Part 8
"This place is huge," Beka complained. "We've been walking for two miles and haven't covered even a third of it."
"All these allies and buildings, finding Harper is going to be impossible, and no one is talking," Rhade frowned.
"We need to win these people's trust," Dylan decided. "They are scared, they fear us," he observed.
"It's not like we're not going to hurt them, we're in the same position as they are, we're not the enemy," Beka stated with frustration.
"Out presence here concerns them," Rhade now figured. "They feel by Kenan trapping us here that we will disrupt things, make things worse, that's why they are afraid to talk to us."
"So what do we do?" Beka shrugged.
"We do nothing," Dylan decided.
"Nothing?" Beka looked around. "Even though these people clearly need our help?" Beka checked, a little shocked by Dylan's statement.
"We have to have faith that help will come from outside, where our true power lies," Dylan explained calmly. "We are powerless inside of this place, we have absolutely no power here, and if we try anything I fear we will give good reason for these people to fear us."
"So, seriously, we do nothing?" Beka checked unsure. "Dylan, you're not in the business of doing nothing, you're the doing something kind of guy, remember?"
"By doing nothing we will show strength," Dylan responded seriously. "Kenan was expecting us, he was ready for us, and he probably already thinks he knows what we'll do next to try and defeat him," Dylan smiled. "I don't want to play his games, and for once, I'm going to stand aside and wait."
"So you think he'll be ready for any attack we might formulate, any tactic we might use?" Rhade asked. "Make sense," he shrugged, but still Beka didn't appear convinced.
"Take a look around, Beka," Dylan requested. "Look on every corner, and you'll see that we're being watched, Kenan is watching us like a hawk through those guards," Dylan gestured. "To do anything here we would need support from the locals, to even have a chance of making any impact, and I'm betting that Kenan is crazy enough to have orders out there for anyone who tries to help us to be tortured or killed," Dylan explained with passion. "I'm not willing to take that risk, this is his game, not mine and we all know that Kenan's only power is over these people that he has trapped here, beyond these walls that accounts for very little."
"So we do nothing," Beka frowned, still unsure. "But we do still try to find Harper?"
"We are still going to find Harper," Dylan smiled. "I don't think we'll get any help, either, so be prepared for an all nighter."
"Whatever it takes, I want to make sure he's ok," Beka stated with concern.
The bottles clinked together loudly and with a broad smile Harper merrily toasted to the latest loud cheer, and happily downed the last drops of the liquid he had grown quite accustomed too. His shoulder and neck were now covered in tied together strips of his old shirt, an attempt to protect the damage caused by the metal from infection, but Harper was now too far gone to notice as he giggled into his empty bottle.
"We should let him sleep," Ezra suggested to Asa.
"He's had a tough time, let him enjoy himself, he won't have many of these moments here," Asa dismissed.
Ezra showed concern. "Please, let him sleep now, help me take him to the back room so he can rest."
Asa looked at Ezra. "You're really concerned about him."
"I haven't worked on his species before, I'm worried I will miss something if I don't pay attention, he's not like us, he has red blood, skin that's a different colour and texture, I don't want to cause him further discomfort through ignorance," she stated.
"Very well, I will call an end to his day," Asa decided with a heavy sigh, and moved to where Harper was slowly singing to himself. "Come on my friend, it's time to rest."
Harper was already out cold by the time Asa lifted him with ease over his shoulder.
The silence was made all the more daunting by the high stone buildings, and stone streets. There was coolness in the early morning air, brought on by the shadows and fresh air that Beka had never felt before, the city of Edenia was unlike anything she had seen before. Still the eyes followed them, even at this early hour the locals were still watching their every move, along with the ever present contingent of guards following their every step, as Beka, with Rhade and Dylan, tried to find any sign of their wayward engineer.
"I would have thought we'd have found something by now," Beka sighed.
"We don't even know if he can be found," Rhade returned.
"What do you mean?" Beka immediately asked, turning to face the Nietzschean.
"What if Harper wasn't set free like us?" Rhade offered defensively. "If they did their homework they might have found out about his past, how he used to give the Dragans the run around."
"If they had found that out, then they would have found out just how ugly this universe is and wouldn't be so quick to invite it round for dinner," Dylan casually observed. "Kenan thinks he knows what he is doing and I'm betting he has no idea what lies beyond the main gate, let alone the atmosphere of this planet."
"Can we really assume that?" Beka asked, as they continued walking. "We don't know anything about these people; we don't know what they might be hiding."
"They have no means of space travel, no technology like ours," Dylan gestured around him.
"But they do have a pretty impressive state of the art defence system installed into these walls," Rhade noted. "Do we really know what else they have stashed away in these walls?"
Dylan sighed. "I guess not, but I haven't seen anything, or been given reason to believe they have more than we are aware of, and we know all about these walls, Rommie was able to do basic scans."
"Dylan, I really don't want to burst your bubble but the Commonwealth's top engineer is missing, we haven't seen him in nearly twelve hours," Beka reminded the captain. "If they wanted a quick lesson in destruction, I'd say they have the right guy."
"Still in favour of the 'doing nothing' option?" Rhade checked.
"We will find Harper, and these people are not a threat, the only threat they are is to themselves if they persist with their plans," Dylan argued.
"It's not the people's plan, it's all Kenan's work, these people have little say in the matter," Beka observed. "Why don't we just do a little something to solve that problem?"
"He has followers, we heard them in the square where we were captured," Dylan pointed out. "We touch Kenan before he's unveiled as this city's biggest threat and we risk turning him into a martyr."
"So we're still all for the doing nothing?" Beka frowned.
"We do nothing," Dylan agreed, and they continued their search.
"We have to do something!" Harper exclaimed, as he moved from the floor to a standing position, feeling a lot better and refreshed after some needed rest. "Sitting around here, it solves nothing."
"What can we do?" Asa asked tiredly.
"Right now, you're showing those assholes who has the power," Harper explained carefully. "But they only have a small amount of power, and you know why?" he asked.
"Why?" Ezra asked glancing around the five other Edenians sat in the small room.
"Because whilst they have the power to rule over us, we have the power to disrupt, we have power," Harper stressed.
"We don't have any power," Hashim spoke up, someone that Harper was happily singing along with the previous evening he recalled.
Harper smirked. "Then if that's what you believe, it must be true, and Kenan has won without a fight."
"We can't fight Kenan, to do so is suicide," Ezra spoke with concern.
"Kenan is a child, an upstart who is a freaking fool," Harper snapped, remembering his brief time with the guy, and hating him for issuing the order to deal with his port. "I've faced a lot worse, a hell of a lot worse, you guys just don't know what's out there."
"And we don't want to know!" Asa sharply spoke up.
"Then do something, don't just sit around doing nothing and complaining about it!" Harper snapped, then turned away with frustration, trying to hide a grimace of pain but Ezra caught it and stood up to stand by Harper.
"Let's get some food, freshen up, now is not the time to discuss this, we've only just woken up after an excitable night last night," Ezra suggested, remembering the amount of alcohol that was consumed by the residents of the house.
Slowly the others left until Harper was stood alone with Ezra and Asa. "I know what I'm talking about," Harper simply offered.
"Let me see your shoulder," Ezra requested for Harper to sit down.
"I could really do with another drink, it's the best medicine," Harper asked.
"Maybe later," Ezra half smiled, as she helped Harper remove his shirt so she could check the crude dressings on his shoulder and neck. "Seems the drink has assisted the healing process, I think I managed to clear your skin of most of the metal around your shoulder, back and chest," she observed with care.
"It stopped the burning sensation as well, strangely," Harper added, a little confused but not wanting to question it.
"I'll try some on your neck today, maybe it will remove the rest of this stuff," Ezra offered, as he leaned in close, and Harper couldn't resist smiling at her as their eyes met.
"Do you come here often?" Harper quipped.
"Hey, my girl Seamus, don't forget that," Asa then warned lightly, before flashing a smile.
"You and Asa?" Harper checked and Ezra slowly nodded her head, slightly amused. "Well your loss," he recovered, with a smirk.
"Been nearly ten years now," Asa continued, as he walked over to stand next to Harper. "Ain't no man survived who tries it on with my girl, my lovely wife."
"Asa will you pack it in, he was only teasing," Ezra returned strongly.
"Can't always tell," Asa moved away. "Him being, well, not like us."
"Asa!" Ezra snapped. "He is not that much different from us, it's just a matter of appearance, that's all."
"And culture, regardless of how he looks, even if he was like us he isn't from around here, he could be like that lot up in the south of the city, there don't get our East side sense of humour, do they?" Asa defended. "That's all I'm saying,"
"Look, its ok," Harper felt the need to interject before they resorted to violence. "I didn't understand the situation, that's all."
"It's ok," Ezra returned.
"You don't understand the situation on a lot of things," Asa stated.
"Or maybe I understand them all too well," Harper moved away from Ezra who had now finished her checks on his healing injuries, but it was clear that Asa was bothered by something. "Ok, Asa, explain it all to me, tell me the situation and then we'll see how well I understand it," Harper offered.
"Over a drink?" Asa perked up.
"Well of course!" Harper beamed, and quickly left Ezra alone as the two men went in search of a new bottle.
TBC