Part 5
Harper was sat alone as he finished up the ration pack he'd been eating. Looking up he saw Beka and Dylan were looking at a map, trying to figure out the best path for the next leg of their journey. The humidity was bothering him, and the perspiration soaked him. The heavy pack he'd been carrying was not making the trek any better, and in short, Harper was feeling less than happy.
The previous night still played on his mind, and he'd noticed that he was finding it difficult to look at his fellow crew mates. Beka was acting overly motherly to him, which was starting to bug him but more because he felt he had let his guard down, and the part of him that had always promised never tell of his past had betrayed him, he had never wanted to speak of his past because it was that, the past.
"Do you want any more?"
Harper glanced over to Rhade who stood a meter or so away, who was offering some more ration packs. Harper shook his head to indicate no, and hoped the Nietzschean would move away, but instead Rhade took a seat next to him on the rocky surface.
There was a silence for a few moments before Rhade spoke. "I knew all about Earth, and the other slave worlds."
"Great, I'm happy for you," Harper sneered, keeping his gaze somewhere into the distance
"I only ever considered it from a Nietzschean perspective," Rhade continued.
Harper shook his head, clearly not interested. "You shock me," he droned by way of reply.
"I'd like to know more," Rhade then asked, and it took Harper a moment to find the response he was looking for.
"Then freaking go to Earth, and get a real lesson, Rhade," Harper partially snapped and made to get up until Rhade reached out and stopped him, grabbing his arm. "Get the hell off me!" Harper snapped fiercely now, and Rhade rapidly let go, allowing Harper to move away, and he disappeared amongst the trees.
"What the hell did you say to him?" Beka demanded, with her attention having been drawn to Harper's raised voice before he had left.
"Nothing," Rhade offered defensively, but he saw that Beka didn't believe that and wanted more. "I just said that I'd like to know more of what my people did."
"Great move, Rhade, make him feel like a freak," Beka stressed angrily.
"That wasn't my intention," Rhade stood up to face Beka. "I need him to understand that I do not in any way condone the acts of the Dragans."
"Just don't, ok," Beka requested. "Since I've known him the golden rule has been 'don't ask'," she sighed, as Dylan moved beside her.
"We don't need this distraction, guys," Dylan noted with concern. "For the moment and for Harper's sake, let's just forget what was said last night, and let Harper be Harper," he ordered. "Let's not turn this into an issue, just let it go, if he ever wants to talk then we'll talk, ok?" Beka and Rhade nodded their heads, as Dylan moved past them. "I'll go find him, get ready to move in ten," he added.
Dylan moved past a few trees, treading carefully off the beaten path. "Harper?"
There was silence, and only the natural sounds of the woods could be heard. Dylan continued walking, scanning the area with concentration, until he saw his engineer stood still with his hands buried deep in his pockets.
"Harper," Dylan spoke before approaching, sensing an air of uncertainty around the human.
"Check it out," Harper simply gestured for Dylan to look beyond him.
Dylan moved forward and then saw the view that had caught Harper in a moment of pure wonderment.
"It's unbelievable," Dylan stated.
"It's sure something," Harper agreed, as he stared at the mass of land that now spread out before them. They were on higher ground, and below them from the ledge Harper had found, they could see the blanket of trees before them and then the mountains far away into the distance.
"The Maru must be over there, by that clearing to the south," Dylan figured.
"There it is," Harper pointed and soon enough Dylan could also make out the brown spec in the distance.
"So that means," Dylan scanned left and moved a little forward. "Hey, Mr Harper, check this out, there's Edenia."
"Eden?" Harper eagerly moved forward and craning his neck to the right he saw their destination for the first time. "Wow, it's beautiful."
The high walls marked a stark contrast to the natural beauty, but even with the heavy stone work marking the landscape, the design of the city it surrounded was stunning even from a distance.
"Looks amazing," Harper finally spoke.
"It's a fortress, those high stone walls contain technology that gives the inhabitants all the protection they need, we can't see it but there is a dome that completely covers the city from attacks," Dylan spoke.
"I did my home work," Harper smirked. "The shields that surround that place can withstand all forms of weapon bar the nova," he informed Dylan now. "Those plants that run up the outside walls are poisonous, you just have to breathe their aroma to be knocked out on the spot," he added. "The tall building in the very centre is the seat of power, on its roof is enough firepower to ensure the city is never attacked."
"Yet, even with all that in place," Dylan considered. "It's still a thing of pure beauty, those buildings, the gardens and parks, the whole place looks so clean and new, even from here."
"It's been in existence for over two hundred years," Harper crossed his arms. "Why the hell do they want to join the Commonwealth?" Harper idly asked then caught Dylan's expression. "No offence, but they hardly need any help, and they have no enemies."
"That we know off, Mr Harper," Dylan reminded him. "I wouldn't have made this trek, cut off and without the back up of Andromeda if I didn't think they seriously could benefit the Commonwealth."
"But what can we bring them, boss?" Harper questioned with his arms crossed now. "Other than unwanted attention, I mean look at this place," he gestured. "By becoming a part of the commonwealth they'll make enemies by default."
"That's not how I expect one of my crew to think," Dylan stated.
"Excuse me?" Harper checked, turning to Dylan. "You're telling me how to think?"
"Harper, I need your support on this," Dylan simply answered, his tone remaining calm. "When we arrive, I need you to show them the benefits of joining us."
"Fine, and I would, honestly I would if I could see any," Harper sighed. "I just don't understand why they feel the need to form an alliance with anyone."
"Well maybe we should learn all the facts, and not just take what we see at face value," Dylan suggested, sensing hostility in the young engineer, that he felt was connected to the human's recent odd mood. "Harper, after what just happened with Rhade, I want what was said last night to be put behind us and focus on the mission, no one thinks any differently of you and we have important work to do."
Harper seemed about to protest, before he looked away and took a deep breath. "Ok, deal," he simply said, and without another word he moved back towards the clearing where Rhade and Beka were waiting. Dylan paused for a moment, knowing that sometimes it was just impossible to try and read what Harper was truly thinking, but for the moment he was satisfied that he had made his point, and hoped it would be enough to at least see them through the next few days.
Dylan shook his head, and was about to turn and shout something when he stopped himself, realising it was quite a relief to hear Harper whining about the trek, meaning he was back to his old self for the moment.
The terrain was growing tougher to navigate, and it was a clear sign there were getting closer to their target. The Edenians were a self reliant group, who grew all their own food and needed no trade to survive, they didn't even have a monetary system in place, they simply grew what the community needed and survived in peace.
At that moment, Dylan was looking for some peace of his own, as Harper continued to complain about his aching feet.
"Boss, at the end of this you'll owe me a new pair of boots," Harper stressed loudly, causing Dylan to glance back, and see that Harper was falling behind now.
"Ok, let's take a break," Dylan decided, it was still another two hours before they would reach Edenia.
Beka and Rhade sat with Dylan, and after dramatically offloading his rucksack, Harper sat down and grabbed a canister of water.
"How far have we travelled?" Beka asked tiredly.
Dylan took out his pad, and checked the data. "We have travelled roughly fourteen miles on a descending path."
"And I wonder why my legs are ready to fall off," Harper quipped, taking some more water. "This is why I opt out of away missions normally."
"You didn't have to come," Rhade noted.
"Yeah, and you didn't have to point out the obvious," Harper returned quickly. "Next time there's a place that has the same name as something I knew from old Earth stories, knock me out."
"It will be a pleasure, can I start now?" Rhade asked with a smile.
"Are we ready to go?" Dylan quickly interjected before Harper could respond, and instead of back chatting Rhade, he saw his engineer simply frown.
Harper took his pack and heaved it onto his back with some effort, as the others stood up and prepared themselves for the final leg of their journey.
"You know in some ways this has been relaxing," Beka announced, as they began to walk.
"Relaxing in a trying to kill me kind of way you mean?" Harper whined.
"So have we turned the ultimate spacer into a planet fan?" Rhade teased.
Beka glanced at Rhade. "It's a nice change of pace, that's all, for the short term."
"Yeah, but we still have to make the trek all the way back, the Maru is two days away," Harper stressed.
"Can we please lighten up back there?" Dylan requested as he led the way. "I do not want to turn up and have nothing but complaints to greet the Edenians with."
"Boss," Harper scurried to keep up with the pace. "If you don't mind me saying, you seem a little nervous about this mission, you're not your usual confident bravado captain self, do you know something we don't by any chance?"
"Nervous?" Dylan picked up.
"Well, you seem to be very aware of how we're going to be perceived," Harper explained.
"Harper's right, and add a little edgy and uptight to that," Beka supported. "Is there something you know that we don't?"
"I know as much as you do," Dylan responded.
Rhade looked at Harper and Beka, seeing a similar expression. "OK, so tell us what your gut is telling you, because there's something."
Dylan frowned, and then slowed slightly to allow his crew to step in line with him. "OK, I'm suspicious about why the Edenians are asking to join us, when on the face of it we could be seen to need them more."
"Ha!" Harper exclaimed. "Didn't I make the same observation before you shot me down for doing so?"
"You said what I didn't want to hear," Dylan admitted.
"We can turn back now," Rhade remarked. "I mean, let's discuss this, should we continued if we are feeling some doubts? We're out of contact, on our own, and two days away from our only way off this planet."
"Great, now tell us the bad news," Harper frowned.
Dylan stopped and the others gathered around him. "If we turn back now, we will never know."
"There's an old saying where I come from, curiosity killed the cat," Harper stated.
"What the hell have cats got to do with this?" Beka questioned.
"It means," Harper glared at Beka. "That maybe our curiosity will be our downfall, I mean come on guys," Harper continued. "A cut off civilisation, doing perfectly well on their own, suddenly requests a desire to become a part of this hell bent universe, when there's no reason we can see that they would want to."
"The little one has a point, Dylan," Rhade remarked, ignoring the snarl Harper aimed at him.
Dylan showed some frustration. "Ok, I admit things do look a little confusing right now, but if we turn back now they'll remain confusing. We don't generally turn our backs on a request to join us, and we might find they have a valid reason, can we really just ignore their request because we're a little confused and on the face of it we take it upon ourselves to determine things are ok for them?" Dylan asked with passion. "Who are we to make that judgement if these people genuinely want our help, or want to be a part of our Commonwealth?"
There was silence as the others glanced at each other, and then Harper shrugged his shoulders. "OK, ok, I'm in, I haven't trekked all this way to just turn back now, we might as well keep going and find out what the hell is going on, and besides, it's not every day you get an invite to go to Eden."
"Edenia," Beka corrected him, and then sighed. "But I agree, it's been a trial in itself to get here, and you're right they might have a very good reason and it seems a waste to just turn back now."
"I'll go with the flow," Rhade simply added.
"Good, so let's keep going and just stay alert," Dylan stated and began to walk, and with just a couple of still unsure glances, Beka, Rhade and Harper followed.
TBC