"Trust Me"- reply to ZS "trust me" challenge
Disclaimer: Andromeda etc. isn't mine, yadayadayada.
Spoilers: Ouroboros, Lava and Rockets, Bunker Hill.
Rating: PG
Author's Note: this is a response to ZS "trust me" challenge.
Genre: Drama/Angst
Summary: Dylan and Harper are on the Maru. They crash land on a strange planet with mysterious people.
****************************************************************
Faith isn't blind.
Then again, it depends which God you're worshipping.
- Keeper of the Way Vision of Faith
AFC 276
****************************************************************
"Where are we going again?" Harper asked Dylan for the third time.
Dylan sighed. "The Anmarhork system. It's not that hard to say, you know. An-mar-hork."
Harper rolled his eyes. "I know it's not hard to pronounce."
"Well, what is it then?"
Harper sighed. "Nothing," he murmured, and strode away from the cockpit.
Harper had been acting very unusual for the past few days. He didn't sleep, didn't eat, and never really talked to the crew. He would stay inside the machine shop all day, working on five different projects at the same time. Once when Beka had asked him what he was doing, he simply said "work", and had asked Beka to leave. It was hard not to notice that he was tired and stressed out. Even Tyr was beginning to worry. Dylan engaged auto-pilot and headed towards the engine room, since he was sure Harper would be there.
Sure enough, Harper was drinking Sparky Cola while working on a weird-looking gadget he got somewhere. He didn't notice Dylan was behind him.
"Mister Harper, we need to talk."
The young engineer spun around. "Hey, boss. What can I do for you?" he asked casually.
Dylan looked at him. "Well, I was hoping you could explain your strange behaviour lately. You stay in the Machine Shop without eating or sleeping, working on five different things at once and not talking to anyone. Is something the matter?"
Harper shrugged. "Not really, no. Now, if you don't mind I have work to do," and he turned back and kept tinkering with his gadget. Dylan let out an exhasperated sigh.
"Harper, you're doing it again. Please tell me what's wrong."
Harper looked back at Dylan. "It's a lot of things. It's Trance. Ever since she switched places with herself and saved me instead of Hohne. It's Hohne dying. It's . . . have seen your parents die?"
Dylan was taken aback by the question. "Uh . . . no, I didn't. I was frozen in time when they died."
"I did. The Drago-Katsov were looking for slaves. My dad tried to fight them, but instead they just killed him and my mom. I was seven when they died. The reason I'm sulking is because they died on this day."
Harper fell silent. Dylan couldn't think of something to say. Harper started to climb up the ladder to go to the cargo pod, but then the ship shook violently, and Harper fell. Dylan raced to the cockpit. In front of them there were three nietzschean fighters, and two behind them.
"Oh, great." Dylan moaned. The ship shook again, and Harper nearly lost his balance as he raced towards the railing.
"Oh, crap," he exclaimed as he clutched the railing. He glanced at Dylan, who was trying to maneuver the ship away. "What do we do now?" he asked nervously.
"We try to get away."
"No, really," Harper commented sarcastically. "Besides that?"
"There's not much else to do. We don't have any weapons that would be effective enough to destroy all five fighters."
Suddenly the ship rocked from side to side again, more violently this time. Smoke was coming up all over the place, alarms flashed, and the ship was losing power. Harper went back to the engine room and started doing quick repairs to the engines.
After five more minutes, the nietzscheans left. Dylan went back to help Harper.
"Report, Mister Harper."
"We have three quarter impulse power, and long-range sensors, slipstream in-operable. We're being pulled into orbit by a nearby planet. We might not have enough power to compensate."
"How long until impact?"
"At least five minutes. Things are pretty much busted. We're gonna crash into the planet, whether we like it or not."
"Statistics on the planet?"
"A Tarn-Vedran type planet. There are a few people who live on it."
Dylan nodded. "Do we have communications?"
Harper checked the console he was working at. "Yeah. We could send a message to the Andromeda, but they wouldn't intercept it for five hours. We're all alone."
Dylan nodded. He went back to the pilot's chair. The massive planet was getting closer by the second. "We have to try to maneuver away without burning up in the atmosphere." He stared at the planet, thinking.
"Do you think we could slingshot away from the planet?" he asked.
Harper shook his head. "I wouldn't want to risk it. And anyway, without much engine power, we couldn't get far enough away from the planet's gravitational force. And we can only do more than 5 PSL, for now."
The ship started swaying to and fro again. When the Maru entered the atmosphere, they lost piloting controls and engines. They were heading right towards the planet.
Meanwhile on the Andromeda, Beka was pacing around on the floor in a circle. She and Trance were in Command. Tyr and Rommie were conducting repairs on weapon control. Trance was watching Beka pace in a circle, and it was annoying her. After a few moments of silence Trance really got fed up and said, "Okay, Beka, what's wrong?"
Beka smiled a mischevious grin. "You noticed?"
Trance rolled her eyes. "Well, if nothing's wrong, then I'll just go back to watching you waste your time."
Beka frowned. "All right, I get the point. Actually, i'm worried about Dylan and Harper."
It was Trance's turn to frown. "Why? They're not going to be back for two days."
"I don't care. I just have a feeling something's wrong. Or is going to be wrong."
"What makes you think that?"
"Oh, come on. You must know what i'm talking about. You look pretty anxious yourself."
As a matter of fact, Trance was also worried. Her gut instincts told her they should intercept the Maru. And her gut instinct is pretty accurate.
"Well, do you think we should go find the Maru?"
Beka grinned. "You count on it."
"Owww . . ." Dylan moaned as he stood up. The Maru crashed about ten minutes ago. Dylan remembered the Maru shaking, the shock of the impact . . . And he also remembered seeing Harper get tossed around the shaking Maru.
"Harper?" Silence.
"Harper?" he called again. This time he heard a faint groan of pain.
Dylan stumbled over to a large pile of scrap metal. He could see a hand grasping it's way out. He moved a bunch of metal plating out of the way until he could see Harper.
"Harper, are you alright?" he asked while pulling Harper to his feet.
"Yeah, I'll live," he replied. He touched his forhead, which was bleeding. There was a long gash on his right side, close to his eye. It was about three inches long. Harper winced in pain as he touched it.
"We should do something about that cut." Dylan said, worried.
"Nah, it's alright." Harper replied. He looked Dylan over. "How come I get a deep cut along with a bunch of bruises, and you don't even get a scratch?"
Dylan shrugged. "The Divine must like me more than you."
"Ha, ha. Very funny, oh wise and idealist leader. If you're so smart, then how do we get this tugboat up and running again?"
Dylan chuckled. "I thought that was your job."
Harper made a face and didn't reply. They started looking around the Maru, trying to figure out all the damage and how long it would take to repair.
"Any sign of them yet?" Beka asked for the tenth time.
Rommie shook her head. "No. But look at this." she pressed a few buttons and a chart appeared on the main viewer.
"There are traces of slipstream events significant with Nietzschean fighters. They left the system approx. half an hour ago. Also, there are traces of anti-protons."
Beka sighed in frustration. "Where do you think they could be, then?" she asked.
Tyr folded his arms. "Not far, I presume."
Beka turned to Tyr. "Really? And what makes you think that?"
"I assume that the fighters attacked the Maru. When the nietzscheans realized the Maru was damaged enough, they would leave. Perhaps they decided that the planet's gravitational force would lure the Maru in, and they wouldn't have enough power to compensate."
"So, are you saying the Maru crashed on the planet?"
"If we're guessing, mine is as good as any."
Beka reluctantly nodded. "Trance, scan the planet for lifeforms and any trace of the Maru."
"Scanning," Trance replied. After a few seconds, she said, "there are lifeforms on the planet, and I can detect scrambled signals, probably from the Maru."
Beka nodded. "Let's get in closer. Rommie, put the Andromeda into standard orbit around the planet and scan it's surface for the Maru. We have to know it's exact location."
"Aye aye." she replied.
"Boss, are you sure this is a good idea?" Harper asked nervously. Dylan had the idea to ask the locals for some help. "I mean, we don't know who lives here, what kind of aliens, they could be dangerous, or . . ."
Dylan shook off his concern's with a wave of his hand. "Yes, yes I know. But we have to do something. They could have alreaady detected us, so either way we'll probably meet them some time."
Harper sighed, then reluctantly nodded. Dylan went out of the airlock, closely followed by Harper.
It was, beyond comparison, the most beautiful planet either of them has ever seen. There were waterfalls, with crystal clear blue water flowing from them, and the odd-shaped but beautiful fountains stood out among the trees. There were flowers everywhere, from dandylions to daffodils to tulips, a type of flower thought to be extinct. The sky was a brilliant orange, with flecks of purple and blue among it. The grass was a dark green and soft to the touch.
"I'm in heaven," Harper muttered to no one in particular.
"Indeed you are," a strange voice said behind him.
Dylan and Harper turned around quickly, and they were looking at two of the strangest aliens they had ever seen.
They were both a deep sparkling blue, like the color of Vedran blood. They had long, pointed ears. They were barefeet, and they both had strange robes on them. One seemed male, the other female.
"Except it is not actually heaven as in the afterlife. It is merely the name of the planet," the alien continued.
One of them stepped forward. "My name is Zion, and this is my sister Starfish," he introduced, looking at he two humans curiously.
"My name is Dylan, and this is my friend Harper. We crashed on your planet, and we need help restoring our ship to order."
Zion nodded. "Yes, we saw it crash. We were coming to see if you needed any medical assistance." He glanced towards Harper, who tensed. "It seems your friend Harper does," he added.
"Uh, thanks, but I'm alright," Harper reassured.
"Are you sure?" Starfish asked. Her voice seemed soft and light, like a cool summer breeze. Zion's voice was deeper, but a nice kind of deeper. His voice seemed strong, yet somehow umbalanced.
"Yeah, I'm quite sure. Thanks anyways."
Zion turned back towards Dylan. "We don't often have visitors. We will assist you to fix your vessel in any way we can. We will also make your stay comfortable and enjoyable. We wish to learn more about your world. Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course."
"Are you Captain Dylan Hunt of the High Guard?"
Dylan was puzzled. "How did you know?"
"We are aware of your efforts to re-establish the Commonwealth. Ever since you started your mission, our leader, Xox, wanted to join. She said that in exchange for your technology, we would offer you medical treatments, technology, weapons, and our databanks with five thousand years of knowledge of our people. We wish to share our culture. I usually help Xox in many political issues."
Dylan was flattered. "Well, thank you. A planet as remarakable as yours would be well welcomed into the Commonwealth. What kind of government do you have?"
"We have a peaceful democracy. We have laws here that are well obeyed. Few people break them, but we still have officers patroling around. Starfish is training to become an officer, actually." Starfish smiled. She looked timid.
"When people break a law, they are punished accordingly."
Harper cocked his eyebrows. "And what exactly is 'accordingly'?"
"There are different punishments. It differs on the age of the criminal, and how serious the crime. Our worst punishment is having a person being whipped, but there are few times that punishment is needed, fourtunately. We are a non-violent species. We only defend ourselves when it is absolutely neccesary."
"What if you go to a war?"
"We kill as little as possible. However, if one of our friends is in danger, we will protect him. If an enemy kills one of us, we will retaliate. Ah, but enough of us! Come to our capital city. Xox will want to meet with you."
"We are the Horks, by the way," Starfish said. She came close to Harper, and put her hand on his cut. Harper winced in pain, but when Starfish drew back, the cut was gone.
Harper was amazed. "How did you do that?" he asked, bewildered.
Starfish smiled. "Come with me and I will show you." she said mischeviously, while staring at Harper with her bright blue eyes.
Harper looked at Dylan and pointed a Starfish, trying to ask a question, but he kept stammering. Dylan nodded. Harper muttered "Thanks," walked off with Starfish. Dylan continued with Zion to the capital city.
"Any sign of them yet?" Beka started asking again.
"No, but we have a small problem. There are nietzschean fighters ten light- minutes away and closing fast. They seem to be headed straight towards us."
"Can we destroy them while still in orbit?"
"Negative. They're less than five light-minutes away." Rommie said.
"Beka, may I suggest that we leave?" Tyr growled.
"Not while Harper and Dylan are down there."
"They can take care of themselves, but we cannot if we stay in the atmosphere."
"They're one light-minute away," Rommie informed them.
Beka and Tyr glared at each other.
"They're firing," Rommie said.
The ship rocked back and forth. Then Beka reacted.
"Andromeda, take us out of the planet, slingshot maneuver," Beka ordered.
They moved of the atmosphere, but the Nietzscheans didn't notice. They started firing on the planet.
"Tyr, launch missiles!" Beka yelled.
"With pleasure," Tyr replied with malice. He fired, destroying three of the fighters. But unknown to them, a Nietzschean mother ship was on the other side of the planet. It launched all it's payload on the planet, from missiles to proximity mines. The planet buckled.
"Beka, something's happening to the planet," Rommie said.
Then, without warning, the planet exploded.
The crew of the Andromeda just stared. Beka was the first one to speak.
"Are there any survivors?"
"Unknown, but I am picking up a high-energy mass, exactly where the planet was."
"On screen," Beka replied.
What appeared on the screen was totally bizarre. There was a transparent dome with a rectangular floor. In it were aliens.
"Enhance visual," Beka said uncertainly.
Up close they could see there were little blue aliens in it. Among them were two humans.
"Dylan and Harper," Beka muttered. Tyr folded his arms, surprised. "Interesting. Ship?" Tyr called out. The Andromeda hologram appeared next to him.
"Yes, Tyr?"
"Can we contact them inside that . . . thing?"
"I doubt it." was her only reply.
"What happened?" Dylan asked Zion. One minute him and Zion were walking towards the capital city, the next they were in a force field in space. All the Horks seemed surprised and interested.
"There is a legend that has been around for centuries. Our ancestor was said to be a sorcerer of great power, but he did not have enough strength to fight our enemies. So he created a force field around our planet, so if the planet would get destroyed, we would survive."
"How could you survive? You don't have any food, the air will eventually run out . . ."
"Yes well . . . at least we'll die in peace."
Harper came up next to Dylan. "And even if we don't die in this bubble, Beka will kill us when we get back to the Andromeda."
"Why would she kill us?"
"Because the Maru was destroyed when the planet was destroyed, that's why," he emphasized.
"You want your Maru back, you can have it back," Zion said. He waved one of his hands and the Maru appeared outside of the force field, dead in space.
Beka couldn't believe it.
"What . . . how . . . what . . ." she stammered.
"How . . . what the . . . what . . ." Harper stammered. Starfish appeared next to Harper. "We are a magical people. We can do many things."
"That's for sure," Harper muttered under his breath.
"Rommie, is that the Maru?" Beka asked, unsure. Tyr stared at it, appaled, his arms folded across his chest.
"Yes. It is the Eureka Maru."
"That's odd," Trance muttered.
"You got that right," Beka replied. "Well, at least now I don't have a reason for killing Dylan and Harper," she continued.
"You would have liked that, wouldn't you?" Tyr asked her. Beka grinned.
"Can you get us out of here?" Dylan asked Zion. He shook his head. "We cannot do magic outside of our planet, so we cannot here."
"I think I could without disrupting the force field, but the things I need I don't have with me." Harper said, thinking.
"What do you need?" Starfish asked. Harper grinned.
"Uh, a machine shop with a bunch of machinery and crap, skematics for the Eureka Maru, my toolbelt, umm . . . a couple of Sparky's . . ."
"Harper, you do not need Sparky's," Dylan objected.
"I need to stay awake and keep my energy up," Harper whined as the stuff he needed (Sparky's included) appeared in front of him. He began working on something. Starfish's eyes suddenly lit up. "What an impressive ship," she whispered in awe. Dylan and Harper turned simultaneously. The Andromeda loomed into view.
"How long until we can do your plan?" Dylan asked.
"About two hours."
"Really?" Dylan asked, impressed.
Harper rolled his eyes. "What do you expect? I'm a freaking genius."
Dylan laughed. "For our sake, I hope so."
Onboard the Andromeda, the crew saw a miniature machine shop appear.
"It seems the little professor has a plan." Tyr mused.
"Of course he has a plan. He's Harper," Beka commented. "Maybe he found a way to communicate with us. Or free him and Dylan."
"Or both," Tyr countered.
"Knowing Harper, both," Rommie said.
"Well, we'll know soon enough," Trance added.
Half an hour had passed. Harper's project was signifacantly taking form. It looked like a big hexagon with spikes all around.
"Uh . . . Harper . . . what exactly is that?" Dylan asked uncertainly.
"Don't worry, it's gonna work. All you have to do is trust yourself. And me. And the aliens," Harper replied while checking the wiring on one of the spikes. But Dylan didn't know who to trust. He could trust himself, and perhaps the aliens, but he was having his doubts about Harper. He was under a lot of stress lately, and spent most of his time drinking his Sparky or talking with Starfish with googly eyes. Dylan felt the only person he could really trust was himself.
One hour had passed. Beka, Rommie, Trance and Tyr were looking out of the main viewer, trying to figure out what Harper's device was. It wasn't hexagon shaped anymoe; it was box shaped. Harper didn't stop working, drinking Sparky after Sparky.
It showed that the stress had finally gotten to him. There were dark circles under his eyes, he yawned every few minutes, and he started coughing too. The air inside the force field was running out; Rommie had estimated twenty minutes until there wasn't any oxygen left. Most of the Horks were too weak too move. Harper was getting weak too, but that didn't stop him from working on his project.
Ten minutes left. Harper hadn't finished his project yet. He only concentrated on that. He hardly had time to breathe, and it was difficult enough to do just that. A few Horks had already died. Dylan was immobilized; he was sitting on the floor. Harper's coughing was getting worse, and there was traces of a rash developing. He was covered in sweat. He concentrated only on his project. At last, he was finished.
"Done," Harper announced at last. "As soon as there isn't any air left, this baby will transport all of us to the Andromeda."
Dylan sighed and struggled to get up. "Harper, can I talk to you for a sec?" he asked meakly. Harper nodded and helped Dylan stand up.
"Sure boss, what is it?"
"Harper, I don't think we should bring these people on board."
Harper was taken aback. "Why, you don't trust them?"
"No, I . . . I trust them. It's just, they're hiding many things from us."
"Trance is hiding a million things from us, and you don't want to throw her off the ship. Especially since . . ." he trailed off. "Anyway, we just can't let them die."
"I wouldn't be surprised if they couldn't die, like Trance."
Harper glanced over at the Horks who were dead. "They look pretty dead to me."
Dylan let out an exhasperated sigh. "Look, I can trust them. I don't have a problem with them. It's you I'm worried about. You've been under a lt of stress lately, and you haven't been acting like yourself. God only knows what your . . . machine really does. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if your contraption only brought you back, leaving all of us to die."
Harper was shocked. "Boss, you know I would never do that. First of all, I don't have a reason to want to have you dead. Second of all, I find these Horks very interesting, and they don't deserve to die, either. And last of all, if I would do that then Beka or Tyr would kill me on the Andromeda for doing a thing like that. So it's all the same to you." Harper stopped yelling, a angry and hurt look in his eyes.
"Harper, listen to me--"
"No, you listen to me. I'm tired of all this crap I get from everybody. Everyone is watching me all the time like I'm on a suicide watch or something. That person called Trance is nice and all, but I'm not used to her. It's bad enough the so called "revolution" on Earth didn't turn out well at all, because you couldn't keep your promise to me. And the week after that, Rev Bem has to break his promise to me. So what am I supposed to think?" Harper suddenly stopped then. Their time had run out. There was no more oxygen in the force field.
"There is no more oxygen in the force feild," Rommie announced. "They will all be dead in two minutes, forty-seven seconds."
"Come on, Harper," Beka muttered.
"Harper, now will be a really good time for your invention to work," Dylan commented. Harper nodded, gasping and coughing, and turned his machine on. It started humming. Then, Harper sank to the floor, completely out of air.
The machine whirled. It started glowing. Then there was a big flash of light, and everyone in the force field vanished, and appeared on the Andromeda seconds later.
"The survivors are all in cargo bay three," Rommie told everyone.
"Good. Open the air vents in there. Try to send as much air into cargo bay three as possible." Beka ordered, while running out of Command.
"Aye Aye," Rommie replied. Trance and Tyr followed Beka to cargo bay three.
Dylan looked at Harper. He was still breathing; he just passed out from lack of air. He was starting to come round.
"Harper, I'm sorry," Dylan said, relieved.
Harper snorted. "Yeah, right," he whispered before passing out again. Just then Beka and the others entered and started looking after the others. Beka went right to Harper.
"How is he?"
"Fine, just oxygen deprived. I think he's getting sick, too. We should bring him to Medical. His invention transported us--" he suddenly stopped short, something dawning on him.
"Dylan?"
"He transported us. Transportation technology is barely possible. How could he have known it would work? How did he know to do it? How did he do it?"
"Uh, Dylan, I would like to know that too, but we have to get him to Medical."
"Oh, right," Dylan replied, still in awe. Two droids with a stretcher came over and lifted Harper up on it. Then they slowly rolled him to Medical.
"How will he be?" Beka asked Trance twenty minutes later.
"He's stable, but he has a strange illness, one i've never seen before. And I don't know how to cure it."
"Will he be all right?" Dylan asked,
Trance shook her head. "This disease is eating through his nervous system and organ tissue at an alarming rate, and everything I tried couldn't stop it. He has about ten hours to live."
The news devastated the crew. They couldn't think of anything to say. "What is his condition?" Dylan asked.
"He's unconsious, but dilusional. He's starting to fall into a coma."
"Can we see him?"
Trance nodded and stepped aside so Dylan and the others could pass.
Harper was lying on the bed, still as a doorknob. His eyes were closed and he was murmuring things Dylan couldn't hear. Hie lifesigns were weak.
Tyr looked at his prone figure with sadness in his eyes. 'He will make it,' Tyr thought. 'He always pulls through.'
"Isn't there anything we can do?" Beka asked, tears running down her face.
Trance simply shook her head.
Two hours later, Dylan was in Command, even though it was late. He couldn't sleep. So he was in Command doing little things despite Andromeda's objections.
"Captain, you really should get some sleep," the hologram of Andromeda suggested.
"I can't sleep," Dylan replied.
Andromeda stared intently at him for a few seconds.
"You're worried about Harper, aren't you?" she asked soflty.
Dylan sighed. "Yes, Andromeda, I am. And I shouldn't have too. I mean, he survived many things. He grew up on Earth, he got radiation sickness, trillions of information got uploaded into his skull, and he was infested with Magog eggs. You saw how I was when he was infested, and when he had a week to live. Now he's going to die for no reason and . . ."
"There's nothing you can do about it." Andromeda finished. "Dylan, it's all right. You can't stop everything bad from happening." With that she blinked out, leaving Dylan to think with his concerned thoughts.
Half an hour later Dylan walked into Zion's guest quarters. He was sitting on the bed, a morunful look in his eyes.
"You can save him, can't you?" Dylan asked him softly.
Zion looked at him. "I could. But it would not show the moral of his sickness."
"Moral?"
"You doubted him. You didn't trust him. And now he is dying, and you regret what you said to him. You hope he won't die. Humans are funny that way," Zion whispered.
"Did you make him sick?" Dylan asked. Zion simply nodded. "I thought it would be best. Starfish tried to stop me. She cares for the human."
"Why are you doing this?"
"To help him. He is not appreciated, and yet you do not want him to die. I will show you people the consequences for doing that."
"Please stop this madness." Dylan wsa getting desperate.
"Do not worry. No permanent harm will come to him."
"Permanent?" Just then Andromeda said, "Dylan, please report to Command."
Dylan stormed onto Command. "WHAT?" he yelled loudly. Beka looked at him shocked. "What's wrong with you?" she asked, surprised.
"What's wrong with me is that Zion intentionally made Harper sick to prove some point that we could very well have figured out for ourselves," he exclaimed vehemently.
Beka's jaw dropped. "What?"
Dylan nodded. "And Zion said he won't stop Harper from dying."
Beka cursed. "That lousy, biased son of a-"
"Blue freak," Dylan finished. Beka closed her mouth. "You said it, not me."
"Dylan sighed. "How's Harper, anyway?"
Andromeda's face appeared on the nearest screen. "Not good."
"Define not good," Dylan angrily said.
"His blood pressure is dropping, his heart rate is falling, and he is in a coma. His body temperature is currently at 87.3 degrees and falling. His breathing is shallow. His pulse is irregular and eratic. He has four hours to live."
Beka glared at her. "You could of just said worse than before," she said.
Andromeda lifted up her nose. "Dylan told me to be precise, I was only following orders. When did you become so cranky?"
"And when did you become such a snob?" Beka snapped back.
"Ladies," Dylan said firmly. They both fell silent. "As much as I find this cat-fight of yours amusing, we have to convince Zion to cure Harper."
"I doubt it," Beka commented.
"Maybe we don't have to," Andromeda said. "Maybe we can convince his sister to cure him instead."
"Starfish?" Dylan frowned. "Zion did say she didn't want him to hurt Harper . . ."
"No no no no no," Starfish exclaimed as she shook her head. "I dare not help you. My brother would not be happy at all, no no no."
"But, Starfish, we need you help. An innocent man--annoying, immature, over-enthusiatic, and way over-confindent, yes--but still an innocent man, will die if you don't do something. Can you really have that on your shoulders?" Beka argued.
Starfish thought for a few minutes, her ears drooping down. Finally, she made up her mind. "Take me to Harper," she said at last.
Soon they were in Medical. Starfish was standing over Harper, who was deathly pale. He was hardly breathing, and his lifesigns were dangerously low. Rommie estimated he had five minutes to live.
Starfish was muttering some strange words that no one knew, except for one person. Trance was out of sight in the corner, muttering in the same strange language, helping her help Harper.
Just then, Zion came running in. "No!" he yelled. Tyr refrained him from getting close to Starfish. "Starfish, no! Achniberalle!" he screamed in the strange tongue. Starfish pretended like she didn't hear him. Harper's lifesigns grew weaker. Then, something weird happened.
Harper was in a strange realm, which was a tranquil blue. Bubbles were floating around everywhere. In the bubbles, Harper could see thoughts; memories. He saw what Dylan was thinking. He saw Beka meeting Bobby for the first time. More and more bubbles whirled past him. Then, a bubble stopped right in front of him.
Harper peered into it. At first, he only saw a foggy white. Then, the image grew sharper. It was like the entire universe was showing itself to him at the same time. The image came to rest in the atmosphere of a planet. Earth.
But this was a different Earth that Harper grew up on. It still had Nietzscheans on it, and many people dying, and famines and plagues, but they seemed . . . calmer somehow. Peaceful. The air seemed less tense. People weren't afraid to leave their homes. They walked out in the sunlight. They would still hide if nietzschean patrols passed by, but they didn't seem scared.
Harper saw more and more of what the universe had to offer until he couldn't take it anymore. There were angry voices in his head. People yelling, crying, pleading. Harper finally had enough.
"No!" he woke up in Medical with a start. He glanced around. Everyone was yelling. He sat up. "Will you people shut up?" he yelled.
A tense silence filled the air. Everyone stared at him. "Mr. Harper, are you alright?" Dylan asked.
"I'm fine," Harper replied. Trance walked up to him and scanned him quickly.
"All signs of the virus are gone, you can leave whenever you're ready," Trance diagnosed. Zion looked at Harper angrily and sighed.
"Thank you very much, Captian Hunt," the leader of the Horks, Xox, said.
"Thank you for joining the Commonwealth," Dylan countered.
Dylan had discovered a planet the Horks could live on just yesterday. It was calm, sirene, and there was a Wayist colony on it. Xox talked with the Wayist who founded the colony. The Wayists named the planet Wayfinder, and they were happy to share with the Horks.
A day after they left, Dylan decided it was time to apologize to Harper. He found him in the Machine Shop, working on the sensor drones.
"Mister Harper, could I have a word with you?"
Harper stopped working on the sensors and slowly turned around.
"Uh . . . yeah, I guess."
"I just wanted to apologize for what I said in he force field."
"Nah, it's all right. Forget about it."
"I can't forget about it. I had no right to say that and question your honesty. The most I can do is plead temporary insanity and hope we can put this behind us."
Harper cocked his eyebrows. "Only temporary?"
Dylan laughed. So did Harper.
"Dylan, you really don't have to apologize. You were only trusting you gut instinct. You're a captain. You do that."
"I guess so," Dylan replied. "I guess I should have trusted me, and you, and the aliens."
Harper smiled. Dylan left, and Harper continued working on the sensor drones.
THE END
Disclaimer: Andromeda etc. isn't mine, yadayadayada.
Spoilers: Ouroboros, Lava and Rockets, Bunker Hill.
Rating: PG
Author's Note: this is a response to ZS "trust me" challenge.
Genre: Drama/Angst
Summary: Dylan and Harper are on the Maru. They crash land on a strange planet with mysterious people.
****************************************************************
Faith isn't blind.
Then again, it depends which God you're worshipping.
- Keeper of the Way Vision of Faith
AFC 276
****************************************************************
"Where are we going again?" Harper asked Dylan for the third time.
Dylan sighed. "The Anmarhork system. It's not that hard to say, you know. An-mar-hork."
Harper rolled his eyes. "I know it's not hard to pronounce."
"Well, what is it then?"
Harper sighed. "Nothing," he murmured, and strode away from the cockpit.
Harper had been acting very unusual for the past few days. He didn't sleep, didn't eat, and never really talked to the crew. He would stay inside the machine shop all day, working on five different projects at the same time. Once when Beka had asked him what he was doing, he simply said "work", and had asked Beka to leave. It was hard not to notice that he was tired and stressed out. Even Tyr was beginning to worry. Dylan engaged auto-pilot and headed towards the engine room, since he was sure Harper would be there.
Sure enough, Harper was drinking Sparky Cola while working on a weird-looking gadget he got somewhere. He didn't notice Dylan was behind him.
"Mister Harper, we need to talk."
The young engineer spun around. "Hey, boss. What can I do for you?" he asked casually.
Dylan looked at him. "Well, I was hoping you could explain your strange behaviour lately. You stay in the Machine Shop without eating or sleeping, working on five different things at once and not talking to anyone. Is something the matter?"
Harper shrugged. "Not really, no. Now, if you don't mind I have work to do," and he turned back and kept tinkering with his gadget. Dylan let out an exhasperated sigh.
"Harper, you're doing it again. Please tell me what's wrong."
Harper looked back at Dylan. "It's a lot of things. It's Trance. Ever since she switched places with herself and saved me instead of Hohne. It's Hohne dying. It's . . . have seen your parents die?"
Dylan was taken aback by the question. "Uh . . . no, I didn't. I was frozen in time when they died."
"I did. The Drago-Katsov were looking for slaves. My dad tried to fight them, but instead they just killed him and my mom. I was seven when they died. The reason I'm sulking is because they died on this day."
Harper fell silent. Dylan couldn't think of something to say. Harper started to climb up the ladder to go to the cargo pod, but then the ship shook violently, and Harper fell. Dylan raced to the cockpit. In front of them there were three nietzschean fighters, and two behind them.
"Oh, great." Dylan moaned. The ship shook again, and Harper nearly lost his balance as he raced towards the railing.
"Oh, crap," he exclaimed as he clutched the railing. He glanced at Dylan, who was trying to maneuver the ship away. "What do we do now?" he asked nervously.
"We try to get away."
"No, really," Harper commented sarcastically. "Besides that?"
"There's not much else to do. We don't have any weapons that would be effective enough to destroy all five fighters."
Suddenly the ship rocked from side to side again, more violently this time. Smoke was coming up all over the place, alarms flashed, and the ship was losing power. Harper went back to the engine room and started doing quick repairs to the engines.
After five more minutes, the nietzscheans left. Dylan went back to help Harper.
"Report, Mister Harper."
"We have three quarter impulse power, and long-range sensors, slipstream in-operable. We're being pulled into orbit by a nearby planet. We might not have enough power to compensate."
"How long until impact?"
"At least five minutes. Things are pretty much busted. We're gonna crash into the planet, whether we like it or not."
"Statistics on the planet?"
"A Tarn-Vedran type planet. There are a few people who live on it."
Dylan nodded. "Do we have communications?"
Harper checked the console he was working at. "Yeah. We could send a message to the Andromeda, but they wouldn't intercept it for five hours. We're all alone."
Dylan nodded. He went back to the pilot's chair. The massive planet was getting closer by the second. "We have to try to maneuver away without burning up in the atmosphere." He stared at the planet, thinking.
"Do you think we could slingshot away from the planet?" he asked.
Harper shook his head. "I wouldn't want to risk it. And anyway, without much engine power, we couldn't get far enough away from the planet's gravitational force. And we can only do more than 5 PSL, for now."
The ship started swaying to and fro again. When the Maru entered the atmosphere, they lost piloting controls and engines. They were heading right towards the planet.
Meanwhile on the Andromeda, Beka was pacing around on the floor in a circle. She and Trance were in Command. Tyr and Rommie were conducting repairs on weapon control. Trance was watching Beka pace in a circle, and it was annoying her. After a few moments of silence Trance really got fed up and said, "Okay, Beka, what's wrong?"
Beka smiled a mischevious grin. "You noticed?"
Trance rolled her eyes. "Well, if nothing's wrong, then I'll just go back to watching you waste your time."
Beka frowned. "All right, I get the point. Actually, i'm worried about Dylan and Harper."
It was Trance's turn to frown. "Why? They're not going to be back for two days."
"I don't care. I just have a feeling something's wrong. Or is going to be wrong."
"What makes you think that?"
"Oh, come on. You must know what i'm talking about. You look pretty anxious yourself."
As a matter of fact, Trance was also worried. Her gut instincts told her they should intercept the Maru. And her gut instinct is pretty accurate.
"Well, do you think we should go find the Maru?"
Beka grinned. "You count on it."
"Owww . . ." Dylan moaned as he stood up. The Maru crashed about ten minutes ago. Dylan remembered the Maru shaking, the shock of the impact . . . And he also remembered seeing Harper get tossed around the shaking Maru.
"Harper?" Silence.
"Harper?" he called again. This time he heard a faint groan of pain.
Dylan stumbled over to a large pile of scrap metal. He could see a hand grasping it's way out. He moved a bunch of metal plating out of the way until he could see Harper.
"Harper, are you alright?" he asked while pulling Harper to his feet.
"Yeah, I'll live," he replied. He touched his forhead, which was bleeding. There was a long gash on his right side, close to his eye. It was about three inches long. Harper winced in pain as he touched it.
"We should do something about that cut." Dylan said, worried.
"Nah, it's alright." Harper replied. He looked Dylan over. "How come I get a deep cut along with a bunch of bruises, and you don't even get a scratch?"
Dylan shrugged. "The Divine must like me more than you."
"Ha, ha. Very funny, oh wise and idealist leader. If you're so smart, then how do we get this tugboat up and running again?"
Dylan chuckled. "I thought that was your job."
Harper made a face and didn't reply. They started looking around the Maru, trying to figure out all the damage and how long it would take to repair.
"Any sign of them yet?" Beka asked for the tenth time.
Rommie shook her head. "No. But look at this." she pressed a few buttons and a chart appeared on the main viewer.
"There are traces of slipstream events significant with Nietzschean fighters. They left the system approx. half an hour ago. Also, there are traces of anti-protons."
Beka sighed in frustration. "Where do you think they could be, then?" she asked.
Tyr folded his arms. "Not far, I presume."
Beka turned to Tyr. "Really? And what makes you think that?"
"I assume that the fighters attacked the Maru. When the nietzscheans realized the Maru was damaged enough, they would leave. Perhaps they decided that the planet's gravitational force would lure the Maru in, and they wouldn't have enough power to compensate."
"So, are you saying the Maru crashed on the planet?"
"If we're guessing, mine is as good as any."
Beka reluctantly nodded. "Trance, scan the planet for lifeforms and any trace of the Maru."
"Scanning," Trance replied. After a few seconds, she said, "there are lifeforms on the planet, and I can detect scrambled signals, probably from the Maru."
Beka nodded. "Let's get in closer. Rommie, put the Andromeda into standard orbit around the planet and scan it's surface for the Maru. We have to know it's exact location."
"Aye aye." she replied.
"Boss, are you sure this is a good idea?" Harper asked nervously. Dylan had the idea to ask the locals for some help. "I mean, we don't know who lives here, what kind of aliens, they could be dangerous, or . . ."
Dylan shook off his concern's with a wave of his hand. "Yes, yes I know. But we have to do something. They could have alreaady detected us, so either way we'll probably meet them some time."
Harper sighed, then reluctantly nodded. Dylan went out of the airlock, closely followed by Harper.
It was, beyond comparison, the most beautiful planet either of them has ever seen. There were waterfalls, with crystal clear blue water flowing from them, and the odd-shaped but beautiful fountains stood out among the trees. There were flowers everywhere, from dandylions to daffodils to tulips, a type of flower thought to be extinct. The sky was a brilliant orange, with flecks of purple and blue among it. The grass was a dark green and soft to the touch.
"I'm in heaven," Harper muttered to no one in particular.
"Indeed you are," a strange voice said behind him.
Dylan and Harper turned around quickly, and they were looking at two of the strangest aliens they had ever seen.
They were both a deep sparkling blue, like the color of Vedran blood. They had long, pointed ears. They were barefeet, and they both had strange robes on them. One seemed male, the other female.
"Except it is not actually heaven as in the afterlife. It is merely the name of the planet," the alien continued.
One of them stepped forward. "My name is Zion, and this is my sister Starfish," he introduced, looking at he two humans curiously.
"My name is Dylan, and this is my friend Harper. We crashed on your planet, and we need help restoring our ship to order."
Zion nodded. "Yes, we saw it crash. We were coming to see if you needed any medical assistance." He glanced towards Harper, who tensed. "It seems your friend Harper does," he added.
"Uh, thanks, but I'm alright," Harper reassured.
"Are you sure?" Starfish asked. Her voice seemed soft and light, like a cool summer breeze. Zion's voice was deeper, but a nice kind of deeper. His voice seemed strong, yet somehow umbalanced.
"Yeah, I'm quite sure. Thanks anyways."
Zion turned back towards Dylan. "We don't often have visitors. We will assist you to fix your vessel in any way we can. We will also make your stay comfortable and enjoyable. We wish to learn more about your world. Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course."
"Are you Captain Dylan Hunt of the High Guard?"
Dylan was puzzled. "How did you know?"
"We are aware of your efforts to re-establish the Commonwealth. Ever since you started your mission, our leader, Xox, wanted to join. She said that in exchange for your technology, we would offer you medical treatments, technology, weapons, and our databanks with five thousand years of knowledge of our people. We wish to share our culture. I usually help Xox in many political issues."
Dylan was flattered. "Well, thank you. A planet as remarakable as yours would be well welcomed into the Commonwealth. What kind of government do you have?"
"We have a peaceful democracy. We have laws here that are well obeyed. Few people break them, but we still have officers patroling around. Starfish is training to become an officer, actually." Starfish smiled. She looked timid.
"When people break a law, they are punished accordingly."
Harper cocked his eyebrows. "And what exactly is 'accordingly'?"
"There are different punishments. It differs on the age of the criminal, and how serious the crime. Our worst punishment is having a person being whipped, but there are few times that punishment is needed, fourtunately. We are a non-violent species. We only defend ourselves when it is absolutely neccesary."
"What if you go to a war?"
"We kill as little as possible. However, if one of our friends is in danger, we will protect him. If an enemy kills one of us, we will retaliate. Ah, but enough of us! Come to our capital city. Xox will want to meet with you."
"We are the Horks, by the way," Starfish said. She came close to Harper, and put her hand on his cut. Harper winced in pain, but when Starfish drew back, the cut was gone.
Harper was amazed. "How did you do that?" he asked, bewildered.
Starfish smiled. "Come with me and I will show you." she said mischeviously, while staring at Harper with her bright blue eyes.
Harper looked at Dylan and pointed a Starfish, trying to ask a question, but he kept stammering. Dylan nodded. Harper muttered "Thanks," walked off with Starfish. Dylan continued with Zion to the capital city.
"Any sign of them yet?" Beka started asking again.
"No, but we have a small problem. There are nietzschean fighters ten light- minutes away and closing fast. They seem to be headed straight towards us."
"Can we destroy them while still in orbit?"
"Negative. They're less than five light-minutes away." Rommie said.
"Beka, may I suggest that we leave?" Tyr growled.
"Not while Harper and Dylan are down there."
"They can take care of themselves, but we cannot if we stay in the atmosphere."
"They're one light-minute away," Rommie informed them.
Beka and Tyr glared at each other.
"They're firing," Rommie said.
The ship rocked back and forth. Then Beka reacted.
"Andromeda, take us out of the planet, slingshot maneuver," Beka ordered.
They moved of the atmosphere, but the Nietzscheans didn't notice. They started firing on the planet.
"Tyr, launch missiles!" Beka yelled.
"With pleasure," Tyr replied with malice. He fired, destroying three of the fighters. But unknown to them, a Nietzschean mother ship was on the other side of the planet. It launched all it's payload on the planet, from missiles to proximity mines. The planet buckled.
"Beka, something's happening to the planet," Rommie said.
Then, without warning, the planet exploded.
The crew of the Andromeda just stared. Beka was the first one to speak.
"Are there any survivors?"
"Unknown, but I am picking up a high-energy mass, exactly where the planet was."
"On screen," Beka replied.
What appeared on the screen was totally bizarre. There was a transparent dome with a rectangular floor. In it were aliens.
"Enhance visual," Beka said uncertainly.
Up close they could see there were little blue aliens in it. Among them were two humans.
"Dylan and Harper," Beka muttered. Tyr folded his arms, surprised. "Interesting. Ship?" Tyr called out. The Andromeda hologram appeared next to him.
"Yes, Tyr?"
"Can we contact them inside that . . . thing?"
"I doubt it." was her only reply.
"What happened?" Dylan asked Zion. One minute him and Zion were walking towards the capital city, the next they were in a force field in space. All the Horks seemed surprised and interested.
"There is a legend that has been around for centuries. Our ancestor was said to be a sorcerer of great power, but he did not have enough strength to fight our enemies. So he created a force field around our planet, so if the planet would get destroyed, we would survive."
"How could you survive? You don't have any food, the air will eventually run out . . ."
"Yes well . . . at least we'll die in peace."
Harper came up next to Dylan. "And even if we don't die in this bubble, Beka will kill us when we get back to the Andromeda."
"Why would she kill us?"
"Because the Maru was destroyed when the planet was destroyed, that's why," he emphasized.
"You want your Maru back, you can have it back," Zion said. He waved one of his hands and the Maru appeared outside of the force field, dead in space.
Beka couldn't believe it.
"What . . . how . . . what . . ." she stammered.
"How . . . what the . . . what . . ." Harper stammered. Starfish appeared next to Harper. "We are a magical people. We can do many things."
"That's for sure," Harper muttered under his breath.
"Rommie, is that the Maru?" Beka asked, unsure. Tyr stared at it, appaled, his arms folded across his chest.
"Yes. It is the Eureka Maru."
"That's odd," Trance muttered.
"You got that right," Beka replied. "Well, at least now I don't have a reason for killing Dylan and Harper," she continued.
"You would have liked that, wouldn't you?" Tyr asked her. Beka grinned.
"Can you get us out of here?" Dylan asked Zion. He shook his head. "We cannot do magic outside of our planet, so we cannot here."
"I think I could without disrupting the force field, but the things I need I don't have with me." Harper said, thinking.
"What do you need?" Starfish asked. Harper grinned.
"Uh, a machine shop with a bunch of machinery and crap, skematics for the Eureka Maru, my toolbelt, umm . . . a couple of Sparky's . . ."
"Harper, you do not need Sparky's," Dylan objected.
"I need to stay awake and keep my energy up," Harper whined as the stuff he needed (Sparky's included) appeared in front of him. He began working on something. Starfish's eyes suddenly lit up. "What an impressive ship," she whispered in awe. Dylan and Harper turned simultaneously. The Andromeda loomed into view.
"How long until we can do your plan?" Dylan asked.
"About two hours."
"Really?" Dylan asked, impressed.
Harper rolled his eyes. "What do you expect? I'm a freaking genius."
Dylan laughed. "For our sake, I hope so."
Onboard the Andromeda, the crew saw a miniature machine shop appear.
"It seems the little professor has a plan." Tyr mused.
"Of course he has a plan. He's Harper," Beka commented. "Maybe he found a way to communicate with us. Or free him and Dylan."
"Or both," Tyr countered.
"Knowing Harper, both," Rommie said.
"Well, we'll know soon enough," Trance added.
Half an hour had passed. Harper's project was signifacantly taking form. It looked like a big hexagon with spikes all around.
"Uh . . . Harper . . . what exactly is that?" Dylan asked uncertainly.
"Don't worry, it's gonna work. All you have to do is trust yourself. And me. And the aliens," Harper replied while checking the wiring on one of the spikes. But Dylan didn't know who to trust. He could trust himself, and perhaps the aliens, but he was having his doubts about Harper. He was under a lot of stress lately, and spent most of his time drinking his Sparky or talking with Starfish with googly eyes. Dylan felt the only person he could really trust was himself.
One hour had passed. Beka, Rommie, Trance and Tyr were looking out of the main viewer, trying to figure out what Harper's device was. It wasn't hexagon shaped anymoe; it was box shaped. Harper didn't stop working, drinking Sparky after Sparky.
It showed that the stress had finally gotten to him. There were dark circles under his eyes, he yawned every few minutes, and he started coughing too. The air inside the force field was running out; Rommie had estimated twenty minutes until there wasn't any oxygen left. Most of the Horks were too weak too move. Harper was getting weak too, but that didn't stop him from working on his project.
Ten minutes left. Harper hadn't finished his project yet. He only concentrated on that. He hardly had time to breathe, and it was difficult enough to do just that. A few Horks had already died. Dylan was immobilized; he was sitting on the floor. Harper's coughing was getting worse, and there was traces of a rash developing. He was covered in sweat. He concentrated only on his project. At last, he was finished.
"Done," Harper announced at last. "As soon as there isn't any air left, this baby will transport all of us to the Andromeda."
Dylan sighed and struggled to get up. "Harper, can I talk to you for a sec?" he asked meakly. Harper nodded and helped Dylan stand up.
"Sure boss, what is it?"
"Harper, I don't think we should bring these people on board."
Harper was taken aback. "Why, you don't trust them?"
"No, I . . . I trust them. It's just, they're hiding many things from us."
"Trance is hiding a million things from us, and you don't want to throw her off the ship. Especially since . . ." he trailed off. "Anyway, we just can't let them die."
"I wouldn't be surprised if they couldn't die, like Trance."
Harper glanced over at the Horks who were dead. "They look pretty dead to me."
Dylan let out an exhasperated sigh. "Look, I can trust them. I don't have a problem with them. It's you I'm worried about. You've been under a lt of stress lately, and you haven't been acting like yourself. God only knows what your . . . machine really does. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if your contraption only brought you back, leaving all of us to die."
Harper was shocked. "Boss, you know I would never do that. First of all, I don't have a reason to want to have you dead. Second of all, I find these Horks very interesting, and they don't deserve to die, either. And last of all, if I would do that then Beka or Tyr would kill me on the Andromeda for doing a thing like that. So it's all the same to you." Harper stopped yelling, a angry and hurt look in his eyes.
"Harper, listen to me--"
"No, you listen to me. I'm tired of all this crap I get from everybody. Everyone is watching me all the time like I'm on a suicide watch or something. That person called Trance is nice and all, but I'm not used to her. It's bad enough the so called "revolution" on Earth didn't turn out well at all, because you couldn't keep your promise to me. And the week after that, Rev Bem has to break his promise to me. So what am I supposed to think?" Harper suddenly stopped then. Their time had run out. There was no more oxygen in the force field.
"There is no more oxygen in the force feild," Rommie announced. "They will all be dead in two minutes, forty-seven seconds."
"Come on, Harper," Beka muttered.
"Harper, now will be a really good time for your invention to work," Dylan commented. Harper nodded, gasping and coughing, and turned his machine on. It started humming. Then, Harper sank to the floor, completely out of air.
The machine whirled. It started glowing. Then there was a big flash of light, and everyone in the force field vanished, and appeared on the Andromeda seconds later.
"The survivors are all in cargo bay three," Rommie told everyone.
"Good. Open the air vents in there. Try to send as much air into cargo bay three as possible." Beka ordered, while running out of Command.
"Aye Aye," Rommie replied. Trance and Tyr followed Beka to cargo bay three.
Dylan looked at Harper. He was still breathing; he just passed out from lack of air. He was starting to come round.
"Harper, I'm sorry," Dylan said, relieved.
Harper snorted. "Yeah, right," he whispered before passing out again. Just then Beka and the others entered and started looking after the others. Beka went right to Harper.
"How is he?"
"Fine, just oxygen deprived. I think he's getting sick, too. We should bring him to Medical. His invention transported us--" he suddenly stopped short, something dawning on him.
"Dylan?"
"He transported us. Transportation technology is barely possible. How could he have known it would work? How did he know to do it? How did he do it?"
"Uh, Dylan, I would like to know that too, but we have to get him to Medical."
"Oh, right," Dylan replied, still in awe. Two droids with a stretcher came over and lifted Harper up on it. Then they slowly rolled him to Medical.
"How will he be?" Beka asked Trance twenty minutes later.
"He's stable, but he has a strange illness, one i've never seen before. And I don't know how to cure it."
"Will he be all right?" Dylan asked,
Trance shook her head. "This disease is eating through his nervous system and organ tissue at an alarming rate, and everything I tried couldn't stop it. He has about ten hours to live."
The news devastated the crew. They couldn't think of anything to say. "What is his condition?" Dylan asked.
"He's unconsious, but dilusional. He's starting to fall into a coma."
"Can we see him?"
Trance nodded and stepped aside so Dylan and the others could pass.
Harper was lying on the bed, still as a doorknob. His eyes were closed and he was murmuring things Dylan couldn't hear. Hie lifesigns were weak.
Tyr looked at his prone figure with sadness in his eyes. 'He will make it,' Tyr thought. 'He always pulls through.'
"Isn't there anything we can do?" Beka asked, tears running down her face.
Trance simply shook her head.
Two hours later, Dylan was in Command, even though it was late. He couldn't sleep. So he was in Command doing little things despite Andromeda's objections.
"Captain, you really should get some sleep," the hologram of Andromeda suggested.
"I can't sleep," Dylan replied.
Andromeda stared intently at him for a few seconds.
"You're worried about Harper, aren't you?" she asked soflty.
Dylan sighed. "Yes, Andromeda, I am. And I shouldn't have too. I mean, he survived many things. He grew up on Earth, he got radiation sickness, trillions of information got uploaded into his skull, and he was infested with Magog eggs. You saw how I was when he was infested, and when he had a week to live. Now he's going to die for no reason and . . ."
"There's nothing you can do about it." Andromeda finished. "Dylan, it's all right. You can't stop everything bad from happening." With that she blinked out, leaving Dylan to think with his concerned thoughts.
Half an hour later Dylan walked into Zion's guest quarters. He was sitting on the bed, a morunful look in his eyes.
"You can save him, can't you?" Dylan asked him softly.
Zion looked at him. "I could. But it would not show the moral of his sickness."
"Moral?"
"You doubted him. You didn't trust him. And now he is dying, and you regret what you said to him. You hope he won't die. Humans are funny that way," Zion whispered.
"Did you make him sick?" Dylan asked. Zion simply nodded. "I thought it would be best. Starfish tried to stop me. She cares for the human."
"Why are you doing this?"
"To help him. He is not appreciated, and yet you do not want him to die. I will show you people the consequences for doing that."
"Please stop this madness." Dylan wsa getting desperate.
"Do not worry. No permanent harm will come to him."
"Permanent?" Just then Andromeda said, "Dylan, please report to Command."
Dylan stormed onto Command. "WHAT?" he yelled loudly. Beka looked at him shocked. "What's wrong with you?" she asked, surprised.
"What's wrong with me is that Zion intentionally made Harper sick to prove some point that we could very well have figured out for ourselves," he exclaimed vehemently.
Beka's jaw dropped. "What?"
Dylan nodded. "And Zion said he won't stop Harper from dying."
Beka cursed. "That lousy, biased son of a-"
"Blue freak," Dylan finished. Beka closed her mouth. "You said it, not me."
"Dylan sighed. "How's Harper, anyway?"
Andromeda's face appeared on the nearest screen. "Not good."
"Define not good," Dylan angrily said.
"His blood pressure is dropping, his heart rate is falling, and he is in a coma. His body temperature is currently at 87.3 degrees and falling. His breathing is shallow. His pulse is irregular and eratic. He has four hours to live."
Beka glared at her. "You could of just said worse than before," she said.
Andromeda lifted up her nose. "Dylan told me to be precise, I was only following orders. When did you become so cranky?"
"And when did you become such a snob?" Beka snapped back.
"Ladies," Dylan said firmly. They both fell silent. "As much as I find this cat-fight of yours amusing, we have to convince Zion to cure Harper."
"I doubt it," Beka commented.
"Maybe we don't have to," Andromeda said. "Maybe we can convince his sister to cure him instead."
"Starfish?" Dylan frowned. "Zion did say she didn't want him to hurt Harper . . ."
"No no no no no," Starfish exclaimed as she shook her head. "I dare not help you. My brother would not be happy at all, no no no."
"But, Starfish, we need you help. An innocent man--annoying, immature, over-enthusiatic, and way over-confindent, yes--but still an innocent man, will die if you don't do something. Can you really have that on your shoulders?" Beka argued.
Starfish thought for a few minutes, her ears drooping down. Finally, she made up her mind. "Take me to Harper," she said at last.
Soon they were in Medical. Starfish was standing over Harper, who was deathly pale. He was hardly breathing, and his lifesigns were dangerously low. Rommie estimated he had five minutes to live.
Starfish was muttering some strange words that no one knew, except for one person. Trance was out of sight in the corner, muttering in the same strange language, helping her help Harper.
Just then, Zion came running in. "No!" he yelled. Tyr refrained him from getting close to Starfish. "Starfish, no! Achniberalle!" he screamed in the strange tongue. Starfish pretended like she didn't hear him. Harper's lifesigns grew weaker. Then, something weird happened.
Harper was in a strange realm, which was a tranquil blue. Bubbles were floating around everywhere. In the bubbles, Harper could see thoughts; memories. He saw what Dylan was thinking. He saw Beka meeting Bobby for the first time. More and more bubbles whirled past him. Then, a bubble stopped right in front of him.
Harper peered into it. At first, he only saw a foggy white. Then, the image grew sharper. It was like the entire universe was showing itself to him at the same time. The image came to rest in the atmosphere of a planet. Earth.
But this was a different Earth that Harper grew up on. It still had Nietzscheans on it, and many people dying, and famines and plagues, but they seemed . . . calmer somehow. Peaceful. The air seemed less tense. People weren't afraid to leave their homes. They walked out in the sunlight. They would still hide if nietzschean patrols passed by, but they didn't seem scared.
Harper saw more and more of what the universe had to offer until he couldn't take it anymore. There were angry voices in his head. People yelling, crying, pleading. Harper finally had enough.
"No!" he woke up in Medical with a start. He glanced around. Everyone was yelling. He sat up. "Will you people shut up?" he yelled.
A tense silence filled the air. Everyone stared at him. "Mr. Harper, are you alright?" Dylan asked.
"I'm fine," Harper replied. Trance walked up to him and scanned him quickly.
"All signs of the virus are gone, you can leave whenever you're ready," Trance diagnosed. Zion looked at Harper angrily and sighed.
"Thank you very much, Captian Hunt," the leader of the Horks, Xox, said.
"Thank you for joining the Commonwealth," Dylan countered.
Dylan had discovered a planet the Horks could live on just yesterday. It was calm, sirene, and there was a Wayist colony on it. Xox talked with the Wayist who founded the colony. The Wayists named the planet Wayfinder, and they were happy to share with the Horks.
A day after they left, Dylan decided it was time to apologize to Harper. He found him in the Machine Shop, working on the sensor drones.
"Mister Harper, could I have a word with you?"
Harper stopped working on the sensors and slowly turned around.
"Uh . . . yeah, I guess."
"I just wanted to apologize for what I said in he force field."
"Nah, it's all right. Forget about it."
"I can't forget about it. I had no right to say that and question your honesty. The most I can do is plead temporary insanity and hope we can put this behind us."
Harper cocked his eyebrows. "Only temporary?"
Dylan laughed. So did Harper.
"Dylan, you really don't have to apologize. You were only trusting you gut instinct. You're a captain. You do that."
"I guess so," Dylan replied. "I guess I should have trusted me, and you, and the aliens."
Harper smiled. Dylan left, and Harper continued working on the sensor drones.
THE END