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Dance of the Mayflies
Danceofmayflies
Production
Episode

2.15

Production #

214

Original air date

February 18, 2002

Story by

Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz

Written by

Robert Hewitt Wolfe

Directed by

J. Miles Dale

Developed by

Robert Hewitt Wolfe

Producer

Sherry Gorval

Executive Producer

Allan Eastman
Majel Roddenberry
Robert Hewitt Wolfe
Josanne B. Lovick
Jay Firestone
Adam Haight
Kevin Sorbo

Production Designer

Richard B. Lewis

Cast
Guest stars

Brahm Taylor as Mouth Bokor
Allison Warren as Dying Woman
Jessica Amlee as Girl Risen
Christopher R. Sumpton as Bokor A
Angela Uyeda as Risen #3
Janyse Jaud as Voice Artist

Chronology
Preceded by

Be All My Sins Remembered

Followed by

In Heaven Now Are Three


"Blink and it's gone,
A moment, a breath,
A Dance of the Mayflies.
Just enough... For a Lifetime."
Ulatempa Poetess
"Rhythms" CY 9825

"Dance of the Mayflies" is episode 15 of Season 2.

Season2Cast

The Regular Cast of Andromeda Season 2

Synopsis[]

The crew of the Andromeda is evacuating a small drift that is damaged, and about to explode. Dylan Hunt, Tyr Anasazi, and Rommie are trying to get people out, Beka Valentine is administering CPR, and Trance Gemini is helping in medical. Rommie says that she has determined that this was not an industrial accident, as they had initially thought the drift was attacked. Despite their best efforts, people are dying. Rommie asks Dylan to promise her that they will get revenge on whoever did this.

A fleet, which appears to be Than-Thre-Kull ships, arrives, and destroys the drift. The Andromeda gets away just in time, but the ships chase and attack her. Dylan is reluctant to fight back, as he considers the Than allies, and he attempts to negotiate, but gets no response.

Beka, Trance, and Rommie are trying to treat the patients, but the patients are all unconscious, and in critical condition. Trance speculates that chemical weapons may have been used, but Rommie determines that it was actually biological weapons. She says that the biological agent does not seem to be spread through the air, but she cannot determine the vector of infection, and it apparently spreads very quickly.

The fleet of Than ships is staying at extreme range and bombarding the Andromeda with missiles, making it difficult for the Andromeda to fight back.

Due to his weak immune system, Dylan orders Seamus Harper to get on the Eureka Maru, where he will have a separate environmental system, and less chance of infection. Harper says that he wants to stay and help, despite the fact that he used to put a high priority on staying out of harm's way. Nonetheless, Dylan insists.

Andromeda destroys a few Than fighters, but takes some hits herself. They escape by jumping to slipstream, but they have been heavily damaged.

Despite their best efforts, the patients are dying, and Beka seems to have contracted the disease. Rommie has determined that the parasites propagate along the host's nervous system, and it accelerates when the patient is unconscious. Therefore, it is important that Beka stay awake, but even still, they estimate that she has only a few hours to live.

Harper has not gone to the Maru as ordered, but is in the conduits, wearing a gas mask, and working on repairs. Andromeda asks him why he is not on the Maru, and Harper says that he is needed here. Harper contacts Dylan at Command to prioritize the repairs, and Dylan tells him to concentrate on the Slipstream drive first, so they can run. Meanwhile, Dylan directs Tyr to take them into an asteroid belt to hide.

Rommie is examining the victims, trying to determine who can be saved. The Andromeda Ascendant Artificial Intelligence (in hologram form) insists that some of the ones that she thinks are savable are not worth the effort. Rommie insists that she has to try, and seems upset by the ephemeral nature of humanity. Andromeda insists that when the current crew is gone, there will be others, but Rommie protests that people are not interchangeable.

Tyr suggests that it might be a good idea to get the infected people and corpses off of the ship, for the crew's safety, implying that they should just dump the victims into space. Dylan points out that Beka is among those affected, and Tyr allows that perhaps one of the other victims might hold the key to a cure.

Trance is trying to treat Beka, and trying to keep her awake. She tries to give Beka a stimulant, but Beka declines, saying she has to fight her addiction. She says that, with help, she can stay awake without drugs. Trance tries to keep her talking, to help her stay awake.

In the corridor, the corpses start to get up and walk.

Trance thinks that she is close to a cure, but she needs to do more tests. Suddenly, one of the "dead" patients gets up and starts attacking her. She stabs it with a knife, but this has no apparent effect. Andromeda says that, despite the fact that the victims are walking around the ship, she detects no vital signs from them. She shoots some of them with her internal defenses, but they get right back up again.

Beka grabs a gun and shoots Trance's attacker, but he gets back up.

One of the re-animated corpses tries to "kiss" Dylan. As he pushes it away, he notices some sort of haze coming out of its mouth. When another one also tries to "kiss" him, he realizes that is how the spores are spread.

The Than destroy the asteroid that the Andromeda was hiding behind, further damaging the ship.

When Dylan arrives in medical, Trance has already been infected, much more quickly than the infection took hold on the human victims. She "kisses" Dylan, infecting him.

Trance speaks, in an altered voice, and she is speaking for the race that is infecting them. The race is called the "Bokor", and they claim they are only trying to survive, to make the people "part of them".

When Dylan moves to grab Trance, she throws him across the room. The Bokor/Trance seems pleased with the capabilities of her body. Dylan is about to shoot her, but Rommie says that she will take care of her, and sends Dylan and Beka away. Bokor/Trance says that in using the bodies, they allow the victims to survive longer, as their natural lives are short, like mayflies. Trance and Rommie fight to a standoff, while Dylan and Beka run.

Harper is trying to fix the engines, but the Bokor chase him away. Tyr informs him that the Than are only about seven minutes away.

Dylan realizes that the Than are attacking the Andromeda to stop the Bokor, and finds himself in a dilemma: if they win, then the Bokor get free. Dylan decides to set the ship to self-destruct in 30 minutes; the amount of time that Andromeda estimates Beka, who has fallen unconscious, has left to live. Dylan says that he will take care of Beka one way or another.

Trance and Rommie are still fighting when the Than arrive, a little ahead of Tyr's estimate. Luckily, Andromeda gets reserve power online just in time to avoid the Than's first missile barrage. Tyr congratulates Harper, but Harper says it was not him - the Bokor are fixing the ship.

One of the Bokor who is working on the ship gets an electric shock, and falls. Harper realizes that they can be stopped with a heavy enough shock, and informs Dylan. They determine that the amount of power required will only allow him to get three shots from a Force lance, so he arms himself from the nearest weapons locker. Harper rigs a wire in the corridor, catching two of the Bokor. Andromeda arms her maintenance robots with force lances, and sends them into action.

Dylan finds Bokor/Trance getting the better of Rommie in their fight. He tells her (as the Bokor) that they, the Bokor, have lost, and that he has set the ship to self-destruct, so they cannot escape. If they will surrender, then he says that he might find somewhere to leave them, where they cannot harm others. The Bokor, however, quickly disable the self-destruct sequence. Bokor/Trance tells Dylan that the Bokor hold the memories of all of the bodies they have inhabited, going back 50,000 years. Dylan shocks Trance with his force lance, and she falls.

With the Than closing in, Tyr lays some mines, and destroys some of their ships, but chooses not to finish them off, and jumps to slipstream. Rommie wonders why he willingly left a wounded enemy behind, but Tyr does not offer an answer.

Trance revives, and is back to normal. With the information about stopping the Bokor with electric shock, she now knows how to complete her cure. She programmes some nanobots to deliver the necessary charge.

Dylan, Rommie, and Tyr take out the last of the Bokor infected corpses, as Trance finishes her cure, and injects it in Beka and Dylan. As Harper makes repairs, Dylan tells Tyr to send their records of the incident to the Than, and get out of the system.

Rommie tells Dylan worries about him dying some day, knowing that she will outlive him. She asks how he lives, knowing that it is not permanent. Dylan tells her that love is the only thing that lasts forever. Rommie states she does not understand. As a reply, Dylan kisses her on the cheek and says "Yes, you do."

Trivia[]

  • The Mayfly has a short lifespan.

Memorable Quotes[]

Harper: Oh boy, unseen enemy? There's nothing worse unless it's an angry unseen enemy.

Dylan: Until Rommie and Trance figure out how these bio-weapons spread, I want you out of harm's way.
Harper: All right, I know that used to be my favourite place, but...
Dylan: No "buts", go!
Harper: Yes, sir! Bravely running away, sir.

Harper: Sensors trashed. AP circuits trashed. EM lens... what do you know, trashed. Rommie, it's a good thing I love trashy ladies, or I'd be tempted to trade you in for a new model. Maybe a supermodel!

Andromeda (hologram): Dylan, I'm not reading any pulses or brainwaves from the corpses of the plague victims, and their bodies register at room temperature.
Tyr: Well, that would make sense; they're corpses.
Andromeda (on-screen): Yes! The trouble is; they're walking around the ship trying to kill you.
Tyr: (to Dylan) You're surprised? That's what you get for incessantly trying to help!

Dylan: Trance, are you dead or alive?
Trance: Yes.
Dylan: Crystal clear, as usual.

DVD Release[]

Dance of the Mayflies was released on DVD in a variety of formats. For more information see:

DVD Release
Andromeda: Season 2 Volume Releases
Andromeda: Complete Season 2
Andromeda: Series 2 Volume Releases
Andromeda: Complete Series 2
Andromeda: The Slipstream Collection
Andromeda: The Complete Boxset
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