To Sarah with love
Disclaimer: The characters of Dylan and Sarah belong to Tribune Entertainment while the character of Hercules belongs to Renaissance Pictures. No money is being made from this story. This story is written for entertainment purposes only.
Summary: Dylan misses Sarah so he writes a letter to Sarah to tell her how much he misses her.
Author’s Note: This story takes place shortly after the Andromeda episode “Banks of the Lethe”. The idea that Captain Dylan Hunt could be Hercules is NOT part of the Andromeda story canon..it is totally up to my imagination..in part inspired by the Hercules episode “Yes, Virginia there is a Hercules”/ For those of you who tuned in where the joke is that Kevin Sorbo is Hercules so why not Captain Dylan Hunt is Hercules?. The “To Sarah with Love” is written in epistolary form and is a sequel to my other story found on this webpage “The Longest Day”.
CHAPTER 1
Dylan Hercules Hunt sits in his quarters. He has just come back from Raisa where he spent several days in the Elysian Fields saying goodbye to his long lost fiancé Sarah. After 300 years, Sarah stilled loved him. She didn’t tell him though what became of her life after he said goodbye to her at the event horizon. Hercules sighed. So many people lost to time..Iolaus..Sarah..now society is in chaos..even the Commonwealth is gone. So much senseless death..so much destruction..As usual, Dylan sits down to write his daily scroll to Sarah..it’s the only way Dylan knows how to clear the sad cobwebs of the past out of his mind..so that he can focus on the present.
Dear Sarah,
It’s Dylan..no it’s Hercules..I still remember the day when I told you my true identity..that I am truly Hercules..the Son of Zeus..I will be forever grateful that you didn’t laugh at me for I know that Hercules has become a mythical figure through time and that nobody believes that Hercules exist…I think about you every day..Sarah…I miss being able to talk to you..so that’s why I’m writing you these letters..it helps me feel close to you..I feel like I can tell you everything.I still can’t believe that 300 years has passed..I must tell you that nothing is the same..ever since the Commonwealth fell..everything has gone into chaos..trust has become a luxury..Earth from what Harper tells me is in shambles..with the invasions of the Magog and the invasions of the Nietchzians nothing has no one has been left untouched, undamaged or unscarred. I’ve been looking into the historical databases in an effort to catch up..I’ve lost everything to time. In five seconds, 300 years passed and everyone I ever knew is gone..the Commonwealth Earth that I knew..are all gone..Now I find myself having the undaunting task of rebuilding the Commonwealth without YOU by my side..I feel so lonely..I miss your company..your laughter..you were the light of my life..
The crew is wonderful. You would like them darling. Let me see where to start? There’s Rev Bem, he’s a Magog Wayist. Can you believe that dear? A Magog who believes in peaceful coexistence. Then there’s Beka Valentine..she’s the Captain of the Eureka Maru..she wanted to salvage the Andromeda and sell its parts..only she didn’t bargain on finding me alive boy was she surprised! Seamus Harper, he grew up on Earth..he likes a lot like Iolaus..blond hair..blue eyes..but the Earth he grew up on was not the Earth I grew up on..Harper grew up in a refugee camp..he watched as Earth was invaded by the Magog..he saw his cousin being eaten and raped by the Magog…I don’t know what other atrocities he has witnessed.. Tyr Anastasi, he’s our resident Nietchzean..his main belief is in survival..I don’t know if I can trust Tyr yet..I mean he did try to kill me when we first met..so I am always on my toes with Tyr..I trust Tyr to do what’s best for Tyr…the most mysterious of the crew is Trance Gemini..I have no idea what her species is like..there my dear, you have it in a nutshell..the crew that I am working with to found a new Commonwealth..they are a ragtag bunch..each member of the crew has its own agenda..I have to watch my back..I wish you were here to watch my back with you.
The last time we talked I promised you that I will always love you and I always will. You will always live on in my heart. I will always remember the first time we met; that first kiss in the rain; getting home late and causing your father and mother to stay up late to wait up for you; the night I told you that I was Hercules and I was the one who was surprised that you already knew—that Iolaus has a big mouth; my biggest regret dear, is that we never married..never had a family..never had a chance to have a life together. I want to say how much I am sorry for that..the time we spent together..I will always treasure..You know Sarah I can never say goodbye..that’s why I keep writing you these letters..in the vain hope that you might someday read them..in the Elysian Fields..but the thing is I don’t feel as if you are dead..I don’t know why..it’s as if I am alive in this time continuum 300 years in the future and you are alive 300 years in the past..on opposite ends of that blasted event horizon..for if I were to think you dead, Sarah..it would break my heart..so my darling it’s see you later..til the next letter, my love.
Love forever,
Dylan
Dear Sarah,
It’s been an uneventful day. Trance is in the hydroponics bay taking care of the plants on this ship. Do you remember how you loved to garden? I used to love watching you tend the flowers..you would come into the kitchen with mud smudged all over your adorable face. What joy it was to hug you and to smell the scent of flowers and fresh mud all over you! What fun it was to throw you into the bathtub and take our baths together and how I loved to massage the mud out of your skin and rub the fragrant bathing oils onto your smooth skin..or when I’d come in from chopping wood..you would throw me into the tub and rub me all over with your favorite bathing oil which your mother gave to you to use..but somehow it always ended up all over me..if your mother only knew how you used her gift of bathing oils..she’d blush right to her fake brunette hair..the Andromeda does not have a bathtub..just a sonic shower..somehow the sonic showers are not the same as the old fashioned bathtub we had rigged in our kitchen..I’m about to take a shower..I miss having you in the shower with me, my dear..but I will always have the memories of all times together and that will have to be enough. All well enough dawdling..I reek..crawling through those dusty Jeffrey tubes can surely build up the grime on one’s skin..still not as fun as chopping wood for our quaint fireplace..I love you.
Love, Dylan
Dearest Sarah,
Rev Bem and I just spent several hours taking philosophy. Rev is a Magog. Yet he has renounced the violent ways of the Magog. It’s not easy for him to suppress all his urges. It seems that every time he looks at a human..he is consumed with the desire to eat one. He says that we are all like walking steaks..of course that thought sends shivers up and down my spine..sometimes I have my doubts about rebuilding the Commonwealth..I mean why bother? Rev’s answer to everything is that it’s part of the purpose of the divine. Whenever I whine about Why Me? Why did I have to be the one stuck in that lousy event horizon..and lose everyone I ever loved in the space of five seconds..Guess what darling, Rev Bem..says it’s part of the divine..that I was born to this destiny..of having to rebuild a Commonwealth that was destined to fall..in Rev’s eyes..this was all prewritten and we are all merely actors acting out a prewritten script of life..a script written by this Divine. You know, Sarah, I should ask Iolaus about this divine after all he is the Messenger of the Light.
Rev says that he prays to the Light all the time and that it is the Light that brings him comfort and provides him with enough peace so that he can live near humans and not think of eating them. After 300 years, life has surely changed. Whenever Rev talks about the Light, I can’t help thinking about Iolaus. I wonder what really happened to Iolaus these past 300 years. I know Iolaus is trying to protect me. I can see in Iolaus’ eyes that he is not telling me everything that happened to him these past 300 years. You have no idea how guilty I feel not to be there by Iolaus’ side watching his back these past 300 years..he lived through it all..the Magog invasions..the Nietchzean slave abductions..dear God was Iolaus a slave? Was his body ravaged by Magog parasites? At what point did Iolaus really arrive on Raisa? Was it after or before those atrocious invasions? I have more questions than I have answers. Welcome to my personal Tartarus.
When I look at Harper, I see the chaos that Earth has descended into without the guidance of the Commonwealth. When I first met Harper, he had a form of measles that was obliterated generations ago. Harper is the living walking vestige of what Earth is today. Did you know my dear that Harper grew up in a refugee camp? I wonder if that’s how half of the Earth’s human population grew up? That’s where the survivors of those horrible invasions live. There I was stuck in some stupid horizon frozen in time..unable to help those in need..what’s the use of immortality..being the immortal Son of Zeus if I can’t help humanity..I feel that it’s my fault that Earth fell..and that the people of Earth had to suffer such atrocities..every time I look at Harper, I see my guilt..I see what I could have done if I had been there..been there for Harper..been there for Iolaus..been there for you..please forgive me, dearest Sarah for being so maudlin..for the hour grows late..it’s this time of the night..that’s hardest for me..300 years..I feel so out of place..I read about history that I should have participated in..as usual I miss you, my dearest Sarah..I wish you were here..you would know just the right thing to soothe my aching heart. Til the next letter my dear.
Love,Dylan
Dearest Sarah,
In this letter, I write about Beka Valentine. She’s the lucky one of the crew. She did not grow up on Earth. It seems she grew up on her space ship, the Eureka Maru. I can’t believe I’m actually writing that someone is lucky to be away from Earth but that she was. She’s cynical but in a practical kind of way..she lives to make money..to get rich quick..kind of reminds me of a very old friend from Greece who went by the name of Salmoneous. Beka has a brother, a scheming rascal who scams his way through life..he reminds me a little of Autolycus..still Beka is a very good person..she is the Captain of the Eureka Maru..and it is her crew..though I insist it is our crew that I have drafted to embark with me on this adventure of rebuilding the Commonwealth..she is a good Captain..and I consider her to be the co-captain of the Andromeda. Though if you ask me I think she has the hots for Tyr. Boy if Aphrodite were here, she’d laugh at me for stepping into her “love” territory. Thank the Gods that she cannot read my log..I’d blush to my hairline if she did.
The only other female member of the crew is Trance Gemini. I honestly don’t know what to make of her. I think she knows a lot more than she lets on. Her species is a complete mystery. She has purple skin and a tail..I know that she has only goodness in her heart and when I see an aura of the Divine glowing off of her..maybe it’s a half-God thing..but I sense that she is some kind of Guardian of the Light..more intense than Iolaus..when I look into her eyes..it’s as if she has the answers to all my questions..to all questions..yet she hides her wisdom behind an innocent veneer..I know I can trust her with my life..I don’t know why..maybe it’s a half God thing..Ihave to go now. Til the next letter, my love.
Love, Dylan
Dearest Sarah,
I miss you with all my heart. But as long as you live in my heart, you will always be the light of my life. So many changes in 300 years. Everything and everyone I’ve ever known has changed. Even the way I command this ship is considered obsolete. Sometimes I walk around this ship and feel like a relic..in all the centuries that I’ve been alive as Hercules, I’ve never ever felt obsolete until now..I guess it’s because until now I’ve always been able to keep up with the times..now I’m 300 years out of date. I wonder what the crew thinks of me when they see me at the command chair..All I have left of my old life is Iolaus and Rommie. Although Iolaus is still alive, like everyone else he has lived these last 300 years..God knows what scars it has left on his soul..or on that of everyone else..the universe has changed since my time..the Magog invasions..the Nietzchean slave invasions..no planet and no people has been left untouched or untainted by the cruelty of chaos..by the cruelty of a universe without order..a universe without a Commonwealth..or a Federation..in 300 years time..everything has fallen apart. The dark night has descended upon this realm. In the face of such adversity, I’ve noticed that the people of Earth have become more cynical, more practical..more Nietzchean in their thinking in that survival is of the utmost priority..no one has the time for ideals..when Tyr accuses me of being overly idealistic..or overly naïve in my thinking, I’m beginning to believe that that’s how the others see me.. a naïve idiot 300 years out of his time..so I do my best to think like Tyr..without giving up too much of my Commonwealth upbringing..that’s what it takes now to command the Andromeda..and sometimes it is a hard line to walk..everything has changed without me.
No, the only thing that has remained absolutely the same..is Rommie. Rommie and I were both frozen in time together. Together we are experiencing this strange new world..together we feel out of place in a world that I’m not sure still needs us anymore. The Andromeda Ascendant has become my home now. It provides me with some stability..it has become my emotional center..symbol of the Old Commonwealth..symbol of who I am now..in a world of change..it is nice to know that something remains the same..that’s good ole Rommie..ship made flesh. You won’t believe what Harper did..he created a live body for Rommie..I must say the body looks smashing on Rommie..Harper is very infatuated with his creation..of course my heart darling will always belong to you..still when I look at this ship..I am reminded of Earth..not the Earth that Harper knows..no, the Earth I grew up with..an Earth that no longer exists..an Earth that I am determined to bring back..I want future generations to know the paradise/utopia I grew up in..so that future generations can build more Andromedas..she is a great ship..with the downfall of the Commonwealth..no one has the luxury to build starships like her anymore..Rommie has become my friend..a shoulder to lean on..she understands my wants and needs..she’s the only one on this crew that doesn’t think of me as an artifact from another time. She represents all that is left of my world..of the Old Commonwealth..perhaps I am not restoring the Commonwealth for the good of mankind..I am restoring the Commonwealth because it is the only home I’ve ever known. She is my center now..after being tossed 300 years into the future..Andromeda is my home..Rommie is the only one who understands..in my next letter I’ll tell you how Rommie has fallen in love with another warship..right now..as I sit at my desk and feel the rocking of this ship beneath my feet..I feel like I’m home..I feel that this is where I belong..my only wish is that you, my dear Sarah, were beside me to help me accomplish my quest of restoring law and order to the galaxy to bring back the justice that was the Commonwealth..so that everyone can be as happy as I was. As long as I have the Andromeda, I will be alright. Til the next letter, my love.
Love,Dylan
Rev Bem timidly knocks on Dylan’s door “Dylan, may I come in?”
Dylan Hunt closes his PADD and acknowledges Rev Bem “Yes, Rev, I’m not busy..come on in!”
“Well, I know that this is your personal time to be with Sarah..has writing these letters help you feel less lonely?”
“Yes, Rev..it’s a great idea..I feel closer to Sarah this way.”
“That’s good. I wanted to congratulate you that yet another planet has joined the Commonwealth. The crew has worked hard..perhaps we could have a party tonight to celebrate.”
After the party, Dylan sits down at his desk to share his experience with his long-lost Sarah.
Dearest Sarah,
The crew threw a party tonight. We are celebrating the fact that I have two planets signed to the New Commonwealth. I know that’s not like the 3 galaxy Commonwealth that you and I knew but it’s a start. Sarah, I am staring out the star port window and I see the stars. Do you remember when you and I used to stare at the stars and you told me how romantic it was. Do you remember how we used to make shapes out of those stars? I wish you could be with me tonight..the stars look so beautiful tonight..be it was always you, my darling who could always tell me what the constellations really meant.I am doing my best without you. I’m no party hostess you know..not like you.
In any case, the party was a big success, Harper got so drunk that he wore his shirt on backwards. Tyr of course looked like he was having fun, I think. Rev Bem did not drink a drop..he took the drunk Harper home. Rommie was a gracious hostess..all decked out in the Commonwealth uniform for parties..how I miss the Commonwealth..Beka was teaching Trance how to get drunk..it seems like Rev Bem, Trance doesn’t drink..despite the crowd, I felt alone. I missed you, Sarah and wished you were by my side. I even miss Iolaus..he used to be able to bring me out of my doldrums..he used to tell me to loosen up..to be less serious..you and Iolaus knew how to bring the fun side out of me..I just hope this gets easier. I truly am .heartsick for you..suddenly Dylan is startled out of his reverie as his communicator pip starts to speak to him in an urgent voice. Dylan is forced to focus on the present, not on the past.
Dylan’s communicator signals “Hi, Dylan, this is Beka..you’d better come out here..looks like a Tranh ship is under attack..I need you out here on the bridge.”
“Coming Beka.”
Dylan closes his letter to Sarah,
..seems like there is another emergency..always another emergency..some Tranh ship is under attack. Tranh is the first world to sign up for the New Commonwealth..so if this New Commonwealth is to succeed..well then the Andromeda must come to their aid..so I guess I’ll be signing off to you, my dearest Sarah. I love you with all my heart.
Love,
Dylan
Dylan arrives on the bridge at the same time as Tyr. Tyr looks at the somber expression on Dylan’s face and comments to Rev Bem “He’s been writing those letters to Sarah again hasn’t he?”
“Yes, he does seem to look better don’t you think?” Rev Bem glances at Dylan.
Before Tyr could answer, Dylan interrupts with “Get that Thanh ship on the line..we have to get in contact with them.”
“Aye Dylan..” Tyr concentrates on working the instruments to contact the Thanh ship.
“Hello, Thanh ship, this is Captain Dylan Hunt of the Andromeda Ascendent, how may I help you?”
So the adventure continues…somewhere in the Elysian Fields, Sarah watches her beloved Dylan follow his destiny and she blows a kiss from the beyond to Dylan “Someday, my love, we will be together again…know that I love you too and that I receive each and every one of your “letters”..but for now, you have other battles to fight..keep me close to your heart but don’t be sad for me..for love is eternal..you must move on..if you must think of me honey..think of our good times..not the sad ones..not our last goodbyes..you, my love must rebuild the Commonwealth..restore order to chaos..mend thy heart, my love..for the world still desperately needs Hercules.”
As Sarah blows Hercules a kiss, Hercules touches his cheek and whispers “Sarah, my love I will never forget you.”.
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