The cyborg sat in the center of the cell in a Lotus position, completely still. As the only prisoner kept in one of the high-security cells, she was the embodiment of an elephant in the room. The crowd gathered in front of her cell and the Chief Engineer’s shouts all went ignored, almost deliberately.
As the guards began filing out of the room SFC Calhound interrupted them once more with a loud clearing of his throat. With a swift motion of his hand he motioned to the cell’s energy shield—pointing with his thumb while using the hand that still held the envelope.
”It is within our rights to take our client from the holding chamber, to an interrogation room, in which our privacy and comfort can be assured.” S.A.S.H.A. cited the court ruling from the legal database.
”A general holding area is not sufficient to meet either of these criteria.”The energy barrier flickered away with some reluctance, conveying the feelings of the on-duty warden and the face he was making at the Chief of Engineering. Two guards, armed with heavy rifles, flanked the cyborg stowaway’s visitors before the order was given to unlock the cell. The tension in their hands gave away what was running through their heads - the machine-humanoid in the cell leaping at her visitors’ throats. Both were prepared to push Xaith and his companion out of the way in such a case, and obviously invaded their personal space for this purpose. But the cyborg only opened her eyes with deliberate laziness, looked at the two for a long moment, then tilted her head in a questioning manner.
“Do. Not. Push.” The legal counsel advised in a dreadful tone, “You’re already on thin ice here.” In his EEGARD legal precedent regarding criminal misconduct in an ongoing investigation, denial of advocacy, and police brutality streamed in an overly visible manner. Sasha also added her own advisory:
”An overwhelming majority of instances of suspects overpowering offerers occur when the officer fails to maintain a safe distance that accommodates appropriate reactionary timing.”One of the guards turned back towards the prisoner, visibly unnerved by the android’s presence. The other turned to Calhound. “Regardless, we are required to escort you and the prisoner to the interrogation room of your choice.” He said slowly, almost reluctantly. Having so much bureaucracy shoved in the security guards’ faces was clearly having an effect. He pointed at one of the doors behind him, down the hall, then looked at the prisoner. She was frozen in place.
After appearing to all but ignore the guard SFC Calhound let out a grunt of acknowledgement while taking the manilla envelope from under his arm. He unwound the string binding its contents. It had occurred to him that he might know more about her than she knew about him, and since they didn’t know each other from adam there was no reason for her to trust him. With two fingers he reached in and produced part of the cover of a file, so that only a logo could be seen as he held the file out to the heavily modified individual. The wheeled wing logo of the Daedalus program.
“You’re going to come with me,” Xaith said with the utmost confidence, “Not because I’m telling you to, or because I came to help you. But, to find out how much I know, how I know it, and what I intend to do about it...” He loosened his grip on the envelope he was holding with one hand, so that the file may slide back inside, before returning it to his side. “And, because,” he added, “no one who has known this symbol’s meaning has ever walked away from it.” He paused as he turned to the guard and nodded in acknowledgement, before turning his head to finish almost with an afterthought: “I don’t think you’ll be the first.”
With that SFC Calhound simply walked away from the cell in the direction of interrogation, with his EEGARD leading, and S.A.S.H.A. following. They were visitors being monitored by security cameras, following explicit instructions and didn’t require escort. So the guards were left with the prisoner, and she was left with a choice.
She stared at the guard for a long moment, then furtively tiptoed out of the cell, as if expecting the force-field door to shut in front of her face, or worse,
in the middle of it. The guard cleared the way, and once the cyborg stepped into the room with the chief of engineering and his companion, locked the door behind them.
