Chapter 19

Rommie paced the room as Dylan and Rhade sat eating their breakfast. Outside there were distance sounds of explosions, as the day settled into the usual battles for territory.

'We can't keep him locked up like a prisoner,' Rommie announced.

'We don't have time or resource to do anything else,' Rhade spoke up. 'There's a war going on outside and I need to stay focused on my men and their progress, not Seamus Harper.'

'We can't keep Rommie assigned to Harper, we need her on the front line, she could be put to better use,' Dylan suggested.

'I'm not leaving my post, I'm staying with Harper,' Rommie stated, and Rhade just gave Dylan a knowing look. 'There was a visit yesterday by some guy Beka had met in the holding cells. He was trying to warn us that Harper is in danger, and I think there was some truth to his words. I tracked him for a few hours after he left, but as yet, there is no cause for concern but we can't ignore the threat to Harper in this city.'

'Rommie, if we don't defeat the Dragans then things will be a lot worse for Harper,' Dylan offered. 'For all of us,' he added. 'We can take shifts keeping an eye on him but I need you on other projects as well.'

'Ideally we'd prefer to have Harper as far away from this precise spot as possible, the other side of the universe is my personal preference but we can't do it,' Rhade stated. 'Now while I agree he needs additional protection, and I agree its not perfect to keep him locked up all day, and it seemed a good idea at the time to assign you to him as that additional protection but truth is, it's only been a day and already we could use your skills in gaining information, rather than in babysitting,' Rhade reasoned. 'And Beka is refusing to leave his side, so he's covered, ok?'

Rommie stared at Rhade trying to find a counter argument but she had nothing, as she conceded to him. 'Ok, I do understand, but we have to think of an alternative solution.'

'I will give it some thought, I promise,' Rhade responded and Dylan agreed. 'Now, please report to base two, they have some teams going out today on scouting missions.'

Rommie still seemed to be at odds but simply assumed a military stance. 'Understood,' before she left them.

'She will check up on us, and she's right, we can't keep him locked up,' Rhade shrugged. 'Beka will be the next to complain.'

'I know,' Dylan frowned. 'But what are our options? The palace? His house?'

'Not exactly secure or safe,' Rhade offered.

'We could put him to work, once he's fit again,' Dylan suggested.

'Doing what?' Rhade asked.

'He's still an engineer last time I checked, he knows how to fix things, and I saw the rising pile of damaged weapons out there, he'd have a field day with those,' Dylan half smiled.

Rhade joined in the smiling and rubbed his face. 'I'll let Beka know, she'll tell us when he's fit to do some light duties,' he decided.

'Just make sure when he does leave the cell that we don't lose him,' Dylan said as he got to his feet. 'Around here it's a bad habit he's got.'

Rev Bem only thought positive thoughts as he calmly meditated, focusing his energies on praying for a resolution to the current crisis he faced. With deep and measured breaths, Rev slowly opened his eyes and saw the entourage approaching from the west. From his vantage point high on the mountain, his peaceful retreat, he could consider his next actions and run over the possibilities in his mind. He had to act for the greater good and his main objective had to be to free those trapped by Trance's sister in Edenia.

The other Trance had not yet completely revealed her true plans, but that didn't surprise Rev who had seen enough of her in action to know that the creature calling herself Trance could never be 'his' Trance, and that she had plans beyond the best interests of the universe. She stayed by Roseby's side constantly speaking to her, manipulating her into thinking the decisions she was making were her own, when Rev could see Trance was leading her. It wasn't Roseby's fault, a fine officer with years of experience, Trance unfortunately had centuries over her, and that experience and ability to lead discussions were too much for Roseby, plus the ability to see every possible outcome was a disadvantage for the Commonwealth captain.

Rev had a great fear of the true damage fake Trance could do if she were allowed to continue, and he regretted that it had come to this, that he hadn't acted sooner, but he had no idea how he could stop her so he had taken a decision that only he could probably take. He simply watched as the self confirmed leader of the new Magog regime approached, following him were the scraps of Magog who had survived, their numbers greatly lower now, but Rev Bem hoped and prayed to the Divine that he was making the right decision in calling his people to the table and bringing them back into the fray.

'Come on, get up,' Beka announced as she moved down the stairs to the cell and then looked surprised when she saw Harper was already up, wide awake considering the still early hour. 'We have some work for you to do, stuff to fix,' she continued as she unlocked the cell door, seeing him sat on his bunk. 'Harper?' Beka spoke when he hadn't reacted, he slowly looked at her and she couldn't help the look of surprise. 'Have you slept at all?'

Harper hugged his arms around himself and looked upwards. 'I tried,' he finally spoke, his voice sounding hoarse, and Beka noticed how tightly he was hugging himself now trying to contain his emotions.

'Are you in pain?' Beka asked as she moved closer.

His body tensed and he let his head drop. 'I can't help it,' Harper spoke with some despair, his breathing rapid.

'Come here,' Beka was quick to recognise the signs as she embraced him and held Harper close. 'The withdrawal is always the bitch,' she spoke calmly. 'I shouldn't have left you, you just seemed fine when I did, I was stupid,' she berated herself.

'It just started to grow, the intensity,' Harper spoke shakily. 'I couldn't sleep and then it's all I could think about,' he stressed.

'It's ok,' Beka spoke with understanding, rubbing his back.

'I want it to stop,' Harper begged. 'It hurts so much.'

'We can't give you anything, it will only make things worse, you have to just see it through, sorry,' Beka closed her eyes, almost feeling his pain as she had flashbacks to her own withdrawal from an addiction that had almost crippled her.

Harper was shaking now, seeking the comfort she offered he held her like his life depended on it and she realised he probably thought it did. 'It's ok, come on, let's go for a walk, you need the distraction, right?'

With hesitation Harper let Beka pull herself away from him, and then numbly followed her as she led him up the stairs. Two soldiers immediately fell into line behind them as they approached the exit.

'I can't do this,' Harper suddenly panicked and tried to back away but the soldiers blocked his path back to the cell.

'Harper its ok,' Beka assured him. 'It's just a walk.'

Harper sized up the door, and squinted slightly as the light of the day outside seeped into the room. With more light, Beka could see how bad Harper was looking, his eyes were bloodshot and he looked weak and exhausted, his skin was a deathly pale and his hair nearly matted, with dark bags under his eyes.

'Seamus, trust me,' Beka further encouraged and put her arm around his shoulders, as she slowly began to lead him towards the exit. 'Lets just go outside, we won't go far.'

Harper clung to himself as he allowed himself to be led and he kept his eyes and head down, as they exited the building and stepped outside. Harper tensed immediately, the sudden change in noise and activity was all consuming and he tried to stop moving but Beka didn't let him stay still, she kept him moving with words of encouragement as they walked.

'I need to stop,' Harper offered.

'Ok, we'll stop here,' Beka agreed. 'Look around.'

Harper slowly lifted his head and squinted in the daylight as he glanced around the makeshift courtyard. 'I remember pushing through some crowds, trying to get to you,' Harper then offered.

'A couple of days ago I was brought in front of a crowd of people, Asa had ordered his men to punish me,' Beka reminded him.

'I was pulled from the crowd before I could help, Rhade, he did it,' Harper remembered.

'That's right,' Beka smiled.

'Did they hurt you?' Harper then asked.

'Nothing bad, just a couple of hits to the back before the Commonwealth interrupted proceedings,' Beka put her hands on both his shoulders and got his attention before speaking again. 'You have to beat this, rise above it, ok?'

'OK,' Harper nodded his head.

'How are you feeling now?'

'Little less panicked,' Harper attempted to smile but grimaced instead. 'Change of scenery helps,' he added, trying to calm down. 'I just need some sleep, but it's the last thing I can do, the need won't let me sleep,' he stressed.

'We need some weapons fixed if you want a distraction?' Beka mentioned.

'Not sure I could,' Harper showed his doubts. 'Not really focused right now,' he added with panic.

'Just see how far you get, there's no rush, just if you can,' Beka encouraged and with an arm around his shoulders she led him towards the building where the faulty weapons were being dumped.

'Beka,' Harper then spoke up and then paused.

'What?' Beka asked.

'I,' he began and then stopped a further three times before finally speaking, his voice shaking. 'I'm sorry,' he offered.

'Sorry?'

'I can't do this,' Harper stressed. 'I just need it, I need more.'

'No Harper, you don't, it's just the drug talking, come on, be strong,' Beka insisted and grabbed both his upper arms, seeing he was falling apart. 'Harper, you're just at the worst stage, in a few hours this will pass and you'll be over the worst, I promise.'

There were tears of desperation in Harper's face now as he tried to fight Beka's hold off him, but he was weakened by lack of sleep and addiction, he could only fall to his knees and let the tears fall with him.

'Seamus, don't do this to yourself, come on,' Beka was close to losing her emotions too as she fell to her knees and embraced him, frantic with worry as he seemingly broke down before her.

'We should get him back to the cell, mam,' one of the soldiers suggested. 'It would be best not to let too many people see this.'

Beka quickly took some of Harper's weight with the soldier, and they escorted Harper back to the prison cell, avoiding eye contact with all who had stopped to watch the break down. Harper wasn't even aware of the scene he had caused, lost in his own desperation, as he allowed the confusion and hurt to take him over.

Dylan looked up as Asa entered the room followed by four of his guards flanking him. The Palace room looked far too stately to be on Edenia, and was a stark contrast to the stone buildings outside, that were barely furnished. The frontline was only a few miles away but it could have been a million miles away at that moment as Dylan watched Asa take his seat.

Asa put a box on the table, and looked at Dylan. 'The boy needs this.'

'No, he doesn't,' Dylan pushed the box back towards Asa.

'I heard about the incident this morning, Shay is not strong enough to go without, he needs it like a medicine,' Asa warned.

'And why does he need it?' Dylan pointedly asked.

Asa took a deep breath. 'We had an agreement.'

'You and Harper?' Dylan questioned. 'The Harper I know would never have agreed to anything like this, he's too smart.'

Asa gestured to one of his guards and a folder was passed to him that was then placed on the desk between them. Asa carefully opened the folder and Dylan saw a contract in front of him, noticing immediately the signature of Seamus Harper.

'This is what Seamus signed to show allegiance to Edenia,' Asa spoke with authority.

'Why did he have to sign this document?' Dylan asked as he quickly read through the wording, and he stopped at the point that gave Asa permission to administer a 'medicine' that would guarantee loyalty and security for Edenia.

Asa gestured again to his guard who produced another folder, a bulkier one that was placed on the table. 'Evidence we accrued that made us suspicious of Seamus Harper's loyalty, he denied any attempts on his part to betray us and agreed to sign this document to prove his loyalty, it was a simple gesture.'

Dylan brought the evidence file closer and quickly went through the documents, scanning the various accusations and even photographs. 'I would like to have time to go through these documents, and draw my own conclusions.'

'I would like Seamus to be allowed his medicine so he no longer suffers,' Asa stated.

'I will take the box,' Dylan began as he reached out to take it, but Asa put his hand down on the box first to prevent it.

'Shay would be better treated here, at the Palace,' Asa stated.

'No, no way,' Dylan disagreed and Asa just stared at him.

'I do not believe you would treat Harper, you would just take this box and declare that I'm a fool by not using it,' Asa stressed. 'I would like nothing else than to believe Seamus Harper is innocent, but even I have to concede the evidence is very strongly in favour of the fact he has betrayed us.'

'If that is the case, then this final point on the contract Harper signed concerns me,' Dylan spoke up, still looking through the documents.

'It's what he agreed to, if he had been loyal then there wouldn't be a problem,' Asa responded.

'If undeniable proof is presented that you have betrayed the people of Edenia, and their city, then the resulting punishment will be almost certain death,' Dylan read out gravely.

'Sadly, I fear that proof is now in my hands,' Asa then presented a final document and Dylan took it, already knowing that he was looking at a document of Dragan origin. 'This has been distributed amongst Dragan soldiers, they are on a bonus that is worth three months of their salary to find the traitor who worked for them, and then tried to work against them in their quest for Edenia.'

Dylan looked at the image of Harper on the document, and frowned with his gut churning thinking of the mess Harper was in. 'The fact Harper tried to right his apparent wrong, that he turned traitor to the Dragans?' Dylan prompted.

'Is the only thing keeping him alive at the moment,' Asa stated.

'Asa, listen, I'm not dismissing anything that you've told or shown me, and I'd like the chance to look at it myself in my own time, come to my own conclusions and try and work out what has been going on,' Dylan spoke with an air of haste. 'Naturally the injuries Harper has suffered will make finding out the absolute truth harder, he wouldn't know and all we're left with is accusations,' he frowned.

'I want Harper held in the palace,' Asa interrupted. 'And I will give you all the time you need.'

'I can't do that,' Dylan stated. 'Not when I know you are legally entitled to execute him if you so decide.'

'You have my word that I will not kill him before your own investigation is complete, and Dylan, please believe me when I say it's the very last thing I want to do, but I can't ignore the fact my people will expect some kind of retribution, and I'm not the only one to have come into possession of this document,' Asa warned.

'I will try and find the answers,' Dylan assured him.

'And you will bring him to the palace so we can better look after him,' Asa stated glancing at the box containing the medicine. 'He's dying if you are forcing him to go without.'

'He's withdrawing, not dying,' Dylan corrected.

'You under estimate the effects of the medicine, it wasn't designed for Harper to recover from, he signed up for life,' Asa indicated.

'Designed?' Dylan questioned.

'The medicine is not natural, it's manufactured from the Bantra plant, and designed for users to become solely dependant on it,' Asa stressed. 'You might think you're helping him, when in fact you're only killing him, and his blood might be on your hands rather than ours or the Dragans by the time this war is over.'

'It's not the drug we encountered before,' Dylan realised.

'That is simply a recreational drug, the pure toxin of the Bantra plant, this,' Asa gestured to the box. 'Is for guaranteed results.'

'Why would you do this to Harper, when you claim he's like a son to you?' Dylan questioned.

'For exactly that reason, in my position I can not afford for the people of this city to see me weakened by my 'son', Harper is an alien to us and there are people here who would not hesitate to kill him on sight if I fail to act appropriately, and be seen to have no control over him,' Asa simply answered as he got to his feet. 'I expect Harper to be here no later than sundown, I fear for his life if you defy me, he can't be off his medicine for that long.'

Dylan took a deep breath and gathered up the papers Asa had left behind, knowing they were just copies, but determined to find something that could prove beyond doubt that Harper was in fact innocent. He owed Harper that much, and he was damned if he'd just give Harper over without a fight, there was no way he'd let Harper be exposed to the drug again if he could help it.

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TBC