Boston Phoenix

"Come again?" Dylan asked.

"We are Terra Vox." One of them said.

"That's Latin, isn't it?" Dylan asked.

"It means Earth Voice." One of them said.

"So I take it you aren't Nietzschean, then." Dylan said. "Guess what? Neither are we. And I'd really rather avoid a fire fight. I could get very unpleasant for both sides."

"Step out, place your weapon on the floor, and we'll hear you out."

Beka whispered to him. "What are you doing?"

"I'm giving them a choice: an all-out fire fight, or a little chat. That's all. Besides, I think they're just being a little overzealous." He said. He moved from his hidden position and did exactly as they said.

The man in front took note of the weapon. "A Highguard force lance. Those are hard to come by. Who are you?"

"I'm Captain Dylan Hunt, of the starship Andromeda Ascendant. Who are you?"

None of them answered at first. "This is the Andromeda?" A girl said.

"No, this is the Eureka Maru, owned by Captain Beka Valentine." Dylan answered. "Again, who are you?"

The humans conferred wordlessly. They all lowered their weapons, but kept them at the ready. One of them finally answered. "I'm Brayon. This is Tex, Amy, Dule, Josh and Katherine. Welcome aboard the Boston Phoenix."

Harper stepped into view. "What did you say?" He hurried towards them. "What did you call the ship?"

"The Boston Phoenix."

"Are you all from Earth?" Harper asked.

Brayon shook his head. "Not all of us. I'm from Midon. Amy is from Katona. But I'm assuming you are from Earth."

"Not only am I from Earth," Harper said. "I'm from Boston. My name is Seamus Zelazny Harper."

Brayon seemed to recognize the name. "Did you say you're from Boston?" He turned the Katherine. "Go get the captain. He'll want to meet our new shipmates."

Katherine nodded and left in a hurry.

By now, a few others, including Beka, had moved from their hiding places. "Listen, Brayon, we've got injured onboard."

He nodded and radioed med deck. "We've got injured on the new ship."

"We're on the way." They replied over the radio.

A man pushed through the door and looked around. "Brendon?" Harper asked.

"Seamus?" The cousins weaved through the group and hugged.

"I missed you, cuzzo." Brendon said, tears welling in his eyes. They pulled away. "I thought you were dead, Shea."

"Same for you." Harper replied. "After I took off, I thought I wasn't going to see you or Earth again."

"You came back, though." Brendon said. "That meant a lot. Your timing sucked, though."

The medic finally arrived. "What happened?" Brendon asked.

"Long story. But we ran into Z- I mean, Lois, a friend of yours. But I'm not going to lie to you, Bren. She's real bad."

At that moment, the med tech wheeled her past them. Brendon and Harper followed them to the Med Deck.