Disclaimer: I don't own Andromeda or its characters. I am making no money
off of this story. Sigh!
Title: Guilt and Consequences. It is a sequel to Haunted Past.
I wrote this for Thir13en Ghosts- Elemental who asked for more chapters to Haunted Past. See how easy it is? That Sparky Cola really did the trick, but now I can't sleep. Just kidding!
Please read and revue like good little fan fiction readers.
***********************************************************************
Chapter 1
As Beka returned to her quarters and settled into her bunk and silently prayed for Harper's nightmares to disappear. Beka was not a religious person, but all of Rev Bem's talk of the Way had made her reconsider her beliefs. Not that this former space pirate was going to turn into a monk like Rev. It was just that Beka had gone from being an atheist to an agnostic. Beka was hedging her bets. She figured if there was a divine being then it would not hurt to ask for his intervention. "Please sir, look out for Seamus Harper and comfort him. Take away his nightmares," Beka pleaded in the darkness.
His talk with Beka had calmed Harper enough that laid his head back onto his pillow. The young earther fell asleep at about the same time Beka finished her prayer. It was a restless sleep, but much less disturbed than earlier.
A few hours later Harper woke up, surprised that he been asleep all that time. The engineer glanced over at the small digital clock he kept on the table next to his bunk. 5:00 AM! Time to get to work, he thought to himself. Harper had rarely slept that late, and that was only when he was too sick or injured to get out of bed. He quickly dressed and put his boots on and headed out door.
Harper yawned as he strolled down the corridor to the mess hall to get a can of Sparky Cola. A can of Sparky always was always good for a pick me up first thing in the morning. Harper opened the refrigerator door and grabbed a Sparky. He decided against taking the lone slice of pizza sitting next to can, not being in an adventurous mood right now.
"Anything good in the fridge Harper?" Beka asked as she entered the mess hall and saw the earther scrounging around.
Harper turned around and took a good look at the blond pilot. Beka looked like she hadn't gotten much sleep last night. Harper felt responsible but chose not to let on and flashed a smile. "Only the Sparky Cola, Boss."
Beka rolled her eyes as she poured a cup of coffee. "I don't know how you can drink that stuff Harper."
The engineer shrugged "It's the nectar of geniuses,"
Harper made left the blond alone in the room and headed for Machine Shop 7 to finish up some repairs. The earther took a gulp of the cola as he turned a corner, nearly bumping into Tyr who was on his way to the gym.
"Careful Little Professor, you would have come out second best if you walked into me," Tyr warned with a slight smile.
"Hey, sorry Big Guy but ya oughta warn a guy when you come around a corner like that," Harper replied.
Harper hadn't reacted physically to the sudden appearance of the dark skinned Nietzschean, but Tyr, immediately noticed the look of fear in Harper's eyes. Tyr also could smell the fear on Harper. Tyr hadn't seen or smelled that fear from Harper since their first months on board Andromeda. Now the fear of Nietzscheans was back. Tyr silently cursed the finding of the disk on Mantu. The tall Nietzschean hated to admit it but he had grown used to Harper and was even a little fond of the short engineer. Tyr chose not to react to Harper's fear so as not to make the situation worse. The Nietzschean planned to make himself scarce for awhile to give Harper time to sort out his feelings.
Harper shook his head in confusion. The earther couldn't understand why he the sudden appearance of Tyr scared him. This wasn't the first time Harper had turned one of Andromeda's corners and almost bumped into Tyr. Harper was also always turning around to find the Neitzschean standing there silently watching, and it didn't make the earther jumpy. His first month on board Andromeda Tyr's habit of suddenly appearing out of nowhere freaked out the engineer. But Harper gradually began to trust Tyr and the fear subsided. Harper figured the return of his fear of Tyr and Nietzscheans must have had something to do with his nightmares. Harper decided to take Beka's advice and start a journal and write the first entry tonight. It couldn't hurt and it might just drive away his nightmares, the engineer figured. Anything was better than this.
A few hours later Dylan called an impromptu meeting in the mess hall with all of the crew except Harper. Dylan had given explicit instructions that Harper was to have no knowledge of the meeting. Dylan wanted to discuss Harper's recovery with the rest of the crew without Harper being present. Harper still didn't know he had viewed the disk brought back from Mantu and had gone into a catatonic state.
"Fortunately things have been relatively quiet lately, so I wanted to have this meeting to discuss Harper," Dylan began after waiting until everyone had been seated.
A concerned look suddenly crossed Beka's face. "Don't tell us Harper has had a relapse?"
Dylan shook his head, "No, Harper is fine. He's busy installing Rommie's new anti-virus program. I just thought we should talk about what caused Harper's sudden recovery."
Beka relaxed a little and leaned back in her chair. Beka would never have forgiven herself if Harper had a relapse and was back in a catatonic state.
"I didn't want to let on in front of him but I was rather surprised when our engineer went from looking like a statue to fixing the defense shields with no warning. Trance, you were with Harper when he first recovered. Do you have any ideas?"
Trance leaned shifted in her seat as she sipped a cup of coffee. "I can't say for sure why Harper recovered so suddenly, but I think I can give a fairly accurate guess."
"Then by all means proceed," Tyr encouraged.
Trance paused to collect her thoughts before continuing. "Harper came out of his catatonic state while we were attacked by the Capernan warship. Harper must have subconsciously known that Andromeda needed him to make repairs."
"So you're saying that I am responsible for Harper's recovery. That Harper sensed I needed his assistance and that brought him around." AI Rommie concluded with a pleased expression on her face.
Trance tone became serious. "Yes Rommie, I believe that Harper forgot about what he saw on the disk when he realized that there was work to be done. But I don't want to give you false hope. I didn't mean to imply that Harper is fully recovered or ever will recover fully. Harper has begun to have nightmares about his parents' death."
Beka gave Trance a surprised look from across the table. Beka hadn't mentioned the nightmares to anybody yet.
Dylan was just as puzzled as Beka. "Trance, how do you know Harper has had nightmares? Has he talked to you?"
Trance shook her head. "No. I just had a feeling."
Beka noticed that Dylan was about debate the issue with Trance and spoke up. "I don't know how you found out about Harper's nightmare Trance, but you're right. I promised Harper I wouldn't mention it to anybody but he did have a bad nightmare last night. He used to have them on the Maru so Rommie came and got me when she realized something was wrong with Harper."
"Okay, I suppose nightmares shouldn't be entirely unexpected after what Harper saw on the disk," Dylan reasoned. "Is there anything else that I should know?"
Tyr took a deep breath and proceeded to mention the incident when he and Harper met in the corridor earlier in the morning.
Dylan frowned and suggested that Rommie increase the frequency of her scans on Harper and that Tyr keep his distance from the engineer for the time being. Tyr readily agreed, informing Dylan that he had already begun giving Harper some space. The meeting was then adjured as Rommie informed Dylan that Harper was nearly finished the anti-virus update.
That afternoon after lunch Tyr found Beka sitting in the Maru staring at a flexi. He had come to ask to borrow the Maru to make a supply trip. The Nietzschean was surprised by smell fear coming from the blonde. Tyr had a sense that something was wrong.
"I would let you borrow the Maru Tyr, but I had planned a supply run to San- Ska-Re myself. If you want to give me a list I'll be happy to pick up your supplies too."
Tyr wasn't looking forward to making a supply run, but had a sense that Beka wasn't taking the Maru on a supply run.
"That would save me a trip Beka, thank you. I will meet you back here with my list. How soon are you leaving?"
Beka stood up and walked over to the first aid kit to give it a quick pre- flight check. "I'm on my way to tell Dylan now so let's say 15 minutes."
"I'll meet you back here in 15 minutes then," Try agreed. "Beka, are you sure you want to do this?"
Beka kept her composure and tried to act like she didn't know what Tyr was getting at. "Yeah, I'm sure I want to make a supply run. I need shampoo and cd's."
"I'll be perfectly frank with you. I don't think you have any intention of going on a supply run Beka Valentine," Tyr stated as he leaned against the Maru's wall. "I believe your trip has something to do with Harper. I will not pry into your affairs and ask what your plans are. I will just wish you a safe journey."
Beka closed the First Aid kit and turned to face the Nietzschean. "Thanks Tyr but I'm just going to San-Ska-Re on a supply run."
Tyr merely stared at the blonde pilot. "If you insist Beka, but I hope you aren't making a grave mistake that will ruin your life. Please think about what I just said before you leave."
"I will Tyr," Beka lied. Beka had made up her mind and there was she wasn't about to turn back.
Title: Guilt and Consequences. It is a sequel to Haunted Past.
I wrote this for Thir13en Ghosts- Elemental who asked for more chapters to Haunted Past. See how easy it is? That Sparky Cola really did the trick, but now I can't sleep. Just kidding!
Please read and revue like good little fan fiction readers.
***********************************************************************
Chapter 1
As Beka returned to her quarters and settled into her bunk and silently prayed for Harper's nightmares to disappear. Beka was not a religious person, but all of Rev Bem's talk of the Way had made her reconsider her beliefs. Not that this former space pirate was going to turn into a monk like Rev. It was just that Beka had gone from being an atheist to an agnostic. Beka was hedging her bets. She figured if there was a divine being then it would not hurt to ask for his intervention. "Please sir, look out for Seamus Harper and comfort him. Take away his nightmares," Beka pleaded in the darkness.
His talk with Beka had calmed Harper enough that laid his head back onto his pillow. The young earther fell asleep at about the same time Beka finished her prayer. It was a restless sleep, but much less disturbed than earlier.
A few hours later Harper woke up, surprised that he been asleep all that time. The engineer glanced over at the small digital clock he kept on the table next to his bunk. 5:00 AM! Time to get to work, he thought to himself. Harper had rarely slept that late, and that was only when he was too sick or injured to get out of bed. He quickly dressed and put his boots on and headed out door.
Harper yawned as he strolled down the corridor to the mess hall to get a can of Sparky Cola. A can of Sparky always was always good for a pick me up first thing in the morning. Harper opened the refrigerator door and grabbed a Sparky. He decided against taking the lone slice of pizza sitting next to can, not being in an adventurous mood right now.
"Anything good in the fridge Harper?" Beka asked as she entered the mess hall and saw the earther scrounging around.
Harper turned around and took a good look at the blond pilot. Beka looked like she hadn't gotten much sleep last night. Harper felt responsible but chose not to let on and flashed a smile. "Only the Sparky Cola, Boss."
Beka rolled her eyes as she poured a cup of coffee. "I don't know how you can drink that stuff Harper."
The engineer shrugged "It's the nectar of geniuses,"
Harper made left the blond alone in the room and headed for Machine Shop 7 to finish up some repairs. The earther took a gulp of the cola as he turned a corner, nearly bumping into Tyr who was on his way to the gym.
"Careful Little Professor, you would have come out second best if you walked into me," Tyr warned with a slight smile.
"Hey, sorry Big Guy but ya oughta warn a guy when you come around a corner like that," Harper replied.
Harper hadn't reacted physically to the sudden appearance of the dark skinned Nietzschean, but Tyr, immediately noticed the look of fear in Harper's eyes. Tyr also could smell the fear on Harper. Tyr hadn't seen or smelled that fear from Harper since their first months on board Andromeda. Now the fear of Nietzscheans was back. Tyr silently cursed the finding of the disk on Mantu. The tall Nietzschean hated to admit it but he had grown used to Harper and was even a little fond of the short engineer. Tyr chose not to react to Harper's fear so as not to make the situation worse. The Nietzschean planned to make himself scarce for awhile to give Harper time to sort out his feelings.
Harper shook his head in confusion. The earther couldn't understand why he the sudden appearance of Tyr scared him. This wasn't the first time Harper had turned one of Andromeda's corners and almost bumped into Tyr. Harper was also always turning around to find the Neitzschean standing there silently watching, and it didn't make the earther jumpy. His first month on board Andromeda Tyr's habit of suddenly appearing out of nowhere freaked out the engineer. But Harper gradually began to trust Tyr and the fear subsided. Harper figured the return of his fear of Tyr and Nietzscheans must have had something to do with his nightmares. Harper decided to take Beka's advice and start a journal and write the first entry tonight. It couldn't hurt and it might just drive away his nightmares, the engineer figured. Anything was better than this.
A few hours later Dylan called an impromptu meeting in the mess hall with all of the crew except Harper. Dylan had given explicit instructions that Harper was to have no knowledge of the meeting. Dylan wanted to discuss Harper's recovery with the rest of the crew without Harper being present. Harper still didn't know he had viewed the disk brought back from Mantu and had gone into a catatonic state.
"Fortunately things have been relatively quiet lately, so I wanted to have this meeting to discuss Harper," Dylan began after waiting until everyone had been seated.
A concerned look suddenly crossed Beka's face. "Don't tell us Harper has had a relapse?"
Dylan shook his head, "No, Harper is fine. He's busy installing Rommie's new anti-virus program. I just thought we should talk about what caused Harper's sudden recovery."
Beka relaxed a little and leaned back in her chair. Beka would never have forgiven herself if Harper had a relapse and was back in a catatonic state.
"I didn't want to let on in front of him but I was rather surprised when our engineer went from looking like a statue to fixing the defense shields with no warning. Trance, you were with Harper when he first recovered. Do you have any ideas?"
Trance leaned shifted in her seat as she sipped a cup of coffee. "I can't say for sure why Harper recovered so suddenly, but I think I can give a fairly accurate guess."
"Then by all means proceed," Tyr encouraged.
Trance paused to collect her thoughts before continuing. "Harper came out of his catatonic state while we were attacked by the Capernan warship. Harper must have subconsciously known that Andromeda needed him to make repairs."
"So you're saying that I am responsible for Harper's recovery. That Harper sensed I needed his assistance and that brought him around." AI Rommie concluded with a pleased expression on her face.
Trance tone became serious. "Yes Rommie, I believe that Harper forgot about what he saw on the disk when he realized that there was work to be done. But I don't want to give you false hope. I didn't mean to imply that Harper is fully recovered or ever will recover fully. Harper has begun to have nightmares about his parents' death."
Beka gave Trance a surprised look from across the table. Beka hadn't mentioned the nightmares to anybody yet.
Dylan was just as puzzled as Beka. "Trance, how do you know Harper has had nightmares? Has he talked to you?"
Trance shook her head. "No. I just had a feeling."
Beka noticed that Dylan was about debate the issue with Trance and spoke up. "I don't know how you found out about Harper's nightmare Trance, but you're right. I promised Harper I wouldn't mention it to anybody but he did have a bad nightmare last night. He used to have them on the Maru so Rommie came and got me when she realized something was wrong with Harper."
"Okay, I suppose nightmares shouldn't be entirely unexpected after what Harper saw on the disk," Dylan reasoned. "Is there anything else that I should know?"
Tyr took a deep breath and proceeded to mention the incident when he and Harper met in the corridor earlier in the morning.
Dylan frowned and suggested that Rommie increase the frequency of her scans on Harper and that Tyr keep his distance from the engineer for the time being. Tyr readily agreed, informing Dylan that he had already begun giving Harper some space. The meeting was then adjured as Rommie informed Dylan that Harper was nearly finished the anti-virus update.
That afternoon after lunch Tyr found Beka sitting in the Maru staring at a flexi. He had come to ask to borrow the Maru to make a supply trip. The Nietzschean was surprised by smell fear coming from the blonde. Tyr had a sense that something was wrong.
"I would let you borrow the Maru Tyr, but I had planned a supply run to San- Ska-Re myself. If you want to give me a list I'll be happy to pick up your supplies too."
Tyr wasn't looking forward to making a supply run, but had a sense that Beka wasn't taking the Maru on a supply run.
"That would save me a trip Beka, thank you. I will meet you back here with my list. How soon are you leaving?"
Beka stood up and walked over to the first aid kit to give it a quick pre- flight check. "I'm on my way to tell Dylan now so let's say 15 minutes."
"I'll meet you back here in 15 minutes then," Try agreed. "Beka, are you sure you want to do this?"
Beka kept her composure and tried to act like she didn't know what Tyr was getting at. "Yeah, I'm sure I want to make a supply run. I need shampoo and cd's."
"I'll be perfectly frank with you. I don't think you have any intention of going on a supply run Beka Valentine," Tyr stated as he leaned against the Maru's wall. "I believe your trip has something to do with Harper. I will not pry into your affairs and ask what your plans are. I will just wish you a safe journey."
Beka closed the First Aid kit and turned to face the Nietzschean. "Thanks Tyr but I'm just going to San-Ska-Re on a supply run."
Tyr merely stared at the blonde pilot. "If you insist Beka, but I hope you aren't making a grave mistake that will ruin your life. Please think about what I just said before you leave."
"I will Tyr," Beka lied. Beka had made up her mind and there was she wasn't about to turn back.