Part 3
After what seemed an eternity, Harper felt the ramp of the Maru, and he stumbled alongside Beka as she now partially carried him towards the bunks.
"Trance!" Beka yelled. "We need blood, and the transfusion gear set up, quick!" she added, showing the first acknowledgement of what Harper had done and the concern he had caused her.
Beka lay Harper down, and placed her hand against his forehead to check for fever. "Stay awake, Harper," Beka encouraged, seemingly not concerned by his lack of response as she continued to fuss over him, removing her makeshift bandages as Trance arrived with the medical kits.
"What happened?" Trance asked without emotion.
"I found him like this," Beka gestured, and neither of them dared suggest the intentions of the injuries. "He's lost a lot of blood, but I think I reached him in time," she noted, as Trance quickly cleaned the cuts, and swiftly applied fresh pressure bandages to his wrists to stem the still bleeding cuts. "He went out without the cast on again," Beka then added with disapproval.
Beka then kneeled beside Harper's cot, and she placed a comforting hand around his head, gently stroking his hair. "We're right here, Seamus, Trance and I," she said with fondness. "You're ok, everything will be ok."
"I know what you're going to say," Beka pre-empted as she stood in the meeting room on the Andromeda, looking in turn at the faces of Dylan, Rommie, Rhade and Trance. "But I know Harper will crack this, he's not lost to us."
"He's already cracked," Rhade remarked with a frown, crossing his arms.
"Beka, we simply do not have time for this," Dylan stressed, but showing some concern. "The World Ship is going to appear any day now and I can not be dealing with one crew member who appears more concerned with taking his own life, than saving it."
Beka looked away in frustration, but Trance now spoke up. "I don't think Harper attempted to take his own life," she offered, and she suddenly had everyone's attention, including Beka. "I've examined the knife that Beka brought back, that Harper supposedly used to inflict these injuries."
"The knife was in Harper's hand," Beka pointed out.
"Yes, his finger prints were all over the handle," Trance agreed.
"So how does this confirm that he didn't harm himself?" Dylan questioned unsure.
"The finger prints were not only from his right hand, but from his left hand too," Trance spoke up. "For someone who has no mobility in his left hand, I'd like to know how he was able to grip the knife, as well as slice open his right wrist," she explained, then continued. "I have rechecked his hand, and there is no possible way he could have gripped that knife, let alone use it, but the prints seem to want to suggest otherwise."
There was silence in the room now, as Trance's revelation sunk in. Beka moved back to her seat, looking stunned. "Someone tried to kill Harper?" she questioned, and her breathing quickened. "And tried to make it look like suicide?"
"It would seem that way," Trance agreed calmly.
"Who?" Rhade now asked, leaning forward.
"Yussuf," Dylan answered as the obvious thought.
"Hasn't that Nietzschean done enough?" Beka snapped.
Rhade frowned. "Harper was marked as his slave, his property."
"We haven't heard from him in nearly two months and now he tries to make it look like Harper is taking his own life in some dank dark ally way?" Beka questioned. "It just doesn't seem like his style."
"I have to agree," Rhade added. "Yussuf would not lower himself to kill a kludge, and one so weak to start with," Rhade remarked, re-crossing his arms.
"Harper is not weak," Beka corrected sharply.
"I mean with him at this time being blind and crippled," Rhade explained with care. "He would have hired someone to do this, if it is indeed his work."
"But why has it taken so long for Yussuf to strike back, and why does he feel the need?" Dylan questioned now. "Harper saved his life, and has not said a word to bring shame to Yussuf," Dylan pointed out.
"That confuses me too," Rhade explained. "And why Harper has also not said a word, he has not mentioned someone making an attempt on his life, and he let us believe that he did try to take his own life."
"That's what concerns me," Beka spoke up, and she got to her feet again. "I need to speak to him," she stressed.
"Let us know if you find anything useful," Dylan responded.
"Is Harper worth it now, now it's a little more interesting to you than just self harm?" Beka asked bitterly.
"Beka," Dylan spoke with authority. "This changes everything, and if Yussuf is back on the scene then we need to ensure he does nothing to disrupt our plans, or further cause further harm to Harper."
"Right, your plan first, Harper second," Beka almost snarled in reaction, and left the room before Dylan could respond.
Beka took a deep breath before entering the quarters where Harper was currently situated. On walking inside she saw him lying on his cot, seemingly asleep. It had been only in the last few weeks that she had got use to seeing a slowed down version of her friend, no longer as active as he used to be before he had his sight taken away from him.
"Seamus?" Beka ventured and saw Harper move slightly, and his sightless eyes opened, but only as a token gesture. "How are you feeling now, better?"
Harper didn't respond, other than a low grunt as he shifted so he was lying on his back. She saw his heavily wrapped wrists, and the cast now firmly back in place on his left hand, and she could also see that he was tired after his ordeal.
"Who did this to you?" Beka asked finally breaking the momentary silence, as she reached his side. "Took us a while to realise it, but there is no way that you could have done this to yourself, with your left hand still incapacitated."
Harper showed no reaction or emotion to her words, he had hardly spoken a word since the incident, and seemed more withdrawn now than at any other time.
"Harper," Beka persisted, and she tentatively placed her hand on his upper arm, for comfort. "Who did this to you?"
Harper finally frowned, showing slight emotion but he calmly answered. "Gerentex."
"Rat face?" Beka spat with surprise and horror. "Why didn't you say something?" she demanded, but Harper didn't respond, returning to his silence. "Harper, what did Gerentex say?"
Harper sighed now, and partially shrugged. "I have a bounty on my head, and he already has half of it."
"If that's true then why didn't he just kill you?" Beka asked.
"He wants me to suffer," Harper smirked now, the irony not lost on him in his darkened and pained world. "Seems to think the threat of him will somehow concern me."
Beka smirked now, but only in Harper's strange reaction to the news, and knowing the history between the rat and Harper. Her concern though was now only rising with this revelation, and something that had been troubling her since she had found him, now needed an answer.
"Harper, did you want to die, did you fight him at all?" she now asked with seriousness. "I know you, and you didn't seem panicked or distressed when I found you, you seemed almost calm, it's why I didn't think anyone else had done this."
Harper remained silent but with more emotion being seen in his features now. "What did I have to fight for?" he then quietly asked.
"Your life, Seamus," Beka returned quickly, and with conviction. "OK, so right now it might suck in your mind, but this isn't your whole life, Harper, it's just a couple of really bad months, ok?" She stated as Harper rolled onto his side, and Beka could now see the first tears escaping his sightless eyes. "Seamus," Beka immediately responded by embracing him as best as she could, as he lay on his cot. "Things will get better, they have to."
"The World ship is almost here, I have a bounty on my head, I'm blind, useless, and," Harper mumbled, but stopped without reason.
"And what?" Beka asked with curiosity, but Harper failed to respond and she sighed. "Ok, Harper, I'm only going to ask this once," she decided and considered her next words with care. "Do you want me to arrange you some leave from this ship, the mission, just for a little while?" she asked. "Allow you to lay low and properly recover from the past few weeks?"
In his darkness, Harper seemed to be considering her question, his eyes still wet. Beka brushed back the stray strands of hair from his face, and she had found that in recent weeks since he returned in the state he was, Harper had been more susceptible to her touch, where before he had been less inclined to let people touch him. His blindness had made him feel vulnerable and Beka had responded by reassuring him with her touch, that seemed to help him at times like now, where he was down, she just wished he didn't get down as often as he did.
"No," Harper finally spoke.
"Are you sure?" Beka checked.
"I can't run, this is my home," Harper offered. "I know where things are," he added, reminding her once more of his situation now, and what he had to take into consideration.
"Ok, well get some rest and I'll come back soon," Beka spoke brightly, as she got to her feet.
"You don't have to," Harper responded, almost speaking into his pillow as his tiredness became clearer.
"I want to," Beka stressed, as she always did. "I'll bring some food with me, and we can play that name that tune game again, and this time I'll win," she added, with a smile.
Harper simply smirked, pleasing her more than he could know, as he settled down and closed his eyes. Beka left him alone, and headed towards command to speak to the others about what she had learned, inwardly cursing the rat she knew as Gerentex.
"Gerentex?" Dylan spoke up, as Beka looked back at him with Trance, Rommie and Rhade looking on.
"The rat face himself," Beka sighed. "Remember him?" she asked, and saw Dylan frown before nodding his head.
"Why didn't Harper tell us about this in the first instance?" Rhade asked with confusion. "Someone wants to kill him and it slips his mind?" he questioned.
Trance moved forward. "Gerentex doesn't concern Harper, and therefore I guess this bounty will not either," she said with conviction. "He thinks that Gerentex is a fool."
"A fool who has already been paid good money to kill Harper," Beka stressed. "With the promise of more on delivery," she added with concern.
"So what do we do?" Dylan asked.
"Harper wants to stay on board, and I'm fairly sure Gerentex can't get him on the Andromeda," Beka stated.
"If this Gerentex has any sense he wouldn't attempt to come any where near the Andromeda whilst we're assigned to deal with the World Ship issue," Rhade noted calmly.
"Let's just keep our wits about us, just in case," Dylan decided. "If Harper needs to leave the ship for any reason, he has an escort for the foreseeable future," he added. "Regardless," he stressed remembering the tantrum Harper had previously had that had meant they had left him to wander the drift alone, resulting in Gerentex's attack.
"Dylan, can we talk?" Beka then asked, and Dylan nodded his head, gesturing for Beka to walk with him as they left command.
"I bet you know what this is about," Beka spoke soon after they left command.
"Harper," Dylan guessed.
Beka sighed before continuing. "Dylan, I know we've had this talk a thousand times in the past couple of months, I know I keep asking you to give Harper time, but he's at the lowest I've ever seen him and it doesn't help that he thinks you are ready to get rid of him."
"I'm not looking to get rid of him, Beka," Dylan stressed.
"I know that, you know that, but what about Harper?" Beka stressed. "He's only hearing you, Dylan, he can't see your expression when you tell him things like 'this is your final warning'," Beka added.
"I've backed off of him since I said that, I have not done anything since to make Harper think I'm following it through," Dylan protested.
Beka shook her head. "Look at me, Dylan," Beka now asked, and they both stopped as Dylan did as she requested. "Close your eyes," she then demanded and with reluctance, and hesitation Dylan once again complied. "Dylan, you're on your final warning, one more step out of line, and you leave me no choice," Beka spoke with authority.
Dylan listened, and heard the tone of Beka's voice and had to admit that without being able to look at her reaction, he could only guess at her expression as she spoke, and it wasn't a pretty picture. There was silence now, and Dylan waited for Beka to speak but she said nothing.
"Ok, I get your point," Dylan finally spoke, but still there was no response so Dylan ventured in opening one eye, and found Beka had left him alone and he hadn't even realised. It took him a moment more to realise that she was making another point, he hadn't spoken to Harper since disciplining the engineer, and he too had probably left Harper wondering what was going on, just as Beka had left him alone in the corridor.
Just then Rommie appeared in holographic form, informing Dylan of an incoming communication from the Commonwealth, and Dylan was left no choice but to head to command to respond, but with the intention of dealing with the Harper matter when he had some spare time.
TBC
