Author: Shakia
Chapter: 6 (whoot! :D)
Summary: Harper is kidnapped by aliens who claim they worked with the Dragons on the Ice Kludge project and they force him to do things he will never forgive himself for.
Authors Notes: Sorry it took me so long to update, guys! -grins sheepishly- Thanks so much for the reviews, they're the reason I write these! :D
Beka's footsteps clattered against the hard metal as she entered the Maru.
"Harper?" She called out to the empty hallway. The only responce was the normal clanks and moans of her ship. Her eyes scanned over everything as she headed for the Maru's front, hoping to find something out of the ordinary. When she could find nothing the frustration within her grew and she gave a curse.
"Can't find anything?" She spun around to see Dylan heading over to her. She glared at him, before heading toward the view screen.
"Not yet." She said coldly as she tapped away at the controls, trying to find the Maru's logs. Dylan walked up behind her, though keeping his distance. Her eyes flew across the words on the screen, for some reason they hadn't recorded anything visual. Dylan seemed to be looking them over himself and she gave another curse once she finished reading.
"Looks like Harper was on board. And left on a different ship." Dylan sighed wearily. She shot him another glare and got to her feet. "Beka, we've confermed that Harper's tools released the virus." He said to her back, though she didn't stop walking. Arguing with Captain Terrific was like talking to a wall. She'd known Harper longer. She knew how his mind worked, and knew that he'd never think of doing something like this. Something was wrong, her gut screamed it. Everything they'd found seemed out of place, so unHarper like. She gave an agrivated sigh as she again rounded the corner to find herself standing in Harper's old qaurters. Her eyes softened slightly at the sight and she released a heavy sigh before slowly making her way toward his bunk bed. Man, she missed him so much. When he got back she was going to make sure Dylan didn't continue this. And if he refused, well then she guessed they'd be the old Maru crew again.
As she sat down on the bunk and lowered her eyes to the Sparky can littered ground she spotted something. Upon further inspection she recognized it to be a ragged and barley recognizable teddy bear. She gently picked it up, her stomach twisting into a knot. It was Harper's. One of the few things he had brought onto the Maru when he had first joined. She had tried again and again to get him to get rid of it and had poked fun at him for it, hoping to convince him. It was smelly, old, and not even fit to be used as a rag. One night though he had told her exactly why he couldn't get rid of it. His parents had givin it to him and he finally admitted to her that they had been killed right in front of him, though he hid. He admitted the Neits that had killed them had wanted him and they had died for him. Beka had never urged him to get rid of it since. He had, however, agreed readily that no one should see it or know who's it was and so always hid it behind his pillow. He slept with it on occasion, but always made sure to keep it securley under his pillow away from any prying eyes. Harper would never be so careless as this. She got to her feet, still holding onto the bear and once again returned to the front of the Maru. She would figure out what was going on.
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Dylan sighed wearily as he sat on his bed and raked his hand through his hair. He hated to admitt it, but this felt a bit too much like daj'vu. He frowned. He had placed so much trust in Harper, and though had been betrayed before realized it hurt just as much. Hurt that Harper had betrayed them so readily. He shut his eyes, feeling tired and weak and suddenly realized just how long it had been since he had slept. How long since they had all slept.
"Andromeda, tell everyone to get some sleep." He said wearily as he made his way to his bathroom. "We'll do this more tommorow."
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"No!" Trance quipped again.
"Trance, you haven't slept in over twenty-four hours." Andromeda reminded her. Trance glanced over her shoulder at Andromeda's hologram.
"I don't really need it, and besides we have to find Harper!" She insited as she continued with her work. There were so many possible futures, though at the moment she could see no perfect one. She bit her lower lip worriedly.
"Trance..." Andromeda began, her voice holding some pain and caution to it. Trance turned to see her furrowed brow and worried expression.
"You think Harper really did it?" She asked softly. Andromeda hesitated.
"I don't know what to think, Trance." She replied honestly, her eyes downcast slightly. "But we've all been through a lot and you won't be any help if you're too tired to think." She reminded her.
"Sorry Andromeda, I have to stay here." She told her. She nodded wearily before winking out. Trance turned to her work, tears starting to swim in her eyes. "Oh Harper, I hope you're ok." She whispered softly as a tear escape her grasp.
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The pain was unbearable. It felt like he was being torn in half, or burned alive only ten times worse. There was nothing that went in length to describe how it truley felt. How every moment he wished he would just die. That was the only thought in his mind as he screamed. He just wanted to die. 'Please, please just let me die. Please just make it stop.' He couldn't remember anything else, couldn't recall anytime without the constant pain. It seemed to go on forever. Then all at once, it finally stopped. He took gasps of air, letting it flow into his empty lungs. Soon his memories began to leak back and though he still felt like he was on fire, felt relieved. Felt his body relax slightly and felt wearyness and tiredness overtake him. As always the ticket to unconsciousness was offered to him, and though he almost always refused it welcomed it this time. The bliss darkness was his only escape from the nightmare that awaited him.
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Beka had also refused Andromeda's insistance for her to get some rest. Andromeda told her that she looked horrible, weak, pale, and had rings under her eyes and was even shaking, indicating how much her sleep was needed. Though she still refused. She had spent a good part of her time trying to dig up anything and everything she could that might be out of the ordinary on her ship. She hadn't found much, but she thought deeply over what she did. One thing was that the Maru's slipstream had broken down when she had first borded the Andromeda after that two week expidition and of course Harper hadn't had the time to fix it. Of course it had been fixed and she had gone over the work and knew immidiatly that the work was not that of Harper's. It was thrown back together carelessly and not with the compasion nor the genuise that he had. Then of course, Harper's bear. She gave a sigh and sat back on the chair she sat at. And yet she wasn't anywhere closer to finding him.
"Beka." She turned around to see Rommie peer around the corner.
"Yes, Rommie?" She asked wearily, a hint of irritaion adapted to her voice.
"I was on my way to the bridge and stopped by to tell you someone's sending us a transmition. They say they know where Harper is." She told her. Beka snapped to attention and shot to her feet.
"Alright, let's go." She said, and without waiting for a reply raced past her.
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Beka and Rommie reached the bridge in under two minutes to find Tyr, Trance, and Dylan waiting expectantly for them. Beka leant against a wall behind her and tried to catch her breath and Dylan nodded to Rommie.
"On screen." He told her. She nodded and a face appeared on the screen. The alien had tanish brown skin, spikes over his shoulders and firey orange eyes. Trance's eyes widened.
"Captain Hunt?" The man asked, braking into a grin.
"Yes, may I ask who you are?" Dylan asked lightly, though keeping his voice mistrusting.
"Who I am is of no importance. I know you're looking for Seamus Harper, and I happen to know where he is." He told them wryly.
"Why would you want to tell us?" Dylan questioned suspiciously. The man's face hardened.
"Because I hate my employers. They've been forcing our speciese on this project and some of us just want it to end." He seethed.
"Project?" Dylan pushed.
"Do you want to know where he is?" The man snapped. Dylan paused and nodded to him. The man seemed to consider something.
"Of course I'll only tell you for a price." He started. Dylan raised a brow. "Ranging from ten to fifteen thousand thrones." He continued. Dylan sighed and looked over to Rommie, his face stiff.
"I'm sorry, we're not intrested." He told the man. Beka gaped at him and just as she was about to yell at him he cut off transmition.
"Dylan, what the HECK are you doing?!" She screamed, storming to him.
"Sorry Dylan, but I have to agree with Beka on this one." Trance said urgently, her eyes flashing to the blank screen nervously.
"Beka, could you please join me in my quarters?" He asked wearily and headed there as he spoke. Beka let out a cry of frustration, but followed all the same. Though the walk through the halls was silent, Beka was silently cursing him all the way there. Immidiatly upon entering she exploded.
"Dyllan you IDIOT, how the heck could you do that?! WHY THE HECK WOULD YOU DO THAT?!" She roared. Dylan seemed unfazed by her words, which only made her anger rise.
"Beka, I know you don't want to believe it, but everything we've found....nothing even points to a different conclusion. You have to accept that." He said softly. She let out a shrill laugh.
"You really think he would do this?!" She demanded with a snarl, her anger continuing to rise.
"We have to accept that he has. He obviously doesn't want to be found Beka, and doesn't want to be on this ship anymore. We've found so much against him, and-" He started. She didn't exactly know what had happened but she found Dylan on the ground with a swolen eye and her over him, her fist throbbing. She couldn't hold it in any longer.
"You have NO RIGHT!" She started, feeling tears swim in her eyes. "You have no idea what Harper went through! NO IDEA! You want to know why Harper never told us about him transforming, huh?! Well Captain Perfect, maybe he had a reason! His, his family, his FAMILY tried to kill him! Yea, they hunted him down like an animal and nearly killed him! After going through hell and returning to the only people he ever trusted, they wanted to kill him. And that Neit he killed? He was the one who did that to him! Do you have any idea what he goes through when transforming?!" She gave another harsh laugh as tears streamed down her cheeks. Her face twisted into one of anger and hate as she glared down at him. "You have no right." She snarled through gritted teeth, before turning and bolting through the door. Dylan stared at her back, completley shocked.
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Tyr frowned as he continued through his work. He hated to believe Harper had anything to do with this. He saw no reason the little prophesor would even consider it. His thoughts were interupted as Andromeda's voice rang through the room.
"Maru's launching from the docking bay." She announced. Tyr furrowed his brow and turned as the door opened to see Dylan standing there with a black eye. He would've grinned at this if it had been under normal cercumstances.
"Try and get her back." Dylan told Andromeda as he raced to the front.
"No use, she's not responding to hails and is going to slipsteam." She announced. Tyr turned to the front screen briefly to see the strings of slipstream pull the Maru away.
"What happened?" He asked, returning his gaze to Dylan. Dylan didn't respond and instead worked feverishly on the panel before him. "Dylan?" He pushed, raising a brow. Dylan sighed.
"Beka went to find Harper." He said softly.
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On normal cercumastances the darkness around him would be suficating. Though this time it was almost comforting. It was like he was floating through the void around him. It was so peacful, more then he could remember anytime being. Suddenly he began to feel a dull ache fall over his body and frowned, wishing so desperatly that he wouldn't stop floating. He wasn't ready to return to the waking world, though why was still lost to him. The ache steadily grew to a horrible burning sensation and soon he found the pain to be coursing through his body. He let out a moan and reluctantly forced his eyes open, slugishly trying to remember exactly what had happened. He blinked a few times to get the world around him to stop spinning and as he did his memory slowly returned. He let out a groan and suddenly wished to return to his floating darkness. The world finally went into focus, though the fact brought him no comfort. He was still on the stupid table, though his neck was numb and throbbing. Plus that stupid alien was hovering above him, grinning like an idiot.
"I'm glad you're finally awake." He said, his grin never fading. 'That makes one of us.' Harper thought bitterly, glaring at the man angrily. "We were also able to transfer the colar on you." He continued. Harper felt his chest twist into a knot. Crap, definatly not good. Though, he admitted other than a major headache he didn't feel different..."And, don't try and take it off." He warned. Oh right, like he'd really leave the fricken thing on there.
Suddenly the metal bounds holding him down released him. He blinked, feeling surprise spread acompinied by one of those "this is not going to be good" feelings. He caught the man's look and groaned inwardly. 'Oh yea, totally one of those not going to be go-' He started to think, before suddenly he got up. He felt terror grip him at the realization that he hadn't been the one to make the comand. The man before him smiled with delight and looked to the cieling, seemingly savoring the moment.
"Finally, after all this time." He breathed. Harper wanted to glare at him, want to lunge at him, but he was forced to just sit there. Not even the emotions he felt exploding within him were reflected from his eyes. 'Oh please, please let this be a dream.' He begged. He never would have thought it to be so terrifying to be trapped within your own body. Boy, how he had been wrong.
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"Fine, it's a deal." Beka told him snappishly.
"Prove to me you have the money. I've heard of you Ms. Valentine." The man on the screen in front of her said. She gave an agrivated sigh before pulling up her box of discs. His eyes flashed greedily as she pulled out a few.
"Worth more than ten thousand thrones." She assured him. "Now, where is he?" She demanded and set the box aside once more. He nodded eagerly.
"Alright. But, Ms. Valentine, I assure you if I don't get my money-" He started.
"I know! You'll get paid!" She snapped angrily. "But I can't know if you're telling me the truth." She scowled. He nodded.
"Yes, of course. But I must warn you that it will be very hard to get in unnoticed. Upon aprouching them tell them you're there to bring in another order and need to go dirrectly to Smathos with it. They'll know what you're talking about. Bring a box with you and they'll take you there. If you're here in the next thirty minutes he won't be there and after the gaurds leave you can move around freely." He said, obviously having put a lot of thought into the plan. Though Beka took notes on what he was saying, found herself getting more anxious to where he actually was.
"Alright, so where is he?" She demanded.
"Our colony is cloaked on an astriod, completley invisible to ship's sensors. I'll have to tell you exactly which astriod it's on..."
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"I think we've got something Rommie!" Trance announced as she sat at a computer in Med Deck. She had been digging for something that would help them, and after hours of extensive by-passing and with a whole load of help from Rommie, they had finally been able to dig up footage that had before been very deeply burried. Trance didn't know what it was, though could sense it was important.
"I'm putting it on screen." Rommie told her. Suddenly an image flashed on the computer screen before them and the two watched intently. Though the sight was something they hadn't expected to see. It was Harper in the Med Deck, transformed, and Beka by his side. "Turning up volume." She announced quitley.
"Beka?" Harper questioned groggily, his voice horse and he looked dazed and confused. Beka moved closer to the bed and suddenly Trance could make out the look of horror that spread across his face. "How long?!" He demanded to Beka, looking around him frantically.
"Harper, it's alright we're back at the Andromed-" Beka started soothingly
"How long!" Harper repeated desperatly. Trance stared at the screen, worry consuming her. This was Rommie's logs, so why had it been burried?
"About forty minutes." Beka replied. Trance jumped as without warning Harper doubled over in pain and let out a strangled cry.
"Harper?" Beka asked wildly as she shot to her feet.
"Andromeda." Harper grunted, gasping for air. "Activate Harper three zero, password: Ice Kludge!" He managed to pant out. Trance exchanged a brief look with Rommie before the two continued to look at the screen.
"What? Harper?" Beka asked, her voice panicked. With a low moan the room suddenly went dark.
"Soundproof walls activated, lock down sequence initiated..." Andromeda's voice rang out.
"I can't remember any of this." Rommie whispered, her eyes still glued to the screen.
Beka looked around her, but she turned back to Harper as with no warning he started shrieking. Trance immidiatly paled, feeling herself go numb. His pain filled shrieks continued for such a long time, until Trance felt tears washing over her face. Beka went a ghostly white and began to shake, staring in shock at Harper. He continued, clutching for deer life the sides of his bed as tears gushed from his eyes. And he began to transform again. The hot tears washing down Trance's face grew.
Stomach churning noises of bones and muscles crunching together and morphing were almost unnoticeable over his constant screaming. Harper screamed himself horse, pain etching every inch of him. Suddenly he stopped, his eyes rolling into the back of his head and he went limp on the bed. He was now himself once again, completley drenched with sweat, and gasping for air. Beka, still a paper white, collapsed into the chair beside Harper, looking utterly shocked. Harper's eyes briefly cracked open and he winced.
"Sorry." He whispered, his voice lost from screaming. Pain was still etched every bit of Harper's feature.
"Harper." Beka breathed in horror and disbelief. The screen suddenly went blank, though Rommie and Trance continued to stare at it.
"There's more." Rommie whispered after a long moment. Trance swallowed and whipped away her tears.
"Let's show Dylan first." She whispered. "We can watch the next part with him."
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Hehe, yea, I make everyone punch Dylan in the face too much XP Well he deserves it for believing that our Engineer was a traitor, huh? :P Anyhow, TBC, let me know if you want me to continue it O.o Which also means, PLEASE, PLEASE review :D Reviews are my drugs! XD