StarTraveler: Here's a rope....now you can get yourself off that cliffhanger. ;-)
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Chapter Ten:

I look up at the Head Elder as she starts, "Trance Gemini, during the Tribunal we will bring forth five memories where your actions are in question. These memories will play completely without interruption and once over, you will have your chance to defend your actions since you did plead guilty with reason. After these five memories have played we shall leave to make our decision. Do you understand?"

I nod and she continues, "Because of this difficult matter, you taking both yours and the human's punishment, the Tribunal will stretch over three days. The first two will be the actual trial, allowing suitable time for you to defend your case and us to make sure we are making the correct decision. On the third day we will make our decision and determine what your punishment shall be."

This time the Elder's gaze go to Harper as she says, "After Ms. Gemini's punishment, you will return to the Andromeda Ascendant with full memory of the events to come. You will watch her punishment before you leave so that you will, until your own mortal death, have to live with what *you* caused. Human, do you understand?"

Harper stands up and takes a deep breath. I close my eyes because I know a famed Harper rant is about to occur, why else would he be taking in such a breath or have that determined look in his eyes?

"Wait, wait, wait! First, I wanna know somethin'. Why am I being punished, what did I do, why is Trance taking the punishment for both of us, why can't I take the punishment dealt to me? Why was I never asked to take responsibility and finally, what is Trance's punishment? I sure as hell am not gonna agree to something I have no idea about. I don't know what my agreeing will in return do to Trance and I will not agree to something that could in turn put her in danger, I-"

The head Elder raised her hand silencing Harper and allowing him to take a much needed breath. I hear Harper take in a deep breath and take in the much needed oxygen he was depriving his lungs of during his two and a half minute rant.

I saw the head Elder smile as she says, "He is definitely a persistant human? Actually, this human is the first I've seen that has actually wanted to take responsibility. I've never seen a human talk so long and so passionate without the intake of oxygen. I thought that was a needed asset for his species" she pauses and looks at me, finishing, "Is your human always like this?"

I smile and say, "Only when he is awake."

Harper speaks up again, "Excuse me, Ms. Elder lady. You never answered my questions."

The head Elder nods and says, "I will answer your questions as you wish. Ms. Gemini requested to take the punishment for the both of you, hence the reason you are getting the lesser punishment and were not asked to take responsibility due to the fact Ms. Gemini takes full responsibility for yours and her actions. Why you are to be punished, you will soon learn and in regards to Ms. Genini's punishment, that is to be determined on the third day. Now, once again, human, do you agree?"

Harper looks at me with pleading eyes, he didn't want to make this decision when he had no idea what were the circumstances for me. I touch Harper's hand and nod, telling him that it was ok to agree. I knew what I had to do and Harper needed to know that what was to come was my choice alone. Harper sighs and still looking at me says, "Ok, ok, I agree."

There is a moment of silence which is suddenly broken when the head Elder says, "The time for questions is now over. The Tribunal must now begin. Ms. Gemini, put on the visor and we shall begin." I nod, look at Harper as he begins to sit, and then grab the visor. I place it over my eyes and await the first memory extraction.

Suddenly the once blank screens come to life to show in the interior of the Maru. At first I don't remember the memory until I see my once purple, bouncy self creeping close to a door. I then realize that this is the memory of my first real use of power on the Maru, when I had ended Harper's nightmares, putting him at peace.

The memory plays through, showing me touching his forehead as I delved into his nightmare and, after seeing the terrifying images, start to lightly stroke his hair, climbing in beside him, humming his chant. As my younger self fell asleep, the screen went blank.

At first I don't't want to look down at Harper, but when I do I see him still looking up at the blank screen in confusion. Then his confused eyes look at me and he says, "It was you....thanks, I guess." I bite my lower lip in uncertainty. Had this memory really confused Harper, maybe even frightened him? That's when I start to worry that Harper won't be able to handle the memories to come, the look into my past and his alternate future, the one he didn't survive, but bigger than that is my ever present worry that I will be unable to handle Harper watching the memories to come. I have no idea how he will handle them or the emotions released when I must relive the memories as Harper sees them for the first time.

"Ms. Gemini, the memory has ended, you can now defend your actions if you wish."

I look up at the head Elder and say, "I simply calmed his dreams. At the time Harper suffered from terrible nightmares and upon seeing what he had been for many, many nights, I decided to stop them. What I saw broke my heart and I decided....I decided that Harper didn't deserve to relive these horrible memories every night....so I fixed it."

"But you misused your powers."

I shook my head, "No I did not. I was there to help Beka Valentine and her crew in their future mission to discover and retrieve the Andromeda Ascendant and Harper was a member of that crew. So to help the mission along, I helped him in his own journey." I stop there, not feeling like I need to defend my actions. I know that what I did was the right thing and they will just have to realize the same thing.

The head Elder nods and sys, "You are correct. This human was a key part of your mission and the female human's mission so your actions may not have been at fault, but if I am not mistaken, you were not supposed to stay."

I lower my head and say, "No, I was not. When the Nightsider named Gerentex shot me, I was supposed to leave, letting the crew of the Maru and the Andromeda believe me dead and from there on make their own decisions. I was going to leave, but I foresaw the future where I did so. It was not a good future. So I stayed, to insure that future would never occur."

I look back up to see the other elders making marks in their notes and I find myself wondering what they are writing and whether it is good or bad. As if on cue the other eight Elders all stop writing at once and the head Elder says, "Now we shall move on to memory number two."

TBC....well, until you scroll that little purple chapter thingie. :-)