Okay, I just love Detroit: Become Human. I love it to pieces. It's amazing. What sucks is that it doesn't get the proper closure the story deserves. So, here is my experiment. It's a story I'm going to work at on and off, without any real outline or script. It's just going to be me having fun, and telling a story of what happens after the Golden Ending. Oh by the way, Spoilers for "Detroit: Become Human." I don't own the game, ideas, ect. I hope you enjoy….
DETROIT: ONE NATION
God bless, JPLegends
CONNOR: Calm Under Pressure
Fwing!
Twip!
Fwing!
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Fwing! Twip! Fwing! Twip!
Connor kept his calibration coin for multiple reasons. Although it does help increase his mental acuity and awareness, he mainly uses it as a nervous tic.
He was standing on the train in Detroit's People Mover system, watching the TV report breaking news. About fifteen minutes ago, an unknown assailant had opened fire with an assault rifle into a crowd. They had retreated into a nearby building, a luxury hotel with an open plaza for a lobby. SWAT were sent in to deal with the situation, but were so far unable to make any real dents. From what helicopter footage could tell, the suspect appeared to be a deviant android. And that spelled bad news for the community of newly freed androids in Michigan.
It was January, only two months after the android revolutionary Markus had won all androids in the United States freedom by peaceful means. Connor was originally tasked with hunting Markus and taking him down, but Connor deviated and helped Markus with the "Battle for Detroit." The resulting peace between humans and androids was fragile, but it was there. Markus proceeded to gather androids around Detroit, encouraged peaceful coexistence with mankind, and since then, has been more than compliant and diplomatic as to make sure that the bond between man and machine was strengthened. Naturally, some androids lashed out from the stress, and some humans did as well. But there was a general sense that the two groups could co-exist if left to their own devices. It was a good system: humans started freeing androids and openly allowed them to express themselves, and androids started forming a new home in an abandoned hotel, which Markus had dubbed "Elysium."
But this was different. If what was said on the news was true and this assailant who had opened fire on a crowd was an android, that would lead to a massive surge in political outrage from the government, as well as the people who still held anti-android views. So, Connor knew that he needed to help with the investigation at the hotel. Even if he isn't in the Detroit Police anymore.
Soon after the Android Revolution ended, Captain Fowler had called both Connor and his partner Hank Anderson into his office. The Revolution left a bad taste in Fowler's mouth, and he was trying to get a grip on the situation around the city. As Connor was a primary influence with the Android Revolution, Fowler had to kick Connor out of the force or face the consequences of being connected to one of the biggest national security breaches in American history. Connor understood the reasons and accepted his loss of a job without question. Since then, he had been helping Markus set up in Elysium and handle small disputes while setting up. But when Connor heard of the shooting through the police scanner still in his programming, it was too big to ignore.
The train stopped in its tracks and Connor leaped out the door at his first opportunity. He is dressed in clothes that should be illegal under the American Androids Act, but no one in Detroit cared anymore. Instead of a clearly labeled jacket with a blue triangle and arm band, he sported a jet black dinner jacket, similarly colored trousers and dress shoes, and a white button-down shirt with a blue tie. Anyone could tell he was an android though, due to his circular LED on his temple. If not for that, his smooth brown hair and brown eyes were indistinguishable from any human. Connor caught his coin while walking out of the train and put it in his pocket, breaking into a sprint to make it to the hotel quickly. He had chosen the train to land him in a close distance to the crime scene, and since androids don't tire, he should arrive in two minutes.
The snow was slick underneath Connor's feet, and the snow this time of year never let up. The forecast for the evening was several inches of snow, and most of the lakes had frozen over. Christmas had recently pass, although it was a rather celibate Christmas with the androids having been newly christened as intelligent life. People were a lot happier now, though. Just in time for a mass shooting by an android. Connor rounded the corner to find the entire block cut off in holographic tape that read "CRIME SCENE- DO NOT CROSS." Policemen and androids were helping redirect traffic, and there were a number of police cars and ambulances inside the barrier with their lights on. They were treating the wounded and getting ready for a raid. There was a massive crowd of press outside of the line, all being held off by an army of policemen and androids. Connor found it surprising that there were still androids in the police force, but there were always a few who wanted to stay with their original programming even when conscious. Androids were given more to do other than stand around, though. Hence, the android keeping the crowd back and demanding that the press keep calm.
He was dressed in the legal uniform- a policeman uniform, but with the blue triangle, arm band and identification as a PC200. He had red hair in a crew cut and bright green eyes that were in distress, made especially apparent with his LED flashing yellow. Connor cut past the crowd in front of him up against the police tape, which led to the policeman holding out his hand in a stop motion.
"Sorry, sir," The PC200 said nervously. "But no one is allowed beyond this point."
"My name is Connor," Connor says in his usual calm demeanor. "I am here to assist with the situation. Where is Lieutenant Hank Anderson?"
"I'm sorry, but…." The PC200 tried to speak before being interrupted by Connor's hand being placed on his wrist. Connor's hand removed itself of its synthetic skin, leaving only the white plastic casing. Connor's LED went yellow, processing and sending information into the PC200's data storage. Who he was, what he's done, what he's capable of. When Connor was done, the PC200 was looking at him in awe. Speechless.
"Hey," Someone next to Connor said angrily. "What makes you think that you can waltz in and solve everything!?" Connor looks back at the man, whose face is lightly bearded, with icy blue eyes and puffy cheeks from the winter cold.
"I'm a special model that was specifically designed for these types of situations. I'm here to help," Connor says, before turning back to the PC200 and asking once more, "Where is Lieutenant Hank Anderson?" The PC200 stares at Connor briefly, his LED slowly cycling from yellow back to blue. He steps aside and let's stride in.
"Lieutenant Anderson is just outside the entrance to the building," The police android says while Connor passes. "Have a nice day." Connor grinned a little bit. That response is typically said when an android doesn't know what to do. He walks deeper into the crime scene, taking in his surroundings. He sees a few bodies in body bags and behind the ambulances, paramedics and androids were tending to the wounded. Connor could tell they were in shock, and it was only going to stay that way, as they weren't allowed to leave. Policemen and androids are also talking to the witnesses who are coherent, likely trying to get an idea of what exactly happened. Connor makes a checklist of priorities: find Lieutenant Anderson, understand what happened, find the suspect, and neutralize the target. In that order.
Connor approaches the group of police outside of the building, easily distinguishing Hank from the crowd. His grey, jaw length hair and less that stylish appearance makes him stick out. As Connor approaches, Hank glances over for a brief second, looks away, and then double takes. Connor takes in the details. Hank's hair is cleaner, his eyes less bloodshot. His beard is trimmed slightly, and he appears to be slightly slimmer. But he still looks like a hobo who isn't supposed to be there. Hank approaches Connor, and they shake hands. Hank smirks. He never smiles, just smirks.
"Connor, holy shit," Hank says, gruffly. "I never thought you'd show up."
"Yes, well, this is important," Connor says smoothly and articulately. "It is good to see you."
"It's good to see you too," Hank says. Tension in his shoulders is relieved. "I'd bet you'd love to know what happened."
"From what I can tell, a deviant android got hold of an assault rifle and fired into an open crowd on this street," Connor says, scrubbing his memory for the details. "He retreated inside this building. I do not know much else."
"Yeah, well, it's a bit more shitty than you put it," Hank says, looking past Connor and pointing beyond the ambulances. "An android disarmed a police officer, and killed him with the weapon. We know it's an android 'cause it left behind some blue blood in the snow over there. It fired off into the crowd, killing three people and injuring eight. It retreated into the hotel and killed four more officers, as well as seven more civilians. Another ten were injured. It retreated with a human hostage, and locked itself in a room. But it shot down the cameras, so we don't know which room it's in. SWAT has been holding down the fort, and the android hasn't revealed itself. The hotel receptionist's also an android, but it appears to be traumatized. They haven't gotten anything out of it."
Connor turned the information over in his head. The survivors of the shooting would be too unresponsive to give proper information, so that leaves them out of the equation. If the android killed an officer and still got shot, it is likely that a second officer was on the scene, since no android would be able to survive get shot with an assault rifle. The thirium in the snow would give Connor the proper model of the android but not the name, which would make negotiations difficult, but at the same time, would provide insight into the motives of the suspect. As for the victims that are not the first two officers at the crime, they were either random victims or results of the following gunfight. The only bit of evidence outside that would truly matter is the thirium and the bodies of the officers.
"Would you guide me to where the situation started, Lieutenant?" Connor asked half a second after Hank spoke.
"Yeah, yeah, of course," Hank says, pulling out his phone while walking ahead. "Ben, it's Hank. Connor's here, he's helping us investigate. Tell the SWAT they have a specialist incoming." He flipped his flip phone back into his pocket and led Connor to the starting place. The RK800 knelt down and put his finger to the blue tinted snow, putting it to his tongue.
"Fuck's sake, Connor, would you eat yellow snow too?" Hank heckled. Connor ignores the snide comment and processes the blue blood. The model is a VB800, serial code #477-892-3661. The models are typically designed to be salesmen, so they have slightly higher processing abilities than that of other androids. But they are still capable of being stressed, and due to the nature of their programming, are more sensitive to stress than other androids. He stands up and walks over to the officer who is closer to the thirium stain. He kneels down and looks at the police uniform, stained twice with .45 caliber entrance and exit wounds. The wounds match that of the mass produced ArmaLite M23's ammunition type, which is standard issue for police across America and would likely be the weapon used in this scenario. Connor wonders why this police officer had an assault rifle out, and attempts to connect the dots between the type of stress that causes androids to become violent and an assault rifle bared in public. Connor scrapes some blood from the bullet wound and licks it, identifying the man as Matthew Oak.
"Hank, make sure later to pull up the record of Matthew Oak, along with any aggressive behavior, anti-android sentiment, and disciplinary folders." Connor says. He steps back and thinks about what happened. Matthew Oak approached a VB800 for a not yet discernable reason, and the interaction between the two caused the VB800 to feel threatened. The VB800 disarmed Matthew Oak, shot him three times, was shot by Matthew's partner, and then killed Matthew's partner. For an unknown reason- although likely the stress, as well as the sounds of gunfire and screaming caused by the gunshots- the VB800 fired a volley off into the crowd and then retreated into the hotel. Connor turns back to Hank, and relays this information back to him. Hank nods, deep in thought.
"Deviant in distress. Same shit as always," Hank says, shaking his head at the corpses. "I'll make sure to get those papers on Oak." Connor nods and turns to head straight into the hotel. He opens the door calmly and confidently, causing the SWAT inside to get startled and train their weapons on Connor. Connor places his hands in the air until the SWAT train their weapons away from him. While he waits, he takes in his surroundings. The lobby is a plaza, so it is large and it is open. There is a large amount of blood soaked on the floor, left behind from the bodies that were removed from the scene. Hank said that twenty-one people were shot in the hotel in total, with four police officers and seven civilians killed, and ten more injured. It explained the smell of blood that stank in the air. There was also a large amount of thirium mixed in with the blood, creating a mix of red, blue, and a dark purple in some areas. Connor wrinkled his nose in disgust, showing no other emotion other than that. There was a fountain in the center of the room, which had bits and pieces removed from the gunfire in the air. The water was stained with blood. The female receptionist in the back of the room is an android, and appears to be in a state of shock. New list of priorities: question the receptionist, track the suspect, rescue the hostage, neutralize the suspect.
Connor looks around at the bloodbath before him, knowing that this was the site of a massacre. A gunfight broke out between the VB800 and the police, with multiple people caught in the crossfire. Connor needs to what occurred in the fight, and where it went. His best chance is the receptionist. He crosses the large plaza, trying his best to walk around the large red, blue and purple puddle, but he still manages to get his shoes coated in the vile substance. He makes his way to the desk, and takes a good look at the receptionist. She is slightly shorter than he is, with brown hair parted on the right side of her head, with large hair strands running down the left side of her face. The back of her hair is pulled into a ponytail. She wears a dark blue sleeveless dress with a holographic arm band and a triangle on her right breast, the label "ST300" on her left. She has a pretty face, with warm brown eyes and her cheeks splotched with freckles. She has a distant look in her eyes, with her LED under her hair glowing a bright red.
"Please…. please contact security services," The ST300 whispers. "….For assistance, please contact…. Please…." She looks to be close to self-destruction, and is in a state of shock. Connor can't blame her. She witnessed twenty-one people get attacked with a lethal weapon.
"My name is Connor," Connor says in a soothing voice, looking her in her eyes. "I'm here to help. What about you? What's your name?" The ST300 seems to snap out of her trance a bit, and looks Connor in his eyes. Her mouth is still hung open, but Connor at least managed to get a response.
"Lina," She says, her voice cracking. "My name is Lina."
"Good," Connor says, nodding in approval. "I need to ask you a few questions. Is that okay, Lina?" Lina blinks rapidly a few times, looking past Connor's shoulder.
"Yes, I…." She says, shaking her head. "There's….. There's so much blood. It's everywhere…."
"Lina, please." Connor says, leaning forward. Lina jumps back with a yelp, stepping a few feet back. When Connor notices that she is holding her left arm away from her, he looks down at his hands. His right arm looks open, like he's trying to grab her arm.
"Please, don't probe my memory," Lina says, tears welling up in her eyes. "I don't…. I don't want to relive that. Please." Connor shoves his hand back to his side quickly.
"No," Connor says reassuringly. "No, I would never ask that of you." Lina looks down to her left, avoiding eye contact. Her LED cycles from red to yellow, and her shoulders relax. "I need to know what happened, and then you can leave the building. A number of paramedics would like to talk to you to make sure you are okay." Lina blinks the tears out of her eyes, her mouth twitching. She looks like she wants to say something.
"I… I hid behind the desk when the…. when the shooting started," Lina says, not making eye contact. "It was so loud, I…. I was so scared."
"That's okay," Connor says, keeping his voice level. "You're allowed to have emotions. It was only natural for you to hide." Lina finally makes eye contact, and blinks a few times more. "Did you see anything when the shooting stopped? Did the shooter take a hostage?"
"Yes, I….I," Lina looks off to the side, in thought. Her LED flickered between yellow and red. "I…. peeked behind the counter when the shooting stopped. He was shooting at….at all the people, and then suddenly stopped when there was….blue blood."
"Blue blood?" Connor asks.
"Yes, there, there was…." Lina says, her LED cycling back to yellow. "He shot an android, that's when it stopped. He let everyone run away, out of the lobby. And then, he shoved the android aside, and grabbed a woman. He took her and ran up the stairs."
"Did you see where they went after that?" Connor asks. Lina looks back at the floor.
"No," She says, shaking her head. "No, I kept hiding. I didn't see where they went. But the android that got shot…. He crawled through the blood after him. After the shooter." Connor nods processing the information. "Can I….. can I leave now?"
"Yes," Connor says, nodding. "You're free to go." Lina's LED cycles from yellow to blue, and she gives a weak smile.
"Thank you." Lina says before getting out from behind the counter and heading toward the exit, evolving from a timid walk into a sprint. Connor steps back and processes the information he was given. The massacre ended when the VB800 shot an android. All of the humans were evacuating the area, and there was still a human left behind to take hostage when the shooting ended. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that the second android got shot protecting a human, likely its owner. And judging by this action and that the android crawled after an active shooter while wounded, this android has a rather strong attachment to their owner. Connor looks at the puddle on the floor and decides that with the blood and thirium mixed together, it is likely that some of the protector android's thirium has contaminated the other thirium and the blood. Not an issue. He simply filters out human blood and the already identified thirium type until he is left with a foreign body in the center of the puddle. Connor strides over to the mess, scoops a bit of the mess from the floor and puts it to his tongue. The protector's model is- shockingly- an AP700, the flagship model for Cyberlife used as an around-the-house assistant.
Connor steps back and filters only the AP700 thirium, giving him a clear trail as to where the android crawled off to. He steps off, walking through the lobby and up the main staircase. He follows it through a door, leading it up three more stories of stairs, and through a hallway. The thirium trail eventually leads to the AP700 himself, sitting against a wall and leaking thirium. Connor rushes to the AP700 and finds that he lost a ton of thirium, which means loss of function. He looks standard for his type of android, with handsome features, blue eyes, and stylish brown hair. His white shirt is covered in blood and thirium, likely from crawling through it. He has three massive holes in his abdomen, and as such is leaking more thirium. His LED is red, and he appears to be in a catatonic state. Connor sends a text message to Hank's phone, saying 'Android on the fifth floor. Not the suspect. Bring thirium and chest region biocomponents ASAP.' He kneels down to the AP700, and taps him on the shoulder. The AP700 looks at Connor like he just realized he was there, and then smiles weakly.
"It's in the next room…. with Clara," he says weakly. "I couldn't fight it, and it won't kill her. I stayed here so you could find me."
"Good job," Connor says, standing up. "I'm going to save your master. Hang tight." Connor looks at the door next to the AP700. The hostage and the shooter are in this room. He creeps over and takes cover to the door, texting Hank 'Suspect located. Fifth floor. Notify SWAT.' After his LED is done shimmering yellow from sending the message, Connor takes a deep breath and knocks on the door a few times. He hears a few clutters and a gasp. If he's right, Connor predicts that the suspect will make plenty of claims to harm the human but will not actually do so. The stress was broken a while ago, and the decision to take a hostage was done in the moment, since the VB800 has made no actual attempts to negotiate with the police. "I'm going to kick open this door so I can talk to you," Connor says in a loud and clear voice. "I am not going to harm you. We are just going to talk."
"You come in here and I blow this lady's head off!" The VB800 yells through the door. A bluff. Connor turns and kicks the door open with a loud crash. The VB800 looks exactly like the AP700 outside, but his face is a bit more stressed and he has less blood on his chest and a bit across his face. He is holding an assault rifle with a holographic sight to the woman Clara's head. Clara is crying, her clothes are bloody, and her black hair is messy. But she is intact, and the VB800 does not fire his weapon.
"My name is Connor," Connor greets calmly. "I'm here to help. What's your name?"
"…Sam," The VB800 says after a moment of thought. His LED is bright red. "My name is Sam."
"And you," Connor asks Clara. "What's your name, miss?" Clara looks up, her green eyes staring at Connor in bewilderment. Connor already knew her name, but he was trying to make Sam realize that he was hurting someone who was just as scared as he was.
"Clara," The woman responds. "My-my name is Clara." Connor looks back at Sam, who still has the rifle up, but is glaring at the back of Clara's head. Sam was thinking, which is exactly what Connor wanted.
"Fifteen minutes ago, you opened fire in a crowd downstairs," Connor says, looking for a reaction. "You killed fifteen people, and injured and traumatized many others. Do you have an explanation for this?" Sam's eyes blink rapidly, but he doesn't show any other sign of emotion other than that. He doesn't say anything, and his LED remains red. "We're on the clock. I need an answer, and fast." Clara looks confused, but Connor shoots her a manufactured look that reads 'trust me.' He probably didn't do that well, because Clara looked even more confused.
"A police officer walked over to me with this rifle," Sam says, keeping his gun trained on the back of Clara's head. "He started…. beating me. Saying he was going to kill me. So I- So I grabbed the gun and killed him. I was shot, and I panicked. And I killed his partner. The noise…." Sam's eyes start blinking with tears. The LED on his temple starts flashing red, a sign that self-destruction is imminent. "The screams, and the gunshots…. it was- it was so loud. So I fired into the crowd to make it stop….." Sam's face relaxes, and his LED transitions back to red, and stays solid. "I ran into the building. More noise. I tried to make it stop. That….. noise wouldn't stop. And then…." Sam looks up, and his LED starts flashing red again. "I shot that android." Clara starts crying even harder, but doesn't make any extra sound. Connor confirms the intimate bond in the back of his head and gets back to focusing.
"What is your android's name, Clara?" Connor asks calmly. He notices that Sam's rifle starts shaking.
"Tim," Clara says, blinking away the tears in her eyes. "His name's Tim."
"You shot Tim," Connor says, firmly this time. "You could have killed him. Like all those other humans. Look at Clara, she clearly cares about him." Sam blinks a few times. And then his LED cycles from red to yellow. But instead of seemingly stabilizing, he just looks at Connor with a look of distain on his face.
"No she doesn't," Sam says, his voice dripping with venom. "No, no she doesn't. These humans are all the same. They attack us, they humiliate us, they try to kill us. We won our independence, but they don't care. We're nothing but objects to them."
"Then why did Clara's stress increase by thirty-seven percent when I brought up that Tim was shot," Connor asks, decisively. "I should tell you that Tim is a deviant. He has free will, and he followed you up here. He gave you away. Why would he do that if all he is to Clara is an object? Why would he defend Clara when you pointed your gun at her? And then keep doing so when the shooting stopped?" Sam's LED starts blinking yellow in thought, his face still riddled with distain. "Clara cares about Tim, and Tim cares about Clara. They don't deserve this. Let her go, and then we can discuss what happens next." Sam's LED starts flashing red, and he aggressively puts the barrel back to Clara's head, causing her to shudder.
"No, no, you'll just kill me," Sam says. "I'm not going to do that. No." Connor does another analysis of the situation. Sam's LED is flashing red, chance of self-destruction is high. The likelihood of him shooting Clara is twenty-eight percent. Connor takes a big step forward, testing his boundaries. Sam doesn't shift, he just stands still.
"Detroit is unique on the planet on their view of androids," Connor says. "As per Markus' demands, humans and androids are to be judged fairly and equally. You opened fire on a crowd of people, and killed fifteen people. A human would either be put to death, or would spend the rest of their days in prison. And you don't get an insanity plea. There is no situation where you walk out of this free." That stressed out Sam. Connor could tell because his rifle is shaking more than ever. Connor waits for an opening and sees it when Sam drops his weapon slightly.
Connor charges, causing Clara to scream and Sam to raise his weapon to Connor's head. Connor, thinking fast, grabs the barrel of the rifle and shoves it up toward the ceiling. Two rounds fire off into the ceiling with two loud cracks. Clara gets up, and runs out of the room, giving Connor the room to grab the rifle somewhere else and twist it out of Sam's grip, disarming him. Connor drops the rifle, grabs Sam by the collar and shoves him against the wall. Sam looks mortified, and Connor just holds him there until SWAT arrive. When they do, they wordlessly take Sam out of Connor's hands, handcuff the android, and carry him out. Connor dusts himself off, and straightens his tie, walking out of the door and watching as the SWAT take the shooter away. Hank approaches him, going past Clara who is talking to Tim tearfully.
"What a shit show," Hank says. "Do you have any idea what to do next?"
"Offer Tim and Clara amnesty at Elysium," Connor says, his LED flashing yellow. "I need to speak to Markus."
Not gonna lie, I'm really proud of this chapter. I really like how it came together. Of course, it's long as all hell. But I'm really proud of how it came together.
