Deep Midnight's Voice

As this episode opens Andromeda comes across a fight between members of the Drago-Kazov and an unidentified Nietzschean pride. Two head towards Andromeda; one is destroyed the other captured. The captured pilot, Gaiton, says he is the last survivor of a pride that was wiped out by the Drago-Kazovs who believe he knows the location of a Nietzschean slip-scout which was on a mission to map the slipstream routes but disappeared before the fall of the Commonwealth; such a map would be invaluable to all space-going species as it would enable perfect navigation of the slip routes; not just by sentient beings but by AIs as well. Dylan and his crew had never heard of the slip-scout but with information provides Rommie identifies the planet it most likely disappeared on. They discover it to be a planet that was colonised 10,000 years ago but the humans living there are no longer aware of their origins so any contact with them would be their first contact with the outside universe. Dylon, Beka, Tyr and Gaiton head down to the planet to find the slip-scout's map... inevitably the plan to avoid locals doesn't last long.

This episode gets off to a good start with a space battle and the capture of Gaiton. We are then introduced to the story of the slip-scout; this is intriguing and if found promises to open up more of the universe and potentially allow the series to go in other directions... at the very least if it works as promised it would allow Rommie to navigate the slip-stream unpiloted. The events on the planet weren't particularly new... once again Dylan ends up kissing an attractive local; at least this time it is balanced out by Beka making a new 'friend' as well! Still it was entertaining to watch. The same is true of the conversations between Tyr and Gaiton. Keith Hamilton Cobb is on particularly fine form as Tyr making his character seem almost Shakespearian. Overall an episode that is a lot of fun despite some cliché moments.