Chapter 6: No Surprises There
"Wake up, little man. Wake up now."
Harper groaned and shifted, his body aching. He opened his eyes on reflex, before closing them on a second reflex.
However, the light was not blinding anymore. In fact, he wasn't in his cell at all. He was lying on a soft cot in a small room, warm and clothed. And though his body did still throb with pain, the sharpness was gone.
Rolling onto his side, Harper gingerly sat up, parts of him mildly protesting. He looked down at his body, feeling it through the thin shirt that he was now wearing. The cuts and burns were gone, replaced with another set of scars that would eventually fade.
Harper looked up, wondering what the hell was going on. And his mind stopped in shock. He was still hallucinating, he must be.
"You look surprised to see me."
The dark figure was calm as he sat in the shadows, eating a small fruit.
"A little, yeah."
"Hmm, now why would that be?"
"Take a guess." Harpers' voice turned sarcastic as he shifted once more to face the man.
The man laughed. "Even after everything, you are still the same, little professor."
"What do you want?" Harper's voice held none of the amusement of his opponent, only ice.
"The Andromeda."
Harper snorted. "Not gonna happen, uber. Not gonna happen."
"You are going to help me, little man, whether you want to or not. If you help me willingly, I'll reward you well. You could even have Rommie, if you liked.
"But if you resist," Tyr leaned forward now, his face coming into the light, "it will not be pleasant for you."
"Oh, right, like you've made me so welcome so far."
Tyr grinned, a grin full of teeth and empty of compassion. "What I will be forced to do will make your stay so far seem like a resort."
Harper glared at Tyr and sat back.
"How did you survive?"
Tyr sat back. "If you help me, you will find out. And you may even survive the Abyss' coming. I know you little man. You are a survivor, you would do whatever it takes. So I will be generous and give you a day to think on my offer. After that, I will not hesitate to use whatever means necessary to achieve my goal. Understood?"
Harper only glared, unsatisfied with the whole situation.
Tyr stood, smiling slightly, and left the small room, leaving Harper with a bundle of mysteries and no way of getting answers.
-------------
"Has the AG field on deck seventeen been fixed yet?" Dylan looked at the Andromeda on screen, exhausted.
Harper might not have been the only engineer they had, but he was the best, and Dylan once more cursed the fact that he had not re-wired Rommie to spec.
"They are almost complete, captain, and the damage to the environmental systems on decks thirty through thirty-six are now complete."
"Great. How soon can we be underway?"
"About one hour."
Dylan nodded to himself, thinking for a moment. He glanced up at the screen- Rommie. "Gather the crew in the conference room."
Without waiting for an answer, Dylan left command.
-------------
"We have to go after him."
"Dylan, no. We can't. We have to-"
"What, Trance. Leave him there? He's a member of my crew, Trance, and I don't leave anyone behind, not if there's another way."
"What do you propose? We have nothing. No leads, no ideas, no hints of him anywhere."
"I know, but we can at least start looking. We may come up with something now that we didn't have a month ago. And I refuse to sit on my hands any longer, waiting for some vague future."
"Dylan-"
"No Trance. We're going after him."
"Finally!"
"I knew that you wouldn't object, Beka. How about you Rhade? What do you think?"
"I think that we should have gone after him long ago."
"Then it's settled. We're gonna get our engineer back."
"And our friend."
"Yes. And our friend."
-------------
"I had hoped that you would join me. Make this easier on both of us. However, I had allowed for this, so my plans are not affected."
"Go to hell." Harper struggled futilely against the two large Nietzcheans holding him.
"That's where you will be, though you still have a choice. Help me, and you will have everything you want." Tyr watched impassively as the little professor struggled some more.
"Not gonna happen, you uber bastard." Harper spit at Tyr, narrowly missing his eye. Tyr simply wiped away the spittle and nodded at his subordinates.
As Harper was dragged away, Tyr turned and left the pair to their work, a slight pang of regret flowing through him.
It quickly dissipated as Tyr strode towards his meeting hall. If his plans were to work, he had much to arrange.
He ignored the screams floating up after him.
-------------
Harper lay still, the burning sensation dulled slightly if he lay still. In fact, if he didn't move at all, or make a sound, or do anything but breathe, it dulled enough that he could remember his own name.
"Harper." He mumbled, and felt a stab of white-hot pain run through him. He resisted the urge to arch his back and scream, the pain would only build.
"Get up." A gruff voice ordered him, and Harper didn't move. A stab of pain ran through him at that, but Harper still didn't move.
"Now!" A stronger dose convinced Harper that moving now would be a good idea.
He stood, and the pain faded. Swaying slightly, Harper turned his head, and nearly fell as yet another wave ran through him. He held still.
"Good."
-------------
"We left the air clear as you ordered. The electro-shock therapy is going smoothly, though again, not as quickly as anticipated."
Tyr looked at the man who had, up until five days ago, been running this operation.
"It is still within schedule. Are you here to report only those things that I know, or do you have something new to tell me?"
The Beta male swallowed. "We lost the Andromeda."
"Very well. Find them again before this is complete and I will ignore your lapse in competency."
"Yes sir." The Beta looked relieved as he left the presence of the Nietzchean leader.
Tyr continued reading his flexi, knowing that the Andromeda would appear sooner or later, come to look for their missing friend.
And that he would be ready with their 'friend' when they did.
-------------
A/N: Go me! I finally got another chappie done! Yay! I hope you liked it, and yes, I realize the insanity disappeared, I did put an explanation in there, you'll just have to find it. If you hadn't already. I'm gonna stop babbling now and shamelessly beg for reviews.
"Wake up, little man. Wake up now."
Harper groaned and shifted, his body aching. He opened his eyes on reflex, before closing them on a second reflex.
However, the light was not blinding anymore. In fact, he wasn't in his cell at all. He was lying on a soft cot in a small room, warm and clothed. And though his body did still throb with pain, the sharpness was gone.
Rolling onto his side, Harper gingerly sat up, parts of him mildly protesting. He looked down at his body, feeling it through the thin shirt that he was now wearing. The cuts and burns were gone, replaced with another set of scars that would eventually fade.
Harper looked up, wondering what the hell was going on. And his mind stopped in shock. He was still hallucinating, he must be.
"You look surprised to see me."
The dark figure was calm as he sat in the shadows, eating a small fruit.
"A little, yeah."
"Hmm, now why would that be?"
"Take a guess." Harpers' voice turned sarcastic as he shifted once more to face the man.
The man laughed. "Even after everything, you are still the same, little professor."
"What do you want?" Harper's voice held none of the amusement of his opponent, only ice.
"The Andromeda."
Harper snorted. "Not gonna happen, uber. Not gonna happen."
"You are going to help me, little man, whether you want to or not. If you help me willingly, I'll reward you well. You could even have Rommie, if you liked.
"But if you resist," Tyr leaned forward now, his face coming into the light, "it will not be pleasant for you."
"Oh, right, like you've made me so welcome so far."
Tyr grinned, a grin full of teeth and empty of compassion. "What I will be forced to do will make your stay so far seem like a resort."
Harper glared at Tyr and sat back.
"How did you survive?"
Tyr sat back. "If you help me, you will find out. And you may even survive the Abyss' coming. I know you little man. You are a survivor, you would do whatever it takes. So I will be generous and give you a day to think on my offer. After that, I will not hesitate to use whatever means necessary to achieve my goal. Understood?"
Harper only glared, unsatisfied with the whole situation.
Tyr stood, smiling slightly, and left the small room, leaving Harper with a bundle of mysteries and no way of getting answers.
-------------
"Has the AG field on deck seventeen been fixed yet?" Dylan looked at the Andromeda on screen, exhausted.
Harper might not have been the only engineer they had, but he was the best, and Dylan once more cursed the fact that he had not re-wired Rommie to spec.
"They are almost complete, captain, and the damage to the environmental systems on decks thirty through thirty-six are now complete."
"Great. How soon can we be underway?"
"About one hour."
Dylan nodded to himself, thinking for a moment. He glanced up at the screen- Rommie. "Gather the crew in the conference room."
Without waiting for an answer, Dylan left command.
-------------
"We have to go after him."
"Dylan, no. We can't. We have to-"
"What, Trance. Leave him there? He's a member of my crew, Trance, and I don't leave anyone behind, not if there's another way."
"What do you propose? We have nothing. No leads, no ideas, no hints of him anywhere."
"I know, but we can at least start looking. We may come up with something now that we didn't have a month ago. And I refuse to sit on my hands any longer, waiting for some vague future."
"Dylan-"
"No Trance. We're going after him."
"Finally!"
"I knew that you wouldn't object, Beka. How about you Rhade? What do you think?"
"I think that we should have gone after him long ago."
"Then it's settled. We're gonna get our engineer back."
"And our friend."
"Yes. And our friend."
-------------
"I had hoped that you would join me. Make this easier on both of us. However, I had allowed for this, so my plans are not affected."
"Go to hell." Harper struggled futilely against the two large Nietzcheans holding him.
"That's where you will be, though you still have a choice. Help me, and you will have everything you want." Tyr watched impassively as the little professor struggled some more.
"Not gonna happen, you uber bastard." Harper spit at Tyr, narrowly missing his eye. Tyr simply wiped away the spittle and nodded at his subordinates.
As Harper was dragged away, Tyr turned and left the pair to their work, a slight pang of regret flowing through him.
It quickly dissipated as Tyr strode towards his meeting hall. If his plans were to work, he had much to arrange.
He ignored the screams floating up after him.
-------------
Harper lay still, the burning sensation dulled slightly if he lay still. In fact, if he didn't move at all, or make a sound, or do anything but breathe, it dulled enough that he could remember his own name.
"Harper." He mumbled, and felt a stab of white-hot pain run through him. He resisted the urge to arch his back and scream, the pain would only build.
"Get up." A gruff voice ordered him, and Harper didn't move. A stab of pain ran through him at that, but Harper still didn't move.
"Now!" A stronger dose convinced Harper that moving now would be a good idea.
He stood, and the pain faded. Swaying slightly, Harper turned his head, and nearly fell as yet another wave ran through him. He held still.
"Good."
-------------
"We left the air clear as you ordered. The electro-shock therapy is going smoothly, though again, not as quickly as anticipated."
Tyr looked at the man who had, up until five days ago, been running this operation.
"It is still within schedule. Are you here to report only those things that I know, or do you have something new to tell me?"
The Beta male swallowed. "We lost the Andromeda."
"Very well. Find them again before this is complete and I will ignore your lapse in competency."
"Yes sir." The Beta looked relieved as he left the presence of the Nietzchean leader.
Tyr continued reading his flexi, knowing that the Andromeda would appear sooner or later, come to look for their missing friend.
And that he would be ready with their 'friend' when they did.
-------------
A/N: Go me! I finally got another chappie done! Yay! I hope you liked it, and yes, I realize the insanity disappeared, I did put an explanation in there, you'll just have to find it. If you hadn't already. I'm gonna stop babbling now and shamelessly beg for reviews.