I would like to thank Gordan AI for Beta-reading this,
something that you will appreciate the scope of when the story ends.
Echoes of future past, part 1: Dreams of the past
Harper was frown from his feet as another explosion rocked the Andromeda. He grabbed the wall for support, "Rommie, what going on?" The AI failed to answer. He called out, "Can anyone hear me?" he voice echoed along the corridor.
"Harper! Get your butt down here now!" a voice replied.
Harper ran towards it, "Beka!" he rounded a corner to find the first officer leaning on Rommie, a bundle in her arms, "What’s going on?"
Rommie looked up, "Magog swarm ship’s! They’ve taken out command."
Harper stopped cold, "Tyr? Dylan?" Rommie shook her head.
Another explosion shook them, and a support beam gave way, pinning Beka to the deck. She screamed in pain as Harper and Rommie tried to lift it, but it wouldn’t budge. Beka grabbed Harper and stuffed the bundle into his arms, "Keep him safe for me!" He was about to respond when Beka closed her eyes.
Rommie grabbed Harper by the arm, "It’s too late for her: we have to get to the Maru!"
Harper looked down at the bundle: it was a small baby. He looked at Rommie, "What happened to Trance?"
The Avatar shrugged as she pulled him along, "I don’t know: she said something about making it all right, then disappeared right in fount of me. We have to go now: the slipstream core is rigged to blow!"
They made it to the Maru, and Harper strapped himself into the pilots seat; "Hold tight!" He opened the engines full, sending the cargo ship out of the hanger like a round from a Gauss Rifle. He looked round in time to see the Andromeda explode, taking two Magog ship’s with it. Turning his back on the carnage, Harper took the ship into slipstream.
Harper woke with a start. He tried to slow his breathing down before he hyperventilated. His sheets where soaked with sweat.
He swallowed hard as there was a knock at the door, "Harper, are you ok?"
He took a deep breath, "I’m ok Rommie, just another nightmare."
The door opened and his friend walked in and sat down next to him, "Same one?"
Harper nodded, "You’d think that after 20-years I’d be able to shake it."
Rommie put her hand in his should reassuringly, "Don’t worry: if this all works out today, it’ll never have happened."
Harper nodded, "I hope so."
Time Jump
Harper followed Rommie to the Maru’s bridge, and stopped behind the pilot’s seat, "We ready for the last jump?"
A tall, well built Nietzschean sat at the controls, "Ready when you are."
Harper double backed to the engine room while Rommie took the sensor station, "Ok, the ECM-generator is powered up. Takes us in Ryan."
The pilot nodded, and activated the slipstream drive. The Maru weaved its way through the slipstream smoothly. Rommie smiled, "Your mother would have been proud of you Ryan: you're as good as she was."
Ryan smiled, "Thank you."
The ship exited slipstream, and Rommie took Ryan’s place at the controls, "Ok, it will take me a few minuets to match the course and speed needed. You better go see if Harper’s ready."
Ryan squeezed her shoulder, "Thank you for all you’ve done for me over the years."
Rommie laughed, "Your farther would have had a fit if he’d ever heard you say something like that."
Ryan smiled, "It must be my human side. Goodbye."
Rommie squeezed his hand, "Good luck."
Harper was busy tweaking the controls of his latest creation when Ryan found him, "Are you sure this thing will work?"
Harper took a step back and admired his handwork, "It worked before, and it’ll work again."
Ryan leaned against the handrail, "Yes, but last time you had a quantum commuter and a black hole: this time you’ve got a cobbled together computer attached to the Maru’s drive system and a point-singularity bomb."
Harper shook his head, "It’s all just a question of scale: I sent Dylan back 303-years where as you only need to go back 21-years. It’ll work. Trust in the Harper, the Harper is good."
Ryan smiled, "That’s easy for you to say: you’re not the one making the trip, I am!"
Harper was about to respond when Rommie’s voice came over the PA-system, "Make it quick you two: I’ve gotten us into position, but we have three Magog ship’s inbound, all packing point-singularity weapons."
Ryan jumped into the teleporter, "Time to do your work Mr Wizard."
Harper nodded, "Good luck kid." He pressed the controls, and Ryan disappeared.
He reappeared two meters in the air above the Andromeda’s hydroponics bay. He hit the ground with a thump, "Ouch! Nice one Harper!"
Sirens started going off, "Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert! Intruder: identify your self!"
Ryan raised himself up on his hands and knees, "Override code: Tango Charley Brake 10 Bravo."
The sirens stopped, "Override code accepted. Identify your self!" Andromeda sounded confused.
Ryan laughed, "That could take a while I’m afraid."
"Feel free to take your time. How did you get on my ship?"A forcelance tapped him on the shoulder.
Ryan turned round to find that he was looking at a man he had only seen in photos, "Captain Hunt I presume?" He saw Rommie and Harper standing by the door, "They sent me: I’m here to stop your ship being destroyed in 8-mounths. I’m here to save your life."
Voice from the Future
Dylan’s forcelance remain steady as Ryan slowly got to his feet, "Why should I believe you?"
Ryan smiled, "I’m going to slowly reach into my pocket and take out a flexi. Once you’ve seen it, you can make your own decision."
Dylan nodded. Ryan slowly lowered his hand to his side and reached into his pocket and pulled out a flexi, and handed it to Dylan, who activated it.
Rommie’s face appeared, "Hello Dylan. If you’re seeing this, then Harpers plan worked, and Ryan made it back in one piece. It’s hard for me to record this message: from my point of view, you’ve been dead over 20-years. If this work as we hope, you should be at the rally point for the fleet that’s going after the Magog world ship. Dylan, you’re going to loss, and loss badly: The Commonwealth fleet is going to be massacred, and Andromeda is going to be the only ship that makes it back. The new crew is going to abandon ship, and in approximately 8-mouths, you’re going to die, and the ship is going to be destroyed. There are only three survivors: Harper, Ryan, and me. Trance disappeared right before my eyes, so I can’t say what happened to her. Dylan, don’t make the same mistake again. Good luck." The image faded.
Dylan looked at Ryan, "Just who are you?"
The Nietzschean smiled, "My name is Ryan Anasazi, and I am the son of Tyr Anasazi and Beka Valentine."
Dylan shook his head, "But according to you, they die in eight months, and Beka’s not pregnant."
"She is: she just doesn’t know it yet." Dylan turned round to see Trance standing in the doorway. She walked up to the two men; "I helped deliver Ryan when he was born: It was just before I came back to change the past. If he’s here, it means I failed."
Ryan smile, "The famous Trance Gemini! I’m glad I’ve finely got a chance to meet you, person to person."
Rommie cut-in, "You say that in eight months time, Dylan, Tyr and Beka are going to die, and the ship is going to be destroyed: how?"
Ryan looked at Trance, "Is it safe to tell them?"
Trance nodded, "They need to know if we’re to stop it from happening again."
Ryan shrugged, "Ok then. The story I was always told is this: The Andromeda was on the run from Magog raiders, but my mother went into labour, so you had to stop. While she was giving birth to me, the Magog caught up with you. The first point-singularity round they fired took-out command, killing Captain Hunt here and my farther. With the main AI damaged, and no one to operate the weapons, the ship was doomed. Trance pulled her diapering act, leaving Rommie alone with my mother, who made the decision to make a brake for it in the Maru."
Ryan sat down on a bench, "They had just met up with Harper when another point- singularity round hit, and my mother was crushed by a support beam and killed. Rommie and Harper took me and made a run for it in the Maru, getting out just before the slipstream core detonated, destroying the Andromeda and the Magog ships. Rommie and Harper brought me up on the Maru, and we spent our lives running from the Magog. That was, until we reached Tran-Vedra."
Tarn Vedra
Dylan blinked, "You’ve been to Tarn-Vedra?"
Ryan nodded, "It was a last ditch-attempt to find help: The Than Hegemony and the Nietzschean Alliance tried to fight back, but Enga's Redoubt and San-Ska-Re fell to the Magog. Even the Pyrian’s fought-back, until they lost Krrendar IV. Harper said we should try and re-trace the rout used by Hasturi, the Mad Perseid. It took us two years, and nearly killed us, but we finally made it to Tarn-Vedra."
Dylan was in shock, "What did you find?"
Ryan’s eyes fell, "It was deserted: we didn’t find a single sentient life form in the entire system, not even an AI. There where no ships, no records, and no help. Harper found a point-singularity round in an arms-depot, and had the idea of trying to recreate the teleporter he used to send you back to the Starry Wisdom. We scavenged enough computer components to power it, then made our way to this point in space, but 21-years in the future. Rommie got the Maru into position, and just as the Magog found us, Harper sent me back."
Harper shook his head, "Man: Imagine the ability to send someone back in time at will!"
Ryan shook his head, "It only had a 10% chance of success: if the Maru had been out of position, or we got time setting wrong by just a few seconds, I would have died."
Rommie looked at him, "Then why risk it?"
Ryan looked at her, "Because I saw the look in your eyes when we saw what the Magog had done to the Milky Way: you said it was the same as M81."
Rommie’s eyes went wide, "All of it, gone?"
Ryan nodded, "Every star, every planet, every non-Magog life form, dead. The Known-worlds where finished, the Maru was almost out of fuel, and we hade nowhere to go. I knew it was a one-way trip, what ever happens: Ether I fail, and I die back here, or I succeed, and disappear as the time-line changes. I don’t care, I just don’t want to see that happen to a Galaxy again." He looked at the others, "You can’t tell my parents who I am: it would only complicate matters."
Dylan nodded, "As far as the rest of the crew are concerned, you’re just a messenger. I’ll tell Tyr and Beka you’re from Trance’s time, but not who you are. It’s better that way."
"What’s better that way?" A voice from behind them inquired.
Dylan turned to see Tyr standing in the doorway, "Try, this is Ryan: he’s come back from the future, like Trance did, and he’s brought us some disturbing information." Ryan stood as Tyr approached.
The big Nietzschean looked the newcomer over, "And who is he?"
Trance smiled, "Let’s just say he’s a friend, and we can trust him."
Tyr snorted, "What pride are you?"
Ryan kept his face steady, "I have no pride: I am alone."
Tyr shook his head, "What is it with this ship? We seem to be a magnet for all the weird and unusual events in the known universe." He turned and left.
Ryan took a deep breath, "Well that was kind of tense: the last thing I need is to get into a fight with him!"
The Truth
Ryan sat patiently in medical while the doctors ran their tests. He could see the two Lancers standing by the door, forcelances extended and ready. Rommie, his Rommie, had told him what to expect when he made the jump: DNA testes to prove he was who he said he was, questioning, blood tests for biological agents, the works. The door opened and he looked round.
It took all of his self-control to keep his face straight when he saw who it was: Beka Valentine, him mother. He’d seen photos of her, but he didn’t really know anything about her. He remember the time Rommie and Harper had told him how she died, how she had pressed him, only a few minuets old at the time, into Harpers arms as she lay under the support beam, dieing.
Beka looked at the mysterious visitor that had the others so spooked: he looked a lot like Tyr, but his skin was slightly lighter and his bone-blades where less pronounced. She was confused by the look he gave her, like he was seeing some historical figure for the first time.
One of the doctors walked in, engrossed in a flexi, "Well, we’ve confirmed your genetic parentage Mr Anasazi. The Captain will be down to talk to you shortly." Ryan’s face fell: Anasazi was a name only used by Kodiak pride, and his mother had heard him addressed by it. She seemed stunned, then turned and left.
Beka ran along the corridor, trying to figure-out where Tyr would be: he deserved to know if a member of his pride was on-ship. She was so busy thinking about what it could mean that she ran straight into Dylan. She took a step back and looked him in the eye, "Dose Tyr know that our visitor is Kodiak pride?"
Dylan frowned, "How much do you know?"
Beka blinked, "Nothing, except that his name is Anasazi, and I know for a fact that only Kodiak pride use that name."
Dylan shook his head, "You better come with me. Andromeda, can you please page Tyr to my office, and send Trance to look after Ryan."
The AI’s voice came out of nowhere, "At once."
Dylan led Beka to his office, and was not surprised when he found Tyr waiting for them, "What is this all about?"
Dylan ushered them inside and closed the door, "Our visitor, Ryan, is from 21-years in the future, the same future as Trance. He was sent back because she failed."
Beka looked at Tyr, "His full name is Ryan Anasazi."
Tyr blinked, "But that would make him Kodiak. When I asked him, he said he had no pride, that he was alone."
Dylan motioned to two chairs, "You might want to sit down to hear this next bit. Ryan didn’t want to tell you, he said it would complicate mater, and I happened to agree with him, but now it’s to late: Beka, Tyr, Ryan Anasazi is your son."
Questions
Beka’s eyes went wide, "WHAT! How? We’ve only slept together once!"
Dylan shrugged, "Sometimes that’s all it takes. Andromeda scanned you as you entered medical, and confirmed you are indeed pregnant. According to Trance, the baby, that is, Ryan, will be born in just under 8-mounths."
Tyr appeared to be in shock, but suddenly stood and walked from the room. He stalked the corridors, trying to take in what Dylan had said: he had a son, a child by Beka. His feelings for her where still confused. He needed answers, and there was only one place to get them.
He stopped walking, "Ship, where is Trance?"
Andromeda’s voice came out of nowhere, "Trance is in hydroponics." Tyr quickly figured out the best rout to take, and started off again.
Trance was busy tending her plants when Tyr found her, "Why did you never tell me about Ryan?"
Trance froze where she was, "Because it would have complicated matter: you may have changed your feelings towards Beka based on it, and that could have effected the outcome in a bad way."
Tyr’s hard eyes narrowed, "But his being here proves that you failed: how do you know that not telling me was the right thing?"
The golden skinned alien looked at Tyr, "If I had come up to you one day and said ‘Hey Tyr, one day you and Beka are going to have a son, but you’re going to die just as he’s being born, and Beka soon after.’ what would you have done?"
Tyr thought on it for a second, "I would have laughed at you, then tried to change the future by keeping away from Beka."
Trance nodded, "And if you did that, it would only make matter worse. Ryan comes from the future as it stands now, not as it will be if we change it: his simply being here changes things, but not enough to make everything right."
Tyr nodded, "Where is he at the moment?"
Trance smiled, "In the observation bay, thinking."
***********************************
Ryan was sat looking out of the window when he saw Harper and Rommie’s reflections behind, "Let me guess: you’ve come to ask about your future."
Harper shrugged nervously, "Can you really blame us?"
Ryan smiled and turned round, "No, not really. It can’t change anything, so there’s no harm. What do you want to know?"
Harper smiled, "What am, was, I like when I’m older?"
Ryan thought on it for a moment, "You never lost hope, no matter what happened, but you did have bad nightmares about the death of the others."
Rommie took a step forward, "What was I like?"
Ryan looked at her, "Sad: you never told me why, but Harper said it was because you never told someone that you loved them when you had the chance. Never found out who it was, but I have my suspicions."
Rommie’s eyes fell for a moment, and then looked up, "I won’t make that mistake this time. Thank you."
Tyr walked through the hatchway and looked at Ryan, "We need to talk."
Getting to know you
Rommie and Harper made there way past Tyr and into the corridor beyond. Harper turned to the Avatar, "I think we both know who he was talking about back there: When you going to tell Dylan how you feel?"
Rommie stopped, "I don’t know: I want to tell him right now, but the time isn’t right, but if I leave it to long, it might me to late: I’ll tell him before we leave to fight the Magog."
***********************************
Tyr looked at Ryan, "Dylan’s told us who you are."
Ryan face fell, "I knew it would come out eventually, I’d just hoped it wouldn’t be so soon."
Tyr was confused, "Why didn’t you want us to know?"
Ryan sighed, "Because I’m not going to be around for that long, that’s why: if I succeed in changing the past, your future, then I will simply cease to exist, if I fail, then I’ll die when the Andromeda is destroyed."
"Why can’t you stay?" Beka asked from the doorway.
Ryan shrugged, "I don’t know: it’s something to do with the time-line changing. Rommie tried to explain it to me once, but I couldn’t understand it."
Beka looked at Ryan, then rested a hand on her belly, "This is freaking me out big time: You’re there, yet, you’re also here!"
Ryan smiled slightly, "It’s freaking me out a bit too: I never knew ether of you, yet here you are, large as life."
Tyr stepped forward and placed a hand of Ryan’s shoulder, wanting to make sure he was real. Beka did the same, trying to understand it all.
Ryan smiles nervously, "Ok, this is beginning to wired me out!"
eka took a step back, "What’s your life been like?"
Ryan shrugged slightly, "It could have been better, but it could have been worse: I was brought up on the Maru by Rommie and Harper. I spent most of my life running from the Magog. I learnt to pilot at an early age, and Rommie once said I was as good as you where."
Beka smiled, eyes lingering on his bone-blades, "Glad to see you inherited something from me."
Tyr looked his son in the eyes, "Do we have any grandchildren in your time?"
Ryan shook his head, "No-time to try for them: most Nietzschean woman consider me tainted because I’m half-human, while regular human’s hate me because I look like a Nietzschean. I’m not saying that I’ve ever had problems finding dates, but no one has ever taken an interest in a long-term relationship."
Ryan took a step back, "I think it would be better for all of us if we didn’t get too close: better for me, because I don’t have the time to get to know you properly, and better for you, because I wont be around that long." He gently placed his hand on Beka’s bell, "This is your son: I’m just what he might be like someday."
Rommie’s confession
Ryan sat in Dylan’s office, rubbing his eyes, "I’m sorry captain Hunt, but I don’t know how to defeat the Magog: any plan I give you could make things worse. I was only sent back to tell you not to go through with your plan as it stands now, not to give you some master strategy."
Dylan nodded, "I’m sorry, I’m clutching at straws."
Tyr sat in the corner, deep in thought, "You said that the Than Hegemony and a Nietzschean Alliance fought, but only after the Commonwealth had lost. Could we convince them to join us in our attack?"
Dylan leaned back in his chair, "We might be able to convince them, but would it be enough?"
Ryan shrugged, "It’s worth a try."
***********************************
Dylan watched from the observation deck as the two slip-courier shot away from the Andromeda, one headed for Enga's Redoubt, the other for San-Ska-Re. A third ship had already left for the Pyrian’s base on Krrendar IV, but he had little help that they’d find any help there. He noticed that Rommie was stood nervously in the doorway. He smiled at her, "What’s wrong?"
Rommie slowly walked up to him, "Harper and me, we, well, we asked Ryan what we where like in the future. He said that I was sad because I left something undone."
Dylan was confused, "Did he say what?"
Rommie nodded, "Yes he did. Dylan, I need to say something to you, and I need you to listen to me without saying something or trying to stop me. Can you please do that?" Dylan just nodded.
Rommie wringed her hands nervously, "I’ve wanted to tell you this ever since Harper built me, but I’ve never had the guts to go through with it, I’ve always chickened out at the last minuet, but given what may happen soon, it’s now or never." She took a deep breath "Dylan, I love you! I always have, and I always will love you. I know that the High Guard has rule about Avatars not being aloud to get involved with crewmembers in this way, but I cant hide the way I feel anymore." She seemed relieved to finally have it out in the open.
Dylan stood still for a minuet, shocked, then smiled. He gently rested his hands on her shoulders, "Rommie, you have no idea how happy you’ve just made me! I’ve loved you since we first met, but I was always afraid that you didn’t feel the same, and I didn’t want to risk upsetting you, especially after what we found on the Pax Magellanic. I love you more than I’ve ever loved anything."
Rommie face erupted in a huge smile as Dylan leaned down and kissed her.
The morning after the night before
Dylan woke early the next morning, a smile on his face. He looked down and to the side, and saw Rommie was still asleep, curled-up at his side, one of her arms draped across his chest, a content smile on her lips. He had literally dreamed of this moment over the years, and now it was finally here, he didn’t want to do anything to change it.
He lay there for what felt like hours, just watching her sleep. She looked so innocent, so venerable. It was hard to believe that she was a warship: She had been so nervous the night before, so tender, it was easy to forget she wasn’t human. So Dylan had simply let that thought slip from his mind, and had embraced her as a woman, a woman he loved.
Rommie woke, and her mind was instantly filled with memories of the night before. The smile on her lips grew as she looked up at Dylan, "Morning."
Dylan pulled her close and kissed her, "Good morning to you too. Sleep well?"
Rommie giggled, "I would have slept better if you didn’t snore so much!"
Dylan looked at her, "I do not snore!"
Rommie smiled, "I’m sorry to tell you this, but you do. But I can live with it."
Dylan put his arms around her, "I’m glad to hear that, because I don’t intend on ever letting you go."
Rommie blinked, "Uh-oh! We have a problem."
Dylan looked at her, concerned, "What?"
Rommie’s face fell, "The Admirals ship arrived last night, and he came aboard to talk with you."
Dylan was confused, "So? I was asleep in my quarters, I’m sure he’ll understand."
Rommie gritted her teeth, "We weren’t asleep when he went to knock on the hatch, and these walls aren’t as sound-proof as you’d think."
Dylan sighed, "We better go face the music." He leaned over and brushed a few stray hairs from across Rommie’s face, "What ever happens, I have no regrets about last night."
Rommie smiled, holding his hand to the side of her face with her own, "Nether do I."
It took them a few minuets to find their clothes, a few more for Rommie to straighten out her hair, and they where ready to face the Admiral. The made their way along the corridors to the briefing room, trying to ignore the looks the crew gave them.
Halfway there they ran into Beka, "Well, I see you two have finally gotten up." She said with a smile, "All I’ll say is this: it’s about time!"
Rommie blushed, and Dylan smiled, "I could say the same about you and Tyr. How long have the two of you been dancing round the subject of your feelings for each other?"
"True." Beka smiled, "Good luck."
Dylan knocked on the briefing room door and they went in.
Face the music
The Admiral was sat at the conference table before Dylan and Rommie. He motioned to a pair of seats at the other end, "Please, by seated." They sat as instructed, nervously looking along the length of the table. The Admiral leaded forward, placing his fingers together, "Before ether of you say anything, I will say this: yes, I am aware of your ‘relationship’, and of the rules laid down by the old High Guard concerning such relationships, and last night, I was ready to implement them." He stood and started to walk down the table, "Then I received a petition, sighed by every AI in the fleet, asking for the rule about Avatars and crew members getting involved to be scraped, and for the two of not to be brought up on charges."
He stopped behind Dylan and Rommie, resting his hands on the back of their chairs, "I can read between the lines: if I do as the regulations say, the other AI’s will make life difficult for me, and given the current state of affairs, I can’t have that." He span the chairs round startling Dylan and Rommie, "Personally, I couldn’t care less what the two of you get unto in the privacy of your own quarters, as long as we don’t have a repeat of what happened to the Pax Magellanic. Can the two of you guaranty that that will not happen here?"
Dylan and Rommie looked at each other, and then nodded, "Yes Sir."
The Admiral smiled, "Very well. I will have the Regs changed this afternoon." He sat back down in his chair, "Now what’s all this about people coming back in time from the future?"
Dylan nodded, "Well sir, as you are aware, Trance Gemini, my Life Support Officer, travelled back in time to two years ago to stop things happening as they had in her time-line. Well, it look’s like she failed. The new comer is Ryan Anasazi, and he is the son of my first officer, Rebecca Valentine, and my Tactical officer, Tyr Anasazi. Our doctors have run DNA scans to prove he is who he says he is, and we have also confirmed that commander Valentine is pregnant at this time."
"Is there something in the water on this ship?" The Admiral shook his head, "Ok, so we know what will happen if we go up against the Magog World-Ship with just our fleet, so what are we going to do to stop that happening?"
Rommie looked up, "We have dispatched slip-couriers to Enga's Redoubt, San-Ska-Re and Krrendar IV in the hope that we can enlist some extra help."
The Admiral thought on it for a moment, the nodded, "It’s worth a try, and if we can prove to the Pyrian's that the Commonwealth is truly reformed, it should easy the tension along our borders with them. I can’t say I’m happy with showing weakness to the Nietzscheans, but we need all the help we can get. We will wait one mouth, no longer, then we’re continuing with the plans as they stand. To delay any long would put billions of lives at risk. Dismissed."
Beka was waiting for them when they stepped outside, "Well, how’d it go?"
Dylan smiled, putting his arm around Rommie, "We got a unofficial reprimand, but it appears the other AI’s don’t like the Regs as they stand, and have petitioned the Admiral to have them changed. Rather than alienate them, he agreed, but only after we gave our word that things wouldn’t get as bad as they where on the Pax Magellanic."
Rommie smiled, looking up at Dylan, "I think I can handle you without going mad."
Dylan kissed her, "Good."
Where do we go from here?
Beka found Tyr in the gym, the place he went to when he needed time to think. She stood just inside the hatch, her arms rapping around her body unconsciously, "We need to talk: we can’t put it off any longer."
Tyr nodded, wiping the sweat from his face with a towel, "Ship, engage privacy mode."
Andromeda’s voice came from a speaker in the ceiling, "Privacy mode engaged."
Tyr stood and walked over to Beka, "I know I once told you that I could never be attracted to a non- Nietzschean woman, but I think we both know that that is not true."
Beka smiled slightly, "I kind of guessed that last month." She rested her hands on her stomach, "The question is, where do WE go from here, now we know the end result of these feelings?"
Tyr took her hands and held them gently, "I think I love you Beka: I’ve never felt like this before. Nietzscheans aren’t meant to feel like this for anyone but their children, but it’s how I feel for you."
Beka was speechless: she had never seen Tyr like this before, so tender and open about his feelings. She smiled softly, "I think I love you to. I know that it’s a bit early in this relationship to contemplate having children, but that decision’s been taken for us."
Tyr smiled, running a hand down the side of her face, "True, but having meet Ryan, I know that any children I have with you will make us both proud." Beka smiled as she leaned forward and kissed him.
***********************************
Dylan was sat at his desk, trying to get through some of the paperwork that having a full crew again generated. He was grateful for the interruption when the door chimed, "Enter." He raised his eyebrow slightly when Beka and Tyr entered, hand in hand, "And what can I do for the two of you?"
Tyr looked surprisingly nervous, so Beka took the lead, "We want to get married, as soon as possible."
Dylan’s eyes went wide for a second, then his face exploded in a broad grin. He stood and shook their hands, "Congratulations our in order I suppose!"
Tyr seemed to relax, "We would like you to perform the marriage here, on the Andromeda."
Dylan’s face lit-up, "I’d be honoured! When are you planning to have the ceremony?"
Beka blushed, "Is tomorrow to soon?"
Dylan was forced to take a step back with shock, "Well, it’s a bit short notice, but we should be able to arrange something. Where would you like the ceremony held?"
Beka gripped Tyr’s hand tightly "We thought the observation deck would be best. We want it to be a small event, just our close friends: just you, Rommie, Ryan, Andromeda, Trance and Harper."
Dylan looked at Tyr, his eyebrow raised, "Since when did you start calling ether Rommie or Andromeda by their names, or even talking about them as separate entity’s?"