Ibrahim Khalid mentally sighed as he saw his old friend walk off the bridge. The sad, haunted look in her eyes reminded him uncomfortably of when Dylan was first reported missing/presumed dead. He motioned his crew back onto the bridge, but waved them off when they went to share their condolences with Sara. She would be up to receiving them in a few days, but not now, not so soon after Dylan had went back to the future.

"Twilight?"

The Than turned to him. "Yes sir?"

"Break orbit. As soon as we're far enough away from the singularity, jump to slipstream. I don't want to run back into those fighters before we've completed repairs."

"Yes, sir. Destination?"

That's what he liked in his crew. They got the job done first and asked questions later. "The Than homeworld. We'll decide where to go after that when we get there."

He received more than a few curious looks from his crew, but to their credit, they followed his orders without question.

"Sir!"

"Yes, Markab?"

His security officer didn't look up from her screen. "The fighters are attempting a pursuit."

"How far back are they?"

"Three light-minutes and closing."

"Twilight? How much time until we can go to slipstream?"

"Another minute at least," she answered.

Markab shook her head. "They'll be within weapons range in thirty seconds."

Khalid thought for a second. "Markab, launch all remaining missiles at those fighters in a broad spread. That should get us the time we need."

"Yes, sir. Launching missiles now."

The missiles streaked behind the ship, headed for the approaching fighters. Once the missiles reached a certain distance from the ship, they exploded, blinding the fighters for those few critical seconds.

"Brace for slipstream," Twilight called out, her words carried throughout the ship.

Once in orbit of the Than homeworld, Khalid left the bridge. When he reached Sara's quarters, he could hear her sobs through the door. The sound nearly made him weep as well. Not only had Sara lost her fiance, but Khalid had also lost a good friend when Dylan left for the future. When she didn't answer the door despite repeated requests to enter, Khalid simply used his override codes to gain access.

"Deja vu," Sara commented through her tears when she saw him. "I seem to recall you pulling the same stunt about a year and a half ago." He simply nodded at her rejoinder and sat down silently beside her on the couch.

"What now?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Dylan told me that Thann is one of the few places that survives the war mostly intact. There is also a small non-Than refugee population there. Twilight tells me that there is a good chance the crew would be welcomed in them."

"Even you?"

"Maybe. Nietzscheans are not a welcome sight anywhere since this war started."

"You're saying that you'll stay?" she asked hopefully.

"Dylan asked me to make sure that you are safe. How can I do that if I am not there?"

She wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you, my friend," she whispered before the tears came once again.

He hugged her and silently offered what comfort he could.

Two years later:

Sara stared at the ring on her left hand while her right hand absently twirled it around. Knowing that Khalid would not be back from the market for another hour at least, she accessed one of the video recorders salvaged from the _Starry Wisdom_.

"Dylan, I'm recording this in the hopes that someday you will receive it." She held up her left hand, the ring still sparkling brightly. "I remember the day you gave me this, and at the time, I not only swore to be your wife, but also to never take it off. When you came back from the future, you told me not to be that old woman who sits around mourning for her lost true love. I hope you really meant it, Dylan." She slipped the ring off and then held it up. "I will always treasure this ring, your love, and the time we had together. But now I think it's time to start rebuilding what's left of my life."

An irreverent thought caused her to smile. "You were right about Thann. Neither the Magog nor the Nietzscheans take much interest in a hive species, or in the small refugee population here. All of the Starry Wisdom's crew stayed here, although Twilight rejoined her mating group, which isn't too far from the camp. Speaking of the camp, people were pretty hostile to Khalid, which was expected. Khalid even told me that he expected it to be much worse than what it was, given what the Nietzscheans have done. It's gotten better over the past two years, especially after he helped in the rescue of a boy that almost drowned." She sighed. "We both miss you, Dylan. I sometimes catch myself wondering if you've moved on, or if you're going to pine away for me for the rest of your life. If I can't do that, then I won't allow you to do it either. Khalid has kept your promise to keep me safe, and he's been a good friend to me."

Sighing, she continued. "This is one of those times where I could really use your advice, Dylan." A few tears slipped from her eyes. "You told me to go on with my life, and yet, I feel guilty for doing so. Please understand, I still love you, and I always will, but lately, I've found it hard not to see Khalid as more than just my friend. I think I may be falling in love with him," she confessed quietly. "I miss you, Dylan. Take care." She kissed the tips of her fingers and raised them in a salute to the recorder.

Khalid knocked on Sara's door when he got back from the market. He frowned slightly when she didn't answer. Opening the door a small bit, he peeked in the small room. A smile tugged at his lips when he saw Sara lying down on her couch, fast asleep. Grabbing the blanket off the back of the couch, he gently spread it over her still form. Her left hand was clutching something to her chest, and it took him a moment to realize that there was no ring on her hand. That simple realization staggered him. It also made him care even more deeply about his old friend. Her strength was just one of the many things he admired about her. Giving in to impulse, he brushed a hand over her brown hair, letting the silky strands move through his fingers.

She shifted slightly in her sleep at the feel of the warm fingers running through her hair. Her eyes slowly opened, and seeing Khalid so absorbed with her hair brought a smile to her face.

"Hi," she whispered.

"Hi," he repeated, just as softly. His free hand captured her left hand and gently turned it over. Her fingers uncurled, revealing the simple ring Dylan had given her when he asked her to be his wife. "You took it off?" he asked.

She nodded. "It was time."

But was it time for me? he wondered to himself as he stared at the ring. How can I continue to see her as just my friend when that last barrier is gone?

He looked so confused and tormented, and she could very well empathize. "Ibrahim."

He looked up at his name. Everything he wanted, everything he was afraid to ask was all in his dark eyes. Sara recognized the desire in his eyes and her body echoed it. Pulling his head down to meet hers, they took the first step from being friends to being something much more.

The Future:

Andromeda's hologram shimmered into existence in Dylan's office.

"Yes, Andromeda?" he asked.

"You told me to keep looking for information on the Starry Wisdom."

"You found something?"

She nodded. "Yes, I did. There's a continuous broadcast on a little-used High Guard channel coming from Thann. I was just now aware of it because of our new proximity to Thann." She paused for a moment. "Also because of Harper's upgrades to my communications systems," she added.

Dylan smiled. "I promise I won't tell him."

"Thank you. I picked up the broadcast earlier this morning and started recording. There were about four complete messages before the broadcast repeated itself. I continued to record, and ordered them according to the time stamp on them." She paused for a moment. "I'm transferring them now to you."

"Thanks, Andromeda."

The door to his office opened suddenly, allowing Beka in. Andromeda quirked a holographic eyebrow. "The files are marked 'private,'" she said before shimmering back out of existence.

"What was that all about?" Beka asked.

"Sara," he replied.

"Oh. Do you want me to leave? What I have can wait."

"No, that's okay. You'll probably have to slap me back into reality after I see these."

"If you say so."

He took a deep breath before he ordered privacy mode engaged. "Play recorded messages from earliest time stamp."

Sara's face popped on the screen. Dylan briefly looked down at the time stamp and saw that it had been recorded two years after the Starry Wisdom failed in its task. "Dylan, I'm recording this in the hopes that you will someday receive it..."

As the last recording faded away, Dylan shook his head. "Sara and Khalid," he muttered.

"You don't approve?"

"No, it's not that. It's just..." he threw up his hands, unable to express his feelings into words.

"You're jealous."

He frowned. "I am not."

"Yes, you are. You're jealous that she did move on with her life, even though you told her to. While you're still sitting here, trying to mentally come to grips with the fact that she's been gone for well over two hundred years, although to you, it seems like only a few years ago, you were together."

His lips twisted. "How do you know exactly what I'm thinking, Beka?"

She shrugged. "I'm your first officer. It's my job to know what you're thinking, so I know what you're going to do."

"You're more than just my first officer, Beka. You're also my friend."

She wished that she was a bit more to him, but now was not a good time, especially when he just received confirmation that Sara had moved on. "Hey, what are friends for?" she replied as she got up to leave.

Just as she got to the door, his voice stopped her. "Beka?"

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner later on."

"Dinner? Like eating in the Mess with everyone else?"

He smiled a little. "I mean dinner. Like me, you, and the Obs deck."

A slow smile crossed her lips as she nodded her head. "Dinner sounds nice."

"Good. End privacy mode, Andromeda."

Five months later:

Dylan sat down in front of the recorder and turned it on. "Dear Sara, I know that you're never going to receive this, but I thought I'd do it anyways. I'm glad you moved on, and I'm very glad that you found as good a person as Khalid. I have to admit, I was sitting around, pining for you, but when Andromeda found those files you recorded, it helped, seeing you happy. It's been about five months since I got those recordings, and in that time, I've been moving on as well, thanks in most part to Beka. She's the one that flat out tells me I'm wrong, or that I'm living in the past again. She especially loves to bring me down when I go tilting at windmills."

He laughed shortly. "She's a really amazing woman, Sara. I'm pretty sure that you two would have gotten along great, if nothing else than to compare lists of my faults. I keep remembering what you said about rebuilding your life, and I think that it's time that I do the same. I love you Sara, and I always will love you, but I'm falling in love with Beka, and even if I could stop it, I wouldn't. You told me not to sit around and pine away for you, so I won't. You were happy with Khalid, and I hope that Beka and I will be just as happy." He laughed again. "That is, if she doesn't kill me when I go tilting at windmills."

He brushed the screen with his fingertips. "Goodbye, Sara."

Turning off the recorder, he leaned back in his chair for a moment.

"I keep you from killing yourself when you go tilting at windmills," Beka said from the bedroom doorway. He turned to look at her, striding towards him in a just a light robe. Pulling her into his lap, he nuzzled a spot right behind her ear.

"How long have you been listening in?"

"Long enough to know that if I tell you that I've been falling in love with you, you won't panic."

"This is going to be very interesting," he muttered.

"Yeah, it is." She got up and held her hand out to him. "Come back to bed, Dylan."

Smiling, he took it.

The End.