Rating: FRT (Fiction rating-teen) (Note: Since the MPAA’s been doing their ‘cease and desist’ thing on some lists already, I want to stay on the safe side with the rating.)

Advisories: Language; (xover between Andromeda and Smallville)

Pairings: Harper/Trance, Dylan/Molly; Beka/Rhade (as friends)

Notes Part 1: This story is the fourth installment of the “Seasons of the Witch” saga which has been going on in the Dubois Chronicles and Amazon Scrolls.  This story takes place immediately after “Out of the Bottle” (Dubois 2.85)

Notes Part 2: The Andromeda crew has run into Dave Dubois and his students on four previous occasions in this series: “Don’t Talk to Strangers,” “Legacies,” “Future Shock” and “Risking All.”

Notes Part 3: The characters from “Andromeda” belong to Gene Roddenberry’s estate and Tribune. Smallville belongs to DC and the WB. The "Destroyer" reference is from "Xena Warrior Princess" which belongs to StudiosUSA.  All other characters and scenarios are mine. Please send comments to dante0220@yahoo.com.


Prologue

When the darkness looms
And friends, it swallows

To reach Love soon
Toward the light, one must follow….

Wan-Ti, Rondorian Philosopher, CY7655



Chapter 1 [Halls’ End Palace, Ruthwen, Inner Realms (CE 2007 Old Earth Reckoning)]

The grey skies over the citadel boomed with thunder. Red lightning flared down toward the ground. While it had not started yet, the air felt as if a torrent were impending.

Rev Bem ambled onto the palisades and stared across the barren landscape toward the persistent festering cloud to the south. Ever since the chief of the Phantom priests, Melogath, had intruded upon the royal court, the place had been uneasy. Everyone feared for the safety of the king, David Dubois, as the signs pointed to his confronting the darkness at its source.

The Magog priest surveyed the scene. “This is why the people lose faith. It looms like the Abyss.”

“More like that infernal priest,” Ferali, his gnome co-regent, commented grimly. The pint-sized warrior stalked up to Rev’s side; his armor and ax rattling as he did so. “David is in trouble. I know it. Blast! I knew I should have gone with him to Outer Earth!”

“The Way has us exactly where it intends for us to be. We must believe in it—even when all is dark around us and Chaos holds the day. Dylan did so; sparking hope for the entire Commonwealth and ending the Long Night,” Rev stated.

“Captain Hunt is a fine leader indeed. Pity we cannot contact him in our time of need,” Ferali lamented. “Without our liege or the Queen, we struggle to hold back the night.”

“Dylan would say to have faith in yourself. I believe David would too. And that is what we shall do, my friend,” Rev assured him, leading them toward the main assembly hall.



Chapter 2 [Onboard the Andromeda Ascendant—10,000 years in the future]

Harper woke with a start. After a twenty hour stint in Engineering, he had returned to his quarters for a nap. Well, it was supposed to be a short nap. Instead, he dreamed about numerous pleasures—too varied to name and none that he would achieve in his lifetime anyway. “Aw man! Come on, Rommie!”

Andromeda’s AI image appeared in front of him. “Harper! There’s an emergency in the herbarium!”

“Herbarium? What the…?” His mind fished for her rationale. Then his eyes went wide. “Oh crap! Trance!” Feeling a sense of alarm coming over himself, he breathed heavily for a second. “It’s her, isn’t it? Geez!” He rushed out of the chamber, running toward the herbarium for all he was worth.

Andromeda shook her head. She knew that he and Trance were good friends. However, she never imagined that the scrawny engineer would take off like that. “Will wonders never cease.”

****

Meantime, Harper had reached his destination and rushed inside. There he found the golden avatar sprawled out on the floor. “Damn! Come on, Trance!” He placed his ear over her mouth and then to her chest, trying to pick up on life signs. Not getting any, he whined, “Oh come on! You can’t be dead, Trance!”

“Harper, get a hold of yourself. We have to get her to Med Deck,” the AI indicated, appearing in front of him. “I can get some of my servodroids to assist you.”

“By the time, those clunking cans get here, she’ll really be dead. Nope—uh uh, nothing’s happening to her if I have anything to say about it,” he asserted while picking her up in his arms. “Get Dylan and the others. I’ll start the sweeps.” Feeling another wave of panic, he rushed off with his precious cargo toward Med Deck.

That remark really got her attention. He’s sweating; his heart’s pounding. I wouldn’t have expected him to be like this with Trance! Patching herself through to the Comm system, she sent a transmission to the Eureka Maru. “Eureka Maru, this is the Andromeda Ascendant. Please respond.”

Nothing came back.

“Andromeda to Eureka Maru! We have a Code Black! Beka, Dylan, Molly, please respond if you can!”

The silence rang in her audio receptors. “They must be still out of range.”

****

[Med Deck]

Harper set Trance down on the examination table and looked at the instrument panel. While he would have been more comfortable working with engineering do-hickies and dials, he wasn’t about to let her die either. “Okay, you’ve seen her do this a thousand times, Seamus,” he told himself as he looked at the console again.

“Allow me, Harper,” the AI told him while activating the apparatus.

“Thanks, Andromeda,” he expressed stiffly; his concern washing away any wise cracks or nicknames.

“Harper, please, sit down. You’re going to give yourself a heart attack,” the image urged.

“I’ll be FINE!” he snapped. Then he shuddered. “Sorry, Rommie, you didn’t deserve that.”

At that moment, a voice—barely more than a whisper--called, “Harper.”

“What was that?” he wondered, waving his gauss gun in all directions.

“What was what? You’re hallucinating,” Andromeda declared.

“Crap, first Trance and now that. This really is getting to me,” he stewed, wincing at the thought that he was going crazy. Then his eyes went wide.

In front of him, the air shimmered and a washed out image of Dave Dubois appeared. “Harper, help me. The darkness attacked her.” With that, the image vanished.

“Tell me you didn’t see that!” he demanded.

“See what? Harper, there was nothing there! You’re worried about Trance and it’s getting to you. I think you need to lie down too,” the AI indicated.

“I know what I saw, okay?” he rebutted. He shook Trance. “Come on; wake up! I’m not going to let you die!”


Chapter 3 [Another dimension]

Trance stirred from unconsciousness to find herself in a barren desert. The wind blew the dirt around, making it difficult for her to look around. “What? Where am I?” She remembered being in the herbarium, tending her plants when her friend’s spirit appeared.

She had tried to help, peering deeper into why he had appeared in that manner.

As she did so, the darkness—David’s darkness—reared up and attacked her, jarring her from her senses.

Why would he do that? He’s our friend. She took another look around at the harsh landscape, trying to determine which way to go. On three sides of her, the desert stretched farther than the eye could see. To her right, a range of mountains shot up into the air, piercing the clouds above.

She sensed something about them. I can feel the darkness everywhere except there. Foregoing the desert, she followed the ‘non-darkness’ vibrations in that general direction.


****


[Several hours later]

After muddling across the wasteland for quite a while, Trance reached the edge of the mountains. Looking up, she marveled at how high they stood. “I’ll never be able to climb them.”

Don’t have to…climb.

She looked around again. “David? Is that you?”

Cave. Look for the cave. You’re…clo…se.

“Where? David, where are you?” she asked desperately. Using her precognitive senses, she reached out, probing for the voice’s source. Then she locked onto something. “Got you!” She ran for what seemed like a half mile until she came to an opening in the range.

In front of her, a small trail wound between two mountains.

“Vibrations go that way and so do I,” she asserted to herself, taking the path. After walking for another twenty minutes, she stumbled onto a small cave entrance. “David?”

Ins…ide.

She looked around anxiously for signs of trouble. Not seeing anything, she cautiously made her way inside. “Okay, I’m here,” she indicated.

“Here,” he rasped.

Nestled up against a rock, she found a hooded figure. “David, what is it?” She pulled back the hood to see her friend’s face. Seeing the bruises and sunken eyes, she pulled back. “What happened?”

“We were…attacked,” he whispered, wincing in pain. “Others taken….Witches drove…me out.”

“Drove you out? From what?” she inquired, trying to understand the situation.

“From my body…from the Child. He’s under their…influence. Can’t help ‘em. Sorry, Trance,” Dave explained between deep breaths.

“And that’s why the darkness attacked me? The Child knows I’m his friend,” she maintained.

“The Child’s gone…Only Destroyer now….” Dave winced. “I’ve…failed the kids…and Kandor too.”

“It’s okay,” she asserted, trying to keep him positive. “We’ll find a way out of this. Then we can all work together to rescue the others. Rest, all right?”

“Th…thanks, Tra…nce,” he agreed, closing his eyes.

She took a deep breath. That’s a pretty speech but I have no idea of how to get back to Andromeda. Hopefully, Harper or Dylan can find a way.


Chapter 4 [Slipstream Portal]

Even as the situation unfolded, the Eureka Maru bounced and jostled its way through the slipstream, heading back toward Andromeda. Its mission to Ropkisi Drift had been successful on several fronts—diplomatic negotiations, good food, parts for their ship and, best of all for a certain blonde pilot, a healthy score at the Dicanium Roulette tables. Even though Rommie had stayed behind to arrange for another load of supplies, they had enough to get by for the moment.

Beka Valentine watched the ever curving strands in front of her ship in an effort to anticipate the next corner or twist. For the reasons noted above, she felt pretty good about life at that point. She looked over her shoulder to see Dylan and Molly sharing a station and making small talk. Occasionally, she heard a giggle coming from them. She’s really getting to him. “Uh, Dylan, monitor.”

He rolled his eyes at his second-in-command. “I’m on it, Beka. It’s okay.”

“Uh huh, yeah…” The pilot coughed suggestively.

Molly smirked back at her. “Everything’s quiet, Beka. We’ve got an eye on things.”

“Besides, you wouldn’t want anything to happen to the cargo,” he added.

“That’s why Rhade’s back there with it. That’s an improvement if you ask me,” she retorted saucily.

Over the comm., Rhade shot back, “I heard that!”

Molly sighed and shook her head at Dylan. “Here they go.”

The captain shrugged. “Might as well try to stop the Abyss unarmed than step into this match.”

Meantime, Beka grinned. “How’s it looking back there, Rhade?”

“It could be better if a certain Űber would stop bouncing us around,” he countered.

“Like to see you do better, Nietzsche Boy,” she fired back. “Some people are never satisfied.”

“With your driving? Not hardly, Beka. I’ve been on skiff-fighters with better balance,” Rhade noted, not giving an inch.

“You weren’t driving it. That’s for sure. You Academy Boys think you have the answers, don’t you? Anyhow, you were looking pretty good there at the tables,” she noted.

They could almost feel his frown over the speaker. “I had a bad day. We all have them.”

“Uh huh. If we all had a day like yours, Rhade, the Commonwealth would be owing its shirt and everything else to the Magog. Guess those genes of yours don’t extend to the crap tables, do they? Keep our stuff warm back there,” she requested, cutting the conversation with a satisfied expression on her face.

“Not all of us Academy types are that bad, Beka,” Molly pointed out.

The smuggler smiled. “I just said that to get a rise out of him.”

“Just keep your eye on things. We should be coming up on the Slip point pretty soon,” Dylan indicated.

“Gotcha,” Beka agreed, pulling back on the controls and counting down the seconds. Then she yanked back and a bright light flooded the cabin followed by the usual distortion effect. Once they were back in normal space, she announced, “Strap in, Kids. Next stop, Andromeda.”

At that moment, Andromeda’s voice came over the comm system. “Attention, Eureka Maru! This is Andromeda! Dylan, are you there? We have a Code Black situation! Repeat, we have a Code Black situation!”

Dylan frowned. Now what?

“Message is over two hours old, Dylan,” Molly reported.

The captain took a deep breath as a load of bad thoughts flowed through his head. Harper, what did you do now? Pressing the reply button, he said, “Eureka Maru, here, Andromeda. This is Dylan. What’s our status?”

“It’s good to hear your voice, Dylan. We have an emergency here. Harper and I are in Med Deck. Trance fainted because of something,” the AI reported.

“Is she okay?” Beka interjected, feeling concerned about her friend.

“She’s showing bare minimum life signs. Both she and Harper reported seeing something strange but I haven’t seen anything,” Andromeda reported.

Seeing their ship ahead, Dylan noted, “We’ll be there shortly. We’ll meet Harper in Med Deck. Dylan, out.” He sighed, “I wonder what Harper did now.”

“Knowing him, he infected her with something,” Beka groused. “So help me, I’ll wring that scrawny neck of his.”

Dylan requested, “Cool it, Beka. Molly, I need you and Rhade to go to Command when we get there. Beka, you and I are heading to Med Deck. I want a briefing on the situation ASAP.”

“You got that right,” the pilot agreed as they made their way for the Andromeda’s docking bay.


****


[Med Deck]

Dylan and the others rushed across Andromeda as quickly as they could manage, reaching the medical area in just under ten minutes. There they found Harper and Andromeda’s image form keeping watch over Trance’s unconscious form.

The engineer nervously greeted them, “Guys! Uh, I didn’t do anything!”

Beka fumed. “I’ll bet you didn’t! Just wait until I….”

Dylan looked at Harper pointedly. “You sure you didn’t do anything? Try anything?”

“Hey! I was asleep when this crap happened! Besides, I would never hurt Trance! You know that! It was the ghost guy! Yeah! That’s it!” Harper protested.

Beka snickered, “I knew you had a screw loose, Harper, but a ghost?”

Harper glared at him. “Laugh all you want, Boss! I know what I saw!”

“While I cannot vouch for the ghost, Dylan, I agree that Harper—for once—had nothing to do with the crisis at hand. His story is accurate,” Andromeda concurred.

“What’s her status?” the captain requested anxiously.

“Her life signs are weak but stable. I still wish Harper would go rest in his quarters,” the AI noted.

“I’m not going anywhere until I know Trance is okay,” Harper insisted.

At that moment, Dave’s image appeared again. “Dylan.”

The captain stared incredulously. “David?”

“Yeah. It’s me and it’s a long…story. Trance is here with me in this weird place….Help…us,” the spirit explained before fading out again.

“Now we’re all seeing things,” Beka declared.

“What are you saying, Beka? Now you see it too?” Andromeda’s image asked.

“We all did,” Dylan reported. “Now we need to figure out where the ‘weird place’ is. You can bet that if he’s doing this, it’s tied to Kandor and those kids.”

The first officer frowned. “Whatever it is then can screw us up as well.”

“My point exactly,” Dylan agreed. “Andromeda, have Molly and Rhade meet us in the conference room. I want to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible. Harper, you’re with us.”

The engineer looked at Trance again before taking a deep breath. “Aw, Boss, no offense but someone needs to watch Trance.”

“I’ll do that,” Andromeda noted. “Go ahead, Harper. I promise I’ll alert you to any changes.”

Harper reluctantly followed the rest of the crew toward the conference room, hoping for the best.


Chapter 5 [Conference Room—Five minutes later]

As the trio arrived at the conference room, they found Molly and Rhade already waiting for them.

“Any news, Dylan?” she asked.

“Trance is unconscious but at least her life signs are stable,” the captain indicated. He looked at Harper who was really anxious about this situation. He’s really eating himself up over this. “Mr. Harper, are you all right?”

“Sure, Boss, ready for the next move as always,” the engineer indicated, putting on a brave front. “You’re right. Let’s get past all of the mushy stuff.”

Stealing a quick glance at Molly, Dylan pointed out, “It’s okay to care about someone.”

“Where did you get that idea?” Harper denied.

“You’re showing all of the signs. It’s all right. Take a seat and we’ll get to the bottom of this,” the captain pointed out supportively.

“Get a grip, Harper,” Rhade gibed.

Seeing the engineer tense, Molly shook her head. “Cool it, Rhade, all right?” She glanced back at Dylan. “Let’s get on with it.”

Dylan nodded. “Andromeda, access Kandorian archives.”

“Archives accessed,” the AI noted. “What do I look for?”

“Start after the last time we all met incident and work forward. We’ll have to triangulate and take a guess at what happened to cause this mess,” Dylan stated.

“Working….” Then the AI’s image felt something else. “Dylan, there was an energy surge in Command. Now I’m sensing two human presences and…they’re gone again?”

“Damn! Why is this happening now?” Dylan wondered, grabbing for his force lance.

Then a distortion effect appeared in the corner, forming into a portal. From it, Martin Littleclaw and his companion, Kyla Buckwater, stepped into the room.

“What are you two doing here?” Beka wondered.

“We made it,” Kyla gasped.

“Jor-El said we would. Our apologies, everyone, for disturbing you. We have an emergency back on Earth,” Martin pointed out.

“Jor-El sent you?” Dylan asked, immediately grasping the implications of that happening. This must be really bad. Great. “What happened?”

Kyla shuddered. “They’ve been taken. The Child tried…but Isobel was ready for…him.”

Martin embraced her, trying to provide comfort. “Between her and the rest of her coven, they were too much for even him to deal with. The witches separated the Professor from the Child, banishing him from our space and time.”

“And he ended up here!” Harper realized. “You see? I’m not nuts! Neither’s Trance!”

“Accessing files from Kandor. Dylan, there’s nothing,” Andromeda reported.

“Try from Earth,” Martin suggested. “May 5, 2007—Boston, Massachusetts, United States.”

“Boston?” the engineer wondered. “Hey, there was an old building that we weren’t allowed in. It used to be a museum or something like that.”

“The Museum of Fine Arts to be precise,” Kyla concurred. “The Professor said it was a site of dark magic rites. That’s why he wanted to keep the ceremony away from there. “

“From what Harper said, there is something,” Andromeda agreed, reaching into her archives. “There are three events: one from 1694 CE, another from 1980 CE and one other from 2007 CE tied to that place. Strange, there’s nothing in the archive—only those dates and the caption—sealed: dark evil not to be touched again.”

“And we’re supposed to go there? Great. As if the Abyss wasn’t bad enough,” Beka groused.

“We wouldn’t ask unless….” Martin started before looking around. “Forgive me, I just noticed—Trance isn’t here.”

“She’s in Medical unconscious,” Rhade noted.

“She’s stuck with me,” Dave’s voice informed them as his spirit appeared again. “Martin? Kyla?”

“Professor! Where are you?” his students insisted.

“Some weird dream desert place. Somehow, Trance is helping…me. How did you get…here?” Dave explained.

“Jor-El sent us after you. He said you’d be here not in another dimension,” Kyla replied. “Can you get back?”

“Only for limited…amounts of time. With…Child gone, most of my abilities went with him….We’re going to need…help to get out,” the spirit explained before vanishing.

“Professor!” Martin exclaimed.

“You two have all that spirit stuff. You think you can find ‘em?” Harper inquired.

“Harper, they need to rest first. I don’t want anyone dropping dead,” Dylan argued.

“Harper’s correct, Captain,” Kyla concurred. “The threat is dire. We need Trance and the Professor back to even stand a chance against the darkness. We can rest later.”

“Can you find them?” Molly asked hopefully.

“Now that we have a trail, yes, we can. There is no time to lose. Kyla, do you feel it?” the shaman asked.

His companion nodded. “I do.” She opened a spirit portal. “Come, Martin.”

“Hey, I’m goin’ with you!” Harper insisted.

“Not so fast, Mr. Harper, you can’t…” Dylan corrected him.

“No way am I staying back here with her there!” Harper argued. “Uh uh! No way, Jose!”

“Let me finish, okay?” the captain requested, holding his hands up for emphasis. “Molly, you and I are going with them. Beka, you and Rhade keep an eye on things here.”

“Rommie should be back soon, we hope,” Beka noted.

“We’ll do what we can, Dylan,” Rhade concurred.

“Do that. Come on, everyone,” the captain urged.

“Step through,” Martin directed.

“Hey, Harper!” the first officer called, masking her concern with a flip tone. “Don’t break your neck in there!”

The mechanic smirked at her sarcastically. “Nice vote of confidence, Valentine. Don’t worry about us.” With that, he disappeared into the portal.

“Just bring them back in one piece,” Beka requested of Dylan and Molly.

“We will,” Dylan promised as they vanished along with the portal.

“You’re just mad because you’re not in there with them,” Rhade pointed out.

“Damn straight, I am! Don’t start with me, Rhade!” she countered, stalking out of the room and toward Command.

Terrific. Nurse maid duty again not to mention that she’s pissed. Having thought that, he followed her from the room.


Chapter 6 [Dream Dimension]

[Cave]

Even as the deliberations happened on the Andromeda, Dave stirred from his rest. “Uh…”

“It’s okay, David. What happened?” Trance asked, rushing to his side.

“I managed to get to the others again,” he noted, reclining against the cave’s wall for support. Taking several breaths, he continued, “Martin and Kyla…were there.”

“They’re there?” she wondered.

He nodded weakly. “Yeah. Glad I kept them as the second string…now.” Seeing her look quizzically at him, he added, “Sorry, Old Earth sports metaphor.”

She nodded. “I see. Try to rest some more, all right?”

“You need rest…too, Trance….” He squinted at her. “I want…to do…my share.”

“Let me handle this one, okay?” she requested. She turned to the cave opening, feeling something happening outside.

“Now what?” he rasped.

“Stay here. I’ll be back,” she promised, taking her force lance and rushing out of the cave.

Great. Now what? He coughed and closed his eyes, hoping for some more “sight” of things.

****

[Edge of Mountains]

Meantime, Martin and Kyla guided their three friends out of the portal and into the waste. With the billowing dirt storm, any footprints would have been obliterated. The Andromeda crew’s scans were ineffective as well.

“Where are they?” Molly asked, trying to get her bearings. “And what is this place?”

“It’s a dreamscape,” Martin noted. “The trail has gone cold though.”

“We could shift and see if our animal senses could do something,” Kyla suggested while morphing into her wolf form.

He transformed into his bear form and sniffed the air. Growling, he loped off.

The wolf barked and took off on his tail.

“Hey! Slow down!” Harper protested.

“You wanted to be here!” Dylan pointed out.

“Yeah, yeah…just not running so fast,” the engineer protested.

****


Shortly thereafter, they found the trail opening between the peaks.

“This looks promising,” Dylan assessed.

No sooner did those words come out then Harper saw their crew member come around a turn in the trail. “Trance!” He rushed toward her. “Hey, you okay?”

The golden avatar smiled while embracing him. “I’m doing better but David needs our help.”

“Take us to him,” the captain requested, heading down the trail.

“This way!” Trance indicated, leading them quickly toward their destination. Once they got there, she called, “David?”

“Y…yeah?”

“It’s me. The others found us!” the golden avatar noted, leading the others in there.

Having changed back to their human forms, the two shamen rushed to their teacher’s side.

“We need to get him out of here,” Kyla declared.

Martin nodded. “The darkness is coalescing in response to our presence here. If we open a portal, it could follow us back to the Andromeda.”

No it shall not. A bright light appeared in their midst, coalescing into Jor-El’s form. You have done well. Now return to the ship and prepare for the battle to come.

“Jor-El?” Dylan asked, remembering the spirit from their trip to Krypton earlier.

Yes, Dylan Hunt, it is I. Once again, Krypton calls upon you and your friends for assistance.

“Especially me,” Trance realized.

Yes, Trance Gemini, yours is a crucial role. For you will hold back the darkness with your light.

She nodded. “I understand. Come on, David, up you go.”

Feeling the darkness forming quickly and close by, Martin opened another portal. “That’s our cue. Come, everyone.”

Dylan helped Trance get Dave through the portal with the others following closely behind.

After they had gone, Jor-El mused, At least, there is now some hope. With that, he vanished.


Chapter 7 [Med Deck]

Trance slowly opened her eyes and took a deep breath. “Where am I?”

Rommie turned from the console to see her friend awake. “It’s good to see you awake, Trance. I know the others will be relieved.”

“Did Dylan and the others make it back all right?” Trance asked.

“Martin and Kyla brought them back here about fifteen minutes ago,” the android indicated. “As a matter of fact, Harper is waiting for you in Engineering.”

The golden-skinned alien smiled. “I need to talk with him about some things. First, what about David?”

“If you mean David Dubois, my systems are still coming up empty in picking up his spirit onboard. I assume he returned with all of you,” Rommie related.

Then Trance saw the spirit floating off to her right. “He’s here.” Turning to the spirit, she asked, “How are you doing?”

“I still feel weak but at least I’m back. Thanks, Trance, for the save. I appreciate it,” he expressed.

“That’s okay. I’m always glad to help my friends. Why don’t you join Martin and Kyla? I need to see Harper about something,” Trance indicated.

The spirit nodded and disappeared from view.

“This is very strange. First, Harper acts irrationally when you disappear and now you’re talking to the air. Very strange,” Rommie assessed.

“I don’t think Harper’s actions are that irrational, Rommie. See you later,” Trance declared, heading out the door.

As soon as her patient left, Rommie spoke to the comm system. “Dylan?”

****


[Dylan’s quarters—five minutes earlier]

Dylan slumped into his chair wearily. Granted, they made it back from that side dimension with Trance and Dave. However, every sign pointed to a disaster in the making for all concerned. “Terrific,” he groused while drinking a cup of Terrozian coffee.

“That bad?” Molly asked. “We did survive against the Abyss, right?”

“We had a lot of help, Molly. Even then, it was too close for comfort,” he retorted anxiously. “And now, we may have to deal with David’s Child persona too.”

“You’ll find a way, Dylan. You always do,” she assured him, rubbing his shoulder to ease the knots forming there.

“We’re outflanked and outnumbered,” he sighed.

“You were at Witchhead too, remember? The Academy’s archives tell of your stratagem there,” she argued. “I know you’ll find a way.”

“Uh uh,” he declared. “We’ll find a way.” He gazed into her eyes. “You are something, you know that?”

“You’re just saying that,” she teased.

“We’re going to need a lot of luck to get through this,” he hinted.

She arched her eyebrows. “Really? I think I know how we can make some.” She kissed him, letting it linger for ten seconds. “That should get us started, you think?”

“Uh huh. Oh yeah,” he agreed breathlessly.

At that moment, Rommie’s voice cut in. “Dylan, are you there?”

Shrugging, he answered, “What’s going on with Trance?”

“She is awake and just left to talk to Harper. I thought you would like to know,” the android reported.

“Thank you. How are our other two guests?”

“Martin and Kyla are on the obs deck, meditating. Shall I have them come to your quarters?” Rommie asked.

“That’s okay. Let’s assemble at 1830 hours in the conference area. Dylan out,” he responded.

“And that’s when we decide, right?” Molly queried, feeling the butterflies for herself.

He squeezed her hand gently. “Exactly. Whatever we do, we decide as a crew.”

Given that we may be going to our deaths, that seems like the thing to do. She kept those thoughts to herself, considering that she wanted to keep his spirits as high as possible...at least for the moment.


****

[Engineering]

Even as Dylan and Molly “deliberated,” Trance reached Engineering, hesitating just in front of the door. In the side dimension, she had noticed something about Harper. He was worried about her. Well, friends worried about friends…she knew that.

But her precognitive senses discerned something else.

He really cares about me! She took a deep breath, allowing her mind to wander back over the previous five years. From the moment she had joined Beka’s crew, she knew she had special feelings for the skinny outlandish mechanic. Granted, she put up with his “hitting on everything in a skirt” routine, suffering in silence while he worked things out for himself.

Even so, he had been stealing glances at her when he thought she wasn’t looking.

She smiled. “Here goes.” She pressed the call button.

“Yeah?” he called.

“Harper, it’s me, Trance,” she replied. “I can come back if you want.”

The door slid open immediately, revealing Harper’s anxious expression. “I’m not doing anything important. Please stay, Trance.”

He never says please for anything. She nodded and walked in. “I didn’t mean to scare everyone before.”

“It wasn’t your fault. The dark whatsis attacked you. You are okay, right?” he inquired.

“I’m fine now…thanks to everyone. Harper, we’re friends right?” she replied.

“You know you’re my best friend in like the whole everything,” he agreed.

“Can I ask you something? And I want to know the truth, okay?” she inquired.

He winced, fearing that she was going to ask something really embarrassing. “All right.”

She giggled. “Harper, it’s okay…Do you well…love me?”

He stared incredulously at her. “Did you ask what I think you did?”

“Yes I did,” she affirmed. “I would like to know. No strings or anything.”

He took a deep breath. “Promise you won’t laugh at me? Yeah I do.” He paced around his lab for a minute, feeling really embarrassed by that revelation. “I could never tell you.”

“Why not?” she inquired.

He looked at her with a sad look on his face. “Cuz I ain’t good enough for you. That’s why. So I figure that being your best friend is better than nothing.”

She took his hand in hers. “Seamus, let me be the judge of that, all right?” She looked warmly into his eyes and kissed him. “My hero.”

He took several breaths, trying to collect himself. “Wow. Can I try that again?”

“Sure,” she agreed.

He put his arms around her waist. “Is that okay?”

“Of course,” she concurred.

“How’s this?” he wondered before kissing her passionately.

“As you said, wow,” she gasped. “Thanks. I feel better now.”

“Even though we’re going into a real mess and more than likely get ourselves killed?” he inquired.

“Seamus, it’s going to be okay. Besides, our friends need our help,” she told him.

“Even if you’re right on the firing line?” he whined.

She arched her right eyebrow. “Even if I’m there. And you’re going to whip something up to protect me, right?”

“You got it, Babe,” he concurred. “As if The Harper would let anything happen like that.”

“I know I’m in good hands,” she agreed.

Then Dylan spoke through the speaker, “Trance, Harper?”

“Yes, Dylan?” she replied.

“Meeting in the Conference area at 1830 hours. Are you doing all right?” the captain replied.

“Never better. Thanks, Dylan. We’ll be there,” she concluded. Seeing Harper’s continued anxiety, she stated, “Have faith. We’ll get through this.”

“When you say it, I believe it. Besides, nobody messes with my hometown and gets away with it,” he agreed.

She smiled at him again, giving his hand a squeeze for confidence, luck and love…. After everything else, that wasn’t so hard.

And it might actually prove to be the easy part.



Chapter 8 [Conference Area—1825 hours][A/N: Dave’s first fight with Isobel took place in “Timeswap” (Dubois 1.32)]

Martin and Kyla followed Rommie through the door into the conference area. The two spiritual leaders had spent time meditating and speaking with Dave’s spirit. When their guide came to get them, they anxiously followed.

“Here we are,” Rommie indicated.

Seeing Harper, Trance, Beka and Rhade already seated there, Martin wondered, “Where should we sit?”

“Anywhere’s fine,” Beka declared. “You both holding up all right?”

“Fine, Captain Valentine. Thank you,” Kyla concurred as they sat down.

“That’s good to hear,” Dylan announced while stepping into the room followed by Molly. “We’re going to need every available healthy person we can get.” Seeing as everyone was sitting there, he noted, “The meeting’s called to order. I think we all know why we’re here. We just had a very close call with Trance and David. Fortunately, Martin and Kyla were able to help us.” He looked over at the two guests. “Thanks.”

“The gratitude is mutual, Captain Hunt,” Kyla concurred. “Trance kept the Professor from sinking into whatever that mess was. But our friends are in grave danger. Too bad Lana’s not here. She could make Professor Dubois visible to everyone including Andromeda.”

“I’m right here,” Dave indicated from where he was floating against the wall. “And you just saw the tip of the iceberg where those four were concerned.”

“So you have run into them before, I take it?” Trance asked.

“Between them, they’ve been one nonstop nightmare since I was a kid,” the medievalist indicated. “They put the curse in place that…well…makes me the sweet person that I am.”

That insight got the crew’s attention.

“And if we deal with them, would that cure you?” Dylan asked hopefully.

“I wish. Unfortunately, I’ve been warped so badly that the darkness is part of me. Well…it was until the Countess Isobel uncorked me from the Child,” Dave explained. “Andromeda, do you have access to Old Earth files?”

“Aye. For whom should I search?” the AI requested.

“Countess Isobel Thibodeau. Focus around the 1590s-1600s CE,” Dave prompted.

Andromeda took a few seconds to find the information. “Isobel Madelyne Thibodeau, Countess of the Vendee, married to the Duke Bertrand du Angoleme. Born 1572. Executed in 1604 as a witch.” She displayed an illustration of the alleged couple. “Are these the ones?”

“Yuck,” Beka noted, seeing the severe expressions in the portrait. “He looks more creepy than she does.”

“He was a vampire named Bertrand du Dijon. She’s a full blown sorceress with the book to prove it,” Dave told them.

“And do we have to deal with him?” Molly inquired.

“Nope. He’s been staked and burnt to a crisp. That was me too,” the historian informed them.

“No wonder she has it in for you,” Beka supposed.

“The location of their castle is not in the record,” Andromeda indicated.

“No matter. Unfortunately, I know exactly where it is,” Dave retorted, feeling a bit of fear creep over himself.

“And you would know because?” Rhade indicated.

“It was quite the fight at the chateau, trust me,” Dave revealed. “The record should speak of a mysterious couple.”

“Aye. And you were one of them?” Andromeda wondered.

“Karen and I were your couple. Isobel and her two sidekicks brought the Child closer to the surface that night. I never wanted to go back there again. Now I have to in order to reclaim him,” Dave asserted.

“Uh, guy, slight problem,” Harper indicated. “You’re a ghost. The Child’s running around like all dark and stuff. You don’t know what he does.”

“He knows, Harper,” Trance declared. “That’s why he has to take the Child back.”

“And the other witches? Do we know about them?” Kyla asked.

“You mentioned something about Rebecca Lichtenfeld before,” Martin recalled.

“Lichtenfeld?” Harper asked; his eyes betraying anxiousness as he recalled the urban legends he heard as a kid. “She was real?”

“She is real, Harper,” Dave indicated. “As Andromeda can tell you, we’re dealing with four very powerful sorcerers here. I wish we could find some more fire power.”

“Sometimes, David, you make due and find a way,” Dylan declared, stealing a glance at Molly. “A very wise person reminded me of that.”

“And we have to have faith,” Trance added.

“Besides, there are others coming, Professor,” Martin interjected. “The Protector’s on his way.”

“He’s the Child’s counterpart from a parallel universe you might say,” Dave explained. “That should even the odds a bit more. I can’t ask you to help us but I’d ask for a way home.”

“It’s up to everyone. We have the problem in front of us. What do you think?” Dylan inquired, trying not to think about dealing with two Children simultaneously.

“This is nuts,” Beka groused. “How are we supposed to deal with four witches like that?”

“With faith and perseverance, Beka,” Trance countered. “This could affect everything.”

“And those creeps trashed my home town,” Harper added. “I owe them some payback.”

“Friends help friends, Dylan,” Rommie concurred.

“Flying into impossible odds is our strong suit,” Molly suggested.

Dylan considered their words carefully, weighing the implications as he did so. On the one hand, as with their previous fight with the Magog World Ship, Death stared them right in the face. He had no wish to be stuck in a fight between two Dark Children either. But on the other hand, the Founders of Kandor were in danger. If Kandorian civilization was never to come into being, the Commonwealth might not either. And that’s the deciding factor right there. This one’s for our friends and the Old Commonwealth. “Andromeda, what’s the status of Ror-El’s time regulator?”

“It’s working within its normal parameters, Dylan,” the AI reported.

“You aren’t seriously considering this?” Rhade inquired.

“Not just considering, Rhade, we’re doing it. Harper, I want you to run some last minute checks on that regulator to make sure it’s okay. Beka, you, Rommie and Rhade go to Command,” Dylan instructed.

“Dylan, I’ll go with Harper,” Trance noted.

“Yeah, I could use a set of golden hands if you get my drift,” the engineer suggested.

“Sounds good. Molly, you’re with me,” Dylan agreed. “Trance, Harper, I want you in Command as soon as you’re finished. We need to be in Slipstream within the hour.”

“Gotcha, Boss,” Harper concurred. Instinctively, he took Trance’s hand and led her out of the room.

“I’ll be damned!” Beka exclaimed in reaction to seeing that sight.

“Be careful of your choice of words, Beka. These four adversaries could do just that,” Andromeda pointed out.

“We’ll get them back, David. All of them,” Dylan vowed.

“Thanks,” the spirit expressed. “Come on, Martin and Kyla. They have work to do to get ready. Besides, you need to fill me in.” And I need to find Angie too. He shuddered at the thought of his wife in the Coven’s clutches. Somehow, we need to pull this off. With that, he vanished from view.

“Let us know if we can be of assistance,” Martin indicated as he and Kyla left the room.

Without another word, Dylan stood and left the room. There certainly was a lot to think about. That was for sure.



Conclusion
[Engineering]

Harper and Trance quickly found the regulator next to the Slipstream drive. As they looked it over, each weighed their own feelings for the situation and each other.

For his part, he made some adjustments to the apparatus, taking into account distance as well as point in time.

She watched him intently. Oh sure, she monitored his progress. But she couldn’t take her eyes off of him either. He really does care. Why does this stuff happen when we’re about to take on something big and dangerous? She forced herself to be positive if for nothing else—for Harper’s sake. “Thanks, Harper.”

“For what?” he inquired. “I didn’t do anything.”

“You backed me up in there. I appreciate it,” she told him.

“Hey, I do have a beef with those crones for attacking my town. And I know you, Trance, you’d go off by yourself if we had said no,” he asserted.

“Maybe. Then again, I know a certain engineer who’d insist on tagging along for my own good,” she pointed out.

“You got that right. Ain’t no way I’d let you deal with those creeps without me there,” he insisted. “Granted, I’m being a complete idiot for rushing into this but hey, I can’t let anything happen to you.” He turned from their work for a second to look into her eyes. “That’s a promise, Trance.”

“I know, Harper. I have confidence in all of us but especially you and your genius,” she indicated.

“That’s me, Super Genius, and don’t you forget it,” he bantered, trying to mask his fear.

She kissed him. “For luck, Seamus.” While she would have liked the moment to last forever, there was the task at hand. “Are we set?”

“Yeah. It’s humming like a newborn kitten. Then again, it was installed by the Harper after all,” he bragged. “Remember last time when we needed some help to get to Earth once we got to the right time? This time, it’ll get us across distance and time. The Perseids and Kandorians vouch for it. And since it was devised primarily by Yours Truly, it has to work!”

She arched her right eyebrow and smirked at him. “Don’t change, Seamus. Let’s get to Command.”

“Lead the way, O’ Golden One,” he agreed, following her out.

****


[Dylan’s quarters]

For the previous fifteen minutes, Dylan had spoken with the Kandorian Chief Minister, Ror-El, verifying the situation. After laying out some plans, the captain signed off. “Great. Another day, another ride on the edge.”

“It wouldn’t be us if we didn’t, Dylan. Besides you’re a sucker for truth and justice,” Molly told him.

He chuckled. “You think so, do you?”

“I know you are,” she affirmed. “Besides, it’s about friendship.”

“You got that right. Duty sucks sometimes but it’s there. In short, we don’t run out on our friends,” he informed her.

“I love that about you, you know,” she noted, slipping her arms around his waist and holding him tightly against herself.

“Oh really? Tell me more,” he teased.

She kissed him quickly. “I’d love to.” She kissed him again.

Then over the comm., Andromeda announced, “Dylan, everyone’s waiting in Command for you both.”

She sighed. “She has the worst timing.”

He rolled his eyes. “Yeah I know. Andromeda, we’ll be right there.” He looked at her again. “Raincheck?”

She shrugged mischievously. “Just you try getting out of it, Captain Hunt.”

If we live through this, why would I try? He walked briskly, leading them toward Command.

As they entered, Beka teased, “I thought we were going to have Rommie put out a ship-wide alert on you both.”

“That’s quite all right, Beka,” Dylan assured her, frowning at her as he said it. “How’s that regulator, Mr. Harper?”

“We’re locked and loaded, Boss,” Harper replied.

“Setting the date that Martin gave us,” Trance added, punching the numbers into the computer and activating the regulator. “We’re set here as well.”

Beka activated her console, making the Slipstream apparatus drop into place. “Seeing as we’re bound and determined to do this, what the Hell? Let’s kick some ass.” Finding the portal in front of them, she yanked back on the steering sticks and guided the Andromeda right into it.

As soon as they were inside, Dylan directed, “How are we doing, Harper?”

“Regulator’s getting there. If Ror-El’s right, this time—we’ll make the jump to Earth and that time. We’re onto Phase 2 in 5…4…3…2…1. Hang on, Kids, because we’re off!” the engineer informed them.

The ship glowed green and vanished from that point in Slipstream, heading back toward their friends.

As it did so, Dylan mused, Hang in there, guys. We’re coming.


THE END (for now)

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