Thank You Thank You Thank You!! You guys are great! Hope you like the next part. And don't worry szhismine I will get back to the part you want soon.

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Harper slowly opened the Maru's airlock door and peered outside. This was silly why was he so nervous? He reassured him self by feeling for the knife he had borrowed from the Maru's galley. He sighed. It was tucked in to one of his belt loops on his hip. Not all planets have Uber's he reminded himself. Feeling a bit more confident he stepped out on to the docking ramp and locked the door behind him.

Once in the crowd he stood still as dozens of creatures swarmed by. He sure wasn't in Boston anymore. The culture shock hit him head on. He flinched as one of the bugs actually brushed him as it went buy. "Ew." Okay get a hold of your self. Beka needs you. She saved you now it's your turn. Problem was no matter how gung-ho he was he had no idea where to start. So he started to wander around. Maybe she went to a bar? Not likely though. He never remembered Beka ever drinking anything alcoholic. She just didn't seem the type anyway. After wandering around for about half an hour he actually found himself in what seemed like an open-air market place. He wandered around a bit he even tried to ask questions about Beka. No one seemed to know Common or more likely they were just ignoring him. Just like on earth . no one here seemed very helpful.

He was about to go try someplace else but he stopped when he heard a small sob. Sitting curled up in a ball by an abandoned merchant's stall sat a little girl with two long ponytails. She looked human but as Harper approached he could see a strange reddish tinge to her skin and her eyes were larger then a humans should be. "Hey kid. You Okay? You need some help?"

The girl shook her head and curled in to a tighter ball. "It's okay. I'm a good guy I won't hurt you." "That's what the guy said yesterday when he gave me half a throne but" she hiccuped and Harper had to listen careful as she spoke with a strange accent. "But then he hit me an took it back." She sniffled and looked up indignant. "And I helped him too. I told him about the pretty lady. Now today my Ma says I can't go home till I get some money to buy food. Since on the d'account of I . I was so stupid" the little girl broke in to sobs again but Harper had quit hearing her.

"What pretty lady? Hey kid?" The girl just wailed harder. He didn't have any money to offer her. Finally he came up with an idea. He cleared his throat to get the girls attention. "Well you don't look stupid. I bet if I gave you something you could use it to make money." The girl perked up slightly. Her curiosity getting the best of her. Harper reached in to one of the deep pockets of his cargo pants.

One of the crewmembers of the Maru died just four days after Beka saved him from earth. He had been teaching Harper to play the harmonica. He seemed like a nice guy but Harper was still shy and didn't really get to know him that well. When Vex Pag died Beka said she could keep his Harmonica. Now he handed the small toy to the girl. "You could sell it. or learn to play it and make even more money."

The little girl took it cautiously from his hand. She then placed her mouth on the toy . when the Harmonica gave a breathy squeak she giggled with joy. Harper continued, "Now were friends. And since I did you a favour and helped you. will you help me?"

The girl gave a little nod... cautious. "D'pends."

Harper smiled she's a smart kid. She knew nothing came with out a price. "Could you tell me about the pretty lady?"

"D'guy who hit me he wanted to talk to her. they talked in the alley and then she went away and he followed her."

"Do you know what they were talking about?"

"D'guy said plants. That's all I know." With that she leapt to her feet and ran off clutching her new toy to her chest. She wasn't about to let Harper try to take his payment back.

Harper wandered around the pier for most of the afternoon with out any further clues. In fact the one the girl gave him didn't help at all. "The guy' could have been the one that that Beka said she was going to met... or he could be anybody! Maybe Beka went back to the Maru and was pissed he wasn't there. He was feeling a little anxious about Beka leaving him behind. He just had to get back to the shipping docks. A new problem arose. He had been looking so hard for Beka he hadn't paid attention to where he was. Okay this is stupid. He never got lost on earth. but then again he knew his section of Boston like the back of his hand. Again he was reminded this wasn't Boston.

Harper swore under his breath. This was just great! Beka was missing and he was lost! He swore again.

Just as he was starting to panic he saw something out of the corner oh his eye. Something purple. He turned quickly and got a quick glimpse of a purple tail going around the corner of a building.
"Hey wait!" he shouted and chased after her. Damn she was fast. He chased for nearly ten minutes. Finally he turned a sharp corner around the edge of yet another building and suddenly she was right in front of him. He let out a yelp as he hopelessly tried to come to a stop. She managed to step neatly out of the way as he crashed in to a garbage bin.

"Ow."

"Why are you following me?"

"Umm." He started embarrassingly as he picked himself up "You are the only person I know."

"I thought you didn't want to talk to me yet. you were waiting for someone. "

"I was . but I lost her."

The purple girl clapped her hands excitedly. "I'm really good at finding things! Can I help?"

This purple girl seemed so strange but he was desperate. He didn't want to admit he was lost and he really wanted to find Beka. He gave a small shrug.

Trance took him by the arm and led him out of the alley. "What does she look like?"

Harper was a little disturbed, as he wasn't sure he told her that Beka was a girl. "Umm she's skinny and blonde."

Trance started looking under some near by bushes. "She is kinda tall."

"Oh." Replied the purple girl as she started looking up and down the street. Harper didn't know what to do? Should he trust her she didn't seem to know what she was doing. Suddenly she grabbed his arm again and led him down the street.

"Where are we going?"

"I know where she is."

"Wait how do you know? You don't even really know who she is."

"I know!" she persisted as she dragged him in to a local drink establishment.

She forced him in to a booth and ordered two drinks before Harper even had another chance to protest. "Trance I don't have any money and besides I really need to find my friend Beka."

"She's here."

"Where?"

"Don't worry about the money I have lots. Your friend will show up we just have to wait."

The waitress came and placed to blue beverages in front of them Trance took her drink and drank it in one swallow. Harper started at her in shock. "You really are strange you know."

Trance gave a friendly smile.taking Harper's comment as a compliment.

Harper continued. "What planet do you come from?"

"One far away. Are you going to drink that?"

Harper sniffed the blue liquid suspiciously. Then took a careful sip Well it wasn't beer but it was sweet and smelled good. Harper followed Trance's lead and drank it in one swallow. He was still adjusting to not being constantly thirsty and not hungry all the time. Yet, he wasn't about to turn down a free drink even if it had tasted bad.

They continued to wait. An hour passed and so had several rounds of the blue drink.

"Are you ssure ssshe's coming?" slurred Harper.

"She is not coming she is already here we just have to wait."

Harper gave up she had been talking in circles since they got here. Trance ordered another round of drinks. Suddenly shouting came from a room towards the back of the bar.

"YOU SON OF A.!"

"Just shut up and tell us who you work for!"

Harper's heart leapt to his throat. He didn't recognize the second voice but the first one was all Beka.

"She's here!" Harper shouted as he leapt to his feet.

"Told you," replied Trance more then smug.

Just then Harper regretted all the blue drinks. The world began to spin as he struggled across the room. Just as he reached the curtained doorway where he had heard Beka's voice everything in his line of vision turned blue. Vertigo completely set in and Harper crashed through the doorway. He heard Beka give another shout as he hit the floor face first.

TBC