Chapter 5: No Way Out
"Harper, I need you to fix the slipstream drive again, it was damaged badly during our last encounter with the Ogami."
Dylan's voice was level as he looked steadily at Harper. Harper shook his head slightly. He just couldn't get the feeling that something was wrong to leave him alone. But there wasn't anything wrong, it was just paranoia.
Nodding to himself, he left command and headed down to the engine room. He was just being paranoid. That was all.
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"I'll kill you! I'll get all you uber bastards! Hate you! HATE YOU!"
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"Harper, are you alright?"
Harper glanced at the hologram standing opposite him. He could just make her out from the wall, his vision was a little fuzzy today.
"I'm fine Rommie, just a little tired. And I have this headache, it won't go away."
Rommie nodded, then closed her eyes briefly. "Trance is on her way."
"Rommie, I'm fine, really. I don't need to be coddled, really. Plus... um, plus, there's a lot of work... work... work, what was I saying?"
Harper looked at Rommie and tried to stand, his knees giving way before he could straighten completely.
He was unconscious before he hit the ground.
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"I won't help you! You'll see! I'm no traitor! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!!!!!"
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"Harper, how long before we have fire control back online?"
"Soon, boss, I'm nearly there. Just got to re-wire... There! Got it!"
Harper sat back triumphantly as Tyr immediately fired on their pursuers.
Tyr... fired... Tyr...
"Tyr?"
Rhade looked at him strangely. "Harper? Are you all right?"
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"Mistakes! You don't exist! Not real! Can't HURT ME!"
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"Harper, please eat something. You are exhausted, and if you don't eat, you'll make yourself sick again."
Harper laughed lightly. He glanced at Beka and cheerily saluted her before returning his attention to his precious X1.
"Sure, Beka, I will. I'm just gonna finish this up first."
"That's what you said three parts ago."
Harper laughed again. "So I like my work, and I like my play even more. Where's the harm in that?"
Beka laughed now, and reached over to yank Harper's shirt so he was forced to stand up.
"There's plenty of harm in it. I don't want to have to sedate you again so you'll sleep."
"Hey," Harper protested, shaking Beka - and the headache - off, "it wasn't you that sedated me last time. It was Rommie." Beka shook her head again.
"Figures you'd point that out. You and your crush. And anyway, I've had to do it before, so my point still stands. Now get!"
With a slap to Harper's shoulder, Beka chased her surrogate brother from the machine shop.
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"Figments! Unreal! Hate you ALL! Not me! No! No! Not... NOT!!!"
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"Harper? Harper? Are you in here?"
Harper heard Rev's voice, but couldn't bring himself to answer. Not after what he'd done. That bridge... If he'd only shown some self-control. Then all those people wouldn't be dead.
Woody wouldn't be dead.
Wait... Rev's voice? Rev?
"Rev?" Harper stood quickly, searching for the presence that he would swear was there just a moment earlier.
He had wished to talk to Rev, after all that had happened, he needed to speak to him. But Rev was gone?
"I really am going crazy." He muttered to himself as he slowly sat down again, one small flesh-and-blood machine among many metal ones.
Trying to ignore his growing headache, he continued to contemplate his recent mistakes.
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"Never! NEVER! NOOOOOOOO! DIE! Evil! EVIL! EVIL FIGMENTS!"
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"He's coming along nicely. He should be ready within a week."
"Excellent. Proceed with the first part. Do not make any mistakes."
Even if the subordinate hadn't known the gravity of the situation, the weight of his superior's tone would have convinced him. For a Nietzchean, failure was not an option. But when the stakes were this high, failure wasn't simply inconceivable.
It was impossible. Not if you wanted to see your children ever again.
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"We have missiles on several vectors. They're aiming for my vulnerable points."
Rommie's voice was calm, as if she was informing them of the time, not impending doom.
Dylan and Trance exchanged looks, the former's frustrated, the latter's resigned.
"Trance..." Dylan's tone was warning, and Trance sighed.
"They know everything Harper knows about the Andromeda. We'll have to outsmart them."
"Tell me again just why we didn't go after him?"
Trance looked less happy than Dylan. "Because none of us would have survived."
Nodding Dylan ordered another salvo, and continued directing the battle as best he could.
"That makes three down." Rommie's voice was still calm.
"How many more?"
Dylan sounded slightly desperate. The Nietzcheans knew exactly where to hit, and trying to dissuade them was proving a difficult task.
"Four."
"Can we get them?"
"Not before we are disabled."
"Can we run yet?"
"Thirty light seconds and counting."
"Rhade, try and hold them off. Beka-"
"I know the drill. Keep em off our backs until we can run."
Twenty light seconds later, fingers of slipstream reached out and embraced the Andromeda Ascendant, and three kinetic missiles leaped out towards their opponents as a brief parting gift.
Thirty light seconds later, Subordinate #1 was left wondering how to explain this setback to his Alpha.
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A/N: Hey guys, its me again. I hope you all liked this chappie, I'm hoping to have another up tomorrow, but don't count on that as I have a function to go to.
R&R, it makes me feel nice, and when I feel nice I write more. ;D