Chapter 14

The shock wave of the explosion hit the fleeing Andromeda a few seconds later and the ship trembled in the wake of the wave. Systems began to malfunction and Andromeda's AI began reporting disruptions all over the ship. Several reactors exploded, sending bursts of fire down the corridors. The ship's condition was disastrous. It was amazing she was still holding her own, riding the shock wave until it passed. Command lapsed into silence. It was as if everyone was holding their breaths.
"Andromeda, status," Dylan's voice was a whisper, almost as if he was afraid of the answer.
"Lower and middle decks are damaged, but minor repairs will suffice. Upper decks require extensive repairs, as they received the most damage. The remaining Magog on board are fleeing," she paused as she analyzed incoming data. For a second, a smile played on the screen-locked image of Andromeda's avatar. "The few pieces of debry remaining in the system are consistent with the makeup of the Magog worldship. It's gone, Dylan. We won."
"Not yet," the captain didn't look completely relieved. "Locate the Maru."
Another pause. "The Maru is not in the system."
There was a hiss as the pilot's controls retracted and Telemachus moved away from the council. Without a word, he headed out. Dylan exchanged an inquisitive glance between Harper and Trance, both of whom simply shrugged, and followed Rhade out of command and on his way to the hanger bay.
"As soon as the minimal required repairs are complete, we can start looking for Beka," he said. "If Harper's bomb had the same effect that he thought it would, the Maru probably got pulled into slipstream involuntarily. We'll find her."
"No, that won't do," Rhade shook his head. "The Andromeda is in need of extensive repairs before she can safely travel through slipstream. I'll take a slipfighter and trace Beka's rout, then either return with her or contact you if we require assistance."
Telemachus stopped and turned to look at Dylan with an unreadable gaze. On his part, the captain could only guess what the Nietzschean was thinking. He sighed and waved his hand dismissingly. "Don't say it, Rhade."
The other man cocked his head to the side and frowned. "I'm not sure to what you are referring, sir."
"I know what you're going to say. 'We'll find her...unless she's dead.'"
Anger sparked in Rhade's eyes. "I did not expect you thought me to be so cold."
Immediately Dylan regretted his words. "I'm sorry, Telemachus," he apologized. "It's just that... for a moment, I thought that Gaheris would have said something like that in such a case. He was quite pessimistic, your ancestor."
"I know," Telemachus replied, resuming his quick and driven passe. "However, I am not him. I need for Beka to be alive, therefore I believe she is. Besides I made a promise to Tristan."
Now it was Dylan's turn to stop in the middle of the hallway. "What promise?"
"That I would bring his mother back to him," with that, he turned a corner and disappeared.
On his way to the hanger bay, Telemachus approached medical. He had half a thought to check on Tristan, but the door was still locked so Rhade concluded that no Magog had breached the sanctuary. Besides if he arrived without Beka, Tristan would worry, and there was no reason to do so. Not yet.
Unfortunately for Rhade, luck was not on his side at that moment. Just as he decided to pass it, the door to the medical bay slid open and Telemachus found himself face to face with the little boy. Tristan didn't carry the look of terror that Rhade remembered last on the child's face, but his soft young features were marred by a deep frown of concern.
"Are they gone?"his voice was slightly shaken.
"Yes," Telemachus confirmed, hoping that Tristan wouldn't ask his next question.
"Where's mama?"
Rhade winced and bit his lip. He lowered himself to Tristan's eye level and placed both hands on the boy's shoulders. "Your mother offered to do a very brave thing that saved us all. However to do that, she had to leave the Andromeda and fly out on her own ship. I'm not sure where she is right now, but I'm going to go and find her."
Rhade wasn't sure if such a simplified explanation was enough, but it would have to be. His bottom lip trembled, and Tristan dropped his gaze to the floor, his dark curls hiding his face from Rhade's view. After a moment, Tristan looked back up at the adult Nietzschean, and Telemachus was amazed to see the composed expression on the boy's face. His dark eyes shined with unshed tears, but Tristan's emotions were perfectly collected.
"Take me with you," he said.
"Absolutely not," Rhade refused, getting up. "Tristan, I promised that I would bring her back and..."
"Telemachus, please," the child insisted, garbing a fistful of Rhade's pant leg. He butchered the pronunciation of his first name, of course, but he had made the effort. "If something happened to my mother, I'd like to see her one last time."
There was a hint of desperation in his voice, but mostly it was cool and composed, so much that a chill ran down Rhade's spine. Tristan sounded too old for his age, a reflection of the terrors that filled his short life. He knew death, and Telemachus realized that if this was indeed the last time Tristan would have a chance to see Beka, than he owed it to the boy to give him that chance.
"Alright," he nodded, taking the child in his arms. "Let's go find your mother."

---

Somewhere in the cold abyss of space, the Eureka Maru floated on black starry the canvas. The hull of the ship was badly damaged, one of the three engines was torn out, and there was a massive void where the slipstream drive should have been. Flying towards the Maru on his slipfighter, Telemachus became very concerned that the exterior damage reflected the condition of the cabin.
He was right. The interior looked just as bad. As he made his way through piles of broken pieces of metal on the floor with Tristan in his arms, Rhade assessed the damage. There was smoke everywhere. Wires, cables, and broken pipes were dangling from the ceiling. The ends of the wires were giving off static sparks.
The closer they got to the main cabin, the more Rhade felt a sense of dread fill him. He shifted Tristan in his arms so that the boy's head rested on his shoulder, in case there was a horrific sight in front of them. Again he was right in doing so. Beka was slumped in the pilot's chair. She was unconscious. The area around her abdominal was bleeding heavily as if she had been thrown forward in the shock wave, but it was difficult to tell exactly where the wounds were. The blood flooded all over her cloths and the equipment around her. Her head must have been cut as well, because there was blood in her hair. She was bruised and cut all over.
"Stay here," Rhade commanded and quickly placed Tristan on the floor. Tristan nodded, and Telemachus made his way to the pilot's chair. Reaching for her throat, he felt for a pulse. There was a sigh of relief when he discovered a faint heartbeat. Her body felt warm, which was a good sign. She would live, but he had to get her back to the Andromeda quickly.