A lot of stuff happens in this chapter… a lot. I tried to follow the episode but when I watched it again realized just how choppy the scenes were. They switch back and forth rapidly the entire time, so I tried to elongate these particular scenes as much as possible in this chapter and the next three. Bare with me here.

-Chapter 2-

~*~

The conception of worth, that each person is an end per se,

is not a mere abstraction. Every outcry against the oppression

of some people by other people, or against what is morally hideous

is the affirmation of the principle that a human being as such is not

to be violated. A human being is not to be handled as a tool but

is to be respected and revered.

-Felix Adler

~*~

Picking up the flexi with Harper's med chart, Trance walked over to her friend who was perched atop an empty bed.

"Well, everything seems fine," she said, laying the flexi next to him. "All your numbers are normal."

"Good," Harper replied softly. "I feel fine."

Crossing her arms, Trance stared at the human. He was fidgety-- which wasn't anything new-- but it seemed off to her. He felt different, even if the machines didn't pick up on it. "Really? You just-- appear to be a little out of it Harper. Is something bothering you?"

Seamus paused a moment, as if thinking about his answer, then finally responded, "No, I'm just exhausted."

Smiling gently Trance sat next to him. "Well, that's not unusual for someone who just received a high voltage electric shock. Any idea what that machine was supposed to do?"

Harper shook his head.

"Okay," Trance went on, "if you're not back to normal in a couple of days let me know. Oh, and I don't want you hoverboarding for a while."

She waited for the complaining to commence but it never came. He just nodded and slide from the bed to leave, though paused briefly in front of Machello's table. "How is he?"

Getting up, Trance came to stand by the unconscious man in question. "Not good. He has severe scar tissue all over his body. Looks like he was burned or electrocuted. Tyr did say he was tortured. Whatever they did to him, it must have been… awful."

"He's not going to live much longer is he?" Harper asked, eyes roaming the bed and the form it contained.

Trance sighed. "I don't think so. Not even the technology on the Andromeda can prevent the inevitable."

Staring at the man one last time, Harper walked towards the door and disappeared.

Laying a gentle hand on the Machello's forehead, Trance stared down into his face. Even now, in blessed unconsciousness, he was looked pained, and she briefly wondered if death itself would be enough to take away his torment.

~*~

"Lets continue without Harper," Dylan said as he took his seat at the table. "Rommie, you were about to brief us on the flexi?"

"Yes, sir," Rommie said, picking up the described device. "What this appears to be is a database for all of Machello's inventions. The icons act like they do on a typical flexi-- you press one and a schematic diagram appears with notes."

"Any idea what it says?"

"Well Dylan, that's the problem. So far the dialect appears to be unknown. I'm running a search on it for patterns but that will take time."

Before she could continue the door slide opened and Harper appeared, quietly lurking outside.

"Glad to see you could make it, Mr. Harper," Dylan said, swiveling his chair towards the young engineer.

"I apologize," Harper said, taking a seat next to Tyr.

"How are you feeling?"

Harper looked at the others around him, then back at Dylan. "Tired. Trance says it will wear off in a few days." He faintly smiled. "I'll be fine."

"We were discussing the flexi Beka found," Dylan went on. "Any ideas on decoding it, Harper?"

The blonde human looked at the device handed to him but shook his head. "No."

"We'll keep trying," Hunt said, "this could be some valuable technology. Rommie, continue the search on the dialect. You know what to do if you find anything." He stood up but Harper's voiced caused him to pause.

"I-- I was wondering if it would be okay to go back to the planet?" he calmly asked. "I know I'm not allowed to hoverboard, but I would still like to attend the convention… if that's okay with you?"

Dylan looked over at Beka who shrugged. "I don't see a problem with that. I'm sure Beka--"

"Won't take him again," Valentine interrupted. "Conventions bore me to tears."

"All right," Dylan said, "I have to go back to meet with the High Councilor anyway. I'll borrow the Maru and he can ride down with me."

"Be good to my ship," Beka command, "and don't let any of those hoverboarding freaks near it. I don't want them chipping the exterior."

"What's there to ruin?" Tyr asked, receiving a furious glare from the female across from him. He narrowed his eyes. "It was merely a question."

~*~

Setting the Maru down in an empty docking bay, Hunt unstrapped himself from the pilot's chair and stood up.

"I'm afraid there's no telling how long I'll be," he said, straightening his uniform accordingly. "The High Councilor will provide me with transportation back to the Andromeda, so spend a few hours down here and head on back. Trance said she didn't want you down here more than three hours anyway."

"All right," Harper answered and followed the larger man towards the hatch.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Dylan asked, stopping short of the exit way.

Harper paused and looked up. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know," Dylan answered, then smiled and waved a hand in empty air. "Just ignore me. Go have fun Harper."

The smaller human nodded as he made his way past Dylan and out the hatchway.

Hunt watched his engineer catch sight of a female and follow her towards the city.

"Even electrocution can't keep those hormones down," the captain murmured to himself. Hitting the keypad, Dylan closed the hatch and moved towards the Royal escort waiting for him.

~*~

Running a towel through her damp hair, Beka followed the corridor heading towards med deck. She'd been finishing up a shower when Andromeda had commed, telling her he was needed at once. Beka wiped a bead of water off her check and sighed. There weren't explosions or warning sirens going off. There didn't seem to be enough peril to pull her out of a shower.

"Beka."

Tyr jumped the last rungs of the ladder he'd used to change decks. "I assume we're headed towards the same place."

"You have any idea why?" Beka asked, throwing the towel over her shoulder.

"No."

"Well," she said, "my guess is that the old guy bought it. Any bets?"

"I'll save my credits," Tyr said.

"Whatever."

When the pair was within sight of med deck, Rommie approached from another corridor. "After you," the android said, sweeping her hand towards the opening.

All three proceeded inside, finding both Trance and Andromeda's hologram surrounding Machello's bed.

"You called?" Beka asked, staring at Andromeda's shimmering form.

"Beka, Tyr, Rommie. Finally."

Captain Valentine raised an eyebrow towards the very much alive man in the bed. "How does this gentlemen know our names?" she asked curtly.

Trance was about the answer but the old man's voice cut her off. It was weaker than before, the way any 90 year-old human generally sounded. The vibrant air he'd had earlier was gone.

"As I've been trying to tell Trance and Andromeda here, I'm not Machello. I'm Harper."

"Here we go," Beka muttered, glancing over at Tyr. He returned her amused gaze.

"Look," Machello replied, "I know what I look like but I'm telling you-- that machine somehow switched us."

"He knows a lot about Harper," Trance confirmed, looking towards the threesome who'd just entered.

"Ask me anything," the man said nasally. "Something only Harper would know."

"All right," Rommie said, stepping forward and placing her both hands on her hips casually, "what does Harper consider to be his greatest creation?"

The man smiled gently up at the robot. "You."

Rommie raised an eyebrow at Beka. "He's right."

"Okay, lucky guess," Beka said and leaned towards him, peering into his wrinkled face. "Harper grew up in a refugee camp. What city was it in?"

"Boston," the man replied without hesitation. "We were near the harbor."

The room was silent, each waiting for each other to confirm what they were all thinking. Tyr was the last to step forward, coming to a pause next the old man's bed. "A final question: describe for us, in detail, the dress your sister wore when I took her to the Alren gala two weeks ago."

For a moment Beka thought the Nietzschean had the old man bested. Until that is, the geezer gently raised himself a bit to stare the dark man in the face. "I don't have a sister Tyr, and if I did, I wouldn't let you near her."

Trance and Rommie smiled at each other as Tyr backed away, crossing his arms. Beka tilted her head a moment to stare at the occupant of the bed. "Okay, so lets assume for a moment that you are Harper." She looked around at the others. "Then who the hell did we just send down to that planet?"

~*~

Frey watched a gaggle of humanoids near, their voices high pitched with excitement. They looked pretty well off; it couldn't hurt to ask.

"Hey!" he called, hoping to catch one's attention. Sure enough, one of the men turned towards him as they passed. "Spare any credits?"

The stranger snorted and walked on, ignoring the other's plea for money. "Hannon Le," Frey muttered, slipping briefly into his native language.

His eyes went back to the streets and the crowds of people milling about. Someone had to be willing to spare a little money. He needed something decent to eat or he'd go nuts. He was tired of fighting with the naja birds for scraps. Just one of those little buggers could scratch the heck out of him. An entire flock would take an eye.

Frey's turned to see a woman walking towards him, trailed by a man who appeared to be either a servant or her husband. With all the bags he was carrying there was no way to tell.

"Hey, lady! Just a little bit of money, that's all I'm asking!"

The woman, like most of the others, walked around him. Frey rolled his eyes and looked towards the sidewalk. This time his eyes fell upon someone but it wasn't because they looked rich. They looked-- insane. A blonde human was walking-- or trotting-- besides a group of people trying to get their attention. They swatted at him as if he were a fly.

Frey stepped closer, edging around an empty food cart to listen.

"Hello friend," the little man was saying to a passing pedestrian. "I am new to this area. I would like to learn about your culture and customs. Will you teach me?" The walker moved on, ignoring the question.

"Do you not understand me?" the human called to the figure's retreating back.

"Spare any change?" Frey asked as the stranger approached the cart he was standing by.

"Why does no one answer me?" the blonde asked, his young face plastered with a look of pure incomprehension.

Frey scratched his head a second, gently twirling one of his short anatine. "'Cause you're strange."

The man's eyes widened. "Am I? Tell me how I am strange."

"Well, look, you can't be just walking up to people you don't know on the street. Talking all weird like that. Asking for stuff."

The human tiled his head. "Isn't that what you are doing?"

"Well yeah, but--" the blue haired humanoid stuttered.

"Then you must be strange as well!" the kid exclaimed.

Frey actually smiled at that one. "I've been called worse. Sure-- I'm strange too."

"I am called Machello," the blonde said, laying a hand on Frey's shoulder.

"I'm Frey."

The human nodded happily. "Then let us feast together, Frey. And celebrate our strangeness and new found friendship."

Frey looked unsure, staring down at the little human. He didn't look poor… maybe the kid had a little money. "On you?" he asked hesitantly.

The human, Machello, look confused but smiled openly, blue eyes shinning. "If that is the custom," he said, taping his hand on his chest, "then we will feast on me."

~*~

"What do you have for us Trance?" Dylan asked, taking a seat at the conference table.

"Well," the golden alien said, "medically speaking, he's an elderly man suffering from acute pulmonary damage, with the conscious awareness and memory of Harper."

"How?" Dylan asked.

Trance shook her head. "I can't tell you the method used to do it, but I can tell you that a human's personality, their memory, their conscious selves, are derived from a unique network of neurons in the cerebral cortex; somehow Harper's networks were remapped onto the old man's by that device."

"So this could be a one way deal, right?" Beka interrupted. "I mean, we don't know it went both ways. Harper could still be-- Harper."

Dylan turned towards his first officer. "He was supposed to leave the planet hours before I did. I've been back an hour and he's not returned."

"Nor responded to our comm," Rommie added.

Beka nodded, placing her hands on the table. "There you go. Lets go find him then."

"And if he isn't Harper?" Tyr asked.

Dylan sighed. "We're going to have to prepare for that possibility. Trance?"

The acting medical officer on the ship shook her head. "This problem is behind my expertise, Dylan. I can fix most human illnesses and injuries, but this isn't your run of the mill case. I'm going to need time to see if something can be done. If anything."

"Dylan, wouldn't it just be easier if we went back, got the machine and tried to-- I don't know... slam it into reverse?" Beka asked.

"All right," Hunt agreed. "I'll allow you to retrieve it. But consider that device hazardous material. Prepare yourselves accordingly."

~*~

Fully dressed in the ship's biochemical protected suit, Beka felt like she was wrapped in tarp. Thankfully they hadn't had to put it on until they'd reached the building. She couldn't imagine the bizarre looks the city's populace would have given her. She sighed. First she'd worry about the device, then finding her ship. It was several kilometers away, still parked where Dylan had left it in a crowded docking bay. The High Councilor had permitted them to borrow one of their transport vessels, but it didn't fly like the Maru. Nothing flew like the Maru.

"I'm going to check out Machello's room," Trance said, stepping away from Tyr and Beka. "There could be more flexis-- maybe one we can actually read."

"Go ahead, but be careful about touching anything in there," Beka said, waving friends towards the alcove. She looked over at Tyr, who was equally garbed. "Come on, help me get this hunk of junk."

Pulling out two magnetic handholds, Beka slipped the device's handles into the holes on the handholds until each side was completely covered. She let go and motioned for Tyr to do the same.

"On three," Beka said. "One, two--"

"Beka!"

The blonde captain felt her heart skip a beat. Literally. She turned to glare at her friend who was sticking her head out of the alcove. "Trance."

"Sorry," Trance amended, pointing into the dark room. "I think I know how Machello has lived so long. There's some sort of medical device in here. There are at least a dozen tubes and thermal units attached to it. Like some kind of-- life support."

"Machello was conscious when we found him," Tyr observed.

"Yes," Trance answered, "but maybe it was triggered to shut down when the door opened. I really need to study this. It could possibly keep Harper alive, at least until we find a way to switch him back." She frowned. "If Rommie and I can figure out how to get it to work again."

Beka nodded. "How long?"

"I don't know. Like I said, a lot of time."

"Well, lets worry about getting this back to the ship," Beka said, raising her gloved hands above the handholds placed on the device and watching Tyr do the same. "This might be all we need. On three, Tyr. One. Two. Three."

Trance paused a moment, looking away from the alcove and back towards her friends. The air felt… different. It was almost as if it was full of electricity. She looked over at her friends. Tyr and Beka were silent, standing motionless across from each other, hands still gripping the handholds attached to the device. Trance stepped towards them and raised her eyebrows curiously.

"What?"

~*~

As the transport settled into Andromeda's docking bay, Dylan waited impatiently for the doors to open and reveal the rest of his crew. Usually he didn't allow himself to show irritation in such a manner, but this situation was different. It wasn't a firefight where he could just blast himself free. No, this situation was extraordinarily unique. Your shipmates didn't just suddenly age sixty years for no apparent reason.

He paused and took a deep breath, hoping that whatever the others had found would be able to help.

"Here they are," Andromeda announced over the comm as the door slide open. Beka was the first to exit, followed by Tyr. Trance was in back controlling the large hover disk that the device sat on. Dylan watched his first officer pull off her protective helmet, blonde hair mused from the enclosed headgear.

"How did it go, Beka?"

The woman crossed her arms and stared hard at Dylan a moment before answering, "It did not go well."

Confused by her drab tone, Dylan could only frown in her general direction.

Next to Beka, Tyr ripped off his helmet and threw it to the ground. "Ya think?!" he exclaimed, waving his arms around his chest franticly. The Nietzschean then rolled his eyes, angrily forced his hands onto his hips, and stared silently at the befuddled High Guard Captain.

Dylan's eyes roamed to the back of the pair in search of Trance. When his gaze locked onto hers, face begging for an answer, all the alien girl could do was chuckle nervously.

He stared back at Tyr and Beka again, blinked, then looked once more for good measure.

"Oh boy."

~*~

TBC…

~*~

Review this story now and I'll send you your very own Lord of the Rings character of choice for just three easy payments of $29.99. (Legolas is $10 more, plus shipping. He's currently on back order so expect up to six weeks for delivery.) I have a great selection of Moria Orcs and Wack-A-Fish Gollum left though, so hurry and review. Time is running out! Oh, and if you can guess the LOTR reference from the story I'll throw in an extra Hobbit. (Excluding any of the Brandybuck, Took, Baggins, or Gamgee genus.)

Explaining Machello's device was rather… difficult. So, for anyone who couldn't picture it I was going to attach a link to an image but it won't allow it on the upload. I've tried to figure it out but FFNET hates me. If you're interested, you can go to Gateworld.net, hit the Stargate section, Season 2, episode 18 "Holiday". They also have a nice Andromeda episode guide. Not extremely indebt, but nice.

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B.L.A. the Mouse-- The episode "Holiday" aired late in Stargate's second season.

Drakcir--Yes, Harper does make a good Daniel. They're both the whipping boy's of their fandoms (especially in fanfic). lol

Echo24--Danny-centric episodes are my favorites of course. Anytime our Lovable Archeologist gets to be front and center is a good day. There are so many possibilities for future Andromeda stories with a "twist". The First Ones. Crystal Skull. Need. Fire and Water… and oh, another one involving a certain loony bin and padded walls. ;D

…

Happy "Holidays" everyone. :D