Harper swallowed his mouthful of soda. "What's your problem, Tyr? Dylan took us on and we tried to steal his ship. All Bennett did was ask to hitch a ride."

"If he is going to try to build his crew from whatever strays he finds along the way, then we are destined for chaos."

"Tyr's got a point, Harper, but that's not what bothers me." Beka gave a glance around the gathering of her crew (and Tyr) before continuing. "Dylan may have asked the rest of us to join him on the Andromeda, but it wasn't an automatic acceptance. He was still suspicious, and Rhade was very suspicious. But it's not like that with those two. Especially her. I mean, have you seen them around her? I know she's cute, but I don't think that's it."

"It's more like familiarity," supplied Rev Bem. "With Claire they behave as though they already knew her. Andromeda as well. With Bennett they are merely comfortable."

"Exactly my point. And even Bennett acts off around her. I mean, he's suppose to be her boss, but has anyone else noticed how he seems to defer to her?"

"I'd like to defer to her. I'd like to defer to whatever she wants. Ow!" Harper rubbed his head where Trance had hit him, edging away from her at the same time. "And anyways, it's good to have a pair of hands that actually knows what they're doing in engineering. She's almost as good as me. I'm still better, of course."

Tyr ignored Harper to respond to Beka. "Bennett's behavior isn't just familiar; it's familial. He behaves as a Nietzschean would towards a matriarch or high-ranking female in his pride. One he wouldn't take as a mate, but one he respects and honors."

Seamus frowned. "So you think they're like… related or something?"

"Perhaps. If not by blood, then at least raised together."

Trance gave a shrug. "Then why wouldn't they just say so? Being family is nothing to be ashamed of. Why are they being so secretive?"

Beka and Tyr locked eyes for a moment, as if trying to communicate telepathically before Beka said something. "Who knows, Trance, but I don't like it. Something about those two just sets my teeth on edge."

~***~

"So how are you liking the new body?"

Rommie waited until Claire caught up with her before walking along with her. "I am adjusting. I have had a body for several months now." They paused at footsteps came their way. Rhade appeared around the corner to join them. Rommie greeted him with a cold incline of the head before continuing her conversation. "And I still wonder about Harper's motivations in designing this body."

Claire couldn't help but notice the less than friendly reception. Was Andromeda feeling prejudice against the Nietzscheans? A lot of people did, and it was well earned, but why against Rhade? "Is Dylan planning to let you off-ship to interact with the masses some time?"

"It is likely. Why?"

"Then take a friendly word of advice: use contractions."

Rommie frown. "I do not understand."

"'I'm' instead of 'I am'. 'I've' instead of 'I have'. Nearly all people have a bit of laziness in them. They use contractions and slang. Perfect grammar and flawless articulation will make you stand out. Few outside of the super wealthy and politically powerful speak the way you do. How you speak can determine if you get shot or get the deal in some places."

Gaheris gave her a speculative look. "You sound as though you're speaking from experience."

"I am. Accents and inflections are most often native. Erik, Joey and I often just claim to be from Earth because it's the easiest to stick do being how all three of us are. And each of us became familiar enough with a few other worlds and their customs that we could fake it if we needed to, although we had to watch ourselves after The Fall because the dynamics of so many systems and social structures when through radical changes. But regular joes are almost always regular joes. Learn to pass yourself off as 'average' and you slip right under the radar."

"She does have a point, Rommie. Valentine and Harper would be good subjects to study. I get the feeling that they have more than their fair share of experience dealing with the underbelly of society."

"Whereas I have always been the embodiment of virtue." She delivered it with her best poker face, but only an idiot would have believed her. "I would follow Valentine's example more than Harper's. The kid's tough, but a bit on the grating side."

Rhade gave a chuff of a laugh before frowning. "Who's 'Joey'?"

"My other son. It's short for Joseph."

His frown deepened. "I thought your sons were Erik and Charlie."

The door to the officers' mess opened. The party paused just long enough to ensure that no one else was present before Claire responded. "Yeah, I had a bit of a run-in about seventy years after the fall. Decided to spend a life as a free-lance cargo runner. Mostly ran supplies and food to worlds hardest hit by the war. There were a few charitable organizations still standing that did that kind of thing. Not a lot of profit in it, but I was mainly in it to keep busy."

Rhade and Claire both got something to eat before sitting down. "Anyway, I needed an extra hand as Erik and Joey were both off doing their own thing. Came across a member of the Kenja Pride. Rough group of people who had a reputation for attacking just about anything that crossed their paths and very little tolerance for weakness. His name was Bolivar, and he had lost his dominant arm in a battle with the Sabrans, thus destroying his standing with his own pride. He was out to prove his genetic worth but was stuck having to do it outside of the pride." She gave a shrug. "But, he was clever, a brilliant tactician and even a one-armed Nietzschean is intimidating enough to keep the shop keeps honest.

"Anyway, there was a run in with some scavengers who tried to steal a shipment we were dropping off, and I had a bit of a problem. A metal pipe ended up going through my mid-section. Bolivar found me just in time to see me pull it out and heal up. My cover was blown and I had to come clean about the whole 'indestructible' thing. He was shocked, of course, but he appeared to get over it.

"So, time goes on. Eventually one guy and one girl all alone on a small freighter in the dark of space unfolds as nature and biology demands. I didn't really plan for it to happen, but as I was on the second strongest birth control in known space I felt pretty secure. It only lasted for a couple of months before we got into an altercation with pirates and I lost Bolivar. It was another couple of weeks after his death that I realized I was pregnant. A closer investigation revealed that the bastard had sabotaged my birth control. I might as well have been shooting pure saline."

Rommie's head tilted to one side. "He meant for you to conceive."

Rhade gave a nod. "Of course he did. Nietzscheans are driven to survive. We do so through our children and their children. A Nietzschean who is virtually indestructible and possible immortal would be the pinnacle of survival. And since you speak of him as though he's still alive after more than two centuries, I'm going to assume he did inherit that particular aspect of the family genetics."

Claire nodded. "He did. Bolivar didn't live long enough to see his plans work out to his benefit, but the one who has to pay the highest price for his deception is his son." Gaheris looked confused. Claire gave him a sad smile. "I told you once that I stopped having children because it hurt too much to bury them. How much harder would that be for you?" Comprehension dawned in Rhade's eyes and Claire nodded again. "Charlie learned that faster than any of us. He only did the husband and father thing once before he realized it was a living hell for him. Whenever he has to forge a new identity, which is extremely hard to do for Nietzschean society, he claims to be sterile. He says it's because they don't check your background closely if you aren't likely to father any children, but I think it's more likely because it deters the females from considering him as a husband. Keeps him out of temptation's way."

Gaheris was about to comment when the door opened to allow Tyr entry. The two men locked gazes for a moment in a brief, silent battle for dominance. Tyr looked away first, likely more to keep the peace than true submission, and moved on to get his meal. His appearance effectively stopped the thread of the conversation and they moved on to discussions about possible drifts and planets from which they might obtain supplies.