PART FIVE

"You'd be proud of me," said Trance. "I broke their silly camera. I stole the thingy."

"The thingy?" At any other time, Harper would have laughed at Trance's ditzy ways, but right now he just couldn't quite bring himself to. He'd dealt with the thought of his own death but Trance's was another matter. Now they had to get out of here, but he hadn't the faintest idea how. "Look, you've bought us time, Trance, but what are we going to do with it. Where's Tyr? Can't he get us out of here?"

"I hope so. He didn't want to risk a rescue before communicating with The Andromeda, but I've sent Magdalena to get him."

"Well, I sure hope she's good at being persuasive."

"Maybe she could take her clothes off."

Harper hadn't been expecting that. Actually, with everything that had happened he'd forgotten that little incident and had long since got over his initial wave of lust for the girl. Suddenly he felt rather cheap and dirty.

"OK...look, I'm sorry. I just...couldn't help it. You'd sent me off alone in the dark, and it wasn't the best party I'd ever been to. Then suddenly there's this girl stripping! What was I supposed to do, take monastic vows? I didn't watch her for long, OK. And it meant nothing."

"Maybe it's the fact that it meant nothing that's the problem. Magdalena was lonely...and she cares for you. You made her feel used."

"Hey...she used me! Why did she bring me here..."

"Nobody's totally innocent, Harper. I know, you were just having fun, and I forgive you. Just remember that, however pretty girls are, they have feelings...they're not just objects."

"I know that," muttered Harper. "I have feelings too, y'know." He gazed into her lap, wondering what she really thought of him. Did Trance believe he was bad? If she did, maybe she was right. He certainly wasn't pure as driven snow.

Trance lifted up her hand and gently brushed his hair back from his face. "I do know," she said. Harper let his eyes meet hers and he felt she could see into his very soul. She could see all his weaknesses...and all his goodness. Trance smiled.

Then they heard the gong again. This time it just sounded once and there was no jolly ring to the bong. The executioners had replaced the thingy. This was it.

...

After that, things moved swiftly. Trance and Harper were fetched from the cell and taken down to the platform. Neither had been short of words in life, and they did not intend to be in death. The more they argued and the more the struggled, the better the chance that Magdalena and Tyr would have time to get there. And maybe, just maybe, they could convince these people that there were other possibilities.

"Hey, look," shouted Harper. "The universe is a shit-hole...I know that. I've seen the shit. Believe me, I've slipped up in it more than a few times. But it's not ALL shit...so this God dude, whoever he is, must have made good as well as bad. Why is the shit always the answer?"

The executioners were clearly not impressed by this argument and proceeded to tie Harper to a wooden block. Trance figured she might be able to put it more eloquently, but only partially succeeded.

"So, there is a lot of bad, mysterious things in the universe, but there's not just one answer to it. There are hundreds of possible answers...thousands of different contingencies, all going off in different directions like little baby ants," Trance paused. Maybe this wasn't the time to wax lyrical on earth insect life. "If intentions are good, there's no reason that things will always turnout evil..." Trance stopped as she saw one of the executioners reach for the club. The possibilities were narrowing down fast. Fine words were not going to stop these guys. They didn't really care and they weren't listening to her. They just wanted blood.

Trance thought quickly. What else had Magdalena said about the League of De Maistre? They believed something divine gave their leaders power to discipline to them. It was part of their God's plan. Well, something divine was going to have to take that power away - fast. The man raised the club over Harper. Trance saw the possibilities narrow even faster. They had slimmed down from about twelve a minute ago to just...two. Two? Trance looked up. Metres away from the platform she saw a large Nietzschean pushing his way through the terrified crowd, aiming a high guard forelance. In a split second he fired.

The executioner screamed horribly, and tumbled backwards dropping the club. Within a moment, Tyr had taken out one of his brothers with a single shot. He now aimed for the third and would have fired had Trance not thrown herself in front of him.

"Out of the way, girl!" thundered Tyr.

"No! Violence is not the only possibility. There are other answers. These people must learn that."

"Out of the way!"

"No!"

Tyr lowered the weapon, keeping very aware that the people in the crowd could turn on him any second. He was on his guard, ready for anything. He moved onto the platform, took hold of the remaining brother, and let Trance speak.

"Please...you don't have to live this way. I know your lives have been bad since the fall of the Systems Commonwealth, but why make the suffering worse? Evil has not won. Time is not over yet. There are still thousands, no millions, of possibilities for the future and some of them are good."

The crowd were silent. The remaining brother spat onto the floor. "Don't listen. She is the devil trying to corrupt you. If you believe her, you are truly weak and evil and shall burn in hell..."

He was cut off by a small voice, crying out and set apart from the crowd. "No, please listen to her," said Magdalena. "She may not be right...but her intentions are good. And my brother's power has been taken away, it has happened so it must be part of God's plan. Maybe they were wrong." Trance looked at Magdalena and smiled.

"There is a chance for good to triumph," continued Trance. "We know someone, a High Guard Captain, who is trying to restore the Systems Commonwealth. Why don't you join him ...I can't guarantee he'll succeed, but at least there is hope. Someone is trying to make sense of all the chaos in the universe." The crowd murmured to themselves. They were not convinced, but Trance knew she had sewn the seeds of doubt. She turned to Magdalena. "Can you convince them?"

Magdalena shook her head. "I'm not sure..." Trance saw that there were tears running down her face and remembered that two of her brothers were dead, and the other must be either detained or persuaded that what he had always believed was wrong. There was a huge task ahead of this young woman. "I know somebody who can help you..." she said, compassionately. Our captain, Dylan
Hunt, I just know he can sort you and your community out and get your people to join the Commonwealth. All might end well..." She hugged the girl to her, letting her cry.

...

Having locked away the remaining executioner, Tyr began to untie Harper. "About freakin' time. What took you?"

Tyr grunted. "You're lucky I came at all. I couldn't fix the communications that you'd been messing about with. By the time that girl reached me I had realised I would have no choice but to come and rescue you or be left stranded on this damn place until the others found me."

"Gee, thanks. Nice to know you care so much..." Harper stumbled rather shakily to his feet, but refused any further assistance from Tyr. Obviously, he was more than a little relieved that the Nietzschean had come for him. However, he was neither surprised nor impressed by his motives and reasoning, at least those that Tyr laid claim to. Anyhow, Harper was not about to bend over backwards to show his gratitude. He looked up at his rescuer with a smirk. "So, you admit it then, I'm a genius. You couldn't survive without the great Seamus Zelazny Harper, techno-God!"

Tyr seized Harper by the collar and hauled him up so their faces were level. "Shut up or I will break your neck!" Harper rolled his eyes and considered pointing out that if he did it would make his efforts of the past few minutes rather pointless, but decided he was just too shattered to respond. As Tyr threw him back down, Trance dashed over and positioned herself between them.

"This isn't helping!" she said, but she couldn't stop herself laughing a little. Maybe it wasn't all chaos. Some things were very predictable.

...

The tale that the three of them told to Dylan on their return almost convinced him that there was not sense in the universe and chaos did indeed reign.

"So, you crashed the ship, fell down a hole in the ground...Harper, you saw what?...Trance, you went where?...Tyr, you attacked who?"

However, he had been satisfied enough to travel down to the Troglodyte community with Beka to offer them his support and help. Rev had accompanied them, feeling that it would help these people to hear a little about his version of the Divine. Tyr decided he truly did need some time on his own, and disappeared into his quarters, leaving Trance and Harper to ponder what had gone before.

Harper pulled the bloodstained piece of Trance's clothing out of his pocket and offered it back to her.

"Is this supposed to be deeply symbolic of you and I and the bond between us? My sparkly purple material mixed with your blood?"

"Nah," said Harper. "That would be kinda daft and anyway, it's pretty gross as it is. I just like that outfit...I figured you might be able to wash it and sew it back on so you can wear it again."

Trance screwed up her nose. "Eeeeew, yuck. I don't think so Harper. I don't seem to develop the same lifelong attachment to items of clothing that you do. I'll find a new one."

Harper stuffed the bit of material back in his pocket. "What do we do now, then?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean. What are the possibilities for you and I, babe?"

"There are thousands of possibilities."

Harper pulled Trance into his arms, and kissed her briefly, but tenderly, on the lips. "I'd like to try a few. See if we can find some answers to all this chaos around us." Trance looked at him with an indecipherable but knowing expression.

She did not break away from him, but Harper knew that the creature in his arms was an enigma that he could never explain. He sighed, and still holding the girl he loved, surrendered himself to the mysteries of the universe.

THE END

"There are all kinds of futures...anyone can foresee any number of possibilities all of which are constantly diverging. Contingencies arise, imperatives vanish, and all the while we tread our way through chaos and uncertainty never knowing which of hundreds of possible realities we could find ourselves in."

"If you start with good intentions, you have a better chance of ending up with...good."

- Trance Gemini, Forced Perspective

Authors note: I would just like to apologise to all of you out there with better taste that me (probably most of you) for the terrible Mills and Boon-style last paragraph. I JUST COULDN'T HELP IT!!!

Anyway, overall, please let me know if you liked it. Did it work? Oh, and should I have put it out in instalments like I did, or would people rather I put stuff all out at once? Thanks.

Oh, oh and...Note to Maddy (and anyone else who read her review!!): I totally agree about the white rabbit - there must have been a few mad bunnies bouncing up and down in my head when I dreamt this one up. I'm just glad I didn't have the Queen of Hearts running on going "Off with her head"... hmmmm, "Trance and Harper in Wonderland" - now there's a thought. Aaaaaargh!!! Please - somebody stop me!!!