Rating: PG13
Theme: Features all Andromeda characters, esp. Trance, Harper, Tyr.
Summary: The crew of the Andromeda try to get a strange race of creatures to join the commonwealth.

Disclaimer: All the main characters are the property of Tribune Entertainment. Nietszche was a
nineteenth century philosopher. I am not making any money out of this!


The Truth of Good and Evil - Part One
by Katia

"I test the power of a will according to the amount of resistance it can
offer and the amount of pain and torture it can endure and know how to
turn to its own advantage; I do not point to the evil and pain of existence
with the finger of reproach, but rather entertain the hope that life may
one day become more evil and more full of suffering than it has ever
been." - Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

Harper casually skimmed his eyes over the text on the screen in front of
him and scrolled down to the next page. This file was entertaining. It
contained the complete works of Neitzsche.

He wondered how many Nietzscheans had actually read this stuff. He
knew that Tyr had. He had seen him with the books, being stroppy, anti-
social and superior, as if he was the only one who could read anything.
Or understand it.

Nevertheless, Harper wondered what was taught to all the little
Nietzcheans about their glorious namesake. Afterall, Nietzsche had been
a genetically inferior human, born on earth, and of a rather sickly and
weak physical disposition. And, as for spreading his own glorious
genes...well, it seems that his main experience of the opposite sex came
with his own sister.

However, what really did make Harper laugh, was the writing itself.
Beneath the surface, it was so fragile, so flimsy, and so very human.
Nietzsche went on and on about the superiority of the few, the will to
power and hated the idea that there should be any sort of equality
between the weak and the powerful, the inferior and the superior. But,
what exactly, thought Harper, was this old guy raving on about?

Yeah, he got the bit about what is good for one man, is not necessarily
good for others. He got the bit about evil being good if it combated
weakness, though he didn't think he agreed with it. However, who were
these superiors? What was the will to power? Had the great Nietzsche
himself actually thought this one through?

To Harper, the answer seemed straightforward enough. Those who
Nietzsche reckoned were so great, his Supermen, were those who liked to
dominate others. And why, wondered Harper, did they feel the need to
dominate others? 'Cos they feared them, of course! This Nietzsche guy
figured that women should be dominated and possessed because they
could never be the equals of men. That stank of fear, too. Hey, maybe
Nietzsches sister was a particularly big, scary gal? She must have
terrified the hell out of him.

So, what was so great about all that?

Harper leaned back in his chair and laughed to himself, a cool, mirthless
laugh. Just then, Dylan's voice sounded over the intercom.

"Harper, I'm sorry, I know it's your time off, but I need you on the bridge
right now!"

"OK, boss, I'll be there."

He'd had enough of that philosophical crap anyway. It was rubbish, and
he preferred technical stuff. You were safe with that. You knew what
was right and wrong. If it were wrong, it would just explode in your face.
No doubts there, then.

***

"We're approaching the Llanyi settlement." said Beka. "They used to be
a member of the commonwealth, right Dylan? They shouldn't present
too much problem to get back in, then?"

"I shouldn't think so." Dylan sighed. "Actually, they were never a huge
asset to the commonwealth," said Dylan. "They're known for being
rather unco-operative, especially in times of war. They never sent aid to
us in times when it would have been in their interests to do so. They
never even defended themselves from attack. And, it seems, since I've
been gone, they've just taken what was coming to them, from the Magog,
from the Nietzscheans, from whoever set down for a bit of plunder and
pleasure. Frankly, I'm surprised there is anything left alive down there."

Rommie's hologramatic form appeared. "Well, they're doing something
right. I can detect a healthy population. The atmosphere of this planet is
also interesting. The air is breathable to humans, but it also contains
traces of heltovanradium, a relatively lately discovered and unknown
element."

"It's not at all harmful?" asked Dylan.

"Well, little is known about it," said Rommie, "but, there is no evidence it
can do any damage. It is actually rumoured by visitors to the planet to
have medicinal qualities."

"Dylan, we're receiving an incoming message" said Beka.

The whole crew, who had been busy in the area with various tasks,
looked up to the screen. The first thing that transfixed them was the pair
of eyes that appeared. They were such wide, beautiful eyes, a bright
emerald green, like crystals, almost translucent.

Then the face. It would be hard to tell what colour the skin was naturally,
but it did not matter. Each feature was petite and exquisite, like the most
beautiful child out of a fairytale, and painted a dozen, vibrant, dancing
colours. The expression was almost blank. The lips said nothing.

"This is Captain Dylan Hunt of the Commonwealth Starship Andromeda.
I wish to speak with you about re-signing the commonwealth articles.
May I have permission to visit your settlement with my crew?"

The lips spoke. "You are welcome. Do what you will". Then the face
vanished.

***

Tyr was not amused. If he ever needed a proof that there was no God, or
Divine, or whatever, than this was it. No all-powerful being would
produce a race of anything so small, silly, and pointless. Barely any of
the creatures came up to the shoulders of Trance or Harper in height, let
alone anything he could make eye contact with.

They were running all round his feet, getting in the way, speaking in high,
silly voices in a language he could not understand. Ugh! He kicked one
out of his way, not hard, but with enough force to send the little creature
flying.

"Hey!" Trance was angry. "Stop that."

***

The creature that had appeared on screen seemed to be part of some sort
of group of leaders, but there was no single being in charge of this place.
The crew of the Andromeda were welcomed by a crowd of the little
Llanyi, all painted bright colours, and at least an hour of chaos followed
in which they were led all over their settlement. At first they seemed to
be going somewhere, though they never quite reached it, and then they
realised they were just being led round and round in circles.

Having heard what Rommie had told them about the attacks, Harper was
surprised that they Llanyi showed no fear towards Tyr and Rev. They
were just curious. However, they loved Trance. Something about her
seemed to entice them, and they showered her with kisses and hugs,
gathering around her, wanting to touch her tail, or for her to pick them
each up and cuddle them. It was rather cute. Harper wondered if they
knew something about her that he did not.

At length, Rev, Beka and Dylan managed to set up some sort of
negotiation, and were let into one of their little houses, each having to
bend down low to get through the door. Tyr seemed to vanish.

Harper was wondering what he should do with himself on this place. It
was getting dark, but he had long since realised this wasn't going to be a
place for raunchy nightlife and checking out hot babes. Well, having said
that, there were a lot of babes. In fact, now he came to think of it, they
were ALL babes. Either that or the boys on this planet looked somewhat
girly. Either way, the thought crossed his mind that a young, eligible
bachelor like him could be somewhat in demand....he wondered how
they reproduced.

Trance was still surrounded by several little Llanyi, although most of
them seemed to be making their ways back to their little homes for the
night. One remained sitting on her lap, while a further two sat besides
her, stroking her tail, which she had entwined around them.

"Hey, Trance, why do you never let me do that, Babe?" said Harper.

Trance giggled. "They're so sweet!"

"So am I!"

Trance giggled again. She gently unwrapped her tail from the tiny hands
and bodies, put down the Llanyi who sat on her lap, and stood up to face
Harper.

"It's still light. I want to see more of this place. Rommie said the plants
are among the most beautiful in the known universe. Shall we go see?"

"You and me? Alone in the wilderness? Just the two of us, beneath the
stars" Harper grinned, suppressing thoughts of the inevitable. "How
could I refuse?"

Trance grinned and took his hand, leading him

"Let's go!"

***


Tyr had just kept walking. It had not take him long to reach the top of the
mountain. He was alone in the silence, the dark, just him, the stars, and
his thoughts.

Why did Dylan want anything to do with those pathetic creatures? They
could be no use to any advanced, civilised being. They were the
antithesis of all that he valued. Childlike, feminine, irrational, passive,
victims. Objects, not beings.

He thought of the words of Nietzsche, what he said about those with no
will to power, those who were categorised as feminine.

"Thou goest to woman? Do not forget thy whip"

All such beings were good for is to highlight the power and superiority of
those above them by their passivity.

Tyr looked up at the stars and into the silence. He thought of women he
knew. He thought of Beka, he thought of Freya. He did not wish to
dominate them. Or did he?

Yes he did. It was the will to power, to dominate, to assert his
superiority.

No he didn't. They meant more to him than that. Moreover, they were
better than these silly Llanyi. They were stronger and better than
Trance...or Harper. Yet, even those two had their qualities. Harper was,
technically, as clever as anyone he had ever met; yet he dare not let him
know that, to admit deference in any way to one so clearly his inferior.
And Trance? Her very mysteriousness bothered him. What might she be
able to know, what might she be able to do? Her very mystery held some
sort of power over him.

He'd felt this before. What he was to believe was not clear.
Nevertheless, he knew that to surrender unthinkingly to philosophy would
be weak in itself.

He felt the vastness of the night and the universe all around him. The
cool evening air caressed him and engulfed him. He felt small.

***

It had still been light when Trance and Harper left the village, but soon
the light had faded into a bright orangy, pink sunset. Not unlike on earth,
thought Harper. Perfect for romance...

Despite the early promise, however, romance was not immediately
forthcoming. Trance was bustling around him in an excited whirl,
examining each different plant they encountered, collecting samples.

He had to admit these plants were something special. The flowers, rather
than being of mainly one colour like plants on earth, could contain the
whole spectrum of the rainbow on one petal. Like the inhabitants of the
planet, they were small and exquisite. Even the trees, and the tall,
creeping ivy like plants that twisted around their trunks, were slender and
elegant, and somehow enticingly feminine.

"Hey, Trance, you still know how far we've come, right?"

"Yup." Replied Trance. "I think so....oh, Harper, look!"

She ran towards a tree that blossomed with thousands or tiny orange
flowers, each in clumps as big as her face.

"Yeah, nice. But, I'm sure I've seen that one before. You know, it's
getting kind of cold here. And dark. We better get back, right?"

"I thought you didn't mind being alone with me in the dark?"

"I don't. I mean, er, yeah, I like it."

"Good. We'll go back soon. I promise. I just can't leave now. I wonder
what keeps these flowers open in the dark. They can't be absorbing the
light from the nearest star. Maybe they live off that rare element in the
air, the one that Rommie was talking about. I've got to get enough
samples to run some tests."

"OK. No rush. I've got all the time in the world, babe." said Harper. He
settled down at the foot of one of the orange blossom trees and soon fell
asleep.

***

Dylan Hunt was more than mildly annoyed. These excruciating little
creatures were not co-operating. They would not see sense. They would
not sign, they would barely even negotiate. They believed they could do
nothing for the commonwealth. That was possibly true, but they also
believed that the commonwealth could do nothing for them.

Yet, these were the sort of beings that needed his protection the most. He
could see his high principles drawing him to protect them, even as they
pushed him away. If they were being ravaged by the Magog, he would
probably have to try to save them anyway.

Yet, they would not show him the respect of signing his articles. One
thing they said stuck in his mind. It bothered him, though he wasn't quite
sure why.

"You are bigger and stronger than us. You can kill us or protect us. Do
as you will. But we will show you no deference."

Dylan tried to put it out of him mind. He had other worries now. Three
of his crew were missing.

Apparently, Tyr had set off along, brooding, seeking solitude. Trance
and Harper had gone off together, looking for plants. He was relieved to
hear the two youngest members of his crew were together. Still he
worried about them, more that about Tyr being out there alone. Tyr could
take care of himself. He felt some sort of responsibility for Trance and
Harper.

***

Harper woke up with a start when somebody placed a hand firmly over
his mouth. His immediately reaction of shock lessened slightly when he
saw it was Trance. She put her finger firmly to her lip, indicating the
need for silence, and then gestured urgently with her other hand for him
to follow her.

A short way off he could hear voices. Not the sweet, light voices of the
Llanyi, but deep masculine voices. He followed Trance through the
bushes on his hands and knees, trying desperately not to make a noise.
Trance stopped suddenly in front of him, and then turned to his, cupping
her ear, as if to say "listen".

Harper listened. He could hear well that the voices were only a few
metres away from him now. Through the twigs in front of him, he could
make out the boots belonging to the owners of the voices. Moving as
close as he dared, he could see that these boots belonged to Nietzscheans
and there was at least four or five of them.

A sharp, sudden fear suddenly swept through him. For Trance. He'd
been here before. He knew what Niezscheans liked to do, he knew about
pain, fear, and degradation. He knew about weakness. He did not want
Trance to know.

As quietly as he could he crawled to her side and touched her shoulder
gently.

In all, there were five Nietzscheans. Four men and a woman. One of the
men, some sort of engineer, was fiddling with an advanced looking piece
of machinery, which appeared to Harper to be some kind of high-tech
distilling equipment. However, he didn't think these guys would be out
here to brew Scotch whisky. What were they doing?

Actually, he didn't really care. He just wanted to get Trance out of there
and to safety. He tugged at her arm. She turned her face towards him,
questioning. Harper opened his eyes wide as if to say, "Come on, let's
get the hell out of here." Trance just shook her head.

Damn it! Didn't that girl know the danger they were in? Harper tugged
at Trance again, desperately, but she was listening to the Nietzscheans
intently and would not move.

Realising he wasn't going to win here, Harper began to listen too. It soon
became evident why Trance was so concerned.

***

The Female Nietzschean was angry. "How did we not see this so-called
commonwealth ship approach. They may cause us problems...but, why,
having realised the low, degraded nature of life on this planet should they
object to our action? You say they had a Nietzschean with them? They
must be in possession of some rationality, then. I did not want to waste
any time on this project. I cannot see how any civilised being could
object to the destruction of the worthless life forms on this planet. The
element extracted from the atmosphere may well cause that, but it will be
invaluable in the construction of weapons....and power."

"The Llanyi I spoke to said these visitors would protect them whether
they wanted him to or not. Just like we would kill them whether they
wanted us to, our not."

"You killed them?"

"Of course."

Harper looked at Trance. He saw her whole body fill with anger. As she
rose to confront the Nietzcheans he heard his own voice shout "No!",
thought he did not remember telling himself to say it.

He collapsed for a second, burying his face in the soft earth, letting the
fear engulf him. Then, he put that aside. Feeling nothing for himself, but
fear for his companion, he rose to stand by Trance.

End of Part One