Part 29

"Unit two, into position."

Dylan acknowledged the transmission, and then scanned the area. "Most of the activity is happening on the west side, units three and four secure the East and South sides, go," Dylan ordered and heard acknowledgements and then gun fire in the distance.

"Beka," Dylan then spoke. "How's it looking up there?"

Beka's voice returned over the transmission from orbit. "Units are moving in, looking strong so far, I see weapon charges, they are making good progress with little resistance, I think we've found their weak spots," she responded, viewing the battle from the Maru.

"Good, let me know of any changes," Dylan ordered and signed off. "Rhade, come in."

"Here, Dylan," Rhade returned, on a crackling transmission. "I'm inside, taken out a couple of guards on the North side, currently awaiting the opportunity to go down to the prison block in the basement."

"Good, I'm about to take my men into the battle on the west side, wish me luck," Dylan offered.

"You don't need luck, Dylan," Rhade remarked. "You need your head checked," he added quickly, before signing off.

Dylan smirked and then gestured to his men, and with a silent order, they suddenly moved forward, with all guns blazing and surprising their enemy.


"Sir!"

"What is it?" Rico demanded, he was halfway through his dinner and did not appreciate the distraction.

"A fresh attack on the palace has been launched," the officer reported. "We have lost the East and South wings."

"What?" Rico demanded, getting to his feet with anger. "So quickly? I ordered more men down to the palace to avoid this!"

"We were concentrating our efforts on the west side, sir," the officer offered. "That's where Yussuf's army have been most active."

"The prison wing, so our prisoners are still safe?" Rico checked.

"Yes, the east and south wings are residential suites only," the officer reported.

"Give those up, concentrate on ensuring we do not lose our prizes, any chance or opportunity we get to move the prisoners, take it," Rico then ordered, looking slightly flustered. "Is the Andromeda still in orbit?" he then asked.

"No sir, the Andromeda left the system an hour ago and could not be traced, we suspect as a counter measure to our threat, to protect it," the officer suggested.

"Dylan Hunt is taking our threat seriously," Rico seemed pleased. "We still have work to do on the kludge before we can do anything to his precious ship."

"Sir, your sister has been with the kludge for nearly thirty minutes," the officer then informed him.

Rico frowned, and then shook his head. "She's taking her role far too seriously, what is it with her and kludges, she disgusts me sometimes."

"I fear that her attempts to try and convince the human that she is Beka Valentine will fail, if she persists in trying to push the kludge into," the officer paused, choosing his words carefully in front of Rico. "Relations," he finished diplomatically.

"She is just teasing him, Roberto, she knows I will disown her in an instant if she goes too far," Rico warned. "Trust her she knows the kludge is gullible after what Dani did to him."

"Sir, some say that he was able to break Dani, that she actually fell for him, against all odds," Roberto warned. "No man was unable to resist her but she was able to just walk away, before she met that kludge, and Yussuf wouldn't have taken her out of action for so long, with little reason."

"I know that!" Rico yelled back, clearly more concerned than he let on. "Just keep an eye on Darla, just in case," he seethed and left the room.

Roberto slowly smiled. "You do see the kludge as a threat, interesting," he remarked softly to himself, before turning on his heals and leaving.


Harper tested his restraints once more, his arms were sore from the cuffs and he desperately wanted an escape. Sitting next to him on his bunk was the woman who claimed to be Beka Valentine, but Harper didn't know what to believe anymore, and something didn't feel right. He remembered the name, and in his mind he was sure Beka was not brunette, he vaguely remembered a blond feisty lady when he thought of Beka, not some sick sadistic Nietzschean. Nothing inside his body could believe he'd ever have any kind of relationship with an uber, no matter how hot she was, and she was hot, he considered, so instead he just sat there and tried to ignore her attentions to him.

"Do you remember Dani?"

The name sparked fireworks inside of him, and Harper was suddenly hit with images of another woman, he had seen her recently and he remembered being captured with her in the palace.

"I only mention her because I do care about you, Seamus," the women continued. "She messed with your head, has made you confused like this, I hate seeing you like this, Shay."

Harper remembered more about Dani now, a slave, and another that on the face of it he still couldn't believe he'd have a relationship with; he hated slaves almost as much as he hated Magog and Ubers. However, this time he did remember something more, he did remember being infatuated, and his stomach twisted as he clearly remembered kissing Dani, being close to her and falling for her to the point he didn't care about anything else.

"She was tricking you all along," the woman continued.

He could believe that, even though at the same time he wanted to deny it, but the anger inside of him was growing, as he considered the obvious evidence.

"It's why you're here, why I have to pretend I'm this Darla woman so I could rescue you, Seamus, I love you so much and I couldn't bear to see what that women was doing to you," she purred, her head now resting on his shoulder, causing him a slight burning discomfort where her face rested against his skin.

"Free me from these chains," Harper spoke without emotion.

"I can't," she responded.

"Darla," Harper spoke her supposed cover name. "If you want me to trust you, to believe you really are Beka, then you have to prove who you are to me, if I do love you then you have nothing to fear, right?" he reasoned. "Until you do, I will only see you as Darla, and the enemy."

"But my cover," Darla answered with an innocent tone, but Harper could see her uncertainty now and he needed to know the truth, no more games.

Harper stared at her intently. "You're not Beka Valentine, she would never keep me locked up like this." Ignoring Darla now, Harper claimed a small victory of defiance, but then to his surprise the woman revealed a key, and began to unlock the cuffs from his wrists.

"I don't have the key to the ankle restraint, Rico has that," she offered softly, almost with regret. "Seamus, I can't bear to see this distrust in you, I love you."

Confusion reigned again, as Harper stared at the woman he desperately wanted to call Darla, but doubt made him consider that she could be Beka, remembering that Dani, and Yussuf together had messed with his head.

Rubbing his wrists, Harper saw the deep red marks of irritation they had caused him. The woman took his arms and tried to sooth them, but only made them burn more and Harper snatched his hands back with a grimace.

"Sorry," the woman quickly offered. "I didn't mean to hurt you," she spoke sadly and Harper couldn't explain the feelings he felt at that time, he felt sorry his actions.

"It's ok, I'm not sure why it hurts so much when you touch me," Harper offered.

"Dani did that," she responded.

"Why?" Harper asked confused.

"She hated you, played games with you, and has made you doubt me," and Harper was beginning to see concern in the woman's eyes that suggested that maybe, just maybe, there was more to this than he considered.

Harper brought his hands to his face. "Please, just leave me."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because you don't want to be tied up, the longer I stay here with you, the longer you can remain without those chains."

Harper sighed, and moved his hands so he could look at the woman. Taking care, relishing in being able to see again, he took in her every detail, her eyes, her smile, and even her bone blades. Tentatively he reached out and ran his hand along her forearm, needing to find some familiarity but there was none, only fear. Quickly he removed his hand and drew his knees up to his chest, holding them tightly.

"I know you're afraid, you can't remember details you rely on to be confident and assured," she spoke sincerely.

"I used to work on the Andromeda," Harper spoke quietly. "I remember that, I never worked with Rico, he didn't rescue me from Earth, but he tried to tell me otherwise."

"He's messing with your head too," the woman responded. "He does that."

"Who is this blonde lady I keep seeing in my head when I think of Beka?" Harper then asked, and turned his head to look directly at the Nietzschean, interested in her reaction. "Are you messing with my head to?"

"She's not Beka," the woman responded sadly, her look giving nothing away to suggest otherwise. "She's Dylan Hunt's other half, she can't be trusted but I always suspected you had a little flame for her, and I guess Dani did too, Dani has used her to turn you against me, but I swear to you Seamus, I am Beka Valentine," she stressed, and moved closer to him and even though her touch on his skin burned, Harper didn't flinch as she lightly kissed his face. Her affection was in stark contrast to his environment, and he tried not to respond but her persistence paid off as finally Harper moved to accept her kiss, and they embraced.

Harper pulled away a few moments later, and as much as his body screamed with her touch, feeling as though he was both burning and being cut at the same time as her hands covered his upper body, Harper was feeling himself beginning to believe her, and he desperately needed to believe in something.

"Beka," he spoke, and got her immediate attention as she smiled broadly back at him. "Give me time, I will remember, I promise," he whispered as she began to kiss him again.

"Take your time," Darla responded with a secret smile, unseen by Harper as he closed his eyes to her attentions. Moving away, Darla retrieved the cuffs and gently replaced them around Harper's wrists with no complaints from the human. "I will find you food, you must be starving," Darla offered, and saw Harper nod his head eagerly before he watched her leave the cell.

Bringing his knees back up to his chest, Harper hugged himself tightly as he rested his head on his knees. The uncertainty was starting to drag him down, and he was beginning to realise he had to do what he needed to do to survive. He didn't trust the woman, still wasn't convinced she was this Beka character, but she was desperate for him to accept her and had relieved him of his cuffs even if for a little while, and now was finding him food. For the moment, he was willing to play along with whatever these people had planned, if it meant things would get easier and begin to make sense, and he would finally get some food inside of him.

TBC