"Range to target?" "Fifty light seconds and moving away." "Get me a heading." "Getting." "040 minus 20 degrees." "Maintain contact with the Castalian fleet." "On my mark, come about 80 degrees." "Mark." "Mark." "Mark." "The Castalians are finally engaging the enemy." "It's up to them now." "All we can do is watch." "Ah, crap, that's one fish down." "Two fish." "Red fish, blue fish - it's a freakin' fish fry." "The Castalians aren't deploying countermeasures." "They're being decimated." "This is stupid." "These water-breathers are hopeless." "Missiles away." "There, now." "Objective destroyed." "Damn it, Tyr." "Andromeda, report." "The enemy destroyer was eliminated, but Castalian casualties are still high." "5 of their ships are down, the planet was bombarded." "That's a LOTTA sushi." "It's *NOT* funny, Beka." "Pretty darn funny from here." "Look, if you're all finished insulting our allies, might I remind you that the point of these training exercises..." "is to improve their morale, not destroy it." "Look, Dylan, if you think Aquaman and the Silver Surfer here, are gonna help you stop the Magog you may as well start basting yourself with steak sauce now and avoid the rush." "I dunno." "Aquaman." "Silver Surfer...?" "Did you people ever go to school?" "No classical education whatsoever." "Rommie, how many target drones did you deploy?" "Five, why?" "I'm reading an unidentified object." "It just threaded its way through the entire Castalian fleet." "And they didn't stop it?" "What a complete surprise." "Dylan, the bogey reads as a modified Alacritous Missive courier vessel." "That's a High Guard ship." "And it's hailing us." "On-screen." "This is Lieutenant Jamahl Rodriguez Hernandez Brown." "I'm looking for Captain Dylan Hunt." "This is Dylan Hunt." "Oh, wow." "OH, WOW!" ", Broat is gonna SPIT that I found you first!" "I mean, uh,..." "I'mroat sorry, SIR!" "What is this all about, Lieutenant?" "I have a message for you, sir." "It's from your fiancée, Sarah Riley." "My fiancée has been dead for more than two hundred years." "Yes, sir." "I know, sir." "It's a very old message, sir." "Permission to come aboard, sir?" "I've been out here a long time." "I think the Castalians are targeting me." "Rommie?" "One pilot, no passengers, defensive weapons only." "He looks clean." "Bring him in and keep him under guard." "Send that message to my quarters." "Hello, Dylan." "I probably shouldn't be doing this." "I argued myself out of it a dozen times, but I wanted you to know ...I survived." "And I did as you asked." "I got on with my life." "I got married." "We have a good life More than that." "Dylan, it's bad out there." "But knowing you'll be back someday to make things right helps." "So I just wanted to say "Thank you"." "Be well, Dylan." "I wish you every happiness." "Do you want me to play it again?" "No, that'll be all." "She was a remarkable woman." "Yes." "She, uh, she was." "Rev Bem is in hydroponics." "Do you want me to..." "I don't need counseling, Rommie." "I'm fine." "You don't look fine." "Then have Harper check your visual sensors, because that was the best message I could have gotten." "I mean, after all this time I can stop worrying about her." "She's OK. *WAS* OK." "You know what I mean." "Send the, uh, Lieutenant to my quarters." "I have a few questions I want to ask him." "It's called Terazed." "It's the fourth rock out from a yellow dwarf at the ass end of the Triangulum galaxy." "Excuse my Vedran." "Excused." "I've never heard of Terazed." "Who has?" "They get more visitors on Gehenna." "Anyway, as far as I know, we're the last refuge of the Systems Commonwealth." "Uh, we've got a conclave, triumvirs, a Home Guard - everything but the Vedran Empress..." "One planet coming through the chaos intact." "How?" "Beats me." "I wasn't there." "But my great-great-great-great-grandparents were." "They were war refugees - from here, mostly." "Survivors from the Andromeda Ascendant..." "And from the Starry Wisdom." "And their wives and their kids and their cousins and their uncles and... well, Sarah Riley rounded up anybody who's ever even heard of you and settled them on Terazed." "And we've been waiting for you ever since." "Waiting for him to do what?" "Restart the Commonwealth, of course." "Sarah Riley said you'd be back, and she was right." "Beka, status." "This isn't a slipstream route, it's a rabbit hole." "How do these people get mail?" "Jamahl says Terazed's hard to find." "It's why they've survived all this time." "Yeah, sure, that explains everything." "No chance they've been left alone because... they're a bunch of cannibals or killer robots or..." "Harper!" "What?" "!" "You gonna say I'm wrong?" "Come on, every single High Guard remnant we've encountered has been psychotic, evil, or both." "Present company excluded, of course." "Of course." "He has a point, Dylan." "Once bitten...you know." "I" " I mean, I'm just saying that we shouldn't get all kissy-huggy-smoochy-woochy just because we like the cut of their uniforms." "Point taken." "We'll go in with our eyes open, but we *are* going in." "Assuming normal cruising speed." "I'm detecting a Sol-like system with 12 planets, 1 inhabitable." "Uh, guys?" "We've got company." "They look like warships." "Oh, I knew it." "I knew it!" "We're surrounded..." "...thirty-six slipfighters." "Pull yourself together, Mr. Harper." "Oh, sure, take your time." "Don't shoot at them or anything." "Dylan, they're moving into formation." "It's not an attack." "It's an honor guard." "Incoming message." "On-screen." "Captain Hunt, welcome." "I am Rakel Ben-Tzion, first Triumvir of Terazed." "We've taken the liberty of sending Argosy Squadron Alpha to escort you planetside." "I hope you like marching bands." "Andromeda, analysis." "Is the Madame Triumvir a killer android or not?" "Who cares?" "What a babe." "Stop being so predictable." "Intercepting planetary communications and analyzing." "Free press." "They're talking about a local election." "From all evidence, Terazed seems to be exactly what it seems to be:" "a peaceful, productive democracy." "Your Commonwealth." "Take us in." "Ok, it's official." "I like this place." "I liked the conclave, I liked the Grand Plaza, and I *really* liked all those Home Guard lancers lined up for my personal inspection." "I'm glad you enjoyed the parade." "Well, even the aerial displays..." "it was all a little overwhelming." "Well, if it was up to me, there would have been midtoks and elephants." "But expenditures like that have to be approved by the full counsel." "Well, maybe next time, Madame Triumvir." "Please, call me Rakel." "And you can call me Dylan." ""Dylan" it is." "Which is the furthest?" "The most distant world in the new Commonwealth?" "Well, distance is relative in slipstream." "Why?" "I want to go there." "Do you know, I've never been off this planet?" "Well, I think we can arrange a trip." "Dylan, may I steal you away for a moment?" "Privately." "Ooooh." "Oh." "Oh, Ok." "Ok, this is where you, uh, you get him away from us so your pals there can, uh, whip out laser mind-probes and crack our skulls open, huh?" "Am I right?" "He's sweet." "Paranoid, but sweet." "It's, uh, been a tough year." "Yeah, my crew's used to having the other shoe drop." "And frankly, so am I." "Dismissed." "Five minutes." "Draw your weapon if it makes you feel better." "But there are some people I want you to meet." "Five minutes." "Ladies and gentleman, it is my great privilege to present..." "Captain Dylan Hunt." "Dylan, the descendants of Sarah Riley." "Captain, I believe you've met Lieutenant Brown?" "Yes, I have." "Excuse me a moment." "Really the whole Andromeda Association wanted to meet you, but Madame Triumvir said that ...there wasn't a room big enough in the whole city." "Jamahl, you're descended from Sarah?" "I'm her great-grandson, cubed." "Nine generations, direct line." "And all these people?" "These are her kids' kids'...." "kids' kids' kids' kids but this is nothing." "You should see the Society of Starry Wisdom." "There were that many survivors." "There are survivors and the families of those who didn't make it." "Lieutenant Refractions of Dawn must've had a thousand descendants, but then she was a Than." "This is unbelievable." "I just had my genealogy downloaded." "Do you wanna see it?" "Yes." "Yes, I would like that." "Lieutenant, are you monopolizing the guest of honor?" "No, ma'am." "At least I didn't think that I was." "Madame Triumvir." "Rhade!" "I tried to warn you." "I hate to barge in on such a historic event, but I couldn't get away from my staff meeting." "Not at all, Admiral." "Dylan, this is the commander of Terazed's Home Guard," "Admiral Telemachus Rhade." "Rhade." "Captain." "It's an honor." "I've heard of Nietzschean genetic reincarnation." "I've just never seen a documented case." "It's quite rare, but it does happen." "My own father had almost identical DNA to a Kodiak alpha..." "Suleiman." "And according to legend, one day Drago Museveni himself will be reincarnated and reunite the Nietzschean people." "Come on, Tyr, what are the odds?" "My own first officer reincarnated on a planet settled by my fiancée?" "The chance of a specific human DNA combination reoccurring is approximately 1 : 3x10 to the fifteenth power." "Telemachus Rhade isn't just any human." "He's the product of sixteen centuries of selective breeding." "Homo sapiens invictus have the same number of chromosomes as unmodified homo sapiens." "Yes, but a smaller sampling." "No Nietzschean carries the gene for astigmatism, acromegalia, arterial sclerosis." "You combine that with extensive safeguards against mutation and what you've got is And the odds are STILL in the trillions." "It's a big universe." "Yeah, and a bigger coincidence." "You know, I don't trust coincidences..." "especially ones named Rhade." "You should never trust any Nietzschean." "Except me." "And while the Vedran Empress was the System Commonwealth's titular ruler, actual authority was exercised by three elected triumvirs, which is still the case in Terazed today." "But, as with the original Commonwealth, the triumvir's power was not absolute." "The people also elected a tricameral legislative body called a Conclave." "That is why there must be a general election if Terazed is going to sign Dylan's charter." "Yeesh." "Gimme a nice simple dictatorship any day." "Then, at least when things go wrong, you know who to hang." "You're just saying that because you've never lived in a democracy." "I think free elections sound like fun." "Please!" "There is no such thing as a free election." "Inexpensive, maybe - occasionally." "But free?" "Never." "Harper, you're so Cynical?" "Jaded?" "Realistic?" "No, I was going to say "...cute when you're paranoid."" "Wait a minute." "That's a compliment." "You're trying to distract me." "You know how this election's gonna turn out, don't you, Trance?" "Come on, spill it." "Everyone knows how the election's going to turn out." "It's a slam dunk." "They've been waiting generations to rejoin the Commonwealth." "I can't imagine them going against Dylan." "Yeah?" "Well there's nothing wrong with a little insurance." "I say I jack into their VR matrix and, uh, rig a few tallies stuff some ballot boxes." "Hey, it is a time honored system." "It's an integral part of the democracies I've read about." "Fine." "Fine." "But I woulda made a great king." "It doesn't have to be a long speech." "You wouldn't have to write it yourself." "I have people for that sort of thing." "Would your people really care what I have to say?" "I'm just a stranger here." "You're much more than that, Dylan." "You're a legend." "And, uh, if I may be so bold, an extremely charismatic and attractive individual." "Who better to champion this referendum?" "Why do we even need to do this?" "I thought the outcome was assured." "The truth is, there's a strong isolationist movement on Terazed." "We have a good life here and some people don't want to send their sons and daughters ...away to die in your war." "Well, then the war will come to them." "Then you have to tell them that, Dylan." "Because right now the election is too close to call and I could use your help." "Nicely done, Captain Hunt." "Your speech was very impressive." "Thank you." "I'm, uh, not much of a politician." "I'm just a soldier." "Don't underestimate your powers as a leader." "Do you have a moment?" "Do you have a moment?" "For my best man?" "Always." "About that." "There must be better candidates." "What about Refractions of Dawn?" "Best man?" "Best insectoid hermaphrodite." "You know, it just doesn't have quite the same ring to it, does it?" "Look, there is no one on this ship..." "Hell, there's no one in the known worlds that I trust more." "I want you at my side at my wedding." "Think you can take me?" "Magog." "Yes." "Yeah, "best insectoid hermaphrodite" sounds a lot better." "Commander?" "Rhade!" "I tried to warn you." "Dylan." "I asked if you wanted a drink." "I suspect you wanted to ask me something else." "My ancestor, Gaheris Rhade." "Here on Terazed, he's something of a hero, you know, a loyal Commonwealth officer, dead in that first terrible battle." "I lost a lot of good people that day." "The Nietzscheans tell a different story." "That he betrayed the Commonwealth." "You're the only person alive who knows the truth." "You know, I, uh, I think I'll take that drink." "You were there." "At least tell me what happened." "Tell me what he did." "He tried to warn me." "For what it's worth, he tried to warn me about the rebellion, and by the time I listened, it was too late." "So he was a hero after all." "That means a lot to me." "Thank you." "I just wish we weren't on opposite sides." "So he was a hero after all." "That means a lot to me." "Thank you." "I just wish we weren't on opposite sides." "Opposite sides of what?" "I thought you knew." "I'm opposed to the Commonwealth referendum." "But you are Commonwealth." "All of you." "Terazed has been waiting for this day for three hundred years." "And we're still here after three hundred years." "Because we haven't let the chaos out there touch us." "Because no one knows we exist." "Yeah, for now, but that will change sooner or later." "The later the better, as far as I'm concerned." "You have powerful enemies, Captain." "So do you, Admiral." "The Magog are coming." "You can't deny them out of existence." "No, but I can keep us out of their crosshairs." "I'm sorry." "It's my duty to protect Terazed and I'm not going to let anyone compromise that." "You should see the armaments they have stockpiled." "Dozens of shrike fighters just sitting in hangars." "Janus light attack drones, Oracles, Centaurs." "But you know what it is that I really want?" "An avatar unencumbered by cleavage?" "A real crew." "I used to have 800 lancers stationed on me." "Yes, and I can imagine the eavesdropping potential." "I never eavesdrop." "I monitor." "For security purposes." "And besides... oh no." "What is it?" "The election results just came in." "Dylan, they voted against your restored Commonwealth." "We lost." "That's just great." "You can't just leave." "My people need you." "Well, that's not what they said yesterday." "They were misled - misinformed." "You can talk to them." "I already did." "I don't have any more time to waste here." "Dylan, you're not wasting your time." "I promise." "I can call another election." "Yeah, in a year." "I read your constitution." "Your hands are tied." "Not necessarily." "I can declare a planetary emergency." "Under what cause?" "Rakel, I appreciate your efforts, but I have three years to build an alliance against the Magog." "When things start to get serious, your people will change their minds." "Please." "A day or two - that's all I need." "Don't give up on us now." "Talk to him." "Talk to Rhade." "I didn't realize this "basketball" was so violent." "Perhaps there is a more productive way to express your disappointment." "Give it up, Rev. I'm NOT going to talk to him." "Why?" "Because Telemachus Rhade's great-great-great-grandfather betrayed you?" "No!" "Because Telemachus betrayed me." "He broadsided me by campaigning against the restored Commonwealth." "Rev, you know what?" "I'm getting a little tired of... being stabbed in the back by Rhade's." "Perhaps." "But maybe you should try to see things through his eyes." "Oh, please!" "Telemachus Rhade was wounded twice defending Terazed against Kalderan raiders." "Well, you know, then maybe I should give him a call, huh?" "Dylan, one of those raids resulted in the deaths of thousands of people." "The isolationists are not evil." "They are merely afraid." "Code Blue." "All hands report to Command." "Magog swarm ships have been sighted in the outer system." "You have GOT to be kidding." "Andromeda, report." "Four unknown targets with rad signatures identical to Magog swarm ships." "Terazed's sensor satellites just picked them up doing a fly-by of the fifth planet" "Hello, Fate..." "God... whoever..." "I just want to officially note it on my personal record that, uh, mentally, I am not ready for another round of Magog-a-Go-Go." "Focus, Harper." "Nothing's buried itself in our hull yet." "YET." "Three little letters, so much pain." "Trance, get the Home Guard commander on-screen." "Getting." "Admiral, there are four Mago swarm ships in the outer system." "I know." "You led them right to us." "A:" "That is not true, and B:" "We can point fingers later." "Right now, I'm launching everything we've got, and it's not going to be enough." "I need your help." "That's why we're still here." "I'm transferring Triumvir's Honor Guard to your command - ships and lancers." "Beka, best speed to the outer system." "Tell the triumvir's fighters to..." "Captain, what's going on?" "My pilots..." "Your pilots are responding to a military emergency, and if you've got a problem with that then get off my Command Center." "Attention." "Attention." "All hands report to battle stations." "You." "Assist on fire control." "What are you doing?" "He's in my Honor Guard." "Your troops are training in a High Guard simulator." "It's time to put that training to use." "Unless, of course, you wanted to invite the Magog in for dinner?" "Eighty light-seconds, Captain." "Deploy fighters." "Understood." "Aye-Aye." "Here we go, baby." "This is the one." "You can't just go in there blasting." "What about casualties?" "Magog casualties?" "Our casualties." "Those boys out there." "They're guardsmen." "This is what they do." "Captain, the swarm ships appear to be moving off." "Vectoring away." "Three-one-two degrees." "Magog scampering?" "That's too easy." "Hey, I like gift horses!" "Full sensor scan." "Break it off." "We're standing down." "What?" "Are you serious?" "Come on!" "At least let's blow one up." "They're leaving!" "Standing down." "Dylan, one of the fighters is pealing off." "It's chasing the Magog." "And it's hailing us." "Lieutenant Brown reporting." "I've engaged the enemy, sir." "Return to the Andromeda, Jamahl." "We're breaking off pursuit." "I can take 'em, Captain." "Just give me the word." "The word is "No"." "I'm not some outworld hick." "I'm the one who found you, remember?" "I said "Stand down"." "Do you copy, Lieutenant?" "Tyr, I want covering fire... point defense lasers." "Andromeda, plot an intercept course." "Harper, bucky cables at the ready." "Nice shot, kid." "Uh-oh." "He's headed straight for that piece of junk." "Jamahl, pull up!" "Reverse thrusters!" "Amateur." "Andromeda." "Andromeda, do you read me?" "Condition's critical." "Get him back now!" "That is our objective." "He's in an uncontrolled spin." "We're within 500 thousand kilometers of the slipfighter." "Launch harpoon." "He's losing it." "Gone." "He's gone." "Beka, get us out of here." "Trance, take the triumvir back  to guest quarters, please." "But, I  Thank you." "I'm sorry." "Andromeda, I want a full analysis of that debris - electromagnetic, spectrographic, hell - get me a breathalyzer test on its pilot." "What's up, boss?" "Swarm ships come out of nowhere, do nothing, then leave for no reason?" "Magog don't sightsee." "Dylan, those swarm ships...the rad signature was correct, but the one Lieutenant Brown destroyed it had no pilot." "Also, no slip drive and no weapons." "A drone." "No." "It's a dummy." "There's more." "Analysis of the debris indicates the vessel was constructed in the local star system." "That attack didn't come from the Magog world ship." "It was launched from Terazed itself." "You sure about that?" "I've checked and rechecked and double-rechecked the trajectories and... the Magog swarm ships came from Argosy Station Terazed." "The Home Guard's command center." "And Telemachus Rhade's home base." "Have Triumvir Ben-Tzion meet me in my quarters immediately." "That poor child." "He was one of Sarah's." "Yes, I know." "Maybe Telemachus was right." "It is too dangerous." "Maybe I should just let him take over." "Let him take over?" "Rakel, what's going on here?" "Something's happening down on Terazed." "I can't reach the High Council." "Second Triumvir Cooper is "in conference"." "Cooper never confers with anyone." "Andromeda?" "Communications channels to Terazed are still open, but none of the government offices are responding." "Communications freeze." "My sources on the ground tell me they're mobilizing the Home Guard." "There are troops on the street in the Capitol." "So you're saying Telemachus faked that attack so he'd have a reason to mobilize his troops." "And now he's mounting a military coup." "This is my fault." "I should have been ready for this." "But I didn't want to believe the reports." "What reports?" "My operations department intercepted a number of coded transmissions from Telemachus's secured line, including one right before the fake Magog attack." "Launch commands." "I can't believe Rhade would do something like this." "He's loyal as a dog." "Yeah, maybe." "Troops in the street, the triumvirate held incommunicado." "Gaheris Rhade destroyed the Commonwealth once." "I'm not gonna stand by and watch another Rhade destroy it all over again." "So, what are you going to do?" "The same thing General Sani nax Rifati did 6000 years ago." "I'm gonna get the military out of the republic." "Time to give Telemachus Rhade a little history lesson." "I told you before." "Pessimism is not a survival trait." "Dylan, incoming message from Admiral Rhade." "On my way." "Andromeda, on-screen." "We have to talk." "I would call that an understatement." "What the hell's going on down there?" "You've got troops in the conclave." "I can explain everything." "Let me come on board." "You and the Third Lancer Regiment?" "Not likely." "I can't argue with Mr. Anasazi." "No lancers, Dylan." "Just the two of us." "Andromeda, hold transmission." "Transmission held." "If we can manage to bring him up..." "Clear the deck." "Dylan, no offense, but..." "I know what I'm doing." "I strongly doubt that." "Let me stay." "Maybe he'll listen to his triumvir." "This isn't a debate." "I have questions and  I'm gonna get answers." "Now get off my deck!" "Andromeda, activate screen." "Transmission reestablished." "Admiral, about that meeting you wanted permission granted." "Status." "He's outside the door, Dylan." "And he's alone." "Is he armed?" "One High Guard force lance." "Let him in." "Initiate privacy mode." "But Dylan..." "Don't start with me." "I understand why you did it, Dylan." "Believe me, I do." "You've got this all wrong." "Do I?" "I know how important that election was to you." "You know, last I looked, I wasn't the one with troops in the streets." "Is that how you want to play this?" "I am not playing at anything." "Neither am I." "Rhade!" "Listen to me!" "You could have killed me." "You didn't." "Why not?" "Same reason you didn't kill me." "Because we both know who the real criminal is." "Ceremonial visits to the shipyard, coded transmissions on her private line, and cargo manifests in her brother's name." "If the information your A.I. uncovered is true, she's been planning this for months." "She knew that her scouts would locate me eventually and bring me to Terazed..." "And instituted a contingency plan in case it didn't go her way." "Think you can verify this evidence independently?" "Terazed is with free press." "It's hard to hide things." "It's harder to fake them." "Rommie could falsify data like this easily." "Hell, if I wanted to, I could make it... look like you were behind the whole thing." "And then you'd get everything you wanted, wouldn't you?" "The isolationists would be disgraced." "There'd be a new election." "Terazed would join the new Commonwealth." "And you'd go to prison." "As cost-benefit ratios go, it's got a lot to recommend it." "Betray an innocent me, gain the world, and lose..." "lose what, Mr. Rhade?" "It's what I would do." "All right, let's end this." "Triumvir Ben-Tzion, you're under arrest." "Dylan, please." "We want the same thing." "No, we don't." "Eternal life grant unto him and may perpetual life shine upon him." "I think I finally understand what happened to my ancestor." "Good." "So do I." "And tell your Aunt Connie it is fine with me if she wants to give you away, but I am not going to salute her if she insists on wearing pink taffeta." "And I..." "Come." "About this best man job." "Uh, yes?" "Does it always involve drunken bachelor parties and half-naked dancing girls?" "Pretty much, yeah." "Hmmm." "In that case, I accept." "Good." "I'm glad." "Thank you, Dylan." "It's an honor to serve with you." "And an honor to be your friend." "Did I do the right thing, Rommie?" "Throwing it all away like that." "You mean by arresting Rakel Ben-Tzion instead of Telemachus Rhade." "Yeah." "I try not to dwell on what's right and what's wrong." "It slows my processors." "Still, one innocent man convicted, one guilty woman set free in exchange for a fleet, a crew, the ability to protect Terazed and a thousand other worlds from a genuine horror." "One act of betrayal to save the universe." "It seems a small price to pay, doesn't it?" "Be well, Dylan." "I'm doing my best, Sarah." "I'm doing my best."