It didn't take long for Freddie to fly his ship into Andromeda's Hanger Deck. It was there that Bubba got to meet a fully recharged Rommie. "Hello Doll," he said as she came up to her. "You're looking great." He reached out to touch her, only to end up on the ground with Freddie laughing. "Hey, that's not fair."
"Don't you ever touch me again," Rommie said to him, as she hauled him to his feet. "Think you can handle that?"
"Yeah," Bubba said, as he turned to face Harper and Trance. "What is she?"
"That's Rommie, the Andromeda's AI," Harper explained as the doors opened and Dylan and Beka came into the hanger. "Ah, our boss."
"I'm Captain Dylan Hunt," Dylan said as he offered his hand to Freddie.
"I'm Freddie and this is my cousin Bubba," Freddie answered back, as he shot a glance around. "You have a pretty nice ship."
"Thank you," Rommie said, as she came to stand beside Dylan.
Freddie shot Harper a concerned look. "Rommie takes pride in herself," he said in reassurance.
"I can see that."
"Beka," Trance said, as she came over to her side. "We're sorry what happened to the Maru."
"It's okay, Trance," Beka said, as she put an arm around her shoulder. Just then the Andromeda shook and Beka frowned. "I almost forgot about those idiots."
"Us?" Bubba asked, as he came up beside Freddie. "What did we do now?"
"Not us, Bubba," Freddie said, after he hit him over the back of the head. "Bra'don's men. The ones who are shooting at us. Remember them?"
"Oh, right." Bubba rubbed the back of his head. "I bet he wasn't all that happy that we were able to waltz in there and take his slaves. Especially that one." He pointed a finger at Trance. "I had heard he had her offered to a high bidder."
"They're charging an emp pulse at me," Rommie said, as she turned to face Dylan. "I don't want to get hit by one."
"Okay, Rommie, you won't be," Dylan said, as they all headed for the command deck. "Tyr, get us the hell out of here."
"I'm on it," Tyr's voice came through a channel and they slipped into slip stream.
"I don't feel good about this, Freddie," Bubba said, as they entered the command center. "Bra'don's gonna kill us for taking his slaves. You remember what happened to Jack."
"We're gonna be all right, Bubba," Freddie snapped, as he froze when he saw Tyr and Rev. "This isn't good."
"A Magog and a Nietzschean?" Bubba cried out as he went and hide behind Freddie. "Why are they here?"
"Because they are our friends," Trance said as she went to stand next to Rev. "This is Rev Bem and that is Tyr."
"Okay," Bubba said, as his eyes grew big in fear as the six ships came through a slip stream. "They followed us."
"No, duh, Bubba," Freddie said, as the others took up their positions on the floor. "Why would you ever think that Bra'don wouldn't come after us for what we did?"
"I don't know, I thought he would be nice about everything," Bubba stuttered. "He's been nice to us before."
"No, Bubba, he hasn't." Freddie readjusted his jacket and Trance saw the deep scars on his upper arms. "He's not a very nice person to mess with."
"You know, because he's caught you and punished you before," Trance said, as she came up to Freddie's side. "Then why did you do it?"
"Because we got a tip from someone about you."
"Really?"
"Yes, we were told to keep you safe."
"Sounds like them." That got Freddie to have a confused look on his face. "Don't worry, you're safe here."
"Are we welcome here though?" Freddie asked her, as he looked over at the others. "After all we did kidnap you?"
"From Slavers," Harper said, as he came up to their side. "I'm sure that you can stay. Right boss?"
"Yes, they can stay," Dylan said, as the ship was attacked again. "Let's go talk to that man."
TBC