No copyright infringement intended.

Set after The Mathematics of Tears.

Equations

"May I come in?"

"Of course. Don't be so polite – you are a warship, you know..." There is a sparkle of friendliness and warmth in the cool, clear eyes. "What can I do for you?"

"Nothing," she replies. "You... already have done more than enough. I came to thank you."

"Thank me?" An inviting gesture offers a seat at the bar.

"Yes..." She hesitates, doesn't know for sure how to go on. Which is strange – and probably will earn her another rebuttal from this strangest first officer she ever had, about how this is also not appropriate for a warship. When it comes to ships and how they should perform, Captain Rebekkah Valentine has very strict, very precise ideas. She knows that much by now. And so she continues, before the pause gets too long:

"You... stood up for me. You understood how I felt about Pax Magellanic, about her and me being two of a kind. You supported me when I didn't want to see her erased – you spoke on my behalf against Tyr... And Dylan."

The blonde nods, with a little, somewhat strained smile.

"Like I said – family..." she replies. But then the smile fades. "Although I probably shouldn't have."

If she could cringe, she would. But she can't, so she looks with eyes wide open into the handsome face with the pale-blue eyes and the generous mouth, that seems all of a sudden not quite so generous anymore. She isn't one to hide her feelings, this new XO of hers, that's for sure. What she thinks is plastered all over her face: that she has supported her against her fellow crew-members and that she shouldn't have, because Tyr had been right, because Pax had been by then already past saving, because it nearly had cost them their lives... and Dylan's. HER error of judgement, HER sentimentality had nearly cost them all the captain's life! But she had so much wanted to save her sister – and Beka, with her family story, with Rafe...

"When your brother came aboard..."

"When my brother came aboard, I watched him like a hawk. And when it looked like he would betray us, I sided with Dylan and did exactly as he told me."

She presses her lips together. True, all of this is true. But... But what? Her second-in-command is right, only...

"You once asked me if you could trust me with Dylan," the young woman in front of her continues, unfazed. "Now it's time I ask back: can I trust you with him? With any of us?"

She has got to be kidding!

"You question my loyalty to my captain? My crew?" They both frown, she a lot more than the blonde, trying to comprehend. "Just because of Pax?"

"No, Andromeda. Because of you. You see, I understand your feelings. But just because I understand them, that doesn't mean that I won't remember next time when some android or other comes along that when in doubt, you side with your own kind."

"I would never side with anybody against my crew, my captain. I would never do anything to harm you, to hurt Dylan! I couldn't..." she exclaims outraged – and a little desperate, seeing in her first officer's eyes the truth that she so far has refused to acknowledge: of course she could hurt them. She already has... almost. She tries anew for a reassurance from another angle:

"You... don't quite understand: she was... not just a warship like me, not just my sister. She was... she was High Guard."

She sees a dark cloud passing over the pale face in front of her.

"Oh yes!" comes a sardonic remark. "Well, I told you before, and I'll repeat it once more – just as I did your captain. But it is the last time I say it: there is no High Guard around anymore. Next time something like that occurs, please remember that the only ones of your... kind still left around are – ironically enough – us."

She stares at her in silence, then nods.

"Aye, Ma'am!"

"All right. Anything else?"

Yes, there is something.

"How... how do you do it?"

"What do you mean, Andromeda?"

"I mean... like what you did with Rafe – putting the ship, the crew... Dylan first... even before Rafe. I've never seen a human able to do that. How can you be this way? So hard on your own brother... On yourself?"

Her XO shrugs, annoyed.

"I am the way I am."

"Yes, I got that. But why?"

Another indifferent shrug.

"One of us has to be."

She turns around, leaves, still not understanding. It just doesn't add. At the door to the hangar, she turns around once more, throws a last look at the old, battered freighter, thinking about its harsh, cold, inexplicable captain, feeling a bit... chilled. But then she smiles: maybe not so harsh and cold and inexplicable, after all. Her new XO, who stood by Dylan against her own kind... Two captains fighting together for their ships. Captains Hunt and Valentine against the Restorians, against the FTA, against the rest of the universe, including Mr. Valentine...

Satisfied, Rommie nods, in understanding now. Not Rafe, but Dylan. Dylan is Beka's kind.