Arkology Revisited Chapter 9, an andromeda fanfic

Author's Notes: Italics signify thought or emphasis. Parts of this chapter will jump forward in time, so forgive me if it's slightly confusing in context with the next chapter. They'll both be labeled.

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Alura looked around the room at the people who had answered her summons at such short notice. Without fail, each of the people she had grown closest to on Tarazed had dropped whatever they were doing and met in her front room. She had waited for the first few hours of morning to pass before sending the summons, but even that short wait had been nerve-wracking. Achilles was standing beside her, offering his silent but strong support. She had already discussed with him what had to happen. They had decided together how much the others needed to be told.

Britta and Drago sat on the floor at their feet. Cassandra was there, along with two of her husbands: Odin and Ticon. Ticon's son and daughter, Terren and Ariadne, waited quietly as well. Baldur and Jess were also present.

"For reasons I can't share with you unless you choose to come with us," Alura began, "it's time I went home, and I need as much of my family with me as I can get."

Surprise was evident on several faces, but Odin was the first to speak.

"I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say that we are honored that you consider us family," Achilles' father said. "And I understand and respect that there are some parts of your life you have to keep secret, but that isn't enough information to make a decision to leave our home. For one thing, how long would we be gone? And how much time would we have to wrap up our affairs here?"

"Unfortunately, the sooner we leave the better. I'd leave in an hour if I could. As for when we'd be back, it may be a few weeks, or it could be years, I really have no way of knowing. And I know that I don't have full legal custody of Britta, but we want her with us, so Achilles would like to have official guardianship of her."

Cassandra and Odin shared a look, and Cassandra said, "Can you give us a few minutes to talk privately?"

"Of course," Alura nodded. "Come on, Drago, Britta."

The two children got up to follow she and Achilles from the room, but Cassandra speaking again stopped them.

"Britta can stay since this concerns her future."

Alura nodded and gently guided the girl toward her grandmother before leaving the room with her Bond mate and her son.

"They won't take her from us, will they, Momma?" Drago asked worriedly when they had left the room.

"I hope not, sweetie," Alura answered, disappointed that she couldn't reassure him.

It was only a few minutes later that Ariadne came to usher the three of them back into the room, her face betraying nothing. Alura was too overwhelmed herself to read the younger woman's emotions.

One look at Britta's face when they reentered the room, however, broke the tension. With an excited squeal, Drago threw himself at his best friend. The two children landed in a hugging heap on the floor. The adults in the room smiled indulgently at the sight, but Alura brought their attention back to the matter at hand.

"Have any of you decided whether you're coming with us or not?"

Odin stood and came forward to hug his son and new daughter-in-law. "I will miss all of you terribly, but I have too much that depends on me here to be able to leave at such short notice. Perhaps if you're able to come back for a short time in a year or so, I'll be able to join you. But until then, take care of each other. All of you."

Once Odin had left the room, Alura looked around at the others in astonishment. "You're all coming?"

She had thought there was a good chance that Jess and Baldur would come with them, and Ariadne would probably at least want to. But to have all but Odin willing to take that leap into the unknown was overwhelming.

"You're going to need someone to take care of Drago and Britta while you're doing whatever it is that's making you leave Tarazed," Cassandra said. "And I find myself wanting to see more of the universe."

Ticon was the next to speak, "Both of my children and my wife are going with you, and I can work on my art anywhere."

Alura nodded and smiled.

She turned her attention to Jess and Baldur, "I feel awful about doing this to you two. You've already changed your lives for the twins and I once…"

"And we will continue to do so if it's what you need," Jess interrupted.

Alura would have said something to give Telemachus' father and his wife an out, but Achilles squeezed her arm lightly, telling her through their Bond that it would only hurt their feelings if they thought she didn't want them with her. Instead, she gave them a grateful smile.

"So, now that that's settled, where is home?" Cassandra asked.

Alura grinned slightly, "Tarn Vedra."

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Once the group got past their surprise, and then the excitement of going to the lost, founding planet of the Commonwealth, Alura shared all the relevant information with them. What was going to happen to Arkology, and to the Andromeda and her crew because of it. She also told them the parts of her reality that seemed to correlate with the untimely destruction of the Andromeda. In her own past, Dylan and his crew had been the last group to truly stand up to the Abyss and his minions, the Magog. After their deaths, it had only been a matter of time before planets, entire galaxies, fell one by one.

Tarn Vedra had been the last civilized, governed planet to fall to the Magog worldship. The Vedrans had been working on weapons to alternately maim and destroy the worldship but had been unable to complete either of them in time. With the records Alura had stored onboard the Dance Among the Stars, the process could be sped up by nearly two decades of testing and planning. There was no way they would be finished in time to attack the worldship when it was trying to destroy Arkology, of course, but the super weapons were not the only reason to contact the Vedrans.

Because whether or not simply moving the Arkology through slipstream would throw off the worldship for more than a few hours remained to be seen, and Dylan and the rest of the crew of the Andromeda would need help in the fight. And they wouldn't get it from residents of the self-contained habitat. Nor would they get it from Tri-Lorn, despite the fact that he claimed to support Dylan. The triumvir was a politician first and foremost and would not risk his own armies to help Dylan save people who didn't help him stay in power.

But if Alura could prove to the Vedran officials how important it was that a place of peace, a place the Abyss was so intent on destroying, remain safe, she might be able to convince them to lend her at least a small fleet. Or at the very least, the chance to once again command the first, and full-sized, warship Dance Among the Stars. The main difficulty would be in getting the Vedrans to trust them in time to be able to help the Andromeda and Arkology. They had understandably become an overly cautious people since going into hiding.

"Why can't we go to Arkology first and help them?" Ariadne asked when Alura had finished explaining the situation.

Alura twitched slightly before answering, "We can't be there when the Andromeda is."

Ariadne's gaze went to Baldur for a moment before switching back to Alura. The half-Avatar glanced at her former father-in-law when she noticed Ariadne's distraction. Baldur was frowning slightly, staring thoughtfully at her face.

"Baldur?" she prodded gently.

"Why waste the time?" the dark-haired man asked.

"I'm not sure what you mean," Alura replied.

"Why even try to help save Arkology at all? From what you've told us, they don't try to save themselves until the last possible second. Why not intercept the Andromeda and take them with us to Tarn Vedra so they don't get themselves killed for a bunch of peace-loving idiots?"

Alura took a deep breath before answering, "As much as I disagree with the way they choose to live, there are three million residents on Arkology, including thousands of children and all that is left of Ana Purna Pride. I have to let Captain Hunt and the others try to save them." Baldur opened his mouth, but Alura held up a hand. "I will not allow my mother or Telemachus or any other member of the Andromeda's crew to be killed if there is anything at all that I can do about it. You have my word on that."

Baldur nodded once in acceptance, Jess lacing her fingers through her husband's in support.

Ariadne cleared her throat. "Actually, what I meant was, why don't we go there first, before the Andromeda does. You said fixing the slipstream drive of the habitat will take more time than they'll have and even then only Harper would be able to work on it. Why don't we go, fix the drive, and then go to Tarn Vedra? It should give the Andromeda's crew a big advantage they wouldn't have had otherwise."

A full, genuine smile lit Alura's features. "That's a great plan, Ariadne. So, first step, we go to Arkology and fix the slipstream drive. When that's done, we'll go to Tarn Vedra and try to convince the Vedrans to help us fight the Magog worldship. But before we leave, I'm afraid the most I can give you is two days to pack what you'll need to have with you for the foreseeable future and to say good-bye. And remember, not a word about where we're going. Knowledge is a dangerous thing right now."

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The next two days passed in a busy blur of activity, Alura having to assure everyone at least once that whatever they could pack they would have room for. She also got visits from Hector and a few of Achilles' siblings, all of them wanting to make sure their mother (and in Hector's case, his wife) would be safe with her. On the second morning she also found out, from Cassandra, exactly what Ajax thought she was trying to get from his family.

Each child born into Cassandra's bloodline among Valhalla Pride was given a trust when they were born, and their parent or guardian was in charge of the money until that child came of age. Ajax had thought Alura only kept Britta to get her hands on the money. After she had finished laughing, Alura had led Cassandra to the Dance. Achilles' mother was the only one besides Achilles and Odin who had been onboard at that point, but Alura led the older woman straight to one of her storage rooms instead of giving her a tour. There would be plenty of time for that when everyone was onboard and they were on their way to Arkology.

Ushered into one of the places Alura kept the riches of the Nietzschean people from her own reality, Cassandra's jaw hung open for several minutes.

"Now," Alura asked, "am I safe in assuming this is more money than whatever I might steal from Britta?"

Cassandra had been unable to speak, simply nodding instead. Because the other woman was in such shock, Alura refrained from mentioning that this was simply one of the store rooms used for this purpose.

Instead, as she and Cassandra walked back inside the compound, Alura told her, "I am taking on responsibility for all of you, and that means financially as well. You can tell Ajax and anyone else who's worried about that what I showed you."

"I knew you would never hurt Britta in any way," Cassandra assured her.

"I know," Alura responded simply.

They were almost to Alura's door when Ariadne appeared, wringing her hands.

"I'm sorry, Alura, I have no idea how she got passed the front gate, but I couldn't stop her…"

"Who?" Cassandra asked, but Alura had already entered her rooms.

A fiercely scowling Isis stood in the front room, Drago holding an energy weapon at the dark-haired woman, Britta tucked safely behind him.

"Tell the brat to get his weapon off of me," she demanded the second she saw Alura.

Alura snorted, "If you don't leave right now, I'll let him shoot you."

Telemachus' mother narrowed her eyes even further. "All of this is your fault. If you hadn't seduced my son…"

"Shut up, Isis," Alura said. "What Telemachus and I had is none of your business and you're trespassing."

"How dare you speak to me like that! I am Matriarch of Majorem Pride, and I will use whatever is at my disposal to make your life a living hell."

"You aren't the only Matriarch in this room, Isis," Cassandra bit off, causing Alura to glance her way and wonder where Ariadne had gone. "And Alura has the full backing of Valhalla. I really don't think Perseus would want his Pride being pitted against my brother's just because someone foiled your plans for your son."

"You may be sister of the Alpha, Cassandra, but you are not Matriarch."

"I never claimed to be," Cassandra said simply. "Alura is the Matriarch of Kodiak Pride. Which I can assure you, is growing by leaps and bounds. Leave before you say anything else you'll regret."

"Do you know who you're supporting?" Isis asked, spite clear in her tone. "She's responsible for the death of my husband…"

"I can assure you I'm alive and better off than I ever was under your thumb," Baldur cut her off as he entered the room, Ariadne and three guards following on his heels.

"Octavius is dead," Isis shrieked. "He and four of his co-workers were slaughtered yesterday!"

A cold smile curved Alura's mouth, "Did the slaves escape?"

Isis paled and stared at Alura, "So it was you. I'll have you arrested and executed…"

"Alura hasn't left the compound in two days, she couldn't possibly have killed Octavius," Baldur said. "And do you really think Octavius couldn't hold his own against a pregnant woman?"

"Then she hired someone!"

Baldur stood close to his ex-wife and waved the guards out of the room.

When they were gone, he told Isis calmly, "Unless you want Octavius' real business to come out and cast a stain on you, your daughters' and your grandchildren's lives, I suggest you discourage any investigation into his death. I am personally going to make sure Perseus knows what Octavius was doing and your part in it. Don't think I don't know you were behind the kidnapping attempt on Drago."

"That was Octavius being sloppy, I just wanted her and that brat away from my family," Isis spat.

"And we all know how well that worked out," Alura commented. "If you had even the slightest bit of patience or self-control, you would have discovered we were leaving tomorrow anyway. You brought all of this on yourself."

Alura hadn't actually known until now that Isis was the reason Octavius had tried to have Drago kidnapped, but it didn't matter. Leaving Isis alive but alone and, with any luck, an outcast among her own Pride was the best punishment Alura could think of for the other woman. Baldur took hold of Isis' arm and pushed her out the door, telling the guards to escort her back to Majorem Pride's complex and that he would catch up with them.

"Are you okay?" Baldur asked Alura when the guards had dragged Isis away.

Alura nodded, whispering to him, "She's right, you know."

"I know," he whispered back. "And no one on the force will be pursuing this."

"Thank you."

Baldur left, and after making sure Alura was okay, Ariadne followed suit to go and finish her packing. Alura gave Britta and Drago reassuring hugs and sent them to their rooms to finish their own packing. She sat down on the sofa, Cassandra sitting beside her.

"You called me Matriarch," Alura commented quietly.

"Yes," Cassandra replied simply. "You are."

Alura laughed slightly, "I never thought about it before, but I suppose I am. And I appreciate you including yourself as part of Kodiak Pride. I was going to extend the invitation to all of you once we were under way. Achilles has already accepted dual membership in Kodiak and Valhalla."

"The rest of us will, too, dear."

Cassandra gave Alura a quick hug and left.

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The next day, the day they left Tarazed, word had been spread that Octavius of Majorem Pride and four other men had gotten into a fight that had resulted in all of them dying. Isis was remarkably silent about the whole affair, she and her daughters going into secluded mourning and a cousin of hers taking over the position of Matriarch of Majorem Pride, the Alpha, Perseus, making it clear that her son Telemachus Rhade was still in line to be the next Alpha.

Only a handful of people knew part of the real story. One slave had seen part of what happened but was understandably completely unwilling to turn in the person who had freed her. She had, in fact, disappeared hours later. Octavius' four underlings had been killed brutally but swiftly with knives, but Octavius' death had very obviously been dragged out, the final wounds the same ones Alura told Baldur he had inflicted on slaves that outgrew their usefulness, the same ones the second man from the kidnapping attempt had died of, an 'X' made of two deep cuts in the neck. Drago's would-be kidnappers had been punished, and Alura was able to let another part of her past rest.

The journey to Arkology, though it took a few days, was uneventful. Alura gave everyone tours of the Dance, but other than that, they all relaxed in preparation for all they would soon be doing. Ariadne, Baldur and Jess had the most knowledge when it came to engineering, but Alura thought it was too risky for Baldur to be seen on Arkology because of how much he and Telemachus looked alike. So Alura, Achilles, Jess and Ariadne would be the ones going onto Arkology to work on the slipstream drive. Danny would also help them, the others staying on the Dance for the duration.

"Habitat Arkology, this is the commander of the ship Dance Among the Stars," Alura sent out a message. "We request permission to dock and ask to speak to your leader about trading for food supplies."

"This is Louisa Messereau of the Habitat Arkology. You are welcome to dock, someone will meet you to take you to the appropriate member of our Council."

Alura had stiffened when the woman introduced herself, but she replied, "Thank you."

When the Dance had docked, they were met by a young man who serenely asked that they follow him to the Council room. A short distance away, Louisa and a man in official looking robes were getting aboard a small transport ship.

"Interesting timing," Achilles told her as they walked, motioning with his head toward the departing duo.

Alura, dressed in her voluminous black cloak so her presence would be remarked upon as little as possible when her mother eventually showed up, nodded slowly. "It's exactly three weeks until Louisa and the Ambassador meet up with… the Andromeda. We don't have much time."

They were led to a large room with a group of backless seats set in a circle. An older, heavyset man in robes similar to the Ambassador's stood waiting for them. Alura was surprised to see that his Light was as bright as Achilles' and Dylan's.

"Welcome, friends," the man said. "I am Marlowe, head of the Council of Arkology. I understand that you are in need of some supplies."

"My name is Alura, this is Achilles, Ariadne, Jess and Danny. And yes, something is wrong with one of our storage receptacles, and the supplies that were in it went bad prematurely. We did a scan as we approached and noticed you have a nonworking slipdrive. We'd be willing to fix it in return for whatever you can spare."

"That isn't necessary, we have no need for slipstream," Marlowe replied breezily. "I'm sure we can work something else out."

Alura pooled all of her energy into the power of persuasion. "I'm afraid we don't have any other way to pay you, and you never know when something like that can come in handy."

"Very well, I'll have someone show you to the core while we see what we can spare."

Marlowe smiled pleasantly, but Alura was still wary of him. She wasn't able to read him at all, and he had been intently watching she and Achilles the whole time they were in the room with him. While she could understand the oddity she presented with her blue hair and multi-toned skin, Achilles, while handsome, was an ordinary Nietzschean. He didn't really warrant that much curiosity from another man.

They were shown to the slipstream core by Thomas, the same man who had first greeted them. After Danny ran a diagnostic, they calculated that it would take several hours of all four of them working to get the drive into running condition. A couple hours later, Alura sent Achilles and Ariadne to get some more tools from the Dance. Almost immediately, she felt anxious. When Ariadne returned without Achilles fifteen minutes later, the feeling intensified.

"Where's Kill?" Alura asked.

Ariadne shrugged and handed the tools she had been carrying to Jess, "Thomas stopped us on the way back and said Marlowe wanted to see him."

A sudden, brief Vision leeched the color from Alura's face. All it showed was Marlowe leaving the care of the residents of Arkology to Dylan before disappearing in a swirl of tiny lights, but it was enough. It made everything else finally add up. But now she had to stop Marlowe from mistakenly taking her husband from her.

"Keep working," she yelled as she ran out of the core.

She burst into the room just as Marlowe was inviting a confused Achilles to sit down.

"Marlowe, stop," Alura yelled. "He's not the one you're waiting for."

"Alura?" Achilles murmured.

She wrapped a hand around his wrist to assure herself that he was okay.

"But I was told to watch for this. A Paradine and the Avatar he loves," Marlowe protested, motioning individually to Achilles and Alura.

Achilles looked and felt shocked, the utter surprise he felt over what he was traveling instantaneously through the Bond. Alura sent him reassuring waves of comfort, along with a mental promise to later explain how she had known to come to his aid. Various emotions began to flood her mate, and it took tremendous effort to concentrate on the Paradine whose chosen form was an older, dark-skinned man.

"We're not the ones you're waiting for," Alura said firmly. "First of all, I'm only half Avatar and we're both Nietzschean, which are not characteristics of the couple you were told about. And secondly, he more than loves me, he's my Bond mate."

She flicked back the shoulder of her cloak so Marlowe could see the helix band wrapped around her left bicep. Instead of looking at the proof of her marriage, however, the older man stared at her pregnant belly, which was obvious without the cover of the cloak.

"I see," he murmured. "I apologize, but you have to understand that in the three hundred years I've been here, I've never met another Paradine or an Avatar, let alone both together. I was so overcome, I didn't think to make sure you were the right ones."

"It's alright," Alura answered softly. "We didn't know until just now that Achilles was Paradine, otherwise one of us would have remained on our ship to avoid confusion."

Marlowe nodded slowly. "You know who I am waiting for, don't you?"

"It's complicated," Alura said, "but yes, I think I do. I'm sure you realize that I have to let you discover them for yourself."

"Of course," Marlowe responded. After a moment, he commented, "You're not really in need of supplies, are you?"

Alura shook her head, "It's just something that has to be done."

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When they were alone a few hours later… Ariadne and Jess having gone to the Dance to eat and get some sleep after Alura had assured them she could finish without them… Alura walked into Achilles' arms and rested her weight against his stronger frame. He sighed deeply and kissed the top of her head, wrapping her in his embrace.

"So, I married one of the Paradine," she commented lightly.

Achilles lowered his gaze to meet hers, faint worry washing over her from his mind. "I didn't know until Marlowe said it."

"I know," Alura assured. Achilles' tension eased slightly. "Do you know anything more now?"

Her husband's blue eyes clouded slightly, "Some. I just… I don't want you to get upset."

Alura frowned. "Why would I get upset?"

Achilles sighed and shrugged, "It's complicated. What I do remember is that there are a few different classes of Paradine. Those like Marlowe that know who and what they are and act as spiritual leaders, those like Dylan who are living mortal lives and don't know what they are until confronted with it…"

"Wouldn't that be what you are, as well?" Alura interrupted.

"No," Achilles shook his head. "I'm the third kind. Those like me are guardians, watchers, we observe and influence but never take corporeal form to live among mortals."

Alura took on a bemused expression and playfully poked a finger into his very firm and definitely corporeal chest. He grinned at her amusement and captured her finger to bring it to his lips for a quick kiss.

"Part of my responsibilities was watching over you," Achilles continued, studying her carefully. Her deep blue eyes widened slightly, but she was still listening acceptingly. "When you decided to use the Route of Ages to come here and try to fix things, I asked to be allowed a corporeal form in this reality. Obviously they allowed it, but there are things I still can't remember, I think in punishment for something I did a few years before you left your reality."

"Is that why you loved me so immediately?" Alura asked in a small voice, awed by what Achilles had told her.

His broad shoulders lifted and fell. "I'm not sure. I had no memory of any life but this one until today, and some of what I know now is still confusing."

Alura lifted one hand to gently trace his jaw.

She stood on her toes to kiss his mouth before telling him, "I'm here for you no matter what."

Achilles smiled and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her pointed ear before releasing his hold on her. "We need to finish up if we're going to leave in the morning."

Alura nodded and turned back to the last coupling she was replacing. When she was done here, she would make sure the slipstream drive would turn on before heading back to the Dance for the night. The rest was, hopefully, up to Dylan, the Andromeda and her crew, and the residents of Arkology. If she had to interfere again, she would, but she hoped she wouldn't have to.

"Alura," Achilles called from the doorway as he left. She looked over at him. "I chose this particular life so that I would at least meet you. I remember that much."

Alura smiled lovingly at him before turning her attention back to the task at hand.

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Three weeks later…

"… Louisa… pilot for Ambassador… Arkology… under fire… damaged… request…"

The distress call from the small, unarmed transport ship was choppy at best.

Telemachus frowned when Beka shot him an odd look before turning her attention to Dylan. Harper's eyes were trained fixedly on the screen in front of them, a rather somber expression on the engineer's face. Trance was standing beside the captain, an indefinable look in her eyes. Dylan sighed heavily before speaking.

Something strange was going on. It was almost like they had known this unexpected rescue mission was going to happen and had been dreading it.

"Harper, fire on their attackers and get the shuttle into one of the hangars. Beka and Rhade, you're with me." Dylan turned to the quiet woman beside him, "Do you want to come with us?"

Trance glanced at Telemachus and then away, answering softly, "I don't think so. I'll wait for you in the conference room with Rommie and Harper."

"Alright."

Dylan leaned down to kiss Trance's forehead gently before leaving the room. Telemachus though it was odd that the captain had not bothered to wait and see if their assistance was successful before leaving, but shrugged and followed his CO, Beka close behind. Telemachus' confusion only grew on the silent walk to the hangar Harper informed them the shuttle was in. Dylan seemed to hesitate several times, even shaking his head once.

"Captain?" Telemachus dared as they drew up to the door to the hangar and Dylan once again faltered.

The quick lift of Dylan's lips was more of a grimace than a smile. "It's nothing, Rhade, I was just wondering how we keep getting into these situations."

"Amen to that," Beka snorted, but it lacked her usual zeal.

Telemachus' eyebrows flew up at Dylan's fatalistic tone. Dylan Hunt had always been a champion of the people. He lived to help others. So why the sudden cynicism? And why was Beka acting almost… defeated? Telemachus resolved to ask Andromeda everything she knew about their visitors once he was off duty. Maybe there was a history here from the time before he had been aboard the Andromeda Ascendant.

"Thank you for your assistance," a slender blonde woman, a Nietzschean, said as she exited the craft behind a human male in official looking robes. "I am the pilot of this vessel, Louisa Messereau, and this is Ambassador Galdamez. We are emissaries of the habitat Arkology."

"Welcome to the Andromeda Ascendant," Dylan responded. "I'm Captain Hunt, this is Captain Beka Valentine, my Second-In-Command, and my Weapons Officer, Commander Telemachus Rhade."

"Thank you, Captain Hunt," the Ambassador replied simply.

Louisa's pale eyes traveled over Dylan and Beka before settling on Telemachus. With an obvious glance at his arm spines, Louisa turned all her attention to him and made a formal introduction. Through the bloodlines his mother had drilled in his head from the time he was very young, Telemachus knew that Louisa was claiming to be of Ana Purna Pride, a Pride thought to have been wiped out three hundred years before.

But until they had met up with Alura and then Drago, they had believed that Kodiak Pride was gone too, so who was he to doubt the woman's word? And did it really matter either way?

"Telemachus Rhade, out of Majorem by Rhade," he responded politely, leaving out his parent's names in favor of the less detailed greeting.

He didn't plan on this woman needing to know his exact lineage.

"Easy, boy, didn't know you were that hard up," Beka muttered, loud enough for their guests to just catch it.

The Ambassador's already somber face took on a put out expression. Louisa gave Telemachus a coy look, but he barely took note of it, turning to glare at Beka instead, his arms crossing over his chest and a muscle in his cheek jumping in anger.

"What?" the Captain of the Maru asked, her eyes wide in pretended innocence.

Mindful of the fact that a scene between his second and third in command would make Dylan look bad in front of their guests, Telemachus held his tongue until a better time, deliberately turning away from Beka. Telemachus made another mental note when he noticed that Dylan hadn't reacted to Beka's jibe in anyway, despite the fact that he often played mediator when they had one of their disagreements. The only time Dylan hadn't done so before was when the captain believed that Beka was, at least in part, right. How could that possibly be the case here?

Despite his disbelief, Telemachus had to admit to himself that it must be true when Dylan maneuvered things so that he and Beka flanked the Ambassador on the way to the conference room, forcing Telemachus to fall into step beside the Nietzschean pilot.

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Preview: The Andromeda's crew tries to do what they think is necessary and wind up making Rhade mad. Alura finally makes it home.