1.01 Under The Night
Captain Dylan Hunt and his ship the Andromeda Ascendant are rescued by the Eureka Maru, an opportunistic salvage ship, after being trapped in the event horizon of a black hole for 300 years.
Episode Synopsis
The Andromeda Ascendant is a massive starship of the Systems Commonwealth's High Guard that sets out on mostly diplomatic and humanitarian missions. A masterful blend of form and function, the Andromeda Ascendant is not only controlled by a sophisticated artificial intelligence unit, but is also a fully sentient being capable of appearing in human form via holograms generated by computers and processors. The starship's first officer, Gaheris Rahde, descendant of the Nieztschean race, a part of a genetically engineered sub-species of humanity, orders the crew through a battle stations drill. The Andromeda's commander, Captain Dylan Hunt oversees the drill.
Ironically enough, following the drill the Andromeda suddenly finds herself under attack from an enormous fleet of Nietzschean ships, whom initially lead Dylan to believe they were fleeing from a rogue black hole. Outnumbered by the enemy, Andromeda's only chance for survival is to speed away from the attackers and head into the direction of the black hole. During the crisis, Dylan orders his crew to abandon ship. He is left with Rhade, who turns on Dylan after admitting he is part of a Nieztschean plot to overthrow the Systems Commonwealth. As the two begin to fight over control of the ship, they are frozen in a state of suspended animation when the Andromeda Ascendant becomes trapped on the event horizon of the black hole.
After three centuries, the Andromeda Ascendant is discovered by a salvage-mining vessel, the Eureka Maru. The ship's captain and owner, Beka Valentine, and her colorful band of crewmembers hope to recover the ship and make a fortune selling it to their employer, Gerentex. After several dramatic attempts at freeing the Andromeda from the black hole's vortex, Beka succeeds due in part to Seamus Harper, her savvy self-taught engineer.
Having secret motives behind the retrieval of the mighty Andromeda, Gerentex employs the Eureka Maru to haul a large cargo pod containing several large crates through its journey in deep space. Unbeknownst to Beka, the crates are filled with alien mercenaries.
Meanwhile, on board the now liberated Andromeda, Dylan exits his state of suspended animation, not knowing that 300 years have passed. He discoveres Gaheris, dead from his wounds.
Andromeda begins to fully re-awaken to her active state. She projects herself in hologram form and informs Dylan of the 300-year time lapse. Dylan comes to the realization that the entire universe has changed and everyone he once knew has perished.
Beka and her crew board the Andromeda. However, before they have a chance to move too far, the Andromeda detects the trespassers and warns Dylan, who encounters Harper while attempting to rewire the ship's peripheral system. Afraid for his life, Harper runs from Dylan, but is quickly captured. Harper explains how the Systems Commonwealth fell when the Nietzscheans initiated a war, which took place 300 years earlier -- the day the Andromeda entered its fateful slumber in the black hole.
Dylan feels partially responsible for the fall of the Commonwealth. Believing some part of it must still exist, he sets out on a mission to recover it. He makes an announcement that is heard throughout the ship and warns Beka and her crew to withdraw their vessel from the Andromeda. Feisty Beka is nowhere near ready to surrender her hard-earned claim. However, everyone is taken by surprise when Gerentex invades the ship with his squad of mercenaries, led by a towering Nietzschean named Tyr.
Synopsis from AndromedaTV
