Title: Trust Me
By: Brit
Status: Short Story - Complete
Rating: PG13
Type: Angst Beka and Harper a little Trance
Spoilers: Minor: BAMSR
Disclaimer: I don't own Andromeda, unless I win the Lottery. Summary: An answer to Zion's Starfish's competition challenge on the slipstream bbs. The following phrase must be used. 'It's easy all you have to do is trust yourself. And me. And the aliens. I have to admit to taking a little poetic license with the phrase, as you will see.
"Trust me." I sat and looked at the red headed woman sitting opposite me at the table. I'd been listening to her with interest until she said that. I was sitting alone in a dingy bar on a dingy drift when she'd come over to join me. The bartender had pointed me out to her and I knew that she didn't want me for my body or my scintillating conversation so I waited for her to explain.
"I've been told that you're an engineer, well I need an engineer." So far so good, I wasn't about to turn down a job.
"You've probably got the right person then." I wasn't giving any more than that away.
"It's a temporary position, doesn't pay much but you'll get three square meals a day and a place to sleep. Hell I'll even buy you some new clothes."
Yeah well it was pretty obvious that I was down on my luck. "I'm between jobs just now, got a coupla irons in the fire though." Like she couldn't tell I was lying through my teeth. I would jump at the chance of some work, anything, legal or otherwise.
Then she said it. "Trust me."
"Lady, the only person I trust is Seamus Zelazny Harper and I ain't always sure about him."
She looked puzzled.
Seamus Zelazny Harper at your service lady. Now you know who I am, you can tell me who you are."
She laughed, it was a very nice laugh, she was a very beautiful woman and I hated to turn her offer down.
"Captain Beka Valentine, of the Eureka Maru. "
"Well Captain Beka Valentine, if there are two words that send a shiver down my spine then 'trust me' are definitely in the running. I've had a short, violent life and not many people have asked me to trust them. Unfortunately every time I hear those words I end up hurt or let down." She stood up. "Let me get you another drink, maybe something to eat you look as if you need it? Think about what I've been saying, what have you got to lose?"
I looked round the filthy bar, not a great deal I supposed. I wouldn't miss this place that was for sure. It would be nice to have a job, a little self- respect. Hell it would be good just to feel clean again.
I sat and stared moodily into the dregs of the chemical brew that passed for beer. My mind went back seven years.
********************
"Trust me Shay, it'll be a gas." Brendan was hopping from foot to foot in his excitement. "We don't often get such a good opportunity to get one over on the Dragans. Come on Shay come with me."
I wasn't feeling good, what had started as a cold had ended up as a raging chest infection. Every movement was an effort that I didn't want to make unless I had to.
"Brendan I'm sorry I'm not well I'll just be a liability." His face took on that closed look that he got when his plans didn't go the way he wanted them too. "Fine Seamus, I'll go by myself." When he got that look there was no arguing with him, so I relented and went along. It was a disaster from the very start. I don't know where he'd got his information from but it was totally wrong. There were twice as many Dragans as he'd estimated and they were armed and ready for us.
It was amusing in a way; a whole horde of ubers against two ragged assed youngsters armed with shrillers and very little else. What did we do when faced with overwhelming odds? You've got it, we ran. We ran like the hunted creatures we were. If I'd been fit I would have been OK but I wasn't fit and I was nowhere near as fast as I usually was. I was so close to safety, the ubers couldn't be bothered to chase us and I was at the limit of gauss rifle range when I felt a terrific thump in my back and the world went black.
I woke up hearing myself scream. Someone was holding me down while someone else tortured me. At least that's what it felt like. It wasn't until I saw Brendan, his face as white as chalk, that I realised we were back in the camp.
My torturer spoke. "I've managed to get him sewn up, he's very lucky, the round that hit him was almost exhausted so it lodged instead of going right through.
Lucky me, if getting shot in the back is good luck I wonder what the man would consider bad luck.
Brendan had dragged me back to the camp, he'd been terrified that I was dead but he wasn't going to leave my body behind for the Dragans.
I was ill for weeks after that. We had good doctors in the camps but no painkillers or antibiotics. I suppose I was lucky to live. There's that word again, lucky. There were times that I wished I'd died, but I survived. Nothing to show for the experience but another scar and a mistrust of being asked to trust someone.
********************
I dragged myself back to the present with difficulty. I didn't want to remember the second time that I'd been asked to trust someone but how could I forget it.
We were in bed together, her name was Ellen, she was my first and I'd been hers. She was beautiful and clever and I loved her. Our lovemaking was gentle and tender but full of passion. We were talking in the way that you do when you're totally at ease with the other person. "You won't ever leave me Seamus will you? We'll be together always." I smiled and kissed her very softly.
"I love you Ellen how could I leave you. We'll have each other forever. If I go anywhere I'll take you with me. Unless you get fed up with me and leave."
"Trust me," she said. "That will never happen."
A few weeks later she told me she was pregnant. There we were two kids playing happy families. I should have known better. We usually went everywhere as a couple. Food queues, water queues, we both went.
The day it happened she was feeling sick. I'd heard there was bread to be had so I'd gone to queue for some. She'd fallen asleep and I'd left her. I wanted to surprise her, we hadn't had any bread for days and I thought perhaps it would tempt her to eat something.
I was on my way back when I heard the screaming and saw the people running. The Dragans were on a slave raid again. I dropped the bread on the ground and ran. I was too late, I got back to our home and she was gone. Our few belongings were scattered around, anything breakable was broken. I shut the door and turned away, I never went back. The few neighbours that had survived the raid told me that she'd been taken away. At least she's still alive they told me. I searched everywhere, followed any leads I could but I never saw her again. The best I could hope for her was that some Dragan matriarch would take a liking to her and have her for a personal servant.
********************
Beka Valentine came back from the bar with another beer and a plate of stew. I had no idea what was in the stew but it was hot and I was hungry. I felt a little better after I'd eaten. Beka had been sitting silently all the time I was eating. I mopped up the last of the gravy and sighed with satisfaction.
"Well kiddo," she said. "Gonna take a chance and trust me?" She gave me a wide grin.
I looked at her, liking what I saw. "What have I got to lose." I grinned back. What was that old superstition? Third time lucky? Maybe this time things would work out.
I was glad that I'd taken the risk and joined the Maru's crew. After the first couple of weeks there was no more talk of it being a temporary position. I think Beka'd said that so she could get rid of me easily if things didn't work out. Don't get me wrong it wasn't all good. However I was fed and clothed better than I had ever been in my entire life so far. Beka even paid for me to have a neural port installed and she'd looked after me when I was as sick as a dog for weeks afterwards.
There were bad times. Vex our tactical officer and medic was killed. We'd been working on the Maru's hull plates and he snagged his EVA suit. It was only a small tear but it killed him and I had to watch. His screams and the look on his face haunt me still. Hell, just another bad dream for Harper. Hardly noteworthy among all the other nightmares. So a coupla days later we were docked at a drift and Beka came back with a purple alien. "Meet our new tactical officer and medic."
As usual I was upside down underneath something. The first thing I saw were long legs with what looked like a purple tail wrapped round them. Wow that was different. My gaze travelled upwards and I saw that the alien appeared to be gorgeous and female. I say appeared to be female cos Harper's been caught like that before. One of the more embarrassing episodes in the life of a trainee love God, and another story.
I jumped up and introduced myself. "Seamus Harper, genius engineer at your service." She smiled. "I'm Trance Gemini." That was all she ever told us about herself. I'd never seen anything like her before, well except Makra and the only similarity there was the tail.
So, all was good, Trance settled in, she was a much better medic than poor Vex had been. Funny how many excuses you can find to go to medical when there's a sparkly purple babe there to treat you. She still seemed very alien but let me tell you, I got used to her pretty quickly. I didn't altogether trust her though. Trust in the Harper that's my motto.
I hope you ain't thinking that I'd forgotten about my past. It just didn't seem to be such a problem on board the Maru. We were a good team and life was easier than I'd ever known. However, when I was in my bunk at night the dreams came, not every night but often enough.
Quarters aboard the Maru were just a little cramped so I guess my screaming was a bit difficult to ignore. I was worried that Beka would get rid of me so I worked twice as hard trying to make myself indispensable. I also dragged my bedding into the engine room so I wouldn't disturb the others. It was fine I'd slept in far worse places.
So Beka and me and the purple girl managed pretty well. We got plenty of salvage jobs we worked hard and we played hard. Well Beka and I did, Trance wasn't interested she used to stay on board whenever we hit a Drift, or less often a planet. I was pretty damn certain she was hiding from something or running away from someone. I tried to find out but she would always manage to turn the conversation away from herself and change the subject. She did it so cleverly that you hardly realised what she was doing
Now you may have noticed something about yours truly. Trouble seems to follow me around. I don't know why, maybe I have the sort of face that just asks for a punch on the nose. Anyhow this particular day I was in a bar, on a Drift and somehow I got on the wrong side of two rather large, very unpleasant looking aliens. I think they were mercenaries; I wasn't going to wait and ask them. They were both armed to the teeth. Massive weapons, I think it was me asking them what they were compensating for that upset them. Some species are so touchy.
I ran like the devil himself was after me. I don't know why they didn't try to shoot me. I did hear some shouted comments about tearing me limb from limb so I guess they didn't want to spoil their fun by dispatching me too quickly.
I got back to the Maru, ran in through the hatch and locked it securely behind me. Trance was standing on the command deck watching the events through a view screen. Her eyes were blazing with anger; I'd never seen her like that before.
"Harper, are you mad. You've led them right to me, and Beka is still out there somewhere."
I looked at her in amazement. "First off lady how the hell am I supposed to know that you're in hiding. Secondly I didn't lead them to you, they have no idea you're here, it's me they're after. So keep your pretty purple persona outa the way and it won't be a problem."
Oh boy, can looks kill? Obviously not 'cos I'm still in one piece and breathing? "What did you do to them?" I asked her. Can't blame me for trying to find out because that pretty purple babe is an enigma.
"I would rather not tell you any more than that they are after me, they have been for months." Trance turned her back on me. Her tail swished from side to side.
I was hoping the aliens would get bored and leave but they seemed to be settling in for a long wait. Memo to self never cast doubts on an alien's 'equipment'. They don't like it.
Now I hear you asking why we didn't just contact Beka and warn her. Tell her to be careful. You really think we didn't do that? You don't know Beka. She was not amused. I didn't know she knew half of the words she used to describe me. The air was bluer than a Perseid's butt. Next thing along she came. She went up to the aliens and started to talk to them. I opened the hatch and stood in the entry trying to attract her attention.
"Beka, don't argue with them, come on board." I beckoned hopefully towards her. Bad move. They spotted me but instead of coming after me, one of them knocked Beka out, slung her over his shoulder and the pair of them were gone, along with my Captain.
Trance looked at me her mouth wide open in surprise. I was furious those creeps weren't going to take my Boss without a fight. I grabbed a hand gun from the weapon's locker and started off out of the Maru and across the dock area. Trance started to follow me. I turned round and glared at her.
"You don't have to come, I can rescue Beka without any help." Trance touched me gently on the shoulder. "Of course I'm coming to help." She spoke softly but she meant every word. "How are you going to find them?" In the heat of the moment I hadn't thought about that. "I suppose we should wait and see if they contact us. They may want to use Beka as a bargaining point to get to me."
Trance shook her head. "Not a chance, they took her to sell in the slave markets. They aren't bothered about trading her for you or anything like that. They can get a good price for her and they're more interested in that. Of course if they realised I was around they might be willing to make a swap." She looked at me with that worried little girl expression that she does so well.
"It's OK Trance, I wouldn't betray you, I have no idea what you've done but I can't believe it's that bad. I'll find them some other way."
I thought long and hard about the problem. "If they're chasing you they must have some sort of ship. If they have a ship it'll be registered as having landed.
I went to the nearest public access point and prepared to jack in, I handed my gun to Trance. "Watch my back." I didn't hear what she replied I was in virtual mode. I swam in the data streams, following side tracks and little travelled paths. It was easy to get through the minimal security programmes and into the interesting places. I found their ship, and in doing that found out their names. I also found hotel bookings in one of the best hotels on the Drift. They certainly weren't going to rough it while they searched for the elusive Ms Gemini.
Ten minutes later we were outside the building concerned. Another fifteen minutes and I was dressed as a room service waiter, wheeling a trolley with a huge silver salver on it. Trance Gemini was the dish of the day. I tucked her tail out of sight and up we went to their floor. I stopped outside their door; they had a suite of rooms, pretty good going for a couple of cheap mercenaries. I spoke into the door comm. There was no answer. I waited a minute or two then bypassed the electronic lock. Trance joined me and we cautiously entered the room. There was no sign of the aliens. Beka was huddled in a corner; they'd tied her up and taped her mouth so she couldn't call for help. I took the tape off and untied her. She stood up her eyes blazing. "Harper, you skinny little freak, by the Divine it's good to see you." She gave me a big hug that left me breathless in more ways than one.
Trance was standing by the door hopping from foot to foot. "Harper I can hear them coming back."
I quickly locked the door and messed the electronics up so that they wouldn't be able to open it again. It looked strong enough to give us a little time before they burst into the room.
I looked round for an escape route. The only one I could see was the big window in the main room of the suite. The only draw back was that we were on the seventh floor. Not that high up but high enough.
I opened the window and looked out, it wasn't that difficult a climb and the building had plenty of ledges and decorative features on the walls. "OK Boss," I said. "We go out of the window and climb down." Now I can climb like a monkey, and Trance, well she has a tail to give her an advantage so she shouldn't have any problems.
Beka looked at me her face white. "Oh no Harper, find some other way. I'm afraid of heights I can't climb down there."
"Boss you don't have a choice, I would carry you if I could but I can't manage that. It's easy, all you have to do is trust yourself." She could do it I knew she could but she had to be able to take that first step out of the window. "And me." That's good, Harper, the person who can't trust anyone himself asking her to trust him. I know, trust in the Harper, I say it all the time, but that's in a jokey way, this time was deadly serious. "Trust me, Beka." Never thought I'd say those words.
"And the aliens?" She looked towards the door where the noise of two extremely annoyed aliens trying to break in could be heard.
"You can trust them to kill us all if we don't get out of this window pretty damn soon."
She gulped. "Let's do it then before I change my mind."
Trance went first, then Beka, I followed last. Between us we could help her. We clambered down the front of the building. Passers-by were watching and pointing up at us. The aliens must have managed to get through the door because they started firing down on us. Gauss rounds ricocheted off the stone work, scattering the onlookers in all directions.
I couldn't fire back I needed both hands to hold on with. Trance reached the bottom, Beka shortly after her. Guess who the unlucky one was? A round grazed my shoulder. It wasn't serious but it was enough to numb my arm and make me let go. I fell about ten feet and landed hard on the ground below. I felt my leg snap as I hit. I shouted to Trance and Beka to get out of there. The aliens had gone and I guessed they were on their way down to finish us off.
Beka ran back over. She took my gauss gun and stood in front of me. I tried to protest but she was having none of it. "Time to trust me now Harper," she said. She looked briefly into my eyes. "Do you trust me, kid?" I nodded. "Yes."
The mercenaries came round the side of the building firing as they did so. A deadly hail of rounds whizzed past us both. Beka never flinched, she was magnificent. She took careful aim and shot one of the aliens. Before the other could react she shot him too.
The next few hours passed in a blur. She managed to persuade Drift security that she had been acting in self defence. When they heard that she had been abducted they were pretty co-operative. She got me patched up and taken back to the Maru where I spent an extremely pleasant couple of days being looked after by Trance.
The fact that it was all my fault in the first place seemed to have been forgotten. I think we all learned a lesson in trust, well I know that I did.
The End
By: Brit
Status: Short Story - Complete
Rating: PG13
Type: Angst Beka and Harper a little Trance
Spoilers: Minor: BAMSR
Disclaimer: I don't own Andromeda, unless I win the Lottery. Summary: An answer to Zion's Starfish's competition challenge on the slipstream bbs. The following phrase must be used. 'It's easy all you have to do is trust yourself. And me. And the aliens. I have to admit to taking a little poetic license with the phrase, as you will see.
"Trust me." I sat and looked at the red headed woman sitting opposite me at the table. I'd been listening to her with interest until she said that. I was sitting alone in a dingy bar on a dingy drift when she'd come over to join me. The bartender had pointed me out to her and I knew that she didn't want me for my body or my scintillating conversation so I waited for her to explain.
"I've been told that you're an engineer, well I need an engineer." So far so good, I wasn't about to turn down a job.
"You've probably got the right person then." I wasn't giving any more than that away.
"It's a temporary position, doesn't pay much but you'll get three square meals a day and a place to sleep. Hell I'll even buy you some new clothes."
Yeah well it was pretty obvious that I was down on my luck. "I'm between jobs just now, got a coupla irons in the fire though." Like she couldn't tell I was lying through my teeth. I would jump at the chance of some work, anything, legal or otherwise.
Then she said it. "Trust me."
"Lady, the only person I trust is Seamus Zelazny Harper and I ain't always sure about him."
She looked puzzled.
Seamus Zelazny Harper at your service lady. Now you know who I am, you can tell me who you are."
She laughed, it was a very nice laugh, she was a very beautiful woman and I hated to turn her offer down.
"Captain Beka Valentine, of the Eureka Maru. "
"Well Captain Beka Valentine, if there are two words that send a shiver down my spine then 'trust me' are definitely in the running. I've had a short, violent life and not many people have asked me to trust them. Unfortunately every time I hear those words I end up hurt or let down." She stood up. "Let me get you another drink, maybe something to eat you look as if you need it? Think about what I've been saying, what have you got to lose?"
I looked round the filthy bar, not a great deal I supposed. I wouldn't miss this place that was for sure. It would be nice to have a job, a little self- respect. Hell it would be good just to feel clean again.
I sat and stared moodily into the dregs of the chemical brew that passed for beer. My mind went back seven years.
********************
"Trust me Shay, it'll be a gas." Brendan was hopping from foot to foot in his excitement. "We don't often get such a good opportunity to get one over on the Dragans. Come on Shay come with me."
I wasn't feeling good, what had started as a cold had ended up as a raging chest infection. Every movement was an effort that I didn't want to make unless I had to.
"Brendan I'm sorry I'm not well I'll just be a liability." His face took on that closed look that he got when his plans didn't go the way he wanted them too. "Fine Seamus, I'll go by myself." When he got that look there was no arguing with him, so I relented and went along. It was a disaster from the very start. I don't know where he'd got his information from but it was totally wrong. There were twice as many Dragans as he'd estimated and they were armed and ready for us.
It was amusing in a way; a whole horde of ubers against two ragged assed youngsters armed with shrillers and very little else. What did we do when faced with overwhelming odds? You've got it, we ran. We ran like the hunted creatures we were. If I'd been fit I would have been OK but I wasn't fit and I was nowhere near as fast as I usually was. I was so close to safety, the ubers couldn't be bothered to chase us and I was at the limit of gauss rifle range when I felt a terrific thump in my back and the world went black.
I woke up hearing myself scream. Someone was holding me down while someone else tortured me. At least that's what it felt like. It wasn't until I saw Brendan, his face as white as chalk, that I realised we were back in the camp.
My torturer spoke. "I've managed to get him sewn up, he's very lucky, the round that hit him was almost exhausted so it lodged instead of going right through.
Lucky me, if getting shot in the back is good luck I wonder what the man would consider bad luck.
Brendan had dragged me back to the camp, he'd been terrified that I was dead but he wasn't going to leave my body behind for the Dragans.
I was ill for weeks after that. We had good doctors in the camps but no painkillers or antibiotics. I suppose I was lucky to live. There's that word again, lucky. There were times that I wished I'd died, but I survived. Nothing to show for the experience but another scar and a mistrust of being asked to trust someone.
********************
I dragged myself back to the present with difficulty. I didn't want to remember the second time that I'd been asked to trust someone but how could I forget it.
We were in bed together, her name was Ellen, she was my first and I'd been hers. She was beautiful and clever and I loved her. Our lovemaking was gentle and tender but full of passion. We were talking in the way that you do when you're totally at ease with the other person. "You won't ever leave me Seamus will you? We'll be together always." I smiled and kissed her very softly.
"I love you Ellen how could I leave you. We'll have each other forever. If I go anywhere I'll take you with me. Unless you get fed up with me and leave."
"Trust me," she said. "That will never happen."
A few weeks later she told me she was pregnant. There we were two kids playing happy families. I should have known better. We usually went everywhere as a couple. Food queues, water queues, we both went.
The day it happened she was feeling sick. I'd heard there was bread to be had so I'd gone to queue for some. She'd fallen asleep and I'd left her. I wanted to surprise her, we hadn't had any bread for days and I thought perhaps it would tempt her to eat something.
I was on my way back when I heard the screaming and saw the people running. The Dragans were on a slave raid again. I dropped the bread on the ground and ran. I was too late, I got back to our home and she was gone. Our few belongings were scattered around, anything breakable was broken. I shut the door and turned away, I never went back. The few neighbours that had survived the raid told me that she'd been taken away. At least she's still alive they told me. I searched everywhere, followed any leads I could but I never saw her again. The best I could hope for her was that some Dragan matriarch would take a liking to her and have her for a personal servant.
********************
Beka Valentine came back from the bar with another beer and a plate of stew. I had no idea what was in the stew but it was hot and I was hungry. I felt a little better after I'd eaten. Beka had been sitting silently all the time I was eating. I mopped up the last of the gravy and sighed with satisfaction.
"Well kiddo," she said. "Gonna take a chance and trust me?" She gave me a wide grin.
I looked at her, liking what I saw. "What have I got to lose." I grinned back. What was that old superstition? Third time lucky? Maybe this time things would work out.
I was glad that I'd taken the risk and joined the Maru's crew. After the first couple of weeks there was no more talk of it being a temporary position. I think Beka'd said that so she could get rid of me easily if things didn't work out. Don't get me wrong it wasn't all good. However I was fed and clothed better than I had ever been in my entire life so far. Beka even paid for me to have a neural port installed and she'd looked after me when I was as sick as a dog for weeks afterwards.
There were bad times. Vex our tactical officer and medic was killed. We'd been working on the Maru's hull plates and he snagged his EVA suit. It was only a small tear but it killed him and I had to watch. His screams and the look on his face haunt me still. Hell, just another bad dream for Harper. Hardly noteworthy among all the other nightmares. So a coupla days later we were docked at a drift and Beka came back with a purple alien. "Meet our new tactical officer and medic."
As usual I was upside down underneath something. The first thing I saw were long legs with what looked like a purple tail wrapped round them. Wow that was different. My gaze travelled upwards and I saw that the alien appeared to be gorgeous and female. I say appeared to be female cos Harper's been caught like that before. One of the more embarrassing episodes in the life of a trainee love God, and another story.
I jumped up and introduced myself. "Seamus Harper, genius engineer at your service." She smiled. "I'm Trance Gemini." That was all she ever told us about herself. I'd never seen anything like her before, well except Makra and the only similarity there was the tail.
So, all was good, Trance settled in, she was a much better medic than poor Vex had been. Funny how many excuses you can find to go to medical when there's a sparkly purple babe there to treat you. She still seemed very alien but let me tell you, I got used to her pretty quickly. I didn't altogether trust her though. Trust in the Harper that's my motto.
I hope you ain't thinking that I'd forgotten about my past. It just didn't seem to be such a problem on board the Maru. We were a good team and life was easier than I'd ever known. However, when I was in my bunk at night the dreams came, not every night but often enough.
Quarters aboard the Maru were just a little cramped so I guess my screaming was a bit difficult to ignore. I was worried that Beka would get rid of me so I worked twice as hard trying to make myself indispensable. I also dragged my bedding into the engine room so I wouldn't disturb the others. It was fine I'd slept in far worse places.
So Beka and me and the purple girl managed pretty well. We got plenty of salvage jobs we worked hard and we played hard. Well Beka and I did, Trance wasn't interested she used to stay on board whenever we hit a Drift, or less often a planet. I was pretty damn certain she was hiding from something or running away from someone. I tried to find out but she would always manage to turn the conversation away from herself and change the subject. She did it so cleverly that you hardly realised what she was doing
Now you may have noticed something about yours truly. Trouble seems to follow me around. I don't know why, maybe I have the sort of face that just asks for a punch on the nose. Anyhow this particular day I was in a bar, on a Drift and somehow I got on the wrong side of two rather large, very unpleasant looking aliens. I think they were mercenaries; I wasn't going to wait and ask them. They were both armed to the teeth. Massive weapons, I think it was me asking them what they were compensating for that upset them. Some species are so touchy.
I ran like the devil himself was after me. I don't know why they didn't try to shoot me. I did hear some shouted comments about tearing me limb from limb so I guess they didn't want to spoil their fun by dispatching me too quickly.
I got back to the Maru, ran in through the hatch and locked it securely behind me. Trance was standing on the command deck watching the events through a view screen. Her eyes were blazing with anger; I'd never seen her like that before.
"Harper, are you mad. You've led them right to me, and Beka is still out there somewhere."
I looked at her in amazement. "First off lady how the hell am I supposed to know that you're in hiding. Secondly I didn't lead them to you, they have no idea you're here, it's me they're after. So keep your pretty purple persona outa the way and it won't be a problem."
Oh boy, can looks kill? Obviously not 'cos I'm still in one piece and breathing? "What did you do to them?" I asked her. Can't blame me for trying to find out because that pretty purple babe is an enigma.
"I would rather not tell you any more than that they are after me, they have been for months." Trance turned her back on me. Her tail swished from side to side.
I was hoping the aliens would get bored and leave but they seemed to be settling in for a long wait. Memo to self never cast doubts on an alien's 'equipment'. They don't like it.
Now I hear you asking why we didn't just contact Beka and warn her. Tell her to be careful. You really think we didn't do that? You don't know Beka. She was not amused. I didn't know she knew half of the words she used to describe me. The air was bluer than a Perseid's butt. Next thing along she came. She went up to the aliens and started to talk to them. I opened the hatch and stood in the entry trying to attract her attention.
"Beka, don't argue with them, come on board." I beckoned hopefully towards her. Bad move. They spotted me but instead of coming after me, one of them knocked Beka out, slung her over his shoulder and the pair of them were gone, along with my Captain.
Trance looked at me her mouth wide open in surprise. I was furious those creeps weren't going to take my Boss without a fight. I grabbed a hand gun from the weapon's locker and started off out of the Maru and across the dock area. Trance started to follow me. I turned round and glared at her.
"You don't have to come, I can rescue Beka without any help." Trance touched me gently on the shoulder. "Of course I'm coming to help." She spoke softly but she meant every word. "How are you going to find them?" In the heat of the moment I hadn't thought about that. "I suppose we should wait and see if they contact us. They may want to use Beka as a bargaining point to get to me."
Trance shook her head. "Not a chance, they took her to sell in the slave markets. They aren't bothered about trading her for you or anything like that. They can get a good price for her and they're more interested in that. Of course if they realised I was around they might be willing to make a swap." She looked at me with that worried little girl expression that she does so well.
"It's OK Trance, I wouldn't betray you, I have no idea what you've done but I can't believe it's that bad. I'll find them some other way."
I thought long and hard about the problem. "If they're chasing you they must have some sort of ship. If they have a ship it'll be registered as having landed.
I went to the nearest public access point and prepared to jack in, I handed my gun to Trance. "Watch my back." I didn't hear what she replied I was in virtual mode. I swam in the data streams, following side tracks and little travelled paths. It was easy to get through the minimal security programmes and into the interesting places. I found their ship, and in doing that found out their names. I also found hotel bookings in one of the best hotels on the Drift. They certainly weren't going to rough it while they searched for the elusive Ms Gemini.
Ten minutes later we were outside the building concerned. Another fifteen minutes and I was dressed as a room service waiter, wheeling a trolley with a huge silver salver on it. Trance Gemini was the dish of the day. I tucked her tail out of sight and up we went to their floor. I stopped outside their door; they had a suite of rooms, pretty good going for a couple of cheap mercenaries. I spoke into the door comm. There was no answer. I waited a minute or two then bypassed the electronic lock. Trance joined me and we cautiously entered the room. There was no sign of the aliens. Beka was huddled in a corner; they'd tied her up and taped her mouth so she couldn't call for help. I took the tape off and untied her. She stood up her eyes blazing. "Harper, you skinny little freak, by the Divine it's good to see you." She gave me a big hug that left me breathless in more ways than one.
Trance was standing by the door hopping from foot to foot. "Harper I can hear them coming back."
I quickly locked the door and messed the electronics up so that they wouldn't be able to open it again. It looked strong enough to give us a little time before they burst into the room.
I looked round for an escape route. The only one I could see was the big window in the main room of the suite. The only draw back was that we were on the seventh floor. Not that high up but high enough.
I opened the window and looked out, it wasn't that difficult a climb and the building had plenty of ledges and decorative features on the walls. "OK Boss," I said. "We go out of the window and climb down." Now I can climb like a monkey, and Trance, well she has a tail to give her an advantage so she shouldn't have any problems.
Beka looked at me her face white. "Oh no Harper, find some other way. I'm afraid of heights I can't climb down there."
"Boss you don't have a choice, I would carry you if I could but I can't manage that. It's easy, all you have to do is trust yourself." She could do it I knew she could but she had to be able to take that first step out of the window. "And me." That's good, Harper, the person who can't trust anyone himself asking her to trust him. I know, trust in the Harper, I say it all the time, but that's in a jokey way, this time was deadly serious. "Trust me, Beka." Never thought I'd say those words.
"And the aliens?" She looked towards the door where the noise of two extremely annoyed aliens trying to break in could be heard.
"You can trust them to kill us all if we don't get out of this window pretty damn soon."
She gulped. "Let's do it then before I change my mind."
Trance went first, then Beka, I followed last. Between us we could help her. We clambered down the front of the building. Passers-by were watching and pointing up at us. The aliens must have managed to get through the door because they started firing down on us. Gauss rounds ricocheted off the stone work, scattering the onlookers in all directions.
I couldn't fire back I needed both hands to hold on with. Trance reached the bottom, Beka shortly after her. Guess who the unlucky one was? A round grazed my shoulder. It wasn't serious but it was enough to numb my arm and make me let go. I fell about ten feet and landed hard on the ground below. I felt my leg snap as I hit. I shouted to Trance and Beka to get out of there. The aliens had gone and I guessed they were on their way down to finish us off.
Beka ran back over. She took my gauss gun and stood in front of me. I tried to protest but she was having none of it. "Time to trust me now Harper," she said. She looked briefly into my eyes. "Do you trust me, kid?" I nodded. "Yes."
The mercenaries came round the side of the building firing as they did so. A deadly hail of rounds whizzed past us both. Beka never flinched, she was magnificent. She took careful aim and shot one of the aliens. Before the other could react she shot him too.
The next few hours passed in a blur. She managed to persuade Drift security that she had been acting in self defence. When they heard that she had been abducted they were pretty co-operative. She got me patched up and taken back to the Maru where I spent an extremely pleasant couple of days being looked after by Trance.
The fact that it was all my fault in the first place seemed to have been forgotten. I think we all learned a lesson in trust, well I know that I did.
The End