Warning. AP Valve Malfunction in the Reactor Chamber.
Repeat. AP Valve Malfunction in the Reactor Chamber.
Bleed off excess anti-protons! Initiate emergency venting!
Initiating. Fifteen seconds to overload.
Twelve seconds.
Ten.
Nine.
Eight.
Seven.
Six.
Surprise!
Happy Birthday
We got you! Oh, did we get him. Look at his face. OK, you see that?
THAT is why you don't tell him a week ahead of time.
- Who put you up to this? - Harper overrode my emergency protocols.
He said it was necessary for the gag.
What's the matter? Didn't they have surprise parties in the High Guard?
Somehow they found a less stressful setup than reactor meltdown.
Blow out the candles! Now!
There's so many of them.
We've included the three 303 years you spent frozen in time.
But don't worry. You don't look a day over two hundred.
Thank you. Sometimes I feel like it.
- I think I'm gonna need some help here. - Ready? One. Two. Three!
May your next year bring you wisdom and kindness.
- I hate them, too. - What's that?
Birthdays. Every year there's more of them behind and fewer ahead.
Andromeda says you spent your last birthday on Tarn Vedra.
It was at a ski resort in the Avarix Mountains with Sarah.
Dinner cost a Nightsider's ransom.
I still can't believe I know someone who's been to the Homeworld.
- It's like having seen Atlantis. - Tarn Vedra's no myth. I was born there.
My mother was a High-G shuttle pilot, my father worked at the Imperial Gardens.
And I... I grew up in the a human quarter of Bishana Tarn.
The architecture, the museums every day it was like walking through ten thousand years of history.
And now, well now it's...
...now there's not a single slipstream route left connecting Tarn Vedra to the rest of the universe.
It might as well be locked up in a steel box. - Yeah.
A steel box. A steel box with no key.
What's going on?
Happy Birthday!
I...I'll just show you how to do it. It's a little sticky.
Here you go.
- Slipstream routes. - A key.
The map to Tarn Vedra.
Happy birthday, Dylan. You're going home.
The long night has come
The system Commonwealth, the greatest civilization was fall
and now one ship, one crew are about drive back the night,
they'll gush up the light of civilization
on the starship Andromeda hope lives again
IT MAKES A LOVELY LIGHT
It's a lovely gesture, Beka.
But you can't get to Tarn Vedra from here from anywhere.
No one's found a viable slip-route to the Vedran homeworld since the Commonwealth fell.
Ye of little faith.
Do you remember when Harper and Trance stole the,...?
ACQUIRED. - Acquired the diary of Hasturi, the mad Perseid?
Ah, yes. The only sentient to reach Tarn Vedra since the fall. Or so he claimed.
Hey, believe it or not, I actually read that thing.
The crap I went through to get that, and it's total gibberish.
Steer by the glow of the,...Cyclops' eye?
It's half mystical mumbo-jumbo, half putrid poetry, and half bad math.
That's three halves.
- Like I said: bad math. - To you, maybe. But you're not a pilot.
Prune away all this bad poetry, and you get this.
The road to Tarn Vedra.
Chapter one, verse one.
I set a course for the swan palace of lapis and gold.
The Capella system.
- A binary star one blue, one yellow. - Lapis and gold.
It's all here. From Capella to Algareb to Seginus. All the way to Tarn Vedra in forty-six easy steps.
Slow down, Moses. Hardly easy. This trail bisects a stellar nursery.
And it passes within twenty AU of a collapsing quasar.
Not to mention negotiating around the twin cores of the Andromeda galaxy.
Hasturi knew that all the normal routes had been destroyed,...
...so he explored all the abnormal ones. - Well, he certainly picked some beauties.
Think of the shipyards.
Imagine all the new parts just waiting for Andromeda.
And what would contacting the Vedran homeworld do for a reunited Commonwealth?
- This could light a fire under our whole crusade. - It's dangerous, Beka.
Yeah. Maybe it is dangerous,...
...but someone once told me that nothing worth doing is easy.
Hello, Tyr. What do you want?
Command codes for the Eureka Maru.
As in my ship? Awwww... did you wake up insane, or was it a slow onset?
I've given it some considerable thought,...
...and I've decided that this quest of yours is wrong-headed and most likely to prove fatal.
So if it's all the same to you, I prefer to wait it out on this...vessel,
and if you survive, you can pick me up and tell me all about Tarn Vedra.
And here I thought you cared.
I care enough not to want to watch you and Dylan and the rest kill yourselves on some fools' crusade.
Tyr, do I strike you as some sort of starry-eyed dreamer?
No. In fact, most of the time, you're admirably self-interested.
Well. This IS most of the time.
Wake up, Tyr. You think I'm going to Tarn Vedra for the art galleries?
That planet was not only the seat of government:
it was also the home base for the Commonwealth's military,...
...including its arms depots. - Lovely.
So, the situation presents some interesting possibilities.
Now, you wake up. No one's reached Tarn Vedra in three hundred years,...
...and better pilots than you have died trying. - There are no better pilots than me.
Arms depots, eh?
I knew that'd get your attention.
Andromeda, do we have any nanobots that can,... eat metal?
REALLY BIG chunks of metal. Like,... I dunno, say...underground vaults, maybe?
Have you considered the possibility that the Vedrans might not want you to loot their home?
And have you considered the possibility that they may not even be there anymore?
For all we know, the place could be abandoned... ripe for the pickin's.
And besides, it's not,...looting. It's,... gleaning.
There's a very fine line between gleaning and pillaging.
I believe one draws that line with a laser saw.
I fear there is one possibility everyone is overlooking in this mad dash for wealth and glory.
Vedrans are a very powerful and ancient race.
They conquered known space, and they tamed it.
What if Tarn Vedra was not cut off from the slipstream at all?
What if they cut themselves off? And what if they don't want to be found?
Beka.
Beka, are you in here?
- Whoa! Sorry, I didn't realize you were,... - No. No, it's fine, I was done.
Have you made a decision, Dylan?
...oh yes! Right. Right! ...look, look, ...
Do you really think that you can do this?
I wouldn't have volunteered if I didn't think I could pull it off.
Yeah, well, see you know, I was,..., ...I was checking your figure...I mean ...the...your FIGURES, and...
...seventy percent of our transit time would be in the slipstream itself.
And that's psychologically exhausting under ideal conditions,...
...and these routes that you're talking about it's gonna be hard on the pilot.
I mean, on ANY pilot. I mean, look what it did to Hasturi.
Yeah, but Hasturi was a Perseid. They're all twitchy obsessive compulsives to begin with.
He was probably crazy before he started.
Look, Dylan, I can do this. I know I can.
Nothing worth doing...
OK. Let's give it a shot. Report to command.
Oh,..., take your time. I mean...I...as you were.
Hey! You think it's on Tarn Vedra, don't you?
- The Engine of... - Seamus, Ix-Nay.
- Right. Right. But it's there, isn't it? - Maybe. We'll see.
The face of the Divine.
Come again?
The Andromeda Galaxy.
If the universe is a manifestation of the Divine,...
...could not the slipstream be the very mind of God?
Well, if that's the case, I'm afraid God had a seizure and forgot all about Tarn Vedra.
And here comes God's little brain surgeon.
- Beka! Some humility, please! - Yeah, I tried that once. I didn't like it.
Like they say: In the slipstream, confidence is everything.
Apparently.
All right, Beka. Let's do this.
Transiting to slipstream. Three. Two. One.
Welcome to Capella. Hello, Capella. Goodbye, Capella.
Hello and goodbye, Algareb.
On screen. Full magnification.
That's the Seginus System.
Or as Hasturi put it, the Sockets of Twelve Ax-Handles.
Ten down, thirty-six to go.
She is a remarkable pilot.
And you're surprised?
Hey, I'm choosy about who I work for, you know.
So am I.
Ten jumps, no waiting. Good work, Beka.
It was a snap.
For you, maybe, but Rev looks like hell
well, worse than he normally does and even I'm feeling the strain.
I think we'll rest here in normal space for a while. - What?
And break our momentum? No, I'm fi...Look! I...Look!
Tarn Vedra's been lost for three hundred years. We do not have to find it this morning.
Go.
Going.
So, where are we now?
That's Epsilon Bel. It's an X-Ray pulsar.
See how she blinks on and off?
Hasturi called that the eye of the blinded Cyclops.
Hasturi makes a lot of references to the ancient Earth epic, the Odyssey.
Except when he confuses his Vedrans with his centaurs,...
...and then he just veers right off of Homer and starts quoting Einstrom Becksman.
The Hawks of Scaroth. Majestic.
If you like beheadings.
I'm beginning to think this may actually work.
Oh, I see. So you doubted me up 'til now?
Beka, you wound me. I doubt you never.
Wiseguy.
Yes!
Whoo!
OK, whatever that was, I know it wasn't good. Beka?
It's ok. It's all under control.
(Polymer web.)
We certainly are. Andromeda, determine our exact location.
I know our location. We're in between Scylla and Charybdis.
Halfway between Andromeda galaxy's two cores.
And the twin black holes at their centers.
Tell you what. Let's skip the formalities and move on to our next destination, ok?
Aye-aye.
Sorry.
- Damn it! - And that would mean there's a problem.
I can't find the way into slipstream. It's like the entire area is a gravitational riptide.
I think we're stuck.
OK, Harper, dazzle me.
We are here. On your left will be a black hole we'll call, say, ..., "rock".
And on your right, one we'll call "hard place".
Now, for those of you who are feeling a little torn,...
...the, uh, mass of your average galactic core super-black hole...
...is equal to about a hundred million suns.
And we are trapped jam smack dab right between two of 'em.
So, you can forget about finding a slipstream portal.
One wrong move, and we are talking entire planets being ripped to molecular shreds.
I can get us out.
If I can just find the sweet spot between the two gravitational cores,...
...they'll neutralize each other.
- "IF" being the operative word. - Theoretically, Dylan, she is correct.
If we're off course by even a few kilometers, we're history.
We both knew the risks when we started out. I can do this.
I'm not doubting you, Beka. I'm just looking to maximize the odds.
Harper, I want you to optimize the control interface...
...and see if you can eke a better performance out of the slipstream drive.
Rommie, work out worse case scenarios. And you...
...take a break. You're exhausted and I need you sharp.
- I'm fine. - It's not a debate.
Beka?
Trance?
Trance, I didn't know you were in here.
Yeah. Yeah.
It's just...all that time in slipstream really gives me a headache.
Wouldn't you be more comfortable in Andromeda's crew quarters?
I guess so. It's just,...
...you know, my favorite plants are here, and it kinda feels like my bed. Is that silly?
Nope. I know exactly what you mean.
You know, you look kind of tired. Maybe you should take a nap, too.
Instant nap. Just add water.
Oh.
- Are you sure? Because... - Trance, stop.
I know what I'm doing. Everything's gonna be fine. OK?
I don't,...I don't, I'm not...feeling...good.
Trance?
I can't explain it. Perhaps it's our proximity to the galactic core.
Radiation, gravitational flux, the tidal forces of those twin singularities...
Rev! Spill it.
Trance's physiology is as alien as anything I have ever seen.
Whatever energy flow she has is fading rapidly.
Beka, I'm afraid we're losing her.
Let me sit with her for a minute.
You go pray for a speedy recovery or whatever it is you do.
Divine compassion is stronger medicine than you know. I will go pray for her.
- Andromeda, give us a minute, please. - Privacy mode engaged.
What are you doing?
Trance, you're up.
What are you doing with the medicine?
Acetylcholine, neurostimulant? You're making flash?
I know what I'm doing.
- Trance, I have to get us out of here. - But flash...
...will boost my reaction time and help me anticipate changes in the stream. It's what it was made for.
But you can't do that. It's so bad for you.
No. No, I'll be fine. Everything's gonna be ok.
I'll take care of everything, Trance. I promise.
Let's get you back to bed.
Status?
The tidal forces of the galactic core are still too strong.
We need to go a little further before we can enter slipstream.
Steady as she goes. Maximum PSL.
Hey, Dylan.
Hi, Beka. How's Trance?
Not great. But I'm better. All I needed was a catnap.
I'm impressed.
Well, don't be. I'm the one that got us in this predicament in the first place.
The least I can do is get us out.
Just make sure that we're clear of the core before you stream.
You're telling me to tiptoe back out of here. I can do that. I will do that.
Don't break my ship.
- We're clear. - We're clear.
- Stream away. - Stream away.
Trance! Trance!
Trance! Oh, you're awake. Thank the Divine.
Good work, Beka. You have my thanks. That was very impressive.
- It was nothin'. - No, I mean it.
Suddenly you could do no wrong.
We didn't even upgrade the equipment or recalibrate the controls.
Oh, I see. So you get pilot error, but you have no room for pilot excellence.
Can't you just accept the fact that I'm good? Maybe just as good as Captain Terrific himself?
Excuse me?
Sorry. Sorry, I'm stressed.
Tell you what.
Why don't we just stay here in normal space for a while and let Andromeda give you a spell. OK?
Yeah. Yeah.
A break will do me good. Gives me a chance to maybe read the little mystery...
HEY! My guys bled for that! My score!
Hey, Beka! Mind telling me what that was all about?
Sorry. I am sorry. I,... you're right. I...
...I'm pushing myself too hard. I really need a break.
Damn right you do. You've been slip-piloting for 16 hours nonstop. No one can keep up that pace.
Yeah. I can. I can do it. Dylan, I... I was born in the slipstream. I can do this.
It's just, ..., it's exactly what you said. I, ..., I need a break.
I need a break and it'll be...it'll be fine. You'll see. You'll see.
Boss? I just wanted to come by and tell you I have the utmost,...confidence in your ability to...
What in the name of the Vedran Empress?!?
- Walk away. You were never here. - You're doing flash. I don't believe it. Flash?
Beka, come on. You know what that stuff does to people.
People kill over that stuff their family and friends.
Did you know that 82% of people on prison planets are flash addicts?
Do you know what? They tell you that kind of stuff just to scare you.
Sure. To scare you out of killing your neighbors.
Look, I'm not gonna pretend this crap is good for me. I know first-hand what flash can...
I'm using miniscule doses.
For a limited time. It's medicine, and it's working.
You saw, you heard what Dylan said.
If it's such good medicine, why don't you tell Dylan?
Because Dylan is Dylan. Dylan wouldn't cheat on his FTA dues.
Besides, it's none of his business what I put in my bloodstream.
Fine. It's your brain. But...
...I don't like to see you like this, Rebecca. I'm just trying to help.
Then leave. Then just leave. Leave! And let me do my job!
You know, Harper, I've saved your skin before, and I'll save it again.
But you have got to get off my back...
...or SO HELP ME, I will drop you back on the trash heap where I found you!
OK.
Beka! Did you have a good rest.
I've had an epiphany. Rommie, diagram our last nine transits.
Processing.
Hasturi called that the Belt of Orion.
...Orion is in the Milky Way.
We're two million light-years from there.
YES! But Hasturi was a lunatic! The point...!
The point is, we're back on track. I can still get us to Tarn Vedra.
Beka, that route takes us within 5 light-minutes of a charged plasma nebula.
The Black Goat with a Thousand Young. Yeah, yeah.
And I'll have us out of there in one hot second.
Not good enough. Rommie, plot a course back to the galactic fringe.
...did you hear me?
I..I just finished saying we don't have to turn around. I can do it.
I can get us there in twelve transits. Ten!
...Boss? I...I... I abstain.
Beka, I appreciate your dedication,...
...and I have confidence in your abilities, but I don't buy your math...
...You can't finesse a risk/benefit ratio. - I agree.
The dangers significantly outweigh the potential rewards.
OK, I expect this kind of thing from Mr. Self-Preservation, here.
But you! Dylan, I thought you had guts.
You're under a lot of strain, which is why I've cut you a lot of slack.
But I think it's time you left the bridge and went back to your quarters, now.
Is that an order, Captain, My Captain?
Oh, I forgot. Actually, you're not a real captain, are you?
There's no High Guard! There's no commissioned officers.
Who around here is an ACTUAL captain? Don't tell me, let me guess...
...Just...it's coming to me, it's coming to me. Let's see...that would be,...ME!
That's enough!
This is my ship, and when you're on my ship, you will comport yourself like the captain you claim to be!
Reasoning with her will do little good.
She's under the influence of mind-altering drugs.
- What? - What?!? Heh.
- Says who, Uber? - CAPTAIN Valentine,...
...I can hear your heartbeat racing.
I can see the sheen of perspiration and smell the adrenaline fueling it.
Tell me,...
...did you think that Nietzschean vision would be unable to distinguish between a human cornea and a contact lens?
Beka, flash? What are you...Are you insane?
What...it's not what you...Everybody needs it. Besides!...
...I thought you made your own rules, Mr. Beyond Good and Evil.
This hasn't a thing to do with good or evil.
Drugs create dependency. Dependency is weakness, and weakness is death.
Tyr, you could've told me earlier.
It was working.
And Mr. Harper, I'm sure you were well aware.
- She's flash-fried and freeze-dried. - You're gonna pay for this, Harper!
- Beka, you are relieved of duty. - What?
Now, give it to me.
Who's gonna fly you out of this mess if not me? I'm your best pilot.
You should be thankful that I can't court-martial you. Now, give me the bottle.
Fine.
Catch.
Sorry.
Brace for slipstream!
Medical alert. Patient condition critical.
Tyr, escort Captain Valentine to V-deck.
That's the last time I go to the mat for you guys!
Dependency is weakness, weakness is death.
You know what, Tyr? You know what? I got two words for you...
...Anabolic...Steroids! Oh, yeah, I forgot.
You're Mr. Pure and Natural, aren't you?
Yeah. You're,... too good for human women, that's for sure.
Beka, is there anything you need?
Yeah...a door key.
I was thinking more along the lines of a light supper.
Food? No! No... Maybe water. Or maybe a lemonade.
Yeah! Yeah, yeah. A lemonade would be great.
I'll see what I can do.
Ok. I'll be right here.
OK, Andromeda. Give me what you can.
Come on.
Yeah, I know.
Trance? Welcome back...
...At least one of my patients is improving. - Who else is sick?
Beka. She... - Took flash.
I saw her stealing the ingredients. I tried to stop her.
You must not blame yourself for Beka's actions.
Then neither can you.
Well, I...I never said I was.
No, you didn't. But you thought it. I know you, Rev.
You always try to say the right thing so people will see things the right way,...
...and then they'll always end up making the right choices.
Yes, I suppose I do.
Sometimes, you just have to allow people to make the mistakes they need to make.
Thank you.
My hair hurts.
You are withdrawing from a very powerful drug.
It's bound to be uncomfortable. - Uncomfortable?
Rev, every nerve ending is on fire.
My skull is two sizes too small.
I want to rip my skin off with my fingernails.
I was thinking...
...maybe it would be better to taper off slowly, you know? Safer.
I just need you to get me a couple of drops. I promise. I promise, just a taste.
Beka, this will not end your pain. It will merely postpone it.
It's funny. I'm always the one that has it all together.
But right now, I just... I just feel shattered into a million pieces.
I have always believed the Divine loves us best at the broken times.
Well, I'm a pilot.
And no one ever loved me best for screwing up.
Everything's redlining, boss.
If I give the engines any more power, they'll explode.
OK, let's bring it.
Brace for slipstream everyone. This isn't going to be fun.
Nicely done.
That unfamiliar sound you hear is me exhaling with relief.
You took us 15 light years from the gravity well. We've almost cleared the core.
Why are we headed toward Tarn Vedra? I thought you wanted to turn back.
I do. I was heading in the opposite direction. That wasn't me.
The ship transited all by itself.
Joke's on you, Sparky. Five more jumps. Five more jumps, Sparky!
And we're home free.
- Tyr, report. - Give me a plasma cannon...
...and some shake-charges. I'll have her out of there in five minutes.
If we spook her, she could drop us right into a supernova. We have to find another way.
What I want to know is how my security system was fooled into thinking command had been destroyed in battle.
It's the only way she could control me from the slipstream core.
Well. Rommie, you remember when we first met you?
When you tried to highjack me? Yes, Harper, I remember it well.
You were open salvage!
Besides, we didn't know there'd be any High Guard leftovers on board. No offense, Dylan.
You installed overrides to bypass Andromeda's security system.
Overrides which you said you disconnected!
Overrides which, if memory serves, and it always does, you disconnected under my personal supervision!
OK, so maybe I didn't disconnect every single little override.
I mean, we had only met you. Dylan was all very impressive, and,...
...for the most part we were buying this restore the Commonwealth game, but,...
...for all we knew, he coulda been some whacko trying to take us on some insane quest.
Yeah. Yeah, like finding Tarn Vedra.
OK, so we're paranoid. So sue us. We needed a Plan B. You always have a Plan B.
Yes, but my Plan B's WORK.
Hey, Beka, it's Dylan.
- If you're trying to bypass security, forget it. - No, no. I just,...I just want to talk.
Sorry, I'm just a little busy right now. I have to smooth out this interface a titch.
- You want some help? - Yeah! Yeah, that's a great idea.
Why don't you just come on in and you can take over. You can turn us around and scamper on home.
- Oh, so you're still trying to get to Tarn Vedra. - What do you think, Dylan? I...
...that I'd get you a birthday present and then just take it back?
"I'm sorry, Rocket. I needed it. But I'll get you another one, I promise."
- Who called you Rocket? - Like you don't know.
Pretend I don't. - Look, I'm not my father, ok?
I'm not an addict. I can stop any time I want.
- Then why don't you? - Because I made a promise.
And this Valentine keeps her promises. Now, excuse me,...
...I've got work to do. - Damn it!
Boss, she cut the comm link.
Then find a way around it. Andromeda, status.
Beka's last heading is taking us too close to the quasar.
I can't even activate the neutrino dampers with her re-routing the helm.
You have to get her out of there.
Beka!
Hey, Dylan. Fancy meeting you here.
You have to turn around. Getting to Tarn Vedra is not worth sacrificing my ship.
Give up? Uh-uh. No. Not me. I don't give up.
I may not be good for much, but you can always count on me to keep my word.
You've got nothing to prove! You're one of the best starship pilots I...
What? You call that slagheap a starship?
Frankly, I think it's a miracle you keep it flying at all.
I know.
And if I can get that bucket of bolts to fly, just imagine what I can do with the Andromeda.
I can get you all the way home! - Beka, my home died a long time ago.
Radiation level exceeding safety limits.
Access code Zelazney-Seven-Four-Niner!
Beka, let him go!
You bastard! You're just like the rest of 'em! You'll say anything to get what you want!
You know me better than that. I want to help you.
Oh, crap! You want to ditch me. You want to ... me.
Beka, look at yourself! Look! Look what you've become!
Listen, Beka, I'm trying to stop you from killing yourself.
I've lost four thousand people from my original crew. Four thousand!
I will be damned if I'm gonna lose one more.
Not like this, Beka.
Not like this.
Just let me try one more time.
One more dose, and I can jump us all the way...
...into a sun or a black hole.
Beka.
Beka! The flash is affecting your judgment. If you listen to it, it will kill you.
Radiation level approaching critical.
I won't. I won't. I won't die.
Are you sure?
No.
Take it.
Oh, man, she's overdosing.
- Take it. - Harper.
Dylan, radiation levels are critical. We have to get out of here. Now!
- What has she done. - Radiation levels are normal.
Dylan, we've transited back to the galactic fringe. We made it.
Good. Good.
Captain Valentine. It's good to have you back.
- I guess I didn't get us to Tarn Vedra. - No.
- Did I wreck the ship? - You came damn close.
- Trance. Is she...? - She's fine.
So's Rev.
Oh my god, I shot Rev.
I think the betrayal hurt him more than the actual injury itself.
Flash might be good for your reflexes, but it's murder on your disposition.
Flash isn't good for anything, Beka. You almost killed yourself.
If you had been in the Maru, you would have died. Andromeda barely pulled you through.
I saw you, Beka.
You liked being on flash. I mean it filled some kind of need in you.
And even when it was killing you, you wanted more.
Rommie may have been able to clean the chemicals out of your blood, but...
...she can't fix that want or that need.
So from now on, every morning I'll wake up thinking about flash.
And every night I'll go to bed thinking about flash. Is that it?
What do you know, I'm my father after all.
In the High Guard, we pledged to hold the line against the night.
That's what the Commonwealth meant.
And on this ship,...
...the Commonwealth still exists.
On this ship,...
...we hold the line against the darkness in all of us. - I know.
Dylan, I know.
I'm gonna have to fight it every day for the rest of my life.
And I'll be with you...
...every step of the way.
Subtitles by Yojimbo BST