Chapter 2
The sound of the door opening brought Dylan back to the present. Looking up he saw Harper enter his office. Harper's injuries had healed but the emotional trauma he suffered still showed itself clearly on his ragged features. Dylan felt his heart constrict when he thought once again of what the young engineer had gone through during his short life. He felt the bile start to rise in his throat as his memories carried him, unwillingly, back to the place where this nightmare had begun.
Flashback:
Dylan gently disengaged himself from Harper. Pushing the younger man back down onto the cot, he patted his arm reassuringly.
"Harper, what happened to you?" He asked quietly. "Who did this?"
His first instinct was to find the person and rip their hearts out for hurting his friend. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He knew that Harper had to be handled gently or they would never be able to get the story from him. And right now Harper's story was the only clue they had to where Beka was and what had happened to them both.
Harper tried to calm the torrent of tears that was cascading down his face. His entire body ached but it was his heart that hurt the most. He had never in his life been more terrified than he had in the last few hours, not even during the Magog attacks on his family and friends back on Earth.
Tyr knelt down at the head of the cot. With a gentleness that surprised both Harper and Dylan, he wiped away the tears that flowed from Harper's eyes.
"You must be strong now, little man. You must let us know what has happened to both yourself and Captain Valentine. You must trust us to avenge your pain." He said softly.
In truth, Tyr was afraid. He had seen the look in Harper's eyes and recognized it for what it was. Hopelessness. He remembered the same look staring back at him from another set of eyes; eyes that had witnessed the end of the owner's world. He had seen the same look in his own eyes when his pride had been slaughtered. It was a look he had hoped never to see again.
Harper looked up at the two men he had come to trust and call his friends. He sat up once again trying in vain to calm the beating of his heart. Closing his eyes he saw once again the images that he knew would haunt him forever. He and Beka had just finished loading the parts they had scrounged for the Maru and were going back to town to grab something to eat before heading back to the Andromeda. They were laughing and chatting about nothing in particular. Then suddenly the images changed. Harper shook his head and covered his ears trying to block out the sounds he knew were coming next; the sounds of gun fire and the screams of his best friend, his boss, his only true family. Next came the images. Beka lying on the ground covered in blood, him trying to reach her while dozens of arms pushed him back, huge fists coming towards him and him falling to the ground. Then came pain like he had remembered only from his nightmares. And the final image of Beka being carried off, her body hanging limply in the arms of a man he had never before seen, and hoped to never see again.
"I can't!" he whispered so quietly that even Tyr with his superior hearing almost missed it.
"Who did this Harper?" Dylan asked once more. And though he dreaded what might be revealed, he had to know the answer to his next question. "What happened to you and what has happened to Beka?"
The sound of the door opening brought Dylan back to the present. Looking up he saw Harper enter his office. Harper's injuries had healed but the emotional trauma he suffered still showed itself clearly on his ragged features. Dylan felt his heart constrict when he thought once again of what the young engineer had gone through during his short life. He felt the bile start to rise in his throat as his memories carried him, unwillingly, back to the place where this nightmare had begun.
Flashback:
Dylan gently disengaged himself from Harper. Pushing the younger man back down onto the cot, he patted his arm reassuringly.
"Harper, what happened to you?" He asked quietly. "Who did this?"
His first instinct was to find the person and rip their hearts out for hurting his friend. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He knew that Harper had to be handled gently or they would never be able to get the story from him. And right now Harper's story was the only clue they had to where Beka was and what had happened to them both.
Harper tried to calm the torrent of tears that was cascading down his face. His entire body ached but it was his heart that hurt the most. He had never in his life been more terrified than he had in the last few hours, not even during the Magog attacks on his family and friends back on Earth.
Tyr knelt down at the head of the cot. With a gentleness that surprised both Harper and Dylan, he wiped away the tears that flowed from Harper's eyes.
"You must be strong now, little man. You must let us know what has happened to both yourself and Captain Valentine. You must trust us to avenge your pain." He said softly.
In truth, Tyr was afraid. He had seen the look in Harper's eyes and recognized it for what it was. Hopelessness. He remembered the same look staring back at him from another set of eyes; eyes that had witnessed the end of the owner's world. He had seen the same look in his own eyes when his pride had been slaughtered. It was a look he had hoped never to see again.
Harper looked up at the two men he had come to trust and call his friends. He sat up once again trying in vain to calm the beating of his heart. Closing his eyes he saw once again the images that he knew would haunt him forever. He and Beka had just finished loading the parts they had scrounged for the Maru and were going back to town to grab something to eat before heading back to the Andromeda. They were laughing and chatting about nothing in particular. Then suddenly the images changed. Harper shook his head and covered his ears trying to block out the sounds he knew were coming next; the sounds of gun fire and the screams of his best friend, his boss, his only true family. Next came the images. Beka lying on the ground covered in blood, him trying to reach her while dozens of arms pushed him back, huge fists coming towards him and him falling to the ground. Then came pain like he had remembered only from his nightmares. And the final image of Beka being carried off, her body hanging limply in the arms of a man he had never before seen, and hoped to never see again.
"I can't!" he whispered so quietly that even Tyr with his superior hearing almost missed it.
"Who did this Harper?" Dylan asked once more. And though he dreaded what might be revealed, he had to know the answer to his next question. "What happened to you and what has happened to Beka?"
