Ugh! Disclaimer Alert! I do not now, nor have I ever owned Andromeda or its characters. I just borrow them for awhile and bring them back unharmed. Well, maybe not unharmed, but I haven't killed them off, yet. Please read and revue like you have before. And if you read and haven't reviewed yet, shame on you. What's keeping you? Hurry, hurry, hurry! On with the show this is it. Chapter 6 is here. *********************************************************************** *******

"Oh dear, Poor Harper," Trance muttered through her tears as she held his hand. "That was so sad. No wonder he is in the state he's in."

Dylan grabbed stopped the disk and ejected it from the computer console's disk drive. "I think we've seen enough. Trance, is there anything you can do to bring Harper around?"

Beka kicked a stool across the room in anger, interrupting the medic's reply. "Why the no good piece of space trash! I am going to hunt him down like a dog! No, that would be too good for him. If I ever get my hands on that Burko I am going to make sure he suffers a slow, painful demise," she vowed.

Dylan was glad the blonde was content to take out her frustration on the stool and not him or the rest of Andromeda's crew. Although, he thought Andromeda might disagree.

"Beka, I know what I am going to say is easier said than done," Tyr spoke up. "But try to regain your composure. Kicking the furniture won't help Harper."

Beka knew the Nietzschean was right, but she was so angry she had to let it out. "I know Tyr, but I need to break something right now and Burko isn't here."

Dylan knew it was time to step in and calm Beka down before Andromeda was turned into a piece of space junk. He put an arm around Beka's shoulders and guided her over to Harper and Trance. "Right now Harper needs us so wipe away those tears, both of you," He said to the two women.

"You're right of course," Beka sniffled. "I'm sorry Dylan. I hate it went I get all weepy like this."

"So what is the procedure for getting Harper back to the present?" Tyr asked as he watched Harper stare straight ahead. Tyr wasn't going to dwell in foolish sentimentality like the others. Nietzscheans pushed aside any hint of sentiment and Tyr was no exception. That is not to say that Tyr didn't wish to see Harper back to normal. The dark skinned Nietzschean had to admit he had grown accustomed to seeing Harper always moving about the ship. Andromeda's engineer was a bundle of nervous energy, constantly fixing something on the ship.

"Harper needs time to come around on his own. In the meantime, we should try talking to him," Trance suggested. "One of us might say something that registers with Harper and bring him around."

Dylan was the first to act on Trance's suggestion, grabbing the stool Beka had kicked and placing it next to Harper. The High Guard captain settled down on the empty stool and began to carefully consider what he was going say to the young engineer. What could he say? Dylan sympathized with Harper, but there was now way to really know how it was to go through the misery and suffering the young man had endured on earth. Dylan finally thought of what he believed to be the right approach. He hoped he was right. "Okay Harper, I know you are hurting right now, but reliving the pain won't get you anywhere. Do you think your parents would want to see you like this?"

Tyr followed Dylan's lead and gently put a large hand on the engineer's left shoulder. "Dylan is right little man. Your parents showed courage in attacking the alpha of the Puma Pride. They fought this Burko even though they knew it was futile. Do not dishonor their memory by wallowing in self pity inside that thick skull of yours."

"Harper, I am due for an upgrade of my anti-virus program and if I acquire a virus while you are it a catatonic state it will be your fault." AI Rommie threatened. "Believe me Seamus Harper; you do not want to see me with a virus."

Andromeda's crew waited impatiently for the engineer to respond. The room was silent as they listened for any sound and watched for any movement from Harper.

After several minutes of silence Beka faced Harper and looked into his blue eyes that still showed the same emptiness as when she arrived in the machine shop. "Harper come out of it, please. I know watching the disk brought back some bad memories for you, but don't let them destroy you."

"It's times like this when I realize just how much I miss Rev," Dylan announced, referring to the Magog that had served on the Andromeda. "Rev would say exactly the right thing to Harper."

"Well he isn't serving on Andromeda any longer so we had better make due without him," Tyr suggested.

"Please Harper, we're your friends, we want you back. You don't have to be embarrassed," Trance assured.

The three humans and the android abruptly turned their gazes away from Harper and onto Trance. Each one was thinking the same thing. Why would Trance think the engineer was embarrassed? It was if the alien knew something more about the situation than she let on.

Dylan studied Trance as she kept talking to Harper. Trance was a mystery to him. The golden skinned alien always seemed to know more than she let on, giving half answers to questions and speaking in riddles. Trance would often provide bits of vital information without explaining how or where she obtained it. Despite that Dylan trusted Trance. He knew she cared about Andromeda's crew, especially Harper. They seemed to have a special bond.

Right now Trance was Harper's best hope and Dylan wasn't going to let the alien hold back and play the enigma. "Why would Harper be embarrassed Trance? And don't answer me with one of your vague philosophical statements. I have a feeling you know more about what is going on than the rest of us. My gut instinct tells me you know how to get Harper out of his self-induced coma, am I right? " Dylan asked sternly.

Trance shifted uncomfortably under the questioning gaze of Dylan and the rest of the crew. "I can't tell too much but Dylan blames himself for his parents' death."

"That's insane Trance," Beka remarked. "There is no way that stealing a ratty old blanket should bring on the kind death sentence we just saw."

"I'm sorry Beka; I should have made myself clearer. I didn't mean Harper blamed himself for his parents' death because he stole from the Nietzscheans. I meant that Harper blames himself for their death because he didn't do anything to stop the alpha Nietzschean. He was watching the whole time as he stayed quiet where his parents made him hide."

"Trance, are you saying that Harper feels he acted in a cowardly manner because he didn't fight back against the Nietzschean alpha?" AI Rommie asked.

Trance hugged Harper and gave him a peck on the right cheek before answering, "Yes, that is what I am saying. I can't tell you any more so please don't ask me to elaborate."