Everything was changing. Everything HAD changed. And Tyr knew exactly when and how. It had started the day Beka had asked him to teach her about Nietzschean culture.

"Why?" He had asked bluntly. Her response had surprised him even more than her question.

"'Know thy friend, know thy enemy, let neither have the better of thee.'...What!?" she asked when he said nothing. "Just because I'm Human doesn't mean I can't read."

"I know that." He responded haughtily. "I was simply shocked that a Human would be interested in Nietzschean culture and know the works of Drago Musivini."

"Not all of them," she admitted, "but I'm working on it. So will you teach me?"


That was how everything started. From then on, every off duty hour was spent together reading, talking, arguing about any and everything Nietzschean. Looking back on it now, his acceptance was probably a mistake. A deep friendship had developed between them during their last months together. That friendship, coupled with things Tyr had only recently learned to admit, could only lead to mistakes that he didn't want to make. Mistakes that if made, would cause him to loose Beka forever. Love among Nietzscheans was a rare occurrence, but it did happen. He knew Beka would never claim him as her mate so there was only one thing he could do.

Something was different, and Beka Valentine didn't know what. Where was Tyr when she needed him? She would be able to figure out what it was if he was here. Tyr had become a good sounding board for her thoughts in the past half year. Tyr had become a good everything to her in the past 6 months. It had begun with her lessons. No, it hadn't she realized. She had gone to him for the lessons because it had already started and she had wanted a way to be closer to him. Trance had suggested it. The only problem was that it had worked. Her plan had been to become friends with him; he had been way to standoff-ish when he first arrived. Her plan had not been to fall in love with the man she discovered.

She had watched his manner change over the months. Once she got him to stop saying 'you're not a Nietzschean you would not understand' every time she asked him a question and actually got him to explain, their times together had been wonderful. But now something was different. Whenever they were together she could feel it in him. Nothing wrong, just something different.

The nest morning, at Dylan's behest, the entire crew of the Andromeda was in the meeting room.

"I have been contacted by representatives of the Soku government." He began, "they have expressed an interest in joining our new Commonwealth. Rommie has already altered our course so we should get there this time tomorrow."

"But can we trust them?" Harper asked. "Remember what happened last time we went to visit some people who wanted to join up?" They were all silent for a moment. It had been a trap and they had barely escaped with their lives.

"We all remember Harper. But if we don't go then we loose a potential ally. Besides," he added, "the Soku don't have many friends so they won't want to make an enemy of us."

"Why don't they have friends?" Trance asked, "Are they bad?", her purple tail swaying nervously.

"Not at all Trance," said Rommie, "The Soku don't have many friends
they are outcasts. About 270 years ago, a Nietzschean male, soon to
be an Alpha of his pride, fell in love with a Human woman. He
renounced his ties to his pride and asked the woman to marry him, she
accepted and they went to the then uninhabited planet of Soku. Once
there they announced that Soku was a haven for all interspecies
couples who had been rejected by their peoples and that any and all
were welcome. It did not take long before couples were flocking there
by the hundreds. It is populated mostly by Humans and Nietzscheans,
but there are also Perseids, Than, and even a few Nightsiders; and of
course the mixed species offspring. All the races and mixtures
thereof live peacefully and Soku now has a prosperous economy and fits
all our requirements to join the Commonwealth."

"Now that you've all had your history lesson for today lets get back to work. We've been invited to meet the Soku Chancellor for lunch tomorrow so be ready to go planetside. Dismissed." With that, Dylan nodded his head and left the room.

As they all rose to leave Beka could see that Tyr was troubled. She followed him into the lift. "Why didn't you tell me about this?" she finally asked.

"Konstantine brought great shame to our pride with his aberration. He is not spoken of."

"He was a Kodiak?" Beka couldn't keep the shock from her voice.

"Yes." His voice was gruff. "If you don't mind Beka, I need no be alone right now." His voice had taken on a softer quality.

"Of course not." She said and stepped aside so he could exit the lift. She could feel that something different again. It must be the idea of Humans mating with Nietzscheans, she thought. His disgust with interspecies relationships was something she had come to terms with, but something she would never understand. She sighed. Tyr was right, it was because she was Human.