Title: Core of all Lies
Chapter: 9
Spoilers: Nope ;
Disclaimer: Don't own them, wish I did /
Harper swam in and out of darkness and was vaguely aware that he was being dragged somewhere. Someone was with him, he was fairly sure, but he couldn't remember who. He thought he was supposed to be scared…but he wasn't sure about that either. And although he longed for the cool darkness that beckoned him, he could not reach it. Just as he managed to get close enough to the painless unconsciousness it was snatched from him. Somewhere he vaguely remembered the Neits drugging him with something that kept him conscious.
Distantly, he heard the sound of a door sliding open and felt himself being dragged foreword and shoved up against a cold wall. Heat pressed up all around him and sweat shimmed in with his blood as he felt cold, rough restraints clasp over his wrists and feet. The world around him now seemed so distant and he didn't even bother to try and open his eyes to see it.
"Give it another dose." The cold voice caused a shiver to run down his spine, but he wasn't too sure why. But then without warning a small throb of pain dug its way into his arm, but it was barley noticeable among the rest of the pain coursing through him.
And then suddenly his consciousness was ripped back to the present. Memories came crashing back to him along with the pain from the injuries, all doubling what they had previously been. He flew open his eyes and took in deep gasps of air, despite the protests from his aching body. His whole body tensed from the waves of pain that surged through him and he gritted his teeth to suppress the cry that threatened to escape him.
As his vision began to clear he made out all the forms around the room. He saw Kavalsk near the center, looking rather smug. The doctor, whoever she was, stood at the side and a few other Neits stood beside the door. His bleary gaze drifted to the center of the room where managed to make out Beka's form, her hands hanging above her in rough chains. He cringed slightly at her presence, but was too absorbed with the fact to why she was there to linger too much in his fear and instead continued to settle for the blank numbness that had constantly filled him.
"What did you see kludge? What was it?" Harper turned to see Kavalsk standing, eyes glinting maliciously. But even in his emotionless state his defiance was strong and he gave no response to the Neitchian beside him. He waited for Kavalsk to brake into an angry rage, expected more pain to course through his body, but to his surprise Kavalsk merely smiled.
"Very well kludge." He said almost softly, and it brought another involuntary shudder to crawl down Harper's spine. Kavalsk reached over to a coil of a whip that hung on the wall beside him and took it from its perch, but to Harper's horror he didn't turn towards him. He turned instead towards the other figure, hanging limply from the ceiling in the center of the room. She had yet to realize Kavalsk had rounded behind her, not even sparing him a glance as he raised his whip into the air. The whip arched up like a snake preparing to strike, before slashing down with a brutal, sickening snap.
A loud cry of pain broke from Beka, and she lurched foreword in her chains as blood splashed onto the ground. A look of bewilderment crossed her face as she gasped for breathe. Again the uber raised the whip, and brought it down once more. Beka tried to strangle the cry this time, biting down on her bottom lip until it bled, but still somehow the sound escaped from her, ringing with agony around them.
Harper knew he should be horrified. He should be screaming at that uber for touching Beka, should've been absolutely frantic as he again and again brought the coil down on Beka's exposed back with some kind of sick enjoyment. But…he felt nothing. He didn't feel horrified, didn't feel frantic. He only felt that emotionless state that had plagued him since he got here.
He watched as blood splashed sickly onto the ground beneath her as the constant snap of the whip rang out, trying desperately to urge himself to feel something. He needed to, he had to! She was being tortured because of him. She was in pain because of him. And yet, through all of he felt nothing. It was the most horrible thing he had felt.
"Nothing kludge?" Kavalsk laughed, holding up the blood caked coil and grinning wildly. Beka gasped for breath, convulsing violently. Blood stained her hair and clothes, glinting on her metal hand. The wound at her chest had broke open again, sending pools of crimson beneath her. Strangled sobs escaped her and her long blond and rusted color hair fell over her face and she left her head bowed toward the floor.
He watched as he raised the whip again, but this time Beka lifted her head to him and their eyes met. Pain, grief, and unbearable guilt reflected through them, and Harper knew she was saying sorry. If she didn't make it, she was saying sorry.
Finally something sparked inside of Harper as he looked out at Beka. As he saw her limp body. Fury, pain, and indescribable hate crashed through him like a tidal wave. The overwhelming feelings caught him off guard, taking over, consuming him,
"Leave her alone!" He cried, jerking at his restraints. Kavalsk paused and looked over to him, a triumphant smile creeping up his face. He lowered his whip and strode slowly toward him.
"So kludge, finally deciding to cooperate?" He said smugly. Hatred burned within Harper, blinding him. And suddenly, it happened.
Again light exploded around him, blinding him momentarily. Again he felt the room, the world as he had never been able to feel before. He could reach out and feel, taste, the energy, the colors, the very beings around him. The feeling was astonishing, breath taking, and completely consuming. The urge to let himself go in it was almost irresistible, but even through it the hate still burned. It was as though the very experience was driven by his hate for the uber before him.
"Alright Kavalsk, you want to know what I can do?" He seethed. And he brought his focus to him, saw not just his energy, but his body. Saw each molecule, each atom and every nerve built on and in him. He saw the very inerworking of Kavalsk and focused his attention on them.
And without warning Kavalsk doubled over, letting out a loud, agonizing cry of pain. His hands shook violently and he held them out, horror, pain and fear reflecting in his eyes. While Harper could still continue, driven by hate, he could also see Kavalsk before him, and a wicked, satisfied grin crept up his face.
Kavalsk began to age. His once neat black hair began to wither and whiten. His face became gaunt and wrinkled and brown spots appeared over his body. Through out it the only thing that remained the same was his blue, horrified and agony filled eyes that through his shrieks of pain, stared down at his hands with terror and disbelief.
No one seemed to know what to do. The doctor stood, stunned at the other side of the room. The guards gaped at the scene and Beka was in utter disbelief. But Harper didn't care. He knew what he was doing, and he thrived with every moment he did.
Then suddenly the uber's cries stopped, and he clutched his chest, seeming to be trying to gasp for air that would not come. This only flared the utter enjoyment Harper felt within him and while he pressed on, forcing every nerve within the uber to flare with pain.
Suddenly Kavalsk's skin began to press around his body as though it was being sucked dry, and his eyes bulged, before without warning his whole body crumpled and collapsed into a heap of rotting flesh that clung to his skeletal frame.
And then suddenly it was gone. He was roughly ripped away from the world as he had just experienced and the pain and weariness that poured through him made itself known again, taking him off guard.
Darkness ate away at his vision, and the last thing he saw was the doctor rushing toward the crumpled mess that was once Kavalsk's body and one of the gaurds as he bolted from the room.
Tanya glanced over at the medical bed beside her, her face grim as she studied who lay on it. She had tried to tend to his wounds, though kept the restraints on the entire time. Not that it would help, she reminded herself. A shiver ran down her spine as she recalled what had happened. What the boy had done to Kavalsk.
She turned her attention back to the project she had been working on beforehand and rubbed her eyes wearily. After Kavalsk had brought Beka on board she had been furious. The plan was to tell Andromeda that this boy was a clone so they could get their hands on him without any interference with the Andromeda warship. That way they wouldn't come after them. But after they had brought Beka aboard Tanya knew the plan would collapse. Andromeda would come after them and rescue her and the others.
She again cast a glance to Harper, knowing that now this would be even harder to complete this project. After what she had seen…what had happened. She was both terrified and in awe of their discovery. What he could do…it was amazing.
She took a deep breathe and turned again to the information piled before her. It all was accurate, all there. She knew if she did this right she could pull it off, but even so felt a great tug of reluctance to do so. If she did would these three people ever return home? In doing this would it destroy the lives of not only them, but everyone else who cared for them? She gave a heavy sigh, but brushed off the thoughts almost immediately. What was she talking about? After years of searching and finally finding a power so amazing she was thinking about backing out?
Tanya instead turned to the screen at the desk before her and after making sure there was no way to track the location of their ship from what she was about to do started her transmition.
Dylan stared out before him, a troubled look crossing his features. It had been over a day since everything had happened. A whole day…to Dylan it felt like a mere few minutes since he had seen the scarlet pool in the docking bay. Since they found out Rommie might not be able to be repaired, since Trance had told him Beka had gone insane or when finding out the abyss had again succeeded in taunting them with Harper's death.
The whole crew had been traumatized after Harper's death. Things had been so hard after that, for all of them. Beka hadn't been able to cope, Trance never spoke anymore, even Tyr was silent. Dylan himself had been distressed, locking himself in his courters for days after the funeral. He hadn't realized just how important Harper was until it was too late. And now Rommie and Beka…he didn't know if he could handle their loss. Didn't know if they could pull through this time without them.
"Captian?" Dylan was jerked from his trance to see Andromeda peering at him from the screen before him.
"Yes Rommie?" He asked wearily.
"We just received a transmition. It's about Beka." This caught Dylan's attention immediately and he jerked his gaze upward. Shoving his previous thoughts off, he turned to the screen, nodding to Andromeda.
"Call Tyr and Trance up here." He ordered. As soon as the screen became blank again his thoughts became frantic, teetering on the edges of hope and fear. It seemed like hours before the pair finally made it up to Command Deck, and as soon as they slipped through the door he ordered Andromeda to play it. A woman appeared on the screen, her face grim and solemn.
"I don't have much time to tell you this, but I thought you and your crew need to know, Captain Hunt." She began, casting her gaze for a moment to the desk she sat at, before returning it to them. "I've sent the information that will prove to you that I'm telling the truth, and I take full responsibility for what happened.
"As we were leaving your ship your crewman was caught in the crossfire between us and the clone. I'm terribly sorry to report that she got shot in the chest. She was brought aboard in an attempt to save her and I tried the best I could." Tears stung the woman's eyes as she spoke, but she continued to hold a firm gaze on them. "She had lost too much blood. Her heart stopped." She said softly and took a deep breath before continuing.
"I'm not supposed to be sending this to you, Captain Hunt, but I knew you would need to know after everything else your crew has suffered through. I sent you a playback of the operation and the readings from my instruments after Beka Valentine died. I'm sorry to report this to you, and hope somehow…you can move on."