A sequel to Corona Astralis.

Tyr's past comes haunting him... *Complete!*

Andromeda - G

Gillian 4: Sunt Lacrimae Rerum…

By Cherubino

Tyr knew he had to move, to get up. Through hot haze of pain this one coherent thought dominated his mind. He must get up; his survival depends on it. He tried to move but a wave of agony washed over him and he barely held back the scream. He probably made some sort of a sound because he heard footsteps and someone was leaning over him, pushing him down gently.

"You are awake, good. I almost lost hope." Tyr opened his eyes and saw a young man, almost a boy, leaning over him. He tried to speak but couldn't. Something cold touched his lips and he felt water running over his lips. An arm went under his shoulders, lifting him, and he drank the offered water. The drink helped and he spoke hoarsely:

"Where am I? Who are you?"

"You are still in the mines. I am Darren. You beat up the guard and saved my life and it got you the whipping. They wanted to kill you but the headmaster came and said they need strong workers, so they stopped. You'll stay here for a while, until you can work again."

Tyr began to recall the events that resulted in his current predicament. He had seen this kid before, lurking around, bringing water and food and caring for injuries of other slaves, his dark copper curls and pale skin always making him noticeable. He was quite strong, lean and wiry and quick. Most overseers didn't bother paying attention to him, but one of the guards took particular interest in him. Tyr didn't know or care why in the beginning, but when he heard the boy scream and saw what the guard intended to do he couldn't stand it and almost strangled the bastard. The others came running and as Darren had said, if not for the need in workers Tyr would have been dead.

The kid spoke again: "Think you can sit up? I need to look at your back. I cleaned it up as much as I could while you were out of it, but I'd like to put something on it. I have good faith in your nanobots but I am not sure they can keep up with the filth here."

Tyr nodded and the boy held out his hand. Tyr gripped it and Darren hauled him up. Gritting his teeth Tyr tried to control the onslaught of pain. After a minute or two he became aware of his surroundings again and told the kid to do his thing. Darren's hands were surprisingly gentle and yet he seemed to know what he was doing. When finished he handed Tyr a clean shirt.

"Put it on. Better keep your back covered for a while."

When Anasazi took the offered garment he saw that Darren's usually long sleeves were rolled up and his forearms were adorned by boneblades. The kid was a Nietzschean.

"What Pride are you, boy?"

"None. I am a mongrel."

Tyr growled: "Don't you dare call yourself that, child!"

Darren snarled: "Really? And what Pride would you write me up to when my mother was raped by Nietzschean raiders? There were so many of them she wouldn't have known which one was my father even if she cared to. Which she didn't. She left me at the hospital and never looked back. The hospital was ran by a group of Wayists, they raised me, taught me the beginnings of medicine. Three years ago the Dragans came and I have been here ever since. So, Kodiak, which Pride you think I am?"

Tyr looked at the boy solemnly and answered: "I am sorry about your predicament, child. But I still do not like you calling yourself a mongrel."

"And why is that? Every other full-blood calls me that."

"My wife is human and we have a daughter. If anyone calls her a mongrel I will kill them instantly."

Darren looked thoughtful for a moment. "I felt you were different from other Nietzs. I mean, why would you want to help me and risk your skin for a -- a nobody like me? It's anti-survival."

Tyr smiled ruefully, "I seem to be doing a lot of things that are anti- survival lately."

"Well, right now you are going to actually aid your survival by resting. I think the overseers will want you back to work tomorrow, so you need to heal. It’ll be better if you turn to your stomach, make it easier on the back."

Tyr complied; taking short controlled breaths to deal with pain, carefully turned, pillowed his head on his folded arms and closed his eyes. But sleep wouldn’t come. He kept thinking of Rebecca and Victoria and the strange and sad chain of events that brought him here and his heart was heavy. Only two months ago he was so happy…

* * *

Victoria woke up again crying. She was teething and cutting her bone blades at the same time and the child and her parents haven't had a moment's peace in weeks. Tyr stopped Beka and got up himself. He picked Victoria up, wrapped her in the blanked and settled her on his shoulder. She immediately buried her face in the nook of his neck, made a satisfied gurgle and fell asleep again. Tyr smiled, rubbed her back lightly and whispered: "Young lady, you are turning into a brat!" He knew that if he would sit down she’d wake up, so he headed out of their quarters, along his usual nightly path – three circles around the ship and to the Obs deck. Upon entering the latter Tyr saw that Dylan was already there, baby Daniel nestled in his arms. The Nietzschean and the human smiled their understanding to each other. Fatherhood didn’t come easy and this was only the beginning.

* * *

Gillian sat up on the bed. Something was amiss. She knew it was time for Daniel’s bottle and he was always loudly demanding it, but the room was eerily quiet. Neither Daniel nor Dylan was here.

"Rommie," Gillian said still trying to clear her head, "where are the boys?"

"Obs deck."

"Could you tell Dylan to bring Daniel back? It’s time to feed him."

"I think you need to go there yourself. There is something you should see."

"O-kay, I am going."

Gillian pulled on her robe and went to the Obs deck. She walked in and saw Beka looking at the couch in total amazement. When she came closer, Gillian realized why Rommie insisted on her coming here. On the couch, half sitting – half laying were Tyr and Dylan, leaning on each other, babies in their arms, all four sound asleep.

"Rommie, can you take a picture of this?" Beka whispered.

"Sure."

"Make that two." Added Gillian.

Beka walked out and came back few minutes later with a blanked that she gently laid over the sleeping group on the couch. She motioned to Gillian and they quietly left the Obs deck. It didn’t make sense to go back to sleep so they went over to the Mess hall to get coffee.

"If anyone had told me three years ago," said Beka sitting down with a steaming mug in hand, "that I would be married to Anasazi, have a baby with him and that he and Dylan would be good friends, I’d think they were on Flash."

"I know what you mean." Gillian replied. "Father is still getting over the fact that I am actually married, the whole notion that he is a Grandpa still hasn’t fully settled in. But I have to give it to the old man – he accepted both you and Tyr into the family."

Beka smiled. "I think the fact that Tyr saved your life and delivered Daniel had something to do with it. You are such a show-stealer!"

"Hey, I wasn’t planning on it! Danny wasn’t due for another two weeks; we were taking you to Father’s clinic to deliver Victoria. Who knew that my boy would get impatient all of a sudden!"

"I guess Maru being attacked by two Dragan cruisers had something to do with it!"

Gillian smiled. Now she could laugh about it, then it didn’t seem so funny.

* * *

The Maru trembled again. One cruiser was gone, but they couldn’t shake off the other. The ammo was running low and Dylan was worried. He concentrated on his piloting and Tyr fired another barrage of missiles as Dylan took Maru into a Dead Man’s Loop. The cruiser tried to follow the maneuver but got hit and exploded. Unfortunately it exploded too close and they got bombarded by debris. The ship shook again and sparks flew from the engines. Dylan popped the security belts and got off the pilot’s chair.

"Tyr, what’s the damage?"

"The slip drive is off-line, but we still have the engine operational. Weapons are functional, ammunition supplies are low."

"Can we repair the slip drive ourselves?"

Before Tyr could answer, Beka yelled: "Whatever you have to do, do it fast! We have to get out of here! Gillian’s water just broke!"

"What?"

"Are you deaf? She is having a baby!" As if to drive the point home Gillian doubled over and screamed as another contraction hit her.

Dylan looked completely lost. He knew he had to do something, he just couldn’t remember what it was. Tyr walked over to Gillian and picked her up. He carried her over to the crew quarters area and laid her carefully on the bunk. Returning he went over to Dylan.

"I suggest you start on the repairs. We haven’t got much time." Dylan still stood unmoving. Tyr grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him none too gently:

"Captain Hunt! Snap out of it!" Dylan blinked, "Yes, the engines, I’m on it."

"Good. Rebecca, are you alright?"

"Fine."

"Come with me." Tyr put his arm around her waist and gently guided her from the bridge. When they entered the room Gillian screamed again. Anasazi looked concerned:

"Gillian, how far apart are the contractions?"

"About two-three minutes. I feel I am going to deliver soon."

"You are. Don’t worry, I will help you."

Beka laughed: "I didn’t know mercenary schools taught midwifing."

"They don’t. However every Nietzschean male knows how to assist in childbirth. Rebecca, stay with her, I’ll be right back."

Tyr went and brought supplies he deemed necessary. Sitting next to Gillian he took her hand: "Don’t worry, you will be fine. Nothing will happen to you or your child."

Gillian tried to smile at him but another wave of pain hit. When it subsided she said, panting: "One would think that with all the advances in medicine something could be done for the pain. Only with my luck I have to go through labor the old-fashion way! Oww!" She squeezed Tyr’s hand, almost crushing it. Not even flinching, he turned to Beka:

"She is ready. Take my place, I have to deliver the baby now."

Gillian looked at him: "Better be careful, Uber!"

"Always, Kludge. Ready to push?"

Half an exhausting hour later a loud cry sounded through the ship-wide comm and Beka’s voice followed: "Congratulations, Dylan, you have a son!" When Dylan walked in seconds later his face was threatening to split from an enormous grin. He went over to Gillian and she handed him the baby:

"Dylan, I want you to meet Daniel." He took the child and just looked at him in total awe of this miracle. When he turned to Gillian he couldn’t speak. He just bent down and kissed her. She touched his face gently. He looked at Tyr:

"I don’t know how to thank you."

"I do." Beka answered. "Get the Maru fixed, because I don’t think he is up to delivering another baby right now." Tyr did a double take: "Rebecca?"

"Yep."

"When did it start?"

"About half-an-hour ago."

"Why didn’t you tell me right away?"

"Because you were kinda busy delivering a baby?"

Dylan interrupted: "The slip drive is fixed, we can go."

Three hours later Tyr became a proud father of a daughter. When Beka told him she wanted to name the girl Victoria he cried. Wrote it off on the dust in his eyes, but no one believed him.

And so the new chapter opened up for Andromeda and her crew – the Parenthood.

* * *

Gillian was on her way to get Daniel from Trance when Tyr caught up with her. He was carrying both Victoria and Daniel. Gillian smiled, it was quite a sight – Tyr with two armfuls of squirming babies. Victoria was practically hanging on his braids and Daniel had all ten fingers stuck in the loops of Tyr’s chainmail shirt. And judging by the aroma wafting after the trio, at least one of the kids had a "surprise" in the diaper. Hearing the exasperated growl Gillian hurried to take Danny from Anasazi. The boy immediately wound himself up around her neck, cooing happily.

"Gillian, we need to talk."

"What’s on your mind?"

"I thought that Trance was supposed to baby-sit today?"

"Yes, she was."

"I found the kids crawling all over Rev Bem and Trance was nowhere in site!"

Gillian chuckled. "You know, sometimes I think the kids think that Rev is a walking, talking plush toy. And he lets them get away with murder!"

"This is the problem! I don’t like the idea of the children getting comfortable with Rev Bem! He is a Magog!"

"Tyr," Gillian spoke calmly, "Daniel adores you. Do you like him being comfortable with you?"

"Of course, you know I think of your son as of my own child!"

"But you are a Nietzschean. Would every Nietzschean treat him the same way you do? Should I teach him to be afraid of you?"

Tyr sighed. "You have a point. So what shell we do about it?"

"Nothing. We just need to explain to the children that every race has good people and bad people and teach them to be prepared to deal with both."

"Your patented "Do not transpose prejudices towards the people onto the individuals" principle?"

"Yep. Worked for you and I, didn’t it?"

Tyr hugged her with his free arm: "Yes, Kludge, it did."

She poked him in the ribs: "Watch it, Uber!"

Dylan’s voice over the ship-wide comm interrupted their banter: "Mr. Anasazi, I need to see you in my office. Sans the babies, please."

Gillian laughed: "Someone forgot they are on duty? Give me the kids and go get your lecture." She took the babies from Tyr and went to her quarters. Tyr laughed behind her:

"He won’t be too hard on me, we were planning a one-on-one basketball game tonight. He wouldn’t want me to be… in a bad mood."

Gillian turned around. If her hands were not full of kids she would have had them on her hips: "You two have to stop acting like adolescents! Every one of your games leaves you two with more bruises then you get in combat! If I see as much as a scrape on either of you tonight – you’ll both be VERY sorry!"

* * *

Tyr walked in to Dylan’s office and stood silently. He knew that Dylan usually let the person he wanted to reprimand stew for some time before he would start talking, so he waited. After about five minutes Dylan looked up form the flexi he was reading.

"Ah, Tyr, good of you to come. I hope my request didn’t interfere with family duties?"

"Captain, I apologize for doing what I did. I was concerned about the children. May I remind you that your son was there too?"

"Precisely. Do you really think that if I suspected even a dismal possibility that the children may not be safe with Rev Bem I would allow him anywhere near them? If you were concerned, you should have said something to me or Gillian or Andromeda. Leaving the Command unattended is unacceptable under any circumstances. You are not to do it again, ever. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Sir. Perfectly."

"Good. Now have a seat. I have an assignment for you."

Tyr sat down. "I knew there was a real reason you wanted to see me."

"I still enjoyed giving you the lecture. Now, about the assignment. We are approaching the Calcutta Drift. Andromeda is running low on ammunition and some other supplies, so I had Rommie prepare the list. I want you to take the Eureka Maru and her Captain down to the Drift tomorrow and get the supplies we need. You have two days. Victoria will stay with us."

Tyr looked at Dylan, surprised. "Why don’t you go yourself?"

Huns smiled. "First, you are the Acting Weapons Officer, so it is your direct responsibility. Second, Beka is much better at bargaining and has better connections then I do. And third, both of you need a break. So stop complaining, go get your wife to start packing."

Tyr stood up to leave and was almost by the door when Dylan called after him: "The game is still on for tonight, don’t try to weasel your way out of it!"

"I wouldn’t dream of it, Dylan. And – thank you."

* * *

Tyr and Beka were due back tonight and that wouldn’t be a moment too soon, Dylan thought to himself. Trying to feed two squirmy worms at the same time was exhausting. And messy. Somehow most of the mashed vegetables ended up on him, on the floor, all over the babies but not in their mouths. When Gillian walked in she doubled over with laughter. Dylan looked at her and she thought he was going to cry so she took over and half an hour later the kids were fed, cleaned and in their cribs for a nap. When she came back form the nursery Dylan was finishing the clean up in the dining room.

"You look like you need a bath too." She smiled and kissed his carrot- smudged nose.

"Are you planning on giving me one?"

"I think you are a big boy, you can wash yourself."

"What’s the fun in that?"

She was just about to say something when Rommie’s hologram appeared in the room:

"Dylan, I have an incoming transmission form the Maru."

He wiped his face with a napkin, "Put it trough here, please"

The vid screen lit up and they saw Beka’s face. She looked like she has been crying.

"Beka, what’s wrong? What happened?"

"Tyr is gone."

"What do you mean he is gone?"

"He disappeared."

"Back up, Beka. What exactly went on down there?"

"We finished getting the items on your list early last night, so we went walking around the Drift. You know, did a little shopping, had nice dinner. And then we saw this little shop with all kinds of junk – old knives, weird trinkets, you name it. So all of a sudden Tyr wants to go see what else is there and we walked in. He goes around, looking at stuff and suddenly he turned white, like he had seen a ghost. When I saw what he was looking at, I got spooked too. It was a Helix band, much like his own, but old. Definite Kodiak markings on it. He bought it and when we got back to the Maru he checked the DNA recorded in it. You have to sit down for this – the Helix was his father’s."

Beka paused and Dylan looked at Gillian astounded, trying to absorb the information Beka just gave him. Gillian urged Beka to continue:

"What happened next?"

"He became irrational. It looked like his past took over, he was acting strange -- lashing out in anger, crying, I have never seen him like that. Finally I was able to calm him down a little and we went to sleep. I woke up in the middle of the night and he was gone. I thought he needed some space and went outside; I didn’t want to crowd him. I went back to sleep, but he never showed up so I started looking for him. I can’t find him anywhere."

"Rommie," Dylan called and the hologram showed in the room. "Please try and trace Tyr’s nanobots. See if you can locate him."

Rommie closed her eyes and after few seconds replied: "Tyr is not on the Drift."

Beka’s hand flew to her mouth and she started crying again. Dylan stepped closer to the screen: "Beka, I am taking a shuttle and coming down. We’ll find him."

"I am coming too. No arguing about it." Gillian looked stern. Dylan put a hand on her shoulder: "I am not going to. I know how you feel about your brother."

PART 2

"Dylan, I don't think that High Guard uniform is a good idea. You need something less … conspicuous."

Dylan stopped dressing and looked at Gillian: "You know, just now you said exactly what Tyr would have said. Actually, he did say it to me once. We were about to go on a planet to look for Isabella Ortiz."

"Well, you know what they say -- great minds think alike. Anyway, Rommie helped me pick out some stuff for us to wear. I agree with her -- we should blend in nicely. C'mon, get moving, Captain."

"Aye, Ma'am." Dylan smiled.

"One more thing -- don't shave."

"Why?"

"Trust me on that. Just do -- or rather don’t do it."

Sometime later the crew gathered on the Obs deck. Dylan looked around and spoke:

"You all know that Tyr is missing. Beka is waiting for us down on Calcutta. Gillian, Rommie and Harper are coming with me on this mission. Trance and Rev are staying on Andromeda and looking after Victoria and Daniel. We have contacted Doctor Jonathan Ratischer; he is on his way here to help. Any questions?"

"No, Dylan. May the Divine be with you." Rev bowed and razed his claws in the gesture of a blessing. Trance smiled and patted Dylan on the shoulder: "I see a good possibility that everything will be alright. Don't worry about the kids, we'll be fine." Gillian and Dylan kissed the babies good- bye and then they were off.

* * *

Beka met them at the Maru's docking spot on the Drift. Dylan took one look at her and just gathered her in his arms. He gently guided her inside the Maru and sat down, still holding her and let her cry. Gillian, Rommie and Harper followed. When Beka was able to speak again, Dylan spoke softly to her:

"Beka, do you think you can tell us again what happened and how?"

Gillian interrupted: "Dylan, I think we better go to the shop where Tyr had found the Helix. Maybe the shopkeeper would know something."

"Agreed. We'll go with Beka to the shop, Rommie, I need you and Harper to go and see the Portmaster, find out what ships have been here and left in the past thirty-six hours. See if there was anyone we know, get the flight plans and crew compliments. If the authorities get too tight-lipped, use your talents."

Harper smirked: "You got it, Boss!"



* * *

When the foursome approached the shop the owner was pulling down the gates. Dylan called out: "Excuse me, do you mind not locking up yet? We need to talk to you."

"I've got nothing to say to no one. I'm just here minding me business; you wanna talk -- go talk to your girlfriend or somethin'."

"His girlfriend wants to talk to you. So, how about you open up and we go inside and talk?" Gillian piped in. To her utter astonishment, the old man paused at the sound of her voice, did a 180 degrees turn and ran over to her:

"Blessed be, m'lass, blessed be! I never thought I'd see you again!"

She looked cautiously at the old man, he did look familiar but she just couldn’t put her finger on it. "Do I know you?"

He gave her a wide, almost toothless smile: "You do, lassie, you do. You turned my life around, you did. Remember the old drunk on Pellius when you was looking for those lads of yours? When he told you 'bout the Chameleon and them Centurions?"

"Yes, I do remember."

"Well, m’lass, that’ll be me! The credit chip you gave me -- the lucky chip it was, m'lass! I did me some gamblin' and won big, got off the planet and bought me this shop! And all 'cause of you, lassie! What can I do for you and your friends here?"

"My friend is missing. The man who bought the Helix band from you." The old man became instantly serious.

"C'mon, lassie, let me close up shop and we'll talk somewhere safer. Too many ears in them walls around here, ya know what I mean."

"Ok, where then?"

"Black Pearl. Down the street and to your left, go ahead and I'll catch up."





* * *

The Black Pearl turned out to be one of the seediest places on the Drift. Drunks and cheap hookers were the main populace of this so-called bar.

"Thank you." Dylan whispered into Gillian's ear.

"For what?"

"For making me look the way I do now. In my uniform I would have stuck out like a sore thumb."

Gillian glanced at Dylan. His look was quite different form his usual neat- as-a-pin High Guard appearance. He wore ankle-length black leather coat over black leather pants and tight tee shirt. Force-lance strapped to his hip and heavy tracker boots completed the look. The beginning of a beard made startling contrast with the white streak in his hair. He appeared dangerous but at the same time raggedly handsome. She pulled him down and kissed him:

"I like the dangerous look. You should dress like that more often."

Dylan smiled: "When we find Tyr I will ask for his advice on the subject."

The group sat down at the booth waiting for the shopkeeper to join them. Beka was much calmer now. One of the "Ladies of the Night" sauntered over to their table and draped herself over Dylan.

"Wanna get some real action, big boy?" Dylan started saying something, trying to decline the offer politely when Gillian stood up and plucked the woman off his shoulders:

"Beat it, honey, this one is taken."

The hooker hissed and puled out a knife: "How 'bout I make him available?"

Dylan started to get up when Gillian pushed him down: "Stay." In a split second she had twisted the knife out of woman's hand and had her arm in a grip bend behind her back, the other hand gripping the hooker's hair:

"Let me reiterate -- He. Is. Taken. So beat it before I do more serious damage to you. Get your clients elsewhere. Am I understood?"

"Yes."

Gillian released the woman and she scurried away form their booth, rubbing her arm. Dylan frowned:

"Gillian, was it really necessary?"

Beka spoke before Gillian had a chance: "Absolutely. These places are like that -- she made a move on Gillian's man, namely you, so Gillian had to put her in her place or the bigger brawl would have started. Nice moves, Gillian."

"You know where I learned them." Beka's face darkened again and Gillian walked over to her: "Beka, he is alive. I know that, Trance is sure of that. We will find him, I promise." Beka smiled faintly and squeezed Gillian's hand: "Thanks."

"Hey, that's my brother we are talking about, I do not abandon family."

At this moment the shopkeeper came over and Dylan invited him to sit down. The old man waited for the waitress to come and get their orders and then he looked around and started talking:

"That thing that your friend bought, Helix is it? I got it that same day. A woman and two fellas with her, all three Nietzs, brought it in. I usually don't take things like that but these three didn't give me much choice, ya know what I mean? So I put it up and soon you two," he motioned his head in Beka's direction, "came in. I saw the Nietzs looking through the window and when he left with the missus and the band they walked in again. She pulls a gun on me and one of the fellas tells me that if the Nietz who bought it comes back with questions -- describe them to him, especially the woman, and tell him to look for them in the Brasco's Bodega. That place even worse then this one, close by too, right around the corner. Then he called out "Freya, let's go!" methinks so I know her name to tell your friend, and they leave. Three hours or so later the dark man comes back and starts all these questions, and I says I know nothing, I don't like these people, but I see one o'them loitering outside and I tells him what they wanted me to. And he leaves."

Even before the shopkeeper finished his tale Beka's expression turned grave. Dylan looked concerned as well. Gillian raised her eyebrows in question: "Is there something I need to know?"

"Freya is -- or was -- Tyr's wife. He mated into Orca Pride several years ago. Upon discovering the true intentions of Orcas he abandoned his wife. I think she wants revenge." He turned to the old man:

"Thank you. We appreciate the information you gave us. Here, this is for you." He handed the man a credit chip, left the money for the drinks on the table and got up to leave. A gnarled hand on his sleeve stopped him: "Listen to me, lad. This woman was crazy; I saw it in her eyes. Be careful, for hell hath no fury like the woman scorned."

"Thank you, I will remember your warning." The old man nodded and smiled at Gillian: "Godspeed, lassie. Find your brother. When you do -- tell him I'm sorry for setting him up. Was just savin' me life, I was." She nodded and they left.



The proprietors of Brasco's were not in any way cooperative and it took a lot of persuasion to get the information out of them. Finally, after being properly threatened, the barkeep told Dylan that he had several Nietzschean customers last night, three were together, two men and a woman, and the fourth came later. The altercation followed, when suddenly the fourth, the one who came later lost consciousness and the others carried him off. Dylan and Gillian searched the place and found the tranquilizer dart with blood on its needle. It was obvious that the three Orcas kidnapped Tyr. The question was -- what did they want to do with him?



* * *

Rommie and Harper waited for them to return. When they heard the hatch open, Harper ran over to meet them:

"It's about time! C'mon, get in, we need t get moving!"

"Seamus, clam down! What is going on?"

Rommie joined them on the Maru's bridge and explained their eagerness:

"The portmaster was less then cooperative and refused to disclose any information until we presented him with solid evidence of foul play, so I had to, ahm, distract him while Harper jacked into the station's systems and retrieved the information we need."

"Rommie, if I didn't know better I'd say you are blushing!"

"Our Rom-Doll was unbelievable! You should have seen her performance!" Rommie tapped Harper on the shoulder:

"Harper, clam down before you get apoplexy. Dylan, we were able to find out that there was an Orca Pride ship "Black Whale" docked here and they left right before we arrived. The security guard told me that three people left the ship, but four returned. The fourth person was a tall dark-skinned man, and he appeared to be drunk or, as he put it, "stoned". He was practically carried by two men, and the woman brought up the rear. They didn't leave a flight plan, but we struck gold -- either Tyr did something or the Divine was on our side, but the Black Whale left a trail of pion particles, much like Harper did for us once. I can easily follow these bread crumbs and hopefully we will find Tyr."

Dylan smiled: "Good job. Rommie, let the others know we are in pursuit of the Black Whale. We don't want Andromeda to be seen, so let them follow us on a safe distance in case we do need massive firepower."

"Aye, Captain."

"Gillian, have Rommie help you analyze the dart we found in Brasco's."

"I'm on it already."

"Beka, are you up to some piloting?"

"What do you think?"

"Ok, people, let's bring it!"

* * *

Gillian finished the scans. As she suspected, the blood was Tyr's and the dart contained a strong curare-based sedative. She was hoping they didn't overdose him, if that was the case he could experience severe respiratory problems. Rommie was concerned as well.

"Rommie, let's not worry Beka just yet. We'll cross this bridge when we get to it, she is worked up as it is."

"Agreed. I think we are close to our destination."

"I was not sure we had a destination."

"We didn't, but the Black Whale did. We just entered the orbit of Bellatrix Prime in the Orion Belt. The most famous slave market of today's universe, it is run by Drago-Katzov. The ship is still here, but there are no lifesigns on board. It is orbiting on autopilot."

Dylan walked in: "Rommie, can you trace Tyr's nanobots here?"

Rommie closed her eyes for a second. "Dylan, he is not on the surface. Tyr is on the Dragan ship that is leaving the orbit now!"

"We have to follow them! Dylan, we have to stop them!" Beka was on the verge of hysterics. Dylan took her by the shoulders:

"Beka, calm down. We know that Tyr is alive, we need to know who has him now so we can plan the course of actions. The ship that he is on is not a civilian vessel; it is a battle cruiser. Maru is no match for it; we have to wait for Andromeda to get here. Besides, I will not go into battle with children on board, so we have to escort Jonathan home first."

Beka sighed and sat down. "You are right, Dylan. It's just… I am worried about him, I am scared that…"

Gillian came over and hugged her. "Beka, we all are worried about him. He is my brother, not by blood but by everything else. We will get him back. We need you to keep your cool, you are the best pilot in the known world, we can't do it without you."

Beka returned the hug. She took a deep breath and smiled: "Thanks. I'm ok now, really. Let's see what we can do here."

Gillian thought for a moment, then spoke: "I think we can say we were bounty hunters and our "bounty" was stolen and possibly sold here. Give them Tyr's "Wanted" poster, we should have no problem getting the information."

Beka nodded, "I agree. I think I should go with Gillian. I know this type of people and Gillian's face is not yet famous around the galaxy like Dylan's is."

"As much as I hate the idea -- I have to agree. Even looking like this," he pointed at his outfit, "I am still easily recognizable. I need Harper and Rommie here, I hope we can hack into the local communication network and see what is going on. You two have three hours. If you are not back by then, we are coming after you."

"Understood."

Beka punched in the codes on the comm panel and soon the Portmaster's face appeared on the view screen.

"Yes?"

Beka put on her best plastic smile: "Hi! I am Captain Rebecca Valentine of the Eureka Maru, and this is my associate Jill Rosner. We were transporting someone to a very interested party and this someone had disappeared. I was wondering if you have seen him." She transmitted the file that contained Tyr's "Wanted" poster.

Gillian added in a sultry tone: "We will be grateful, very grateful if you can provide us with any information on his whereabouts."

The portmaster looked unimpressed. "Who are you working for?"

"The Mandau. Although I know for a fact that Drago-Katzov and Orca are interested too, so we were waiting to see whose offer would be best."

A speck of interest showed through Portmaster's indifferent demeanor. "You may dock your rustbucket and come to my office. We'll talk then."

Beka smiled again: "Thank you. We are looking forward to it. Eureka Maru out."

Beka turned to Dylan: "Ok, you three sit tight. Do your hacking but don't get caught. We'll be back." She turned in her chair and began the docking procedures. Once done, she unstrapped herself from the pilot's chair and motioned to Gillian to follow her out.

* * *

The Portmaster's office was rather posh, complete with massive desk, numerous consoles, table, chairs and a couch.

Beka and Gillian came in and he motioned for them to sit down. He walked over and looked at the two if them for a while not saying anything. Gillian used that time to study him as well. He was an older man, probably in his fifties although it was difficult to say in case of a Nietzschean. Somehow her sixth sense told her that he could be trusted. He took a chair and sat down facing them, a bit too close for comfort. After a few uncomfortable minutes he spoke:

"So, Captain Valentine, is it?" He stretched out and ran his hand over Beka’s left arm, pausing where her Helix rested, concealed by the sleeve of her leather jacket. "Or should I say, Captain Anasazi?" Beka remained quiet but her eyes became wide. Gillian shifted, trying to get a grip on her force lance when the Portmaster grabbed her arm.

"Doctor Ratischer, do you think I wouldn’t remember you?" It was Gillian’s turn to go wide-eyed. She swallowed hard and found her voice:

"Alright, what gives?"

"You need not to be afraid of me. I am not Drago-Katzov; I am Tahir Majari of Volsung Pride. I saw the Kodiak but I couldn’t do anything for him without endangering my survival, but I managed to get enough information on where his buyer was headed. I was also able to speak to him, that is how I know about Rebecca. I am sure that Captain Hunt didn’t send just you two on this mission, so you may contact the others and have them come here. I will give you the information then."

Beka looked skeptical: "How do I know you are not setting the trap?"

Tahir smiled: "I will allow Doctor Ratischer to read my mind. She will tell you whether or not I am lying." Looking at totally astonished Gillian he said, "Everyone here knows what you did to Cuchulain, everyone knows why he wanted you and why he couldn’t have you. So, don’t be surprised. Go ahead, look inside, and see for yourself, I honestly want to help you. Kodiak is my blood after all, plus I have another reason."

Gillian took his hands in hers and concentrated for a moment. Letting go and taking a deep breath she turned to Beka: "He is telling the truth. Call Dylan and tell him and the others to come here."

When Dylan, Rommie and Harper joined them in Portmaster’s office their curiosity arose to abnormal levels. Majari ushered them in and secured the doors.

" I am glad that the information I have for you can be put to use and quickly. But before I give it to you, I know that you want to know how I know so much about you. Captain Valentine, as I already explained to you, I learned about you from your mate. Captain Hunt, I know about you because my line stems from Khalid. He knew you were here, so he passed an order through generations of his descendants to assist you in your cause. I will do what little I can to help you save your friend. As for you, Doctor Ratischer, I never forget those who save my life. You have had many patients and may not remember them all, but I do remember you."

Gillian looked at him, trying to remember but failing.

"Doctor, do you recall the Nietzschean freighter that your superintendent brought in seven years ago on Maghira Drift? The ship was attacked by Restors, very few survived and those who did were not far from death?"

"Yes I do. By the Divine, I know you, I remember now!"

"Good. You saved my mate and me. We have named our first daughter Gillian."

Gillian was speechless for a moment ant then she said, "I am honored."

"Without you we wouldn’t have survived. Give my regards to your superintendent, I think Martin was his name?"

Gillian shook her head. "I am afraid it wouldn’t be possible. The drift was swarmed by the Magog three years ago. I had to blow it up myself. I am alive by accident, if I didn’t want to go and visit my father I would have been dead too."

Majari looked solemn: "My sympathy."

Dylan spoke up: "So, Tahir, what can you tell us about Anasazi?"

"He was bought by a mine owner. A vicious man even by Nietzschean standards, keeps buying new slaves because the old ones are dying. He mines sulfur, the conditions are bad, he does not take care of is workers. The mines are heavily guarded, almost like a military compound. I can give you the coordinates of the planetoid he is headed for, but that’s all. I have no way of assisting you in getting in and recovering the Kodiak."

"I am sure we will find the way," Dylan said, "And we thank you for your assistance. I hope it will not endanger you in any way."

"I was glad to help."

O the way out Beka turned and asked Majari: "Tell me, was he in bad shape?"

Tahir smiled: "No, not really. He was bruised and bleeding in several places, but it was all superficial. If it was not he wouldn’t have been bought. No slaver wants to spend money on medical care for his workers."

"Thank you."

* * *

The Maru was orbiting the mining planetoid.

"Dylan, what are we doing? What is the plan?" Beka was pacing the bridge.

"Rommie and Harper are getting into the security system as we speak. As soon as they are done we will have enough information to work with." As soon as he finished speaking Rommie walked in. She brought up a picture on the view screen.

"Ok, this is the schematic of the compound. The main operation is underground, the only possible points of penetration are here and here," she pointed on the blueprint. "The problem is, Tyr needs to know that we are coming so he can make his way on the upper levels and meet us there, otherwise we will not be able to do anything."

Beka looked at Dylan: "It means one of us has to be…"

Dylan nodded. "It means that you have to deliver me there as a slave. Once inside I will find Tyr and we’ll rendezvous with the rest of you when Rommie gives me a signal."

Gillian looked at him, "Dylan, do you realize…"

"I realize that if Harper goes he’ll be dead in minutes. There are no women in this place, and even if there were, I would never let you or Beka go. So it leaves me. Rommie and Beka will deliver me there. Rommie will keep link open through my communicator. As soon as you are able to get in, contact me. I would need some time to find Tyr, but I have an idea how to go about it. Andromeda should be no further then a jump away in case we need her to cover our retreat. Now, I need to look believable, so Rommie, would you do the honors?"

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Rommie looked at him and winced, "I am so sorry, Dylan…" She took a swing at him, and then another, leaving two rapidly spreading bruises on his jaw and cheekbone. He shrugged his coat off and ripped the t-shirt, took some grime from the engines and smeared it on his face and arms. Add five days worth of beard and cuffed hands and he really did look the part.

Gillian pulled him into a tight embrace. "I won’t say anything to stop you, just come back alive. Please." She held him tight and kissed him hard, holding his bruised face in her hands.

* * *

Tyr was resting after day’s work in the corner of a pen when he heard a commotion. By the noise he deduced that a new slave was brought in. It could warrant entertainment. Or trouble. What he didn’t expect was to see Dylan. When he plopped on the ground next to Tyr, Anasazi muttered through his teeth:

"I know only one person idiotic enough…"

"Yep, that’s me, Captain Idiot. Ready to go home, Anasazi?"

PART 3

"Dylan, I think what you are doing is beyond idiocy, it is insane." Tyr said quietly not turning his head.

"We are here to take you home, Tyr. How do we get to the upper level of this compound?" Hunt replied in the same manner.

"The upper level consists of detention cells and overseers mess and offices. The only way to get there is to be punished for something."

"Ok, what do we need to do to be punished?"

"We could start a fight…"

"Go for it."

"Dylan, I think you should know…"

"Tyr, we don’t have much time."

"As you wish." Tyr turned to Dylan and growled loudly, shoving him hard: "Get out of my space, Kludge!"

Dylan snarled: "Or what, Uber?"

"Don't make me kill you, human." Tyr's face was a mask of pure disgust. Both men got to their feet and began circling each other. The middle of the pen cleared rather quickly making room for them. The slaves were eager for any entertainment and the fights usually provided the best, first the confrontation itself and then the public punishment for it.

Even though they didn't really want to beat the hell out of each other, the altercation had to look believable. Usually they were an even match, but Tyr was tired and he still did not fully recover form his recent ordeal, so Dylan was winning. When the guards had run in Tyr was on his back and Dylan's hands were around his throat. When Hunt saw the guards he breathed the sigh of relief, he was not sure how long he could pretend to be strangling the Nietzschean. He looked up at the guard in time to see him discharge the stun gun, another aimed the same weapon at Tyr and both men slumped on the ground unconscious.

* * *

Dylan came to bound to the cross-like contraption, facing the beams. A quick look around allowed him to see Tyr in the similar position. Both their shirts were ripped off and Dylan saw that Tyr's back was a bloody and bruised mess. He also realized that the injuries he saw were old, so whatever the guards had planned for them was yet to come. 'Damn!' he cursed himself, he should have known Tyr would be in no condition to endure any more punishment. As to answer to his thoughts, Tyr spoke up:

"Dylan, whatever you have planned had better work. I am not sure I will be able to take much more of this."

"Tyr, I am sorry. You tried to warn me… "

"Don't apologize. I understand you did what you thought was best. Let's just hope your idea works."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Headmaster walked in, accompanied by two guards. Each carried a wire-laced whip.

"I thought I was clear in my warning -- No Fights! I do not tolerate disobedience. Today you will learn your lesson, Kludge. As for you, Kodiak, I am really beginning to think you are mentally deficient. Well, the repetition is a mother of learning, so maybe after today you will understand. Twenty-five lashes each. Begin!"

Dylan heard the whip crack in the air and then it ripped into his back. He bit his lip to stop himself from screaming. He saw Tyr's face contorted with pain, but he, too, remained silent. One… two…ten… fifteen… twenty…twenty-five. He rested his forehead on the wooden beam. Suddenly his head was pulled roughly by the hair:

"I think you didn't get enough, Kludge. I like to hear screams and you were too quiet. I think I have to repeat your lesson. I'll do it myself this time. And if you don't scream for me, I'll do the same to the Kodiak here. As long as you keep silent -- he will be punished. So, you see, whichever way you turn -- you loose. If I don't break you with my whip, he'll finish you off."

He cracked the whip and felt it caught on something. Turning around, he saw a small woman holding the end of the whip:

"I don't think so, Uber. I do not like when people abuse my husband, so I suggest you let him and the Kodiak go. Now."

The guards moved to get her but she raised her hand and they were slammed into the wall by the invisible force. Stunned, they remained there, unmoving, terrified. She yanked the whip from Headmaster's hand and threw it across the room, all the while slowly advancing on him.

"So, you like to torture people? Teach them "lessons"? How about I teach you a lesson, huh?"

The headmaster regained his composure and laughed at her: "You can't do anything to me, you are too small even for a Kludge."

"Oh, really? And the fact that your brave guards are sitting like two potato sacks means nothing to you? Believe me, I can do much more damage to you then just throw you around."

Dylan yelled: "Gillian, what the hell are you doing?"

"Getting you out of here." She turned to the slaver, "I think I spoke in plane Common when I told you to let them go. I guess you are really stupid, Uber."

The Nietzschean roared and moved to grab Gillian, but suddenly his hands flew to his throat and he turned blue. After a few seconds he fell down unconscious. Gillian ran over to Dylan and cut him loose. He swayed but remained standing. When they got to Tyr he was not able to remain upright and slid to the floor. Gillian cringed when she saw what had been done to him. Dylan helped Tyr up and carefully guided him out of the cell. In the corridor he turned to Gillian:

"Where are the others?"

"Harper is on the Maru, he guided me here, Beka and Rommie are holding off the main contingent of guards. Your comm didn't work so I had t go look for you. Luckily for me your "punishment" was on the vid screens all over the compound, so I knew where to go. Alright, we need to get moving. Maru's seismic sensors detected tremors, we have to get out of here and quick."

"Dylan, wait." Tyr's voice was hoarse. "I need to get the kid out of here too."

"What kid?"

"Darren. Red hair, pale skin, boneblades."

"Tyr, it may not be possible."

"The boy saved my life, I can not abandon him here."

"Ok, let's go. Where is he?"

"He runs something akin to infirmary here, it is this way, down the hall."

They moved slowly, watching out for guards and mindful of Tyr's condition. When they got to the makeshift medical, Darren was outside. He saw Tyr and ran over to him:

"What happened to you now?"

"Boy, we have no time. Let's go."

Darren didn't have to be asked twice. He knew the compound better then anyone of them, so he led the way, Dylan and Tyr followed and Gillian brought up the rear. Soon they heard the shooting. Beka's soot-smudged face appeared from behind the curtain of thick smoke:

"Did you get them?"

"Yes, let's go."

The group was on the way out when especially strong tremor shook the ground. The pillars that held the ceiling cracked and the pieces of rock began to fall down. Rommie grabbed Dylan and led him and Tyr out to the surface. Gillian followed closely behind. Suddenly they heard Darren yell. He slipped and started to fall, the stone steps cracked and gave out and he was falling. Tyr twisted out of Dylan's grip and caught Darren's hand and pulled him up. He barely managed to push the boy up and in the clear when a large piece of rock fell and pinned him down. Beka screamed "Nooooo!" and ran over, but there was nothing she could do. Gillian stopped her:

"Beka, get the boy and Dylan to safety. Rommie, I need you here."

Beka complied and guided Dylan and Darren in the direction of the Maru. Gillian said: "Rommie, I am going to lift the rock. As soon as I do, pull him out. Be careful and hurry, I am not sure how long I will be able to hold it."

"Understood."

Gillian closed her eyes and stood still for a moment. The rock gradually began to lift and soon it was high enough for Rommie to pull Tyr out. He screamed when she yanked him free. From what she could see he had multiple bone fractures all over his body. To her amazement he pulled himself up, leaning heavily on her shoulder. He was looking at Gillian and when Rommie followed his gaze she saw that Gillian was down on her knees, blood running from her eyes and nose. She saw them looking and got up, swaying slightly but regaining her balance. The three of them made their way outside and on to the Maru.

* * *

By the time Maru was airborne the earthquake destroyed the compound completely. The slavers ran and the workers were free.

On the Maru Gillian had her hands full. Rommie had informed them that it would take at least an hour to reach the rendezvous point with Andromeda. Tyr was in really bad shape and the only thing Gillian could do for him was to give him something for the pain. Rommie was piloting and Beka went to sit with Tyr. Gillian alerted Trance to get the Medical ready and walked over to Dylan. He gave her his patented "I'll be fine" line but she saw that he was hurting badly. She maid him lay facedown on the bunk and when she was about to start, Darren came to her:

"Doctor, I just wanted to say I am sorry…"

"Please, call me Gillian. And you have nothing to be sorry about. Tyr said you saved his life -- it means a lot to me and to all of us."

"What he didn't tell you was that he had to save me first. One of the guards tried to… " She saw that it was difficult to him to word what he wanted to say and tried to stop him:

"It's ok, you don't have to tell me anything."

"No, I need to. One of them tried to rape me and Tyr almost strangled that bastard. The Headmaster got crazy and whipped him so bad he almost died. The other overseers stopped him because the good strong workers are hard to come by, it was not "cost-effective" for them to kill him. So I was allowed to take care of him. I wouldn't call it "saving life" exactly."

Gillian looked at Darren. This boy had to grow up too soon, much like Tyr did. She could see why he took Darren under his wing.

"So, I take it you were the medic there?"

"I did what I could to help."

"How about giving me a hand with this tough guy?" She motioned her head towards Dylan.

"Sure. What do you need me to do?"

"Do you know how to prepare the dermaseal?"

"Yes."

"Get on it." The boy nodded, almost happily, and Gillian proceeded to clean Dylan's back. She gave him the anesthetic to make the process less painful but she still heard sharp intakes of breath every now and then. Some welts were superficial, and some were

deep gushes that had to be stitched. She called Darren: "Leave that stuff for a moment, I need your help here." He ran over and she gave him a suture kit to hold for her.

Dylan looked up: "Nice of you to make a guinea pig out of me. I am suffering here, you know." Darren looked suddenly nervous but Gillian laughed: "The kid does not know that you are terrified of needles, so don't make him feel guilty for your own benefit. These rips must be stitched or they will keep bleeding and the scarring will be bad. Darren, look, first we have to inject local anesthetic here and here around the area that has to be sutured. After a couple of minutes we should proceed. This time you look, and later on I will let you practice."

Gillian went on with her task, and when she was done Darren applied dermaseal on Dylan's back. Gillian patted his shoulder: "Good job, kid. Now get some rest; I will need your help with my brother. We will be on Andromeda soon."

"Tyr is your brother? But you are human!"

"It's a long story. Someday we'll tell you. Sufficient to say we have adopted each other."

"Ok. Thanks for trusting me."

"No problem. As I said, get some rest." Darren left and she sat down on the bunk next to Dylan. She stroked his hair and he leaned into her touch. She bent down and kissed his temple, he turned to his side and caught her lips with his. Breaking off he whispered:

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For everything."

"Do something like that again and I swear…"

She didn't finish what she was saying because Dylan interrupted her with another kiss. This time she broke it off: "I'd love to continue, but I have to go check on Tyr and you need to rest. Doctor's orders."

"Aye, Ma'am." She smiled and left him. When she walked over to Tyr she saw that Beka looked worried.

"Is something wrong?"

"He lost consciousness a few minutes ago. I thought he was asleep but when I tried to wake him up I couldn't."

Gillian touched Tyr's face and felt the heat radiating form him. This was not good.



* * *

On the Andromeda Trance and Gillian's father were waiting for them. After taking a moment to see Daniel Gillian hurried to Medical. Beka was there with Tyr and Dylan tried to convince Trance that he was fine and didn't have to stay in Medbay.

"Dylan, you are staying here for at least twenty-four hours." When he started to argue she spoke in the tone that brooked no argument:

"Captain Hunt, besides being your wife I am the Chief Medical Officer of Andromeda Ascendant. You have not yet been cleared for active duty and as long as you are under my care you will remain here unless I see fit otherwise. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Good. Beka, you should get some rest. You will do Tyr no good if you are dead on your feet. Besides, I am sure that you would want to spend some time with Victoria. I will let you know immediately when you can come and see Tyr, ok?" Beka reluctantly agreed and left. Rommie and Harper were on the bridge. Trance said to Gillian:

"With your father and Darren here you have enough help, I think I should stay with the kids." Gillian gave the purple girl a brief hug: "Trance, you read my mind. Beka is too tired and Nanny-bots are not the best substitute for real people. Thank you."

Trance smiled: "Sure, no problem. I'll get Rev to help, the little ones love him!" With that she left the Medical. Jonathan Ratischer turned to his daughter:

"Well, Chief, what can I do?"

"I could really use your help, Dad."

"Sure. Show me the scans." And father and daughter pored over the images and test results. When they decided on the course of treatment Gillian summoned Darren to help them. She felt that the boy needed to do something for Tyr.

Slowly, painstakingly they fused shuttered bones and repaired ripped ligaments. Nanobots were already at work to seal ruptured internal organs and prevent him from bleeding out internally. Despite of the Nietzschean superior immune system and Darren's best efforts, many wounds on Tyr's back got infected, that was the source of his fever. When Gillian began lancing the infected area Tyr jerked and if Jonathan didn't catch his arms he would have seriously hurt Gillian and Darren with his bone blades.

"Easy, easy, you are ok, just give the painkiller a moment to start working," Gillian soothed him, pressing the hypoinjector into his neck. He took a deep breath and relaxed visibly when the medication took effect.

"I… am sorry…" he rasped, but Gillian touched his face gently, "You have nothing to be sorry about."

"I could have hurt you…"

"You didn't and let's leave it at that. I will be more careful, I promise."

Sometime later they finished and Gillian ushered her father and Darren out to get some rest. She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep while Dylan and Tyr were in Medical, so there was no point for all of them to be there.

Tyr's eyes were closed but Gillian knew he was awake. He was still feverish but thankfully not to the point of unconsciousness.

"How are you?"

Tyr looked at Gillian. Pupils dilated from the medication made his eyes almost black. It was somewhat disturbing. He gave her a half-smile, "I could use a bath." She decided that now, when all his open wounds were sealed there would be no harm in it.

"I will call Beka, she can help me bathe you."

"No, don’t! She can't… She shouldn't…" He became agitated and tried to sit up in bed. Gillian pushed him down gently, "I won't ask her to come here if you don't want me to, ok? I could ask Darren to give me a hand."

"No, please, no one. Could you do it? Or rather I do it myself."

"You can't, there is no way I am letting you up yet. I'll do it."

"I am sorry, it’s just -- I don’t think I can tolerate anyone touch me. That’s why I reacted like I did when I came to and felt someone … doing something to me. It took all the self-control I have not to fight you."

Gillian sat down next to his bed and took his hand. "Tyr, what happened to you?"

He tried to turn away: "I can’t talk about it."

"Please, love, I need to know what happened to be able to help you."

He sighed deeply and kept silent for a moment, then spoke, "Can you do that thing you do? Read my mind? I honestly don’t think I can talk about it now."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Do it."

Gillian moved closer and placed both her hands on his temples, moving her thumbs lightly over his eyebrows in soothing rhythmic motion. "Relax. Close your eyes and take deep breaths. That’s it, just like that." She had the same dizzying feeling she experienced when she entered Dylan’s mind, but this time she was able to control her actions. But when she saw what Tyr wanted her to see she was terrified. She came out gasping for air, tears streaming down her face. Gillian couldn’t say anything for a while, so she just hugged her brother and held him close, stroking his hair lightly. When she was able to speak again she said:

"You will be fine, I promise. I know what you are feeling now; I have gone through the same thing myself. But Tyr, please, you must talk to Beka. Trust her to trust you, trust her not to judge you. She loves you. She needs to know what happened."

Tyr moved out of her embrace and took her face in his hands: "Thank you."

"Hey, anything for my brother."

"I’ll call Beka now."

"Wait. I really need to wash up, I hate myself now."

Gillian smiled: "Ever the perfectionist. Ok, let’s get you cleaned up."

* * *

An hour later Beka walked into the Medical. Her emotions were in turmoil. She was mad at Tyr for not trusting her, for not wanting her help, for getting hurt, and at the same time she was deliriously happy that he was alive. So she opted not to say anything, she just hugged him and buried her face in the crook of his neck. Tyr held her tight, not wanting to ever let go. Eventually though he shifted their position and looked at her face. He saw everything in her eyes – sadness and happiness, anger and joy, hurt and relief. Finding his voice he said:

"Rebecca, I am so sorry for putting you through hell. I should have been honest with you from the beginning, but I wanted to protect you. When I realized the people I was looking for were Guderian, Freya and Dimitri, I didn’t want you involved with them."

"Tyr, I don’t care any more. You are alive, that’s all that matter for me right now. Yes, I am mad at you that you didn’t tell me what you planned to do and just took off in the middle of the night. I am upset that you got hurt so bad and that Dylan got hurt helping you, but I have you back. We have you back."

Tyr’s face darkened: "You may not want me when you know everything."

"What are you talking about?"

"Rebecca, all the time that Freya and Guderian held me prisoner she … she took advantage of me."

Beka looked at Tyr in shock when she realized the meaning of his words. When she regained her ability to speak she said: "How? How was it possible? Did you want to – to do it with her?"

"No, of course not! Rebecca, I want only you, you know that."

Beka took his hand and pressed it to her cheek. "Tell me what happened, Tyr."

"When I went looking for them on the Calcutta I was hit by a tranquilizer dart. I regained consciousness on the Black Whale, bound to the bulkhead in the brig. That bitch knew my strength and in addition to the chains she put inertia restraints on me. Her original plan was to deliver me to Cuchulain and get the bounty. When she learned that he was dead and no one was going to pay her she went berserk. After a few days she went from plain beatings to elaborate torture and … The way she put it, she would get at least something out of me. I controlled myself as long as I could, but then she started forcing psychotropic drugs on me and I really wouldn’t have known what had happened, but she made sure to mark me. I think she even made a video recording of what she was doing. Finally Guderian got tired of it and decided to sell me to the mines."

Beka looked at Tyr silently for a moment and then hugged him fiercely.

"I love you, no matter what, I love you, Tyr. It was a horrible nightmare and now it is over. I have you back and I would be damned if I ever let you go, do you hear me? Do you hear me, Anasazi? I will kill this bitch with my bare hands for what she did to you."

He held her for a moment and then sighed deeply. "Rebecca, there is something else."

"What is it, Tyr, tell me."

"Freya had my child. I have a son by her."

PART 4

Beka walked into Medical holding Victoria in her arms. Quick look at Gillian, a nod and she entered Tyr's unit. He appeared to be sleeping, something he did a lot of lately. His recovery was difficult, he was still hurting and walking was a challenge, but Gillian was sure he would make a full recovery. Physically. What she worried about was his mental state. He became withdrawn, apathetic, and lifeless. Gillian and Beka spent hours every day convincing him to eat. This behavior was so atypical for him that everyone aboard Andromeda was concerned. By unspoken agreement there was always someone around him, helping, talking, joking, even when Tyr appeared to be annoyed with constant human presence, his friends were relentless.

Beka sat down; Victoria on her lap, looking around with wide-eyed interest. She is a precocious child and at tender age of eight months already talks pretty good. She looked at Tyr and smiled widely, yelling out: "Daddy! Daddy!" Tyr's eyes open in an instant; he sat up and looked at his daughter, smiling for the first time in days. Beka carefully put Victoria on the bed next to him and the girl instantly wound her arms around his neck. She held him tightly and he let out a quiet "Oww" when she grabbed a still-sore spot. Victoria looked at him, her tiny face scrunched up in a frown: "Daddy hurt?" Tyr closed his eyes for a moment and then he answered:

"Yes, a little."

"Aunt Gillian make you better?"

"Yes, she will make me better."

"If Daddy listens to Aunt Gillian he will be all better soon!" Gillian walked in. "Time for Daddy's medicine, munchkin, you have to go. Why doesn’t Mommy take you to play with Danny?" Victoria nodded eagerly and Beka stood up. When she was about to leave the room, Gillian said quietly: "Come back if you can." Beka gave a quick nod and left.

"Andromeda," Gillian said, "Privacy mode, please. Exception for Captain Valentine."

"Privacy mode engaged, access allowed to Captain Valentine. Authorization Chief Medical Officer Doctor Gillian Hunt."

Gillian sat on the bed next to Tyr. She could look at the scans to assess his condition, but she purposefully used her hands. Her touch is firm but gentle, she was careful not to cause pain unless absolutely necessary. He tensed when he felt her touch him but gradually he was able to relax. She finished checking bone fusions and sutures and nudged him to roll over. Now on to the hard part. His back was healing very slowly; the nanobots could only do so much, several wounds were still infected and had to be cleaned daily.

Beka walked in and sat on the other side of the bed. She could see the beads of sweat forming on Tyr's forehead. She reached for his hand and he held on to her, struggling not to cry out. Beka bit her lip. She couldn't stand to see him hurting; he has been through so much lately. When Gillian finished Beka moved closer, almost laying next to him. Tyr rested his head on her shoulder and she ran her hand through his braids, lightly massaging the back of his neck. She felt his breathing calming and he sighed almost contently. Beka closed her eyes for a moment, fighting back tears. This was the first time since they brought him home that he allowed her such close contact. His almost paranoid aversion to touch was scaring her, even though she knew the reason behind it. Gillian was convinced that the only remedy to it could be gradual desensitization and it looked like she was right.

Gillian got up to leave. "Beka, I am going to check on Dylan and the kids. Let Rommie know if you need me or call my father -- if you can separate him from Darren that is."

Beka smiled, "Do I sense a little jealousy?"

"No, no way. I am happy that Dad likes Darren. I think the kid is really gifted and would make a great doctor. I have a feeling Dad wants Darren to come and stay with him so he can teach him and send him to school."

Tyr turned his head: "I think it would be good for the boy. He has been spending time with our engineer and I wouldn't want him to turn into a surfer."

"Well, he is going to continue to hang out with Seamus, because Dad made it clear that he is not leaving until you are back on your feet. He feels absolutely fatherly towards you, Tyr."

"Your father has a big heart."

"Yes, he does. All right, I am going. It is time I remind Daniel that he does have a mother, I think he is beginning to wonder about that."

The doors to the unit closed behind Gillian with a quiet hiss. Beka shifted, stretching out next to Tyr and his arm went around her waist, pulling her close. She rubbed her cheek against his hair and spoke softly:

"I missed you, Tyr. I missed you so much I felt hollow inside. When you disappeared, when I thought you had left me I didn't know what to do. And then we got you back and you told me about Freya and what she did to you. I thought about it and I stand by what I said to you then -- it is over. I love you and nothing else matters to me. When you let me hold you just now, this empty space, this void inside me was filled again. You are my love, my life, my everything, Tyr."

"Thank you, Rebecca. I know how difficult it was for you and I am sorry for causing you pain. I was afraid that you wouldn't understand, that you would be disgusted by me after all that had happened. I was terrified that I would loose you. Thank you for being so patient. I missed you, I missed the feel of you, I missed making love to you and I couldn't even let you touch me. But today something happened. When you brought Victoria here I was afraid I wouldn't be able to hold her. But when she hugged me -- it felt like the floodgates opened and all the pain and fear left me. I felt free again. You and our daughter set me free."

Beka was crying silently. Tyr lifted his hand to her face and wiped away the tears. "It is not the time for tears now, my love. It is time for joy."

She kissed the palm of his hand. "You are right. But I have one question for you, Anasazi."

"What is it?"

"When are we going to get your son?"

Tyr looked at Beka in stunned silence. She smiled, "You didn't really think that I would let your child to remain in the hands of a deranged maniac, did you?"

Tyr still couldn't speak and his eyes looked suspiciously bright. Swallowing hard he finally managed to say: "You are the most amazing woman in the Universe, Rebecca." He pulled her head down and kissed her.

* * *

Gillian walked in to her quarters and saw Dylan leaving the nursery. He put a finger to his lips indicating for her to be quiet and motioned her to come in. When she entered the room she saw both kids asleep in Daniel's crib, holding each other. Victoria's dark hand rested against Daniel's pale cheek and he held on to one of her boneblades. Gillian kissed them gently, brushed a stray curl off Victoria's face and tiptoed out.

"I think these kids think they have four parents each," Dylan chuckled.

"Well, they kind of do. I think it is good."

"I agree. How is your patient?"

"Actually he is much better, both physically and emotionally. When I was leaving he and Beka were holding each other and talking."

"Great. Beka looked hopeful when she dropped Vicky off here. She said she was afraid he wouldn't want to touch the baby, but he actually held her."

"And how are you feeling?"

"Fine."

"Really? Take your shirt off, I'd like to see how fine you are."

"Ok, I am still a little sore."

"I said strip." Gillian sighed. In many aspects her husband was worse then a baby. Taking care of him when he was sick was a difficult task.

Dylan complied and took off his top, and Gillian removed the bandages. His back was still a mess, not bloody any more but far from being healed.

"I shouldn't have let you out of Medical, Dylan."

"Gillian, you know I hate being there. Besides, I have you here with me. Instant medical attention readily available. You won't allow me on duty but there is still much I can do. And I get to spend time with the munchkins."

"Ok, ok, you have a point. Sit down, I have to clean and re-wrap your back and you are too tall for me to do it standing up."

"Fine, but no needles."

"Sure," Gillian said pressing a hypo into his neck.

"You tricked me!"

"Hypo has no needle, so I didn't trick you. Grow up, Hunt and let me do what I have to do."

"Ok, Mother Inquisitor, do your thing."

Twenty minutes and five hundred "Owws" later she was done.

Dylan turned around and caught Gillian between his legs. Pulling her close he wrapped his arms around her waist, rested his head on her chest and sighed, "We have been so busy lately, I almost forgot how good it feels to hold you."

" I know, love. I am sorry. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"What do you have in mind?"

"I'll give you three guesses."

Instead of answering her, Dylan picked her up and carried her over to the bed. "The babies are asleep, your patients are taken care of and you need a break. How about we get a head start on whatever you planned to do to make things up to me?"

"Are you sure you are up to it?"

"In more ways then one, darling."

* * *

The next day Dylan stopped by the Medical to see Tyr. He opened the door to his unit and managed to duck just in time to avoid a razor that Tyr threw across the room. The blade imbedded into the wall with a loud ‘thwack!’ and Anasazi let out a stream of curses in several languages, spitting the shaving foam that got into his mouth.

"I don’t think that it is anatomically possible," Dylan laughed at one of the invectives.

"Are you amused?" Tyr growled, glaring at Hunt.

"No. What is going on, anyway?"

Not answering, Tyr wiped his face and dumped the towel on the floor. Dylan retrieved the razor and sat down. Twirling the blade in his hand he said, "Amazing that with all the advances in today’s technology this is still the optimal instrument for shaving."

"It would have been if my hands were not shaking," Anasazi muttered, hoping that Dylan wouldn’t pay attention. He was wrong. Hunt did pay attention, to many things. He noticed that Tyr’s usually immaculately trimmed goatee turned into a full beard. He also noticed that Tyr’s hands shook slightly. The tremors were not obvious for those who were not looking, but he watched the Nietzschean closely. He knew what had happened to Tyr and having lived through similar ordeal he was looking for the signs of depression since they brought Tyr back to Andromeda. Dylan knew it was inevitable and was relieved when some symptoms had dissipated, but he was still concerned. Mental problems were always much harder to fix. Big break-through came when Tyr’s aversion to touch had stopped, however he still had a long road ahead of him.

Dylan looked at Tyr, still playing with the razor. "My hands are steady." He cocked his head and raised an eyebrow suggestively.

"Dylan, are you offering to assist me in my grooming?"

"Yes."

Tyr looked at Hunt and saw no pity, no patronizing, just an honest offer to help. He suddenly remembered what Dylan said to him once in very similar circumstances: "There is nothing wrong with receiving help from those who care about you. You just have to learn to accept it." He nodded, "Thank you, Dylan, I appreciate it."

Half an hour later Tyr looked more like himself then he did in days. Dylan decided to push it a little further.

"You know, Beka told me about your son by Freya." Tyr visibly tensed, but Dylan continued, "I think it is wonderful that she wants to retrieve him and bring him up as her own."

"You do?"

"Absolutely. But you have to start working on regaining your strength. I am sure that Gillian can come up with a physical therapy and exercise regimen for you to help you with that."

Tyr looked thoughtfully at Dylan. "You know, I never really thanked you for what you did for me back there."

"You want to thank me for getting you punished?"

"No, Captain Idiot, I want to thank you for risking your life for me. Again."

"Tyr, that’s what family is all about, being there for each other. And whether you like it or not, we are family." He squeezed Tyr’s shoulder and was happy to see that Anasazi didn’t flinch at the contact.

Dylan got up to leave and when he was almost at the door he heard Tyr say, "I like it."

* * *

Finding the Black Whale was easier said then done. Beka was sitting on the Obs deck, completely engrossed in the flexi that contained the latest intelligence information on the Orca ship when she heard voices and laughter and saw Jonathan, Darren and the kids walk in. Darren carried Daniel and Victoria was bouncing in Jonathan’s arms. He was playing "airplane" with her and the girl was squealing in delight. After what was probably the umpteenth "flight" Jonathan plopped on the couch, sitting Victoria next to him. She demanded, "More, I want more!"

"Wait, baby, you are wearing Grandpa down! I need a break!"

Beka felt her throat tighten. She stood up and walked over to where they were sitting. Gillian’s father looked at her and saw that she was almost crying.

"Rebecca, I hope I didn’t upset you …"

"How could you have upset me, Jonathan? You gave my daughter something I thought she would never have!"

Doctor Ratischer smiled, a bit sadly, "Well I am the only parent for the four of you so I get to spoil my grandchildren as much as I want to!"

Beka sat down next to him and kissed him on the cheek: "Thank you, Jonathan. But don’t spoil her too much, her father is doing a good job at it as it is."

"I do a good job at anything!" Beka heard Tyr’s voice. He was standing behind the couch they were sitting on, arms folded across his chest.

Beka smiled happily, "I didn’t know you were allowed to leave Medical! I was going to see you an half an hour."

"Keep making excuses, woman. I saw you sitting here and kissing another man!" Tyr tried to sound menacing but couldn’t hold back his smile.

Beka stood up and hugged him, "So, is it a hall-pass or you are actually being discharged into my care?"

"Well, the warden… excuse me, my caring physician, has finally decided that I don’t have to stay in Med bay any longer. She still wants me to see her, Trance or Jonathan twice a day, but I am allowed to perform some of my ship duties now. But right now I am more concerned with my other responsibilities." With these words Tyr picked Beka up and started towards the exit.

"What are you doing, Anasazi? Put me down! You shouldn’t… You are still recovering!"

"Rebecca, stop squirming and be quiet or I will loose the last of my self- control. I don’t think you would want a public performance."

* * *

Beka was watching Tyr sleep. He was stretched on his back, one arm on the pillow over his head; another on his stomach, long braids fanned on the bed and partially covered his chest. Thin silk sheet concealed his lower body, outlining long legs and slim hips. His skin glowed slightly under the night-light; smooth, flawless like liquid gold. Beka was amazed that Tyr always healed without scars; even the deepest wounds left no marks. She moved the braids off of his chest and rested her head against his shoulder. Her hand ran over the muscles of his chest and abdomen and started moving lower when the peaceful expression on his face changed into a frown, almost a grimace of pain and confusion. Hie whole body started to twitch. Alarmed, Beka touched his face gently, trying to wake him up, but he swatted her hand away and began to thrush, screaming. When she tried to shake him awake he threw her across the room, yelling, "Stop that, you treacherous bitch! Get your filthy hands off me; I am not your mate any more! Stop it! No!" He bucked and sat up, sweating, pressing himself into the headboard, still trapped in his nightmare. Beka got up and went over to the bed, careful not to touch him. She ordered, "Andromeda, lights on full!" The bright light did the trick and Tyr opened his eyes, shaken and confused. Beka heard Gillian's voice over the comm:

"Beka, Rommie alerted me on your situation, do you need my help?"

"Yes, I believe I do."

"I am on my way."

Gillian came in seconds later, Jonathan and Dylan on her heels. Jonathan took one look at the side of Beka's face that was already turning purple and led her out of the room into the living area: "Come, let's take care of your face, Rebecca. You don't want to scare the little one, do you?" Beka followed without argument, looking at Gillian over her shoulder.

"I should be locked up," Tyr spoke up. "I can't believe I hurt her!" He ran his hands over his face. Dylan was still standing in the doorway. He understood that Gillian had to be here, but he'd be damned if he took chances when Tyr was in this condition.

Gillian sat down on the bed. "Tyr," she spoke softly, "do you know where you are?"

"Yes."

"What happened?"

"Nightmare. I couldn't shake it off. I can't believe I hurt Rebecca…"

"Listen to me," she took his hand, "you didn't know it was her. She will be fine; my father is taking care of her right now. I am going to give you something to help you calm down and sleep, ok? We'll talk about it in the morning." He nodded his agreement and Gillian injected him with a sedative and few seconds later he was asleep. Beka walked in, followed by Jonathan. Her face was bruised and slightly swollen, but it didn't look too bad. She looked at Tyr and turned to Gillian:

"How is he?"

"He will be asleep for at least six to hours, the sedative I gave him is strong. We'll see how he'll be in the morning."

"So, what are we going to do?"

"In the morning I'll try and get him to talk. Right now you need to get some rest, and so do we. I will stay here, just in case."

Dylan looked like he wanted to argue at first, but then he decided that Beka shouldn't be left alone, so he agreed and left, and so did Jonathan.

"Want some coffee?" Beka knew she couldn't go back to sleep.

"Sure. I wouldn't be able to sleep now anyway."

They sat down in the dining area with their coffee and Beka repeated her question.

"So, what are we going to do?"

"Beka, nightmares are usually normal after what happened to Tyr. We knew he was seriously traumatized psychologically. I thought it was limited by his tactile difficulties, but this incident showed just how deep the problem goes. The only thing that could help him would be to get him to talk about what happened. You know how difficult is to get him to talk, especially if the subject is so painful."

"I am not sure he will want to talk to me about it."

"I wouldn't think so. As changed as he is, Anasazi is still a Nietzschean and he has to be perfect for his mate. He trusts you with many things and he really opened up to you, but what that … woman did to him was intimate in its own twisted way. I think he also feels that he, however involuntarily, was unfaithful to you. No matter how much he resisted, his body still responded to her. It is hard to forget."

"Would he talk to you?"

"Maybe."



* * *

Tyr didn’t talk in the morning. Or in the afternoon. Or three days later. He moved out if his and Beka’s quarters into an unoccupied room on one of the lower decks. His laconic explanation was that he didn’t want to put his family in danger. He still punctually reported for duty, but that was the only time anyone of the crew saw him, including his wife and daughter. Rommie reported that he was at the gym nightly, but he managed to disappear any time anyone would try to approach him. Beka was going out of her mind and Victoria kept asking why Daddy does not love her anymore. Finally Dylan decided that he has had it.

"Rommie!"

"Yes, Dylan."

"Please notify me as soon as Tyr comes to the gym."

"Dylan, are you sure you want to…"

"Andromeda!"

"Aye, Sir."

"What are you up to, Dylan?" Gillian had a pretty good idea what his plan was but she wanted his confirmation.

"What I am up to is to get Tyr back from whatever shell he crawled into."

"Want my help?"

"I think it would be better if it were just the two of us."

"Ok. You know where I’ll be."

"Rolling bandages and praying?"

"Somethin’ like that."

At 0200 hours Rommie’s voice woke Dylan up. "Tyr has just entered the gym."

"Good. Rommie, initiate the lockdown in the gym and the area around, authorization Captain Dylan Hunt. Access allowed to me only, you have the override in case of an emergency. Do not let him leave under any circumstances, activate internal defenses if necessary, but shoot to stun."

"Aye, sir, lockdown initiated."

When Dylan approached the doors to the gym he heard the growls of a very unhappy Tyr. When Anasazi forced the doors open it activated the internal defenses and he had to tuck and roll to avoid being shot.

"Ship! What the hell is going on?"

Dylan answered before Rommie did: "You and I are going to have a little chat, Tyr, that’s what is going on. I just took some precautions to assure you would be here."

"We have nothing to talk about, Captain."

"On the contrary, Tyr, we have quite a bit to talk about and neither one of us is leaving until we do." With that Dylan pushed Tyr back into the gym. "Rommie, reactivate the lockdown please and engage privacy mode."

"Lockdown reactivated, privacy mode engaged, aye."

Tyr glared at Dylan, his eyes almost mad. "You are treading on dangerous ground, Dylan. I suggest you leave now. I may not be able to control myself if you push me any further."

"Oh, I intend to push you, Tyr. I intend to push you and twist your arm and do whatever is goddamn necessary to make you talk to me. To make you tell me what had happened to you to drive you to the edge."

"So that’s what you want to know?" Tyr began circling Dylan, crouching slightly, boneblades ready in combat position. He was barefoot and shirtless and so was Dylan. Hunt also looked like he was ready to fight. His eyes never left Tyr’s and still he got distracted for a split second and missed Anasazi lunge for him. The blades of his right arm swiped across Dylan’s chest, leaving three bloody lines. Dylan managed to block the other arm and hit Tyr in the solar plexus, sending him stumbling backwards.

"Yes, Tyr, that’s what I want to know. And also I want to know why are you driving Beka insane and why your daughter cried in my arms yesterday when you left and didn’t even talk to her."

Anasazi regained his balance and began advancing on Hunt again. His face was a mask of pure rage, lips curled in a feral grin, almost a snarl. "I don’t want to be around my wife and daughter when I am like this, Captain. I don’t want to be around anybody. I was hoping you’d take the hint, but it looks like you have to learn the hard way." He attacked again, got a few punches in, but Dylan gave as good as he got.

"I always thought your intelligence was above average, Tyr, but now I am beginning to doubt that."

"Care to explain yourself, Dylan?" The phrase was punctuated with a solid kick to Dylan’s midsection. After he caught his breath, Hunt retaliated with a roundhouse to Tyr’s head. This time Anasazi lost his footing and fell on his back. Dylan pinned him to the floor.

"Tyr, the reason you are like this is because you are suffering from post- traumatic stress syndrome. It happens to combatants, it happens to victims of disasters, and Tyr, it happens to victims of assault. The only way to deal with it is to talk about it."

Tyr flipped them around and this time he held Dylan down.

"Do you really want to know, Dylan?" Hunt saw the rage slowly dissipate and being replaced by pain so intense that his heart caught in his throat. "Do you think you can handle it? To listen to every detail, to know every twisted perverted thing that she did to me?"

"Yes. I want to help you, Tyr." Tyr let Dylan go and sat on the exercise mat, Dylan moved next to him, sitting close but not quite touching. Looking away in a voice strangely devoid of all emotion Tyr began his tale. He didn’t hold anything back, not the tiniest detail. Day by day, hour-by- hour he described to Dylan who and what and how and how many times it was done to him. When several hours later he finished, the gym was filled with pregnant silence. He looked at Hunt expecting to see pity or disgust in his eyes, but saw only compassion and understanding. Dylan cautiously put a hand on Tyr’s shoulder and spoke quietly:

"Tyr, I am so sorry that had happened to you, but don’t you see – you were stronger then all of them together. She had to drug you to even be able to touch you! All three of them were terrified of you, even tied up and restrained you were a threat. And don’t you see – you have won! You survived them and you survived the mines! You have your family and they have nothing. And you are yet to strike the final blow when you take away your son from them."

Tyr bit his lip and swiped across his eyes with the back of his hand. No one was supposed to see him cry. Not even his closest friend. He swallowed hard.

"Dylan, it still hurts. I am not talking about the damage to the body…"

"I know what are you talking about. Remember Pellius? For the longest time after that I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t function, I was a mess. Gillian and Rommie put me back together. You have all of us to help you, Tyr. We are your family."

"You know, in a Pride I would have been considered inferior and probably killed if something like that would happen."

"This Pride operates by different rules. Come on, let’s go Tyr." He unfolded his frame and stood up, wincing when his movement reminded him of his fresh cuts and bruises. He held a hand out to Tyr and the Nietzschean took it and hauled himself up.

"Rommie, deactivate lockdown, disengage privacy mode."

"Aye, Sir. Tyr?"

"Yes?"

"Welcome back."

"Thank you, Sh -- Andromeda."

When they left the gym they saw Gillian and Beka sitting on the floor in the hallway, asleep. Tyr shook his head, "These women…"

"Are our blessing, Tyr." Dylan finished for him.

"Yes, let’s just hope they won’t "bless" us to death when they see what we did to each other."

As on cue, their wives opened their eyes and started to get up. Dylan looked at Tyr and they nodded to each other in perfect understanding: "RUN!" and sprinted down the hall, but soon found themselves floating couple of feet above the floor. Beka was laughing and Gillian looked at them for a second and then they fell down with a loud thud. When the women came over to them they expected anything – yelling, scalding, threats, but Beka just threw herself at Tyr and hugged him fiercely, not saying anything. Gillian rose on her tiptoes and kissed Dylan, mindful of his split lip: "I love you, Dylan. Thank you." She gave both of them an assessing look and said: "Let’s go get you both cleaned up and then I am sure Beka and Tyr have a lot to discuss." The four started own the hall toward Medical when Rommie’s hologram blinked into view before them.

"Dylan, the Castalian intelligence just transmitted the coordinates for the Black Whale. It was spotted in their system at the Mantigua Drift."

PART 5

"The Mantigua Drift? AKA the Pit of Despair? You have got to be kidding me!"

Harper nervously paced the floor of the Andromeda's spacious conference room. The crew, the visitors and two Castalian representatives had gathered there to discuss the rescue operation.

"Master Harper," Rev placed his claw on the engineer's shoulder, "you may find it easier to concentrate if you calm down. Tyr is agitated enough and your behavior only exacerbates the tension."

"All right, all right, I'm good, I'm calm." Harper sat down, still fidgeting, fingers drumming restlessly on the glass surface of the table.

"What is the matter with you, boy?" Anasazi lost his patience. "If you have any information that we or our guests do not possess, by all means share it!"

Harper took a deep breath. It was hard, really hard. For so many years he thought -- hoped that this was over, that he would never have to go there again, and now he had to remember. "Ok, here goes. No offence, though," he turned to the Castalians, "This place maybe in your planetary system, but it has no laws, no government, nothing." The officials nodded, somewhat embarrassed, one of them said:

"Mantigua has been a thorn in our sides for decades now, but there is nothing we can do. Almost as soon as our government finished the construction on the Drift, it was leased out to a group of people who presented themselves as commercial developers, but turned out to be warlords with the increased interest in scientific experiments. We have no jurisdiction over this place until the lease agreement expires, which is next year."

"Yeah, right, experiments." Harper was getting downright jumpy. "These bastards are nothing but a bunch of psychopaths. They buy slaves, Earth runaways, or set out parties to find subjects for their "research". They don't care whether the subjects are willing or not. They don't care if the subjects are adults or children. I was twelve when the Nietzschean on whose ship I stowed away sold me to their lab. That's when I got my dataport. They were mighty surprised that I survived the implantation procedure. I was the first who lived and didn't become a vegetable." He was shaking and Trance placed a comforting arm around his shoulder.

Dylan looked at Harper with disbelieve: "So, you are saying that this place is a laboratory which uses people as subjects?"

"Not just one lab. A number of them -- developing new drugs, like Flash, bio-implants, bio weapons, poisons, etc, etc. The way I see it -- the only reason the Orcas are there is to sell Tyr's son to the labs. Unless they acquired more slaves."

"No," the Castalian spoke, "our scans indicated four life-signs on board of the Black Whale -- three adults and a child. However, right now it is empty and docked. I guess that they already went to look for a buyer."

"Or they will sell him to the pound." All heads turned toward Harper again. "When someone is in a hurry, they sell whoever they brought to the pound, and then the labs pick from them their guinea pigs."

"Captain!" Rommie's voice cut into the conversation, " I am receiving the transmission from Castalian surveillance satellite. The Black Whale is leaving the drift, three life-signs on board. All adults."

Tyr hit the glass tabletop with his fist, shuttering the glass. His hand was cut and dripping blood but he dismissed anyone's attempt to help him. He was going into a fit of rage and it was scary. Dylan grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him hard:

"Anasazi! Get a hold of yourself!" Tyr slacked and sat down running his hands over his face, leaving bloody trail across the right side. He looked up at Dylan, shaking his head:

"I am sorry, I should have contained myself. The mere thought of this woman and what she did to my child makes me loose control."

"Well," Dylan replied, smiling, "I can understand that, but if you are to follow my plan you would need every ounce of your famous self-control and more."

"You have a plan?" Anasazi sounded incredulous. "We have just been made aware of the situation."

"And we don't have much time."

"Three days." Harper spoke up.

"What?"

"Every new potential "subject" is being quarantined for three days in case there are some hidden diseases. The purchaser can make a selection, but pick-up and payment only takes place after the three days. The Black Whale only arrived there last night and already gone, it means they sold the kid to the pound. They lost some money, but the pounds are willing to take the risk and quarantine the acquisitions themselves. He will not be up for resale for another three days."

"Master Harper, you are priceless. I need you to come with me now. Tyr, have someone look at your hand and join me in my quarters with Beka, Gillian and Darren in one hour. Rommie, please escort our guests to their shuttle. Thank you gentlemen, you have been a great help." Dylan nodded to the Castalian officials and left the conference room, Harper in tow.

* * *

Gillian was sitting on the table in the Medical next to Tyr. "Are you sure you want to go through with it?"

"I am." Turning to Harper, "Would you please get on with it, boy?"

"Ok, ok big guy, hold your horses. I haven't done it in a while, you know." Harper was loading the tattoo needle and humming softly under his breath, then he stopped and said, "Ok, welcome to the fine body art establishment of Master Harper, extraordinaire!"

"Must you be so enthusiastic about it?"

Harper placed a hand on Tyr's shoulder, "Listen, I was just tryin' to take the edge off things here. I am as worried about it as others are."

"Thank you. You may begin." Harper turned on the needle and began creating a design on Tyr's right shoulder. The picture was that of a chalice with two snakes wound up around it and a line of a bar code underneath. When he was just about finished Dylan walked in, followed by Beka and Darren. Harper replaced the tip of the needle and after and affirming nod from Dylan moved on to work on the boy. Gillian took a bottle of liquid disinfectant, soaked up a gauze pad and placed in on Tyr's fresh tattoo. He hissed at the sting and muttered, "I could never understand why would anyone do this kind of thing without operational necessity."

Dylan nodded sympathetically, "Me neither." Catching Gillian's look he blushed slightly and said to her sotto voce, "Don't you dare!"

She smiled innocently at him, "I wouldn't dream of it, besides, it is a point of my private enjoyment." To Harper, "Ready for me, Seamus?"

"Sure thing, Doc, step right up!" She sat down and he began. Her tattoo was different, it looked like a sword pointing up with only one snake around it, surrounded by a wreath. The barcode was different as well. When finished, Harper brought a small circular device and placed in on her neck, right under the right ear. Eight tiny prongs came out of the silvery-blue base and clumped on her skin. "Owww! That hurt!" She winced and Harper started to apologize, but Gillian cut him off:

"Seamus, it was necessary. Don't worry about it. Dylan, let's go over the details again."

"Ok. As agreed, Gillian, you will pose as a head of "Tau-Pi", a genetic research facility of an undisclosed location. Tyr and Darren are your subjects, and Tyr is also a bodyguard. You want the Nietzschean child they have recently purchased. You know about the child because the Orcas approached your facility before but at the time you had no need in any more subjects, but you want him now. Rommie is going as your AI assistant. Should anyone want to contact the lab the codes you have will patch any communication to Andromeda where it will be answered by - Andromeda, hence the legend supported. Your tattoos are actually tracking devices. The paint is a collection of nanobots that respond to your life signs. They programmed to be dormant within normal fluctuation of perspiration, heart rate, breathing and motion. Should any of the parameters exceed the top of the programmed range or drop below it, as in the situation where you may be restrained or unconscious, the alarm will
activate on Andromeda and we will locate you and verify your status. The device on your neck is a two-way communicator, we hear everything you say and you can hear us without anyone knowing it. You will take the Maru and while you are down on the Drift we will make a quick jump and grab the Black Whale. I am sure Tyr would love to have a chat with his... With Freya, and besides, what they did is punishable by Castalian law so I am sure we can arrange something very unpleasant for them."

The only answer to his last comment was Tyr's menacing growl. Looking at Dylan with grave expression in his eyes he said, "I am not sure any arrangement would be necessary after I am finished ... chatting with them." H stood up and looked at Gillian: "I am ready. Shell we?"

She didn't move. Turning to others, she said: "I need a moment alone with Tyr. Would you guys excuse us? Beka, I won't take much time, I know you want to talk to him." Beka nodded and everyone left Medical.

Gillian sat silently on the table for a few moments. Tyr came up and stood, facing her. He tipped her chin up and looked into her eyes. "What is it?"

"Tyr, I - when we are there, on the drift, dealing with these people, you will probably see a side of me that is not pretty. I would have to treat you like garbage; I would have to be like them to make it all believable. I may have to - to hurt you... I just don't want you to hate me afterwards. I need you to forgive me for whatever terrible things I would have to do to you." Her last words were almost a whisper.

Tyr took her hands in his and looked at her face. "You know, all these years I was wondering how does this huge heart of yours fits into such small frame. Little one, here you are, maiming yourself to save my son, risking your life for a child you have never seen - and you wan me to forgive you? I should build a shrine and worship you! Gillian, listen to me, please. I know what you must do and I am fine with it. I just want my child back alive, at what cost to me - doesn't matter. So do what you have to do and don't think twice about it." He hugged her and held her close for a while. Letting go he picked her up, placed her on the floor and smiled, "Come, your "boys" as you say it are waiting for you, and so I believe are my ladies."

* * *

Gillian was the last one to enter the hangar bay where others were waiting for her ready to board the Maru. Her appearance was so different that everyone had a reaction to it. Her short chestnut hair that usually framed her face in light wisps was sleeked back and the gel made it look almost black. The dark make-up, just this side of Indian war paint, and the tattoo on her shoulder made startling contrast with her pale skin. Tight black sleeveless leather vest with band collar ended just above her hips, zipper open to afford a rather generous view of her cleavage. Her pants, also black leather were adorned with a hip-holster that held a gauss gun, courtesy of Tyr. The boots were knee-high with interesting and unusual metal ornaments. Long leather coat hung over her arm. Harper whistled appreciatively, Tyr growled and Dylan's eyebrows shot up. Beka tried to ease the tension:

"Whoa, should I be worried for my husband's virtue?"

"No, you should be worried for my health. I'll have my hands full fighting off interested males off of her!" Tyr grumbled.

"Well, you are my bodyguard, so - guard!" She laughed and hugged him affectionately. Darren was looking at the ornaments on her boots. Gillian caught his look: "Is something wrong?"

"No, I was wandering at your choice of accessories."

She smiled, "These, Darren, are not accessories. These are Sais," she pulled one out and now he could see that it was a handle of a rather mean-looking weapon and twirled it I her hand showing him what it really was.

When she put the Sai back Dylan came up to her and whispered in her ear, "After this is over, the only place you would be wearing this outfit is our private quarters."

"Would you prefer with or without the weapons?" She whispered back, smiling.

"We'll discuss it upon your return." He hugged and kissed her, mindless of an audience, and turned to others, "It's time to go, people." Harper came up to Tyr and handed him a small box and a pair of dark glasses.

"Your eyewear, Tyr. The lenses are extended wear; you can safely keep them on for up to ten days. The glasses are equipped with the night-vision option and bio-sign heat scanner."

"Thank you." Tyr pulled out the lenses and put them in. The first sight was scary. The lenses were one-way mirrored; from the outside Tyr's eyes appeared robotic, cyborg-like. His vision however was in no way distorted or compromised. He put the glasses on and entered the Maru. Rommie, Darren and Gillian followed and minutes later Maru left the hangar bay.

* * *

Gillian walked among the rows and rows of cages that held representatives of possibly every race and species in the known worlds. The pound was filthy and the stench was unbearable, she could only imagine what Tyr was going through with his enhanced senses. The custodian trotted one step behind her and kept trying to offer her this or that inhabitant of the cages. Finally fed up Gillian turned to him and bit out:

"I. Said. I. Want. The. Nietzschean. Boy!"

The man was shaking and squirming and the looming figure of Tyr hanging over him did nothing to improve his coherency. Finally Gillian gave Tyr a nod and he bodily lifted the custodian and threw him across the walkway. Seconds later the security ran in, followed by a middle-aged man looking like a retired street fighter.

"What the hell is going on!" The guards surrounded Gillian and her entourage but she didn't bate an eyelash.

"I thought I was clear when I stated my interest in a Nietzschean boy. Why did I have to spend two hours in this hellhole looking at anything but what I came here for?"

"Come to my office, we will clear the situation there."

"Do you have the boy or not?"

"Yes we do, but you are not the only one interested in him."

"All right, let's talk about it." The man made an inviting gesture with his hand and signaled the guards to disperse.

When the group reached the office and their host invited them in Tyr walked in first, Rommie followed and Gillian walked in last. She sat down on the offered chair and looked at the man.

"Who are you anyway?"

"I am Xenon, I own this place. And you are?"

"I believe I already told one of your lackeys, I am Doctor Clara Mendel, Director of Research of Tau-Pi Laboratories."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Doctor Mendel."

"So far I can't say the same. What's the story with the subject I am interested in?"

"I have couple of local laboratories that are bidding against each other to get him. If I sell him to the outsider I must be VERY interested in the deal. After all, I don't want to loose any potential customers here for no reason."

"Believe me, Xenon, you will be. Whatever the highest bid is now - I'll double it."

"You want him so bad -why?"

"Before I tell you - what type of research do my competitors here do?"

"Drugs. Nietzscheans have high resistance to poisons and narcotics; they want to make one to break this resistance. An addicted Nietz - nice?"

"Indeed. For a backwater place like this."

"Really? And what do you do?"

"Genetic engineering. Cloning. Transplants. You name it. Nietzscheans are the best for it. You ever heard of Moebius?"

"Yes."

"Well, before this idiot Venetry joined the Commonwealth and abdicated power, he was my best customer. How else do you think the Great Compass survived for three hundred years?"

"Interesting."

"I'll give you a better one. Have you ever heard of Kodiak Pride?"

"Aren't they extinct?"

"Not any more! See this wall of muscle?" She pointed at Tyr." I grew him in a petry dish from a piece of Kodiak DNA I found in an old Helix. The kid that's waiting for me on my ship - an experiment on mixing human and Nietzschean DNA."

"Are you telling me that this hulk that follows you around is artificially grown?"

"Yes. This Homunculus has all the attributes of a real thing. I opted not to activate the Broca's area in his brain, so he does not speak. Does everything else beautifully."

"Why do you want the kid, though?"

"Same. He is full-blood Nietz, the possibilities are endless. The brain plasticity in kids under twelve is incredible, you can remove half of their brain and the rest will still function normally. The gray matter is in high demand as are the cells for cloning. This kid will make me a rich woman, so I am offering to make you a rich man."

"Can you make me a happy man as well?" Xenon leered at Gillian, his intentions obvious. He moved behind her and rubbed her shoulders, hands slowly sliding to her breasts. Tyr growled and came to stand in front of Gillian, grabbing Xenon's hands and almost crushing them. Gillian jumped up and kicked Tyr in the face, splitting his lip. Another spin-kick almost busted his jaw. She appeared to be seething:

"You will not interfere unless I require your interference. Is that clear?"

He bowed his acquiescence and stepped back to his position by the door. Rommie stood impassive, hands behind her back. Gillian turned to Xenon:

"I apologize. He is like a dog, any time he thinks I am in danger, he bites. Let's conclude our business and then we will be free to take care of other things."

Xenon pressed the button on his desk and armed guard walked in. "Bring in Number Eighteen." Guard nodded and left. Few moments later he returned dragging a child behind. The boy looked about five years old, with dark skin and deep brown eyes, boneblades already prominent. His arms were tied and feet bound with just enough slack to allow him to make small steps but prevent the child from running. When he was thrown into the center of the room, the boy growled and glared at the people surrounding him. Gillian was grateful that Tyr wore shades and his hair was tied back, otherwise the resemblance would have been startling. She motioned to Rommie:

"Inspect the child. I want to make sure we are not being duped."

Rommie came up and scanned the boy. When finished she stated: "This is the child you were interested in, Doctor."

Gillian looked at Xenon: "All right, how much?"

"One hundred thousand thrones."

Gillian repeated, "One hundred thousand thrones?" She heard Andromeda's voice in her comm device; "We don't have this kind of money! You have to bring the price down."

Gillian walked up to Xenon and purred, trailing her blood-red nails down his massive arm and licking her lips: "Can we discuss the price? I am sure we can work out a ... mutually satisfying agreement?"

He swallowed hard, looking like he wanted to take her right there on the table. Finally he managed to say: "Eighty if you agree to have dinner with me."

She pulled out two credit chips and threw them on the table. "The child leaves now with my bodyguard. The avatar will stay and wait for me until we finish our -- dinner."

Xenon ran the credit chips through and satisfied with the result nodded to the guard who released the boy to Tyr. The Nietzschean was reluctant to leave but Gillian said in an icy tone: "I said you are to take the child to the ship. Move!" He picked up his resisting charge and started towards the door. At this moment Gillian heard Dylan's voice in her comm: "Gillian, Orcas turned around before we caught up with them. The Black Whale is docked in the spaceport. We are too big to dock there, Beka and I are in the shuttle en route to your location. Be very careful." A quick glance towards Rommie confirmed that she already knew the situation. They couldn't risk letting Tyr leave alone with a child now; he wouldn't be able to protect himself and the boy against three Orcas.

The situation resolved itself in a way when the office doors burst open and Freya, Guderian and Dimitry ran in. Freya looked at Tyr holding the boy and screamed, "You are not getting away this time, Anasazi!" She attacked him like a rabid dog, scratching and clawing and biting, trying to pull the boy from his arms. He defended himself and the child who now clung to him instead of fighting. Finally he managed to knock her unconscious. Turning around he saw that Rommie was fighting off the security guards that didn't discriminate at this point and tried to subdue anyone who was not in Xenon's employment. Gillian was surrounded by Guderian, Dimitry and Xenon himself. She turned around and yelled:

"Tyr! Get out of here, now! You must get the boy to the Maru! Beka and Dylan are on the way, just go!"

Tyr was torn. He had to get the child to safety but at the same time he knew that Gillian needed help.

"Can't you take care of them your way?" He asked and she shook her head vehemently.

"It takes too much out of me, I can't risk it now." She blocked another punch, pulled the gun out of the holster and threw it to Tyr, "here, take it. I can't use it in here, too close." She spun and kicked and punched, rendering Dimitry unconscious. Tyr caught the gun in the air and tucked it into is waistband. Turning he ran out, pausing at the doors:

"Hey, Kludge!"

"What, Uber?"

"You better get out of here in one piece!"

Gillian smiled, ducked the punch that Guderian aimed at her face and answered: "Wouldn't want to disappoint you! Besides, I'd like to get to know my new nephew!"

Rommie was finished with the guards for the time being and Gillian yelled "Rommie! Follow Tyr, he needs his back covered!" Rommie nodded and ran out. Xenon and Guderian backed Gillian into a corner.

"Better give up now, Doctor, " Xenon sneered, "or are you a doctor anyway?"

"Why the interest, sleaze bag, you want to know who kicked your butt?"

"You are delusional, Kludge!" Guderian joined in the taunting. "You think because you defeated this inferior male," he pointed at Dimitry's form on the floor, "you can defeat me?"

Gillian was fed up with the two and she pulled out her Sais. Her opponents were surprised and hence hesitated just long enough for her to dispatch Xenon. Guderian was not that easy and he had a knife. The room was empty now except for the unconscious bodies littering the floor. Guderian circled Gillian, slashing his knife at her but unable to make contact. She finally attacked, the Sais flying in her hands, striking like lightning bolts. He screamed in rage when she drew blood, but she continued to push him. She was tiring and he saw it and tried to move in for a kill when he tripped on Dimitry's body and fell, impaling himself on one of the Sais.

Gillian didn't bother to retrieve her weapon; she made it to the door and ran. There was no one in pursuit and she made it to the spaceport without trouble. Rommie met her halfway and Tyr was waiting at the Maru's hatch, the boy still in his arms. At the site of her he visibly relaxed. She smiled at him; "I told you I wasn't going to disappoint you!" She went over to hug him and suddenly caught a movement from the corner of her eye. She turned and saw Freya aiming something at Tyr. Gillian heard a popping sound and a quiet hiss and the only thing she could think about that Tyr had a child in his arms and there was no way he could avoid being hit. So she did the only thing she could think about at this moment -- she pushed him out of the way. She felt a sharp sting in her neck and thought, 'If it was Tyr the dart would have hit his heart.' The world around her began to fade; she couldn't remain standing and fell. The last thing she saw was Dylan running in and shooting his forcelance and Freya falling down dead. And then everything went black.

PART 6

The world slowly came into focus, fuzzy and cloudy first, then gradually sharper and most definitely purple. Trance's smiling face moved aside and Dylan entered Gillian's still limited line of vision. He looked terrible, unshaven, with messed-up hair and red-rimmed eyes. She raised her hand and touched his face and he leaned into her touch and took her in his arms and just held her. She felt his body shaking and in broken voice he said:

"I thought I lost you. I though I lost you all over again. If not for Tyr..."

Gillian spoke in a hoarse voice: "What happened? I don't remember anything after I left the pound." She tried to sit up and Dylan elevated the head of the bed and sat down next to her, holding her close.

"You remember that Xenon and Dimitry were unconscious, and Guderian dead after you left?"

"Yes."

"Tyr knocked Freya out first, and no one saw that she came to and crawled out while you and Rommie were fighting. When you got to the spaceport she was already there. You saw she was trying to shoot at Tyr and pushed him out of the way."

"But I see no wounds on me. How?"

"It was poisoned dart. Much like the one she used when Tyr was kidnapped, but with a stronger version of the same poison."

"It was a derivative of curare. How is it possible that I am alive? It usually kills instantaneously."

"Tyr and his instincts and yes, mercenary's knowledge of poisons. When he saw what you did he tossed me the boy and grabbed you before you hit the ground. He pulled the dart out immediately and sucked out as much poison from the puncture as he could. You stopped breathing so he did it for you for the duration of the trip to Andromeda. Your dad said it was essential; he literally breathed life back into you. The rest was relatively easy, Jonathan and Trance created the anti-toxin quickly and you were out of danger. Trance kept you sedated for twenty-four hours only because we knew you'd want to leave the Medical and you needed the rest."

"How is the boy?"

"As could be expected. Scared, confused, angry. He's been through a lot for an adult, let alone a three-year-old."

"Three? He looked at least five to me."

"Nietzschean children are bigger and mature faster then human do, so he looks and acts like a five- or six-year-old."

At this moment Tyr walked in. Looking at Dylan and Gillian he shook his head and sighed, "I do not know, Dylan, how you deal with this wife of yours without loosing your sanity."

"Who can safely say that I am still sane? I can't. And I think it is her hobby to drive me nuts."

"Hey you, guys! What am I, chopped liver? At least have the decency not to talk about me like I am not even here! I think I was unconscious long enough!"

Dylan got up and stretched, "I think I am going to grab a shower. I'll be back soon, will you stay for a while?"

"Of course."

Dylan left and Tyr sat down on the bed and pulled Gillian into a hug. He just held her tight for a while, like he was afraid to let go, and then he took her face in his hands and looked her in the eyes:

"Why did you do it? Why did you have to risk your life? You know I can tolerate almost any poison much with lesser effect or none at all!"

Gillian struggled to get up and when Tyr tried to stop her she said, irritated, "Just help me to stand up, will you?"

He complied. Gillian stood, hugging him, and touched the still-sore spot on her neck.

"You see, it is just on the level of your heart. If the dart had hit you there, you heart would have been paralyzed instantly. No level of tolerance would have prevented that. And at the moment I didn't even know what it was, the only thing I realized was that something was aimed at your heart and with the child in your arms you had no way of avoiding it. So I did the only possible thing I could..."

She swayed and Tyr quickly picked her up and put her back to bed. Taking her hand and kissing her knuckles, he said with a sad smile, "It seems to be an on-going thing with us, doesn't it?"

Gillian squeezed his hand, "I wouldn't have it any other way. Any other lunatics after you? I'd like to know in advance next time, please. Anyway, how are the kids? I feel ashamed, I am such a bad mother!"

Tyr was about to answer her when Jonathan and Beka walked in with Daniel and Victoria. Danny saw Gillian and with a shriek "Mommy, mommy!" he launched himself from Jonathan's arms and landed on her lap. She laughed in delight, "At least he remembers what I look like!" Victoria followed suit and wound her arms around Gillian's neck, "Aunt Gillian! We miss you!"

"I miss you too, both of you, munchkins! You are so big!" The kids really did look big and were quite advanced for their age. Dylan's and Tyr's advanced genetics influenced their abilities, and now, not even a year old, both kids were talking, although Victoria's vocabulary was larger, and toddled confidently around Andromeda, wrecking havoc and making babysitting a job and a half. Looking over a lapful of kids Gillian noticed that Tyr's son was not there. She looked questioningly at Beka and when Valentine shook her head slightly Gillian decided to save her inquiries for later.

Jonathan came over and kissed Gillian on the forehead. "You gave us quite a scare, love."

"I know, Dad, I'm sorry. Thanks for everything."

"I didn't do much. It's Tyr you have to thank for saving you."

"I know. I was just going to when y'all showed up. C'mere, Uber."

Tyr sauntered over to her, look of faked menace on his face: "You want something, Kludge?"

"Come closer, you'll find out."

He obliged, moved in within inches from her face and growled, but before she could say anything Daniel jumped at him, pummeling his face and shoulders with tiny fists: "No scare mommy! Uncle Tea, no scare mommy!"

Everyone laughed and Tyr picked Danny up. Settling the boy on his hip he spoke in a very calm voice, "I am not scaring your mommy, we are just playing a game."

Danny's eyes widened with interest, "I want play too!" He scrunched up his face, curled his upper lip in perfect imitation of Tyr's expression and growled. He couldn't do it for long though and ended up coughing. It was so funny that Beka slid on the floor and Jonathan was holding his sides, tears streaming down his face. At this moment Dylan walked in with Harper and Trance. Looking around he asked:

"Hey, what did I miss?"

Barely able to talk, Tyr answered: "The act of perfect chivalry from your son. He thought I was scaring your wife so he attacked me and then tried to - no, you have to see it! Andromeda, please play the recording for Dylan."

When Dylan saw the events play out on the Vid screen he laughed until he cried. Taking Daniel from Tyr he hugged and kissed him, "That's my boy! Not even a year old and already a knight!"

"Dylan," Gillian asked when everyone finally quieted down, where are Rommie, Rev and Darren?"

"Oh, they are in the Science Lab, working on a project."

"What kind of project?" Dylan was not prepared for this question. He couldn't tell Gillian that they are in the midst of preparation for her surprise birthday celebration, so he mumbled something and looked pleadingly at Trance. She caught his meaning and ushered everyone out: "You can all visit again later, Gillian needs her rest."

Beka and Jonathan took the kids and left, and so did Harper and Tyr. Trance smiled at Gillian, "Would you like to move to your quarters? You can rest there too and be closer to Daniel."

"Yes, Trance, thank you, I'd like that." She started to get up but Dylan picked her up and carried her out. She tried to resist at first, but then relaxed and rested her head on his shoulder. "You know, a girl could get used to it."

* * *

Tyr was upset and frustrated. His relationship with his son was not progressing. Hell, there was no relationship! The boy was terrified of him and seemingly everyone else on the ship. He refused to stay in the room that Rommie prepared for him, he refused to change his clothes, and he simply hid in the access tunnels, coming out every now and then to get something to eat and only when he was sure no one was around to see him. Andromeda monitored him and assured Tyr that he was fine -- well, as fine as he could be under the circumstances, but that did little to comfort Tyr. He felt that he was failing the child all over again. Little that he knew that the situation was about to change and help will come from the least expected source with the most amazing results.

* * *

Harper was tinkering with malfunctioning circuit panel in one of the access tubes when something -- or rather someone -- fell through the loose top cover tile and landed smack on Harper's lap. Seamus yelped when two sets of small but sharp boneblades punctured his shoulders and instinctively grabbed hold of the unexpected offender. The kid squirmed and struggled but Harper held fast. Finally the boy stilled and the engineer was able to take a good look at him. 'Gillian was right, the resemblance to Tyr is striking,' he thought to himself. He also noticed that the boy was painfully thin and quite dirty.

"Hey, what have we here? Whatcha doing, trying to kill me?" Harper tried asking but the only reply he got was a low growl and another attempt to wiggle out of his grip.

"Boy, you really are just like your father!" Seamus exclaimed after another prick of boneblades in his side.

"I don't have a father." That was the first time the boy actually spoke and Harper was shocked by what he just heard.

"What do you mean you don't have a father? Tyr is your father."

"He is?"

"Of course! Why do you think he and the others went through all these troubles to get you from that awful place?"

"To sell me somewhere else?" The boy suddenly looked so old that Harper's heart constricted. The memories of his childhood on Earth flooded his mind and for a moment he couldn't speak. When he reigned in his wayward emotions the engineer shook his head eagerly:

"No, Tyr would never do that. He worked so hard to get you, he - he would die for you!"

"He almost did. Freya never missed. If that woman didn't step in he would be dead. Why did she do it?" Again, Harper was shocked by such adult understanding from such a small child.

"She cares about your father very much."

"But she - and you - are not Nietzschean. And the others -- only the redheaded boy and the little girl are. How come?"

"How come what?"

"Nietzschean don't live or work with kludges. That's what Freya and Guderian always said."

"First, we are not kludges, we are people. We all live and work together here, on Andromeda - humans, Nietzscheans, even Magog. And we don't use the word `kludge' here, unless your father jokes around with Gillian - that's by the way the lady who saved your father's life. Her mate is Dylan; he is our Captain. I am Harper, the redhead is Darren; he is half-Nietzschean, half-Human, as is the little girl. Her name is Victoria and she is your sister. Well, half-sister anyway."

"My father's mate is Human?"

"Yep. Her name is Beka, but your father prefers to call her Rebecca, that's her full name. He likes it better. Speaking of names, you got one?"

"Momzer." Harper winced. Leave it up to that maniac Freya to call her own child "the bastard".

"No kid, this won't do. "Momzer" is not a name; it is a bad word. How about we call you Junior for now and later you and your father will choose a name for you?"

A silent nod was his answer. Seamus heard his stomach grumble and decided to push his luck a little further: "So, Junior, you wanna go get something to eat?" He didn't realize he held his breath until he let it out when the boy agreed. Harper crawled out of the access tunnel and helped Junior. After a short walk down the corridor they entered the Mess hall.

Harper had no idea what the boy would like, so he just heaped food on his plate and brought it to him along with a glass of milk. Watching the kid wolf down the food Harper again was reminded of his own childhood. He still remembered the hunger.

After the third helping the boy seemed finally full. He looked sleepy, so Seamus said to him:

"How about I get you washed up and then you could take a nap?"

"No washing."

"Why? You like to be dirty?"

"I don't like cold water."

Harper winced. The water rations on small ships were always insufficient, so he guessed that Junior's "happy family" didn't waist any luxuries on the kid.

"Well, would you like a nice hot bath?"

"What's a bath?"

"Come, I'll show you."

"Ok."

Harper seemingly won the kid's trust. He just hoped that Tyr wouldn't take it the wrong way - he knew how possessive the Nietzschean was about his family. Still, he knew that this child needed care and since he accepted him - he was going to take care of the boy. So Seamus took Junior to his quarters. He drew him a bath with fragrant bubbles and brought the boy into the steamed-up bathroom. He took off the rags the kid was wearing and put him in the tub. The expression of pure bliss on the child's face was priceless. After a while Harper noticed that Junior's eyes began to close, so he drained the water, dried the boy out and wrapped him in the towel. By the time he was done the kid was asleep. Harper picked him up and spoke quietly:

"Rommie, please tell Tyr to meet me in the boy's room."

"Yes, Harper. Nice going, by the way."

"Thanks, Rom-doll. As I always say, trust in Harper, Harper is good!"

* * *

Junior's room was adjacent to Tyr and Beka's quarters, on the opposite side from Victoria's nursery. When Harper approached Tyr was waiting. He looked at the sleeping child and guided Seamus into the boy's room. Harper unwrapped the towel so they could put shorts and a t-shirt on the boy. When Tyr saw how skinny he was he winced. Finally Junior was cozily tucked in. Harper left the room and Tyr followed. Harper was about to leave when Tyr's hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"How... How did you do it?" Tyr's voice was hoarse. Harper could only guess what emotional storm was concealed under his calm exterior.

"Well, he literally fell onto my lap. Which reminds me -- you got any antiseptic? He gave me two sets of holes on my shoulders and one on my side. Before I washed him. I don't want Trance or Gillian fuss over me in Medical."

Tyr produced a bottle of antiseptic and a cloth and Harper related the events of the past few hours while cleaning the small punctures that Junior left in his skin. When he was finished Tyr was silent for a moment and then he spoke quietly:

"Harper, I don't know how to thank you. I should have figured out that he didn't know who I am. I should have known - hell, I saw how they treated him, but I have never seen him with Freya. I guess she was crazier then I thought - to treat her son like that! I only hope he will let me make up to him for what was taken away by these monsters!"

Harper looked Tyr in the eyes: "You love him. Just show him that. Right now this kid needs a whole lot of loving. Everything else can wait."

Tyr was hesitant for a moment and then asked, "Harper, would you stay a while? Until he wakes up? I don't want him to be scared of me. I'll take over whatever you were doing, so don't worry about your duty... "

Harper held a hand up, "Of course I'll stay. And you don't have to do my work for me. Anyway, have you thought about the name for the boy? Can't call him Junior forever, can you?"

"I wanted to name him Ahren, if he likes it."

"An eagle - good choice. Eagle of the clan of the Bear - kinda symbolic, I like that." And the men continued their quiet conversation and Harper noticed that Tyr stopped calling him "boy" or "child". `Guess I've earned my spurs!' the engineer thought, laughing inwardly at the pun.

Several our later the boy stirred and Tyr walked into his room and sat on the edge of the bed. The kid's first reaction was to run, but he saw Harper standing behind Tyr in the doorway and he calmed down. Looking at Tyr he asked:

"Are you really my father?"

"Yes, child, I am."

"And you are not going to sell me or beat me or call me bad words? Freya called me bad words, that's what Harper said."

"He told you the truth, she did. But I promise, I won't ever sell you or beat you or call you names. I wanted to give you a real name, what do you think?"

"I like that."

"I wanted to call you Ahren - it means, "eagle". Do you like it?"

The boy said quietly "Ahren" a few times and smiled a huge white-toothed smile, so much like Tyr's, "I like it. So, what is my lineage, father?"

Tyr smiled and said, "Ahren Anasazi of Kodiak Pride, out of Freya by Tyr."

"It sounds great!" Harper chimed in from where he was standing.

"I agree." Tyr's happiness shone in his eyes. "Would you like to go meet the rest of our family?"

"Yes, Father. But ... I am hungry, can we get something to eat first?"

"Yes, son, we can. Let's get you dressed and we can go."

PART 7

Tyr was in command working on his weapons console when Rommie's hologram materialized next to him.

"Anything I can do for you, Andromeda?" Rommie noticed that ever since the mining planet he stopped calling her "ship" and used her name. She was pleased by it, but made no comment.

"We are receiving a transmission form Sintii."

"Is Captain unavailable to answer it?"

"Actually, it is for you. As you may remember, Dimitri was the only survivor after Ahren's rescue. Dylan handed him over to the Castalian authorities to be transported to Sintii to stand trial for his crimes against you and your family under the Commonwealth law. In the process of investigation it was discovered that Orca Pride aided the Drago-Katzov in the destruction of your people. Dimitri gave a statement that the Commonwealth Council decided should be made known to you. Do you want to see it now?"

"No. Please save it, I will view it later, after my shift is over."

Rommie looked sympathetic, "I could bring my avatar to relieve you, nothing is happening right now, so…"

Tyr stopped her, "No, thank you, Andromeda. To be honest, I need time to prepare. Probably lock myself up in a padded room, because I am not sure that the information will aid my sanity." He gave a humorless laugh and Rommie saw something in his eyes that she didn't like very much. She made a note to herself to keep monitoring him closely and out loud replied curtly:

"As you wish, Tyr. I will save it in you personal information file and mark it private. It will require your authorization to be opened, no overrides allowed."

"Thank you." Rommie nodded and blinked out. Tyr kept his eyes on the console and didn't see Beka standing on the ramp leading from the hallway to Command Deck. She heard his conversation with Rommie and her heart was in her throat now. She was worried, very worried. She didn't know how this information would affect Tyr, but it wouldn't be good. She hated to see him to re-live his tragedy all over again and that exactly what would happen when he sees that file. But Beka also knew that she had no right to interfere. She would be there for him if and when he needs her, that was all she could do. Turning around, she walked away. If she were to enter now Tyr would smell
her anxiety and she didn't want him to know she was eavesdropping, even inadvertently.

* * *

Gillian was in the Hangar Bay, saying good-bye to her father and Darren. Dylan insisted on taking them down on the planet himself and requested that Harper and Trance accompany him on this short trip. Gillian was very surprised, considering that her dad was perfectly capable of piloting the shuttle that could return on autopilot, but she wrote it off on Dylan being nice. Why Harper and Trance had to go, she had no idea and after a while gave up trying to figure it out. She was glad that Jonathan had built such good relationship with Darren. Despite all his conquests among females her father was lonely and Darren needed someone to look after him. The boy was eager to learn and wanted to study medicine. Since Jonathan came out of retirement and opened a small clinic Darren could work there, gain necessary experience and later go on to the medical school.

One thought that clouded Gillian's mind was that her father was so insistent on leaving right now. It was only three weeks until her birthday and she was hoping to spend it with all her family and friends together. But Jonathan said that he was away firm his clinic and his current wife for too long and now that everyone were fine he could leave. He had hard time hiding from Gillian the fact that huge party was being planned for her birthday and it was to take place on the beach by his house, so he really needed to leave. Plus he was afraid that she could accidentally read his mind and it would definitely spoil the surprise.

So finally the good-byes were said and hugs given aplenty and Dylan promised to be back soon and Darren swore he would keep in touch with everyone and she shuttle took off. When Gillian turned to leave the hangar bay she saw Beka waiting at the doors.

"Gillian, I need to talk to you."

By the sound of Beka's voice Gillian surmised that something was up and she motioned Beka to follow her to Medical. When they entered Gillian's office she said:

"Privacy mode, please."

"Privacy mode engaged, authorization Chief Medical Officer Doctor Gillian Hunt."

"Thank you, Rommie. Beka, what's wrong?"

By that time Beka was shaking. She related to Gillian what she overheard.

"Beka, you can't stop him from learning what that scumbag had to say. I know it will be hard on him and on you as a result, but…"

"Gillian, he already saw it. He locked himself in one of the empty crew quarters with privacy mode on and he wouldn't come out!"

"Give him time. He needs to deal with his emotions, you know how he gets!"

"There is more. I looked at the sensor readings; a solar storm is coming this way. Big one."

"That could compound the problem. Rommie, I need to talk to you!" The holo-Rommie blinked into view.

"I assume you have been monitoring Tyr since you delivered the message, am I correct?"

"Yes. His heart rate is elevated not to the point that is dangerous but close, he is perspiring heavily and his breathing is shallow. I don't think these quarters would be habitable when he comes out"

Beka stood up, "that's it, I am going in there. I can't just let him sit there and hurt alone. This is exactly what had happened when he found his father's Helix and I allowed him to deal with it on his own and the consequences were dire. "

Gillian agreed. "Do you want me to come with you?"

Beka hesitated and then nodded. "Yes, he may listen to you if I am not convincing enough."

Gillian took a hypo injector, loaded it and put it in her pocket. To Beka's questioning look she explained: "It's a mild sedative. Just in case he gets self-destructive." Beka nodded and they left. Rommie the Avatar met them at the room where Tyr locked himself in. She stood on the side when Beka pressed the access button. Once, twice, three times – no answer.

"Tyr!" She yelled, "Open the damned door and let me in!"

"Go away, Rebecca! I need to be alone now!"

"Like hell you do! Open the door, Tyr!"

A growl was her only answer. Gillian put her hand on Beka's shoulder:

"You need to be calm. If both of you fly off handle it will do no good. Rommie, please override privacy mode, authorization Doctor Gillian Hunt, code Epsilon Blue Sigma, Medical Emergency Protocol."

"Aye, privacy mode disengaged, please proceed with caution."

"Thank you, Rommie. Beka, stay behind me. If need be I can stop him my way. Rommie, please remain outside. We may need you as backup. "

"Understood."

When they entered the room -- or whatever was left of it – Tyr was sitting cross-legged on the floor with his back to the door, shirtless, head hung low. The vid screen flickered, looping the image of Dimitri, in prison garb, repeating one phrase, or rather a part of it: "… he slit his throat and took the Helix as a trophy." Gillian carefully walked over and shut it off. Beka kneeled next to Tyr and touched his shoulder:

"Tyr. Please look at me." He shook his head and she continued, "Love, I know it hurts, but you don't have to bear it alone! I am here for you, can't you trust me enough to share you pain with me?"

Tyr raised his head and Beka saw that he was crying. His eyes were almost mad from pain, from hurt that had no relief. She took his hand and her fingers got smeared with blood. His fingers were curled around his father's Helix band with the tightness of a dead man's grip. After a good look at him she saw deep gauges on his chest and shoulders from plowing through walls and furniture, his mouth was bleeding as well.

"I didn't want you to see me like that, either of you. I just wanted to deal with all of it on my own."

"Tyr," Beka was crying, "last time you did that I almost lost you."

Gillian walked over and kneeled on the other side of him. She moved his braids away from his face and kissed his sweaty forehead, "You are my brother. I'd die for you if need be, do I have to tell you that? Your pain is my pain, whether you tell me about it or not. Right now I am feeling everything you are feeling. Your emotions are so strong I don't need to connect with you to read you. Let me help you. Let us help you."

She and Beka carefully guided him up and out of the room and to Gillian's quarters. The little ones were napping in Victoria's room and Ahren was studying with Rev, so her rooms were the quietest place for now. Gillian sat him down and washed off the blood from his face and chest while he told them what was on the recording he received.
Dimitri was older then Tyr and at the time of the described events he was in his late teens, so he was not only a witness but a wiling participant in the slaughter. He, in great detail, related how Tyr's family was murdered. He didn't know who the people were, just that it was a prominent Kodiak family. But Tyr knew. His mind went back to that horrible night and he lived his nightmare all over again.

When he finished his tale Beka hugged him and held him tight, stroking his hair and rubbing his back, calming him like she would a child. She didn't say anything, and he didn't need words. Her presence was enough, her love was palpable and it enveloped him and made him feel safe. He kissed her hand:

"Forgive me?"

"For what?"

"For hiding it all from you. I just wanted to protect you from me. You know how I get."

"Yeah, I do. But there is nothing to forgive. I love you."

Gillian slipped out quietly, leaving them alone. She caught Beka's almost inaudible "Thank you", nodded and left. She checked on the sleeping kids and gave the instructions to the nanny-bot and went on to get Ahren form Rev.

* * *

Beka nudged Tyr carefully in the ribs, "Tyr, wake up!"

"Must you bother me now, woman!" He grumbled jokingly and moved an arm over his eyes when Beka turned on the lights.

"Considering that this is not our quarters and not our bed – yeah, I must!"

Anasazi sat bolt upright, events of the past several hours rushing in. The message, his anger, his pain, locking himself in the empty room, Beka and Gillian breaking in and getting him out, and then… A slow smile spread over his face. After he calmed down emotionally he felt such strong need for Beka that he didn't care where they were at the moment. She responded in kind, with her usual fierce passion, and that's why they woke up hours later in Dylan's bed. Well, Dylan and Gillian's, to be exact. And Beka realized that neither she nor Tyr bothered to engage privacy mode. She groaned and buried her face in her hands.

"Rommie!"

"Yes, Beka?" Andromeda was kind enough not to appear but to respond voice only. Not that it made any difference, her sensors were still there, but at least it gave an illusion of not being observed.

"Where are the kids?"

"Victoria and Daniel are with the nanny-bot and Rev in Hydroponics taking a walk. Ahren is in the gym with Gillian, I believe they are practicing martial arts."

Tyr cursed himself inwardly; he promised he would start training Ahren today. Some father he was! Rommie's voice sounded again,

"Beka, I just received the communication from Dylan, he is on his way back, ETA 45 minutes."

"Damn, I have to clean this place up! I don't think he would appreciate finding the reminders of our activities here."

"Rebecca, don't get all jumpy! We didn't do anything wrong!" Tyr tried to calm her down.

"Well, we didn't do anything wrong in his bed! You have any idea how squeamish he is about these things?"

"Actually no, I haven't slightest idea about his squeamishness. Come to think of it, how come you do?"

"Tyr, stop with the third degree, you know I have been on enough away missions with our Captain! Let's clean this place up! Rommie, where Gillian keeps spare linens?"

"Beka, I already sent a maintenance bot for cleaning and laundry detail. I was supposed to anyway, only a few hours earlier. You are due in command in fifteen minutes. Tyr, how much do you want Dylan to know about what happened?"

"I appreciate your effort at discretion, but he has to know. You may give him the message to view and I will speak to him afterwards. And, Andromeda?"

"Yes, Tyr?"

"I am sorry for tearing up that room. I will repair it."

"Apology accepted."

* * *

Tyr walked up to the entrance to the gym and saw Ahren standing on the mat facing Gillian. Both were engrossed in the lesson and didn't notice his presence. Or so he thought.

Gillian corrected Ahren's posture, "you must always keep your balance. This is one of the key moments. Feet positioned to keep you steady and arms to protect your body. Now, tell me, when you look at you and me, what do you see?"

"You are a female and I am a male."

"Ok, what else?"

"You are bigger and I am smaller."

"Exactly. How can it be to your advantage?"

"I don't know."

"The fact that you are smaller can give you certain leverage advantages. Like, for example, I can do this – " and she grabbed Tyr, who was approaching her from behind, positive that she can't possibly detect his presence, and flipped him over her hip onto his back, twisting his arms so his own bone blades were pointed at his throat.

"See, Ahren, I am smaller and I used my body as a fulcrum to move much larger body of your father. I cannot match him in strength, but I can use my size and position to my advantage."

She got up and offered Tyr a hand. He seemingly accepted, but instead of getting up he pulled her down with him, manacling her by his arms. Gillian brought her feet up to his stomach and pulling him by the neck rolled them both over backwards, so she was on her back, and then, using her legs she pushed Tyr hard up and back over her head, so he went sailing over her and landed on his back with a loud thud. Twisting around she locked her thighs around his neck.

"Give it up, Anasazi!"

"Never!" He rolled over, twisted out of her grip, grabbed her and bodily lifted her off the floor and up in the air. Laughing, he twirled her and she yelled:

"Put me down you lout before I get sick!"

The second he relented and put her down she sent him flying over her hip again. Straddling his chest she said:

"Can we stop playing now? I was actually trying to give Ahren a lesson."

"Ok, truce. Let's get up."

They proceeded with the lesson together and by the end of it the boy was quite capable of landing a few good kicks and managed several throws. Gillian also showed him some basic moves with the war staff and demonstrated them in action together with Tyr. By the end of the hour Ahren was equally exhausted and excited. Barely catching his
breath he asked:

"When can we do it again?"

Tyr looked at Gillian and said, "we will discuss it later. I think it would be wise if we took turns training you, you would benefit greatly from learning different styles of fighting. But right now it is time for you to go to bed."

Ahren threw his arms around Gillian, "Good night, Gillian! Thank you for the lesson, it was fun!" She hugged him back and kissed his dark curls,

"You are welcome, Ahren." To Tyr: "You need help getting him to bed?"

"No, thanks. Come on, my warrior, let's go!" He took Ahren's hand and walked out and Gillian headed for her quarters. Shower was a must right now.

* * *

However shower didn't happen until much later. Daniel was fussing and Gillian spent nearly an hour putting him to sleep. When he finally settled down she received a request for an emergency consult from the Academy trauma center on Mobius – one of the Lancer cadets was accidentally shot with a dispersion pellet during routine training
exercise and she had to basically walk the surgeon through the procedure. She silently cursed the stubborn bureaucrats – when Dylan suggested that she should teach a course on field surgery and emergency trauma situations to the doctors in the Center the Council refused because she was not an actual professor. Years of expertise and vast array of her own surgical techniques apparently didn't count. However her colleagues on Mobius
knew a good surgeon when they saw one and she was always in high demand for consultations, personal whenever she was in the vicinity or virtual, like this one.

"Doctor Hunt, I couldn't have done it without you!" Doctor Corrin was always high on praise.

"Doctor Corrin, you would have done just fine, but I was glad I could help. Please keep me informed on the patient's condition."

"Will do, Doctor. Thanks again and good night."

"Good night. Hunt out." And she switched off the screen.

"It is strange to hear "Hunt out" said by someone other then me"

Gillian turned and saw Dylan standing behind her, leaning on the doorframe. She stretched and smiled, "Well, you better get used to it. There are three Hunts now."

She waked to the bathroom and turned on the water in the shower. Soon she was luxuriating under hot spray, letting the worries of the day wash down the drain. Gillian heard Dylan walk in and in a moment she felt his body behind her and two strong arms enveloped her, his chin resting on the top of her head.

"That feels good. I missed you."

"I was only gone a few hours."

"A lot can happen in few hours."

"Speaking of happenings, what were Anasazis doing in our bed and why?"

"Nothing that we wouldn't normally do and because it just happened. Can we talk about it in the morning? I have other things on my mind right now."

"What kind of things?"

"This kind." And she proceeded to show him exactly what was on her mind.

* * *

The crew of Andromeda was resting peacefully when a solar storm of unexpected magnitude hit. Beka saw the warnings earlier but no one, not even Rommie with all her advanced sensors could predict the strength of the event. The alarm claxons sounded throughout the ship and Andromeda's voice was heard on the ship-wide comm:

"Red Alert! Red Alert! All hands mind your stations! "

The ship shook and rattled and the feeing was that it would tear apart at the seams. Dylan jumped out of the bed, Gillian followed. In a few minutes they were dressed and ready.

"Of all times today I decided to give Harper time off!" Dylan muttered angrily on his way to the bridge. Gillian took Daniel and went to Medical. They have prepared a room for the children in case of the situation like that; the Med bay was one of the safest places on board. Beka was waiting for her there with Victoria and Ahren. Gillian took the kids form her:

"Hurry, Dylan needs you on the bridge. Where is Tyr?"

"Already there, Rev is on the way. You know what to do, right?"

"Aye, Captain Valentine."

Beka smiled and left. Gillian settled the kids down. The little ones were nervous and she took Ahren's hand:

"Ahren, you are the oldest one, I need your help. Victoria and Daniel are scared; can you calm them down? I need to help Dylan and the others. Can I count on you?"

The boy's eyes were serious: "You can count on me, Gillian."

"Good. I'll be right here, but I have to get to work now, ok?"

"We'll be fine, don't worry about us."

Gillian turned on the environmental controls console. Since she came aboard as a permanent member of the crew she and Trance have been cross-training each other and Gillian was now a competent environmental specialist.

"Andromeda, please patch main enviro-control to Medical, I am ready."

"Aye, patching through."

On the bridge Dylan, Beka and Tyr were trying desperately to stabilize the ship and get out of the storm cloud. The density of charged ions was becoming more dangerous by the second.

"Rommie, can we slipstream?"

"Negative. The ion charges will interfere, we will not be able to open portal."

"What if we reverse polarity in our outer hull plating, would it give us some room to maneuver?"

"It may give us a chance to get out of the storm cloud, and then we can try and slipstream."

"Do it."

"Aye, Captain. Reversing polarity…Now!"

"Beka, get us out of here!"

"I'm on it!"

"Dylan!" Gillian's voice came over the comm, "I am detecting ion and radiation leakage throughout the ship. The polarity must be restored, it interferes with the protective shielding."

"Rommie, report!"

"Radiation and particle leakage on decks one through fifteen, including the Command."

"We need a few more minutes."

"Dylan, it would be dangerous."

"If we don't get out of here it would be worse."

"Beka, how much more time do you need?"

"Almost there, Dylan, almost there. Coming out …Done!"

"Rommie, return the hull plating polarity to normal."

"Aye." At this moment something happened. A crack appeared in the ceiling of the Command and a stream of charged particles, shot through like laser beam, and cut across. Dylan's station exploded, he barely managed to get away from it in time and the beam progressed to the piloting console. Beka had already positioned the slipstream controls so she was trapped and couldn't get out of the way. Before anyone could react Tyr threw himself across the command deck and covered Beka with his body. The beam hit him in the middle of the back and at the same time Dylan discharged his force lance at the source of the particle shaft using it as a welder and managed to cut it off sealing part of the crack. Beka finally got herself out of the pilot's station and kneeled next to Tyr. He was conscious and in a lot of pain. He looked at Beka and smiled:

"Solar storms…always been bad omen for me…"

Dylan yelled out: "Rommie! Alert Gillian we have an emergency! Get an AG lift here!"

"On the way. Medical is ready."

* * *

Ahren tagged at Gillian's sleeve: "What happened?"

"Your father got hurt, they bringing him in now. I have to take care of him. I need you to be brave for me and for him ok?"

"I am Ahren Anasazi, of course I will be brave. And I will take care of the little ones. Just make him better, ok?"

"Ok, I promise."

A drone rolled in the AG lift carrying Tyr, Dylan and Beka followed. Tyr winced when he was moved from the gurney to the bed. After running the necessary scans Gillian almost laughed with relief:

"You know, you are damn lucky, Uber! Your stupid chain mail shirt deflected most of the charge. Because of the shifting polarity it acted as a shield, not as a conductor as it normally would. You have a serious burn on your back and a light electric shock, but it could have been much worse."

Beka slumped down on the chair, suddenly exhausted beyond measure and Dylan let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. Gillian shooed both of them out:

"Go get some sleep and come back in the morning. The kids are here with me; you should be able to rest. Go, go, go!"

Both captains complied, knowing better then to argue. She helped Tyr out of his now infamously famous chain mail. She loaded the hypo and brought it up to his neck. He stopped her hand:

"I don't want to be sedated."

"It's just a painkiller. I can't sedate you right after you were hit by few thousand volts of wayward electricity anyway."

"Fine."

Gillian proceeded with cleaning and dressing the burn on his back. She could feel he was still in pain but under circumstances more drugs would constitute danger. She tried to be as careful as possible but finally she resorted to the old-fashion method she used before. Filling the syringe with anesthetic she injected it in small doses around the area of the burn, like she did when he was wounded on Jaguar. After the medicine took effect Gillian heard unconcealed sigh of relief. She finished her work quickly, then she tugged off his boots and leathers and put a pair of patient's pants on him, turning a deaf ear to is complaints and grumbling about hating patient garb. Finally he was settled and Gillian was able to sit down and catch her breath. It was a tiring day that turned into a tiring night. She closed her eyes and didn't realize she fell asleep until something woke her up.

A muffled moan brought her attention back to Tyr. He was sleeping and it looked like he had a disturbing dream. She was about to go over to him when she saw a small figure standing next to him. Ahren was too small yet to reach the raised medical bed, so he pulled up a chair. Reaching out he touched Tyr's face and stroked gently, whispering,
"Father, please wake up! Father!"

Tyr's eyes opened and he took Ahren's hand in his, "What is it, son?"

"Are you hurting bad, Father? I heard you moan in your sleep, I was afraid for you."

Incredible warmth filled Tyr's entire being. Hearing these words of concern and care from his son, the child who only weeks ago was afraid of everyone and most of all him, his own father, was amazing.

"It does hurt, but not much any more, Gillian did a good job. I should be fine tomorrow."

"I heard others talking – you saved Rebecca, right?"

"Yes."

"But Dylan said that you could have died. Didn't you know that?"

"I did."

"But why did you do it?"

"Because I love Rebecca very much."

"What is love, father?"

"Well, that's an eternal question, son. I am not sure I can answer it for you, but I will try. This is something I learned from humans, human women mostly. The way I see it, love is when another person becomes more important to you then yourself. It is when you value the life of another more then your own. It could be love of a parent for a child, or
love of siblings for one another, or love of mates."

"So, when Gillian stepped in front of you when Freya wanted to kill you – she did it because she loves you?"

"Yes. And I would do – and did – the same for her."

"But you are not mates or siblings or…"

"Gillian is one of the closest friends I have and I consider her my sister."

"But she is Human."

"I thought you understood that it does not matter. Gillian and I adopted each other. I guess we all adopted each other here."

"I understand, Father. I just – I wasn't sure. May I ask you another question, Father?"

"Of course you may."

"Rebecca – she is not jealous of me, is she?"

"Ahren, Rebecca was the first to suggest that we go and get you when I told her about you. She cares about you and she knows I love both you and Victoria equally."

"I love Victoria too. And Father?"

"Yes?"

"I am glad you found me. I didn't know anything about you, Freya told me…"

"Son, Freya was a sick woman. I want you to forget everything she told you, because it was a product of an ill mind. I mated with her for a wrong reason and under bad circumstances. I tried to contact her later but was denied communication with her. I was told that no child resulted of our union and it was dissolved, we were no longer mates. So, I did not know about your existence until I was taken by Guderian. Seeing you there made everything worthwhile. When you are old enough to have your own children you will understand."

"I think I understand now, Father."

"Good. Now, do you think we can get some sleep?"

Ahren nodded and Tyr pulled him up on the bed next to him. When Gillian thought they were finally asleep she came over and pulled the blanket over both of them. Tyr turned his head slightly and whispered:

"Do you really think I couldn't hear that you were awake?"

"Hey, you needed to talk to your son, I gave you the opportunity. What did you want me to do – star moving and scare him off?"

"No, Kludge, you did the right thing."

"Well, thank you, Uber. Go to sleep now."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Gillian settled on one of the spare beds and was soon asleep herself. This endless day was finally over.

PART 8

Gillian was sitting in her office, going over the messages from Mobius. Doctor Corrin had sent her the requested updates and treatment plans for her ‘virtual’ patients and she had to reply immediately. Once again she sighed in frustration. It would have been so much easier if she could teach the surgeons there the proper way of handling such situations! She was so engrossed in her work she didn’t hear Dylan walk in.

"Are you going to be much longer?"

Gillian jumped at the sound of his voice. "Oh, you scared me!" She rubbed her eyes tiredly. "Almost done, I need another couple of minutes."

"Hurry up, I have plans for us for tonight."

"Oh? What kind of plans?"

"Let’s just say that Daniel and Victoria are having a sleepover. At her place."

"Dylan, isn’t it imposing on Beka and Tyr? They already have two to take care of."

"Relax, he offered. Apparently Beka was not the only one feeling guilty about, you know, using our bed… "

"Give it a rest, will you? No harm was done."

"No, but guilt trip could be a wonderful thing…"

"Captain Hunt, your deviousness surprises me."

"Doctor Hunt, do you realize that it has been several weeks since we had spent any time together?" Coming closer he kneaded her shoulders eliciting almost purring sounds form her, "Gillian, I miss you." He proceeded with the shoulder rub, knowing full well how sensitive her neck and shoulders are and soon she was unable to concentrate on her work any longer.

"Dylan, if you want me to finish work anytime soon you need to stop."

"No, love, it is you who are going to stop and now."

"Dylan…"

She didn’t get a chance to say anything because he simply picked her up and carried her out. In their quarters the lights were dimmed and soft music created a pleasant atmosphere. The door to the bathroom was open and Gillian saw that the tub was filled and light fragrance of peaches and jasmine wafted in the air. Dylan sat her down on the couch and proceeded to undress her. When finished, he picked her up again and carried her to the tub. He placed her into the scented water and turned on the jets. The temperature was just perfect and Gillian stretched, luxuriating in the massaging bubbles.

Looking at him impishly she said:

"I might get used to being spoiled like that."

"Oh, I am hoping for some spoiling myself. Andromeda, engage privacy mode, please, authorization Dylan Hunt."

"Aye, privacy mode engaged."

Dylan leaned on the wall and looked at his wife, light smile playing on his lips. It was not often that they got to enjoy each other’s company like that. But it made the rare occasions all the more pleasurable.

"Dylan, this is not fair. You are still fully dressed."

"This could be easily remedied." He began to take his uniform off and for a second Gillian thought ‘He looks so much better then those wimps posing on the advertising billboards… I wonder…’ Her wayward thoughts were interrupted when he joined her in the tub, sloshing a little bit of water on the floor in the process. He turned her around so her back was against his chest and began rubbing her neck, shoulders and upper arms, this time adding little feathery kisses everywhere his fingers touched her skin. Gillian turned her head and her lips met his and the rest was just a whirlwind of sensations and the ages-old and still just as intricate dance of their entwined bodies.

The water eventually became cold and brought them back to reality. Dylan lifter Gillian out of the tub and wrapped her in plush bath sheet to stop the chill. He dried himself off as well and they moved to the bed.

Few hours later they lay together, holding each other, in total sync in their heartbeat, in their breath, in their thoughts. Gillian more felt then saw that he moved slightly, adjusting his position. One of his old injuries must be bothering him again. She was always surprised how could he be a big baby and a stoic all in one. Dylan was a nightmare to deal with when he was sick or wounded, but at the same time if an old hurt would flare up he’d go on for days not letting on that something is wrong. She learned to read the signs, slight changes in his gate or posture, minute winces when he thought no one was looking, or at worst, sneaking into the Medical to get an analgesic. And now something was bothering him, but she knew he wouldn’t tell her, so she chose another venue. She got up, put on her robe and brought a bottle of almond oil. She sat down on the edge of the bed and nudged Dylan to roll over on to his stomach.

"Why?"

"I think it is your turn to be spoiled." He complied and turned over, and Gillian straddled his hips. She drizzled the oil on his skin and began slowly massaging his back, feeling carefully for the problem area. His involuntary tensing gave away the spot and she paid special attention to it, happy to hear a sigh of relief. She didn’t stop there but continued with the massage. Just as he did earlier she kissed his spine, following the trail of her fingers. She heard Dylan laugh and he said:

"You are not planning on getting much sleep tonight, are you?"

"Nope. Sleep I can get anytime, but you are a rare treat." She ran her hands over his back in final motion, feeling slight roughness of the skin. She couldn’t see in the dim light but she felt the faint net of criss-cross scars, a memento from his last adventure. A tear escaped her, then another and Dylan felt them, hot raindrops on his skin. Turning over he pulled Gillian into his arms and kissed her eyes, feeling the salt and wetness of tears.

"What is it, love, why are you crying?"

She trailed her fingers over his chest, feeling more scars and her throat suddenly constricted. "You… You’ve been hurt so many times; it scares me. No one should have so much pain in his life. Especially you. And it keeps happening to you, and …"

"Shhh, please don’t cry. I have told you before, I am a soldier, and it comes with the territory. Besides, I have you to make me better. And having you worth any hurt."

"I love you, Dylan."

"And I you, Gillian."

They finally fell asleep in the wee hours of the morning. After a while Gillian’s sleep became disturbed, she kept hearing something, perhaps a voice and she couldn’t understand it, but suddenly she sat up, wide awake. Dylan jumped and rubbed his eyes, looking at her worriedly:

"What is it? What’s wrong?"

"Trance. Trance and Harper are in trouble. Someone took them, he is using them as hostages."

"Who is he?"

She didn’t have time to answer because Rommie’s voice sounded in the room:

" I am sorry to intrude, but we are receiving a message."

"From whom?"

"You are not going to believe it. Cuchulain."

"Isn’t he dead?"

"Apparently not. Unfortunately."

"Give us two minutes and put it through here. Inform Tyr and Beka as well."

Two minutes later the vid screen lit up and the face of the former Fleet Marshall of the Drago-Katzov Empire Cuchulain Nez Pierce appeared on it, mouth twisted in a sneer and eyes slightly mad.

"Am I disturbing you, Captain?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact you are."

"Good."

"I was informed that you were dead."

"What can I say, Captain, the rumors of my demise were highly exaggerated. Anyway, to business at hand. I have two guests; I believe these misfits are members of what you call your crew."

"What do you want?"

"Not much, really. My life went downhill because of you, so I want revenge. I am challenging you to a fight, a duel if you will. Winner gets all. I’ll keep your engineer and the purple creature for insurance purposes. Don’t worry, I am not interested in harming them - yet. So, do you accept?"

"I want to see them."

Cuchulain stepped aside and allowed Trance and Harper to be seen. They looked fine, maybe a bit roughed up, but fine.

"Harper, are you all right?" Dylan made every effort not to sound anxious. Trance looked straight at Gillian and gave a slight nod. Her eyes darkened and Gillian saw the twirling stars and she knew that things are going the way they should.

Harper started to talk but Cuchulain cut him off: "You wanted to see them – you saw them. What’ll be, Hunt?"

"I accept. When and where?"

"You will receive coordinates within 24 hours. I am looking forward to killing you, Hunt." And the transmission was cut off.

Gillian stood up and started to get dressed, Dylan followed.

"Rommie," Gillian asked, "Please ask Tyr, Beka and Rev to meet Dylan and I in my office in half an hour."

Dylan looked at her questioningly, "What are you up to?"

"I have a plan."

* * *

"You want me to do WHAT?" Dylan looked incredulous.

"Actually," Tyr pointed, "it is well within the rules of a challenge. Assuming that Cuchulain would abide by those rules."

"What makes you think he would?"

"Well, his successor said that he lost too many battles to you, Dylan, so I would think he wants to restore his status within the Pride by delivering your head. And maybe mine as well, as an added bonus."

"So having Gillian fight for me will help the situation how?"

"First, it would be unexpected. Second, her abilities would definitely advantageous, and third…"

"Tyr, I appreciate your advocacy but I will speak for myself, thank you." Gillian stood up and began pacing the boardroom where their impromptu meeting was held.

"Dylan, there is a number of reasons why I want you to name me your champion for this fight. One, Tyr is right and it is the element of surprise. Two, I have my own bone to pick with this bastard and rather big one." She paused and her hand subconsciously went to the almost invisible but still present brand on her upper arm. "And three, I have skills that you do not and I am not talking about my "abilities". After all, I was trained by Samurai."

"Still it does not bide well with me. I can’t let you fight my battles."

"Dylan, for the love of the Divine, it is our battle, I am simply the one better suited to fight it."

Tyr looked at Gillian, concerned. "But the question is – would you be able to kill him?"

"I won’t have to. I plan on inflicting more … long-term damage then death."

Beka turned to Dylan, "your wife is brilliant! I think she found the way to out-Nietzschean the Nietzschean."

Rommie was nodding her agreement, but Tyr and Dylan looked puzzled.

"What are you talking about? Beka, Rommie, do you know something we don’t?" Dylan’s frustration was evident in his voice.

Gillian looked at them and smiled, "No, Beka didn’t know but she figured out what I want to do and so did Rommie. Reverend, this is where I would need your help. I saved a sample of the venom that made Tyr so ill two years ago. I want to modify it so it is not so lethal but just damaging. In another words, I want to make Cuchulain human. I want to take away all his genetic enhancements. For that I don’t have to kill him, all I need is to wound him and that I am perfectly capable of."

Rev bowed to Gillian: "I was always in favor of the non-violence. Your idea is, pardon the pun, just what the doctor ordered. I will begin work immediately." He bowed again and left for the lab.

Tyr looked at his sister, smiling at her with sheer pride, but Dylan was still frowning.

"It is a good idea, but I still don’t want you to fight."

Gillian lost her temper. "Dylan, damn it, it is my fight! Do you want me to remind you what this bastard and his goons did to me? What they did to you? Do you want me to forget this?" She ripped her shirtsleeve covering the brand on her arm and turned so he can take another look at it. Her eyes shone with angry tears. Tyr let out a low growl, seeing her mark again and Beka placed a hand on his trying to calm him.

Captain’s face was dark. "That was below the belt, Gillian. I didn’t deserve it." He turned away, looking at the stars in the porthole. Gillian came over and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her forehead on his back.

"I am sorry, love." She whispered, mindless of the people still in the room. "I didn’t want to hurt you, please forgive me. Please understand; I need to do it, for me, for us."

Hunt turned and pulled her close, holding her tight, as if afraid that she would disappear. "All right. But I reserve the right to step in at any time, is that clear?"

"Aye, Captain."

"Dylan, I am receiving another transmission from Cuchulain, data only."

"What is it?"

"We are to meet him in 36 hours on Achemar, the home world of Braeriach Pride. Apparently the Braeriach Alpha agreed to arbitrate the challenge."

"So, he is intended to play by the rules after all? Something is not right." Tyr shoo his head. "On the other hand, the Braeriach are respected among other Prides. And they are not related to the Drago-Katzov in any way."

Dylan looked at Tyr, "maybe you shouldn’t go with us. The contract is still out on you and it wouldn’t be safe."

"Do not insult me, Captain. I am going and it is final. Let’s go, Kludge, you need to practice."

"Are you volunteering for my punching bag, Uber?"

"We’ll se who shell have the honors of being the bag. Get moving!"



* * *

In thirty hours Andromeda was in geosynchronous orbit with Achemar. Dylan, Gillian, Tyr and Rommie took the Maru planet side. Rev and Beka remained onboard.

The group was met and escorted to the arena. There was still time left until appointed hour, so they were offered some refreshments. An older and imposing-looking Nietzschean approached, looking at them with interest but without animosity. He was accompanied by a number of males and females. All were dressed in red and green plaid kilts with one end folded and thrown over the shoulder and held by a large silver brooch.

"I am Alastair Dibh, of Braeriach Pride, out of Duncan by Fiona. I am the Alpha of this Pride."

"I am Captain Dylan Hunt of the Andromeda Ascendant. This is my wife and our Chief Medical Officer, Doctor Gillian Ratischer Hunt, our Weapons and Security Offices Tyr Anasazi and out ship’s Avatar Andromeda."

Alastair Dibh looked at Tyr. "So, you are the last Kodiak?"

"I am."

"Shame. I knew and respected your father."

Tyr nodded and turned away, obviously unwilling to continue down this venue of conversation. The Alpha saw that Gillian looked at him with interest.

"Do you find me fascinating, Kludge?"

"First, I suggest that you do not address me as Kludge, or there will be two challenges settled today. Second, I do find your appearance intriguing, you look exactly like a well-known ancient painting of Robert the Bruce."

"You seem to know your history, Kludge." He emphasized the word ‘Kludge’, goading Gillian. She looked at him and he felt like a noose was tightening around his throat. Ever so slightly, but surely his breathing became more and more difficult. Dylan placed a hand on Gillian’s shoulder and was about to intervene when a familiar voice sounded behind his back:

"Alastair, old friend, please tell me you didn’t make a mistake of calling Doctor Hunt a Kludge?"

Gillian turned away from Dibh and he gulped the air he was momentarily deprived of, looking wide-eyed at Gillian. She thought she recognized the voice and indeed, in a second she was being embraced by Archduke Charlemagne Bolivar. He was accompanied by his usual flamboyant entourage and the place suddenly felt too small. He greeted their host and turned to Dylan and Tyr. Hunt raised an eyebrow at him:

"How exactly did you find out and why are you here?"

"Grapevine, Dylan, grapevine. Besides, things have been disgustingly peaceful lately, I need good entertainment." Patting Dylan’s shoulder he leaned into Hunt’s ear, ignoring Rommie’s near-scowl, "I knew you don’t have an army, but I do. Braeriach are neutral but I don’t trust Cuchulain not to have plans for an ambush." Dylan nodded his appreciation.

Finally the challenging party has arrived and everyone was asked to take their places.

Alastair Dibh announced the challenge of Captain Dylan Hunt by Cuchulain Nez Pierce.

"The challenge is to be settled in one-on-one combat. No firearms allowed; all other weapons permitted. Each of the combatants may name his champion."

Gillian stepped forward. "I, Gillian Ratischer Hunt, out of Marianna by Jonathan will champion my husband."

The Great Hall of the Braeriach hummed in surprise. It was not forbidden but absolutely unheard of that a female would champion her mate, unless it was to fight off another, undesirable, female. The murmur stopped when Cuchulain smirked and a young man stepped forward.

"I, Hojo Shigetoki of Samurai Pride, out of Takeko by Mitamura will champion Cuchulain Nez Pierce."

Alastair Dibh looked around and spoke: "The duel shell commence in one hour."



* * *

"Gillian, you must let me fight him! I can’t let you do it, not with a Samurai."

"Dylan," Tyr interrupted, "as much as I agree with you that she shouldn’t fight him, it is too late. If she backs out you loose and will be killed."

"I will be fine, love, don’t worry." Gillian kissed Dylan hard on the lips and walked on to the arena. Her opponent came out almost at the same time. Gillian turned to Alastair Dibh:

"Honorable Arbiter! Cuchulain is holding two members of our crew hostage. His explanation was that he wanted the assurance that we will respond to his challenge. We are here and I am ready to fight so I request that the hostages are released immediately."

"Your request is granted. Bring in the hostages."

Several moments later Trance and Harper were brought in and seated next to Tyr and Dylan.

Gillian and Shigetoki stood facing each other. Gillian placed her arms in front of her, palms pressed together in prayer-like fashion. She bowed to her adversary and spoke in the same strange language she used on Jaguar when she first met Koyasaba. He looked at her in total astonishment and replied, bowing as well:

"How do you know the tongue of the Samurai?’

"I was trained an mentored by Hiroshi Yamamoto and I had the honor of doing Dance of the Fans with Hirohito Koyasaba."

"Were you born on Samurai?"

"No, but my mother was one of the gaiji-ka."

"Hiroshi was my older half-brother. When our father requested our presence he obeyed and I didn’t. That is why I am alive today. If Hiroshi trained you it makes you my sister, I cannot fight you."

Shigetoki turned and bowed to Alastair. "Honorable Arbiter. I have just discovered that this woman was trained and mentored by my brother. By the code of Samurai it makes her my sister and I cannot fight her." He bowed again and stepped back.

"Very well. Since you refuse to fight I declare it forfeit. Cuchulain Nez Pierce, you loose. You will leave Achemar and you will never challenge Captain Hunt again."

Cuchulain’s face twisted in a mask of hatred and disdain. He yelled, "I will not be ridiculed for the rest of my life because of your stupid code!" Pulling out a knife he threw it at Shigetoki’s back. Gillian instinctively raised her hand and made a sweeping motion and the knife twisted and turned in the air and imbedded in Cuchulain’s chest. Blood poured out of his mouth and Gillian walked over and stood, looking at his convulsing body. Bending down she said:

"I was not going to kill you, Cuchulain, I just wanted to punish you. You brought it on yourself and now you will rot in hell." She turned and left the arena.

* * *

Back on Andromeda Gillian sat in her office thinking when the doors hissed open and she heard footsteps. Thinking it was Rev Bem with yet another attempt to talk to her she said:

"Sorry I have disappointed you, Rev. There was no other way."

"I am not Rev and you didn’t disappoint me. You saved me." Dylan hugged her and held her for a while.

Gillian looked at him and asked, "Do you have a moment?"

"Sure. What do you need?"

"I am meeting Trance in Medical in a minute. She is going to remove this," and she pointed at her brand, "and I could use a hand to hold. I hate needles."

"I always have time when you need your hand held, you know that! Let’s go."

They left the room and Dylan put his arm around Gillian’s shoulders. As difficult as the events of the past days were, they gave both of them long- awaited closure. And that was a good thing.

* * *

"Dylan, I still don’t understand why I should dress up if we are having dinner at my father’s house! Not like anyone is going to be there, it seems like all my friends were stricken with selective amnesia pertaining exclusively to my birthday!"

"Oh, and I don’t count? C’mon, don’t be like that!"

"Ok, ok, fine. I am doing it for you only, because I certainly have no mood for celebrations."

"Thank you. I hope that your mood changes for better, after all it is not good to be upset on your birthday."

By the time Dylan docked the shuttle in the spaceport and they got the transport to Jonathan’s house it was already dark. The door was open but no one was home and the note left on the coffee table read:

"Had an emergency, will return in an hour, Jonathan." Gillian was almost crying. Dylan tapped his sub vocal implant several times and turned to Gillian:

"Let’s take a walk on the beach, you need to calm down a little."

Feeling that she had nothing to loose Gillian agreed. They left the house through the back door and headed for the beach. When they approached the dune that separated the grassy area from the sand and water Dylan tapped his implant again. This time Gillian noticed.

"Dylan, what are you doing?"

"Oh, nothing."

No sooner then he said that the lights went on over the expanse of the beach and Gillian saw that it was full of people. The multy-voiced yell "Surprise!" almost gave her a heart attack. She was laughing and crying at the same time. She was overwhelmed by hugs, kisses and good wishes. The buffet tables were overflowing with food and drink, the music was lively and beautiful. Gillian was amazed how they managed to keep a secret from her for so long, it was obvious the party took a lot of planning.

Tyr came up to her and pulled her on to the dance floor.

"I thought you needed a break."

"Thanks, Uber."

"Anytime, Kludge. Happy Birthday!" He kissed her cheek and they continued dancing, but soon she heard "May I cut in?" And without waiting for an answer the intruder pulled her away from Tyr and she found herself dancing with Bolivar.

"Your Highness, I am honored by your presence!"

"Darling, how many times should I tell you – call me Charlemagne!"

"Very well, your Highness, I will!"

He groaned and Gillian laughed. Several minutes later her father cut in, then Darren, Harper, and basically every other male guest. Finally Dylan got hold of her. The music turned to a slow, sensual tune and he swayed her gently in rhythm. He looked at her face and smiled, his happiness reflecting hers. To soon the song was over, but the band didn’t start another. Trance took the microphone and announced:

"Bring in the cake, please!"

The lights dimmed and Gillian saw huge cake being brought in, alight with candles. She looked at Dylan, surprised:

"I know I am not a baby, but I am definitely not that old!"

Trance answered her before Dylan could:

"You see, we didn’t put candles for your years. We put a candle for each life you saved, for each soul you touched. To be honest, there was not enough room to fit them all."

Gillian felt her throat tightened. She was so touched by this display of affection form her friends and family she was at a loss of words, so when the crowd started chanting "Speech! Speech!" she got up on the small stage and said:

"I am so overwhelmed by all this, I really don’t know what to say. But there is one thing I can do for you all."

She walked over to the piano and sat down, adjusted the microphone and began singing. She sang her favorite old Earth jazz for about an hour, the band happily following her lead. When she finished the bandleader whispered, "If you ever consider changing careers, look me up! I’ll always have a job for you."

She was about to walk down from the stage when Dylan came up and stopped her.

"We forgot one more thing, love."

"What?"

"Your present!"

"Dylan, this celebration was more then enough!"

"Still, we have a present for you!" He handed her a flexi. When she looked at him, not knowing what was she supposed to do with it, Dylan turned the flexi on and Gillian saw a picture of a beautiful ship, long and sleek, like an arrow. Still, she didn’t understand, and he explained to her, smiling:

"This is your ship. Harper and Perseid engineers designed it and it was built on Sintii. She is a flying hospital, a medical relief vessel. Now if you are needed somewhere you don’t have to depend on Andromeda or the Maru to get you there, plus this ship has all the medical technology Andromeda does."

"What’s her name?"

"Well, since she is yours it is up to you to christen her."

"I will call her ‘Sakura’. Thank you, Dylan, thank you all." She came down from the stage and everyone was waiting to hug her and wish her well again. Some time later she found Dylan.

"Thank you so much for the wonderful birthday! I love you, Dylan!"

"And I you, Gillian."

And as he kissed her the sun started to rise on the pale purple sky over the cerulean water, beginning the new day, promising new adventures.



The End.