Part 23

Dylan concentrated on staying still, whilst closing his eyes to find some form of sanctuary. His body felt like it was on fire, and he found it hard to remain still, with the pain being unbearable.

He heard the heavy cell door open and looked over to where Kenan himself now stood, and he was taking some joy from looking down on the high guard captain.

"Let that be a lesson to you."

"Excuse me?" Dylan responded.

"You can return to you people now, to your home and I hope that on seeing you they will know not to mess with me, or my people," Kenan stated firmly.

"We did nothing wrong," Dylan continued to object.

"But you know that's not true," Kenan argued. "We have lost nearly a years' worth of crops because of the actions of your people," he reminded the captain. "You tell that little man that we're watching him, and if he gets any more stupid ideas in his head it won't be you we'll come after next time it'll be that pretty lady."

"No, no way," Dylan stressed, knowing he couldn't allow Beka to be threatened in that way. The guards walked past Kenan and pulled Dylan to his feet, and Dylan quickly tried to hide the pain it caused inside of him, as his body protested to the harsh movements.

"Keep your people in line whilst they are in my camp and under my control, Hunt," Kenan simply said and then offered an object to Dylan. "The first thing you need to do is put this back on your little friend, if we catch him without it again, then we will be coming for the lady."

Dylan looked down as Kenan stuffed the circular object in his hands, barely functioning Dylan struggled to get a grip on the collar he now held. "What is this?" Dylan asked confused.

"Your friend lost the first one, make sure he doesn't lose this one, that thing he has on his neck insults us and I want it covered up!" Kenan demanded.

Dylan felt himself being moved as they left the cell, barely able to control his emotions as the pain erupted inside him.

"You're quiet," Rhade observed, sat with Beka inside the house after she had joined him only a few minutes earlier.

"Not got much to say," Beka returned, her mind seemed to be elsewhere as she absently turned the stone in her hand over and over.

"Did you find Harper?"

"Yeah," Beka simply responded.

"Where is he?"

"With Zal," Beka answered and took a deep breath, as her words conjured up the images she had seen once more.

"When did that waste of space return?" Rhade asked, getting to his feet now to stretch his legs.

"Don't know, must have been about twenty minutes ago," Beka answered flatly.

Suddenly they both looked over to where Asa now stood at the open doorway from the street. "Come quick, news is spreading that Dylan is about to be released, we must go!"

Beka and Rhade glanced at each other, before Beka waved him on. "You go, I'll stay here and get things ready, I'm guessing he hasn't eaten or taken liquid since he was taken," she spoke without reaction.

"It's ok to say you want to stay back to keep an eye on Harper," Rhade grinned.

Beka smirked, but there was no smile. "Right now, that's the last thing I want to do," she stated but on seeing Rhade's confused frown, she smiled to indicate she was joking, but only so he would leave.

When Rhade did eventually leave, Beka found herself once more alone with her thoughts. Still confused and unsure, she tried to get past the initial shock but was struggling. It had been roughly twenty minutes since she had seen the two of them together, in an embrace and still it felt unreal. She kept trying to think of possible reasons for what she saw, but as the time passed each reason became more ludicrous, but still she couldn't accept what she saw for what she saw.

Slowly she became aware of someone else entering the room, but she didn't want to look up. "Hey," Harper's quiet voice then broke through the silence and Beka instinctively looked up, before looking away again just as quickly. "We need to talk," he then announced.

Beka slowly nodded her head, but avoided eye contact as Harper moved a little closer. The silence now hung in the air between the two, and Beka was growing more convinced that Harper had seen her, he seemed just as awkward in being around her, and that they both knew why the other was silent.

"I should have been honest with you from the start," Harper then began, and Beka finally looked at him, seeing the same confusion that she felt, in Harper's expression. "But Beka I swear it's not what you think."

"Not what I think?" Beka repeated slowly. "Do you think I can't handle the truth, Harper? You actually think that our friendship means that little to me? And that simply because you and him are," Beka struggled to finish her sentence as her emotions threatened.

"It's not like that," Harper began but Beka soon cut him off.

"I don't give a rats ass who you kiss, Harper, or who you fall in love with but when you can't tell me, when you keep it from me like this, do you really know how that feels?" Beka demanded, her pent up anger flowing freely. "I had no idea, Seamus, absolutely none and yet I go around claiming to be the one who knows you best."

"You are the one who knows me best," Harper protested. "And Beka you do know me best because you don't believe it do you?" he questioned now, catching Beka off guard.

"Which only tells me that I really don't know you at all, do I?" Beka returned sharply.

Harper allowed Beka a moment to compose herself before responding. "You know me all too well," he finally offered, with a crooked smile.

"Really?" Beka scoffed. "I saw you, Harper, with Zal and I still don't get it, I still don't understand how I could have missed it, that you two," she began to shake her head, clearly distressed by missing any signs.

"OK, Beka," Harper spoke with more authority now, as he moved closer to his friend. "Firstly, me and Zal, absolutely not, ok?" he stated firmly, keeping eye contact with Beka. "And two, you missed nothing because there is nothing, do you understand?"

"I saw you both, Harper, don't play me for a fool!" Beka returned with annoyance, but deep down she wanted to believe that Harper was speaking the truth just so she could resume believing that she knew her friend.

"You saw what we," Harper paused. "What Zal wanted you to see, so you wouldn't see the truth," Harper explained with a heavy sigh, and he turned away. "We weren't kissing; Zal had his hand over my mouth. It was to cover up something else."

Beka stared at Harper now, taking in what he was saying. "Harper, I know what I saw and there was no hand over your mouth, trust me."

It was now Harper's turn to look confused, as he turned back to Beka with a frown. "You sure?"

"His hands, both of them, they were on your upper arms," Beka stated. "I won't forget what I saw in a hurry, believe me."

Harper moved beside Beka and sat down, clearly thinking about what she had revealed. "He told me his hand was over my mouth," Harper simply spoke in a disbelieving tone, and then the silence between them returned for a moment.

"So if it wasn't for real, what was it covering up?" Beka then asked, finally accepting that it might have been a hoax, just of the unfunny kind.

Harper took a deep breath. "I didn't want you to have another thing to worry about, whilst we're here," he offered with a slight shrug, and his voice reflected some hesitation as he prepared to admit the truth.

"So seeing you kissing a man, and I might add that you seemed to be, well, getting into it a bit more than I really needed to see, you really thought this would give me one less thing to worry about?" Beka pointed out, finding a smile that soon turned into a frown. "Harper, I really don't like Zal and it did not fill me with warm and fuzzy when I saw the two of you, like that," she added showing her unease.

"I had no idea what was going on," Harper quickly protested. "And what the hell do you mean?" he asked a little worried.

"You were moving like you were enjoying it," Beka returned bluntly, and for a moment she enjoyed Harper's squirming.

Harper could only close his eyes before speaking again. "I was having a fit, Beka, I had no idea what I was doing," Harper responded and lowered his head into his hands.

"A fit?" Beka checked, instantly losing her smile, as the revelation hit her.

Harper just nodded his head slowly, before speaking and looking up once more. "My port is messed up, Beka, I don't know exactly how but I think some of that metal they poured on my neck got into the port, and it's been tripping it."

"Tripping it?" Beka asked, needing to understand, as she adjusted her sitting position to face her friend.

"My port is active, well most of the time," Harper explained, and his hand absently went to his port to feel the partially opened disk. "It might not be obvious but its open maybe by only millimetre or so, but enough to mean it's active and I've been having problems with it."

"What kind of problems, these fits?"

"Side effects, as a result of this stuff that's got into the port," Harper shrugged. "The metal isn't solid based, it's able to move and sometimes it triggers the port into thinking that it's connecting to something," Harper offered, with his hands actively demonstrating the movement. "It becomes live and it tries to push my conscience into something that isn't there, and the result is that I trip, and I have what looks like a fit, or I have a dizzy spell," he offered. "And the last couple have been getting worse, and I don't know what to do," he added, showing his concern.

"And you wanted to keep this from me?" Beka questioned, now fully understanding things. "Preferring instead to pretend you and Zal were an item?"

"That wasn't my idea," Harper was quick to answer, a little aggrieved that Beka had decided to pull him up on the Zal thing, rather than comment on his problem. "I asked Zal to help me keep it secret from you guys," he added with another heavy sigh, and then rubbed his face knowing how bad that sounded.

"I had no idea," Beka admitted.

"Zal did a good job then," Harper half smiled, hoping to lift the tension that was growing between them.

"But why didn't you want us to know?" Beka then asked. "And don't sell me that bull about not wanting me to worry about you, Harper, you know that's a given regardless," Beka added pointedly.

Harper now shrugged. "I didn't want to give you an excuse to stop my plans," he finally answered. "I just wanted to be left alone to do what I need to do, and I didn't want the added attention, Beka," Harper attempted to explain, but he was struggling now and Beka was offering him no escape. "I thought it wasn't that big a deal, but I'd rather you know about this now, than think for one moment that the other was true, because Zal took the keeping my problem a secret just a little too far, in fact scrub that, way too far!"

Beka was silent, adding to Harper's guilt and uncertainty and the room was feeling very small in that moment. Finally she sighed, and then moved to get up. "I need some air, and I need to think," Beka had decided and she got to her feet, leaving the room without another word.

Harper knew he had upset Beka and his gut now churned. The thing he had wanted to avoid, instead he had made it worse and he felt the anger building inside at himself. He was at least happier now that she knew the truth, just knowing that his attacks seemed to be growing in intensity it was a relief to know Beka might be able to help him through them now, especially as the last one had rendered him completely unaware of what was happening around him and had ultimately led him to this confession.

Alone now, Harper looked around and saw a bottle containing the green alcohol and he wasted no time in going to it, and taking a large gulp. It helped almost immediately as it took the edge off his current mood, but still he wished he hadn't upset Beka in the process.

Taking another gulp, Harper could only hope that Beka would come around and find a way to just laugh what had happened off, and help him. Deep down, he was growing more anxious by the attacks, and by their situation. They had been there for over four days now, and there were no clear signs that they'd be leaving anytime soon. His thoughts wandered to Dylan, and for the first time he actually considered what his actions had meant for the captain. Like a tidal wave, Harper was hit by a sudden flash of his own conscience, and he took another nervous gulp of the drink, finishing the bottle.

His eyes were threatening to water, as he began to panic under the surface, and his breathing quickened. Once again he looked around the room to only see the plain and cold stone walls surrounding him. He really was starting to hate the place they had found themselves in. His reached out to try and balance himself, and all too soon Harper was aware of a growing sensation as slowly the walls appeared to shift and he tried to reach out again to anything to grab hold of, as the ground beneath him became suddenly unstable.

Falling to his knees, Harper attempted to keep focused as his port once more attempted to throw his conscious someplace else, to some non-existent machine. There was no Zal this time by his side to help him, there was no one but himself as he curled up on the floor holding his head and his awareness became blurred leaving him to ride the attack and hope that his port would automatically shut off, giving up on the attempt to jack in soon.

TBC