Part 4
Trance stepped into the guest quarters and as expected she saw Dani sat in exactly the same spot where they had left her, where she had been since the security team had led her into the room. Only this time, her head rested on the table as she slept.
With a concerned look, Trance considered trying to scan her whilst she slept, but her common sense and fear prevented her taking this action, knowing that if Dani was to awake whilst she was doing this then she would never trust them, and it wouldn't surprise her to discover that Dani was a light sleeper.
Andromeda had determined that their guest was healthy enough not to be a concern, and Trance was happy to accept that for now. Trance's main concern lie with Dani's mental health, and the fact that she was able to remain in the same stationary position, and not take any food that was offered, Dani's self discipline appeared to be extraordinary.
Trance then felt a drop in the room's temperature and looked around. "Andromeda, is the room temperature ok?"
The hologram of Andromeda appeared suddenly. "I am detecting slight fluctuations on this deck, this is an old problem," Rommie revealed. "I will inform Harper that it is happening again."
Trance looked at Rommie closely. "Be careful how you inform him, his natural suspicion might think we have purposely set this up, considering," she advised glancing at Dani.
"To fix the problem, Harper would not need to visit this room," Rommie informed her. "He has no reason to be suspicious."
"I'm just a little concerned about him lately," Trance offered. "His reaction to all this, I don't fully understand it, so just tread lightly, please?" she asked.
"Very well," Rommie agreed and disappeared.
Moments later Dani awoke and immediately reacted with doubt on seeing Trance stood in the room. "Good morning, Dani," Trance smiled softly, being careful not to make any threatening movements.
Dani simply stared at her before assuming her usual sitting stance, another day it seemed, and Trance feared it would offer nothing new, as she frowned at their guest's non co-operation.
Removing a panel with ease, Harper was in familiar territory as he kept himself busy and out of the way in a conduit. The mood on board the ship lately had been subdued, and he knew that he had partly caused the current tension that existed. The slave was a great distraction to the crew, and he was keeping out of the way, but when he did appear all talk stopped and he was treated like some child that no one wanted to upset for fear of another tantrum.
With a sigh, Harper concentrated on the list of repairs Rommie had prepared for him, and he focused on one in particular that had caught his attention. The temperature controls on deck twelve fluctuating once again. When Rommie had first mentioned this repair it had sounded normal enough, until she made a point of also noting that it was Trance who had detected it, whilst in the guest quarters. Harper being the genius that he is, guessed that Trance had been visiting the slave, had Rommie not mentioned Trance he would not have made the connection that this repair affected the guest, and now he knew, it played on his mind.
Retrieving his link cable, Harper slotted the jack into the panel before connecting the other end to his port. Seconds later he was in Rommie's mainframe, and checking the temperature controls for deck twelve. The actual problem itself was easy enough to fix, but his curiosity was growing. Since she had been on board he hadn't so much as looked at their guest, he had no idea what she looked like and whilst in this area, he now he had an opportunity to look without the slave, or anyone else knowing.
Once he had conducted the repair, Harper accessed the visuals for deck twelve and pretty soon he had found the guest quarters in question. Looking down on the room, as if hiding in the ceiling, Harper saw the slave for the first time and showed no reaction. Long tangled brunette hair, slight build almost skeletal, what he could see of her face offered him very little. She appeared normal enough but nothing outstanding. Harper was almost disappointed by this, and then he felt static beside him.
"Harper, what are you doing?" Rommie asked as she materialised beside him.
"Just seeing what all the fuss is about," Harper answered distantly, not taking his eyes off the room.
"It's rude to stare, especially when the subject can not stare back," Rommie advised.
"How come no one can break her, she doesn't seem particularly strong or anything," Harper idly remarked.
"We do not wish to break her," Rommie responded.
Harper sighed as he adjusted his position in the mainframe. "If you want to get through to her, you'll have to break her, break her conditioning, her programming," he stated firmly.
"We wish her no distress or harm," Rommie stated.
"I get that, honestly I do, but sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind," Harper stressed knowingly. "Other tactics obviously are not working."
At that moment Trance entered the room, carrying a tray of various fruits and drinks, obviously hoping to tempt Dani into reacting to them.
"Man, if the slave doesn't eat any of that, send Trance my way," Harper remarked with a grin, as he eyed the food.
"Strange, it all seems to a bit too healthy for you to eat," Rommie mocked.
"I eat healthily," Harper protested. "Sometimes," he added and they both watched as Trance began to talk to Dani, her soothing voice however failed to register.
Harper sighed. "It's as if the slave doesn't hear her," he noted. "She's not deaf, right?"
"As far as my scan can determine she has perfect hearing," Rommie confirmed.
Harper observed the exchange some more. "Strange," he commented.
"What?" Rommie asked.
Harper frowned. "Just that Dani shows absolutely no interest in the food yet it must be over forty-eight hours since she has eaten, surely just the sight of food would induce some reaction. I know after that time even I stop to eat," he grinned.
"We have felt the same, we can not explain how she is able to remain completely devoid of emotion towards anything, and so consistently each day," Rommie explained.
"Well, I'm sure you'll work it out," Harper declared and made to leave the system.
"Harper," Rommie caught his attention and stopped Harper leaving. "Why are you so against helping her, and us?"
"Rommie," Harper sighed, and avoided her gaze. "I'm not purposely being difficult, I just don't see how I can help, and besides, it's not my area of expertise," he grabbed his tool belt. "Me engineer, remember?"
"Understood," Rommie decided to drop the discussion, and she crossed her arms as Harper left her system and returned to his own body.
Rhade checked his readings a couple more times before speaking, and he glanced over to Beka who stood to his right on the command deck, to get her reaction.
"Beka, it would seem we finally have some action from Yussuf," Rhade confirmed.
"What have you got?" Beka asked eagerly, and made her way over to where Rhade stood.
"A communication from Yussuf himself, to the local authorities," Rhade spoke up. "It would seem he is very eager for the safe return of his slave, and that all should be done for that return."
"No real surprise there," Beka was forced to admit.
"Two men have already been killed in her name," Rhade then revealed. "Suspected of acts against Yussuf," Rhade frowned. "Beka, the two murdered men did help the Commonwealth with their enquiries in this matter."
Beka flashed an air of regret at the news. "Dani is obviously missed, but as yet we still don't know her true worth, we can't even talk to her."
"Maybe her silence is her true worth," Rhade remarked. "She doesn't talk she doesn't reveal secrets."
"Maybe there are only a few people she is allowed to speak to," Beka considered.
"And I can guarantee those people she is permitted to speak to, will not speak to us," Rhade stated.
Dylan joined Beka and Rhade, having over heard their discussion from his post. "Maybe we should let her go, return her to Yussuf, she seems in good health and at no risk, if anything Yussuf seems quite taken by her, protective even," Dylan shrugged.
"You have got to be kidding, Dylan," Beka protested.
"We are learning nothing new, and her staying here is serving no purpose," Dylan offered.
"You wouldn't be saying this if this was your mission," Beka remarked. "And if she is this super spy that we suspect she is, are we not returning to Yussuf his greatest weapon?" Beka questioned, clearly not happy with the plan.
"She is a human being, Beka, not a negotiating tool or prize," Dylan stated firmly.
Beka did not respond and instead returned to her post, leaving Rhade to continue scanning the sector for more information that could help them, Dylan moved away and returned to his console, he then noticed Harper keeping himself to himself at the back of command and wandered over.
"Boss," Harper acknowledged, as his hands danced over the console in front of him.
"Mr Harper," Dylan hesitated before continuing, glancing over to Beka. "Can I talk to you about Dani?"
Harper stopped what he was doing and took a moment before looking up. "Sure, look I'm sorry for the way I reacted the other day, discuss I can do, so long as it doesn't involve me making nice with our guest."
"I promise you never have to be on the same deck if that suits you," Dylan confirmed. "But I don't understand your reluctance to meet her, usually you can't wait to try your luck with a female guest."
"Well she's all yours this time, boss," Harper smirked, but saw that Dylan wanted a more serious response. "Ok, look, it's nothing against her personally but I've seen so many of my people, family, friends become nothing more than yes sir, no sir slaves that I don't need to see anyone else in that state, I prefer to just forget, ok?" Harper explained quickly without elaborating further, he had given the matter a lot of thought and that was the best explanation he had, and all the while he remained focused on the console he was working on.
"Makes sense," Dylan was forced to admit, knowing that he wouldn't get any more from the engineer. "Yesterday when you stopped in the corridor to speak to us, you seemed surprised by what we told you, about her actions," Dylan carefully explained. "I was just wondering if you had given the situation any more thought, maybe have any ideas about what we can do?" Dylan asked. "At this rate we're going to have to hand her back to Yussuf."
"Hand her back?" Harper questioned quickly unable to hide his surprise, and for the first time he looked at Dylan.
"What else can we do? We do not want to hold her here against her will," Dylan explained.
Harper considered the question, remembering back to distant times in his life. With a resigned sigh he shrugged. "I'll think about it, maybe I'll remember something, but I never really got involved with this stuff before, so no promises," he offered. "I just remember that it took a lot of patience to get through to rescued slaves, and it was never easy, it takes time," Harper shrugged. "But I will give it some thought."
"That's good enough for me," Dylan smiled and moved away.
Harper watched the captain return to his console, he then quickly gathered up his tools and left command. The thought of Dylan simply handing the girl back, for some reason, had affected him on a personal level. It was something that Harper simply hadn't expected, he thought Dylan would ship her off to some Commonwealth institute to try and help her, not just hand her back to her master.
As Harper walked along the corridor he considered Dylan's request, but he was not coming up with anything that he thought would help. Whenever he had come across slaves back on Earth he had avoided the issue, other people's problems, he'd had enough of his own to deal with. He had often been accused of not caring, but in truth, he knew he couldn't handle conditioned slaves, they frustrated him for losing control of who they were and he figured it was better for them not to have him around, someone who would without thinking, look down on them for what they had become.
Reaching the desired conduit, Harper quickly entered and tried to focus on his next job but his mind continued to be distracted by Dani's situation. The thought of her going back to a life of slavery, even if it was all she knew, didn't settle well with him. Feeling his humanity, and a sudden desire to stick up for his fellow humans, especially those from Earth, Harper decided he couldn't let giving her back become an option. Harper knew he had to talk to someone about this, before he did anything else.
"Rommie, can you tell me where Trance is?" Harper asked.
"She is in guest quarters with Dani," Rommie's voice returned.
Harper took a deep breath, he could wait, he considered, or he could go and talk to Dylan straight away. "What about Beka?" he then asked, trying to find an alternative.
"Beka has just returned to her quarters to sleep," Rommie responded, and then paused as she retrieved an update. "She is asleep."
"Ok, thanks Rommie," Harper sighed; it wasn't worth waking Beka so soon, knowing that she was putting in extra hours to complete her mission.
"Why do need to see Trance or Beka, are you ok?" Rommie was now curious, as her hologram appeared.
Harper sat back in the conduit looking troubled. "I just found out that Dylan plans to hand Dani back to Yussuf," he revealed.
"I am aware of that plan, he feels no reason to hold her here when no one is benefiting from it," Rommie casually revealed.
"How can you say that?" Harper snapped without thinking, and immediately backed down. "I'm sorry, Rommie," he offered quickly.
"Dylan would not hand back Dani if he wasn't sure that she was safe," Rommie assured him.
"The fact Dani is here means that she's not there, and whilst she's not there, she's not a slave, and that's very beneficial to her," Harper explained with care.
Rommie looked closely at Harper, her sensors told her that his heart beat was accelerating, and she knew that on some level he did care about Dani's situation, but she had to determine in what way.
"Is it just the idea of giving Dani back to her master that troubles you?" Rommie probed.
"Yeah, remember her master, big tyrant in these parts?" Harper mocked, but he was being truthful with his admission, and Rommie had no reason to doubt him. "Rommie, no self respecting person wants to be a slave, and from what I've heard she's pretty well trained so isn't it time she got a break, a new life?"
"I would agree, given the evidence, but we know Dani is no ordinary slave, she's a suspected spy," Rommie countered. "Even being handed back to Yussuf she could still prove useful to us."
Harper shook his head. "So just like that you will throw her back to the wolves," he remarked bitterly. "All in the name of the commonwealth," he added.
"Harper that's not what I was implying," Rommie argued.
"Isn't it?" Harper questioned. "So explain to me again how sending Dani back is of benefit to her."
"Harper," Rommie simply said, but she couldn't answer his question. "I will let Dylan know your concerns about this."
"Don't bother," Harper stated. "Maybe the sooner she's off this ship the quicker things will return to normal," he added, and instantly regretted his own words as he felt pangs of guilt, then inwardly cursed his humanity.
"Trance is now leaving Dani's quarters if you still wish to speak to her," Rommie simply said.
"Thanks, Rommie," Harper returned sharply, no longer in the mood to talk, and he continued his trek into the conduits.
A few hours later, Beka was returning to duty and had found Rommie's avatar waiting for her as she left her quarters. "Look Rommie if you're going to ask me again to try and explain Harper, I can't," Beka stated, refreshed now after her sleep. "The kid did not come with an instructions leaflet when I got him from Earth, ok?"
Rommie got into step beside Beka as she walked towards command. "Actually, Harper is showing small signs of interest in your mission now, and even signs of concern for the slave."
"He is?" Beka questioned, and then wondered how long she had been asleep.
"Dylan informed Harper that he was considering giving Dani back to Yussuf and Harper told me that he opposed this action, I think the news has affected him more than we would have believed," Rommie stated.
"Sometimes I wish he had come with instructions," Beka sighed, not knowing what to think in relation to Harper's latest actions. "So now he cares enough to voice his objections to Dani being handed back?"
"But he also voiced the opinion that maybe handing her back would return things to normal around here," Rommie remembered.
Beka shook her head and smirked. "Harper has no idea what he wants, does he?" she grinned. "Sounds to me like things are already back to normal around here," Beka commented before looking at Rommie. "Where is Harper now? I should go talk to him, make sure he's ok," she offered.
"He's on deck twelve, making his way to supplies," Rommie confirmed.
"Deck twelve?" Beka raised her eyebrows, knowing it was the deck Dani was located on.
"He does have a supplies store on that deck, Beka," Rommie pointed out.
"And he also has stores all over this ship," Beka reminded Rommie.
Rommie conceded that Beka was right. "That is indeed correct, but he has avoided the guest quarters in question, he is heading straight for the supplies store."
"Ok, maybe I'm jumping the gun," Beka admitted defeat. "I'll catch him there, let me know if he leaves before I get there, I have to just check in with Dylan first, make sure the universe is still in order," Beka called back as she moved forward.
TBC