Thanks Hebe and Parisindy for the reviews, I'm glad you like it so
far. I hope the coming chapters just get better.
Summary: When Dylan and Trance are called back to the Andromeda, Harper is left in the midst of strangers to fulfill their promise.
Rating: PG
Author: Luna Sealeaf
Disclaimer: I do not own Andromeda, and I don't own Harper. (cry, sniffle, cry) However, I DID create the planet and its people from my own little mind. If they resemble other characters, either in the show, other fanfics, or real life, it's purely coincidental.
Authors Note: Forgot to mention in the first chapter that this whole story is AU, although it takes place in season four, I'm not going to bring the 'real' show plot into it.
Lysation Love
Chapter 2
Tirent led Harper up a grand staircase, through hallways filled with people and bright sunshine, and finally to a large, open room. Pointing out the different aspects of the room, Tirent then bowed, asking if there was anything he could do for their guest.
"Uh, no, I think I'm ok..." The flustered engineer said. While he could definitely get used to having people wait on him, it was a little unnerving. Turning back to the doorway, Harper found that Tirent had already left.
"Well, this is interesting." Feeling unsure of what to do, Seamus explored the room. From the bed covers to the window curtains, everything seemed bright, silken, and altogether rich, yet tasteful. At last, having explored every inch of the room that he could, Harper decided he'd better try and find his way back downstairs.
Feeling unusually shy, Harper poked his head out of the room, but there were few people walking outside it. Slowly making his way down the window filled halls, he wished that Dylan hadn't insisted on them leaving their weapons behind. On the bright side, Gorinus' height seemed to be the exception, not the rule, and Harper had noticed that most people were not much taller than he was. It was a nice change; he had to admit.
Trying to appear confident of where he was going, Harper began to walk briskly down the corridor. After following the hall until it curved however, he stopped, eyes widening.
A few feet away from him, arms resting on the open window sill, a woman stared at the ocean just outside the Palace. The wind blew her long, flowing black hair away from her face. In reality, her skin was by no means perfect, but to Harper's glance it appeared flawless. Her perfectly formed face—bangs softened her cheekbones and chin—was expressionless, but her eyes appeared troubled. It was her eyes that had caught Harper's attention the most, more than her beautiful body, for he had never seen a human with violet eyes before.
Harper didn't even realize he was staring until the woman turned, looking over him curiously. Her dress was similar to those worn by all the women; circular metal rings of silver at her shoulders held her long, light blue dress up, and a few strands of the same silver metal were strung throughout her hair. With a polite smile, the woman took a few steps towards Harper.
"Welcome sir; can I help you?" Her voice was soft, with a hint of amusement in it. Gulping and struggling to think of something, anything to say, Harper at last choked out,
"Seamus Zelazny Harper at your service ma'am, er, miss, I mean," Laughing, the woman seemed younger, and Harper wondered if she wasn't older than he was. In fact, as she came closer and out of the sunlight, she appeared more youthful.
"Seamus. That is an unusual name, but a nice one. It is I who am at your service." When he didn't answer, only continued to stare, she laughed again, the sound of her voice jolting Harper awake. The voice was young, though the words formal and polite, and it had a playful hint behind it. Holding out a hand towards him, she smiled and continued speaking, unperturbed by his lack of speech.
"Come, tell me where you are going and I shall help you find your way. Am I right to think you are a little lost?"
"I-I'm meeting with the Empress." Suddenly Harper's mind cleared, and he blushed. "My crewmembers, we came to help fix her ship." As he spoke, the girl's eyes widened, and she took his hand before beginning to walk. She didn't say anything for a few moments, which suited Harper. His thoughts seemed to be muddled together, and her soft hand in his wasn't helping to clear them.
"Then you are from the ship Andromeda?" She asked in a curious tone, glancing at him again. Wishing he could drown in her eyes, and suddenly frightened at the affect this strange woman or girl was having on him, Harper jerked his hand free, then nodded sheepishly at the quick look of hurt that passed over her face. Embarrassed by his rudeness, and calling himself a number of names, Harper hooked his hands in his tool belt and stared at the marbled floors as they continued their way back to the entrance.
Neither said anything more, and Harper felt immensely relieved to find Dylan and Trance, along with the older woman who had met them earlier, waiting for him.
Trance and Dylan smiled in greeting at him, but Harper only managed a weak nod. Trance looked questioningly at his sober face, and Dylan glanced from the pale boy to the young woman who had led him there, eyes now cast to the floor. Their guide, dressed in her stately robes, looked over the girl with an unreadable expression.
"Greetings Princess Semele. Has the Empress requested your presence?" Stifling a gasp, Harper turned to look over her, shocked at the idea that she was a princess. Dylan raised an eyebrow at him, but Harper shook his head quickly, and Dylan let his questions go.
"I would like to be present for the audience, Madame Pyrrha. I trust My Lady Mother has no objections?" Semele replied calmly, eyes still cast at the floor. For a second, her eyes flicked over to Harper, and Trance's eyes narrowed.
"Of course not, you are always welcome. Let us not keep Her Majesty waiting. Are you ready?" Pyrrha said this last to Dylan, who shrugged and said yes.
The Throne room turned out to be not much bigger than the Command deck on Andromeda, though the waiting hall, packed with people who quickly let their small group through, bowing as they passed, was huge.
"Whoa," Harper murmured, staring up at the ceiling, which he could barely make out.
Trance flashed him a smile,
"Yes, it is beautiful, isn't it?" Trance said quietly. Hearing them, Dylan fell back a few steps so he could walk beside the two.
"It reminds me of the Academy in some ways," He said wistfully. Before he could say more, they reached a set of double doors with two guards on either side. Madame Pyrrha spoke a few words and they nodded, smiling in greeting to them, and the large doors opened without a sound.
At first Harper thought there was only silence in the throne room; but two fountains on either side of the doors made a soft trickling noise that raised the hairs on Harper's arms, making him shiver. There was almost no one else in the room, except two men in long robes that spoke softly to a woman seated on a large chair, carved out of the same rock that made the Palace, corinth, which sparkled in the light coming in from the windows. Looking through them, Harper could see only clear, blue-green water, giving the appearance that the building floated on the ocean. Tranquillity was the word that came to mind when Harper sought to describe it.
The Empress herself appeared calm, serene even. She wore a dress similar to Semele's, though it was white, but she also wore a golden wide- sleeved robe like that of the two men she was speaking to. Glancing up, she nodded to Pyrrha, then said something to the men, who bowed and left through a side door near the throne. The three crewmembers followed Madame Pyrrha, though Harper noticed Semele stayed near the entrance doors, and although Harper expected that they would have to kneel on the floor to this austere woman, Pyrrha only gave a slight nod to the Empress, who smiled and gave a polite nod in return.
"Your Majesty, this is Captain Dylan Hunt of the Andromeda Ascendant, who has been kind enough to answer our request," Pyrrha spoke, then took a step off to the side, allowing Dylan to stand in front of the Empress. Although her hair was a deep brown, her face was wrinkled, and Harper wondered how old she was; certainly older than Dylan's 'mental' age of forty something, but she, like Semele, gave off the impression of agelessness.
"I am very grateful for your assistance, Captain. I know you have many more important matters to deal with, but the Imperial ship has been with us for ages and it would dishearten us all if it were unable to be repaired."
"We're certainly happy to help, Your Majesty," The Empress raised a hand to silence him, smiling,
"Please, only subjects need call me that. You are a guest, Liandra will do." Caught off guard, Dylan nodded somewhat curtly.
"Very well then, Liandra. I can't promise that we'll be able to fix your ship, but my engineer will do everything he can." As he spoke he gestured to Harper, and Liandra's eyes fixed upon him as she offered another warm smile.
"You shall have everything you require, and you may begin whenever you wish. Now, shall we discuss payment? I assure you that we don't expect you to do this for free," Again, Dylan was caught off guard, and he considered his answer carefully. Lysat seemed to be a strong planet. Maybe this wasn't a good time to ask them to join the Commonwealth, but even just some sort of alliance could come in handy.
"Just your friendship would be welcome," Dylan replied, smiling. Harper glanced at Trance to see what she made of the situation, but she was staring forward at the Empress, a hint of a frown upon her face.
"Well, perhaps we can discuss this more later," Liandra murmured. Looking past them, she caught sight of Semele and her eyes hardened somewhat. Gesturing for her to come forward, she called out,
"Come Semele, you have nothing better to do with your time. Meet our guests," Semele walked to the right side of the Empress' throne, and then bowed, hands clasped in front of her.
"Captain Dylan Hunt, I'd like you to meet my sixth daughter, Princess Semele," Liandra said formally.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Princess, these are two members of my crew, Trance Gemini-"Trance gave a stiff nod, "And our engineer-"
"Seamus Zelazny Harper," Semele finished in a soft voice, a smile at the corner of her mouth. Dylan stopped, then turned, along with Trance, to stare at Harper. Meeting the questioning look on Dylan's face, Seamus held up his hands in mock defense.
"We met in the hall," He managed to say, before the Empress broke in.
"Semele, since your brothers and sisters are all busy for the time being, I would like you to be the guide and host for our guests. You know Madame Pyrrha has too much to do already. And it will be good training," Liandra's voice was reasonable, but hard. Semele nodded meekly then gave another small bow to the three guests.
"Please just let me know when you are ready to get started," She said the words to Dylan, but her eyes met Harper's, and did not move away.
Before anyone could say anything, Dylan's comlink sounded, and Rommie's voice was heard.
"Dylan, we have a situation here. Permission to speak?"
"Excuse me," Dylan said hastily, and the Empress nodded in understanding. Turning away slightly, with Harper and Trance crowding around him, Dylan said softly,
"Go ahead Rommie. What is it?"
"Captain, we are being attacked by several unidentified ships. They appear to be Nietzschean in origin, but I cannot tell what pride they are from. They have not responded to our hails," A stream of static ran through the comlink, and Dylan sighed, giving a grim smile to the others.
"It's never easy..."
"Captain, Beka has taken the Maru to pick you up, Rhade is in command. Can you return?" The situation must have been unusual at the least for Beka to want Dylan back on board. Trance and Harper looked at their captain nervously.
"Boss, they sound like they're in trouble," Harper pointed out.
"I'm sure it's nothing Beka and Rhade can't handle," Trance said, surprising the other two somewhat.
"Still, we should at least see what's up," Dylan replied. Turning to the Empress, he gave a slight bow.
"I'm afraid I shall have to withdraw for awhile to take care of a problem. I promise you we'll fix your ship as soon as we can come back."
"I am sorry you must go, and I hope your situation is resolved quickly and safely." A thought came to Dylan's mind and suddenly he turned to Harper.
"You don't need me and Trance to help fix the ship, right Harper?" Dylan asked quietly.
"Well no..." Harper said uncertainly, not liking where Dylan was going with his statement.
"You think you can handle staying here by yourself for awhile? It shouldn't take long to clear this up," Dylan said in an assuring voice.
"Dylan, are you sure that is wise?" Trance asked sharply. Turning to face her, Dylan looked curious.
"Is there something I should know Trance? Do these people mean to harm us?" Trance looked disgruntled, but at last sighed and shook her head.
"No, they mean us no harm," She replied.
Harper stuttered a protest, but Dylan clapped a hand on his shoulder.
"You still have your communication device, if you need help all you have to do is call us. We'll be back as quickly as we can." He turned back to the Empress and informed her that their engineer was willing to stay and get started on the ship. Liandra beamed, again stating their gratefulness to the Captain.
"You won't regret it, I promise you," She said, standing and resting a hand on Semele's arm.
"I'm sure we won't," Dylan agreed, also smiling.
Trance sighed, gazing at Harper sadly, but he did not see her expression.
His eyes were again locked with Semele's.
End of Chapter 2
There; all done, for now. I can't promise another quick update, since school's going to be hectic this week, but I'll do my best. (By the way, yes, I did take Pyrrha (Peer-ah) and Semele (Sem-uh-lee) from the Greek names, but I liked them, so I figured I might as well use them.
On a different note, I know the title is stupid. Trust me, I shudder each time I look at it. However I am terrible at titles for my stories, so please bear with me. Hope you enjoyed it, I know I am,
-Luna Sealeaf
Summary: When Dylan and Trance are called back to the Andromeda, Harper is left in the midst of strangers to fulfill their promise.
Rating: PG
Author: Luna Sealeaf
Disclaimer: I do not own Andromeda, and I don't own Harper. (cry, sniffle, cry) However, I DID create the planet and its people from my own little mind. If they resemble other characters, either in the show, other fanfics, or real life, it's purely coincidental.
Authors Note: Forgot to mention in the first chapter that this whole story is AU, although it takes place in season four, I'm not going to bring the 'real' show plot into it.
Lysation Love
Chapter 2
Tirent led Harper up a grand staircase, through hallways filled with people and bright sunshine, and finally to a large, open room. Pointing out the different aspects of the room, Tirent then bowed, asking if there was anything he could do for their guest.
"Uh, no, I think I'm ok..." The flustered engineer said. While he could definitely get used to having people wait on him, it was a little unnerving. Turning back to the doorway, Harper found that Tirent had already left.
"Well, this is interesting." Feeling unsure of what to do, Seamus explored the room. From the bed covers to the window curtains, everything seemed bright, silken, and altogether rich, yet tasteful. At last, having explored every inch of the room that he could, Harper decided he'd better try and find his way back downstairs.
Feeling unusually shy, Harper poked his head out of the room, but there were few people walking outside it. Slowly making his way down the window filled halls, he wished that Dylan hadn't insisted on them leaving their weapons behind. On the bright side, Gorinus' height seemed to be the exception, not the rule, and Harper had noticed that most people were not much taller than he was. It was a nice change; he had to admit.
Trying to appear confident of where he was going, Harper began to walk briskly down the corridor. After following the hall until it curved however, he stopped, eyes widening.
A few feet away from him, arms resting on the open window sill, a woman stared at the ocean just outside the Palace. The wind blew her long, flowing black hair away from her face. In reality, her skin was by no means perfect, but to Harper's glance it appeared flawless. Her perfectly formed face—bangs softened her cheekbones and chin—was expressionless, but her eyes appeared troubled. It was her eyes that had caught Harper's attention the most, more than her beautiful body, for he had never seen a human with violet eyes before.
Harper didn't even realize he was staring until the woman turned, looking over him curiously. Her dress was similar to those worn by all the women; circular metal rings of silver at her shoulders held her long, light blue dress up, and a few strands of the same silver metal were strung throughout her hair. With a polite smile, the woman took a few steps towards Harper.
"Welcome sir; can I help you?" Her voice was soft, with a hint of amusement in it. Gulping and struggling to think of something, anything to say, Harper at last choked out,
"Seamus Zelazny Harper at your service ma'am, er, miss, I mean," Laughing, the woman seemed younger, and Harper wondered if she wasn't older than he was. In fact, as she came closer and out of the sunlight, she appeared more youthful.
"Seamus. That is an unusual name, but a nice one. It is I who am at your service." When he didn't answer, only continued to stare, she laughed again, the sound of her voice jolting Harper awake. The voice was young, though the words formal and polite, and it had a playful hint behind it. Holding out a hand towards him, she smiled and continued speaking, unperturbed by his lack of speech.
"Come, tell me where you are going and I shall help you find your way. Am I right to think you are a little lost?"
"I-I'm meeting with the Empress." Suddenly Harper's mind cleared, and he blushed. "My crewmembers, we came to help fix her ship." As he spoke, the girl's eyes widened, and she took his hand before beginning to walk. She didn't say anything for a few moments, which suited Harper. His thoughts seemed to be muddled together, and her soft hand in his wasn't helping to clear them.
"Then you are from the ship Andromeda?" She asked in a curious tone, glancing at him again. Wishing he could drown in her eyes, and suddenly frightened at the affect this strange woman or girl was having on him, Harper jerked his hand free, then nodded sheepishly at the quick look of hurt that passed over her face. Embarrassed by his rudeness, and calling himself a number of names, Harper hooked his hands in his tool belt and stared at the marbled floors as they continued their way back to the entrance.
Neither said anything more, and Harper felt immensely relieved to find Dylan and Trance, along with the older woman who had met them earlier, waiting for him.
Trance and Dylan smiled in greeting at him, but Harper only managed a weak nod. Trance looked questioningly at his sober face, and Dylan glanced from the pale boy to the young woman who had led him there, eyes now cast to the floor. Their guide, dressed in her stately robes, looked over the girl with an unreadable expression.
"Greetings Princess Semele. Has the Empress requested your presence?" Stifling a gasp, Harper turned to look over her, shocked at the idea that she was a princess. Dylan raised an eyebrow at him, but Harper shook his head quickly, and Dylan let his questions go.
"I would like to be present for the audience, Madame Pyrrha. I trust My Lady Mother has no objections?" Semele replied calmly, eyes still cast at the floor. For a second, her eyes flicked over to Harper, and Trance's eyes narrowed.
"Of course not, you are always welcome. Let us not keep Her Majesty waiting. Are you ready?" Pyrrha said this last to Dylan, who shrugged and said yes.
The Throne room turned out to be not much bigger than the Command deck on Andromeda, though the waiting hall, packed with people who quickly let their small group through, bowing as they passed, was huge.
"Whoa," Harper murmured, staring up at the ceiling, which he could barely make out.
Trance flashed him a smile,
"Yes, it is beautiful, isn't it?" Trance said quietly. Hearing them, Dylan fell back a few steps so he could walk beside the two.
"It reminds me of the Academy in some ways," He said wistfully. Before he could say more, they reached a set of double doors with two guards on either side. Madame Pyrrha spoke a few words and they nodded, smiling in greeting to them, and the large doors opened without a sound.
At first Harper thought there was only silence in the throne room; but two fountains on either side of the doors made a soft trickling noise that raised the hairs on Harper's arms, making him shiver. There was almost no one else in the room, except two men in long robes that spoke softly to a woman seated on a large chair, carved out of the same rock that made the Palace, corinth, which sparkled in the light coming in from the windows. Looking through them, Harper could see only clear, blue-green water, giving the appearance that the building floated on the ocean. Tranquillity was the word that came to mind when Harper sought to describe it.
The Empress herself appeared calm, serene even. She wore a dress similar to Semele's, though it was white, but she also wore a golden wide- sleeved robe like that of the two men she was speaking to. Glancing up, she nodded to Pyrrha, then said something to the men, who bowed and left through a side door near the throne. The three crewmembers followed Madame Pyrrha, though Harper noticed Semele stayed near the entrance doors, and although Harper expected that they would have to kneel on the floor to this austere woman, Pyrrha only gave a slight nod to the Empress, who smiled and gave a polite nod in return.
"Your Majesty, this is Captain Dylan Hunt of the Andromeda Ascendant, who has been kind enough to answer our request," Pyrrha spoke, then took a step off to the side, allowing Dylan to stand in front of the Empress. Although her hair was a deep brown, her face was wrinkled, and Harper wondered how old she was; certainly older than Dylan's 'mental' age of forty something, but she, like Semele, gave off the impression of agelessness.
"I am very grateful for your assistance, Captain. I know you have many more important matters to deal with, but the Imperial ship has been with us for ages and it would dishearten us all if it were unable to be repaired."
"We're certainly happy to help, Your Majesty," The Empress raised a hand to silence him, smiling,
"Please, only subjects need call me that. You are a guest, Liandra will do." Caught off guard, Dylan nodded somewhat curtly.
"Very well then, Liandra. I can't promise that we'll be able to fix your ship, but my engineer will do everything he can." As he spoke he gestured to Harper, and Liandra's eyes fixed upon him as she offered another warm smile.
"You shall have everything you require, and you may begin whenever you wish. Now, shall we discuss payment? I assure you that we don't expect you to do this for free," Again, Dylan was caught off guard, and he considered his answer carefully. Lysat seemed to be a strong planet. Maybe this wasn't a good time to ask them to join the Commonwealth, but even just some sort of alliance could come in handy.
"Just your friendship would be welcome," Dylan replied, smiling. Harper glanced at Trance to see what she made of the situation, but she was staring forward at the Empress, a hint of a frown upon her face.
"Well, perhaps we can discuss this more later," Liandra murmured. Looking past them, she caught sight of Semele and her eyes hardened somewhat. Gesturing for her to come forward, she called out,
"Come Semele, you have nothing better to do with your time. Meet our guests," Semele walked to the right side of the Empress' throne, and then bowed, hands clasped in front of her.
"Captain Dylan Hunt, I'd like you to meet my sixth daughter, Princess Semele," Liandra said formally.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Princess, these are two members of my crew, Trance Gemini-"Trance gave a stiff nod, "And our engineer-"
"Seamus Zelazny Harper," Semele finished in a soft voice, a smile at the corner of her mouth. Dylan stopped, then turned, along with Trance, to stare at Harper. Meeting the questioning look on Dylan's face, Seamus held up his hands in mock defense.
"We met in the hall," He managed to say, before the Empress broke in.
"Semele, since your brothers and sisters are all busy for the time being, I would like you to be the guide and host for our guests. You know Madame Pyrrha has too much to do already. And it will be good training," Liandra's voice was reasonable, but hard. Semele nodded meekly then gave another small bow to the three guests.
"Please just let me know when you are ready to get started," She said the words to Dylan, but her eyes met Harper's, and did not move away.
Before anyone could say anything, Dylan's comlink sounded, and Rommie's voice was heard.
"Dylan, we have a situation here. Permission to speak?"
"Excuse me," Dylan said hastily, and the Empress nodded in understanding. Turning away slightly, with Harper and Trance crowding around him, Dylan said softly,
"Go ahead Rommie. What is it?"
"Captain, we are being attacked by several unidentified ships. They appear to be Nietzschean in origin, but I cannot tell what pride they are from. They have not responded to our hails," A stream of static ran through the comlink, and Dylan sighed, giving a grim smile to the others.
"It's never easy..."
"Captain, Beka has taken the Maru to pick you up, Rhade is in command. Can you return?" The situation must have been unusual at the least for Beka to want Dylan back on board. Trance and Harper looked at their captain nervously.
"Boss, they sound like they're in trouble," Harper pointed out.
"I'm sure it's nothing Beka and Rhade can't handle," Trance said, surprising the other two somewhat.
"Still, we should at least see what's up," Dylan replied. Turning to the Empress, he gave a slight bow.
"I'm afraid I shall have to withdraw for awhile to take care of a problem. I promise you we'll fix your ship as soon as we can come back."
"I am sorry you must go, and I hope your situation is resolved quickly and safely." A thought came to Dylan's mind and suddenly he turned to Harper.
"You don't need me and Trance to help fix the ship, right Harper?" Dylan asked quietly.
"Well no..." Harper said uncertainly, not liking where Dylan was going with his statement.
"You think you can handle staying here by yourself for awhile? It shouldn't take long to clear this up," Dylan said in an assuring voice.
"Dylan, are you sure that is wise?" Trance asked sharply. Turning to face her, Dylan looked curious.
"Is there something I should know Trance? Do these people mean to harm us?" Trance looked disgruntled, but at last sighed and shook her head.
"No, they mean us no harm," She replied.
Harper stuttered a protest, but Dylan clapped a hand on his shoulder.
"You still have your communication device, if you need help all you have to do is call us. We'll be back as quickly as we can." He turned back to the Empress and informed her that their engineer was willing to stay and get started on the ship. Liandra beamed, again stating their gratefulness to the Captain.
"You won't regret it, I promise you," She said, standing and resting a hand on Semele's arm.
"I'm sure we won't," Dylan agreed, also smiling.
Trance sighed, gazing at Harper sadly, but he did not see her expression.
His eyes were again locked with Semele's.
End of Chapter 2
There; all done, for now. I can't promise another quick update, since school's going to be hectic this week, but I'll do my best. (By the way, yes, I did take Pyrrha (Peer-ah) and Semele (Sem-uh-lee) from the Greek names, but I liked them, so I figured I might as well use them.
On a different note, I know the title is stupid. Trust me, I shudder each time I look at it. However I am terrible at titles for my stories, so please bear with me. Hope you enjoyed it, I know I am,
-Luna Sealeaf