Child of the Sun Chapter 9, an andromeda fanfic

Author's Note: Italics signify thought or emphasis.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dylan sighed, looking around the command deck at the "inner circle" of his crew. There had been Commonwealth crewmembers on the Andromeda for some time now, but other than Telemachus none of them had become members of this group. Probably because they were more than his crew, they were his family. The people who had inadvertently saved him from being frozen in time longer than the three hundred years he had been. The people who had stuck by him through some of the worst situations in history.

Trance was staring off into space; her face set in a perpetual frown. Some of the light had disappeared from her eyes, and it was hurting him to see her that way. Not that he could blame her. Alura was Trance's flesh and blood. He didn't know if he'd be able to deal even half as well if his child was in the hands of the enemy. Alura being Trance's child was enough to have him set on revenge.

Harper was fidgeting with some wiring in the wall, which probably didn't need to be fixed. He was too worried about their missing friends to fully concentrate on any task. He and Telemachus occasionally insulted each other, but Harper had done the same thing with Tyr. He only dared banter like that with Nietzscheans he liked. It had surprised Dylan that Harper had been able to get to that point with Rhade after Tyr's betrayal. Alura, on the other hand, Harper had almost immediately bonded with. The fact that she was Nietzschean was forgotten much of the time.

Beka was glaring down at the weapons control panel before her. Dylan knew she partially blamed herself for Telemachus' capture. The man with the rocket launcher had obviously been a bluff. The intruders had intended to take captives, not do serious damage to the Andromeda or kill the crew. Dylan had tried to tell Beka that it wasn't her fault, but she had simply said that she should have helped when Alura went in without back up. He hadn't been able to argue with that.

He himself felt guilty for sending Alura to check on her ship. If she hadn't gone that way, she wouldn't have been taken. But Trance had pointed out that as soon as Alura had found out about the intruders being in the same hangar as the Dance, she would have gone there without his ordering it. Her ship was all she had of her former life, and anyone could tell it meant a lot to her.

Rommie was standing next to Dylan. Her lips were pursed, and her forehead was wrinkled in concentration. She was going through what little data she had, trying to extrapolate a common place the Nietzscheans they could identify might consider home. But so many of them came from different worlds and Prides that she hadn't had any luck so far.

Dylan caught a sudden movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned toward Trance. For just a moment she had been glowing. None of the others had noticed. Her gaze turned to him momentarily and she smiled. Dylan smiled back. Somehow, she knew they were okay, which meant he now knew it.

He wasn't surprised when a few seconds later the holographic Andromeda reported, "Slipstream event detected. One ship, a Commonwealth shuttle. We're being hailed. It's Lt. Commander Rhade. He and Alura are both on board along with a Commonwealth spy, and they request permission to dock."

"Granted," Dylan ordered.

He had never been happier to say one word. He glanced at Trance. She inclined her head slightly.

"Trance, you're with me," he commanded as he left the room.

"Of course, Dylan." She said it in a way that she would in any circumstance, but her dancing eyes told him how happy she was.

"Tell them I'm happy they're back, boss," a much perkier Harper said.

Dylan nodded, and with Trance by his side, went to go welcome back his no longer missing crewmembers.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Having noticed that Alura was favoring her right leg, the one Dequenne had injured, Achilles assisted her down from the shuttle when she exited after him. Pain flickered in Alura's deep blue eyes when she put weight on the injured limb and she leaned on him for a second, but she smiled and thanked him, letting go of the hand he had helped her down with.

Achilles didn't bother hiding his smirk when he noticed that Rhade was still frowning at the two of them. The other male was obviously trying to decide whether or not to act territorial around his crewmate. Had Rhade truly never considered Alura before another Nietzschean male had entered the picture? Achilles knew from reports that there were no other Nietzscheans onboard the Andromeda (not that he could blame Captain Hunt for keeping it that way after all the problems the heavyworlder had previously had with Nietzschean crewmembers).

Now that he thought about it, it was probably true. Valhalla Pride was much more accepting of cross-species marriage and the children that resulted from it than Majorum Pride. Achilles internally shrugged. Now was not really the time to be considering this type of thing. The sooner he got back to Tarazed, the better. He had to make his reports to Tri Lorn and get his next assignment. Which, after the way this one had ended, would most likely not be an undercover one.

Captain Hunt and a woman that had to be Trance Gemini entered the room. Achilles stayed back slightly, allowing the other four people to reunite without his presence to distract them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Happiness and relief were radiating from her mother, and Alura wasn't surprised when the other woman stepped forward for a hug. What she hadn't expected was the pain in her side from her recently acquired bruise when her mother squeezed her. She couldn't help flinching, nor could she prevent her own gasp of pain from escaping her lips.

"Are you injured?" Trance asked, concern evident in her voice. She let go and visually inspected Alura.

Alura shrugged, trying to downplay her mother's worry. "Just a couple bumps and bruises, nothing to worry about."

"Telemachus?" Trance asked when she accepted her daughter's statement.

Telemachus shook his head. "All they did with me was throw me in a cell. Alura knows more about what happened than I do." He turned and indicated Achilles. "This is Achilles Renier, he helped us escape. You may want to debrief with him, Captain. He works for Tri Lorn."

Dylan's eyebrows lifted and he turned toward the newcomer. Alura watched as Achilles strode confidently forward and shook Dylan's hand.

"Commander Renier of the Commonwealth High Guard, formerly of the Tarazed Home Guard. Collector Pish was behind the kidnapping, I can give you a full report if you'd like, Captain Hunt."

"Thank you, yes. Please accompany me to my office while Trance takes Rhade and Alura to med deck."

Telemachus didn't remind Dylan that he hadn't been injured.

Alura said, "When you're done, come to med deck and we'll have that cut taken care of."

Achilles smiled and nodded. Alura smiled back at their rescuer and glanced at Telemachus. Her smile faded. Telemachus was frowning at her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Rhade, please come to my office."

Dylan's voice had come from the screen on one wall that received room to room transmissions. Alura glanced over at Telemachus. He still refused to meet her gaze. They were on med deck, and Trance had just finished putting a brace on Alura's right knee after proclaiming one of her tendons sprained.

"I'll be right there, Captain," Telemachus said after receiving a nod from Trance.

"Your scan came back clear," Trance informed him as he moved toward the door. "You don't need to come back here."

Telemachus seemed to hesitate before he nodded and left the room. Trance glanced up at Alura, rubbing a healing salve on the bruise on her daughter's abdomen and side.

"He's been acting a little weird since Achilles helped us escape," Alura confided.

She was puzzled when her mother smiled knowingly.

"Perhaps Telemachus and Achilles are in conflict over something."

"What would they be in conflict over?" Alura asked. "They just met."

When her mother simply smiled again, Alura moved on. "When I was in Pish's office he had an old book on his desk with your picture in it."

Trance froze and Alura frowned. She waited for her mother to decide how much to tell her.

"What was the picture of?"

"You were holding a plant above your head and there were dead Magog at your feet."

Trance nodded. "It's a last resort."

"What do you mean?" Alura asked softly.

Trance sighed. "If I pooled all the power of my star and channeled it through the life energy you saw as a plant, I could destroy the worldship."

Alura felt the blood drain from her face, "But if you did that..."

When her daughter trailed off, Trance nodded, "I would die. Permanently. And it wouldn't even stop the Abyss. If me dying was the only effect, I would do it; I am not as important as the millions the Magog destroy each month, but my sun would die as well."

"And all the people on the planets around it. And the slaves on the worldship," Alura finished in a quiet tone.

"How did you know that my star was part of an inhabited system?" Trance asked.

"You left me a message when you and Dylan went on your final mission. I got it when I was fifteen. It explained a lot of who you were and why you had chosen the path you took."

"Final mission?" Trance echoed. "How old were you when I died?"

"Ten," Alura answered.

Trance's eyebrows rose and she pursed her lips thoughtfully. When she spoke again, her tone was very gentle. "And when you were first sold?"

Alura bit her lip. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about that, I just didn't want it to hurt you. I was twelve the first time, fourteen when I was bought and freed by Hank, the human who took care of me until I was eighteen."

Achilles walked in and Trance smiled at the man who had freed her daughter and her crewmate. Achilles smiled back easily.

"I'm here for my cut," he reminded Alura.

She smiled and slid off the exam table, patting the padded bench with one hand. Achilles obediently sat down and waited.

"I'm sure you have everything under control, Alura. I'll see you later."

"Bye, Mother."

Alura moved back over to Achilles and began cleaning the wound on his forehead. His warm breath fanned over her face when he suddenly spoke.

"She looks very young. Is her species long-lived?"

"Yes," Alura murmured, concentrating on examining the wound.

It didn't appear that it would scar. She gently smoothed a bandage over the wound.

"That's just to keep it clean. As soon as it starts to scab over, let it breath."

Achilles nodded, his eyes smiling at her. Alura suddenly realized how close she was to him and moved back, disposing of the materials she had used.

"Shall we go get something to eat?" he asked. "I believe it's around dinner time."

"I am hungry," Alura responded. "Would you like to sit with me? I'd like to know more about Tarazed."

"I would be very happy to share my memories with you, as well as dinner."

Alura led the way to the mess hall, her pace slightly slower than usual due to the only slightly dulled pain in her knee. Achilles shortened his pace to match hers. Alura suddenly realized that Achilles was being more than just kind to her and blushed.

Does Mom really think that Telemachus and Achilles are attacking territorial over me? she wondered in amazement. No, I'm sure Telemachus is just watching out for me as a member of the crew. And he's probably a little upset to be shown up by another Nietzschean.

When they entered the room, Alura immediately noted that Dylan, Trance, Beka, Telemachus and Harper were sitting together. Harper waved happily at her and Alura smiled and waved back. She and Achilles got their food and moved to one of the smaller, empty tables.

"Didn't you ever ask Lt. Commander Rhade about Tarazed? It's his home as well."

Alura shook her head slowly in response to the question. "No, I don't talk about my past, so most of the time I don't feel it's fair to ask anyone else about theirs. And I've only been on the ship for a few weeks."

Achilles accepted her answer and shared tales of Tarazed with her throughout the meal. What it had been like growing up on a planet that isolated itself from the rest of the universe. How much it had changed once the new Commonwealth had been established and one of the Triumvirs had made Tarazed their base of operations. Achilles also told her more about his family. His mother had three husbands, two Nietzschean and the one Trillian. He had seven brothers and four sisters, two of whom were in the Home Guard.

"Do you think I would be accepted on Tarazed?" Alura asked as their meal drew to a close.

"Very much so," he answered warmly.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Alura was surprised when Telemachus showed up on obs deck the next morning when she was watering her plants.

"I can't spar," she reminded him. "My knee needs time to heal."

"I know," he said softly. "But you can still help me with my Tai Chi positioning, can't you?"

"Sure," she answered quietly.

Telemachus seemed to have moved past his sullen mood of the day before and Alura put her watering can away after finishing her plants. She moved slowly over to where he stood. He breathed out and took a position he had previously been having trouble with. Alura moved to stand close behind him and used her own arms to show him how the tension should flow out through his hands, her own gently guiding his.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Someone walked in the door and Telemachus glanced in that direction to see Achilles Renier watching them with interest. Watching Alura with interest. His body tensed.

"No, relax," Alura chided gently.

When he didn't obey, she sighed and moved away. Telemachus immediately missed the warm, calming sensation of her body brushing his. He nearly growled when the other two greeted each other warmly.

"I'm leaving now and just thought I'd say good-bye and extend an invitation to visit anytime you're near Tarazed," Achilles was saying to Alura. He smiled affectionately at the exotically beautiful woman. "I think my sister Ariadne would really like to meet you."

"Thank you," Alura responded, blushing lightly. "I'll remember that if my ship is ever fixed."

Achilles bent slightly at the waist and brought Alura's hand to his mouth, kissing the blue skin gently.

"I look forward to it," he said huskily.

Telemachus cleared his throat aggressively, "I'll walk you to the hangar."

Achilles smirked at him and Alura glanced between the two men. She looked as if she was about to say something when the holographic image of Andromeda's AI appeared in the room and requested her presence on med deck.

"Goodbye, Achilles," she said and was gone.

The two men walked in silence down Andromeda's corridors.

"I don't think Trance wants Alura to leave the Andromeda anytime soon," Telemachus finally broke the silence. "I wouldn't expect her to show up on Tarazed anytime soon."

"Alura is a full grown woman," Achilles challenged, and Telemachus knew he meant that Alura could make her own decision about more than just leaving the Andromeda.

"All the same, it may be a while until her ship is fixed and she gets closer to Trance everyday. And besides, it may be dangerous for her to go somewhere Pish would be able to find her."

They had reached the shuttle Achilles would now use to get home to Tarazed, and the blonde man climbed aboard, making one last parting shot as the door closed between him and Telemachus.

"I don't think Isis of Majorum Pride would accept a half-breed for a daughter-in-law."

Telemachus glared ineffectually at the departing shuttle.

Good riddance, he thought.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It had been two weeks since Alura and Telemachus had fully returned to working out together. It had taken four days before that for her knee to fully heal. But now that she was fully healthy again, every few days when he got his duty roster, Telemachus passed it along to Alura so she would know when they would meet on the observation deck. It had worked great so far. With Telemachus beside her on the mat, Alura could once again focus, and he had thanked her on more than one occasion for helping keep in top fighting condition, something she knew he would not say if he didn't truly mean it.

Telemachus did not say anything he didn't mean, unless you counted his bantering with Harper. But that was, she had realized some time ago, all in fun. Various members of the crew watched them on occasion, but Alura ignored them. Their looks were only curious.

There had been no further attempts by Pish and his followers, and Alura had moved past the incident enough to almost be grateful. Almost losing her had made her mother more willing to let Alura's past remain secret. She and Trance were getting closer every day. She knew from observation that Telemachus was also less taken for granted now by the crew.

Alura was already stretching when Telemachus sauntered into the room. She looked up at him and smiled warmly before realizing he wasn't alone. Beka Valentine was with him. Alura's smile faded completely. She knew from the reports she had read before coming back in time and across reality that both Tyr Anasazi and Telemachus Rhade had found Beka fascinating. Telemachus' physical relationship with Beka could never be completely confirmed, however.

What was it about this human woman that had them both so drawn to a non-Nietzschean? Her sexual magnetism alone would not be enough for a proud Nietzschean male. Alura supposed it was because Beka was a survivor, a highly desired trait in a wife and mother.

It did not please Alura to have competition. Alura blinked when she realized what she had just thought. Competition? Telemachus would have to at least be interested in her for Beka to be her competition. And he had never given Alura any reason, other than their daily sessions, to think he was.

"Captain Valentine," Alura greeted. She had other reasons not to like Beka much and couldn't seem to keep the coldness from her voice, but the other woman didn't seem to care.

Beka simply nodded.

Telemachus smiled at her, the skin at the outer corner of each eye crinkling. He was a magnificent male, even his tiny flaws fascinating. Alura allowed a small smile in return so he wouldn't think anything was wrong.

"Alura, Beka was wondering if she could join our Tai Chi sessions when her duty schedule allows?"

Something inside Alura rebelled violently at the idea. Telemachus had just dashed the only hope she had held on to that he might be interested in her by including someone else in what had been only theirs. She was saved from answering by the ship-wide alarm going off. It was followed by two messages. The first was from Dylan.

"Yellow alert. All senior officers to command, everyone else be ready to head for battle stations."

The second announcement came from Trance.

"Alura, please come to the bridge. There is something you need to see."

Her mother's voice sounded worried and Alura headed to the bridge at a brisk jog. Telemachus and Beka were a few steps behind her.

When they entered, Dylan gave them a tight nod and told Alura, "Stay near Trance."

Alura nodded her acceptance and moved next to her mother.

"There is a swarm of Magog ships attacking a small outpost on the planet. The complex is just beginning to be invaded. I read twelve life signs inside, all Nietzschean," the holographic Andromeda reported. "It appears to be an inhospitable world, I don't see any other signs of life."

Nietzschean? Alura thought. Is that what my mother wanted me to know?

Trance interrupted her thoughts, "Alura, why do I feel this place is important to you?"

Alura finally turned her attention to the front view screen instead of studying the holograph of the ship's AI. Alura failed to suppress a gasp at the sight that met her eyes.

"What year is this?"

Trance told her and Alura gasped again. Midden.

"Drago... Oh, thank the Divine, I came back years earlier than I thought."

"Andromeda," Dylan ordered, "fire at any stragglers and send out a squad of the automated slipfighters to try and help the outpost."

"Who's Drago?" Trance asked gently.

"My half-brother on my father's side," Alura whispered.

When Telemachus frowned in her direction, Alura silently cursed Nietzschean hearing.

"Captain Hunt," Alura said. Dylan tilted his head in her direction though his gaze remained on the view screen. "Permission to use a slipfighter to go down there and attempt the rescue of someone dear to me. The Dance Among the Stars isn't up and running yet."

Dylan opened his mouth, but Trance preempted him. "Dylan, she needs to do this. Go, Alura."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Preview: At long last, the revelation of the identity of Alura's father! Also, more action and adventure.