Thanks for the reviews, oh and Paris the check is in the post he he

Part 9

"I have a bad feeling about this," Dylan paced command, and glanced at the equally worried features of Beka and Trance. "Last thing Harper said was that he'd be in touch, and then I received no signal from his port," he added.

"And he was asking you about Rev Bem?" Rommie checked.

"Wanted to know if and when he left the ship," Dylan remembered.

Beka crossed her arms. "We purposely didn't tell Harper that Rev had left the ship, we hoped that the not knowing would put him at ease, its not like they are attracted to the same areas on drifts."

"It is worrying that neither Harper nor Rev have been in touch since," Trance offered.

"Rev never stays out of contact for long, and he never leaves the ship for long periods of time," Beka agreed. "Something has happened, and I know it involves them both!" she fumed.

"They also are both carrying the virus that has plagued them for the past couple of days," Trance spoke with concern. "And they have both missed medicine boosts to counter it, they are not in danger but the regular medicine was helping to ease the symptoms."

"This R&R was supposed to help, not make things worse," Dylan sighed, as he rubbed his face.

"Dylan, Harper was not in the best frame of mind and I know he can hold grudges," Beka warned. "And Rev, well even I'm not sure about Rev right now, if he has one of his 'lost focus' episodes."

"We need to locate one or both of them and soon," Dylan instructed. "Tyr has already begun to search the drift, we should too."


Harper was forced to watch, unable to help as he fought against the restraints that held both his wrists and ankles tightly together. The floors and walls were cold inside the energy plant, but the air was heavy with heat, making the walls damp with condensation, soaking Harper as he leant against them.

Beyond him, he saw Rev who was equally restrained but hanging once again upside down from a great iron beam, a preferred way of restraining the Magog it seemed. The local yobs surrounded him, wielding weapons that they continuously hit him with, and Rev did little to defend himself from the attack, there was little Rev could really do but Harper's anger was boiling over.

All the negative thoughts he had had about Rev Bem over the past two days rapidly vanished, as he witnessed an unprovoked attack on someone that he knew, Magog or not, it didn't matter, and he knew Rev did not deserve this treatment. It hadn't been that long since Rev had received similar treatment from mindless idiots, the abandoned sick kids, and Harper began to wonder if this new Commonwealth really was such a great thing for Rev.

Harper's mind wandered to the moment when Rev had attacked him, that had also been unprovoked, Harper considered, remembering how the paralysing spray Rev had hit him with had almost killed him, but illness played the major factor there, this attack by the young goons was nothing but mindless.

"Rev!" Harper yelled out suddenly, hitting upon an idea. "Use your venom!"

"It would kill them, remember what it did before," Rev groggily and weakly returned, spinning slowly around, but Harper's advice had drawn attention back to him, and the gang members slowly turned.

"You help this thing?" A youngster asked, looking no older than eighteen.

"It's a Magog and you chose to help it?" another of the guys asked, Harper recognised this one as Piper, from the bar.

Harper avoided looking at the gang of young men, most probably his age and younger but from a very different background. "You wouldn't know a true Magog if it attacked you and made you have its babies!" Harper snapped angrily, testing his restraints once more.

Feeling his shirt being ripped as he was hurled to his feet, Harper was soon face to face with the gang's leader that he had been warned about, Barton. "Magog supporters have no place here, just like that stinking Magog."

"I am not a Magog supporter!" Harper returned with force.

"If that is true, why have you assisted this one?" Barton asked.

"He's different," Harper attempted to explain but a blow to his stomach soon stopped him, as he was dropped heavily to the floor gasping for breath. The gang of yobs soon began to kick Harper whilst he was down, despite Rev's pleas for them to stop. Harper defended his body as best he could with his hands tied behind his back, but the attack was ruthless, with blows connecting with his midriff, head and chest.

"Magog supporters will die like the filth they support," Barton now claimed, and he once again pulled Harper painfully to his feet, who now felt every kick, as he tasted the blood in his mouth. "We left this Magog to die, before he killed our own, but you rescued him, you're filth!" Barton stressed with genuine anger.

The drift yobs pushed Harper against the railing and secured his upper arms to it, preventing escape. Wearily Harper recovered his breath and composure, keeping an eye on the leader, who seemed to turn his attentions back to Rev whilst drawing out a knife.

Unable to do anything but watch, both Harper and Rev looked on as Barton took hold of Rev's hand, paying particular attention to his claws.

"How many people have died by these claws?" Barton asked Rev.

"Too many innocents," Rev spoke downcast.

Without hesitation the yob drew the knife and easily cut away one of Rev's claws, claiming it as a trophy that he paraded for all his fellow yobs to cheer. Harper looked away with disgust, but more in the realisation that he could associate with these mindless yobs and it saddened him to see so much of himself in these people, in their reaction to Rev. Gone were the days that he used to parade body parts of fallen Magog for all to cheer, skinning them for their fur to turn into winter coats or blankets to keep warm with.

Only, as Harper glanced once more at the celebrations, he knew that he had had more reason to do what he once did. The Magog he had helped kill in his past, that he had openly displayed and maybe even wore was a Magog that had tried to kill him, or to use him as a host, to be a mother to the next generation. Harper knew Rev had posed no threat to these yobs, and he knew that he had done the right thing in coming to Rev's aid, even if the Magog himself had objected.

"Rev, its ok, they'll be here soon," Harper yelled out, to support and comfort his ailing friend. "They'll find my signal," Harper begun and then stopped, as he suddenly remembered switching off the signal to prevent Dylan contacting him. "Crap!" Harper stressed under his breath, and he failed to notice Barton and his goon's attention turning back to him.

"Who will be here soon?"

"No one," Harper quickly answered, knowing it was the truth.

"Have you got a ship load of Magog on the way?" Barton continued, feeling threatened now. "Is that your job, do you work for the Magog? Did you alert this monster's friends to our game?"

"Game?" Harper snapped. "And even if I did it's the least you deserve, and trust me I don't say that freely!" he added with anger that even surprised him, and he knew that his illness was affecting him more now, knowing he would never wish Magog raids on any being regardless, when he was of sound mind.

Harper felt his jaw being grabbed, and he was forced to look into the eyes of Barton, quickly deducing that he was a little on the side of psycho, and he saw that Barton was holding the claw he had taken from Rev. Barton lightly stroked the claw down the side of Harper's face, and Harper calmed his breathing as he focused on Barton, and tried to ignore the fear that the sensation caused within him.

"Tell me where this signal is that you possess," Barton now asked calmly.

Not responding, Harper winced as he felt the claw dig into his skin, easily drawing blood down the side of his cheek.

"Tell me," Barton persisted, but Harper remained silent.

"It's the port," Rossi, his other lackey pointed out, who was standing at a better vantage point. With a grimace, Harper felt Barton locate the round disk in his neck, and closed his eyes as he felt it being roughly manhandled.

"I hear these things can hurt," Barton grinned now, as Harper remained silent with his eyes closed, feeling the claw now tapping the port. "When they are touched, prodded and hit," the yob declared and without hesitation he brought the flat palm of his hand down hard and sharply against the round disk in Harper's neck causing the human to scream out with the sudden sharp pain his actions had caused him, whilst feeling dizziness as the port reacted to the jarring motion inside of him. Barton kept his hand flat against the port, applying pressure to Harper's neck, aggravating the implant and Harper's senses to annoying and distracting levels.

The next thing Harper felt was the intense pain across his chest, in quick succession at Barton now used the claw to slash three clean cuts ripping through his white tee-shirt, quickly drawing blood and a pained cry from Harper.

"You still like Magog?"

End of part 9