"We're coming up to the planet," Beka said as she flew the Maru toward the
blue rock encircled by stars. "Want to go wake up sleeping beauty for me?"
"Sure," Dylan replied and left.
"Mr. Harper," the captain called as he got close to the bunks, "time to rise and sh. Harper?"
The bunk Harper had been in was empty. The blankets were crumpled at the bottom of the bed and the engineer's boots were gone. There was no note or sign of a fight.
"Harper!" Dylan's call echoed through the Maru. "This is not funny! Get out here, now!"
Beka came running when she heard Dylan yelling, "What's going on?"
"He's gone," Dylan said solemnly.
"What do you mean gone? He can't just disappear. The Maru's not that big."
"He's not on the Maru. He must've left after we did. Oh my gawd Beka, we left him." Dylan's accusation sent a jolt through his first officer.
Beka's eyes darted as she frantically searched for her engineer. He was no where in sigh. He would've heard Dylan if he had been anywhere else in the ship, but it wasn't possible. She had promised him she would never leave him but they'd never checked on him before they'd left.
"Dylan, we assumed. We assumed that he'd stay like we had told him to. With Harper you can never assume. I promised him I'd never leave him."
"Shh, Beka, we're going to go back and we're going to find him. Okay?"
Calming herself, Beka managed to nod. She looked at her hands and saw they were shaking ever so slightly. She'd never broken her word or a promise in her life. Her stomach churned at the idea. Am I like Rafe now? She wondered.
"You drive, I'll stay here and look for clues."
Dylan turned and ran to command. He reversed the ship and got it going as fast as the little vessel could. ***
"So who is this fellow?" John asked his daughter as his guars laid the stranger on a bed.
"He's a.friend," she replied.
"Alex, what have I told you about people?! They can't be trusted. I know you're lonely but picking up a hobo on the street isn't the way to go!"
"He's not a hobo!" Ali yelled. She was so sick and tired of her chastising her for things he didn't understand. "He just happens to be an engineer that's not from around here. I think whatever ship he's a crew member of left him behind by accident."
"Or on purpose."
"Dad!"
"Still." John didn't like picking up strangers. It was dangerous. "What's his name?"
Ali giggled nervously, "You know Dad, it's the funniest thing."
A stern look from her father silenced her. The kind sighed, "Do you even know his name?"
"Of course!" Alexis said indignantly. "It's just a little suspicious, is all. His name's Seamus Harper. I just thought it was kind of weird his last name is the same as ours."
Her Dad wasn't hearing a word his daughter was saying. He knew that name like he knew the back of his hand. He'd woken in the middle of the night crying it out.
"Luke?" he whispered to himself. "My baby?"
"Dad?" Alexis questioned. "Are you okay?"
"Seamus Harper, Luke Seamus Harper? Is that who this is?" the king asked frantically.
"All he said was Seamus Harper. He called himself Harper."
"So this could all just be a big coincidence then. But it's too odd. He has to be it."
Ali tuned out her Dad's ramblings. Sometimes when he was struck by "genius" inspiration he had moments like it. She had learned that it was best just to ignore him and let him ride it out.
"Ali," her Dad said as he shook her softly. "Ali, do you know who this could be?"
The princess shook her head and hoped her Dad wasn't involving her in his royal ideas. He got a lot of those. Her father was forever trying to figure out how to turn his system into a democracy but still keep royalty as symbols or governors.
"Back when I was about 22 and still a prince," John began, "the war was just starting and your mother and I made a run for it in our private cruise. We were followed and our engines redlined and were shot all to hell before we could reach safety. A trader happened upon us and came aboard to try and help us, but we knew that if he stayed too long he'd be blown out of the sky as well. We gave him our son in hope that he would survive. His name was Luke, Luke Seamus Harper. The trader left before the Deons got to our ship. We thought they were going to kill us like they had my mother and father, the king and queen, but instead they took us captive for leverage. We were rescued a fw months later by an army of Pacifis soldiers. A few of them are loyal guards to me now. Eight years later, as the war was coming to a close, your mother and I had you. We loved you very much but there was always a hole in our hearts because of what we had lost.our son. We tried to find him, of course, but there were only dead ends. In the end, we gave up."
The silence was heavy. Ali stared at the man she had thought was a stranger. He looked peaceful and innocent as he lay there unconscious.
Brother, the word was hollow in her mind. I have a brother.
She noticed Seamus did share a lot of the family's features. He had her blonde hair and blue eyes, her father's chin, her mother's nose. That was why Ali had been so at ease with him at first. He was her brother. She gasped.
"We'll have to do some DNA tests to be sure, but he looks the right age. Twenty.four, I think. Yah, twenty four years ago. It's too bad you're mother's not alive to see him."
"I can't believe it," Alexis said. "You never told me! How could you not tell me?!"
John smiled meekly and said, "Would you have wanted to know that you had an older brother? One that was probably dead, or at best, lost forever?"
Ali didn't know what to say so John asked, "Will you get me my medical bag? We don't even know if he's going to live yet."
The younger girl tramped off with mixed feelings. She couldn't believe her father had never told her. As she found the large leather bag that held her Dad's medical things her thoughts drifted to Luke, no Seamus, no.Harper. That was what he had said, 'Harper, Seamus Harper.' It was still fresh in her mind. She couldn't imagine how Harper was going to take it. **********
More? You know, I could just stop. hehe. I'd say more in a couple days but my internet's been on the fritz lately but I'll get it written asap.
"Sure," Dylan replied and left.
"Mr. Harper," the captain called as he got close to the bunks, "time to rise and sh. Harper?"
The bunk Harper had been in was empty. The blankets were crumpled at the bottom of the bed and the engineer's boots were gone. There was no note or sign of a fight.
"Harper!" Dylan's call echoed through the Maru. "This is not funny! Get out here, now!"
Beka came running when she heard Dylan yelling, "What's going on?"
"He's gone," Dylan said solemnly.
"What do you mean gone? He can't just disappear. The Maru's not that big."
"He's not on the Maru. He must've left after we did. Oh my gawd Beka, we left him." Dylan's accusation sent a jolt through his first officer.
Beka's eyes darted as she frantically searched for her engineer. He was no where in sigh. He would've heard Dylan if he had been anywhere else in the ship, but it wasn't possible. She had promised him she would never leave him but they'd never checked on him before they'd left.
"Dylan, we assumed. We assumed that he'd stay like we had told him to. With Harper you can never assume. I promised him I'd never leave him."
"Shh, Beka, we're going to go back and we're going to find him. Okay?"
Calming herself, Beka managed to nod. She looked at her hands and saw they were shaking ever so slightly. She'd never broken her word or a promise in her life. Her stomach churned at the idea. Am I like Rafe now? She wondered.
"You drive, I'll stay here and look for clues."
Dylan turned and ran to command. He reversed the ship and got it going as fast as the little vessel could. ***
"So who is this fellow?" John asked his daughter as his guars laid the stranger on a bed.
"He's a.friend," she replied.
"Alex, what have I told you about people?! They can't be trusted. I know you're lonely but picking up a hobo on the street isn't the way to go!"
"He's not a hobo!" Ali yelled. She was so sick and tired of her chastising her for things he didn't understand. "He just happens to be an engineer that's not from around here. I think whatever ship he's a crew member of left him behind by accident."
"Or on purpose."
"Dad!"
"Still." John didn't like picking up strangers. It was dangerous. "What's his name?"
Ali giggled nervously, "You know Dad, it's the funniest thing."
A stern look from her father silenced her. The kind sighed, "Do you even know his name?"
"Of course!" Alexis said indignantly. "It's just a little suspicious, is all. His name's Seamus Harper. I just thought it was kind of weird his last name is the same as ours."
Her Dad wasn't hearing a word his daughter was saying. He knew that name like he knew the back of his hand. He'd woken in the middle of the night crying it out.
"Luke?" he whispered to himself. "My baby?"
"Dad?" Alexis questioned. "Are you okay?"
"Seamus Harper, Luke Seamus Harper? Is that who this is?" the king asked frantically.
"All he said was Seamus Harper. He called himself Harper."
"So this could all just be a big coincidence then. But it's too odd. He has to be it."
Ali tuned out her Dad's ramblings. Sometimes when he was struck by "genius" inspiration he had moments like it. She had learned that it was best just to ignore him and let him ride it out.
"Ali," her Dad said as he shook her softly. "Ali, do you know who this could be?"
The princess shook her head and hoped her Dad wasn't involving her in his royal ideas. He got a lot of those. Her father was forever trying to figure out how to turn his system into a democracy but still keep royalty as symbols or governors.
"Back when I was about 22 and still a prince," John began, "the war was just starting and your mother and I made a run for it in our private cruise. We were followed and our engines redlined and were shot all to hell before we could reach safety. A trader happened upon us and came aboard to try and help us, but we knew that if he stayed too long he'd be blown out of the sky as well. We gave him our son in hope that he would survive. His name was Luke, Luke Seamus Harper. The trader left before the Deons got to our ship. We thought they were going to kill us like they had my mother and father, the king and queen, but instead they took us captive for leverage. We were rescued a fw months later by an army of Pacifis soldiers. A few of them are loyal guards to me now. Eight years later, as the war was coming to a close, your mother and I had you. We loved you very much but there was always a hole in our hearts because of what we had lost.our son. We tried to find him, of course, but there were only dead ends. In the end, we gave up."
The silence was heavy. Ali stared at the man she had thought was a stranger. He looked peaceful and innocent as he lay there unconscious.
Brother, the word was hollow in her mind. I have a brother.
She noticed Seamus did share a lot of the family's features. He had her blonde hair and blue eyes, her father's chin, her mother's nose. That was why Ali had been so at ease with him at first. He was her brother. She gasped.
"We'll have to do some DNA tests to be sure, but he looks the right age. Twenty.four, I think. Yah, twenty four years ago. It's too bad you're mother's not alive to see him."
"I can't believe it," Alexis said. "You never told me! How could you not tell me?!"
John smiled meekly and said, "Would you have wanted to know that you had an older brother? One that was probably dead, or at best, lost forever?"
Ali didn't know what to say so John asked, "Will you get me my medical bag? We don't even know if he's going to live yet."
The younger girl tramped off with mixed feelings. She couldn't believe her father had never told her. As she found the large leather bag that held her Dad's medical things her thoughts drifted to Luke, no Seamus, no.Harper. That was what he had said, 'Harper, Seamus Harper.' It was still fresh in her mind. She couldn't imagine how Harper was going to take it. **********
More? You know, I could just stop. hehe. I'd say more in a couple days but my internet's been on the fritz lately but I'll get it written asap.