Staring at the ceiling with nothing to do entertained Harper for exactly
6.2 minutes before he decided to do something. With Beka and Dylan gone he
wouldn't have to worry about getting caught out of bed and having to endure
their wrath. He slowly eased himself out of bed, being careful not to move
his neck around.
Once on his feet, Harper made his way to the bathroom and was unsettled by his reflection. There was a stream of dark, dried blood on the left side of his face. A white bandage was wrapped around his forehead, making his hair stick up funny. His clothes were grease-stained and grubby, and his cerebral port was covered by a circular piece of gauze. Wincing, Harper peeled it away. The port itself looked okay but the area around it was burnt and blistered.
"How big of a surge did I get hit with?" he asked himself in amazement.
Having it uncovered felt surprisingly better though, so Harper tossed the used bandage in the garbage. He took a few painkillers in hope of getting rid of the pounding in his head.
Feeling drained, the engineer made his way to command and plopped himself into the slipstream chair, sparky cola now in hand. The bubbly soda quickly regenerated him and once again the extremely hyper genius was bored.
Deciding to do a few "repairs", Harper went down to engineering and tried to do everything that he could without using his port. He was content with just tinkering until he found a stabilizer on the verge of going bad in the AG generator. For a second he considered just leaving it and going back to bed, but that was impossible for him.
As he stood up he muttered to himself, "Stay here and be bored or go out and do something? Hmm, let's see. Stay here or go out?"
Harper comically stoked the goatee he didn't have as he considered his options. A wide smile spread across his face as he came up with the conclusion.
"Was there ever any question?" he asked no one in particular and left the Maru.
Feeling pretty good, Harper took his time as he searched for a new stabilizer. He was in no hurry because he knew it'd take Beka and Dylan forever to find suitable parts for the Andromeda. It wasn't that there weren't any; it was just that neither of them knew where to look. For a super genius like Harper, it was easy to find some piece of machinery from an old washing machine that could be refitted and remade into a replacement part. Rommie wasn't always happy with the scrap he put in her but she couldn't really complain. Most of the time there was nothing else to use.
Thud, Harper was pushed from behind and the jolt sent tendrils of pain down his neck.
"Oh sorry," a girl in an obvious hurry said as she pushed by Harper. Glancing at him, she paused and turned back around. "Do I know you?"
"Um," Harper was startled by her abruptness, "I dunno."
Way to go Einstein, he thought to himself. You sound real smart now.
"Are you a Pacifis or a Deon?" the stranger questioned.
"Huh?" Harper asked, clueless.
"You're not from here, are you?" she asked as she took in his appearance and perplexed expression.
"Actually no. I'm just getting supplies for my ship."
The girl frowned as she studied Harper with calculating, icy blue, eyes. Her long blonde hair was held up in a messy bun with what looked like 2 silver chopsticks. Harper found the resemblance between the stranger and himself uncanny.
Nodding to herself as if deciding the engineer had passed a test, she held out a hand in greeting, "I'm Ali."
Harper raised an eyebrow at the offered hand but shook it none the less.
"Harper," he said, flashing a smile, "Seamus Harper, genius engineer extraordinare."
Ali gave him a funny look and asked suspiciously, "You're really not from around here?"
"Like I said before," Harper replied, getting slightly annoyed, "no, I'm not."
Ali shrugged as if she sensed his tenseness. She could only imagine what she looked like to this Seamus person.
Black gloves, black boots, black flightsuit, black briefcase. He must think I'm a devil worshipper or something, she thought to herself. Why am I staying and talking to him anyway? I have a lot of work to do.
In truth, his name and his obliviousness with it had bothered her, but not enough to neglect her duties.
"It's just kind of weird," Ali replied, "that's all. Well, I better get going. I need to run some errands before I can fly out of here. I'll see you, uh.Harper."
Harper watched as Ali turned and left. He noticed she carried herself different than the other locals. There was almost a regal air about her. It unnerved him the way he had unsettled her by just saying his name.
"Wait!" Harper called after her as he remembered something she had said, but Ali had already disappeared among the crowds of people bustling about.
"What's kind of weird?" he whispered the unanswered question to himself as he made his way to a parts dealer that would hopefully have the stabilizer he needed. *********** Good/bad? Pleaz review. (
Once on his feet, Harper made his way to the bathroom and was unsettled by his reflection. There was a stream of dark, dried blood on the left side of his face. A white bandage was wrapped around his forehead, making his hair stick up funny. His clothes were grease-stained and grubby, and his cerebral port was covered by a circular piece of gauze. Wincing, Harper peeled it away. The port itself looked okay but the area around it was burnt and blistered.
"How big of a surge did I get hit with?" he asked himself in amazement.
Having it uncovered felt surprisingly better though, so Harper tossed the used bandage in the garbage. He took a few painkillers in hope of getting rid of the pounding in his head.
Feeling drained, the engineer made his way to command and plopped himself into the slipstream chair, sparky cola now in hand. The bubbly soda quickly regenerated him and once again the extremely hyper genius was bored.
Deciding to do a few "repairs", Harper went down to engineering and tried to do everything that he could without using his port. He was content with just tinkering until he found a stabilizer on the verge of going bad in the AG generator. For a second he considered just leaving it and going back to bed, but that was impossible for him.
As he stood up he muttered to himself, "Stay here and be bored or go out and do something? Hmm, let's see. Stay here or go out?"
Harper comically stoked the goatee he didn't have as he considered his options. A wide smile spread across his face as he came up with the conclusion.
"Was there ever any question?" he asked no one in particular and left the Maru.
Feeling pretty good, Harper took his time as he searched for a new stabilizer. He was in no hurry because he knew it'd take Beka and Dylan forever to find suitable parts for the Andromeda. It wasn't that there weren't any; it was just that neither of them knew where to look. For a super genius like Harper, it was easy to find some piece of machinery from an old washing machine that could be refitted and remade into a replacement part. Rommie wasn't always happy with the scrap he put in her but she couldn't really complain. Most of the time there was nothing else to use.
Thud, Harper was pushed from behind and the jolt sent tendrils of pain down his neck.
"Oh sorry," a girl in an obvious hurry said as she pushed by Harper. Glancing at him, she paused and turned back around. "Do I know you?"
"Um," Harper was startled by her abruptness, "I dunno."
Way to go Einstein, he thought to himself. You sound real smart now.
"Are you a Pacifis or a Deon?" the stranger questioned.
"Huh?" Harper asked, clueless.
"You're not from here, are you?" she asked as she took in his appearance and perplexed expression.
"Actually no. I'm just getting supplies for my ship."
The girl frowned as she studied Harper with calculating, icy blue, eyes. Her long blonde hair was held up in a messy bun with what looked like 2 silver chopsticks. Harper found the resemblance between the stranger and himself uncanny.
Nodding to herself as if deciding the engineer had passed a test, she held out a hand in greeting, "I'm Ali."
Harper raised an eyebrow at the offered hand but shook it none the less.
"Harper," he said, flashing a smile, "Seamus Harper, genius engineer extraordinare."
Ali gave him a funny look and asked suspiciously, "You're really not from around here?"
"Like I said before," Harper replied, getting slightly annoyed, "no, I'm not."
Ali shrugged as if she sensed his tenseness. She could only imagine what she looked like to this Seamus person.
Black gloves, black boots, black flightsuit, black briefcase. He must think I'm a devil worshipper or something, she thought to herself. Why am I staying and talking to him anyway? I have a lot of work to do.
In truth, his name and his obliviousness with it had bothered her, but not enough to neglect her duties.
"It's just kind of weird," Ali replied, "that's all. Well, I better get going. I need to run some errands before I can fly out of here. I'll see you, uh.Harper."
Harper watched as Ali turned and left. He noticed she carried herself different than the other locals. There was almost a regal air about her. It unnerved him the way he had unsettled her by just saying his name.
"Wait!" Harper called after her as he remembered something she had said, but Ali had already disappeared among the crowds of people bustling about.
"What's kind of weird?" he whispered the unanswered question to himself as he made his way to a parts dealer that would hopefully have the stabilizer he needed. *********** Good/bad? Pleaz review. (