A/N: remember Karaki from one of my earlier chappies? (The woman who told Dylan the crew would be with him until the end) well, I had to give her a promotion. (earlier it was ensign, now its lieutenant) PLZ DON'T HATE ME! I sorry, I sorry!

Chapter 13

Telemachus strained the muscles of his arms, but was unable to free his hands from the bonds that strapped him to the table.

"Suddenly he heard a small cry of pain, than a whispered, "Alright, I'll do it." Then he heard soft padding footsteps coming toward him.

Liara got up on her tiptoes and looked at Telemachus, "You know what you have to do," she said clicking the button on his right arm. The silver metal retracted.

Telemachus, reached over and freed his other arm, rubbing them to get circulation going. He sat up. "You're the insider, then?"

Liara smiled wryly. "A flag's shape shifts in the wind." She said cryptically. "I can shut off the AI for about a minute. Are you ready?"

Telemachus nodded, got up, and walked out the door.
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Dylan, Harper, Beka, and Trance were seated around the large conference table in Dylan's quarters.

"What do you think?" Dylan addressed the rest of the senior officers. "Is Rhade curable?"

"He's been through the worst kind of hell," Trance said. "The hell of one's own mind. Give him time, and he'll probably recover.

"But in the meantime?" Dylan asked. "If he's a danger to the crew, should I lock him in the brig?"

"I say we jet him out an airlock," Harper said suddenly.

Trance gasped. "Harper!"

"What, are you gonna say I'm wrong?" Harper demanded. "He-shot-you, Trance."

"But what if-"Dylan started to ask when the door hissed open.

Rommie walked in holding a flexi. "Captain, I think you should see-" All of a sudden there was a whir of machinery shutting down, Rommie fell face forward, the lights flickered, and the sprinkler system turned on, drenching them all in cold water.

"All right, who broke my ship?" Dylan asked of no one in particular. He keyed the Command Deck.

"Lieutenant Karaki," a blonde woman saluted on the screen. "Captain, what the hell is going on, sir?" She put a hand over her mouth. "Pardon my Vedran, sir, but everything is going kablooey."

Dylan raised an eyebrow. "Kablooey?"

Karaki colored slightly and shrugged.

"Dylan, you never told me we had someone this hot on the crew," Harper said, waggling his eyebrows at he pale-skinned woman.

"Watch your mouth, engineer," Karaki snapped.

"I didn't say anything!"

"You were thinking it!"

"What do you mean, 'kablooey'?" Trance cut in, loosing patience with Harper.

Karaki ticked the list off her fingers. "Lights are reminding me of the strobe lights in that bar I was at last shore leave, AG fields amplified over by the door, AG fields reduced by the weapons control station, Andromeda's screen image is flickering on and off, her hologram seems to have a different outfit on every other second... Private!" she yelled suddenly at someone off-screen, "Stop staring at Andromeda's ass!"

Harper snorted and Beka bit her lip to keep from laughing.

Suddenly the sprinkler shut off, Rommie stood up and the lights in the background of the Command Deck stopped flashing.

"Andromeda, what's going on?" Dylan demanded as Karaki shut off the communication, swearing filthily about something.

"It's Liara," Rommie said. "She shut me off after holding this conversation with Rhade." She played the flexi, showing the whole conversation up to when Rhade walked to the door. "Apparently while I was shut off, Rhade snuck to the Slipstream core and barricaded himself in."

"I think it's time we had a conversation with our guest," Dylan said angrily.

-------

"You're working for the Collectors, aren't you," Dylan said, a statement, not a question.

Liara dangled her feet off the edge of the medical table. "I think 'forced employment' is a better word."

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't eject you from my ship right now," Dylan asked.

"I didn't have a choice!" Liara cried. "If I don't obey he hurts me!"

"Pish?"

"Yes, Pish!" Liara sniffed. "He has a little electrocuty-thing that shocks me when I don't do what he wants." Suddenly she screamed, and Dylan heard a harsh buzzing noise. When the buzzing noise ended and Liara finished screaming, the odor of burned skin and hair filled the air. The Nietzschean girl slumped to the side, sobbing. "Make him stop," she beseeched, holding her hands out. "I wouldn't have done it if he didn't make me, even though you ejected me in an escape pod a week ago."

"We didn't-"Harper started, then froze. "A week ago..."

Liara shivered, her skin turning a dark gray and growing a couple inches, her dirty ill-fitting clothes becoming long purple robes.

"Terla," Beka said flatly.

A/N: heeheehee! I had so much FUN w/ this chapter!