By Erin_Cale
Disclaimer: See first part.
***
Kathryn was surprised that Dylan accepted. Then again, reflecting back on her rather unique situation, she realized that he hadn�t made a foolish decision. She was on his ship, they had taken away her phaser and tricorder for analysis and a ship this advanced surely had to have internal sensors. They could tell that she wasn�t a threat, so her request had been approved. Now she had a chance to learn more about her hosts.
When the group entered the galley, Kathryn followed slowly behind the others, unsure of where to go. Dylan evidently saw her hesitation and heaped a plate full of... something for her to eat.
�Here,� he said, handing her the plate. �Try this.�
�It�s good,� a blond woman said from just behind Dylan, �No matter what it looks like.� The woman flashed a quick smile to Kathryn before seating herself at a table where the others were already gathering. Kathryn followed suit, choosing a seat on the corner of the table.
�From what I�ve seen already, your ship must be huge,� Kathryn said appreciatively as Dylan seated himself next to her.
�Yes, Andromeda is quite a large ship, one of the largest the High Guard fleet ever had.�
Kathryn�s hand paused in the action of digging into her food. She looked up at Dylan in confusion. �Then where is the rest of your crew?�
�Ah, well Rev will be here in a second.� Dylan seemed to understand her question suddenly and answered, �Sorry, it�s just that I�ve gotten used to referring to the seven of us as the whole crew but my original crew died just over 300 years ago.�
�How is that possible?�
Dylan smiled sadly. With each comment she made, he found himself growing more hopeful that she really did come from an alternate universe. �The Andromeda answered a distress call, which turned out to be fake. We were ambushed. The crew abandoned ship except for myself, my pilot and my first officer. My first officer, it turned out, betrayed us. He was my best friend and after a brief firefight he lay dead on the bridge, killed by my weapon.�
�I�m sorry,� Kathryn interrupted.
�Thank you. But the trouble was only just beginning. Andromeda slipped onto the edge of an event horizon and I was frozen in time. I stayed that way for a little over 300 years, until Beka,� Dylan gestured to the blond woman who had spoken to Kathryn earlier, �and her crew pulled me out. I convinced them and Tyr, one of the mercenaries who had boarded my ship, to stay and become my crew.� He motioned to the man with the bonespurs, who just looked at Kathryn with a disinterested look.
�What about the pilot?�
�Killed by my former first officer.�
�I�m sorry.�
�It is not your fault, so you can stop saying �I�m sorry.� To change the subject, since you don�t know anything about this universe maybe we should give you a crash course in history.�
The doors on the opposite side of the room opened and an ugly, hairy being entered. Kathryn�s eyes widened slightly but she made no move to defend herself. Beka, noticing Kathryn�s discomfort, added, �And maybe a crash course in species would help too.�
Dylan, as if noticing Kathryn�s nervous glance toward Rev for the first time, decided that it was finally time to introduce everybody to the newcomer. �Kathryn Janeway, this is Rev Bem. For future reference, he�s of a species called Magog. That�s Beka, she�s human. As is Harper. Tyr is a Nietzchean. You can tell the difference between Nietzcheans and Humans because Nietzcheans have bonespurs. Rommie is the ship�s avatar and Trance is, well... Trance. She hasn�t told us what species she comes from.�
�It�s nice to meet you all,� Kathryn said, bowing her head graciously.
�Nice to meet you,� came the response (in various forms) from Harper, Beka and Rev.
After everybody had welcomed her, Trance asked her, �Do you like flowers?�
***