A/N: I think I'm the first person to give Rhade's wife a name, so let me explain the method to my madness. I LOVE ancient Egypt, and I was watching a show about Rameses II. (Don't think I spelled that right, but what gives?) His wife's name was Nefatari, and I thought it'd be a nice Nietzschean name. It's pronounced Nef-uh-TAR-ee.

Chapter 21

Beka headed straight to the Observation Deck after finishing her conversation with Andromeda, hoping Telemachus wasn't angry with her. She was still reeling from the fact that Telemachus had had a wife, with kids, no less. She wondered if anyone else knew.

Probably not, she decided. Rhade seemed to have done his best to forget about it until she had brought it up. Thankfully, the door to the Obs Deck was open, and Beka crept in as quietly as she could. She didn't see Rhade anywhere; maybe Andromeda had told him she was coming and he had left.

No, there, silhouetted against the window in the Obs Deck was Rhade. He was sitting on the shelf running along the bottom with his knees pressed up against his chest and his back to the wall, had against the window. "Go away," he said without looking away from the stars. "I want to be alone, if you don't mind."

"But what about me?" Beka asked. "What if I don't want to be alone?"

Telemachus didn't answer, looking out at he bright pinpoints of light against the black curtain of space. "Can't you just let me have some time to think?" he requested finally.

"Sure." Beka made it almost thirty seconds before moving to sit on the ledge next to him.

"Time to think alone," Telemachus clarified. But he made no move to shove Beka away.

Beka didn't answer, letting the silence fill the room. She did not know how long they sat there; she could feel herself growing drowsy. Eventually she fell asleep, head pillowed on his shoulder.

Ever so gently so as not to wake her, Telemachus put his arm around her as memories of his past came rushing into his mind, and it seemed as if he was watching himself on a viewscreen.

Telemachus was watching himself in his memories. He was walking down one of Terazed's streets when a scream broke out from an alley. Always too noble for his own good, Telemachus ran to see a Nietzschean female being held at gunpoint by a group of thugs. Telemachus could see she was tensing to attack, so he created the necessary diversion.

"Hey!" he yelled, delivering a quick uppercut to one of the men's throat. As the thugs turned toward this new threat, the female exploded into action with a dizzying blur of punches and kicks. Working together, Telemachus and the female took down the assailants, leaving them for the authorities to pick up later.

The female brushed a lock of dirty-blonde hair out of her eyes and smiled at Telemachus. "So, who's my valiant rescuer?"

Telemachus was taken by her dazzling smile and beautiful face. "I am Telemachus Rhade, out of Majoram by Rhade."

"I am Nefatari Kayleen, out of Sirius by Kayleen." She offered him her arm. "Would you escort me home?"

Telemachus ran his thumb over the green metal of his Helix. Nefatari had given it to him on the night of passion that had elevated him to the status of husband and father. His family had loved Nefatari, especially his sister, Atlanta. Nefatari worked at one of the orbital stations around Terazed, and she would often let Atlanta sit in one of the slipfighters and pretend to pilot. His three children, two daughters and a son would always work together to see what mischief they could get into. Telemachus could honestly say that those were the happiest days of his life.

Then it had all come crashing down. Nefatari had taken the children and Atlanta to the station where she worked one day, and pirates came. They attacked four of Terazed's twelve orbital stations, one of which was the one where Nefatari worked. When the pirates boarded the station, they gave no regard to anyone's life, whether man, woman, or child. His oldest daughter was hit by a stray laser blast and killed; his son was instantly killed when scrap metal collapsed on him. Nefatari and his youngest daughter became separated from Atlanta by that same pile of collapsed wreckage, never to be seen again and assumed dead. Nefatari ran into a group of pirates as she led her daughter and a group of other people toward the escape pods. Nefatari had shouted for the others to take her daughter and get to an escape pod, diving for a Gauss pistol next to one of the dead guards. Nefatari was mercilessly cut down by the pirates, who then opened fire on the people. Telemachus's daughter was hit multiple times, but she still managed to get to an escape pod. She later died of her wounds in one of Terazed's hospitals.

Telemachus squeezed the Helix and tightly closed his eyes against the tears. When he opened them again, a single tear rolled down his cheek. He pressed the Helix to his forehead and wept, letting his tears fall freely.

Beka woke a short time later and she said nothing, just wrapped her arms around her love and hugged him for support.

A/N: good? Bad? Please review, I wanna know what y'all think about Nefatari and the children.