A/N: Sorry it took me so long, I have been studying for exams and stuff. Argh! Accursed school…I'm trying to build relationships and distinct personalities among the characters, but I think that might come a bit later. Thanks for your patience. Also, consider the droid things to be somewhat like DRDs from Farscape, only a bit bigger and meaner looking….

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"Opening a slipstream portal." Loren stated blandly.

"Alright, I'll pilot us to our rendezvous point." Dylan said, looking around for the piloting station.

"We do not need you, Dylan. We are biological. We can navigate ourselves." As Loren said this, the massive ship slid into slipstream, barely jolting the people inside.

"Incredible!" Harper said as he examined one of the walls. "This ship, it is absolutely incredible!" The rest of the crew let out an annoyed groan.

"He is the Rage of Serenity, he is my life partner." Loren said. She looked more sad than angry now. We are a genetic mixture of thousands of different species, bred to be the ultimate ally." As she said this, the ship gracefully exited slipstream, right in front of the Andromeda. "Here is your ship captain. You make take your crew home now."

"What about you?" Ethan asked, as the rest of the crew began to slowly file out of command. Dylan had his arm around Rommie and was slowly helping her walk towards the exit to command. "I'm not leaving you again." Ethan looked at her pleadingly. "Come aboard the Andromeda, we can take care of you there."

"I will come aboard the Andromeda, if only to see that my mother gets there safely." Loren said, with her head down.

The crew made there way down the long corridor until they reached the hangar where the Maru had docked. Some of the droids were attached to the side of the little ship, welding and repairing some broken wires and panels.

"Handy little things, aren't they?" Beka said as she brushed her hand along a finely repaired panel on the Maru's hull.

"They are like blood cells in humanoids. They repair, clean, defend, and carry energy to different systems. They can be very useful." Loren said, as two of the droids came over to her and beeped happily. Harper's eyes widened as a smile spread across his face. He bent down to get a closer look at one of the droids.

"This is absolutely…"

"We know!" Beka, Tyr and Jharden interrupted from behind him. The rest of the crew laughed and boarded the Maru one by one. Loren hesitated slightly before stepping onto the tiny vessel.

"Rage of Serenity is requesting to accompany me." Loren said, looking at Beka. "He is able to interface with his droids." Loren pointed to the two droids by her feet, which both beeped erratically.

"Umm, sure." Beka said as she made her way over to the piloting chair. As soon as everyone was safely aboard, the airlock closed, and the Maru lifted softly of the hangar bay floor. Dylan sat Rommie down on one of the bunks in the back, and took his place next to Beka, who was at the helm. Loren looked out the main viewer until they were clear of the hangar doors. She looked down at the little droids at her side, then back to where her mother was sitting. She turned her head to look at everyone else, but they were all busy with their assigned tasks. She slowly walked over to where her mother was sitting and sat on the bed facing her. Rommie looked into her eyes and gave a weak smile.

"Hello there, my little one." Rommie said softly. "I told you they would come for us." She lifted her hand and shifted a stray hair from Loren's eyes.

"Yes." She said as she leaned in to hug her mother. "Us." Her eyes were sad and empty. As the two embraced, Ethan came back to where they were sitting and leaned down to hug Rommie.

"I was lost for so long." He whispered as a tear ran down his cheek.

"My brave one, we must not cry now. We are safe with Dylan and the Andromeda." She let him go and leaned back to look him in the face. "We never have to be afraid again." A smile spread across Ethan's face as Rommie brushed away his tears and smiled back at him. They turned and looked at Loren, who gave a weak smile, but faded as soon as they looked away.

A few minutes passed and the Maru landed softly in the Andromeda's docking bay. As Rommie slowly stepped onto the deck, Holo-Rommie and the Andromeda AI popped up excitedly and welcomed their sister home. Dylan allowed the three to talk for a short while, and then escorted Rommie to her quarters to rest and be repaired. They walked slowly down the passageway, closely followed by Ethan and Loren. Rommie and Dylan turned the corner into Dylan's quarters, while Ethan and Loren continued down the hall to Ethan's quarters.

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Rommie sat comfortably on Dylan's bed, as he brought her some fresh towels and filled up the tub for her. She smiled at the sound of the water flowing freely; it had been so long since she had the chance to bathe so peacefully. Dylan gave her a soft kiss on the forehead, which snapped her out of her dream. She recoiled on the bed and looked at Dylan frightened.

"I'm so sorry Rommie. I forgot." Dylan put his hands up and stepped away from her.

"It's not your fault Dylan. I'm sorry for reacting that way, it's just become…" she faded away.

"Become what?" Dylan sat down beside her, and put his hand on hers.

"A reflex," She said hesitantly. "But we don't have to talk about it." She smiled softly and stood up. He looked at her lovingly, but sorrowfully.

"I'll leave you to your bath." He said gently. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Thank you, for everything." She smiled gratefully at him as he strolled out of his quarters and down the hall to command. She watched him until he was out of sight, and then she slipped out of her battered clothes and settled softly into the steaming water.

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"Loren, what did they do to you?" Ethan interrogated his sister, who was sitting on the bed in front of him.

"Do you remember that time when we were kids? When we snuck out of the camp and ran down to that little mud-hole where we would swim? We would play there for hours, until we were too tired to do anything. I remember when we used to bet on who could get more dirty." Loren smiled off into space as she recalled a lost memory.

"Loren, you know those things never happened." Ethan answered blandly. "They just programmed those memories into you."

"I know. But is it so wrong to think, even for an instant, that our childhoods were filled with more than what they were." Loren asked solemnly, as she looked up to her brother who was standing in front of her.

"The memories of my childhood have poisoned my mind for too long. I can only imagine what they did to you."

"I had to believe what they programmed me to believe. If I didn't, my memories would have driven me insane. They needed me remember? I was their weapon. Their toy. I can only imagine what they are planning now that I have been stolen from them." Loren hung her head.

"You were not stolen, my sister. You have been given back what was stolen from you. Your freedom, and will." Ethan put a hand on his sister's shoulder.

"I ask you this, brother." Loren stood so she could see him eye to eye. "How could you have returned something to me, that I never possessed in the first place?" The two stood face-to-face for a minute, before Holo-Rommie popped up.

"Ethan, if you're ready, Dylan would like to see you on the command." She turned to Loren, "and he'd like to see you as soon as you're rested and feeling better."

"Thank you, Andromeda. I will change and be right down, I don't need rest." She turned to Ethan. "Exhaustion was considered a flaw." She smiled and turned back to Andromeda, who smiled back and flickered away.

"I'll see you down there." Ethan said as he patted her on the back and gave her a warm hug. "It's good to have you here, sister." He released her and turned to leave. Loren slowly took off her heavy green robe, and left it on the bed. Underneath, she had a plain black tank top, and loosely fitting pants that hung low on her hips. She turned to one of the mirrors and licked her hands to straighten her hair. It was dark and straight, like her mother's, but she had green streaks instead of red. She turned to head out the door, when she glimpsed the side of her arm in the reflection of the mirror. When she looked more closely, she remembered why she had worn such a heavy robe in the first place. Long scars traveled from her shoulders to her elbows, and down her back. She winced at the memories they rekindled, and slipped on one of Rommie's old leather jackets that had been left for her to wear.

The doors to the room slid open gracefully, and she stepped out into the corridor. She let out a light sigh, and started walking toward command. She noticed the differences in the design of Andromeda and the Serenity. She was nearly half way to command, when she stopped wide-eyed. She turned on her heel and faced one of her droids that had just turned the corner behind her.

"No, check again. You can't be serious." She looked worriedly at the silent droid. As it's cannon emerged from the top of the droid's shell. "What do you mean, 'they're coming'?"