24 - JUST VOICE. If you're downstairs then there's MINIMAL STATIC! YAY!

[deusexmechanic]

[The first sound Harper sends out over the journals might actually be recognizable to other Gene Roddenberry characters, because I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that all his amazing sci-fi canons have got the same universal distress call. It's transmitting more or less continuously from... oh, let's say about 5:30 am, at the point of time in the saturation chamber when he's still with it enough to know that he needs help, but when he's lost his grip on pretty much everything else.

It isn't until quite a bit later that Harper actually says anything, and when he does his voice is low and scared, like he's afraid of being overheard by someone:]

This is Seamus Harper speaking, come in Eureka Maru? Eureka Maru, this is Seamus Harper speaking, Come in please? Seamus Harper to Eureka Maru, please come in, Beka-- Captain Valentine, please get this, please, get this.

[He clears his throat, and when he speaks again, there's a twinge of faux professionalism in his voice, he's not just been sitting there in the dark doing nothing.]

I've been trying-- trying to get a fix on your co-ordinates, but I've been getting interference, I don't know if... look, maybe you could just get Trance to drive and she could take a wild guess and... and...

[He trails off and is silent for a few minutes, when he speaks again, it's with a renewed conviction.]

Come in Andromeda? This is Seamus Harper speaking, come in Andromeda? Andromeda, this is--

[He stops short, and there's another few minutes of silence. Just the repetition of the distress signal echoing across the journals. When he speaks again, his voice is quieter and more panicked then before.]

Dylan? Come in Dylan? Dylan, this is Harper! Come on, you save everyone else, don't ya? I need-- Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, Rommie... I need Rommie... Look, Andromeda, Dylan-- Tyr. Tyr, you promised me-- Whoever gets this, look, If you can't come down and get me then here's my last request:

Nuke this place from orbit. If I've gotta die here then let it be in a split second of fire that I made myself, don't let it be... [His voice catches in his throat, and Harper swallows hard.] You promised me this, Tyr. You promised me you'd kill me first, okay? And-- and don't think I'm not holding you to that because we're on round two of this thing.

[There's a pause then. A long pause. Deep breaths are taken, and when he speaks again, his voice sounds distant, and slightly confused.]

Come in Maru, this is Seamus Harper. Come In, Eureka Maru...

[Repeat ad infinitum.]




[OOC: Sorry Harper's breakdown is so tl;dr guys! If you're in a cell near him, then you can know that this is the first thing he's said since around four am, when he decided that making noise of any kind was detrimental to hiding from the things in his cell with him. BONUS INFO FOR REX: Harper has been trying to broadcast his co-ordinates so that his castmates circa series two can come rescue him. IT PROBABLY HASN'T BEEN WORKING BECAUSE GHOSTS LOVE TO EAT DELICIOUS CO-ORDINATES, and I don't know what use they'd be down here anyway, but if you want some to have gotten through to Rex then they can have done!]

Comments

THROUGH THE GRATE

[lt-n-uhura.livejournal.com]

[Uhura tries to reach through the grate again. She's been chilling so far...doing alright. At least...mostly.]

Harper? Hey...Harper?

THROUGH THE GRATE

[deusexmechanic.livejournal.com]

[Unlike before, when a more or less stable Harper would have welcomed your attentions, now an utterly unstable Harper jerks violently away from the wall with the grate in it.]

Who's there?

THROUGH THE GRATE

[lt-n-uhura.livejournal.com]

[She jumps up, holding onto the grate to try and peer inside. She's strong enough to hold for a few seconds.]

It's me, Harper. Uhura.

THROUGH THE GRATE

[deusexmechanic.livejournal.com]

[The sight of Uhura's face at the grate only plants in Harper's mind the idea that whatever is in the cell next to him has a frighteningly long neck. He hunches down, pressing himself into the corner of the cell and swallowing hard.]

I don't know any Uhura, you--

[He cuts himself off, and when he speaks again his voice has risen a few octaves.]

Where the hell am I?

THROUGH THE GRATE

[lt-n-uhura.livejournal.com]

[Losing her grip, she drops down to the ground with a cry of pain and just sighs a bit.]

Harper...you're in...I...um..I don't remember. But there's something! And we're friends! Come on, Harper...please believe me. [He was her rock here. If he crumbled, she might.]

THROUGH THE GRATE

[deusexmechanic.livejournal.com]

[The Giraffe woman just made a sound like she was injured... Harper's concerned, but simultaneously aware that it could well be a trap, designed to coax him over to her side of the room. So instead of being helpful or reassuring, he replies in a whine.]

I don't know you. I don't even know where I could possibly know you from. No offense, but the Maru really doesn't have the living space for someone with your anatomy...

[The Maru... he had to get back to the Maru. Harper clutched at his communicator, and started whispering into it again, trying to attract the attention of his Captain. Wherever the hell she was.]

THROUGH THE GRATE

[lt-n-uhura.livejournal.com]

[She ignores his remarks about her anatomy, assuming that he's making some kind of crude joke. In fact, she's barely listening to him. Her foot was starting to swell and she was just staring above her, not really sure what she should be seeing. And her words, while loud enough to carry, were mostly to herself.]

You saved me from lava once, you know. And from falling through the floor.

THROUGH THE GRATE

[deusexmechanic.livejournal.com]

Lava?

[Had he ever seen lava? There'd been... The abyss. He'd seen the abyss. When had he seen the abyss? It was with Dylan, after... Tyr. Tyr was dead. He'd been asking someone he'd seen fall into hell to come and kill him. Well that was some dramatic irony right there. But he knew who it was he'd been trying to save from that...]

Is that-- I'm sorry, Captain? Beka?

THROUGH THE GRATE

[lt-n-uhura.livejournal.com]

I think it was lava. [But the ghosts told her no.] It's like it was in a dream. But I know you, Harper. You're loud and sometimes obnoxious and you're mean to people who don't deserve it. But you're good and smart, too.

[Again, she was talking more to herself.]

And I don't want you to be my imagination.

THROUGH THE GRATE

[deusexmechanic.livejournal.com]

Everyone deserves it.

[His voice is tight with anger now, but it's not directed at Uhura. There's someone in his cell with him now, and Uhura might actually hear a deep, soft voice talking just quietly enough to be inaudible to her. This could only last a moment though, as Harper's voice cuts through it a moment later, suddenly openly furious.]

You did deserve it!

THROUGH THE GRATE

[lt-n-uhura.livejournal.com]

[The sound made her jerk slightly and she sat up.]

Harper?! [She rose and hobbled over, hanging onto the grate.]

THROUGH THE GRATE

[deusexmechanic.livejournal.com]

[From where Uhura's pulled up against the grate, she could probably see the fairly distinctive sillhouette of a really really big dude. Maybe six foot five in height and god only knows what in muscle, with braided hair going down to his waist. He's facing away from her, his gaze directed instead towards the huddled form of the engineer pressed against the wall, as far away as he could get from both of them. His ghost's voice was low and soft, but there was a faint mocking undertone to his voice.]

--killed me, and now this. The result of your own little suicide mission, I wouldn't doubt?

[Harper's wild eyed and just glaring daggers at the spectre, wordlessly.]

THROUGH THE GRATE

[lt-n-uhura.livejournal.com]

HEY! [She could hear better now, but still managed to pull herself up once more, her arms shaking from the exertion.]

Harper! He's not real! [Maybe.] Just ignore him. [Hopefully that wouldn't get him killed.]

[requiresssacrifice]

[SEETHING VOICE. Rex has just had enough of this port.] Shut up, Harper. All of those people? They're not here.

[As he's bitching into the communicator, Rex is actually making his way along the South Wing, trying to find Harper's cell. At least, he hopes he's near the right place, since his item seems to indicate Harper's nearby. FEEL FREE TO HEAR FOOTSTEPS.]

[deusexmechanic.livejournal.com]

[Seething right back! Because when he's this scared, Harper lives on a fine line between being placating and being feral.]

You think I don't know that? You think I'm scared of you? Well the jokes on you buddy, 'cause you've got ten minutes tops before this whole place eats nova bomb!

[FOOTSTEPS! Footsteps are among the less creepy things Harper's been stuck listening to tonight, so he's going to ignore them and stay crouched in the corner of his cell.]

[requiresssacrifice]

[EYEROLL. Then he realizes you can't hear that, so he switches to video JUST SO YOU CAN SEE THE EYEROLL. Ignore his general dishevelment and the cuts/scrapes/whatever on him.]

I'm here to let you out, Harper.

[And as he walks, he mutes the communicator and listens for the sound of Harper's MELODIOUS VOICE.]

[deusexmechanic.livejournal.com]

[Harper STARES at the eyeroll. HE STARREEEESSSS, because he thinks that kinda sounds like you're threatening to help him, but earlier it sounded like you were giving him a bit of a "NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SCREAM" message, so he's just super confused now.]

Who the hell are you?

[You look so darn familiar, but you're not one of the five people who he regularly sees, and he doesn't THINK you're on his enemies list either...]

[requiresssacrifice]

[Yaaaay he hears some muffled Harper coming from one of the doors. Rex goes towards it, turning the communicator back on. This also means he missed the gist of your comment. Rex checks through, IDK, some thing he can see Harper from. You know. In the door. Just to make sure it's really him.]

I'm about to open the door, so try not to tackle me in a psychotic rage. [DOOP DE DOOP UNLOCKING I'm sorry, I'll be less lazy with tags once the cell's actually open.]

[deusexmechanic.livejournal.com]

[Unfortunately, right now Harper is scared out of his mind, half mad thanks to the saturation chamber, and he's spent all night surrounded by his personal demons, so he's channeling some serious fight or flight instincts over here. As the key turns in the lock, he shifts his position, preparing to do exactly what Rex just asked him not to.]

[requiresssacrifice]

[And Rex has just had the crap kicked out of him by ghosts, after being lured off path by the illusion of his girlfriend, so he's not willing to let his guard down quite as much as he's leading Harper to believe. Once the door's unlocked, he kicks it open and moves to the side, out of the doorway and out of the way of any lunging wardens.]

[deusexmechanic.livejournal.com]

[And... the door slams shut. Harper was going to try and knock you out by slamming into it when it opened. For a couple of seconds he peeks through the porthole to check that his work has been successfu-- HEY WAIT YOU DODGED! FUCK YOU REX!]

[requiresssacrifice]

What the hell, Harper?! [Rex peeks back through the porthole.] Do you want to get stuck here forever?

[deusexmechanic.livejournal.com]

[Harper smacks his hand hard against the porthole, as Rex's face comes into view. His eyes are wild, frantic, and his lips are drawn back from his teeth.]

Who the hell are you? What do you want?

[His voice is high pitched and anxious, approaching the kind of excitable shrieking that Rex himself is so fond of. His head jerks to the side and he stares back over his shoulder into the room behind him. Yeah, he looks pretty much completely terrified.]

[requiresssacrifice]

[Rex lets out a surprised yelp and jerks back, agitating the bruises to his ribs (which he sustained from angry ghosts slamming him against a table) as he did so.]

I'm-- [No no, don't call yourself a doctor, Rex. Not in a haunted asylum.] Rex. Your... well. We're not friends. We're-- [He doesn't even know how to begin explaining, and SUDDENLY, he deeply resents Harper for inconveniencing him with amnesia, so he just scowls and points to a cut along the side of one temple, and the darkening bruise on his cheekbone.] I got my ass kicked trying to save you! So stop being an idiot and let's go already!

[Yes, Rex will screech you back to sanity.]

[deusexmechanic.livejournal.com]

[If anything, Rex's injuries (and soaking wetness) only make him more suspicious to Harper. First of all, god only knows what gave him those injuries, he could have sustained them while fighting people who Harper liked, or worse, while fighting Magog. He could be teeming with Larvae just waiting to burst out of his stomach and attack Harper. Not actually replying to Rex's urging, Harper suddenly pressed his face right up against the porthole, trying to peer down towards his inmate's stomach through the glass.]