Chapter 2

300 Years later:

The universe went through many changes while Dylan and Rhade slept. The Commonwealth had fallen. Evil forces had taken over the universe. Pirates and slavers roamed the depths of space. Most people had lost all hope, except the crew of one ship, the Eureka Maru. The crew consisted of: Beka Valentine and her husband Tyr Anasazi; their genius son, Harper; their spiritual advisor, Rev Bem; and the ever so mysterious Trance Gemini.

The people of the Eureka Maru were searching for a legendary ship called the Andromeda Ascendant. On this ship were the equally legendary Sleepers, who were said to be capable of restoring the Commonwealth.

After in-depth research, and many years of searching through space, Trance Gemini, known to her crew as the Seeker, was able to guide them to their long-awaited destination. Using technology that their resident genius helped develop, they were able to pull the Andromeda back from the edge of the event horizon, without being caught in it themselves. Overjoyed, they boarded the Andromeda, to search for the Sleepers.

In the meantime, Dylan and Rhade had awakened. They looked at the view screen and their computer, and found out that they were free from the event horizon and that it was 300 years later.

"Do you feel like we're in a fairy tale, Rhade.... Or is it just me?" asked Dylan, rubbing his eyes.

"A fairy tale? Is that what you read when you were supposed to be studying?" Rhade asked, raising one eyebrow.

"No!" protested Dylan, blushing. "Mother used to read them to us when we were little."

"Oh, I remember... Wasn't a princess supposed to wake us up?"

"I don't see one. She wouldn't kiss you anyway... not with me around."

"Really... I think she'd kiss me before you. I obviously have the superior genes."

Dylan and Rhade good-naturedly traded mock insults back and forth, while continuing to assess damage to the ship and find their exact position in space.

The crew of the Eureka Maru explored the Andromeda, searching each deck systematically. Harper had jacked into a computer panel to read the ship's files, when suddenly a shrill sounding alarm went off, making everyone cover their ears.

"What was that, boy?!" hollered Tyr. He wasn't angry with Harper. He had gone a bit deaf from the noise, and could hardly hear himself speak.

"Uh, Dad, I think the ship is a bit angry with me. That's an intruder alert. We have to get to the Sleepers and convince them that we're not here to do harm."

"Let's go," said Tyr. Split up... Beka with me... Rev and Harper... Trance... uh..."

"You know I'm fine by myself, Tyr."

"Okay, let's go."

When they heard the alarm, Dylan and Rhade grabbed forcelances and proceeded to search the ship for intruders.

During the search, Harper was separated from Rev, and found the machine shop, and happily settled down to take apart and examine various pieces of technology. Dylan was able to lock Tyr and Rev inside a storage area, and Rhade caught Beka in a force field.

Dylan found out that two intruders were still to be found, and sent Rhade to find one while he went after the other. That one happened to be Harper and actually Dylan was so amused with him that they soon became good friends. Harper was able to explain the Maru's mission to Dylan, and he agreed to discuss it with Rhade.

Rhade was having his own adventure while looking for Trance Gemini. He was passing by Hydroponics, when he heard a giggle and saw a purple tail disappearing around a corner. 'A tail?' he thought, shaking his head. He hurried around the corner to see the tail disappearing around another corner. He decided to circle around and see if that would work. He found himself face to face with a very pretty purple girl whose big brown eyes were wide open with surprise. He caught her to keep her from falling. The girl said, "Oh, my goodness. I'm sorry, Mr.... umm..." Rhade smiled. "My name is Gaheris Rhade, but I'm usually known as Rhade. What's your name, little purple one?"

"My name is Trance Gemini. My crew calls me the Seeker 'cause I... umm... find things...and people too."

"I think that we found each other this time, Miss Trance... By the way, that's a cute tail that you have."

"Oh... thank you... Rhade." She blushed, her cheeks turning a brighter purple when she realized that this very handsome man was still standing extremely close to her. He still had his hands on her shoulders and when Rhade realized this, he blushed himself. "I'm sorry, Trance. I forgot to ... let go."

Trance giggled. "That's okay. Come on; let's go make friends with everyone. You're really nice and we're really nice, and everyone has really nice intentions." She grabbed a befuddled Rhade's hand, and towed him along behind her, chattering merrily all the way.

Trance and Rhade caught up with Dylan and Harper, and the rest of the Maru's crew, who had been released. Together, they discussed all the problems that were to be faced in restoring the Commonwealth, and decided to work together to accomplish this task.

That night, a shimmering female figure once again watched over Dylan. "May the Divine grant that I may join you soon," she said, as she disappeared.

-TBC-