Part 15

It was unusually quiet and it sent a shiver down Beka's spine, as she walked through the ship towards the serving area. They had been stranded in space now for nearly fourteen hours, and she was getting tetchy, remembering the last time she had been stranded on the Maru. Lessons had been learnt, however, and the ship was more than supplied for such an event, Beka would never experience the hell of that time again.

Food had made her quit the command section and seek nourishment but she wasn't expecting to see Harper sitting at the table when she walked in, and she stopped for a moment to check she was seeing clearly.

"Harper?" Beka ventured when he failed to acknowledge her. She walked closer to him, seeing that he was eating soup, and managing it quite well on his own with only a small amount of mess around him. "Where's Kalika?"

With only his eyes and a slight movement of his head, Harper gestured towards the bunk area, and Beka headed over to the door to see for herself. The short walk to the sleeping quarters revealed to her that Kalika was asleep on the bunk opposite the one Harper usually occupied, and Beka wasn't totally surprised, knowing the girl had been close to exhaustion after her non-stop care for Harper.

Returning to Harper, Beka was unsure as to what to see or do, and simply looked at him for a moment. The legions that had once covered his face and body were disappearing quickly, already gone from his face and now only visible on his neck and arms with the shirt he was wearing. He still looked pale, and withdrawn, but a lot better to how he'd been.

Pushing the now empty bowl away, Harper looked at Beka who continued to stare at him, and didn't appear to appreciate the attention.

"Stop."

Beka seemed to jump at the abruptness of Harper's voice, and then realised that she was making him feel uncomfortable. "Sorry, I just wasn't expecting to see you up and about so soon," Beka admitted and Harper only shrugged.

"Better," he offered, his voice sounding rough.

"You've cleaned yourself up and made yourself some food," Beka acknowledged and Harper nodded his head. "Harper, I'm sorry about before, when I hit you."

"Hit?" Harper questioned unsure, his movement and response still making him appear drowsy.

"When I slapped you," Beka prompted but Harper appeared to have no recollection of the incident as he blankly stared at Beka. "You saved the ship, do you remember?" Harper shook his head, and showed sadness in his expression. "Well you did, and you were brilliant," Beka smiled and Harper responded to the praise. "We're stranded for the moment, but help should be along soon."

"Stranded?" Harper suddenly tensed.

"Not like before," Beka was quick to assure him. "I promise, nothing like before."

Harper only seemed to partly relax with her words, and looked around. "Go," Harper them mumbled and got to his feet.

"Go?" Beka questioned, and saw Harper starting to get agitated, his breathing quickened. He was trying to control his actions, as he held his arms tightly around himself and fought what appeared to be a growing anger. "Harper, I'm not going."

Harper was no longer responding as he became consumed with his inner battle, he moved to the corner of the ship and crouched down, using the bulk head for support as he struggled with an increasing desire to lash out, confusion filled his thoughts and he no longer knew who or where he was.

The ship suddenly rocked and Beka was aware that another ship was docking, but her primary concern was for Harper, as she watched him lose control to his illness.

"Harper, come on, fight this, you can, I know you can," Beka stressed, as she moved closer.

Rocking now, Harper hugged himself as he tried to regain control but the overwhelming desire to fight was too strong, and his attention suddenly snapped to the person closest to him. His eyes locked with hers, full of venom and anger and Beka instinctively backed away, somehow knowing she was too close. He sprang to his feet, all control lost to the illness as he lunged for Beka. Thinking on her feet, Beka sidestepped the challenge and then prepared for Harper's next attack, easily deflecting him away but he was persistent and full of rage. Beka couldn't figure out what she had done, or what had triggered this reaction, but she knew she had to help him, not fight him and she grabbed his wrists and he instantly cried out as she gripped the sores made by the ropes that had once contained these sudden rages. Harper fell to his knees and Beka let go of his wrists, afraid that she had hurt him once more.

In the uncertainty, Harper saw his chance and leapt forward catching Beka off guard and they both went tumbling into a stack of containers behind the serving table. Beka regained her senses quickly and even though she was at a disadvantage, she managed to grab hold of Harper's arms and preventing him striking her. Looking into his enraged face, Beka remained calm and matched his attempts to free his hands from her hold.

"Harper!" Beka began to repeat over and over in a sharp but not too loud tone, knowing she had to get his attention and break through the rage he was experiencing. The glassy look in his eyes showed Beka that he was acting more on the illness than self thought, and she maintained a firm control on the situation as slowly she felt Harper begin to weaken, she continued to speak his name and deep down she sensed she was getting through.

"Beka!" A voice sounding like Rhade filled the area, and before Beka could respond she felt Harper's weight being lifted from her, and she saw Rhade roughly get a firmer hold on him. Harper responded by trying to free himself, lashing out as much as Rhade's hold allowed, but the Nietzschean easily contained Harper's rage but he was incensed by the human's continued struggles.

"Rhade don't!" Beka yelled out, seeing Rhade's growing anger but she wasn't quick enough to stop him striking Harper across the face, sending him to the deck in a confused heap. "Rhade, leave him!" Beka protested again and grabbed hold of Rhade's shoulder as he moved to pick the bewildered engineer up by his shirt.

Beka glanced over as Dylan came into view, and assisted Beka in getting Rhade's attention. Without care the Nietzschean dropped Harper back down to the deck, and glared at Beka. "He was attacking you, and I saved you."

"I was in control of the situation!" Beka stressed.

"You are stranded, and I find you pinned to the floor by a man enraged by a mental illness, you were not in control," Rhade declared, his eyes dark as he glanced down at the bloodied heap on the deck.

"Harper is ill, you know that! I was helping him if you could just step out of your overpowering need to be a jerk for just one minute," Beka sneered with anger, and her words caused Rhade to move abruptly away, too angered to respond.

"Tell me what happened," Dylan calmly requested, as they both crouched down to check on Harper.

"He was doing great, had made himself some food, hell he even saved the ship a few hours ago, hence why we're now stranded and not scattered in a thousand pieces across this sorry universe," Beka quickly explained, as she gently tended to the cut lip Harper now sported along with a growing bruise on his cheek. Harper moaned quietly, as Beka moved him onto his back, not quite unconscious but his eyes remained closed.

"He's still with us?" Dylan checked, referring to Harper.

"He's still in there, Dylan, he knew the ship had a fault and he fixed it," Beka enthused. "There's a few dots still to join, but Harper is still with us, we just have to help him, not try to kill him!" she glared at Rhade who paced the deck in the background.

They were suddenly all aware of another presence in the room, as Kalika appeared at the doorway. Immediately spotting Harper lying on the deck, she moved to his side to join Beka and she assessed the bruise and cut lip with concern, looking at Beka.

"A misunderstanding," Beka tried to explain. "Our resident meat head has a hearing problem when it comes to any excuse to beat on Harper."

"He was attacking you!" Rhade stormed, and marched out of the area, clearly not happy.

Dylan frowned at Beka who seemed a little stunned by Rhade's reactions. "Go easy on him, Beka; he thought he was doing the right thing by you."

"By decking Harper?" Beka questioned.

"He was concerned, and he was the one who raised the alarm that you hadn't returned," Dylan stated.

"What happened?" Kalika now asked Beka, who still appeared confused by Dylan's words but Kalika offered a needed distraction.

"Harper was fixing some food, eating it but then he just freaked out," Beka remembered.

"Fixed his own food?" Kalika checked and a smile spread across her face. "He is recovering faster than I expected, I mean to have the stability to know he was hungry, and to then prepare a meal is a very good sign that in a few days he will be clear of this illness."

"A few days, is that all?" Dylan checked, as Harper began to move and Beka assisted the groggy human to a sitting up position.

"Water," Harper mumbled.

"There's some in the cooler," Beka indicated to Kalika who showed willingness to fetch what Harper needed. "We're going to transfer Harper to Seefra, so he can make the rest of his recovery planet side, the Maru is too confined," Beka stated.

"I never thought you'd suggest something like that," Dylan showed his surprise.

"I think it's the Maru that is triggering these violent attacks, something on this ship is messing with his head," Beka sighed. "I want to see if he still has these attacks on Seefra."

"They had him secured on Seefra Eight, like he was when he first came on board," Dylan noted.

"He wasn't recovering then, he was suffering the onset and then the full effects of the illness," Kalika rejoined them and swiftly offered the water to Harper with care. "Now Harper needs focus, and stability to aid his recovery and this ship has too many distractions, possibly too many memories to help him with that."

"Makes sense," Dylan was forced to agree. "There's plenty of room at my old place, your brother is hardly ever there."

"Doyle," Harper then spoke, distracting them all.

"What?" Beka couldn't help her surprised reaction to his words. "No, Harper, you stay with me or Kalika, not Doyle."

The flash of confusion was hard to miss, as Harper spoke again. "Protects," he stated with some effort.

"We have that job now, Harper, Doyle can look after herself," Beka assured him.

Harper showed frustration before Kalika distracted him once more with some water, and Dylan and Beka rose to their feet.

"I'll go calm Rhade down, and attach some bucky cables to the hull, let's take you guys back to Seefra. Will you be able to manage a manual landing once you break the atmosphere?" Dylan asked.

"We have enough power to do that," Beka agreed, and glanced at Kalika. "Look after him, and yell if he, you know," Beka sighed, knowing Harper was still prone to his violent outbursts. Kalika nodded her head, and then assisted Harper to a standing position, and Beka couldn't help but be confident that her friend was in good hands, as Kalika escorted him back to the crew quarters.

Kalika guided Harper to the bunk, and he chose to sit rather than lie down. He looked shaken and confused as Kalika grabbed a bandage and moved in front of him to begin to clean up the mess the others had made of Harper's face.

"Are you ok?" Kalika asked, as she worked, not expecting a response after so long looking after Harper without any reaction to her care, but he nodded his head making her smile. "I must have been exhausted to sleep through all that, I slept for nearly five hours, I'm sorry I didn't wake when you did."

"Don't," Harper spoke, his voice still struggling to find its normal tone.

"I can't believe you're talking," Kalika grinned, and place her hand on the side of Harper's face to look at him. "I never thought we'd reach this day." Harper's expression changed to offer a brief smile, but she could see the effort it took him to achieve that, and continued to patch him up. "Now you are upright, I can at least begin to treat the skin on your back," Kalika stated and reached for the oil, and moved onto the bunk behind Harper. She reached for the hem of his shirt and felt Harper tense, she then leaned in close to reassure him. "It's ok, I just need to apply the ointment to your back it's the only way to cure this illness."

Harper marginally relaxed as Kalika lifted his shirt up and over his head, but he was clearly uncomfortable as she prepared the oil in her hands, and when she made contact he abruptly stood up and moved away in panic.

"Harper, I've applied this oil before, it's ok," Kalika spoke softly.

Unable to say the words he needed to say Harper instead stood uneasily, staring back at Kalika. In turn, Kalika moved off the bunk and to Harper's side and gently began applying the oil to the skin on Harper's arm, where there was still a feint trace of the legions that had once been sore. "See?" Kalika smiled confidently. "It's soothes the skin, and clears it from this horrible rash."

She felt Harper relaxing now, obviously feeling the benefit of the healing oil as Kalika massaged the oil into his arm and then returned her attentions to his back once more. He tensed immediately and jerked away, putting some distance between them once more.

"Harper," Kalika spoke now with some sadness. "Please, I want to help you get better, and that will only happen once we've cleared your skin on this illness."

"Harper." Harper spun around seeing Beka leaning against the door frame to the crew quarters. "It's ok, and you need to get better, so let Kalika do her work," Beka spoke with authority, but Harper's expression gave away a deeper sadness that Beka seemed to understand, as Kalika looked on. "I know," Beka simply said without saying more, confusing Kalika as well as intriguing her about their friendship. "But Kalika just wants you to get better, and so do I; she's not interested in the other stuff."

"Please, Seamus," Kalika spoke up quickly, and Harper spun around to look at her with confusion, and she knew it was because she had used his first name so she quickly continued. "Your back is sore from the legions, and I want to help you with that."

"Seamus, you don't want me to do it, remember how freaked you were the last time I got too close to weirdness for you, you freaked, so sit back and let this lovely lady oil you up," Beka changed her tact with a smirk, and Kalika found herself becoming more aware of a special friendship between the two that both unnerved and interested her.

With only a little reluctance, and no words Harper returned to the bunk and this time he lay down on this front, resting his head on his crossed arms, hiding his face.

"That's your signal to start," Beka indicated, and Kalika silently thanked Beka, and quickly moved to Harper's side.

Preparing her hands with the oil, she gently began her work hoping that by the time she finished the treatment Harper wouldn't be so tense, and seemingly afraid. As her hands began to sooth the sore skin, Kalika could only wonder about the exchange that had just happened, and now that she could feel the uneven marks across his back hidden before by the illness, she now only desired to make him feel safe in her hands.

The bar was quieter than usual but there was a familiar hunched figure in his usual spot drowning his sorrows, and Doyle had to discover the reason behind the dark mood she was witnessing.

"Rhade?" Doyle ventured, seeing the Nietzschean glare at her in response. "Are you ok?"

"This place is really beginning to get on my nerves," Rhade stressed, staring into his drink.

"Seefra?"

"Where else?" Rhade snapped, and Doyle backed off a little. Seeing her move away, Rhade softened his expression and relaxed a little. "Doyle, stay, I'm sorry."

"What's happened to make you like this?" Doyle asked, as she wiped down the bar and topped up Rhade's drink.

"Seamus Harper happened, that little kludge should know when to stay dead!" he snapped, and slammed his glass back down on the counter, before looking at Doyle's hard expression and remembering. "I did it again, didn't I?" Rhade conceded and then sighed. "What am I saying? Last I heard you also wanted him dead."

Doyle looked away now, as she considered her response. "I don't want Harper dead," she stated finally.

"But?" Rhade prompted.

"But I do want answers," Doyle spoke softly.

"He's not exactly full of words right now," Rhade frowned.

"I can wait," Doyle simply answered. "So what did Harper do, usually it's his mouth that gets people wound up," she then asked, with a brief smile.

Rhade took a gulp from his glass and looked at Doyle. "He was attacking Beka."

"What?" Doyle was alert now as she stated back at Rhade.

"I thought he was, it looked like he was," Rhade then offered. "When I reached them, Harper had her pinned down, and she didn't look to be in a good position," he stated with anger growing in his tone.

"Don't tell me they were," Doyle began but couldn't finish.

"Harper and Beka?" Rhade checked with a smirk. "No, definitely not but apparently my heroic saving of the day by flooring the kludge to rescue Beka makes me a bad person."

"You hit Harper?"

"Don't you start," Rhade groaned.

"I wasn't, I was just checking I understood right," Doyle explained. "Even if I am programmed to protect that only kicks in when I'm there, and I sense a threat to Harper, after the event I rarely care."

"What?" Rhade now checked. "How can you have an instinct to protect him, but feel nothing for him?"

"Ask him, I didn't program my responses," Doyle offered. "I had over time learned to appreciate and care for Harper, as a friend," she shrugged. "We were close and spent a lot of time together, we looked out for one another but things change, I haven't seen him in a month and have learned to question him, his motives, and my feelings for him are not what they once were, I'm told its all part of my learning curve and that I should not feel bad."

"Whoa, but you can't just dismiss a friendship after one month of absence," Rhade countered.

"Harper lied to me, made me believe a lie and fed me false information for his own selfish needs, don't tell me what I should or shouldn't do," Doyle warned. "I make my own mind up now, and my own decisions."

"I wasn't dictating, just saying," Rhade offered defensively. "Look I don't agree with what Harper did in principle but he had his reasons and no matter how much he annoys me, he deserves the chance to explain, and right now he's in no position to, so don't be so quick to dismiss all he's done for you because you're angry."

"When did you become so wise, between the fourth or fifth bottle?" Doyle spoke cuttingly.

Rhade shook his head, as he stared at Doyle and picked up his bottle to leave. "Doyle, you may think you know it all with that big prosthetic brain, but trust me you still have a lot to learn and right now you are going the right way to ending up alone, and with no one to care for you, is that what you want?"

"I will not be lectured by a man who turns to drink to cure his own problems," Doyle returned, not backing down.

"You are definitely a product of Harper, you know that? Annoying as hell," Rhade snapped, and left the bar.

TBC