Once again, thanks to the wonderful reviewers, you make MY day :D
***************
STILL C.Y. 1108
Harper gasped as a convulsion of pain rocked his rapidly weakening frame. He clenched Trance's hand desperately. His eyes took on a panicked appearance as he fought to catch his breath. Trance looked on helplessly with her heart in her throat. Slowly he was able to gain some semblance of control over his traitorous body. He closed his eyes, concentrating on his breathing and trying to ignore the pain. Finally he opened his tired eyes and continued.
"We searched for six months but we never did find her. She found us. One day, we were all on the bridge, well, all but Beka, she was still recovering from her injuries. All of a sudden there she was. She just appeared out of nowhere, right in the middle of command. For a moment nobody moved, no one recognized her. Her blonde hair had turned dark red and her skin was white with golden shadows all over it." Harper paused and looked quizzically at Trance who was nodding her head, a look of recognition on her pretty purple face. Harper mentally shrugged and continued, "Then my Trance said 'Kyla?' and things seemed to snap into motion. I was so happy, I ran to hold her and as quick as lightening, she drew a knife and stabbed me. She STABBED ME! She towered over me and announced, 'Kyla no longer exists, I am Casondra and I am free of you. I am with my "true" father.'
Breaking free of her shock, Trance she rushed to my side. As she knelt to examine my wound, I noticed Casondra heft her blade and aim it at her mother's head. 'Kyla no!' I screamed. Tamerlane realized what was about to happen and before I even got the last syllable out, he threw himself at Casondra. She turned to him, surprised but ready. She plunged the nine-inch blade right into his heart.
A look of pure astonishment crossed Tamerlane's face. 'Why?' he whispered incredulously. He swayed on his feet for a moment before crashing to the floor, dead. Casondra's eyes widened, an undeniable look of pain and regret etched across her face. Just as suddenly as it appeared, it was gone, replaced by indifference and scorn. She bent down to Tamerlane's prone form, apparently admiring her handiwork. She quickly snapped off one of his bone blades and straightened. She held out the souvenir for all to see and said, 'Shall we have a game then?' Dylan fired his forcelance but it was too late, she was already gone." Harper shuddered but not from pain or cold.
Trance interrupted Harper's monologue heartbroken and bewildered, "Oh, my god, Harper, how terrible! Wait...Casondra...Harper, didn't you say that someone named Casondra did this to you? She left you here to die?"
"Yeah, that's Daddy's little girl for ya." Harper said bitterly. "I came here to stop her. I knew I didn't have a snowball's chance in hell but I had to try, ya know? She left me like this on purpose; she didn't finish the job because she knew you would be coming. She wanted to make sure to torture us as much as possible. She didn't count on me lasting long enough to tell you everything."
"Harper, I have to know..."
Harper nodded imperceptibly, "As soon as Casondra disappeared, Andromeda was attacked by cloaked ships that were waiting nearby. Just another one of Ol' Red Eyes' latest toys. We managed to get to slipstream and escape relatively undamaged.
I was confused to put it mildly. I refused to believe the *thing* that stabbed me and killed Tamerlane was my daughter. Rommie's scans proved beyond all doubt that it was indeed Kyla. Trance explained to me in horrid detail what probably happened while Kyla was prisoner of the god of the Magog. He tortured her body and raped her mind. He impaled her spirit and twisted it to serve is own evil purpose. Once her mind was wiped clean, he planted seeds of hate and groomed them to maturity, literally raising his own terrible spawn.
Trance blamed herself. Kyla had mysterious powers that had remained untapped, awaiting the day when her mother would begin to formally train her in their use. Now, that time had passed and the awesome power of Trance's people was in the hands of the Spirit of the Abyss.
For a while we drifted, uncertain of what to do. Eventually we realized we had no choice. The crew rallied around us and we set out once again to find Kyla, this time with knowledge as our main defense.
We had made no progress whatsoever when we once again found ourselves at war. The Evil One's army began to decimate the worlds of the Commonwealth anew. Dylan had no choice but abandon the search for Kyla and join the fight against the army of destruction. Trance and I were torn. Unable to abandon the search for our daughter, we reluctantly left Andromeda.
We tracked her all over the known worlds and back again. Rumors and speculation our only guide. It appeared that Kyla, I mean, *Casondra* was looking for something. It wasn't until we actually caught up with her that we found out what she was searching for.
The trail we followed led us to some backwater planet at the very edge of known space. There we surprised her as she scanned the sheer side of a mammoth cliff overlooking a boiling yellow sea. She was getting ready to lower herself down the cliff when Trance and I made our presence known. Casondra flipped to her feet and drew her weapons, practically hissing at us. Trance tried to reason with her, tried to get her to come with us so we could help her. Trance told her how much we missed her and loved her. Trance's words fell on deaf ears. Casondra slowly circled us, sizing us up. She glowered at Trance as she playfully swiped one of the blades at Trance's face. 'I want to thank you, Mother.' She sneered. 'Thank you for failing so miserably, why, if it weren't for you, I would never have become the woman I am today.'
Trance didn't let Casondra's words affect her. She kept a wary eye on the knives and continued talking to Casondra as if she were still Kyla. Casondra ignored her and turned her attention to me. '*Father*' she said disdainfully, 'I want to thank you too. Without all your tedious, insipid stories of Andromeda and her crew, I would never have known where to find the fifth piece of the Engine.'
At that Trance stopped and stared at her daughter. 'The Engine? You're searching for the Engine of Creation?'
Casondra laughed, 'Of course, *Mother*, once I have gathered all five pieces, I will join my true father and we will rule the universe together!'
'Good grief, how corny is that?' I muttered.
Trance waved her hand to shush me. 'Kyla...'
'I told you my name is *CASONDRA*!' Casondra's scream echoed off the cliffs, reverberating in my bones.
'Casondra,' Trance began again, 'You don't understand, the Spirit of the Abyss is using you, he will never allow you to be his equal, he will never share anything with you. When you have fulfilled your purpose, he will cast you aside without a second thought.'
Casondra seemed affected by this. She lowered her knives, lost in thought. 'You can't be right. He loves me. You can't be right, you're a...a...' She turned her back and began to sob. Trance's heart nearly broke; she approached Casondra and reached out a purple hand to her daughter's shaking shoulder. Suddenly Casondra spun around, her blades flashing in the dying light, 'BECAUSE YOU'RE A LIAR' she screamed as her blades slashed deep into Trance's throat.
I watched Trance fall in slow motion, I felt like I was stuck in mud up to my chin. I raised my gun, shrieked Trance's name, and fired at Casondra but she was already rappelling down the cliff and out of range. I ran to Trance but it was too late. She was gone. I sat with her for what felt like days, waiting for her to come back to me like she did when Gerentex shot her. She didn't, she was really gone.
I wanted to lay down and die right there beside her. I couldn't do it. My throat was filled with bile, ice flowed through my veins and my heart turned black with hate. I had one purpose to fulfill before I was united with my Trance in sweet sleep. I would kill Casondra.
I returned Trance's body to the Andromeda for burial. Dylan and Rommie wanted me to stay and help them with the war. They didn't really need me, Andromeda had been outfitted with a full crew, and besides, I had other business to attend to. I said one last goodbye to Dylan and Rommie. I composed a letter to Beka, explaining to her what had happened. I told them all how much I loved them and then I left for the last time.
I had lost Casondra's trail but I was relentless. I don't know how many galaxies I passed through, sniffing for any clue as to her whereabouts. I don't even know how much time passed before I found her here on Terazed.
I found her digging in the ruins of this city. I should have just shot her in the back and been done with it but part of me still thought of her as my daughter. My gun wavered.
She spoke to me without turning, somehow knowing I was there. 'Your still have the backbone of a jellyfish.' She slowly turned and faced me. 'I have the fourth piece of the engine, no one can stop me now.'
'Yeah, well I'm sure as hell gonna try.' I said as I fired.
She nimbly evaded my rounds and I soon realized that I was not going to be able to inflict any damage that way. Time for plan "B"
'Don't you need all five pieces of the Engine to make it work?' I asked, trying to distract her while I readied that plasma mine I had hidden under my cloak.
She nodded and tucked a stray piece of ruby hair behind her pointy ear. 'You know your legends. The fifth piece has been inaccessible since the time of Tyr and Beka's failed attempt all those many years ago. However,' she drew one blade, 'four pieces are enough to allow me to travel back in time, to before that blonde bitch screwed it up for the rest of us.' She drew her second knife. 'As a matter of fact, if all goes according to plan, you may be lucky enough to get a visit from *Mommy Dearest*'
I could shoot myself for even paying attention to what she was saying because the last part distracted me. She lunged at me and tore the plasma mine from its holster. She cast it aside and then she went to work on me. She seemed to enjoy every second. I was completely defenseless and at her mercy. I prayed that she would just kill me and get it over with but she kept me alive on purpose, to lay here in agony until you arrived. And here you are." Harper finished. He lay his head back again and closed his eyes, the memories overwhelming him.
Trance thought he had fallen asleep when his eyes suddenly flew open and he once again frantically clawed at her arm. "You have to stop her before she finds the last piece of the Engine! You can do it! Find the four pieces, she hid them here on Terazed, go back and stop her!"
Trance tried to calm him down. "Harper, slow down, you have to rest."
Harper sighed heavily, it came out gargled and left him choking. Trance panicked, "Harper? Harper?" She yelled.
"Find her...stop her..." he gasped, his eyes glazing slightly. He shook his head as if trying to force the words out, "Kill her father..."
"But Harper, you're her father." Trance shook Harper trying to force him to make sense.
He smiled at her, his eyes clearing for a moment. Blood trickled in a thin line from his mouth to his chin as he reached his hand slowly to Trance's face. He lightly traced the line of her jaw with his fingertips and whispered, "I'll always love you my Purple Princess."
Trance grasped his hand as it began to fall, the light fading from his eyes as they closed. "Harper? Harper NO!" Trance cried, as she shook him again, this time in desperation. Tears streaming from her eyes in a torrent. "Harper! You can't leave me! Please!" She begged. She began CPR but she knew it was no use. He was gone. She sat back and stared at his still form. Suffering from a grief so deep it wounded her soul, Trance lay down beside Harper. She placed her head in the hollow of his neck, her lips gently brushing his cheek as she whispered incoherently, one hand absentmindedly stroking his soft blonde hair. Trance was so enveloped in her suffering that she didn't even notice that it had begun to rain.
******************
TBC
***************
STILL C.Y. 1108
Harper gasped as a convulsion of pain rocked his rapidly weakening frame. He clenched Trance's hand desperately. His eyes took on a panicked appearance as he fought to catch his breath. Trance looked on helplessly with her heart in her throat. Slowly he was able to gain some semblance of control over his traitorous body. He closed his eyes, concentrating on his breathing and trying to ignore the pain. Finally he opened his tired eyes and continued.
"We searched for six months but we never did find her. She found us. One day, we were all on the bridge, well, all but Beka, she was still recovering from her injuries. All of a sudden there she was. She just appeared out of nowhere, right in the middle of command. For a moment nobody moved, no one recognized her. Her blonde hair had turned dark red and her skin was white with golden shadows all over it." Harper paused and looked quizzically at Trance who was nodding her head, a look of recognition on her pretty purple face. Harper mentally shrugged and continued, "Then my Trance said 'Kyla?' and things seemed to snap into motion. I was so happy, I ran to hold her and as quick as lightening, she drew a knife and stabbed me. She STABBED ME! She towered over me and announced, 'Kyla no longer exists, I am Casondra and I am free of you. I am with my "true" father.'
Breaking free of her shock, Trance she rushed to my side. As she knelt to examine my wound, I noticed Casondra heft her blade and aim it at her mother's head. 'Kyla no!' I screamed. Tamerlane realized what was about to happen and before I even got the last syllable out, he threw himself at Casondra. She turned to him, surprised but ready. She plunged the nine-inch blade right into his heart.
A look of pure astonishment crossed Tamerlane's face. 'Why?' he whispered incredulously. He swayed on his feet for a moment before crashing to the floor, dead. Casondra's eyes widened, an undeniable look of pain and regret etched across her face. Just as suddenly as it appeared, it was gone, replaced by indifference and scorn. She bent down to Tamerlane's prone form, apparently admiring her handiwork. She quickly snapped off one of his bone blades and straightened. She held out the souvenir for all to see and said, 'Shall we have a game then?' Dylan fired his forcelance but it was too late, she was already gone." Harper shuddered but not from pain or cold.
Trance interrupted Harper's monologue heartbroken and bewildered, "Oh, my god, Harper, how terrible! Wait...Casondra...Harper, didn't you say that someone named Casondra did this to you? She left you here to die?"
"Yeah, that's Daddy's little girl for ya." Harper said bitterly. "I came here to stop her. I knew I didn't have a snowball's chance in hell but I had to try, ya know? She left me like this on purpose; she didn't finish the job because she knew you would be coming. She wanted to make sure to torture us as much as possible. She didn't count on me lasting long enough to tell you everything."
"Harper, I have to know..."
Harper nodded imperceptibly, "As soon as Casondra disappeared, Andromeda was attacked by cloaked ships that were waiting nearby. Just another one of Ol' Red Eyes' latest toys. We managed to get to slipstream and escape relatively undamaged.
I was confused to put it mildly. I refused to believe the *thing* that stabbed me and killed Tamerlane was my daughter. Rommie's scans proved beyond all doubt that it was indeed Kyla. Trance explained to me in horrid detail what probably happened while Kyla was prisoner of the god of the Magog. He tortured her body and raped her mind. He impaled her spirit and twisted it to serve is own evil purpose. Once her mind was wiped clean, he planted seeds of hate and groomed them to maturity, literally raising his own terrible spawn.
Trance blamed herself. Kyla had mysterious powers that had remained untapped, awaiting the day when her mother would begin to formally train her in their use. Now, that time had passed and the awesome power of Trance's people was in the hands of the Spirit of the Abyss.
For a while we drifted, uncertain of what to do. Eventually we realized we had no choice. The crew rallied around us and we set out once again to find Kyla, this time with knowledge as our main defense.
We had made no progress whatsoever when we once again found ourselves at war. The Evil One's army began to decimate the worlds of the Commonwealth anew. Dylan had no choice but abandon the search for Kyla and join the fight against the army of destruction. Trance and I were torn. Unable to abandon the search for our daughter, we reluctantly left Andromeda.
We tracked her all over the known worlds and back again. Rumors and speculation our only guide. It appeared that Kyla, I mean, *Casondra* was looking for something. It wasn't until we actually caught up with her that we found out what she was searching for.
The trail we followed led us to some backwater planet at the very edge of known space. There we surprised her as she scanned the sheer side of a mammoth cliff overlooking a boiling yellow sea. She was getting ready to lower herself down the cliff when Trance and I made our presence known. Casondra flipped to her feet and drew her weapons, practically hissing at us. Trance tried to reason with her, tried to get her to come with us so we could help her. Trance told her how much we missed her and loved her. Trance's words fell on deaf ears. Casondra slowly circled us, sizing us up. She glowered at Trance as she playfully swiped one of the blades at Trance's face. 'I want to thank you, Mother.' She sneered. 'Thank you for failing so miserably, why, if it weren't for you, I would never have become the woman I am today.'
Trance didn't let Casondra's words affect her. She kept a wary eye on the knives and continued talking to Casondra as if she were still Kyla. Casondra ignored her and turned her attention to me. '*Father*' she said disdainfully, 'I want to thank you too. Without all your tedious, insipid stories of Andromeda and her crew, I would never have known where to find the fifth piece of the Engine.'
At that Trance stopped and stared at her daughter. 'The Engine? You're searching for the Engine of Creation?'
Casondra laughed, 'Of course, *Mother*, once I have gathered all five pieces, I will join my true father and we will rule the universe together!'
'Good grief, how corny is that?' I muttered.
Trance waved her hand to shush me. 'Kyla...'
'I told you my name is *CASONDRA*!' Casondra's scream echoed off the cliffs, reverberating in my bones.
'Casondra,' Trance began again, 'You don't understand, the Spirit of the Abyss is using you, he will never allow you to be his equal, he will never share anything with you. When you have fulfilled your purpose, he will cast you aside without a second thought.'
Casondra seemed affected by this. She lowered her knives, lost in thought. 'You can't be right. He loves me. You can't be right, you're a...a...' She turned her back and began to sob. Trance's heart nearly broke; she approached Casondra and reached out a purple hand to her daughter's shaking shoulder. Suddenly Casondra spun around, her blades flashing in the dying light, 'BECAUSE YOU'RE A LIAR' she screamed as her blades slashed deep into Trance's throat.
I watched Trance fall in slow motion, I felt like I was stuck in mud up to my chin. I raised my gun, shrieked Trance's name, and fired at Casondra but she was already rappelling down the cliff and out of range. I ran to Trance but it was too late. She was gone. I sat with her for what felt like days, waiting for her to come back to me like she did when Gerentex shot her. She didn't, she was really gone.
I wanted to lay down and die right there beside her. I couldn't do it. My throat was filled with bile, ice flowed through my veins and my heart turned black with hate. I had one purpose to fulfill before I was united with my Trance in sweet sleep. I would kill Casondra.
I returned Trance's body to the Andromeda for burial. Dylan and Rommie wanted me to stay and help them with the war. They didn't really need me, Andromeda had been outfitted with a full crew, and besides, I had other business to attend to. I said one last goodbye to Dylan and Rommie. I composed a letter to Beka, explaining to her what had happened. I told them all how much I loved them and then I left for the last time.
I had lost Casondra's trail but I was relentless. I don't know how many galaxies I passed through, sniffing for any clue as to her whereabouts. I don't even know how much time passed before I found her here on Terazed.
I found her digging in the ruins of this city. I should have just shot her in the back and been done with it but part of me still thought of her as my daughter. My gun wavered.
She spoke to me without turning, somehow knowing I was there. 'Your still have the backbone of a jellyfish.' She slowly turned and faced me. 'I have the fourth piece of the engine, no one can stop me now.'
'Yeah, well I'm sure as hell gonna try.' I said as I fired.
She nimbly evaded my rounds and I soon realized that I was not going to be able to inflict any damage that way. Time for plan "B"
'Don't you need all five pieces of the Engine to make it work?' I asked, trying to distract her while I readied that plasma mine I had hidden under my cloak.
She nodded and tucked a stray piece of ruby hair behind her pointy ear. 'You know your legends. The fifth piece has been inaccessible since the time of Tyr and Beka's failed attempt all those many years ago. However,' she drew one blade, 'four pieces are enough to allow me to travel back in time, to before that blonde bitch screwed it up for the rest of us.' She drew her second knife. 'As a matter of fact, if all goes according to plan, you may be lucky enough to get a visit from *Mommy Dearest*'
I could shoot myself for even paying attention to what she was saying because the last part distracted me. She lunged at me and tore the plasma mine from its holster. She cast it aside and then she went to work on me. She seemed to enjoy every second. I was completely defenseless and at her mercy. I prayed that she would just kill me and get it over with but she kept me alive on purpose, to lay here in agony until you arrived. And here you are." Harper finished. He lay his head back again and closed his eyes, the memories overwhelming him.
Trance thought he had fallen asleep when his eyes suddenly flew open and he once again frantically clawed at her arm. "You have to stop her before she finds the last piece of the Engine! You can do it! Find the four pieces, she hid them here on Terazed, go back and stop her!"
Trance tried to calm him down. "Harper, slow down, you have to rest."
Harper sighed heavily, it came out gargled and left him choking. Trance panicked, "Harper? Harper?" She yelled.
"Find her...stop her..." he gasped, his eyes glazing slightly. He shook his head as if trying to force the words out, "Kill her father..."
"But Harper, you're her father." Trance shook Harper trying to force him to make sense.
He smiled at her, his eyes clearing for a moment. Blood trickled in a thin line from his mouth to his chin as he reached his hand slowly to Trance's face. He lightly traced the line of her jaw with his fingertips and whispered, "I'll always love you my Purple Princess."
Trance grasped his hand as it began to fall, the light fading from his eyes as they closed. "Harper? Harper NO!" Trance cried, as she shook him again, this time in desperation. Tears streaming from her eyes in a torrent. "Harper! You can't leave me! Please!" She begged. She began CPR but she knew it was no use. He was gone. She sat back and stared at his still form. Suffering from a grief so deep it wounded her soul, Trance lay down beside Harper. She placed her head in the hollow of his neck, her lips gently brushing his cheek as she whispered incoherently, one hand absentmindedly stroking his soft blonde hair. Trance was so enveloped in her suffering that she didn't even notice that it had begun to rain.
******************
TBC