Alternity Chapter One -The Engineer

Alternity - Chapter 1

The Engineer

Ten bars later Beka, with Trance in tow, was muttering curses, and devising ways to inflict pain on her engineer. With each bar that the pair stopped at, and that her crew member was not there, the punishments became more imaginative and painful. Trance was starting to look at her in a way that suggested she was beginning to regret not taking the other route off planet. They found the wayward engineer at the eleventh bar they checked and Beka's imprecations ceased.

"That's him," said Beka pointing to a young man sitting by himself at a table littered with empty beer bottles. The subject of their search was in his late teens or early twenties, somewhat below average in height, wearing a pair of black pants and an obnoxiously loud orange shirt printed with black and green palm trees. His blonde hair was combed upward in a spiky style, apparently in an attempt to make himself look taller. What drew a viewer's attention though was the metallic device attached to the right side of his neck.

"Harper, you're late," said Beka in an exasperated tone of voice. "You were supposed to be aboard three hours ago."

"Sorry, Boss," said the obviously unrepentant engineer. "I sort of lost track of time. Hey who's that with you? She's purple!" From the slur in his voice he was several sheets into the wind.

"Once again your powers of observation astound me. Trance, the lout at the table is Seamus Zelazny Harper, the Maru's engineer. Harper, this is Trance Gemini, she'll be working passage with us to Dawkinstown Drift."

"Working off your passage. Now that presents some interesting possibilities."

Beka felt Trance step closer to her as if seeking protection, and decided to set things straight quickly. "I promised her that she could keep her clothes on, love god, and I meant it. Now get up, pay your tab, and let's get back to the Maru. I need you at least semi sober before we lift off."

As Harper got somewhat unsteadily to his feet, Trance turned slightly and her tail came into view. "Hey, you've got a tail!" he exclaimed.

"And you've got a metal thing in your neck. What is it?"

"It's a data port, I can use it to jack into a computer system and manipulate its programming with my mind. Only a genius can use one."

"Then why do you have one?"

Beka relaxed somewhat when she saw the look on her engineer's face after Trance's riposte. The girl would undoubtedly be able to fend off Harper's advances, and in truth the engineer tended to be long on talk, and short on actions when it came to women.

"He's really harmless when it comes to women," Beka told Trance as Harper walked over to the cashier to settle his tab. "He talks a lot, but every time a woman calls his bluff he runs like someone set his pants afire."

"You make him sound kind of sweet."

"He's not sweet," the Maru's captain felt she needed to explain something about her engineer before the girl's naivety got her in trouble. "He was raised on Earth. No one survives on that hellhole by being sweet. But we're family me, Rev, and him, and on Earth family is everything, it's how you survive."

"Who's Rev?"

"The Maru's sensor operator, Reverend Behemel Far Traveler, he's a Wayist monk. He stayed aboard while I went out to look for Harper."

Harper returned from settling his bill, his walk was considerably less steady than it had been en route to the cashier. As he got closer to the two women he lost his balance, and fell forward wrapping both arms around Trance in an effort to steady himself. Beka rolled her eyes heavenward and uttered a silent prayer to the Divine. Trance looked towards the older woman for guidance, and Beka mouthed the phrase "Knock it off, Harper" to her. The younger woman nodded in understanding.

"Knock it off, Harper," she said, doing her best to imitate how she imagined Beka would say it.

It worked, for he straightened himself up looking somewhat surprised. "You sound just like Beka."

"Good," she continued still attempting to imitate the Maru'scaptain. "Now start walking. We need to get you to the Maru and sobered up."

Beka nodded her head in approval upon hearing the way Trance caught Harper up. The girl would have no problems at all with her engineer on the trip to Dawkinstown.

Prologue

Chapter 2