It was always strange to be away from Andromeda. A part of herself was both missing and missed. Though Rommie sensed her mainframe in orbit above, there was latency and distance that didn't exist when they were together. Maybe this was homesickness or loneliness. It was hard to tell and as an Android, she had no one to ask. She hadn't been alone most of the night and time didn't pass for her the same it did for her organic crew. Probably not even the way it passed for Trance. She could cycle down into standby until needed again, and in lieu of that, there was always something to calculate, read, or ponder.

Even so, it was a relief when the chronometer clicked over to 1015 hours and time to order food and prepare a late breakfast for the crew. If she had a single purpose beyond war, it was this: to care for, protect, and comfort her crew. Trance, and even Beka sometimes, hesitated to ask for simple things or otherwise impose on her. She didn't mind. She enjoyed planning and logistics.

Dylan was the first to arrive, as she expected. He moved into the room comfortably, his shoulders loose and a soft smile on his face. He'd dressed in a loose blue tunic and plain slacks. His holster was nowhere to be seen. Rommie smiled at the sight of him. Ships and captains often had strong relationships but they had something unusual. A closeness that confused organics, as she'd seen last night. They'd survived so much together. He was all she had. Both her protector and protected. Her best friend. Her family.

"Ah, good morning Rommie. Did you have a good night?"

"It was uneventful." She crossed over to the coffee carafe and poured a steaming mug and carried to him. "Trance kept me company for a couple of hours before she, too, needed to sleep. Did you sleep well?"

"Very well." Dylan took the mug and breathed in the scent before taking a sip. "Just what I needed." He took another drink. "Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year," she replied.

If Dylan were here, the others would be soon. She set about uncovering and setting platters of food out on the table. Without a word, Dylan set his cup down at the head of the lounge's long glass table and helped. Breakfast was on the Commonwealth's dime, so she'd ordered something to please every taste. Fresh breakfast meats for Harper and Tyr. Pastries to satisfy Trance and Beka's sweet teeth. Vedran fruits and vegetables rescued and cultivated on this world for over three-hundred years. A tiny taste of home for him. Chiberries, his favorite, were almost out of season, but she'd managed to procure some along with their juice, a staple at most Vedran celebrations.

"This is nice," Dylan said as he surveyed the room as he hadn't had time to last night. He moved towards the fireplace and she stopped to watch, wary. The framed photograph of Sara found its way into his hand and he studied it with head bowed and shoulders hunched. They rose and fell a few times and then he put the photograph back on the mantle. With one finger, he caressed his long-dead fiancee's face, then turned back to Rommie, smile a bit more strained.

"It's hard to believe we've done it. We've re-established the Commonwealth."

"We have," she said and tried to judge how best to continue.

Last night and this morning were a reminder of all they'd lost. In the beginning, every day had been a reminder. She hadn't been able to protect her crew from betrayal. She'd been denied the opportunity to fight for her Commonwealth. To join with her brothers and sisters as the final line of defense against the night as she'd sworn to do.

Odd how perspectives changed. If she'd been there she would have perished under Nietzschean fire like so many of her siblings. Her presence alone never would have swayed the war, though at first, she'd believed she could have saved them all. The Commonwealth's weakness had come from within. From lack of preparedness and political mistake. Hubris, most of all. A sin she was guilty of and had almost carried on.

If she'd been there, she wouldn't be here. Harper never would have given her a body. Dylan would be dead. No peace. No order. No civilization. She never would have experienced true friendship and love. As Trance had pointed out last night, she'd never been programmed to love. She'd learned so much, yet—

That was what Dylan needed to hear.

"There is still much to be done."

He nodded, the smile stretched again. "That there is."

Dylan needed a mission.

"Do I smell bacon?" Harper asked as he burst through the door with Trance by his side. The tension snapped. Harper crossed the room in a few bounds. "Morning, Romdoll. Dylan. This is quite a spread."

"Morning," Trance echoed as she meandered into the room and took a moment to admire the sunlit view of the snowy Senate campus outside the window. "Happy New Year."

When Harper made a beeline for the food, Trance quickened her pace and slapped his hand out of the way.

"Wait for the others. Don't be rude."

"Fine, fine. I'll get some coffee, but I'll have you know, I'm starving."

Humans and their hyperbole. Harper, more than anyone, knew what starving was. There was little risk he'd waste away and die, but she accepted after all these years he was simply prone to exaggeration.

He didn't have to wait long. The doors opened again to admit Beka and Tyr together. Their body language had changed overnight. They stood a little too close and when their eyes met, they communicated something indecipherable in the way organics sometimes did. Dylan, too, seemed to notice. Though the smile remained, he studied them as they walked in. There was something familiar about this.

Rommie raised an eyebrow and then cast a glance over to the table where Harper pulled out a chair for Trance, then sat down beside her, his entire focus on her for that brief moment. Of course. Dylan's mouth fell open as he, too, must have come to the same conclusion.

"Good morning," Dylan said finally, breaking up a silence that had begun to grow awkward.

"Morning, got any coffee?" Beka asked while Tyr remained silent. Beka did look tired and Rommie chose not to dwell on why that might be. When one provided home and shelter for over four thousand souls, one learned to ignore a great many things.

"Coffee and breakfast are already here," Rommie replied.

"Great."

Beka and Tyr crossed over to the counter and helped themselves to coffee before they each took a seat, Beka beside Trance. Smiles of greeting all around, and a few polite nods from Tyr. She took her seat at the table beside Dylan just in time to see Beka narrow her eyes and snatch Trance's left hand as Trance reached for her goblet of sparkling chiberry juice.

"No way!" Beka studied the ring with wide eyes then looked over to Harper. "Last night?"

They had everyone's attention now. Harper had turned a pleasant shade of red, yet his smile stretched wide, and Rommie was happy for him. Dylan stood and rounded the table. He placed a hand on each Trance and Harper's shoulders and they looked up to him. She'd been programmed to detect even the slightest changes in body language and to read the emotions of her crew in a variety of different ways. She read joy here, and pride. Dylan squeezed their shoulders.

"Congratulations. I'm happy for both of you." Then he let go and as he passed Beka and Tyr, he looked to each of them and gave Beka a smile and a wink.

"It looks like we have a lot to celebrate. How about before we begin, we have a toast?"

Rommie took that as her cue and quickly passed goblets of chiberry juice to those who didn't have any. Tyr raised an eyebrow as she approached. Beka raised both her brows to Tyr and gave a nod towards the glass Rommie had proffered. He hesitated, eyes on Beka, then took a glass. The smile Beka shot Rommie couldn't be anything but satisfied. Dylan had once explained to her that relationships involved push and pull. This one was going to involve quite a bit of that. Today, Beka pushed. What would tomorrow bring?

When she returned to her seat, her own glass in hand—though she couldn't drink it—Dylan held his up.

"New Years is a time for new beginnings. Three-years-ago I thought you were stealing my ship and you thought the Commonwealth was gone."

Tyr tried to look bored, though his eyes didn't waver from Dylan's face. Trance watched with a soft smile and Harper leaned back as he took in Dylan's words. Beka nodded along beside them.

"We've accomplished more than I ever thought possible. We've not only come together as a crew but as a family. Some of us have even found love." Here he gave a nod towards Trance and Harper, and a sideways glance to Beka and Tyr. "We've survived impossible odds, and brought hope back to the known worlds. We've lit a candle in this dark night so others might find their way."

Dylan paused and once again looked over his crew. He met Rommie's eyes and smile.

"Today is a New Year. A time of celebration and reflection. I know the coming year will bring with it many challenges, though some of us probably know better than others."

Trance smiled and gave him a nod, he head tilted coyly to the side.

"But I know no matter what life throws at us, we can survive it. Together." He raised his glass. "To new beginnings."

"To new beginnings," the others echoed.

Then they fell into conversation interspersed with "please pass the bacon" and "can I get the muffins over there". Rommie sat back and watched. Before she had a body, when the Commonwealth was thousands of years old and life seemed like it would continue peacefully forever, she'd had a crew. Now, four-thousand had become six, herself included. She'd lost a crew and gained a family. Lost a society and gained a purpose. She picked up her goblet and swirled the liquid.

To new beginnings, friendship, and love.