Part 24

Harper had long forgotten what feeling felt like, as he hung limply from the chain in the middle of the room. His body was numb from weakness and pain, his head felt like a ten ton weight as he struggled to lift it. He was unable to sleep, with the drug still in his system and Harper knew his dependency was growing stronger, he wanted another dose, he felt the need within unable to relax.

Cursing his inability to lose consciousness, because of the drug, Harper longed for something to happen that might bring an end to the pain he now felt. His mind, now full again of the memories his life had given him, replayed those moments of weakness that had led to this day. She was beautiful, and he always knew he had a weakness for her, purple or gold she was always just out of reach until that fateful day. Harper sighed, from the moment she'd open the door to more he had become a lost cause, he had been looking for something, anything, having lost everything and she was right there like a siren leading the way to soothe the loss of Earth and life after they had finally destroyed the big bad.

He remembered the grief and depression that followed, how confused and mixed up he had felt in those weeks, and then the bar where he had just been keeping himself to himself, his only concern being his next drink and that he couldn't be found by those wishing to stop him losing himself to the despair he wanted to feel. Then the very worst people he could have got mixed up with showed up to destroy his life, she had been first, and without even a fight he'd been sucker punched into betraying everything he stood for, working for the pretty much the same ubers who had made his life hell on the planet he was now mourning.

Had the destruction of Earth really been that bad? It was a dump and he hadn't even stepped foot on it for a good number of years, it wasn't like he had any family left to mourn, he had already mourned them all, as the sole survivor of his line.

A single tear fell as Harper realised his mistakes, his clouded thoughts on what he had felt was important when all along the most important things in his life had been right there, around him, supporting him and he'd pushed them all away. His true family had never left him, but he'd been too blind to appreciate this fact. The destruction of Earth had been nothing more than a closure to his past, his future had been left intact and could not be destroyed by the darkness, but he now realised that he hadn't needed any enemies or evil monsters to destroy the riches of what he had left, he'd done that all by himself.

Now he was alone, in pain, with no control, and no future at all that he could see and the tears fell as he finally let go.

Beka looked at the map and her finger hovered over the area she felt they needed to attack, as Rhade and Dylan looked on.

'We know there are tunnels here and from surveillance reports the Dragans are not aware of the access point, they are not heavily guarding this area,' Beka stressed.

'We also know these tunnels do not link to the main control room,' Rhade offered.

'But they provide us with a means to navigate enemy territory,' Beka countered.

'There's an exit point here from those tunnels,' Dylan now offered. 'And we know the control room is in this area,' he gestured to the map. 'I think its close enough that we could spring a surprise attack in an area that matters.'

'Do we know if the Dragans have found the control room?' Rhade asked looking at Rommie.

'All reports suggest they have not, but they now have Asa's guards under interrogation, it could just be a matter of time before they do locate it,' she responded.

'If we over power this point,' Beka gestured again to the point of entry. 'We could get two to three hundred of our soldiers under the city and ready to fight in this area here,' she gestured to the exit point Dylan had mentioned. 'We could severely dent their plans, delay their progress, and maybe even assume control of the room ourselves.'

'It's possible we could also walk into a strong hold of Dragan soldiers, we don't know how many men they have in this area, all we know is that they are all congregating somewhere for these other areas to be so lightly guarded,' Rhade warned. 'It might be they are in the right area, even if they haven't located the room yet.'

'It might be a risk we need to take,' Dylan stated.

'Dylan,' Rommie suddenly spoke up, with the strangest expression on her face. 'Something is happening,' she then offered.

'What?' Dylan asked with concern.

'I'm not sure, but,' Rommie then moved to the door, and fresh shouts and noise could be heard outside, as Rhade, Dylan and Beka followed with urgency to the disturbance.

They all instantly looked upwards and they saw the flashes against the strong shield of Edenia above.

'What is going on up there?' Rhade asked.

'I don't know,' Dylan offered. 'Rommie?' he looked at the android.

'Whatever it is, I am involved, my ship self, I'm feeling pangs of connection, there is a lot of activity up there and it is weakening the shield enough for me to feel feint traces of it,' Rommie explained.

'Should we be worried?' Dylan asked unsure.

'The last time I felt these reactions,' Rommie looked suddenly grave. 'Was when my hull was punctured by the Magog.'

'That can't be possible, the Magog are now a spent force, without the Abyss they have no means of control, last I heard those who had survived the destruction, were dying out by starvation too weak to survive!' Beka explained.

'We also thought Trance's people were no longer a threat,' Rhade pointed out. 'And yet one of Trance's sisters has been engineering this whole mess, or so it seems.'

Beka suddenly stare at Rhade. 'My god, that's it.'

'What?' Dylan asked.

'Harper said we didn't know the half of what he had done to create this mess, he also said she was suppose to protect him, what if the she he was referring to was that Trance, what if he purposely chose to work with her?' Beka offered. 'He always shone a light for Trance, and she always kept him at arms length but the state he was in, if that other Trance had given him even an inch he'd of taken it without a care!'

'So it's not so much Harper's doing, but evil Trance?' Rhade figured.

'I knew deep down this was too big to be solely Harper's work, that even at his lowest point he couldn't have engineered so much mess, I just didn't realise how much that other Trance had been involved but it makes sense, its so obvious it's been staring us in the face all along!' Beka enthused. 'Harper's guilt seems to be that he always knew it wasn't his Trance, he just maybe chose to ignore that fact to live out a fantasy.'

'When he told me about the other Trance, even with his lack of memories, he seemed to suggest it was obvious she was fake, where we had been duped,' Rhade agreed.

'No one knows our Trance as well as Harper, they've always had a special connection since their days on the Maru, so its no surprise he can tell the difference,' Beka stated.

'What we really need to figure out is what that other Trance is up to,' Rhade offered. 'She made sure Dylan and Rommie were trapped inside Edenia with the rest of us, including the Dragans, she wanted us out of the way for something.'

'If Harper did chose to side with her, he may know the answer,' Dylan suggested.

'Surely he would have said something?' Beka checked.

'He's barely got his memories back, and he's already said to you that we only know the half of it, maybe that's what he was implying, that he actually knows what the hell is going on around here and what Trance was using him for,' Rhade stated with a touch of anger in his voice.

'If he knew what she was doing, he would have said so, not imply and then say nothing,' Beka dismissed.

'What if he's protecting her?' Rhade then broached.

'If she has any hold over Harper, and we can't assume she doesn't, then can he be trusted?' Dylan began.

'I don't think she has, or if she did then not anymore,' Beka interrupted. 'She tried to force him to reinstate the shields and he defied her, I found him in a bloody heap after her attempt.'

Dylan and Rhade looked upwards. 'The shield was reinstated however,' Rhade noted.

'Doesn't mean he buckled necessarily to her, he told me he was put in an impossible situation, Asa wanted him to destroy the controls and he wasn't prepared to take all hope away from Edenia,' Beka explained. 'It was merely a coincidence that what he wanted, and what that other Trance wanted was the same thing,' Beka added.

'But I'm guessing Trance was there, wasn't she, when he made that decision to raise the shields,' Rhade spoke with care.

'We don't know all the facts, but Harper is right, we only know half of what's going on here,' Beka stressed. 'We can't afford to jump to conclusions, all we know is the Trance who's been on board the Andromeda for however long isn't our Trance, and Harper was fully aware of this fact, even after his memory loss, Beka began to pace as she considered what she knew. 'She wanted us all trapped down here, and tried to get Harper to raise the shields before he eventually did.'

Dylan looked upwards, still seeing the specks of light as trouble brewed above them. 'Well we need to focus on what we do know and what we can do to restore order down here, let's agree our plan of attack and start taking some action and hope whatever is going on up there is quickly resolved.'

Trance took a moment before she began to move, it had been a while since she had teleported and it took a lot out of her to do so. With some hesitation she found herself once again walking the corridors of Andromeda, and as much as she felt she was home, she knew she was in enemy territory.

'What are you doing here?'

Trance spun around and came face to face with her own image, an angrier more confident version of herself.

'This has to stop,' Trance spoke.

The fake Trance approached, looking her up and down. 'This universe needs guidance and that is all I am doing.'

'You are taking control, manipulating people and that is not our role in this universe, we act only as guardians, we're not rulers, and if you remember our business here is done!' Trance countered.

'You didn't seem to mind when I first began my work,' the other Trance smiled.

Trance glanced away. 'I felt I could trust you, you appeared to have this universes best interests at heart, and I was wrong.'

'You knew what I was planning so why do you choose now to stop me? You ran away sister, you ran away because you couldn't stand that I stole your man, that he preferred me to you.'

'Don't be so childish!' Trance argued.

'Admit it, the moment you knew he had chosen to follow me, rather than stop me, you couldn't take it and that's why you left,' her sister teased. 'You were angry and didn't want to face up to the reality.'

'You used my friend, manipulated his feelings for us to your own advantage,' Trance returned with anger.

'He didn't seem to complain,' the fake Trance smiled. 'He even calls me Trance, he's so sweet.'

Trance needed to contain her emotions, but she could feel herself losing her cool as she moved forward. 'I will not let you continue this charade, right now your allies are running from here, the Magog have seen to that, and you will soon find you are alone in your quest.'

'Call the Magog off,' her sister requested.

'Stop what you have started on Edenia, free my friends, whatever you have planned for this universe you can't just expect them to stay neatly out of the way behind that shield for ever,' Trance responded firmly.

'It's no longer my concern, it's out of my hands.'

'You can't keep them trapped like that forever,' Trance stressed. 'You can't just assume they will remain trapped, you know how good both sides are, they will find a way to remove that shield and rest assured dear sister, their first point of call will be you.'

'It's out of my hands,' she repeated calmly. 'My sweet boy, Harper, he's the only one who can lower that shield and free those who are trapped and I don't think he's in any position right now to do anything, he's public enemy number one down there and I doubt he'll be alive much longer,' she then looked at Trance. 'And you know Harper won't lower the shield while he still breathes, and you know why.'

'You shouldn't be so confident that he'll protect you, you've hardly held up your side of the bargain and protected him,' Trance objected. 'He has no reason to keep to your plan, Harper will know what he has to do when the time comes and I fear you might find his decision a surprise,' Trance then challenged.

'You seem to think you know Harper so well,' her sister half grinned. 'But he hasn't failed me so far, and he's taking the fall so well, I almost feel like I should reward him but what good would that do? He's protecting me even as we speak, for as long as that shield remains, he's helping me.'

Trance slowly shook her head. 'He will grow tired of your lack of support, one thing you should have learnt by now is that Harper is not stupid; he will realise what he needs to do, you trapped him down there with enough mentors he respects that your voice and influence will quickly be forgotten.'

Her words seemed to have an effect on her sister, who noticeably hesitated. 'My work is nearly complete, I have nothing to fear, Harper is no longer a concern and everything is going to plan.'

'Except the Magog who are scaring off any allies you might have acquired, the Andromeda is the only ship left, you have no fleet no power,' Trance challenged. 'You are no second coming of the Abyss, dear sister, no matter how much you want to believe it! That much has been proved by your inability to overwhelm the Magog, if you truly were the next coming of darkness, you would have the Magog eating out of your hand right now, a race devoid of a leading voice, and you have failed.'

'Enough!' the fake Trance raised her voice. 'I do not plan to simply step into the Abyss's position, and I do not want mindless killing monsters as my army, I have what I want, the Commonwealth and one Seamus Harper eating out of my hand for it is I, dear sister, who is on the Andromeda alongside one of the most talked about Captains coming through the ranks from the Academy, my work is already done.'

Trance considered what her sister had said and realised that it was very possible her sister was aiming for a more intelligent army, if her plans to manipulate her powers for evil succeeded. 'You will fail,' she simply said.

'Admit it, I've already won,' her sister mocked. 'Your toy, Harper, he won't lower that shield, he is a part of my army and I hardly had to convince him to sacrifice his freedom to Edenia to serve my purpose, he will ensure my greatest threats are secured long enough on that dreadful planet for me to complete my work, so when they do break him I'll hardly notice their attempts to stop me,' she grinned manically. 'He has given me my power and strength, sister, and I know you can feel it, and he's the one who has given me all I need and he gave it to me simply because I asked.'

'Then I will fix this, and I will not call off the Magog until I have succeeded,' Trance declared. 'As far as I'm concerned, right now, you're still an army of one.'

'My allies will soon realise that the Magog are not the threat they used to be, they are misguided and confused, lacking any real leadership, and if my reports are correct they are now weak with the Divine teachings, they are no threat,' the fake Trance smiled.

'They are still monsters and will do what is necessary the only way they know how if they are convinced it's what they need to do,' Trance offered. 'Yes, they needed guidance but they've got that guidance, myself and Rev Bem have seen to that, they know what they have to do to keep your allies at bay,' Trance half smiled.

'You're leading the Magog?' her sister couldn't hide her amusement. 'You have to be a certain level of evil to get them to be what they once were, a skill I know you lack, and that's the only way they'll ever be a threat to us.'

Trance moved closer to her sister, her face expressionless. 'Don't push me.'

'Am I supposed to be scared?' her sister asked mockingly.

'No, you're supposed to be warned and there's no second chances,' Trance remained stony faced and her sister offered a moment of hesitation. 'I am the one who defied my own people to protect my friend, risked the balance of the universe to ensure I got what I wanted, and you dare mock me, challenge me?'

Her sister took a deep breath and recovered some of her composure. 'I will not stop what I am doing, and I will not fail.'

'You may act and talk like me, but sister, you are no Trance Gemini,' Trance half smiled and then blinked out of sight, leaving her sister to look uneasy for a moment.

She composed her thoughts and quickly activated a wrist communicator, 'Captain Roseby, I'm needed elsewhere, continue with the plans I put forward and I'll be back as soon as I can', she offered before also blinking out of sight.

Trance stumbled as she appeared suddenly, and Rev Bem was quick to steady her. 'Trance, are you ok?'

'Just takes a lot out of me to do that, and discussions with my sister are never an easy affair for me, I think I might have just made things worse,' Trance explained, as she recovered. 'This is why I ran away in the first place,' she frowned.

'How have you made things worse?' Rev asked.

'We just can't fail, Rev, we need to defeat her now or she'll never be stopped,' Trance explained with fear. 'If she defeats me now, there will be no stopping her and she's stronger than before, I really felt it,' Trance said with concern. 'I never believed she could, but now I know she has all the makings of a new spirit of the Abyss, it felt so strong as I spoke to her. She has acquired power and claims it is Harper who has given it to her willingly, it's too late to try and bring her back; she has to be stopped permanently.'

'But how has she become so strong, could she still be drawing it from her sun?' Rev asked.

'Impossible, no,' Trance looked at Rev with sadness. 'All she told me was that Harper had given her all the power she needs, I just don't know how, there are no new suns in this system.'

'Then we should get to work,' Rev decided. 'Harper might well be the biggest threat to this universe and not even realise it.'

'I need my strength, and once it's returned I will use it all to get through that shield and find Harper, even if it eventually kills me, I need to see him and try to fix this mess,' Trance stressed. 'I have to stop him, stop whatever he's doing for her, if I'm to have any chance against my sister.'

'We are trying to weaken the shield but it has been returned to a full working state,' Rev warned. 'The Dragans are also throwing everything they have at it, what was previously a weakness Harper had identified has now fixed so it's even harder to get through,' Rev frowned. 'I fear it's true that Harper has made your sister's work a lot easier so with regret I concede he also needs to be stopped.'

'I can teleport through the shield once, and once only, I'm not experienced or strong enough now to make the journey twice,' Trance said with fear, knowing her sister was even stronger now had shaken her. 'After I arrive I will not have the strength for a long while to return, so once I do this, I'm trapped down there with the rest of them, do you think you can keep my sister at bay for however long it takes for me to fix this mess?' Trance asked.

'We can only try, and I can promise to not give up,' Rev offered. 'I have a good number of Magog responding to my teachings, they want to help, and some even realise that the sides are uneven with those who are trapped on Edenia.'

'We have to keep them under some control, Rev, I never thought I'd say this but the Magog offer the Commonwealth its only hope in these circumstances,' Trance sighed. 'We need those shields lowered, we need the sides to be even again. I will prepare myself and gather all my strength to attempt this last teleport, I should be good to go soon,' Trance offered and left Rev, as she retreated to her cabin.

--

TBC