I Choose You

Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me and I make no money off the displaying of this story.

Rating: K

Summary: This story takes place two years after the series end. Beka is being fallowed and pestered by more than her share of Nietzschean males that want her as their mate so she decides to make a competition out of the winning of her hand.

*****

Prologue

It has been almost two years since the crew of the Andromeda Ascendant has made it out of the Seefra system and re introduced Tarn-Vedra to the known universe. Since then a lot of the old crew has gone their separate ways. Dylan and Rommie are still on the Andromeda with Trance visiting them on a regular basis. Harper has gone to Tarn-Vedra and re-opened his bar with Doyle. Their one bar has now blossomed into a chain of them around the planet. Rhade had first taken his family to Tarn-Vedra so that they could escape the destruction of Tarazed. Since all of the fighting is over they have gone back to Tarazed saying that no matter what it is their home and a home can always be rebuilt. Beka has been traveling around the known systems in the Maru for the better part of the last two years.

Chapter 1

One might not think it but today had been looking out to be a very good day. Rebecca Valentine had been in a bar on Helios station and was just about done working out the details of a cargo run that would make her enough credits to get the last of the repairs done on her ship and pay for a small but still much needed vacation, when some voices from behind her caught her attention.

"Are you sure that's her?"

"Yah I saw her at the gathering of the prides when the Andromeda introduced her to all of the Alphas of each pride. A face like that and the scent, you're not likely to forget the Alpha Matriarch of us all any time soon. As I hear it, she is looking for a mate. Just imagine being the lucky sod that claims her hand." A second voice told the first. Beka cringed as she realized that they were talking about her and wondered not for the first time why she had gone to the gathering of the prides six months before. Since then she had felt no peace as every Nietzschean from here to the edge of the known universes came to call on her and try to woo her in to escaping them as her mate.

Beck tried to ignore the Nietzscheans that were now so interested in her and finish the deal as quickly as possible. If she was lucky she would not even have to talk to them and could escape to the refuse of the Maru before she actually had to try and diplomatically decline any more offers of bonding. Beka could not quite see it as Marriage as the Nietzschean did not married but instead took mates, and in the case of the males they could also take more than one. Beka quickly finished her agreements and signed the contract that had been dictated into the printing machine. Taking her copy of the contract she shook her new employers hand and left quickly. She thought that she was in the clear until she noticed that she was being followed by the Nietzscheans that she had overheard in the bar.

"Why can't they just leave me alone?" Beka grumbled as she tried to dash behind a clothing stand. She was so not in the mood to deal with this now. Beka ducked her head and pretended to be buying cloth for a new shirt as the two Nietzscheans ran past her. "Thank the divine for that." After buying the fabric that she had been looking at she made her way to the docking ports and was just about to turn the corner to head towards her ship when she ran right into the two Nietzscheans from the bar.

"Hello Matriarch. Can we be of some assistance?"

"Why gentlemen," Beka started as she took in the two Nietzscheans in front of her. Both were bigger then her but not so much that she could not take care of herself if she had to. That was after all why it was that she had been chosen to be the Alpha Matriarch anyhow. Her advanced speed and strength along with the quick reflexes that she had developed over time made her a worthy adversary. The first was a man of five foot ten or eleven, with lean muscles and bright green eyes. If not for the reason that he was really hear she may have had the inclination in the past to spend more time with this one. She had however learned the hard way with Jack that she had to be really carful with whom it was that she spent quality time with. After all she was already the mother to an entire race she didn't need to be an actual mother just yet and that is what both of these gentlemen had in mind. Even though her sense of smell was nothing in comparison to a Nietzschean she could still tell that both men were turned on by her. Beka looked over at the second man and for a moment she thought that she recognised him. "Have I met you before somewhere?"

The second man was over six feet and was quite broad shouldered. Where the first had been lean this one was everything but that. The bulging of his muscular arms gave way that he was more a military trained foot soldier then he would be intelligence but even then it was not as if he was unattractive.

"Yes Matriarch you and I had the pleasure of being introduced when you attended the last Matriarchal summit for all of the prides on Enga's Redoubt. I am a personal guard to Damien MarGaran of Condor pride." Beka could see that the man was flattered that she remembered him.

"And are you from Condor pride as well then?" Beka asked the first man.

"No Matriarch. I am Arkis Rakan out of Jamel from Hemikin of Mandau pride. I am Kalebs cousin on his mother's side." Beka hid a smile in her hand when Kaleb rolled his eyes at his cousins need to try and out do him in his introduction. That was partially why it was that Beka wished that the male population of the Nietzschean people would leave her alone. All of the men were always trying to outdo each other just to win her favour.

"Well thank you for offering your assistance gentlemen but I was just about to ship out. It was wonderful to meet you and you do both your prides well by your introductions and service." And with that she slipped around them and escaped down the corridor to her ship.

*****

Beka smiled as she lightly smacked her credits chip against her palm. Another job done and not one bit of trouble other than a minor leak in a pressure seal. Then again what could one expect to have happen when she was pressing the engines a little too hard in hopes of making good time. The weight of the load that she was hauling was just too much for stunts like that anymore. She would just half to go visit Harper on Tarn-Vedra and get him to use his magic touch on the old girl. Going would also give her the needed excuse to visit him anyway as he had been messaging her recently that she never stopped buy anymore. Lost in her thoughts she didn't notice the group of Nietzschean solders that were coming her way.

"Mother Matriarch could you please come with us."

"Oh I'm sorry I didn't see you there. Lost in my own thoughts I guess. What can I do for you fine gentlemen today?" Beka found over the last year that if she was more polite and diplomatic to her people then she usually got away from them without the inevitable fight that seemed to be their way.

"We have been charged with bringing you to his esteemed Grace Arch Duke Hector Khmer of the Drago-Kazov pride. He has extended an invitation for you to visit his estates." Beka just groaned. This was starting to get very ridiculous.

"Well I thank him then for the invitation, but I am going to have to decline at this time." As Beka started to walk way she noticed that the others were following her and that they had no doubt been told not to take no as an answer. Quickening her speed to a fast walk she ducked around the next corner and started to run. Beka didn't stop to look back at her pursuers as she could hear their footfalls on the pavement behind her. After ducking into a few alley ways and then doubling back on herself as to trip them up, she finally made it to the Maru.

After launching into space Beka checked to make sure that she was not being followed and cursed as she noticed a Drago-Kazov ship coming into fast pursuit of her. What was it with these guys and not taking the hint that she was just not interested. At this rate she was going to have to go into hiding. Beka slammed onto the gas and punched it for the slip point. If these guys wanted her they were going to have to catch her first. And with that she jumped into slip stream figuring that she would just have to go somewhere that none of the other prides would even think to look for her.

*****

Becka sat on the patio of Elsbett and Charlemagne's lake side home and watched as her friend broke up a fight between her two oldest children. Becka could not help but smile at her friend as she came back up to the patio. "I am telling you Beka there are days that I could just ring their necks." Beka just chuckled and went back to thinking about how she had gotten to this point in her life. "You're staring at them again." Becka blinked and looked at Elsbett. "You can't escape your biological clock forever you know." Beka just sighed. This was not the first, nor would it be the last time that Elsbett would bring this up.

"Yes but if I am going to do something about it then I would have to choose someone and with all of the Nietzschean males threw out the galaxy throwing themselves at me it somewhat defeats the purposes. Where is the challenge and the excitement? After all it is not like I could choose just any one. Whomever I did choose would have to prove that they were worthy of me."

"It could always be fun you know. You could make a contest out of it all. Make them fight for your hand and the privilege of having you as their mate." When Beka grumbled in an unsure fashion, Elsbett just sighed. And hear everyone thought that she was stubborn. "You're just afraid that Rhade won't try for your hand if you where do something like this."

"I am not afraid, it's just I couldn't tell Telemachus how I felt then and I won't now. Besides he has a wife already and for me that would just not feel right. I might not have so much of a problem with it if I was first wife, and he chose to take another, but I wouldn't be first wife now would I. Besides if I were to just tell him how I felt and he were to escape me then where would the fun be in that. There would be no challenge of the hunt. No feel of accomplishment over the victory of having won his favour. I would just be a second wife. " Beka had seen the way that Charlemagne acted around his second and third wives and that was something she could never do. Charlamain had at least come to respect his first wife if not love her in his own way. With his second and third wives were no more then play things.

"Well if you never talk to him then you will never know how he feels for you." It was at this moment that Charlemagne chose to join them on the patio.

"How who feels what about whom?" He asked while giving both women a kiss on the cheek and lounging with his cat like grace on one of the large chairs.

"Beka is thinking of making the right for her hand into a challenge of sort. I think it might be fun. " Beka glared at her friend for telling this to her husband. Elsbett just smiled at her in a 'you should have known better' look and returned her gaze to her husband.

"A challenge. Well let me think," Charlemagne started going over competition ideas in his mind. "Well you would have to get all of the prides involved with that or one might say that you are being bias towards one pride over another. Then there is always the problem that you could be stuck with some one that you can't stand if you leave it all up to chance."

"Well then you don't leave it all up to chance. There are ten prides left, Drago-Kazov, Sabra-Jaguar, Three Rivers, Atreus, Al-Sharif, Banyamulenge, Mandau, Condor, Kenja and Majorum. Have a representative from all of them come to neutral territory and participate in a competition. Have six challenges that test strength, cunning, speed, endurance, recall and intelligence. When you are down to four choices left then choose from them. At least then everyone will feel like they were given equal opportunity and you are still getting someone that you can stand to be mated to." Elsbett commented and Beka could not help but grin at the deviousness of the plan. It may just work.

"It would take a lot of work and even more planning. After all finding some of the Prides that you named is not always the easiest thing in the world to do." Charlemagne warned the two women. He however thought that if Beka were to do the contest that he himself would be the representative from the Sabra-Jaguar pride as he could very easily see himself and Rebecca Valentine, Alpha mother to the Nietzschean people as his mate. Their children would be beautiful.

"Well then I think that we have our work cut out for us don't we Elsbett." Both women grinned with an evil twinkle in their eyes as they set off to put their new plan into action.