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Part 13
Doyle packed away the last of the glasses and simply moved towards the door, signalling the end of her shift. Sembler glanced at Nat, and then back to Doyle.
"Hey, sweetheart, come over here, don't just leave," Sembler requested fondly, and smiled as Doyle did as he asked. "You still feel that Harper is near?"
Doyle hesitated, she really wanted to leave but Sembler had been so kind and understanding, she knew she owed him an answer to his question. "I don't know what I'm feeling, but I know it's connected to Harper," Doyle explained, as she slowly moved closer.
"You think he could be alive, despite everything?" Nat asked.
"I've never been given a reason to think he is dead," Doyle admitted.
Sembler and Nat both seemed to understand her reasoning. "My offer still stands, you know," Sembler stated. "If he's out there, I'll give him my bar."
"You're crazy, Sembler," Nat smiled with amusement.
"I'm serious," Sembler stressed. "There are things I should be doing but this damn place keeps me tied here, I'd welcome the freedom."
"I'm not sure Harper is cut out for bar tending," Doyle offered.
"Everybody at some point in their lives has to tend a bar, so it's Harper's turn, if he is still alive," Sembler decided.
"He is, I just know it," Doyle declared with confidence. "But I'm not sure he'll be up for running a bar, not once I've spoken to him."
"Doyle, don't do anything stupid," Sembler warned. "You love Harper, Harper loves you, don't let something you don't understand ruin what you have."
"He lied to me, made me look a fool," Doyle stressed.
"Doyle, he made you beautiful, intelligent and a joy to know, but I can promise you that he did not make you look a fool," Sembler charmed.
"Everything I knew, and believed in was a lie because of his will, and he didn't even have the guts to tell me the truth, what did he think I would do?" Doyle questioned. "Go running to the tech police, tell everyone I met?"
Nat frowned. "He made you believe you were not an outsider, that you were one of us," she shrugged. "Now you know the truth, he's been proved right to do what he did, now you act all superior and like some sort of authority," she stressed evenly. "Thinking that you have a right to demand explanations, and that you are better than us and demand truths," Nat continued, avoiding Doyle's glare. "People will tire of your whining if you do nothing else."
"I do not think I am different," Doyle argued, continuing to stare at Nat. "And I do not whine," she added and got up to leave. "Neither of you has any idea what Harper is truly capable of," she finished and moved towards the exit only to then be met by the figure of Beka Valentine.
"Doyle," Beka immediately greeted. "I was told I'd find you here, we need to talk."
"You have found Harper," Doyle guessed.
Beka frowned, unsure how Doyle had known that. "Yeah, I'm here to warn you to stay away from him."
"You're telling me to stay away from Harper?" Doyle checked.
"I haven't forgotten what you said," Beka stated. "And now I've found him, I'm not willing to take the chance of you making things worse."
"Worse?" Sembler spoke up, as he got to his feet and moved closer. "Is Harper ok?"
"No, he's sick and he needs complete rest which means no visits, ok?" Beka stated.
"Why have you told us this?" Nat queried. "If you didn't want us to visit, why didn't you just keep quiet about finding him?"
Beka frowned. "Because I know above all else the not knowing what had happened to him was our biggest pain," she looked at Doyle as she spoke. "So he's alive, barely, and he's being looked after so please, just leave it at that."
"I want to see him," Doyle stated.
"No," Beka was firm. "Doyle, you scared me ok, that other day with those threats you made. You're not thinking straight and I don't want Harper on the receiving end of your confusion. Unless you can convince me that Harper pain is not something you're looking for, don't bother showing up, ok?"
Doyle didn't respond, instead she simply watched as Beka made an awkward quiet exit.
"You want to hurt him?" Nat questioned towards Doyle, once Beka had left.
"I want answers, and I want him to suffer like I have," Doyle responded and before anyone had the chance to question her she left the bar, leaving Sembler and Nat to simply look at each other with surprise.
Beka could barely stand to watch as Kalika fed Harper. Most of the food was covering both Harper and Kalika, as he tried to fight her attempts to feed him. Harper was still secured to the bed with Kalika attempting to hold his head up so he could eat, not that he was interested. It was like watching a moody toddler being fed and Beka couldn't stand to see her friend like this. She stood at the door way, leaning on the frame continuing to watch as her mind went over her encounter with Doyle.
She didn't trust Doyle's intentions, but she did respect that Doyle deserved to know the truth that Harper was alive. She felt torn, in those days before Doyle found out her true self Beka had found what seemed to be a genuine friend in Doyle, but the android distanced herself as soon as she found out that Harper had lied to her, as if she partly blamed Beka and the others simply by association.
It was for both their goods, Harper's and Doyle's, that they not see each other for a while, Beka concluded as she crossed her arms. Doyle would come around, Beka hoped, knowing that it was never good to have an android as an enemy. Doyle's admittance to wishing Harper harm concerned Beka, how had Harper created something that was capable of revenge, to have a dark core that if wronged could justify violence. With a worried frown, she could only imagine Harper's mindset when he made Doyle, but all her previous accusations towards the human paled, as her concern for Harper grew.
Beka then noticed that Harper was eating without complaint now, as Kalika gently held his head up with care. All the fight was gone, and in its place willingness. Beka moved forward and sat on the opposite bunk, amazed by the sudden change.
"He does this," Kalika informed her. "The anger just goes," she smiled, and brought the small bowl that was now empty away from Harper. "Harper?" Kalika then tested.
"Ka," Harper managed with effort. "Kalika," he almost smiled.
"Always gets it on the second attempt," Kalika grinned. The smile Harper nearly achieved was suddenly lost, as Harper seemed to freeze, his eyes wide as he tense up. "This is new," Kalika seemed a little concerned by the change in Harper.
"Maru," Harper spoke gruffly.
"He said Maru, he recognises where he is!" Beka exclaimed with joy.
Without warning Harper suddenly flinched and pulled back, as if trying to hide and pull himself up into the corner of the bunk, but the restraints prevented him. He struggled against them, despite Kalika's best efforts to stop him.
"Harper, stop, you're safe everything is ok," Kalika insisted.
"Danger," Harper stressed with effort and a genuine fear, looking directly at Kalika.
"No, you're safe," Kalika insisted and Beka moved to her side.
"Harper, you're ok, you're home," Beka encouraged but to her horror Harper seemed to become more frightened, and began shaking his head, closing his eyes in complete fear.
Kalika leaned forward and held Harper, despite his struggles. After a moment he relaxed and seemed to respond to the soft mantra Kalika was repeating over and over, as she gently rocked him. Beka could only watch, at a loss as to what had caused Harper to panic.
"Is he ok?" Beka asked after a moment.
"Harper?" Kalika pulled away to see if he was still responsive.
"Danger," Harper still had his eyes closed, and pulled once more at his restraints.
"You're safe," Kalika assured him.
Beka placed a hand on his arm. "We're safe, Harper, I promise."
Slowly he opened his eyes, and for the first time he stared at Beka and looked at her. "Beka," he managed.
"Seamus," Beka smiled, but knew he wasn't able to say too much more until he had recovered from the illness some more. "You need to rest, and get better, ok?"
Harper nodded his head, and Beka glanced at Kalika who now held a hand over her mouth unable to hide her joy at the development. With little encouragement, Harper lay back down and closed his eyes, leaving both Beka and Kalika to stand up and move towards the exit.
"I never thought I'd see the day, at least not this soon," Kalika exclaimed.
"Harper has this ability to surprise and surpass expectations," Beka offered. "Let me fix you some food, you need to look after yourself for a few hours, get some rest," Beka encouraged.
"Thank you," Kalika accepted. "I will take the bunk opposite Harper if that's ok, I won't be able to sleep unless he is near."
"I understand," Beka agreed. "I'm going to be returning to Seefra One tonight, so maybe you'll be able to catch up with your brother?"
"My brother can wait, he knows I am busy," Kalika stated.
"I can take care of Harper for a few hours, you should give yourself a break," Beka encouraged.
"I'd rather stay, if that's ok?" Kalika asked.
"Its ok, sure, but anytime you want a break, you just tell me, ok?" Beka insisted and Kalika nodded her head, but Beka already knew she wouldn't be asking anytime soon and suspected Kalika was more than a little smitten with her patient.
Doyle looked over to where Dylan and Rhade were sitting drinking their beer. Sembler moved closer and seemed to be reading her mind.
"Go talk to them," Sembler encouraged.
"What would I say?" Doyle asked.
"That you want to know how Harper's doing," Sembler made it sound simple.
Doyle glanced at the floor, as if mentally preparing herself before she moved over to the table where the two men were sitting.
"Doyle," Dylan was quick to acknowledge.
Doyle stood awkwardly for a moment before taking a seat at the table. "Tell me how Harper is doing."
"It's slow progress, but progress nonetheless," Dylan answered.
"He has that illness, from the Quartz?" Doyle checked, and saw both men slowly nod their heads to agree. "I hear that can be damaging."
"We still don't know the full extent if there is any lasting damage," Dylan returned with a frown.
"Good news is that Harper can't talk anymore, always a bright side," Rhade grinned but was met by two stern looking expressions, not appreciating his attempt at lightening the mood.
"He can't talk?" Doyle asked with concern.
"He's not really himself right now," Dylan eased her concerns. "It doesn't mean anything until the illness has passed, only then can we examine the true extent of any lasting damage."
"I want to see him, but Beka," Doyle began.
"She told us what you said," Rhade now spoke up. "Is it true?"
"Why would you care?" Doyle countered. "You never seem overly concerned about Harper's welfare."
"Because I care about Beka and she in turn cares about the kludge, therefore I give a damn when idle threats are made against him that has Beka banning said person threatening from seeing said kludge," Rhade explained.
"You insult him and protect him in the same breath," Doyle remarked.
"But I don't threaten his life, what I do is harmless," Rhade returned.
Dylan cleared his throat to get both of his companion's attentions. "Doyle, whatever your feelings are towards Harper, you have to prove to us that your intentions are good and in no way a danger to Harper."
"I need to see him to know my true intentions," Doyle answered. "Until I am able to look him in the eye, I'm not sure what my reactions to him will be."
"Then Beka's warning stands, and you stay away, Harper doesn't need his life being threatened more so than it already is," Dylan offered, then sighed. "However, I'm hoping that you might be able to help me with something."
"Help you?" Doyle asked.
"I'm hoping that like Rommie before you, that Harper has given you some skills in engineering and science, I need someone on the Andromeda to help me fix her," Dylan offered.
"You mean go with you up there," Doyle gestured upwards.
"Without Harper I'm almost blind to the workings of Andromeda, I'm really hoping that maybe Harper inadvertently gave you the knowledge to help us get by until I hope, he is able to finish the job," Dylan stated with care. "You can interact directly with the core system, I need all the help I can get and it might prove to be the ideal distraction."
"Unless you plan to be a barmaid for the rest of your life, which considering what we now know, could be a long time," Rhade chipped in.
"I will help you," Doyle decided. "Though I still wish to work here, on a part time basis, I need to keep some ties with Seefra, it's my home."
"I understand," Dylan agreed, and considered how complex an android Harper had created this time, Doyle was truly searching for her identity like nothing he had seen before in an artificial life form. Doyle smiled before quickly leaving the table, to share her news with Sembler and Nat.
"Do you know what you're doing?" Rhade asked.
"I don't think we should push Doyle away, she has a fighting spirit that is better working for us than against us," Dylan spoke quietly.
TBC