When Jay died Aria swore she would never get involved romantically with anyone ever again, especially not a human. Then Julie went and made Samson, the first fully aware battle android. Samson was an artificial lifeform almost from the moment they turn him on, the first of his kind. A whole new class of android designed to be battlefield support for Starfighters, and he was assigned to Thomas Rhinehart as his combat systems officer to test how well he would perform in combat before Starfighter Command would risk making more Hercules class androids.
   Julie put a lot of effort into making Samson, turning his mind on even before they finished designing his armor plated body. Julie had gaged her interaction with the artificial intelligence to help push it across the barrier that kept it from becoming an artificial lifeform. Julie inadvertently pushed Aria and Samson together when she had Aria keep Samson company when she was off duty. She was just trying to keep Samson's mind active 24 hours a day to help prod his mind into making the leap that would make him an artificial lifeform. By the time Samson stepped across the threshold from being a machine to being an actual life form he was thoroughly enchanted with Aria.
   At first, Aria just ran battle simulations with Samson, and then on the days when they had him unplugged with just his auditory sensors active Aria read him books and engage in various mental exercises. Some nights she would just engage him in simple conversation, and then she made the mistake of telling him about Jay. Samson could feel her sorrow with each word she spoke. It was though her pain was his pain. By the time they put his brain inside his body's metal casing Samson was hopelessly in love with Aria. Only his missions with Tom could separate them for any length of time.
   With Samson, Aria began to feel those things she swore she would never feel again. Even 1000 light years apart she could still reach out and touch him and he held onto her tightly in the darkness. When they were together, she loved to feel his arms wrapped around her Kevlar plated body. Samson loved the way Aria seemed to melt into his embrace as she tried to get closer than their bodies would allow. It was in the darkness that they made love, the only way androids can make love, someplace beyond the simplicity of sex.

~~~

   "Samson, where did you come from?" the woman asked as the battle android came to a halt inside the burned-out building where she was hiding.
   "Take a wild guess," the android replied.
   "Tom with you?"
   "As if I could ever go anywhere without him," Samson replied sarcastically. "He's about a minute behind me, Teri."
   Teri groaned as a Starfighter in full battle dress stepped around from behind the android. One really rotten horribly bad first, last, and only date and Teri Amber Rosalee picked up her own personal stalker. "What are you doing here, Tom?" she asked.
   "When you don't report in, people get worried," Tom replied.
   "By people you mean you," Teri said.
   "Of course, I was worried too," Tom said.
   "I'm a big girl, Tom. I can take care of myself."
   "Yeah, well, nobody heard from you for a week…"
   "So, you and your tin can had to come and rescue me," Teri interrupted.
   "Well, the "tin can" has detected an enemy patrol headed in our direction," Samson interjected.
   "Great, you've blown my hiding place," Teri said angrily.
   "Well, if you follow procedure once in a while I wouldn't be here," Tom said.
   "I seriously doubt Starfighter Command was overly concerned that I hadn't reported in given the fact that there's nothing really to report here," Teri said. "Samson, am I right, or am I right?"
   "I'd rather not get dragged into the argument if you don't mind," Sampson replied as pulses of plasma struck the wall above his head.
   "Crap," Teri exclaimed as she dove for cover behind a short wall.
Tom fired a couple rounds off in the general direction of where the enemy fire was coming from. "See, I was right to worry about you," he said.
   "Oh, give me a break," Teri said as she sat up, took careful aim, and pulled the trigger of her pistol in rapid succession. She was rewarded with several hits none of which would have been life threatening, but it was enough to cause the enemy to withdraw taking their wounded with them.
"You're in a hostile environment with the enemy searching for you and you tell me not to worry. Have you lost your mind?"
   "Get a life. The enemy wasn't searching for me until you showed up."
   "Would you two get a room,” Samson said out of frustration. "Those guys will be back, and they will come back with friends. We need to get out of here." This wasn't the first argument that the android had to endure. It was like cats and dogs and Samson really didn't want any part of it.

~~~

   Colonel William Arterton sat down behind his desk to enjoy his morning cup of coffee, but before he could even take a sip his aide knocked on the door and stuck his head in. "Rosalee is back," he said.
   "That's good," Will replied.
   "She wants to see you, sir.”
   "Can it wait?" Will looked forward to his quiet morning ritual before starting the day.
   "No," Will heard Rosalee reply from the other side of the doorway.
Will sat his coffee down on the desk and looked up at his aide. "It's ok," he said.
   "Rhinehart nearly got me killed," Teri said after a quick salute. "I thought I could handle it, but the guy just won't leave me alone. I have done everything to discourage him short of telling him to fuck off. I don't know what else to do."
   "What do you want me to do?" Will asked.
   "Transfer him to some god forsaken planet on the other side of the known universe," Teri replied sarcastically.
Will shook his head in thought as he looked up at the obviously distraught woman in front of him. "I'll see what I can do, Teri," he said.
   "Thank you, sir."
   Will reached for his coffee as he watched Teri leave. Before he could take a sip, his aide stuck his head in the doorway again.
Samson wants to see you, sir," he said.
   Will sighed and set his coffee back down. Now what, he wondered.
   It was a tight fit, but the battle android was able to squeeze through the door. Samson held his salute until the colonel returned it. "I would like to be reassigned, sir," he said coming straight to the point.
   Will stared at the android in utter disbelief for a moment. "Why?" he asked. Androids were known to be fiercely devoted to the human they were paired with.
   "Like all androids, I don't really care how you humans conduct your personal lives, generally speaking, but I find myself caught in the middle of a conflict between Thomas and another starfighter..."
   "Teri Rosalee," Will interjected.
   "Then you are aware of the problem," Samson said.
   "Yes, I have been made aware of the problem," Will replied. "But, that doesn't explain why you want to be reassigned."
   "I find myself being pulled into this conflict more and more and I'm being asked to take a side, and I'd rather not."
   "In the interest of understanding the problem, and out of personal curiosity, which side would you be on?"
   If Samson could have frowned, he would have, but he just stared at the Colonel for a moment. "As slightly insulting as being called a "tin can" is, Teri does it in a way that makes it sound somewhat endearing. As I am here requesting to be reassigned; I'm guessing that kind of gives away which side I'd pick."
   "Do you have any preference for who you might like to be paired with?" Will asked.
   "If I had to pick a side...," Samson replied cryptically.
Will just laughed. "You do know she's not going to like that," he said.
   "She'll get over it," Sampson replied.
   "Samson, consider yourself so reassigned," Will said. He watched Samson squeezed back through the door before yelling for his aide.
   "Yes, sir," the aide replied from the doorway.
   "Find Rhinehart and have him report here now, and then I want to see Rosalee right after that," Will said as he reached for his coffee cup. He grimaced at the now lukewarm liquid before taking another sip.

   Tom stood before a scowling Colonel holding a salute, waiting for some sort of acknowledgment. "You're being transferred to the carrier Indomitable effective today," Will finally said returning the salute.
   "May I ask why, sir," Tom asked.
   "Normally, I stay out of people's personal lives, Captain, but when it spills over onto my desk, I am left with no choice but to do something about it. So, you are being transferred, and you will also be assigned a new android," Will replied.
   "I can't take Samson with me?"
   "No, Captain, you can't. You managed to create a God damn mess that almost calls into question your fitness for duty as a Starfighter. Samson is being reassigned at his request. Furthermore, you will stay away from Lieutenant Rosalee. Now, get your gear together and get off this ship."
   Tom glared at Teri when he left as she sat quietly in the office lobby. "Teri, you're up," the aide said after Tom left the office.
   "Take a seat," Will said returning Teri's salute.
   "How did he take it?" Teri asked as she sat down in the chair across from the colonel.
   "About like you'd expect," Will replied. "You should've said something sooner."
   "I wish I had, but it's all fun and games until somebody starts shooting at you."
   Will smiled and chuckled a bit. "I'm assigning you a battle android," he said.
   "I don't need a battle android," Teri replied. "I work alone, and you know that, sir."
   "Not anymore, Teri," Will said. "You take too many chances, and if you ever needed to call for backup, we would never reach you in time. So, you are going to start taking a battle android with you wherever you go."
   "Colonel, I really don't want to have to take the time to teach a tin can how I like to do things."
   "You won't have to; I have the perfect tin can in mind."
It took a moment for it all to sink in, and then Teri's eyes went wide. "You have got to be kidding me," Teri said.
   "When I asked Samson who he wanted to be reassigned to, you're at the top of his very short, short list," Will said. "Am I going to have a problem with this?"
   "No, sir, I can adapt," Teri said. Truth be told, she liked Samson.

   Teri looked up at the battle android blocking her path and faked a frown. "Apparently, I'm stuck with you, whether I like it or not," she said.
   "Yeah, but my last partner could be a real asshole at times. I'm hoping you'll be better," Samson said without any hint of emotion.
   Teri smiled and rested a hand on Samson's chest. "As tin cans go, you're not so bad yourself, Sam."
   "Well, try not to like me too much, I have a really jealous girlfriend," Samson said.
   "You have a girlfriend?" Teri said in surprise. "How is that even possible?"
   "It's pretty much the same way you can have a boyfriend, minus all the drama," Sampson replied.
   Terry flushed red a little bit. "Sorry about that, Sam, I didn't mean to put you in the middle. It's just sometimes you were easy to hide behind."
   "It's okay, Teri, I never had a problem with you hiding behind me when you needed to keep a distance between you and Tom," Samson said.
   Terry hugged the big android. "Let's go take a look at the new ship they're giving me, thanks to you." She now looked back at the times the battle android seemed to purposely get between her and Tom in a whole new light. "Just how jealous is your girlfriend?" she asked.
   "Let's just say Aria redefined anger management," Sampson replied.
   "Holy shit!"
   "You know her?"
   "I know of her. I saw video of her ripping through a security door into a hallway filled with Starfighters ready to put her down, and she's your girlfriend?" Teri was more than a little impressed and surprised.
   "That's her," Sampson replied. "She'd like you, although she isn't as tolerant of bullshit as you seem to be."
   "I'll have to work on that, my tin-plated friend."
   "I'm not tin plated; I'm solid titanium alloy."
   "Sam."
   "Yes."
   "Shut up."
   "Yes, ma'am," Sampson laughed.