YoshiSkittlez

Marvel Comics: Sentinel Initiative

Collaboration between Zacharius and YoshiSkittlez

---

The sun had hardly been up for more than a few moments, streaking into Tony Stark's hotel room suite and onto Neena's naked figure below the sheets on the bed.

Suddenly, the tranquility of the morning was abruptly broken by a rather loud, yet appropriate song which quickly startled Neena awake. Her hand instinctively shot underneath the pillow where she usually kept one of her pistols, but upon finding nothing...panic began to set in until she realized that...she wasn't in her room. Doing her best to ignore the song, she tried to rack her mind for some sort of memory...anything.

She remembered drinking with Thor and Tony, and then going to the dance floor. After that it was all a bit fuzzy. A spinning golden room, something to do with chocolate and...water? Groaning as her head continued to throb angrily, she pulled herself out of bed to realize she was completely naked.

"Oh god dammit." She tore the white sheet off of the bed and wrapped it around her body, holding her head as she left the bedroom to search for her clothes.

Tony was sitting on one of the, admittedly very comfortable, chairs in the living area, the small coffee table before him holding not only enough coffee to keep a whole army on high alert, but a selection of various breakfast food items. At the appearance of a bedsheet-clad Neena, he turned to her, smirking slightly.

"How's the memory? Or head, I can't imagine either are great."

Upon meeting the face of Tony Stark in the mysterious hotel room, her eyes narrowed slightly.

God dammit Neena, HIM?

"Go jump off of a balcony." She said a little heatedly towards him, ignoring the fact that food had been laid out and continued to search the suite for her clothes. She eventually found the majority of her outfit folded neatly on the drier, which she got dressed in almost immediately. If she hadn't been in such a foul mood, she might have appreciated the slight warmness of her clothing, not to mention that they had been obviously cleaned as well. Coming back into the main room, now fully dressed and no trace of the bed sheet, she stopped by the table next to Tony and grabbed an apple off of the fruit tray.

"You're awfully cheery for being hung-over..."

"Eh...call it...experience." He replied with a slight smirk that suggested that wasn't entirely the whole reason even as he bit into a croissant, rather enjoying the look of frustration she had given her situation moments before searching for the gathered, cleaned and dried outfit she had been wearing the night before.

"The music had to be loud...I apologize, to get you up at 6, wouldn't want to be late for our suicide briefing." He continued with somewhat less bravado, his eyes moving from her to the unlit fireplace as he contemplated, probably something deep and meaningful.

She bit into her apple, chewing it while keeping her eyes on Tony but then felt them roll into the back of her head at his response.

"Yeah, can't wait." She said sarcastically. "Well...thanks for...whatever..." She gave Tony a half-assed salute as she headed to the door. She still had time to get back to her room, suit up in something more...mission worthy and still make it to the conference room in time for the meeting.

Incursions

you still having problems gonzo?

Incursions

*Evil Smile*

As far as a time skip goes. Almost. I'm waiting to hear back from Ghost to see if he wanted to add anything for Cypher before we finish out the day, and there's still a collab or two to finish before the skip too.

Incursions

damn...I'll have what he's having!

Incursions

Collaboration between Ghost Shadow, The Roman07 and YoshiSkittlez

---

The sound of running water filled the small enclosed space of Detective Roman's bathroom as Kate eagerly filled the tub. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so stressed from a single day’s events, and the only thing better than taking a hot bath to relax in would have been a full-on Jacuzzi, but she wasn't about to complain. Stripping herself of her clothes, she slipped into the steaming water without so much as a splash as she slipped inside and exhaled deeply, immediately feeling the hot water relax her muscles, more obviously her wrist which she was pretty sure was either broken or severely sprained. Finally, her mind was at peace...if only for just a few moments...

Ugh, Rin Stone. Out of everyone in the world that could have been, it just had to have been my inspiration. Right? Of course, because life isn't ever fair. She's associated with the creation of Lucid for Chris' sake! And it's hard for me to even decide if she was trying to just get Detective Roman's shirt off for ’medical reasons' to begin with. Hell, if I were a doctor that had a patient like Roman, I would-"

Kate's mind snapped back, raising her head out of the water as she had completely submerged herself to get her hair wet. Breathing in sharply, she ran her hands over her forehead, slicking back her hair. Something in her chest was starting to feel a little strange...her heart beating a little...awkwardly. Was that a flip-flop? A heart palpitation? She paused to rest her hand over her heart, feeling the tiny thing beating fast against her skin.

I really should think of something to thank Detective Roman for all of this. He's putting his own job on the line for me...but I'll only stay here tonight. If things don't smooth out by tomorrow morning, I'll get out of his hair...

He does have nice hair now that I think about it, and that goatee is just the icing on the cake. I remember a guy in my Advanced Trigonometry class having a goatee, he wasn't too bad looking...

Another inconsistent heartbeat, this time to the point where it made her gasp. She closed her eyes hard, the water droplets dripping down her forehead and off of her nose.

With her eyes closed, she saw a sudden flash of Jack's smiling face, and in another flash his prosthetic hand had outstretched to be placed delicately on her shoulder when she had been crying earlier. He was there for her; she could see that now, as a friend. A good friend. That's why he was doing all of this, because he genuinely cared! Kate's green eyes opened back up, now with a smile on her face as she relaxed back into the water, feeling her fingers absent-mindedly brush against her thigh, her heart skipping in the same fashion as it had before when she thought back about Jack, about the way he looked at her while she was examining his arms and chest. Oh God his chest... And that's when it hit her, she had a crush on him, and it had started from the very moment he had put his jacket on her when it began to rain the night before now.

She felt her fingers brush between her legs, if only for a moment, feeling the now addicting feeling of her heart going bezerk run through her body. She proceeded to do it once more and let her fingers wander, lingering until she had finally found a small area which had immediately gone stiff in excitement. Soft moans came from her throat as she continued to move her fingers, being extremely sensitive since this wasn't exactly a common activity for the young woman.

She had to wonder...with a smile that looked that great on Detective Roman...what would it be like to feel those lips on her own? Or what a kiss in general would feel like, she had never known. Her thoughts continued to wander, putting in images of fantasy situations of 'what would it be like if', and her pleasured moans only increased.

Sektor had sat on the floor, downtrodden by its master's retaliation. It began moving the Monopoly pieces around the board once more, its movements sluggish and lazy.

However Sektor perked up upon hearing odd sounds coming from the bathroom. The robot stood up quickly and approached the closed door; listening carefully. "Katherine Saunders is in danger." Sektor said aloud, literally kicking the door down with a single kick.

Water splashed everywhere as a very frantic Kate slipped and slid around in the bathtub, having been startled to death of being 'caught in the act.' Her heart-rate sky-rocketed, her face crimson in embarrassment as she hid herself behind the wall of the bathtub and peeked her eyes over the edge.

"SEKTOR! GET OUT!" She hissed, praying to GOD that Detective Roman didn't decide to come see what the commotion was about.

"Initiating combat programs, switching to thermal scan overlay for cloaked assailants, rescuing Katherine Saunders." Sektor sprinted over to where Kate was, literally scooping her out of the water and running out of the restroom. "Beginning evacuation protocols, this unit will protect you!" It reassured loudly, gently dumping Kate onto the couch and holding up its modified weapon into the bathroom for any assassins.

"No hostilities detected; false alarm, resuming dormant guard program." Sektor finally said, sitting down next to the game board.

It looked up at its still-nude maker. "Does Katherine Saunders wish to play Monopoly?" It asked innocently.

Jack was still in Michelle’s room completely lost in thought. Why did Rin give him the syringes? Is she assuming I needed them or was it just something she figured we could use as a bargaining chip? Jack picked up one of the syringes and watched the reflective liquid turn and mix. It seemed much brighter and almost amber in color in comparison to the Lucid he has seen on the streets. Pulling the hypo gun out and loading the vial into it, he couldn't help but think what would happen if he injected it. "Slows down time huh?" He said staring blankly.

Just then, a loud CRACK came from inside the house. Jack grabbed his Revolver and ran into the next room instinctively clearing the area. Sektor came running out with Kate in hand and Jack quickly ran toward the bathroom to see the threat. The room was clear aside from a extremely wet floor and shards of broken wood everywhere. "What the hell happened? Is everyone oka-" Jack stopped short when he turned around and saw a Naked Kate on his couch and an occupied Sektor playing Monopoly. "Umm... yea... should I ask?" He asked while staring directly at Kate’s birthday suit.

The second Kate got dropped onto the couch; she scrambled around trying to get up and looked around, desperately trying to find something to cover her up.

"For God's sake Detective, turn around!" Kate hissed, feeling her entire body go red with embarrassment as she grabbed for his coat that had been tossed onto the couch earlier. She stood up, slipping into it and until she was fully satisfied being covered up did she then look at Sektor.

"What the hell was that all about?" She demanded.

Sektor turned and looked at her simply, slowly handing her the dog piece of the game. "This unit heard odd noises coming from the bathroom; statistics suggested you were in trouble, this unit issued evacuation protocols." Sektor responded, waiting for her to take the piece.

"Sektor..." Kate warned.

"Also, this platform's computers suggest, in hindsight, that the moaning sounds uttered by your vocabulator earlier were sounds of pleasure and not pain. Was Katherine Saunders preparing herself either for mating with Detective Jack Roman or this mystery organic male whom your marital platform speaks highly of?" Sektor stopped for a moment, pondering. "This units scans suggest this is, in fact, the first time Katherine Saunders has pleasured herself via stimulation. Did you use a vibration or insertion device to stimulate intercourse?" Sektor asked curiously, sufficing to drop the game piece on her lap before returning its attention to the game.

"SEKTOR!"

Not finished yet, Sektor continued to add on. "This unit is capable of receiving upgrades that allow it to mimic such functions, should Katherine Saunders experience such feelings once more. Running Extranet search protocols...pending...consensus reached. Vibrator function: 45 standard credits. Insertion device add-on: 60 standard credits. Extranet confirms a '2 for 1' sale. Both add-ons may be purchased for a mere 75 credit total purchase."

"SEKTOR!!! Commence Immediate Shut-Down!"

"Confirm command." Sektor repeated before falling limp, its photoreceptor dimming until the bright light was completely gone. It toppled over quite comedically onto the game board.

Jack did what Kate yelled and turned around, albeit rather slowly. He couldn't help but listen to Sektor’s ramblings. The image of Kate still fresh in his mind. "Have to admit... for a code programmer who sits in front of a holopad all day, your pretty fit." Jack joked.

Covering his mouth to hide the low laughter from Sektor’s online search for "Upgrades". Jack couldn't help but give another quick peek. It’s not every day a soaking wet naked woman lays down on his couch.... this time she managed to cover herself with Jacks coat. Part of him wished he'd put it in the kitchen when he walked in.

"Well, I’m pretty sure that two for 75 credits deal was pretty good." Jack smiled as he slowly turned back around once she was covered. Gesturing towards Michelle’s room he put his gun down on the table near the monopoly board. "Spare clothes are in there... and tell Sektor once he wakes up he can clean up the bathroom and keep the board game.... I think he's earned it."

Kate immediately shot Detective Roman a look that clearly indicated that she was not at all amused by his remarks, even if the first one was supposed to be somewhat of a compliment. She pulled the coat over her front tightly and stalked back towards the living room, her wrist continuing to throb in a dull pain.

"I'll clean up the couch later..." She grumbled before slamming the bedroom door shut right behind her, and then collapsed onto the bed with an agitated growl.

One hour. That’s how long it took for Kate to gather herself again. By the time she had changed back into her old sweat pants and long shirt (tucking the long shirt into the sweatpants) she glanced over at the old makeshift clock. Realizing that it was nearly four in the morning...and she still had a mess out there to clean up. She said a silent prayer that Detective Roman had turned in for the night before slipping out of the bedroom and to the living room where she manually activated Sektor, finding that she had her arms crossed across her chest as a wave of self-consciousness hit her hard. Maybe she should have searched the closet for a large sweatshirt before she came back out here. Not that it would matter. She could have been garbed in an Eskimo outfit and would have still felt naked.

Jack lay in his bed in the other room eyes shut but mind wide awake. Thinking about everything that happened today. So much to process... He couldn’t rest, he needed to get up. walking out in nothing but boxers he decided to wander half asleep into the kitchenette and grab a half empty bottle of vodka, when he took a swig he noticed the Lucid was moved from Kate’s room to the kitchen again. Jacks mind started wandering again... "Lucid... Prime eh?" Jack picked up the syringe and stared at the liquid once more. "Enhanced focus and reflexes." He muttered to himself. If he took one right now nobody would be the wiser, they are all asleep and if one syringe disappeared he could... could...

"Jesus Christ...don't you ever wear clothes?" Kate had wandered into the kitchen, having just assisted Sektor in cleaning up the bathroom before leaving the bot to his own programming to put the door back up. Her hand moved up into her direct vision, using it as a barrier to cover Detective Roman so that only his head was visible. "Not that I mind...it is your home. I mean, you should be comfortable but...oh God that didn't come out right. You just startled me is all...and I suppose I'm not used to seeing men with great bodies-" She inhaled sharply and closed her eyes. "You know what...I'm going to leave and come back, and this conversation never started, and I'll try again." She cleared her throat and then moved to leave the kitchen to gather her thoughts before re-entering the kitchen, still holding up her hand as shield. She cleared her throat again.

"Anyway...did you ever give your girlfriend a call about the...the...lucid?"

Jack jumped being startled by Kate’s voice and put the syringe down on the table. Looking down at himself he blushed a bit and moved slightly behind the end table. "Oh, sorry... I’m not really used to, well guests..." Jack quickly put the Vodka back into the fridge and poured two glasses of water from the sink. Passing one across the small table between them. "She’s not my girlfriend..." Why did he say that? What did it matter to him if she thought... "Besides, I tried to call her but there’s no answer. She’s probably still giving a police report and covering our asses." Jack mumbled.

Kate mouthed a quiet "Oh" and found herself now staring at the glass of cool water he had slid over to her. Hesitantly, she sat down at the table and took a drink, making quite the obvious indication that she was trying to avoid looking at him. She was quiet for a moment, swirling the water around in the glass, slightly wishing that he hadn't put the Vodka away.

"If anything bad happened to her...to you...if either of you got caught..." She swallowed hard, feeling her throat going incredibly dry despite having just quenched her thirst. So she decided to change the subject.

"Sektor is putting your door back up now. Again...sorry." She said, still refusing to look at him.

"It’s part of my job Kate." He said jokingly. "I’m not running out not knowing what I’m gettin into." Jack took a swig of the water and winced. He really wanted Vodka but needed a clear head. "I know I’m going a little further than usual here but... I don’t like people getting taken advantage of..." Tossing the water out he pulled out the Vodka anyway and poured a shot, leaving the bottle on the table. "Yea, mind explaining to me what that little scene was about? does that happen often?"

At the sound of Detective Roman getting up from the table, she chanced a look to see what it was that he was doing, and spotted the Vodka. Getting up herself, she moved beside him to pour her own half-glass, but didn't drink it just yet.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She said firmly. The best way to deal with this was to try to convince him that it never happened. She reached her hand up and tapped gently on one of the neurode sensors by his eye. "I think these things might be screwing with you." A small smile wafted across her lips before turning her attention back to her glass and downed the contents, rather quickly, enjoying the burn as it slipped down her throat.

Kate tapped on his head and he couldn’t help but grin a bit. "Man I’m sorry to hear that, usually these things screw up and blur my surrounds... but I’m pretty sure I saw something quite clear." Jack joked and followed it by a swig of his drink. Jack stared off into the faraway window. "The woman who lived here... She was my sister." Jack said refilling up his glass. "Our parents... well let’s just say they didn’t want us. Instead they wanted a new life in Alpha and couldn’t pay the tax for a ten year old and a six year old." Jack said before downing another round.

"You saw nothing." Kate said, finding the slightest amount of amusement in her voice. Her soft smirk disappeared though the moment he began talking again, his own jovial tone now gone replace with something she could relate to as sorrow. Her mind drifted back to the woman she saw in the picture on the computer, now a small amount of the mystery had been revealed. As he continued on, it made her suddenly feel very grateful for her own parents, both of which were born into a substantial amount of money. Kate had never known what it was to be poor, to need something, and as the small details came back to her about Detective Roman's situation, she felt her heart go out to him.

"What...what happened?" She asked softly, the tone in his voice indicating that this story didn't exactly have a happy ending.
Jack banged the glass down a bit harder than he wanted. the drink already making him feel warmer. "What would a ten year old do when his parents abandon him? Cry... we cried for days wandering Beta... hungry and trying constantly to sneak into Block 9." Jacks hands shook slightly as he poured yet another glass. "Every time we got caught... pushed back away and left for the rats to keep us warm.... I promised Michelle id take care of her no matter what." Jack downed the glass and shoved the empty glass aside. "Both of us... had to do some fucked up shit just to live. Our childhood behind us, we took odd jobs from gang members running packages and...planting bombs under cars." Jack stood up and leaned back on the sink as he started to feel the wobble. "Nobody would suspect a little kid who 'accidently' kicked a ball under a car to be lining the gas tank with C4." He pictured the c4 in his hand and had to rub his eyes to get the image out of his head. "Till this day I don’t use a personal vehicle because I’d think of how easily it could be sabotaged."

Kate bit her lower lip, everything Detective Roman told her going into vivid detail in her mind as she picture two small children, fighting for survival. A knot formed in her stomach, the kind of feeling of 'guilt' welling up inside of her. She knew it wasn't her fault, but it didn't make the fact that she had more money than she knew what to do with any easier. A slight layer of mist covered her eyes, forcing her to clear her throat once more before moving to the Vodka bottle, capped it and put it back into the fridge.

"You did what you had to do." She said simply, keeping her back to him and still facing the fridge. What else could she say?

"I could have done more..." Jack muttered. Leaning back over the coffee table getting a little too close to Kate. "I want to.... fix what’s broken here." Jack said a little bit slurred. The lack of blood flow to any upper limbs made the alcohol course through his system faster than normal. "I refuse to stop until it’s fixed, even if it kills me." He mumbled the last part. "I’m not giving up on you Kate and you sure as hell can’t stop me." Jack stumbled over to the nearby couch and plopped down his head swishing from the vodka.

Kate blinked her bright eyes, not sure when or how the conversation had turned back to her and her situation. Watching Detective Roman disappear back into the living room, she sighed, rinsing out her glass and set it aside to be washed later before doing the same with his. Joining him back in the living room, she sat sideways on the arm of the couch, trying to keep her attention on his head rather than the exposed parts of him.

"You're a cop, Detective; you've done more for this city than you give yourself credit for. I'm from District 4 and I've even heard of the work you've done. Of how many lives you have saved. You're being way too damn hard on yourself and you know it."

"I’ve killed more than I saved." Jack muttered. "Forty six... forty six dead... you can make that a rounded off number by the end of the week I promise." Jack stretched out his arms on the back of the couch, resting his head back while looking at Kate. "Once this is over, you really need to fix your robot. He’s... Strange." He gave a slight grin as he felt his head start to spin.

Kate got up from the arm of the couch and walked over to the back of it, looking down at Detective Roman's face in a slight upside-down fashion. She rested her hands on either side of his head, really unsure how to take what he had just said. Was he really going to kill others? And was it for her sake? Thankfully, the topic once again changed.

"Don't I know it?" She chuckled lightly. She debated for a couple seconds of just coming out right then and there, telling him everything about Sektor. It was evident that she could trust him, but the fact that it might just pile more onto this whole mess kept her mouth shut while she thought it over.

"Detective..." She started, leaning in a bit closer to him, unsure of how well he would be able to hear due to his intoxicated state.

Jack watched as Kate hovered above him. He let out a long sigh and slowly caught his eyes squinting at hers. "Yes Katherine?" He could feel her breath on his forehead, cooling the warmth from the alcohol down. His eyes got heavy and he closed them imagining the two of them after all this was over... where would they go? Would they go their separate ways? "Where do we go from here?" He whispered before completely nodding off.

Kate hesitated, the words slowly coming to her mind of what she wanted to say, what she needed to say, but before she knew it, the alcohol had taken his body over, and he was asleep. Sighing somewhat in relief, she raised her nimble fingers a bit and lightly pushed his hair to the side before standing up fully and walked back to the spare bedroom, noticing Sektor on the way.

"You done with that door yet?"

Sektor, still only recently activated and still disoriented, looked at her, its photoreceptor lit dimly to stimulate sadness. "Do you love him?" Was all Sektor asked, its tone weary and broken.

"I..." Kate started, feeling her feet shift underneath her uncomfortable. Just what was this anyway? The logical part of her brain, which she had used fully her entire life was telling her that all this was, was a case of 'damsel in distress,' however the other part of her mind, which she had just recently discovered, said otherwise. "That’s none of your business." She then said flatly and went into the bedroom, allowing Sektor in before shutting the door.

Incursions

Collaboration between The Roman07, YoshiSkittlez and GhostShadow

---

After what seemed like hours to her, they finally arrived at Jack's apartment, the layout of the entire area vastly different than what she was used to in District 4, the lowest she had ever been was District 10. Still though, she tried not to judge as Jack opened the door for her and stepped inside the small apartment.

"So what’s with the box?" She asked, clearing her throat feeling her shakes subside slightly for the first time that evening, and feeling...just a little more safe. She couldn't help but to let her eyes wander around her new surroundings. The main room was small, yet cozy. She could see a kitchen attached not too far off that looked just as small, yet still efficient. Select other doors along the walls indicated a bathroom, and Detective Roman had mentioned a spare bedroom. All-in-all, not a bad place for the lower districts.

Sektor quickly escaped the facility after its massacre. It followed quickly, finding Jack and Kate not too far ahead.

Sektor ran quickly, eventually catching up. "Mission profile was a success. Assailants were eliminated, 100% efficiency." Sektor stated upon arrival. "This unit is...glad that Katherine Saunders made it out alive, there was a 89% statistical chance you would survive. This platform sees the probabilities have played out in its favor." Sektor finished with a sharp nod.

As soon as Sektor caught up Jack grabbed him by the chest plate and jammed his pistol right into the soft spot under his circuitry. "I swear to fucking god if you ever kill another cop i will PERSONALLY PULL EVERY SINGLE LIMB OFF YOUR BODY and make sure your online to collect the data." Jacks eyes grew wide with anger. It wasn’t their fault they were ordered around by a corrupted asshole. There was no need to kill them.

Sektor flared into action once Jack grabbed it, its own arm grabbing the pistol and squeezing dangerously. "You. Will. Not." It responded in a frightening tone, quite literally pushing the pistol out of the way. "This unit has one directive: to protect Katherine Saunders mobile platform. If Detective Jack Roman becomes a threat to the prime directive, this platform is authorized to return with lethal force. Your emotional turmoil and personal code are not variables within the equation. Kate is this unit's to protect, at all times." Sektor vowed, the autonomy of its voice not wavering; Sektor had every intention of carrying out this threat, if need be.

"DETECTIVE ROMAN!" Kate screamed out, the fear once again returning to her body at the sudden turn of events.

The Robot was strong, but that didn’t affect Jacks disposition. "Get this clear in your brain. Ever kill another cop and I PROMISE I will be a threat to you Android, So put that as a fucking directive." Jack said pushing the robot a good distance away from him.

Kate was unable to just stand by any longer. She moved herself between Sektor and Detective Roman, keeping her attention on Jack. "Look, he was just trying to help okay? Just like you suggested. He only killed those cops because of the way I ordered him to protect me, so if you're going to point that gun at the real killer then that stupid thing should be pointed at me instead." She hissed, her eyes narrowing at him, in an odd turn of events, she was aiming to protect Sektor.

Sektor remained silent as Kate yelled at Jack. It had never observed her being this angry before. "Detective Jack Roman added to suspicion list, any form of treason or aggression will be met with lethal force." Sektor stated aloud, the modified repair laser still in its hand. However, after that Sektor was silent, struggling with its own turmoil...feelings of - guilt? Sektor passed the calculations innumerable times within its databanks. Guilt was an organic response to having done wrong. But Sektor did nothing wrong, it was following its programming.

The robot looked about weakly, almost wishing it could offer a reassuring smile to its maker. But it couldn't...it shouldn't. Why?
Jack backed down and breathed deeply before attempting to calm himself down. He wasn’t going to blame Kate but he was damn well sure he would be keeping a closer eye on that robot. Giving off a long sigh attempting to clear his mind of today’s events. "Welcome to my humble abode." Jack said sarcastically.

Kate's nostrils flared angrily, but she held her tongue from saying anything more. It's not like she had anywhere else to go anyway; aside from her own home, her parents would be the next logical choice for the cops to search, and Kate was never too good at making friends.

"Database." Kate then said, seemingly out of the blue. "Sektor has a database, not a brain." She shook her head a bit, rubbing her thumb and forefinger over the bridge of her nose. "Do you have a computer?"

"Yea your right... He don't have a brain." Jack snapped back. She could stand in front of him and make every excuse in the book, but there's no excuse to kill a cop unless they are corrupted. Ultimately confused about who to trust and who to watch. It was an eerily thin line between good and evil yet so many seem to walk the gray area. Jack unbuttoned his coat and took off the worn red baseball cap and tossed both onto the nearby couch. He wasn't the tidiest of people as one could obviously see from the amount of dishes in his sink and empty Vodka bottles scattered throughout the house, but he wasn't a slob. Kate asked if he had a computer and Jack gave a slight nod. "There's one in the spare room but it old and the battery is dead. You'll have to plug it in." He said as he walked towards Michelle’s room. Hesitating for only a moment before pushing on the sliding door.

The room was clean but dusty and obviously a girls room from the various decorations and posters on the walls. Old Detective adventure books leaned against an upright tablet with an external keyboard and actual glass screen. No holographic emitter on the ancient piece. Jack couldn't help but wonder if she still had the picture of the two of them at the precinct pretending to be behind bars with stupid faces on her desktop. It was one of the better moments he remembered of her as she came along that day for a ride-along. "Closet may have something that fits you and some towels too of you want to take a bath." Jack muttered in a low almost inaudible tone. Completely lost in thought as he watched old memories play back in his mind. "If you need anything else feel free to help yourself, I'm going to give Rin a call and see how things went down after we left."

Kate didn't hesitate to follow him down the hall and into the spare bedroom, her mind only on getting to that computer so she could link it to her AI back at home so she could check on things. Her rather abrupt walk halted the moment she reached the doorway, the smell of dust reaching her flared nostrils as her eyes looked about the immaculately...different room.

Something that felt like a stone sank in her gut as she observed the room, it hadn't been used in a very long time, and specifics told her that a woman had once stayed here. Slowly approaching Jack as the computer booted up, she stopped just behind him to take a look at the welcome screen, finding her hardened and once angry face melted into a soft smile, matching the genuine smile of a younger Detective Jack Roman and a woman behind bars, obviously having a fun time about it in the picture.

"She's pretty." Kate said softly from behind Jack, unable to keep her green eyes off of the woman in the picture. This girl was obviously very special to Jack at some point; and maybe she still was. Her gaze finally went from the screen to Jack, having to look up at him because of the near foot he had on her in height. She lifted her arm hesitantly, and then outstretched her hand to place on his shoulder, feeling the padded bullet-proof vest under her hand, unable to tell just how far the prosthetics went. "Are you okay?"

Jack watched as the memories trickled into his frontal lobe and displayed before his eyes. Michelle sitting at her desk reading "Sherlock Holmes" on paperback. A birthday gift for her 19th birthday. "Aww Jack thanks! You'll see, I'll read this and be a better detective than you, hard-ass!" Michelle jokingly laughed as she spun around in the chair.

Jack felt a soft hand on his shoulder and instinctively jumped snapping him back to reality. "Huh? Yea I'm fine..." Jack said trailing off and walking towards the bathroom. "I... I think I'm going to take a quick shower first before you." He said before walking away. Pulling off his vest and yanking at the tight fitting black t-shirt underneath, showing off the mixture of cybernetics and scars formed from shrapnel all over his chest and back. His lean body complimented the augments as they seemed to mold into his shoulders, replacing his deltoids and upper back muscles with synthetic fiber. All thanks to the masterworks of Rin and Taurus Tech. Tossing his shirt and vest into a nearby hamper, he took the silver cigar box and laid it on his kitchen table before stealing a couple clothes from the nearby closet and jumping into the shower.

"Detective..." Kate called out hoping to stop him, if just for a moment. Her eyes had immediately widened as she caught a glimpse of his bare back before he slipped out of the spare bedroom. It was hard to tell in that split second, but it looked as if the prosthetic arms extended seamlessly into his back muscles. Such technology shouldn't have existed yet...there were still people out there with failing prosthetic limbs; always some sort of malfunction...and yet...Detective Roman's seemed absolutely flawless. But she was too late, the door had already closed and she could hear the shower water running.

Sektor quietly followed the duo into Jack's apartment. Offering no noises aside from a few odd clicks, Sektor sat down on the couch, examining its modified laser. It 'sighed' audibly, sounding much like the sound a computer makes when shutting down. "This platform is following the prime directive, 'friends' are not within the parameters of this unit's programming. Why do the core computers suggest betrayal?" Sektor asked aloud, to itself, cupping its hands together.

Sektor accessed all the information it had stored in its databanks, specifically, the emulation program. Images appeared, rushing at lightning fast speed, but Sektor observed them all: scenes of couples holding hands, kissing, laughing. Sektor looked down at its own hands, the awkward amphibian-like 3-digit hands meeting its gaze.

Sektor looked down once more, picturing itself perhaps holding someone's hand. But such feelings were illogical, incompatible, against every computer or programming built into its platform. "The emulation program is gaining dominance." Sektor observed in a nearly-silent tone. "This platform will be...human? Negative, it shall think it is human." It kept speaking, not caring who was in the vicinity.

Jack attempted to wash away the thoughts in his mind. Using the white noise and scalding hot water dulling the senses as it covered him like a force field, isolating him from the world around him. Images kept flashing in front of him of the fear in Michelle’s eyes, watching slowly as the fire pulled at her flesh. Even under all the hot water he could still smell the stench of charred skin. Every part of her was charred within seconds, hair, skin, and shortly after the eyes... the emerald green eyes that stared at him the entire time in fear. Calling to him, asking for his help.

Jack collapsed onto his knees like he did that night. The hot water felt like the flames that were so close yet didn't touch him. He wanted to scream out loud out of pure anger and pain but he knew that Kate and Sektor were here. Gritting his teeth and grasping the sidewall of the steel tub and wrinkling the curvature into something resembling a hand print. He should of been the one to die that night, not her. He deserved it.

Jack walked out in a set of old jeans with his green T-Shirt draped over one of his shoulders not ready to put it on just yet. He noticed Sektor sitting by the couch playing the old board games he had stuffed in the closet. "Forgot I even had those." He said casually. Much calmer and laid back now that he was cleaned up. "Just be careful with them..they are antiques." Jack passed by the kitchen to grab the metallic box before making a quick stop near Michelle’s room. Watching Kate for a minute work on the computer before leaning in and giving a light knock on the drywall. "Everything ok?"

Kate had since went back to the computer, pushing the penetrating questions from her mind about the girl on the screen and worked on charging the battery. If she was going to build up the program to reach her defense system back home on this antique computer, she would need full power. She hadn't even thought to check on Sektor, but how much trouble could one little bot get into anyway? She found herself staring blankly at the progress bar, waiting...waiting...waiting...by the time Detective Roman had finished his shower, she had fallen asleep at the computer desk but was then awoken by a quiet knock on the wall inside the bedroom.

Swiveling around on the chair, she couldn't help but to contain a blush creeping over her cheeks noticing him, yet again, shirtless. But this time she was able to see the front and not so much the back. Her green eyes then wandered back to the peak of her curiosity beforehand, and looked over the workmanship of his prosthetic arms. She knew she probably stared too long, and quickly snapped out of it looking back up to meet his eyes.

"Yeah, just a little tired." She admitted before standing up from the chair to walk over to him at the doorway. As she neared closer, a whiff of his body soap and shampoo filled her nose, filling her senses with such a clean, manly smell it nearly made her knees buckle. The only man she had ever smelled in such closeness was her own cousin, so any sort of thought of sexual arousal was automatically turned off when she was around him. But Detective Roman...

She swallowed hard again, feeling that lump coming back to her throat, and decided that if she didn't do something quick, she was going to do something stupid. She lightly reached her hand up, as if asking for his own hand to be placed in hers.

"May I?" She asked, wanting nothing more than to just examine his prosthetics.

Jack looked at Kate as she put out her hand. "May I?" She asked. Jack just looked her dead in the eyes. "Be gentle, I’m ticklish." He Joked. Jack took the green shirt off his other shoulder so Kate could get a closer look. "Rin said they are the closest to the real deal that didn’t put looks before functionality. Most civilian prosthetics get the skin tone matched and whatever else to not draw attention... I personally could care less." Jack muttered.

Kate took his hand in hers, examining every exposed wire right down to the very material that the palm of his hand was made from. "It's incredible..." Kate agreed as he went on explaining. She moved her hands up to the wrists, up to the biceps where she spent more time studying, turning his arm gently this way and that to watch the gears and such click into place before moving her hands up into the deltoids. She leaned in to get a closer look at the skin that met with the metal, and had him rotate his shoulder a few times to watch how it worked. Her approach then turned more gentle as her study continued on, finding drill holes that had been plugged up by the same material across his chest in certain areas. She pressed on his chest firmly in these few places, finding the connecting cords that continued all the way over from his chest back to his arms. Complete and full functionality, just like he said. She blinked a few times before looking back up at him into his eyes, now with the one thought going through her mind.

"The surgery...I can't imagine it feeling very good." She said lightly, not wanting to push any buttons that might cause him to get angry or remember something he didn't want to. "But frankly...this level of detail...this...mapping they used...it should have killed you..." She went on, the light humor in her voice completely gone, replaced by nothing but worry and concern in both her voice and eyes.

Jack's face got slightly red from Kate getting so close to him. He couldn’t help but jump a bit as she traced his wires into his chest. Looking away for a second when she asked if it hurt. "To be honest I didn’t feel a thing, I was unconscious most of the time and whenever I awoke I was heavily sedated... and for almost killing me, if not for Rin i would of died anyway. If I died on the operating table, they would just take them back and save it for the next unlucky soul." Jack looked down as he spoke. "What really hurt was the dent in my salary to pay for the things. Rin helped with a major discount but... well I’d say it still cost me an arm and a leg... but." Jack smiled at Kate. Holding up his left and watching his hand as it made a tight fist. "Physical therapy was the hard part, took me a month alone to hold a cup without crushing it into powder." Jack stretched out his hand and tried placing a thumb onto Kate’s cheek softly. "The only part I don’t like is the lack of feeling. It’s like.... wearing a thick pair of gloves, you know what’s there but there’s no detail."

2 seconds. Sektor had immediately crossed the living room and into the bedroom in about 2 seconds, growling darkly towards Jack. "Physical contact is forbidden." It warned in a threatening tone. "Statistics suggest you have a 22% chance of harming Katherine Saunders. That, this platform will not allow." It finished cooly, glaring him in the face; its stance stiff and threatening, standing to its full height.

The slight blush on Kate's cheeks reddened as Jack's thumb went to her cheek, the lump in her throat now just threatening to choke her. She held his gaze for a few short moments, feeling her heart hammering against her rib cage to the point where it began to hurt. She took in a deep breath, and then shakily exhaled, taking a few steps back from him as Sektor entered the room. "Well, for what it's worth, I'm glad you didn't die on that operating table." She said feeling that lump subside somewhat and then returned back to the computer, finding that the update had finally finished.

"And Sektor...it's fine. Detective Roman was simply giving me a demonstration on his prosthetics at my request." She said, feeling much like the owner of an attack guard dog at that moment. She had to resist from saying 'Down Boy.' And that in itself proved to her that she was in a much better mood than she had been in a long time.

“Good evening Katherine. You have three missed calls and one new message.” The metallic male voice sounded as soon as Kate booted up the program on the old computer.

“Relay messages Adam.” Kate said with a yawn, feeling her heart finally starting to beat normally again.

“Missed call from, Mom, 5:32 pm. Missed call from Mom, 5:34 p.m. Missed call from, Mom, 5:45 p.m. Missed voice message from, Mom, 5:46 p.m.

‘Hey Katie, its mom. I haven’t heard from you for a couple days so I just wanted to pop in and say hi! Oh! By the way, you’re father and I have been having some troubles with our computer lately. Cold showers, burnt toast…our entire house seemed to be on the fritz. But we didn’t want to bother you, since you’ve been busy with your school work; we are still very proud of you; so we hired a Technological Consultant to help us out. He’s really a nice boy, about your age I believe. Anyway, I gave him your number so he could take you out. Your studies are important, but remember, Katie, your father and I want grand children before we die you know, and you’re slower than a snail on molasses when it comes to the dating game. Anyway, he seemed a little shy when I gave him your number, so I’ve attached his number to this message so give him a call tomorrow if he hasn’t called you already…or…oh! Maybe he already called you…and the reason you’re not answering is because you’re too busy…oh…oh okay, well honey I’ll leave you two be. Have a good night!’

End of message. Attachment will be printed to your location's nearest printer.”

Kate felt her forehead slam onto the computer desk in embarrassment, and the printer next to her whirred to live, spitting out a small piece of paper with a phone number on it.

Sektor looked up curiously upon hearing the message. "This unit would be grateful if Katherine Saunders were to spread out her mates to another, more trustworthy source."

Jack couldn’t help but cover his mouth to stop him from laughing out loud. "Heh, yea if you want to use my phone feel free, he sounds like a 'peach'."

"Too bad I don't like fruit." Kate said dryly, with her face still embedded into the computer desk.

Jack took the cigar box and placed it down next to Kate. "I wonder what Rin gave us..." He muttered.

Kate then lifted her head hearing the metal box being set down on the computer desk next to her and looked from the box and back to Jack. She wanted to make some smart-ass remark about it being her will if she were to ever commit suicide, but felt that would be in bad taste so she kept her mouth shut and just waited for him to open it.

Jack waited for a response but she obviously was too deep in thought about the "tech boy" whom her mother figured was perfect for her, so he reached over and pressed on the tiny metal lock. the lid slowly lifted by itself and inside lay three syringes, a hypo gun and a holorecorder. on the inlay of the sidewall next to the syringes had the initials R.E.S. and a tiny printed label that read: Lucid Prime.

Kate peered over into the box as it began to open, not really sure what she was expecting, but when she saw the syringes...and the label to boot, she jumped back, falling out of the chair and onto the floor...clearly shocked by the contents within. Too surprised to even register the pain that now shot up through her arm as she had tried to catch her fall with it, she looked up to Detective Roman with wide eyes.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT DOING IN THERE?" She screamed out, unable to keep from doing so. Then the pain set in, a thousand needles pricking into her left arm and about twice as many poking into her tail bone and couldn't help but to mutter out a quiet "Ow..."

Sektor swooped into action. As soon as Kate fell, the robot was at her side. "Katherine Saunders, speak. How many fingers is this unit extending? Relay the extent of your injuries. This platform is trained in most medical emergencies in the case its creator is in danger or injured." It held up a single hand with only two fingers extended at the time, clicking in worry.

Jack was just as shocked as Kate, but didn’t fall back off the chair like she did. After watching Sektor pick her back up he reached over for the tiny holorecorder and pressed it on.

The recorder lit up and a green hologram of Rin popped up on the table. Humming and static was blocking out background noise as a robotic voice narrated journal entries:

Journal entry #12 -

"Nanoserum No.113 has passed animal trials with flying colors. Subjects show a 30% increase in response and maze tests were completed in less than half the time." Rin's Voice sounded much younger and brighter. "If this keeps up then we will finally find a cure for those with impaired senses..." *End recording

Journal entry #16 -

"Human trials got off to a rough start. Serum needed to be slightly toned down due to low level lighting causing massive headaches and possible seizures...." Rin said in a slightly upset tone. "On the bright side, Rachel... although deaf from birth, could now hear low level humming and certain high frequency pitches." The sound of another voice from behind could be heard but not clear enough for the mic. "Okay Dad I'll be right there! ....Serum still needs some minor tweaking." *End recording

Journal entry #24 -

(the sounds of heavy breathing only for a couple seconds) "One subject kept requesting for Serum 113 today, he stated it wasn't helping him as much as it did previously. Requesting a higher dosage... maybe the nanomachines have a shelf life?" (The sounds of glass breaking and a man yelling in the background) "Sir... sir please get away from the counte-SIR!!! DAD HELP!" *End recording

Journal entry #33 -

(dead silence) "Human trials have ceased... the drug was considered too addictive. Its affects on an unimpaired individual makes one feel euphoric and oversensitive to their surroundings. One of them nicknamed it 'Lucid' in relation to the clarity it gave them. Serum No.113 needs to go back to the drawing board." *End recording

Journal entry #35 -

"Somebody broke into the lab last week and took... everything. Reports have been coming in about some new drug in Beta called 'Lucid'... Possible connection. My father is going to Beta to find out and possibly treat those affected. *End recording

Journal entry #36 -

(silence) ........"I miss you Dad....." (silence) *End Recording

Journal entry #001 - "After a full year I have perfected it. A prime formula compared to the old nanomachines. No shelf life, no self-determination, no overstimulation. Formula No. 114 grants enhanced clarity and perception to the average person in hypothesis. Never cleared for human trials.... increase in focus and mental clarity allows information processed from all sensory receptors to be read in a more efficient manner. Hypothesis concludes that an average person would feel like time has slowed down around them." (A long sigh whispered into the mic.) "Serum 114 will never be cleared by me for moral reasons... if this gets into the wrong hands, it could effectively be turned into a weapon." *End transmission

Kate used Sektor to get back up onto her feet, her ears carefully trained into the holographic recording. The more she heard, the less she liked it as was evident by the frown she wore plainly on her face. "I'm fine Sektor..." Kate hissed at him quietly, trying to shoo him away so she could continue to listen. Finally...it was all over. Her eyes went from the now completed holotape to Jack, trying to gauge some sort of reaction out of him first before she said anything.

Jack just stood there speechless. He couldn’t comprehend why Rin gave him this. Was he supposed to look after it? Was he supposed to use it? Maybe leverage to get Kate her life back he honestly wasn’t sure. "I....I... dunno what to say." Jack looked at the both of them as if looking for an answer.

Sektor remained silent when hushed by its maker, merely looking on towards the holotape and offering a few clicks. "Consensus not reached - more information is required." Sektor finally stated before looking Kate up and down once more. "Are you sure you are well? Bio scans show no permanent injury, but spikes in the nerve endings suggest you are experiencing pain. Let this platform help you." Sektor pleaded

"I said I'm fine!" Kate snapped, clearly the aura of the room getting to her. She sighed, and looked to the machine with an apologetic expression, but didn't say anything on the matter. "I'm going to go take that bath now..." Kate said looking back to Jack. If he didn't know what to say, then she felt it was safest to not voice her opinion at all. A hot bath should surely help with her now ill-gotten temper, and it would certainly help her now swollen wrist, at least a little.

Sektor did nothing but look on towards Kate, its posture hunched and weak. "Why can't..." it struggled for words, as if it wanted to say 'I' but couldn't. ”Why can't..." It repeated once more before growing silent and walking away.

Kate sighed and then just pushed past Jack to head to the bathroom. She shut the door and rested her back against it for a good few minutes, just trying to remember how to breathe normally. It seemed as if her entire world had just flipped around entirely on her, and all at once. Sektor, Jack, that stupid update fail that made her a now running criminal, and now drug exposure. She swore after she had lost her Uncle to the stuff that she would never even associate herself with people that used it. She growled a bit angrily and finally moved over to the tub, instantly noticing the bent shape the side of the tub had been turned into.

Incursions

God damn Roman, looks like you shook off your writers block :D

Whispers of Trinity *limited

jman...your sig is freaking awesome :D

Incursions

2 collabs posted from me, one of Deon and Vander, the other of Jack, Rin, Sektor and Kate :D

Incursions

Collaboration between YoshiSkittlez, The Roman07 and Ghost Shadow

---

The hours droned on and on, the only sound coming from Kate aside from the technical equipment she used were only short commands directed either towards Sektor or Rin.

Rin

The name struck out familiar the second she heard it the first time. A name she and anyone else dedicated to the topic of science would know as a science prodigy and it made Kate think on multiple occasions,

Never meet your heroes.

Still though, she proved to be a lot more helpful now that she wasn't trying to unbutton Jack's shirt or run him around the building trying to show him stuff; or ogle at Sektor. She glanced at the clock. 10:22 p.m. and still so much to do. Thank God for Detective Jack Roman and his contacts, otherwise she'd be behind bars right now had she not gotten the extension to midnight. She continued to work, sweat beading at her forehead as time ticked on.

Finally, at 11:46 p.m. Kate stepped away from the computer for the first time since leaving Sektor's side hours ago, looking exhausted but more than that...frightened.

"Sektor, run update X-93.4 to the droid specifically in this room." she wrung her hands together, this was it...all the hours of combined effort, hinging on the unknown fact if it was all worth it or not.

"Acknowledged. Running update." Was Sektor's curt response. Though it was an advanced prototype, it wasn't built much for conversation aside from awkward observation and spent most of the night sitting patiently by its makers side. "Uploading. 10%" The minutes droned by, "30%". Anxiousness built up. "70%". Then, after what seemed like hours of silence, Sektor spoke up once more. "100%. Upload finished." It stated with a small whirr, its photoreceptor drawn to the X-93 robot.

Kate looked like she was about to puke. Her skin had gone completely white while waiting for the update to finish on the bot, and not only that, but once it had finished, they were just near out of time. Her green eyes kept glancing to the clock, moving away to follow the X-93.4 that was supposed to reach Jack, hopefully without exploding. She shoved her hands into her sweat pants pockets, trying to keep them from shaking as the bot calmly addressed Jack...and then...nothing happened.

A grin spread across her face, color returning to her cheeks and she was about to exclaim out of pure joy when her eyes happened upon the clock once more...12:02 a.m. They had missed the deadline, and the full update still had to reach the satellite for all of the other models.

"Sektor....run the update via satellite." She said softly, with a deflated look on her face. They may as well get the update since it seemed to be working, though part of her wanted the bots to keep exploding while she sat behind bars.

Rin watched nervously as the X-95.4 update installed. She wasn’t sure what was going to happen but the suspense made her fingers tremble. finally the photoreceptor in the bot whirred to life. "This platform is ready for primary directive 1. please vocalize first duty." This was the big test. if it actually did what it was told or blow up in their faces. "X-95.4, please take this spinal prototype to the corner office and give it to Mr Roman for diagnostic?" Rin asked the bot politely.

Jack sat in the back office half asleep. They have been at it for hours and he was about as useful as a toaster right about now. Looking down at the thrown holopad laying in the corner of the floor he noticed the time said 12:01am. "Fuck!" Jack jumped up and swung open the office door to see the X-93.4 standing inches away with a synthetic spinal prosthetic in hand. The dim photoreceptors whirred as it held up the spine to Jack. "I have located your spine sir... do you need assistance installing it?" The metallic voice stated, waiting for a response. Jack just stood there staring in disbelief.

Sektor turned to its maker upon her command and nodded softly. "Connecting with satellite, transferring update. Connection established. Running update. Confirmed. Information available: it will take an estimate 7 minutes for full update to reach every active unit within the area."

Sektor tapped its fingers on the table, a habit it picked up from observing other humanoids. It looked about curiously before landing its photoreceptor on its hand. Why did it do that? Nervous tics were not a part of Sektor's programming. "Running system diagnostic. Katherine Saunders, there appears to be a tic within the arm servos of this platform. Yet no anomaly appears in its scan."

Rin couldn’t help but watch the way he moved. It wasn’t very mechanical, in fact it was quite fluent, almost as if he was self-aware of it. This wasn’t possible. Most AI programs had so much program running to block "Human habit" from forming in their self-learning programs to help weed out the useless info. She couldn’t help but wonder if Sektor had those inhibitor programs. Now wasn’t the time to say anything about this but she did make a mental note to ask Kate about later on when things settled down a bit.

Jack stared at the bot and put his hands out to receive the spine. "Umm Thanks i guess." Jack said staring at Kate. "Okay so I’m just going to assume this was a good thing right?" He said with a slight grin. "Theoretically if the update wasn’t successful, then the head would of short circuited as soon as it handed you the spine... resulting in...a...very minor... explosion." Rin said with quite the evil grin. "Consider it payback for what you previously did to me in the office". Rin muttered under her breath. "Oh great! leave me with the walking time bomb." Jack said sarcastically. Walking back over with spine in hand and X-93.4 in toe, he couldn’t help but give a wide smile to Kate and Sektor. "See, Miracles can happen twice... so what did the ambassador say?" Jack asked unknowingly. Kate held up a finger to Jack, indicating for him to be quiet.

"Yes Sir...of course...no Sir it was uploaded-yes I'm aware of the time...yes...yes I'm aware that I already got an extension but-no Sir...yes Sir..." Kate let out a sigh as the man on the other line continued to babble in her ear, and despite it being a silent earpiece, you could tell that he was rather angry, making Kate wince a few times as the volume in his voice rose to a shout. Her eyes went back to Jack, and subtly shook her head no. He wasn't buying it, and a single clear tear rolled down her cheek.

Sektor turned its head towards its maker slowly, the typically bright beaming light coming from its photoreceptor now dimmed significantly. It stood up slowly from its spot and approached her, the whirring noise of its legs audible against the metallic walls. "It will be fine." The robot stated reassuringly, and yet it was lying. In the side of its HUD a single box appeared, [STATISTICAL EVIDENCE KATHERINE SAUNDERS WILL BE INCARCERATED: 87%]

Sektor awkwardly placed a hand on her shoulder, attempting to mimic the organic form of reassurance. "This unit wishes it could perform better, but it is not human...not you." Sektor's voice sounded almost...dejected.

After standing awkwardly for a few moments it attempted to pull her into a hug, a motion it had seen many times on the holovision. Sektor's movements were awkward and clumsy and its platform cold and stiff, but yet there were good intentions behind it.

Jack eagerly awaited the response from the boss on the other end of the earpiece, genuinely sure that it would be high praises and possibly a promotion. Once that tear welled up on her cheek Jack already knew the answer. Letting out a heavy guttural growl that echoed loudly throughout the now closed and vacant Research floor. Jack took the spine in his hand and flung it clear across the room, planting itself like a javelin into the drywall. "No no no no no.... hold on let me think-THIS ASSHOLE-we can fix this." Jack walked back and forth in place for a minute rubbing his temples.

Rin just stood there in complete disbelief not just from the complete denial of what the Ambassador said but in the sheer uniqueness of how Sektor was reacting. At this point all the emotion that flowed around her made her feel like the robot in the room. "I... I don’t understand. Why didn’t it work? does he just have a grudge against you?" Rin asked softly, biting the corner of her lip out of frustration. "Maybe you should just go and talk-"

"NO!" Jack interrupted. "If she goes to see him than she’s going straight to prison." Jack fought day and night his entire life taking down gangs, drug lords, human trafficking and god knows what else attempting to fight corruption. Completely overlooking the corruption that was already taking a comfy seat sipping wine out of their Silverware. "BoH will be all over your apartment... you can’t go back there just yet." Jack stopped rubbing his temples and looked dead straight at Rin. "She can stay at my place if she needs. Cops won’t look there.... and i have a... spare room." Jack said with a slight stutter. He hasn’t touched anything in his sister’s room since the accident.

Kate severed the connection on the communication link, pulling the piece out of her ear and with a shaky hand, set it on the table in front of her. Sektor's hand was on her shoulder, pulling her into a somewhat awkward hug but Kate didn't care. She opened herself into the robots arms, putting her own arms around the bot's torso and rested her head in the crook of his 'neck', and soft tears continued to fall without a single sound.

"It's over. It's all over..." She whimpered out softly. "They know I'm here, and they are sending a car right now." She quickly pulled herself from Sektor hearing Jack yell out in frustration and watched the spine embed itself into the wall. "I...I can't do that Detective Roman. You're a cop too, I won't put you in danger like that."

She looked back to Sektor. What would happen to him?

"Thank you all for your hard work today. We just...ran out of time." She swallowed hard, quickly wiping away the tears that had streaked down her face and gave the small group a nod, indicating that she was going to be okay.

Sektor cocked its head down, dejected. "Kate." It began quietly, "This platform will do everything in its power to prevent you from incarceration. This unit's purpose, if necessary, is to sacrifice itself for you. If your livelihood rests in this unit's decimation, so be it. But this platform will not allow you to be jailed, under no circumstances." Sektor swore, sounding oddly human in its tone and resolve.

Jack paced back and forth calling everyone that ever owed him a favor on his comm. Each one said the same thing. "Sorry, but there’s nothing we can do." It was repeated so much it became ominous. "Shit! Rin, do you know anybody in Alpha that could help?" Jack asked nervously. Most of his contacts were in beta since the BoD's tend to take over Alpha jurisdiction. Rin looked nervously over to Kate then back to Jack. "I’m sorry..." She said. a slight tear filling up on her cheek. she never seen Jack so nervous before, it was somewhat unusual of him and honestly left her speechless.

Jack walked back over to Kate a Sektor and took the badge around his neck and slammed it down on the table. "This is fucking useless!" He Grunted. What an illusion of power. "Look, unless you got someplace to lay low until we can talk some sense into this high and mighty asshole, than i suggest you take me up on my offer." Jack gave a long stare towards Kate as he pictured a familiar face. there was no way he was going to let this go.

Kate's moist green eyes locked with Jack's, the lump still growing in her throat but after a few moments, she simply nodded, trying to keep her body from continuing to shake.

Rin watched silently as Jack's frustration took center attention. Aside from Sektor’s quirky movements, she couldn’t help but notice some movement outside. Quickly stepping to a nearby window and peering through a crack in the aluminum blinds, she noticed a pair of police cruisers pulling up in front of the office. "Guys! we got company..." She whispered rather loudly. Two officers came out of each car. four in total wearing plain clothes, assuming not to draw attention. Slowly they walked towards the main entrance while one snuck around towards the back.

Kate quickly ran towards Rin and looked out of the blinds to confirm her words. If Rin hadn't of spotted them earlier, they would have looked like your normal, average everyday people walking into a building, aside from the fact that it was after midnight of course.

"Shit, how did they get here so quick?" She mumbled, not to anyone in particular.

"Sektor, run protection program. Priority one. Rin, Detective Roman and I must exit the building unharmed do you understand?" The shaky, scared voice was gone, completely replaced by her dominating, leadership voice once more.

"Sektor, run protection program. Priority one. Rin, Detective Roman and I must exit the building unharmed do you understand?" Kate had commanded Sektor in a stern voice. Sektor clicked ominously, "Affirmative. Primary directive altered, preparing for combat. Optical scans confirm these assailants are not armed with stealth fields, thermal vision overlay not necessary, locating weaponry." Sektor quickly got to work, adapting to what it needed. Grabbing a repair laser, Sektor crossed a few wires, removed a few dials, suddenly creating a handheld laser weapon.

Sprinting towards one of the doors, Sektor got to work on the control pad, setting it up so that it will shock anyone who attempts to enter. "Assailants are not equipped with night-vision goggles. This platform will turn out the lights, cutting out their optical support by an estimated 54%, you must flee." It stated seriously, rigging one of the computer terminals just in case some of the cops got a bit curious.

"Katherine Saunders, you must flee immediately. This unit will hold off assailants and locate you." Sektor quickly shot the light control with the altered laser, layering the entire facility with pitch black darkness. Sektor's photoreceptor dimmed, letting as little amount of light possible escape. "Activating Hunter mode, preparing for combat." Were its final words before disappearing completely.

Jack quickly got moving towards the rear exit as Sektor created a frontal defense and distraction of the officers. Passing by a coat rack he managed to grab a rather worn out red baseball cap and put it on to hide his face. All he needed was to be seen and they would know exactly where to find them. Gesturing for both Kate and Rin to stay close while they quietly made their way out the back, Rin stopped dead.

"Hold up! I need to get something!" Rin whispered.

"There’s no time Rin!"

"It’ll just take a second it’s worth it!" Rin whispered as she quickly ran to her office and disappeared in the darkness. Within a couple seconds she came back with what looked like a tiny metallic cigar box. "Not the best time to smoke." Jack joked at the worst possible time.
Rin just ignored him and stayed close behind Kate as they waited for Sektor’s distraction.

Silence. Such a silence that even Sektor's audio receptors were barely picking up anything. It didn't breathe, so the only sound was the occasional creak of the metal facility. Sektor was nearly invisible, cooped with the darkness that already laid across the facility, it was the perfect assassination.

The front door began to open, but sparks flew and electricity crackled from all around, spasms of light filled the facility, along with the horrible scream of one of the officers. The smell of burning, rancid flesh filled the room, which Sektor picked up with its sensors. "Goddamn it, they knew we were coming!" Sektor heard one of the officers say, slightly muffled behind the still-closed door. "Will you shut the fuck up?! What if they're still in there?! Just get your ass in and let's clean up." Another replied venomously.

The door finally did creak open now, the two remaining officers stepped in. Though they weren't well protected, they carried assault rifles with a flashlight attached to the barrel, illuminating the facility in front of them. They stepped about warily, ignorant to the robot that was already stalking them. Suddenly, Sektor struck, a loud *bang* followed by a red beam of energy colliding with one of the officer's chests.

He fell with a scream, clawing at the smoking hole in his chest before falling down, dead, the nauseating sound of bile and mucus gurgling in his throat. "Shit!" The remaining officer shouted, ducking for cover behind one of the numerous crates scattered around. He grabbed the walkie talkie attached to his belt, not worried about stealth anymore. "Control this is Peterson, come in! We have an armed hostile in the facility, two officers are down - we need backup; repeat, we need backup!" He fired his gun aimlessly in the general direction of the laser blast, but Sektor had already sprinted away.

The robot slowly snuck about, deciding it would alter its tactics for this kill and save charges in the weapon. It moved stealthily, making very quiet clicking noises. It snuck behind the frightened officer, who's eyes darted about, frightened. Sektor then pounced, grabbing the officer by the neck with a single hand and lifting him into the air.

The officer gasped for breath, clawing at the cold, merciless hand that had clenched around his throat. "You should not have come here..." Sektor stated in a dark tone, revealing itself finally. "Pl-please," The officer began choking out, "I have a family..." He sputtered, unable to say more.

Sektor was silent, slowly increasing pressure until a sickening crunch sounded, blood shooting out from the officer's mouth as he finally fell limp. Sektor dropped the body, walking away without another word.

Jack crept slowly in the darkness, one hand stretched out while the other hand held Kate’s, which in turn... hopefully held Rin's. The noises coming from Sektor’s "Distraction" was quite disturbing to say the least. Part of him wanted to turn around and tear Sektor a new one for killing them but he had something more important to deal with.

Slowly he opened the back door and peeked out the tiny crack before walking through making sure it was safe. outside in the back alleyway the natural moonlight reflected off the damp streets and gave off just enough light to see the shadow of a man hiding around the next corner. Dumbass BoD's are nothing but paid to look pretty Jack thought to himself. This was way out of their comfort zone and he could tell. "Stay here." He whispered lowly towards Kate and Rin as he crept forward in a low crouch getting just close enough to see the barrel of the rifle in front of him.

Quickly he stood up and gave a quick whistle to grab the man’s attention as he instinctively raised the barrel exactly how Jack assumed he would, using the momentum, he pushed the rifle up and straight into the man’s face. "Squeeze the trigger and blow your own face off asshole." Jack whispered into his ear. "Now grab the radio and give the green light. say she was apprehended but suffered casualties." The man’s eyes widened with defiance but Jack tightened the grip of the rifle and took hold of the man with his other hand. Picking him up and planting him horizontally across a nearby dumpster. "Do it or ill separate you into the glass and plastic bins." The Officer now completely sideways with the barrel still under his jaw and reached slowly for his radio. "P..PP-Pd4 is clear. Lights are green and the S-ssuspect is apprehended. Go for scorpio." The officer clicked the radio for confirmation. As soon as Jack heard the two clicks from the radio he pulled the rifle away and gave the man a quick Left hook with a synthetic fist, knocking him out. Clearing the rifle of all ammo and bending the barrel into a knot around the cops arms so he couldn’t go and report back anytime soon.

Jack settled the guy behind the dumpster and motioned for the others to follow him. "It should be all clear now. Call for your guard dog and let’s get out of here." Jack whispered. "I’m going to head back to my place and call saying somebody broke into the office. That should confuse them a bit." Rin whispered back, holding out the box. "Here take these and call me when you get to your apartment, I’ll explain later." Before Jack could say anything, Rin took off the other way. Her place wasn’t very far and he was sure nobody would bother her so he just let her go. "Shall we then?" Jack asked Kate.

Shaking like a leaf the entire time watching the spectacle, her throat went dry, croaking out an "Alright. Sektor will catch up once he's...finished." before she headed off with Jack back to District 17. It was quite the walk from district 4, but the streets were practically bare of late-night civilians; but that didn't keep Kate from jumping at every noise from within the dark.