Part 7

"This is ridiculous!" Beka stormed with anger. "We just walked in here, Dylan, right up to that idiot and he didn't even have to lift a finger to capture us!"

"Beka, we weren't to know this was a trap," Rhade reasoned, as he took a seat. "Maybe we should have showed a bit more caution," he added with a wry smile, showing little concern.

The three of them had been escorted by guards to a run down house in the city, and then left with no restraints or locks but they were now trapped within the huge impenetrable walls that surrounded the city. As the three of them had been led to their new home, they had quickly realised that Edenia was possibly one huge prison camp.

"We knew the risks, and we all made a decision," Dylan spoke up after a moment, pacing the front room of the building they found themselves in. "Personally I think it's a good job that we did proceed, this leader, Kenan, has no idea what he is doing, or what he'll be attracting to this planet. The first sign that Edenia could be up for grabs and all manner of races will be scrambling to get a piece of this city."

"The same sign that lured us here, and then effectively trapped us," Rhade noted.

"I can't believe this," Beka continued, shaking her head before stopping to look beyond the doorway, seeing the people outside and she recognised their expressions now, of people who had lost hope. "And what about Harper, where have they taken him?"

"We need to find him, that's one of our first priorities," Dylan stated.

"We sure do, Dylan," Beka stated with conviction. "This is his nightmare all over again, and I promised him that he'd never have to live in these conditions after what he went though on Earth, we have to get him out of here," Beka stressed.

"This will be tough on Harper, I agree," Rhade supported. "I'm not sure what the conditions are like here, but I see little food and little hope in these people," he added. "I would imagine this is pretty much a similar scenario to what Harper lived on Earth."

Beka had to offer an ironic smirk. "He came here to find Eden, some old Earth story about the most idyllic place for humankind, and what does he find?" he questioned. "The exact same crap that he left behind."

"Except there are no Magog or Nietzscheans here," Dylan stated, his voice carrying a tired edge. "Let's keep perspective, this is nothing like Earth and to compare it could be insulting to Mr Harper."

"But the way he's been acting lately," Beka defended. "Who knows what's going through his head right now, or how he'll view this place, we need to find him."

"On that I agree," Dylan pointed towards the exit. "Let's get ourselves familiar with this place, and find Harper."

Harper had been dragged, pushed and frogmarched for miles through stone streets and endless allies. Just over an hour had passed when finally he was dumped on the stone floor of an old brick building. Wearily Harper glanced around and felt the intense heat from a couple of furnaces to the side that were fully fired up, and he saw a couple of kids manipulating metal plates, making something that resembled tools, that still glowed white as the shape was formed.

"Hey, is Tirus here?" a guard spoke up.

"I'm here," a voice boomed back, and Harper couldn't help but gulp as the larger man emerged from a back room, and then slowly walked over. "What is this scrap you've brought me? I only accept scrap metal, not any old scrap you come across, and he ain't right for this workshop, too alien for me."

"The boss wanted you to take a look at this, he wants it disabled," The guard ignored Tirus's mild rant, as he yanked Harper's head roughly to the side, despite Harper's protests who tried to bring his hands up to ease the guards grip on him.

"Don't touch it!" Harper yelled.

"He seems to be quite emotional, maybe the first thing we should do is shut him up," Tirus suggested, then felt around the port. "He seems quite attached to it, whatever it is," he added with a smirk, as he continued to prod the data port. "Secure him; I can't have him interfering with my work."

The guard followed Tirus's orders and pushed Harper's hands away, before being thrown a strip of leather to bind them behind the human's back.

"Don't touch the port!" Harper yelled again, and with growing concern. He couldn't even begin to think what these people would do to his port. Their lack of knowledge about data ports meant they were even more dangerous to his own health, and on deciding he'd rather risk a beating than anything happening to his port, Harper barged the guard away using his shoulders and quickly got to his feet.

Even with his hands still tied, he managed to begin a mad dash towards the exit, only focused on getting away from the situation, but just as he got there two guards appeared from the outside and easily blocked his path as he crashed into them, sending Harper falling backwards heavily to the floor.

Stunned for a moment, Harper felt himself being dragged by his still tied arms back to the centre of the room. This time Harper was not given the freedom he previously had, and a guard pushed him around until he was on his knees and his head was forced down as he kneeled now before Tirus.

"Feisty little fellow," Tirus finally spoke once the situation had been contained. "Well, let me take a good look at this thing."

"It's a damn data port, don't freaking touch it!" Harper sneered, until felt his hair being grabbed to silence him.

Tirus put his hands on Harper's head, adding to the hold already keeping his head down, restricting his movement, as the larger guy got a good look at the port. The atmosphere was tense, as Harper could only wait to see what they would do. There was a lot of painful prodding, all against Harper's wishes, and he began to struggle again but his efforts were in vain.

"Well, I'll try a couple of things, see which works best," Tirus finally announced and moved away.

The words sent a chill down Harper's spine and he found additional strength to attempt once more an escape, but it was all to no avail as the guard easily continued to contain him.

Moments later Tirus returned, and Harper's breathing quickened as the larger man moved to sit beside him, once again putting a chunky hand by Harper's port to restrict the human's movement.

"Please, I'm begging you, my port is not a threat to you, please, just leave it alone," Harper stressed, with perspiration forming on his brow.

"Kid, just keep it quiet, I'm working here," Tirus requested calmly. Seconds later Harper couldn't contain his reaction, as he yelled with extreme pain when suddenly his neck seemed to be on fire, it took a while for the pain to become even a little bit bearable, and Harper managed to regain his senses.

"I'm not sure that's enough," Tirus was heard to say, as Harper focused again, his breathing still erratic and the whole side of his neck around and under his port was still burning, the sensation seemed to be continuing down his back and chest, like running water.

"What," Harper managed between breaths. "What have you done?" he managed finally.

"I'm sealing this thing up," Tirus casually answered.

"What?" Harper snapped, still unable to move due to the hold the two men had on him.

"It's closed up now, but I'm not sure it will hold, couple of weeks and I'm betting you'll find a way to separate these two metals," Tirus continued. "We'll give it a few minutes to set, you might find it uncomfortable for the entire time it's on, my heart already bleeds for you," he spoke with little care.

"You put liquid metal, hot burning metal over my port?" Harper gasped, suddenly realising why his neck still felt as though it was on fire, and why it continued to feel that way down his back and chest. The sheer pain was agony but Harper was unable to move or do anything to attempt to alleviate the pain, as the two men continued to hold him down with some force.

"It's a special compound," Tirus seemed happy to explain. "A softer more pliable metal that moulds to whatever surface it's applied too, particularly skin I have discovered, and hardens in minutes, I hear the pain is unbearable for the first couple of days, due to it remaining hot for a while."

"Get this stuff off me, it'll stick to me, you're burning me!" Harper stuttered, between heavy panicked breaths.

"Yeah, but sometimes once it's cooled, it can be picked away, really depends on your skin type," Tirus seemed disappointed by this. "So for an extra security, to ensure this thing in your neck is not used against our boss," Tirus paused as he appeared distracted for a moment. "I'm going to put this on you."

"What on me?" Harper demanded to know, but all too soon he had his answer as a collar was quickly placed around his neck. "No, no way!" he yelled, and then yelped as the application of the collar interfered with the still burning metal that was settling on his skin around his port.

Tirus took his time adjusting the collar, removing it several times to work on the design, so it would fit directly over the port, and Harper took small mercy in the fact it wouldn't restrict his movement as much as it could have, if Tirus had chosen a wider fit. As it was, the metal band fitted tightly around the middle of his neck, and was then expertly sculpted to come up and over the port firmly, with no chance of give. Closing his eyes to the pain, Harper focused on remaining conscious, as Tirus continued to work, time passed but to Harper it felt like a lifetime as he drifted and struggled in the men's grip.

After half an hour, Harper was finally pushed away and then actively discarded, as his hands were untied. The guard and Tirus stood and watched him for a moment, as if he was an animal, and Harper took the opportunity to move his hand tentatively up to feel with horror the soft smooth metal on his neck, instead of skin. His data port and most of the right side of his neck was now covered, and the pain underneath was almost unbearable, but the shock allowed Harper to focus all too clearly now on what had happened.

With a grimace, Harper then felt the still burning skin around the edges of the metal, and could now see the stray runs of metal that had made their way down the front of his tee shirt, burning into his chest, feeling similar sensations on his back.

"You guys will pay for this," Harper seethed, allowing his anger to control his emotions.

"If I was you, I'd get out of here, before we make you regret that comment," Tirus spoke with a sincere sense of warning, but his posture showed little care for Harper's threat.

Harper scrambled to his feet, taking heed when a few of Tirus's men stood up and supported their boss by moving forward with menace. Without another word Harper stumbled out into the street, and ran as fast as he could until he had turned nearly every corner he had come across, his instincts kicking in, desperate to get away until finally he leant against a stone wall, and slid down to the ground exhausted, as his adrenaline suddenly left him.

Breathing heavily, Harper was finding the metal collar feeling tighter now around his neck, as he desperately tried to recover his breath, but he wanted to scream with pain, barely able to stand the unrelenting burn. His hand came up to his chest, and he felt the drops of cooling metal attached to his skin, that grew into a larger mass as he followed the flow up to the collar. It was like a second skin, so smooth and rock hard to the touch, but underneath it irritated and burned his skin, testing his own tolerance to pain.

Feeling helpless and lost for a moment, unable to properly focus, Harper glanced up and down the street, the stone surroundings made the area look cold, as suspicious and curious eyes seemed to look back at him from safe hiding places.

"Hey."

Harper wearily looked to where the voice had sounded, squinting in the poor light of the shadows, and he saw a man tentatively approaching him. "Hey," Harper managed, though he wanted to curl up and forget what had just happened, but he forced himself to offer a brief smile through the pain.

"You look in pain, I brought water," the main offered.

Through tired half opened eyes, Harper looked at the man. Probably close to Dylan's age, albeit before the black hole. The man had the same complexion as the other Edenians, pale with a hint of blue and green, shocking black hair, and a beard to match.

"Come now, drink," the man encouraged, and Harper barely hesitated as he reached out with desperation for the bottle, eagerly taking a few precious gulps, needing the cold liquid and the distraction.

"Thanks," Harper finally spoke, composing himself slightly, as he handed the bottle back.

"Let me help you with your wounds," the man then offered and Harper felt immediately relieved as the cool water was poured over his neck, and then his shoulder, chest and back, but where the metal had run it kept the refreshing water from the true pain he felt, as the burning sensation gripped his senses. "Let me guess, this is Tirus's work, the traitor that he is."

"Tirus is a name I never want to hear again," Harper spoke with a low voice.

"Why did they put this on you?" the man asking, as he cautiously touched the sculpted metal band around Harper's neck.

"To stop me using my data port, I don't see the freaking point, they don't even know what it is, what are the chances there'll be anything I can jack into in this place?" Harper snapped, more to himself. "Stupid jackasses," he seethed angrily.

"My name is Asa," the man then introduced, and offered to help Harper to his feet. "Follow me, you need to rest, I will look out for you whilst you do. You're not the first to receive that metal treatment, and we have something that might ease its effects."

"Thanks," Harper offered, at that moment he was willing to walk with the Abyss if it meant some promise of relief from the pain, and as he walked with Asa he idly looked around seeing hidden eyes continuing to watch him. "What is the deal around here?" Harper asked, as he struggled to keep pace, still attempting to deal with the constant burning and the metal that was beginning to restrict some of his movement in his right shoulder under his port.

"Our home has become our prison, you must be one of those we summoned, and for that I am truly sorry," Asa offered sincerely.

"You contacted Dylan, the Andromeda?" Harper figured, thankful for the brief distraction of the conversation.

"Our leader has lost his way, he talks nonsense and has a lot of people frightened, we've been prisoners for nearly two years," Asa explained. "We had hoped that our sudden request for help would yield some hope, but all its done is made things worse."

"No," Harper stressed. "Our being here will be noticed, when Rommie realises we have not returned she will know something is wrong here, and act appropriately, hopefully she'll start by bombing that damn Tirus's place."

Asa offered a light chuckle. "I like your spirit, it's a breath of fresh air believe me," he smiled.

"So this is a prison camp?" Harper then spoke, having recognised the signs and piecing it all together.

"I guess it could be called that," Asa agreed. "We built the fortress many centuries ago to keep out the enemies, but in doing so the enemy within has used it against us."

"Do you have food, weapons?" Harper asked.

"Once a week we get food rations that would normally last three days, we've adapted to survive, but we have nothing else, no weapons, no tools, nothing but despair," Asa explained. "We don't work, or provide any service to those who serve Kenan, we are simply expected to worship the guy and wait for what he proclaims to be our rebirth."

"Rebirth?" Harper questioned, his hand holding his neck now, still not quite believing what had happened to his port, as he tried to feel the outline of it under the metal skin.

"The rebirth, the day we embrace ourselves into the universe beyond, and stop being cut off," Asa sighed. "Kenan is but a child and we are his toys, he is unable to grasp that the world outside these walls will not see him as anything but a small speck, and one to be conquered," Asa looked at Harper. "You know what I am talking about, I can tell from your expression."

"So why contact us?" Harper softly asked looking away, swiftly avoiding Asa's observation, and trying to ignore the constant pains in his shoulder and neck. "By bringing us here aren't you doing Kenan's work?"

"We needed hope and we've heard murmurs that the New Commonwealth could provide it," Asa simply said. "We didn't know what you could do, but we had no other choice, it's been two years and no one has known our plight, half our population has died without so much as a glance in our direction from the outsiders, the universe beyond."

Harper sighed, partly in tiredness and also with concern, Asa was right that no one knew what had been going on here and he stopped when Asa gestured to a building.

"We're here, step inside," Asa smiled.

Harper walked forward and entered the simple building. He noticed straight away the lack of anything in the room they stepped into, no furniture or possessions, but there were people, all Edenians, who sat around and now stared at him.

"I have found one of our visitors," Asa announced. "Do tell us your name," he then requested of Harper.

"Seamus Harper," Harper offered, a little intimidated by his surroundings, feeling weaker suddenly, as he tried to remain focused, but the constant burning was making it hard to take anything else in.

"He is hurt," a female stood up. "My name is Ezra," she quickly offered and took some of Harper's weight to help him, as she gestured for Harper to walk with her to the back room. "I need you to lie down over here, Seamus," she offered.

"People call me Harper," Harper spoke numbly, simply following Ezra's directions, but feeling a little lost now as he suffered a sudden dizzy spell, and he stumbled down to the sparse blanket that seemed to make up a bed.

"Well Harper, I know you're in pain, that much is clear and I'm going to try and help," Ezra stated firmly, knowing he was struggling to remain focused. "First we need to get this ridiculous collar off of you," she looked up at Asa who had followed them into the room.

"Ezra, they put that on him for a reason, and if they catch him without it, we could harm him more," Asa reminded the female.

Ezra didn't hide her frustration. "Then we'll have to make sure they don't see him," she stated firmly. "Give it a week and they'd have forgotten they even did it to him."

"I'll open up the store, do you need anything else?" Asa asked.

"Bring me two bottles, and maybe some of the old clothes," Ezra spoke with a frown, as she looked at Harper.

In turn Harper felt his head roll to the side, as his energy wavered, allowing himself to be at the complete mercy of these strangers offering help. It seemed like an eternity before Asa returned, and Ezra had used the opportunity to take a good look at the metallic skin Harper had acquired, but no words had been said even though Harper was uncomfortable with Ezra's exploration of his injuries.

Harper tensed up suddenly, as he felt a rough piece of metal against his skin, and in a split second of panic he pushed the instrument away fearing the stranger's intentions.

"It's ok, this won't hurt," Asa calmly returned, and a second later there was a sharp movement, followed by the sound of metal being cut and Harper felt an immediate relief around his neck. "The collar is gone."

"Meaning you have to stay out of sight for a few days," Ezra reminded him, and Harper tried in vain to protest, as she began cutting his shirt away from his body, and into strips. "I'm doing this with as much care as I can, but some of your shirt has fixed itself into the metal and as a result your skin as well, I'm attempting to work around those bits, please relax, Harper."

"I'm ok," Harper offered tiredly, and in an instant he gave up any fight he had left and succumbing to whatever fate had dealt him this time, the pain was remaining his biggest battle, as he idly looked up at the yellowed stone ceiling in a bid to block out the intensity of the burning he felt.

"You're in so much pain, but I want to try and stop that if I can," Ezra now smiled with fondness. "It's our fault you're here and like this, so let us help you."

"I wanted to come here," Harper offered, though he no longer seemed completely aware, as his head rolled once more and his eyes remained half closed.

"That maybe so, but you will also want to leave and right now you can't do that, and that's our fault," Asa now spoke.

"Why have this done this?" Ezra then asked towards Asa. "I have never seen this technique used on the shoulder and neck before, only the hands and feet, and that makes sense, but his neck and shoulder?" Ezra continued, as she carefully cut at the material she could see around the edges of the melted substance that covered a large part of Harper's right shoulder, and neck around the port.

"You see that," Asa pointed out the slightly raised circular object in Harper's neck, under the metal. "That's what got the traitors and 'haves' scared."

"What is it?" Ezra asked intrigued.

"A data port," Harper had his eyes closed now, but was still awake. "It enables me to talk to machines, and work with them, inside of them."

"Your technology both scares and thrills me," Ezra admitted with a mixed expression. "Now, this may feel uncomfortable to begin with, but trust me, in a few seconds you'll understand why I'm doing this."

Harper only nodded his head, but then felt a fresh wave of pain as his shoulder seemed to erupt with new vigour. Opening his eyes sharply, he attempted to sit up but Asa stopped him, continuing to assure Harper that it was for his own good.

Taking some deep and needed breaths, and feeling himself pinned down to the floor, Harper wasn't so convinced, but was unable to do anything else he stopped struggling. A few moments later the pain finally began to die down, enough that he could feel some relief from the pain that had been nagging him since the metal had been applied. With caution he brought his head up, and saw Ezra was applying some form of cooling gel to his skin around his shoulder, the same skin that had moments earlier been covered by the metal.

"What have you done?" Harper finally managed.

"We discovered this stuff can break up the metal that Tirus uses in these cases," Asa answered, holding up a clear bottle with green liquid inside.

"What is that stuff?" Harper needed to know.

"This stuff?" Asa beamed. "Is our lifeline."

"Against the metal?" Harper showed his confusion.

Asa was already shaking his head, and to Harper's surprise he picked up the bottle and proceeded to take a few gulps from it. "Our lifeline," he stressed. "Here, you look as though you need some yourself," he offered Harper the bottle and with Ezra's help, he proceeded to take a couple of gulps.

The liquid momentarily burned his throat but Harper cared little, as its effects were almost instant, allowing him to savour the release it offered, and appeared to relax him. "You make this?" Harper finally asked, after Ezra took the bottle back to continue using the liquid to try and ease Harper's injuries.

"We sure do, it's the only things we've been able to do for ourselves in defiance of Kenan since this mess kicked off," Asa beamed now with pride.

"Its good stuff," Harper had to admit.

"Plenty more where that bottle came from," Asa informed him and then grimaced. "Oh, and I'll think you'll need it, after what that traitor did to you, it sure looks messy," he added taking a look at the work Ezra was doing on Harper.

"I've only been able to remove some of the metal, mainly around your shoulder for now; I don't want to cause you too much discomfort. Your reaction to the small area I treated was enough to let me know we should take this slow," Ezra explained with care. "I know you're still in pain, I know what this metal does, but I'm afraid this is all we can do for now."

"It don't hurt anymore," Harper grinned absently, feeling the effects of the drink, as he kept hold of the bottle like his life depended on it, and taking a couple more mouthfuls.

"Drink up, boy, you'll need it," Asa advised and quietly, Ezra continued to work with the limited resources she had in helping Harper.

TBC