"She fights her destiny, and now she fights me because of it." A soft spoken voice greeted him in Vedran as he entered the room. It was a voice much like Trance's, with the same lilt and intonation yet deeper and more self-assured. A voice that knew its power, and knew it would always be heard, despite the weariness that weighed it down now. Its familiarity put him at ease.

Captain Hunt stepped into the room with the Paradine Dylan in control. This space was new to him, but not his internal companion who'd spent hours here. He understood that the voice belonged to a mother near the end of her life and was filled with concern that she hadn't prepared her nine children for the challenges of the future. Especially the eldest two. Over and over they'd tread this ground with the Paradine Dylan offering comfort and reassurance, but it was never enough to allay her fears.

A fullness around his heart accompanied by a desperate longing to take her into his arms, kiss her head, and tell her everything would work out in the end pulled him forward. The strength of the emotions surprised him. The way he felt them as his own and not as the Paradine's. The way the memories were starting to seem as if they'd always been a part of him, as if there never should have been a doubt that after countless visits and fireside conversations, and years of listening to her tell stories of the Universe she'd come from with one or both of her twins snuggled on his lap until they'd grown too big to fit, that he should fall in love with her.

Instead, he took a more conservative approach. "She's still young. Too young, really, and it's a lot to ask of her."

Despite its walls of smooth white stone that seemed to have grown into shape instead of been manipulated into it, and the chill in the air outside, the room was warm. Heat emanated from a fire in a giant hearth against one wall with an ornate stone grate across it, the images of suns and moons carved just deep enough that the flames flashed through them, making them seem alive. She didn't need the fire. The Lambent Kith felt the cold but it didn't affect them. Captain Hunt gathered that she'd been expecting him by both the fire and the way she remained staring out the window instead of confirming who had entered before speaking.

Long auburn curls fell down her back freely, decorated with only a circlet. He couldn't see much of it from here, but the Paradine had it memorized: a simple piece of molded gold with a sun formed in the center, a shimmering white jewel that caught the light in rainbow prisms set into it. A crown more delicate than ostentatious, and entirely fitting for the woman who wore it.

"She does not have much time. I do not have much time."

He moved in beside her, footsteps silenced by a thick green carpet that covered the hard floor, trying to ignore her emphasis on 'I'. As he did so, he passed wall hangings depicting cities more beautiful than any he'd ever seen; alien planets with lavender seas and green continents; and grand starscapes that stretched on forever. All of them depictions of the home she'd given up to save her species. Around, and sometimes over them, vines with midnight purple leaves and golden flowers, grew unchecked. First he looked to the snow covered fairy forest outside and then to his companion. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, tugging her gently closer. She turned into his embrace and he kissed her forehead right below the sun on her crown.

"Avera, she knows what has to be done. She'll make the right decision when the time comes, I know she will."

Captain Hunt marvelled at her name: Avera—sun in Vedran. The word had remained the same over millions of years, through the many varied tongues of the Ancient Vedrans to the single common Vedran language he'd spoken before the Fall of the Commonwealth. If it weren't for her pointed ears, the shimmer of her skin, and the painting of ruby dust along her hairline, cheeks, and neck, that disappeared beneath the collar of a simple flowing white dress, she could be just another worried Human mother. Yet she was the guardian of the Vedrans and the embodiment of their sun.

"I wish I could see as well as she does so I might know if what you say is true. As a child born to this Universe, she's already more powerful than I have ever been. But she is so young. Tell me, how much responsibility do you give young adolescents in your world and do they cause as much trouble as my two do?"

"What is it today?" More well trodden ground. To Vedrans or Humans the twins would appear to be eleven or twelve years old, and apparently even the stars were prone to testing parental boundaries at this stage of their development.

"Aside from her new hobby of breaking into organic museums and taking their artifacts for fun?"

A smile played across his face, despite her seriousness. "She swears up and down that those artifacts belonged to her brother."

"I am sure the Kyrens did give them to him, two millennia ago by the way they count time." Avera replied with a small, warm smile of her own. Those smiles came less and less frequently these days as her energy waned and her end loomed. Though no one could say exactly how much time she had left, many of her friends and the father of her children, a man Dylan had never met, had already passed away. As if she could sense his train of thoughts, her smile melted away. "Those are just children's games, though. She's demanded that we send only her to the Nebula and leave her sisters to live their lives independently. I've often wished she would find her voice and speak her mind instead of letting her brother do it for her, but now I wish I'd left it well enough alone."

They stood in silence and then she let out a deep sign. "Are we doing the right thing?"

No matter how many times she asked it of him, or how often he asked it of himself, there was no answer to her question. This was a grand experiment, and their only hope. The Paradine had come up with this plan after witnessing the end of the Universe. They'd nurtured the genetically modified Lambent Kith, overseen their joining with their celestial bodies, and offered their own lives across epochs to protect these younger, yet more mature, Avatars.

He'd worked with Avera from the beginning and helped her to raise Trance, Sol, and their two younger sisters so they'd understand their roles, falling in love with the family as time marched on. But no amount of work, or love, or care could change the truth. This was a process going into production with no trial run and no way to know the end result.

He kissed her first, a gentle chaste kiss, one that carried the weight of hundreds just like it. A kiss meant to comfort. "It's the best we can do. The only chance we have to defeat the Abyss. You know it can't win because if it does, it will take all of your people with it."

She frowned, gazing back at him through half closed eyes, as if she were looking to something beyond this room. She probably was. Before now, Captain Hunt had thought Trance's resemblance to her was subtle, but he saw the woman he knew clearly in Avera now. "And if it doesn't work, or the darkness finds another way as it is wont to do, what then?"

Dylan forced his way through, though he kept hold of the woman he'd grown to love—no, that the Paradine had grown to love, not him. "I promise no matter what happens, no matter what the future holds, I will continue to protect her and guide her. And I promise you that when it is time, she will shine. She will put everything she feels behind her, she will push through her gentle nature and be the warrior the Universe needs her to be. If it all goes to hell, you don't have to fear. I will always be there to help her find her way."


The dream lingered with him throughout the morning, clinging to him as he ran through the corridors for his morning exercise with feet pounding on the deck. It remained through a too hot shower and even his morning coffee couldn't wake him from it. It distracted him while he did his captain's duty and bid the Triumvirs goodbye ,and now it made the threads of his breakfast conversation with Beka and Rommie difficult to follow.

"Hey, Captain Space Case, you with us?" Beka eyed him expectantly, fork hanging in the air, a bite of fruit topped pancake skewered on it. Her eyebrows sloped down towards her nose and her forehead was knitted in concern. "Have a bit too much fun last night?"

Rommie sported a raised eyebrow, no less a look of concern for its reserved nature. He tried but could not remember what they'd been talking about.

He blinked and shook his head as if he could shake off the vestiges of love and loss that he didn't understand but felt anyway. Of memories that were starting to crop up beyond his dreams, extending far past anything he'd seen in his nighttime travels. As if he could shake off the entire second life he'd lived and then forgotten. But what could he say to Beka and Rommie?

'I think I was in love with Trance's mother and helped raise Trance and her siblings' wasn't great pancakes discussion. It might be too much to be believed. Even on this ship.

"Yeah, I'm here, I just didn't sleep well. What's going on?"

Beka's eyes remained on him, but she didn't pry. He could usually count on her to leave well enough alone. "We were talking about how upset Trance was last night and how it might not be a great idea to have Trance—"

"Or Harper," Rommie interrupted.

"—Or Harper with us in the Tagris system. It might be too much to watch her people murder more of her people with no power to do anything about it... and Harper's seen one too many planets explode already."

The Tagris system, yet another concern. Things were getting bad a lot faster than they'd anticipated, spurned on by a government who'd not faced war or disaster in nearly three-hundred years and a populace that was rightfully panicking as everything they knew crumbled before them. They had two weeks.

Two weeks was also the amount of time left until the Rindrin signing ceremony, because there couldn't ever be only one pressing agenda item at a time. That'd be too easy. While it wasn't a life or death situation like the Tagris System, it was a matter of political import. The Rindrin's had chosen what they believed to be an auspicious day for the ceremony and planned an entire week's worth of festivities surrounding it. The Andromeda's crew were meant to be guests of honor. The Rindrins would understand if the most powerful ship in the High Guard fleet needed to aid in evacuating an entire system, but it'd be better if they could avoid disappointing them. Politics were sticky like that.

There was an obvious solution, but he wanted to hear from them first, a part of him always testing whether he could trust his senior officers to make the same decisions he would. "What were you thinking?"

He scooped up a forkful of fruit compote left on his plate after he'd eaten the pancakes away and savored its sweetness. The cooks were amazing and they'd be onboarding a few more today to keep up with his growing crew. At least some things were starting to feel like they used to. He could do with a bit of normal.

Beka snorted then smiled, looking amused. "Well, I have to be on Rindra because we decided it was the perfect place to host a Nietzschean convention, but I think those two might appreciate a week of long walks along the beach at sunset. But, I'm concerned that if I take the lovebirds with me, you'll be down to Doyle, Rhade, and Rommie on Command and an entire crew fresh out of the Academy."

Guess everyone else had noticed last night, too, though Dylan had been impressed with the surprising amount of discretion Harper had shown.

"The new crew will have two weeks to get used to the position if they've been trained properly. There shouldn't be any issues. I expect the Tagarians will be easier to evacuate than the Seefrans were, despite the turmoil they're facing. They have always been an agreeable species." Rommie said.

Dylan nodded, glad to see they were all on the same page. "I agree with you, Beka. It seems that the most obvious solution on how to balance the needs of the Tagris system and our obligations to the Rindrins."

Beka stood. "Good, I'm glad that didn't take much convincing. I'd love to stay and chat, but my new crew is scheduled to arrive in thirty minutes and I need to get ready." She dropped her napkin down on the table, giving Dylan a harried look. He shrugged. There wasn't much he could do about the Commonwealth's decision to staff Andromeda, and it was for the best in the end.

As Beka worked to pull prides to her, so too did the Dragons. Reports of slave raids in areas close to Commonwealth territories were increasing, and there was evidence of increased output from Dragon controlled mining facilities across the Known Worlds. The Dragons were stockpiling the materials needed to build ships and weapons. The materials of war.

The pot was simmering again and the Commonwealth's fleet was dangerously small after both the Nietzschean battle a few months ago and the battle with the Worldship. And, while the Dragons and their allies built up resources, the Commonwealth was expending them on the Tagarian evacuation and resettlement effort. Even if Beka could get a sizeable group of Nietzscheans to add their ships to the High Guard fleet, Andromeda needed to be functioning as efficiently as possible, and she needed a crew for that.

Dylan flashed Beka a smile. "It'll be fun. A whole new group of people for you to boss around and shout into submission."

She rolled her eyes before turning around, tossing over her shoulder as she left, "Fun you say. I'll show you fun."

Dylan winked at Rommie. "She's not really angry."

Rommie shrugged. "It's an adjustment everyone will need to make. Speaking of the new crew, Doyle will be helping me onboard and provision them today and tomorrow, then she's scheduled to help the medics give everyone their physical exams."

Her words reminded him of a third and fourth problem. What was he to do with the now Lieutenant Doyle and Lieutenant Commander Trance Gemini, both of them existing in a sort of limbo with undefined roles? It was a morning full of problems that needed solutions sooner rather than later.

"Great, I'll hit you up later today to set up team meetups so I can give them a Captain's welcome, but first I need to talk to Trance." He stood and moved briskly towards the door. "And that is where I'm heading now."

Rommie stepped in beside him with hands behind her back, a curious and unreadable expression on her face. "Does she know you're coming?"

Dylan reached the ladder and shrugged before grasping the rungs to travel one deck down to Officer's Quarters. "We usually take a walk after breakfast on Saturday, though I'd figured she'd sleep in this morning. It's about the right time and she knows I wanted to talk to her. Why?"

"No reason." Rommie replied. He had a sense that Rommie had more to say, but was holding back.

He pulled himself up onto the deck again. "She's awake, right?"

Rommie followed."Yes, she is awake."

"And nothing is wrong?"

"Nope. Nothing is wrong. Trance is perfectly fine." A slight pause before perfectly caught his attention and struck him as odd, but he didn't press it further because a pair of Nietzschean pride leaders from Terazed approached, guided by Rhade and followed by two bots carrying their luggage.

"Captain," Rhade said with a nod.

"Commander," he replied and turned to the ambassadors, the oddness in Rommie's demeanor forgotten for a moment. "I hope you had a pleasant stay onboard."

"We did, thank you. We look forward to working with you and the Matriarch closer in the future Captain Hunt. We don't have many ships at the moment, but our fleet is yours should you need it." The tallest, Marcus Cornelius if Dylan remembered correctly, answered.

"Thank you. It is good to know we have allies we can count on. Please, have a safe journey home. I will leave you in Rhade's capable hands."

A few steps down, Rommie spoke, "It seems that our Perseid retinue is in need of assistance, or more likely, simply desire to pick my brain on a number of subjects relating to my systems. I should go take care of that." Her smile was thin, her displeasure at having to deal with what she considered neurotic nosiness and the Perseids considered polite inquiry apparent.

"Good luck. I'll see you later."

Left alone now, he strolled to Trance's door and hit the chime. In the silence after the chime ended he reminisced on how strange it was that in the old days he never would have met members of his crew in their quarters. Only his first mate. Forcing his crew to come to him in his realm had been a policy designed to encourage professional distance—a laughable phrase now.

Nothing remotely resembling distance existed these days and he couldn't help feeling that in following that policy he'd lost dozens of opportunities for meaningful connections over the years. Then again, it would have hurt that much more when he'd lost them all.

The door slid open, Trance behind dressed in a simple purple tunic over darker purple leggings, her hair hanging damp and loose around her shoulders and her feet bare. In one hand she gripped a hairbrush designed to quickly dry hair. Her eyes widened and her mouth formed a small 'o' before quickly morphing into a smile that, while not exactly welcoming, was friendly and unfeigned.

"Late start?" he asked.

"You could say that. Good morning." She glanced behind her as if looking for something and turned her attention to him once again. "It is Saturday. I had forgotten."

Like Rommie's behavior earlier, something seemed off, like he was staring at a vase that had been pushed a half-a-centimeter from the center, hardly enough to notice, yet still disconcerting.

"I figured you'd sleep in this morning, but I have a few things I'd like to discuss, so I'd hoped you still be up for a walk." He noticed that despite her discomfort last night she'd pinned her rank and both decorations to her collar.

"I–" she started, but was cut off.

"Hey Trance, do you have a toolkit?" From the lavatory came Harper, with pants on—thank God—but torso bare, hair wild and damp, with a grey towel hanging around his neck. "I think I can fix the water pressure problem we were having."

Oh.

He parsed Harper's state of undress, the 'we' in his statement, Trance's surprise upon opening the door, and Rommie's earlier behavior, all at once. Then he remembered that when the two of them had left the party last night, they'd left together. How did he not put two and two together? Heat rose in his cheeks.

"Harper…" Trance said, unrealized laughter dancing in her voice, her lips forming an amused smile. Harper turned towards the door and did a double take, eyes widening, his mouth opening and shutting in a perfect impression of a fish.

"Oh, uh, hey Boss," he finally choked out, backing up until he hit the bed, where he stooped and picked up a t-shirt abandoned there. Harper struggled into it as if the Code Black klaxon were blaring and he had to be on Command in less than three minutes. Dylan averted his gaze, but not before seeing a tray with the remnants of two breakfast set aside on the nightstand. On the ground by his feet was an extra pair of boots and suit jacket dropped beside Trance's shoes.

Fully clothed now, Harper slipped in beside Trance, scooping up his boots and jacket in one arm. A moment of indecision passed with Harper's eyes jumping from Trance to Dylan before he gave Trance a quick and chaste peck on the lips. "On second thought, I'll just come back later and fix it. Lemme know when you're done?"

"Of course," she replied, that glint of amusement still there.

Perhaps he should say something to ease Harper's discomfort. But what? He wasn't well practiced in situations like this, and Harper was jumpier than most. When nothing came to mind he threw on a reassuring smile. "I'll only keep her for a while, then the rest of the day is yours."

That at least got him to look a little less like he'd been caught in bed with the captain's daughter, a smile thin with nerves taking over for panic-tinged embarrassment. As captain, this whole situation was his fault. He'd never set his expectations for romantic relationships with his senior officers despite the eventuality that either they'd become involved with each other—as had happened here—or with someone outside the crew. In nearly six years he'd never set out any sort of guidelines. Every time he'd thought about it, he'd put it off figuring there was time.

Well, time was up.

In the old days, he wouldn't have had to worry. There'd been rules, both official and unspoken, that governed fraternization. In the old days, this wouldn't have happened because senior officers kept a reasonable professional distance from one another and requested a transfer if that distance couldn't be maintained. But this wasn't the old days, and now there was a list of things he needed to address in the near future like living arrangements, public displays of affection, dangerous missions, or what to do when they inevitably had a fight.

Then again, maybe everything would just fall into place organically as often happened with this crew. He'd been amazed at their lack of discipline when they first joined up, and sometimes horrified at what Beka allowed her crew to get away with. He'd marveled that the Maru had gotten anything done at all. Now, there was no other group of people, no matter how frustrating their different worldviews could be, he would ever trust more in a pinch. This was simply one more thing in a long line of them that he'd have to get used to.

Trance's smile shifted into something more tender, something meant only for Harper, and something akin to what he'd witnessed on Seefra when she'd been near Ione for a short time, but different still. Dylan shifted his gaze as she took Harper's hands into hers and kissed him, giving them a moment of privacy. "I'll see you in a bit, okay?"

Calmer now, Harper turned to leave and Dylan put a hand on his shoulder, figuring out something that might put Harper more at ease, an olive branch of acceptance. "We aren't leaving Terazed until tomorrow and it's your birthday. If you'd like, you two can take a slipfighter down to the planet and spend the afternoon there."

Harper smiled, clearly surprised. "That'd be great, thanks."

As Harper crossed the corridor to his own quarters Dylan turned his attention back to Trance, that soft smile lingering and lighting up her face as she watched Harper's progress. He waited, and eventually, her attention was his.

"I'll be just a moment. Do you want to come inside?"

Dylan shook his head, unwilling to invade her space even more after disrupting her morning. She wouldn't hold it against him, she never did, but he could use a few moments to contemplate what had just happened as well. "Take your time. I'll be fine out here."


Dylan stood tall just beyond her door, almost at attention, staring down the empty corridor at nothing in particular, at least nothing her eyes could detect. He looked every bit the stalwart, battle-seasoned captain now, his surprise and uncertainty from earlier tucked away.

It brought a smile to her face because as everything changed, Dylan could be counted on to be a fixed object to orbit around. Even when he had no clue how to handle a situation. He had one of those rare personalities that molded the Universe to his will instead of allowing it to shape him, and his own sort of gravity to pull people in. She'd always known that about him.

"I'm ready."

"You're amused." There was no accusation in his words, only a statement of fact. Her eyes wandered to Harper's door, imagining him digging through unsorted piles of clothes for something clean to wear or tinkering on something to take his mind off the embarrassment, his hands making deft movements over the machinery he cared for as much as she cared for her plants. There would be some soothing to do there later. They'd imagined letting the rest of the crew get used to their relationship as they got used to being in one. But feet first it would have to be.

"It's nothing, really. You humans are just easily flustered when it comes to romantic relationships. It's one of your most endearing qualities." She winked and allowed her smile to grow, unable to resist the urge to tease a little. This couldn't have come as a surprise to him. Not really. "Where to?"

"I was thinking Obs so we could chat a little if that's alright with you." He motioned for her to follow and she stepped in beside him. He kept his stride shorter, easier for her to keep up with. It'd been like this from the beginning of her recovery: him making allowances to make it easier and her not letting on that she knew.

"That sounds great." They reached the first ladder. She took a breath and reminded herself Obs was only four decks down. For most, the ladders were the quickest route to almost anywhere they needed to be, but for her, they were still the largest challenge to her mobility, albeit one that grew easier to overcome every day. Dylan stepped in first, and she followed, gripping the rungs tightly, putting her trust in her muscles to carry her where she needed to be.

"He is worried because he cares a great deal what you think about him. He looks up to you," she said as they climbed.

"I can't say I don't have concerns. I mean, it's Harper."

She laughed, giving in to a little more good-natured ribbing, trying to bring out a bit of the fluster she'd seen earlier. "Yes. I am well aware of who I took to bed last night."

The next deck down was a buzz of excited voices and uniformed bodies weighed down with full knapsacks rushing about like a nest of insects had been disturbed. Andromeda's face flashed from communication nodes up and down the corridor as her voice called out instructions to the new recruits. They paused for a moment to take it all in. A pair of fresh-faced ensigns stopped and saluted.

"Captain. Commander," a Nietzschean man with an even tan and neatly parted hair, said, nodding to each of them in turn.

"As you were," Dylan replied, then served them his brightest smile. "Welcome onboard."

"Thank you, Captain. Ensign Devi, I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm proud to serve on the Andromeda. She's the ship of the line, and almost everyone was fighting to get stationed here," the woman beside him said.

Somewhere inside all of the wires and data chips that served as her giant brain, Andromeda must have been smiling, and it made Trance happy to hear her friend getting the praise she deserved.

"We're glad to have you, too," Trance said because it seemed like she should say something. She was happy that the Commonwealth was stronger now, that there were more recruits signing up to join the High Guard every semester at the Academy, that more contractors chose to dedicate their skill and knowledge to benefit the Commonwealth. She was happy that Dylan was happy, even if it meant a great deal of adjustment for the rest of them.

It was the season for adjustments it seemed.

After the two eager young soldiers had been dispatched, Dylan took to the ladders again and she followed, returning to their earlier conversation as if they hadn't been interrupted.

"You're afraid he will hurt me," she said.

The next deck was a lot quieter, mostly Rommie's bots with arms full of linens and carts stacked with pillows, dishes, and other items necessary for daily living. Tomorrow this deck, too, would be filled, this time with the first crop of Lancers from the newer training grounds on Xinti. They continued on their way.

"You have to admit, his track record isn't great." Dylan spoke the words gently, and had she been in his position, or even Beka's, she'd probably have the same reservations. The number of times Harper's heart had been broken, he'd broken another's heart, or he'd gotten in trouble because of a woman was rather large, and she'd only known him seven years.

"Neither one of us went into this lightly or without a great deal of reflection," she reassured. The next deck remained quiet and vacant. She paused there, catching Dylan's eyes. "Do you doubt he loves me?"

Dylan's answer was quick. Not a moment of hesitation. "Of that, I have no doubt. It's clear how much he loves you. It's just that he is so inexperienced and—"

"Emotional?" she asked, allowing a smile to settle on her face and her feelings to swell her heart, for once unburdened by her fears and doubts or that small but mighty internal voice that told her she shouldn't feel the way she did. She winked as Dylan made to descend the final deck. "I kind of like it."

"You said that your people's children love chaos, but sometimes I think you never grew out of it."

At the bottom of the final ladder, they paused again, giving her a chance to catch her breath and rest her muscles. They were tired and had grown shaky, but she'd made it. Every day it got a little bit easier.

"Chaos does keep life interesting."

This deck was active too, and as the central recreational space, it was expected. Still, there were more people milling about than she'd ever seen on Andromeda before. Dylan seemed to feed off the energy, his smile growing as he observed everyone moving about. Many of these faces had the casual familiarity of those she'd grown used to seeing around the halls, but there were plenty of new ones mixed in. She and Dylan's conversation halted in lieu of hellos and salutes from the crew as they passed through.

Automatic deference was another thing she had to get used to, or rather, get used to again. Here, she was a soldier, not a princess. A decorated Command officer and department head. The result was the same. She'd grown accustomed to, and comfortable with, being treated as either an equal or a subordinate. This adjustment would take more time.

Ironically, as a part of the Nebula she'd longed to be seen, to be herself, but she'd had to hide, even from her friends. Now she'd never wanted to hide more and had no choice but to stand out. Even if she weren't a CO, and they hadn't pinned honors to her collar last night, no one had ever seen anyone like her before. Her differences, the sparkling skin of her people, thrust her into the spotlight, as the second glances some of the newer officers gave her showed.

Outside the Observation Deck, Doyle passed by with a cluster of at least two dozen officers. She and Rommie both had a full Saturday and Sunday scheduled of orientations. She'd only gotten out of it by being off-duty and Harper because today was his birthday.

"This is Obs Deck, it's closed at this time every weekend for the use of the senior staff and during a window in the evenings on weekdays as well, but is otherwise free to use if there are no events scheduled. If you'll follow me, the Crew Mess is this way. The chefs prepare a variety of options every day to meet different dietary needs, but if you want something off menu, we are also equipped with several auto-chef units…" Doyle didn't stop speaking but nodded her acknowledgment. Trance gave her a smile of encouragement, feeling a twinge of guilt at how grateful she was to get out of it.

"Is there a new Chief Medical Officer in today's group?" Trance asked as they slipped into the quiet calm of the Observation Deck. It was a rare occurrence to catch Dylan so off-guard it stopped him in his tracks and she'd managed it twice in less than an hour. While this was not a light subject, and the conversation would hurt, she smiled because there was power in being both observant and unpredictable. A power all her own.

"No, I couldn't put in the request for one without speaking to you first. How'd you know?"

It'd been a wise choice to come here. With the stars taking up the entire front and trees in raised white planters dotting the room, it was her second favorite place on Andromeda. These walls had been witness to countless chats, midnight snacks, and friendly games of cards over the years. If hard conversations must be had, at least they could be had someplace where laughter and goodwill clung to the walls. She made her way to her favorite tree near the front with its long, feather-like leaves and lowered herself onto the planter wall, Dylan close behind.

The smile grew heavier as she contemplated what to say and how to give up yet another part of herself with grace so Dylan didn't have to carry the burden of taking it away. She forced her lips to remain in place, the muscles of her cheeks twitching with the effort. "There are not enough hours in the day for me to work on everything I did before, and with a crew this large, my compromised immune system is a bit of a liability on Med Deck. The thought occurred to me weeks ago, but I only recently admitted it to myself. I knew you must have seen it too."

"I'm sorry."

Those two simple words, so full of love and concern, broke her control. She looked out to the stars, bright against their backdrop of empty space. How they shined. She closed her eyes to them but could still see their spots imprinted in her vision. She let the smile drop away. Why did she pretend? When she opened her eyes again, the stars were still there, unchanged. Solid and eternal—or so they seemed. Only she among those surrounding her could appreciate how they lived and died the same as all living things. Only she could really perceive and process time at that scale, having lived it.

"It must be this way. All things change and I've never had the power to stop time's inexorable march forward, no matter how much I've wished to." She turned back to Dylan, meeting his eyes, steadying herself with a breath, reminding herself that not all change was bad or unwelcome—as the last two days had proved—that this might lead her down the path to a brighter future, even if she could not see it right now.

"I would still like you to be my physician, and I'm sure the others feel the same, but I can't risk your health with every cold that passes through these bulkheads."

"But you haven't picked a replacement," she said and read his expression. Her mouth fell open, and surprise colored voice. "You haven't even told the Commonwealth you need one. Will I resume the role when we intervene in the Tagris system?"

He hesitated and in the lines of his face she could read his answer to this question, too.

"You aren't taking me with you. Harper either?"

He shook his head. "No, you and Harper are going to accompany Beka to Rindra to participate in the signing ceremony. Andromeda committed to being there together, but they will have to settle for three senior officers instead."

An argument rose to her lips but stopped short of escaping. As Harper would say, it was a no-brainer to remove him from the equation—though she suspected he would argue with her assessment in this instance. In fact, Rindra probably wasn't far enough. His wounds ran deep and were barely sutured. He didn't need to be in the Tagris System to watch her people destroy several more worlds.

But the more she ran over her reasons for Harper to stay away, the more she realized they were the exact arguments Dylan would use for her. A few details would change, but it all came down to the same thing: her people had taken so much from both of them that Dylan was worried this might cause them to relive those horrors. And could she really argue with an injector of anti-panic medication in her pocket? She didn't even know how deep her cuts were, or what might happen if they were suddenly ripped open, so how could she insist he allow her to risk it? Yet somehow, as the former leader of her people, she thought she should be there to witness their deaths, to try and eke out some meaning in them.

So she gave the only paper-thin argument she could. "You cannot go into the Tagris system without a Chief Medical Officer. The medics are smart and capable, but they need a leader. They don't have the wealth of knowledge needed to handle potential casualties at that level. There is already fighting on the ground, radiation sickness, and I'm sure that is just scratching the surface."

It was Dylan's turn to look to the stars for guidance. It was the power of this place, and why Observation Deck was such a great space for meditation. In the infinite vastness of space, one could search for answers. They were rarely found out there, usually residing much closer to home, but sometimes if one searched long enough, one could see their own soul illuminated by millions of burning suns. "I know, and it isn't an easy decision to add someone new to our team. We've brought on a few more officers to fill in the gaps. We have an armsmaster and a quartermaster now, for example, but you guys, my Command staff—we've just been doing things our way for so long now…"

Five years ago he would have done anything to return to familiar structures of the High Guard and yet, here he was, reluctant to shake things up again. Perhaps too much had changed and he too was clinging to the illusion of stability. The seeds of an idea she'd been mulling around unconsciously since Beka's injury began to sprout. A possible solution to this problem.

"I read quite some time ago that before the Commonwealth fell, they'd been talking about assigning medical avatars to ships like Andromeda."

He met her eyes again, then folded his hands together and brought them to his mouth. He tapped his lips a few times before lowering his hands to his lap and speaking. "You're thinking Doyle." Another beat passed and then he nodded. "It could work, but the powers that be were concerned that AIs didn't have the instincts of organic physicians."

"Between you and me, I think that is something organics say because it frightens them that AIs might be just as capable as they are, or more, in almost every situation. There is nothing wrong with Rommie and Doyle's instincts and Doyle has been invaluable to me since I woke, both nursing me to health and acting as my nurse."

Dylan moved to the railing in front of the viewport and leaned against it, his hands folded in front of him, the lines outline of his face highlighted by the stars. She followed and mirrored his pose, her face turned so she could watch his. The vulnerability painted there was something reserved for her alone, something he didn't show the rest of the crew. "You're probably right."

"She needs a place. They made her a full member of our crew last night, but she doesn't have a role to call her own. You've been using her as a second Rommie and she's not. She's just as lost as the rest of us and will never figure out who she is in Rommie's shadow."

"I'll consider it. She isn't the only one who needs to find a place out here in this Universe, you know."

Try as she might to force the focus onto others, Dylan was determined to keep the conversation on her this morning. She shifted on the balls of her feet and pressed her palms tighter together, averting her gaze so that all she could see was how the lights reflected off her folded hands.

"I know being presented with the Order of the Vedran Empress made you uncomfortable, and I wish they'd let me know so I could make it easier on you, but I wouldn't have stopped them," he continued.

No, he wouldn't have. Of course he wouldn't have because he believed people should be recognized for their sacrifices, and she didn't disagree—usually.

Still, she remained silent.

"The Order of the Vedran Empress ensures a future for you and the comfortable retirement that you have already earned. It means you will be considered first for any position within the Commonwealth you are qualified for and it gives you a voice on the political stage. When it is time to leave Andromeda, you'll never want for anything."

These were not things she'd considered last night. She looked up at Dylan with brows knitted, a deep frown pulling at her lips.

"It's ironic; I've spent my entire life concerned with the future, living in it and walking millions of pathways in the search for perfection, yet I do not know how to plan for my own. When I try to search now, all I see is this dark emptiness, like the space between the stars."

He turned to her now and took her hands in his. "You never did like not knowing. It always frustrated you when you couldn't see which path to follow, but I promise I will always be there to help you find your way."

There was something in his tone that forced her to push aside her inner turmoil and focus all her attention on him. Her gaze bored into his, studying his blue eyes for clues. They watched her, unwavering, and an overwhelming sense of deja vu overtook her. It was as if she'd stepped into one of the visions she missed so much, only this time instead of stepping into the future, she'd fallen into the past.

A stone bridge over a fast-moving stream replaced Obs Deck. The wind whipped at her short hair leaves blown from the ancient trees surrounding them and crashing against her skin, some sticking there for a moment, before moving on, as if running from the coming storm. The planet she'd tended to for as long as she could remember almost seemed to respond to her emotions. This was where she had met Dylan, so in a way, it seemed right that it was where they'd say goodbye.

"You're leaving," she accused, angrier than she'd ever been before. Her mother was dying, and he was leaving her, and her child-like mind, no matter how old it actually was, could not conceive of anything more important than him staying with her and her siblings after their mother's death.

"I have to go. I want to stay, but I can't. You know we both have our roles to fill and you need to take your place in the Nebula. We'll see each other again."

"But you told my mother I won't remember you. Why won't I remember you?"

He sighed. "You were eavesdropping on my conversation with your mother this afternoon." He'd chided her more than once for listening in when she wasn't supposed to, and her mother would be furious to know she'd spied on such a personal moment, but curiosity had always been too strong an urge to resist. She found it difficult to care about right and wrong as her comfortable life teetered on the brink of more change than she could process.

"I don't know why you won't remember. I only know you won't," he said, stepping forward and taking her hands in his. His were icy and he must have been cold all over with the freezing wind whipping at them the way it was. Winter seemed to be fighting to maintain control as Spring marched in, and that too was fitting. This was not a time for flowers.

Cold or not, he didn't complain.

"Please stay. I'm scared." Tears leaked from her eyes unchecked, streaking down to her chin and collecting there. "I do not know how I am supposed to do this alone. There are so many paths. What if I choose the wrong one to follow." She shivered even though the cold shouldn't have affected her.

He squeezed her hands tightly. "You won't be alone. I will be there to help you find your way." Then he kissed her head. "I will always be there to help you find your way. Always."

As abruptly as the vision had come, it was gone, the forest once more becoming the grey walls and domed ceiling of Obs, its gently circulating air on the cool side of comfortable, the potted plants motionless.

"Trance? Are you alright?"

She blinked and took a few steadying breaths, her eyes searching the room once more before falling on Dylan's again. "I just–I think I just remembered something."

He took a deep breath and let go of her hands. For a moment he stood before her, feet glued to the deck plates until he mastered whatever emotion had frozen him and took a seat once more on the planter. He massaged his temples then motioned for her to sit. She, too, found it difficult to move. There were secrets being surfaced here, and it was just as uncomfortable to know that some part of her past as hidden as her future.

Yet, a sense that this moment was important, that is had meaning, pulled her forward.

"You know something." There was nothing else she could say.

"I've been having dreams for months now. I'm on this beautiful planet and you are there with your mother and brother. I am not myself entirely, I—"

"Exist in two times at once," she finished. A door had been unlocked inside her mind and behind it was Dylan and an indistinct childhood, blurred through a warped lens, and slightly different than the one she'd remembered yesterday. "I don't understand, but in a strange way, it makes sense. I always wondered why the Nebula sent me to you if they did not trust me. They tested me over and over, and every time, I defied them. So, they'd punish me and test me again. When it came time and they still had no control over me, they left me imprisoned in an unpleasant situation with only my sight and a command to find Beka who would lead me to you. They must have known I was the only one you would trust."

Silence fell between them and she pondered the timing of these memories. There was an itching in the back of her mind she couldn't reach to scratch and portents here she couldn't read. But perhaps it was just her frustration at being blind to the future. Dylan was right about that, she'd never liked being blind.

Still.

"I feel something changing the way the air comes to life just before the dawn. That hour before you see the first sliver of light on the horizon. Everything is different now, but I do not think we have seen the real change yet. There is a reason all of this is happening now. A reason we are remembering. A reason war is brewing and the Nebula is making their move."

Dylan nodded slowly as if he too felt it. "There's an old human adage. The night is darkest before the dawn."

Her eyes wandered to the stars outside again, twinkling at her from the past, a past where Dylan now resided. A past where she'd lost her mother, her protector, and her independence at the same time. One she needed to both remember clearly and put behind her because if she didn't it would hold her back. Another, similar, human adage came to mind.

The candle burns brightest before it dies.

If she lived out the rest of her lifespan, it could be another seventy or eighty years per Rommie's research, but in a life that had spanned epochs, it was no time at all. This was her end, and she wondered if she was meant to shine. Taken from her sun, was it possible there was still one more sunrise left inside of her? She could not articulate the feelings, the swirling of emotion that told her she wasn't done, that this change involved her in some way—involved all of them.

"Are you ever afraid because you cannot see the future, but you know you have some role to play in it, that the Universe is not done with you yet?"

"Every day," he said. She met his half-lidded gaze and fidgeted under it. It seemed he'd lived one too many lifetimes himself as a heavy sigh escaped, and his hand found her knee, squeezing. "But we will end this journey, no matter where it takes us, the same way we started it. Together as a crew—as a family."