Okay, here it goes. I do not own any of the characters from Andromeda. I
never have and never will. I am also making absolutely, positively nothing
off of this story. I did this for fun.
Please read and review. Thanks
Chapter 1
Two figures made their way through a long hallway. The building had long been deserted. From the looks of it, the large building had once been a governmental office. The walls showed signs of grand paintings having been hung on them. The building surely must have housed furniture and more artwork in its once glorious rooms. However, now the former governmental building was covered with cobwebs and dust. A blue colored slime covered the marble floors. The only things living here were the insects and the bat like Mantuan Geska. A furry geska flew past one of the human figures. The female tipped her head backwards to avoid being hit by the creature, nearly falling backwards in the process. It worked. The creature missed the female by mere inches. Unfortunately for the female, the floor was slippery and she unceremoniously fell on her face. Another flying fur ball headed towards the female's tall male companion, forcing him to abruptly slam against the wall. Dylan Hunt, captain of the Andromeda Ascendant, offered Beka Valentine his right hand after noticing her difficulty getting up off of the slippery floor. Beka, somewhat reluctantly, grabbed Dylan's hand with her right hand, allowing Dylan to pull her up out of the blue colored slime that covered the once beautiful tiled floor.
"Dylan, tell me again what we're doing down here on Mantu?" blond-haired Beka Valentine queried sarcastically as she attempted to wipe some of the slime off of her face.
Dylan Hunt, Adromeda's captain, merely returned the sarcasm with a smirk as he rubbed his left shoulder
Beka already knew that she and Captain Dylan Hunt were looking for signs of ancient artifacts that had been stolen from a museum on a distant planet called Vopon. Dylan had received information that at least one of the artifacts, a ceremonial cup, had been located. The cup was believed to have been left behind on the desolate planet Mantu, by a small group of pirate raiders after crash landing on Mantu. The thieves had been forced to leave behind some of their plunder when a bounty hunter caught up to them. The bounty hunter killed three of the thieves but two escaped and were still at large. The bounty hunter didn't spend much time searching for any treasures left behind on Mantu. The bounty hunter had the two thieves to capture. After all, there was no monetary reward for returning the stolen treasures. Volpon was not a rich planet to begin with. In addition, its leaders felt a reward would draw the wrong class of people to the hunt for the stolen artifacts. The only reward the Volpon government could promise for the safe return of its treasures was an alliance. While Volpon was not rich, it did have a large population and its people were well-built. They are fierce, determined fighters when the occasion demanded it, making Volpon a valuable ally.
"Shall we continue?" Dylan asked, as he led the way down the hallway.
The two companions peered through the doorways that lined the hallway. Most had no doors and those doors that had survived were on the floor. A cursory check of the rooms showed the looters and anything else that had been here were thorough. Nothing of value remained. One room was had once been full of computers. Now it was an empty shell. Only small pieces of computer parts remained and those were lying on the floor, soaking in the slime. Which was why they were still left on Mantu.
Dylan bent down and reached through the slime, grabbing a short piece of wire off of the floor. "Looks like the looters forgot something.
Beka stared trying to figure out what kind of computer it might have come from. "Looks like a wire from a computer," Beka surmised, staring at the thing trying to remember what kind of computer once housed it. "Maybe Harper should have come along. He would know exactly the make and model this came from."
"Don't start Beka," the captain pleaded.
"Look, Dylan. I know Harper can be a pest sometimes. Okay, most of the time. But he can handle himself. He isn't as delicate as he looks," Beka said, pleading the engineer's case.
Dylan took a deep breath as he rolled his eyes. "Trust me Beka. I know what I'm doing. We've been through this before," Dylan reminded her.
Why had his second in command chosen a time like this to plead Harper's case? And why even plead his case to begin with?
"Beka, can we go over this some other time. Now is neither a good place nor time," Dylan reasoned as they exited the former war room.
Beka wasn't going to give up without a concession from her captain. "Okay, I will drop the subject. For now," she said emphasizing the last two words. "You aren't going to weasel out of this Dylan Hunt. As soon as we get back on Andromeda we're continuing this conversation."
"Okay. Fine." Dylan promised.
Further down the hallway it narrowed to just past the width of the tall High Guard captain's shoulders. This compounded the already difficult time the two humans were having making their way through the building.
"Interesting architecture", Dylan commented. "It's a shame to see this place gutted by looters"
"Yeah, well I'm not much into architecture myself," Beka retorted.
Dylan and Beka stopped at the end of the narrow hallway where it branched off. "Any preferences?" Dylan asked Beka.
Beka looked down both hallways trying to decide. "Any hallway that doesn't have flying fur balls or slime covered floors," she retorted.
"Right. One flying fur ball less and slime less hallway coming up," responded Dylan as he started down the hallway to the right.
The blond pilot bit her tongue, settling for giving Dylan a cold stare in response. Beka followed Dylan down the hallway, which despite the captain's facetious promise, had even more slime on the floor than the previous hallway.
Beka shot her captain a perturbed look after she saw the slime covered floor.
"Well, at least the geskas are missing," Dylan countered.
"Looking for the Volpon Cup is like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack," Beka complained. It's probably not even here. Garber Maze probably sent us on a wild goose chase. He's probably laughing himself silly right now."
"Perhaps. I know Maze isn't the most reliable source of information, but we have to take a chance that the Cup is here and we find it. Returning the Volpon Cup to its people might just make the difference whether Volpon's leaders support the Commonwealth," Dylan reasoned. "That's makes this a wild goose we have to chase."
"Understood, but can we get this over with as quickly as possible. I could use a shower," Beka pleaded as she attempted to wipe off more slime from her face.
Dylan knew when to cut his crew some slack in give in. "We'll check the rooms in this hallway and then come back tomorrow. Deal?"
"You won't get an argument from me," Beka answered.
Dylan and Beka moved a fallen door out of the doorway of the next room and continued inside.
Please read and review. Thanks
Chapter 1
Two figures made their way through a long hallway. The building had long been deserted. From the looks of it, the large building had once been a governmental office. The walls showed signs of grand paintings having been hung on them. The building surely must have housed furniture and more artwork in its once glorious rooms. However, now the former governmental building was covered with cobwebs and dust. A blue colored slime covered the marble floors. The only things living here were the insects and the bat like Mantuan Geska. A furry geska flew past one of the human figures. The female tipped her head backwards to avoid being hit by the creature, nearly falling backwards in the process. It worked. The creature missed the female by mere inches. Unfortunately for the female, the floor was slippery and she unceremoniously fell on her face. Another flying fur ball headed towards the female's tall male companion, forcing him to abruptly slam against the wall. Dylan Hunt, captain of the Andromeda Ascendant, offered Beka Valentine his right hand after noticing her difficulty getting up off of the slippery floor. Beka, somewhat reluctantly, grabbed Dylan's hand with her right hand, allowing Dylan to pull her up out of the blue colored slime that covered the once beautiful tiled floor.
"Dylan, tell me again what we're doing down here on Mantu?" blond-haired Beka Valentine queried sarcastically as she attempted to wipe some of the slime off of her face.
Dylan Hunt, Adromeda's captain, merely returned the sarcasm with a smirk as he rubbed his left shoulder
Beka already knew that she and Captain Dylan Hunt were looking for signs of ancient artifacts that had been stolen from a museum on a distant planet called Vopon. Dylan had received information that at least one of the artifacts, a ceremonial cup, had been located. The cup was believed to have been left behind on the desolate planet Mantu, by a small group of pirate raiders after crash landing on Mantu. The thieves had been forced to leave behind some of their plunder when a bounty hunter caught up to them. The bounty hunter killed three of the thieves but two escaped and were still at large. The bounty hunter didn't spend much time searching for any treasures left behind on Mantu. The bounty hunter had the two thieves to capture. After all, there was no monetary reward for returning the stolen treasures. Volpon was not a rich planet to begin with. In addition, its leaders felt a reward would draw the wrong class of people to the hunt for the stolen artifacts. The only reward the Volpon government could promise for the safe return of its treasures was an alliance. While Volpon was not rich, it did have a large population and its people were well-built. They are fierce, determined fighters when the occasion demanded it, making Volpon a valuable ally.
"Shall we continue?" Dylan asked, as he led the way down the hallway.
The two companions peered through the doorways that lined the hallway. Most had no doors and those doors that had survived were on the floor. A cursory check of the rooms showed the looters and anything else that had been here were thorough. Nothing of value remained. One room was had once been full of computers. Now it was an empty shell. Only small pieces of computer parts remained and those were lying on the floor, soaking in the slime. Which was why they were still left on Mantu.
Dylan bent down and reached through the slime, grabbing a short piece of wire off of the floor. "Looks like the looters forgot something.
Beka stared trying to figure out what kind of computer it might have come from. "Looks like a wire from a computer," Beka surmised, staring at the thing trying to remember what kind of computer once housed it. "Maybe Harper should have come along. He would know exactly the make and model this came from."
"Don't start Beka," the captain pleaded.
"Look, Dylan. I know Harper can be a pest sometimes. Okay, most of the time. But he can handle himself. He isn't as delicate as he looks," Beka said, pleading the engineer's case.
Dylan took a deep breath as he rolled his eyes. "Trust me Beka. I know what I'm doing. We've been through this before," Dylan reminded her.
Why had his second in command chosen a time like this to plead Harper's case? And why even plead his case to begin with?
"Beka, can we go over this some other time. Now is neither a good place nor time," Dylan reasoned as they exited the former war room.
Beka wasn't going to give up without a concession from her captain. "Okay, I will drop the subject. For now," she said emphasizing the last two words. "You aren't going to weasel out of this Dylan Hunt. As soon as we get back on Andromeda we're continuing this conversation."
"Okay. Fine." Dylan promised.
Further down the hallway it narrowed to just past the width of the tall High Guard captain's shoulders. This compounded the already difficult time the two humans were having making their way through the building.
"Interesting architecture", Dylan commented. "It's a shame to see this place gutted by looters"
"Yeah, well I'm not much into architecture myself," Beka retorted.
Dylan and Beka stopped at the end of the narrow hallway where it branched off. "Any preferences?" Dylan asked Beka.
Beka looked down both hallways trying to decide. "Any hallway that doesn't have flying fur balls or slime covered floors," she retorted.
"Right. One flying fur ball less and slime less hallway coming up," responded Dylan as he started down the hallway to the right.
The blond pilot bit her tongue, settling for giving Dylan a cold stare in response. Beka followed Dylan down the hallway, which despite the captain's facetious promise, had even more slime on the floor than the previous hallway.
Beka shot her captain a perturbed look after she saw the slime covered floor.
"Well, at least the geskas are missing," Dylan countered.
"Looking for the Volpon Cup is like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack," Beka complained. It's probably not even here. Garber Maze probably sent us on a wild goose chase. He's probably laughing himself silly right now."
"Perhaps. I know Maze isn't the most reliable source of information, but we have to take a chance that the Cup is here and we find it. Returning the Volpon Cup to its people might just make the difference whether Volpon's leaders support the Commonwealth," Dylan reasoned. "That's makes this a wild goose we have to chase."
"Understood, but can we get this over with as quickly as possible. I could use a shower," Beka pleaded as she attempted to wipe off more slime from her face.
Dylan knew when to cut his crew some slack in give in. "We'll check the rooms in this hallway and then come back tomorrow. Deal?"
"You won't get an argument from me," Beka answered.
Dylan and Beka moved a fallen door out of the doorway of the next room and continued inside.