Through the Looking Glass

Chapter 14: Convergence


"I believe in causality. That we each have multiple fates. And that every decision we face represents a branching of reality. As we make choices in life, we limit our possible realities, inevitably determining our final destinies."
-Trance Gemini, CY 10087

Bobby was wrong.

And it was that thought that made Emily wish that he had still been on board when they had been attacked by her father's ship. The look on his face when her dad, her real dad, came walking through the door would have been priceless.

"No one's ever going to be good enough for you will they? You think he's going to walk through that door? Not likely. The closest thing you're ever going to have is a step-father or nothing at all."

Bobby was wrong.

Her dad did walk through that door. He'd crouched to her level, looked at her, told her that she was his. And he had been right. They did look like each other.

Mom was right.

She really did get a lot more from her father's side then the Valentine side. He'd even shown her the genetic scan read out and explained what everything meant.

Bobby was wrong.

Her father was nothing like he said he was. He couldn't be. He took her back to her mother, he got them away from the Nietzscheans and they were back on the Maru and now on Talikov because of him. And unlike everyone else he didn't seem phased by what she was.

Half and half.

Maybe Rev Bem always had been right. Maybe there was a Divine. And he or she or it had heard her asking to see her dad. She hadn't been asking for much, a glimpse here or there but this was so much better. Maybe she'd sit in on some of Rev's meditations when he got back and listen to him more when he talked about his faith.

Starting her search around the ship, Emily knew that her father was somewhere. She had remembered something she wanted to give him and saw him heading towards the engine room when she had run to her bunk and get it. When she came back and followed his path she found only Harper staring off into space, unmoving. She tried to get his attention, but he didn't seem to hear her.
He had to have met her dad. She remembered Harper's stories about the Dragans.

Having continued to fail to get his attention, Emily made her way to a command console and brought up the surveillance footage.

Bobby was wrong.

Her eyebrows had shot up and a smile played across her mouth as she watched. Bobby had never said anything ever remotely close to the mudfoot from Earth. He had never tried being nice to Harper, not ever.

No wonder Harper wasn't moving. The poor guy couldn't believe it.

Moving from the console she hurried down the next corridor and caught a glimpse of him walking through the mess section of the Maru en route to the cockpit. Running down the corridor, Emily caught up.

"Hey um..." she said stopping a few feet away when Telemachus paused and turned to face her. "Um...what do I call you?" she asked. Was she supposed to call him 'dad' or would he want her calling him by his given name? She didn't know anything about how Nietzscheans raised their children or what they called their parents. She also hadn't known him at all until now so, was there a certain amount of time that had to go by before she could call him her dad?

Telemachus raised his eyebrow lightly before kneeling down to his child's height and placing his elbows on his knees.

She was his daughter.

He was her father.

What else would she call him?

"What else would you call me but your father?"

He watched the corner of her mouth lift in a half grin like his so often did.

"So, 'dad' then?"

Telemachus nodded and mimicked her small smile.

Dad.

He was a father to somebody. His genes lived on in this girl. She would be the first to continue the furthering of his line.

She would become the start of his legacy.

First Daughter.

There was a little nagging voice in the back of his head which almost caused him to frown, telling him that the others would never accept it. Telemachus pushed the thought aside as quickly as it had made itself known. It had been popping up on occasion ever since he had found out the girl's paternity. Just the thought of his family's reaction to the child. His child. They should just be grateful for her sole existence. Not only did it prove his virility, which had been quietly called into question by a few who had "accidentally" gone missing, but it further proved his superiority over the rest of his pride. The girl may have been half-human, but her genes were still unbelievably strong. Her mother had quite the set of chromosomes for a non-Nietzschean.

Dad.

The fact of fatherhood was still settling in for him but every time he looked at his girl he felt a strong sense of pride and accomplishment. He then realized Emily was talking.

"...and it used to be yours, mom gave it to me just a while ago but um...well, here. Mom kept it."

Telemachus narrowed his brow as he watched Emily hand over a lump of black leather. He took it in his hand suspiciously before he shook it out and held it.

An old jacket.

A small smile crept to his face as he started laughing. He recognized it now.

Mom kept it.

His old jacket. The one he threw Beka on Avilan after their second "meeting". He honestly hadn't been expecting to see it again, let alone his red headed closet siren to keep a reminder of him...well, besides Emily that is.

She had kept it. How interesting.

Before Emily knew what was happening she found herself roped with her dad's jacket and pulled into his arms. The eventual shock of his rapid movement gave way to the numbing euphoria that she was being hugged by her father. Her first hug from the Nietzschean side of herself. Struggling her arms from her side she managed to get them up and wrapped around his neck squeezing as tightly as she could. She was wondering about this, how they would be around each other, if Nietzscheans showed affection for one another. Closing her eyes, she wanted to stay like this for hours. It was a lot different than hugging Grandpa or Uncle Rafe, both more gangly than muscle. Her father was solid and he was real. The warmth of him engulfed her as she made sure to memorize what it felt like just in case it was a one time thing.

When he pulled back, she found his jacket up around her shoulders as he flicked it over her and she was completely dwarfed in it.

"Why don't you keep it safe for me?"

Emily smiled and started to say something until she was interrupted.

"Emmy?"

She looked over her father's shoulder as her mother came around the bulkhead engrossed in the datapad she held in her hand.

"Harper's on a supply run, did you want to go with him?"

"Yes!" Emily's smile got wider. Could her day get any better? She liked the supply runs onto the drifts. She really did. It gave her a look at what the rest of the universe was like and how people lived, not to mention all the different species she got to see. And Harper was fun to hang out with, though whether he'd still be in his daze from early still remained to be seen.

Giving her parents one last look, the child ran towards her bunk to deposit the jacket before running to meet Harper in the hangar.

Raising to his full height, Telemachus turned his head and saw Beka giving him an odd look before she disappeared into the cockpit.

Interesting indeed.

>>>

Harper had been able to pull himself together long enough to go get the spare parts for the Maru. He had finally shaken himself out of his daze after the Dragan had left the engine room and had been commissioned by Beka to go and get what he needed to get them space bound once again. He had compartmentalized what had happened and pushed it aside to dissect later when he had the time. Right now he would just not think of the weird Nietzschean they had taken on as crew.

He had also managed to notice that Emily was in a particularly great mood. She had had that same smile pasted on her face ever since they had left the ship. Surely she didn't like Talikov that much?

Stupid ubers. Why couldn't they have taken them to Olivares Trust? That way Vasily could have done a lot more for the Maru and they would have known they'd be getting good parts without having to barter for second rate ones. They had already picked up a quarter of what they needed to facilitate repairs and were now heading in search of that solenoid valve that needed replacing. Harper just hoped that they didn't run into Bobby while on the drift. Beka had kicked him off here and whether he was still around or if he'd got passage off to parts unknown (hopefully forever) the engineer really didn't care to know.

Harper smoldered a laugh. He had just realized how funny it'd be if Bobby and the new Nietzschean ran into each other. Ex-boyfriend meet Emily's father. He would have loved to set up a record-flexi so that he could watch Bobby's reaction again and again and again. Maybe the hothead would even start something and get his ass kicked through his head! At that mental image Harper couldn't help laughing out loud. Hell, if Emily had cracked the guy's ribs...

Harper screamed as he felt himself grabbed by the shirt and slammed into a nearby wall.

"Harper!"

"Somethin' funny kid? You laughin' at me?"

Harper stared at the hulking form of a man glaring down at him.

"Huh? What? No, of course not why would I?"

"I think you ought to be taught a lesson you little midget."

"Let him go!"

Harper closed his eyes and braced himself as the man drew back his fist. The blow Harper was expecting never came. Instead he felt himself get dropped and he saw the guy doubled over holding his knee. Thank the Divine for little half-Nietzschean girls.

"Harper come on!"

Upon seeing the man getting back up, the two took off in a dead run while being pursued. The walls of people in front of them did nothing to help their escape as their adversary gained ground on them. Finally fighting their way through the crowd, Harper and Emily found themselves face-to-wall. turning around to see the lumbering hulk six feet away and closing it came as a surprise as he tripped and fell to the ground hard.

"Oh! Oh I'm so sorry Mr. Big and Scary man, I swear I didn't see you there!"

Blinking, the two looked to see a sugary voiced woman apologizing to the man who had apparently hit his head when he fell and was out cold.

"Uh, thanks," said Emily moving closer to her.

"It happens all the time, sometimes I just can't help it, I don't ever really mean to, except on certain occasions when I have to, but most of the time I don't so it's not."

"Hey Harper, do..."Emily turned to look at Harper who was staring dazedly at the woman. "Harper?"

"Purple, sparkly babe..." whispered Harper in awe.

"Oh no, actually my name is Trance."

>>>

Why hadn't she realized it before she had asked Emily if she wanted to go with Harper? With her daughter and engineer off the ship it meant only one thing.

She was alone with Telemachus.

And that made her...uneasy. Uneasy in the way they met, uneasy about her feelings for him, and uneasy about the way he looked at her. One minute he was up on his high horse completely aloof and the next he was staring at her intently with a warmth laced with confusion...or at least that's what it looked like to Beka.

It didn't make sense to her though. None of this made sense to her. Their last conversation had been about Emily. She was worried for her daughter and had every right to be. Rafe always told her you could never trust a Nietzschean. Her father told her that, drift dealers told her that. Everyone did. Beka wanted to trust for Emily's sake, but she didn't want her child's heart to be the cost if Telemachus slaved them all, killed them, or walked out. She didn't even want to think about it.

Dropping the flexi on a console, she stood and walked out of the cockpit. There was work to do and she couldn't just hide away and do nothing. Well she supposed she could, being the Captain and all, but she liked to do some of the repairs. If she couldn't abate her stress with flying, she'd work it out by working on something.

The universe seemed to have been turned completely upside down since she had shoved Bobby off the Maru's cargo ramp. Everything had went haywire after that...and speaking of which, was Bobby even still on Talikov? If he was, she definitely wouldn't have minded pointing him out to her new Dragan.

Running her hands over her face, Beka nearly had a heart attack when she looked back in front of her and saw said Dragan standing right before her.

Jumping nearly a foot, Beka berated him, "You should not be able to move that quietly!"

"Nietzschean."

"That seems to be the excuse for everything these days."

Beka crossed her arms self-consciously. Exactly how were they supposed to act towards one another? Their first meeting had been all lust, the second was something she couldn't exactly place but there had been lust near the end most definitely, the third meeting was uncertainty, hostility, and now what? He was in her life now, her child's life, her crew's life. What were they supposed to be to each other?

Friends, enemies, co-workers...lovers? All the options had some merit to them. From everything they had experienced with one another the underlying emotion had always been want. And it still was if Beka was honest with herself. Time had definitely been good to him, and that didn't help Beka's resolve in the least. And maybe everyone was right. Maybe she did have some blind spot where he was concerned, a one time notion about a man she barely knew. Though whatever the case or his goals were he had so far ceded to her authority as Captain...but for how long?

She was just a mere 'kludge' after all, wasn't she? But wherever Telemachus was concerned, he didn't act like she expected him to. And she didn't know whether to be worried about that or not.

"I have prep work to do," she said moving past him until she felt his hand grip hers as she passed.

"It can wait."

"For what?" Becoming preoccupied with the feeling of his warm hand half wrapped in the leather of his gauntlets she failed to notice him move the rest of his body behind her until she jumped at his breath on her neck.

"A question or two."

"Abou-about what?" Beka was hit by a sudden sense of deja vu as Telemachus dipped his head into the curve of her neck and inhaled. He had done that before...

Beka yelped as she found herself spun around to meet his smirking face.

"You kept it."

"What?"

"My jacket."

Beka stared at him and gaped as she tried to figure out how he...she closed her eyes. Emily. Why didn't she just keep it in her storage locker like she had always planned to?

It was then she noticed the two hands sneaking up under her shirt. So that's what this was about. Grabbing the wrists they were attached to she tried in vain to push them away as she tried to back up.

"Okay, um you know what? I think um, that this should start out as a working relationship. You obviously have some warped notion that..."

Before she could finish, Telemachus had her pinned against the wall. A strong, muscled thigh made its way between her legs as his lips attacked hers. Her mind went blank as his tongue slid against hers as he moved their bodies together. The friction of his leg against her centre was becoming maddening.

When Telemachus broke the kiss he couldn't resist smelling her again. This time he was happy to be welcomed by her burgeoning arousal as was his growing hardness that jumped at the familiar scent.

He leaned his head down to nip at the junction between her neck and shoulder as his hands once again took up their trek underneath her shirt.

Beka groaned slightly as she bit her lip and squeezed her legs tightly around Telemachus's thigh. So good, and it could get even better...Beka's eyes snapped open. She couldn't so this now. She couldn't. After jumping out of bed with Bobby was she really willing to jump into bed with a Nietzschean so shortly after? How she could still think was beyond her but she knew she needed to say something before thought fled altogether and she found herself wrapped in nothing but his arms.

"Wait, wait, wait." She couldn't help placing a strong kiss on his warm neck before she continued. "Stop."

"What?" He asked as they came nose-to-nose.

"I can't, I can't do this." She felt one of Telemachus's hands slip out of her shirt and start to undo the buttons on her pants. She couldn't help the eager moan that escaped when the tops of his fingers skimmed about the waistline of her panties.

"You were quite willing the last time." The hand that was up her shirt finally brushed against the underswell of her right breast.

"And in case you've forgotten..." started Beka trying to ignore Telemachus and find a focus, "there's a little girl floating around here that was a result of the 'last time'."

Emily. Think of Emily. Nothing ruins the mood better than thinking about Emily. Emily. Child. Daughter. Baby. Pregnant. Conception. Sex. Telemachus. No.

"I'm sure you're on something," he nuzzled into her neck. "Humans seem to have a...preoccupation with birth control, you use sex for recreation when the rush you feel from climax is only natures way of telling you to reproduce. It's a biological stimulus that your DNA has evolved so you'll be more ready to conceive."

"Not. interested. in. another. kid." She gasped as his fingers trailed lightly over her peaked nipple.

"I'm sure something will see to that."

Telemachus roughly brought his lips down to Beka's as her stimulated body started to tingle with anticipation. A gasp was ripped from her throat as she felt a finger slide into her depths. Her hand gripped his bicep as he entered another strong digit inside of her as he stroked her slowly.

Beka's head rolled to the side allowing him to run his tongue up her neck as his strokes increased in speed and intensity. She rocked her hips hard against his hand feeling herself beginning to reach her high.

Telemachus watched Beka's breathing hitch. The reality of having her wanting him was better than the fantasies that had plagued him for the past eight years. After so long she was going to be his again. The only difference was that now he wasn't ever going to let her go. He couldn't let her haunt him again. He needed to be buried inside of her. As Telemachus stopped his ministrations and made to pull out he was surprised when Beka caught his wrist in a strong grip.

"No. Don't stop."

The command in her voice brought a pleased smile to his face as he stared into her stormy eyes. He supposed he could wait a little longer.
Crushing his mouth to hers once again, Telemachus's thumb joined the conquest as he brushed it hard against her swollen nub. Beka's movements became jerky and erratic as she thrust hard against his hand as she found her release.

Telemachus slowed his fingers until she had fully rode out her climax before removing them and placing a light kiss to her neck before breathing in deeply. Sweet and intoxicating. That's what she was.

Beka moaned softly against his shoulder as her tender apex came in contact with his thigh as he let her catch her breath between him and the wall.

Once her breathing slowed and her senses started to clear she found herself not wanting to step back into reality. It was funny how the avoidance of reality had led her to Telemachus in the first place, it had brought him into her life then but did she really want to let him in again?

She felt the pressure of his lips against hers as his tongue lightly requested entrance into the sanctuary of her mouth.

He was a puzzle to her. Demanding one minute, soft the next. She felt him wrap her legs around his waist as he lifted her off the wall and started moving them through the ship.

She'd deal with the morning after when it came. The universe could wait.

>>>

As Telemachus walked them through the Maru he left a trail of Beka's clothes in his wake. Her shirt had been the first to go, her bra had naturally come off after that. He wanted her out of her clothes by the time he reached her quarters. The pants had to wait unfortunately, though as he had planned Beka was completely naked by the time she hit the bed.

He stood at the end and watched as he let her go and she fell towards it. His eyes lingered on her pert breasts as they bounced as her weight settled on the mattress. Her legs, now bare to him held his interest as well. Long and toned, much more-so than he had imagined they'd be. He could already see them gripping his hips as he...

Telemachus groaned. No more waiting. His pants were becoming unbearable in his erect state.

>>>

Beka leaned back on her elbows as she watched the Nietzschean study her. His eyes seemed to have clouded over for the longest time. She knew she was somewhat attractive, she had attracted Telemachus the first time hadn't she? The comparative thoughts of herself against a Nietzschean woman was short lived as she watched him remove his gauntlets. As those were thrown aside she licked her lips as she watched his hands go for the hem of his shirt before he pulled it up and off, discarding it to the side as well.

She bit her lip at the groan in her throat as she felt herself dampen at the sight. She had always had a thing for bodily perfection and whether that had started before or after Avilan she didn't know, only this time she was getting to see the whole package.

He was amazing.

Shoulders, arms, chest, abs. Strong, perfect, and so definably male. Her fingers started to itch with the urge to run her hands over him, feel over every inch of skin and muscle. She swallowed hard as the rest of his clothing hit the floor and he stood bare before her.

Beautiful...and then some.

Telemachus smirked at her as he crawled slowly onto the bed, his bone blades flexed out perfectly as he moved up her body, the muscles of his shoulders stretching lazily at his languorous pace.

He dipped his head so the tip of his nose trailed against her skin. He breathed as he moved, taking in more of her scent and teasing her with the light contact. His lips grazed her naval as he continued his ascent. Moving up between the valley of her breasts he nipped at her neck before finally meeting her lips with his. He felt her feet trail against the backs of this calves and thighs as her legs parted around his hips. Her hands trembled as she moved them along his sides and stomach, up his chest and over shoulders to his arms.

Beka sighed as she felt the tip of him probe at her entrance. He rubbed himself along her wet folds before pushing inside. Her walls tensed and parted around his length until he was fully sheathed within her body.

Telemachus let out a deep breath he didn't know he was holding and sighed in utter contentment. After night after frustrating night, he was finally exactly where he wanted to be. The heat from her pulsing channel sent electricity to the base of his spine. He would have her screaming and spasming around him soon enough.

Drawing back, Telemachus thrust into her hard and sharp setting the pace of his quick thrusts into her slick heat. There was time to go slow later, right now he just wanted to claim what was his and to quiet the obsession that followed him for almost a decade.

Beka's nails dug into his shoulders as she bucked against him, trying to bring him in deeper every time he penetrated her. Her muscles tightened around him causing them both to groan at the sensation. His body pressed hard against hers as their sweat mingled together. Telemachus's tongue brushed over her collarbone before he moved down to capture a nipple in his mouth. Beka's legs tightened around his waist as the pressure on her nipple sent shockwaves to her overheated core. Switching between sucking and biting, Telemachus brushed his tongue over her once again before attacking her neck with his teeth and tongue.

Beka alternated from rubbing up his back to running her nails hard down the muscled expanse leaving red welts in her wake. She could feel herself reaching her peak and screamed aloud when he reached between them and rolled her clit between his fingers.

Beka's orgasm rippled through her body as Telemachus intensified his thrusts against the restraint of her tightening channel. Her taut inner muscles contracted around him and he finally felt himself growl his own release as his seed shot deep inside her body.

With his breathing coming out in harsh pants, Telemachus resisted the urge to collapse on top of her unconsciously knowing that she couldn't possibly support his weight. Rolling them onto the side, one of Beka's legs draped over his hip as his member softened inside of her.

He slowly ran his hand along her thigh and over her hip before placing his arm around her back and pulling her closer to him as their breathing evened out.

A deep rumble erupted from his throat as Beka's arms tightened around his chest and she snuggled into the crook of his neck drifting into a light sleep.

Brushing her hairline with his lips, Telemachus slid out of her and turned to lie on his back bringing Beka close to his side. A light smirk played on his face as he deeply inhaled the air around them.

Much better.

It was know his scent that would permeate the room, his scent that would linger on the sheets and cling to Beka's skin. The scent of their sweat born of new sex completely rid the room of the stale scent of another male.

Marking new territory was always fun. As was taking back what was his.