Disclaimer: Tribune Entertainment owns the characters of Andromeda. I am
merely borrowing them. No profit is being made.
** NOTE TO READERS ** This story is apart of "Secrets" and is the 14 chapter. I'm sorry if the chapters are taking longer to write. I have been busy with graduate school, but hopefully over the holiday season I will be able to write more for you. Your patience is appreciated. Thanks!
Read and review! All comments are welcome. A review or comment is a fanfic writer's only payment.
*******************************************************************
The Thorny Road By Dawn Nyberg
Harper sat with his face in his hands as he contemplated finishing the Vid message. He had begun and stopped several times. It had been 10 months since he walked away from Tyr and the cabin on Arabus. He felt he should send a message to Tyr - encoded only to him. He knew the message would take two months or longer to reach the Andromeda depending where they were. Tyr could easily trace the messages origin, but he also knew that he would be leaving Hadren Drift in a day or two. He sighed and sat back in a chair and started to talk to the Vid screen:
*** Hey, Big Guy. Man, talk about a blast from the past. I know it's been a while - 10 months actually. It'll be longer by the time you get this message. I just thought I should say thanks again for everything you did for me back on Arabus. I know you didn't agree with my leaving, but you still supported me and that meant a lot. I know what you're asking yourself, 'what have I been doing.' I know what you want to hear, but I can't lie to you and I don't want to. I don't regret who I am Tyr and I'm not going to apologize for being what I am. I hope Beka and the others were able to understand why I left. I don't know what you told them, but I thank you for saying you wouldn't tell them about what happened on Arabus. I know they might eventually hear about what happened and put two and two together, but who knows.
Look, I guess I better get going. I just thought - I don't know what I thought. I'm good Big Guy, okay? I am. Trust in the . . . ***
Ronin couldn't bring himself to insert his old name that wasn't who he was anymore. He knew in the back of his mind that he would always be 'Harper' to Tyr, but he just couldn't use his old saying. He was Ronin, now.
*** I know you don't owe me a thing, but can you keep this little message between the two of us? Gotta go. ***
Ronin hit the off button to stop the recording. He slid the Vid floppy into the message transmitter - his finger hesitated on the send button, finally, he just hit - what was done was done.
"Hey, Ronin, you in here?" a voice called out from the front room.
"Yeah." Ronin rose from his seat and went to the front room. "You get what I needed?"
"Right here, man. You sure you can pull this off?"
"It's my last job on this rock - yeah I can pull it off. I've done a hundred like it. You have my money?"
"Of course, Mr. Ducroix, was more than willing to pay the 80,000 thrones for the job. But, you get payment on completion - those were the terms."
Ronin reached up and grabbed the man by the throat and shoved him against the wall. He leaned in close, his voice low, "I know the terms and my job. Do you want to be my warm up?" He loosened his grip on the man's throat so that he could speak.
"I beg your pardon, Mr. Ronin, sir." Ronin could see the fear in his eyes.
"Get out of my face. I'll meet you for payment later. Give me two hours."
** Two Hours Later **
Ronin stood in an alley not far from the shuttle departure area. The job had almost gone off without a hitch. His contract was to kill Mace Lectra, a well-known Flash dealer on the Hadren Drift and the entire Nova Quadrant. His employer for the evening was the drift's Mayor, and he wanted the Flash distribution to end on his drift. Ronin knew the truth the man's daughter had fallen into working for Lectra to annoy her Father, but had begun to use Flash, over-dosed and died. Ronin suspected that it was merely revenge on Ducroix's part, but it didn't matter to Ronin the contract hit was scum - verifiable scum and now he was dead scum. Ducroix had specified a painful death.
Ronin had used a Leadus knife on Lectra. It was a small harmless looking knife, but the cuts it delivered were small, surgical and deep. It allowed the victim to be cut many times in small one-inch cuts - sometimes longer depending on the user. It slowly bled them. Ronin was reminded of the saying ' a death by a thousand paper cuts' and in a way it was like the death delivered by the Leadus. Ronin had drug out the man's death for about and hour and finally ended it quickly as he drove the knife into the Lectra's inner thigh and twisted it as he pulled out - severing the femoral artery and he bled out in under a minute. The one glitch of the evening was that one of Lectra's guards walked in on the scene and Ronin had no choice, but to kill him as well. It was quick and over before the man had any real chance to react. The part of him that was still Harper silently wished the young guard's life had been able to be spared, but a witness could never be left behind. After all, he was Lectra's guard - it's not like he killed a priest or something, or at least he tried to convince himself that it didn't matter. His attention was drawn to footsteps and he stepped back into the shadows.
"Mr. Ronin?"
"No Mr., just Ronin." He stepped from the shadows. "You have my money?"
"80,000 thrones on a credit disk, and Mr. Ducroix wanted me to extend his extreme approval."
"Yeah-yeah. The disk," Ronin put his hand out. "We're done and I'm off this rock tonight."
"Mr. Ducroix wanted me to extend a long standing contract for your exclusive services.
Ronin interrupted him, "I'm not exclusive to anyone. I go where I want when I want and I accept what contracts I want and I'm no one's property. I'm a free agent. Tell you boss thanks, but no thanks. I'm on my own and that's the way I like it."
"As you wish."
Ronin left the alley and headed for the shuttle departure. It was time to move on. Maybe he would set up shop for a while at his next stop - he wasn't sure. He'd had an offer to kill Chancellor Gogi, a separatist that ran his city's government more like a dictatorship and he had ties to human slave contracts with certain Nietzschean prides. But, he wasn't sure he would take that contract or not. The word in the underground was that Gogi could be courted as a Commonwealth addition because of his tactical army abilities, but it was uncertain. The claims of his Nietzschean ties have been hearsay and have never been fully proved. But, the money was good - it's something to think about, Ronin mused as he boarded a shuttle.
** Four Months Later **
"Captain Dylan," Rommie began. "We have incoming mail transmissions."
"Any for me?"
"Two and both have a Commonwealth signature to them. They are official business. And, there is one for Tyr."
Tyr stood at his weapons station. It wasn't rare to receive mail, so it didn't peak interest in anyone on the Command Deck including Tyr. "Can you transfer it to my quarters." Tyr asked.
"Yes."
Anasazi left for his quarters. Engage privacy mode."
"Engaged," Andromeda answered. Tyr took note the message's time stamp it had been sent four months ago. The Vid began and he immediately straightened in his seat. It was Harper. He listened to the message twice. The first time he watched the message he found himself examining the boy. He looked so different. He no longer had the short, spiky hair that made him look boyish. His hair was now longer that covered his ears and nearly touched the collar of his shirt. He had long blonde bangs that covered his forehead. He watched as the kid nervously ran his fingers through his hair starting at his bangs. He had changed. Tyr noticed the biggest change was in his eyes. They had aged and he could see the pain hid behind them. He listened to every word the second time he viewed the message. He said he was okay, but Tyr knew that was a lie. Harper may not have asked to be found, but it had bee over a year now that he had been gone and it was time to find him. Tyr knew if he allowed him to get any further away from the person he was before the trial that the old Harper may never find his way home again. And, that was unacceptable. Despite everything the kid had said to him he wasn't a born hit man - he was Seamus Harper, kid genius, engineer for the Andromeda, friend and most importantly just a scared and hurt kid that needs to be found.
Just as he put the Vid flexi away he had saved the message to and ended privacy mode an announcement came over the Com to report to Command.
"What is it?"
"We have been given a mission from the Commonwealth council of members. I have been notified that there has been an assassination order put out on Chancellor Gogi, and after many deliberations the council has decided that Gogi's resources may be too beneficial to the reformation of a strong Commonwealth to allow the hit to take place. We have been ordered to locate and kill the hit man. It was recently learned that the contract was accepted two weeks ago, but who accepted we aren't sure. It is believed that more than one contract was offered, so, we may have more than one potential killer on our hands. We will know for sure how many were accepted when we get there. But, the hit is set for the inauguration of the Chancellor's second reappointment."
"Gogi isn't to be trusted and the Commonwealth wants him?" Tyr couldn't believe they were going to have to waste resources to save that man.
"We've been given a direct order from the council, Tyr. Andromeda plot a course for the planet Tempus. We are going to the city of Ecola."
"Aye, sir."
"Beka?" Dylan turned toward her, "take us into slipstream."
"You got it."
Tyr silently started wondering if one of the contract killers for this job was Harper. He hoped not. He would not allow the boy to be killed - not for the Common wealth or any reason. If Harper was there - he would find him and get him out of there before Dylan or the crew knew he was there as a contract killer. He couldn't explain his need to protect the boy and to keep the truth from the others about what happened on Arabus, but he would continue to do both. Secrets had started this mess and they were still fueling it.
The Planet Tempus was another day away, and as much as he'd like to get his hands on the young man and haul him back to the Andromeda - he hoped he wouldn't find him on Tempus.
To be continued.
** NOTE TO READERS ** This story is apart of "Secrets" and is the 14 chapter. I'm sorry if the chapters are taking longer to write. I have been busy with graduate school, but hopefully over the holiday season I will be able to write more for you. Your patience is appreciated. Thanks!
Read and review! All comments are welcome. A review or comment is a fanfic writer's only payment.
*******************************************************************
The Thorny Road By Dawn Nyberg
Harper sat with his face in his hands as he contemplated finishing the Vid message. He had begun and stopped several times. It had been 10 months since he walked away from Tyr and the cabin on Arabus. He felt he should send a message to Tyr - encoded only to him. He knew the message would take two months or longer to reach the Andromeda depending where they were. Tyr could easily trace the messages origin, but he also knew that he would be leaving Hadren Drift in a day or two. He sighed and sat back in a chair and started to talk to the Vid screen:
*** Hey, Big Guy. Man, talk about a blast from the past. I know it's been a while - 10 months actually. It'll be longer by the time you get this message. I just thought I should say thanks again for everything you did for me back on Arabus. I know you didn't agree with my leaving, but you still supported me and that meant a lot. I know what you're asking yourself, 'what have I been doing.' I know what you want to hear, but I can't lie to you and I don't want to. I don't regret who I am Tyr and I'm not going to apologize for being what I am. I hope Beka and the others were able to understand why I left. I don't know what you told them, but I thank you for saying you wouldn't tell them about what happened on Arabus. I know they might eventually hear about what happened and put two and two together, but who knows.
Look, I guess I better get going. I just thought - I don't know what I thought. I'm good Big Guy, okay? I am. Trust in the . . . ***
Ronin couldn't bring himself to insert his old name that wasn't who he was anymore. He knew in the back of his mind that he would always be 'Harper' to Tyr, but he just couldn't use his old saying. He was Ronin, now.
*** I know you don't owe me a thing, but can you keep this little message between the two of us? Gotta go. ***
Ronin hit the off button to stop the recording. He slid the Vid floppy into the message transmitter - his finger hesitated on the send button, finally, he just hit - what was done was done.
"Hey, Ronin, you in here?" a voice called out from the front room.
"Yeah." Ronin rose from his seat and went to the front room. "You get what I needed?"
"Right here, man. You sure you can pull this off?"
"It's my last job on this rock - yeah I can pull it off. I've done a hundred like it. You have my money?"
"Of course, Mr. Ducroix, was more than willing to pay the 80,000 thrones for the job. But, you get payment on completion - those were the terms."
Ronin reached up and grabbed the man by the throat and shoved him against the wall. He leaned in close, his voice low, "I know the terms and my job. Do you want to be my warm up?" He loosened his grip on the man's throat so that he could speak.
"I beg your pardon, Mr. Ronin, sir." Ronin could see the fear in his eyes.
"Get out of my face. I'll meet you for payment later. Give me two hours."
** Two Hours Later **
Ronin stood in an alley not far from the shuttle departure area. The job had almost gone off without a hitch. His contract was to kill Mace Lectra, a well-known Flash dealer on the Hadren Drift and the entire Nova Quadrant. His employer for the evening was the drift's Mayor, and he wanted the Flash distribution to end on his drift. Ronin knew the truth the man's daughter had fallen into working for Lectra to annoy her Father, but had begun to use Flash, over-dosed and died. Ronin suspected that it was merely revenge on Ducroix's part, but it didn't matter to Ronin the contract hit was scum - verifiable scum and now he was dead scum. Ducroix had specified a painful death.
Ronin had used a Leadus knife on Lectra. It was a small harmless looking knife, but the cuts it delivered were small, surgical and deep. It allowed the victim to be cut many times in small one-inch cuts - sometimes longer depending on the user. It slowly bled them. Ronin was reminded of the saying ' a death by a thousand paper cuts' and in a way it was like the death delivered by the Leadus. Ronin had drug out the man's death for about and hour and finally ended it quickly as he drove the knife into the Lectra's inner thigh and twisted it as he pulled out - severing the femoral artery and he bled out in under a minute. The one glitch of the evening was that one of Lectra's guards walked in on the scene and Ronin had no choice, but to kill him as well. It was quick and over before the man had any real chance to react. The part of him that was still Harper silently wished the young guard's life had been able to be spared, but a witness could never be left behind. After all, he was Lectra's guard - it's not like he killed a priest or something, or at least he tried to convince himself that it didn't matter. His attention was drawn to footsteps and he stepped back into the shadows.
"Mr. Ronin?"
"No Mr., just Ronin." He stepped from the shadows. "You have my money?"
"80,000 thrones on a credit disk, and Mr. Ducroix wanted me to extend his extreme approval."
"Yeah-yeah. The disk," Ronin put his hand out. "We're done and I'm off this rock tonight."
"Mr. Ducroix wanted me to extend a long standing contract for your exclusive services.
Ronin interrupted him, "I'm not exclusive to anyone. I go where I want when I want and I accept what contracts I want and I'm no one's property. I'm a free agent. Tell you boss thanks, but no thanks. I'm on my own and that's the way I like it."
"As you wish."
Ronin left the alley and headed for the shuttle departure. It was time to move on. Maybe he would set up shop for a while at his next stop - he wasn't sure. He'd had an offer to kill Chancellor Gogi, a separatist that ran his city's government more like a dictatorship and he had ties to human slave contracts with certain Nietzschean prides. But, he wasn't sure he would take that contract or not. The word in the underground was that Gogi could be courted as a Commonwealth addition because of his tactical army abilities, but it was uncertain. The claims of his Nietzschean ties have been hearsay and have never been fully proved. But, the money was good - it's something to think about, Ronin mused as he boarded a shuttle.
** Four Months Later **
"Captain Dylan," Rommie began. "We have incoming mail transmissions."
"Any for me?"
"Two and both have a Commonwealth signature to them. They are official business. And, there is one for Tyr."
Tyr stood at his weapons station. It wasn't rare to receive mail, so it didn't peak interest in anyone on the Command Deck including Tyr. "Can you transfer it to my quarters." Tyr asked.
"Yes."
Anasazi left for his quarters. Engage privacy mode."
"Engaged," Andromeda answered. Tyr took note the message's time stamp it had been sent four months ago. The Vid began and he immediately straightened in his seat. It was Harper. He listened to the message twice. The first time he watched the message he found himself examining the boy. He looked so different. He no longer had the short, spiky hair that made him look boyish. His hair was now longer that covered his ears and nearly touched the collar of his shirt. He had long blonde bangs that covered his forehead. He watched as the kid nervously ran his fingers through his hair starting at his bangs. He had changed. Tyr noticed the biggest change was in his eyes. They had aged and he could see the pain hid behind them. He listened to every word the second time he viewed the message. He said he was okay, but Tyr knew that was a lie. Harper may not have asked to be found, but it had bee over a year now that he had been gone and it was time to find him. Tyr knew if he allowed him to get any further away from the person he was before the trial that the old Harper may never find his way home again. And, that was unacceptable. Despite everything the kid had said to him he wasn't a born hit man - he was Seamus Harper, kid genius, engineer for the Andromeda, friend and most importantly just a scared and hurt kid that needs to be found.
Just as he put the Vid flexi away he had saved the message to and ended privacy mode an announcement came over the Com to report to Command.
"What is it?"
"We have been given a mission from the Commonwealth council of members. I have been notified that there has been an assassination order put out on Chancellor Gogi, and after many deliberations the council has decided that Gogi's resources may be too beneficial to the reformation of a strong Commonwealth to allow the hit to take place. We have been ordered to locate and kill the hit man. It was recently learned that the contract was accepted two weeks ago, but who accepted we aren't sure. It is believed that more than one contract was offered, so, we may have more than one potential killer on our hands. We will know for sure how many were accepted when we get there. But, the hit is set for the inauguration of the Chancellor's second reappointment."
"Gogi isn't to be trusted and the Commonwealth wants him?" Tyr couldn't believe they were going to have to waste resources to save that man.
"We've been given a direct order from the council, Tyr. Andromeda plot a course for the planet Tempus. We are going to the city of Ecola."
"Aye, sir."
"Beka?" Dylan turned toward her, "take us into slipstream."
"You got it."
Tyr silently started wondering if one of the contract killers for this job was Harper. He hoped not. He would not allow the boy to be killed - not for the Common wealth or any reason. If Harper was there - he would find him and get him out of there before Dylan or the crew knew he was there as a contract killer. He couldn't explain his need to protect the boy and to keep the truth from the others about what happened on Arabus, but he would continue to do both. Secrets had started this mess and they were still fueling it.
The Planet Tempus was another day away, and as much as he'd like to get his hands on the young man and haul him back to the Andromeda - he hoped he wouldn't find him on Tempus.
To be continued.