TITLE: Chapter Six - The Enemy

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing from the Andromeda series, I'm just borrowing.

NOTES: Just reread my reviews - no I wasn't planning any 'ships, destiny-ruler. You were right, Andromeda was next, good prediction Shaz! Thank-you for your reviews everyone, *hugs*. Keep 'em coming!



CHAPTER SIX - The Enemy



"Should you cross me, friend or enemy, I will stop you just as swiftly, I will hate you just as vengefully, I shall defeat you just as cruelly and it is only my remorse that will set you apart."

- High Priestess Erin Sildric

CY 3145

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Beka didn't know what hit her, but she had a pretty good idea. All of a sudden she found herself flying across the room and hitting the wall. Dylan was in the same predicament, as Beka noticed when she saw him sliding along the floor. Rommie was clearly up and about. She halted Tyr's left hook and used his own momentum to hurl him to the ground. Then she made a dash out the door.

Various groans meshed together after she was gone. Dylan got himself up then helped Beka. "Next time," Dylan began "Remind me to switch her power off."

"What do we do now?" Beka asked, brushing her clothes off.

"Tyr, go to Command and try to figure out where Andromeda is headed. See how much time we have. As for us, Harper must have kept notes while he was building Rommie. There may be something there that can tell us what's wrong." Dylan said. "Damn it, this would be a lot easier if he were here."

But Harper was not ready to wake up just yet. His body was still healing and his mind was still trapped in the past.

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~Carna~

Harper awoke with the drips of rain upon his skin and the taste of blood in his mouth. As he grew more and more aware, he remembered what happened. His first thought, before even registering the pain he was in, was of the needle that Lane had given him. It was gone. The thugs had taken it. Those bastards, didn't they know how much he needed it?

Harper slowly turned over, only to realise that his ribs were cracked. It hurt like hell, but not as much as the need for a fix. A little Hexin, that was all he needed. Even some Flash, whatever he could get hold of, just something to ease the pain, to stop the burning. But he had no credit. Nothing of worth. The only way to get some would be to steal it.

The blonde-haired, skinny man placed his hands on the concrete and pushed himself up. He spat out some blood and winced as he felt his swollen lip. His hands shook, not from the beating but from withdrawal. At this point there wasn't anything Harper wouldn't do for a fix. And this scared him more than anything. His mind was pulling him in two different directions. One insisted that he was a hopelessly dependent junkie, the other said that he could be so much more. He could waste away on this godforsaken planet and no-one would even miss him.

At this particular moment it was the hopelessly dependent junkie that had control of Harper. He caught a glimpse of a man leaving the same bar he had just come from, probably another customer of Lane's. Harper decided to follow him and take whatever he had on him. He wouldn't hurt the guy, unless it was necessary.

The dark-haired man walked for a while in the rain, then turned into a small side-street. The tall buildings either side of it gave ample cover. Harper decided to make his move there. He quickened his pace to catch up with his target, running on pure adrenaline. Surprise was Harper's best weapon. He came up behind his prey and violently kicked the back of his leg, instantly bringing him to the ground. Before he knew what was going on Harper kneed his chin and a spatter of blood fell with the rain. He cried out, but as Harper already knew too well, on Carna, a cry for help was just one drowning in a sea of thousands.

Harper had not expected the stranger to fight like he did. The rain made the struggle slow and heavy, but the hits were still hard. Harper was still in pain from the beating he had received earlier, and it was doubled when the stranger punched him in the ribs. Harper stumbled back and saw a broken bottle lying on the ground. He grabbed it and smashed it over the stranger's head, just as he was about to throw another punch. The man went over with a yelp. It looked as if he were about to get up again, but then he began to convulse, as if he were having a fit. He rolled over, still shaking violently.

His eyes....his eyes were staring into Harper's, so afraid, and then....then they glazed over and he stopped struggling. He was dead.

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Tyr reached Command without running into Rommie, which he was internally thankful for. Out of all the crew she alone had the strength to fight him and win, though he would hesitantly admit it.

So far he had been taking the situation as it came, following orders and suggestions, and he could see that the others' priorities were to stop Rommie but leave her unharmed. It seemed only Tyr could accept the cold truth of the matter. Deleting Andromeda's memory would destroy her personality, as he well knew, but it would stop the situation from escalating any further, and protect the 'innocent lives' Dylan was so eager to preserve. Having thought this, Tyr found himself faltering when it came to making the suggestion. The absurd thought of the android being part of the crew entered his mind. She was a valuable asset, especially when it came to fighting - a skill that came in handy when half the universe decided it wanted to kill you.

Sooner or later a decision would have to be made. As Tyr looked over the map on the console he realised it would probably be sooner rather than later. Andromeda was on a course for Tierte Drift, a densely populated station, and she would reach it in just over two hours.

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End of chapter six

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