List of Andromeda Characters - Main Characters - Telemachus Rhade

Telemachus Rhade, played by Steve Bacic, is a Nietzschean Lieutenant Commander of the Systems Commonwealth serving aboard the Andromeda Ascendant under Captain Dylan Hunt. He is also a direct descendant of Gaheris Rhade (also played by Bacic as a recurring role in several episodes, mostly as flashbacks), a former executive officer of the Andromeda who betrayed Captain Hunt and the Systems Commonwealth 300 years prior, contributing heavily to the Fall of the Commonwealth. The name originates from Telemachus (also transliterated as Telemachos or Telémakhos; literally, "far-away fighter"), a figure in Greek mythology, the son of Odysseus and Penelope. His part in the saga was described by Homer in the epic poem the Odyssey, in which his part of the story is often portrayed as a passage into manhood from childhood. In particular, the first four books of the Odyssey are sometimes referred to as the Telemachy.

Telemachus Rhade is also the genetic reincarnation of his ancestor, Gaheris Rhade, which means that he possesses exactly the same DNA sequence as Gaheris- they are genetically identical (and consequently visually identical, naturally, which is why the two men are played by the same actor).

Captain Hunt first encountered Rhade while he was an Admiral of the home defense fleet and the leader of the isolationist movement on Terazed, a planet with a large community of humans and Nietzscheans, which had maintained the traditions of the Systems Commonwealth ever since the Fall 300 years prior.

After the planet Terazed eventually joined the Systems Commonwealth, Rhade was given the rank of Lt. Commander in the Commonwealth Navy. While being transported aboard a prison ship to Terazed, a captive Tyr Anasazi, leader of the newly united Nietzschean Prides, escaped Rhade's custody. Rhade was subsequently arrested by the Systems Commonwealth and (illegally) freed from his Collector prison by Andromeda's captain Dylan Hunt. Rhade and the Andromeda crew discovered Tyr Anasazi's prize, a map to the Route of Ages. He sought to weaken the Abyss and find a way to rid the universe of the Magog. On traversing the Route, Rhade assisted in attacking the Spirit of the Abyss as well as killing Tyr Anasazi, before escaping back to the 'normal' universe. After this Telemachus Rhade joined the Andromeda crew permanently.

A passionate and intense philosophical warrior, his love interests include a Nietzschean woman named Louisa Messereau, who died fighting by his side during the Magog invasion of Arkology and his wife Jillian with whom he has three sons, although he thinks they're dead. In the final episode of Season 5 he learns they survived and leaves Andromeda to be with them even though Beka tries to convince him to come with her for safety. After Andromeda destroys the Spirit of the Abyss, he is one of the survivors who comes through the new Slipstream portal to the Seefra System in a Slipfighter. During season 5, after a woman he fell in love with died during a battle with the Magog, Rhade changed, drinking often and heavily and blaming Dylan for everything. He later regained his full loyalty after the arrival of the Stranger from the future.