"Can we move this piece of trash?" Beka shouted as she ran through the corridors. A few sparks flew from a nearby panel and she ducked.

From engineering, Kait and Harper worked as fast as they could to repair damage.

On the bridge, Dylan was standing with Tyr, watching the other ship float in front of them.

"Who are they?" Dylan asked.

"A Nietzchean retrieval unit. Powering up the ship must have activated a signal." He cast a glare at Dylan.

"Before we point any fingers…."

"I'm not." Tyr responded. "I'm not pointing any fingers. I am accusing Harper's new girlfriend of sabotage."

"All right, before we accuse anyone…."

"It's quite all right."

Tyr and Dylan both turned. Kait stood behind them, her arms covered in minute scratches and burns from the ship's spontaneous sparks.

"I'm used to it." She said. "The truth of the matter is, I knew that the retrieval team would get a lock on our signal when the ship powered up and the net was disabled."

"You did?" Dylan asked.

"Yes." She said. "But it doesn't change things. You don't know it, but the team has been watching the Andromeda as soon as they entered Nietzchean space."

Dylan stepped forward. "First off, this is free space. It doesn't belong to anyone."

"That's not the way they see it." Beka said, walked in. "She's right. We've been monitored."

"How do you know?" Tyr asked.

"I remember when we entered this region, Rommie detected weird spikes in the sensors. I thought it was nothing cause the ship was still shaky from that last run in with the commerce ship. But now I know. They've been monitoring us with low emission waves. They can't see where we are, just that we're there."

"And they couldn't find the Pixanthi until she powered up."

"So now they know where the Pixanthi is and they can probably guess that we're the ones who helped it up." Beka started to push buttons on a console. "Harper managed to get the weapons and targeting online."

"But it still can't move." Dylan said. "We're sitting ducks without maneuverability."

"Which is why we isolate the net from the rest of the ship and take it with us." Kait said. "If Harper and I can find a way to take the net and replant it on the Andromeda, we can leave the Pixanthi." She shook her head. "I want to save it, but it just takes too much time. We have these squadrons on our tails and there'll be more coming."

"She's right." Beka said. "They know where we are."

"Why are they waiting?" Dylan asked. "Why not either attack us or board us?"

"Retrieval teams are usually eight to fifteen member crews. I don't think they know how many people are on this ship." Tyr said, frowning.

"Well I wouldn't want to keep them waiting." Dylan said, his eyes focused on the looming mass. "Kait, you and Harper try to get this ship moving. Get me anything you can, but focus on getting maneuverability and propulsion." He looked at Tyr and Beka. "We need to send the Andromeda messages without them knowing."

***

"Who knew this thing was ever capable of flight?" Harper asked wearily. He kicked a sheet of mesh covering away and peeked inside at the large bundle of wires. They grew from sockets in the hull, surrounded by lights blinking in a panic.

"It definitely flew well." Kait said, handing him a tool. 'While it could."

"Well, it's going to take a lot of rewiring." He said, shaking his head.

"We can handle it." She said, yanking a stray wire. She held it up to the light. "Hey look at this."

"What?"

"Look at all the other wires."

They both stared at the jumped mess before them.

"That wire I would classify as…fuschia." He said, scrunching his face in thought.

"It's certainly not white, black, red, or green." She shrugged. "Wait, here's another one."

"What does it lead to?" Harper asked, and his fingers trailed the wire to a small metal box.

He pulled it out.

"Uh…" He set it on the floor. He fingered the latch and opened the top.

His voice caught in his throat.

"Call Dylan."