With Andromeda critically damaged by the Magog, Dylan and Rommie head to the Worldship to rescue Harper, Tyr, and Rev.
Tropes:
- Bittersweet Ending: Andromeda escapes the Magog worldship, but had the crap taken out of it and is in major need of repairs. Harper is infected with Magog eggs and is given a medication that will keep them dormant, though not forever. The worldship survived despite the nova bomb and it will be two or three years before it becomes operational again. On the other hand, Dylan's mission to restore the Commonwealth has a new sense of urgency.
- Chekhov's Gun: The nova bomb that Dylan recovered from Mapes's slipfighter in "To Loose the Faithful Lightning" is used in an attempt to destroy the worldship. Beka lampshades how there's been a nova bomb for a year and no one knew, even Tyr.
- The Determinator: To calm Harper, Tyr tells him about when he was enslaved and sent to the diamond mines. One day the mine collapsed, but Tyr managed to escape and once he healed, he revisited and killed the overseers."So, don't you tell me that I'm going to die here today, because the sun has not yet risen on the day when Tyr Anasazi, out of Victoria by Barbarossa, will face death graciously. I will kick, and claw, and bite, and scratch, and spit my last breath in its face, and as long as you are with me, you will do the same."
- My Greatest Failure: Rommie shows Beka what happened the last time she tried this mission. They had been tasked by Argosy Intelligence to find the source of the Magog invasion and traced them to a distant galaxy that had been completely destroyed. The Magog boarded the ship and wiped out the crew, leaving Andromeda in the slipstream for over a year. She ended up being relieved once Intelligence ordered the mission sealed from her memory.
- No OSHA Compliance: Unsurprisingly, a diamond mine run by slavers ignored Tyr when he pointed out that the support structure had rotted through, and a week later, the entire mine collapsed.
- Oh, Crap!: Harper when he realizes he's been infected with Magog eggs. He also perks up when Dylan tells him that Beka is about to launch a nova bomb at the worldship and begins shouting to help him find them.
- We Have Reserves: Rommie manages to reactivate the internal defenses to drive off the Magog, but Dylan dryly says they can always send more.
