Several hours later Rhade was outside the entrance to Elaine's stateroom. Andromeda had informed him that there were some issues concerning the situation on Seefra she and Elaine wished to discuss with him.
After Rhade and Jeri had finished consummating—or re-consummating depending on your point of view—their marriage, Andromeda had appeared and asked Rhade if he would help Dylan with some repairs. Somewhat reluctantly, Rhade had agreed. Dylan had been delighted when Rhade had offered to assist with the repairs, but it quickly became apparent that Dylan was only interested in Rhade's help with Andromeda and nothing else. When Rhade informed Dylan that Andromeda had given Jeri a clean bill of health, Dylan's response had been a distracted, "That's nice. Hand me the flux density reader." Rhade's comment that Harper and Doyle were now an item and were considering starting a family was met with nothing more than an offhand, "Really?" It had been a relief when Dylan had declared the repair job finished, and Andromeda's core self had announced that Elaine wished to speak with Rhade in her stateroom.
When Rhade entered the room he saw Elaine sitting in her wheelchair reading from a flexie. Jeri was feeding Samuel. The baby was learning to eat solid food, but his idea of eating his food seemed to have become confused with wearing his food. Rhade cleared his throat, and both women looked up and smiled. Then, to his complete astonishment, Elaine stood up and walked slowly toward him. When his mind recovered from the shock, he realized she was wearing the lower half of a Lancer exoskeleton.
"The machine is doing the walking; I'm just going along for the ride," explained Elaine, seeing Rhade's look of shock. She reached back and placed a hand between her shoulder blades. "There's a device back there that reads the commands my brain sends out to my legs and tells these," she pointed to the exoskeleton, "what they should be doing. It's not like real walking, but it's better than sitting in a wheelchair." She waved her hand through the air. "This vessel is amazing. It's like I'm living in an enchanted castle from a fairytale."
Andromeda's holographic self manifested herself in the room. "Rhade can assure you I'm not a figment out of a fairytale."
"Andromeda and I have had quite a talk," continued Elaine. "She told me about her battle with—what did she call it?—the Worldship and the Spirit of the Abyss, and how you were all somehow transported here." A wry smile came over her face for just an instant. "It's a good thing you didn't tell me about this when we first met. I wouldn't have believed a word of it."
It was Rhade's turn for a wry smile. "That's why I didn't tell you."
"You've all done well for yourselves since you arrived," said Elaine as she settled back into her chair. "All except for your captain. Andromeda tells me that he almost never leaves this vessel."
"Would you abandon Jeri, just because she was injured?" asked Rhade.
"Of course not!" exclaimed Elaine "The very idea is outrageous. But there's no one else aboard…" Realization dawned and a look of embarrassment came over her face. She turned her head toward Andromeda. "Oh, Andromeda." She looked back to Rhade, who had now been joined by Jeri and Samuel, then turned her attention back to Andromeda. "Rhade, your captain... and Jeri has told me how well Harper treats Doyle. Andromeda, are all the men in your Commonwealth so devoted to their womenfolk, and if so how can we import some more of them?"
"You wouldn't be saying that if you had ever met Beka's brother Rafe," answered Andromeda's holographic self. "I could tell you things about him. Like the time—"
Whatever Andromeda was going to say about Rafe was interrupted when her sister-self appeared in the room's viewscreen. "Can we have this conversation on men some other time? There are some things we need to discuss with Rhade." She then fixed her gaze on Rhade. "Elaine's correct," she said. "You have done well. I'm proud of you, Rhade. Proud of Harper, Beka, and Trance as well. You've all done well here on Seefra. You and Harper have families, and you're all respected members of the community. You were cast unprepared into this place and managed to not only survive, but to prosper. But what will you do if Seefra becomes accessible to the rest of the universe? You know Dylan will want to continue the battle with the Spirit of the Abyss and the Collectors. Will you and the others be with him?"
Three more pairs of eyes turned toward Rhade. Jeri's arm that was not holding Samuel tightened almost painfully around his waist. "I'll be aboard you," stated Rhade. "Sooner or later the Spirit of the Abyss will come for Seefra. I'd rather face it and the Magog somewhere else than at my home. I expect the others will feel the same."
There was a palpable easing of tension in the room. Elaine sat back in her chair and indicated that the others should sit down as well. Rhade moved an available chair over to where Jeri had been sitting. Jeri in turn handed him Samuel.
"Andromeda has been helping me with some research," said Elaine. Her voice changed, becoming excited—almost exhilarated. "There's so much that I never even dreamed existed. Things that aren't mentioned in our histories. The Commonwealth. The other species. It's as if I had been blind from birth, and then suddenly been given the gift of sight. Science. Technology. Why—"
"Mother," said Jeri, interrupting her mother and using the pronunciation that daughters have been using since the dawn of time when they feel embarrassed by their mother's actions. "The umwa."
Elaine stopped, giving her daughter a look that also dated back from the dawn of time. "I digress," she said in a calmer tone of voice. "Andromeda has an enormous amount of data on the history of your—our—species, dating back to well before we were contacted by the old Commonwealth. It's hard to separate myth and legend from the actual history of the times, but there are frequent references dating back to the pre-atomic era about a group of warriors known as the umwa and their battles with corporate landlords. The parallels aren't exact, but they are strikingly similar to our situation here in Seefra City."
"The umwa?" mumbled Rhade as he moved Samuel's hand. The baby had been busy trying to see how many of his fingers he could put in his step-father's mouth. "I'm afraid history has never been my strong point, much less ancient history and Earth mythology."
"The umwa," repeated Elaine. "Andromeda tells me that her records are a translation of an ancient Earth language called English and that the pronunciation would have been something like You...Emm ..Double you ...A".