"Eros, that slackener of limbs, twirls me again–bittersweet, untamable, crawling thing. But you, Atthis, hate the thought of me, and go flying off to Andromeda..."
"Sappho. Your favorite."
"Always."
"It's been a long time." Captain Dylan Hunt blocked the docking bay doorway, staring down at his guest. "I'm not Atthis and I haven't been the other in a long time. And I've never hated you. You're the one constant...Gabrielle."
"Nothing is ever constant, Dylan, except that which should never have been at all."
"Big brother is stirring up trouble again, is he?"
"Let's just say the Cave of Hephaestus is empty, and its former occupant has never been known to quietly mingle in a crowd. Especially since he has a new purpose."
"Rebirth."
"Not his."
"I see."
"Okay." Pushing between them, Beka Valentine crossed her arms. "You drove my ship, you're exchanging cryptic challenges with my captain, I want to know who the hell you are."
Hunt tore his attention away from the diminutive blonde before him, eyes moving over to the taller woman. "Beka. Meet Gabrielle. We...uh...go back a ways."
*
They ended up in the observation lounge an hour later, exchanging remonstrances and eating a hastily altered formal dinner for three.
Beka Valentine disliked being the odd party out. Especially in a dinner meant for a very private twosome. Still, being the first officer of the Commonwealth flagship had it's duties, and she figured it had its perks as well. Sitting her glass down, she eyed the lovely guest. "That poem you were reading. Sappho."
"Ancient poet." The response was simultaneous.
"I know my history."
"By all means, then, my apologies." Dylan exchanged a glance with the woman, brows lifting in clear message. Valentine sighed.
"It mentioned an abandoned love affair, and what I'm guessing is a metaphorical reference to Andromeda, the star system..."
"Actually." Gabrielle drank again, then stared out the viewport briefly. "In Greek mythology, there were a lot of Andromedas. Sappho could have been referring to a mortal. You have the right perspective though. Rather romantic, a man leaving someone for the stars..." Her gaze lingered on Hunt a fraction longer than necessary.
Okay. Too much, too deep. Beka delved into smoother territory, tones still weighing suspicion. "Did you major in ancient history or something?"
"I've had very little formal education. Time and trade were my teachers. As well as a certain mentor."
"You, Dylan?"
His eyes glinted. "No. I may've mentored the mentor, but I can't claim Gabby as a protege."
"Only a devoted comrade."
*
"You're flirting with her."
"Beka. Don't be silly." The captain of the Andromeda paused in the corridor beside his first officer. "Our guest is simply a very old friend."
"Uh-huh." Valentine stalked her way up an access ladder.
He followed thoughtfully. "But if I were, would that greatly upset you?"
"Only in the sense of duty...Captain." Her heel nudged just a little closer to his forehead. "I mean, Dylan, the alien babes of the week are bad, but tolerable. Usually. Throw in an old friend of yours and our whole universe goes dysfunctional."
"It isn't the friend you have to worry about."
"That's exactly what I'm afraid of. There's something about her, and it rankles. Look, Dylan, she's foreign, and when you're with her, you seem even more so."
"She's GABRIELLE." His voice rose to amused exasperation.
"Well." She cast him a tight smile. "You knew Gabrielle. I don't. I guess I'll just have to take your word that her intentions are pure."
"Well." He imitated the sigh, resting both arms on the ladder half-way up. "We'll find out soon enough, Captain Valentine. I'll be accompanying our guest back down to Daragus. Tyr and Trance could probably use the go-between, and Gabrielle has a few suspicions she wants to point out to me."
"And where do I fit into this, since half my crew and my ship are on Daragus?"
"Oh, take a nap, Beka." He shook his head chidingly. "You *have* been testy lately."
*
"I'll never get used to this." Settling into the co-pilots seat, Gabrielle watched Andromeda's captain skillfully maneuver the craft through the stars. Daragus was cresting the horizon, but they still had time enough to speak...speak as they hadn't in too many years. "You know, I used to lie there, on the ground at night, and just watch the stars...even then, I didn't believe there was any divinity up here, the gods realm was limited to Earth, as it were...but I found those stars oh, so very amazing...distant specks of light, an entire universe untouched."
"Not exactly." He smiled. "Humanity was a late gate-crasher, and look what we got for it."
"You're not entirely like him. Hercules."
"He wasn't immortal, Gabrielle, or any such...he lived and died, and was reborn, just like other souls. The half of him that was a god was just lucky enough to be retained in all those similar bodies along the way...his memories, his knowledge, carried on."
"Isn't that the best definition of immortality? The ability to live on without sacrificing the humbling of death?"
"Yes, well." He spared her a glance, the lines around his eyes more evident than before. "I can't say its done me a great deal of good."
"You're beginning to feel that this Commonwealth is a losing fight."
"Oh, yes. But its more than just a trophy empire now...its a necessity. The magog..."
"Nasty creatures. They remind me of Ares' creations."
"You think?"
"Oh, I don't think he has the power to create anything these days, much less control those...beasts. They don't obey anyone. Least of all an impotent Olympian god."
"I get the feeling that's something Xena might have called him once."
Her smile was genuine, reflective. "She called him many things, and I guess I picked some of it up."
He put the craft to coast, leaning back to examine her. "Talk to me, bard. How is it you're still around? Why sacrifice the Elysian Fields with those you loved for this crumbling universe?"
Her smile faded, eyes growing distant. "Isn't the more important question, and the one that takes care of the latter...why?"
"Why, then?"
"Because Ares vowed never to rest until he had Xena back. And because I was once weak enough...lonely enough...to make the same vow, and accept his hand."
"Gabrielle, Warrior Queen of Ares? I never would have imagined." He jerked his head in surprise, lips thinning.
Her laugh was brief, unamused. "I was never very good at it. I liked preventing the wars, you understand. We had a very poor business partnership that translated into an unpleasant personal one. Besides, I was never really the one he wanted. A diversion, the means to an end that still hasn't come to pass. He came to regret his offer...but he did give me immortality. At the time, I was blind enough to believe it a gift. I've since learned better."
"And the vow?"
"Empires fall, and warriors die. Without accepted decay, there would be no room for life...only anger, and pain, and eternal regret. Ares carries that regret. I'm beyond it. Xena is at rest, with her mother, Solon, Eve...she's happy in the Elysian Fields. I won't attempt to bring her to this foreign time and place. And I won't allow Ares to do it either."
"So that's why you're here." He shook his head ruefully, face clouding over. "To wage yet another battle with him. The siege never ends, does it, old friend?"
*
"Sappho. Your favorite."
"Always."
"It's been a long time." Captain Dylan Hunt blocked the docking bay doorway, staring down at his guest. "I'm not Atthis and I haven't been the other in a long time. And I've never hated you. You're the one constant...Gabrielle."
"Nothing is ever constant, Dylan, except that which should never have been at all."
"Big brother is stirring up trouble again, is he?"
"Let's just say the Cave of Hephaestus is empty, and its former occupant has never been known to quietly mingle in a crowd. Especially since he has a new purpose."
"Rebirth."
"Not his."
"I see."
"Okay." Pushing between them, Beka Valentine crossed her arms. "You drove my ship, you're exchanging cryptic challenges with my captain, I want to know who the hell you are."
Hunt tore his attention away from the diminutive blonde before him, eyes moving over to the taller woman. "Beka. Meet Gabrielle. We...uh...go back a ways."
*
They ended up in the observation lounge an hour later, exchanging remonstrances and eating a hastily altered formal dinner for three.
Beka Valentine disliked being the odd party out. Especially in a dinner meant for a very private twosome. Still, being the first officer of the Commonwealth flagship had it's duties, and she figured it had its perks as well. Sitting her glass down, she eyed the lovely guest. "That poem you were reading. Sappho."
"Ancient poet." The response was simultaneous.
"I know my history."
"By all means, then, my apologies." Dylan exchanged a glance with the woman, brows lifting in clear message. Valentine sighed.
"It mentioned an abandoned love affair, and what I'm guessing is a metaphorical reference to Andromeda, the star system..."
"Actually." Gabrielle drank again, then stared out the viewport briefly. "In Greek mythology, there were a lot of Andromedas. Sappho could have been referring to a mortal. You have the right perspective though. Rather romantic, a man leaving someone for the stars..." Her gaze lingered on Hunt a fraction longer than necessary.
Okay. Too much, too deep. Beka delved into smoother territory, tones still weighing suspicion. "Did you major in ancient history or something?"
"I've had very little formal education. Time and trade were my teachers. As well as a certain mentor."
"You, Dylan?"
His eyes glinted. "No. I may've mentored the mentor, but I can't claim Gabby as a protege."
"Only a devoted comrade."
*
"You're flirting with her."
"Beka. Don't be silly." The captain of the Andromeda paused in the corridor beside his first officer. "Our guest is simply a very old friend."
"Uh-huh." Valentine stalked her way up an access ladder.
He followed thoughtfully. "But if I were, would that greatly upset you?"
"Only in the sense of duty...Captain." Her heel nudged just a little closer to his forehead. "I mean, Dylan, the alien babes of the week are bad, but tolerable. Usually. Throw in an old friend of yours and our whole universe goes dysfunctional."
"It isn't the friend you have to worry about."
"That's exactly what I'm afraid of. There's something about her, and it rankles. Look, Dylan, she's foreign, and when you're with her, you seem even more so."
"She's GABRIELLE." His voice rose to amused exasperation.
"Well." She cast him a tight smile. "You knew Gabrielle. I don't. I guess I'll just have to take your word that her intentions are pure."
"Well." He imitated the sigh, resting both arms on the ladder half-way up. "We'll find out soon enough, Captain Valentine. I'll be accompanying our guest back down to Daragus. Tyr and Trance could probably use the go-between, and Gabrielle has a few suspicions she wants to point out to me."
"And where do I fit into this, since half my crew and my ship are on Daragus?"
"Oh, take a nap, Beka." He shook his head chidingly. "You *have* been testy lately."
*
"I'll never get used to this." Settling into the co-pilots seat, Gabrielle watched Andromeda's captain skillfully maneuver the craft through the stars. Daragus was cresting the horizon, but they still had time enough to speak...speak as they hadn't in too many years. "You know, I used to lie there, on the ground at night, and just watch the stars...even then, I didn't believe there was any divinity up here, the gods realm was limited to Earth, as it were...but I found those stars oh, so very amazing...distant specks of light, an entire universe untouched."
"Not exactly." He smiled. "Humanity was a late gate-crasher, and look what we got for it."
"You're not entirely like him. Hercules."
"He wasn't immortal, Gabrielle, or any such...he lived and died, and was reborn, just like other souls. The half of him that was a god was just lucky enough to be retained in all those similar bodies along the way...his memories, his knowledge, carried on."
"Isn't that the best definition of immortality? The ability to live on without sacrificing the humbling of death?"
"Yes, well." He spared her a glance, the lines around his eyes more evident than before. "I can't say its done me a great deal of good."
"You're beginning to feel that this Commonwealth is a losing fight."
"Oh, yes. But its more than just a trophy empire now...its a necessity. The magog..."
"Nasty creatures. They remind me of Ares' creations."
"You think?"
"Oh, I don't think he has the power to create anything these days, much less control those...beasts. They don't obey anyone. Least of all an impotent Olympian god."
"I get the feeling that's something Xena might have called him once."
Her smile was genuine, reflective. "She called him many things, and I guess I picked some of it up."
He put the craft to coast, leaning back to examine her. "Talk to me, bard. How is it you're still around? Why sacrifice the Elysian Fields with those you loved for this crumbling universe?"
Her smile faded, eyes growing distant. "Isn't the more important question, and the one that takes care of the latter...why?"
"Why, then?"
"Because Ares vowed never to rest until he had Xena back. And because I was once weak enough...lonely enough...to make the same vow, and accept his hand."
"Gabrielle, Warrior Queen of Ares? I never would have imagined." He jerked his head in surprise, lips thinning.
Her laugh was brief, unamused. "I was never very good at it. I liked preventing the wars, you understand. We had a very poor business partnership that translated into an unpleasant personal one. Besides, I was never really the one he wanted. A diversion, the means to an end that still hasn't come to pass. He came to regret his offer...but he did give me immortality. At the time, I was blind enough to believe it a gift. I've since learned better."
"And the vow?"
"Empires fall, and warriors die. Without accepted decay, there would be no room for life...only anger, and pain, and eternal regret. Ares carries that regret. I'm beyond it. Xena is at rest, with her mother, Solon, Eve...she's happy in the Elysian Fields. I won't attempt to bring her to this foreign time and place. And I won't allow Ares to do it either."
"So that's why you're here." He shook his head ruefully, face clouding over. "To wage yet another battle with him. The siege never ends, does it, old friend?"
*