A/N- alright this popped into my head today and I had to write, but I have a hard time crawling into this persons head. Forgive me for the character problems but I am really trying. I think you will all figure out who is telling the story pretty quickly
Disclaimer- I am a poor college student, I own a car that has a broken trunk latch ($100 repair), a computer that crashes hourly, beanie babies that are faded and not much else… the andromea belongs to whoever, I steal an idea from an episode of sliders, another idea was stolen from another fan fiction story and the quotes are from various places.
~~~*~~~
You have no idea how lucky you are
When my father dies
Kings will come to his funeral
When your father dies
His friends will come
Lex Luthor –smallville
"I have faith in but one thing...
(when the Universe collapses), there will be three survivors.
Tyr Anasazi,
the cockroaches,
and Dylan Hunt trying to save the cockroaches..."
-- Tyr
~~~*~~~
One two three turn… one two three turn… one two three turn… Harper kept his pacing back and forth in the cell. He stops for a moment and looks down at me. He wraps his arm tighter around himself. He seemed so small and ragged standing there staring at me for some kind of an answer. I wasn't even sure what to do to help him. All I could do was watch him pace back and forth in the small cell. One two three turn, one two three turn.
Back and forth he moves the small cell only gave him three steps before he hit the bars or the back wall. So he has no choice but pace in the small room, I draw my knees up to my chest, moving my legs out of his frantic walking.
All I can do is watch, the hand not wrapped around his small frame waves wildly in the air. I can see the thoughts racing through his head but he can't tell me. It's almost more of a physical pain for him then anything our guards have done to him. I open my mouth to tell him to stay sit down, but I stop. The same thing that keeps him pacing, stops me from yelling. I lift my hand up to my neck and run it along the black collar that stops us from talking.
"Don't touch it uber." The guard hisses in my direction. I leave my hand up there and stare at the guard.
Harper glances back and forth between the two of us. His eyes couldn't get any bigger it seems. I can hear his heart racing, his breath is so fast it won't be long before he hyperventilates, I can smell his sweat from here and I know he is panicked. His eyes seem to beg me to stop; they are laced with so many emotions. I wish I could just tell him to be calm down, don't worry; I will get myself out of here and him too, since he is crucial to my survival. Well he's more than that.
But for now I must show the guard I will not be stopped so easily. They can't stop Tyr Anasazi. I see the guard going for the black pad clipped on his belt. Harper sees it too. He takes one last glance at me and then closes eyes.
"Last chance Uber." I just glare at this man who thinks he holds all the power over us. "Guess I'll have to teach you obedience." With that he presses the button.
Harper is standing over me as his whole body stiffens. I see him out of the corner of my eye. I can't break eye contact with the guard. I can't let him win. I hear Harper hiss through his clenched teeth. I see his knees buckle as he falls to the floor. Even though I am not looking I can see that he makes no motion to stop his fall as he hits the floor hard. I keep staring at the guard. I can't turn away. I just can't. Harper lets out a moan and I can see him go limp as unconscious descends on him. Only then does the guard take his hand off the pad.
"Hand down, now." I continue staring at him. There is nothing more they can do to Harper, whatever happens now happens to me. "Remove your hand or I wake him up and we start this all over." He glances down at Harper's form. "Although sometimes they still feel it when they are like this if we turn up the level a little." He fiddles with the pad a little. "It would be fun to see how out of it he is. See what I can still do. Unless you take your hand down, now" I slowly bring my hand down. Harper is no good to me if he is unconscious. He is no good if he blames me for his pain. I have to get out of this and I will need him to do it.
The guard walks away, he has his victory and so the need to walk us is gone. The camera in the corner severs as a reminder of were we are and that we are never alone. I slowly stand careful not to hit Harper. His body takes up most of the cell. I pick him up off the floor; he winces from the pain even in his sleep. I move him the few feet across the cell floor to the blanket and straw bed that I was just sitting on. I try to carefully position him so he is comfortable. The fall has defiantly finished breaking his arm. I lift up his shirt as a colorful mess of bruises greet me. I can't help but notice some are in the prefect shape of hands and fists. I run my hands up his ribs feeling the dents of cracked maybe even broken robs. Why couldn't the boy learn to just stay seated?
I shook my head for once this situation wasn't his fault. It wasn't even Dylan and his stupid common wealth. No it was me; I was the one who had chosen to come to this planet against Dylan's wishes. I was the one who needed to go; Harper had just tagged along for the ride to check the maru systems. No if it hadn't been for me none of this would have happened. But I would never tell anyone, especially that pompous Dylan Hunt that. No to the rest of the world Tyr would never say he was wrong. But in this cell alone with my thoughts and the unconscious form of Harper I have to admit to myself, I never should have come here.
~~~*~~~
"Look, all I know is what they taught me at command school.
There are certain rules about a war
and rule number one is
young men die.
And rule number two is
doctors can't change rule number one."
Henry Blake-mash
"You've gotta understand I'm not working on sick people here.
I'm working on hurt young people, with essentially healthy bodies
that have been insulted by ammunition."
BJ
~~~*~~~
"Tyr" I try to hide the wince as the pain shoots through my body. It is quickly gone and I leave the bars where I have been standing for the past hours, watching and waiting for Harper to wake. "Tyr, where?" The pain shoots through my body again. Starting with my head, white fills my vision and I have to close my eyes for a minute but then it is gone. I need to tell Harper to be quiet. I need him to stop talking and stop my pain. But I can't speak, words will just add to the pain I have already inflicted on him.
"I remember coming here… oh my… Tyr I'm sorry, I forgot about…" Through the blinding pain I hear Harper say, then the pain is gone and for a moment I am left with just the lingering memories. I shake my head for a moment glad to be pain free. I look over at Harper and see him sitting up at the bed, staring at me in horror. What have I done to him? Why did I come here? I sit down next to him and just hang my head. How can I ever show him I am sorry? How can I ever explain my action, although right now I can't say a single word without causing him further pain?
I stand up quickly and slam my fist against the wall. I hear the rush of footsteps from down the hall at the same time I hear Harper let out a cry of sheer agony. I knee down beside him. I know I shouldn't show weakness in front of the guards but I can't block out Harper's raged breaths as he gasps for air trying to recover. He gives me a look of pure determination and I know now that he has made his choice. He understands what I must do now better than I do. He understands the risks. I stand and face the three blue aliens who stand outside our cell.
"You are one determined Uber, but you know if you keep this up your pet klug will die. Although mudfoots don't normally last long against the collar, but I think you have figured that out."
I stand staring at the being in front of me. I raise myself up to my full height and flex my muscles. I will not let him intimidate me. Or at least I am going to try and make him think he isn't.
"Now you can sit here in this cell and watch your little klug die or you can tell me what you did to our system."
I just continue staring at him. I hear Harper moan behind me and I hear his labored breathing. They are right, he won't last through many rounds with the collar, but I don't intend on making him.
"Now tell me or I will have Jyasme here start punishing your friend again."
I slump my shoulders in defeat.
"You can talk, but the shocks will continue unless we like what you're saying."
My head is filled with pain as I hear Harper yell from behind me, "it can only be reversed by me," but as quickly as the pain has began it stops.
"Tell me why klug."
"Special code,"
"give me the code."
"I can't, I did it with my data port, I'm not even sure I know how to do it manually much less explain it."
"We are no fools; if you did it with a data port you can reverse it manually."
"Things are different inside the machine, it's hard to explain but I can't." I had to keep a straight face as Harper lied his head off to the guard. He was amazingly good with his story. I only hope they didn't try to go into more details on what he had done. There was only so much he could fake. The virus I had planted was simple and had done its job it looked like. Now if I could just get away before Harper found out why we had really come here.
"Uber, up against the wall, you klug stand up you're coming with us." Harper was sitting hunched over on the small bed. He slowly struggled to his feet and when he was finally standing swayed back and forth like a drunk man. He leaned against the wall breathing in fast ragged breaths with sweat dripping off his nose. "Uber help him." I walked over to Harper and wrapped my arm around his waist.
Together we walked out of the cell with me carrying most of his weight. We walked down the hallway with me making a mental note of everything. I was amazed when we passed by a doorway to the outside. How stupid where these blue aliens. I looked around at the three guards who were escorting us. One in front and two behind, I glanced at Harper and he slightly bent his neck looking at the guard in front of us. I just hoped that we where on the same thought pattern as I let go of him and turned smashing the heads of the two guards behind us together. Harper fell onto the other guard taking both of them to the floor.
I turned around to see the two of them and then Harper's whole body stiffening and then him curling up into a ball. I hauled the one remaining guard up off the floor and ripped the pad out of his hand. Holding his neck in one hand I ripped the collar off of Harper's neck and snapped it on his. He started shaking, mouthing the word no over and over. I just turned up the dial on the pad and pressed the button. The guard screamed for a moment and then passed out.
I tore the collar off of my neck and knelt down next to Harper. I would have to hurry or we both would be caught again. I turned him over; two scared blue eyes stared up at me. I knew those eyes would haunt me for many nights to come. I slide one hand under his legs and the other beneath his back. He let out a sharp hiss as I picked him up. But there wasn't anything I could do for him now. I ran out the door and across the landing platform to the Maru. I hit the lock and was surprise when it opened. I laid Harper down in one of the lower bunks and started walking toward command.
"Tyr?" Harper called out. I turned back to face him
"What Harper?" I tried to say as gently as possible. I looked down to see a huge smile spreading across his face.
"Nothing," He said in a dazed tone.
"There had to be something boy."
"Yeah, it sounds kinda stupid but I just wanted to hear your voice. You know without have white flashes of blinding pain go through my head."
"I think I understand. Harper about…"
"Tyr, it happened. You did what you needed to do when you needed to do it."
"Thanks"
"For what."
"Understanding"
~~~*~~~
Do what you can,
with what you have,
where you are.
- Theodore Roosevelt
"Why dwell in hell? Get busy."
-Harper (Harper 2.0)
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