TITLE: A Past to Outdo

NOTES: Thanks so much for the feedback, I love knowing what you guys are thinking! Well, I can't leave you hanging after a cliffie like that so here's the next installment.

CHAPTER ELEVEN Reasonable Doubt

"Deception is the art of the criminal. Uncovering deception is the bane of the just."

Helena Tsanji-Crea

CY 1148

"Beka, where are you going, slow down!" Beka was on her way to the Maru, with Dylan in tow. She had left Command faster than Dylan could even take in what she had told him.

"Where do you think I'm going!" Beka replied, practically screaming. "We just let Harper leave with a woman who is, in all probability, a murderer!"

"We have no idea where they are, let's just discuss this and come up with a reasonable plan," Dylan urged. He was furious too, but knew full well that rash action was the last thing they needed.

"No, Dylan, I don't want to discuss anything, and I don't need a plan past finding that bitch and removing her head from her shoulders," Beka hissed.

"And just how do you plan on finding her?"

"I'll find her."

Harper was resting in his temporary quarters on Ellis' ship, which was about the same size and build as the Maru. There didn't seem to be a very large crew onboard, in fact, Harper only counted Ellis and the pilot who brought the ship. Harper had slept for a few hours, or at least tried to.

"How are you feeling?" Ellis asked as she came through the door.

"Okay I guess. Weird, you know?" Harper replied.

"I know. You should try and get some rest."

"Nah, I couldn't sleep. Maybe you could show me round this place?"

Ellis shrugged. "Sure."

They walked around the whole ship. There were a few more crewmembers dotted around, around five in all. They weren't exactly too friendly.

"They man the transport for the facility, ferrying patients to and fro, so they see some bad things," Ellis insisted.

They reached the cockpit, where a human male sat. He looked nothing like someone who worked for a care-facility should look like. He had piercings and tattoos covering a great deal of his body. Far be it for Harper to judge, he was just under the impression that care-workers were supposed to look, well, caring.

"This is Makar, my pilot," Ellis introduced.

"Hey, how you doing?" Harper greeted warily.

Makar just kind of grunted in reply.

"I thought we were going to the Terron system...?" Harper asked, only just noticing the direction they were headed.

"We just need to make a stop first," Ellis dismissed. "Now you should really try and get some sleep. You're going to need it."

"Okay," Harper conceded, but he got the distinct feeling something was amiss. Maybe he was just tired.

Dylan had summoned everyone to Command to break the news. Beka was long gone. Dylan failed to stop her from taking the Maru and leaving. He didn't agree with Beka's 'plan', but understood her reaction. The others were not so easy to predict.

Trance was in a state of disbelief. "He was telling the truth...and we..." She held her hand to her mouth, as if the very words would harm her if uttered.

Dylan could see the golden alien begin to lose it. "I know this is terrible, but we need to concentrate on finding Harper, and to do that we need to find out who exactly has been posing as Dr Ellis for all this time."

"It's safe to assume the one who killed the Doctor and the one who took her place are the same person," Tyr said, concealing his anger remarkably well.

"We should have seen it," Rommie seethed. "We should have checked her identity more thoroughly."

"There was no way we could have anticipated someone knowing about Dr Ellis. It was all done by the book," Dylan replied.

"Where do you think she's taking him?" Trance asked.

"Rommie, any chance of tracking the ship?"

"I lost sight of it when they transited to slipstream. They were headed towards the Terron system, but after that slip point they could have gone anywhere."

"I don't suppose they'd answer our hails," Tyr mused sarcastically.

"Our best bet would be to go back to Pythia and find out who this impostor is, or who she's working for," Rommie concluded.

"Agreed. Andromeda, set a course back to Pythia."

Beka, in the meantime, had followed 'Ellis's' route through slipstream, trying to pick up some trace of the ship. It was proving difficult, especially since Beka could hardly concentrate for the blind fury tearing through her. No-one did this to her Harper. Hell, no-one did this to her. Beka had talked to this woman, even trusted her. My god, she'd opened up to a dirty fake. She had to pay.

Thinking up elaborate schemes to explain things was usually Harper's territory, but this time it was Beka trying to figure out just what was going on. If the 'counsellor' wasn't Dr Ellis, who the hell was she? And why did she want Harper?

Beka picked up faint signs that a slip portal had been opened there a few hours ago, and streamed in the same direction.

Ellis walked Harper back to his room. Harper was still getting an odd feeling, but doubted himself. After all, he couldn't trust his own mind after all that had happened.

"Goodnight," Ellis said after they got back to his quarters.

"Dr Ellis?" Harper called.

"Yes?" she replied.

"I'm sorry I hit you. And I'm sorry for leaving it so late to apologise."

"No hard feelings," Ellis smiled. "I'll see you in the morning."

Harper stared after her. It was such a stupid thing to even notice...but he decided to bring it up, and clear the air rather than fester on something that there was probably perfectly reasonable explanation for. "I'm right-handed," he called.

"I'm sorry?" Ellis said, turning.

"I'm right-handed," Harper repeated. "Shouldn't your black eye be on the other side?"

Ellis was quiet for a moment. "I suppose drugs do strange things to the mind and body," she answered finally.

Harper sighed. Of course it was nothing, he was just being paranoid. "Right...well, good night," he said, and closed the door.

End of chapter eleven

Next chapter: After You