----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------
Interlude. Kind of.
Yeah, it had gone fast alright. So fast that his brain must have become twisted. Cameras he had thought? There were no cameras with him this time. That was all over. He had come here on his own, nobody knew where he was, and nobody was going to pull him out. And now Earth was just a dot on a map, even the Sun just a pinprick of white amongst a million billion others. So what? Good fucking riddance to it. Good riddance to them all. This was freedom. He could do whatever he wanted. Come to think of it, he was well overdue some fun.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------
Chapter Two: The Hitchhikers guide to the Andromeda
Dylan had taken the whole episode with his usual calm and composure. He had not even got annoyed at the fact they came back without the things they went for in the first place. When Tyr walked onto the bridge, followed by the other three, he looked up. When he saw Milon, he just stood there, waiting placidly for someone to explain this new presence. Before Tyr had the chance to say anything, Harper came out with:
"Yeah, well, he kinda followed us home. Can we keep him?"
"I think he might be in need of medical attention," Trance said.
Dylan ignored their comments and walked up to Milon, studying him.
"I am Captain Dylan Hunt of the Commonwealth, welcome on board the Andromeda Ascendant."
"Hi. I'm Milon. And thanks…"
Milon shook his hand, but Tyr could see that the introduction had not made Dylan any wiser.
"Listen, I don't want to be in the way or anything," Milon continued, "You can just drop me off on the next planet you're going to…"
"Well," Dylan said with a polite yet slightly bemused smile, "contrary to popular belief, we don't actually make a habit of picking up intergalactic hitch-hikers."
"But because you're such a terrific bloke, you'll make an exception in my case?" Milon said.
"May I ask what brings you to my ship in the first place?"
"Well, your man there pretty much saved my life," Milon nodded at Tyr, "And then there was a lot of running, and I seem to have ended up here."
"Again, not an entirely common turn of events…"
Dylan gave Tyr a surprised look.
"I found him in chains in an old warehouse," Tyr said, "there seemed to be nothing to gain from leaving him there to die."
"So you brought him here?"
"Trance seems to have some interest in his state of health."
Tyr was speaking in his usual bored-to-tears voice, letting Dylan know that he really could not care less about what happened to the boy. He was clearly not a threat to security, and thus outside Tyr's interest. Yep.
"So, you are human, I take it?"
"Why do people keep asking me that?" Milon laughed, then looked at Trance, "Oh, yeah. Right."
"And why were you being kept prisoner?"
"Beats me. I was just walking along, minding my own business, and… they knocked me out. I don't even know who they were…"
Milon put his hand over his eyes again and reeled slightly. Trance was there in a second, taking his arm.
"Can I take him to medical now?" she asked Dylan.
"Of course. We can talk more later."
Trance had then led Milon off the bridge and Tyr had followed her out before Dylan had a chance to drag him into a detailed explanation of his actions.
Now their guest was sleeping in one of the empty quarters, and Tyr was doing his bit with the punching bag at last. The captain had not got any useful information out of him. He had just not asked the right questions. Tyr on the other hand had a couple of questions of his own to ask when the boy woke up.
He had gone down to the sick bay and talked to Trance. She had not really wanted to go into details about the readings she had taken, yet another reason for Tyr to feel that there was definitely something more to Milon than met the eye. He was human anyway, that much was true. Not injured but suffering from exhaustion. Like he had not eaten or slept in days. The blood on his body had not matched his own, but it too had been human. For now, that was all the knowledge Tyr had of the man.
After a couple of hours of vigorous exercise, the annoying frustration Tyr had felt from the Earth experience was beginning to let up. It was not like he had failed. The spare parts supplier had been dead when they got there. Then the enemy had attacked; he had surveyed the situation and decided to do the smart thing, not risking his own life or the other's. Done the right thing. No reason to feel discontented.
After showering and changing, Tyr made his way to the observation deck. For a bit of peace and quiet, there was no place like this room. The huge window opening up on the vast, starstudded infinity. He knew that Trance was still down in medical. Dylan and Beka were with Rommie on the bridge making plans for their next destination. Harper was… who cares? Rooting around somewhere, tinkering with his little toys. So Tyr would have the room all to himself, just the way he liked it. Only, when he the door slid open, he found that he had been wrong.
Milon was standing at the window, looking out. Tyr walked up behind him, soundlessly. He took a moment to observe him in the knowledge that his own presence was still unknown. For a second Tyr thought that they boy almost seemed to have a halo around his head, but it was just his white hair that caught the light. He took a couple of steps closer, carefully. He wanted to catch him off guard.
"It's amazing… I've never seen anything like it."
Milon was not talking to himself, he was clearly speaking to Tyr, but how had he known that he was there? Tyr knew for a fact that he had not betrayed his presence by any sound, scent or other sensory means. He had even made sure Milon could not see his reflection in the glass. Milon turned around and looked at him.
"Trying to sneak up on me?" he smiled.
"Hardly," Tyr lied.
"So, you think your captain is going to let me stay?"
"It seems that way."
"Cool."
The boy was looking at him inquisitively, still with a small smile.
"Now, the time has come for you to start giving me some answers," Tyr said.
"Oh yeah?"
"Those were humans who chased you. I saw the inside of that warehouse; I saw the blood, the symbols. It was clearly some kind of religious ceremony. What I want to know is were you to be a sacrifice to some kind of deity, or was it you who was the subject of the worship?"
"A little bit of both, I think."
"And would you care to explain what would lead anybody to want to see you as some kind of religious icon?"
"You know, that's a very good question," Milon said.
Tyr had had just about enough of his evasive answers. What this young man needed was to be shown his place. Tyr leaned into his space and riveted his eyes on him.
"Listen to me boy: I might have chosen to let you live once, but trust me, that mistake can easily be remedied if you do not stop playing games and start telling me the truth!"
Milon just met his gaze with undaunted calm. Was it really just ignorance that led to this fearlessness?
"I haven't lied to you. What is it you wanna know?"
Still with the smile.
"Where do you come from?"
"Earth. We've been over this."
"Where on Earth?"
"You know, where you found me."
"You have lived all your life in that one room?"
"No! I've been… all over the place."
Tyr was getting exasperated. He should just tell Dylan that Milon's refusal to co-operate was a security hazard and have him thrown in the brig until he was ready to make some sense. But then the blame would be on Tyr, for having brought him on board in the first place, potentially putting the crew at risk. Instead he asked:
"What is your age?"
"Almost twenty-seven. You?"
"So, you are seriously trying to tell me that you have lived on Earth for twenty-seven years, yet you have never before seen a spaceship, you do not know what a Nitzschean is and you do not know the reason for why those people were chasing you?"
Tyr had raised his voice now, thundering down at the shorter man. Still, he did not get a hint of intimidation for his efforts.
"Yep. Look, Tyr, no reason to get so angry. I'll explain things… I just need to sort some stuff out in my own head first. It's been a pretty… overwhelming day. Just trust me when I say I don't have any hidden agenda or anything like that. I just… want to get away."
The façade of togetherness seemed to be cracking somewhat. The only thing was that now Milon was talking to Tyr as if they knew each other. Tyr found that approach somehow unsettling.
"Oh make no mistake; I do not trust you," he said.
Milon looked up, met his eyes again. He looked tired but sincere.
"Of course you don't. I don't expect you to. But you probably saved my life so maybe you'll forgive me if I'm a bit too trusting?"
Tyr frowned. This was rapidly developing into a very strange conversation. To make it worse, Milon continued:
"You know, when you do that angry thing, you remind me so much of somebody."
"Oh really. And who might that be?"
"My best friend."
He turned away, looking out at the sparkling swirls of the galaxy. Tyr supposed he could have said something about being very careful of confusing the two, but all of a sudden it did not seem so important to intimidate him. He looked quite vulnerable, but again, Tyr had a feeling that it was very much a false image, even if it might not be deliberately put on.
Suddenly, the hologrammatical representation of Andromeda flickered to life next to Tyr.
"So, this is our guest? Milon, isn't it?"
Milon turned to look at her. Then, without warning, he reached out and put his hand through the image. The hologram flickered, lines running through it before stabilising again.
"Do you mind?" Rommie's voice came over the transmission.
"What's this?" Milon asked.
"It's the ship's AI"
"Really? You're a computer?"
"You sound surprised."
"Maybe that's because I am..."
"If you feel better now, maybe you would like to meet the rest of the crew? Tyr, will you show him the way?"
Rommie did not wait for a response, and the hologram disappeared. Her voice had sounded slightly... strained. Short. Maybe she did not like having strangers touching her any more than a solid human would. Or maybe it was something else.
Tyr led the way through the corridors to the messhall. It was amazing how fast Dylan seemed to have come to accept Milon on board. There was none of the usual formalities from the captain's side. None of the customary guest treatment. Oh no, not this time. They had only just picked this total stranger up off a planet and it was already 'why don't you come down and have dinner with us?'. Fools. Still, Tyr supposed there was no real harm in it. The others might be off their guard, but as long as Tyr was there to keep an eye on him, Milon would not get a chance to take advantage of their trust.
"Listen, there are no... surprises I should know about, is there?" Milon said suddenly.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, the rest of the crew. There's no... like aliens with loads of heads or anything like that, is there? I mean, not that I'm prejudiced in any way, I'd just... like to know. So I'm prepared, y'know? Wouldn't want to get on anybody's bad side by staring..."
He was chattering away in a light tone, keeping even steps with Tyr as they walked down the ramp towards the lift. Because Milon's own clothes had been so torn, Harper had lent him one of his T-shirts and a pair of trousers, which were a little bit short in the legs but otherwise seemed to fit. Actually, the two Earthlings had a few things in common, Tyr thought, the incessant talking the most prominent of them, and the most annoying.
"We are here. Go in."
The door slid silently aside and they stepped into the room. The others were already there, sitting around the big table, talking. As Tyr and Milon stepped in, the android that was Rommie's solid form came up to them.
"We meet again," she said to Milon, "I trust you won't try and put your hand through me this time?"
"Nah, you look solid enough. Sorry 'bout that."
"What's this? Has our guest been getting frisky with you already?"
It was Beka. Smiling, she walked up to Milon and put her hand out.
"Hello. I'm Beka Valentine, captain of the Maru."
"The what now?"
"The ship you came here on..."
She was still smiling, but it was a smile that said she did not really know what to think.
"Oh, yeah. Nice to meet you."
They shook hands, and were just about to sit down at the table when the ship was suddenly rocked by an external explosion.
"We're being attacked by an unidentified vessel!" Rommie called out, then the alarm went off.
"To the bridge!"
Dylan, Beka and Rommie were out the door in two seconds.
"Harper, report to engineering!" the disembodied voice of the computer said.
"Oh, this can't be good..." Harper muttered as he rushed past Tyr and out the door.
No, it could not. What more, it seemed to be a bit too much of a coincidence. This was, after all, not a part of the galaxy where you would often come across 'unidentified' spaceships. If you were attacked around here, you could usually be fairly certain it was either hostile Nitzscheans or possibly Magog. Not this time. So how come Tyr was not really surprised?
"Let me guess, you have no idea either who our attackers might be?" he said to Milon.
"No! Of course not... how would I know?"
He was looking at Tyr, wide-eyed. Another explosion resounded through the ship, causing the floor beneath them to shake violently and the lights to flicker off and on a couple of times before they fizzled out completely, leaving them in darkness. It only lasted a few seconds and then the emergency generator kicked in, filling the room with its dirty yellow glow. Tyr reached out and grabbed Milon again, this time by the throat. He slammed him up against the wall, leaving Milon's feet dangling several inches short of the ground.
"If I find out that you have been lying to me..." he growled, "If we are being attacked because of you..."
"It's nothing to do with me, I swear!"
Milon looked afraid now, at last, as he struggled to free himself from Tyr's iron grip.
"How do you know it is not?"
Milon just shook his head, hopelessly.
"Tyr, what are you doing? They need you on the bridge!"
There was Trance again, tugging at his arm. Well, she was right. He could question Milon later. If they survived this. Once again, he dropped him and decided to deal with him later. Right now, there were more important things to worry about.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------
Interlude. Kind of.
Yeah, it had gone fast alright. So fast that his brain must have become twisted. Cameras he had thought? There were no cameras with him this time. That was all over. He had come here on his own, nobody knew where he was, and nobody was going to pull him out. And now Earth was just a dot on a map, even the Sun just a pinprick of white amongst a million billion others. So what? Good fucking riddance to it. Good riddance to them all. This was freedom. He could do whatever he wanted. Come to think of it, he was well overdue some fun.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------
Chapter Two: The Hitchhikers guide to the Andromeda
Dylan had taken the whole episode with his usual calm and composure. He had not even got annoyed at the fact they came back without the things they went for in the first place. When Tyr walked onto the bridge, followed by the other three, he looked up. When he saw Milon, he just stood there, waiting placidly for someone to explain this new presence. Before Tyr had the chance to say anything, Harper came out with:
"Yeah, well, he kinda followed us home. Can we keep him?"
"I think he might be in need of medical attention," Trance said.
Dylan ignored their comments and walked up to Milon, studying him.
"I am Captain Dylan Hunt of the Commonwealth, welcome on board the Andromeda Ascendant."
"Hi. I'm Milon. And thanks…"
Milon shook his hand, but Tyr could see that the introduction had not made Dylan any wiser.
"Listen, I don't want to be in the way or anything," Milon continued, "You can just drop me off on the next planet you're going to…"
"Well," Dylan said with a polite yet slightly bemused smile, "contrary to popular belief, we don't actually make a habit of picking up intergalactic hitch-hikers."
"But because you're such a terrific bloke, you'll make an exception in my case?" Milon said.
"May I ask what brings you to my ship in the first place?"
"Well, your man there pretty much saved my life," Milon nodded at Tyr, "And then there was a lot of running, and I seem to have ended up here."
"Again, not an entirely common turn of events…"
Dylan gave Tyr a surprised look.
"I found him in chains in an old warehouse," Tyr said, "there seemed to be nothing to gain from leaving him there to die."
"So you brought him here?"
"Trance seems to have some interest in his state of health."
Tyr was speaking in his usual bored-to-tears voice, letting Dylan know that he really could not care less about what happened to the boy. He was clearly not a threat to security, and thus outside Tyr's interest. Yep.
"So, you are human, I take it?"
"Why do people keep asking me that?" Milon laughed, then looked at Trance, "Oh, yeah. Right."
"And why were you being kept prisoner?"
"Beats me. I was just walking along, minding my own business, and… they knocked me out. I don't even know who they were…"
Milon put his hand over his eyes again and reeled slightly. Trance was there in a second, taking his arm.
"Can I take him to medical now?" she asked Dylan.
"Of course. We can talk more later."
Trance had then led Milon off the bridge and Tyr had followed her out before Dylan had a chance to drag him into a detailed explanation of his actions.
Now their guest was sleeping in one of the empty quarters, and Tyr was doing his bit with the punching bag at last. The captain had not got any useful information out of him. He had just not asked the right questions. Tyr on the other hand had a couple of questions of his own to ask when the boy woke up.
He had gone down to the sick bay and talked to Trance. She had not really wanted to go into details about the readings she had taken, yet another reason for Tyr to feel that there was definitely something more to Milon than met the eye. He was human anyway, that much was true. Not injured but suffering from exhaustion. Like he had not eaten or slept in days. The blood on his body had not matched his own, but it too had been human. For now, that was all the knowledge Tyr had of the man.
After a couple of hours of vigorous exercise, the annoying frustration Tyr had felt from the Earth experience was beginning to let up. It was not like he had failed. The spare parts supplier had been dead when they got there. Then the enemy had attacked; he had surveyed the situation and decided to do the smart thing, not risking his own life or the other's. Done the right thing. No reason to feel discontented.
After showering and changing, Tyr made his way to the observation deck. For a bit of peace and quiet, there was no place like this room. The huge window opening up on the vast, starstudded infinity. He knew that Trance was still down in medical. Dylan and Beka were with Rommie on the bridge making plans for their next destination. Harper was… who cares? Rooting around somewhere, tinkering with his little toys. So Tyr would have the room all to himself, just the way he liked it. Only, when he the door slid open, he found that he had been wrong.
Milon was standing at the window, looking out. Tyr walked up behind him, soundlessly. He took a moment to observe him in the knowledge that his own presence was still unknown. For a second Tyr thought that they boy almost seemed to have a halo around his head, but it was just his white hair that caught the light. He took a couple of steps closer, carefully. He wanted to catch him off guard.
"It's amazing… I've never seen anything like it."
Milon was not talking to himself, he was clearly speaking to Tyr, but how had he known that he was there? Tyr knew for a fact that he had not betrayed his presence by any sound, scent or other sensory means. He had even made sure Milon could not see his reflection in the glass. Milon turned around and looked at him.
"Trying to sneak up on me?" he smiled.
"Hardly," Tyr lied.
"So, you think your captain is going to let me stay?"
"It seems that way."
"Cool."
The boy was looking at him inquisitively, still with a small smile.
"Now, the time has come for you to start giving me some answers," Tyr said.
"Oh yeah?"
"Those were humans who chased you. I saw the inside of that warehouse; I saw the blood, the symbols. It was clearly some kind of religious ceremony. What I want to know is were you to be a sacrifice to some kind of deity, or was it you who was the subject of the worship?"
"A little bit of both, I think."
"And would you care to explain what would lead anybody to want to see you as some kind of religious icon?"
"You know, that's a very good question," Milon said.
Tyr had had just about enough of his evasive answers. What this young man needed was to be shown his place. Tyr leaned into his space and riveted his eyes on him.
"Listen to me boy: I might have chosen to let you live once, but trust me, that mistake can easily be remedied if you do not stop playing games and start telling me the truth!"
Milon just met his gaze with undaunted calm. Was it really just ignorance that led to this fearlessness?
"I haven't lied to you. What is it you wanna know?"
Still with the smile.
"Where do you come from?"
"Earth. We've been over this."
"Where on Earth?"
"You know, where you found me."
"You have lived all your life in that one room?"
"No! I've been… all over the place."
Tyr was getting exasperated. He should just tell Dylan that Milon's refusal to co-operate was a security hazard and have him thrown in the brig until he was ready to make some sense. But then the blame would be on Tyr, for having brought him on board in the first place, potentially putting the crew at risk. Instead he asked:
"What is your age?"
"Almost twenty-seven. You?"
"So, you are seriously trying to tell me that you have lived on Earth for twenty-seven years, yet you have never before seen a spaceship, you do not know what a Nitzschean is and you do not know the reason for why those people were chasing you?"
Tyr had raised his voice now, thundering down at the shorter man. Still, he did not get a hint of intimidation for his efforts.
"Yep. Look, Tyr, no reason to get so angry. I'll explain things… I just need to sort some stuff out in my own head first. It's been a pretty… overwhelming day. Just trust me when I say I don't have any hidden agenda or anything like that. I just… want to get away."
The façade of togetherness seemed to be cracking somewhat. The only thing was that now Milon was talking to Tyr as if they knew each other. Tyr found that approach somehow unsettling.
"Oh make no mistake; I do not trust you," he said.
Milon looked up, met his eyes again. He looked tired but sincere.
"Of course you don't. I don't expect you to. But you probably saved my life so maybe you'll forgive me if I'm a bit too trusting?"
Tyr frowned. This was rapidly developing into a very strange conversation. To make it worse, Milon continued:
"You know, when you do that angry thing, you remind me so much of somebody."
"Oh really. And who might that be?"
"My best friend."
He turned away, looking out at the sparkling swirls of the galaxy. Tyr supposed he could have said something about being very careful of confusing the two, but all of a sudden it did not seem so important to intimidate him. He looked quite vulnerable, but again, Tyr had a feeling that it was very much a false image, even if it might not be deliberately put on.
Suddenly, the hologrammatical representation of Andromeda flickered to life next to Tyr.
"So, this is our guest? Milon, isn't it?"
Milon turned to look at her. Then, without warning, he reached out and put his hand through the image. The hologram flickered, lines running through it before stabilising again.
"Do you mind?" Rommie's voice came over the transmission.
"What's this?" Milon asked.
"It's the ship's AI"
"Really? You're a computer?"
"You sound surprised."
"Maybe that's because I am..."
"If you feel better now, maybe you would like to meet the rest of the crew? Tyr, will you show him the way?"
Rommie did not wait for a response, and the hologram disappeared. Her voice had sounded slightly... strained. Short. Maybe she did not like having strangers touching her any more than a solid human would. Or maybe it was something else.
Tyr led the way through the corridors to the messhall. It was amazing how fast Dylan seemed to have come to accept Milon on board. There was none of the usual formalities from the captain's side. None of the customary guest treatment. Oh no, not this time. They had only just picked this total stranger up off a planet and it was already 'why don't you come down and have dinner with us?'. Fools. Still, Tyr supposed there was no real harm in it. The others might be off their guard, but as long as Tyr was there to keep an eye on him, Milon would not get a chance to take advantage of their trust.
"Listen, there are no... surprises I should know about, is there?" Milon said suddenly.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, the rest of the crew. There's no... like aliens with loads of heads or anything like that, is there? I mean, not that I'm prejudiced in any way, I'd just... like to know. So I'm prepared, y'know? Wouldn't want to get on anybody's bad side by staring..."
He was chattering away in a light tone, keeping even steps with Tyr as they walked down the ramp towards the lift. Because Milon's own clothes had been so torn, Harper had lent him one of his T-shirts and a pair of trousers, which were a little bit short in the legs but otherwise seemed to fit. Actually, the two Earthlings had a few things in common, Tyr thought, the incessant talking the most prominent of them, and the most annoying.
"We are here. Go in."
The door slid silently aside and they stepped into the room. The others were already there, sitting around the big table, talking. As Tyr and Milon stepped in, the android that was Rommie's solid form came up to them.
"We meet again," she said to Milon, "I trust you won't try and put your hand through me this time?"
"Nah, you look solid enough. Sorry 'bout that."
"What's this? Has our guest been getting frisky with you already?"
It was Beka. Smiling, she walked up to Milon and put her hand out.
"Hello. I'm Beka Valentine, captain of the Maru."
"The what now?"
"The ship you came here on..."
She was still smiling, but it was a smile that said she did not really know what to think.
"Oh, yeah. Nice to meet you."
They shook hands, and were just about to sit down at the table when the ship was suddenly rocked by an external explosion.
"We're being attacked by an unidentified vessel!" Rommie called out, then the alarm went off.
"To the bridge!"
Dylan, Beka and Rommie were out the door in two seconds.
"Harper, report to engineering!" the disembodied voice of the computer said.
"Oh, this can't be good..." Harper muttered as he rushed past Tyr and out the door.
No, it could not. What more, it seemed to be a bit too much of a coincidence. This was, after all, not a part of the galaxy where you would often come across 'unidentified' spaceships. If you were attacked around here, you could usually be fairly certain it was either hostile Nitzscheans or possibly Magog. Not this time. So how come Tyr was not really surprised?
"Let me guess, you have no idea either who our attackers might be?" he said to Milon.
"No! Of course not... how would I know?"
He was looking at Tyr, wide-eyed. Another explosion resounded through the ship, causing the floor beneath them to shake violently and the lights to flicker off and on a couple of times before they fizzled out completely, leaving them in darkness. It only lasted a few seconds and then the emergency generator kicked in, filling the room with its dirty yellow glow. Tyr reached out and grabbed Milon again, this time by the throat. He slammed him up against the wall, leaving Milon's feet dangling several inches short of the ground.
"If I find out that you have been lying to me..." he growled, "If we are being attacked because of you..."
"It's nothing to do with me, I swear!"
Milon looked afraid now, at last, as he struggled to free himself from Tyr's iron grip.
"How do you know it is not?"
Milon just shook his head, hopelessly.
"Tyr, what are you doing? They need you on the bridge!"
There was Trance again, tugging at his arm. Well, she was right. He could question Milon later. If they survived this. Once again, he dropped him and decided to deal with him later. Right now, there were more important things to worry about.
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