Harper's breath caught.

He felt hope enter his heart. That kind of hope scared him though, and as soon as it came, he pushed it away. He started to laugh at the lunacy of it, but instead tears came. All the painful memories he'd suppressed for so long came flooding back to him.

(flashback)

'Michael?...Michael, I'm back. Man this stupid uber, you'll never guess what I did to him. Really, he thought he had me, but I outsmarted him.'

One look at his friend's face and Harper's laughter stopped. Michael had tears in his eyes, and Harper felt dread grasp his heart.

'Seamus…Sarah,' he closed his eyes, reluctant to tell his friend the news he knew would kill him, 'She's gone Seamus. Sarah's gone.'

Michael handed his friend the bloody blanket. Harper fingered it gently. The Dragons hated him for the trouble he caused so they retaliated in a way that they knew would hurt him most. Because of him… she had died. Harper collapsed in his friend's arms, to overcome with grief to be embarrassed by his sobs.

(end flashback)

For the first time in a long time, Harper had allowed to himself to think of this memory, and despite himself, tears began streaming down his face.

"Harper?"

Beka's voice was filled with concern. He quickly pulled himself together, the best he could. He gave her a half smile.

"Harper…Who's Sarah?" Beka gently asked.

Harper sighed and closed his eyes, picturing Sarah the last time he had seen her. She was just a baby then.

"Sarah's my sister."

Beka sat in her quarters in silent shock. Harper had just related to her and the rest of the crew about his sister. He thought was dead. Killed by the Dragons as payback for his constant meddling and sabotage She could tell he carried deep guilt for this for this.

And now…his old friend from earth was sending him a message that she was alive. What could it mean? She hoped that whatever came of the situation, Harper would not end up hurt once again. They had sent a message back to the origin of the transmission, now all they could do was wait.

Harper paced his room, every thought and feeling racing through him: hope, fear, curiosity. What did she look like now? Did she look like her mother? Was she smart? Was she even really alive?

"Harper?"

His thoughts were interrupted by a tap on the door. Trance peered in.

"Harper…we're receiving live feed from the transmission origin."

Trance saw fear enter he friend's face. For just a moment he looked so young. She could tell he was trying so hard not to get his hopes up, but inside was aching for the message to be true.

As Harper reached the doors of command he grew nervous. His sister could still be alive. He took a deep breath and hit the button to open the door. Suddenly, there on the other end of the transmission, Michael was smiling at him.

"Seamus? Man it's really you! You look so old."

Harper smiled. It was good to see his old friend.

"Michael, how are you? How's life been treating you?"

"About as well as you might expect on a slave planet."

Harper chuckled. Michael always had this blind kind of optimism. Back on Earth it used to drive him crazy, but some days it was the only thing that kept him from despair.

"Michael," seriousness suddenly filled Harper's voice. "Is it true? Is she alive?"

"Yeah, she is Seamus. She's alive and all grown up. I've seen her."

"How?"

"We assumed with all that blood, they'd killed her, but they didn't."