Beka slowly walked out of the Maru and was taken aback when she saw the drift. Most places she went to would be lively, with bars, men picking up women, women picking up men, lots of talking and so on. This one though, was really quiet, and there weren’t that many people. She shook her head and went up to a man. He wasn’t the type she’d normally talk to, he looked old and smelled strongly of alcohol. However, he was the nearest person, and Beka didn’t have time to be prejudiced.
“I need parts, and I’m also looking for salvaging or cargo jobs.” The man chuckled and turned around. Beka frowned. “Excuse me,” she said louder, “I’m talking to you.” The man turned around and grinned at her, his yellow rotting teeth putting her off any hunger she might have been feeling.
“We’re all looking for things,” he said in a throaty voice. “But I think this might not be where you find what you’re looking for.” He chuckled again and turned away from her. Beka rolled her eyes. He was obviously mad. She walked around a little, but anyone she tried to talk to would either ignore her or point her to the wrong people. Eventually she sank down at the bar. The bartender came up to her.
“Did you find anyone then?” he said, sounding rather interested. He’d pointed her to someone earlier, who turned out to be the wrong person. She shook her head.
“No, not yet,” she sighed. “Why is this place so quiet?” He glanced at her.
“Oh, it’s not that quiet, but it’s still daytime. You see nobody lives here, it’s only people who come here at night to…play. Believe me, in the night this place lives up a bit.” He gave a quiet, throaty laugh.
“What do you do then?” she asked. He laughed out loud.
“Oh, I wouldn’t stay here at night,” he said. “It might seem boring, but I prefer boring to…” he paused. “Well, what are you having?” Beka frowned.
“To what?” she said. His face darkened.
“Look,” he said, in a much more hostile voice. “I’m not your friend, I work here. If you want any more questions answered, you’ll need to buy something.” Beka thought quickly. She already had too little money for her parts, and it wasn’t worth spending what little she had on things she didn’t need. Even if it meant finding out things about the drift. After all, if she couldn’t find someone to help her, she’d leave anyway. What did she care about the stupid drift? She got up and shook her head. The bartender snarled and turned to another customer. Well, the other customer, actually. Beka walked around a little bit more, trying to find someone who looked a bit serious. Eventually she sat down on the floor.
“I’ll have to find another drift,” she thought, sighing. “I just hope the Maru will survive there without new parts.” She shrugged. “I guess I have no choice. Moving around is probably a good idea anyway. I wouldn’t want Andromeda to track me down.” She blinked away the tears forming in her eyes as she thought of her friends, and the stupid, stupid argument that had separated her from them in the first place.
“I’m back,” said over the comm, giggling slightly. She hadn’t told anyone she was leaving, but it had been a last-minute thing. She’d been on a routine mission, only an hour or so, when she’d met an old friend from when her dad was still alive. She’d gone with him to meet some other friends, and time had gone quickly. It had now been two days, but hey! It wasn’t like she was a prisoner. She was free to go wherever she wanted right? Besides, she hadn’t seen him for nearly ten years, Dylan could hardly blame her for spending a couple of days catching up. Or maybe he could…Dylan’s angry face turned up on her screen.
“Beka, where the hell have you been?” he said in an angry voice. Beka’ s smile faded.
“Relax Dylan. I met an old friend ok?” He shook his head.
“I’ll talk to you when you’re here.” She shrugged, and went to land the Maru in Andromeda’s hangar bay. When she came out, Dylan was waiting for her. He didn’t seem to have calmed down at all.
“What did you think you were doing Beka?” he said in a dangerous voice. “We’ve been looking for you, we've been worried sick.” Beka took a step back. She didn’t like the sound of this.
“Hey, relax,” she tried, “I just met an old friend and didn’t think to contact you. I haven’t seen him for years and…” Dylan exploded.
“You can’t just do whatever you want whenever you feel like it!” he roared. “I’ve told you this before, you don’t have the right to just go away like that.” Beka’s eyes turned to slits. She wasn’t about to let him tell her what she could and couldn’t do.
“When we first came here,” she said in a hostile voice, “I thought I made it clear we weren’t about to be some perfect commonwealth crew. I don’t have a contract with you, hell, you don’t even pay me to be here. I can leave whenever I want, and as far as I know, that hasn’t changed.” Dylan didn’t look very defeated.
“Maybe,” he said, “you can leave whenever you want, but as long as you’re here I expect you to follow my orders.” Beka spoke again, before she even knew what she was saying.
“Well,” she said, “no point in me being here then, is it? You’ve made your feelings on the matter clear. I’m leaving.” Dylan’s eyes widened.
“Beka, you don’t mean that,” he said in a completely different voice, “you made a mistake, that doesn’t mean you have to leave!” Beka was so worked up she didn’t even notice the doors opening.
“Yes I do!” she snarled, “there’s no point in me staying here. There’s nothing in it for me anymore, is it? Goodbye Dylan, and good luck with your commonwealth.” She heard a gasp and turned her head. Harper was standing there.
“You’re…leaving,” he said, disbelieving. Normally, that would have made Beka realise what she was doing, but not at that time. She turned around, engaged the Maru’s thrusters…
Beka wiped off the tears that were running down her cheeks. After she’d calmed down she’d realised how stupid she’d been. A stupid little argument, and now she’d lost everything. Her whole life. She looked around her. The place was starting to get more filled up, and she wasn’t about to stay and find out what happened in the night-time on this drift.
“I’ll have to try my luck somewhere else,” she thought, quickly standing up. The quicker she could get on with her life, the quicker she could forget about the Andromeda. As she went past the bar, the bartender gave her a glance.
“I think finding parts is going to be the least of your problems, darling,” he said and grinned at her. She frowned.
“What the hell are you talking about?” she said. She wasn’t in the mood for games. He nodded in another direction, and she looked and gasped.
The Maru. It was gone.