The next chapter - rating and disclaimers as before.
'Tyr's ' screams woke Trance and Dylan immediately. It took Harper a little longer to push himself up through the layers of consciousness to be fully awake.
Trance went over to the panic stricken Nietzschean. She stroked his brow and spoke soothingly to him until he became quiet.
'Tyr' looked at her, his face showing fear and hatred in equal measure.
"Where am I and who are you?" He hissed at her. "What have you done with my mate?"
He struggled once more against his restraints. He looked at Trance again this time his expression was puzzled. "You aren't the same, what's happening?"
Dylan took over from Trance. "Tell us what you can remember?" He urged the man. "It's terribly important that we know."
'Tyr' swallowed uncomfortably and Trance allowed him a few sips of water.
"We were trading, riding the 'stream to O'Brien's Drift. There was a blast of white light then I woke up here." He looked bewildered for a moment. "No I was somewhere else. I don't remember, my head hurts too much."
Harper had been lying quietly listening to what the man had to say. He remembered something that 'Beka' had said to him. He spoke to 'Tyr' his voice weak but audible in the hushed medical deck.
"What year is it?" He asked the Nietzschean.
The man thought for a moment then gave a date five years in the past.
"'Beka' told me that five years had passed where she was. I think the Flash was to stop them remembering who they really were, she'd managed to stop taking it and her real memories were resurfacing." The strain of talking had exhausted Harper and he sank back on his pillows again. His breathing was harsh and laboured.
'Tyr' was having difficulty understanding what was happening. "Who is Beka," he asked. "Where is Krom, my mate, I don't see him in this room." He looked at his own body as if seeing it for the first time. "What's been done to me?" The panic was back in his voice again.
"What species are you?" Trance spoke softly trying not to alarm him too much.
"We are Perseid traders, I'm Renke and my mate is Krom. Where is he?"
Trance was amazed; the man showed no signs of Perseid anatomy. She replied to him, her face sympathetic.
"I'm so sorry Renke but if Krom was the person who was with you, I'm afraid that he's dead. It might not have been him but both of you have been changed so much it is very difficult to tell. The only way I can be sure is to run a complete DNA scan on both of you."
Renke tried to get up from the bed. "What did you do to him, how was he killed?"
Harper joined in once again. "Let's cut the bull shit. You killed her or him. She was trying to help us and you shot her." The engineer still felt sick at the memory of 'Tyr' shooting 'Beka', even if it wasn't the real Beka it had seemed very real at the time.
Renke screamed once more. "No, it's not true, why should I believe what you say, how do I know this isn't all a trick?"
Dylan spoke authority evident in his voice. "Because you have my word as a Captain of the High Guard."
Renke laughed at him. "The High Guard ceased to exist when the Commonwealth fell, even a Magog larva knows that much."
Holo Rommie shimmered into existence. She stood in her familiar pose, arms crossed with a 'not amused' expression on her face.
"I am the holographic representation of the Andromeda Ascendant, we are a High Guard warship, my Captain is telling you the truth, what have you got to lose by believing him? We are trying to help you."
Trance explained about the implants, she told Renke how she'd removed them and how they had disintegrated into dust. She could see by his face that he was beginning to believe her.
"If you will let me take some samples I'll try to work out what was done to you, I can also confirm whether 'Beka' was Krom. I don't think I'm going to be able to reverse the changes though, I'm sorry but that is beyond my skills."
The Perseid closed his eyes. "Go ahead, I have to know."
Trance gathered the material she needed from both impostors. She set to work analysing and checking her results against Andromeda's database.
Dylan went to get food for them all. Harper couldn't or wouldn't eat, adding to the Captain's concern for the young man. He finally managed to get him to drink some soup. The Perseid ate ravenously, emptying his plate and looking for more.
Renke and Harper were both asleep when Trance finished the tests. She sighed; the news was about as bad as it could be.
Dylan gave her a quizzical look. "What's the verdict?"
"It's not good Dylan. They are both Perseid but their DNA has been so drastically altered that it would be impossible to return Renke to that form. That is the bad news. What is worse is that he is dying. His entire molecular structure is disintegrating. Each individual cell in his body is breaking down. It will take a while but he has only days to live. It's almost as if the implant was keeping them stable as well as controlling their actions. I may be able to delay the inevitable but you won't like the solution."
Dylan ran his hand through his hair. He was looking beyond exhaustion; all the worry of the recent events was catching up on him. "Just tell me Trance," he said wearily.
"I can delay the effects for a few weeks by giving him Flash, it's not a permanent solution but it will work for a while."
She looked at Dylan waiting for his decision.
'Tyr's ' screams woke Trance and Dylan immediately. It took Harper a little longer to push himself up through the layers of consciousness to be fully awake.
Trance went over to the panic stricken Nietzschean. She stroked his brow and spoke soothingly to him until he became quiet.
'Tyr' looked at her, his face showing fear and hatred in equal measure.
"Where am I and who are you?" He hissed at her. "What have you done with my mate?"
He struggled once more against his restraints. He looked at Trance again this time his expression was puzzled. "You aren't the same, what's happening?"
Dylan took over from Trance. "Tell us what you can remember?" He urged the man. "It's terribly important that we know."
'Tyr' swallowed uncomfortably and Trance allowed him a few sips of water.
"We were trading, riding the 'stream to O'Brien's Drift. There was a blast of white light then I woke up here." He looked bewildered for a moment. "No I was somewhere else. I don't remember, my head hurts too much."
Harper had been lying quietly listening to what the man had to say. He remembered something that 'Beka' had said to him. He spoke to 'Tyr' his voice weak but audible in the hushed medical deck.
"What year is it?" He asked the Nietzschean.
The man thought for a moment then gave a date five years in the past.
"'Beka' told me that five years had passed where she was. I think the Flash was to stop them remembering who they really were, she'd managed to stop taking it and her real memories were resurfacing." The strain of talking had exhausted Harper and he sank back on his pillows again. His breathing was harsh and laboured.
'Tyr' was having difficulty understanding what was happening. "Who is Beka," he asked. "Where is Krom, my mate, I don't see him in this room." He looked at his own body as if seeing it for the first time. "What's been done to me?" The panic was back in his voice again.
"What species are you?" Trance spoke softly trying not to alarm him too much.
"We are Perseid traders, I'm Renke and my mate is Krom. Where is he?"
Trance was amazed; the man showed no signs of Perseid anatomy. She replied to him, her face sympathetic.
"I'm so sorry Renke but if Krom was the person who was with you, I'm afraid that he's dead. It might not have been him but both of you have been changed so much it is very difficult to tell. The only way I can be sure is to run a complete DNA scan on both of you."
Renke tried to get up from the bed. "What did you do to him, how was he killed?"
Harper joined in once again. "Let's cut the bull shit. You killed her or him. She was trying to help us and you shot her." The engineer still felt sick at the memory of 'Tyr' shooting 'Beka', even if it wasn't the real Beka it had seemed very real at the time.
Renke screamed once more. "No, it's not true, why should I believe what you say, how do I know this isn't all a trick?"
Dylan spoke authority evident in his voice. "Because you have my word as a Captain of the High Guard."
Renke laughed at him. "The High Guard ceased to exist when the Commonwealth fell, even a Magog larva knows that much."
Holo Rommie shimmered into existence. She stood in her familiar pose, arms crossed with a 'not amused' expression on her face.
"I am the holographic representation of the Andromeda Ascendant, we are a High Guard warship, my Captain is telling you the truth, what have you got to lose by believing him? We are trying to help you."
Trance explained about the implants, she told Renke how she'd removed them and how they had disintegrated into dust. She could see by his face that he was beginning to believe her.
"If you will let me take some samples I'll try to work out what was done to you, I can also confirm whether 'Beka' was Krom. I don't think I'm going to be able to reverse the changes though, I'm sorry but that is beyond my skills."
The Perseid closed his eyes. "Go ahead, I have to know."
Trance gathered the material she needed from both impostors. She set to work analysing and checking her results against Andromeda's database.
Dylan went to get food for them all. Harper couldn't or wouldn't eat, adding to the Captain's concern for the young man. He finally managed to get him to drink some soup. The Perseid ate ravenously, emptying his plate and looking for more.
Renke and Harper were both asleep when Trance finished the tests. She sighed; the news was about as bad as it could be.
Dylan gave her a quizzical look. "What's the verdict?"
"It's not good Dylan. They are both Perseid but their DNA has been so drastically altered that it would be impossible to return Renke to that form. That is the bad news. What is worse is that he is dying. His entire molecular structure is disintegrating. Each individual cell in his body is breaking down. It will take a while but he has only days to live. It's almost as if the implant was keeping them stable as well as controlling their actions. I may be able to delay the inevitable but you won't like the solution."
Dylan ran his hand through his hair. He was looking beyond exhaustion; all the worry of the recent events was catching up on him. "Just tell me Trance," he said wearily.
"I can delay the effects for a few weeks by giving him Flash, it's not a permanent solution but it will work for a while."
She looked at Dylan waiting for his decision.