A/N

So, been watching season 4 of Andromeda, just come off Tyr dying. I've got various thoughts on how it was handled and the whole TyrxBeka 'thing' they tried to push, but I'll spare you a lecture. However, what really peeved me off was Harper's line that (paraphrased) "Tyr had no good in him, and died evil." I shouldn't have to explain why I take umbrage with that from a writing and character standpoint. So, anyway, drabbled this up.

The Light in the Darkness

"You okay, Beka?"

"I'm fine Trance. Really."

She wasn't fine.

"Beka, you can tell the truth to me."

And Trance, it seemed, knew it as well.

"I said I'm fine!"

Not that it stopped Beka from trying to fool her.

"Beka, come on."

The pilot grunted and lay down on a hammock, listening to the non-existent sound of the Maru's engine. She missed being in space. Technically she was still in place, onboard the mightiest warship in the Three Galaxies, but…well, it wasn't the Maru. It wasn't home. And right now, the Andromeda Ascendant didn't feel much like a place of residence.

"It's about Tyr, isn't it?"

Trance got up from her bonsai tree and stood over her. Beka refused to meet her gaze.

"He made his choice Beka," her friend continued. "His own decisions. You didn't make him do any of that."

"I know," Beka grunted.

"And…" Trance trailed off, playing with her grass cutters between her fingers. "I know that you and Tyr…well…y'know…"

"Go away Trance."

Trance didn't say anything, and Beka glanced up. This was her ship damn it. That Trance was staying on it was a luxury she could deny at any point. She could leave this ship if she wanted to as well. True, a certain Nietzschean was no longer out there, but she remembered the conditions of service Dylan had laid out at Hephaistos, that she could leave any time.

Trance began to walk away.

"Trance…"

Her friend stopped, and turned. No, Beka reflected, she wasn't going to leave the Andromeda. She wasn't going to boot Trance off her ship. And…she bit her lip. She wasn't going to lie anymore.

"It's not about Tyr," she murmured. "It's something that Harper said."

"Harper?" Trance asked, genuine surprise on her face. She drew up a chair, sitting in it.

"Yeah, Harper." Beka sat on the edge of the hammock. "After I came back. He said…" She trailed off, playing with her fingers, yearning for a blaster that she could shoot her problems with. "He said that in the end, there was no good in Tyr. That he paid the price for it."

Beka looked at Trance. Trance just looked back – she wasn't giving anything away. Standard practice for Trance, really, both this one and the old one.

"Is that it?" Beka asked. "Is that Tyr's legacy? That he was evil, and died evil, and…" She sighed. "Evil. Y'know, some people would say that words like good and evil don't even apply. That the universe is just shades of grey."

"It isn't."

Beka looked at Trance.

"It isn't," Trance repeated. Her eyes glistened, and if Beka didn't know better, she'd have thought Trance was on the edge of tears. "The universe is dark, with the light of stars and galaxies spread throughout it. The magog are evil. The Spirit of the Abyss is evil. There…there are some things in this universe, Beka, that…" She swallowed. "Well, things that you can't imagine."

"But Tyr," Beka said. "What about Tyr, Trance? What does your magic tree say about him?"

"Beka-"

"No, Trance," she snapped, getting to her feet. "Good, evil, neutral, whatever. Tell me the answer. Give me an answer Trance, or by God I'll…I'll…"

She sat back down. Evil. Evil was approaching them, and was two months away from arrival. With Tyr dead, there was a chance that the Nietzschean Prides would disband. Good news for the Commonwealth, bad news for the galaxy. Tyr may have been a backstabbing jackass, but he'd been right about one thing – the Commonwealth wasn't ready. And he had, indeed, commanded the largest army in all of Known Space. Back when he'd still been alive. An army that could collapse without its leader.

"Beka…I can't say I knew Tyr that well," Trance said. "I can't say that what he did was right. I won't say that he wasn't out for himself in the end, or that he used us, or that if he had been the one to defeat the Abyss, your people would be able to call that a victory."

Beka rose an eyebrow – "your people." Subtle.

"But…I wouldn't call him evil," Trance continued. "He helped us. He was a friend. He wanted to defeat the Dark, in his own way. He…" She sighed. "You loved him, didn't you?"

"What?!"

"You loved him," Trance repeated. "And I don't think you have it in you to love anyone without at least some good within them."

"Tell that to my fuck buddies."

Trance smiled, getting to her feet. "Tyr's gone," she said, patting Beka on the shoulder. "But if there was any light in him, and I believe there was…well, maybe the light in the dark will show us the way. Will give the Abyss pause." The smile faded. "But at the least, there's this – Tyr betrayed us. But if not for him, we wouldn't have lived long enough for that betrayal to have ever occurred."

Beka nodded. The glistening in Trance's eyes were gone. Which was good. She was starting to feel something in her own eyes as well.

She remained silent as Trance returned to her tree. She remained silent as the silence of the Maru became deafening. She remained silent as space surrounded her. And the screams of the Dark drew close.

Here's to you Tyr.