Sorry this took so long :o Been waiting for inspiration, it finally came in the form of MTBS believe it or not (no spoilers though) :D

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Harper scurried through the ventilation shafts as fast as his hands and knees could carry him. He only paused to catch his breath when he was sure Beka hadn't come tearing through the vent after him. He giggled nervously as he rested, wishing he could have seen the look on Beka's face when she fell flat on her bum, his boot in her hand. It was then that he remembered the rack of test tubes he had broken, the act that forced him to make a hasty exit from the cooler in the first place. "Ah, man! Now Trance is gonna be ticked at me too! Can this day get any worse?"

"I wouldn't say that if I were you." Andromeda's hologram said as it fizzed to life a few feet in front of Harper, "I know you well enough by now to know that yes, it can get worse."

Harper's face brightened immediately, "Hey beautiful, come to kiss my boo-boos?" He gave her his most leering grin.

Andromeda sighed and was about to launch into a lecture on protocol and inappropriate comments when she noticed blood on Harper's hand. "Harper, what happened?"

Curious, Harper looked where the hologram indicated. "Huh," he said, frowning, "I musta cut myself on somethin'." He popped his injured fingers into his mouth.

Andromeda's nose wrinkled in disgust, she didn't even want to think about where Harper's hands had been. "Perhaps I should tell Trance that you will be returning to medical to get that treated."

Harper's eyes widened, "Uh, no, I don't think so, not today darlin'. Beka's still there, she's gonna kill me! Besides," He pulled his fingers from his mouth and held them up for her to see, "All better, it was just a scratch."

Andromeda eyed her engineer suspiciously and decided to let the subject drop. "Fine then, you have exactly 3 minutes until your lesson."

Harper opened his mouth to object but instead of his intended protest came a loud sneeze. "Sheesh," he snuffled as he wiped his nose on his sleeve, earning him another disgusted glare from the hologram. "That came outa no where." A thought occurred to him and he grinned, "Hey! You don't think I'm coming down with Beka's cold already do ya?"

"No, Harper, that is impossible, the incubation period for the common cold is 5 days, even with your immune system you wouldn't exhibit symptoms for at *least* 24 hours." She tried hard not to smirk at the dejected look on Harper's face. Had he really thought that ploy would work, with her of all people?

"Ok, I give up." He glanced around the shaft. "Uh, I don't suppose you could direct me to my quarters, I got kinda turned around." The hologram folded her virtual arms, not speaking. Harper sighed and held up his bootless foot, "If I'm gonna die today, I'd like to do it with my boots on."

Andromeda rolled her eyes, "You are not going to DIE, good grief, and I thought Tyr was the only one on this ship into drama." Harper gave her his saddest puppy dog eyes, his lower lip extending in an adorable pout. Andromeda threw up her arms, "Fine! Left, right, right."

"Thanks darlin'!" Harper said as he set out down the shaft, whistling a peppy tune. *sucker* he thought. Once he got to his quarters he would find a way to end these "lessons" for good.

Andromeda shook her head as Harper disappeared down the shaft. *sucker* she thought. She heard him sneeze two more times before she closed her eyes and re-focused her hologram on medical.

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"Mission accomplished." The hologram smirked. Beka and Trance were in the cooler, cleaning up the last bits of glass from the broken test tubes.

"Excellent!" Beka exclaimed. She had been so eager to resume the hunt for her cheeky engineer that she had nearly upset the remaining test tubes.

"Go ahead, Beka, I can finish up here." Trance said to Beka's already retreating form.

"Come on, Andromeda, let's cut him off at the pass!" Beka yelled over her shoulder at the hologram.

Trance shook her head. *And they think I'M immature* she thought as she resumed cleaning up Harper's mess. She knelt and gingerly picked up the last pieces of broken glass when something caught her eye. "Hmmm..." She turned the shattered tube over and read the label. Her eyes widened slightly. She straightened and left the cooler, crossing immediately to the sample she had taken of Beka's blood. "It can't be." She muttered. Trance took both items to the diagnostic computer and started running tests.

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Harper stopped whistling as he neared his quarters. He had sneezed several more times and his nose was now dripping. He felt like crap. Several times he was forced to stop as waves of dizziness swept over him. When he finally came to the last corner, he turned around, intending on exiting the vent feet first. He was now sweating and nauseous and all he wanted was to crawl into his bed and wait for it all to be over.

He felt his feet hit the cover of the vent and he kicked it out of the way and slithered through the opening. He paused halfway out, his head swimming. Suddenly he felt himself being hauled the rest of the way out of the shaft, his fingernails screeched on the smooth metal as he scrambled for something to grab onto. He yelped in surprise as he was unceremoniously dumped on the floor. "You're late." Came the unmistakable voice of Tyr Anasazi.

"What the..." Harper shook his head to clear it and tried to focus. He glanced around and noticed he was *not* in his quarters. Realization dawned on him he'd been tricked! He jumped to his feet and raced for the door, he'd almost made it when he found his way blocked.

"Have fun, shorty, I'll be waiting for you right out here when you're done." Beka winked at Harper as the doors shut began to shut, Andromeda's hologram smiling beside her. She glanced behind him and added, "Oh, yeah, and Harper...don't forget to duck." Harper slid to a stop as the doors closed and the locks engaged.

Harper stuck his tongue out at the doors and turned just in time to see Tyr's fist coming at his face. He ducked and felt the breeze as it just missed his cheek.

"The ship has kept me apprised of your antics." Tyr sneered, obviously not impressed at Harper's attempts to avoid him.

Harper regained his balance and shot Tyr a look, "What can I say, she can't stop talkin' about me." He wiped sweat from his eyes and stumbled as the room began to wobble. He held out his arms to steady himself. "Tyr, I'm not feelin' so hot, can we do this la..." Harper was cut off by Tyr's fist connecting with his jaw, the blow sent Harper spinning. He didn't have time to get his bearings before Tyr landed another punch to his midsection, forcing the air from his lungs. "Ooof!" Harper weakly held up his hands and formed a "T." Tyr ignored him and kicked his legs out from under him. Harper landed hard on his back. "Hey! I motioned for a 'time out'! You cheated!" Harper declared as he stiffly got to his feet.

"There is no 'fair' in combat, boy." Tyr loomed over Harper who backed up, his hands in front of him.

"Seriously Tyr, just stop for a minute, ok? I gotta catch my breath, I think I'm comin' down with somethin'"

"I am sick and tired of your childish games now defend yourself." Tyr bellowed as he launched a massive fist at Harper's face. To the surprise if both men, Harper blocked the blow with his left hand and delivered a quick jab which landed directly on the Nietzschean's nose.

"I said STOP!" Harper yelled, amazed at his own actions but even more surprised at the force with which the words flew from his mouth. The two men stared at each other, eyes wide and mouths agape. Slowly Tyr brought his hand up to his nose, his fingers came away bloody. He turned his gaze to Harper and growled the sound rising from deep in his chest. Harper backed slowly toward the door. "Tyr, I don't what just happened here but I think we should call it a day."

Tyr ignored Harper, "I think you've been holding out on me little man. What are you trying to do, make a fool out of me?" Tyr's eyes flashed as he thought of Harper conspiring behind his back.

"Uh, no! Tyr! Of course not," Harper continued his slow retreat. He saw the look in Tyr's eyes, a look he knew all too well. Tyr was about to loose control, Harper knew he had to do something to diffuse the situation. He still felt like crap but a new feeling was coming over him. Hitting Tyr had felt good, really good. Harper shook his head, trying to concentrate on what he was saying. "I always told you I could fight, I just prefer letting my gun do my work for me. I can hold my own long enough to get away at least."

Tyr scoffed, "Is that why in every combat situation I've had to save your pathetic ass?"

Harper stopped, "Hey, now, that's not fair, I've come to your rescue plenty of times."

"Name one." Tyr sneered, he would be damned if he was going to let this little human land another blow. Tyr decided that Harper would have to learn today's lesson the hard way.

"Uh, well, there was that time..." While Harper was wracking his brain trying to come up with something, Tyr rushed him. Harper's jaw dropped in surprise as the Nietzschean's shoulder impacted his midsection. Harper flew backwards and landed hard on the mat, he looked up and saw Tyr's fist slamming down toward his head. Harper suddenly felt a surge of adrenaline unlike anything he had experienced before. Suddenly things looked clearer, time seemed too slowed down, and everything clicked into place. Harper twisted out of the way at the last instant, bringing his feet up to Tyr's chest, he pushed off and flipped backwards onto his feet as Tyr fell gracelessly to the floor.

Harper stared at his hands, he felt great, he felt awesome, invincible even. What power! This was amazing! He felt like Superman. He briefly wondered if he could fly. *Hold it right there!* a small part of his mind screamed *5 seconds ago you felt like shit, now you're wondering if you can fly* "Bugger off" Harper muttered to himself, maybe today Tyr would be the one learning the lesson.

Tyr slowly got to his feet, his mind reeling, "What is this? Some kind of trick?" Tyr stared at Harper who was hopping in place and cracking his neck like a boxer warming up before stepping into the ring.

"I don't know, Tyr, I told you I felt weird." He punched the air a few times, trying to disperse some of the amazing energy buzzing through his system. "We should stop, I don't wanna hurt ya." He said with manic twinkle in his eyes.

"The sun has not yet risen on the day that a kl..." Tyr paused and gathered his emotions, "that a human will defeat Tyr Anasazi in hand to hand combat." He assumed a defensive posture and twitched his fingers for Harper to go ahead and try.

Harper shrugged, "It's your funeral." The two men circled each other slowly, each looking for any weakness in the other's defense. Harper swung at Tyr's stomach but Tyr leaped out of the way. Tyr threw a hook at Harper's chin but Harper ducked under it. They continued in this manner for a few minutes, sizing each other up. Finally, Harper faked a punch at Tyr's head and when the Nietzschean raised his hands to block, Harper delivered a quick jab to his midsection. While Tyr was doubled over from the blow, Harper brought his elbow down on the other man's back, right between his shoulder blades. Tyr stumbled but did not fall. Harper bounced back on the balls of his feet allowing Tyr to recover. "This is fun! I don't know why I avoided it for so long. So, how am I doin' professor?"

Tyr straightened to his full height, determined not to let Harper's ramblings distract him. He resumed his stance and motioned for Harper to come again. Harper nodded slightly and charged. Tyr easily averted Harper's attack and used the other man's momentum to drive him to the mat. Startled to be on the ground, Harper hesitated, giving the other man the opportunity to deliver several punches and one rib cracking kick. Harper barely felt it; he reacted purely on instinct, his every move lithe and cat-like. When Tyr brought his foot back to strike again, Harper grabbed it and twisted, throwing the Nietzschean off balance and sending him crashing to the floor. Harper was on him in a flash, fists flying. Tyr blocked most of the punches but enough landed to start his ears ringing.

Surprised at the younger man's ferocity, Tyr's Nietzschean survival instincts kicked in. He grabbed Harper by the waist and threw him full force across the room. Harper struck the far wall and landed in a heap at its base. Tyr got shakily to his feet, he stared warily at Harper's prone form. When Harper didn't move, Tyr felt a pang of guilt. He'd used too much force. He'd felt the rib crack under his boot and was about to call a truce when Harper took him down. Tyr crossed the room in six large strides and knelt by his shipmate. He grabbed Harper's shoulder and slowly rolled him onto his back. He grimaced when he noticed the large lump rising on Harper's forehead from where it had struck the wall. Suddenly Harper's eyes popped open, "Surprise!" He said as he delivered two quick jabs to Tyr's face. Tyr grunted in surprise as he felt himself falling back.

Harper hopped to his feet, feeling as strong and sure as ever. He'd been stunned for a moment when he hit the wall but he felt no pain. He felt a little giddy actually, he hoped Tyr wasn't down for the count yet because he was finally starting to have fun. Harper walked over to Tyr and nudged him with his still uncovered foot. "Jeeze, Tyr, I never thought a Nietzschean would fall for the old "playing possum" trick." Harper goaded, "I mean, really, how inferior ya gotta be to let your guard down like that?"

Tyr snarled and quick as lightening, he wrapped his legs around Harper's and sent him crashing to the floor once again. Tyr twisted his legs, at the same time slamming them down forcefully on Harper's shins. Tyr grinned with satisfaction when he heard Harper's tibia crack. The grin faded when no scream of pain followed. Tyr released Harper's legs and flipped to his feet. As soon as the pressure was off, Harper also got to his feet, although one wouldn't quite hold him up.

Harper smiled, and wrenched his knee to the side, popping the bone back into place, the smile never leaving his lips. "Good move, but not good enough."

Tyr struggled to maintain his calm facade. Never before had he seen someone smile while they set their own leg. His mind reeled, something was terribly wrong. At first he'd thought that Dylan or Beka had set him up to take an embarrassing fall by Harper's hands. He assumed that they had been training Harper on the side, but now, after what he just witnessed, he wasn't so sure. Harper still had a manic gleam in his eyes, he advanced on Tyr, his fists raised, ready for round three. Tyr dared not betray his thoughts as he resumed his stance. His mind racing, trying to figure out what to do next.

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