Title: Starlight, Starlight
Chapter 4: I Hate Waking Up With A Headache
Author: Steven Quinlan
Disclaimer: I own them all....Psych! However the plot is mine
Archives: Let me know where, but otherwise feel free to archive
-----
While most bipedal beings perceive only 28% of the world visually, many think that sight is the primary sense.
- Bipedal Medical Journals Volume XXVI
9214 CY
-----
Note from Harpers body to Harper's brain. Don't let yourself get into the position where you are being kicked in the head by angry Nietzscheans.
Note from Harper's brain to Harper's body. Shut up! I'm in pain over here.
Oh this is just wonderfull, kidnapped, being dragged through a hallway of some kind, a killer headache and I think i'm missing a shoe. I knew I shouldn't have thought about whether this day could get any worse.
I could really use Sparky! Well, they've stopped dragging me across the floor and have just propped me up in a chair. Wish I knew who 'they' were or why they wanted me.
This is where the fun and games called torture begins, i'm guessing. Hah, show's what they know. I'm Seamus Harper, I was raised on Earth, there ain't nothing they can do to me, that hasn't been done before..... Of course if they just don't do anything to me, i'll be quite happy.
I sit there in silence, waiting for something or someone to break it. They kidnapped me, they can make with the introductions. By my internal clock, I figure it's almost a minute before a word is said.
"Seamus Harper of the Andromeda, I presume?"
"Hey, right in one, you win a prize for that you know? How about you let me go and I'll go get it for you?"
A deep throaty chuckle rings out from a space about three feet infront of me. Okay, now that's just freaky. A Nietzschean that laughes at my jokes? Usually I need Beka or Dylan to stop Tyr from beating me like a red headed stepchild for joking around and this guy thinks it's funny?
Hi, I'm Seamus Harper, and I'm confused. Guess it shows on my face because next I know there is someone trying to hand me something. I feel what it is and am surprised to recognize a datajack cable.
"Mr. Harper, my name is Alexander of the Falcon Pride. If you want, you can plug this into your port, It will give you access to the camera's in this room. It isn't much, I'll admit, but it may help put you at ease."
Even as I bring the jack to my port I can't help but fire of another comment. "You know what would really put me at ease? If you let me go and don't hurt me."
"I'm not going to hurt you Mr. Harper. In fact I would very much like your help."
Okay, now that's even weirder. He kidnaps me, and now he wants my help? Well, seeing as all my other plans have just been cancelled due to reasons of extreme bodily harm, I might as well listen.
I plug the jack into my port and focus on the new sensations. The first thing I notice is that the system is indeed locked into this room and this room only. It's completely featureless besides the camera images.
I focus on the camera image and enlarge it so I can get a good looksie. Well, there's me, sitting in a featureless metal chair, across from me, sitting at a small table between us is the Nietzschean.... a fat.... balding?....Nietzschean.
"Uhm, dont' kill me or anything, but are you sure you're a Nietzschean?"
"Yes mr. Harper, but like you I met with an unfortunate accident. You see twelve years ago i was on Bergos, trying to put down a little insurrection when one of the rebels got lucky with a grenade. It exploded right next to me and cost me something valuable."
"Oh yeah, and what was that?". He decides that showing is better than telling as he moves his hands to his head, and I'll be a purple pixie if he doesn't reach up and remove both his eyeballs. He puts them down on the table and turns his head to my body
"Do you see now Mr. Harper, why I understand what you are going through? I went through the same thing."
That makes me swallow. Okay, so he is serious, I'm down with that, but I'm also not convinced. I grab a hold of the camera stream and start checking it. It's not a recording, it's not noticeably tampered with.... hello, it's being fed to a different location. He's going to kill me for this, but I decided to stamp on the second data stream with extreme prejudice.
"Okay," I tell him, concentrating on the matter at hand. "So what do you want from me?"
"When I lost my eyes, my pride wanted me to commit suicide. They felt that a Nietzschean so incompetent as to allow his vision to be damaged, wasn't fit to survive. I decided otherwise and went into business for myself. Now, I have my sight back, I have wealth, power and three wives. I believe I have proved my superiority."
Yeah, I can figure that. Tyr once said, when the Andromeda's sensors were down, that if Rommie had been his kid, blind and without weapons, he would have drowned her.
"Okay, so what does that have to do with me?" Is what I want to know, I mean, okay, you're sorry about me being kicked when I was picked up, but that still doesn't explain what you want with the resident genius.
Okay, now that just sent a shiver down my spine. I have a lot of the Andromeda's access and control codes. I need them to do my job properly, and how does a Nietzschean prove his worth? well, I imagine trying to conquer the Andromeda would be a good way. God i hope that isn't it.
"News of all kinds reaches my ears, and when i heard that despite your accident, you continued to work I was impressed. So I looked ito your background and I wish to make you an offer. I will arrange for one of our medics to implant a set of brand new bionic eyes into you."
Wha..... did he.... no way..... He's a Niet... eyes, Bionics... for me. Okay, Harper, take a chill, will you. He's going to want something big for that. Something you aren't going to be willing to give
Damn, I have to bite back a round of tears at this damn bastard who is dangling this infornt of me. One way or another I'm going to make him pay for this, even as he keeps talking.
"They come with all the low light and infrared upgrades. If you have access to a medical bay, then I can arrange the install in less than a day."
How can I say no. He's offering me exactly what I've wanted ever since I had the accident. But how can I trust him. He's a Nietzschean, he's going to want something that I can't give him. Control codes to the Andromeda, or the secrets of the AI core, or something so important it's worth that sort of money.
And God help me, right now I'm considering it, regardless of what Trance says, I am useless at the moment. The AI program can keep itself tidy without me is she has to, all i really do is do it faster.
Can I do it. Is there anything I know that I could offer for a pair of eyes. Is my loyalty really worth that much? I mean, Beka's been my friend for half a decade, but Dylan? I've only known him for a year or so.
How do I choose, between my friends, my allies, and possibly the love of my life, and the chance to see again.......dammit it's not fair....
I guess I'll have to find out what he wants, and hope beyond hope that the decent Harper is still alive and kicking inside me.
"Nice offer, but you're still a Nietzschean, what's the catch?"
"The catch, Mr. Harper, is that I want your genetic code."
"What?" O-kay!. That wasn't what I was expecting. My genetic code, why on earth would he want my genetic code. For that matter, why hasn't he already taken it if that was all he wanted, I mean he could have had one of his thugs slice me up for a medical scan.
"While my genes have strength, as my three sons proved when they found you. They lack a modicum of intelligence. They were supposed to find you and invite you to come here at your leisure, not beat you down and drag you here. My apologies for that, by the way."
Well, that explains tons... and about that Thug thing... I didn't mean it. Well I did, sons or no, they were thugs, but I'll never tell.
"From you I want a genetic sample that I can add to my next child. You are a genius, or so I'm told, and I would like to add that to the genemix."
That makes sense, sortof, I mean, if he really just wants to do a little gene splicing, why not?
God, I feel like someone lifted a ten ton weight of my shoulders. He doesn't want anything vital, just a little DNA sample. That I can do!
let's see, cons? In ten years or so there could be half a dozen very smart little Nietzscheans running around. Pro's? I get my eyesight back.
Pro's definitely outweigh the cons for me, but I'll have to explain it to the others. They might not agree with my priorities. Do I really care? Yes, I do. So i'll explain it to them first
"Can think about this for a while?" Now push comes to shove, if he wants an answer now, I'm in trouble. I'm spared from that thought by the fact that something beeps. I concentrate on the image feed again and see Alexander reaching for a communit on his belt.
He pops his eyes back in, oy, that's creepy, and gives the camera an apologetic smile. "One moment please...."
There's a pause as he listens, I can't quite make out what's going on, but there's something about grenades and psychotic women. That's gotta be Beka, coming in with the cavelry. I grin broadly for a second.
"I see.... Would you please inform Miss Valentine that her companion is free to leave at any time, and that she is welcome to enter and pick him up if she wants. "
"Beka's here?" I say, feigning surprise. I was right, gotta love being a genius.
"Yes, and another fine example of a human, she has successfully penetrated all the way into the inner courtyard, disabled half a dozen of my guards and is holding one of my daughters hostage."
Go Beka, sounds like she has quite the mad on, this probably isn't going to look good though.
"Hows about this, I'll go back to my ship, and I'll give you a call at the end of the day and let you know." I have got to get out of here and clear my head before i make this choice.
Please go for it, come on, I'm trustworthy remember, come on, say yes.
"It is an acceptable agreement. Ah, Captain Valentine. As you can see, your friend is fine."
I see Beka arrive in the room and discconect from the jack, just in time for a hand to grab my shoulder. Did I mention that she's still got a force lance to the throat of a Nietszhcean girl? hehe, thought I forgot something.
"Harper, are you okay? Grab my arm, we're leaving." There's something in her voice that scares me, it's sort of a mix between adrenaline, anger and worry. Oh, I've got to get her to calm down a little before she hurts someone
"Hey Beka, it's okay. He already apologized for what happened, and I'm fine.". Don't know if she agrees with my comment, but she does drag me up and out of the building. Score one for the good guys I guess. And as sick as it is, I can't help but keep a silly grin on my face.
--
The room is silent. it's featureless grey walls completely uncaring of the solitary figure sitting behind the table. A man enters, a Nietzschean and Alexander's second in command.
"Do you think he bought it, sir?"
"I do indeed, and if returning his sight to him is the price to pay to take the Andromeda, then it is a very small price indeed."
Chapter 4: I Hate Waking Up With A Headache
Author: Steven Quinlan
Disclaimer: I own them all....Psych! However the plot is mine
Archives: Let me know where, but otherwise feel free to archive
-----
While most bipedal beings perceive only 28% of the world visually, many think that sight is the primary sense.
- Bipedal Medical Journals Volume XXVI
9214 CY
-----
Note from Harpers body to Harper's brain. Don't let yourself get into the position where you are being kicked in the head by angry Nietzscheans.
Note from Harper's brain to Harper's body. Shut up! I'm in pain over here.
Oh this is just wonderfull, kidnapped, being dragged through a hallway of some kind, a killer headache and I think i'm missing a shoe. I knew I shouldn't have thought about whether this day could get any worse.
I could really use Sparky! Well, they've stopped dragging me across the floor and have just propped me up in a chair. Wish I knew who 'they' were or why they wanted me.
This is where the fun and games called torture begins, i'm guessing. Hah, show's what they know. I'm Seamus Harper, I was raised on Earth, there ain't nothing they can do to me, that hasn't been done before..... Of course if they just don't do anything to me, i'll be quite happy.
I sit there in silence, waiting for something or someone to break it. They kidnapped me, they can make with the introductions. By my internal clock, I figure it's almost a minute before a word is said.
"Seamus Harper of the Andromeda, I presume?"
"Hey, right in one, you win a prize for that you know? How about you let me go and I'll go get it for you?"
A deep throaty chuckle rings out from a space about three feet infront of me. Okay, now that's just freaky. A Nietzschean that laughes at my jokes? Usually I need Beka or Dylan to stop Tyr from beating me like a red headed stepchild for joking around and this guy thinks it's funny?
Hi, I'm Seamus Harper, and I'm confused. Guess it shows on my face because next I know there is someone trying to hand me something. I feel what it is and am surprised to recognize a datajack cable.
"Mr. Harper, my name is Alexander of the Falcon Pride. If you want, you can plug this into your port, It will give you access to the camera's in this room. It isn't much, I'll admit, but it may help put you at ease."
Even as I bring the jack to my port I can't help but fire of another comment. "You know what would really put me at ease? If you let me go and don't hurt me."
"I'm not going to hurt you Mr. Harper. In fact I would very much like your help."
Okay, now that's even weirder. He kidnaps me, and now he wants my help? Well, seeing as all my other plans have just been cancelled due to reasons of extreme bodily harm, I might as well listen.
I plug the jack into my port and focus on the new sensations. The first thing I notice is that the system is indeed locked into this room and this room only. It's completely featureless besides the camera images.
I focus on the camera image and enlarge it so I can get a good looksie. Well, there's me, sitting in a featureless metal chair, across from me, sitting at a small table between us is the Nietzschean.... a fat.... balding?....Nietzschean.
"Uhm, dont' kill me or anything, but are you sure you're a Nietzschean?"
"Yes mr. Harper, but like you I met with an unfortunate accident. You see twelve years ago i was on Bergos, trying to put down a little insurrection when one of the rebels got lucky with a grenade. It exploded right next to me and cost me something valuable."
"Oh yeah, and what was that?". He decides that showing is better than telling as he moves his hands to his head, and I'll be a purple pixie if he doesn't reach up and remove both his eyeballs. He puts them down on the table and turns his head to my body
"Do you see now Mr. Harper, why I understand what you are going through? I went through the same thing."
That makes me swallow. Okay, so he is serious, I'm down with that, but I'm also not convinced. I grab a hold of the camera stream and start checking it. It's not a recording, it's not noticeably tampered with.... hello, it's being fed to a different location. He's going to kill me for this, but I decided to stamp on the second data stream with extreme prejudice.
"Okay," I tell him, concentrating on the matter at hand. "So what do you want from me?"
"When I lost my eyes, my pride wanted me to commit suicide. They felt that a Nietzschean so incompetent as to allow his vision to be damaged, wasn't fit to survive. I decided otherwise and went into business for myself. Now, I have my sight back, I have wealth, power and three wives. I believe I have proved my superiority."
Yeah, I can figure that. Tyr once said, when the Andromeda's sensors were down, that if Rommie had been his kid, blind and without weapons, he would have drowned her.
"Okay, so what does that have to do with me?" Is what I want to know, I mean, okay, you're sorry about me being kicked when I was picked up, but that still doesn't explain what you want with the resident genius.
Okay, now that just sent a shiver down my spine. I have a lot of the Andromeda's access and control codes. I need them to do my job properly, and how does a Nietzschean prove his worth? well, I imagine trying to conquer the Andromeda would be a good way. God i hope that isn't it.
"News of all kinds reaches my ears, and when i heard that despite your accident, you continued to work I was impressed. So I looked ito your background and I wish to make you an offer. I will arrange for one of our medics to implant a set of brand new bionic eyes into you."
Wha..... did he.... no way..... He's a Niet... eyes, Bionics... for me. Okay, Harper, take a chill, will you. He's going to want something big for that. Something you aren't going to be willing to give
Damn, I have to bite back a round of tears at this damn bastard who is dangling this infornt of me. One way or another I'm going to make him pay for this, even as he keeps talking.
"They come with all the low light and infrared upgrades. If you have access to a medical bay, then I can arrange the install in less than a day."
How can I say no. He's offering me exactly what I've wanted ever since I had the accident. But how can I trust him. He's a Nietzschean, he's going to want something that I can't give him. Control codes to the Andromeda, or the secrets of the AI core, or something so important it's worth that sort of money.
And God help me, right now I'm considering it, regardless of what Trance says, I am useless at the moment. The AI program can keep itself tidy without me is she has to, all i really do is do it faster.
Can I do it. Is there anything I know that I could offer for a pair of eyes. Is my loyalty really worth that much? I mean, Beka's been my friend for half a decade, but Dylan? I've only known him for a year or so.
How do I choose, between my friends, my allies, and possibly the love of my life, and the chance to see again.......dammit it's not fair....
I guess I'll have to find out what he wants, and hope beyond hope that the decent Harper is still alive and kicking inside me.
"Nice offer, but you're still a Nietzschean, what's the catch?"
"The catch, Mr. Harper, is that I want your genetic code."
"What?" O-kay!. That wasn't what I was expecting. My genetic code, why on earth would he want my genetic code. For that matter, why hasn't he already taken it if that was all he wanted, I mean he could have had one of his thugs slice me up for a medical scan.
"While my genes have strength, as my three sons proved when they found you. They lack a modicum of intelligence. They were supposed to find you and invite you to come here at your leisure, not beat you down and drag you here. My apologies for that, by the way."
Well, that explains tons... and about that Thug thing... I didn't mean it. Well I did, sons or no, they were thugs, but I'll never tell.
"From you I want a genetic sample that I can add to my next child. You are a genius, or so I'm told, and I would like to add that to the genemix."
That makes sense, sortof, I mean, if he really just wants to do a little gene splicing, why not?
God, I feel like someone lifted a ten ton weight of my shoulders. He doesn't want anything vital, just a little DNA sample. That I can do!
let's see, cons? In ten years or so there could be half a dozen very smart little Nietzscheans running around. Pro's? I get my eyesight back.
Pro's definitely outweigh the cons for me, but I'll have to explain it to the others. They might not agree with my priorities. Do I really care? Yes, I do. So i'll explain it to them first
"Can think about this for a while?" Now push comes to shove, if he wants an answer now, I'm in trouble. I'm spared from that thought by the fact that something beeps. I concentrate on the image feed again and see Alexander reaching for a communit on his belt.
He pops his eyes back in, oy, that's creepy, and gives the camera an apologetic smile. "One moment please...."
There's a pause as he listens, I can't quite make out what's going on, but there's something about grenades and psychotic women. That's gotta be Beka, coming in with the cavelry. I grin broadly for a second.
"I see.... Would you please inform Miss Valentine that her companion is free to leave at any time, and that she is welcome to enter and pick him up if she wants. "
"Beka's here?" I say, feigning surprise. I was right, gotta love being a genius.
"Yes, and another fine example of a human, she has successfully penetrated all the way into the inner courtyard, disabled half a dozen of my guards and is holding one of my daughters hostage."
Go Beka, sounds like she has quite the mad on, this probably isn't going to look good though.
"Hows about this, I'll go back to my ship, and I'll give you a call at the end of the day and let you know." I have got to get out of here and clear my head before i make this choice.
Please go for it, come on, I'm trustworthy remember, come on, say yes.
"It is an acceptable agreement. Ah, Captain Valentine. As you can see, your friend is fine."
I see Beka arrive in the room and discconect from the jack, just in time for a hand to grab my shoulder. Did I mention that she's still got a force lance to the throat of a Nietszhcean girl? hehe, thought I forgot something.
"Harper, are you okay? Grab my arm, we're leaving." There's something in her voice that scares me, it's sort of a mix between adrenaline, anger and worry. Oh, I've got to get her to calm down a little before she hurts someone
"Hey Beka, it's okay. He already apologized for what happened, and I'm fine.". Don't know if she agrees with my comment, but she does drag me up and out of the building. Score one for the good guys I guess. And as sick as it is, I can't help but keep a silly grin on my face.
--
The room is silent. it's featureless grey walls completely uncaring of the solitary figure sitting behind the table. A man enters, a Nietzschean and Alexander's second in command.
"Do you think he bought it, sir?"
"I do indeed, and if returning his sight to him is the price to pay to take the Andromeda, then it is a very small price indeed."