Chapter 41

"Something is coming." Gaheris looked at Trance as she made this grim announcement. The three had stopped to say good-bye to Apollo. "I don't know what it is, or what form it will take, but I can tell you this: it will be very, very bad."

Gaheris put his arm around her shoulders. "we'll deal with it when it comes," he said.

"And met it head-on!" Veghn finished, grinning up at his father.

"Nietzscheans!" Trance exclaimed in mock frustration as she tousled Veghn's hair.

"Will you come with us, Apollo?" Veghn asked, brown eyes wife and earnest.

Apollo smiled sadly. I wish I could, Veghn, but I have duties here. Your place is on the Andromeda, mine is here."

Veghn's lower lip trembled. "Okay." He wrapped his arms around the green male's waist.

"Apollo, I need a favor," Trance said, pulling him into a corner and speaking softly.

"Pick me up!" Veghn requested, throwing himself onto his father.

Gaheris lifted him onto his shoulders, and Veghn clapped his hands over the older Nietzschean's eyes, laughing. The child seemed to have come through the Trial no worse for the wear, but Trance appeared, if anything, to have aged a year or so. When Gaheris had pointed this out to her, she had just smiled and told him that she'd be fine in a few days, she just needed time to reassert herself with her sun. He pulled Veghn off his shoulders and hung the child upside-down by his ankles, the boy laughing wildly.

Trance and Apollo walked back over. "We're going to teleport back to the Andromeda," she announced.

Startled, Gaheris let go of Veghn, quickly catching him before he hit the ground.

Veghn giggled, sure the whole thing had been planned as Gaheris set him down gently on the floor.

"How are we going to teleport?" Gaheris asked, raising an eyebrow.

Trance looked at him, and with a flash of gold light, disappeared.

Gaheris jumped back as Veghn did the same thing, except with a flash of silver. "How'd they do that?" he muttered.

Apollo grinned. "Your turn."

"No, that's okay, I'll take a-" Gaheris disappeared with a white flash, and the last thing he saw was Apollo grinning and waving.

Gaheris landed on Andromeda's Command Deck to see Beka, Dylan, Rommie, and Harper staring at him. "Don't ask me," he announced, breathing heavily. "I didn't do it!"

"Trance, you're alive!" Harper went to hug her. "You're not radioactive or anything, are you?"

"No," she replied smiling, as Harper hugged her.

Veghn rushed over to stand in front of Harper... and whacked him in the face with his tail.

"Some things never change," Gaheris said as Harper tried to grab the tail and ended up getting hit again.

After everyone had heard what had happened, Gaheris voiced a quiet thought. "Where's Telemachus?"

"Are we there yet?" Telemachus leaned over Nemay's shoulder, unknowingly mimicking what Gaheris had said.

"Does it look like we're there yet?" Boa countered.

"Transition from Slipstream in five, four, three, two... transition," Nemay said, and the Shadow jumped out of Slipstream... right on top of the Andromeda!

"Shit, not cool!" Nemay yelled, pulling up on the controls, barely skimming Andromeda's hull as proximity warning sirens went off. "You weren't supposed to give me the exact coordinates, Rhade!"

"Sorry," came the unapologetic reply.

"This is the starship Shadowdancer, under the control of Captain Nemay Flachar, out of Ursa by Flachar, hailing Andromeda Ascendant." He grinned up at Rhade. "I love saying 'Captain Nemay'. It makes me feel like that guy from that old Earth novel, Nemoy, Nemo, Neo, Nala... whatever."

"Who the hell are you?" came a female's voice.

"Beka?" Telemachus pushed his way to the comm. "It's me."

"Rhade? Where the hell have you been?"

Telemachus felt a rush of excitement at hearing her voice. "Rescue mission," he replied. "Can we dock?"

"Where's the Rose?" a voice demanded.

"What?" came Beka's voice. "Terla, how'd-"

"Where's my ship, Rhade?" Terla demanded.

"Uh-" Telemachus started.

"The Dragans destroyed it," Nemay put in quickly. "She was on auto pilot when the Dragans blew her up."

"Oh. Okay. I guess I won't have to kill you yet," Terla responded. "You can have the comm back now, Beka."

"Thanks," came the sarcastic reply. "Docking clearance granted, Rhade."

"I'm okay, really!" Winter sat up. She had woken up shortly before the exit from Slipstream.

"No, you're not," Boa replied, pushing her back down.

"Yes, I am!"

"No, you aren't."

"Yes I am, you blond-haired Nietzschean son of a-"

"Fine!" Boa threw his hands in the air. "But don't come running to me if your condition worsens!"

"Win?" Nuria walked over. "You okay?"

"Don't call me that," Winter replied shortly. "Why does everyone treat me like some fragile ballerina-doll?"

"It was touch-and-go a few times," Nuria told her softly. "We weren't sure if you were going to be alright."

"Well, I did," Winter stood up, grabbing onto Boa's shoulder as a wave of dizziness swept over her. "I wanna walk out onto the Andromeda."

"Is she okay?" a female voice asked.

Winter turned to see Xena and let out a choked scream of rage. "Bitch!" she lunged forward and slapped Xena across the face. "What in God's name is she doing here!"

"Yes, I've been wondering that myself," Achilles said slowly, walking to stand next to Winter and Nuria as Boa went to the cockpit. "What's in it for you, handing us over, then almost killing us in a rescue attempt?"

Xena stood with her arms crossed. "The rest of you could rot in hell for all I care. I did it for Jade." She laughed slightly, shaking her head. "Call it respect, loyalty, stupidity- I had to rescue her. You three were an added bonus."

Winter looked like she was going to slap Xena gain, but Nuria and Achilles understood. "Good enough," Nuria said as there was as light jolt as Nemay set them down in Andromeda's hanger.

Winter looked around. "Where the hell am I?"

In as few words as possible, the three Nietzscheans explained what had happened to the Inari.

Boa walked back in. "Sorry to interrupt-"

"No, you're not, " Nemay replied, walking in after, grinning.

"Okay, I'm not," Boa matched his brother's grin. "But if you want your fifteen seconds of meeting the heroes of the Commonwealth, this is your chance. The Rhades already left."

Telemachus and Jade walked down the Shadow's ramp. Jade had her arm around her brother's shoulder, and Telemachus had trimmed his beard down to a goatee, and cut his hair until it was a short as before, except he had spiked it; not the Harper spike, but rather like when he had been Terazed's admiral.

Dylan, Beka, Rommie, Harper, Trance, Gaheris, and Veghn were waiting at the airlock entrance. Telemachus saluted Dylan, and meaningless pleasantries were exchanged.

Jade smiled sweetly and politely, but stayed within her older brother's shadow. She shook hands with Rommie, who then introduced her to the rest of the senior officers.

"Seamus Zelazney Harper, at your service." Harper bowed over her hand and kissed the back. Jade bit her lip to keep from laughing.

Before long, everyone from the Andromeda and the Shadowdancer were mingled together, and Telemachus could finally speak with Beka. "Do you have a moment?"

Beka nodded and moved over to the side to put some distance between them and the rest of the people. "What is it, Rhade?"

"Beka, I..." he hesitated. "I wanted to-"

"All officers report to Command immediately," Andromeda announced.

Rommie had a look of apprehension and pure fear on her face. "Oh my God," she breathed. "Now, go!"

"All crew, report to battle stations," Andromeda's voice echoed through the corridors. "This is not a drill. All crew, report..."

"What the hell is going on?" Winter demanded of Harper as they ran at a dead run for Command.

"The Magog have snet some kind of advance ship!" Rommie yelled over t he chaos.

"Terazed is under attack."

A/N: One chapter remaining, ladies and gentlemen! Oh, no!

Preview of Chap42: all I can really say for this chapter is... BOOM!