Musings of the Major

(be warned this one is long!)
Who: Harris
Where: Blue Dwarf - planet bound - some dark, dry, quiet area
When: After stopping the security department from killing or doing worse to Jay
Alone. The word echoed through Harris' mind like one of those damn tunes you
hated but it wouldn't be forgotten, always there at the back mind and the next
thing you know you where humming the damn thing and not even notice it.
Harris stood silent and still in a pitch black room in an area of the ship no
one would come without due reason.
Alone. Again there was that accursed word. Look it up in the dictionary and
you would read 'ALONE: pred. a.,& adv.1. a not with others. 2. standing by
oneself.' But to Harris, it was his life for he had rarely been truly around
others. For most of the time they were nothing but part of the background or
part of the problem it was his job to solve. Beyond the job there was nothing,
a dark, bleak, nothing. But there were times when there was a brightness in the
dark nothing.
The memories reached back, back to her, back to Sharon Dimmock, the one true
love since he lost two thirds of his sanity because of a hologram and his memory
because of those drugs used to try to control his insanity. Before that day, he
couldn't be sure, only fragmented memories remained of his past and he learned
about as much of his past as he would asking a brick wall. The image of the
young woman with light ginger hair graced his memory. Ever since getting that
video tape from her she had always been at the back of his mind. To look at her
she wasn't anything special, she was one of those average looking women that
seemed to go unnoticed by most by not by him. What he remembered of his past
was useless but after that, to his life as 'Nutter' Harris he could remember
every detail and he remembered her in every detail, her touch, her smile, right
down to the smell of the shampoo she used. Sharon Dimmock was the bright spot
in his dark, miserable life and the time they had spent together, those were
times of joy in its' purest form.
Harris merely gazed out into the darkness, considering his situation, his life
and where it had gone wrong. In charge of a department made up of the worst of
the worst of the JMC. He throught back, back to where it all began.
Flashback----------------------------------------------
"You have a choice, Major." The Colonel told the Major. "You can leave the Core
or." The Colonel paused for a moment and then continued. "Or you can stay in the
Core and become the chief security of the Blue Dwarf."
"Chief security aboard Blue Dwarf." The sides of Harris' mouth turned up in a
grin. "Someone has got to be taking the piss!"
"That's what I was thinking, Major." The Colonel told him. "But someone high up
believes that you deserve a chance to redeem yourself."
"Or has something against the Captain of the Blue Dwarf and wants to assign a
psychotic Chief of Security to get back at him." Major Harris commented, giving
the MP to his right a dirty look and making him very nervous.
"That too." Colonel Green commented. "So, Major Harris, you have a choice. Leave
the Core and most likely go to jail or join the crew of the Blue Dwarf?"
End flashback----------------------------------------
Where it began. When the captain was William 'loose' Cannon, when the
department had yet to suffer causalities and he still had a assistant security
officer that could be trusted. The choice was simple, become the security chief
for this rust bucket or be kicked out the JMC and more then likely end up in a 6
by 8 prison cell. To some that choice was made over a year ago, but to him it
was made two years ago thanks to the STCP displacing him in time. Had he chosen
right, or had he chosen wrong, but to think about that was useless now, it was a
path taken all so long ago.
The next path in the road fell to when he got Sharon's tape at the Orbital
Poultry facility. She wanted him back and yet he did nothing, he remained the
Blue Dwarf on its' pointless mission to find the Red Dwarf.
Flashback----------------------------------------------
"Sharon Dimmock **twitch**." Harris answered. "Ex-girlfriend."
"You had a girlfriend, get away!" Lloyd said with a grin and then she asked.
"What's with the twitch?"
"What with the twitch, gov?" Harris said calmly.
"Dimmock." Lloyd said and sure enough, Harris' face twitched. "That twitch."
"Play!" Harris ordered.
The image of Sharon began to move again. ". what can I say, long time no see. I
would have tried to contact you earlier but I was stationed on one of the deep
space recon ships and I only got back a few days ago. Look I know you don't what
to talk to me after the way I reacted like I did, but I am stationed at Nova
station in sector 21 and if you are ever in that area of space, please drop by
for a visit." The screen went black again.
"What happened between you two?" Lloyd asked not really expecting an answer.
"Her sister kissed me as Sharon just happened to have walked into the room."
Harris said, surprising Lloyd that he answered her question. "She throught I had
been cheating behind her back with her sister and ended the relationship, hadn't
heard from her since."
"Sounds like she wants to get back together." Lloyd said.
Harris got up from behind his desk and unloaded the video, then dropped it into
the bin. "Not going to happen, get back to work!"
End flashback----------------------------------------
Choices yet again, what had he left the Blue Dwarf and gone to Nova station in
sector 21, could he rekindle what he had with Sharon or would it all end in
heartache. He chose not to follow that path and never found out.
Prue Simmons, Lloyd, Jill, Alota and that damn over-groan hamster that was now
the ship's first officer, White Wolf. All tried to reach him, they held out the
hand of friendship in one way or another and what did he do, he turned his back
on all save Jill for she was the AI he rescued from deletion, he needed her to
do the tasks he could not and spy on events around the ship. Prue had been
transferred away from being the ship's council back to Earth, Lloyd hasn't given
up yet. Alota, he didn't know where he stood with Alota, special after
attacking her in an moment of madness. But White Wolf, thankfully that
overgrown furball had given in long ago. The hamster had said he doesn't work
with the stupid, insane or untrustworthy. Harris was insane, to the matter of
fact so was most of the security department as well as stupid and untrustworthy.
The choice he made, the people turned away, the promotions that he had made sure
that he never got. These were the choices he had made and now he was living
with the results of those choices.
Alone, always and forever, alone.
***********************
Who: Harris
Where: Blue Dwarf - planet bound - on route somewhere
Harris walked as best as he could down the flooded corridor, the dark murky
water was around knee height and every so often the Major was sure that a fish
had brushed him by. As soon as they got off this planet and back where they
belonged the better. When that time comes, he was to face another crossroads,
another choice to make.
Ahead there came a noise of water being splash and what sounded like a cat
crying out in terror? Harris pushed forward and saw one of the creatures that
was throwing around Tom, Dick and Harry on the promenade. In one of its'
tentacles it held a cat, white with black spots. It was Katrina Swete's cat,
Pain In The Ass (or PITA for short).
"Put that furball down!" Harris snarled at the tentacle waving sea creature.
The creature just glared at him, or would have if it had an visible eyes.
"NOW!" Harris snarled again.
The creature merely snarled and tossed the cat to the Major, then left,
muttering something about 'goin home'.
Harris held the cat by the scurf of the neck and looked at it. Harris had never
liked cats, vain, self-centred creatures that was one of a few other creatures
to kill for fun like humans did. He could of have let the creature eat the cat,
but what would be the bloody point of that.
"Harris to Katrina Swete." Harris ordered over the ship's com. "Report to the
security office to collect you cat, before someone else tries to eat it!"
With that done Harris started back towards the security office. He merely
wondered how the cat got here and how come it was aboard the ship in the first
place. Harris had known of a cat aboard before this one had appeared. Maybe it
was one of a litter the cat had, but if it was, where was the rest of the cats
and where was the mother, and how the hell it could have a litter without
another cat being on aboard. This train of throught led straight to the Science
department.
But it wasn't important and was for another time.