case it seemed a good way to get you up. You've been asleep more than twelve hours. We need to get back to the Command Deck. Even though it spent 500 years on autopilot, I wouldn't trust this ship for much more than twenty-four hours at a pop. You're way to hard on it when you start those wild maneuvers... "he leaned over for a quick, but involved, kiss, "We need to make sure nothing major broke down, or exploded, or collided with the ship while we were asleep. We also need to get Cryst and Taran up. I know they had a sedative, but that won't last forever. And I just decided that it's time you got up." He helped her to her feet. "Hurry up. I'm going to go wake the kids up, then take them over to habitat for some food. Join us soon, okay? I'm sure they'll want to make sure their 'mother' is still alive and functioning."
He went out the door and over to Yuna's quarters, where the two Anderson children had spent the night. He knocked gently, then let himself in using a manual bypass. He was not surprised to find both of them still asleep. He was glad, they had been under heavy stress lately and needed the sleep. He walked over and gently shook Crysta. After a moment she woke and sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She started when she realized who had woke her, then relaxed, glad to see her father. "Time to get up and get something to eat, okay? I'm willing to bet that you're hungry. Let's get Taran up, then head out. Yuna's meeting us down at habitat." he told her, then outlined the basic plan for the day. She nodded agreement, then turned and woke Taran.
Yuna spent a couple minutes that afternoon moving some of her clothing into Reb's quarters. They had decided that it would be more practical to have the each of the children in individual quarters, and the two "parents" in another. So Yuna had ended up moving in with Reb. So that night, after they had tucked the children into their beds, they both went back to Reb's quarters to get some sleep. Both were still in their day clothing when they entered, so they decided to sit and chat for a few minutes. They settled in next to each other on the couch, and began discussing the days events.
"So, did Taran end up talking you into letting him pilot solo for a few minutes?" Reb was curious as to how that argument from the afternoon had come out.
"Nope, I'm not that stupid. He is only five you know." Yuna, finally having enough that afternoon, had made the boy run a manual check on every comm link in a back console. He hadn't brought that topic up since.
"I know. I also know that you can be very persuasive when you want to be. I thought he might take after you in that respect. And, I'm not going to get into the issue of how fit a pilot he is. After all, you have become sort of famous for your wild maneuvers..." His voice had dropped down to a whisper. He leaned over and kissed her gently, but as she responded, so did he. Her arms curled around his neck and they reclined onto the couch, sinking into the cushions. All of a sudden Reb broke the kiss, he looked deep into her eyes, "Yuna, before this goes any further, I want you to know. This only goes as far as you want it to. Say the word and we can stop." In response she leaned over and kissed him more passionately than either had experienced in their short lives. It had the desired effect. He dropped his remaining prohibitions and began kissing his way down her neck. That night, they were joined together in a dance as old as the stars, yet as young as themselves.
Meanwhile Gret and Bren were taking the night watch. Neither were having trouble staying awake, so they just sat and watched the stars. After a while, however, they two started to get sleepy, so they began to talk to pass the time. "Gret, what do you think we should do about permenant quarters? Do you think we should just stick woth what we're doing now?"
"That sounds just fine to me. And I definately like the surroundings." She walked over and sat next to him just watching him.
Yuna awoke slowly, feeling relaxed and content. *This was odd for her, as her normal reaction was to snap awake* Bits and pieces began to filter in, but nothing made sense yet. There was something lying across her waist. That was the first thought that occured to her. The second was that whatever was across her waist was also against her bare skin, and it felt warm. She had no idea where her pajamas had gone, nor at the moment did she care... Even though she was sure she had worn them to bed. Bed... This wasn't her bed, it was Reb's... Then another part of her mind woke up, and the real confusion struck. Her thoughts started racing. *Arm...Who's arm?...Reb's arm...Reb's arm??...Oh my God...I'm naked...Why am I lying naked in his bed??* With that her eyes finally snapped open. She looked at the weight around her waist, and sure enough... it was Reb's arm. Then the memory of the past night came back in a rush and she found herself blushing. *Oh well... I guess this will just make life more interesting...* A few minutes later, Reb woke up, and the lives of the Deepwater Crew had forever changed.
Life continued on the Deepwater... The children were accepted, and became part of the family that was the crew. What happened later? Well that will be told once it happens :)
A sequel will be published as soon as the Dramatic season eases off out here :)