Title: A Deadly Secret
Rating: PG13 (a little violence, though it's really just death more than violence. And one bad word)
Disclaimer: I do not own the Andromeda Ascendant or her crew-they belong to Tribune Entertainment
Claimer: I do own the crew of the Fire Sunset
Author's Notes: 1.) Please leave feedback with your opinions, good or bad :) 2.) I was going to try to put some pronunciations on here, so let's see how I do :) Cyllissah Daemonia (SI [long "i"] Lis ah Day MON E [long "e"] ah) Cyrene=Sireen (although I'm nothing like her ;) (Sigh REN [long "e"] Arunad (ah ROO nad ["a" as in apple])
Spoilers: Um....there is a very small one for The Banks of the Lethe
"Hey guys, do you realize that it has been *one whole week* since we've been under attack? No Magog or Nietzscheans or pirates or mean people shooting at us? I think it's a record," Harper smirked.
Dylan and Beka, the only two, besides Harper, in the room, smiled. Andromeda appeared on the monitor and smiled also. "Then you'll be happy to know that I am receiving a distress call."
Beka sighed. "Harper, you jinxed us."
He frowned. "Did not. And, can't we just ignore it?"
"No, Mr. Harper, we're not ignoring it. Send it through, Andromeda," Dylan commanded.
On the screen beside Andromeda's image appeared a man. He appeared to be in his early 30's and was human. His hair was a dirty blonde and short.
"This is Brian White of the Fire Sunset. My ship appears in need of repairing. Can you assist me?" the man asked in an arrogant voice.
"Yes---" Dylan barely had the word out of his mouth when a woman, appearing beside Brian, interrupted him. "Good,. Then we shall board your ship immediately."
The image disappeared. Beka raised her eyebrows. "Pleasant," she remarked.
"Who cares if she's pleasant? She's hot!" Harper exclaimed.
Beka whacked Harper on the back of his head as she and Dylan made their way to the Hangar Deck.
**************************************************************
The door of the ship opened. Out walked Brian, accompanied by the woman. She appeared around Brian's age and was also human. Her strawberry blonde hair was shoulder length; her eyes a dark gray. The biggest contrast to Brian was her height. He was about 6'1'', while she was only about 5'3". Dylan and Beka walked up to them.
"I'm Captain Dylan Hunt of the Andromeda Ascendant. This is my first officer, Beka Valentine."
"As I've said, I am Brian White. This is my wife Cyrene. We've only two other occupants aboard my ship."
"So what seems to be the problem with your ship?" Beka inquired.
The man shrugged. "As much as I hate to admit it, I know absolutely nothing about ships , mechanics, and the likes. I was hoping you'd have a good engineer on board?" Brain said the last sentence somewhat like a question, somewhat like a statement.
Dylan nodded. As the two men exchanged some more words, Beka studied the couple. She had an immediate dislike towards them. They were both dressed in expensive-looking clothes, expensive jewelry, and Cyrene had on a lot of make-up. A little too much. Both acted very snobby. So when Dylan asked Andromeda to send Harper down, Beka quickly said she would get him for Dylan. As she walked down the corridor, Beka was praying for a quick departure on their part.
**************************************************************
"Sabotage," Harper said flatly.
"It can't be," the large man standing over him scoffed.
"Look, there's no way this happened all-by-itself. Some one deliberately did it," Harper insisted.
The man looked like he was about to argue.
"Arunad, let the man do his work," a sharp voice commanded.
Arunad muttered unrepeatable words directed at Cyrene and stalked away. Arunad Berm was a bounty hunter of some sorts. Harper wasn't too sure; he figured he had just said that to scare him or something. He just knew that Arunad was big, mean, and not at all pleasant. The final person on the ship, on the other hand........The final person was Cyllissah Daemonia, Liss for short. The engineer hadn't asked the girl of her specie's name, but it wasn't anything he'd seen before. Liss actually looked pretty much human. 'How exactly does everything end-up looking like humans?' Seamus wondered. The three biggest differences (compared to a human) were hair, eyes, and skin coloring. Her eyes were a deep, almost opaque red-orange color, her skin was like a periwinkle color, and her hair a rich, violet. A little darker than Trance's skin. 'Purple is definably becoming one of my favorite colors.' Harper sighed, deciding he had better get to work.
*************************************************************
"So, Liss, what....um....exactly are you? Not to sound rude or anything," Beka quickly added.
Rommie cocked her head. Cyllissah looked uncomfortable.
"You don't have to tell us if you don't want to," Trance offered kindly.
"It's not like it's a big secret or anything," Liss began. "Just that I doubt you'll recognize the species; we're not very abundant anymore."
"Why not?" Trance questioned.
Cyllissah shrugged. "If you don't mind, I'd rather not talk about it."
Her words were not unkind. Beka nodded understandingly. Rommie remained quiet. Cyllissah knew Rommie/Andromeda had information archives. 'I wonder if she knows?' But if she did, she didn't say anything of it. The four girls walked in silence.
Up ahead, Tyr rounded a corner. He came striding forward, and by the way he was walking Beka could tell he wasn't planning on stopping.
"Tyr?" she called out.
The Nietzschean's pace slowed, and he looked questionably at her face.
"Have you met Liss yet?" her eyebrows raised in question.
"No, I have not," he stated, emotionless.
"Well then, Tyr, this is Cyllissah Daemonia. Liss, this is Tyr Anasazi of the Kodiak Pride," Beka finished the formal introductions.
Tyr raised his head slightly in acknowledgment to Cyllissah.
"Nice to meet you," she mumbled, averting her gaze from Tyr's penetrating eyes.
The Nietzschean merely nodded and went on his way once again.
"He wasn't very polite," Trance remarked.
"Nietzschean's don't care for small talk," Rommie informed them.
"And Mr. Anasazi isn't much for conversations, either," Beka added.
"So," Cyllissah tried to change the conversation, "are we going to Hydroponics?"
"Yes! You have to see my garden!" Trance bubbled. "Did you know we actually have a Tundra plant onboard?"
**************************************************************
"Well, Mr. White, Harper seems to think your ship was sabotaged," Dylan stated.
Brian shrugged. "In a way, I wouldn't be surprised. But there is no need to worry about it. When Seamus finishes my ship, I shall pay him maximum wage."
"Uh, *Seamus* doesn't need too much for pay. And, why *aren't* you surprised?"
"I have a bounty hunter on board. Quite frankly, Arunad can't be trusted," Brian informed Dylan in a calmly fashion, as if he could care less.
Dylan started to say something but was interrupted by Cyrene. She came forward in quick, angry steps. The men turned towards her.
"Where is Cyllissah?" she demanded.
Dylan raised his eyebrows, and Brian looked slightly embarrassed by his wife's lack-of-manner. He cleared his throat.
"I apologize for my wife's ill-behavior," he said, shooting her a look to which she replied to with a scowl. "Can you please excuse us, Captain?"
"Of course," Dylan smiled kindly, letting it known that he wasn't angry or offended. Brian quickly took his wife's arm and steered her out into the corridor. Dylan merely shook his head, in somewhat amusement.
"While you are aboard someone else's ship you shall show them proper respect," Brian lectured.
"Whatever," she brushed off his lecture angrily. There was noting Cyrene hated more than Brian treating her like a child, especially in front of someone else. "I want to know where that stupid peasant girl is."
Brian sighed shortly, growing very impatient with his wife. They seemed to be getting on each other's nerves lately. He roughly grabbed her and pulled her towards him. He hissed in her ear, "Watch your mouth. Did you forget the ship can hear everything we say?"
Cyrene glared at him. Not knowing any snide remarks that would suite this situation, she stalked away. She knew Brian was right and that made her even more irritated. 'I'll find the stupid girl myself.'
'The stupid girl' was, at the moment, in Hydroponics with the female half of the Andromeda crew. Trance was giving her a big tour of all her flowers. Beka and Rommie were standing off to the side, observing in amusement. Not only did Trance know every plant/flowers full name (scientific), origin, and about anything else you'd ever want to know, and then some, but she had named every single one of them.
"I used to have one named Walter," Trance happily chattered on, "but Harper blew him up in one of his experiments."
Cyllissah smiled and shook her head. She had never met any creature who was so chipper, every second of the day.
"Uh, Trance, why don't you wrap up your little tour?" Beka suggested.
"Our evening meal should be done in a few minutes. Dylan wants us all there, on time," Rommie added.
"Well, at least this isn't a formal dinner. I hate wearing dresses," Beka wrinkled her nose.
Cyllissah laughed. "Agreed."
They all then started off to join the others, laughing and talking.
***************************************************************
Amazingly, they all arrived on time. Dylan was the first one there, with Brian, Cyrene, and Arunad right behind him. Rev Bem came next, smiling and bowing. Cyrene was still slightly nervous around Rev, being a Magog and all, even though he was a Wayist. Dylan had, some time ago in private, assured her Rev Bem was harmless.
"I've heard the stories of Earth and other god-awful planets. The Magog came and not only *ate* many people, but they *infest* them too. And when the 'babies' hatch, they just eat their way through the person. And you're telling me he's harmless just because he's studied some religion?" she exclaimed incredulously.
Dylan frowned. "Well, yeah."
Cyrene had thrown her hands in the air in exasperation.
"He's been on the Andromeda for over a year. Before that on the Maru, Beka's ship, for a few years. He hasn't hurt anybody," Dylan tried to reassure her.
"If you insist," she had doubtfully said.
Now she was standing stiffly. But at least she wasn't saying anything. Tyr had then come ambling up. He and Dylan had argued earlier about coming. About 10 minutes of reasoning and pleading (as best as Dylan could), Tyr had grudgingly agreed to come.
Five members left, and two minutes. Dylan was timing them just to see how ell everyone listened. He had no doubt everyone would be on time, regardless of his orders. Except Harper. Seamus Zelanzy Harper was *never* on time. So Dylan waited. One minute. The four girls came walking up.
"Sorry we're late," Beka apologized.
Dylan smiled. "Not late yet. But Mr. Harper will be in, oh, 30 seconds."
Beka smirked.
"Ten, nine, eight--" Dylan quietly counted down so only Rommie and Beka heard him.
Beka nudged Rommie. "Will he make it?"
She cocked her head, using Andromeda's internal sensors to locate him. "He's on a full run now."
"Five, four, three--"
At that moment a gasping and stumbling Harper came hurtling through the door.
"Glad you could make it, Mr. Harper," Dylan was smiling broadly.
"Yeah," was all he could gasp out.
They all sat down and started eating. Dylan at the head, at his right Brian, Cyrene, Arunad, Cyllissah, Beka, Harper, Trance, Tyr, Rev, and finally Rommie on Dylan's left. Dylan, Rommie, Brian, and Cyrene discussed the Common Wealth and Dylan's mission to reconstruct it. Rev, Tyr, and Arunad were silent, listening to the two different conversations. The others were chatting about whatever came up. Harper, of course, trying to impress Cyllissah, talked about his surf contests and projects.
"Do you know who built Rommie?" he asked, pretending to be casual.
Liss's eyes widened. "*You* built her?"
"Yep," he replied, grinning broadly.
"Wow, you're very talented."
Harper was sucking in the compliments. 'His head's growing again,' Beka thought and decided to change the subject.
They all chattered and ate for about 45 minutes. Then Brian and his crew excused themselves and turned in for the night. Trance had suggested Cyllissah stay a little longer to talk, but she (Cyllissah) had noticed the death-glares Cyrene had been giving her when she had arrived this evening and thought better of it.
"I'm really tired," she had lied, and spent the rest of the evening having to listen to Cyrene.
*************************************************************
"Ship?"
"Yes, Tyr?"
"Where's your avatar?"
Andromeda's hologram frowned. "She's just coming back from a 'check-up' in Harper's quarters," she answered after a slight pause.
The Nietzschean nodded and went off to meet her. They needed to talk.
**************************************************************
It had been three days since the Fire Sunset had landed. Everything was normal, except Tyr had been acting weird. 'Really weird,' Harper thought. Yesterday, Trance had finally asked Tyr if everything was all right. He had given her a strange look.
"Something's going to happen," was his reply.
"Care to elaborate?" Dylan asked.
"Can't you feel it?"
"What?" Harper was curious now.
"The tension has been on a high lately. And it's still steadily building- up."
Beka had raised her eyebrows. Dylan motioned to her to let it go. And he (Tyr) hadn't really said anything since. Now Harper was, once again, heading back to the ship. 'About another day or so," he reasoned. 'There really isn't *that* much left to do.' Once he entered the ship, he headed to the engine room. On the way there he passed Brian's room. Even though Dylan had offered the man one of his ship's best rooms, Brian had declined (the offer), saying he'd rather stay on his ship.
Harper thought for a moment, before deciding he should at least tell the captain good morning and an update on his ship. He knocked on the door. No answer. Seamus tried again, this time a little louder and called his name. Still no reply. 'Maybe he's still sleeping?' But Harper had a bad feeling. A *really* bad feeling. She he opened the door himself. Brian was laying on the bed. 'See, he's just sleeping. Don't get yourself so worked up, Seamus.' He let out a nervous but silent laugh. He crept over to the man's side. An unexpected sight filled his eyes.
"Oh, god," he whispered.
****************************************************************
"Dylan?" Harper walked slowly into the room.
Beka and the captain continued their conversation, not noticing Harper.
"Dylan?" he said louder.
Mr. Hunt turned around. Beka looked at her friend with concern.
"Are you all right, Harper? You look really pale."
"Um......................."
"What's wrong Mr. Harper?"
"Brian's.............."
"Yes?" Dylan waited patiently.
"He's dead," Harper blurted out.
They stared at him for a moment, speechless.
"What?" Dylan managed to gasp.
"I-was-going-to-work-on-the-ship-and-I-stopped-to-say-good-morning-to-him- and-when-I-went-into-his-room-because-he-didn't-answer--"
"Harper, slow down. I can't understand you."
"And...he was dead," Harper finished, swallowing hard.
"Are you sure?" Dylan asked cautiously.
"Well, there kinda was a knife sticking out off his chest....."
Dylan stiffened. Beka closed her eyes. "Oh, god."
Beka looked at Dylan. "What are we going to do?"
"I'm not sure," he said grimly.
*************************************************************
The Andromeda crew plus the remaining crew of the Fire Sunset assembled in Obs. deck an hour later. Everyone was standing around, waiting for Dylan to announce what he had called them all for. Cyrene was watching the door, brow creased. 'Waiting for Brian,' Dylan thought. 'Oh boy.'
"You'd better start," Beka whispered.
Dylan nodded once. He slowly walked to the front of the room. He started, "I have some terrible news--"
"Captain Hunt," Cyrene interrupted him, "my husband has not arrived yet. I have no idea what would be keeping him. Come to think of it, I haven't seen him all morning," she stated thoughtfully.
"Um, I...the reason your husband isn't here--"
Cyrene's eyes widened. "He left, didn't he?! He couldn't wait any longer and went ahead and left me behind, didn't he?! I'll kill him!" she exclaimed.
Harper visibly flinched at that last statement. Beka and Dylan grimaced. Rommie studied her; Tyr raised an eyebrow. The others seemed not to notice.
"Cyrene, he did leave....but not in the way you think he did," Dylan said gently. "Brian's.....dead."
Arunad looked away. Tyr shot a glance at Rommie; Rev and Trance gasped. Cyllissah paled (as best a blue person can). Cyrene's mouth dropped open, her eyes wide with disbelief. Dylan cleared his throat.
"Wha...uh....oh..how?.......you've got to be joking," Cyrene sputtered.
"I'm afraid not," Dylan's voice was grim. "Harper found him on his way to work on your ship. He stopped by Brian's room to say good-morning."
"He was laying in his bed. Stabbed to death," Harper finished in a whisper.
Cyrene looked like she didn't have a clue what to do. Cyllissah swallowed hard. She gently laid a hand on Cyrene's shoulder.
"I'm so sorry," she murmured.
Cyrene only jerked away. She ran out the door and headed to her ship. Arunad headed over to Cyllissah and placed a hand on her shoulder. He looked at the captain.
"If you'll excuse us, Dylan," his voice was flat, his body stiff.
Dylan nodded understandingly as Mr. Berm led Liss away. Trance looked slightly ill; she never liked to see death. So she excused herself also. Rev Bem went to pray from Brian's soul. Tyr left without saying anything; he had much to think about. Harper went to lay down; Beka to check on Trance. That left Rommie and Dylan, who stood in silence, until Rommie addressed a question Dyaln was himself pondering.
"So who did it?"
Dylan shook his head. "I have no clue. Although I would, quite frankly, say Arunad. Who else would?"
"Maybe a little later, we should question Cyllissah or maybe even Cyrene on Brian and Arunad's relationship," the avatar suggested.
"Good idea. Tomorrow."
*************************************************************
"All right, what did you figure out?"
Beka and Dylan were in the officers' mess. About 45 minutes ago they had split up to gather information; Dylan talked to Arunad; Beka talked to Cyllissah.
"Well," Beka started, "not too too much. She seemed vague. Arunad and Brian, according to her, were civil to each other one minute, at each other's throats the next. But then again, she had added, so were Cyrene and Brian. So.......did you learn anything?"
"Arunad honestly admitted that he and Brian sometimes did not get along. But Cyrene and Brian had been 'tearing each other apart lately', as he put it. Something about money; he wasn't sure of the details. He did know that Brian had quite a sum of money though."
"Wait a minute. Are you saying he suggested that *Cyrene* did it?! That's crazy! You saw how shocked she was yesterday."
"I know. I'm just repeating what he said. But there really isn't any reason why we should not *not* suspect either of them. Arunad actually volunteered to snoop around Mr. White's documents and see if he could come up with anything."
Beka started to say something, but decided not to. She simply nodded and left.
******************************************************************
"Dylan! Come quick! Dylan!" Trance came running through the corridors until she found Dylan and Tyr.
"Trance, slow down. What's wrong?"
"It's Cyllissah and Arunad," she gasped, out of breath. "We-were-talking-in- Liss's-room-when-Arunad-came-charging-through-the-door-and-shouting-and-I- didn't-understand-what-was-happening-and-Liss-told-me-to-get-out-that-she- would-deal-with-it-but-I-thought-I-should-tell-you-so..........."
Dylan tried to comprehend what she was saying at 100 m/p/h. As soon as he did he was already at the door; Tyr right behind him. It took a moment to reach the Fire Sunset. They were at the entrance when gun shots rang out. One, two, three....Shouting, yelling; Dylan recognized not only Cyllissah's and Arunad's voices but also Cyrene's. Four, five.....When the door slid open it revealed a shocking scene. One more shot was heard. Dylan and Tyr had no idea who had shot it for both Arunad and Liss were in a death-grip around the gun. Turning this way and that, each trying to get the other to loosen his/her grip. Cyrene was screaming for them to stop, trying to stay away from the gun's barrel. *Trying*. The one shot was fired. It was like time stood still; like the time when Dylan had been entering the event horizon of that black hole. Cyrene's shrill scream shattered the frozen- ness, allowing Dylan and Tyr to move once again. But it was too late. Cyrene went down before Dylan even reached her. Tyr leaped at the two still struggling with the gun. The Nietzschean twisted it away from both of them. Dylan knelt down by Cyrene's still form on the floor. Cyllissah and Arunad finally realized that they had hit Cyrene. Three pairs of expectant eyes burned into Dylan's back as he checked her pulse. A second later the captain stood up and faced them.
"She's dead."
**************************************************************
Dylan ordered Arunad and Cyllissah be placed in separate quarters aboard the Andromeda, so Rommie could keep watch over them. Tyr was also told to standby, just in case. Dylan decided he should get both person's story of the struggle, and then he could figure out what to do from there.
"All right, Arunad, what happened?"
The big man looked up at Dylan, remorse in his eyes. "I didn't mean for her to die," he said. "I did say I was a bounty hunter, but I'm not. I just said that, hoping Brian wouldn't give me as bad of a time, trying to boss me around. But I didn't kill him."
"You thought Cyrene did."
Arunad shook his head. "Not anymore. I looked through his papers. That manipulating blue b*tch did it!"
Dylan looked at him sharply.
"What are you talking about?" he demanded.
"I found a document of the Whites'. Cyllissah Daemonia *belongs* to them. She's a slave! And I never knew. Even though Cyrene slipped sometimes and treated her like one in front of me, I never suspected it. Brian, on the other hand, was quite careful. He never let anything slip."
Dylan's mind was processing this unexpected piece of information. 'She's a slave. Brian was probably the one who legally owned her. If slavery's legal......and that means with his death, she'd be free.'
**************************************************************
Everyone was once again assembled, except Arunad and Cyllissah.
"All right. We've got two suspects. One has a motive. A good one. But I want your thoughts," Dylan looked around at his crew.
Rev did not have an answer, though it was obvious he was leaning towards Arunad. Beka, Trance, and Harper had no doubt it was Arunad.
"How could it be Cyllissah? She's so nice."
Tyr raised his eyebrows at Trance's argument. Only he and Rommie remained.
"Tyr? Why is it that I have this feeling that you know more about this than you're letting on?"
Tyr faced Dylan.
"Cyllissah, she never spoke of her species, even when we asked. I became curious....."
"And asked Andromeda," Dylan finished for him.
"Rommie, to be exact. What she told me was...interesting, to say the least."
Everyone turned to look at Rommie.
"Her kind, the Trareemians, were of, originally, a small number. They all lived on a planet in a distant galaxy, isolated from any other beings. But they were attacked. Being away from civilization, the species as a whole was pretty primitive. It was an easy battle. Over 95% of them were either killed or sold into slavery," Rommie finished.
"And I've seen how Cyrene treated her. Not so much Brian, though. It really sparked my curiosity then," Tyr went on, "and I looked around Brian's office."
Everyone was silent for a moment. Finally, Beka asked, "Are you saying Cyllissah did it?"
"Brian's death ment her freedom," Dylan quietly said.
Harper, Beka, and Trance looked stunned. They couldn't believe their new friend was a murderer.
"So what are we going to do?" Harper questioned.
"I've decided to stop at the next planet. They can put her on trial there. Arunad would definitely need to be there, so we'll leave him there too."
"And that's it?"
Dylan shrugged.
"Dylan," Andromeda's AI appeared, "Cyllissah has managed to override my code and get out. She's headed towards the weaponry room."
"Tyr, head there and see if you can catch her. Beka, go the back way to the Hangar deck. I'll go the other way. Move!" he barked, racing to the door.
Tyr reached his destination first and checked around. "I missed her," he reported.
"All right. Head towards Beka, just in case," Dylan ordered him.
Just then, Liss came running through the door, gun in hand. She completely stopped when she saw Dylan. She pointed her gun at him.
"I don't want to kill you. But *nothing* will stop me from leaving. Not even you."
"Put the gun down, Cyllissah. Let's talk about this," Dylan said slowly, taking a cautious step towards the girl.
"Don't move! I'm going to leave now, Dylan. Don't try to stop me."
"I can't let you go. So why don't you just make this easier on yourself?"
"No! *You* make it easier on *yourself*."
While she was talking, Tyr came through the door. Andromeda must have told him Cyllissah was in here, and he came back around. Dylan never moved his eyes from her face, yet she knew he was there somehow. She spun around, ready to shoot. But Tyr was already there. He grabbed the gun. Cyllissah as a lot stronger than she looked. They both struggled with the gun, trying to twist it out of the other's grasp. 'De` ju vu`,' Dylan thought. The gun went off. Time stood still again as all three stood moving. Dylan looked down, expecting to see blood soaking through his High-Guard uniform. But he didn't. He looked up to see Cyllissah gasp and stagger back, clutching her stomach. She dropped to the floor.
**************************************************************
Cyllissah Daemonia had been declared instantly dead. Arunad Berm had been dropped off with the ship on the next planet they passed. And no one ever forgot the crew of the Fire Sunset.
Rating: PG13 (a little violence, though it's really just death more than violence. And one bad word)
Disclaimer: I do not own the Andromeda Ascendant or her crew-they belong to Tribune Entertainment
Claimer: I do own the crew of the Fire Sunset
Author's Notes: 1.) Please leave feedback with your opinions, good or bad :) 2.) I was going to try to put some pronunciations on here, so let's see how I do :) Cyllissah Daemonia (SI [long "i"] Lis ah Day MON E [long "e"] ah) Cyrene=Sireen (although I'm nothing like her ;) (Sigh REN [long "e"] Arunad (ah ROO nad ["a" as in apple])
Spoilers: Um....there is a very small one for The Banks of the Lethe
"Hey guys, do you realize that it has been *one whole week* since we've been under attack? No Magog or Nietzscheans or pirates or mean people shooting at us? I think it's a record," Harper smirked.
Dylan and Beka, the only two, besides Harper, in the room, smiled. Andromeda appeared on the monitor and smiled also. "Then you'll be happy to know that I am receiving a distress call."
Beka sighed. "Harper, you jinxed us."
He frowned. "Did not. And, can't we just ignore it?"
"No, Mr. Harper, we're not ignoring it. Send it through, Andromeda," Dylan commanded.
On the screen beside Andromeda's image appeared a man. He appeared to be in his early 30's and was human. His hair was a dirty blonde and short.
"This is Brian White of the Fire Sunset. My ship appears in need of repairing. Can you assist me?" the man asked in an arrogant voice.
"Yes---" Dylan barely had the word out of his mouth when a woman, appearing beside Brian, interrupted him. "Good,. Then we shall board your ship immediately."
The image disappeared. Beka raised her eyebrows. "Pleasant," she remarked.
"Who cares if she's pleasant? She's hot!" Harper exclaimed.
Beka whacked Harper on the back of his head as she and Dylan made their way to the Hangar Deck.
**************************************************************
The door of the ship opened. Out walked Brian, accompanied by the woman. She appeared around Brian's age and was also human. Her strawberry blonde hair was shoulder length; her eyes a dark gray. The biggest contrast to Brian was her height. He was about 6'1'', while she was only about 5'3". Dylan and Beka walked up to them.
"I'm Captain Dylan Hunt of the Andromeda Ascendant. This is my first officer, Beka Valentine."
"As I've said, I am Brian White. This is my wife Cyrene. We've only two other occupants aboard my ship."
"So what seems to be the problem with your ship?" Beka inquired.
The man shrugged. "As much as I hate to admit it, I know absolutely nothing about ships , mechanics, and the likes. I was hoping you'd have a good engineer on board?" Brain said the last sentence somewhat like a question, somewhat like a statement.
Dylan nodded. As the two men exchanged some more words, Beka studied the couple. She had an immediate dislike towards them. They were both dressed in expensive-looking clothes, expensive jewelry, and Cyrene had on a lot of make-up. A little too much. Both acted very snobby. So when Dylan asked Andromeda to send Harper down, Beka quickly said she would get him for Dylan. As she walked down the corridor, Beka was praying for a quick departure on their part.
**************************************************************
"Sabotage," Harper said flatly.
"It can't be," the large man standing over him scoffed.
"Look, there's no way this happened all-by-itself. Some one deliberately did it," Harper insisted.
The man looked like he was about to argue.
"Arunad, let the man do his work," a sharp voice commanded.
Arunad muttered unrepeatable words directed at Cyrene and stalked away. Arunad Berm was a bounty hunter of some sorts. Harper wasn't too sure; he figured he had just said that to scare him or something. He just knew that Arunad was big, mean, and not at all pleasant. The final person on the ship, on the other hand........The final person was Cyllissah Daemonia, Liss for short. The engineer hadn't asked the girl of her specie's name, but it wasn't anything he'd seen before. Liss actually looked pretty much human. 'How exactly does everything end-up looking like humans?' Seamus wondered. The three biggest differences (compared to a human) were hair, eyes, and skin coloring. Her eyes were a deep, almost opaque red-orange color, her skin was like a periwinkle color, and her hair a rich, violet. A little darker than Trance's skin. 'Purple is definably becoming one of my favorite colors.' Harper sighed, deciding he had better get to work.
*************************************************************
"So, Liss, what....um....exactly are you? Not to sound rude or anything," Beka quickly added.
Rommie cocked her head. Cyllissah looked uncomfortable.
"You don't have to tell us if you don't want to," Trance offered kindly.
"It's not like it's a big secret or anything," Liss began. "Just that I doubt you'll recognize the species; we're not very abundant anymore."
"Why not?" Trance questioned.
Cyllissah shrugged. "If you don't mind, I'd rather not talk about it."
Her words were not unkind. Beka nodded understandingly. Rommie remained quiet. Cyllissah knew Rommie/Andromeda had information archives. 'I wonder if she knows?' But if she did, she didn't say anything of it. The four girls walked in silence.
Up ahead, Tyr rounded a corner. He came striding forward, and by the way he was walking Beka could tell he wasn't planning on stopping.
"Tyr?" she called out.
The Nietzschean's pace slowed, and he looked questionably at her face.
"Have you met Liss yet?" her eyebrows raised in question.
"No, I have not," he stated, emotionless.
"Well then, Tyr, this is Cyllissah Daemonia. Liss, this is Tyr Anasazi of the Kodiak Pride," Beka finished the formal introductions.
Tyr raised his head slightly in acknowledgment to Cyllissah.
"Nice to meet you," she mumbled, averting her gaze from Tyr's penetrating eyes.
The Nietzschean merely nodded and went on his way once again.
"He wasn't very polite," Trance remarked.
"Nietzschean's don't care for small talk," Rommie informed them.
"And Mr. Anasazi isn't much for conversations, either," Beka added.
"So," Cyllissah tried to change the conversation, "are we going to Hydroponics?"
"Yes! You have to see my garden!" Trance bubbled. "Did you know we actually have a Tundra plant onboard?"
**************************************************************
"Well, Mr. White, Harper seems to think your ship was sabotaged," Dylan stated.
Brian shrugged. "In a way, I wouldn't be surprised. But there is no need to worry about it. When Seamus finishes my ship, I shall pay him maximum wage."
"Uh, *Seamus* doesn't need too much for pay. And, why *aren't* you surprised?"
"I have a bounty hunter on board. Quite frankly, Arunad can't be trusted," Brian informed Dylan in a calmly fashion, as if he could care less.
Dylan started to say something but was interrupted by Cyrene. She came forward in quick, angry steps. The men turned towards her.
"Where is Cyllissah?" she demanded.
Dylan raised his eyebrows, and Brian looked slightly embarrassed by his wife's lack-of-manner. He cleared his throat.
"I apologize for my wife's ill-behavior," he said, shooting her a look to which she replied to with a scowl. "Can you please excuse us, Captain?"
"Of course," Dylan smiled kindly, letting it known that he wasn't angry or offended. Brian quickly took his wife's arm and steered her out into the corridor. Dylan merely shook his head, in somewhat amusement.
"While you are aboard someone else's ship you shall show them proper respect," Brian lectured.
"Whatever," she brushed off his lecture angrily. There was noting Cyrene hated more than Brian treating her like a child, especially in front of someone else. "I want to know where that stupid peasant girl is."
Brian sighed shortly, growing very impatient with his wife. They seemed to be getting on each other's nerves lately. He roughly grabbed her and pulled her towards him. He hissed in her ear, "Watch your mouth. Did you forget the ship can hear everything we say?"
Cyrene glared at him. Not knowing any snide remarks that would suite this situation, she stalked away. She knew Brian was right and that made her even more irritated. 'I'll find the stupid girl myself.'
'The stupid girl' was, at the moment, in Hydroponics with the female half of the Andromeda crew. Trance was giving her a big tour of all her flowers. Beka and Rommie were standing off to the side, observing in amusement. Not only did Trance know every plant/flowers full name (scientific), origin, and about anything else you'd ever want to know, and then some, but she had named every single one of them.
"I used to have one named Walter," Trance happily chattered on, "but Harper blew him up in one of his experiments."
Cyllissah smiled and shook her head. She had never met any creature who was so chipper, every second of the day.
"Uh, Trance, why don't you wrap up your little tour?" Beka suggested.
"Our evening meal should be done in a few minutes. Dylan wants us all there, on time," Rommie added.
"Well, at least this isn't a formal dinner. I hate wearing dresses," Beka wrinkled her nose.
Cyllissah laughed. "Agreed."
They all then started off to join the others, laughing and talking.
***************************************************************
Amazingly, they all arrived on time. Dylan was the first one there, with Brian, Cyrene, and Arunad right behind him. Rev Bem came next, smiling and bowing. Cyrene was still slightly nervous around Rev, being a Magog and all, even though he was a Wayist. Dylan had, some time ago in private, assured her Rev Bem was harmless.
"I've heard the stories of Earth and other god-awful planets. The Magog came and not only *ate* many people, but they *infest* them too. And when the 'babies' hatch, they just eat their way through the person. And you're telling me he's harmless just because he's studied some religion?" she exclaimed incredulously.
Dylan frowned. "Well, yeah."
Cyrene had thrown her hands in the air in exasperation.
"He's been on the Andromeda for over a year. Before that on the Maru, Beka's ship, for a few years. He hasn't hurt anybody," Dylan tried to reassure her.
"If you insist," she had doubtfully said.
Now she was standing stiffly. But at least she wasn't saying anything. Tyr had then come ambling up. He and Dylan had argued earlier about coming. About 10 minutes of reasoning and pleading (as best as Dylan could), Tyr had grudgingly agreed to come.
Five members left, and two minutes. Dylan was timing them just to see how ell everyone listened. He had no doubt everyone would be on time, regardless of his orders. Except Harper. Seamus Zelanzy Harper was *never* on time. So Dylan waited. One minute. The four girls came walking up.
"Sorry we're late," Beka apologized.
Dylan smiled. "Not late yet. But Mr. Harper will be in, oh, 30 seconds."
Beka smirked.
"Ten, nine, eight--" Dylan quietly counted down so only Rommie and Beka heard him.
Beka nudged Rommie. "Will he make it?"
She cocked her head, using Andromeda's internal sensors to locate him. "He's on a full run now."
"Five, four, three--"
At that moment a gasping and stumbling Harper came hurtling through the door.
"Glad you could make it, Mr. Harper," Dylan was smiling broadly.
"Yeah," was all he could gasp out.
They all sat down and started eating. Dylan at the head, at his right Brian, Cyrene, Arunad, Cyllissah, Beka, Harper, Trance, Tyr, Rev, and finally Rommie on Dylan's left. Dylan, Rommie, Brian, and Cyrene discussed the Common Wealth and Dylan's mission to reconstruct it. Rev, Tyr, and Arunad were silent, listening to the two different conversations. The others were chatting about whatever came up. Harper, of course, trying to impress Cyllissah, talked about his surf contests and projects.
"Do you know who built Rommie?" he asked, pretending to be casual.
Liss's eyes widened. "*You* built her?"
"Yep," he replied, grinning broadly.
"Wow, you're very talented."
Harper was sucking in the compliments. 'His head's growing again,' Beka thought and decided to change the subject.
They all chattered and ate for about 45 minutes. Then Brian and his crew excused themselves and turned in for the night. Trance had suggested Cyllissah stay a little longer to talk, but she (Cyllissah) had noticed the death-glares Cyrene had been giving her when she had arrived this evening and thought better of it.
"I'm really tired," she had lied, and spent the rest of the evening having to listen to Cyrene.
*************************************************************
"Ship?"
"Yes, Tyr?"
"Where's your avatar?"
Andromeda's hologram frowned. "She's just coming back from a 'check-up' in Harper's quarters," she answered after a slight pause.
The Nietzschean nodded and went off to meet her. They needed to talk.
**************************************************************
It had been three days since the Fire Sunset had landed. Everything was normal, except Tyr had been acting weird. 'Really weird,' Harper thought. Yesterday, Trance had finally asked Tyr if everything was all right. He had given her a strange look.
"Something's going to happen," was his reply.
"Care to elaborate?" Dylan asked.
"Can't you feel it?"
"What?" Harper was curious now.
"The tension has been on a high lately. And it's still steadily building- up."
Beka had raised her eyebrows. Dylan motioned to her to let it go. And he (Tyr) hadn't really said anything since. Now Harper was, once again, heading back to the ship. 'About another day or so," he reasoned. 'There really isn't *that* much left to do.' Once he entered the ship, he headed to the engine room. On the way there he passed Brian's room. Even though Dylan had offered the man one of his ship's best rooms, Brian had declined (the offer), saying he'd rather stay on his ship.
Harper thought for a moment, before deciding he should at least tell the captain good morning and an update on his ship. He knocked on the door. No answer. Seamus tried again, this time a little louder and called his name. Still no reply. 'Maybe he's still sleeping?' But Harper had a bad feeling. A *really* bad feeling. She he opened the door himself. Brian was laying on the bed. 'See, he's just sleeping. Don't get yourself so worked up, Seamus.' He let out a nervous but silent laugh. He crept over to the man's side. An unexpected sight filled his eyes.
"Oh, god," he whispered.
****************************************************************
"Dylan?" Harper walked slowly into the room.
Beka and the captain continued their conversation, not noticing Harper.
"Dylan?" he said louder.
Mr. Hunt turned around. Beka looked at her friend with concern.
"Are you all right, Harper? You look really pale."
"Um......................."
"What's wrong Mr. Harper?"
"Brian's.............."
"Yes?" Dylan waited patiently.
"He's dead," Harper blurted out.
They stared at him for a moment, speechless.
"What?" Dylan managed to gasp.
"I-was-going-to-work-on-the-ship-and-I-stopped-to-say-good-morning-to-him- and-when-I-went-into-his-room-because-he-didn't-answer--"
"Harper, slow down. I can't understand you."
"And...he was dead," Harper finished, swallowing hard.
"Are you sure?" Dylan asked cautiously.
"Well, there kinda was a knife sticking out off his chest....."
Dylan stiffened. Beka closed her eyes. "Oh, god."
Beka looked at Dylan. "What are we going to do?"
"I'm not sure," he said grimly.
*************************************************************
The Andromeda crew plus the remaining crew of the Fire Sunset assembled in Obs. deck an hour later. Everyone was standing around, waiting for Dylan to announce what he had called them all for. Cyrene was watching the door, brow creased. 'Waiting for Brian,' Dylan thought. 'Oh boy.'
"You'd better start," Beka whispered.
Dylan nodded once. He slowly walked to the front of the room. He started, "I have some terrible news--"
"Captain Hunt," Cyrene interrupted him, "my husband has not arrived yet. I have no idea what would be keeping him. Come to think of it, I haven't seen him all morning," she stated thoughtfully.
"Um, I...the reason your husband isn't here--"
Cyrene's eyes widened. "He left, didn't he?! He couldn't wait any longer and went ahead and left me behind, didn't he?! I'll kill him!" she exclaimed.
Harper visibly flinched at that last statement. Beka and Dylan grimaced. Rommie studied her; Tyr raised an eyebrow. The others seemed not to notice.
"Cyrene, he did leave....but not in the way you think he did," Dylan said gently. "Brian's.....dead."
Arunad looked away. Tyr shot a glance at Rommie; Rev and Trance gasped. Cyllissah paled (as best a blue person can). Cyrene's mouth dropped open, her eyes wide with disbelief. Dylan cleared his throat.
"Wha...uh....oh..how?.......you've got to be joking," Cyrene sputtered.
"I'm afraid not," Dylan's voice was grim. "Harper found him on his way to work on your ship. He stopped by Brian's room to say good-morning."
"He was laying in his bed. Stabbed to death," Harper finished in a whisper.
Cyrene looked like she didn't have a clue what to do. Cyllissah swallowed hard. She gently laid a hand on Cyrene's shoulder.
"I'm so sorry," she murmured.
Cyrene only jerked away. She ran out the door and headed to her ship. Arunad headed over to Cyllissah and placed a hand on her shoulder. He looked at the captain.
"If you'll excuse us, Dylan," his voice was flat, his body stiff.
Dylan nodded understandingly as Mr. Berm led Liss away. Trance looked slightly ill; she never liked to see death. So she excused herself also. Rev Bem went to pray from Brian's soul. Tyr left without saying anything; he had much to think about. Harper went to lay down; Beka to check on Trance. That left Rommie and Dylan, who stood in silence, until Rommie addressed a question Dyaln was himself pondering.
"So who did it?"
Dylan shook his head. "I have no clue. Although I would, quite frankly, say Arunad. Who else would?"
"Maybe a little later, we should question Cyllissah or maybe even Cyrene on Brian and Arunad's relationship," the avatar suggested.
"Good idea. Tomorrow."
*************************************************************
"All right, what did you figure out?"
Beka and Dylan were in the officers' mess. About 45 minutes ago they had split up to gather information; Dylan talked to Arunad; Beka talked to Cyllissah.
"Well," Beka started, "not too too much. She seemed vague. Arunad and Brian, according to her, were civil to each other one minute, at each other's throats the next. But then again, she had added, so were Cyrene and Brian. So.......did you learn anything?"
"Arunad honestly admitted that he and Brian sometimes did not get along. But Cyrene and Brian had been 'tearing each other apart lately', as he put it. Something about money; he wasn't sure of the details. He did know that Brian had quite a sum of money though."
"Wait a minute. Are you saying he suggested that *Cyrene* did it?! That's crazy! You saw how shocked she was yesterday."
"I know. I'm just repeating what he said. But there really isn't any reason why we should not *not* suspect either of them. Arunad actually volunteered to snoop around Mr. White's documents and see if he could come up with anything."
Beka started to say something, but decided not to. She simply nodded and left.
******************************************************************
"Dylan! Come quick! Dylan!" Trance came running through the corridors until she found Dylan and Tyr.
"Trance, slow down. What's wrong?"
"It's Cyllissah and Arunad," she gasped, out of breath. "We-were-talking-in- Liss's-room-when-Arunad-came-charging-through-the-door-and-shouting-and-I- didn't-understand-what-was-happening-and-Liss-told-me-to-get-out-that-she- would-deal-with-it-but-I-thought-I-should-tell-you-so..........."
Dylan tried to comprehend what she was saying at 100 m/p/h. As soon as he did he was already at the door; Tyr right behind him. It took a moment to reach the Fire Sunset. They were at the entrance when gun shots rang out. One, two, three....Shouting, yelling; Dylan recognized not only Cyllissah's and Arunad's voices but also Cyrene's. Four, five.....When the door slid open it revealed a shocking scene. One more shot was heard. Dylan and Tyr had no idea who had shot it for both Arunad and Liss were in a death-grip around the gun. Turning this way and that, each trying to get the other to loosen his/her grip. Cyrene was screaming for them to stop, trying to stay away from the gun's barrel. *Trying*. The one shot was fired. It was like time stood still; like the time when Dylan had been entering the event horizon of that black hole. Cyrene's shrill scream shattered the frozen- ness, allowing Dylan and Tyr to move once again. But it was too late. Cyrene went down before Dylan even reached her. Tyr leaped at the two still struggling with the gun. The Nietzschean twisted it away from both of them. Dylan knelt down by Cyrene's still form on the floor. Cyllissah and Arunad finally realized that they had hit Cyrene. Three pairs of expectant eyes burned into Dylan's back as he checked her pulse. A second later the captain stood up and faced them.
"She's dead."
**************************************************************
Dylan ordered Arunad and Cyllissah be placed in separate quarters aboard the Andromeda, so Rommie could keep watch over them. Tyr was also told to standby, just in case. Dylan decided he should get both person's story of the struggle, and then he could figure out what to do from there.
"All right, Arunad, what happened?"
The big man looked up at Dylan, remorse in his eyes. "I didn't mean for her to die," he said. "I did say I was a bounty hunter, but I'm not. I just said that, hoping Brian wouldn't give me as bad of a time, trying to boss me around. But I didn't kill him."
"You thought Cyrene did."
Arunad shook his head. "Not anymore. I looked through his papers. That manipulating blue b*tch did it!"
Dylan looked at him sharply.
"What are you talking about?" he demanded.
"I found a document of the Whites'. Cyllissah Daemonia *belongs* to them. She's a slave! And I never knew. Even though Cyrene slipped sometimes and treated her like one in front of me, I never suspected it. Brian, on the other hand, was quite careful. He never let anything slip."
Dylan's mind was processing this unexpected piece of information. 'She's a slave. Brian was probably the one who legally owned her. If slavery's legal......and that means with his death, she'd be free.'
**************************************************************
Everyone was once again assembled, except Arunad and Cyllissah.
"All right. We've got two suspects. One has a motive. A good one. But I want your thoughts," Dylan looked around at his crew.
Rev did not have an answer, though it was obvious he was leaning towards Arunad. Beka, Trance, and Harper had no doubt it was Arunad.
"How could it be Cyllissah? She's so nice."
Tyr raised his eyebrows at Trance's argument. Only he and Rommie remained.
"Tyr? Why is it that I have this feeling that you know more about this than you're letting on?"
Tyr faced Dylan.
"Cyllissah, she never spoke of her species, even when we asked. I became curious....."
"And asked Andromeda," Dylan finished for him.
"Rommie, to be exact. What she told me was...interesting, to say the least."
Everyone turned to look at Rommie.
"Her kind, the Trareemians, were of, originally, a small number. They all lived on a planet in a distant galaxy, isolated from any other beings. But they were attacked. Being away from civilization, the species as a whole was pretty primitive. It was an easy battle. Over 95% of them were either killed or sold into slavery," Rommie finished.
"And I've seen how Cyrene treated her. Not so much Brian, though. It really sparked my curiosity then," Tyr went on, "and I looked around Brian's office."
Everyone was silent for a moment. Finally, Beka asked, "Are you saying Cyllissah did it?"
"Brian's death ment her freedom," Dylan quietly said.
Harper, Beka, and Trance looked stunned. They couldn't believe their new friend was a murderer.
"So what are we going to do?" Harper questioned.
"I've decided to stop at the next planet. They can put her on trial there. Arunad would definitely need to be there, so we'll leave him there too."
"And that's it?"
Dylan shrugged.
"Dylan," Andromeda's AI appeared, "Cyllissah has managed to override my code and get out. She's headed towards the weaponry room."
"Tyr, head there and see if you can catch her. Beka, go the back way to the Hangar deck. I'll go the other way. Move!" he barked, racing to the door.
Tyr reached his destination first and checked around. "I missed her," he reported.
"All right. Head towards Beka, just in case," Dylan ordered him.
Just then, Liss came running through the door, gun in hand. She completely stopped when she saw Dylan. She pointed her gun at him.
"I don't want to kill you. But *nothing* will stop me from leaving. Not even you."
"Put the gun down, Cyllissah. Let's talk about this," Dylan said slowly, taking a cautious step towards the girl.
"Don't move! I'm going to leave now, Dylan. Don't try to stop me."
"I can't let you go. So why don't you just make this easier on yourself?"
"No! *You* make it easier on *yourself*."
While she was talking, Tyr came through the door. Andromeda must have told him Cyllissah was in here, and he came back around. Dylan never moved his eyes from her face, yet she knew he was there somehow. She spun around, ready to shoot. But Tyr was already there. He grabbed the gun. Cyllissah as a lot stronger than she looked. They both struggled with the gun, trying to twist it out of the other's grasp. 'De` ju vu`,' Dylan thought. The gun went off. Time stood still again as all three stood moving. Dylan looked down, expecting to see blood soaking through his High-Guard uniform. But he didn't. He looked up to see Cyllissah gasp and stagger back, clutching her stomach. She dropped to the floor.
**************************************************************
Cyllissah Daemonia had been declared instantly dead. Arunad Berm had been dropped off with the ship on the next planet they passed. And no one ever forgot the crew of the Fire Sunset.