On the island of the nymph
Forgetting comrades and ship and home.
Until, recalled to his great quest
he puts again to sea."
Aimelin Zol
"Tropes of the Ancients"
CY 9857
"The Opposites of Attraction" is episode 15 of Season 5.
Synopsis
As the Vedran sun closes in on Seefra, the crew does what little they can while Seamus Harper scrambles to find a solution. Dylan Hunt drops in to check on his progress, unaware that something strange has come aboard the ship. Trance Gemini has sensed something as she paces the corridors but cannot put her finger on it. While she wanders, searching for the source of the disturbance, Harper fills Dylan in on his plan. He has devised a powersail that will act as a giant reflector, sending the sun’s energy back through the portal and buying them more time to repair the faulty, manufactured sun. The only drawback is someone will have to put themselves in harm’s way towing the sail into place. Dylan takes this in but is distracted in the same manner Trance was, sensing a presence nearby.
Trance asks the Andromeda Ascendant Artificial Intelligence and her suspicions are confirmed: there is an unexplained energy reading on deck seven. Trance knows Beka Valentine is working there and she takes off. Beka is sifting through spare parts for Harper’s sail when a shower of sparks bursts from an access panel next to her. She jumps out of the way in time but doesn’t see the Black Hole forming behind her. Trance sprints down the hall shouting her name and the two dive out of harm’s way just in time. Dylan walks the corridors with a tracking device listening to Artificial Intelligence’s report of the gravitational disturbance. His device pings as the Artificial Intelligence begins to break up. He follows the ping down the corridor and finds a beautiful woman tinkering with the mainframe memory bank. He orders her to back away and she desists. At the same time, he is nearly overcome by a memory he can’t quite grasp. She looks at him kindly and introduces herself as Marida, telling him she has been searching for him, her husband. She was searching the ship’s records hoping to find some evidence of their time together. He is shocked and has no memory of her. As she steps closer, he feels something and a distant memory of them embracing in a star field washes over him.
Dylan, curious to know how Marida could navigate the ship’s memory banks, tasks the Artificial Intelligence with finding any record of her on the ship, but nothing turns up until the auxiliary files are searched. Artificial Intelligence finds a partial file there but it remains locked. It is dated just after the time of the Nietzschean ambush that left Dylan and the Andromeda Ascendant frozen in the black hole. Trance and Dylan deduce that Marida was there during his stasis, that Dylan actually lived some of those years with her.
Dylan listens as Harper explains the dangers Telemachus Rhade will face as he tows the powersail into position. Marida offers to generate a pinpoint of gravity to offset the sun’s pull. When Harper boggles at how she might accomplish this, the Artificial Intelligence reports the partial file is available for viewing. The screen shows Marida approach Dylan’s time-trapped body, drawing out his essence that fills out to another form of Dylan. Harper is baffled but Dylan has already figured out who Marida is. She is the avatar of the black hole that trapped him.
Beka works at a console while Rhade and Marida discuss his flight path. Neither Beka nor Rhade pick up on the carefully concealed malevolence that Marida harbours for Beka, the one who tore Dylan from her grasp. As Rhade casually rests his hand on a rail, she slyly touches the same and casts a jolt of power through it, causing minor nerve damage to his hand. The task of positioning the powersail falls to Beka, the only pilot skilled enough for the job. Dylan catches Marida’s smug look and declares he will fly the mission himself. He recognizes the look in her eyes but says only that he will feel safe with her guiding him.
Marida corners Beka alone and strokes her ego, convincing her to take the flight because she is clearly the best suited. Once she is en route, she radios Harper for instructions on deploying the sail, who immediately notifies Dylan. He orders Beka to abort, eyeing Marida who feigns innocence. Beka has already passed the point of no return and begins her approach but the angle is off. Dylan knows exactly what is happening and grabs Marida. He pleads with her to fix it but she plays innocent. He pushes her against the wall, intimate but intimidating, and tells her he knows she is trying to get rid of Beka, the one who stole him away from her embrace. As the Eureka Maru hull begins to glow from the heat, Dylan swears that Marida will never get him back if she kills Beka. She weakens, and then vanishes and the Artificial Intelligence reports an intrusion in the mainframe. As Dylan rushes to intercept her, Harper advises Beka to ditch the sail but she refuses. Dylan intends to follow Marida via the Virtual Reality matrix into the mainframe and trap her as data.
He finds her grieving and pulls data strand free, showing her their conflict as Beka pulled him free of her embrace. He never agreed to stay and doesn’t belong outside of his own time. He tells her she must let go but she lashes out in frustration, thrashing at the ship from inside. He battles with her for a moment then catches her in a bear hug, calming her. Harper warns Dylan that his time is up and that he'll be destroyed soon if he doesn't let Marida go. Suddenly, Dylan lets her go and barks a command to Harper, who types some commands into the computer, causing Marida to disappear into a locked file of data. The computer captures the new memory cache and Harper beams it to Beka as a stabilizer for the powersail. She deploys it and regains control of the Maru, veering off of her deadly intercept path. Harper alters the sail by remote as Beka docks with the Andromeda. Trance informs Dylan that adding Marida to the data package put more stress on the pinhole and enlarged it. Her sun will barge through more quickly now but Dylan remains at ease. A rich life wrought with challenges is the life he chose and he will find a way to stop the Vedran sun.
Trivia
- The title refers to the phrase "opposites attract".
- The quote is similiar to Circe's and Calypso's role in the "Odyssey" and the "Iliad".
Memorable Quotes
Harper: Harper and sons MacWorks and sandwich shop, everything from soup to nuts and bolts.
Harper: Ok. Enjoy your date with data, don't forget to use a conduit.
Production Information
| Production Number: | 515 |
| Aired: | February 11, 2005 |
| Writer By: | Gillian Horvath |
| Directed By: | Jorge Montesi |
| Created By: | Gene Roddenberry |
| Developed By: | Robert Hewitt Wolfe |
| Executive Producers: | Majel Roddenberry Josanne B. Lovick Adam Haight Kevin Sorbo Bob Engels |
| Producer | Sherry Gorval |
| Production Designer | Brian Kane |
| Intro | The Universe is a dangerous place. But in our future my crew and I fight to make it safe. I am Dylan Hunt, Captain of the Andromeda Ascendant, and these are our adventures. |
Starring
Regular Cast
- Kevin Sorbo as Dylan Hunt
- Lisa Ryder as Beka Valentine
- Steve Bacic as Telemachus Rhade
- Gordon Michael Woolvett as Seamus Harper
- Laura Bertram as Trance Gemini
- Lexa Doig as Rommie
- Brandy Ledford as Doyle