Part 6

Harper had long resigned himself to being fussed over on Med Deck, as Trance ran scan after scan over his battered body. Now that he didn't have all of that junk on his back, Harper felt a lot better if a little sore and tired, but he let Trance do what she needed to do.

"I want you to rest but don't go to sleep, at least not for a couple of hours and if you feel any dizziness," Trance began, as she checked the cut on his head one more time.

"I'll yell for my golden princess, don't worry," Harper grinned, as he finished her sentence, showing his experience in that area.

"Don't over do it," Trance warned, giving Harper his sign that he was now free to leave.

Harper jumped off of the cot, and he stretched his aching muscles. "Man, I won't be able to move in the morning," he predicted with a grimace. "Power shower here I come," he then declared.

"Harper," Trance got his attention and subtly gestured to the figure that was hanging about towards the back of med deck.

Harper was suddenly struck by the dilemma he now faced, and it showed in his expression as he looked at Dani. For some reason, Harper had thought that Dani had left with Beka who had gone back to command soon after they had arrived; Dani had been so quiet.

"Dani," Harper finally spoke and looked at Trance for some help, what was he supposed to do, he considered, she had obviously been waiting for him for reasons he couldn't begin to understand.

"Maybe Dani should return to her quarters now," Trance suggested. "Could you show her the way, Harper?" she hinted.

"Yeah, I'll take you back to your quarters, and then I'll go to mine and rest," Harper agreed, thankful to his golden friend for helping him out.

Dani shrugged but nodded her head to agree to the plan and approached him, but she then glanced at Trance with apparent caution.

Harper threw Trance his own confused expression before turning his attention back to Dani, and Trance could tell that Harper had no idea how to deal with the situation. It had been the strangest thing to find that Dani had responded to Harper's accident first, and had even left her room to offer help having hardly moved since she had arrived, adding to that, the fact that she had responded to Harper in a way she had not responded to any one else.

Trance wondered if her initial feeling that Harper could help Dani were now justified, or whether Dani was simply human after all and had responded to a distressing situation like any other, because she had been in a position to act on it and help. Either way, Harper now had the opportunity whether he liked it or not to help Dani, and she wondered how Harper himself would respond to this. A part of her feared that he still wouldn't help, and that he would push Dani away through stubborn means, but Trance had no idea why, as it went against everything she had learned to trust about in Harper.

With a sigh, Trance knew that the day had been traumatic enough for Harper and she decided to let things be for the moment, hoping that they'd work themselves out. They knew now that Dani responded to Harper, so now it was up to Harper, she decided, and she knew it would be harder for the engineer to try and claim he couldn't help.

They walked in silence back to Dani's quarters, it was still only early evening and Harper heard his stomach growl, and inwardly made plans to go and eat as soon as he had dispatched of Dani. Thinking of food however reminded Harper of the fact that he knew that Dani had not eaten since coming on board, and he now felt obliged to at least encourage her to eat, now that he had somehow got her talking and interacting, and seeing as he was going to go and eat anyway, he considered rationally.

How this situation had happened had come as a complete shock to him, Harper was still unclear as to why or how Dani had been the first to respond to his mishap. There was still some reluctance that he felt within him in reaction to Dani, she was a slave and he knew all too well from experience that he had little patience or time to dedicate to helping them, it just wasn't in his nature to be able to help them, it never had been.

Harper had to be brutally honest now that he was in her company, and admit to himself that he was prejudice against slaves, and considered them with a form of disdain; he had always hated slaves and all they stood for. No, Trance would be the best option for Dani he figured, and that his job now was to try and convince Dani of this, and over a light meal.

"Tell you what," Harper began, innocently enough. "I'm going to grab a bite to eat, are you hungry?"

"Starving," Dani revealed enthusiastically, to Harper's surprise.

"Then why didn't you eat?" Harper had to ask. "I know for a fact you were given food."

Dani hesitated before answering. "I only eat certain foods," she offered.

"Then why didn't you just say something?" Harper questioned with impatience, and attitude. "Trance would have prepared whatever meal you wanted."

"I didn't know where I was, I wasn't aware there were options," Dani argued lightly.

"There's always options," Harper stated sharply, as he steered Dani towards the mess deck. "And we have many options, I'm sure we can find something to your tastes."

They reached the mess deck a few minutes later and Harper determined the ingredients that Dani informed him she could eat, and a meal was prepared for her in seconds, they took their choices to the table and they began eating.

Harper watched Dani for a moment with mild amusement, as Dani positively gulped her food down, and he remembered what it was like to get a decent meal after a sizable absence of food.

"Take it easy," Harper warned her, also knowing from experience the stomach cramps you could get from eating too quickly and too much on an empty stomach.

"Sorry, didn't realise how hungry I was," Dani began to slow down, and chew her food.

"There's plenty, the food isn't going anywhere, so you don't have to rush," Harper assured her. "There are no rations here."

Dani looked at Harper closely. "You're speaking from experience," she noted with a cunning eye.

Harper offered an unsettled smile. "It took me a while to adjust to how normal people live."

"Were you ever a slave?" Dani now asked, her voice barely audible, as if they were whispering.

Harper looked at his food, avoiding eye contact. "No, I managed to escape all that," he frowned, unable to look at Dani knowing that she wasn't one of the lucky ones like he had been.

"You were a refugee?" Dani pushed slightly.

"Lived in the camps, under uber control," he revealed cagily, and continued to stare at his food as he was eating it, he wanted to change the subject now. "Look, Dani, this small talk and stuff is all well and good but tell me, what made you come to my aid this afternoon?"

Dani shrugged. "I heard crashing noises, then the sound of someone in pain," she offered with a frown. "I didn't hear any one else going to your rescue so I couldn't just sit there and do nothing."

Harper stared at her, as if looking for any sign that Dani was lying, but she appeared to be speaking the truth. "Why have you decided to only talk to me?"

"I don't trust the others," Dani quickly responded.

"But you trust me, and you don't even know me," Harper returned.

"I know you're a klutz," Dani offered, and then slyly grinned.

Harper just stared at her with amazement. "What did you just call me?"

"The first time I saw you, you were lying under a pile of rubbish, holding some piping in your hand," Dani explained. "It was obvious that you had taken a shortcut to get that piping, regardless of the consequence, or heavy junk that was all around you."

"I don't believe this," Harper couldn't help but smile.

"What?" Dani asked. "Can't a slave make a joke?"

"I've not met one yet who does," Harper countered abruptly.

"Yes you have," Dani simply grinned.

Harper shook his head. "Look, you can trust this crew, they are the good guys, I wouldn't be here if they weren't."

Dani looked at Harper with interest. "So now you want me to trust you, your judgement?" Dani observed.

"I'm just saying," Harper returned. "This crew are not the bad guys, if they were I wouldn't be talking to you like this," he gestured.

Dani looked at Harper closely. "Call me a cynic, but I get the impression you would work with any crew that gives you food and a roof over your head, regardless of whether they are good or bad."

"You seem to think you know me," Harper returned, his eyes narrowed now, not appreciating Dani's assumptions.

"No more than you assume to know me," Dani countered, and then frowned. "You grew up on Earth, right?" Dani asked, and saw Harper agree. "Lived under Dragan rule, in the camps, poverty, illness and famine, all the good stuff," she continued, and although Harper didn't react, he didn't object to her words. "So, I figure anything's better than that existence, and that you can't afford to be choosy, certainly if it means you get away from that existence, so don't be surprised if I'm not all that willing to take you on your word alone about this crew. I trust you, but I'm not an idiot."

"I got lucky, it happens, it's not always a hard luck story for us humans," Harper simply said, then wondered why he was even bothering to try and convince her of anything, when it seemed clear she'd already made up her own mind. "Look, just trust them ok, that's all I'm trying to say, doesn't need to be an issue," Harper got to his feet and returned his food tray to the counter, he felt angered suddenly and it reflected in the manner in which his tray noisily cluttered onto the counter.

"I didn't mean to upset you," Dani offered quietly behind Harper, who now rested his hands on the counter.

"I've got a bit of a headache, I'm not exactly in a talkative mood right now," Harper explained quietly with a sigh, with his back still towards Dani. In truth he just wanted rid of Dani now, this was why he always avoided dealing with the slaves on Earth, they always got under his skin like this.

"Seamus, maybe I should explain some things about me, but not here, is there somewhere more private we could go?" Dani asked.

"Didn't you just hear me?" Harper asked and she stared blankly at him, with resignation he tried to get through to her again. "Why me?" Harper asked, turning around. "This crew have been trying for days to get you to speak, to get you to explain things about yourself, and they are better trained at this stuff, so please, just speak to them, speak to Trance, she's a great listener," Harper explained with care, as he returned to table. "I'm tired and I just want to rest."

Dani finished her food, and Harper took her tray away before she had a chance to clear it away herself. "I only trust you," Dani then spoke up.

"Why?" Harper loudly demanded, and like before the tray clattered onto the counter surface.

"Why don't you want me to talk to you?" Dani now asked.

"I'm tired," Harper repeated.

Dani considered his response. "I won't talk to the others, I need to tell you some things now, before it's too late."

"Too late?" Harper questioned unsure, and then he remembered the mission, and the fact it was Beka's mission. Dani was presenting him with an opportunity to be in Beka's good books for a very long time, possibly even in debt to him, but he had to ask himself if it was truly worth it. "Do I even get a choice in this matter? You know for a slave, you're very demanding," Harper sneered, with a touch of suspicion and arrogance now.

Dani's expression soon changed to that of disgust. "I'd heard about Earth, I'd been warned," she began. "I heard a lot, but stupidly I made myself ignore a lot of it, because I know ubers can be prone to exaggeration, I'm not stupid," she stated firmly, as she got to her feet. "I was told how slaves are viewed by Earthers like you, I didn't want to believe them but I'm a fast learner, I'm sorry I disgust you so much," she announced and began to move to the exit. "I'll find my own way back, I'm sure I can figure it out on my own," she emphasised the last statement. "You're precious crew will get nothing from me, if you're an example of how good they are, I don't want their so called help, and I let you tell them," she stated.

Harper took a deep breath, feeling caught out and slightly guilty with it, and knowing Trance would probably crucify him for being so rude to their guest when she would undoubtedly find out. He didn't even want to know what Beka would do to him when she found out.

"Dani, wait," he called after her, and saw her stop. "I've had a tough day, ok? Maybe we should just pick this up tomorrow, after I've had some rest and I'm of sounder, more reasonable mind?" he offered awkwardly.

"We're not all that different you know," Dani seemed to be testing his reaction.

Harper didn't respond and just shrugged, although inside he was biting his tongue to hold back what would be his more instinctive response to her comment.

Dani looked sad for a moment. "I really would prefer to explain now, it would make things much easier," she stated.

"I just don't get why you have to talk to me," Harper admitted with a genuine air. "There's other people on board who listen, I just talk, that's my thing," Harper attempted to lighten the mood. "Besides, I've only just met you, going somewhere private just," he shrugged.

"You're not shy are you?" Dani was amused by his awkwardness.

"I don't know you, and you're the mission remember, and in my book that equals trouble on a big scale, and where there's trouble and me, things tend to go boom a lot," Harper explained quickly. "I've just had some incidents in the past that I'd rather forget, where I've been too trusting and all 'yes I'll go with you and let you try to kill me'," he offered with self-disgust at his past naivety.

"Look I just want to explain something to you, I don't want to kill you I promise, I need you to understand, but I want some privacy when I tell you," Dani insisted looking around her, as if sensing the ship.

"And tomorrow I'll be all ears," Harper began to protest again.

"No," Dani insisted. "Tomorrow will be too late and you won't understand anything," she seemed to be growing frustrated with his attitude. "Do you want my help or not?" Dani asked. "Because I don't trust many people and I'm sorry Seamus, but out of everyone I've met on board this ship, I only trust you and I'm big on trust, not so big on trusting."

"Just tell me if you only trust me because I'm from Earth," Harper asked with a touch of annoyance.

"I trust you because you seem nice, Seamus, because I don't feel threatened by you," she saw his expression fall slightly. "And I mean that in a good way," she quickly spoke to avoid a misunderstanding. "Seamus, if it had been any of the other crew that I found under that mess earlier, I would have continued my reluctant act, I would have had no reason to help them because I don't trust them, but I helped you, Seamus," she said with conviction.

Harper felt trapped almost, he really just wanted to leave Dani to the others to sort out but he wasn't being given the option. His head was hurting, and he had a strong desire to sleep, but remembering Trance's advice he knew he had to stay awake, and it occurred to him that Dani was giving him an option that could help him.

"Ok," Harper finally accepted with a sigh, and gestured to Dani to follow him to the exit. "We can go to your quarters and I can engage privacy mode, we won't be disturbed," Harper explained evenly, wondering if he could really trust her in the same way she seemingly trusted him, and naturally Harper wondered briefly if she really was a threat, and whether he should he be doing this.

Looking upwards, Harper decided on some morale support. "Rommie," Harper spoke up, feeling the need for backup, should Dani turn on him. "If you need me for anything," he emphasised the anything. "I'll be in guest quarters with Dani, we'll have privacy on, because she wants to talk to me about something, but any emergencies just let me know," he stated pointedly, and knew Rommie would put only a limited privacy on now.

"I will let you know if you are needed for any emergencies," Rommie's voice returned calmly to further reassure Harper.

Harper felt better now, trusting that Rommie would pick up on his uncertainty and keep an eye on things, not enough to break the confidentiality, but enough presence that if he was in any way harmed, Rommie would know about it immediately.

Dani walked alongside Harper, seemingly oblivious to Harper's concerns. He tried to reassure himself that she was being genuine, but he was still put out that she had chosen him to talk to, and he knew it was because he was from Earth, and the stupid slave thought they were somehow connected because of it. That was what angered him now, everything he had accused the crew of doing when they had first suggested he talk to her, now Dani was just proving that the crew had been right to assume his background would appeal to her.

Harper inwardly attempted to calm down, he knew to go into this in a snappy mood wouldn't do anyone any favours, he did have the opportunity to learn more about Dani, and in turn help the crew and then she could leave, he figured.

Beka looked at Dylan and Rhade, their reactions offered very little but enough for her to smile.

"Harper's in the guest quarters with privacy mode on?" She repeated what Rommie had informed them. "It's late," she then offered. "She's a female, should we really be encouraging this?" Beka asked with a smirk.

"Dani is at least talking to someone, so let's just stay focused," Dylan pointed out.

"It appears the small man had found his calling," Rhade spoke up. "Counsellor for slaves that need to talk," he grinned.

"Take that back," Beka immediately stated, surprising those around her, especially Rhade.

"I was just joking," Rhade offered.

"It's not funny, Harper already has issues about his past and comments like those are likely to have him sticking a knife through your heart before you can even begin to grin, understand?" Beka insisted.

"I hope you're not seriously suggesting that Mr Harper would murder a fellow officer," Dylan casually remarked, his attention more focused on his console.

"Just don't make a big deal of this, he had issues about us suggesting that he'd be the best person to talk to Dani, and now Dani has chosen him. I just don't think Harper's going to be in a joking mood about any of this," Beka warned, remembering the argument she had had with Seamus a couple of days before on the subject. "And now that he can help, I don't want to discourage him, this is the closest I've come to cracking this mission, Dylan."

Dylan nodded his head, whilst taking on board Beka's apparent passion for completing the mission he had given her. "Understood," he confirmed, and glanced at Rhade who also agreed to take Beka's advice.

"I guess we just have to wait now, and see what she has to say for herself," Beka shrugged, deep down her hopes began to rise and she could now sense success was in her reach.

TBC