Bonds Made, Bonds Broken
robinyj

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The Eureka Maru flew smoothly through the open space while on its way to the Maritou Space Station for supplies for the Andromeda and her crew. The Andromeda herself was currently busy trying to prevent a comet from striking a defenceless planet. It sounded easy enough but would take some time so it was decided that the Maru should get the supplies. Onboard the ship, all was quiet. Extremely too quiet for that tastes of Tyr Anastazi. He was completely and utterly bored.

Tyr sat in the pilot's chair even though he didn't do the piloting, it was just the most convenient place to sit for the time being. They had just finished the final slipstream jump before they reached the station. It had been several hours since they left Andromeda and Tyr felt the boredom lurking into his bones. He despised having been chosen for this mission and didn't mind telling anyone so. As he sat in the piloting chair he threw a deck of cards into a hat one by one, with a hundred percent accuracy. Finally he couldn't take it anymore and started to make his way to the only other person onboard the ship.

"Where are you, Little Man?" Tyr called out as he entered Engineering and saw no one.

"Right here." Harper replied as he crawled out from one of the overhead vents. "What can I do for you?" He asked.

Tyr sighed, "What is our ETA for the Space station?"

"I don't know. Like an hour, maybe two. What's wrong? Those superior Nietzschean genes can't handle the boredom of space?" Harper asked, in a slightly mocking tone.

"I do not enjoy this much inactivity. How did you stand the boredom on this ship for months on end?" Tyr's voice clearly revealed his frustration.

Harper laughed, "Boredom? Are you kidding? I'm the Engineer of this scrap heap, the *only* engineer. You think I ever had a day where there wasn't fifty bagillion things to fix? What do you think I'm doing now? These aligners haven't been replaced in years, the slipstream drive hasn't had an overhaul in about that long, and the core processors are slowly but surely degrading. I don't get the luxury of having to deal with boredom." Harper jumped down from the vent and strolled over to a nearby console. "If you really want something to do feel free to pick up a nanowelder and start working on the aligners." He said with a cocky grin.

Tyr scoffed at the idea, "Reduce myself to the level of a grease monkey? I think not."

"Your choice." Harper shrugged as he climbed beneath the console and began fidgeting with the wires. He tensed suddenly and looked Tyr in the eye seriously, "You're not gonna tell Beka that I called her ship a "scrap heap", are you?" He asked, his eyes pleading silently.

"That depends on what's in it for me." Tyr almost laughed at the look on Harper's face. "Relax, I won't tell her what you said about her precious ship. To be honest I mostly feel the same way." Tyr admitted, still leaning against the wall. "How in the galaxy did I ever get stuck with this assignment?" He was mostly talking to himself, but Harper had an answer for him.

"Because, it was us or no one." Harper said, without coming out from beneath the wiring, "Trance and I aren't allowed to take the Maru out alone now, thanks to our little run in with Gerentex, Beka said we were irresponsible or immature or something. Like, what's up with that, anyway? But, I have to come because I'm the only one who can pick out the proper supplies, Beka and Dylan are needed on Andromeda and Rev, well I think Rev just refused to come." Harper scratched his head, trying to figure out why Rev hadn't come.

"I do not blame him for refusing, why I ever agreed in the first place is beyond me." Tyr stated.

"Well at least the company's good." Harper smirked, indicating himself since he was the only other person onboard.

Tyr looked away, as if in partial disgust, "God, what was I thinking?"

"Oh yeah, like you're Mr. Conversationalist." Harper remarked, focusing once more on the minor repairs.

Tyr had no comment and continued his wall leaning. The next few moments passed in silence. To many it would have seemed like an uncomfortable and slightly tense conversation, but it was an amazing improvement for these two. Harper and Tyr had never really been able to get along until the Magog attack. They had been civil, most of the time, but Harper's insecurities about all Nietzscheans and Tyr's thoughts that he was a "superior race", had always kept the two from communicating. However, fighting off a fleet of Magog together in hand to hand combat and then being captured and infested tends to make people grow closer. That day had by far been one of the worst in Harper's life, and Harper had lived a *bad* life. In all his years on Earth he'd been able to avoid the Magog and infestation. It was on the Andromeda, the one place Harper had finally felt safe, that his worst nightmares had come true. And through it all Tyr had been there beside him, giving him the courage to fight, and not allowing him to quit.

"This ship is in dire need of a recreational area." Tyr commented, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, I'll be sure to mention it to Beka next time we upgrade the place." Harper said sarcastically as he crawled out from beneath the console. He began tapping the screen to check if his fix-it job had been sufficient; to his dismay the screen still wasn't responding.

"Damn it! What the Hell is wrong with this thing?" He smashed his fist against the screen in frustration.

"You are the Engineer. I would hope that *you* would be the one to know." Tyr said, in his subtle smart alec way.

"Oh, ha ha." Harper crouched down to check beneath the console once more. "It's probably something simple, like .. AH!" Harper was thrown back as the console he'd been working on exploded. He hit the wall with a thud and sunk to the floor.

Tyr lifted his arm to shield himself from the sparks and yelled, "Harper!"

The young engineer made no signs of movement. The fire control system kicked in almost immediately and the struggling flames were quickly doused. Tyr made his way to Harper's side and rolled him onto his back. He was unconscious, but his breathing was steady.

"Harper, can you hear me? You in there little man?" Tyr slapped his cheek lightly in an attempt to get a response. Harper began to shake his head but didn't open his eyes. Tyr slapped him again, slightly harder than before. "Open your eyes and get up, I have seen you shake off worse things than that."

Harper moaned and opened his eyes, "Man, you're all sympathy aren't you?" He asked rhetorically as he pushed himself up onto his elbows.

"I just knew that your skull was too thick to be permanently affected by that meagre blow to the head." Tyr replied as he extended his arm to Harper. Harper took it graciously and stood up while rubbing the back of his head.

"Damn it, that hurt. Musta accidentally crossed some wires while we were talking." Harper said absently and started to head back over to the console to find the problem. Halfway there he was hit with a rush of dizziness; he stumbled back slightly and clutched his head. Tyr grabbed him by the arm and kept him upright.

"Easy, your skull may be thick but not impenetrable. Let's take you to the Medical bay first, shall we?" Tyr suggested already leading him out of the room.

"Fine, whatever." Harper agreed, too disoriented to argue.

Tyr chuckled softly to himself, "I have to give you credit little man, you do manage to keep life interesting."

"It's what I do." Harper replied, "Need a picker upper? Just call Seamus Harper. He'll blow himself up for your amusement." Tyr rolled his eyes and hauled Harper along to the Medical bay.

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Little less than two hours later, they arrived at the Space Station. They docked quickly and made their way onto the station. Tyr thought that Harper seemed far too excited to be there and purposely lagged behind while Harper scrounged around the area for the supplies they were there to get. Harper for his part was excited for a good reason, he loved bartering for supplies because he could always get a great deal. The incident in Engineering was at the back of his mind and almost completely forgotten, he just added it to his list of injuries in the line of duty. A quick scan had shown his skull was still intact and a painkiller was keeping back the killer headache he knew would follow up something like that.

"Tyr, would you hurry up? You're the one who was so bored the whole trip, you'd think you'd move a little faster so that we could get out of here." Harper commented as he continued to lead the way around the station.

"I do not derive the same pleasure you do from socializing with these swindlers." Tyr replied, without quickening his pace.

"These swindlers? Oh, you've never seen the Harper in action. I'll show you some swindling." Harper smirked as he made his way through the crowd.

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An hour later Tyr hated to admit it, but Harper was definitely a swindler extraordinaire. He argued over prices with every merchant they talked to. At first Tyr had been annoyed that Harper could never accept the first offer so they could be on their way, but eventually he realized that the young man was as good as he said. He was sometimes able to get the item for less than half of the seller's original price. He would look over all the items carefully, detecting any minor faults, any imperfections were unacceptable and would immediately drop the price by several thrones.

Once while they were acquiring a part for the slipstream of the Andromeda, Harper had realized that the merchant knew absolutely nothing about the piece of equipment. He immediately asked if he could take a look beneath the panelling and began to point out problems with the part that weren't there, although the man wouldn't know that. It was clear Harper knew what he was talking about and they got the expensive part for practically nothing.

After they acquired the items they were immediately brought to the Maru. Tyr usually took them himself and by the time he returned Harper was always ready with another bargain for him to load.

"I must admit, I would hate to try and sell you anything. You do realize you robbed that man of at least five hundred thrones?" Tyr asked as they made their way around the station, but he already knew the answer.

"I know. Wasn't it sweet? God, I love this stuff." Harper said excitedly as he glanced at their list of supplies, "Okay, all we need now are those parts for the navigational system. Let's try this guy, he looks like a pushover." Harper rushed ahead, eager for another bartering session.

Tyr lingered behind, knowing Harper could handle it. He leaned against a railing and watched as the people milled about the area. Fifteen minutes later he realized that Harper should have finished by now. He made his way over to the shop area that Harper had entered and peered inside.

"Look pal, I'm telling you for the last time that it's not worth more than a thousand thrones. You can take it or leave it." Harper practically yelled at the merchant.

The store keeper didn't look happy, and it was obvious he didn't like the price being offered. He was slightly larger than Harper, but most people were. Tyr honestly didn't know what race he was; he wasn't human, but wasn't far off either. The differences were subtle, but there; the slightly miscolored hair, enlarged eyes, only three fingers. Other than that he appeared human.

"I will accept fifteen hundred and no less." He said firmly.

Harper seemed absolutely appalled, although Tyr knew that was more than likely quite a reasonable price. He decided to make his presence known, mostly because he had become bored again and wanted to get the parts and leave.

"Harper, will you be finished shortly?" He asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest to emphasize his point.

"Huh? Oh yeah, give me a sec." Harper requested, then turned his attention back to the man, whose gaze now seemed to be focused directly on Tyr.

"You know, now that I think about it, a thousand thrones seems very reasonable." The man said, his speech stuttering slightly. He had very quickly become nervous.

Harper was pleased but also somewhat confused. He looked back at Tyr and realized how menacing the large Nietzschean appeared. He smiled as he realized that the man had probably assumed that Tyr was Harper's back up so to speak. It probably wasn't uncommon for the more powerful patrons who arrived at the station to dress as everyday buyers to avoid thieves. The merchant must have thought Harper was one of them and Tyr was his bodyguard or enforcer of sorts.

Whatever works. Harper thought pleasantly.

"Well, I'm glad you agree." He paid the man the agreed sum and then turned to Tyr, "Okay, we can go." He smirked.

Tyr breathed a sigh of relief and took the package from the cowering man. The crowd seemed to have dispersed slightly as they made their way back to the ship and they no longer had to push to make their way through.

"Well let's see, deduct another thousand and then let's say, oh, three hundred to give back to Dylan as his change and we have a remaining total of ...." Harper was tapping a pad, figuring out how much they had spent, "twelve thousand thrones. Oh, I am good I am so good. Half of which goes to you my friend."

Tyr looked at him, slightly puzzled and partially annoyed, "What are you babbling on about?"

"Oh, I didn't tell you? You see Dylan gave us a working amount of twenty five thousand thrones to buy all these supplies. With my lovely charm and ability to find a decent deal, I got us all the equipment we need for a measly thirteen thousand. So I figure we give three or four hundred back to Dylan as the change and he'll never be the wiser as to the actual amount. Seeing as you're my partner in crime I only see it as fair that I give you your half. Six thousand thrones enough to make you stop complaining about the boredom of this mission?" Harper asked, handing Tyr the flexi he'd worked out the calculations on so he could inspect them.

Tyr looked at the figures and allowed a smile to pass his face, "I should have known there was a better reason you were so determined to get a good deal for every single item. And yes, I believe the trip has become almost worth its while."

"Glad you approve. Just adding to the Harper college fund."

"You are planning to go to college?" Tyr asked, somewhat surprised.

"Lord no, the fund which I spend on college girls. They are so demanding. Dinner and drinks and valet parking, they always want the whole shebang." Harper explained.

"Yes, well just be sure that Dylan isn't suspicious of our little deception." Tyr warned him, "The good captain has been known to be very tricky."

"Damn right. But it's not like he's not gonna believe that prices have risen a little over the last three hundred years." Harper said, taking back the flexi.

"You better hope so, little man."

They continued walking around the station and ten minutes later Harper turned to Tyr with a mixture of confusion and worry on his face.

"Uh, do you know where we're going?" He asked, scratching his head.

Tyr growled in frustration, "I was under the impression you knew where we were going."

"Me? You're the one who's been going to the ship back and forth all day." Harper defended himself.

"Yes. And in that time I have taken so many twists and turns in these corridors I can not tell one from the other." Tyr cast a weary eye around the station; finally they had everything they needed and they forgot where they parked.

"Okay, look. All the docking areas are on the outside of the station, so if we walk around the perimeter we have to reach the Maru eventually right?" Harper suggested as a course of action.

"That's all well and good but this station is huge, it should only take, oh I don't know, two hours to go around the perimeter." Tyr told him, although he knew it was the only course of action.

"Well I know we didn't dock two hours away. The ship can't be too far. This way." Harper indicated. Tyr sighed and shifted the case with the parts in it to his other hand before he followed him.

Fortunately for them Harper was right, they found the ship ten minutes later.

Harper leaned over a railing and squinted, "Ha! There she blows!" He pointed to the docking area below them where they had left the Eureka Maru.

Tyr looked himself and felt a surge of relief that it was indeed the Maru, "Finally. Let's get back to the Andromeda quickly. God, another six hours with you as my only company. What did I ever do to deserve this?"

"Man, I love you too pal." Harper replied sarcastically as he led the way to the staircase leading down to the Maru's docking port. The docking areas were practically deserted; a sharp contrast to the crowded corridors and walkways around the market areas, right now there was no one in sight as they made their way down the winding staircase.

Harper jumped down the last three steps gleefully and spread his arms wide, pointing extravagantly to the ship in the airlock.

"Home again, home again, jiggedy jig." He smirked and glanced back to Tyr coming down the stairs closely behind him.

"Do shut up and get on the ship."

"Well, aren't we cheerful? You know it wouldn't kill you to ... huh?" Harper didn't finish his statement. His attention was drawn to the walkway above their heads. There had been no one in sight a few moments ago but there was someone up there now who didn't want to be seen. Several somebodies, Harper thought. Tyr noticed too and glanced above to see several sets of feet crossing the walkway swiftly.

"Harper, get on the ship." Tyr urged him, as he came down the last few steps.

"Don't have to tell me twice." Harper took off for the ship but it was too late.

A half dozen men came barrelling down the stairs behind them, while four more jumped off the walkway above them and landed directly in their path.

"Oh great. Who the Hell did we piss off now?" Harper asked as he kept a wary eye on the men now circling them. They were all of average height and build, bigger than Harper but smaller than Tyr. They were dressed in everyday wear so clearly weren't secret operatives but they did seem rather mad. They were a mixture of humans and other humanoid like species that they couldn't identify. Harper realized that two of them were men they had walked by when they were trying to make their way back to the ship when they lost it for a few minutes.

"Hey guys, we don't know you so why don't you just head on back to whatever hole you crept out of and ..." Harper was once more cut off as one of the lead men suddenly threw a smoke bomb at their feet. White gas immediately filled the area, nearly blinding in its intensity. Harper began to cough roughly as he inhaled the gas, while Tyr barely had to clear his throat. The men converged on the duo as the smoke poured from the bomb.

Harper was trying desperately to control his breathing when he felt the presence of their assailants converging on them. He fought them off best he could; they were bigger than him but Harper fought dirty. He punched the first man square across the jaw and elbowed the second in the gut, but he knew he couldn't keep up the fight long.

"Harper!" He heard Tyr call his name and turned in time to catch the metal case that Tyr threw him.

Tyr was enjoying himself for the most part, although he was mentally chastising himself for having not brought a weapon onto the station. He lashed out at his attackers, easily dropping them.

Harper smashed the metal case into one man's head and then bashed another in the stomach with it; clearing a path for himself. He began to cough once more as he made a break for the Maru.

"Tyr, let's jet!" He yelled behind him as he boarded the Maru swiftly.

Tyr for his part wasn't in too much of a rush, but he threw another man to the side and followed Harper onto the ship. Once onboard he closed the doors and they pulled away from the station. Only when they were undocked did he turn his attention to Harper.

"I hope that will teach you not to mention such large sums of money on a station filled with thieves and murderers. It's a good way to get yourself killed. It nearly did." Tyr commented as he walked over to where Harper was leaning against a wall, gasping for breath, "Are you alright?" He asked, with more curiosity than concern.

"I think .... there was ....... something in .... that gas." Harper said as he coughed hoarsely and his eyes began to droop.

"I'm feeling no ill effects." Tyr stated calmly; Harper didn't reply. He continued coughing, getting closer to floor level with every breath.

Tyr shook his head as Harper fell unconscious, "I swear boy, trouble follows you around like a dog. Knocked unconscious twice in one day, what are the odds? And I don't suppose you'll be waking up to pilot the slipstream."

As Tyr brought Harper to one of the crew quarters on the ship to sleep off the gas, he couldn't help but wonder about the gas's odd effects. Harper was unconscious, although it appeared to have been a slow acting knock out gas, Tyr felt absolutely fine. Not even a slight irritation. He finally came to the conclusion that it simply must be a human thing.

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"Another planet saved and signed. Not bad." Dylan commented to Beka as they awaited the Eureka Maru's return. They had stopped a meteor which had been on a collision course with a planet that was incapable of destroying it. They had changed the meteor's course easily enough and in doing so the Frelic's had been quick to sign the Commonwealth Charter.

"Well, if Harper and Tyr would get back soon, I'd be even happier. They've been gone too long." Beka said, as if on cue the sensors began flashing and the screen showed the Maru dropping out of Slipstream.

"Some wishes do come true," Dylan noted, "Rommie, hail them. Let's find out how they did."

Dylan waited patiently for the screen to flicker and was greeted with the always serious face of Tyr, sitting in the pilot's chair, and Harper leaning against the back wall, rubbing at his temples.

"Welcome back. How did the supply run go?" Dylan asked, thinking that perhaps for just once the Andromeda crew had, had a peaceful and successful mission.

"Interesting to say the least. The flight home may have been a bit more enjoyable if Harper could have stopped complaining about his headache for two minutes or more." Tyr commented, half growling in his annoyance.

Harper stopped rubbing his temples and glared at Tyr, "Oh, bite me. Just cause you didn't get affected by that knock-out gas."

"Knock-out gas?" Beka questioned, confused and concerned.

"Long story." Harper replied curtly. It was clear neither man was in a very good mood.

"We shall go into full details once we board." Tyr added.

"And after a trip to medical." Harper clutched his temples again to emphasis his point.

"I think this is a story I want to hear. See you when you've docked, Hunt out." Dylan said then closed the comm.

"This should be interesting." Beka remarked as they both made their way to the hangar.

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 "Oh geez, when did the lights on this ship get so bright?" Harper asked as he stepped onto the deck of the Andromeda. Of course the lighting was the same as it had always been which in itself was much brighter than the Maru, causing Harper's headache to escalate even more.

"Do you never stop complaining?" Tyr snapped angrily as they made their way onto the ship. His temper had been raging the entire trip home, causing him to snap at the tiniest annoyance. He stormed out of the hangar and barrelled past Dylan and Beka without so much as a hello.

Beka and Dylan swiftly moved out of the way when they saw the steamed Nietzschean heading towards them and watched as he left the deck and moved out of sight.

"Well, he's a happy camper." Beka said sarcastically.

"What exactly is wrong with him?" Dylan asked Harper as they approached the engineer.

Harper gave them an exasperated look. "I have no idea, but I wish I did. He's been ready to bite my head off the entire trip home. Only four hours of which I was actually conscious for. But I went by one of the unused crew quarters on the Maru and there was a bunch of stuff all smashed up. I tell you there is something seriously wrong with him. Probably a Nietzschean thing." He commented.

"Hmm, you mentioned something about knock-out gas." Dylan raised an eyebrow, indicating he wanted the full story.

"Right." Harper smiled sheepishly, "Let's walk and talk shall we? I gotta get my butt to Medbay for some stronger painkillers."

As the trio made their way through the corridors of the Andromeda, Harper filled them in on all that had transpired onboard the station. As they reached the doors to the Medical bay he had almost finished regaling them with his tale.

"I mean, these guys came from nowhere. So we fought them off and got on the Maru and headed out. Then I kinda started to not feel so hot and may have passed out slightly."

"How slightly?" Beka inquired.

"Five hours maybe." Harper answered uncertainly. They all looked up and saw Trance, wagging her purple tail behind her gleefully.

"Harper, you're back." She stated with a huge smile. She always missed her friend when he left.

"You know, I thought I was back, but I wasn't sure. Thanks for clearing that up." Harper replied sarcastically, but in a tone that offered no insult. "You got anything for a major headache? May be a side effect of a knock-out gas."

Trance cocked her head to the side slightly, "What happened?"

"Oh, long story. I tell it better without the little man with the nanowelder in my head." Harper replied, indicating he was clearly in pain.

"Okay, I'll get you something." She walked over to a cabinet and looked through her various medicines.

"Just one thing I want to clear up. Why did the men attack you in the first place?" Dylan asked curiously.

Harper thought about it a moment. He had neglected to mention the fact that he and Tyr were keeping and splitting twelve thousand thrones of Dylan's money. Actually Harper was greatly considering keeping Tyr's share for himself with the way the big man had been acting earlier.

"Well, I may have mentioned that we had twenty-five thousand thrones to spend, while we were walking through a pretty busy part of the station. Tyr thinks someone heard me and thought we still had it. But we spent most of it." Harper hadn't lied outright in a long time. Still got it. He thought to himself.

"Makes sense. Those stations are full of thieves and swindlers. Where do you think I met Harper?" Beka commented with a smirk.

Harper was slightly irritated by that comment but couldn't think of a very witty reply, he settled for, "You know, I'm not gonna waste a perfectly good comeback on that remark, but trust me, it does exist."

They were saved from further argument when Trance came back in, medicine in hand.

"Here, try this." Trance handed the hypo over to Harper who took it graciously. His features relaxed into a painless expression almost immediately.

"That's better. Thanks Trance." Harper jumped off the examining table. "So, there anything else or am I free to go where no man has dared go before?"

"Where's that?" Dylan asked.

"My quarters. Even I've been scared to go in there lately. I gotta rig up a cleaning bot or something." Harper replied, schematics and blueprints immediately forming in his mind at the thought of a new project to work on.

Dylan chuckled slightly, "Sure thing. The core processors have been acting up a bit lately, but it can wait until you get some rest."

"Sweet. See you in a couple hours then." Harper happily strode away from the Medbay and headed to what he shamefully called his quarters.

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Meanwhile, in the onboard gym, a punching bag was getting the pummelling of its life. Sweat trickled down Tyr's face as he went through his unrelenting work out. He attacked the bag as if it was his worst enemy, every punch stronger and more devastating than the last. His frustration and, what could only be described as rage, had been building the entire flight back to the Andromeda. He just had an unquenchable rage building within him. The gym seemed the best place to go. It now seemed as though it wouldn't be a long term solution. The punching bag didn't look as though it would last much longer.

"Aargh!" Tyr grunted as his final blow landed with so much force that it dislodged the bag from its position in the ceiling. As it landed at his feet he tried futilely to expel his anger by kicking it as it rolled away. As he pulled his leg back for a second kick he suddenly jerked back into reality. The realization that he had no idea why he was so angry, hit him like a ton of bricks.

"What in the galaxies am I doing?" He asked himself as he looked down at the broken punching bag.

"I was just thinking the same thing." Tyr turned sharply, all his senses alert for attack for some reason. He relaxed only slightly when he realized it was the holographic AI that had joined him.

"Hope you're proud of yourself." Rommie commented, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Tyr looked down once more and grimaced slightly, "Not really. It took far longer than it should have." He replied, still trying to figure out exactly why he had been so angry.

"Great. It's still broken and you haven't even gained a sense of accomplishment. What a waste." Rommie said sarcastically.

Tyr felt his blood begin to boil as his temper flared once more, "You can fix it in minutes, so please stop complaining."

"You're in a bad mood." Rommie stated, matter-of-factly.

"Well perhaps if everything on this relic of a ship was not falling apart at the seams, I would be in a better mood." Tyr replied. He grabbed a towel off the rack and stormed out of the gym. His footsteps echoed down the hall as he tried fiercely to stomp out his anger.

"Point proven." Rommie said to herself, quirking an eyebrow at his response. Then her hologram disappeared and she set to work fixing the punching bag along with the thousands of other duties she was doing at the same time.

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Tyr stormed through the ship in search of some way to dispel his anger; no ideas were forthcoming. He was angry and frustrated, he didn't know why, and he was in no state of mind to try and think of a reason. In his own mind he had every right to be angry, at whatever he liked. What he really needed was something to release his anger on. Before he even realized he was heading there, he found himself at the Machine Shop. It seemed as good a place as any to vent his frustrations.

He practically rushed into the shop and looked around; he saw no one in the vicinity. He had wanted a human opponent to release his wrath on but then decided that inanimate objects would do just as well. With a growl he attacked a shelf of parts, he pulled it from its position against the wall and hurled it across the room. He kicked a piece of scrap metal and then turned his attention to what appeared to be a half finished bot. Undoubtedly one of Harper's latest creations.

That boy has been a complete nuisance lately, and nothing but a bother. Every time I see him he is getting into trouble or doing something equally as annoying. Tyr's anger escalated with these thoughts and he lashed out at the bot with a newly intensified rage, kicking parts on the floor and ripping apart still attached pieces with his bare hands. He didn't even notice when Harper entered the room.

Harper was reading a flexi as he came in and looked up to see what all the noise was about. He was shocked to see Tyr destroying his latest work of genius.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Harper yelled, and then ducked as a chunk of his current project flew past his head. He stomped over to Tyr, grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. "Hey, man I asked what ...." Harper never finished the sentence. The only thing he saw before slamming into the wall was the look on Tyr's face; there were no signs of recognition, no rhyme nor reason behind his eyes, just a need for destruction. Nietzschean destruction. And Harper knew that was one of the worst kinds.

Tyr was unaware of anyone else being in the room, so of course when he felt himself being spun around by someone behind him, his finely toned skills took the action as a threat. He lashed out fiercely, catching Harper sharply across the right side of his face with a fierce right hook. Harper let out a low groan of pain as the punch sent him reeling into the wall.

There were no coherent thoughts going through Tyr's mind. It was nothing but a jumble of impulses and random negative thoughts and images.

Destroy, anger, terrorize, kill, rage, demolish, annoying humans, kill, fury, pulverize, wrath, kill, annihilate, devastation, destroy, KILL!

Harper tried to steady himself against the wall; that punch had almost knocked him out. As he rubbed his jaw he looked up and saw that the Nietzschean had him in his sights. There was an animalistic rage in Tyr's eyes that sent a shiver down Harper's spine. This was not the Tyr that was his friend; this was a crazed man, with a need for violence and destruction. Harper didn't know this man, but he sure as hell feared him.

"Look Tyr, old pal, I don't know what's gotten into you ...." Harper ducked a sheet of metal, "... but how about we just go on down to the Medical Bay and get you checked out?" Harper asked hopefully. He suddenly really *really* wished he didn't have the tendency to set the room to 'privacy mode' while he was working. There was no sign of understanding on Tyr's face; he simply narrowed his gaze threateningly and his body suddenly tensed.

Tyr responded by attacking the young engineer; he moved faster than the eye could see. The Nietzschean wrapped his hands around Harper's throat and lifted him more than a foot in the air. Harper quickly began turning red, and then an unnatural shade of blue, much to Tyr's delight.

KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! The word rang through Tyr's mind, like a death mantra. Over and over. It was all he heard, all he wanted or could think of doing.

Harper struggled valiantly to remove the larger man's hands from his throat, but Tyr was simply too strong. He resorted to a survival method he had learned long ago that almost always worked. He kicked Tyr below the belt as hard as he could, something you just don't do to a guy unless it's absolutely necessary. Harper decided it was. He was released from the massive grip and fell into a heap on the floor. Harper gasped for air and tried to scramble away knowing he would only have a few seconds to recover as Tyr stumbled in pain.

"You disgusting, worthless, kludge!" Tyr yelled in anger. He recovered from the blow rather quickly and turned his attention back to the young man.

KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! It wouldn't stop. It just kept repeating itself over and over in Tyr's mind, sending him into a blind rage. He saw only a blinding red and at that moment had no sense of right or wrong.

Harper staggered to his feet and tried to make it across the room, while still gasping for much needed oxygen. He was halfway to the far wall when he saw motion from the corner of his eye. He had the presence of mind to duck, and that probably saved his life, as a metal pipe flew through the air where his head had been microseconds earlier.

It's just not my day. Harper thought to himself.

Tyr, equipped with the lethal metal pipe, lashed out again. This time he aimed for Harper's midsection. The engineer avoided the hit by jumping back and crashing into a shelf of spare parts. The various tinker toys scattered across the floor as Harper collided into it, sending it crashing to the ground. He rolled with his own momentum and landed on the other side of the shelf amidst the pile of clutter on the floor. He pulled himself up with an audible groan. Everything was hurting, absolutely everything. He could feel tiny metallic parts had embedded themselves into his arms and legs when he fell and he thought his arm might be broken, it sure as hell felt that way. He looked up and felt his only sliver of hope; the comm unit on the far wall. Nearly there.

"Put up a fight you worthless Mudfoot!" Tyr growled in disgust while kicking his way through the stacks of broken machines.

"Oh, god." Harper muttered under his breath. He scrounged deep inside himself and somehow found the strength to pull himself out from the debris. With an unexpected burst of speed and energy he threw himself at the wall and hit the comm button.

"Dylan! Beka! Anyone! Help!" Harper shouted into the comm unit. He was about to say something else, but was stopped by the heavy metal pipe smashing into the comm unit, breaking it instantly.

Oh shit. Was all Harper thought as Tyr pulled his arm back once more, to strike another devastating blow.

______________________________________________

Dylan walked down the corridors of the Andromeda, completely unaware of what was going on only two decks below him. It had been a good week for him and his crew. They had signed another planet, gotten all the supplies they needed for quite awhile, and everything seemed to be going well among his crew. In fact everything was going so well, he didn't even know how he was going to spend the rest of the day. He thought he may challenge Tyr to a basketball game, but the Nietzschean had been in such a god awful mood he was reluctant to ask. He decided he should at least try. Just as he was about to ask Rommie Tyr's whereabouts, a message came through the shipwide intercom.

"Dylan! Beka! Anyone! Help!"

Dylan's eyes widened in shock and surprise as Harper's fear stricken, and panicked voice played, and was then abruptly cut off and replaced with static. He ran to the comm unit on the wall and activated it.

"Harper? Harper where are you?" He asked, concern speeding up his voice. No reply. "Rommie, locate Harper."

"Harper is currently in Machine Shop 2." Rommie reported. Dylan was racing away even before she finished. He knew everyone else onboard had heard the message and knew someone had to have called security bots to the Machine Shop. He didn't waste time using the ladders that connected the decks, instead he jumped down the ladder chute and turned on his anti-grav units, falling fast, and safely to the next level.

Hold on Harper. He thought as he raced down the corridor. He was now on the right level, he just had to get to the Machine Shop.

 

______________________________________________

"Whoa!"

Harper flew out of the way as fast as he could to avoid the lethal swing of the metal pipe, but he wasn't fast enough. His world suddenly became a sea of black as the pipe struck him squarely on the back of the head, partially clipping his shoulder. He fell to the ground with an audible thud, and was unconscious before he hit.

Tyr glared at his now defenceless opponent and growled in his rage. The victory had done nothing to appease his anger, in fact the lack of a decent fight had enraged him quite well.

KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! The mantra in his head was relentless. He kicked several pieces of scrap metal in frustration, and threw the pipe into the wall with all the strength he could muster. A groan from the still unconscious Harper, caused him to focus his attention on him once more. As he looked at the engineer sprawled on the floor, completely unaware, his mind was assaulted with several images.

Harper smiling cockily as he fixed their latest technical problem. Harper unplugging himself from the Andromeda at the last second and saving Tyr's life as he shot a Magog. The entire crew together ondeck, looking out the view screen.

The images came and went so quickly it was maddening. Tyr growled in rage that he couldn't bring the memories up again and took his anger out on the closest thing. Harper.

Tyr pulled his leg back and kicked Harper in the ribs with bone crunching precision. Harper was still unconscious but he groaned painfully and then drew in several deep, wheezing breaths.

The action did nothing to make Tyr feel better. He drew his foot back again and was stopped in midkick. There was a sound of a weapon being charged and a flash of red, then Tyr fell to the ground unconscious.

Dylan stood in the doorway, forcelance in hand and at the ready in case Tyr somehow got up from the first hit. After several seconds, when he was certain the big man was indeed out of it, he moved to Harper's side.

"Harper?" Dylan asked with concern as he flipped the young man on his back. He felt slightly ill when he pulled his hand away from the back of Harper's head and found it covered in blood. "God, Harper. What the hell happened here?" He whispered under his breath. He knew the room must have been in privacy mode or Rommie would have stopped this much sooner than him, so he ran into the hall and hit the nearest comm unit.

"Medical Emergency, Machine Shop 2, on the double!" He ordered, and didn't wait for a response before rushing back into the room.

Dylan kept a wary eye on Tyr as he assessed Harper's injuries as best he could. There was the blood of course, he wasn't bleeding too badly but it was there nonetheless. He also noticed brutal, bright red marks on Harper's throat which suggested he'd been choked. He didn't doubt there were other injuries he couldn't see visually. What he couldn't figure out for the life of him was why Tyr would attack Harper in the first place. The two had been getting along amazingly well the last few weeks and Dylan doubted that this little confrontation could possibly go without repercussions on the friendship. The medical bots finally arrived, followed closely by a very winded Beka. Dylan had no doubt she had run all the way down from the Command Deck. She took in the scene quickly and then joined him by Harper, who was now being moved by stretcher by the Medical bots.

"What the hell happened?" She asked in concern as she watched Harper being carried away, unconscious.

"Tyr." Dylan replied cryptically, his voice losing almost all emotion. The bots were getting ready to take Tyr away. Dylan stopped them and looked down on the man with a new sense of disdain. How or why he would have attacked Harper so fiercely is something he would have loved to know, as much as getting his Commonwealth.

"When you get him to the Medical Bay, restrain him immediately. Treat him while he's strapped down if you have to. Don't let him go." Dylan ordered. The bots responded accordingly and then continued to carry Tyr away.

"Tyr happened? Dylan what are you talking about?" Beka asked further.

"I don't know. I'll tell you what, I know too damn little about all this." They followed behind the bots all the way to the Medical Bay.

______________________________________________

Trance was waiting for them when they finally reached the Medical Bay. She took one look at Harper and began rushing around the room, getting everything she needed and subtly removing Dylan and Beka from the area. She was so focused on analyzing and treating Harper, that it took several seconds for her to notice that Tyr had been brought in as well. It was the fact that the bots were restraining him that she noticed most.

"What's wrong with Tyr? Why are you tying him down?" She asked, leaving her best friend's welfare in the hands of the medical bots for a few seconds.

"Don't worry about him. He's only stunned. Just focus on Harper." Dylan replied. Trance looked as though she was going to ask something else but thought better of it and returned her attention to her patient.

______________________________________________

Trance worked alongside the medical bots and took care of Harper. The broken arm was set, and mended almost completely within the hour. The cuts were all healed and the bruises only a shadow of a memory. There were three broken ribs that had taken a little more time to take care of, but she was pretty confident that when Harper woke up the worst he would be feeling was a headache and some stiffness. Now the only question was when he would wake up. It had been three hours now and Trance was certain he should have regained consciousness on his own by now. She rechecked the scan she had taken of his brain functions. It was all working as it always had and there was no sign of concussion. He *should* be awake.

Trance decided - in her own mind - that the reason Harper hadn't woken up yet was because he wasn't ready to face what had happened. One of his closest friends - although it was a newly formed bond - had attacked him. Viciously. That wasn't something your mind just recovered from. Harper had trusted Tyr, and Trance knew better than most how hard it was to earn Harper's trust. That made it the worst betrayal of all. So she let him sleep, and seemed content to believe he could take some refuge in his own mind.

She sat by his bedside, the medical bots long since finished treating him, and waited for him to wake up. She began to drift off and was awakened by the feeling that someone else was in the room with her. A conscious someone.

"Harper?" She asked hopefully, then her face dropped as she realized he was still completely out of it. She turned around and realized it was not Harper she had heard, but the room's other patient.

Tyr was awake.

______________________________________________

Dylan rushed to the Medical Bay. Trance had notified Dylan that Tyr had regained consciousness; he was now, hopefully, on his way to get some answers. The sight he was met with when he came in was somewhat nerve rattling, but not completely unexpected. Tyr was restrained by thick metal straps, and Dylan had to wonder how long those would hold against the large man's attempts to free himself. He was pulling at the bonds with all his might, never tiring. His face was set in a look of permanent rage. Not the look of someone capable of rational thought. Tyr was clearly not in his right mind.

"Release me at once!" Tyr growled furiously, "I will tear out your throat when I am freed!"

Dylan had thought that maybe - just maybe - Tyr had attacked Harper for a personal reason. That somehow the young engineer may have angered the Nietzschean to such an extent that the attack had occurred. It was painfully obvious that was not the case. There was no personal quarrel; there was something seriously wrong with Tyr.

"You worthless, disgusting excuse for lifeforms, let me go!"

"He hasn't calmed down since he woke up. I was about to sedate him." Trance informed Dylan.

"Do it. Then run all the tests you can think of, on him. Blood tests, DNA, brain functions. I want to know what's wrong with him." Dylan replied without tearing his gaze away from his restrained crew-member.

Trance nodded and Dylan turned to leave, somehow knowing he wouldn't be getting any answers from Tyr, no matter how hard he tried. When he was almost out the door his gaze stopped on the room's other occupant.

"How's Harper?" He asked solemnly.

Trance smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes, "He'll be okay. Physically anyway. A few broken ribs, some cuts and bruises, minor concussion. I'll call you as soon as he wakes up." The sparkly purple babe assured him.

"I'd appreciate that." Dylan replied, and headed out once more.

______________________________________________

After sedating him immediately, Trance took a blood sample from Tyr and placed it in the scanners. It took several minutes for a full analysis to be completed, so she made her way to Harper's bedside. She wasn't alone. Beka had been by his side as often as possible. She was called to the Command Deck several times, but she always returned as quickly as she could in case there were any changes in her engineer's condition. Of course he meant much more to her than a mere engineer. In many ways Harper was a little brother to Beka; always looking up to her, getting into mischief, teasing her constantly, but in a cute, non-offensive way. Beka even dared to believe that Harper was the life force of the Andromeda, and nothing seemed right on the ship when the young man wasn't crawling through the ship’s crawl spaces, or working on his many projects. It just wasn't the natural order of things.

"You know Harper, I think you just enjoy making my life difficult." Beka said jokingly, as she pushed back an errant lock of Harper's hair. He suddenly began to toss and turn; definite signs of consciousness. Beka and Trance both held their breaths hopefully and then exhaled as Harper's eyelids flickered open.

"Harper. How do you feel?" Trance asked immediately, it being the first thing to come to mind.

"Trance? I've been better. Like, *way* better." He propped himself up on one elbow and looked around the familiar Medical Bay while rubbing the other hand over his face. "What the hell happened?"

"You uh had a little ... accident." Beka replied, not quite sure how much to tell him.

"Accident, huh?" Harper seemed to think about it. His gaze swept around the room once more and when Trance moved slightly to her left he was finally able to see his roommate. As his eyes focussed on Tyr, it all came back to him. He remembered what happened quite clearly now. He flinched noticeably as the memories returned. His eyes betrayed the barrage of emotions that swirled through him, varying from anger, hurt, confusion, and betrayal. Several moments passed and nothing was said; Beka felt the urge to break the silence.

"Harper, are you alright?" She asked in concern.

Immediately Harper returned from his deep thoughts and turned Beka, "Yeah, I'm good." His gaze wandered back to Tyr, "Uh, what's wrong with him? I mean, that definitely wasn't Tyr back there, was it?"

Beka couldn't believe her ears. Harper was one of the most paranoid people she had ever met, and trusted almost no one. Even the slightest betrayal of that hard earned trust usually took great lengths of time to regain on Harper's part. Beka knew this was undoubtedly one of the largest betrayals of Harper's life, yet he had immediately believed that Tyr's actions had been due to an outside influence of some sort, instead of taking the fight as a means of that trust being broken. He sure had grown a lot this past year. That, or he just downright refused to believe Tyr would ever hurt him while in his right mind. Whatever the reason, Beka was proud of him.

"We're not sure yet. But we're looking into it." Beka assured him.

Harper seemed to accept this. Everyone jumped as a beeping came out of nowhere. "We may find out right now," Trance told them, "The tests are done."

Trance went over to the console to see what, if anything, had been found. She looked it over several times, to absorb fully what it said.

"Beka, could you take a blood sample from Harper and bring it over here, please? I need to check something." Trance called out, never tearing her eyes away from the screen.

"Yeah, sure thing." Beka replied.

"Watch it, I don't have all that much to spare."

"I'm sure you'll be fine." Beka said unsympathetically, bringing the sample over to Trance. She took it at once and fed it into the computer for analysis. It would take another several minutes to scan this sample as well. Trance called Dylan while they waited, telling him Harper was awake and she may have found out the reason for Tyr's *unusual* behaviour.

"Don't keep us in suspense here, babe. Spill it already." Harper urged Trance to tell them what she thought was wrong, as he tried to sit further up in bed.

"Wait until Dylan gets here, and the scan's done. And lay back down, you have to rest." Trance fussed.

"I'm fine, you took good care of me. Now talk." Harper practically ordered her. Just then Dylan came in and the scan of Harper's blood finished. Trance read the findings as Dylan traded pleasantries with the now conscious Harper.

Trance smiled of joy and relief, "I know what's wrong." She announced.

"Anytime here Trance." Harper urged her once more.

"Okay." She replied. She brought up the scan results on the large screen for everyone to see.

      {Author's note. Now pay attention, this is the important part}

"This is Tyr's and Harper's blood, respectively. Everything looks pretty normal, but if you look really close you'll notice tiny microscopic cells. Those little things that look like squished bugs." Everyone cringed at the comparison.

"So what?" Harper asked, not really knowing what should be in his blood.

"Well, according to your last blood test, that wasn't in either of your blood streams when you left the ship before your supply run. I won't go into details about what they are exactly, that would take too long."

"We appreciate that." Beka commented.

"I thought you might. Anyway, what I do know is that these little buggers are affecting the chemical balance in Tyr's mind. Which, caused him to become so angry and pretty much lose complete control over himself and his emotions." Trance continued.

"Can you counter the effects?" Dylan asked.

Trance smiled rather brightly, "You bet. It's pretty much a simple mixture of a few chemicals. I probably would have detected them when you two first came onboard, but since neither of you had a blood exam there was no way of knowing anything was wrong."

"That makes sense, I guess. But, how exactly did we get these little guys in us?" Harper enquired.

"My best guess would be that it was that knock out gas stuff those would- be robbers used on you." Trance replied.

"Well, I may have a whammy of a headache, but I don't feel like bashing anyone's brains in. Why wasn't I affected?" Harper continued.

"Probably because you're human. The gas knocked you unconscious, and seemed not to have affected Tyr. But now we know differently. There's no way to know what it was specifically designed for, since we don't have a sample. See, in your blood stream the virus cells are dormant; they're there, they just aren't doing anything. But in Tyr's cells they're active." Trance explained.

"So, these two breathed in some odd gas, which knocked Harper unconscious and caused Tyr to lose complete control of himself and his actions? And you can reverse this for sure?" Dylan asked, just to be sure he understood correctly.

"Basically. Yes."

"Well, that's simple enough. Can you make that antidote now, Trance?" Dylan asked.

"Sure thing. It'll just take a sec. Then we just have to wait for the sedative to wear off, and we'll see if it worked."

"Goodie," Harper mumbled under his breath. No one seemed to notice. Just as Trance was about to inject Tyr with the antidote he spoke up.

"Hey, Trance. Am I cleared to get out of here? I'd really rather rest in my quarters." Harper stated calmly. But his eyes showed different, there was a clear indication in his eyes that there was a battle of emotions going on inside of him; and he definitely didn't want to stick around.

"Yeah, I uh guess so." Trance replied, confused. It had seemed earlier that Harper didn't blame Tyr in the least for the incident, he especially shouldn't now that the reason for the attack was clear. But he obviously wasn't comfortable with being in the room when Tyr woke up. Trance decided that the wounds were too fresh, and perhaps even with forgiveness it would take some time before Harper could approach Tyr comfortably again.

Everyone exchanged a confused glance as Harper left the Medical bay hurriedly, favoring his left side slightly. Trance administered the antidote to Tyr. Now all they could do was wait.

______________________________________________

An hour later.

 

Dylan and Beka had both returned to the Command Deck and told Trance to notify them if there was any change. Trance sat at a console reading all that the medical equipment had been able to find out about the virus-like things in Tyr and Harper's bloodstream. It wasn't a very strong virus, in that it could be easily combated; she had been able to make an antidote in mere seconds. But it was deadly in its effects. Tyr easily could have attacked anyone on the ship, or perhaps sabotaged some important systems. Trance was just glad Harper hadn't been affected. The two of them running mad around the ship was more than she wanted to think about. She looked up and noticed that Tyr showed signs of waking.

 

"Dylan, Beka, Tyr's waking up." She called out through the comlink. They both headed to Medical immediately. She hesitated to call Harper; he hadn't asked to be notified if Tyr woke up and he may be sleeping, he really needed to rest. Trance decided to wait. It would be for the best; if the antidote didn't work for some reason she didn't want Harper to have to see Tyr again while he was under the virus's influence. She took a blood sample from Tyr and placed it in the scanner just as Dylan and Beka arrived.

 

Dylan walked over and stood by Tyr's bedside. As Tyr's eyes opened he looked around the room, calmly and clearly curious. Then he focussed on Dylan standing next to him.

 

"Dylan." He exclaimed calmly, but questioningly.

 

"Yeah, Tyr."

 

"Untie me before I am forced to find my own way of escape, which will undoubtedly lead to physical harm to your person." Tyr stated just as calmly as before. There was no rage in his eyes, just a need to be freed. Dylan wasn't so sure he was thrilled about the physical harm part of the equation though.

 

"It's okay, Dylan," Trance announced happily, reading off the results from the blood tests, "The virus is cleared from his system. He's back to himself."

 

Tyr raised an eyebrow to Dylan and indicated the bonds.

 

"Well then," Dylan said as he released his security chief, "It's good to have you back."

 

"Yes, well I must admit that I am at a loss as to where I was." Tyr admitted, sitting up.

 

"What's the last thing you remember, Tyr?" Beka asked softly. She was cringing inwardly; they may have to tell Tyr what he did while he was under the virus's control.

 

"I returned from the supply run and went to the gym I believe. In fact, as I recall I broke the punching bag." Tyr stated rather proudly. "Hmmmm, afterwards. I believe I ... well I was completely enraged. At what I have no recollection; but I was quite mad. And I seem to recall perhaps ending up at the machine shop." Tyr explained slowly, trying to remember.

 

"Do you remember Harper being there?" Dylan asked, not giving away any information in his tone.

 

Tyr's gaze suddenly broke away from Dylan at the mention of Harper's name. He lowered his head, and clenched his eyes shut then pressed his hands against his temples, as if he were in physical pain. It all came back to him in a rush, the memories flashed before his closed eyes relentlessly.

 

Breaking the equipment in the gym. The intense overpowering rage. The urge for destruction. Going into the Machine Shop. Destroying the robot with his bare hands. Harper coming in. The urge to kill. Attacking Harper.

 

"No!" Tyr yelled in denial, not wanting to see, but still the memories returned. His attack on Harper replayed in horrid detail, ending with the flash of red from Dylan's forcelance. When the memories finally ended, Tyr gasped in shocked, and horrified surprise.

 

"My god." He looked Dylan straight in the eye, "What happened to me? Where is the boy?" He asked, getting up to look around the Medical bay.

 

"Harper's fine, Tyr." Trance assured him.

 

"He's just resting in his quarters." Beka finished.

 

"Well then, would one of you please explain what happened?" Tyr asked somewhat forcefully, frustration ringing out clearly in his voice.

 

Beka, Dylan and Trance looked at each other, willing the other to explain so they wouldn't have to. Dylan was the one to step up and explain the situation. He explained how it was probably the gas that caused the entire incident, and what the virus's effects had been, and how they reversed it. Tyr sat in silence, absorbing it all. When Dylan finished he remained silent, clearly in deep thought. It was several moments before he spoke.

 

"I have to go see Harper." Tyr said getting up to leave Medical as quickly as Harper had earlier. He needed to speak to the boy right away. After all the work he had put into having a friendship with the "little man" he refused to let it die because of some virus.

 

"Wait, Tyr. I want to run some more tests to make sure you're okay." Trance yelled, but Tyr was practically out the door.

 

"Later."

 

"But ..." Trance started.

 

"I said later!" He called back behind him and headed for Harper's quarters.

 

Dylan wasn't convinced about Tyr's state of mind yet, and refused to take any chances, "Rommie, I assume you heard all that."

 

 The holographic form of the ship's AI fizzled to life in front of them, "Yes. Not a very nice situation."

 

"I know. Monitor Tyr, even if he engages Privacy Mode. I want to know what he's doing. It's the safest thing, at least for the time being." Dylan explained.

 

"Understood." Rommie nodded and then disappeared once more. Dylan didn't like invading Tyr's privacy and he knew the others didn't like it either, but better safe than sorry. Dylan, Beka and Trance parted company to return to regular duty and hope life would somehow be like it was before.

 

 

______________________________________________

 

 

Tyr kept up a steady pace all the way to Harper's quarters. He didn't know what he was going to say to the young engineer, he just knew he had to see him. The memories from when he was under the virus's hold were still strong in his mind. He needed to know that Harper was alright, physically and mentally and hope that their friendship could somehow remain as it was; but deep down he had a feeling it would never be the same. He had betrayed Harper, whether in his own mind or not, it was betrayal, nonetheless. And trust was something Harper didn't just throw around.

 

He finally arrived at Harper's quarters. He rang the bell, not really knowing what he was going to say. As it turned out he didn't have to worry right then, Harper wasn't answering the door. Tyr resorted to knocking.

 

"Harper. Are you in there?" Tyr called. No reply. He let out an exasperated sigh. "Ship, is Harper in his quarters?"

 

"No. Harper is currently in Machine Shop 2." Rommie replied without appearing.

 

Tyr immediately started on his way to the Machine Shop. As he reached the door he realized this was where he had attacked Harper. He couldn't help but wonder why Harper would return here so quickly. He went in and looked around. The room was in shambles. Broken machines and spare parts littered the floor, there was an overturned supply shelf and the communications console on the wall was completely shattered. Harper sat in the middle of the floor, picking up parts and inspecting them, then putting them back on the floor or shoving them into recycle bins if they were broken beyond repair. Tyr thought he looked as though he were attempting to put together a jigsaw puzzle. He approached him slowly, not realizing how quiet his approach actually was.

 

"Harper?" He finally addressed him. Harper scrambled to his feet in surprise and spun around to face him. Tyr cringed inwardly when he noticed the shock and initial fear in Harper's eyes that didn't immediately go away. The bruises around his neck and the way he was favoring his left ribs was discomforting as well. The engineer relaxed somewhat when he realized Tyr was himself, but remained somewhat tense. "Aren't you supposed to be resting?" Tyr asked, attempting to start the conversation somehow.

 

Harper's features immediately hardened, "Yeah, well I had plenty of time to do that while I was unconscious." He replied coldly, then turned back to the parts on the floor.

 

Tyr wasn't thrilled with the response, but wasn't totally surprised. He ignored the comment, as much as it hurt, and continued, "What is it you're doing?"

 

"Cleaning up this mess and trying to find out if any of this stuff still works." Harper said. He picked up the remnants of the robot Tyr had destroyed and threw it into a recycling bin rather roughly. Tyr remained in the doorway until Harper addressed him. "Hey, you helped make the mess, feel free to clean some of it up."

 

Tyr came into the room and placed several pieces of broken equipment into the bins, then straightened and spoke somewhat louder than before, since Harper had his back to him. "I came to see if you were alright." He admitted.

 

"Oh, in that case I'm right as rain. Thanks for stopping by." Harper's voice was sharp and dismissive.

 

"Look little man, I was told that your purple friend explained my behaviour to you. I was not myself in any sense of the word, so I would appreciate it if you would not hold my actions against me." Tyr said as calmly as possible; Harper's attitude was wearing down his patience.

 

"Hey, who's holding anything against you? I'm fine, you're fine. Life goes on, right? Everything's peachy!" Harper replied sarcastically, his tone as cold as steel. It was clear everything was not fine.

 

"Obviously everything is not "peachy". What do you want me to do? I am sorry for what happened, and fine, I *apologize*, but I can not changed what occurred." Tyr said, his voice rising slightly higher.

 

"That's right, you can't change what happened. So why talk about it? Tell you what else, you can take that *apology* and shove it up your a..."

 

 "What is wrong with you?" Tyr demanded, not understanding Harper's reaction. He had just apologized. Him. Tyr Anasazi out of Victoria by Barbarosa. Apologized! He had thought that would be enough, especially since he wasn't in control of his actions. But Harper clearly wasn't accepting the apology.

 

"You! You're wrong with me. Just stay out of my business and get the hell out of here!" Harper demanded, clearly meaning it. He emphasized his point by throwing the piece of metal he had picked up at Tyr with all the strength he could muster. Luckily his aim was off thanks to his recent injuries and he only managed to strike the doorframe next to Tyr. This only enraged the big man further and his patience finally cracked.

 

"Fine, you just stay here with your precious machines. Why I ever believed a friendship with a worthless mudfoot such as yourself was worth pursuing, I'll never know." Tyr replied angrily. He turned and left the room, if possible he would have slammed the door on his way out.

 

He was so blinded by his own emotional turmoil he didn't notice the irregularities in Harper's actions. If he had been able to think through his own rage and hurt, he may have noticed the irrational anger in Harper's reaction, or nervousness and anxiety in all his actions, or heard the crash and bang of more equipment and parts being broken by the young man in the Machine Shop behind him. But as it was, Tyr was oblivious to all these things, he could only think about his own mistakes and feelings. Perhaps if he had noticed, he could have stopped Harper before the virus had set in completely, and in doing so saved himself and Harper from unnecessary pain. But he didn't notice, and the virus in Harper's system continued to grow stronger.

 

 

______________________________________________

 

Tyr walked through the ship aimlessly, he didn't know, and didn't care where he was going. The entire scene with Harper kept replaying in his mind. He silently wished he had waited longer to confront the young man.

 

Perhaps it was too early to speak to him. I barely gave him time to process all that happened. Tyr reasoned to himself. He had prepared himself for the worst, he knew Harper's reaction may not be entirely pleasant, but he hadn't prepared enough. He was being eaten away by guilt, and desperately wished Harper had accepted his apology, it would have made things much easier. His mind was quite aware that he hadn't been responsible for his actions, but he couldn't seem to completely convince his mind, or that annoying little thing he called a conscience, into leaving him alone.

 

Damn it, I'm going soft. Getting so worked up about the boy being angry at me. I really shouldn't care this much, it's nothing but a weakness. Another voice in Tyr's head told him.

 

He couldn't get the images out of his mind of when he attacked Harper. He remembered all of it, including the feeling of joy and satisfaction. He had taken great pleasure in preying on the young man, and attacking him. Thinking about it now literally made him sick to his stomach.

 

Of course he doesn't forgive you, think of what you did to him. Would you be so willing to forget such an incident? He asked himself. Tyr was really starting to hate that little voice. He eventually found himself outside the doors to the Command Deck. He decided he may as well go there, it was as good a place on any. He went in and found only Beka manning the deck.

 

"Hey Tyr, how'd it go with Harper?" Beka asked, a little too cheerfully for Tyr's liking. Of course, Beka had thought that Harper would forgive Tyr immediately, after his reaction in the Medical Bay.

 

"Not well, to say the least. He more or less ordered me to stay away from him." Tyr told her, staring out the view screen to avoid her gaze.

 

"You're kidding?" Beka was somewhat shocked.

 

"Do I seem in a humorous mood to you?" Tyr asked bitterly.

 

"No, it's just that … well after what Harper said in Medical I was positive he'd already forgotten the incident and pretty much put it behind him." Beka replied.

 

"Oh, and what was it he said exactly?" Tyr enquired, genuinely curious. If Harper had been willing to forgive him earlier, then why not now?

 

"Well when he woke up, the first thing he did was ask what was wrong with you. Not attitude-wise or anything, he automatically assumed there was some kind of outside influence affecting you. It's was like he refused to believe you would attack him like that, for any reason. He seemed awful relieved when we found out it was actually a virus." Beka said, trying to recall everything said in Medical.

 

"That does not sound like the same Harper who just told me to take my apology and shove it up my a ..."

 

"You actually apologized?" Beka asked in pleasant surprise. She suddenly had an even greater respect for Tyr.

 

Tyr nodded. "And he didn't forgive you? That doesn't sound like Harper at all." Beka commented.

 

"No. It doesn't." Tyr replied slowly, seemingly deep in thought about something. Now that his mind was clearer, he was picking up on Harper's extremely odd behaviour. But he wasn't sure yet. He left the Command Deck without so much as a good-bye and made his way to the Medical Bay.

 

 

______________________________________________

 

 

Tyr entered the Medical Bay and immediately scanned the area looking for the person he needed.

 

"Trance, are you here?" He called out, not bothering to ask Andromeda, who would undoubtedly know.

 

"Hey Tyr. I'm glad you stopped by, I still need to run those tests. I just need to make sure you're definitely okay." She explained happily, thinking he had done as she asked and returned for the tests.

 

"Perhaps later. Right now you must assist me. Did you take any samples of Harper's blood since he returned from the supply run?" Tyr asked, while making his way over where she sat at a desk.

 

"Yeah, I took one while he was unconscious. Why?" Trance was nice enough to ignore the fact that Tyr had pretty much *ordered* her to help him. She knew he was just like that.

 

"Get it. There is something I need you to check." Tyr said, his voice indicating she should hurry.

 

"Okay, I guess." She got the slide with Harper's blood and placed it in the scanner. "Now, why exactly do you want to see it?"

 

"There." Tyr pointed to the screen where Harper's blood was now displayed, "Am I right in assuming that is not normal?"

 

Trance looked closer and nodded her head in agreement. "That can't be right." She said mostly to herself. She magnified the diagnosis but she already knew what she was seeing. "This is *so* bad. The virus cells aren't dormant in Harper's blood anymore, they're active. How did you know?"

 

"I didn't for sure. Let's just say he was acting very un-harperish." Tyr replied. Trance couldn't hold back a slight grin at Tyr using the word "un-harperish".

 

Tyr wasn't extremely worried about his vocabulary at the moment. He was immensely relieved to find out that Harper had actually been under the virus's control at the time of their latest confrontation, but he was also now very worried about Harper's well being with the virus raging in his system.

 

"Why did you not eliminate the virus from his system, as you did me?" Tyr asked, trying his best not to sound accusatory.

 

"Well, he seemed fine. We didn't think it affected him. He was just ... Harper." Trance tried to explain.

 

Tyr attempted to keep his anger in check, he still needed answers. "Why is it affecting him now?"

 

"I'm not sure." She scanned the readings from the blood test. A light bulb clicked in her head. "Harper said something about a console exploding on the Maru, and him getting knocked out."

 

"Yes, he was fine afterwards. I don't see the relevance." Tyr said, not following her line of thinking.

 

"He took a painkiller though, right?" Tyr nodded. "That must be it." She brought up a new screen. "See, this is a list of the compounds I mixed to make the antidote for the virus, some of them are the same as the ones used in painkillers. The painkiller must have kept the virus dormant, but didn't have all the components to destroy it. So now that the medicine's worn off ..."

 

"The virus is becoming active." Tyr finished. "Will this affect Harper the same way it did me?" He asked, his voice laced with concern.

 

Trance shrugged, "There's no way to know. He may get all aggressive like you, or something else completely. He's human, we'd have to wait to know for sure."

 

"Well I don't wish to find out. Give me the antidote. I'll go find him and administer it." Tyr ordered. Trance immediately rushed away to make another shot of the antidote. "Ship, where is Harper?"

 

"Unknown." Andromeda replied.

 

"Unknown?" Tyr repeated, not believing his bad luck.

 

Rommie fizzled to life in front of them, "He must be doing something to block my sensors. I can't locate him."

 

"My god, could this get any worse?" He mumbled under his breath.

 

"Here's the antidote Tyr." Trance handed him a hypo.

 

Tyr sighed, "Make a few more. Take one for yourself and find Dylan and the others and tell them to inject Harper if they see him. It appears as though we'll have to scour the ship ourselves, in order to find the little man. I'll start at the Machine Shops." He called out as he left the Medical Bay; leaving Trance the task of telling the rest of the crew about Harper. Trance smiled inwardly though. Tyr acted tough and mean around pretty much everyone, and he was tough and somewhat mean, she wouldn't deny it, but you would have to be blind not to notice Tyr's concern about Harper's well being. As much as he hated it, Tyr had become friends with Harper, and Tyr was definitely the kind of person, who, once friends were made, kept them for a long time and protected them as best he could. Harper was no different.

 

Returning her thoughts to the present she knew what she had to do. She hit her com button. "Uh, Dylan, there's something you need to know."

 

 

______________________________________________

 

Tyr walked down the corridors of Andromeda, trying to think like Harper, which in itself was an odd and tiring task. He decided the Machine Shops were a good place to start since that was where he was last seen. As he made his way down the corridors, clutching the hypo tightly, he couldn't help but think of how long a day this had turned out to be.

 

And it's not near being over. Tyr thought to himself. He knew life on Andromeda wouldn't be entirely easy, but this was soon becoming one of the longest and potentially worst days of his life. It went right up there with being trapped on a Magog swarm ship.

 

Oddly enough the experience on the Magog ship had been a slight blessing in disguise. If not for the Magog attack he would never have gotten to know Harper. He discovered Harper's demons and helped him face them, one on one. Tyr couldn't help but be proud of Harper's actions under the extreme situation, especially knowing Harper's background with the Magog. Going into the fight against the Magog, Harper had been the far more experienced, already having faced his deal of Magog in his day. Tyr hadn't even known to wear goggles to protect against paralyzing poison. Back then, Tyr was forced to pity the boy slightly, although he wouldn't admit it. Harper had grown up with the horrors of earth. On Andromeda he had been assured safety, and just when he had felt safe and dropped his defences the Magog had arrived and destroyed the boy's paradise.

 

The friendship blossomed soon afterward, and Tyr had to admit he enjoyed being able to have actual conversations with the humorous and charismatic young man. But now he had to keep his new friend from doing something he may soon regret. He suddenly had an idea, it probably wouldn't work, but it was worth a shot. He opened up the communications frequency so he could broadcast to the whole ship.

 

"Harper. I don't know where you are, but you have to come out. There's a virus in your system. If you tell us where you are we can help you, but first we have to find you." Tyr called out through the ship. He held his breath for a few moments as he waited and hoped for a response. He was pleasantly surprised when he got a reply.

 

"Help me? Ha, that's a laugh. I don't need *your* kind of help." Harper's voice dripped with malice towards the Nietzschean. "Don't think I don't know what you guys are up to. I'm clued in, I know everything. Well you won't get me! Not Seamus Harper!" Harper's voice rang out around Tyr. He sounded absolutely paranoid, even more so than usual.

 

"Harper, I don't know what you're ta..." He started, but Harper wasn't finished.

 

"I can help myself. That's for sure. I don't need anyone! Especially not anyone who's just waiting to stab me in the back! You want me, come and get me. But don't think that it's going to be easy." He still sounded paranoid and angry, but Tyr could swear he could see Harper's "I'm a genius" grin on his face, just through hearing his voice. Just then the entire ship became totally engulfed in darkness, as every light on board was extinguished.

 

"Harper!" Tyr called out angrily. This wouldn't help at all. The com line stayed open, and Tyr could have sworn he heard nervous but satisfied laughter through the com unit before it shut off. "Andromeda, were you able to find him?" Tyr asked hopefully while trying to feel his way to a locker that may have a flashlight.

 

"No. He masked the signal." Rommie explained without appearing, Tyr couldn't see her anyway.

 

"Damn. The little man can't make anything easy, can he?" Tyr found a flashlight in a locker and set about searching the ship, in the dark, with no idea where to start.

 

______________________________________________

 

Harper sat in front of one of the many control consoles in the Andromeda. This particular one was located in a crawl-space he had discovered several weeks ago, he was fairly sure he was the only one who could ever manage to fit into the small space with enough room to work comfortably. He thought of it as his own personal workspace, free of distractions, and had set it up so he could access all systems and do almost anything from this console. He was extremely glad that he had set up this little area; especially since everyone onboard was trying to kill him.

 

He thought they were anyway. The virus that was now raging in his system was an unexpected side effect from the gas he'd been exposed to on the Space Station, but the gas wasn't to take all the blame. The virus had entered his system when he'd inhaled the gas, and the painkiller in his blood had kept it dormant, but it had also mutated it somewhat. When Tyr was affected, the virus tapped into the Nietzschean's most primal emotions of hatred and anger and the need for destruction, intensifying the feelings to such an extent that they blocked out all rational thought and even memory. All that existed was primal, untamed emotions. Harper was a different story. The mutated version of the virus was tapping into his own personally strongest emotions; those being a deep rooted hatred, anger, and as of recent months, paranoia. But the virus also had changed in that he was capable of rational thought, he recalled perfectly how to work all of Andromeda's system, and he remembered all of the crew, he just thought they wanted to kill him. And this new and unimproved Harper was royally pissed about it!

 

I'll show them. Think they can just get rid of me! Not a chance.

 

Why wouldn't he think they wanted to kill him? First off there was Rev Bem. There was of course the obvious of him being a Magog, and they weren't currently on Harper's friend list. He also suddenly remembered all the time Rev had threatened to eat him. Although he had been joking, to Harper's now twisted mental picture, he was sure the Wayist had been completely serious.

 

Yeah, like I'm gonna let myself get infested twice!

 

Then there was Trance. What did he really know about Trance? Pretty much nothing. And really, who was *that* innocent and naive about the universe? She was sure to have her own agenda and was just using Harper as a means to get what she wants, just like everyone else in the world. He saw the look she got in her eyes every now and then when she thought no one was looking. Deep in thought about her oh so clever plans and grinning evilly! He definitely had to stay away from her.

 

But don't forget about Beka. She had rescued Harper, as she repeatedly reminded him. Reminded him just to make sure he stayed in check, keeping him scared and in submission. She had saved him to use him for his amazing engineering abilities just to make her own life easier. He remembered with perfect clarity how Beka had threatened to send him back to that hellhole she had found him, if he told anyone about her using Flash. Of course he had told and she had tried to choke the life out of him. Oh yeah, there's a friend for you.

 

There was always Rommie too. Dear, sweet, perfect Rommie. Nice to look at, but don't forget she's a warship! She's programmed to kill. And Harper had messed around with her systems, and tricked her with technical tricks so many times over the last few months that he had no doubt she was holding some sort of grudge. He bet she even blamed him for the entire Magog incident. Just because he had opened an old personality file, with her permission! But that wouldn't matter to her, he'd set it loose and to her it would be entirely his fault. She only kept him around so he would fix her. If she ever found another even remotely capable engineer he had no doubt she would get rid of him as quickly as possible. No, she definitely couldn't be trusted.

 

Tyr. The man he had trusted. The man he had thought was his friend. The man he had been infested with, and fought alongside against a whole army of magog. Had stabbed him in the back, and Harper was sure to him it had just been another day in the office. Another useless kludge out of the way. But he had survived, and now he was coming back for more. And he wouldn't make the same mistake twice, no way was Tyr getting another shot at him.

 

But there was always Dylan. The noble high guard captain would never betray him, and Harper had no reason to think he would. But with all the others after him he had no doubts that they could persuade the captain to go after him as well. He wouldn't go against the wishes of everyone else to protect Harper, he needed the others if he ever wanted to achieve his Commonwealth.

 

No, he was on his own.

 

Well that's the way it's always been, isn't it? You were alone for twenty years on that hell hole called Earth, you can survive this. Just focus on the task, and not on the betrayal and the pain.

 

Harper continued working to shield himself from the sensors, absently wiping away the tears that brimmed around his eyes.

 

______________________________________________

 

Tyr continued to search the ship. He had checked all the Machine Shops and found no signs of the boy. The task seemed nearly impossible with a ship this size and a crew so small. Suddenly he heard a noise. Up ahead, there was someone there. He turned off his flashlight and backed against the wall, listening closely. He could clearly hear the person breathing. His thoughts that this may be Harper were shattered when he heard a voice call out.

 

"Harper, it’s Trance. Are you here?" Tyr stepped out of his hiding spot. "Har ... oh Tyr, it's you. Haven't found him?"

 

Tyr sighed, already exasperated with the girl, "No. What do you think you're doing? If he truly has lost all his senses do you believe he'll just come out of hiding because you call him? He believes we are trying to kill him."

 

Trance frowned, "Why would he think that?"

 

"I do not know, and right now, neither do I care. Our main concern is to find him before he cuts off all systems from our control. Are you even armed?" He asked incredulously.

 

"No. But it would kinda pointless if I was, I could never shoot Harper." She replied, completely shocked.

 

"It would be for his own benefit. He'll thank you later."

 

"You didn't thank Dylan." Trance pointed out.

 

"I'll do it later."

 

"Sure."

 

"Are you going to help me find the little man, or stand here blabbering all day?" Tyr really needed to get going.

 

"I don't blabber. Sometimes I have a lot to say, and I may occasionally have some extra information ..."

 

"Never mind, you've answered my question. I'll find him myself." Tyr stormed down the corridor; obviously very focused.

 

Trance just shrugged and continued in the opposite direction, "Harper. It's Trance. Wanna tell me some more about how smart you are?"

 

Tyr sighed as he heard Trance talking again in the distance. He activated his com link, "Rev Bem, please come down to deck 4 and help our purple friend in her search. I fear for her safety on her own."

 

"Understood. I'll be right there." Rev replied. Tyr breathed a little easier knowing Trance would no longer be alone.

 

He arrived at one of the Officer's quarters and decided to check inside. He looked up and down the hall as he moved to enter the room and ...

 

"Ow!" He walked straight into the door, which hadn't opened upon his arrival as it should have. "Harper, when I get my hands on you ...." He let the threat hang in the air and decided to simply think of things he would do to the young engineer. This was getting very irritating. First the lights, and now all the doors would have to be opened using brute force. He made a mental note to talk to Andromeda about finding a way of locking Harper out of her systems if necessary, then continued on his way. He still had a lot of ship to cover.

 

 

______________________________________________

 

Harper mentally kicked himself for his stupidity. Here he was, on a ship full of people trying to kill him and he had found a place where they would never find him, and he had forgotten his most important tools. He slowly made his way out of the crawlspace and peered into the hallway. No signs of anyone, if someone was coming he was sure to see the glow of their flashlights before they spotted him. He was really only in need of one item and he knew exactly where to get it.

 

Of all the times in my life to forget my plug-in wire. He thought to himself. He needed to jack into Andromeda's system and was without the equipment to do so. He had managed to turn off the lights and shut off the doors manually, but if he wanted to survive he'd need to get in the system.

 

Walking down the pitch black hall, he listened for footsteps. He didn't turn on his flashlight because it would make it easier for them to find him, but it was okay because he knew Andromeda like the back of his hand.

 

"Ow!" Hmm, someone must have moved that wall when he was away.

 

After a few misdirections he got to his onboard laboratory. He'd programmed the doors to still respond to him so he had no trouble getting in. Once inside he chanced turning on his flashlight, this room was such a mess he didn't want to make all these survival measures pointless by accidentally killing himself somehow.

 

"Gotcha." He said to himself as he found what he needed and shoved it quickly into his pocket. He was about to leave when he heard the distinct sound of approaching footsteps.

 

Oh, crap! Harper turned off his flashlight and crouched low in the corner of the room. He was armed with a forcelance, which he kept unextended, they were lighter that way. He backed himself against the wall and waited for whoever was coming; ready to fight for his life.

 

The door was pried open and a flashlight beam scanned the room. Several moments later he could see the shadow of the person coming in. He was glad he'd turned off the lights, but he really wished he hadn't left his hiding place at all. Just as Harper prepared to shoot the intruder, since it could only be someone trying to kill him, a voice called out in the dark.

 

"Harper, are you here? We just wanna help." Dylan said to the pitch black room.

 

It's Dylan. And he's alone. Maybe I can talk him out of this whole trying to kill me thing and get him to help me out. Harper's virus stricken mind thought.

 

"Pssst! Dylan, over here." Harper called out, just barely above a whisper.

 

Dylan turned around quickly, surprised that Harper had actually responded, "Harper, thank god." Dylan reached for his comlink, intent on informing the rest of the crew that he'd found their missing engineer.

 

"No, Dylan! Don't tell the others where I am. You gotta help me." Dylan's heart broke at the desperation in Harper's voice and he released the com unit. Harper had come out of the corner and was standing a safe distance away from Dylan, with his back to the still open door. It was hard to see but he kept looking around the room nervously, as if someone was going to jump out and attack him.

 

"I'm only here to help, Harper. So is everyone else. No one wants to hurt you." Dylan tried to reassure the young man. Harper was twitchy and his nerves seemed positively fried and Dylan was pretty sure Harper had been crying.

 

"That's bull and you know it." Harper's voice dropped to below a whisper and he sounded shaky and scared, "They'll kill me the first chance they get. But you won't. You can help me, I know you don't really want to hurt me. You're just going along with everyone else."

 

Dylan realized he couldn't reason with Harper, the virus was obviously in complete control. He was extremely edgy, breathing hard and sweat poured from his brow despite the coolness of the room. He also never completely lowered his force lance, and Dylan had a feeling it was probably set to kill. He decided to go along with his delusions and hoped he could manage to get close enough to administer the antidote he had clipped to his belt.

 

Dylan casually placed his hand on his belt, flicking the switch on his com unit. The channel was now open and the rest of the crew would be able to hear everything said in the room. "What do you need me to do?" He asked, trying to sound neutral.

 

Harper's face split into a large grin; Dylan was going to help him. "Well, I hadn't really thought all that far ahead. I mean, this whole everyone trying to kill me thing kinda took me by surprise. Let's see, the first thing we need to do is take care of Rommie, she's gonna get around my sensor block eventually." Harper paced the room, biting his nails as he sped off instructions speedily, as if he only had seconds to tell Dylan everything. "You can do that. Hell, you're the captain, of course you can."

 

"No problem." Dylan silently urged someone to trace the com signal and find them to help him take down Harper. The young man was being so jumpy, Dylan thought he might run if he tried to get closer to him.

 

______________________________________________

 

Tyr walked further down the corridor, still in search of the little man. He heard his com line beep but heard nothing being said on the other end. He was about to ask who had called him when Dylan's voice came over the link.

 

"What do you need me to do?" Dylan was asking someone.

 

"Well, I hadn't really thought all that far ahead." Tyr grinned when he realized it was Harper's, very shaky, voice. He didn't listen to the rest of the message, he didn't have time. "Ship, where is Dylan?"

 

"Harper's laboratory." Rommie replied.

 

Tyr's grin broadened, he was very close to them. He broke into a run and made his way full speed to the laboratory.

 

______________________________________________

 

"So, we need a way to incapacitate everyone, or get them off the ship or something. We could ... we could try a bomb, but that might kill us too. Knock out gas, vent knock out gas in the ship. No, they're too smart for that, and Rev and Tyr can hold their breaths a pretty long time. How about .... uh .. we ...we fake a slipstream overload. Yeah, yeah, they'll all head for the escape pods and they'll be gone. But they might ...."

 

"Harper, slow down!" Dylan interrupted the engineer. He had been rambling about possible attack procedures for the last five minutes and Dylan wasn't following him anymore. He needed to get Harper to Medical, and he *really* needed to inject him, but he kept moving farther and farther away with his pacing. "Now let's think about this calmly. Why does everyone want to kill you?"

 

Harper looked up suddenly, apparently shocked by the question, but then he smiled, "Right. Good idea, we have to get into their *twisted minds*. Think like your enemy, that's the trick. I can see why you're a captain you know, you're a pretty smart guy. Okay, I'm ... I'm Rev. Well, to him I'm food. That's ...."

 

______________________________________________

 

Tyr approached Harper's laboratory slowly, careful not to make any sound. He could hear Dylan and Harper talking inside. Tyr edged his way to the still-open door and listened, trying to determine when Harper had his back to him. He felt he couldn't wait any longer, Harper sounded as though he was getting restless. He took out the hypo with the antidote in it and started into the room.

 

"Harper!" Dylan interrupted again. "I don't mean think like them. I mean, why do *you* think they're trying to kill you? They're you're friends."

 

Harper's face hardened and his nervousness vanished for a few moments as his voice became cold as ice, "They're not my friends. Friends don't keep secrets from each other, friends don't threaten to eat you, friends don't stab you in the back, friends don't send you on dangerous missions and leave you ..." Harper stopped suddenly and glared at Dylan, it was apparent Harper's delusional mind had come up with some new twisted realization. "Friends don't send friends on dangerous missions, where they could easily be killed by the very things they've feared more than death since childhood!" Harper was yelling now and had his forcelance aimed in Dylan's direction, "Friends don't let friends get infested by Magog! You .... you're just like them. You sent me to fix the frigging ship while you went to the nice safe Command Deck. Sure, you sent Tyr to protect me and that worked out great! You're just like the others. Well Seamus Harper doesn't go down without a fight!" Harper seemed ready to run for dear life, but his grip on the force lance was unwavering and Dylan feared he might shoot at any moment.

 

"Harper look, I'm just trying to help...." Dylan stopped when he saw Tyr coming up behind Harper.

 

Harper noticed Dylan's gaze wandering and turned quickly; Tyr was directly behind him. "Get away from me!" Harper yelled. Tyr was too close to get a clear shot, so Harper swung the force lance like a bat and aimed for the Nietzchean's head. Tyr ducked and Harper swung again, he was a little off balance and didn't get much force into the swing, but he hit Tyr in the shoulder, hard enough to knock him down. Harper turned around again, not forgetting about Dylan. Dylan pulled something from his belt and headed towards Harper.

 

Oh, so they wanna poison me now? What the hell is the point of that? Harper asked himself, but didn't dwell on it. He fired at Dylan, who quickly jumped behind a table. Harper ran out of the room and into the hall.

 

"You won't get me!" He promised as he fled. 

 

Dylan and Tyr got up quickly and raced into the hallway after him, "Get back here little man!" Tyr demanded.

 

Harper jumped into the air vent he'd used to get into the corridors and replaced the grating quickly, then backed away and around the corner of the vent, so as not to be seen.

 

They won't get me.

 

Dylan and Tyr glanced up and down the hall, looking for Harper. With the lights out it was hard to see anything at all, let alone follow where Harper had headed. They had no idea where to look now, they both sighed in defeat.

 

"Guys, did you find Harper?" Trance's voice asked over the com unit.

 

"He got away, Trance. We'll find him though." Dylan assured her. He was about to say more when laughter was heard over the com lines. It was Harper, and he sounded exhausted.

 

"So, you're all after me huh? Well good luck, you'll need it. Chew on this!" Harper said, then the com went dead. Completely and utterly dead. They had no way of talking to one another now.

 

"Great. No lights, no communications, we have to open doors manually. Could this get any worse?" Dylan asked rhetorically as he futilely tried his com link.

 

"Well, at least he hasn't cut off life support." Tyr said, trying to be somewhat optimistic.

 

"Don't give him any ideas."

 

"I must admit, I admire the boy's instinct for survival, as misplaced as it may be. He is doing a wonderful job of eluding us." Tyr noted, admiration in his voice.

 

"Harper's a survivor alright. We should keep looking, we're not going to get system's back online until he's back to normal." Tyr nodded in agreement and they made their way through the corridors once more. Still looking for their errant engineer and friend.

 

 

______________________________________________

 

 Harper crawled through the vents as quickly as possible. He had to get back to his hiding place and couldn't chance using the corridors.

 

Well, at least I threw a monkey wrench in their plans. Harper continued crawling along but was breathing heavily now, the exertion and unknown virus in his system were stealing his energy. Actually, cutting the communications was going to make this harder for him as well. He had been able to cut them all along, but had been reluctant to do so because he was listening to their conversations so he knew where they were at all times. But now he would be as blind as them. But he'd be okay, no one knew about his hiding place, and it was doubtful they would find it in the dark. He finally reached his crawlspace. He pulled himself in and closed the panel, sealing the little space off.

 

"Oh man, oh man, oh man." Harper repeated over and over as he rocked back and forth, hugging his knees to his chest. "Oh man, Dylan's not gonna help me, no way. I can't believe I didn't see it before. God, how could I have been so blind? Of course he's working with them. Well you're on your own Seamus, but no problem. That's the way it's always been right? That's the way it'll always be. No problem. Just gotta get into Andromeda's system and you'll take care of everything and you can go on with your life." Harper was breathing heavily, and thought he may hyperventilate shortly, "Focus Harper, focus. You're not gonna let them get the best of you just cause you got all emotional and couldn't handle it. Time to get serious." Harper forced down the flurry of emotions building in him, he pushed them way down, the way he had learned years ago. He knew they would come back, but they were suppressed for now. He had work to do. He plugged the wire into his cerebral port, and connected to Andromeda's systems.

 

 

______________________________________________

 

Tyr and Dylan walked through Andromeda's corridors, trying to find Harper, but somehow knowing he wouldn't be found just by walking around the ship. He was too smart for that, but they had little other choice.

 

"Dylan, have you had the common sense to order the Andromeda to refuse all commands coming from our engineer?" Tyr asked.

 

"Don't worry, what he's done already he must have done manually through rewirings. Rommie says she's set up a safeguard system that'll trap Harper if he tries to hack into her." Dylan announced, "She's also working on repairing all the damage Harper did, hopefully she can get all systems operational soon or Harper may figure out a way into the system anyway. He's annoying that way."

 

"Yes, he is." Tyr agreed, but with a slight smirk. "Look, this is ridiculous us both together. We shall cover twice as much ground apart."

 

 You're right. Okay, I'll go left and take the lower levels after I'm done. You go right then take the upper." Tyr nodded and they split up to go their separate ways.

 

 

______________________________________________

 

Harper entered Andromeda's system, ready to disrupt most major systems in an attempt to buy himself more time. What he did find was something he never expected.

 

"What the hell?" Harper found himself unable to do anything at all. His mind was trapped in the system in such a way that he couldn't touch any systems, but also couldn't return his consciousness back to his physical body. "Oh crap." He moaned, as he realized what had happened. He tried to get out but found himself virtually trapped within Andromeda's systems.

 

"I was wondering when you'd show up." An image of Rommie suddenly appeared in front of Harper. She knew how the virus was effecting him so projected herself as the same physical size as Harper, instead of the usual overwhelming presence she usually had while in her mind.

 

"Let me outta here, right now." Harper demanded, but even to him his voice sounded shaky.

 

"I can't do that. We're your friends Harper, we just want to help. Please tell me where you are." Rommie pleaded, "I still can't detect your physical presence on ship's sensors."

 

"Not a chance. You know, this was a big mistake babe. Now I'm just plain pissed. When I get outta here I am gonna fry your systems so bad the Magog will look like kittens." Harper said vehemently as he tried to break through the program holding him.

 

Rommie sighed and knew she couldn't convince him, but at least she could hold him here. He couldn't hurt himself of anyone else if his consciousness was unable to connect with his body.

 

Harper's mind raced with programs and algorithms he might be able to use to get out of Rommie's little virtual prison. So far there was nothing plausible. But he knew it would take them time to find his him, so he had some time to try and out a plan of escape.

 

 

______________________________________________

 

Harper had been thorough with his communications shut down. Rommie's holographic form couldn't even be called up to relay messages to one another. Andromeda had Harper trapped but had no way of telling the crew except through use of her avatar. She walked through the ship, looking for any crew members to inform them of Harper's capture. Tyr happened to be the first one she found.

 

"Tyr, I've trapped Harper." Rommie told him when they met in the hall.

 

"Excellent. Where was he?" Tyr asked immediately.

 

"Well, physically I still don't know. He tried to enter my systems and I trapped his consciousness there, I still haven't been able to find him on sensors though and he won't tell me where he is." She explained.

 

"Wonderful. So we found him and at the same time we haven't?" Tyr asked, disbelief coating his voice.

 

"Essentially, yes. But he can't cause anymore damage." Rommie told him.

 

"That's something. Go and find the others and tell them this, but don't let them slow their search." Tyr pretty much ordered her, then stormed past her purposefully. Rommie made no comment and went in search of the rest of her crew.

 

Now, if I were Harper, where would I be? Most likely somewhere I feel safe, and don't think anyone would find me. But I've checked his quarters, laboratory and the Machine Shops. Tyr thought to himself. Well, the little man enjoys roaming around in the innermost workings of this ship, and is small enough to do so. If I were him I believe I would take refuge there. Tyr reasoned. With that he opened up an access port in the corridor and prepared himself for a long journey. He began to crawl through the access tunnels, it wasn't exactly a tight squeeze but it was tedious having to pull himself along like he did. Definitely where Harper is. Only he would make his life this difficult for no reason.

 

______________________________________________

 

Harper, meanwhile, was still trapped in Andromeda's mind.

 

"You may as well tell me where you are. The others are going to find you eventually." Rommie tried to reason with him.

 

"Bite me." He retorted as he sat on the floor with his arms crossed over his chest. He looked much like a child who's been put on a time out. Rommie sighed in frustration.

 

Harper suddenly let out a low groan of pain and clutched his head tightly in his hands. His breath began coming out in short, quick gasps and he was sweating badly.

 

{Author's note - I don't know if this really happens, but in my world whatever happens to Harper's physical body, happens to his virtual body. It's my fic, I can do whatever I want!}

 

"Rommie, let me out please. Please, I gotta get outta here." Harper pleaded desperately with the AI to release him from his captivity.

 

"What's wrong?" She asked, her voice laced with concern.

 

"I ... I don't know." He let out another moan of pain, "Something's wrong. I think I've been in the system too long or something. Rommie you gotta let me out!" Harper looked up now and there was a desperate and pleading look in his eyes. Rommie couldn't actually ascertain his condition while she had him trapped like that. She had no choice; she dropped the walls and walked over to him. He was on the floor now, shaking badly.

 

"Harper? Are you alright?" Rommie knelt down beside him. He didn't look good.

 

______________________________________________

 

Tyr continued crawling. Every now and then he would reach an area he was able to walk partially upright in, but most of the time he was stuck pulling himself along. Every few metres he would pull out his portable scanner and check for life signs. The entire crew carried the small piece of equipment to help in their search, but since the scanner only worked when you were less than two hundred metres away, it didn't help all that much. Still, he checked it anyway. Nothing.

 

"Damn you little man. You are very close to making your delusions of me killing you, a reality." He muttered to himself as he continued. He needed to find Harper quickly, there were many things still left unsaid between the two and Tyr wanted to clear the air as soon as possible. He also wanted to cure Harper of the virus in his system as soon as possible. If the virus had already mutated once Tyr reasoned that it may mutate again, into something more dangerous than before. Tyr wasn't willing to let that happen.

 

But he *really hated* crawling through these crawlspaces.

 

______________________________________________

 

"Harper? What's wrong?" Rommie asked. She couldn't scan his physical body so she had no idea what was happening to him. Harper had his arms up as if to shield himself from an unseen enemy, and he was shivering badly. Andromeda thought she heard him say something, but it was so quiet she had to lean in to hear him.

 

He whispered very quietly, but with an underlying fierceness and determination, "You won't get me." Harper suddenly jumped up and grabbed her by the shoulders, and threw her away from him. He raced toward a floating console and quickly hit a series of buttons before she could stop him.

 

"Activate program - Harper emergency alpha 2 beta 6, Andromeda lockout!" Harper ordered as Rommie closed in to stop him. Just as she reached him she was entrapped in a virtual cell, almost identical to the one she had kept Harper in.

 

"Guess it's a good thing I set up this little program after you're little personality mix - up. Not so tough now, are you?" Harper smirked. "I can't believe you fell for the old possum routine."

 

"Harper, let me out right now. You must realize that you're sick." It was clear to Rommie it hadn't completely been a routine. Harper was sweating badly, his breathing was heavy and he was trembling. He wasn't as bad as Rommie had thought when she released him, but he was still obviously sick.

 

"You're ill. You must let us help you." Rommie pleaded with him.

 

"Help me right out an airlock. Tell you what, I'll beat you to it." He said, a twisted look came across his face, the look you could only see as he recalled upon his years of inhuman punishment on Earth. It was the look of the dark side of Seamus Harper.

 

Harper reactivated the communications systems and opened them for a ship-wide announcement, deciding that he should at least give the crew a warning.

 

______________________________________________

 

Just as Tyr began to believe that this had been a pointless endeavour and only good as a workout, his scanner beeped, indicating he was close to another warm blooded creature; hopefully Harper. He got an approximate location and headed in that direction. Tyr had to give it to Harper, it was a great hiding place. It had taken him half an hour of crawling through vents to even get close enough to detect him.

 

I've got you now. Tyr thought with a smirk, it was only a matter of time before he got to Harper, and with Andromeda holding his mind hostage, this should all be over quickly.

 

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the communications system coming back online. Finally the ship has found a way to repair her own systems. He thought, but quickly found out he was very wrong. A voice rang out over the com line.

 

"Hello, former friends and crew members. This is your new captain, Seamus Harper. Seeing as you're all trying to kill me I am at this moment, ordering you from my ship. In case you don't feel like evacuating I have provided a little, shall I say, motivation. In two minutes the ship's life support is going to be deactivated, I suggest getting out while you can. Have a nice life. Captain Harper out."

 

"Damn you little man!" Tyr growled in frustration as he desperately tried to get to Harper faster.

 

______________________________________________

 

Dylan and Beka had managed to run into one another during their search for Harper and both were now on the Command Deck. They had been talking strategy and possible ways to find their engineer, when they heard Harper's announcement.

 

"Hello, former friends and crew members. This is your new captain, Seamus Harper. Seeing as you're all trying to kill me I am at this moment, ordering you from my ship. In case you don't feel like evacuating I have provided a little, shall I say, motivation. In two minutes the ship's life support is going to be deactivated, I suggest getting out while you can. Have a nice life. Captain Harper out."

 

"He's bluffing right?" Beka asked hopefully.

 

"God, I hope so. Rommie, is Harper in your system?" Dylan called out. He was disappointed when it wasn't the ship's AI who responded, but their missing crew member.

 

"Sorry, Dylan. Rommie's a little detained at the moment. I do in fact have control, and just so you know there are now four minutes thirty seconds until life support is shut down. I suggest you run!" Harper said, then cut the com link once more.

 

"Come on let's get out of here." Dylan led the way off the Command Deck.

 

"We're just gonna leave?" Beka asked incredulously.

 

"Unless you know how to survive on a ship without life support, then for the moment, yes. We'll be back, we just have to be alive to do it." Dylan pointed out. Beka had to agree and they raced to the escape pods.

 

 

______________________________________________

 

Harper remained in Andromeda's mind, he knew if he left than Rommie would probably be able to find some way out of his little trap. But that was okay, in a few minutes he'd have the ship cleared and it would just be him and Rommie. It wouldn't be too hard to turn all command functions over to himself after everyone else was gone. For the moment he stood watching a view screen as his 'enemies' all fled the ship.

 

"Hehe, look at 'em run. This was way too easy. I've said it before and I'll say it again; the Harper is good!" He smirked and then wiped away a bead of sweat. Rommie wished there was someway to convince Harper she meant him no harm.

 

"You do realize that if you cut life support you'll die as well. It does seem rather pointless." Rommie told him, hoping to get him to change his course of action.

 

"Now you must think I'm really stupid, Rom-doll. I'm not gonna cut life support to my area of the ship." Harper replied, you could hear the obvious "duh" in his voice.

 

"And where would that be?" Rommie asked, hoping to get him offguard.

 

"Nice try. But you're not gonna find out where I am, so give it up. Just sit back and be happy I don't deactivate you." Harper continued watching the crewmembers all race for the escape pods and then realized that someone was missing.

 

"Hey, where's Tyr?" He asked, searching all the screens.

 

"If you hadn't turned off sensors I could tell you."

 

"Yeah, right. Oh well, if he's not in an escape pod it's his own fault. Hope he can hold his breath for awhile." Harper said, trying to act as if he didn't care. His conscious mind didn't of course, he thought these people were trying to kill him. But deep down in his subconscious where the virus had yet to reach, he still knew they were his friends. "Damn it, where is he?" There was a small trace of concern in his voice.

 

"Why do you care? He's just trying to kill you, isn't he?" Rommie asked.

 

"I don't care!" Harper replied, rather unconvincingly. "You just shut up before I erase you. There's only three minutes left anyway."

 

 

______________________________________________

 

 

Tyr pulled himself along as fast as he could. He knew precious seconds were ticking by and hoped that he was nearing Harper's position. Even if he wanted to he wouldn't reach the escape pods before the five minutes were up, he'd been crawling in the vents for over half an hour now. So he was forced to keep looking. According to his scanner he was getting closer. Three minutes left.

 

My god boy, how do you get through these blasted tunnels? He thought to himself. Before he could try to think of an answer he reached a closed panel, he'd come along a few of them in his journey but this one was different, if his scanner was correct. This one had a life form on the other side. Gotcha. There was no time to be subtle, Tyr pulled the panel off with brute strength and peered in. It was a little room, like a miniature work area, and there was actually enough space to move around slightly and partially stand. But he didn't care about that. What he did care about was the still form leaned up against the wall, who was jacked into Andromeda's system. Tyr had found Harper.

 

"Hello little man, you gave us quite a run. Now what to do with you." Tyr mused to himself. Right now he had to figure out what to do next. Harper's mind was in Andromeda and Tyr had no idea how that technology worked. If he were to simply unplug Harper, he didn't know what would happen. It could harm Harper seriously, or damage the ship worse. Besides, just pulling him out wasn't good enough, Tyr had no doubt that Harper would have set up the termination of life support on a timer, that couldn't be stopped by anyone but him. So if he did pull him out the life support would still be gone. What bothered Tyr was how bad Harper looked.

 

He was sweating badly, his breathing was harsh, his whole body shook and a quick check showed his eyes were not dilating correctly. Tyr did what he thought was best and administered the antidote to Harper while he was still in Andromeda's system. He just hoped it worked instantly.

 

 

______________________________________________

 

Harper was watching everyone evacuate the ship when he suddenly felt very odd. His knees buckled but he remained upright, and he clutched his head in his hands. His vision was becoming blurry and his head pounded. He was suddenly hit with a wave of nauseau and his legs gave out, causing him to fall on his knees.

 

"Harper what's wrong?" Rommie asked concerned.

 

"Nothing!" Harper snapped immediately, but something was definitely wrong. He couldn't seem to remember why he was doing this. His mind was being assaulted with images of his friends; good images of comradery, friendship, and trust.

 

Trance smiling as Harper gloated about his genius. Rev giving him spiritual support as he coped with being infested my Magog. Beka watching out for him like she always does. Tyr actually laughing at one of Harper's jokes.

 

"No. No!" Harper shook his head trying to banish the thoughts as the virus continued to struggle for control. "No! Tyr tried to kill me, just like they're all trying to. They want me dead! ......... Don't they?"

 

"Tyr was under the control of an unknown virus, Harper. Just like you are now. We're your friends, you must remember that." Rommie tried to reason with him.

 

Harper didn't know what to believe. A minute ago he'd been so sure, now everything was clouded. He didn't know what was real, what was true. He needed to think. More images floated into his mind, helping with his decision.

 

Dylan congratulating Harper on his latest project. Trance and Harper sharing a drink. Tyr and Harper fighting side by side against the Magog.

 

"Oh god, what's going on?" Harper couldn't take it anymore. He fell to the floor, still clutching his head as the images continued to play. His breath came out in quick, short gasps as he took everything in. It was several moments before he looked up. His eyes showed a storm of emotions: confusion, regret, sorrow, understanding, and pain. The virus was gone. He got to his feet shakily and looked over his surroundings, as if trying to figure out where he was.

 

"What have I done?" He asked himself, his voice barely a whisper.

 

"It wasn't your fault Harper, you were under the virus's control." Rommie told him, she assumed the virus had somehow been defeated.

 

"I have to fix this." Harper said absently as he stumbled over to a console. His legs were unsturdy and his mind was blurred so bad that he couldn't recall how to work most of the systems. "What do I do?" He asked in frustration.

 

"Let me out of here. I can take care of the rest." Rommie replied.

 

"Uh, okay." He searched his mind for the proper codes. It took him several seconds. "Um … deactivate program - Harper emergency alpha 2 beta 6 - restore system." The walls encasing Andromeda immediately dropped. She set to work at her thousands of simultaneous functions. Terminating the life support cut off, reactivating com lines, restoring lights; after she was sure everything was functioning she focused her attention on Harper. She slowly approached the young man, who was now on the floor, shivering uncontrollably

 

"I'm sorry Rommie. I'm so sorry." He told her, his voice sounding small and shaking badly.

 

She gently laid her hand on his shoulder, "It wasn't your fault, Harper. It wasn't. Just like it wasn't Tyr's." Harper nodded, but was obviously still unconvinced. "Why don't you disconnect now. Get back to your real body, you'll feel better."

 

"Yeah." He whispered again, even softer than before, "Guess I have to go face the music." He disconnected from Andromeda's system and rushed back into his own body.

 

 

______________________________________________

 

 

Tyr waited impatiently for something to happen. Anything. He just wanted some indication that the antidote had worked. His attention was called from Harper when he heard Andromeda make a ship wide announcement.

 

"Life support will remain online, please do not evacuate the ship. The situation is under control and all systems have been restored." Rommie announced.

 

Tyr didn't know if Rommie had just managed to break free from Harper's confines, or if the antidote had actually worked so he continued waiting. Several seconds later ...

 

"Oh man." Harper opened his eyes and unhooked his cerebral port. He seemed extremely tired. He looked at Tyr and held his gaze for only a second. Sorrow, regret and a longing for forgiveness were clearly written on Harper's face. He attempted a weak smile, "That virus sure is a bitch, huh?"

 

Tyr actually laughed, as did Harper but the humor didn't reach his eyes. He tried to pull himself into a sitting position but found he was too weak, the day had drained him. He started coughing hoarsely and Tyr helped him to sit up.

 

"I really screwed up this time." Harper noted, no humor touching his voice.

 

"No worse than others before you." Tyr said, looking Harper in the eye. Words weren't necessary. They both silently agreed that neither were to blame and this whole incident was forgiven. Harper nodded in understanding.

 

"Thanks." Harper replied solemnly. He then began coughing again, worse than before. The virus may have been gone, but there was still something wrong. "I think I'm gonna ... pass out now." Harper's body became limp and he gave in to unconsciousness. 

 

 

______________________________________________

 

 

An hour later Trance walked into the Medical Bay. The rest of the crew was already there watching over Harper, who was still unconscious. It had taken nearly half an hour just to get Harper out of Andromeda's access tunnels. He truly did have a wonderful hiding place which made it nearly impossible for the medical bots to reach him. Eventually Tyr had become so agitated that he had Andromeda show him a layout of the tunnels and carried Harper most of the way out. Now Trance was returning with the results of Harper's tests.

 

"So, how is he?" Beka asked as the purple girl came in.

 

"Not too bad, and also not too good." She replied hesitantly.

 

"Don't tell us the virus is still active." Dylan pleaded.

 

"No. The virus is all gone, it was cleared from his system just like in Tyr, but there were a few problems. Since the virus was mutated in Harper it was a lot stronger and took a lot of his energy, he was extremely exhausted, that's why he passed out. He probably won't be waking up for awhile either. The virus needed all the energy it could get to remain active, which wasn't hard due to Harper's weak immune system. He literally didn't have an ounce of strength to spare. Since he was so weak he was susceptible to illness and now he's running a pretty bad fever. The chemical imbalances in his brain aren't completely back to normal yet either, but they're getting there." Trance told them all, she had kept eye contact through her diagnosis but now her gaze drifted to Harper. "I think he'll be okay. He's gonna be awful tired for a week or so though, until he gets his strength back."

 

"Is there anything we can do?" Beka asked.

 

"Not really. Just let him rest, when he wakes up don't tire him out. But first we have to hope the fever breaks soon. He really doesn't have the strength to combat it for long." Trance said worriedly.

 

No one got much sleep over the next two days. Everyone took turns sitting with Harper, waiting and hoping the fever would break. They went to their stations when necessary and if it had been several hours since anyone had visited him then they went to see him. One thing's for sure, he was never alone. Unfortunately he wasn't getting much better.

 

The fever continued to rage on, stealing away Harper's desperately needed strength, making him weaker and weaker. His pulse slowed with each passing hour, much to everyone's dismay. He was also delirious and apparently trapped within his own worst memories, which were assuredly, pretty bad. It was late on the second day when Tyr was sitting with him. It was just him but he had no doubt that someone else would be in shortly.

 

"Harper...." Tyr started. He didn't really know what to say. Everyone else had talked to the boy, even though he couldn't hear them, so he thought he may as well give it a try. "Boy, how I am supposed to talk to you while you're unconscious? Listen little man, you have been through too much in your lifetime to be brought down by some virus." There was a slight pause before Tyr began again, "You know, I was always determined never to be your friend. From the first time I saw you I thought you were just an annoying kludge. I tried to ignore the fact that everyone you met always found you hilarious and charming, not to mention wonderful company. But I continued to see you as a weakness. A cowardly human only worth keeping around because he had adequate engineering capabilities. It took a Magog swarm ship for me to see you for who you are. You have fire to survive. You wish to live, and enjoy life while you have it. So live Harper. Wake up."

 

"I have finally opened my eyes and allowed you to become my friend, Seamus Harper. Do not think that you will prove me wrong by dying on me. You will live. I will see to it." Tyr promised solemnly. As Tyr spoke, Harper's nightmares ceased for the first time in over twenty-four hours. Tyr continued his watch, with Beka coming in only minutes later. A few hours after that, the fever broke.

 

 

______________________________________________

 

 

It was another day before Harper regained consciousness.

 

"Harper, are you awake?" Trance asked softly when the young man showed signs of consciousness.

 

Harper's eyes flickered opened, he looked at Trance and smiled weakly, "Hey babe. You been waiting awhile?"

 

"Only about three days. I've waited longer." Trance replied, "Do you remember what happened?"

 

Harper closed his eyes momentarily and let the images flow through his mind, "Yeah." He said quietly, "I remember."

 

"It wasn't your fault." She assured him right away.

 

"Yeah, I know. Just might take some time to convince myself of that." He said, his voice raising only slightly. He tried to sit up but found the simple action exhausting. Trance pushed him back down gently.

 

"Get some rest. You're gonna be really weak for the next little while." She told him.

 

"How little a while?" Harper asked, dreading the answer.

 

"You'll probably be stuck here in Medical for about a week." Harper groaned as he dropped his head back to his pillow. "I'm gonna go call everyone to tell them you're okay." Trance said, moving away.

 

"No!" Harper insisted, "I don't think I could face everyone right now. I know, I know ..." He cut her off before she started again, "It wasn't my fault. But I still feel bad. I actually thought you guys were trying to kill me."

 

"I can't not tell them." Trance said, uncertain what to do.

 

"I just don't think I can face everyone at the same time. It'd be a bit ... overwhelming." He tried to bite back a yawn but couldn't. The short conversation had drained him of the little energy he had and he was soon fast asleep. Trance smiled and contacted everyone and told them Harper had regained consciousness, but made sure none of them came to visit just yet.

 

______________________________________________

 

Over the next few days Harper was never alone in the Medical bay. At all waking times one member of the crew was with him. He apologized profusely, and was told so often that it wasn't his fault that he began to believe it. His mood became lighter with each passing day, and his strength came back. The only thing that plagued him was that Tyr hadn't come to see him. He didn't dare ask anyone what the big man was doing, but he was curious and somewhat hurt.

 

Little did Harper know that Tyr did visit. Quite frequently in fact. Harper was just always asleep. Tyr kept a silent vigil over the sleeping engineer almost every night, being careful never to wake him or alert him of his presence. It wasn't until two days after Harper had been released from the Medical bay that he actually approached the young man.

 

Harper headed to the Machine shop, intent on working on his latest project of engineering genius. As he entered he was surprised to see Tyr apparently waiting for him. Harper couldn't help but remember how he had been attacked by Tyr the last time he ran into him at the Machine shop. He suppressed the shudder that came with the memory and plastered a smile on his face.

 

"Hey Tyr. Long time no see. I know this ship is big but I thought I might have run into you once or twice during the last week or so. What happened? You forget where the Medical bay is?" Harper asked lightheartedly, but his eyes gave away the raging emotions in his heart.

 

"I was unsure of whether or not my company would be welcomed." Tyr admitted.

 

Harper's smile became real as he identified the honesty in Tyr's voice, "It woulda been welcome. But I guess I wasn't real ready to talk to you either, or I probably would have asked someone why you weren't stopping by."

 

"I merely wanted to make sure that there were no harsh feelings between us, for any reason." Tyr stated, his voice losing its usual gruffness.

 

"Naw, we're good. Neither of us were really ourselves. I'd like it if we both just dropped the subject." Harper was sick of the recent past plaguing all his thoughts and being the subject for all conversations.

 

"Agreed. Well then, I will leave you with your .. uh .. things." Tyr swept a hand around the room, indicating the various odds and ends.

 

"Hey, these are highly sophisticated pieces of equipment." He picked up a nearby part and held it up, "I mean just look at the craftsmanship on this ... uh ... this ... thing." Harper's voice dropped when he realized he didn't know what the part was.

 

Tyr chuckled and clapped Harper on the shoulder, "It is good to have you back boy." Tyr made his way to the door.

 

"Tyr." Harper called out, halting the Nietzschean in his tracks, "Thanks for stopping me before I did something I would really regret."

 

"You're welcome. You can prove your gratefulness by promising me something." Tyr said, turning back to Harper.

 

"Uh, sure. What?" Harper asked a little suspiciously.

 

"Next time we are in need of supplies, make Dylan go on the supply run." Harper smiled and nodded in agreement as Tyr walked out of the Machine shop, friendship greatly intact.

 

        The End

 

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