-Epilogue-
~*~
"All the world is a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and entrances;
Each man in his time plays many parts."
-William Shakespeare
~*~
"I thought you really wanted one of those?"
Harper shrugged and hefted the hoverboard to his other arm. "I do-- but every time I look at it I'll think about what happened. I don't want that, Rom."
"Do you hate him?" Rommie asked.
"Who? Machello?" He shrugged. "No-- I mean, don't get me wrong. At first I hated his guts.. but now, I guess I can't bring myself to think that way about him anymore. He wasn't some evil guy trying to take over the galaxy. He just wanted to live a normal life; something we all want. We weren't so different really."
"He was willing to use you for his own purposes," the android prodded.
"Yeah, but he didn't in the end." Seamus paused a moment, thinking about his own past. "I've done some pretty downright awful stuff in my life. All that matters now is that he and I changed in the end. It's the only thing we can do."
Rommie smiled and put an arm around his shoulder. "That's nice to know."
The two walked side by side in the Kabelea streets towards the hoverboard shop. It had been a day since Machello had died and Harper had been getting antsy aboard the ship. Trance had given him a full medical exam to make sure there hadn't been any after effects from the machine, but the tests had all come back negative. He would be fine, as would Tyr and Beka.
Dylan and the High Councilor had taken custody of Machello's other devices, though it was unlikely any of them would ever be used again. They still had been unsuccessful in translating the language and Harper knew that if Andromeda couldn't crack it, it was unlikely anyone else ever would. Countless inventions that could have been used against the Magog were now forever gone. He didn't mind the idea of using them on the Nietzscheans, but since some of them were so-called allies of the Commonwealth, he would have settled for stopping his second most hated enemies instead.
"Machello!"
Seamus stopped walking and tilted his head. "Did you hear that?"
"What?" Rommie asked.
"I thought I heard--"
"Machello, wait!"
Harper and Rommie both turned to see a Kabelean running towards them waving his arms. The alien could have passed for human on most worlds, save for the two short antae that jetted out from his messy hair. His clothing was a bit tattered and Rommie concluded that he was probably homeless.
"Uh…" Harper murmured when the other came to stop before him. "Hi?"
The alien smiled and grabbed his arm. "I was worried when they took you away. What happened?"
"I… do I know you?" Harper asked, looking over at Rommie.
"It's me, Machello… Frey. You don't remember? We met yesterday."
"I'm not who you think I am," Seamus tried to explain. "That really-- well, that wasn't me. My name is Harper."
"What are you talking about? It was definitely you, man."
"Well there was this device--" Harper began but Rommie cut him off. The android stepped up to Frey and stretched out a hand.
"Hi, I'm Harper's sister."
"Uh, hello," Frey said, taking her hand.
"You said you met my brother yesterday?" she asked, putting on a gentle smile.
"Yeah."
Rommie let go of Frey and took Harper's hand. "My brother takes medication for a personality disorder, but yesterday morning forgot. By the time we realized it he was already gone. You said he was going by the name Machello?"
Frey nodded, looking concerned.
"Well that's a new one. He's gone by Nyan and Tyr before but never Machello."
"Nope, it was definitely Machello," Frey answered. "He uh, he paid for my lunch. We talked and he said he was a solider. A hero."
"I'm no solider," Harper said.
"I'm really sorry, if I had known he was sick I would have gotten a hold of you," Frey replied, looking at Rommie.
"You couldn't have known. But it sounds like you kept him from getting into any trouble." She smiled. "I thank you for that."
Frey nodded nonchalantly. "Sure I guess… well look, I better be going. It was… it was nice to see you again Mach-- Harper."
"You to," Seamus answered. As the alien turned from the pair and began to walk away, Harper glanced at the object in his arms and called him back. "Hey, Frey… why don't you take this. I don't need it."
Frey paused and considered it. "You mean it?"
"Yeah, I won't use it. Go ahead."
Harper handed the hoverboard to him and Frey grinned. "Thanks, man. Dinner and a hoverboard. Maybe you aren't a universal hero, but you're pretty close."
Harper watched Machello's friend take off down the street with his board and turned back to Rommie.
"Hero? I like the sound of that, Rom Doll."
Rommie smiled and put her arm around him again. "I don't get the feeling Dylan is going to think of you as very heroic when he gets the bill Machello spent with your credit chip. It looks like he bought dinner for thirty people."
Harper frowned. "Ah come on, that's so not my fault!"
"I wouldn't expect him to give you a new credit chip anytime soon."
"But-- but I--"
"Come on, Harper," Rommie said, "We've got to meet Dylan at the capital building so lets hurry."
Watching the human pout next to her, Rommie almost smiled but decided to hold it in. She would let him complain and whine until they reached their destination. Of course as soon as they arrived and realized that Dylan had arranged a private meeting with Dek Farplay he would stop, but until then she would walk and pretend nothing was out of the ordinary. Besides… the look on his face after meeting his idol was a good enough reason to keep quiet.
"Hey, Rom?" Harper inquired after a few minutes of quiet walking.
Rommie looked over. "Yes?"
Her engineer paused a moment then cheekily asked, "Is it wrong to think my sister's hot?"
~*~
The End
Started: Oct 26, 2003.
Ended: Dec 7, 2003.
Now, whether you're reading this days after it was posted or a year from now, please leave a review. Remember, feedback is the breakfast of champions. Plus, I really like getting those emails that say [FanFiction.Net] Review Alert! much more than the porn ones.
I always (and still do) think Stargate's "Holiday" needed an epilogue. I mean, poor Fred! He meets this guy who is incredibly nice to him… and then the dude's arrested and never seen again.
I don't know if you guys noticed or not, but I continually referred to Harper and Machello's eyes being similar (in color, etc) for a reason. For anyone who might not know, Machello on Stargate was played by Michael Shanks (aka Daniel Jackson). Why the producers wanted him to do both parts is anyone's guess, but it was an interesting choice. Even though they had MS piled high with age makeup, the eyes were still the same.
Thanks to everyone who took the time to say a few words. They're greatly appreciated… and make me feel like a halfway decent writer.
Now go watch the new season of Stargate on Sci-Fi (or season six in syndication) and be merry. Apparently Tribune has sold the rights of Andromeda to Sci-Fi, so in season five the new episodes will aire on cable and then a week or so later in syndication. I believe I heard that season four will move to Sci-Fi in March as well. Stay tuned.
~*~
Harper's Pixie: When you said, "I'd love to see Legacy as one...hey what about that one episode...god what was the name the one Daniel went all Schizo after he and the crew find Machello's Goa'uld killing device…" I wasn't sure if you were being sarcastic or not, but that episode you described *is* "Legacy".
I'd enjoy doing "Need"… but like I've previously mentioned, Andromeda has already had a drug episode. But no "Meridian". Never, ever, ever. There will not be any ascension in my fic world thank you very much.
I could do "Gamekeeper" because apparently that world already exists in the Andromedaverse. Remember the first season 4 episode Tyr was in? He and Beka were in a garden strolling past a very familiar glass dome.
~*~
Hey look at all this space… perfect for recs! All of these are on FF.N.
Searching for a good fic about:
Lord of the Rings: Look up The Nightrunners. Their story Brothers in Arms is fantastic. It's set in modern times (typically I shy away from stuff like this because they are horribly written) but this story is wonderful. Trust me and try it.
Star Wars: Cynical21 writes (young) Obi-Wan stories that are utterly heart wrenching one moment and charming the next. By far my favorite author (fics or books) ever. Try An Untimely Frost. Feel the Obi love.
Harry Potter: My dear (real life) friend Adipodes Poe has several stories posted. Huge R/H shipper. I'm not the biggest "romance" fan, but she always finds a way to make them new. Plus she's finally doing an action/romance story. I have to keep prodding her along with the action because she tends to dwell in the mush (at least that's what I call it). If she finds out I said that I'm a dead woman walking. ;D
Stargate: Try DarkQueenOfTheWhump's "Ghosts". Not only is she a close online friend, but an amazing writer. She has a way with words I can't even begin to mimic. Plus, I put on my Creative Consultant of Doom hat and helped her along with some of the plot. *grin*
If you read any of these stories and enjoy/hate them, please, please feel free to come back and tell me what you thought.