Part 57
"That's it, open your eyes," Trance's encouraging tones became clearer now as consciousness returned, and Harper blinked into the sudden light that hit his senses.
Immediately he grimaced from the pain he felt, and took his time to concentrate on steadying his breathing.
"Take your time," Trance continued, and he felt her touch on his arm, a comforting and gentle hold.
For a moment, Harper felt as though he was floating and he couldn't quite determine where he was until other sounds became clearer, and then he focused on what he now recognised as med deck.
"I'm home," Harper managed to speak, and he couldn't stop the spontaneous smile that erupted across his face. This soon disappeared when he realised he was unable to move with any kind of fluid motion. "Trance."
"It's ok, don't panic," Trance assured him, sensing his sudden discovery. "The damage to your port has disrupted your spinal nerves, and the sensory overload of being inside the mainframe of Edenia whilst it was faulty has probably caused this," she stated.
"My back has been sore since they strung me up from the ceiling," Harper frowned at the memory, and there was bitterness in his tone.
"Beka informed me of additional actions that might have caused or encouraged this reaction," Trance smiled sadly. "You can only move your head with any control for the moment, but now you are awake I'll be able to make you strong enough for the operation that you need to fix your port."
"How long?" Harper asked quietly, his energy still lacking.
"I'm not sure, it might be as long as a week before you are strong enough," Trance already knew this would dishearten her engineer.
Shakily he moved his arms but the movement was slight and lacked any kind of control, involuntarily his hand shook until Trance took a hold of it to stop the movement. Harper's breathing quickened as he tried to comprehend what he had seen.
"Try to relax, Harper," Trance encouraged, letting go of his hand that was now still again. "Try not to move, your senses are over sensitive at the moment and your body does not have the strength to cope with the excessive movement caused by the shaking."
"Why can't I control them?" Harper asked with confusion.
"Your nerves and reflexes are confused due to the damage to your port, and by using your port when it was damaged you have opened yourself up to this injury," Trance explained with care. "But it is fixable and only temporary, please Harper, try not to panic."
Harper took a deep breath, trying to comprehend how he could spend even as much as a day without moving a muscle. "Trance, I can't do this," he simply said with some despair.
"Harper you are still very weak, and ill from your time on Edenia," Trance softly spoke, and her concern was clear. "I'm just asking you to try and hold on for a few more days, you need to find some strength," she continued. "I can give you something to control the shaking, but you must promise me that you will rest and you will not try and over exert yourself."
"I'm not even sure I can keep my eyes open, right now," Harper offered, with tired breaths.
"Try and rest some more, I'm still building your strength up so hopefully the next time you awake you will be stronger and able to move under medication," Trance smiled warmly.
Harper needed no further encouragement to close his eyes, as he drifted back into unconsciousness.
"Trance, did I hear Harper?" Beka then asked with surprise.
"He was awake for a few moments," Trance beamed back, as Beka walked towards her having just arrived on med deck.
"That's good, right?" Beka enthused.
"It's a good sign, yes," Trance answered, as she pressed an injector into Harper's arm. "His vitals are growing stronger, and his body is taking the medication well, at this rate he should be strong enough for the operation on his port in a couple of days," she smiled.
"Will it be like the first time?" Beka now asked.
"I'm hoping they can fix the port he has, but if he needs a new data port then it might be just like the first time," Trance feared.
Beka took a deep breath and moved to Harper's side, taking his hand into her own. "The people that did this to him, did it only to test him," Beka revealed. "Thinking he was some kind of god, and that that somehow gave them the right to abuse him."
"Beka," Trance's voice carried a warning tone. "The important thing is that Harper was strong enough, and that even after all they did, he still did the right thing for Edenia," she stated. "He could have easily sunk to their level and abused the power they were giving him, but he didn't, that has to account for something."
Beka smirked as she looked down at the sleeping form of her friend. "That Dylan is right, that we can't underestimate Harper, can we? Always ready to surprise us, he likes to act like a kid but inside that head of his is someone who is old beyond his years," she frowned. "Be nice if he acted like that a few more times, instead of enjoying tormenting us with his childish games," she smiled warmly now.
"Maybe he doesn't want you to see that side of him," Trance offered. "Maybe he wants to be that kid again, that he feels safe enough to not be that grown up he can be sometimes," Trance spoke whilst not taking her eyes off Harper.
"By all accounts he was never a kid to begin with," Beka remembered the brief stories Harper had told her about his childhood.
"So he's living his life back to front, he's already been the responsible adult, he's learnt life's lessons by his mistakes and now," Trance offered a playful smile. "It's time for him to play, and let others take responsibility."
"The world ship is still coming this way," Beka remembered.
"And Harper will act appropriately when it does get here, I'm sure of it," Trance stated.
Beka offered a sad smile. "A part of me just wants to take Harper, take the Maru, and get the hell away from here," she admitted softly. "He's seen enough for any lifetime, I don't want him being a part of this war, and I don't think I want to fight any more," she stressed sadly. "Bad stuff happened on Edenia, Trance, we experienced so much and I saw too much pain and suffering. I don't think I'm ready to jump straight back in, and I certainly don't want Harper to either."
"It should be his decision," Trance said with care.
"He'll make the decision to fight, he doesn't know anything else," Beka argued. "But its time he did, it's time he lived a life without that fight going on."
"Beka, we need you and Harper in this battle we face," Trance offered. "Without you the fight could get a lot worse not only for us, but for you and this universe."
"Are you saying that the fate of the universe really depends on me and Harper being there to face it, to have to go through that?" Beka asked.
"Yes," Trance offered without a trace of emotion in her features.
"You know you freak me out when you're honest with me," Beka stated with hesitancy in her voice.
"It is not a coincidence that you and Harper find yourself in this place, this situation, at this time with the world ship approaching," Trance simply added.
"OK, for now, I'll stay and fight," Beka compromised. "But the minute my gut tells me to cut lose, not even you will stop me and I will do all I can to get Harper the hell away as well, never underestimate my loyalty to my crew."
"Do you still consider me a part of your crew?" Trance innocently asked.
Beka paused and considered her response. "I am not arguing with you here, or meaning to oppose your desires for this universe, but my crew consisted of a Magog priest, a mud foot from Earth, and a purple pixie with a tail."
Trance simply nodded her head in understanding, briefly looking at the gold colouring of her hands. "Rev is no longer true Magog, and by all accounts you no longer see Harper as just a mud foot from Earth."
"There's your answer," Beka simply said, and with a brief look at Harper, she left his side and med deck, and a riddle for Trance to try and figure out.
"Zal, Junia," Dylan exclaimed as he walked down the corridor towards them. "I was beginning to think you had already left the ship, where have you been?" Dylan asked with amusement.
"Exploring!" Zal smiled.
"The lower decks, the upper decks and all the decks in between," Junia grinned. "This ship is unlike anything we've ever seen before, and I hope you'll excuse our enthusiasm to explore it."
"So long as you were not getting into any trouble, feel free to explore," Dylan considered.
The holographic image of Andromeda appeared. "I can confirm that they have not been causing any trouble," she stated with a fond smile.
"Good, thank you Andromeda for keeping an eye on them," Dylan acknowledged.
"Sheesh, good job we didn't get up to anything, didn't realise we were being watched," Zal suggested, bringing Junia closer to him.
"Silly, we were told that Andromeda was all seeing all knowing," Junia giggled.
"Well it seems you have both had fun," Dylan saw how close the two were.
"I can't believe we've already been here for four days, is there any word yet on Harper?" Zal then asked, moving forward slightly.
Dylan took a breath before speaking. "We received a communication that the operation was successful, Trance, Beka and Harper should be arriving back in the Maru from the medical facility tomorrow morning."
"I wish I could have gone with them," Junia offered sadly.
"Unfortunately your appearance there would have asked too many questions," Dylan frowned, the Edenian's colouring and appearance looking even more striking now on board the Andromeda. "We needed to concentrate on Harper's wellbeing."
"Have any decisions been made yet about our options?" Zal asked.
"You are both sure that you do not wish to return to Edenia?" Dylan asked.
"I have nothing there now," Zal spoke with sadness. "My brother has been laid to rest; I feel it's my time to move on if I can have that chance."
"I would also desire to see more of this universe, all I have is my sister and if I never see her again, it would be too soon," Junia offered. "My life on Edenia was built around my faith, and I now realise that I should look beyond that, the teachings I was taught, I have followed and then fulfilled, I need to find a new path," she spoke with sincerity.
"I could put you in touch with a wise man I know, he speaks of the way, you may find his path an interesting one," Dylan suggested, omitting for the moment the fact about that man also being magog.
"Does that mean we can stay?" Junia brightened.
"It means we will escort you to a suitable base, from which you can discover the universe," Dylan answered. "We are preparing for a war that we can not possibly know the outcome, and it would be unfair of us to grant you sanctuary on board when I can not guarantee your long term safety."
Junia and Zal nodded their heads in unison, and understanding. "We do appreciate your efforts to help us, and to help Edenia. It is too much that you have remained in orbit to protect us, whilst our people decide their future," Junia acknowledged.
"Whatever your people decide, we will support it as best we can," Dylan partly smiled, but deep down, after four days, he felt support for joining the Commonwealth was slipping and he knew Asa was steering Edenia towards cutting themselves off again.
"Well I'm going to go and explore the mess deck again, that never fails to please me," Zal hungrily announced, and Dylan watched them both pass him towards their destination.
Andromeda flickered and looked at her captain knowingly. "We can't protect them from the universe, captain, and we also can not hide them from it."
"They want to explore, and I don't blame them," Dylan simply agreed.
"If you ask them, I'm sure they will understand," Andromeda responded.
"Ask them to forget all that Harper did for them, for their people, their city?" Dylan scoffed the notion. "In the short time Harper was on that planet, he made life time friends of those two, I say anything to even suggest they omit Harper's role in Edenia and Harper will be the first to know."
"Harper will find out," Andromeda stated as fact.
Dylan looked upwards. "Of that I have no doubt, but I would prefer that he hears it from me, I can't afford to make an enemy of Seamus Harper, not at this time."
Andromeda frowned as she looked at her captain. "Do you fear Seamus Harper, captain?"
"I now fear the actuality of ever having to fear Seamus Harper," Dylan cryptically returned, and continued walking, leaving Rommie to frown before blinking out of sight.
TBC