Chapter 10

Asa looked grim as he stared at Harper, who in turn was being examined by an older Edenian. Harper was sat in a chair unmoving, with armed guards surrounding him as the old man checked his reactions and then the inside of his mouth.

'What's this all about?' Beka asked impatiently, sitting to one side and away from Harper, but watching everything that was happening.

'It's good to see you again, Beka,' Asa simply said. 'But right now we're dealing with Harper,' he dismissed and she was about to protest when the guard closest to her reminded her of his presence.

The older Edenian moved away from Harper then turned to Asa. 'He's in moderately good health, but still showing signs of the fever, mainly a raised temperature.'

'How do you feel, Seamus?' Asa asked, looking at the human.

'Ok,' Harper answered with little enthusiasm, and glanced at Beka. 'She asked what this is about, I'd also like to know,' he then stated pointedly.

'Right now our shield is being tested from the outside, it started after you returned yesterday and we want to know why,' Asa responded calmly. 'And we also heard you were looking better, so we were just curious about your health.'

Harper glanced at Beka and then answered. 'From what I can tell those people out there figured out I knew about the mechanics of this place, they value me.'

'Tell me more,' Asa lightly demanded.

'That's all I know,' Harper returned.

'Ridiculous,' Asa snapped with a sudden loss of temper. 'Tell us everything, Seamus, this city is pretty much under attack and I demand to know why!' Asa stressed abruptly.

Beka saw Harper shirk a little and she spoke up. 'He can't, he doesn't remember.'

Asa now turned his attention to her with narrowed eyes. 'Explain,' he requested.

'He was attacked while visiting us off planet,' Beka began. 'Harper received a shock to the head that pretty much wiped out his longer term memory, he's lucky to still be alive,' Beka recounted. 'He remembers some of the last five or so months living here but nothing else, and even that's hazy at best, and he remembers nothing in the past few weeks,' Beka explained and looked at Harper, who didn't seem willing to add any more to the discussion.

'Who are these people outside?' Asa then asked.

'Nietzscheans, the Drago Katsov pride,' Beka answered and then sighed. 'They were the pride who ruled Harper's home planet, pretty nasty and with very little morals.' She took a deep breath and continued, knowing Harper was hanging onto every word she spoke about his past. 'They learned that Harper understood the workings of Edenia, and they wanted to obtain those skills for their own purposes,' Beka tried to explain. 'They want this planet, simple as,' she then shrugged.

'Seamus, is there a threat to our system?' Asa then turned his attention back to Harper.

'I think so,' Harper shrugged.

'You think so?' Asa didn't like his choice of words, clearly not happy.

'I'd need to run some tests, see what they're doing now and how effective it might be in breaking the system down,' Harper tried to explain.

'Do it,' Asa ordered.

Harper hesitated before speaking. 'There could be a small problem.'

'Problem?' Asa asked, spinning round to face Harper again.

'With my memory loss I seem to have forgotten the old language that if I remember correctly, I may be wrong but only I understood,' Harper revealed and could almost see the colour drain from Asa's face.

'Then you are no better than any of my other engineers,' Asa reasoned.

'That's not true and you know it,' Harper stood up now raising his voice, and he heard the guards around him snap alert so he lowered his voice. 'I just need to see the system, I'll remember it, just give me some time.'

'We might not have that time to give,' Asa reminded him of the urgency.

'Then just trust me,' Harper requested strongly, and Beka looked on feeling some of the old Harper ego seeping through.

'Trust him, Asa, he can do most of this stuff with his eyes closed, he's still the best you've got, even with what's happened to him,' Beka supported.

Asa considered the arguments and slowly nodded his head. 'I'm sorry, you're both right, go,' he ordered. 'Go and get me some options.' He then looked at Beka. 'You've dealt with these Neitzsheans before, correct?'

'A few times, I tried to avoid the Dragans as much as possible but we crossed paths,' Beka agreed reluctantly watching Harper leave with an armed escort, clearly not being allowed to go with him.

'I want you to start giving me some options on how we deal with a possible invasion, how we could possibly stand up to them,' Asa spoke with hushed tones.

'They're close, aren't they?' Beka figured.

'The shield is weakening,' Asa whispered. 'You only have to look at the strength to know whatever they are doing out there is doing a good job in finally bringing down our defences, it's like they're draining all we have.'

'Technology has caught up with you, the outside world isn't as stupid as it once looked,' Beka feared. 'But both Dylan and Rhade are out there, they have both shown support for Edenia, they wont let the Dragans just waltz in here and claim the city.'

'That's reassuring to know,' Asa showed his appreciation. 'Maybe I should have signed to your commonwealth, maybe I was too arrogant.'

'We're here, aren't we?' Beka half smiled. 'Even though you didn't sign.'

'True,' Asa smiled back. 'Tell me, is Seamus ok? Truly ok?'

Beka looked away and sighed. 'He has a virus that is easily treatable, but the medicines needed are not here, and the batch I brought with me were destroyed outside during an exchange with the Dragans on our way here.'

'The virus he has, it's not contagious, it seems to only affect him and we tried everything to rid him of it,' Asa frowned. 'Why are you not affected?'

'I have a stronger immune system, had more vaccinations,' Beka considered. 'Harper has a very weak immune system due to his poor upbringing and other things, he has to be careful and I guess any illnesses you may get here could potentially harm him, we never considered it.'

'We don't have that many illnesses or viruses,' Asa spoke. 'Our community is clean, we have no outside influence to infect us, sadly something we don't react to caused Harper to get ill, very ill,' Asa explained. 'How about this accident, the injury to his head, the memory loss?'

'What can I say, he's suffered memory loss and he's lost some hearing in his right ear. It's starting to get him down, he's getting frustrated not being able to recall certain things, he has no memories of me or the Andromeda,' Beka sadly spoke. 'We need to give him time; we need to remember he's suffering with this memory loss.'

'I'll try to go easy on him but the situation might demand action,' Asa stated.

'I'll put some options together, some plans,' Beka assured him, and she was led to a side office by the guards, who remained with her as she settled down to work.

'If we're going to act it has to be now,' Rhade stated firmly at one end of the table, at the other end Dylan considered his words. 'The Dragans are all but in; they will have that shield down in less than a day.'

'We will not be able to stop them,' Dylan realised.

'We won't be able to stop them bringing the shield down, but we have enough units in the vicinity that we can stop them taking the whole city,' Rhade stated.

'Do you not think Harper will be able to strengthen the shields?' Trance spoke up.

Both men glanced at each other, and then to Trance. 'If he could, he would have done so already, time is running out for everyone,' Dylan stated.

Rommie and Doyle entered the room. 'Dylan, Rhade,' Rommie spoke up. 'We have orders to do what we need to do to ensure the Dragans do not take control of Edenia, more ships have been ordered to join us.'

'We have Commonwealth support,' Dylan brightened. 'Now there's a first.'

Trance looked troubled. 'Is there no way that we can help prevent the shield going down?'

'We could fire on the ships currently weakening the shield from the air, but the other twenty in orbit might take exception, same for if we try to stop the ground crews,' Rommie spoke up sadly. 'We are largely outnumbered at this time, and the Dragans really want this stronghold.'

'Rhade, begin moving your men to the south side of the city, where the Dragan cover is at its weakness,' Dylan ordered. 'As soon as the shield comes down your task is to secure as much of the city as you can, your target is to secure the palace or as close as,' he finished.

'Understood,' Rhade got to his feet.

'As soon as you have an area secured, we will begin plans to take the Dragans out by force,' Dylan continued. 'I will use the information we gathered from our last visit to determine key areas we have to secure to prevent failure in our mission.'

'Dylan,' Trance spoke up. 'We should make finding Harper a priority.'

'Agreed,' Dylan looked grave faced. 'However, we have to be prepared for the fact we might have to take him,' he offered and saw the confusion on Trance's features. 'One, we can't assume the Edenian's will welcome us, as much as they won't welcome the Dragan invasion, and two, Harper has forgotten his allegiances with the Commonwealth, he might not come quietly if we're seen to be a threat to his city.'

'Dylan's right,' Rhade agreed. 'Finding Beka will be another task we should consider.'

'I'm hoping she'll find us once she realises we're counter attacking,' Dylan half smiled.

'Surely if you find Beka, you'll find Harper,' Trance considered.

'Never assume anything in war,' Rhade simply answered, before the meeting was closed and Trance was the only one sitting at the table.

'Trance,' Doyle's voice spoke up. 'I know this is hard but we have to do this, there was no time for negotiation, and the Edenian's had their chance to join the Commonwealth, they couldn't have expected to be safe for ever.'

'I think they did,' Trance sighed. 'They had no reason not to believe it.'

'What are you so afraid of?' Doyle then asked, reading as much as she could into Trance's expression.

'That six months ago Edenia was still considered a valuable but strongly protected outpost; and one that nothing could break through,' Trance turned to Doyle. 'But after Harper arrives out of the blue to make things better, it's suddenly vulnerable and it's suddenly there for the taking.'

'What are you suggesting?' Doyle questioned, a little put out.

'I'm just trying to consider what the Edenian's might start thinking, when they try and figure out how they are suddenly under attack,' Trance's words were spoken precisely.

'We need to find Harper,' Doyle figured.

'No,' Trance answered to Doyle's surprise. 'Dylan is right, Harper does not remember and he will not remember that we're the good guys, he fears me and he's unsure about the rest of us, that is why he was so eager to return to Edenia after his accident, it's all he remembers.'

'So what do you suggest? We can't just stand by and do nothing,' Doyle stressed.

'There's nothing we can do,' Trance spoke as she got to her feet.

'No! You can't tell me that and then expect me to do nothing, you can't just walk away,' Doyle angrily stated.

'Harper planned this, he planned it all,' Trance simply said as she stared straight at Doyle.

'What?' Doyle looked stunned. 'Trance, why are you saying this?'

'Because I believe it is true,' Trance spoke with conviction. 'How else could the Dragans have known about you to put that tracer inside you, to even know how?

How else did he contract a virus that simply doesn't exist within Edenia? How else did they know the exact voltage to feed into Harper's brain so as not to kill him, but to only conveniently wipe his memories?' Trance asked aggressively. 'Because, Doyle, they already have everything they needed to know from him, and they don't want him using that same information against them, so now Harper's the decoy and a scapegoat rolled into one, they've used him, Doyle, and have already tossed him back to the wolves, there's nothing we can do to help him now, Edenia is already lost and so is Harper.'

Doyle was shaking her head in denial. 'You're wrong.'

'Harper feared me for a reason, he subconsciously knew I already had figured it out,' Trance partly smiled. 'Harper has betrayed Edenia, but more importantly he's betrayed us, he might not remember but he feels it, Doyle, he feels his betrayal.'

'Why are you telling me this, why not the others?' Doyle asked, trying to find something to prove Trance wrong, anything.

Trance seemed to consider her question for a moment. 'No one bar you were interested in what I had to say or thought, they were too busy telling me I was wrong, and no one is considering that the reason the Dragans are being successful in their attempts to break Edenia's shields is because the man who would know has told them how.'

'Bull,' Doyle returned, with anger lacing her words. 'You're telling me this to try and get me to turn against Harper, you're trying to throw me off but it won't work,' Doyle insisted. 'The Dragans knew about me because they hacked the Andromeda's mainframe, we have proof. Harper contracted that virus because he wasn't Edenian and he has a weak immune system, and they got lucky with that voltage but seeing as the weapon was just a stun gun it's no surprise it didn't kill him and finally they do not have the information on Edenia because if they did they would not have bothered with using me, or trying to make Harper worthless and failing, and finally if they had been told by Harper how to take Edenia, they would have already taken Edenia,' Doyle argued and then moved closer to Trance. 'So now tell me the real reason why you are trying to confuse me with these lies.'

'I'm not trying to confuse anyone,' Trance answered with a calm composure. 'Just offering a different perspective, some food for thought.'

'To me, but not to the others?' Doyle questioned unconvinced.

'I felt you needed the opportunity to redeem yourself after Harper used you,' Trance suggested.

'Harper hasn't used me,' Doyle countered. 'Tell me when he had the opportunity to?'

'Do you remember those bad couple of months when he completely lost himself to drink? Just when you thought he was pulling through his nightmare he suddenly spiralled out of control, so quickly, so badly?' Trance asked.

'How could I forget, we feared for him, it was all Beka and I could do to keep him from killing himself,' Doyle responded evenly.

'During that time he completely lost himself in various bars around the universe, he'd given up on life, Doyle, he was lost and only spoke in drunken rants on stolen credit and bar fights, and then suddenly he just decided he wanted to set up home on Edenia, he left with neither you or Beka ever working it out, never finding out the real reason he fell so badly, why he just wanted to die,' Trance offered, and then smirked at Doyle. 'The Dragans got to him, Doyle, just as he was coming to terms with Earth being destroyed they found him one night drunk, and ranting in a bar on Stagners Drift, do you remember finding him there roughly about eight months ago?'

Doyle recalled it vividly and her expression said as much. 'We found him beaten and looking the worse for wear, we just figured he'd got into one bar fight too many, he didn't mention any Nietzscheans attacking him.'

'That night amongst other things he told them two blondes would find him, one who they would recognise as Beka but the other would be you, Doyle, they marked your card that night,' Trance revealed.

'This is all lies, all of it is lies,' Doyle rejected, not wanting to hear any more.

'Harper was looking beaten because they'd beaten all of Edenia's secrets out of him, didn't you ever wonder why suddenly Harper was reluctant to work on the Maru, to use his port, to help in anyway after that night?' Trance asked. 'They'd got all the information they needed in a forced download from his port and it hurt him like hell, and then made him think he'd given it to them, had helped the enemy because he was drunk and was unable to stop himself, that he had given them Edenia, he lost what little fight for life he'd had that night in that ally,' Trance spoke with strength, and accusation.

'If that is the case then why did he then want to go to Edenia, if he knew he had betrayed them?' Doyle questioned, hating even considering what Trance was saying to be true.

'Denial,' Trance simply answered. 'When he finally sobered up, he'd convinced himself it never happened, it was just a drunken haze, a blur, a bad dream, but he couldn't forget the possibility that it might have happened, he felt it, Doyle, and he still does,' Trance stated firmly. 'And once it had got so bad, and he saw he was hurting Beka, he felt he had one last chance to redeem himself, to make it so the Dragans couldn't attack Edenia and he almost succeeded,' Trance partly smiled.

'How so?'

'It's taken the Dragans longer than it should to bring down those shields, whatever Harper was doing in the past six months it was enough to slow the Dragans down a little,' she explained. 'But then he got sick, and no one on Edenia could explain it, but the Dragans sent that virus to him in some parts he had ordered and had delivered, they didn't want him to keep working on the system they were preparing to destroy with the information he'd supplied them,' she stated.

'I don't want to believe any of this,' Doyle stated firmly. 'And I especially don't like the part that suggests you just idly watched as all of this happened to your friend, how come you know this play for play, why haven't you tried to stop it?'

'I only know in hindsight, I was too late,' Trance simply answered. 'But I did what I could, he found a transport off of Edenia didn't he?' she suggested.

'You helped him leave?' Doyle frowned.

'When he somehow managed to get clearance and leave Edenia it set your tracer off, and sadly the Dragans saw the perfect opportunity to wipe his mind, he's of no use to Edenia now,' Trance frowned and sat down. 'He's of no use to anyone,' she finished.

Doyle didn't speak and instead sat down opposite Trance, and they both sat in silence for a few minutes before she spoke up. 'We need to tell the others.'

'They have other more important concerns, they are all Edenia have now to stop the Dragan's taking control,' Trance stated. 'We can't distract them with this, Harper is of no use to them, and it would be a futile effort.'

'Don't say that about Harper!' Doyle stated firmly, her eyes fixed on the golden alien.

'I do not mean it to sound mean, but there are nearly a hundred and eighty thousand Edenians who's lives are about to be rocked by war, when the Dragans break through, we can't save Harper, but we might be able to save them,' Trance offered.

'There must be something we can do?' Doyle asked. 'I can't give up on Harper, not just like that, he create me, I am his protector, it's what I do,' she reminded Trance with care. 'Please, you must know something we can do, Dylan and Rhade can save the Edenians, but I must save Harper, just tell me how,' Doyle insisted strongly.

'On that, I'm yet to find an answer,' Trance sadly announced. 'Harper fears me, he doesn't trust me and I'm willing to bet the same would be of you, we're not friends that he remembers, his friends are on Edenia and they will soon work out his betrayal,' Trance sighed.

'We have to take him, get him out of there even if it's against his will,' Doyle decided.

'That's one option but Edenia will soon be locked down in a bitter war with three sides fighting,' Trance reminded her. 'It won't be easy to just go in and take someone who is considered a key target.'

'I never said it would be but we have very few options,' Doyle stressed.

'Agreed, but we have a bigger problem,' Trance revealed.

'We do?'

'Beka,' Trance stated. 'She will protect Harper to the death and she might not take kindly to us taking him.'

'I don't understand, Beka won't stop us, she'll know we'll have his best interests at heart,' Doyle countered.

'Doyle, I need you to trust me,' Trance offered, slowly rising to her feet.

'The fact you even have to make that demand makes me suspicious of you, Trance,' Doyle narrowed her eyes. 'The things you've said about Harper, the accusations, I'm not even sure you have Harper's best interests at heart, not like you should,' Doyle challenged. 'You could have helped him, you could have convinced him and us not to let him return to Edenia but instead you just didn't say a word till now,' Doyle accused. 'Even at the reunion you could have said something,' she stressed with anger.

Trance closed her eyes and then opened them slowly. 'I have my orders; Harper's betrayal has upset what fragile balance my people have managed to maintain in this universe, he has to be punished.'

'Punished?' Doyle stood up, and backed away suddenly seeing something for the first time since the reunion. 'You're not Trance; you're one of the others.'

'But I speak the truth otherwise, can you really afford to ignore me?' the Trance double asked.

'What do you want from me?'

'Your help.'

'So you can kill my friend, go to hell,' Doyle spat.

'Harper betrayed you, he betrayed everybody, and he has to be punished,' the impostor continued, looking every bit like Trance and Doyle was struggling to see her as anyone else. 'You will help me, he trusts you more than he trusts me.'

'Because Harper's smart, that's why he trusts me more, and why would I help you?' Doyle questioned unconvinced. 'You want to punish Harper, what exactly would that achieve when your precious universe is about to have a pretty major war declared on an outpost that would put the victor in a very strong position, and you're worrying about one human, who doesn't even remember what he's supposed to have done?' Doyle stressed with disbelief lacing her words.

The Trance double looked at Doyle now and smiled. 'You know the truth now, and you could say my work is done,' Trance smiled with intent, as she slowly moved around the table. 'You will either run to your friends and tell them everything so you go and grab Harper and protect him, keep him out of the public eye and making my job a lot easier to find him,' she guessed. 'Or you will keep quiet, and try to protect Harper yourself making your own friends question your actions against me, question your sanity, wonder if you're truly clean of the Dragan tech, and I will use that distraction just as well, either way, your friend Harper will be punished with your help.'

'Where's our Trance?'

'She's resting.'

'You won't win, and I assure you, whoever you are, you won't get Harper,' Doyle stressed with conviction. 'And I won't help you!'

'You really do want to spoil my fun,' Trance sighed. 'Well if you won't play, fine, I forgot to tell you the third option you would take that makes my job even easier,' she smiled sinisterly. 'Doyle listen carefully, you can't stop me, no one can,' The Trance double announced and before Doyle could react a quick flash of energy suddenly hit Doyle full on, and then in a blink of an eye Trance disappeared from view as Doyle crumpled to the ground lifelessly.

TBC