Chapter Text
“Harper, I don’t want to alarm you but the intruders have gained access to my sensors and appear to be tracking your location.”
The engineer stumbled, reaching out to support himself against the corridor wall as he looked aghast at the sudden appearance of Andromeda’s holographic avatar. “Geez Rommie, give a guy a heart attack, why don’t ya?”
“I estimate they’ll be at your location in less than three minutes.”
“Fan-freakin-tastic,” he muttered, unholstering his gun and releasing the safety. “I’m running blind here. Any chance you can force them out of the interface?”
Andromeda’s delicate brows creased in frustration. “I’m trying. I don’t know what technology they’re using, but, whatever it is, I’ve been frozen out of almost all of my systems.” Her frown deepened as she came to an abrupt stop, her alarm clear. “They’re attempting to cut off access to my mainframe.”
“Who the hell are these guys?” Harper huffed, cautiously turning a corner with his gun poised. Seamus Zelaney Harper was a lot of things -- genius, heartthrob and inventor extraordinaire to name a few -- but a warrior was not one of them; he was alone and under no illusion that he was working with amateurs. He needed help.
“Any word from Dylan?” he asked hopefully, releasing a sharp gasp of dread when the lights suddenly died and he was left in complete darkness. He closed his eyes and counted to five, feeling a wave of relief when the emergency systems kicked in, casting a faint light glow throughout the ship. When he didn’t receive an answer he turned around slowly, realising with a pang of dread that Rommie was gone. “Rom Doll?” he asked, keenly feeling her loss. “Rommie?”
He was meet with deafening, terrifying silence. The intruders had done it, they'd actually succeeded in shutting her down. Harper bit his lip to keep in the spew of curses he could feel trapped in his throat. He considered his options, pathetic as they were; he needed to hide. Once he was in a secure location, he’d find a way to remotely access the mainframe and send out a distress beacon. Beka and Dylan would find him, they’d take the ship back and fry the assholes stupid enough to try and take her.
The nearest conduit was a few minutes away. Harper took a deep breath and cautiously moved forward. When he reached a closed-door he jimmied open the control panel and made quick work of releasing the locking mechanism. The door started to open and then locked with a sharp, piercing screech.
Harper drew his shoulders up to his ears, tensing as he body trembled with adrenaline. Maybe they didn’t hear...
“Hurry up,” someone called, their voice disturbingly close. “He’s up ahead.”
Shit, shit, shit! He didn’t have time to work on the lock, they were almost on top of him. He eyed the narrow crack in the door, breathing rapidly as he unbuckled his bulky tool belt and tossed it through to the other side. Breathing rapidly he turned sideways and began to slowly inch his way through the distressingly small gap.
I’m not going to fit, he thought, frantic as he heard heavy footsteps hurrying in his direction. The pressure on his ribs was intense, his lungs were burning and he couldn’t breathe. Just when he thought he was going to die of self-suffocation, he broke free with enough force to send him crashing to the ground. He sucked in air desperately, heaving for breath when he felt a hand encircle his ankle and drag him back several inches.
He acted without any conscious thought, turning on his back and aiming his pistol at his assailants head. Tyr would be so proud. “Get. Off,” he gasped, meeting the intruder’s calm brown eyes with a vicious snarl.
“Or you’ll do what?” the other man asked, his face breaking into a wide, predatory smile as his grip tightened painfully.
Harper took in his features, cataloguing his face and deciding the guy was human...maybe a heavyworlder. He had dark eyes and handsome, wholesome features. He looked like he was around Harper’s age. He was unmasked, which was either incredibly stupid or unbelievably arrogant -- didn’t they realise Dylan was going to come after them with everything in his arsenal?
A darker thought permeated his thoughts; maybe they didn’t care.
“Or I’ll shoot you in the goddamn face,” he hissed, still unable to completely catch his breath. He tried to squirm away but it just made the bigger man reel him closer. Harper raised his gun, fully prepared to shoot the asshole if he didn’t let him go. “I’m freakin’ serious. Get off me, otherwise, I’ll give you a new face hole!”
“I’m not alone. Shoot me and you’re going to really piss off my associates.”
Harper considered the other man for a split second, thought about it, drew back his unrestrained leg and kicked the asshole in his stupidly handsome face. That finally did it, with a shout of pain the other man let him go. Harper wasted no time, scrambling backwards, grabbing his toolbelt and rabbiting down the corridor.
He turned towards a bend in the corridor, convinced he was actually going to make it when he slammed into a solid presence and nearly fell flat on his ass. He didn’t get the chance to use his gun this time; a steel grip caught his wrist and smashed his hand against the wall of the ship. Harper gasped, dropping his weapon before he was spun around and grabbed by the neck.
Why did everyone always have to go for his freakin’ throat?
“Gotcha,” his attacker crowed, reeling him in like a freakin’ fish. Seamus couldn’t tell just by looking but a guy his size definitely wasn’t a mudfoot-- another heavy-worlder? The man smirked, showing off brilliant white teeth as he jerked Harper closer. “Am I right in assuming I’m addressing Seamus Harper, chief engineer of the Andromeda Ascendant?”
“Never heard of ‘im,” Harper sneered, falling back on bravado in the face of overwhelming odds. Three more intruders appeared in his peripherals and Harper felt his breath speed up. He released a humiliating squeak as he was hoisted to his tiptoes.
“Don’t fuck with me, kid. I’ve had a bad day.”
“I can relate,” Harper gasped, his breath coming out in a painful wheeze. The asshole was going to break his neck. “Stop!”
The heavy-worlder dropped him. Harper fell painfully to his knees, greedily sucking in air as the small group surrounded him. He wrapped his hand around his bruised throat and attempted to soothe away the hurt. He looked at the other intruders -- a human female, a Perseid and a freakin’ Nietzschean.
“We’ve got what we came for,” the woman, a tall and statute redhead said. She sounded jumpy and her hands seemed to be in a constant state of influx. Harper recoiled when he met her milky white eyes. Flash user, his mind supplied. He couldn’t help but think of Beka and felt momentarily guilty for the unfair comparison. She locked her eerie gaze onto Harper, sneering. “Let’s get out of here.”
“We’re fine. Everythings completely on schedule,” the heavy-worlder promised. His big hand wrapped around Harper’s bicep and he dragged the smaller man to his feet. “We’re going for a walk. Can I trust you to behave?”
“What am I, a dog? Get off!” Harper snapped, pulling against the other man’s granite hold. He got tugged along for his trouble, his feet almost leaving the floor when he tried to plant his feet. “I don’t know what your deal is but you people are messing with the wrong crew. Do you have any idea who my boss is? Captain Dillon-freaking-Hunt, that’s who. When he finds out - mfff!”
“Hush child,” the Über ordered, his huge hand enveloping Harper’s jaw and nose as he dragged the engineer out of the heavy-worlder’s grasp, pulling him flush against his wide chest. He wasn’t big for a Nitcheaon, wasn’t as big as Tyr - nowhere near in fact - but he was a hell of a lot bigger than Harper. No matter how much he thrashed, he couldn’t break free.
“Careful Agion,” the heavy-worlder warned as he watched the Über wrap a hand around Harper’s upper shoulders and manhandle him to the elevator. Harper looked up, confused when he realised they were heading toward the loading bay. “Little man looks like he’s having trouble breathing.”
The asshole wasn’t kidding. Harper clawed at the Nietzschean’s stupidly muscular arm in an attempt to make him let go. His heart was beating so hard in his chest he was convinced he was about to have a heart attack.
The Über sniffed him, breathing deeply before he uncovered Harper’s nose enough to let him actually breathe. The engineer sucked in some much-needed air, sagging in his captors hold as he tried to calm his frantic heart. “It’s quietened him down at least.”
“Nearly suffocating someone will do that,” the Perseid said, completely serious.
Haper turned to look at him for a moment before attempting to kick the bastard. The Nietzschean, Agion, drew him back with a deep chuckle. “The boy has spirit.”
“He’s got a lot more than that,” the woman said, stepping into Harper’s space and running her hand gently through his scalp. She watched him thoughtfully, smiling meanly when he tried to edge away. She snagged his hair, dragging his head back “That clever little head of his is going to earn us a fortune.”
Wait, what? He instinctively shied away from the look in her milky white eyes, growing increasingly concerned when he began to connect the dots. Why weren’t they heading towards the brig? Why the hell did they all seem to know who he was?
He grabbed the Über's arm, pulling gently this time. He looked up, meeting the Nietzschean’s amused amber coloured eyes. He tried to speak, his voice muffled and the words intelligible.
“Let him speak,” the heavy-worlder said, his tone bored as they moved swiftly between decks. “I kind of what to hear what he’s got to say.”
Harper glared at him, but at least the Über listened and let him go. The woman finally moved out of his space, giggling softly as she leaned her head against the Perseid’s shoulder. “What are you… I mean, you’re after the ship, right? You want Andromeda?”
The woman snorted. “I thought he was supposed to be smart.”
“He is,” the Perseid said, bobbing his head excitedly when Harper looked over at him. “A genius. His engineering prowess is truly extraordinary -- remarkable, in fact. His inventions are -”
“Yeah, yeah,” the heavy-worlder drawled. “You’ve already got me sold. He’s good with machines, we get it.”
Something cold settled in the pit of Harper’s stomach. He looked at each of his assailants in turn, feeling small and vulnerable in a way he hadn’t experienced since before Beka took him in. “You’re not here for me,” he said, more of a statement of fact than a question.
They couldn’t be. He was nothing compared to Andromeda. They had no reason to want to take him. Hell, the ease in which they had taken over the ship meant they already had a genius of their own. There wasn’t any reason…
“You’re from Earth, right?” the heavy-worlder asked, leaning into Harper’s space. “So you should already be pretty familiar with the whole concept of forced labour.”
“Slavery?” Harper spat. He couldn’t believe his freakin’ ears. They couldn’t be serious.
“I don’t like that word,” the guy said, his smile large and blinding. The lift door opened and they piled out into the loading bay. Harper’s gaze locked onto an unfamiliar starship and he released a harsh gasp of breath. “Let’s just call it volunteered labour, shall we?”
“No,” Harper said, shaking his head as he tried to break the Über's grip. “No fucking way. Get off me.”
The Nietzschean’s hand covered Harper’s mouth again, cutting him off as he geared himself up for a total meltdown.
“Let him tire himself out,” the woman said, her milky eyes locked unnervingly on the engineer. She leaned towards him and Harper instinctively flinched away. “You and I, I can tell already, we’re going to become fast friends.
Chapter Text
The ship was bigger than the Maru, but not by much. It sure was shinier though. Had to be worth a fortune. Harper eyed the control panel, estimating how long it would take to hack the system and take control.
Longer than I’ve got right now, he thought sourly as his abductors piled into the room. He was shoved forward, almost falling over the chair he was presumably supposed to sit in. Strong hands grasped his shoulder, pushing him upright. Agion leaned into his space and produced a pair of cuffs from his belt. He locked Harper‘s right arm in place, ruffling his hair with an amused chuckle.
“Hands off,” he sneered, drawing away from the man’s unwanted touch. When the Über’s bone blades passed worrying close to his face Harper couldn’t help the tremor that passed through his body. The blades brought back memories he’d really rather not relive, particularly when faced with an unknown, untested Über.
“Nervous, little man?”
He met Agion’s knowing smirk and bared his teeth in a mean smile. Sure, the guy could squish him with a flex of his biceps, but Harper refused to be cowed. He wasn’t the same man that left his homeworld. He refused to be.
“You sure those things will hold him?” the heavy worlder asked, taking the pilot’s chair and spinning around to face his crew.
“Certainly,” the Perseid said enthusiastically, wringing his hand as he stepped into the furthest corner away from the group. Harper filed that little tidbit away for later. “I picked them specifically due to their lack of technology. Simple cuffs, but for an unenhanced human, they’re indestructible.”
The captain leaned forward, grabbing Harper’s chin in a bruising hold. “Your file didn’t say anything about lockpicking, but I get the feeling you’ve got all kinds of hidden talents. For clarity sake, if you manage to free yourself and try to touch my ship, I’ll break one of your legs. Comprendo?”
As far as threats went, it wasn’t the most imaginative but Harper had zero doubt the other man wouldn’t follow through. “Yeah,” he breathed. “I get it.”
The heavy worlder held onto him for a long moment, before releasing Harper in a slow and seriously freaky caress. Gah!
“Diana, any trouble incoming?”
The woman sat in the only other available chair and turned to the control panel. “Nothing. The Andromeda’s dead in the water.” She spun around to face Harper, leaning into his space. “Did you manage to get a message to your crew before we snagged you, little man?”
He tried very hard not to flinch away from her. “They’re already on their way here,” he lied.
She raised her hand, laughing when Harper recoiled. “You’re full of shit, you know that?”
He eyed her upraised hand warily. “Takes one to know one.”
“Diana, don’t mark his face,” the Über said with the air of someone who didn’t really care either way.
“It doesn’t matter anyway,” the heavy worlder said brightly, clapping his hands together in clear delight. “We got what we came for. We’re leaving...as soon as, ah, here he is.”
Harper looked up as a familiar, bruised and bloody face stormed into the tightly packed space. He instinctively tried to bolt, realised he was stuck and promptly kicked out in panic. “Whoa, w-wait. Wait!”
It didn’t do him any good. The other man swatted aside his leg and backhanded him. Stars erupted as his jaw and mouth exploded with pain. “Fuck,” he hissed, curling in on himself in an attempt to protect his core. He tasted blood and spat it out in disgust. His lip was split and he was pretty sure he’d cut the inside of his mouth.
“Good job I didn’t mark his face,” Diana said, laughing in delight at her own wit.
It was official. Harper friggin’ hated her.
“I take it we have our young friend here to thank for your face,” the heavy worlder sniggered as his hand caught the back of Harper’s hair and forced his head back. “Ah, damn it, Sean. You know you’re not supposed to damage the stock.”
“The little fucker kicked me in the face,” Sean snapped furiously, pacing back and forth. He pointed violently in Harper’s direction, his movements frantic. “You’re lucky I don’t break your scrawny little neck.”
Harper took in his bruised eyes and split lip and felt a swell of satisfaction. “If you didn’t want to be kicked in the face you shouldn’t have trespassed on my ship.”
The man lunged at him, but this time the Uber was ready. He grabbed his bicep and jerked him back. “Careful Sean. Hit him again and you risk breaking something.”
“The little bastard deserves it,” Sean snapped, pulling his arm free and pointing in Harper's direction. “Talk back to me again and I’ll break your neck.”
Harper took in the guys eyes and body language, self-preservation kicking in as he inhaled shakily. He was amongst a group of professional slavers, alone and, as much as he hated to admit it, pretty much powerless. He looked away, curling his legs into his chest and pressing his face against his knees.
He heard the man snort in derision, but it did the trick and for the time being they left him alone. Harper felt tense and uneasy. He wanted, more than anything, to move around and work off some of his nervous energy.
“You just going to leave him here?” Diana asked, seconds before he felt light fingers run over his bowed head.
“Put him in the crew quarters. Make sure he’s properly secured.”
Harper looked up at that and was disturbed but unsurprised to find Dianna and the captain looming over him. He swallowed slowly, uncurling as the flash head unlocked the cuff around the chair and used it to drag Harper to his feet.
“Time to go for a walk, sweetie,” she breathed into the side of his head, wrapping her free arm around his waist and pulling him into her side. “If you’re really lucky, you and I can share a bunk.”
He didn’t try to hide his disgust. “Thanks for the offer, but I’m good.”
“Picky,” she said, leading him down a short hallway until they reached the crew quarters. “So, what do you think?” she asked brightly, letting him go so she could push him onto one of the bottom bunks. “I know it’s not the andromeda, but it’s not too shabby, huh?”
“Yeah, real nice,” Harper said nastily, scrambling back when she leaned into the bed and got into his space.
“Be a good boy and put the cuffs on,” she purred, handing him the handcuffs with a crazed look in her eyes.
The urge to tell her to fuck off was on the tip of his tongue, but he figured he was already in enough trouble. No reason to piss off the flash head. Instead, he smiled through gritted teeth and took the cuffs from her outstretched hand.
“Thread them through the bed frame,” she said, smiling encouragingly when he did as he was told. “Thata boy.”
“Now what?” Harper asked, feeling all kinds of miserable. His face hurt, he was worried about Andromeda and he was 99% sure he was going to be murdered. Not a good day.
She grabbed his hair and wrenched his head back before pressing her lips against his chin and swiping her tongue up to his forehead. Harper went very still, aware his eyes had widened and he probably looked like a deer in the headlights. The flash-head pressed into his space, forcing his head back until Harper uttered a breathless protest and attempted to push her away.
“No,” she hissed, grabbing his free wrist and forcing him flat against the mattress. “Oh no, no, no, no. You do not fight me, little man,” she giggled, high and manic. “We own you now.”
“Get off me,” Harper said, forcing his tone to sound threatening rather than utterly and completely panicked.
“Or you’ll do what?” She purred, pressing down hard enough to hurt.
“Oh, oh dear,” a panicked voice said. Harper felt a spike of relief, until he realised it was the damn Perseid. “Umm, should you be...doing that?”
“Doing what?” Diana asked nastily, her grip punishing. “Oh, you’re talking about the little kludge?”
“You seem to be...um, it appears that you’re hurting him.”
“Am I?” she asked innocently, squeezing hard enough to make Harper cry out and thrash beneath her. “Oh my, maybe you’re right.”
The Perseid wrung his hands, clearly in distress. “If you harm him our benefactor will be displeased. You should - you need to stop.”
Harper winced, bracing himself for more pain when the weight pressing him down suddenly disappeared. The woman burst out laughing, ruffling Harper’s hair before skipping past the Perseid and slapping his harshly in the face. The alien stumbled back, whimpering softly and cowering away.
“Don’t ever try to tell me what to do,” she warned, crowding him against a wall. “You’re nothing. You hear me, nose-chin?”
The Perseid nodded shakily, every line of his body screaming submission. “Of course. Of course!”
She slapped him again, softer this time. “Don’t forget it,” she looked at Harper and smiled nastily. “See you later, sweet pea.”
Chapter Text
For a long, uncomfortable moment, nobody moved. The Perseid was clearly terrified - he stared at Harper with wide, watery eyes before shaking himself out of his stupor and walking cautiously towards the bed. “Ah, so sorry, but my bunk is above yours. I won’t disturb you, but I need to -“ he gestured helplessly.
Harper forced himself to unclench his shaking fists. He wasn’t stupid enough to believe the Perseid was harmless - he made a habit of never underestimating anyone - but, for the most part, he was an ok judge of character. The alien wasn’t putting out particularly murdery vibes. Harper was probably as safe with him as he was going to get on a ship full of murderous slavers.
“Yeah, sure,” he sniped, trying to curl into a more comfortable position. “Not like I can stop you.”
“Ah, thank you,” he paused, searching Harper’s face. “Did she, ah, hurt you?”
“I’m fine,” Harper grumbled, then more quietly. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
“Oh, I’m quite sure,” he said, suddenly excited. “I’ve read your files - the new commonwealth is remarkably adept at record keeping. I must say, you really are quite resilient. Information regarding your childhood is minimal, but I was able to cobble together pieces of your history. It’s astounding how a terran slave managed to escape -“
Harper sat up so suddenly he jarred his wrists. “Slave?” he snarled, feeling a vindictive jolt of satisfaction when the alien startled. “Why don’t you say that to my face, chin-head?”
The blue alien blinked at him. “Oh, I thought I… I did.”
The anger drained away as quickly as it flared up. Harper rolled his eyes in disgust and collapsed back onto his bed. “Perseids,” he murmured disparagingly.
“You dislike being referred to as a slave,” he remarked, sounding intrigued.
“Wouldn’t you?” he counterer, looking into the aliens' dark, guileless eyes and feeling his anger trickle away into nothingness. Freakin’ Perseid’s, they just… didn’t know any better - everything about them revolved around an insatiable thirst for knowledge. They were very rarely cruel, at least not intentionally, and usually harmless, but sometimes they said the worst things.
“What’s your name,” he asked, without even really meaning to.
The Perseid looked delighted. “Cellio,” he said, offering a hesitant smile.
“Yeah, well, I’m glad to meet you, I guess,” Harper said, shrugging.
“And I you,” he said excitedly. “I so rarely have the opportunity to converse with anyone of superior intellect. Tell me, are you really friends with librarian Hohne of the Special Collections Division of the All Systems University?”
“You know him?” Harper asked, fidgeting as he tried to relieve the strain on his bound wrists.
“Not personally, no, but I am familiar with his work. You’re most fortunate to have had the opportunity to know him.”
“He’s a good guy,” he allowed. He looked at the door, considering his next words carefully. “So, uh, how did you get caught up in all of this, Cellio?”
The Perseid looked away, suddenly uncomfortable. “My crew and I were attacked,” he said, his voice hushed. “The others...they were killed. Rohan and his crew saved me.”
“So you decided to stay with them? Why didn’t you go home?”
“I owe them,” he said, his voice barely more than a whisper.
Understanding came slowly. “They won’t let you leave, will they?”
Cellio met his gaze for a brief, heart wrenching moment. “I’m actually quite fortunate. Some of the others, well, they weren’t nearly as lucky.”
“They do this a lot then?” Harper asked, thirsty for knowledge - he was running blind - the more he knew about his abductors the better his overall changes of escape. “Kidnapping people I mean?”
“Ah, occasionally. If it’s profitable enough.”
“They can’t have taken me just for profit, not when they literally had the Andromeda there for the taking.”
“It’s easier to sell a person than a ship,” Sean announced, stepping into the room and startling them both. He stripped off his jacket, throwing it on the adjacent bed before rolling up his sleeves and leaning his back against the bunk. His eyes turned hard and cruel. “You should know better than to talk to the merchandise, Cellio.”
The perseid hastily bowed his head and tried to stammer out an apology, but Sean raised his hand for silence and the alien obediently snapped his mouth closed.
“I don’t care how much of a fan you are of his work, I don’t want you talking to him unless you’re with one of us. Understand?”
“Yes, yes of course,” Cellio promised, nodding his head vigorously. “Not a peep.”
“Same goes for you,” Sean said, looking at Harper.
“Sure thing,” Harper said, bearing his teeth in a mean smile. “Not a peep.”
Sean looked like he wanted to hit him again, but after a few seconds he huffed out a dismissive laugh and climbed onto his cot. He pulled out a pad and thankfully turned his attention away from Harper.
Harper wasn't planning on sleeping, but being left alone strapped to a bed for hours on end with very little in the way of entertainment made it difficult to remain vigilant. Eventually, inevitably, he nodded off.
He woke up to a large figure looming over him and instinctively kicked out with a panicked yelp. He tried to scramble back but was unable to escape the damned cuffs.
“Calm the fuck down,” the captain grumbled, knocking him onto his back with disturbing ease. Harper nearly jumped out of his skin when a strong hand caught his jaw and titled his face up. “Goddammit Saun,” the man grumbled. “Did you have to beat the shit out of him?” He let Harper go with a small shove, grumbling under his breath.
Harper bit back the instinctive urge to snarl out the first thing that popped into his head and slowly sat up. “You seem awfully concerned about my physical wellbeing,” he noted, meeting the other man's unfriendly gaze. “Not that I’m, um, complaining, but why is that?”
The heavy worlder crouched down until they were eyelevel. He observed Harper intently for an uncomfortably long time.”You’ve got admirers in high places, kid,” he eventually said. “But I’ll admit I can’t help but wonder why your new owner is so intent on keeping you in pristine condition when it’s apparently your brain he’s interested in. Kind of makes a guy wonder, you know?”
“Are you kidding - who wouldn’t want to protect this face? It’s a goddamn piece of art.”
The captain chuckled softly. “You’re not lacking in self-confidence. And you’ve got guts, I’ll give you that.”
“You think I’ve got guts? Have you seen my crew mates? My captain? Yesh, you guys must have a freakin’ death wish.”
“I think we’ll be ok. Believe it or not, but we know what we’re doing.”
“you can’t think this is a good idea? You’re going up against Dylan Hunt, highguard captain of the Andromeda Ascendant. Even if you somehow manage to dump me somewhere, you’re not going to be able to outrun him forever.”
“Like I said, we’ll be fine.”