Disclaimer and stuff is in ch.1 unless it decided to run away and find a better story.
Thank you again for all the reviews, my headaches gone and I'm sure reading them helped! Here is the fifth chapter, I hope you enjoy it!
"Imagine if we are all numbers being added and taken away from a giant equation. Everything that ever happened to you is a factor in the equation and there are so many multiples and variables, that it is really difficult to predict who, and what, you are going to be. And every so often, like in everything, someone, somewhere makes an error in the calculations and it gets messed up. Some people spend all their lives trying to find out where they went wrong and trying to fix it and they find they can't because it's life and life is not like an equation, you can't change what you've done."
***
He and Beka had come up from one side and Anasazi from the other. They took them by surprise and eventually there was only one man standing. Hunt saw him put down his gun and surrender to Anasazi, he also noticed Anasazi preparing to fire. He quickly came up behind the man and ordered Tyr to stand down.
For a minute it looked like he wasn't going to listen but then he lowered his weapon. That was when the man decided to run, straight into Valentine and himself who both had their weapons out. He quickly backtracked and Tyr grabbed him.
"Take him to V-Deck." The Neitzchean didn't even hesitate to follow orders this time. Things were looking up.
"Andromeda is that all of them?"
"Affirmative, there are no more intruders onboard and the battle ship have left the area."
He turned to see Valentine kneeling over one of the bodies. He recognised him as one of her crew, the one who'd been captured by the Nightsider.
"It was a Nietzchean weapon that shot him. I don't think he would have sold us out, maybe he wouldn't tell them what they wanted to know and they killed him."
Valentine stood up and Hunt came to stand next to her. He knew what it was like to lose crewmembers.
"Well we won't know for certain who killed him, they had deactivated all the sensors as well as the internal defences. It wasn't your fault, we did everything we could to rescue him safely. We knew he was with them, at least now we know he was a prisoner and not a collaborator."
Captain Valentine ran her hand through her hair. "What about the other one?"
He supposed she meant the other human who'd been working with them.
"Well, he was probably a collaborator. He had a weapon and he was interfacing to try to gain control of the ship. I don't think there is really anywhere we can hand him over too. Maybe the Perseids on Sinti. There is also a high chance that he was the one who killed Dale. He was the only one left standing."
Beka sighed again. Dale was just an unfortunate person, in the wrong place at the wrong time. Some people were just meant to be like that.
"I better go and tell the others about Dale."
Valentine turned and walked down the corridor, leaving Dylan to wonder what he was going to do now.
***
This wasn't too bad. He'd been in worse cells. It wasn't small enough to make you claustrophobic but small enough to let you know you were trapped. He still wasn't really sure what the hell had happened. All he knew for sure was that he was in a lot of trouble and he wasn't dead, yet.
Dale, poor guy. He wasn't a bad guy really he just wasn't a survivor. Some people were just like that, unlucky. And him? Well, he was one of those people who went from frying pans to fires and usually found himself burning in hell. He knew he was in trouble now.
He wasn't scared, not really. He'd been in worse situations, he'd been in prisons before. But every situation was different. Fear becomes a distant memory, just like pain does, so that each new experience is worse than the first.
He kept telling himself he wasn't scared, over and over. But he couldn't make himself believe it. That was the problem with the unknown. It was so easy to be scared when you don't know what's going to happen. Like people are scared of the dark because they can't see what's in it.
He'd be okay. Sure he was stuck in a cell on a really powerful ship who was manned by at least one Nietzchean and some Humans. He didn't know where they were going, what they were going to do to him and how exactly he could get out of this situation.
Why was freedom always so far away? He wasn't scared, yeah like a mouse isn't scared of the cat who's got him cornered. He was cornered once again and had nowhere to run.
***
He barely heard the door chime and was almost surprised when Trance walked in.
"Ms. Gemini, what can I do for you."
"You should call me Trance, everyone else does." She smiled cheerfully. She always seemed cheerful and full of optimism.
"I'm sorry about Dale."
She nodded solemnly, the smile suddenly gone from her face. "Me, too, he was a nice person and nice people don't deserve to die like that."
"So is there anything I can do for you?"
She smiled again, not an overly cheerful smile but a pleased smile. Childlike and innocent.
"Actually, there is something I wanted to talk to you about. Beka said you were trying to find somewhere to hand over the prisoner you took. Well I have an idea about that."
Dylan gave her his full attention now. Captain Valentine had called Trance her good luck charm and when he'd asked her to explain, she'd said that Trance was very intuitive. And he believed her.
"Go ahead, I'd be happy to hear any suggestions."
She smiled again. "Well, I was thinking that since he appears to be an engineer and since we need an engineer, why not keep him here? Where he could work instead of ending up in a prison somewhere where he will probably come out a worse person than when he went in.
We don't really know what type of a person he is or if he really did kill Dale. You need an engineer and he'll be more use to you here than in some prison somewhere. You can impose whatever restrictions you need too. I think it would be a really good idea. What do you think?"
Hunt was a bit surprised by her suggestion and he just thought about it for a few minutes. It did make sense. They needed an engineer and there really wasn't anywhere to hand the guy over to.
"I think you are right, I think it would be a really good idea."
She beamed at him, almost delighted. Well if she was happy with that, he'd be happy with it too.
"I've already mentioned it to Beka, Rev and Tyr. They seem okay with it. Mostly because we really need an engineer."
Dylan nodded. He speak with them first and then inform the prisoner what was happening. Things were working out better than expected. As long as they weren't all murdered in their beds, that is.
***
He heard footsteps approaching, opened his eyes and got to his feet. To his surprise it wasn't the Nietzchean who stepped into the cell, it was a human male. He was tall and kinda reminded Harper of one of those ancient gods.
Harper stood very still, next to the wall farthest from the door. The man walked in and stopped next to the door. He was wearing a uniform and he had a weapon at his side. He looked angry.
"I'm Captain Dylan Hunt of the Commonwealth starship Andromeda. You have been charged with attempting to take over a Commonwealth ship and trying to break through security interfaces. Under Commonwealth law you could be subject to imprisonment for seven years to fifteen years."
The man paused before continuing to let the reality of the situation sink in. Hell, thought Harper. He was pretty much damned. He doubted he'd last one year in a prison much less seven.
"But we have no Commonwealth prisons and there are no authorities that abide by rules similar enough to the commonwealth that I can hand you over to. Instead your sentence is as follows. You will spend eighteen months working as an engineer aboard this vessel. In eighteen months your situation will be reviewed. You will follow me now to your quarters, you will remain there whenever you are not working or eating."
And he turned and walked out. Harper followed him. He was trying to think his way around this. As far as he could see, nothing had really changed. He'd gone from being a slave on one ship to being a slave on another. He hurried to catch up with Captain Hunt.
Eventually a couple of decks down they reached a door, and Captain Hunt stood in front of it. He pressed a button and it opened. Harper immediately on habit switched his gaze to the floor.
Captain Hunt spoke again in that very authoritative voice. "These are your quarters your first shift starts tomorrow. You might want to get some rest. Captain Valentine will be along in a few hours to take you to get some food. Any questions?"
Harper didn't lift his gaze from the floor and didn't say a word. He knew how he was expected to behave and he wasn't going to get caught out.
Though Harper couldn't see it, the man frowned. "Well? Do you have any questions or not."
Harper was surprised, he actually wanted an answer. You'd end up on the floor if you dared to speak to a Nietzchean. He decided to choose the safest answer. And his gaze never left the point on the floor.
"No, sir." Hunt was a bit perplexed by this behaviour. He didn't know what was wrong with the young man. He turned to leave when a thought occurred to him.
"What's your name?" Harper decided that he probably did want an answer this time.
"Harper, sir."
He nodded once and left, not that Harper saw this from his vantage point of the floor. Once his footsteps had died away Harper left out a sigh of relief and entered his quarters. He was surprised by what he found. It wasn't half bad. It was better than anywhere he'd been before.
He realised how tired he was and looked around for where he was supposed to sleep. He was surprised to find the bed, it looked so much more comfortable than those bunks on the Nietzchean ship. But he hesitated to sleep on it. He'd never slept on a proper bed in his whole life and he sure as hell didn't think he was supposed to sleep there now.
The floor looked like the safer option. He grabbed a blanket from the bed and found himself a nice corner. Away from the door, well protected. He just kind of wished he had a weapon. He fell asleep quickly but every little noise woke him again. He almost wished he was back in the little hut in the refugee camp. He knew all the noises there. Finally he drifted to sleep haunted by images of Dale and Granzen and people screaming.
He didn't feel safe here but little did he know that this was the safest place he would ever be. Destiny had finally fixed the error and shot him back in line. Everything was going just like it was supposed to.
Only no-one bothered to factor in just what kind of damage the delay might have done to this young man. Mentally and physically he was a different person with a different personality. It isn't just as easy as adding a number in later, sometimes when you make a mistake the number you are trying to add in isn't the number you need anymore. And your calculations are still wrong.
***
A/N: Okay, that was long. So, what did you think? I wasn't too sure about this chapter, it seemed to go on for a while. Next chapter should involve the rest of the crew and settling in and stuff !
