Error… types some more… Error… types some more…ERROR… takes an axe to the computer
Paris your reviews and ideas really helped thanks. Raven I am sooo happy to find out someone thought my grandpa magog (CH 13) thing was funny, I got the image in my head and I had to share it with the world. Glad to see you back! Everyone else, your reviews are wonderful and keep me writing, thank you for every single one. Oh and one day I will update this story at a steady pace…lol
Disclaimer and claimer: I don't own the maru (couldn't afford the repair bills) or Harper, Beka, Trance and Rev (couldn't afford the medical bills). I do own Edward; he appeared in my first fic and has shown up in almost every chapter fic I have written since. I love him dearly but feel free to use him in your stories (if you do I would love a mention in the top, jk, I'm not that shallow. Ok I am). And just for this story I created Prince, feel free to borrow him but I don't think he will be a recurring character unless you guys like him.
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Erin-it's not having a temper, It's having passion
Lori-well then I was very passionate when I cussed him out
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"Here's your bloody cargo now give me my money so I can get out of here."
"Aren't we are one hot tempered red head." Out of sheer anger I shook my head changing it to blond. My hair color had nothing to do with my temper.
"Nice trick, I could make a fortune selling that wig."
"It's not a wig, and I don't care about you making money. I care about you giving me the rest of the money you owe me for taking me and my crew on this suicide mission."
"You lived therefore it wasn't a suicide mission, besides if you want I have another mission for you."
"I don't think so you. Now give me my money Gerentex or I will show you a little something about death."
"Alright here you go. Never deal with women they get in such a bad mood around that time of the month."
"Any time of the month I encounter you I am in a bad mood." With that Beka turned and walked off the space station and back onto the ship. Trance stood waiting for her at the door.
"So how did it go."
"Well I got the money."
"Well Beka that's great news."
"Why, you never really care about money."
"Yeah but we need to get Harper's cast off and the parts for the repair list and…"
"We're out of money again aren't we?"
"Sort of, or at least that's what Rev said, but with these half we will be able to pay everything off."
"And be back where we started… that rat, he knew this would happen."
"What do you mean Beka."
"Nothing Trance, I'll be in my room." I turned and walked into my room and flopped onto the bed. I was too mad to even think about sleeping though so I sat up at stared I the pictures I had taped to my wall. Trance and Harper inside some seedy bar, Rev sitting in the mess talking to me, I stood up and touched my favorite one. It was the four of us standing outside the Maru. Some street photographer took it and Harper found it in some data streams later. It was part of his art collection, four stranger forming a strong friend ship. The laugher shared on their faces clearly showed that. I was glad Harper had found it and gotten a copy made. How was our family to survive? How do four people stop living day to day. I could take Gerentex job but there would still be bills and more bills. This would never end. He would keep offering more money for one last job till he killed us and my crew. I had dealt with people like him before and I would not be someone's victim again. We would find another job, with someone new. I hoped.
I walked over to the closet and pulled on a pair of faded old flannel pants and a baggy tank top. Questions could wait till morning, right now I needed to sleep. It had been two days of straight flying to get here and I was being to feel every move I made. As I fell asleep I heard the quiet pounding of Harper working on the engines. I decided to let him work, I was too tired to chase him off to bed.
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I'm blonde
Anya (Buffy:tvs)
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Time spent laughing
Is time spent with the gods
Japanese proverb
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I hear Harper long before I see him. I make myself sit patiently at the table and not run to greet him at the airlock. It takes all myself control to remain seated till I hear him call out.
"Yah here Boss?"
"Main room, how'd it go?" I see Harper come bouncing into the main room. Gone is the cast that has been on his arm this whole haul. He has a big lopsided smile on his face. Gone is the white cast and sling from his arm. He is almost skipping as he walks to the frig and pulls out a can of sparky.
"Came right off and the doc says it will be back to normal in no time." He flexes the arm for show. It has gotten visibly smaller but that was normal. I was relieved that the doctor we had gone to before we left had been right when he patched up Harper's arm (A/N- I did mention them going to a doctor in some conversation I just forgot to ever cover the results of the trip… sorry, thanks to Paris for pointing it out)
I relaxed in my chair, Harper was fine, the bills where paid for now and in a few days the Maru would be a good as new, well as good as she ever got. I continued going through the papers on the table trying not to laugh at Harper, almost bounding off the walls, so happy to have his arm back. Now if I could just find another job. The money was again gone
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You two stop that or you can get out and walk to your horribly painful deaths
Xander B:tvs
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"Monkey boy, get down here."
"What do you need Boss."
"I need you to get down here so I can go over what we need before the next haul." I watched as Harper flew down from his perch on the engine where he had been working.
"So what's up boss."
"After we drop off this load, we have to ship some cargo across the Vernade System."
"Is that supposed to mean something to me boss?"
"Well it's not a great area to be traveling through and have a problem."
"So you're saying if we break down we wind-up with just our socks in the end."
"Something like that."
"So you need the genius here to get you a list of separate parts we may need."
"Ya but the money is tight so…"
"just the basics"
"Just the basic of the basic"
"Got ya Boss, Harper is on the job." (Another computer error interrupts typing and destroys last 15min worth of work) With that Harper climbed back up the drive to his earlier spot.
"You know Harper you are going to break you neck up there." I called up at him.
"Come on boss this is Harper the great you are talking to, I would have to be doing something stupid to do that."
"I repeat your earlier statement I am talking to Harper the great, known throughout the universe for stupid mistakes." With those words I watched as Harper jumped off the drive and grabbed on to some cables hanging from the ceiling. I winced at the sight, but they held his light frame. One more swing and Harper landed on a pile of crates across the room. He smile and did a dramatic bow in my direction.
"Thank you, Thank you; I'll be here all weeeeeeeeeekkkkk." Harper finished with a yell as he fell into the crate he was standing on. I couldn't help laughing as I walked over to see if he was all right. "A little help here boss." I peaked in the crate to find Harper head sticking out of a pile of teddy bears we were hauling for some mission group. I fell to the floor laughing at the sight of him buried in the toys. "Come on Beka I can't get out."
"You got in" I said gasping for air I was laughing so hard, "you can get out."
"Booooosssssssss"
"You're the genius figure a way out." I said as I turned to walk out of the room to go share the sight with Rev and Trance. It was about that time that a teddy bear hit me square in the head. I turned to see a tuff of blonde hair duck back down into the crate. "You know Harper this is valuable property that we are hauling, it's not to be throw around the ship."
"And me falling into it is better," Harper said sticking his head out of the crate. It was at that moment that I fired the teddy bear back in his direction. It hit the crate and bounced off landing somewhere on the floor. My miss was met by three more bears flying out of the crate at me. Soon a small war broke out in the engine room. Teddy bears, dolls, and strange alien looking toys flew back and forth. In between laughs I threw the toys at Harper as he popped in and out of the crate. Trance cried out as she walked in and was nailed by one of the alien creature dolls.
"What's going on Beka?" I gasp for air my chest hurt from all the laughing we had been doing. I turned to look at the confused purple girl before me.
"Look in the crate." Trance didn't have to look for Harper chose that moment to pop out of the crate with a small white teddy bear on his head.
"Harper?" Trance said over taken by a fit of giggles. "What are you doing with the shipment?"
"The lid was faulty and I fell in."
"Or maybe it wasn't made to hold monkey engineers who jump on to them."
"The situation does not justify poor craftsman ship."
"Harper it's just some toys to be handed out on some kids slave planet." Harper's face fell at my words. Damn it Beka! I mentally kicked myself. You just got the kid to trust you again and then you have to talk about slave planets. What is earth, five star resorts? No dumbo it's a slave planet. Err sometimes I wonder what my mouth is thinking cause it isn't you head doing the talking. I bent over and start picking up the stuff toys scattered all over the deck. I glanced over and saw Harper climbing out of the crate. I walked over and dumped my armload of bears inside. "Don't think they are any worst for wear."
"I'm afraid this one is," Trance walked up holding a blue bear in a pair of pink overalls. If the color scheme wasn't bad enough somehow in the fight we had thrown the teddy bear into a puddle of oil or hit a dirty pipe. The whole side of it was covered in black grease. It was ruined and no way that any child would ever want it. Trance cradled the bear in her arms even though the grease was now getting on her outfit
"I guess we can try and replace it at the next stop. There isn't anyway they can give that out." I started to take the teddy from Trance but she moved slightly blocking me.
"It would be more dirty then that in a week."
"Yeah but we can't deliver damaged goods. Even if it is for some missionaries, we are already doing this at half fair because we had to pick-up our next shipment in the same system. I don't want to lose anymore money when they see we had a pillow fight with their supplies."
"Beka I think you have a low regard of missionaries if you think they would be so petty. Give them a chance." I looked up for a moment a Rev who was now standing in the door way. How much of the conversation had he overheard before he walked in.
"Your right Rev. I guess I am not use to working with nice honest people for a change." With a smile and a half laugh Rev left the room. I walked over to the crate now completely repacked minus one bear. I took another look at the bear still cradled in Trances arm, "they may be religious but no kid would ever want a bear in that condition." Harper's face fell and he turned and walked out of the room. Great another foot in my mouth I thought as Harper walked out. I stared at the door wondering how I was ever going to be able to understand Harper, or him to understand me.
"You should go talk to him." Trance said breaking my quiet mental whipping of myself.
"What? I think I am the last person he wants to talk to Trance."
"You should go talk to him." She said handing me the ruined teddy bear and leaving the room. I was again alone with my thoughts. I listened to them tell me everything I was doing wrong and how because of me, Harper and I would never be friends. I listen the whole way as I walked down the hallway to Harper's room. I listened as I knocked on the door. I continued listening as the door open under my knock and I saw Harper lying on his bed. I had listened to the voices all this time but something on Harper's chest made them stop dead. It was a small bear. It was gray and all its fur had curled into little balls. I had the feeling at one time it had been white but it was now varying shades of gray. It sat an almost formless lump on his chest like he had been studying it since he walked out of engineering. When he saw me at he doorway he sat up and shoved the bear under the mattress.
The voices had stop and a smile grew on my face. I walked down to my quarters and opened the top drawer on my nightstand. There he sat smiling at me, right next to my spare gass gun and makeup. I picked up Prince and gave him a quick hug before heading back down the hall. I sat down on the floor next to Harper's bed and placed Prince on my lap.
"I call him Prince, Uncle Sid gave him to me after him and my dad went planet side for some deal. Claimed my dad bought it for me, but well, Dad always forgot about the little things, like his kids." I looked down at the almost shapeless form of fabric in my lap. Prince, my frog price, had faded from dark green to a light lime. His fur was in balls and missing in some parts. I had resewn his legs a couple times to get them to stay on.
Harper sighed for a moment and pulled the white bear I had seen earlier out from under the bed. "I take it you have seen Edward. Named by my sister, he was given to her by some missionaries. I got him after she died." I couldn't help but gasp as he said that. In such a deadpan voice, the tone seemed to say, it happened, then end, life goes on, even though her's didn't. Harper didn't seem to hear my gasp or just choice to ignore it. "Edward was covered in mud and blood but he was my first toy, my only toy." He looked up at me and smiled. "Guess you know my little secret now boss?"
"Yeah but you know mine too."
"So we both still have our stuff toys."
"And pull them out when we need them." Harper gave me another half grin. We were so different, our childhoods, our lives, our dreams, but somehow I didn't see that in Harper's smile. I saw that deep down; we understood each other more than anyone else had before.
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No one understands me
Like my teddy
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