Ah, at last, Volume 2! A new set of adventures for our beloved
Seamus Harper...heh. At least, I hope they're interesting enough to be called
'adventures'. I cannot thank those who have reviewed-both on fanfiction.net
and on Ex Isle-enough. This humble fifteen year old is eternally grateful!
::Bows lowly before all reviewers:: You are all really too kind. Ok,
enough jabber, you know the drill:
Disclaimer: I own none of these characters (sob) except for a few that I made up. All of the Andromeda characters are owned by someone far luckier then me. (Sigh) I'm just being creative with them...
Pronunciation: The Irish names, meanings, spellings, and pronunciations are all correct, as far as I know.
Bronagh (Bro-nah)
Kaleigh (Kay-lee)
Eoin (Owe-in)
Declan (Deck-lawn)
Siobhan (Shiv-an)
Volume 2: Chapter 1
Passing Faces
Ages 16-17
It was cold. Shivering, Seamus pulled the tattered blanket around him tighter, trying to drain as much warmth from it as possible. His head ached, and he wondered if he was getting sick. This alarmed him enough that he sat up, feeling his forehead for clamminess or a fever. Relief spread through him as he remembered that he had been drinking the night before, which would explain the headache. Of course, he'd been drinking every night for the past four months since Kylie's death. It was the only thing he could get; clean water had become as rare as decent food since the Magog attacks had increased on the refugee camps. Nietzscheans needed the water for their wounded, but they seemed to enjoy letting the kludges get their hands on alcohol. Some people made their own as well, but if the taste didn't kill you, then it was quite possible that the ingredients would.
"Seamus! Get your ass up, we've got work to do!" A tall, pudgy man kicked one of Seamus' legs.
"Yeah yeah...that's 'Mr. Freakin Genius' to you," Seamus muttered under his breath. His boss, Cal, didn't hear him, which was lucky. Although he had no qualms about stating his opinions, Cal didn't always appreciate hearing them and Seamus didn't feel like going another month without rations.
He pulled himself up off the ground, groaning. Another day in the beautiful life of a genius mechanic. By some strange miracle of fate, Seamus had survived the fever that had killed Kylie; the irony was not lost on him. When he'd recovered enough to talk coherently, he'd gone in search of Brendan. There had been no sign of him at all, and Seamus had been starting to worry that something had happened to him. Among his investigations however, Seamus had met Cal. Cal was a kludge who was privileged enough to run one of the Nietzschean repair shops. He was smart, but the only thing he cared about was money. The parts he sold were often of better quality than the ones Nietzscheans liked to sell to species they felt were underneath them, such as other 'kludges' and so his business had thrived. When he had met Seamus however, and had had him demonstrate his abilities, he'd hired him on the spot. There was little pay involved; despite being pretty much the only repairman, Seamus only received food, some type of drink, usually beer, and a place to sleep, (the floor of the shop). Having nowhere else to go, Seamus accepted the job.
He regretted it often though. Despite his joy at being able to use tools he'd never dreamed of touching when he was younger, Seamus hated not being allowed to simply make things. All he was allowed to do was repair. Oh yes, and deliver, because Cal was a member of a local 'protection agency' as they liked to call themselves. Cal always sent Seamus to their rendezvous points so that if they were ever caught, Cal could blame Seamus. Usually his best work went to them, to Seamus' annoyance. He preferred giving them to ship owners who were desperately afraid that they would never be able to get off the hell hole of a planet for lack of decent and payable parts. He enjoyed proving them wrong and seeing the looks on their faces when he'd installed the parts and the ships worked better than they had in years; it was the only thing that kept him from quitting.
"Hurry up Seamus! We've got a lotta orders today!" Cal called again gruffly. Yawning, Seamus followed him down the rickety stairs. Ignoring Cal's other attempts to talk to him; he walked out the back door to the renovation lot, as he nicknamed it.
For the next four hours of the day Seamus was busy putting together a list of parts. They were so simple that his mind drifted as he worked. He liked to think of the small house in the country, Dunwich, where he and his family had used to live, when his work became too dull...
"Trips by the heel! Trips by the heel!" Brendan taunted the five year old Seamus, who was crying.
"Mom! Make him stop!" Seamus whined to his mother. Bronagh, sitting on the ground and bent over a torn pair of pants, only laughed kindly.
"I'm sorry Seamus, I wouldn't have told him what your name meant if I knew it would upset you so much," The two boys made faces at each other until Bronagh shooed Brendan away, telling him his mother needed his help with the chores. When he had gone, Seamus walked over and sat by his mother, watching her work.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of footsteps on the junk- covered ground. Looking up, he saw a man walking towards him. Figuring it was a customer, although it was a little earlier than most showed up, Seamus stood and walked towards the man. He almost held out his hand in greeting, than thought better of it as he eyed the person in front of him. The man was wearing a large, ragged blanket designed as a poncho, with torn trousers and moccasin like shoes. He was extremely thin, with a wasted look, and his hair was so gray it was nearly silver. To Seamus' eye, he didn't look like someone he wanted to be exchanging germs with.
"Welcome to Cal's repair shop. You want something fixed, you'd better talk to the boss 'imself, Cal's up at headquarters," He grinned as he said these last words and stuck a thumb towards the small building behind him. The man didn't answer, only stared at him.
"Are you Seamus Harper?" Taken aback, Seamus didn't skip a beat. The more customers Cal got, the more he got to eat.
"The one and only. I see you've heard of me; unsurprising. Well, whatever you got I can fix it-or rebuild it altogether, whichever you need," He boasted, although something in the man's eye made him falter. Why was he staring at him like that?
"My god Seamus, is it really you? I thought for sure you were dead," The man took a step towards him, but Seamus moved back, holding up his hands to ward him away.
"And just who are you?" He asked, pointedly looking him up and down. The man smiled and stopped walking towards him.
"It's me Seamus; your Uncle Eoin, your mother's older brother," Seamus dropped the tool he'd been holding and stared at the man. How could this shrunken, ill looking man be the tall strong uncle he remembered? Then he looked at his eyes, and knew the man was speaking the truth.
"Uncle-Uncle Eoin?" As the man nodded, Seamus felt tears come into his eyes, and the two embraced tightly. Checking over his shoulder cautiously, Seamus made sure Cal wasn't nearby, and then sat down, pulling Eoin with him. Slowly, Eoin told him all that had happened since Seamus' parents had taken him to the refugee camp.
"After Siobhan and Declan died, Cassie wasn't the same. We tried to survive out in the country on our own, but there was hardly anyone else around. Most people had already left for the camps. She refused to leave her children though. Finally the magog came again," Eoin said this part bitterly, and Seamus stared at the ground, fiddling with the part he was supposed to be fixing. "They killed her; I guess I should be grateful they didn't infest her too. So I buried her next to our children, and left for the refugee camps, figuring I could at least be with the rest of my family. Only I couldn't find any of you. A few months ago I was near the dock and I heard some spacers talking about how surprised they were to have gotten their ship in perfect shape on a place like Earth. They said something about a kid with skills in engineering, called Seamus, or something," Eoin looked up and smiled at his nephew proudly, and Seamus grinned sheepishly. "So I decided to look for you...and here I am!"
The two embraced again, Seamus felt tears in his eyes. At last, he finally wasn't alone anymore. He told Eoin about not knowing where Brendan was, and started to explain all that had happened since he'd arrived, when he was shoved roughly into the ground.
"Hey you lazy piece a crap, I hired you to work, not sit around gabbing all day," Cal's drunken voice said. Eoin stood up in anger, but Seamus quickly got back on his feet and gave him a placating look.
"Look, I finish work at night; we can talk then, ok?" He said, ignoring Cal's threats to keep him working all night too. Eoin nodded, hugged him, and cast a fierce glare at Cal, probably knowing that it would only do Seamus harm to kill his employer, rather than good.
"Now then, get down to the dock; I got some clients who are stranded." Seamus turned and scowled at the pudgy man.
"What the hell ya mean 'stranded' ain't nobody stupid enough to get stuck down here," Cal cuffed him on the head.
"They broke their damn slipstream drive, idiot," Cal said, smirking. They entered the building and Cal threw Seamus his tool belt. Seamus' eyes were wide. Fixing an entire slipstream drive could earn him a lot of money. He was about to walk out when he felt Cal grab his arm and spin him around, staring down into the shorter man's eyes.
"You listen to me boy, don't you dare mess this up fo' me! Don't you dare do anything stupid, ya got that?" Confused, Seamus pulled himself away and sneered.
"Yeah yeah, I got it," Rolling his eyes, he turned and left, practically feeling the man's eyes bore into his back, he strolled off towards the docks, glad at the chance to see the ships. What Cal didn't know was that at the first opportunity, Seamus planned on sneaking onto one and never coming back. Cal thought Seamus had the implant that everyone else did that kept them from leaving without permission. So Seamus was in a fairly good mood, considering, as he approached the docks carrying a large box of various tools, including his belt, and scanning the ships, trying to guess which one he was supposed to work on. A Nietzschean approached him, turning Seamus' blood cold, but he didn't move. The Nietzschean inquired about Seamus' business at the docks and he explained he was on a job for Cal. Showing the Nietzschean his pass, he was scanned so that his 'chip' wouldn't activate so that he could go onto the ships for repairs. Then he was directed to the bay his client was docked at.
His thoughts were still on his Uncle Eoin and Brendan when he heard a loud voice say,
"Oh no. You have got to be kidding me! Where is that bastard Cal...please tell me you're just helping the real engineer carry his things?" Scowling, Seamus turned to see who had spoken. He started to shoot back a reply angrily, then bit his tongue-literally-when he saw the person. Before him stood a woman taller than him-but most people were-with with red hair to her shoulders and piercing blue eyes. Her arms were crossed, and her clothes, while in far better condition than his, did look worn. She had a long sleeved red shirt on and long black pants, with a coat over everything. No doubt she'd been warned against carrying germs onto any clothing she valued. She was eyeing him up and down, clearly not pleased with what she saw. "Well?" She prompted him in that same condescending tone. Seamus felt annoyed. Setting down the heavy box, he crossed his own arms and matched her glare for glare.
"Look, lady, if you asked for Cal, then most likely you heard he was the best." She didn't exactly nod, but he could tell he was right. "Well, I'm the reason he's the best." He said this last part proudly and rightly so, but she just laughed.
"Listen kid, I'm on a cargo run. I don't have time for this. My next meal depends on getting my ship fixed, and I need it fixed right, and quickly. Now go back to your boss and tell him to send me a real engineer or the deals off." She turned away from him, and Seamus almost walked off in disgust. Almost, but his next meal, not to mention the use of his limbs, depended on getting her ship fixed as well. So he ignored her, walking right up to her ship and eyeing it. Since she still hadn't turned to look back at, thinking he had already left, he went ahead and picked up his tools, then started up the walkway.
"Get off my ship," He heard the sound of a gun turned on and he turned to slowly see the woman aiming straight at him.
"Lady, give me a chance and I can turn this piece of junk into something that can make it through slipstream without falling apart. If you don't like what I'm doing, you can always send me to the Nietzscheans," The woman didn't look convinced, and seemed to consider just shooting him anyway, but at last she re-holstered her gun and sighed.
"Well at least you speak coherently. Most of you mud foots can't even pronounce slipstream," Seamus almost grinned, saying
"Yeah well, my mom-"then he cut himself off. He didn't owe her any explanations, that was for sure. She looked puzzled, but when he didn't continue, she jerked her head towards her ship.
"Get to work then," As he entered, she added, "And her name is the Eureka Maru. You damage her and I'll hang your head on the wall for decoration." He gave her a look which said he wasn't sure she was joking, but she didn't feel like explaining it to him. As she followed him onto the ship, he set the box of tools down with a thunk, and made his version of a sweeping bow to the interior of the ship.
"A pleasure ta meet ya, Eureka Maru, I'm the Almighty Genius Engineer, also known as Seamus Zelazny Harper." Suddenly remembering her manners, when Seamus turned to ask her where the engine room was, she said quickly.
"I'm Captain Beka Valentine, by the way, Seamus," She said his name awkwardly, and he only nodded. Then she led the way to the slipstream drive, all the way telling him exactly what she would do to him if he cheated her or messed up the Maru's systems. Finally, as he had just lay down and started to work, he snapped,
"Sorry to interrupt, Captain Valentine, but I can't keep working with you distracting me. I promise I won't mess with your precious ship, I already told ya that." Seeing she was still doubtful, and tired of having her hovering around him while he tried and worked, Seamus snapped. "If you don't believe me, send me back to Cal, all you have to do is tell him I was screwing up and he'll hand me over to the Ubers-after taking his anger out on me of course-and they'll have me on a slaver faster than you can say 'No fair'. So please, if you don't want to believe that I don't have the capabilities to fix your ship, at least believe that I have a lot more to lose if I don't at least try," That said, he returned to his work and ignored her. She appeared to hesitate, but at last she turned and stalked out of the room. Seamus sighed with relief; glad he was alone at last.
As the day wore on into night, Beka became concerned. What was that mudfoot doing to her ship? Returning to the engine room, she found him gone from the slipstream drive and fiddling with the control panels to the life support systems. Angry at herself for being an idiot, she sprinted over to him and pushed him to the ground, her gun already out and pointed at him.
"What the HELL are you doing?!" She said angrily, pushing the gun's tip to an inch from his chest. Staring at the gun, Seamus gulped, although a small, small part of him wondered if it wouldn't just be better to be shot quickly. Certainly it would be a better death than what the magog or ubers would hand out. Then he remembered Brendan and Eoin, and these thoughts were driven from his mind.
"I'm sorry, I know I should have asked first, it's just...I finished the slipstream drive, it wasn't too bad off you know, and I took a look at some of the other systems. A lot of them are in a bad fix, so I figured I'd go ahead and take care of them," He glanced from the gun to Beka's face and back again nervously.
"Yeah, and then your boss can charge me extra, is that it? You sure are lucky Bobby's sick and sleeping, or you'd be dead by now."
"If you don't believe me, take a look at them yourself! And who's Bobby?"
"My boyfriend, not that it's any mudfoot's business. Now stand up." A little disappointed to find that she was taken, but only a little since he could tell she was older than him by more than a year, he stood up, still staring at the gun. Not moving her hand holding the gun, Beka scanned the screen with the life support data. Running through the information, her look first turned to that of surprise, than softened as she realized she was still threatening him with death. Lowering the gun, she smiled ever so slightly.
"See?" Seamus said, not being able to keep a smirk from his face. Beka's smile turned into a frown as she returned her gun to her side.
"Well what should I think you were doing, holed up in my engineering rooms for the whole day," At her last words, Seamus turned, if it was possible, pale.
"What? You mean I've been here the whole day?" Confused, Beka nodded.
"Holy crap, I gotta get back!" Not only would Cal be angry he had been gone so long, what if Eoin showed up and Seamus wasn't there to explain about him? Beka still looked confused and followed when Seamus quickly gathered his tools and ran back off the ship.
"Hey!" Beka called after him. Seamus paused and turned to look back at her.
"How much of the deal do you get paid?" She asked quietly, thoughts forming in her head. Seamus just laughed, shaking his head.
"My pay's given in food in clothing, obviously," Obviously indeed, Beka thought, looking at his ragged clothing and too skinny frame. Shaking these thoughts from her mind, she continued,
"Well, if you can come back and fix up the Maru some more, I'll pay you directly." Seamus looked stunned. "It won't be much, if I was rich I'd have paid the Nietzscheans to do it," She felt it was only fair to make this part clear. Beka almost couldn't make out his nod in the fading light, and then he turned and continued to run. Rubbing her temple, she walked back inside.
"I'm sorry, I lost track of time!"
"Don't talk back to me! You want me to throw you back out on the streets so you can starve to death?!" Cal screamed, swinging another fist at Seamus. He tried to duck, but lost his balance and got hit on the side of his jaw instead. Kicking him to the floor, Cal hissed, "What have I always told you? Time is money! I had another client expecting you this evening! You're not supposed to take the whole day to finish a job. A few hours a day for a couple of weeks is what makes money, boy," He ground his foot into Seamus' shoulder. Wincing, he tried to shove Cal away, but the man was much bigger than Seamus. After another hour of this 'lecture' Cal at last let Seamus climb to his feet and stumble up the stairs. There he found Eoin waiting for him silently.
"You alright?" Eoin caught Seamus chin and lifted it up in the light, examining the dark bruises starting to form there. Jerking away, Seamus nodded sullenly. "Well, whether you are or not, I've got something that'll cheer you up," Confused, Seamus gave him a puzzled look.
"Hey there cousin," He heard a deep voice say. Scarcely daring to believe it, Seamus whirled around to see Brendan emerge from a darkened corner. "Long time no see," Without another sound they embraced. Seamus was dumbfounded; how had Uncle Eoin found him so quickly? Not that he cared; soon the three of them were exchanging stories. Apparently Brendan had been looking for Seamus too, but when he heard he'd been taken to the labs, he'd sadly given him up for dead. For the past year he'd been on the outskirts of the city, working for a new group of gang members. Word had reached him of two escapees from the labs and he'd been hopeful enough to think one of them might have been Seamus, so he returned to look for him. Eoin had found him earlier that morning.
Finally, after many hours, the two older men convinced Seamus that he'd need his sleep to be able to work tomorrow. The three made beds on the floor and settled in. Seamus couldn't remember the last time he'd been so happy-probably not since he and Kylie had escaped.
Just as he was starting to fall asleep, it occurred to him that for almost an entire day, Seamus had been on a ship: and not once had he tried to escape, either by hiding or pleading with that woman-Beka-to help him run away. Not understanding what that might mean, he rolled over and went to sleep.
End of Volume 2: Chapter 1
Wow, I had so meant to make this longer. Word says it's eight pages long, and maybe if I drag all of this out I can make three volumes as I had first intended to do. I hope it wasn't too boring. I also apologize for not introducing Bobby; I have never 'met' his character and honestly I'm confused about him. All fan fiction writers depict him as a real jerk, which I can believe, and Harper obviously never liked him, but in the book (Destruction of Illusions) Beka calls him an idealist, always the one going on missions. So I'm still debating how to have his character be. Any advice is welcome.
Oh yes, that little flashback..hehe.. I just inserted it to reveal that, according to the Irish name website I was looking at, the name 'Seamus' really does mean, "trips by the heel," kinda fitting, isn't it? Another piece of interesting information; my older sister was a big Star Trek fan and she has this big encyclopedia of every single character in the series that was given a name. Out of curiosity, I looked through the 'H' section, and there was a character with the last name Harper! And he was an engineer! (Granted, I think he died in the same episode he first appeared in, he was only a very minor character, but still!) Ok, I've rambled on long enough. Please be kind enough to let me know what you think of this. All of my thanks, Luna Sealeaf Runicprincess@aol.com
Disclaimer: I own none of these characters (sob) except for a few that I made up. All of the Andromeda characters are owned by someone far luckier then me. (Sigh) I'm just being creative with them...
Pronunciation: The Irish names, meanings, spellings, and pronunciations are all correct, as far as I know.
Bronagh (Bro-nah)
Kaleigh (Kay-lee)
Eoin (Owe-in)
Declan (Deck-lawn)
Siobhan (Shiv-an)
Volume 2: Chapter 1
Passing Faces
Ages 16-17
It was cold. Shivering, Seamus pulled the tattered blanket around him tighter, trying to drain as much warmth from it as possible. His head ached, and he wondered if he was getting sick. This alarmed him enough that he sat up, feeling his forehead for clamminess or a fever. Relief spread through him as he remembered that he had been drinking the night before, which would explain the headache. Of course, he'd been drinking every night for the past four months since Kylie's death. It was the only thing he could get; clean water had become as rare as decent food since the Magog attacks had increased on the refugee camps. Nietzscheans needed the water for their wounded, but they seemed to enjoy letting the kludges get their hands on alcohol. Some people made their own as well, but if the taste didn't kill you, then it was quite possible that the ingredients would.
"Seamus! Get your ass up, we've got work to do!" A tall, pudgy man kicked one of Seamus' legs.
"Yeah yeah...that's 'Mr. Freakin Genius' to you," Seamus muttered under his breath. His boss, Cal, didn't hear him, which was lucky. Although he had no qualms about stating his opinions, Cal didn't always appreciate hearing them and Seamus didn't feel like going another month without rations.
He pulled himself up off the ground, groaning. Another day in the beautiful life of a genius mechanic. By some strange miracle of fate, Seamus had survived the fever that had killed Kylie; the irony was not lost on him. When he'd recovered enough to talk coherently, he'd gone in search of Brendan. There had been no sign of him at all, and Seamus had been starting to worry that something had happened to him. Among his investigations however, Seamus had met Cal. Cal was a kludge who was privileged enough to run one of the Nietzschean repair shops. He was smart, but the only thing he cared about was money. The parts he sold were often of better quality than the ones Nietzscheans liked to sell to species they felt were underneath them, such as other 'kludges' and so his business had thrived. When he had met Seamus however, and had had him demonstrate his abilities, he'd hired him on the spot. There was little pay involved; despite being pretty much the only repairman, Seamus only received food, some type of drink, usually beer, and a place to sleep, (the floor of the shop). Having nowhere else to go, Seamus accepted the job.
He regretted it often though. Despite his joy at being able to use tools he'd never dreamed of touching when he was younger, Seamus hated not being allowed to simply make things. All he was allowed to do was repair. Oh yes, and deliver, because Cal was a member of a local 'protection agency' as they liked to call themselves. Cal always sent Seamus to their rendezvous points so that if they were ever caught, Cal could blame Seamus. Usually his best work went to them, to Seamus' annoyance. He preferred giving them to ship owners who were desperately afraid that they would never be able to get off the hell hole of a planet for lack of decent and payable parts. He enjoyed proving them wrong and seeing the looks on their faces when he'd installed the parts and the ships worked better than they had in years; it was the only thing that kept him from quitting.
"Hurry up Seamus! We've got a lotta orders today!" Cal called again gruffly. Yawning, Seamus followed him down the rickety stairs. Ignoring Cal's other attempts to talk to him; he walked out the back door to the renovation lot, as he nicknamed it.
For the next four hours of the day Seamus was busy putting together a list of parts. They were so simple that his mind drifted as he worked. He liked to think of the small house in the country, Dunwich, where he and his family had used to live, when his work became too dull...
"Trips by the heel! Trips by the heel!" Brendan taunted the five year old Seamus, who was crying.
"Mom! Make him stop!" Seamus whined to his mother. Bronagh, sitting on the ground and bent over a torn pair of pants, only laughed kindly.
"I'm sorry Seamus, I wouldn't have told him what your name meant if I knew it would upset you so much," The two boys made faces at each other until Bronagh shooed Brendan away, telling him his mother needed his help with the chores. When he had gone, Seamus walked over and sat by his mother, watching her work.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of footsteps on the junk- covered ground. Looking up, he saw a man walking towards him. Figuring it was a customer, although it was a little earlier than most showed up, Seamus stood and walked towards the man. He almost held out his hand in greeting, than thought better of it as he eyed the person in front of him. The man was wearing a large, ragged blanket designed as a poncho, with torn trousers and moccasin like shoes. He was extremely thin, with a wasted look, and his hair was so gray it was nearly silver. To Seamus' eye, he didn't look like someone he wanted to be exchanging germs with.
"Welcome to Cal's repair shop. You want something fixed, you'd better talk to the boss 'imself, Cal's up at headquarters," He grinned as he said these last words and stuck a thumb towards the small building behind him. The man didn't answer, only stared at him.
"Are you Seamus Harper?" Taken aback, Seamus didn't skip a beat. The more customers Cal got, the more he got to eat.
"The one and only. I see you've heard of me; unsurprising. Well, whatever you got I can fix it-or rebuild it altogether, whichever you need," He boasted, although something in the man's eye made him falter. Why was he staring at him like that?
"My god Seamus, is it really you? I thought for sure you were dead," The man took a step towards him, but Seamus moved back, holding up his hands to ward him away.
"And just who are you?" He asked, pointedly looking him up and down. The man smiled and stopped walking towards him.
"It's me Seamus; your Uncle Eoin, your mother's older brother," Seamus dropped the tool he'd been holding and stared at the man. How could this shrunken, ill looking man be the tall strong uncle he remembered? Then he looked at his eyes, and knew the man was speaking the truth.
"Uncle-Uncle Eoin?" As the man nodded, Seamus felt tears come into his eyes, and the two embraced tightly. Checking over his shoulder cautiously, Seamus made sure Cal wasn't nearby, and then sat down, pulling Eoin with him. Slowly, Eoin told him all that had happened since Seamus' parents had taken him to the refugee camp.
"After Siobhan and Declan died, Cassie wasn't the same. We tried to survive out in the country on our own, but there was hardly anyone else around. Most people had already left for the camps. She refused to leave her children though. Finally the magog came again," Eoin said this part bitterly, and Seamus stared at the ground, fiddling with the part he was supposed to be fixing. "They killed her; I guess I should be grateful they didn't infest her too. So I buried her next to our children, and left for the refugee camps, figuring I could at least be with the rest of my family. Only I couldn't find any of you. A few months ago I was near the dock and I heard some spacers talking about how surprised they were to have gotten their ship in perfect shape on a place like Earth. They said something about a kid with skills in engineering, called Seamus, or something," Eoin looked up and smiled at his nephew proudly, and Seamus grinned sheepishly. "So I decided to look for you...and here I am!"
The two embraced again, Seamus felt tears in his eyes. At last, he finally wasn't alone anymore. He told Eoin about not knowing where Brendan was, and started to explain all that had happened since he'd arrived, when he was shoved roughly into the ground.
"Hey you lazy piece a crap, I hired you to work, not sit around gabbing all day," Cal's drunken voice said. Eoin stood up in anger, but Seamus quickly got back on his feet and gave him a placating look.
"Look, I finish work at night; we can talk then, ok?" He said, ignoring Cal's threats to keep him working all night too. Eoin nodded, hugged him, and cast a fierce glare at Cal, probably knowing that it would only do Seamus harm to kill his employer, rather than good.
"Now then, get down to the dock; I got some clients who are stranded." Seamus turned and scowled at the pudgy man.
"What the hell ya mean 'stranded' ain't nobody stupid enough to get stuck down here," Cal cuffed him on the head.
"They broke their damn slipstream drive, idiot," Cal said, smirking. They entered the building and Cal threw Seamus his tool belt. Seamus' eyes were wide. Fixing an entire slipstream drive could earn him a lot of money. He was about to walk out when he felt Cal grab his arm and spin him around, staring down into the shorter man's eyes.
"You listen to me boy, don't you dare mess this up fo' me! Don't you dare do anything stupid, ya got that?" Confused, Seamus pulled himself away and sneered.
"Yeah yeah, I got it," Rolling his eyes, he turned and left, practically feeling the man's eyes bore into his back, he strolled off towards the docks, glad at the chance to see the ships. What Cal didn't know was that at the first opportunity, Seamus planned on sneaking onto one and never coming back. Cal thought Seamus had the implant that everyone else did that kept them from leaving without permission. So Seamus was in a fairly good mood, considering, as he approached the docks carrying a large box of various tools, including his belt, and scanning the ships, trying to guess which one he was supposed to work on. A Nietzschean approached him, turning Seamus' blood cold, but he didn't move. The Nietzschean inquired about Seamus' business at the docks and he explained he was on a job for Cal. Showing the Nietzschean his pass, he was scanned so that his 'chip' wouldn't activate so that he could go onto the ships for repairs. Then he was directed to the bay his client was docked at.
His thoughts were still on his Uncle Eoin and Brendan when he heard a loud voice say,
"Oh no. You have got to be kidding me! Where is that bastard Cal...please tell me you're just helping the real engineer carry his things?" Scowling, Seamus turned to see who had spoken. He started to shoot back a reply angrily, then bit his tongue-literally-when he saw the person. Before him stood a woman taller than him-but most people were-with with red hair to her shoulders and piercing blue eyes. Her arms were crossed, and her clothes, while in far better condition than his, did look worn. She had a long sleeved red shirt on and long black pants, with a coat over everything. No doubt she'd been warned against carrying germs onto any clothing she valued. She was eyeing him up and down, clearly not pleased with what she saw. "Well?" She prompted him in that same condescending tone. Seamus felt annoyed. Setting down the heavy box, he crossed his own arms and matched her glare for glare.
"Look, lady, if you asked for Cal, then most likely you heard he was the best." She didn't exactly nod, but he could tell he was right. "Well, I'm the reason he's the best." He said this last part proudly and rightly so, but she just laughed.
"Listen kid, I'm on a cargo run. I don't have time for this. My next meal depends on getting my ship fixed, and I need it fixed right, and quickly. Now go back to your boss and tell him to send me a real engineer or the deals off." She turned away from him, and Seamus almost walked off in disgust. Almost, but his next meal, not to mention the use of his limbs, depended on getting her ship fixed as well. So he ignored her, walking right up to her ship and eyeing it. Since she still hadn't turned to look back at, thinking he had already left, he went ahead and picked up his tools, then started up the walkway.
"Get off my ship," He heard the sound of a gun turned on and he turned to slowly see the woman aiming straight at him.
"Lady, give me a chance and I can turn this piece of junk into something that can make it through slipstream without falling apart. If you don't like what I'm doing, you can always send me to the Nietzscheans," The woman didn't look convinced, and seemed to consider just shooting him anyway, but at last she re-holstered her gun and sighed.
"Well at least you speak coherently. Most of you mud foots can't even pronounce slipstream," Seamus almost grinned, saying
"Yeah well, my mom-"then he cut himself off. He didn't owe her any explanations, that was for sure. She looked puzzled, but when he didn't continue, she jerked her head towards her ship.
"Get to work then," As he entered, she added, "And her name is the Eureka Maru. You damage her and I'll hang your head on the wall for decoration." He gave her a look which said he wasn't sure she was joking, but she didn't feel like explaining it to him. As she followed him onto the ship, he set the box of tools down with a thunk, and made his version of a sweeping bow to the interior of the ship.
"A pleasure ta meet ya, Eureka Maru, I'm the Almighty Genius Engineer, also known as Seamus Zelazny Harper." Suddenly remembering her manners, when Seamus turned to ask her where the engine room was, she said quickly.
"I'm Captain Beka Valentine, by the way, Seamus," She said his name awkwardly, and he only nodded. Then she led the way to the slipstream drive, all the way telling him exactly what she would do to him if he cheated her or messed up the Maru's systems. Finally, as he had just lay down and started to work, he snapped,
"Sorry to interrupt, Captain Valentine, but I can't keep working with you distracting me. I promise I won't mess with your precious ship, I already told ya that." Seeing she was still doubtful, and tired of having her hovering around him while he tried and worked, Seamus snapped. "If you don't believe me, send me back to Cal, all you have to do is tell him I was screwing up and he'll hand me over to the Ubers-after taking his anger out on me of course-and they'll have me on a slaver faster than you can say 'No fair'. So please, if you don't want to believe that I don't have the capabilities to fix your ship, at least believe that I have a lot more to lose if I don't at least try," That said, he returned to his work and ignored her. She appeared to hesitate, but at last she turned and stalked out of the room. Seamus sighed with relief; glad he was alone at last.
As the day wore on into night, Beka became concerned. What was that mudfoot doing to her ship? Returning to the engine room, she found him gone from the slipstream drive and fiddling with the control panels to the life support systems. Angry at herself for being an idiot, she sprinted over to him and pushed him to the ground, her gun already out and pointed at him.
"What the HELL are you doing?!" She said angrily, pushing the gun's tip to an inch from his chest. Staring at the gun, Seamus gulped, although a small, small part of him wondered if it wouldn't just be better to be shot quickly. Certainly it would be a better death than what the magog or ubers would hand out. Then he remembered Brendan and Eoin, and these thoughts were driven from his mind.
"I'm sorry, I know I should have asked first, it's just...I finished the slipstream drive, it wasn't too bad off you know, and I took a look at some of the other systems. A lot of them are in a bad fix, so I figured I'd go ahead and take care of them," He glanced from the gun to Beka's face and back again nervously.
"Yeah, and then your boss can charge me extra, is that it? You sure are lucky Bobby's sick and sleeping, or you'd be dead by now."
"If you don't believe me, take a look at them yourself! And who's Bobby?"
"My boyfriend, not that it's any mudfoot's business. Now stand up." A little disappointed to find that she was taken, but only a little since he could tell she was older than him by more than a year, he stood up, still staring at the gun. Not moving her hand holding the gun, Beka scanned the screen with the life support data. Running through the information, her look first turned to that of surprise, than softened as she realized she was still threatening him with death. Lowering the gun, she smiled ever so slightly.
"See?" Seamus said, not being able to keep a smirk from his face. Beka's smile turned into a frown as she returned her gun to her side.
"Well what should I think you were doing, holed up in my engineering rooms for the whole day," At her last words, Seamus turned, if it was possible, pale.
"What? You mean I've been here the whole day?" Confused, Beka nodded.
"Holy crap, I gotta get back!" Not only would Cal be angry he had been gone so long, what if Eoin showed up and Seamus wasn't there to explain about him? Beka still looked confused and followed when Seamus quickly gathered his tools and ran back off the ship.
"Hey!" Beka called after him. Seamus paused and turned to look back at her.
"How much of the deal do you get paid?" She asked quietly, thoughts forming in her head. Seamus just laughed, shaking his head.
"My pay's given in food in clothing, obviously," Obviously indeed, Beka thought, looking at his ragged clothing and too skinny frame. Shaking these thoughts from her mind, she continued,
"Well, if you can come back and fix up the Maru some more, I'll pay you directly." Seamus looked stunned. "It won't be much, if I was rich I'd have paid the Nietzscheans to do it," She felt it was only fair to make this part clear. Beka almost couldn't make out his nod in the fading light, and then he turned and continued to run. Rubbing her temple, she walked back inside.
"I'm sorry, I lost track of time!"
"Don't talk back to me! You want me to throw you back out on the streets so you can starve to death?!" Cal screamed, swinging another fist at Seamus. He tried to duck, but lost his balance and got hit on the side of his jaw instead. Kicking him to the floor, Cal hissed, "What have I always told you? Time is money! I had another client expecting you this evening! You're not supposed to take the whole day to finish a job. A few hours a day for a couple of weeks is what makes money, boy," He ground his foot into Seamus' shoulder. Wincing, he tried to shove Cal away, but the man was much bigger than Seamus. After another hour of this 'lecture' Cal at last let Seamus climb to his feet and stumble up the stairs. There he found Eoin waiting for him silently.
"You alright?" Eoin caught Seamus chin and lifted it up in the light, examining the dark bruises starting to form there. Jerking away, Seamus nodded sullenly. "Well, whether you are or not, I've got something that'll cheer you up," Confused, Seamus gave him a puzzled look.
"Hey there cousin," He heard a deep voice say. Scarcely daring to believe it, Seamus whirled around to see Brendan emerge from a darkened corner. "Long time no see," Without another sound they embraced. Seamus was dumbfounded; how had Uncle Eoin found him so quickly? Not that he cared; soon the three of them were exchanging stories. Apparently Brendan had been looking for Seamus too, but when he heard he'd been taken to the labs, he'd sadly given him up for dead. For the past year he'd been on the outskirts of the city, working for a new group of gang members. Word had reached him of two escapees from the labs and he'd been hopeful enough to think one of them might have been Seamus, so he returned to look for him. Eoin had found him earlier that morning.
Finally, after many hours, the two older men convinced Seamus that he'd need his sleep to be able to work tomorrow. The three made beds on the floor and settled in. Seamus couldn't remember the last time he'd been so happy-probably not since he and Kylie had escaped.
Just as he was starting to fall asleep, it occurred to him that for almost an entire day, Seamus had been on a ship: and not once had he tried to escape, either by hiding or pleading with that woman-Beka-to help him run away. Not understanding what that might mean, he rolled over and went to sleep.
End of Volume 2: Chapter 1
Wow, I had so meant to make this longer. Word says it's eight pages long, and maybe if I drag all of this out I can make three volumes as I had first intended to do. I hope it wasn't too boring. I also apologize for not introducing Bobby; I have never 'met' his character and honestly I'm confused about him. All fan fiction writers depict him as a real jerk, which I can believe, and Harper obviously never liked him, but in the book (Destruction of Illusions) Beka calls him an idealist, always the one going on missions. So I'm still debating how to have his character be. Any advice is welcome.
Oh yes, that little flashback..hehe.. I just inserted it to reveal that, according to the Irish name website I was looking at, the name 'Seamus' really does mean, "trips by the heel," kinda fitting, isn't it? Another piece of interesting information; my older sister was a big Star Trek fan and she has this big encyclopedia of every single character in the series that was given a name. Out of curiosity, I looked through the 'H' section, and there was a character with the last name Harper! And he was an engineer! (Granted, I think he died in the same episode he first appeared in, he was only a very minor character, but still!) Ok, I've rambled on long enough. Please be kind enough to let me know what you think of this. All of my thanks, Luna Sealeaf Runicprincess@aol.com