Seg stared down towards the chains holding him in place. His patchwork casing was firmly planted to the ground, despite his many, many attempts to show that he was not a threat; to show he could be trusted. It hadn't used to be such tight security… He had once been able to roam around Section 5 with little questions asked about where he was and what he was doing, so long as someone was with him. That was a long time ago, he supposed, but it still seemed fresh in his memory. Things had gone terribly wrong as humanity grew paranoid of a great disease that spread like wildfire, and such paranoia caused his lock down. That and he was considered an asset to those higher up in ranks. News was not uncommon in Section 5, and many, many projects were experimented upon in front of his own eye left and right. No conversions, as he'd discovered the Humans around him called their fiasco turning themselves to vehicles to escape the 'incurable' Epidemic, had happened in Section 5 yet, and he was admittedly curious.

He just hoped he would not suffer the same fate.

Seg seemed safe from such experimentation for the time being, but the idea still haunted his mind. There were times he wished for the innocence of simply being given orders and following them, when his casing was able to suppress instances of fear, doubt, and worry… when his mind and memory was always at ease. It had made living life much easier. Swiveling his head around, he monitored like a hawk the ongoing bustling of Global Dynamics. At least they had been kind in giving him an eagle's eye view to entertain him enough… but hardly. There had been more than one occasion already where his boredom had erupted into a nasty temper and an urge to kill so strong it could not be contained - a remnant of the culture he'd been raised in. Twice they had had to move him simply to be sure he was secure as well as content, or as content as a caged creature could be.

He felt more like a museum piece now than an actual creature, being locked in place, put within a small force field, and yet still out where he could be monitored. Still, very few people stopped to talk so much as glance over him. Perhaps it was better that way, being left alone. Nobody had touched his casing in what felt like at least a year save for being pushed about against his will, and he himself had never had to endure the annoyance of being exposed to bored scientists looking for research subjects or curious engineers looking to understand how cybernetics worked. Now there was simply peace.

That peace would not last long.

There was a new scientist. Or, at least, it was logical to assume he was new. The car was still somewhat shaky on his tires, obviously a recent conversion, his dark eyes daggers to anyone who dared to meet them. He immediately looked around, a hint of boredom entering his expression… that is, until he noticed Seg.

"What is that?" He drove over to where Seg was being held, accidentally brushing against the force field and causing it to spark a little.

"It calls itself a Dalek." The scientist that responded kept her eyes glued to the computer she was working at, hearing the engine nearby and not wanting to see the source. "We generally leave it alone. You can talk to it if you want."

"Sounds like a waste of a subject," he practically sneered, turning back to the creature and looking it over with interest. "What do you even do, anyway?"

"Exterminate all non-Dalek life," Seg answered dryly. "Or, that is what I was bred to accomplish. That directive is no longer my purpose."

"Robots aren't bred, stupid. They're built." He paused, looking back towards an information screen the other scientist pulled up for him, revealing that Seg did have an organic component to him. "...nevermind. But that still doesn't answer my question. What do you do now."

"Sit here and look pretty."

"Smart alec. Hey, you," he said, yet again getting the attention of the other scientist. "What's the risk level of taking this thing out of containment?"

"I wouldn't recommend it… we've already had to increase security on him twice."

"Let me rephrase: could it kill me."

"Ask him."

His eyes shot straight to Seg. "Well?"

"Are you a threat to me?" the Dalek responded in all seriousness.

"Depends. Will you cooperate?"

Seg's blue eye was just as powerful as the vehicle's. "If you are not a threat."

He sighed, already getting annoyed at the standoff. "No, I'm not a threat. Or, at least, I don't think I am."

There was no doubt that Seg still had his suspicions, but the Dalek's expression was just as unreadable as it had been before. He seemed hesitant to say what he was to say next, his eyestalk swiveling to glance to both sides. "I will… cooperate."

"Good. Now, you-"

"My name is Rose."

"Rose, then. Take the shields down, would you?"

The other scientist did as requested, the distorted air about Seg quickly dissipating as the chains around him loosened. She turned around in her chair, glaring at him with crossed arms. "Just because you're a visitor doesn't mean you can order people around like that. Or hurt our subjects."

"Don't be so concerned. You know why I'm here."

"That's exactly why I'm worried. And also why I've been told not to leave you alone with him."

"I would've had to ask someone to stick around, anyway. Can't use the computers here," he said, turning his attention back to the creature. "That metal surrounding you… you can open it up, can't you?"

There was a moment when a tension Seg hadn't realized he'd been holding released with the chains and lowering of the shield around him. The freedom made it hard for him to snuff the need to simply roam free and escape out of his mind. The new scientist's question made him squirm. "Yes," he answered dutifully, but careful to take no action to suggest he would comply with such an order.

"Then could you please do that?" he asked, irritated.

"No."

"That's not an answer," the car practically snarled. "Explain yourself."

If Seg's unblinking eye wasn't glaring already, it certainly was now. "I do not take orders from you. I will not open my casing. You have no good reason for ordering me to do so, and so I will not."

"Seg, please," the other scientist spoke, "He needs to look at your cybernetics… it's part of an effort to make conversion easier."

Something knotted inside Seg, and he tried to squash the fear he felt down. He trusted Rose more than most, but he was not going to allow himself to be converted without a fight. "No. I will not change my answer."

"You don't understand," she said, looking rather distressed. "Things are going to get really, really bad for you if you don't cooperate, and I'm not gonna be able to do anything to stop-"

"That's enough. It's already made it clear that it's not going to listen. Besides, there's always other methods, correct?"

"Yeah… but I'd really rather not. Seg, you're absolutely sure you're not going to listen?"

He contemplated on it, silenced for several long moments. "I will not."

Rose sighed, rather disappointed with his answer. She grabbed a couple magnetic devices from off one of the tables, putting them in specific places around the center of Seg's casing. With a couple commands from the computer, the shell opened up, revealing the odd creature inside.

The car reversed a little in shock, but quickly got over it. "Good." He kept trying to adjust himself to get a better look at the cybernetics within, almost hitting the other scientist in the process.

"I'd be perfectly capable of preparing him," she stated, trying not to sound annoyed. "I'd just need a little instruction."

"But I don't even know how this thing works."

Seg squirmed, trying desperately to command his casing to close once more. He knew it was useless, but without a fight what dignity could he save. Every cell in his body was on high alert. "I WILL NOT BE CONVERTED. I AM IMMUNE TO YOUR DISEASES. I DO NOT REQUIRE CONVERSION!" he practically screamed, the lights atop his dome illuminating the room with a harsh white light.

Rose blinked a couple times, having temporarily blinded herself by looking directly at the Dalek's lights. "You might be immune, but we still need to know how conversion impacts other species… I don't know why They picked you to test, but that's what happened."

He would not give up so easily, fighting with all his strength to regain control of his casing. He knew it was a hopeless fight, but let it never be said a Dalek simply gave up. "CONDUCT A TEST ON WILLING SUBJECTS!"

"We can't… They said it has to be you."

"There's more to it than that," the car scoffed, "They always have a reason behind what they do. And this one's classified."

"You have to tell me. Or him. Or, preferably, both of us. It's protocol if you're gonna be messing with something like this." Rose fought the computer, doing everything she could to keep the Dalek from succeeding. She had the upper hand, of course, but the argument was making it harder and harder to keep it that way.

He glared. "I'm. Not. Allowed. The only thing They're permitting me to say is that it involves global security. It'll make it easier for you to monitor him after you're converted, too… but that's just another plus."

The woman froze, her lack of action allowing Seg to close his casing again. "...what?"

"This whole division's gonna be converted. After all active experiments are finished for the time being, anyway. This is the last one going, isn't it?"

"Y-yes. It is." Rose had gone pale at the thought, hands trembling slightly against the keyboard. The car watched her with a sort of satisfaction.

"So the sooner we can get this… thing… converted, the sooner this group will be open to starting new, fun experiments. Don't you want that?" His words sounded reassuring, but his tone told Rose that he was only taunting her.

She swallowed her sick feeling, closing her eyes for a second. "Who wouldn't?" she responded shakily, which seemed to amuse the car even more.

"Good. Now-" the car paused, looking around for a second and quickly realizing what was missing. "Great… that thing was supposed to be delivered before I got here," he muttered, driving back to see if he could locate the missing vehicle.

Rose watched quietly as the car drove away, looking from him, to Seg, and back to the computer. She typed in another command code, the magnetic devices falling off of the Dalek almost instantly. "There is no way I'm letting that happen to you."