I don't own Andromeda. Gene Roddenberry does. I'm just having fun.
I didn't mean for this to turn out evil towards Harper. I like him. It just sort of…happened.
Any Time
Beka leaned back in her chair, surveying the lousy bar. This whole planet was lousy. It was hard to believe anyone with the least amount of self-respect lived here. But the city was vastly populated. Beka shuddered as she downed the contents of her glass. As soon as she found someone to fix her ship, she was so out of here.
Loud laughter from the table behind Beka's interrupted her thoughts. She turned her head slightly, annoyed. There were three women and one man. She face forward and did her best to ignore them. Two of the women, the ones sitting directly behind her, started murmuring. Beka sighed. This place was so tightly packed that the backs of the chairs touched when fully pushed in. These girls were whispering practically in her ear! She started to turn and tell them to shut up, when the conversation turned interesting.
"Can you believe him?" one girl hissed. "That stupid Earthling, he thinks he can just sit down and start talking to us!" Beka rolled her eyes. Like these girls were any better off than he was!
"I know. And he's so…little! What did he say his name was?"
"Dunno. Something weird."
"Would you ladies mind sharing the secret?" asked the man warmly. "I don't like feeling left in the dark."
"It was nothing, really," said the first girl. "I'm sorry, I've forgotten your name. What was it again?"
"Seamus Zelazny Harper," he responded cockily. "Most people call me Harper. You, my dear, can call me Seamus."
"What do you do for a living, Harper?" asked the girl coolly. "I don't believe you've told us."
"I'm an engineer, baby, the best there ever was." Engineer? thought Beka. Wonder if he's any good.
"I find that hard to believe." She sniffed. "Come on, girls, let's go find someone worth our time." She stood up, bumping Beka, who turned, glared, and called her something very uncomplimentary. The girl ignored her and walked off, followed by her friends. One of them shrugged at Harper before leaving.
"Okay, then," he called after them. "See you around." He noticed Beka looking at him. "What?"
"You're an engineer?" she asked.
"Yeah. Why?"
"My ship needs repairs. Interested?" He hesitated, then slowly shook his head. "You haven't even seen my ship, or heard what I pay!" she exclaimed.
"I know. But my current boss doesn't like me helping others. And I really don't want him to get mad."
Beka shrugged. "Know anyone that could help?"
"You're gonna get ripped off by most of the people here," he warned. "There's a Perseid that might give you a good deal. Another human. If I see 'em, I'll tell 'em about you."
"All right. I'm Beka Valentine; my ship's the Eureka Maru." She stood. "I'll be here until I can find an engineer." She started to walk off.
"Wait!" he called. When she turned, he grinned at her. "I'll walk you home."
She chuckled. "Sure," she said. Why not? He was just insulted by a group of stuck-up snobs. It's not like I'm committing myself to anything. He hurried to her side. She glanced down at him. The girls were right. He was pretty short.
When they arrived at the Maru, he gasped. "Lady, what do you do to this ship? Oh, it could really use my help…"
"Beka," she corrected. "Not 'Lady.' And I know she needs help. That's why I asked." He shrugged uncomfortably and didn't say anything. "Well, I'll see you around, Harper."
"Leaving so soon?"
"It's late. Does your boss expect you back at any time?"
"Nah. And if he locks the ship, I know the codes. Even if he changes the codes, I can get in," he said, tapping his cerebral port. Beka hadn't noticed that before.
"Aren't those expensive?" she asked, surprised. "And painful?"
"You saying I can't afford it? Or that I can't handle it?" he asked defensively.
"No. It's just… Never mind."
"What? I don't look like I can afford it? Well, I did. You wouldn't believe how long it took to save all that money."
"How old are you, kid?"
"Almost twenty?"
He looks a lot younger than that, she mused. "Almost?"
"In a few weeks."
"How many?
"Fifty-four," he mumbled.
She laughed, but not unkindly. "Go get some sleep, Harper."
He looked up at her, eyes full of mischief. "But my bed is so hard, cold, and lonely," he told her, stepping forward. "Very uncomfortable. Don't you want a sweet, young man like me to be nice and warm?" She started to say something, but he cut her off. "Can't I stay a little longer? It's not like I have far to walk. The ship's right there." He pointed to the ship to the right.
She sighed. "Fine. You can come in for a drink."
"Thanks!" he said cheerfully. Beka smiled as she turned away and opened her ship.
As the night got shorter, Beka worried more about the young engineer. He was very reluctant to go back to his boss's ship; he kept finding reasons to stay. He even fine-tuned the slipstream drive because he claimed to be bored.
"Harper, is something wrong?" she asked him finally.
"No. Why?" The boy was all smiles. He had been all night.
"You don't want to go back to your boss's ship."
His smile faltered for a moment. "What do you mean?"
"If you don't tell me your real reason for staying this long, I'm gonna throw you out on your ass."
He sighed, losing his smile. "I can't go back tonight without at least fifty thrones to give him," he muttered. "I have to pay to stay on board. I'm all out of money."
"Why stay?" she asked. "Come work for me. I'll pay you."
"He won't like it," he said, rubbing his upper arm. "Can I stay here tonight? I'll repair more things to pay for it."
"You don't need to pay. You can use one of the empty quarters."
After Beka showed Harper where the room was, she went to her own bed. Sleep took a long time coming that night.
Beka stepped off the Maru the next morning, and was greeted by yells. She frowned and turned to see what was going on. Harper, who had let himself out without waking her, was being screamed at by a large, heavyset man. The boy winced as the man's voice rose. Frowning, Beka walked over to the confrontation.
"I saw you come out of her ship, you useless runt! You mean to tell me that you spent the whole night with her, and you didn't insist on payment? You didn't even steal anything?" Harper shook his head and continued to stare at the ground. "Why do I keep you around?" The man viciously struck the engineer in the head. Harper stumbled back, but didn't make a sound.
"Hey!" called Beka. "Does beating on him make you fell better about yourself? Make you more of a man?"
"You stay out of this, girl," warned the man. "He's my crewman, not yours."
"And I can tell that you really appreciate him."
"If you want to spare the boy, the best thing you can do is walk away."
Beka started to make a scathing reply, but Harper cut her off. "Beka, please, just go." She started at his voice. The night before he had been outgoing and sure of himself; now he sounded meek and submissive.
"This won't be the last you see of me," she warned the man and walked away.
"Get on the ship, boy," commanded the man. When Harper hesitated, the man yell, "Move it, you no-good whore!"
Beka stiffened and stopped walking. When she turned around, the man smirked at her, and walked onto the ship, closing it behind him.
That night Beka walked into the same bar, and spotted Harper chatting up a young woman. She walked over and kicked the Than sitting next to Harper out of it's chair. The young man ignored her the whole time.
"So, Lizzie, darlin', you busy tonight?" The young girl shook her head. "You want to have some fun with Harper?"
"Okay," she said in a seductive tone. "You wanna come to my place?"
"Oh, but, Seamus, we had plans tonight," said Beka jokingly. He whirled around and glared at her.
"Who's she?" asked Lizzie suspiciously.
"Nobody." He flashed her a winning smile. "Shall we go?" He stood and offered his arm. She took it, glanced at Beka, and walked away.
"Harper!" Beka called. "I want to help!" He didn't respond in anyway.
That night Beka kept a silent vigil sitting in the shadows beneath the Maru. Earlier that day a Perseid had walked up to her ship and offered to repair it, for a very reasonable price. Harper had kept his word. She could fly off this rock any second, but something compelled her to stay. She spotted the reason walking towards the hanger, head drooping.
She watched as Harper stumbled to his boss's ship--Beka had found out that it was named the Star Killer--and punched in a code. The door hissed open and the man, Gared, stepped out.
"Do you have money tonight?" He said it softly, but it carried without the sounds of the day to block it.
"Yes. Here." Harper thrust the money into Gared's hands. He counted it.
"A hundred thrones! Making up for yesterday?" Harper didn't answer. "How many girls did you screw tonight?" Still no answer. "Or weren't they girls?"
Harper's head whipped up, but he kept his mouth shut. Beka could see his silhouette shaking. Gared laughed at the boy's expression. "Go inside, boy. It's one more day you stay off Earth."
Beka slipped back inside the Maru. She plopped down in the pilot's chair, frustrated and angry. Come on, Valentine, think of something! You can save this boy. A different part of her, the part that thought only of herself, spoke up. Why save him? He may be a good engineer, but no one's worth putting my ship on the line! What if that Gared guy takes offense and decides to blast my ass into oblivion? Beka yelled in annoyance. Why did this have to be so difficult?
She walked into the bar again the next night, searching for the engineer. After scanning the room for a few minutes, she reluctantly accepted that he wasn't there. Sighing, she turned and stared down at Harper.
"How long have you been standing there?" she asked, surprised.
"Why don't you leave me alone? He doesn't like it, and I really don't like being on the wrong end of his temper!"
"I want to give you a job. You don't have to work for him anymore! Kid, I'm offering you a ticket out of that hellhole. Why refuse?"
He studied her. "Why me? Why not find some other engineer? One without an employer? If I decide to join your crew, he's gonna be pissed. And I really don't think you want the Killer chasing you across the galaxy."
"The Maru has a lot of hidden surprises. I'll pay you to work for me. And I won't make you…get me money each night."
He looked uncomfortable for a moment. "I know you heard what he called me. It's not true. I steal and sell things, I don't…I'm not what he said. He only thinks I am." He grinned at her momentarily. "Those girls were all just for fun."
"Steal things, huh?" she asked, ignoring his last statement. "I deal with some unsavory characters. I've had things taken before. I could use a crewmember that could take them back."
Harper stared at her for the blunt, casual remark. Then he shook it off. "I would come, but he got me off of Earth. I owe him my life for that."
"Okay," Beka said. She could feel the victory approaching. "So, he got you off Earth. Harper, from what I saw the other night, you're a great engineer. You could have employers fighting over you. Why stay with one that treats you like shit?"
He was silent for a minute. Beka was getting prepared to do a little celebratory dance, when he slowly shook his head and shrugged helplessly. "I don't want to make him mad."
As Harper walked away, Beka cursed in many tongues and imaginative phrases. After a moment, Beka ran out after him. She pulled out her gun and sprinted in front of him.
"Beka?" he asked warily, staring at the weapon.
"I am not going to let you walk back on that man's ship," she said, in a tone close to a growl. "So you are going to march those skinny legs of yours into the Maru. And don't give me any of that 'he saved me from Earth; I must be loyal' righteous crap. Just walk."
"Okay, okay. But what if he sees us?"
"Then he gets a smoking hole between the eyes. Seamus, I know talent when I see it. And I'm smart enough to take advantage of such talent, and not let it waste away with some flee-bitten asshole." Her tone became more soothing, although the words did not.
"Why do you feel the need to rescue me?" He grinned. "Is it my boyish good looks? Most women just can't help themselves around me…"
Beka smiled, but didn't put her gun away until they were safe aboard the Maru.
That night, Harper walked onto the bridge as Beka piloted the Maru towards another planet. She had gotten a job offer. She didn't know specifics yet, but it sounded good. Harper stood in the doorway, silent. Beka didn't push him. If he wanted to say something, he would.
"Hey, Boss?" Beka glanced at him over her shoulder. "Thanks."
"Any time, kid." She turned back around. After Harper walked off, she whispered, "Any time."