Disclaimer: Andromeda belongs to Fireworks Entertainment and Tribune Inc,; they are not mine. Notes: References events from both the 1st and 2nd season of Andromeda, but verges into slightly an AU category for bringing in the Mirror Universe versions of the crew.

"Looking for Perfection in an Imperfect Universe" by Karen

It was certainly not the first time they had come across a duplicate Andromeda, so it came as a bit of a mild surprise that they should stumble across another one.

Still, Dylan could not help feeling more and more like some anachronistic relic of the past, sure he was grateful to be alive, pulled out his limbo existence on the event horizon of a black hole by the members of his present crew three hundred years later, but it still nagged at him.

Three hundred years ago the Commonwealth had built numerous ships of the line utilizing the same overall design, most of those were no gone, along with their crews, after the devastating war between the Commonwealth and the combined forces of the Netizchean armies in which the allied forces fell at last.

The Andromeda Ascendant was the biggest and powerful ship he had ever had the honor of serving aboard. It was both beautiful and deadly, two factors not lost on its present crew and captain.

He had ordered the ship to hold its position just outside an area of space nicknamed the Ship's Graveyard.

"Status?" Dylan said.

"Peachy keen, jelly bean," acting chief engineer Seamus Harper chimed in. He waved his hands in the air to show that he understood that Dylan was asking about the ship's systems not the crew's general well-being.

"Routine close and long-range scans indicate that most if not all of those vessels are dead in the water," Tyr Anzazi said from his station at the weapons console.

"Any chance of our sister ship is getting out of there?" Dylan asked.

"Slim to none," Tyr replied.

"Better than nothing, if those are my only options," Dylan replied ignoring the snide and ever so slight sneer that curved the big Nietzchean's mouth..

An expression that in no uncertain terms meant to convey how contemptuous of all those who were not big, strong, smart, and resilient, or of his race. In other words, anyone who could not be like him. ' Dylan thought, 'would end up on the receiving end of that particular expression.'

Dylan shoved the thought into a back corner of his mind and then turned to his crew, "I want to retrieve that ship. Can it be done?"

"Yeah, but why would you want to?" Harper muttered.

Dylan chose to ignore that remark. "Something is not right with this picture," he muttered aloud to no in particular.

"Oh, do tell," Beka Valentine replied. ⌠"Such as, our current heading is 300 parsecs from a ship's graveyard, is that what you mean by something that is wrong, or is it just that anyone who would be contemplating salvaging that wreck from among all the other wrecks would have to be out of their minds?"

"Well, I had not considered that," Dylan replied stepping forward to where Beka sat at the ship's helm controls and placing his hand on the armrest, staring out the view screen at the cluttered mass of floating wrecks.

Among the other wrecks was a ship's the lines and conformation of which Dylan Hunt would have known anywhere; an exact duplicate of the Andromeda Ascendant. This one, although appeared to have suffered heavy damage and scans showed no life signs of any kind aboard the derelict ship.

"We could use the Andromeda's gravitational cables to get it out of there, if you still think that it is a good idea, however, it would make more sense to take the Eureka Maru instead."

"I'll take it under consideration," Dylan replied.

"Why is it, that every time a situation like this comes up," Beka interrupted, "that my ship is always the first to be put under fire?"

"Because, you love it," Harper mock-teased her.

"Oh, yes, that must be it," Beka nodded.

Interlude

Aboard the derelict ship in a room off the aft cargo bay several cylindrical-shaped machinery began to flash with green indicator lights, sparking and wavering, then finally holding steady. There were a total of five cryogenic sleep pods, and at some apparently prearranged signal the lids of each of the pods snapped open, allowing their occupants to step out.

Encounter

Later, inside the cavernous cargo bay of the Andromeda Ascendant Dylan Hunt stood facing his duplicate from the other side of the spatial vortex and did not particular care for what he saw.

Aside from a few minor differences, his duplicate sported a goatee on his finely chiseled chin; other than that it was like staring at his reflection in the mirror.

For the his part, flanked as he was by his own crew, again duplicates of Beka Valentine, Seamus Harper, Tyr Anazazi, and Rev Bem; Dylan noticed something else odd about the tableau; the duplicate of Trance Gemini was missing. Somehow, Dylan, realized in a back corner of his mind, that omission might prove to be very significant in the long run.

"What do you want?" Dylan demanded. Truth be told the whole thing was giving him a major headache.

His double smiled, and it was not a pleasant one, "Why ask me? You have all the answers, after all, you were the one who rescued us, not the other way around."

He shrugged as if to indicate not only boredom with the entire situation but also ignorance of any knowledge or responsibility. Dylan grinded his teeth and tried another approach.

"We scanned your ship for life signs before we brought on board. Care to explain how you managed to be very much alive?"

"Short answer," the Beka duplicate replied, and spread her hands in the universal gesture of no harm, no foul, "Cryogenic sleep pods. We were trapped in that pocket space fold a long time, and it was the only option left to us. I am certain you would have done the same under the circumstances, Dylan."

His own Beka Valentine barked out a short derisive laugh at that, "Yeah, I'm so sure, and for your next trick, you pull of a disappearing act."

"If nothing else," Trance suddenly spoke up, "This might become frightfully confusing to tell everyone apart."

Rev Bem, who stood respectively at the far edge of the group, eyed the newcomers with the same regard that a judge might regard a condemned criminal about to be sentenced. The fur on his body had become bristly and he had his hand wrapped around the front of his brown Wayist robes.

His own double returned the look with one of his own, and apparently without much haste or self-conscious doubt, raised his hand to smooth face and exposed arms, as if trying to rub it in.

There was no doubt in Rev Bem's mind that these intruders meant danger and he was about to say as much when Beka tugged on his sleeve and he waited for Dylan's decision.

"May I add something here?" Harper asked, stepping forward. "I would just like to say for the record, that according to almost all known physical laws of the universe, a person cannot occupy the same time and space as his double."

Harper paused and sucked in deep lungful of oxygenated air. "So, you guys, can just vamoose. There, problem solved."

"Problem, not solved." The Dylan Hunt double sneered. "You see, because our ship was damaged in the explosion, we will need to find another ship with a slipstream drive."

The Tyr double sidled over and whispered something in the other man's ear.

The mirror-Dylan cocked his head to one side, thinking the matter through, and then grinned, rubbing the small blond goatee on his chin. "Now that you mention it, why go back to our home universe at all. We could just take over the ship and remain in this one."

The mirror-Harper added. "We would have to eliminate the current, well, doubles. This universe's Harper is right about one thing."

"Which is?" the mirror-Tyr asked.

"The laws of the physics will not allow to us to occupy the same space and time for much longer, the whole area could boom at any second. We need to get out here, fast."

"Is Trance still at helm?" Dylan asked.

"Yes."

"Beka, get back to the Command Post and plot a course out of this sector. Now!" Dylan ordered.

"I'm on it. While you're doing that inform Rommie what's been going on down here, before the Andromeda's AI system becomes confused and starts to think we are the intruders."

"Good idea." Beka said and then sprinted for the doorway, which slid open, and she then was through, up the corridor, inside the turbo lift and headed toward the bridge.