Part 26
Rhade checked the weapons array one final time before he looked across to Dylan Hunt, who was stood at his usual station on the command deck.
"Weapons online, and ready to go, sir," Rhade confirmed.
"Thank you, Rhade," Dylan spoke up, as he surveyed his plans.
"Dylan," Trance now reacted, having only recently returned to the ship, and she was now observing the sensors. "There's movement, Yussuf's ships are breaking off."
"Rommie, move us forward," Dylan ordered. "Prepare weapons, target all of Yussuf ships, await my orders," he stressed. "Andromeda, open communication and get me Yussuf."
Andromeda complied and moments later they received the image of Yussuf on their view screen.
"Yes?" Yussuf said with a tired air.
"We have unfinished business, and I now have all of the Andromeda's weapons trained on your ships, are you willing to negotiate yet?" Dylan asked, not appreciating Yussuf's dismissive air.
"Captain, I fail to see what there is to negotiate," Yussuf declared.
"The return of Seamus Harper and Beka Valentine," Dylan returned with defiance.
Yussuf was already shaking his head. "They work for me now, deal with it, captain," he stated arrogantly. "Now I have to leave, so if you must fire, then fire, it makes no difference."
The communication was cut and almost immediately a slip stream event occurred and a fleet of Yussuf's fighters entered the system, and they all headed towards the Andromeda.
"Trance, keep track of Yussuf's ships," Dylan barked. "Rhade, take out those fighters, and don't hang around," he ordered briskly, as he scanned his own console. "Fire when ready, Andromeda, keep us within range of Yussuf's ships."
"Dylan," Andromeda's voice sounded. "Ten more ships have just entered the system."
"We can't take them all out, and keep track of Yussuf," Trance indicated. "They are forming a shield between them and us."
The ship shook suddenly as the smaller ships began their attack, the hits were minor but enough of a distraction that allowed Yussuf to quickly slipstream away before the Andromeda could stop them. Rhade felt overwhelmed by his orders; there simple were too many ships in too many various positions for him to take them all out efficiently. As soon as the slip point closed the smaller ships reformed and as quickly as they had arrived, they slip streamed away, having lost only a few of their number.
"Should we follow?" Trance asked.
"No point," Dylan conceded. "Yussuf is a master of distraction, if we follow them we'll only end up further away from our target, because he fully expects us to follow his fleet thinking they'll lead us to him, but he's not going to score another hit against us."
"So, now what?" Rhade asked, feeling as though he had failed the captain, he hadn't been able to destroy the ships that had stood in their way.
"Dylan," Trance now spoke up with confusion. "The Maru, it's been left behind to drift, no life signs on board."
"Andromeda, bring it in," Dylan said with a sigh. "Trance, work with Rommie to try and determine where Yussuf may have gone," he tiredly ordered. "Rhade, you should go and rest, you have done more than enough already, take some time out."
"Sir," Rhade accepted. "And I'm sorry," he added.
"Rhade, you did well," Dylan insisted, and saw Rhade was about to protest until Dylan lifted his hand to gesture silence. "You did well, thank you."
Rhade simply nodded his head, trying to look convinced before he left command to follow his new orders, and get some deserved rest.
She hated planets, and the sun was burning her skin already as she walked, or more appropriately marched along the dusty ground, either side of her a Nietzschean ensured she didn't slack. Beka Valentine's hands were still tied, she was not on the Maru, and she was not back on the Andromeda, leaving her to feel like such a fool to have believed anything that uber scum had said.
Up ahead she saw wire fencing, and by the signs on display it was electrified, whilst she considered this new information she was walked towards it until they reached the tall gate, and she was quickly pushed into the enclosure. Beka glanced around, there were a further two gates to walk through, with a further two parameter fences, making scaling the fences from this place three times the job.
With a sigh, Beka began to fear that she wouldn't be seeing the outside of this place anytime soon. They reached the main part inside of the three fences, and she saw basic structures before her, some brick but mostly shanty tents, and realised the sheer size of the place, seeing it stretch for what seemed like miles before her. She was marched to a white one level brick building and pushed inside.
"Time for your cleansing, we don't want you to infect your fellow prisoners," one of the Nietzscheans informed her, and behind Beka she heard the sounds of a shower starting up.
Beka felt her body being pushed towards the water, and seconds later what clothing she wore was roughly removed, whilst her hands remained in their restraints. Like before the water burned at her skin, but this time it felt a lot worse as the acid laced water continued to engulf her, aggravating her cuts. She had been under for a lot longer than the first time, and she imagined that it was for this reason that Harper's skin had been damaged by the exposure, as she saw her own skin gaining a reddish complexion.
Strangely she began to get use to the sensation, and the guards used this time to pull her free from the water, leaving her to shiver slightly, and feel the full irritating effect of the burning sensations and become completely aware of her state of undress in front of these strangers, her captors. To her relief however, she was soon put under another shower head, and this time she was covered in freezing cold water, that once the shock of the transition passed, she relished the soothing effect it had on her skin.
As her ordeal came to an end Beka felt herself being moved to another room, and a female greeted her. Glancing around Beka noticed some medical supplied and was surprised when the female began to gently tend to her wounded back. Not a word was said as Beka stood naked in a room where her two Nietzschean guards looked on, and a nurse slowly went about her business. After she had cleaned the wounds, the nurse proceeded to dress Beka in identical clothes to before, and it seemed she was finally ready to be moved to another location.
To her surprise, as Beka was marched through the camp she noticed that people were not restrained, they moved about freely and although they all wore the same clothes, they seemed to have some degree of freedom. Beka was then taken into another building, and she was marched up to an elderly lady, her weathered face seemed a welcome sight to Beka, although she didn't quite understand why.
"Gretna, this is the prisoner you were told about, she's new, make sure she knows the deal, and keep her under control," the uber pushed Beka forward towards Gretna, and then Beka felt the other guard take her wrists and release her from the restraints.
"Don't go making life hard for Gretna, she's special to us, and this camp is just fine as it is right now, trouble makers are not appreciated," the second uber guard warned Beka, before moving away, leaving Beka to take in her new surroundings.
"Beka Valentine, welcome to my home, I hope you enjoy your life here," Gretna greeted pleasantly.
"Where am I?" Beka asked.
"This camp is known as Yussuf's security camp," Gretna carefully explained. "None of us have necessarily done anything wrong, but we are here because someone close to us has crossed Yussuf, and our purpose is simply to act as security that those same people do not cross him again."
"Everybody here is innocent?" Beka questioned angrily.
"We are treated well, and we consider ourselves to be lucky, we want for nothing and Yussuf asks nothing more of us other than our very presence here to encourage our friends or family to work for him," Gretna explained, making it sound very normal.
"I'm here to ensure Harper works for Yussuf," Beka realised, and then showed confusion. "But that makes no sense," she considered, "Harper thinks I was given back."
"And my son, Matthew, he thinks I was taken home safely," Gretna smiled, her older features showing a fondness for her son. "And I've had any trouble since I've been here, so he's obviously being loyal to Yussuf now, but if that ever changed," she hinted.
"Then you would be wheeled out as a reminder for Matthew to return to the straight and narrow," Beka realised. "He has no idea that you weren't returned, so his loyalty to Yussuf remains semi-genuine."
"Dear, my advice to you is to settle down and don't expect to leave this place anything soon, if ever," Gretna said with care, her hand gently touching Beka's arm.
"The person I am acting as security for, he's not the kind of person to buckle down and stay out of trouble," Beka stated with conviction.
"Then I fear for you and your friend," Gretna simply said. "But for now, how would you like me to cook you some dinner?"
Beka couldn't shake the surreal feeling she felt, suddenly feeling as though she was trapped in some twisted holo-novel, the ones that had been warped in transport. "Ok," she simply accepted, and seated herself at the table, to watch Gretna prepare her some home cooked food.
Harper had been dreaming, but his rude awakening had made him quickly forget where he had been, instead he was harshly reminded of where he was. Strong hands pulled him to his feet, and began to drag him out of the cell and down the corridor to a familiar place.
"No more cleansing, please," Harper began to panic, and he struggled in the uber's hold, as he attempted to escape.
"Now, now, kludge," Yussuf's voice sounded, and Harper glanced over to see Yussuf stood to one side. "I think you have been cleansed enough for one day, although I know what your kind are like," he noted and then looked at the uber who held Harper. "Bring him here."
Harper was shoved forward and Yussuf had to steady the engineer, stopping Harper from falling forward as his restrained hands struggled to help him balance for a moment.
"Now, I need to test that port of yours," Yussuf declared and before Harper could protest, he screamed out as Yussuf forced a jack into his data port.
Immediately Harper's eyes rolled as his senses adjusted to the violation, and inwardly Harper seethed at the lack of care Yussuf had taken. Didn't the thick skulled Nietzschean realise that he had to mentally prepare his mind to jack in, Harper angrily thought, and when it was forced like this, it only served to creative too much initial resistance, and Harper already felt the beginning of a headache in reaction.
"Kludge?" Yussuf checked, seeing the distress caused to Harper.
"Just give me a little warning next time," Harper said, his eyes still shut and speaking through clenched teeth, finally he composed himself enough to open his eyes again, and reach out to the connection he now had.
"I'm used to stronger beings having these things, I forget how weak your kind are," Yussuf attempted to explain dismissively.
Harper could now fully feel the connector inside of him, and he knew that it was taking data from him, finding out about his make of port and its capabilities and limitations.
"Interesting, and not a bad model, you surprise me, kludge," Yussuf was forced to admit. "No wonder you appear weaker than most, with this thing stuck inside of you, it must weaken you greatly."
"Not enough for me to notice," Harper returned.
"Your upbringing did the most damage I understand," Yussuf stated.
"What are you, my freaking councillor suddenly?" Harper snapped, and then felt a sharp jolt of pain across his back, as another strike left its mark, Harper had forgotten about the uber guard stood behind him.
Managing this time not to scream out, Harper tensed for a moment and took some deep breaths to counter act the sharp burning pain he felt across his back, only helping to make the pressure he felt in his head feel a lot worse. As Harper recovered, Yussuf just as roughly removed the jack from Harper's port, and with only a slight jerk of his head, Harper managed not to react, being too preoccupied now with his other pains.
"He's fine, and it works perfectly," Yussuf declared. "But before I make my final decision about him, I want to make sure he is able to use the thing properly."
Harper felt a new set of smaller hands grab his head, they felt softer, and a more calmer touch so he risked a glance, only to be met by a sight that brightened him, as Dani briefly smiled at him, before hiding it again, as she focused on inserting another jack into his port, this time with more care than Yussuf had shown.
"I want you to access the mainframe, and unlock that door," Yussuf instructed, gesturing to a heavy door across from them.
Harper was in two minds, he didn't want to help Yussuf, and he didn't appreciate being used like a new toy, but seeing Dani had reminded him that he was not alone, even with Beka gone he still had someone he cared about onboard, and with Dani also helping Yussuf, he didn't want to make trouble for her.
Closing his eyes, Harper felt the immense security surrounding around him in the ships mainframe, and the only option available to him was the ability to unlock the door. However, they had put a rudimental lock on his access, one that needed a little bit of brain, and a little bit of 'on the job' experience, both of which he had in abundance.
Within seconds the door swished open, and Yussuf turned to Harper with satisfaction. "Perfect, we may yet find a use for you, kludge," Yussuf declared.
Harper looked uneasily at Yussuf, before looking at Dani and seeing the bruises on her face made his blood boil momentarily, unfortunately he never realised he was staring until Yussuf grabbed his chin and forced him to look at him, and he then couldn't help but notice that Yussuf was now stood almost on top of him.
"Admiring your handy work kludge?" Yussuf demanded.
"He didn't do this to me," Dani spoke up.
"He was a part of the Commonwealth, and it was them who did that to you, Dani, he was Commonwealth and that can not be denied," Yussuf argued, still holding Harper's chin, his hand then moved to the jack still inserted in Harper's port and he yanked it out with force, and this time Harper did yell out as the pain sharply jarred his senses, doubling him up almost but Yussuf's hold stopped him falling to his knees.
"Have you considered my request?" Dani then asked, her voice cold and spoken with a tone Harper hadn't heard before.
"I have," Yussuf indicated, as he pushed Harper away, leaving the human to stagger briefly to reclaim his balance. "I have given it some thought, and I have decided that on this occasion your suggestion is one that I feel is fitting."
Yussuf clicked his hands and Harper felt a new presence behind him, a hand rested on his bare shoulder, and Harper's breathing became panicked. He vaguely heard the words 'relax' before he felt a piercing sensation attack the skin on his back, between his shoulder blade and back bone. Trying to squirm his way away from the pain, Harper tensed up once more, and his face contorted with pain until finally the pain radically reclined, and he was pushed to the floor face down. Harper loosely felt the restraints being removed from his wrists, and finally he was pulled back to his feet.
"As you requested, my beautiful Dani," Yussuf's hand gently caressed Dani, with Harper stood right beside her but biting his lip to stop reacting to it. "The kludge is now assigned to you, make sure he suffers, my sweet," Yussuf declared. "And keep him under control, you know what to do if he in anyway disobeys you, he's all yours," Yussuf stated, and Harper soon found himself alone with Dani, and finally free of restraints.
"What just happened," Harper asked with heavy breaths.
"You were chipped," Dani explained without fuss. "You are now officially Yussuf's, you have an identifying chip in your back, if you run, if you try and hide, he'll always find you now."
"Great," Harper frowned.
"Hey, it's going to be ok, you're in my care now," Dani whispered with assurance. "Let's get you back to my quarters, you look terrible, and you're lucky I'm trained in medicine, I managed to work out what Trance put in my meds, and I've reduced the formula to levels your body will tolerate, it should help you in the short term."
"So, you are medically trained," Harper realised.
"Did you guess somehow?" Dani questioned.
Harper shrugged as she encouraged him to start moving. "You healed my arm, after the shock, didn't you?"
"No one else had seen the burn, and it looked painful," Dani admitted.
"What else did you do whilst you had the opportunity?" Harper asked with suspicion.
"I may have checked some of your medical records, found out a few things that considering how things have panned out, it's a good job I did, wouldn't you say?" Dani protested.
"Yussuf thinks I hurt you," Harper said with hesitation, changing the subject.
"He also thinks your vermin and a tool to simply open doors," Dani offered. "He doesn't know you like I know you, and isn't it my thoughts that count round here?"
"What am I going to have to do now, that I am assigned to you?" Harper tentatively asked.
"In that weird way that the Devine sometimes works, Shay, you're now my slave," Dani answered, and she already saw the dismay in the eyes of Harper, as if she had just told him he only had thirty seconds to live, and when he didn't speak, she feared that she was losing him.
"Shay, I promise, you'll be a slave in name only, not in actions, I'm still onside and I still want my freedom, with your help," Dani stressed.
"With my help," Harper sneered. "Well now you have that whether I like it or not, my master," he sniped.
"Please Shay don't do this," Dani requested. "What else did you want me to do? Keep you in Yussuf's clutches, in that cell, with the forced cleansing sessions and I dread to think what else he had planned for you."
Harper didn't answer and they arrived in Dani's quarters without word, and Harper was taken aback by the sheer size of her living space, she had rooms within her quarters, all with luxury furnishings.
"I told you I wasn't exactly a slave, do you believe me now?" Dani could tell he was surprised by her living arrangements. "And you won't be either, this is 'our' home now, at least till we arrive back at Yussuf's base planet side."
Harper was only mildly alleviated of his concerns, he was still going to be seen as a slave and this whole ordeal was really starting to get to him, he had always promised himself that he'd never be so weak minded as to become a slave, to anybody. Unable to look at Dani he simply allowed her to guide him to the counter, where he sat down, and at that moment he lost the desire to speak to her, or respond to anything she was now telling him, lost in his own nightmare and situation, he just wanted it to end, in one way or another. He could not be a slave, it went against everything he believed in, and it wasn't an option to him, no matter how it was dressed up.
Harper let his head drop, and he felt as though everything he had worked for in life, had amounted to nothing.
TBC