The usual disclaimers apply. I do not own the Andromeda characters I
merely borrow them to hopefully amuse other fans.
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Dylan looked at Trance. "Do whatever you have to do. It wouldn't be fair to make him suffer. This isn't his fault. I think that they must have really believed that they were Tyr and Beka. Somehow their memories were in those implants. The impostors certainly had me fooled."
He glanced at Renke. "I'm going to search Tyr's quarters, there may be something there that will give us an idea of what the hell is going on."
Trance nodded, he's asleep at the moment and so is Harper. I'm going to take another look at Krom's body, I can't imagine who would have the knowledge to change someone so drastically. As far as I can see they are identical to the real Tyr and Beka.
Dylan left the medical deck and Trance went into the specially refrigerated area where Krom's body was being kept.
As soon as they had both left Harper opened his eyes. He got out of bed, slowly and painfully, suppressing the urge to cough. He didn't want Trance hearing him and putting a stop to his activities. He managed to get to the bed where Rommie was lying. Even that short journey almost totally exhausted him. He leaned against the bed trying to catch his breath. He reached out and stroked Rommie's hair. "Don't worry Rom doll," he whispered. "I'll soon have you good again."
His tool belt was on a nearby chair and he managed to reach it. He sat on the chair for a few minutes with his eyes shut trying to stay conscious. He had been hurt before but never this badly. Every breath was an effort and movement was torture. He had to fix Rommie, he wasn't about to let her down but he wasn't sure if his body would co-operate.
He got back over to the avatar and started work; every action seemed to take twice as long as usual. Luckily Renke hadn't done a great deal of damage. "Soon have you fixed." He said to Rommie. Then I gotta take a little rest."
He finished the intricate rewiring; his whole body was bathed in sweat with the effort of staying on his feet. Rommie's eyes opened and she looked at him. Her pleased smile soon turned into a look of concern as she took in his pale face and the bloodstained bandages wrapped round the upper half of his body.
She slid off the bed and caught him before he fell. She carried him to his own bed and tenderly made him comfortable again.
Trance was disheartened at the rapid decomposition of Krom's body. It was almost decaying in front of her eyes. She had examined it, using the most advanced techniques available to her but whatever secrets it held were not going to be found. She walked back into the main medical area. Renke was still asleep.
Trance was surprised to see Rommie standing by Harper's bed. She realised immediately that Harper must have managed to repair the avatar, but as what cost to himself. She hastily checked him over. He protested weakly that he was fine.
Trance was furious with him. "Are you a total idiot? You will never get better if you keep leaping out of bed. You are disturbing the healing of those wounds. You will be no good to Beka and Tyr if you kill yourself and no good to Rommie either. Do you ever think before you act?"
Dylan came in at the tail end of her outburst and added a few choice words of his own. He was however, delighted to see Rommie back to her usual self.
Trance asked him what he'd found.
"Nothing, some more Flash, a few personal effects. Not a thing to tell us why they came back."
Trance went over to Renke. "I'm going to wake him up he may be able to tell us something that would help. She shook the altered Perseid by the shoulder. His eyes opened.
"Renke I'm going to have to give you more Flash, it's the only thing we have that can help you."
He too had deteriorated in the time that he'd been asleep. His skin was beginning to peel and he was losing muscle tone. He still looked like Tyr but the changes in him were becoming very obvious.
"How long have I got," he asked Trance.
"You'll be fine," she replied, she administered the dose of Flash and waited for it to take effect.
"No I am far from fine." The Perseid smiled weakly; it was Tyr's smile but subtly different. "I know that I'm dying, I want to help you find your friends. I want to make up for the harm that I've done here." He looked over to Harper who was propped up in bed. "I am truly sorry that I shot you, I did not mean to do so. I am a man of peace like all Perseids, if I had been myself I would not have hurt you."
Harper nodded, his colour was better now that he was back in bed. "I've got some ideas about how we can get back to where you came from. If I can jack in to your ship's database I should be able to trace its route back."
Trance shook her head. "No, Harper."
"Yes Trance." Harper was adamant. "I don't feel pain when I'm in virtual mode you know that. You can carry me there on a stretcher if you need to but I am going to get into that database with or without assistance.
Trance shrugged her shoulders and looked at Dylan and Rommie.
"I will carry him." Rommie had Harper's hand in hers and the young man was holding on to her as if he would never let her go.
Dylan agreed. "We have to let him try, he won't give us any peace otherwise. I don't think that I've ever met a more stubborn individual."
Rommie picked her engineer up gently and cradled him in her arms. He had lost a lot of weight during the time that Beka and Tyr had been missing and she barely felt her burden. She carried him to the Perseid ship and sat on the deck allowing him to lean back against her while he worked. Harper plugged one end of the cable in to the ship's main computer and the other end into his dataport. His eyes closed and he slumped against Rommie as he entered the ordered world of the ship's brain.
Harper looked around him. "Hello ship," he said softly. "Just going to take a little look around." It wasn't easy unravelling the intricate threads of data that told of the last voyage of the little craft. Viruses and firewalls beset the data stream. Harper worked furiously trying to overcome all the obstacles. The computer tried to throw him out but he persevered. He finally found what he was looking for along what appeared to be a dead end in the system.
He came back to reality and pain with a jolt. Dylan was standing watching him.
"I've got it Boss, I know where they came from, I've got all the slipstream jumps everything. What I don't know is what we're going to find when we get there."
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Dylan looked at Trance. "Do whatever you have to do. It wouldn't be fair to make him suffer. This isn't his fault. I think that they must have really believed that they were Tyr and Beka. Somehow their memories were in those implants. The impostors certainly had me fooled."
He glanced at Renke. "I'm going to search Tyr's quarters, there may be something there that will give us an idea of what the hell is going on."
Trance nodded, he's asleep at the moment and so is Harper. I'm going to take another look at Krom's body, I can't imagine who would have the knowledge to change someone so drastically. As far as I can see they are identical to the real Tyr and Beka.
Dylan left the medical deck and Trance went into the specially refrigerated area where Krom's body was being kept.
As soon as they had both left Harper opened his eyes. He got out of bed, slowly and painfully, suppressing the urge to cough. He didn't want Trance hearing him and putting a stop to his activities. He managed to get to the bed where Rommie was lying. Even that short journey almost totally exhausted him. He leaned against the bed trying to catch his breath. He reached out and stroked Rommie's hair. "Don't worry Rom doll," he whispered. "I'll soon have you good again."
His tool belt was on a nearby chair and he managed to reach it. He sat on the chair for a few minutes with his eyes shut trying to stay conscious. He had been hurt before but never this badly. Every breath was an effort and movement was torture. He had to fix Rommie, he wasn't about to let her down but he wasn't sure if his body would co-operate.
He got back over to the avatar and started work; every action seemed to take twice as long as usual. Luckily Renke hadn't done a great deal of damage. "Soon have you fixed." He said to Rommie. Then I gotta take a little rest."
He finished the intricate rewiring; his whole body was bathed in sweat with the effort of staying on his feet. Rommie's eyes opened and she looked at him. Her pleased smile soon turned into a look of concern as she took in his pale face and the bloodstained bandages wrapped round the upper half of his body.
She slid off the bed and caught him before he fell. She carried him to his own bed and tenderly made him comfortable again.
Trance was disheartened at the rapid decomposition of Krom's body. It was almost decaying in front of her eyes. She had examined it, using the most advanced techniques available to her but whatever secrets it held were not going to be found. She walked back into the main medical area. Renke was still asleep.
Trance was surprised to see Rommie standing by Harper's bed. She realised immediately that Harper must have managed to repair the avatar, but as what cost to himself. She hastily checked him over. He protested weakly that he was fine.
Trance was furious with him. "Are you a total idiot? You will never get better if you keep leaping out of bed. You are disturbing the healing of those wounds. You will be no good to Beka and Tyr if you kill yourself and no good to Rommie either. Do you ever think before you act?"
Dylan came in at the tail end of her outburst and added a few choice words of his own. He was however, delighted to see Rommie back to her usual self.
Trance asked him what he'd found.
"Nothing, some more Flash, a few personal effects. Not a thing to tell us why they came back."
Trance went over to Renke. "I'm going to wake him up he may be able to tell us something that would help. She shook the altered Perseid by the shoulder. His eyes opened.
"Renke I'm going to have to give you more Flash, it's the only thing we have that can help you."
He too had deteriorated in the time that he'd been asleep. His skin was beginning to peel and he was losing muscle tone. He still looked like Tyr but the changes in him were becoming very obvious.
"How long have I got," he asked Trance.
"You'll be fine," she replied, she administered the dose of Flash and waited for it to take effect.
"No I am far from fine." The Perseid smiled weakly; it was Tyr's smile but subtly different. "I know that I'm dying, I want to help you find your friends. I want to make up for the harm that I've done here." He looked over to Harper who was propped up in bed. "I am truly sorry that I shot you, I did not mean to do so. I am a man of peace like all Perseids, if I had been myself I would not have hurt you."
Harper nodded, his colour was better now that he was back in bed. "I've got some ideas about how we can get back to where you came from. If I can jack in to your ship's database I should be able to trace its route back."
Trance shook her head. "No, Harper."
"Yes Trance." Harper was adamant. "I don't feel pain when I'm in virtual mode you know that. You can carry me there on a stretcher if you need to but I am going to get into that database with or without assistance.
Trance shrugged her shoulders and looked at Dylan and Rommie.
"I will carry him." Rommie had Harper's hand in hers and the young man was holding on to her as if he would never let her go.
Dylan agreed. "We have to let him try, he won't give us any peace otherwise. I don't think that I've ever met a more stubborn individual."
Rommie picked her engineer up gently and cradled him in her arms. He had lost a lot of weight during the time that Beka and Tyr had been missing and she barely felt her burden. She carried him to the Perseid ship and sat on the deck allowing him to lean back against her while he worked. Harper plugged one end of the cable in to the ship's main computer and the other end into his dataport. His eyes closed and he slumped against Rommie as he entered the ordered world of the ship's brain.
Harper looked around him. "Hello ship," he said softly. "Just going to take a little look around." It wasn't easy unravelling the intricate threads of data that told of the last voyage of the little craft. Viruses and firewalls beset the data stream. Harper worked furiously trying to overcome all the obstacles. The computer tried to throw him out but he persevered. He finally found what he was looking for along what appeared to be a dead end in the system.
He came back to reality and pain with a jolt. Dylan was standing watching him.
"I've got it Boss, I know where they came from, I've got all the slipstream jumps everything. What I don't know is what we're going to find when we get there."