Part 35

Alien's POV

I watched in awe as the two women, Trance and Rommie, this ships avatar, battled before me, this fight was a constant stalemate, neither of them able to gain the upper hand for more than a few seconds. Then it happened, the blade slicing into the androids stomach and the electrical discharge which threw Trance across the corridor, leaving me like this, a forcelance to my head, unable to move without the risk of it being fired. I could tell by the look on Harper's face that he wanted Rommie to fire; part of me hoped that she would.

I looked over towards my counterpart, the prisoner of my liberator, her blade pressed firmly to his throat, I had to wonder why, why did she send me with her friend, me, the very person who had tortured her, the very person responsible for all of this, how could she think her friends would let me live once they found out what I had done, I had to find out.

Then the android spoke up, albeit ever so quietly.
"Trance, look at who you're threatening. You sacrificed the fate of the universe once to save Harper. Now you're going to kill him? Just like that? Without remorse."
The blade moved in closer, a small trickle of blood running down the boys neck.
"If I must."

I tuned out at this point after that small revelation. 'She had sacrificed the fate of the universe to save one person, could she really be…no, surely not, they're nothing but a myth, a children's tale, aren't they?' I had heard stories of eternal beings, non linear, capable of changing the universe at their will but until now I had but ignored the stories as myth and precisely that; stories, but now, could it be that I have actually met one? I never got the chance to even contemplate it as suddenly without warning I am slammed forwards into the boy, we fall to the floor together in a heap, my kelnia, my elbow spikes, our natural weapons, ready for action, and ultimately, embedded in the engineers leg, his red blood flowing slowly as he was pulled out of the way by the android only to be hit again by the bladed boot of the red, menacing, scary as hell Trance.

I stood and hobbled away around a corner, 'Out of sight out of mind' I could hear the ensuing battle, scream after scream came from Trance but she kept on fighting, determined to win. It was then that I was struck down by the ships internal defence, I fell to the floor in pain, excruciating pain, but I kept on going, I wanted no part of this, I am sick of fighting and killing, sick of bloodshed, especially when it is my fault.

I finally made it out of sight when I heard a thud behind me, the android hitting the bulkhead, her chest singed and sparking mumbling to herself, 'What the hell happened to her?' I thought, but I was in no hurry to find out. I stood and attempted feebly to run, not caring where, just as long as it was away from them. 'Maybe back to my cell would be a good idea. Yes, my cell.' I took off as fast as I could, which wasn't all that quickly. I didn't get far though, maybe a few meters, the pain too much; I collapsed back to the deck and cradled my aching ankle, my blood oozing out everywhere.

I don't know what happened next but by the look of Harper I don't want to. He stared daggers through my soul before turning back to his former friend. I faded in and out of consciousness now as I lost more and more blood, the blood loss facilitated by my attempted escape.

*****

Soon it was all over, Harper's attempt to win her back and make her see reason had failed and I found myself in medical on top of a surgical bed, Beka lay off to my left in a separate room and Harper to my right; much closer than I would have liked given that last look he gave me, Trance busy trying to stabilise him. I tried to sit up but the second I did I lay down again, not only was the pain in my ankle still very much alive and the room spinning, but the puddle of crimson blood on the floor was more than I could bare to see right now.

I closed my eyes and prayed that she would kill me quickly and do it soon, I had caused so much suffering to this crew, this family, I could take no more.

I decided to try again; I opened my eyes to see her standing over me, concern written all over her face, 'why? Why was she concerned for me'? she should hate me for what I did.'
"Why?" I spoke, my voice was ragged and sharp, the combined results of my blood loss and the sight of the puddle below me.
"Because, I saw your future. You are destined for greater things, and I saw the real you, not the Gorgonyte forced to commit these atrocities, but the Gorgonyte who favours peace and co-operation to conflict and dictatorship, I saw a new future for your people, with you at their head. That, and, I needed a pilot, Beka was unconscious."
'A new future, me.' I didn't believe this, all my life I had hoped for a change, a new direction, and now she was telling me that I was the one that would make that all important first step, yeah right.
"Are you telling me that you almost killed your entire crew so I can live?"
"Its not the first time." She replied, I was intrigued, could it be that she had killed her crew so that she could alter the past and save Harper's life, condemning the universe of that timeline? There was one last thing I had to know.
"Are you what my people call a Guardian?"

She looked at Beka.
"Can you undo what you did to her?"
"Answer my question first."
"No, undo what you did, then I'll answer you, it's the only guarantee I have."

She had a point, if I could have, the second she let me up I had been planning to run, but now, I had to know.
"Very well. I'll need a few things." I listed the equipment I needed and scrubbed up. She assisted me in the short operation to remove the bots, the damage they had done was extensive but she injected Medical Nano-bots to speed up the recovery, only time would tell if she would fully recover but things looked promising.

As she was escorting me back to V-Deck I asked her again.
"Are you a Guardian?"
She was silent for a long while, I was going to push but I could see her concentration, her inner conflict as she tried to decide what to say, I didn't see why, to me it was a simple 'Yes' or 'No' response.

We entered the brig once again and I walked into my cell for the second time that day. Something was wrong, the Kodiak, the Uber, he was missing. He must have woken up. This worried me but Trance seemed un-phased by it. As she turned to leave I yelled for her to stop.
"Well, are you?"
"Not anymore." She spoke so quietly, not much more than a whisper but in her voice she conveyed pain, suffering and hate.
"Not anymore?" I questioned, but she was gone.
"Not anymore." I sat and thought about the implications of that, they were not good.

*****

Trance made her way back to medical, highly distressed, he knew, that stupid 'THING' knew what she was.
"How am I going to deal with this?" She asked herself, "What am I going to do?" then she remembered Harper and Beka in medical and she had a new purpose, for now, the Gorgonyte could wait.

As the doors opened Trance looked towards Harper's bed, it was empty. She began to panic as she frantically looked for him it was then that she noticed the doors to Beka's private room were closed and she could sense movement inside.

Creeping slowly up to them she thrust them open her blades in hand. Harper was standing over Beka's unconscious form.
"WHAT DID YOU DO!!!!!!!!" He screamed, not really expecting an answer but he got one anyway.
In a calm voice Trance replied.
"We fixed her. Her eyes are returning to normal, in a few days she'll be good as new."
"WE?"
"Yes, me and the Gorgonyte."
"I swear to god, if she doesn't get better I'm goinna kill you, no matter what it takes or how many times, I'm goinna kill you."
From the tone in his voice Trance knew there was no way she could ever win his trust again, not like she had before, this was a battle she would not win, and she knew it.

Repressing the sobs and holding back the tears she went back out into the main ward and began to clean up, only once Harper closed the doors behind her did she let her feelings show, the tears streaming down her red cheeks mixing with the blood on the floor. 'How could things have gone so wrong? I came back to fix them and they got worse, what the hell am I supposed to do now?'