Part 5
Harper moved various pieces of material aside in the store, so he could locate the tubing he required for his next job. It was at times like these that he wished he had the strength of a Nietzshean, and the tidiness of Rommie, noting that his store was a mess. Spotting the tubing that he required, Harper knelt down and carefully edged his way through the gap between various sheets of metal, and other materials to reach his target.
As his hand grabbed for the tubing, Harper held his breath as he heard behind him the sound of the first sheet of material he had moved crash down to the ground, and it then started a chain reaction and before Harper could react practically all of the storeroom's heavy materials started to cave in on him.
"Crap!" Harper panicked as one of the shelf units began to sway dangerously close to him, and Harper had no where to run, bracing himself Harper protected his head and body as best he could, screaming out as everything finally fell on top of him.
The noise ringed in his ears for a while before silence descended once again. With a nervous intake of breath, Harper knew he was trapped. He felt painful pressure points across his back and legs, but to his surprise he didn't feel any pain, before realising that was probably the shock and adrenalin kicking in. Harper focused on his surroundings, and saw the blood dripping from his face to the floor; he felt sudden panic and intense desire to get out.
"Rommie," Harper nervously spoke, his chest was restricted by the heavy weight now on his back, the shelf unit had caught him and now pinned him to the deck.
"Harper, I have help on it's way, Beka and Dylan are two decks away, my android self, with Trance and Rhade are not far behind, hold on," Rommie confirmed, via voice only.
"Holding on," Harper confirmed, and rested his head to the side on the deck, feeling his temperature rising with the closeness of his situation, and trying not to give in to the panic he felt.
Harper was suddenly aware that he was not alone. "Who's there?" he called out, but he was not expecting an answer, the realisation that he was now possibly delusional kicked in.
"I have water," a voice returned, and Harper sensed movement behind him.
"Don't come near here, it's dangerous!" Harper stressed loudly, fearing for his own safety more so than the strangers. "And who the hell are you?" he asked confused, as he tried to catch a glimpse.
"My name is Dani, I heard your scream," she responded, and before Harper could say anything, she was crouched beside him. "Take this water," she said softly, and put the cup to his lips.
Harper didn't refuse and readily accepted the refreshing liquid, once he had taken as much as he could he looked up at Dani with confusion. "They've been trying for days to get you to talk to them, don't tell me all they had to do was have a room fall on top them for you to notice," Harper offered, with a strained laugh.
"I haven't seen you before, have I?" Dani asked.
"No," Harper was quick to respond, but appreciating the distraction.
"The golden one," Dani began before Harper cut her off.
"That's Trance, she's really nice if you give her the time of day," Harper stated, trying to control his breathing.
"You're from Earth as well, aren't you?" Dani questioned, and it sounded as though she was simply attempting to keep Harper talking, as she fussed around him, accessing the damage.
Harper was reminded all too quickly of who he was talking to, and suddenly felt defensive. "How'd you know that, and what of it?" he asked, but quickly grimaced as he felt a shooting pain go up his right side, he held his breath.
"What is it?" Dani quickly asked with concern for him, and then scanned the mess that covered him. "Hang on," she then announced and moved away.
"Don't touch anything!" Harper stressed firmly, his eyes now closed to the pain and restriction, and wishing the others would get there soon, he didn't trust this stranger.
Harper then felt movement behind him, and then a release of pressure from his right ankle. "It's not much but that might make you more comfortable," Dani spoke up.
Harper had to accept that she had alleviated some of the pain. "Thanks," he simply offered.
As Dani completely removed the small piece of sheet metal that had caused Harper discomfort, the doors to the store opened and Beka rushed in with Dylan.
"Dani!" Beka exclaimed with obvious surprise.
Dani immediately backed herself into the wall, and Harper could just about see her now crouching on the floor seemingly unresponsive again. "Dani," Harper spoke with heavy breaths and he was thankful when she looked over. "You can trust Beka, promise," he simply said.
"How did you get there, Dani?" Beka asked seeing the slave had somehow managed to get close to Harper's position on the far side of the store, and on hearing Harper speaking to Dani she wanted to see him herself.
Dani seemed unsure, but another glance at Harper convinced her to respond. "Stick to the edge of the room, you can walk over those supplies without further harming him," she pointed.
Beka saw the route now, and she quickly made her way towards Harper, as Dylan tried to make a start in removing the easier items to make a path towards freeing Harper.
"Hey," Beka greeted when she reached Harper, attempting to be optimistic. "What happened in here? Picking fights with the supplies now?" she joked.
"No," Harper dismissed in good nature. "I thought I had stacked this junk up safely, looks like I didn't, now I'm squashed."
"We'll have you out in no time," Beka assured him, brushing his hair away from his face, she then turned to Dani, it was the strangest time to have a breakthrough with their guest but it seemed the situation had brought Dani out of her room, and self imposed exile. "Dani, I need to help Dylan try and free Harper, would you sit with him, keep him talking?"
Dani seemed unsure and Beka pressed her hand into Harper's shoulder, a silent message that he understood. "Please Dani, talk to me, keep me sane and my mind off the fact I have half the ship on my back," he said through gritted teeth, complying with Beka's silent request.
"Ok," Dani hesitantly agreed and moved closer, her eyes watching Beka's every move before the first officer backed away. Copying Beka, Dani proceeded to brush Harper's hair from his face. "So you're called Harper?" she asked, as Harper tried not to be too freaked out by her touching his hair.
"Yeah, Seamus Harper," Harper responded gruffly, unsure about the slave, Dani, who now sat close to him, she seemed strangely concern by his situation.
"Irish?" Dani then asked with interest.
"American Irish," Harper returned knowing that if Dani was from Earth that would mean something to her, whilst attempting to make the most of the distraction from his situation. "How about you?"
"I'm not sure," Dani admitted. "I was taken very young, Yussuf taught me all about Earth but never about my roots."
"Is Yussuf your master, your keeper?" Harper asked, knowing the name, after all who hadn't heard of the tyrant called Yussuf, but the pain he was feeling was beginning to grab his attention again.
"He looks after me, I work for him," Dani stated, still absently brushing Harper's hair back, but Harper was appreciating her touch more now.
"Is Rommie, Trance and Rhade here yet?" Harper tiredly asked.
"Three more have arrived, Trance, and an uber, and I guess Rommie?" Dani attempted to answer.
"You really didn't pay attention during introductions," Harper remarked, finding amusement in his observation.
"I don't recall an introduction," Dani revealed. "Where am I anyway?"
Harper sighed, in one sentence he was being reminded immediately to why he disliked talking to slaves, it was like talking to a drunk Nightsider, and you went round in circles the whole time. "You're on the Andromeda Ascendant, you were brought here a couple of days ago," he confirmed with a sigh.
"Commonwealth, high guard?" Dani questioned.
"The very same, as we explained when you got here, no doubt," Harper responded, surprised in part by his own tone, and that she knew that much detail about the commonwealth, considering she hadn't remembered the introductions.
"I'm not stupid," Dani suddenly stated, seemingly hurt.
"I didn't say you were," Harper protested, and felt her touch leave his head, no longer brushing back his hair.
"You imply it, I can tell by your voice, I come across it all the time," Dani stated sharply, and Harper sensed her moving away.
Harper attempted to move, as he could fell cramp setting in. "I didn't mean to sound like that," he offered quietly, at least the discussion had been keeping his mind off the pain he felt, but Dani was quiet now and Harper didn't feel he had the energy to convince her that he was sorry, he wasn't even sure that he was.
The weight on top of him was restricting his airways now to a point that he felt tired, and wanted to sleep. He could now feel a sharper pain in his right leg, but the need to sleep was growing too strong.
"Harper?" Dani's voice was heard again. "Harper?" she quickly added before he could respond, and Harper felt her hand on the back of his head again.
"I'm still here," Harper murmured, unable to see Dani now that she was sat the other side of his vision.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to snap," Dani now spoke with regret. "Sometimes, I just lose my head."
Harper focused on Dani's touch, and voice, still feeling light headed. "It's ok, I admit I'm not my best when talking to," he hesitated for a moment. "Strangers, maybe I should be apologising," he finished honestly.
The hand remained on his back, and Harper took this as a good sign that he hadn't upset Dani again. Then he wondered why it would bother him if he had done, he hardly knew her and within five minutes of knowing Dani she'd snapped at him, and in his view unfairly.
"I don't like slaves either you know," Dani finally spoke, second guessing Harper's original thoughts.
Harper couldn't help but smirk, he had been caught out, and it seemed an obvious response now that Dani has said it. "I guess you don't," he managed, but his voice was becoming more strained.
Dani's hand now became comforting as she continued to stroke his hair, but Harper next heard Trance's voice, as she arrived to check on him.
"Seamus," Trance greeted, and immediately checked the cut on the side of Harper's head, seeing that it had stopped bleeding. "I'm going to give you a pain reliever, Dylan and Rhade have nearly cleared the room, they will begin moving the pieces around you soon, so this should make it more comfortable and less traumatic," she explained.
"Ok," Harper simply responded, and didn't react to the injector being placed at the side of his neck.
"Dani, keep an eye on him, and try and make sure he stays awake, that bump to the head doesn't look too good," Trance instructed, and Dani simply nodded her head without word.
Harper sensed Trance move away, and already he could feel the numbing sensation of the drug she had given him. "You still there?" Harper heard himself asking although he felt like he was floating slightly, but he soon felt Dani's touch again, even though she hadn't spoken for a while.
"Your first name is Seamus?" Dani asked.
"Yeah, but people tend to call me Harper," he responded.
"Can I call you Seamus?"
Harper couldn't think of reason why not. "Sure," he sleepily agreed.
Dani was quiet for a moment, before Harper heard her voice again. "They have reached you, you should be free soon, Seamus."
With Harper facing away from Dani, he focused on her voice to stay awake. She was starting to explain what the others were doing, and he was only vaguely aware of the movement around him now.
"You still with me?" Dani's voice suddenly asked.
"Still here," Harper confirmed.
"The golden girl is coming back," Dani said quietly.
"Her name is Trance," Harper stated, but Dani didn't respond as Trance came into his view.
"Just a few more pieces, and you'll be free," Trance smiled warmly.
"Thanks babe," Harper smiled back, he already felt better for some of the weight being lifted from him.
He could now hear Rhade and Dylan, with Beka struggling to lift the shelving unit back up, Beka made a comment about securing the furniture a bit better that made Harper smirk.
"Can you move?" Dani's voice asked, and she had now come round so that Harper could see her again, and he then realised that he was no longer pinned to the floor. "Don't rush," Dani warned him.
"Give me a few minutes," Harper decided, the drug was still in his system, numbing his senses, and he didn't feel confident enough to move yet.
"Harper," Trance's voice now spoke, and he felt an injector pressing into his neck again. "This will counter act the numbing pain relief, now I've scanned you I can determine that you have no broken bones, just a bump to the head and you'll probably be sore for a few days."
"Well that's something," Harper was relieved, having feared another extended spell on the Med Deck. "I think I can move now."
"Take it slowly," Beka's voice now spoke, and Harper felt both Beka and Trance assisting him as he gingerly started to get to his feet.
"We'll have a chat later about the importance of a clean and organised store room," Dylan stated.
"Sorry boss," Harper grinned, as he got his bearings, and tested his weight on his limbs.
Dylan just shook his head. "Take the rest of the shift off and take it easy for a couple of days," he instructed.
"As if we don't have enough excitement on this ship, playing hunt the runt was not top of my list today," Rhade remarked, in mocking tones.
Harper just glared at Rhade, as he left with Dylan, leaving Harper under the scrutiny of Trance and Beka.
"Now go to your quarters and don't be doing anything but rest," Beka ordered.
"I'm fine," Harper offered defensively, but allowing Beka to take some of his weight as he still found his feet.
Trance now took her turn. "I want to clean that head wound up first, so you're coming with me to med deck, I want to double check that you are ok, are you sure you're ok to walk?" she checked.
"I can walk," Harper was already resigned to the mothering treatment, and was about to leave with Trance and Beka when he saw Dani. "Thanks," Harper simply said towards the slave.
"Do you want to come with us to Med Deck?" Trance asked, but Dani didn't respond, instead she stared only at Harper.
"Come on," Harper gestured having glanced at Beka, remembering her mission, and then back to Dani, as she tentatively moved forward, looking awkward with her movement. "It's ok, I know Beka looks scary and Trance can be a bully, but they really are ok once you get to know them," Harper mocked, receiving shocked glares from his friends.
"I'm not scary," Beka protested.
Harper wasn't concerned by Beka's reaction, and he instead found that he was looking at Dani, who had reacted to his words with a smile.
"But I agree about Trance being bossy," Beka added absently.
"Am not!" Trance now protested lightly.
"Ladies," Harper now interrupted. "We have guests present," he reminded them mockingly.
"Come on Dani," Beka gestured warmly, and they all left the storeroom to make their way to med deck.
TBC