A Game of Go

[Lonewolf89]

This is my first Andromeda fic here so be nice!

A Game of Go:

When Dylan invites Harper to play a game of Go with him he's surprised at just how good Harper is.

Time Frame: This takes place during the middle of season one.

Dylan was wandering through the Andromeda late one night. He had spent the last two hours tossing and turning and finally he had decided to take a walk around. There had been a day when these hallways would have been bustling with activity, despite the late hour. But now, things were different. Now, Dylan was the only remnant of that golden era when the known worlds had enjoyed peace and prosperity.

"Care for some company, Captain?" Rommie asked, flickering into existence in front of him.

Dylan stopped, "Sorry Rommie, but right now-"

"I wasn't talking about me, Dylan," she said, cocking her head, "I was talking about Harper. He's still awake and I thought you might like me to call him up."

"Uh, no thank you Rommie." Dylan started to continued his walk but stopped and looked back at holo Rommie, "Just where is Mister Harper?"

Rommie gave him a slight smile, "In the Eureka Maru's hanger."

"Thanks."

~~~~~

"Hello, Mister Harper," Dylan said as he stepped into the hanger deck."

"Hey there, boss," Seamus Harper said, crawling out from underneath Beka Valentine's ship. "I thought I was the only insomniac onboard," he added with grin.

"After six days of negotiation with the Than my head hurts too much to sleep," Captain Hunt replied as he placed his fingertips against the sides of his head.

"Tell me about it," Harper sympathyzed, "I still can't figure out how you could tell them apart. They all looked the same to me."

"Years of practice," Dylan replied, sitting down on a crate as he watched Harper scuttle up the side of the Maru and weld a new piece of hull plating to it. Beka's ship had taken a beating the day before, it didn't really surprise him to learn that Harper was already trying to repair it.

"In the mood for a short break, Mister Harper?" Dylan asked suddenly.

Harper pushed his protective goggles up a little so he could see Dylan better. "What'd you have in mind boss? A late night on the town?" he asked mischievously.

"Actually I was wondering if you'd mind joining me in a game of Go."

~~~~~

Harper looked around him carefully. He had only been in Dylan's quarters a few times, and then it was usually just to leave a report or fix something the High Guard captain had managed to break. Being invited in for some recreation was a whole other thing. He felt like he was being invited into someone's private museum. Everything there was over three hundred years old and by todays standards, priceless.

"Have a seat, Mister Harper," Dylan said, motioning for him to sit down across from him. Harper slid into a chair facing the Go board and watched as the captain placed the game pieces on their squares.

"Have you played before?" Dylan asked casually as he placed the last one down.

"Once or twice," Harper replied after a pause.

"I've been trying to get Tyr to play with me but he's usually doing something," Dylan said, moving a white piece up a space.

"Buffing up or reading no doubt," Harper mumbled, making his move.

Dylan laughed, and made a counter maneuver. He paused for a moment to make sure he had done what he really wanted to do, then sat back and waited for the engineer. Harper considered his positioning and then placed his black piece between two of Dylan's white. The captain raised his eyebrows and looked at the board carefully. He had expected a win against Harper to be easy, obviously he had been wrong.

After ten more minutes of play Dylan had gone from surprised to shocked. Already Harper had managed to predict every move he made and he knew the younger man was about to come in for the kill.

"Where did you learn to play so well?" he asked, making a vain attempt to fend off Harper's attacks.

"Here and there," the engineer said evasively as he shifted in his seat.

"I thought I was good," Dylan continued, hoping to get some more information, "You know, Rhade was the only person who could ever beat me at this game."

"He was pretty good, huh?" Harper asked, easily picking up on Dylan attempt to gather intel.

"One of the best," Hunt replied, looking over at Harper. He had never really looked at his new engineer. He had never paid much attention to any of his engineers. They were a breed unto themselves. No matter how different they might have been personality wise, engineers still held a few similarities. They just had a way about them, an attitude that was so distinct that you could easily pick them out in a crowd. Dylan, although well versed in all the sections of his ship, had never had a passion for the mechanical the way people like Harper did.

"Go," Harper announced suddenly. Dylan looked at the board quizzically. He was about to dispute Harper's claim of victory when he spotted it. Sure enough, the short young man had won... and Dylan had lost.

"Great game boss," Harper said, bouncing up from his chair as he pulled on his tool belt again, "Thanks for the invite."

Dylan wanted to ask him how he had learned to play so well. After all, Harper had grown up on Earth, the backside of the known worlds. But he could see from the look in the engineer's eyes that he would never get an answer.

"Any time, Mister Harper. It's good to know there's a decent player around here."

Harper smiled, suddenly realizing Dylan wasn't going to drill him for answers. "Maybe I'll stop in tomorrow and give you a rematch."

Dylan smiled back at him, "You're on."