Part 4
Alone in his quarters, Harper found that he was getting use to his own company and he was beginning to feel comfortable with the darkness. In his right hand he held the jack for his port, knowing that in a matter of seconds he could easily connect to Rommie's matrix, and once again link to the internal sensors to 'see', but a part of him wanted to finally accept the blindness.
He let the jack go, and moved his right hand to his left to feel the scar that still remained on the top of his left hand, that had caused him the damage and paralysis. Trance had been working on treating the damaged skin, but he could still feel the disrupted area.
Harper soon moved his hand to his shoulder, and then struggle to feel behind him until he felt the raised scar tissue that couldn't be treated. During his life on Earth, he remembered seeing humans with the scar he now carried, and the contempt he had for them. Quickly he moved his arm back to his side, and took a long deep breath, and felt the loneliness that seemed to plague him now.
Getting to his feet, Harper moved with ease around his quarters, confident in knowing his way around without sight. He found the stool by his main console and easily moved his hand over the surface, to activate the console.
"Rommie, do you mind if I play in your matrix?" Harper casually asked.
"Harper, you know you don't have to ask," Rommie's voice returned.
"I want to work with privacy mode though, is that ok?" Harper responded, and awaited her answer.
"I don't see a problem so long as I can have emergency access, should the need arise," Rommie spoke with concern.
"Emergency only, but playback of what I'm about to do only on Beka's request, ok?" Harper compromised. "Sorry, Rom doll, no peeking."
"What are you planning to do?" Rommie's interest was now peaked.
"I just want to investigate something, it's nothing to worry about, honest," Harper spoke with tiredness.
Rommie examined Harper's vitals and responses, and they met with her satisfaction. He wasn't stressed, or anxious, so she decided to meet Harper's requests and granted him a private connection. "You may hook up to sector nine fourteen," Rommie confirmed. "That area is off limits to all but you, and can only be accessed at a later date by second in command, Rebecca Valentine."
"Thanks Rommie," Harper grinned, as he inserted the wire and soon found himself adjusting back into a bright and seeing world, inside Rommie. Looking around for a moment, to fully appreciate the colours and light, he could see the security around him that Rommie had afforded him. Harper then sat down, and pulled down various information channels.
Treating the information channels like small animals around him, Harper began. "I'm looking for all known records on recovering sight from you," Harper gestured to one screen fondly. "And any reference to weapon kick back injury recovery download to my port," he ordered clearly, and then turned to another screen. "And you, connect securely to any exterior information archive, I want all known records on the rat faced Gerentex for the past year, who he's been seen with and what business he has done, especially anything connected to Yussuf, show me," he stressed, almost talking down to the screen.
Harper then settled back closing his eyes to return in part to his own mind, his safe place, as he let the information consume him focusing on finding an answer or two.
"What's he doing in there?" Beka asked, now sat in Harper's quarters and seeing Harper slumped over his console, jacked into Rommie's matrix, she had arrived a few minutes earlier to keep Harper company. "Is he ok?"
"Harper is fine, health wise," Rommie confirmed. "But I am unsure what he is doing, he requested a secure connection."
"He's up to something," Beka immediately concurred.
"I am not authorised to find out what he is doing," Rommie hinted, as she appeared in hologram form opposite her image on the screen.
"Meaning what?" Beka asked.
"I am not authorised, but someone else might be," Rommie answered.
"Me?" Beka checked with surprise. "Harper has given me permission to pry?"
"In an emergency," Rommie revealed.
"This isn't an emergency, I'm just here to keep him company, Andromeda," Beka frowned.
Rommie seemed undeterred. "I just thought you should know; if indeed Harper is up to something and we need to find out," she stated. "At a later time," she quickly added.
Beka simply smiled. "Ok, I get the message," she confirmed.
"I am sensing his return," Rommie announced before blinking out of sight both as a hologram and on the monitor.
Beka looked over to see Harper stir, and in seconds he was disconnecting himself from the Matrix. "Harper, just so you know, I'm here and I'm sat on your bunk, ok?" Beka informed him, so he wouldn't freak out without sight.
"Hey, Beka," Harper simply responded, and she noted his brighter mood immediately, there was a positive air around him that she hadn't seen in a long while.
"Whatever you were doing, it seems to have cheered you up a lot," Beka noted unsure. "Should I even ask?"
"It was all clean and not in any way self satisfying if that's what you mean," Harper confirmed, picking up immediately on Beka's first thoughts. He got to his feet and made his way to his bunk, with Beka helping him the last few steps so he could return safely. "I was just doing something positive," he shrugged.
"Good, well that's good," Beka enthused, a little surprised. "What?" she then added with curiosity.
"What's your stock like with Dylan?" Harper asked.
"Pretty good, I've not done anything too bad lately, and he hasn't pissed me off too much," Beka answered.
"Good, you know earlier that you said I just had to say it and we could leave?" Harper began, but seemed to already sense Beka's expression fall.
"I was offering you the chance to leave, not us, Harper, the World Ship is rumoured to already be in our system, and it's a system that isn't ready for it," Beka insisted. "I can't leave, not until this threat is dealt with."
Harper seemed to be considering her words, as he sat back slightly, unable to hide his disappointment. "Harper, I'm sorry but you had your chance to leave and it's too late now, we're heading to something called the Arkology, we've just picked up a ship that needs our help," Beka finished, putting her hand on Harper's knee seeing his spirit fall once again.
"It's ok, it can wait," Harper spoke, without further explanation.
Andromeda's voice then interrupted them, as she appeared in hologram form before them. "Harper, Dylan requests your presence in the meeting room to discuss the Arkology situation, and maybe offer technical assistance to their people to defend against the threat."
"Come on, I'll walk with you," Beka encouraged the now silent Harper to his feet, and without letting him go they headed to the meeting room.
Harper was lost in his own thoughts as he sat around the table; the darkness consuming him, having opted out of jacking into Rommie's sensors for the meeting. Ambassador Galdamez was boring him, his voice so pathetic and when he started showing empathy for the Magog, it was all Harper could do to stop his blood boiling, and for once he was glad that he didn't have to look at the man too.
When the stupid man had said enough Harper slammed his good hand down on the desk, before standing up. "Ok listen Ambassador, and listen up well, the Magog are murderous insatiable creatures, they infest you with their eggs, they're utterly disgusting," Harper ranted, then felt Trance's hand on his arm and he stopped, and she continued for him.
"They are dark and evil beings," Trance calmly spoke.
Dylan further supported both their words, but Harper could tell by the silence that followed that the Ambassador was not paying their warnings with any heed.
His thoughts returned him to his own dealings with the Magog, the blood, the horror and the death of his youth, and then his own infestation and he shifted from foot to foot, as he remembered the eggs that had almost killed him. He picked up that someone else was moving, leaving their seat, and figured it was whoever was sat at the head of the table, Ambassador Galdamez if he recalled correctly. Then he heard the small gruff sound that escaped the Ambassador's mouth, and he instinctively panicked in his darkness.
The next sound completely froze Harper to the core and he couldn't move as he realised what he was hearing, as he heard someone fall to the deck. "Magog eggs hatching," he simply whispered with fear, before hearing a flurry of weapon fire, wishing he could add his own.
There was a lot of activity around him now, as Harper tried to block out the images in his head, being unable to see what was really going on, but not really needing to, he'd seen it enough on Earth. He jumped on feeling a hand on his shoulder, and panicked momentarily.
"It's ok, Harper," Trance assured him. "They are all dead, but so is the Ambassador, it was too late to save him."
Harper took some calming breaths. "Why didn't he say? Why did he bring those things onboard, why didn't Rommie spot them?" Harper asked through gritted teeth, noticeably affected by what he had heard but couldn't see.
"He wanted to believe the Magog were not savage monsters," Trance sighed. "I'm not sure why Rommie missed them."
"Are you ok, Mr Harper?" Dylan now checked. "You look a little pale, you should sit down."
"They are all dead?" Harper checked, and his unseeing eyes darted around as if trying to see for himself.
"They are all dead," Dylan confirmed. "Rhade, take our guest to her quarters, Trance make sure our guest isn't carrying her own surprises," Dylan ordered, and then Harper felt a hand around his shoulders. "And Harper, let's talk," he stated and encouraged Harper to walk.
Harper felt tense as he put his trust into Dylan, as they walked the corridors of the Andromeda. For the most part, Harper knew the corridors well, but he had no idea where Dylan was leading him, if anywhere, as the captain cleared his throat.
"I just wanted to apologise," Dylan finally began.
"For what?" Harper asked with surprise.
"I've not giving you a fair go lately, I've been expecting you to be on top of your game and have not taken your situation into consideration," Dylan offered.
"I don't want special treatment," Harper complained.
"You also deserve more than silly mind games," Dylan stated. "I shouldn't have put you under additional pressure, and when I said you were on your last warning, I had no intention of getting rid of you, I just thought you needed the motivation."
Harper smirked. "Yeah," he sighed. "Like I need motivation to help destroy the Magog, to survive, not like I've had to do that before," he stated bitterly, and he noted the brief silence from Dylan.
"Do you think you can help with the Arkology?" Dylan then asked.
"If they all talk like that Ambassador I will happily help to knock some sense into them," Harper offered.
"Maybe just help them to get the engines working again," Dylan suggested diplomatically. "Leave the talking sense into them to me?" he smiled.
"I'll try, boss," Harper shrugged. "I'll need someone with me, to stop me walking into the walls," he shrugged. "I don't think I can fix my transmitter and the arkology won't support the technology to give me sight, I'll be blind over there."
"You can take Rommie, and you'll be fine, you don't give yourself enough credit, Mr Harper," Dylan stated with authority. "You're by Machine Shop three," Dylan then pointed out. "Rommie will come by when we're ready to go."
"Thanks," Harper felt for the door and walked inside, leaving Dylan to return to his own work, both beginning to feel the weight on what lay ahead.
TBC
