Yes, it is indeed good to be back. I always intended to get back to this story; it was just a matter of me going round the bend trying to write 4 or 5 stories at one time.

Chrysalis, part 9

Dylan sat looking at the bed: Rommie lay unmoving, still as the preverbal grave. The small room of the main med-deck was quite, only the sound of his breathing and the gentle hum of the air-conditioning to keep him company. The reassuring shape of two armed Lancers could be seen through the frosted glass window in the door. Tyr had selected two Nietzscheans for the job, on the grounds that they where lest likely to help a Genite agent.

The Knights of Genetic Purity, an organisation founded by High Guard officers, dedicated to the death of all 'polluted' humans. The very concept disgusted Dylan: no true High Guard officer would ever consider genocide. But the sad fact was that the Genites probably had more agents within the new High Guard, and possibly even Andromeda's expanded crew, than the Commonwealth had within the Knights.

Dylan cold understand why the Genites where after him: not only was he half genetically engender, he had seriously damaged their fleet when they had been searching from Tyr's son. He had no idea how they though about Rommie: in the old Commonwealth, AI's had been treated the same as organics, but there had never been a case like his wife's before.

The door opened, Andrew stepping through, "Sorry, am I disturbing you?" Dylan shook his head, "No, no: Come in." The Avatar nodded, standing against one wall, silently watching his 'sister'. Dylan looked at him, "Can I ask you a personal question?" Andrew blinked, "Of course you can." Dylan took a deep breath, "Do you ever think about death?"

Andrew looked a little stunned; "I am able to comprehend a time where I may cases to function, that I may be destroyed. I now that I am by no way immortal, even if my potential lifespan is measured in centuries rather than decades. I have never really considered my own death, but I am aware that it is possible. Why do you ask?" Dylan smiled slightly: Andrew was a lot more curies then Rommie ever was. Then the smiled died on his lips, "I was just wounding if Rommie ever contemplated death. We both presumed that she would out live me, but now…"

A knock at the door disturbed him before e could delve any further into his own fears. Harper stood in the doorway, Trance just behind him, "Dylan, we have something we need to show you." He handed over a flexi, "The damage done by the EMP grenade has been repaired, and the nano-bots have healed the burns, but Rommie is still stuck in a diagnostic loop." Dylan blinked, "In common?" Trance sighed, "If she was fully human, I'd say she was in a coma. We have no way of knowing when, or even if, she'll come round." Dylan collapsed back into his chair.

Harper face was grim, "The nano-bots are also still at work. We tried to shut them down, but they didn't respond. There is no way of knowing what's going on from out here." Dylan looked up, "What do you mean: from here?" Harper knelt down so his face was level with Dylan's, "There is a possibility that someone, either myself, Andrew or Andromeda, may be able to back-track Rommie's uplink and get past the diagnostic loop and find out what's going on inside her mind. It would be a near total invasion of privacy, but it may tell us what's going on." Dylan looked at his wife's still form, "Do it."

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Harper activated the link through his data-port, and found himself standing in the familiar soundings of Andromeda's central core. The main AI's form appeared next time him, along with Andrews. Harper nodded, "Ok, lets go." A doorway flashed into existence before the three of them, and Andromeda produced a glowing key. The key entered the lock, and the door swung open. Harper smiled, "Very theatrical."

The pathway representing the link between Andromeda and Rommie was not as bight as the main core, but their where still signals flowing backwards and forwards. Harper looked at them, "What are these?" Andromeda looked at them, "Basic data flows: they keep the link active and stop it from dissipating." Harper looked worried, "If they where to stop while we where inside Rommie's mind…" Andromeda shook her head; "I'd have plenty of warning to get us out in time."

Andrew walked on, stopping when he came to three doorways, "Now this is odd." Harper looked at the doors: they seemed to be blocks put in place by the diagnostic loop, "Ok, look's like we each take one and see what happens." Andromeda opened the first door, and the ground beneath her fell away. Harper looked into the hole, "Ok, wrong door." Andrew nodded, "Ok, let's see what's behind door number two." He opened the door, and was intently engulfed in a fireball. The heat of the blast made Harper jump back. He landed against the third door, and it fell open.

To Be Continued…