A Scorpion and a Fox meet at the edge of a river

"Help me cross the river"

"How do I know you won't sting me?"

"If I do, I'd die too"

Halfway across the river the Scorpion stings the Fox

"Why? Now we will both die"

"I couldn't help it. It's in my nature"

Old Earth Fable

"The Scorpion and the Fox"

CY 5320

Chapter 1: Una Salus Victus

Prelude - One Year Ago

Tyr walked quickly down the corridor heading towards Andromeda's Command Deck. That was where the internal sensors indicated Captain Hunt was located. Upon returning from their mission to Acheron, Tyr went to check on the bones of Drago Museveni. The bones were originally entrusted to his family, the Kodiak Pride. But after they were betrayed and the bones stolen by their allies, the Drago-Kazov Pride, Tyr made it his personal mission to steal them back. And what better place to hide them than on the Andromeda. Until recently that is. Now his prize has been locked away from him by the man currently on the Command Deck. And he wanted answers.

"Captain Hunt…" Tyr said in a monotone voice as he walked into Command. Dylan and Rommie abruptly stopped their conversation and turned to face the angry Nietzschean. "Your ship is no longer accepting my access codes to Storage Area 15."

"Imagine that." Rommie responded with a bit of sass in her voice. You would sometimes forget she wasn't human. Rommie knew what was about to happen. On Acheron, Dylan had discovered that Tyr had stolen the remains of Drago Museveni and had hidden them onboard. Upon returning to the ship it didn't take long for him to have Andromeda locate them. When he ordered her to revoke the Nietzschean's access codes, she knew this confrontation was inevitable.

"Rommie, a moment please" Dylan said without taking his eyes off Tyr. Rommie took one last look at Tyr before slowly walking past him to leave. Both men continued to stare at one other until they could hear the Command doors close behind her.

Dylan decided to be the one to break the silence between them. "You accused me of attempting to reshape the universe according to my will. Fine. Consider this part of the reshaping process."

"An interesting euphemism for theft." Dylan didn't flinch. Tyr continued "The Progenitor's remains are my property." He was doing his best to maintain his composure, but a trained ear could hear the strain in his voice.

"Wrong!" Dylan said in the most commanding voice he could muster. He was indeed in control of this conversation and he meant to make sure Tyr knew it. "Everything on this ship belongs to me. Period!"

Tyr lost what little composure he had. "I DON'T BELONG TO YOU!" Any man would have flinched at the sound of the Nietzschean's booming voice but not Dylan. The last thing one should ever do was make a Nietzschean angry. But Dylan wanted to make it clear his authority was absolute. He didn't skip a beat.

"You've always been welcome to leave Tyr. But the remains stay here, under my protection." Dylan responded calmly, unfazed by Tyr's outburst.

Tyr took a step forward as if ready to strike and Dylan braced himself just in case. Tyr took a deep breath and regained his composure before he spoke again. "As long as my property is safe, I'm content to leave it where it is, for now." He said coolly. However the anger in his voice returned "But you hear me, someday I'll want to retrieve it."

Dylan thought for a moment before responding, "And when someday comes around I might even let you. It all depends…"

"On?" Tyr asked.

"The shape of the universe" Dylan answered.

"I am not pleased Captain" Tyr said softly. This is not how he wanted the conversation to go.

"I didn't expect you to be," responded Dylan. A few moments went by before Dylan continued "Something else on your mind?"

Tyr didn't want Dylan to have the final word. He wanted to deliver a warning to his Captain. Recalling the events on Acheron, Tyr had learned a tactical weakness about him and he wanted to make it clear he knew it. "You called down fire on your own position. An act of unmitigated insanity. And now, your adversary knows exactly just how far you are willing and able to go. As a result, you've rendered yourself vulnerable."

"Una Salus Victus Tyr." responded Dylan. "It's not about being invulnerable. It's about being ready, for anything." The silence afterwards was deafening and seemed to go on for hours. Their eyes locked in a deadly stare. Then Tyr turned around and left the Command Deck.

The moment the Command doors closed Dylan exhaled. Not many people walk away from a stare down with a Nietzschean and live to tell the tale. However Dylan knew this was far from over. He and Tyr may have grown to respect one another over the past year, even become friends but Tyr was still a Nietzschean. He was clearly giving Dylan a warning; one day they would finish what was started here today. And Dylan was going to be ready for it.