"Rommie." Harper said. "I know, that us being your crew, you feel responsible for us, but Sari is the reason I'm here. If something happens to her or if some of those goons get their hands on her, all of this will have been for nothing."
"I know you're good at what you do Harper." Rommie said. "But there's too many of them, even you have to admit that.
"There's no reason for you to worry about me." Sari said. "I have been trained and programmed in the arts of Kung Fu, Karate, Jujitsu, Kalanthra defense, and Ninjitsu, just to name a few. There is also no weapon made that I haven't mastered. Since there is strength in numbers, I suggest that we all three go and help your friends."
"She has a point Harper." Rommie said. "Also, while we stand here discussing what to do, Becca and Rhade are more than likely running low on ammo."
"I hadn't even thought of that!" Harper said. "Rommie, how long will it take you to run to the Maru and bring back some extra fire power and ammo?"
"Faster than you can drink a Sparky Cola." Rommie said.
"Good. You do that. When you get back, meet me and Sari down there near the alley, behind that large waste disposal unit."
"You two better hurry," Rommie said, "Or I'll be there before you." When Rommie finished talking she took off like a flash.
"She is fast." Sari commented, as she watched Rommie plow through several armed thugs that were unfortunate enough to be in her way.
"Yeah." Harper said. "When I began work on her, I never dreamed that she would turn out as perfect as she is."
"You created Rommie?" Sari asked. "You must be a great scientist like Doctor Brown."
"Well,…" Harper said. "I don't like to brag,…. What am I saying? I love to brag! But right now I don't have the time. We need to get to the spot I told Rommie to meet us or she's going to tease me about beating us there."
Harper and Sari ran all the way and arrived at the rendezvous point mere seconds before Rommie arrived.
"What (pant) took you (pant) so long?" Harper asked, out of breath from running.
"I contacted Andromeda before leaving the Maru and informed her of our progress and situation. She said she'd relay the information to Dylan. You seem somewhat winded Harper."
"I'm ok." Harper said, trying to control his breathing. "You know you take my breath away whenever I'm near you."
"Behave yourself Harper." Rommie said, with a mock glare. "We have work to do."
"You're so right Rom Doll. There's a time and place for everything, and right now is the time to help Becca and Rhade. After that maybe you could find the time to meet me at my place to help me with my,… uh, breathing."
"In your dreams Harper." Rommie said as she began to walk into the alley, followed closely by Harper and Sari.
"Every night." Harper replied.
Harper, Rommie, and Sari noticed three guards a short distance into the alley. Without a sound, three Uber bodies soon lay dead on the ground.
Rommie knew that Dylan would have insisted that they use non lethal force, but they didn't have the time to deal with prisoners, nor could they risk their enemy coming to and once again becoming a threat. She was pleased with the skill in which Sari dispatched her target. One thing still bothered Rommie about Sari, however, and that was her likeness. Why did she look the way she did? "It could be just a coincidence." Rommie thought. "But the odds of an AI randomly choosing that face, hair, eye color, and body frame are 15,901,847,006,000,545.01 to 1 against."
With the three guards out of the way, Harper and the two beautiful, yet deadly ladies, drew near enough to see Becca approaching what appeared to be the leader of the mob. They noticed that Becca was holding a box high above her head.
"They think that's the package." Harper said.
"Yeah." Rommie said. "But we know it's not, and soon they will too."
"Rommie can you scan the box to see what is inside" Harper asked.
"My scanning abilities, when not aboard Andromeda, are somewhat limited but I should be able to determine the contents."
"I'm detecting residual traces of sugar, cocoa, and corn syrup."
"Chocolate?" Harper asked, almost laughing. "They're lucky Becca hasn't killed them all for trying to take her chocolate."
"Harper." Rommie said. "There's something else inside the box."
"What is it?"
"Becca's gauss gun, but she only has one shot left."
"According to my scans," Sari said. "The other two friends are also very low on ammunition."
"It's a good thing you brought the goodies from the Maru Rommie." Harper said. "They're definitely in need of more fire power. Sari can you make your way without being seen over to Rhade?"
"I should have no problem in doing so Harper." Sari said. "The rooftops appear to be unoccupied and will provide an adequate means to my objective."
"Good. Take several force lances, Gauss guns, and plenty of ammo with you. Tell Rhade to be ready to act as soon as Becca is out of harm's way."
"I'm on my way." Sari said, after gathering enough artillery for herself, Rhade and Felix.
After Sari reached the top of the building Harper turned to Rommie.
"Rom Doll it's going to be up to you to get Becca to safety. I'm going to create a distraction. You'll only have seconds to grab Becca and get her behind some cover."
"Don't worry Harper." Rommie said. "She'll be ok."
"Rommie I'm not just worried about Becca." Harper said.
"I had no idea you cared so much for Rhade." Rommie said.
"You know what I mean. Take care of yourself out there, and don't even think about doing anything noble like sacrificing yourself for the good of the crew. You and Becca mean the world to me Rommie." Harper wanted to say more but even he didn't truly know what his feelings were toward Rommie. Perhaps when everyone was safely back on Andromeda he could talk to her about it.
Rommie just ruffled Harper's hair and said, "Don't worry Harper." She then walked away, getting in position to rescue Becca. "You mean a lot to me too Harper." She said, too quietly for Harper to hear.