There's no time for us,
There's no place for us,
What is this thing that builds our dreams,
Yet slips away from us?
Who wants to live forever,
Who wants to live forever, .....?
There's no chance for us,
It's all decided for us,
This world has only one sweet moment
Set aside for us.
-Sarah Brightman (Music &Lyrics by Brian May)
Rating: PG-13 (Just to be safe, and for owies in general)
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.
Lysation Love
Chapter 8
Philammon surveyed the scene before him with grim satisfaction. Hundreds of Geithan soldiers now occupied the capital of Lysat, although the Palace had been cleared out. After Liandra, who had apparently been loyal after all, mores the pity, had given him Semele's whereabouts, he had dispatched a squad of trusted guards immediately. To his dismay they had returned not with the Princess, or even the blasted engineer, but only a worthless servant. After extricating all the information he could from her, he'd had her killed. His head filled with rage every time he thought of what that simpleton had revealed; Semele, his betrothed, had gone and bonded with that...he didn't even have a word to describe his loathing and hatred.
Disgusted, he turned abruptly and walked back inside the ship he was on. It hovered over the city ominously and Philammon found the nervous, almost terrified, atmosphere of the Lysation people quite pleasing. He had only to return to the Palace once more, before Lysat would be in his hands...
The sun was high overhead and the heat, mingled with the tension in everyone's eyes, made people's tempers short. Harper was especially given strange looks because of the short cloak he wore –courtesy of Semele. He didn't want to risk taking off the necklace, or rather, the torque, she had given him, in case it got lost or was stolen, but they had both agreed it wouldn't be a good idea for him to wear it openly. Luckily, whatever made the natives' tempers short also made them fearful of questioning strangers, and Harper was glad of this as he slowly made his way to the Palace. He sincerely hoped that by the time he got there, Semele would be ready to leave and all they'd have to do would be to find Dylan and get the hell off that planet. 'Not that it's that bad a place,' Harper thought to himself. It was too bad really, that the situation was as it was. It would have been nice to return every so often and visit. Perhaps they could, someday...
Even the people were decent; they at least didn't take their tension out on Harper. A few even ventured to smile in greeting as they passed by. The scene reminded him of what he'd always pictured Earth as once being like. Shaking his head to clear his mind, he re-oriented himself, thinking wistfully of Semele and wishing she were there with him.
While Harper was daydreaming about his beautiful Princess, Dylan; hot and irritated, was also walking through the streets of the city. Having successfully gotten out, as far as he knew, undetected, Dylan wanted to deliver his message to the girl, take Harper, and go. Once free of the Palace walls, he'd gotten in touch with Rommie and had filled her in to what had been happening. After enduring Beka's rebukes for not letting them know he was ok sooner, they had agreed to monitor Geitha discreetly. The sight of all those soldiers filling the streets, and the ships filling the skies, left him uneasy. Something that he didn't know about was definitely going on, and he didn't want to stick around to find out what it was.
Thankfully, his search wouldn't last too long. Liandra had explained the most likely route Semele and Harper would take. There were two different paths, but Liandra felt Semele wouldn't use one, though she didn't explain why to Dylan.
Dylan walked quickly, practically feeling the peoples' eyes boring into him. He stuck out like a Magog among bunnies; few were as tall as he was, and as he hadn't changed clothes it was obvious he was a foreigner. Nearly two hours had passed since Dylan had left the Palace, (who knew the capital was so large?) when he spotted him. It was the hooded cloak that caught his eye, who'd wear something like that in this heat? Pausing in his step, Dylan watched the person suspiciously as they drew closer. It was a man...short...Dylan couldn't see his face as the man kept his head down, but Dylan peered at him closely anyway. With a sharp intake of breath, Dylan grabbed the man's arm as he passed by and dragged him to the relative darkness at the side of the street.
"What the hell!" Came a familiar voice. The hood was pushed back, blue eyes flashed angrily, then widened in disbelief. "Dylan?" Harper asked.
"You're in a lot of trouble Harper..." Looking over his new attire, Dylan couldn't fight back a grin, which turned into a puzzled expression. "Why are you wearing a necklace?"
Harper flushed. "It's not a necklace, ok?! We have to hurry Dylan, -"
Dylan raised a hand to stop Harper's stream of words. "Where's Princess Semele? I need to tell her something and then we can get out of here."
"She's not with me Dylan, we split up awhile ago," Harper explained. "We need to get to the Palace, I'll explain on the way," Although Harper immediately continued walking, Dylan hesitated. How much easier would it be to just grab Harper, willing or not, call Beka, and leave Lysat? Still, a promise was a promise... 'Stupid conscious,' Dylan thought to himself bitterly as he went to catch up with Harper.
"Oh, by the way, Semele's coming with us, that ok?" Harper stated distractedly. At this Dylan missed a step and nearly fell. Through gritted teeth, he whispered furiously,
"Harper, you've got a lot of explaining to do...!"
Climbing up another hill, Semele wiped the sweat from her brow. Fervently she wished she could have gone with Seamus, but together they would have been too conspicuous. Wrenching free the empty sack from a bush of thorns, Semele trudged on. At least this way her entrance was less likely to be noted. As she climbed up yet another hill, she at last caught sight of the Palace once again. It was closer than she had hoped, and her heart felt lighter. Any misgivings she might have had about leaving Lysat were all but banished from her mind; her only thought was to leave with Seamus –beyond that, she could care less where they traveled.
Gathering the last of her strength, she began to jog once she reached relatively flat lands. Semele doubted her mother would have expected her to come this way; she had never been one for cross country adventures, despite her love of horse riding, and the swamps, bogs, and numerous rocky hills had usually dissuaded any thoughts of using that route. Thinking of her mother, her thoughts turned to her brothers and sisters. Did they even know what was happening? Had word of the crisis at the capital reached them, spread out as they were over the planet? Her only regret would be that she'd never get a chance to say goodbye to them before leaving.
Suddenly she was in an open area; the back courtyard. Scaling the wall would be easy enough; she'd done it numerous times before. Getting to her chambers and out again without being recognized would be more difficult, especially if Philammon had his usual entourage still with him. Mentally she scowled at the thought of Philammon. She'd be glad to be as far away from him as possible.
Violet eyes looked around the deserted courtyard; satisfied that no one was around, Semele proceeded to slink into the Palace. Her first observation of her former home was the eerie silence. The courtyard led into a kitchen and there should have been a number of people rushing about. The sounds and smells of food being cooked ought to have filled the air. Instead there was a heavy stillness, and a smell of something burning. Again she looked around, trying to stay low, but again she saw no one. Other than being startled as she left by an old cook asleep in a wooden chair, Semele encountered no fellow living being. Where had everyone gone?
Feeling even more disturbed, Semele at last made her way to a hallway. To her relief, there were a few servants milling about. They huddled in groups of twos and threes, walking quickly. There was not the usual giggles and friendly chatter Semele was so used to. Keeping her head down and hunching slightly, she walked to the staircase that would lead to her room. To her dismay, the door was open, the hinges broken, and her furniture was thrown about the room. 'Three guesses who had this done,' she thought to herself bitterly. Philammon was famous for his rages; that had been one of the reasons she had not looked forward to marrying him.
Resigning herself to a quick search about the room, Semele took one step when a hand was placed over her mouth, arms caught and held behind her back.
"Stop screaming! Someone will hear!" The arms loosened and Semele spun around, aghast at what she saw.
"P-Pyrrha! Mother!" She looked from one to the other in horror. The two older women stood beside each other, faces grim.
"I knew you'd return," Liandra said quietly, eyes boring into her daughter.
"Shall I alert Lord Philammon?" Pyrrha asked grimly. Semele's heart almost stopped, but then to her relief Liandra shook her head slowly.
"Not yet I think. The Princess deserves a chance to explain herself." Judging by Pyrrha's disapproving stare, she did not feel that Semele deserved anything. When Liandra's words were met with a stony silence, she prompted, "Well?"
"I cannot marry him Your Majesty. Force me to and I shall die." Semele looked up from the floor, meeting Liandra eye for eye.
"The petty dramatics of youth," Pyrrha began, waving a hand as though to brush Semele's words away.
"I do not lie, and I do not seek attention. In fact, I shall kill myself as quietly and as quickly as possible." Semele stated the words with so little feeling that the Empress felt a small shiver run through her.
"Why did you come back?" The words were asked softly.
"I only came for a few things, but then I planned on leaving,"
"To go where?" There was no answer.
"Did you plan on leaving with that –that engineer?" Even Liandra could not hide a small sneer as she said the words. Semele couldn't stop her eyes burning with anger at her mother's insulting tone, but otherwise she remained still and silent.
"Enough of this, Pyrrha, go and find my Lord," Eyes glittering, Pyrrha gave a swift bow.
"Right away Your Majesty," She left, leaving mother and daughter alone in silence.
"Beka!" Rommie's voice was urgent as the hologram appeared beside her First Officer. Jerking awake, Beka realized she'd dozed off against a consul on Command.
"What is it Rommie?" Snapping awake, she stifled a yawn at the worried look on Rommie's face.
"The Geithans are powering some sort of weapon, I don't recognize its signals, but it's big, and it's powerful," Rommie explained.
"Well, can you tell where they're aiming?" Beka asked, scanning the sensors to see if they were picking up any readings.
"They're aiming at Lysat. It must be some sort of precision weapon, since it isn't likely they'd want to blow up the entire planet."
"What's a precision weapon?" Beka asked in a distracted tone as she rushed over to a different screen.
"It means the weapon can hit a specific target from a very, very, long distance."
"But where would they fire it at?" Again, Beka listened with one ear as she tried to figure out what to do about the weapon.
"Analyzing possible targets." Rommie was silent for a moment. "Judging by what Dylan last informed us, and from the angle of inclination, I'd say they're aiming at the Palace, the one in the capital –"
"Where Dylan is," Her words had now caught Beka's full attention. The blood seemed to drain from her face; her eyes widening. "We've got to warn him, for all we know he could be standing right next to it –"
"I've already tried, but he has again stopped communication," Even Rommie's usually monotone voice held a note of worry. Groaning, Beka rested her head in her hands, trying to think.
"Tell the others to get over here, maybe we can figure something out," Rommie nodded and disappeared.
"Harper, we can't just sit around the entrance hall and wait for her! We'll be seen by on of Philammon's men,"
"So?" Harper insisted. Dylan sighed, then pulled him into a corner blocked by a statue.
"Look, I don't mind taking her aboard the Andromeda, at least until we can figure things out," Harper tried to object but Dylan continued, not letting him interrupt, "But right now we really shouldn't stick around. So let's find Semele, I'll deliver my message like I promised, and then we can get out of here together." Reluctantly, Harper nodded.
"Where did she say she was going?" Dylan asked, scanning the entrance hall.
"She didn't, but I think she was going to her bedroom." Suddenly feeling certain that that was where she'd been planning to, Harper turned and raced up the staircase to their left. He remembered where it was, with a belated feeling Harper raced up the stairs.
"Harper," Dylan said in exasperation before following, a few steps behind. Still, he hadn't seen his engineer this enthused in a long time. If circumstances were different, he'd be only too happy for Seamus. As it was, Dylan just felt tired. 'Must be getting old,' he thought with a small smile. Each time they passed a door, Harper peered in to make sure it wasn't Semele's chamber. They'd just reached a landing, and Harper was half running, half leaning in the doorway, when hands pulled him in roughly. Shouting in surprise, Dylan reached for his force lance-then cursed when he remembered he didn't have it with him. He didn't hesitate to follow Harper, but before he even had a chance to step inside the room, the sounds of at least twenty guns-looking similar to gauss guns-powered and aimed at him.
Instinctively Dylan raised his hands to show he wasn't armed. Close to thirty armed guards, Geithan if Dylan recognized their uniforms, surrounded the surprisingly large room. In the middle stood Philammon, next to him was Harper, held by the only two guards not aiming a gun at Dylan.
"Well well well...what a lovely, though I must admit unexpected, surprise," Dylan would have dearly liked to smear that grin off of Philammon's face, and from the look on Harper's face, he was having similar thoughts. As it was, Dylan tried to keep his tone light.
"Yes well, me and my engineer were just leaving. Good luck with the whole marriage thing,"
"Yeah, maybe if you're lucky some sort of freak accident will happen and you're looks will change enough for Semele to stand the sight of you. –Hey, miracles can happen!" Harper's voice was glib, but his eyes practically radiated hatred for the man in front of him. With a small twinge of guilt, Dylan realized that maybe Harper and this Semele girl really did care about each other. Harper paid for his chivalrous act though; Dylan winced at the sound of metal hitting flesh; Philammon held a gun and had hit Harper across the face with it. Blood spattered to the floor and Dylan clenched his fists in anger.
"Look, we didn't have anything to do with this, we're not your problem," Dylan tried to reason. Philammon, eyes burning with anger equal to Harper's, glanced at Dylan before bringing a hand to Harper's throat.
"Nothing to do with this, eh?" His voice came in a hiss. "Then I suppose you don't know what this is?" In a sudden movement, he pulled the torque off of Harper.
"Don't touch that you filthy –"Harper spat out before being kneed to the floor.
"How dare you touch her? She was mine!" Philammon's anger appeared to have boiled over. As Dylan struggled to think of something, anything, to do, Harper's face became covered in blood. Soon the only thing holding him up were the guards' strong arms and still Philammon raged at him. Again Dylan winced at the sounds of bones cracking; Philammon had kicked Harper in the chest, but it wasn't until he brought the gun to his forehead the Dylan knew he couldn't wait any longer.
"I hope you have suffered," Philammon said through clenched teeth. Without thinking, Dylan took advantage of the fact that all the guards were staring at their Lord and Harper intensely. Grabbing one around the shoulders, he wrestled the gun from his hands and shot at Philammon. Chaos ensued as Philammon collapsed. The guards let go of Harper, who also fell to the floor but had enough sense of mind left to grab the torque where Philammon had dropped it, and rushed over to their fallen leader, completely ignoring Dylan. Without wasting a moment, Dylan ran to Harper's side, slung him over a shoulder, and got the hell out of there.
Finding the nearest empty room, Dylan paused to make sure Harper was still alive. He didn't appear to be in mortal danger, but Dylan's mind was set; he wanted them back on the Andromeda as quickly as possible so Trance could do a thorough examination. Fumbling in his pockets, Dylan found the transmitter and quickly turned it on. He intended to tell Beka where she should land the Maru, but before he could get a word in, Rommie's voice began speaking quickly.
"Dylan where are you? The Geithans are readying some sort of weapon and we think they're going to fire it at the Palace,"
"That's great," Dylan said, beginning to panic slightly. "How much time do we have?" There was a slight pause, then Rommie's grim voice,
"14 minutes and twenty five seconds,"
"Hell," Dylan breathed. "Tell Beka to get down here with the Maru as soon as she can, we'll wait for her where we landed last time. Hunt out." With that, Dylan slung Harper over his shoulder again and began to race back where they had come.
"Semele—we have to warn her..." Harper's faint voice said.
"There's no time Harper, she may not even be here yet," Dylan said in a hopeful voice. For a moment Harper started to struggle, but then quickly resumed unconsciousness. They reached the entrance and Dylan ran through the doors, yelling at the few people he saw to get out. Most just gave him bewildered looks, a few followed them outside.
Desperately Dylan wondered how much time was left. Could they get far enough away before the Palace was destroyed?
"We must hurry child, get what you came for and then we must leave." Liandra said in a hiss as Pyrrha scurried away. Semele stared at her mother in bewilderment.
"But-but I thought you were on Philammon's side," She stammered, even as she began turning things over to search.
"That was before the situation became irreversible. Be quick, I don't know how much time we have," Liandra said impatiently.
"I only need one thing," Semele replied. Climbing over broken pieces of furniture, she knelt before a very ornate jewelry box. Opening it with reverence she didn't have time for, Semele carefully took out her most prized possession: a torque, the mate to the one she'd given Harper. Giving it a small kiss, she stood and ran back to the door where Liandra stood, hopping over various pieces of her room.
"I was not aware of your position..." Liandra said softly as she stared down at the torque clutched in Semele's hands.
"I-I am sorry, Mother," Semele replied softly. "I never meant for things to be like this," But even as she spoke Liandra shook her head impatiently, took her by the arm and began to walk through the halls.
"It's not all your fault my dear; it was only a matter of time before this happened," They spoke no more until they reached the lowest level of the Palace, which was underground. Looking about her uncertainly in the dark corridors, Semele ventured a question.
"Where are we going?"
"You must leave at once; Philammon's planning something, I don't know what, but you are not safe here." Further Liandra led Semele, and as they reached a small wooden door, nearly rotted through, she suddenly stopped.
"But I can't leave! Seamus is waiting for me! If it's dangerous I must warn him." She tried to turn but Liandra's grip was firm.
"I will send word to him, what must I tell him?" For a moment Semele was silent, wondering if Liandra would truly help her thusly.
"Well...just tell him to wait for me, he'll know where," Liandra nodded curtly, wrenched the small door open, revealing a small tunnel-like passageway, and gently pushed Semele towards it.
"This should lead you to the harbor. Go where you will from there, but go quickly. I shall deliver your message," Still Semele did not move. Then, impulsively, she did something she'd never done before: she hugged her mother.
"Thank you," She whispered before turning and walking as quickly as she could through the dank tunnel. She did not know how much time passed, but just as she noticed sunlight filtering into the darkness, the ground heaved beneath her feet. A sound like a thousand waves crashing filled her ears and she screamed, fell to her knees and covered her head as the world collapsed around her.
"God he looks awful..."
"Well, nothing vital is damaged. I think."
"But why hasn't he woken up yet? It's been..."
Harper's eyes snapped open. At first everything was blurry and he had to blink before his surroundings became clear. It was the familiar sight of the Med Deck...which meant he was back on the Andromeda. For approximately two-tenths of a second this realization brought a sense of relief to Harper; the next he sat bolt upright.
"Where's Semele?"
Trance and Beka frowned, each trying to gently push him back down on the bed.
"What happened?" Harper insisted, refusing to be calm. Trance and Beka exchanged a look. His heart turning to ice, he looked from one to the other, trying to read their expressions.
"You had us worried Harper; you've been out for almost two days..." Trance finally offered, giving a small smile.
"What happened?" Harper repeated. His hands clenched and he looked down in surprise; the torque was still in his fist. Beka followed his sight and smiled.
"We tried to take it away from you but every time we did you just held it harder." Before he could repeat his question, Beka held up a hand.
"I know I know. Well, after that Philammon guy," Her face clouded with anger at his name, "Well, Dylan got you away from him anyway." She explained how they'd told Dylan about the weapon; how Dylan had taken him out of the Palace and to the Maru. "And...I'm sorry Harper, but the Palace it's –its gone." She said at last. Harper's shoulder slumped; he shook his head as though he hadn't heard correctly.
"I'm so sorry Harper," Trance said softly, running a hand through his hair. Harper didn't even appear to notice.
"But –but she may have escaped! She could have gotten out!" Again Trance and Beka exchanged a look; Dylan had explained to them all about Semele. At last, Beka shook her head.
"I'm sorry Harper, but I don't think she did. Dylan went back and asked about her. They, they didn't find her body,"
"He needs to rest," Trance said quietly. Beka nodded, gave Harper a one armed hug, and left. Harper hadn't moved during their words.
"She, she can't be dead." He finally said breathlessly. Trance took his hand and held it in both of hers. How could she tell him that she had known? That this was, in fact, the perfect possible outcome? He would hate her if she told him. So she didn't.
"It's alright Seamus...I know how you must feel..." Suddenly he took his hand away from hers roughly.
"How could you Trance? Have you ever been in love? Can your kind even –"Her eyes filled with tears and Harper drew a deep breath. "I'm sorry Trance, I didn't mean that," Biting her lip, Trance nodded.
"Can I be alone for a little while?" Silently, Trance gave a small nod and left. Harper lay back on the bed. Everything had happened too fast...he couldn't take it all in. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her face, the curve of her cheek, felt her hand in his. It was too unfair.
"I wish I'd never gone to Lysat," He tried saying it out loud. Even to him the words were hollow. He wanted to cry, to feel some sort of grief. The only emotion he could summon was shock and disbelief; he would not accept that she was dead. A little while later Trance returned, spoke soothing words that he didn't pay attention to, and gave him a dose of medicine. Soon he was falling into a deep, dreamless sleep...
End of Chapter 8
Who wants to live forever,
Who wants to live forever, .....?
Now touch my tears with your lips,
Touch my world with your fingertips,
And we can have forever,
And we can love forever,
Forever is our today.
Who wants to live forever,
Who wants to live forever, .....?
Who waits forever anyway?
End of Lysation Love
Waaah!! So sad!! Tis the end! Hope you enjoyed it, sorry it was so long! What's that? What do you mean that was a terrible ending? What loose endings!? Oh very well...perhaps I shall simply HAVE to write an epilogue! What d'you think? Mwahahaha! This is fun....anywho, please let me know what you think. (yes/no for epilogue? Though I'll probably write one anyway) Merry writing!
-Luna Sealeaf
There's no place for us,
What is this thing that builds our dreams,
Yet slips away from us?
Who wants to live forever,
Who wants to live forever, .....?
There's no chance for us,
It's all decided for us,
This world has only one sweet moment
Set aside for us.
-Sarah Brightman (Music &Lyrics by Brian May)
Rating: PG-13 (Just to be safe, and for owies in general)
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.
Lysation Love
Chapter 8
Philammon surveyed the scene before him with grim satisfaction. Hundreds of Geithan soldiers now occupied the capital of Lysat, although the Palace had been cleared out. After Liandra, who had apparently been loyal after all, mores the pity, had given him Semele's whereabouts, he had dispatched a squad of trusted guards immediately. To his dismay they had returned not with the Princess, or even the blasted engineer, but only a worthless servant. After extricating all the information he could from her, he'd had her killed. His head filled with rage every time he thought of what that simpleton had revealed; Semele, his betrothed, had gone and bonded with that...he didn't even have a word to describe his loathing and hatred.
Disgusted, he turned abruptly and walked back inside the ship he was on. It hovered over the city ominously and Philammon found the nervous, almost terrified, atmosphere of the Lysation people quite pleasing. He had only to return to the Palace once more, before Lysat would be in his hands...
The sun was high overhead and the heat, mingled with the tension in everyone's eyes, made people's tempers short. Harper was especially given strange looks because of the short cloak he wore –courtesy of Semele. He didn't want to risk taking off the necklace, or rather, the torque, she had given him, in case it got lost or was stolen, but they had both agreed it wouldn't be a good idea for him to wear it openly. Luckily, whatever made the natives' tempers short also made them fearful of questioning strangers, and Harper was glad of this as he slowly made his way to the Palace. He sincerely hoped that by the time he got there, Semele would be ready to leave and all they'd have to do would be to find Dylan and get the hell off that planet. 'Not that it's that bad a place,' Harper thought to himself. It was too bad really, that the situation was as it was. It would have been nice to return every so often and visit. Perhaps they could, someday...
Even the people were decent; they at least didn't take their tension out on Harper. A few even ventured to smile in greeting as they passed by. The scene reminded him of what he'd always pictured Earth as once being like. Shaking his head to clear his mind, he re-oriented himself, thinking wistfully of Semele and wishing she were there with him.
While Harper was daydreaming about his beautiful Princess, Dylan; hot and irritated, was also walking through the streets of the city. Having successfully gotten out, as far as he knew, undetected, Dylan wanted to deliver his message to the girl, take Harper, and go. Once free of the Palace walls, he'd gotten in touch with Rommie and had filled her in to what had been happening. After enduring Beka's rebukes for not letting them know he was ok sooner, they had agreed to monitor Geitha discreetly. The sight of all those soldiers filling the streets, and the ships filling the skies, left him uneasy. Something that he didn't know about was definitely going on, and he didn't want to stick around to find out what it was.
Thankfully, his search wouldn't last too long. Liandra had explained the most likely route Semele and Harper would take. There were two different paths, but Liandra felt Semele wouldn't use one, though she didn't explain why to Dylan.
Dylan walked quickly, practically feeling the peoples' eyes boring into him. He stuck out like a Magog among bunnies; few were as tall as he was, and as he hadn't changed clothes it was obvious he was a foreigner. Nearly two hours had passed since Dylan had left the Palace, (who knew the capital was so large?) when he spotted him. It was the hooded cloak that caught his eye, who'd wear something like that in this heat? Pausing in his step, Dylan watched the person suspiciously as they drew closer. It was a man...short...Dylan couldn't see his face as the man kept his head down, but Dylan peered at him closely anyway. With a sharp intake of breath, Dylan grabbed the man's arm as he passed by and dragged him to the relative darkness at the side of the street.
"What the hell!" Came a familiar voice. The hood was pushed back, blue eyes flashed angrily, then widened in disbelief. "Dylan?" Harper asked.
"You're in a lot of trouble Harper..." Looking over his new attire, Dylan couldn't fight back a grin, which turned into a puzzled expression. "Why are you wearing a necklace?"
Harper flushed. "It's not a necklace, ok?! We have to hurry Dylan, -"
Dylan raised a hand to stop Harper's stream of words. "Where's Princess Semele? I need to tell her something and then we can get out of here."
"She's not with me Dylan, we split up awhile ago," Harper explained. "We need to get to the Palace, I'll explain on the way," Although Harper immediately continued walking, Dylan hesitated. How much easier would it be to just grab Harper, willing or not, call Beka, and leave Lysat? Still, a promise was a promise... 'Stupid conscious,' Dylan thought to himself bitterly as he went to catch up with Harper.
"Oh, by the way, Semele's coming with us, that ok?" Harper stated distractedly. At this Dylan missed a step and nearly fell. Through gritted teeth, he whispered furiously,
"Harper, you've got a lot of explaining to do...!"
Climbing up another hill, Semele wiped the sweat from her brow. Fervently she wished she could have gone with Seamus, but together they would have been too conspicuous. Wrenching free the empty sack from a bush of thorns, Semele trudged on. At least this way her entrance was less likely to be noted. As she climbed up yet another hill, she at last caught sight of the Palace once again. It was closer than she had hoped, and her heart felt lighter. Any misgivings she might have had about leaving Lysat were all but banished from her mind; her only thought was to leave with Seamus –beyond that, she could care less where they traveled.
Gathering the last of her strength, she began to jog once she reached relatively flat lands. Semele doubted her mother would have expected her to come this way; she had never been one for cross country adventures, despite her love of horse riding, and the swamps, bogs, and numerous rocky hills had usually dissuaded any thoughts of using that route. Thinking of her mother, her thoughts turned to her brothers and sisters. Did they even know what was happening? Had word of the crisis at the capital reached them, spread out as they were over the planet? Her only regret would be that she'd never get a chance to say goodbye to them before leaving.
Suddenly she was in an open area; the back courtyard. Scaling the wall would be easy enough; she'd done it numerous times before. Getting to her chambers and out again without being recognized would be more difficult, especially if Philammon had his usual entourage still with him. Mentally she scowled at the thought of Philammon. She'd be glad to be as far away from him as possible.
Violet eyes looked around the deserted courtyard; satisfied that no one was around, Semele proceeded to slink into the Palace. Her first observation of her former home was the eerie silence. The courtyard led into a kitchen and there should have been a number of people rushing about. The sounds and smells of food being cooked ought to have filled the air. Instead there was a heavy stillness, and a smell of something burning. Again she looked around, trying to stay low, but again she saw no one. Other than being startled as she left by an old cook asleep in a wooden chair, Semele encountered no fellow living being. Where had everyone gone?
Feeling even more disturbed, Semele at last made her way to a hallway. To her relief, there were a few servants milling about. They huddled in groups of twos and threes, walking quickly. There was not the usual giggles and friendly chatter Semele was so used to. Keeping her head down and hunching slightly, she walked to the staircase that would lead to her room. To her dismay, the door was open, the hinges broken, and her furniture was thrown about the room. 'Three guesses who had this done,' she thought to herself bitterly. Philammon was famous for his rages; that had been one of the reasons she had not looked forward to marrying him.
Resigning herself to a quick search about the room, Semele took one step when a hand was placed over her mouth, arms caught and held behind her back.
"Stop screaming! Someone will hear!" The arms loosened and Semele spun around, aghast at what she saw.
"P-Pyrrha! Mother!" She looked from one to the other in horror. The two older women stood beside each other, faces grim.
"I knew you'd return," Liandra said quietly, eyes boring into her daughter.
"Shall I alert Lord Philammon?" Pyrrha asked grimly. Semele's heart almost stopped, but then to her relief Liandra shook her head slowly.
"Not yet I think. The Princess deserves a chance to explain herself." Judging by Pyrrha's disapproving stare, she did not feel that Semele deserved anything. When Liandra's words were met with a stony silence, she prompted, "Well?"
"I cannot marry him Your Majesty. Force me to and I shall die." Semele looked up from the floor, meeting Liandra eye for eye.
"The petty dramatics of youth," Pyrrha began, waving a hand as though to brush Semele's words away.
"I do not lie, and I do not seek attention. In fact, I shall kill myself as quietly and as quickly as possible." Semele stated the words with so little feeling that the Empress felt a small shiver run through her.
"Why did you come back?" The words were asked softly.
"I only came for a few things, but then I planned on leaving,"
"To go where?" There was no answer.
"Did you plan on leaving with that –that engineer?" Even Liandra could not hide a small sneer as she said the words. Semele couldn't stop her eyes burning with anger at her mother's insulting tone, but otherwise she remained still and silent.
"Enough of this, Pyrrha, go and find my Lord," Eyes glittering, Pyrrha gave a swift bow.
"Right away Your Majesty," She left, leaving mother and daughter alone in silence.
"Beka!" Rommie's voice was urgent as the hologram appeared beside her First Officer. Jerking awake, Beka realized she'd dozed off against a consul on Command.
"What is it Rommie?" Snapping awake, she stifled a yawn at the worried look on Rommie's face.
"The Geithans are powering some sort of weapon, I don't recognize its signals, but it's big, and it's powerful," Rommie explained.
"Well, can you tell where they're aiming?" Beka asked, scanning the sensors to see if they were picking up any readings.
"They're aiming at Lysat. It must be some sort of precision weapon, since it isn't likely they'd want to blow up the entire planet."
"What's a precision weapon?" Beka asked in a distracted tone as she rushed over to a different screen.
"It means the weapon can hit a specific target from a very, very, long distance."
"But where would they fire it at?" Again, Beka listened with one ear as she tried to figure out what to do about the weapon.
"Analyzing possible targets." Rommie was silent for a moment. "Judging by what Dylan last informed us, and from the angle of inclination, I'd say they're aiming at the Palace, the one in the capital –"
"Where Dylan is," Her words had now caught Beka's full attention. The blood seemed to drain from her face; her eyes widening. "We've got to warn him, for all we know he could be standing right next to it –"
"I've already tried, but he has again stopped communication," Even Rommie's usually monotone voice held a note of worry. Groaning, Beka rested her head in her hands, trying to think.
"Tell the others to get over here, maybe we can figure something out," Rommie nodded and disappeared.
"Harper, we can't just sit around the entrance hall and wait for her! We'll be seen by on of Philammon's men,"
"So?" Harper insisted. Dylan sighed, then pulled him into a corner blocked by a statue.
"Look, I don't mind taking her aboard the Andromeda, at least until we can figure things out," Harper tried to object but Dylan continued, not letting him interrupt, "But right now we really shouldn't stick around. So let's find Semele, I'll deliver my message like I promised, and then we can get out of here together." Reluctantly, Harper nodded.
"Where did she say she was going?" Dylan asked, scanning the entrance hall.
"She didn't, but I think she was going to her bedroom." Suddenly feeling certain that that was where she'd been planning to, Harper turned and raced up the staircase to their left. He remembered where it was, with a belated feeling Harper raced up the stairs.
"Harper," Dylan said in exasperation before following, a few steps behind. Still, he hadn't seen his engineer this enthused in a long time. If circumstances were different, he'd be only too happy for Seamus. As it was, Dylan just felt tired. 'Must be getting old,' he thought with a small smile. Each time they passed a door, Harper peered in to make sure it wasn't Semele's chamber. They'd just reached a landing, and Harper was half running, half leaning in the doorway, when hands pulled him in roughly. Shouting in surprise, Dylan reached for his force lance-then cursed when he remembered he didn't have it with him. He didn't hesitate to follow Harper, but before he even had a chance to step inside the room, the sounds of at least twenty guns-looking similar to gauss guns-powered and aimed at him.
Instinctively Dylan raised his hands to show he wasn't armed. Close to thirty armed guards, Geithan if Dylan recognized their uniforms, surrounded the surprisingly large room. In the middle stood Philammon, next to him was Harper, held by the only two guards not aiming a gun at Dylan.
"Well well well...what a lovely, though I must admit unexpected, surprise," Dylan would have dearly liked to smear that grin off of Philammon's face, and from the look on Harper's face, he was having similar thoughts. As it was, Dylan tried to keep his tone light.
"Yes well, me and my engineer were just leaving. Good luck with the whole marriage thing,"
"Yeah, maybe if you're lucky some sort of freak accident will happen and you're looks will change enough for Semele to stand the sight of you. –Hey, miracles can happen!" Harper's voice was glib, but his eyes practically radiated hatred for the man in front of him. With a small twinge of guilt, Dylan realized that maybe Harper and this Semele girl really did care about each other. Harper paid for his chivalrous act though; Dylan winced at the sound of metal hitting flesh; Philammon held a gun and had hit Harper across the face with it. Blood spattered to the floor and Dylan clenched his fists in anger.
"Look, we didn't have anything to do with this, we're not your problem," Dylan tried to reason. Philammon, eyes burning with anger equal to Harper's, glanced at Dylan before bringing a hand to Harper's throat.
"Nothing to do with this, eh?" His voice came in a hiss. "Then I suppose you don't know what this is?" In a sudden movement, he pulled the torque off of Harper.
"Don't touch that you filthy –"Harper spat out before being kneed to the floor.
"How dare you touch her? She was mine!" Philammon's anger appeared to have boiled over. As Dylan struggled to think of something, anything, to do, Harper's face became covered in blood. Soon the only thing holding him up were the guards' strong arms and still Philammon raged at him. Again Dylan winced at the sounds of bones cracking; Philammon had kicked Harper in the chest, but it wasn't until he brought the gun to his forehead the Dylan knew he couldn't wait any longer.
"I hope you have suffered," Philammon said through clenched teeth. Without thinking, Dylan took advantage of the fact that all the guards were staring at their Lord and Harper intensely. Grabbing one around the shoulders, he wrestled the gun from his hands and shot at Philammon. Chaos ensued as Philammon collapsed. The guards let go of Harper, who also fell to the floor but had enough sense of mind left to grab the torque where Philammon had dropped it, and rushed over to their fallen leader, completely ignoring Dylan. Without wasting a moment, Dylan ran to Harper's side, slung him over a shoulder, and got the hell out of there.
Finding the nearest empty room, Dylan paused to make sure Harper was still alive. He didn't appear to be in mortal danger, but Dylan's mind was set; he wanted them back on the Andromeda as quickly as possible so Trance could do a thorough examination. Fumbling in his pockets, Dylan found the transmitter and quickly turned it on. He intended to tell Beka where she should land the Maru, but before he could get a word in, Rommie's voice began speaking quickly.
"Dylan where are you? The Geithans are readying some sort of weapon and we think they're going to fire it at the Palace,"
"That's great," Dylan said, beginning to panic slightly. "How much time do we have?" There was a slight pause, then Rommie's grim voice,
"14 minutes and twenty five seconds,"
"Hell," Dylan breathed. "Tell Beka to get down here with the Maru as soon as she can, we'll wait for her where we landed last time. Hunt out." With that, Dylan slung Harper over his shoulder again and began to race back where they had come.
"Semele—we have to warn her..." Harper's faint voice said.
"There's no time Harper, she may not even be here yet," Dylan said in a hopeful voice. For a moment Harper started to struggle, but then quickly resumed unconsciousness. They reached the entrance and Dylan ran through the doors, yelling at the few people he saw to get out. Most just gave him bewildered looks, a few followed them outside.
Desperately Dylan wondered how much time was left. Could they get far enough away before the Palace was destroyed?
"We must hurry child, get what you came for and then we must leave." Liandra said in a hiss as Pyrrha scurried away. Semele stared at her mother in bewilderment.
"But-but I thought you were on Philammon's side," She stammered, even as she began turning things over to search.
"That was before the situation became irreversible. Be quick, I don't know how much time we have," Liandra said impatiently.
"I only need one thing," Semele replied. Climbing over broken pieces of furniture, she knelt before a very ornate jewelry box. Opening it with reverence she didn't have time for, Semele carefully took out her most prized possession: a torque, the mate to the one she'd given Harper. Giving it a small kiss, she stood and ran back to the door where Liandra stood, hopping over various pieces of her room.
"I was not aware of your position..." Liandra said softly as she stared down at the torque clutched in Semele's hands.
"I-I am sorry, Mother," Semele replied softly. "I never meant for things to be like this," But even as she spoke Liandra shook her head impatiently, took her by the arm and began to walk through the halls.
"It's not all your fault my dear; it was only a matter of time before this happened," They spoke no more until they reached the lowest level of the Palace, which was underground. Looking about her uncertainly in the dark corridors, Semele ventured a question.
"Where are we going?"
"You must leave at once; Philammon's planning something, I don't know what, but you are not safe here." Further Liandra led Semele, and as they reached a small wooden door, nearly rotted through, she suddenly stopped.
"But I can't leave! Seamus is waiting for me! If it's dangerous I must warn him." She tried to turn but Liandra's grip was firm.
"I will send word to him, what must I tell him?" For a moment Semele was silent, wondering if Liandra would truly help her thusly.
"Well...just tell him to wait for me, he'll know where," Liandra nodded curtly, wrenched the small door open, revealing a small tunnel-like passageway, and gently pushed Semele towards it.
"This should lead you to the harbor. Go where you will from there, but go quickly. I shall deliver your message," Still Semele did not move. Then, impulsively, she did something she'd never done before: she hugged her mother.
"Thank you," She whispered before turning and walking as quickly as she could through the dank tunnel. She did not know how much time passed, but just as she noticed sunlight filtering into the darkness, the ground heaved beneath her feet. A sound like a thousand waves crashing filled her ears and she screamed, fell to her knees and covered her head as the world collapsed around her.
"God he looks awful..."
"Well, nothing vital is damaged. I think."
"But why hasn't he woken up yet? It's been..."
Harper's eyes snapped open. At first everything was blurry and he had to blink before his surroundings became clear. It was the familiar sight of the Med Deck...which meant he was back on the Andromeda. For approximately two-tenths of a second this realization brought a sense of relief to Harper; the next he sat bolt upright.
"Where's Semele?"
Trance and Beka frowned, each trying to gently push him back down on the bed.
"What happened?" Harper insisted, refusing to be calm. Trance and Beka exchanged a look. His heart turning to ice, he looked from one to the other, trying to read their expressions.
"You had us worried Harper; you've been out for almost two days..." Trance finally offered, giving a small smile.
"What happened?" Harper repeated. His hands clenched and he looked down in surprise; the torque was still in his fist. Beka followed his sight and smiled.
"We tried to take it away from you but every time we did you just held it harder." Before he could repeat his question, Beka held up a hand.
"I know I know. Well, after that Philammon guy," Her face clouded with anger at his name, "Well, Dylan got you away from him anyway." She explained how they'd told Dylan about the weapon; how Dylan had taken him out of the Palace and to the Maru. "And...I'm sorry Harper, but the Palace it's –its gone." She said at last. Harper's shoulder slumped; he shook his head as though he hadn't heard correctly.
"I'm so sorry Harper," Trance said softly, running a hand through his hair. Harper didn't even appear to notice.
"But –but she may have escaped! She could have gotten out!" Again Trance and Beka exchanged a look; Dylan had explained to them all about Semele. At last, Beka shook her head.
"I'm sorry Harper, but I don't think she did. Dylan went back and asked about her. They, they didn't find her body,"
"He needs to rest," Trance said quietly. Beka nodded, gave Harper a one armed hug, and left. Harper hadn't moved during their words.
"She, she can't be dead." He finally said breathlessly. Trance took his hand and held it in both of hers. How could she tell him that she had known? That this was, in fact, the perfect possible outcome? He would hate her if she told him. So she didn't.
"It's alright Seamus...I know how you must feel..." Suddenly he took his hand away from hers roughly.
"How could you Trance? Have you ever been in love? Can your kind even –"Her eyes filled with tears and Harper drew a deep breath. "I'm sorry Trance, I didn't mean that," Biting her lip, Trance nodded.
"Can I be alone for a little while?" Silently, Trance gave a small nod and left. Harper lay back on the bed. Everything had happened too fast...he couldn't take it all in. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her face, the curve of her cheek, felt her hand in his. It was too unfair.
"I wish I'd never gone to Lysat," He tried saying it out loud. Even to him the words were hollow. He wanted to cry, to feel some sort of grief. The only emotion he could summon was shock and disbelief; he would not accept that she was dead. A little while later Trance returned, spoke soothing words that he didn't pay attention to, and gave him a dose of medicine. Soon he was falling into a deep, dreamless sleep...
End of Chapter 8
Who wants to live forever,
Who wants to live forever, .....?
Now touch my tears with your lips,
Touch my world with your fingertips,
And we can have forever,
And we can love forever,
Forever is our today.
Who wants to live forever,
Who wants to live forever, .....?
Who waits forever anyway?
End of Lysation Love
Waaah!! So sad!! Tis the end! Hope you enjoyed it, sorry it was so long! What's that? What do you mean that was a terrible ending? What loose endings!? Oh very well...perhaps I shall simply HAVE to write an epilogue! What d'you think? Mwahahaha! This is fun....anywho, please let me know what you think. (yes/no for epilogue? Though I'll probably write one anyway) Merry writing!
-Luna Sealeaf