In 2448 science and technology evolve at an uncontrollable rate.

Governments like the United Republic of America can now accomplish astounding feats.

With enough money people can even have their infants genetically modified while in utero. These genetically perfect children are known as Chromes.

Synthetics are indistinguishable from humans and have become an integrated part of society.

However, these technological and scientific advancements fall prey to violent, lawless, and faceless criminal organizations with unknown intent.

Law enforcement's reaction to these rising threats: Every police officer is partnered with an advanced synthetic bodyguard.

Grey and silence.

That was all that existed in Tucker's world for that moment.

He felt his body lying against something hard and unforgiving, as he strained to make sense of his surroundings. But there was nothing. Just swirling wisps of grey and suffocating silence.

Cunningham. The name brought to mind the face of a younger man with aulonghair and serious eyes. Tucker tried to shake his head against the sudden image, but he didn't know if his body had actually obeyed the command. He couldn't think. Where was he?

Cunningham's face flashed across his mind again, but this time his green eyes were wide and lifeless, his lips parted and painted with blood. Tucker forced his stinging eyes to blink, but the same grim sight greeted him as his eyelids forced themselves open again.

Everything snapped back into focus, like a camera adjusting to a new setting.

He was laying on his side, pressed against rough concrete, dimly aware that something was wrong with his shoulder. Blood pooled around the mass of shredded flesh where his left arm should have been, but the realization was too faraway to dwell on.

Smoke clouded his vision and burned his throat with each uneven breath. Cunningham lay not a foot away from him, bloody and lifeless on the warehouse floor.

They'd known, was all Tucker could think. It was impossible, but somehow the terrorist he had been tracking had known about the raid. They'd been prepared for it before his team even arrived. It was a fucking ambush. Three men and one Synth against a small army. They never stood a chance.

He could remember it now. Breaking through the door with the rookies at his side. It had been quiet, and empty when they split up to cover more ground. He almost thought that his hunch had been wrong. Then bullets started flying, and Rogers was down. Dead by the time he found him.

Cunningham was hit next, and he had to keep moving. He was farther in and pinned down by enemy fire. Tucker had ordered the Synth to lead him in. It had refused. Logically it wouldn't risk one life to save another with a statistically lower chance of survival. He even remembered the words he used to explain his opinion on that, before he going in alone.

Against the statistical odds, Tucker got to the younger officer alive. That's when the grenade went off.

Staring at the lifeless face of the rookie, the man he had been charged with training, Tucker could almost let his head loll back, let the silence pull him into darkness.

Almost.

But he couldn't close his eyes without seeing another face. His mother's caramel skin with way too much of that black hair for a five year old, and wide teal eyes, always filled with more wonder than his own could manage.

Junior.

A ringing in his ears drowned out the silence, as the blood spattered man strained to push himself up with his good arm. His body every bit as heavy as before, but the numb was giving way to the pain his movements brought. But that was okay. The pain forced him to stay awake, kept his legs steady as he finally forced himself upright.

His chest was heaving in burning smoke with every breath as his eyes blinked through the clouds of grey, trying to find which direction would lead him out of this place. He took a painful step forward hoping he'd chosen correctly, when a familiar sound broke through the shrill ringing.

A pin being pulled.

His body lurched forward with all of the strength he had left. He barely felt his body connect with the concrete before his mind went black with the blast of the grenade.

Tucker's body jerked violently in his bed, his teal eyes flying open and seeing only grey before the memory cleared, and they focused on the pale blue ceiling above him. He was thankful, as he was every morning, that he had painted over the off-white shade with a comforting blue. He always woke up seeing grey, even after his eyes had opened. The white had done nothing, but this soft blue always seemed to help him to come out of the nightmares.

He didn't move at first, letting the tension from the dream settle back into his usual wryness, his eyes trained on the color above him.

The caramel skinned man slowly untangled his limbs from the mess of sheets and pillows that he always awoke to, dropping his feet heavily on the plush carpet floor of his bedroom.

A dull beeping sound forced his heavy eyelids to open, as his narrowed gaze fell on his holotech. The green numbers hovering over the rectangle device on his bedside table disappeared, replaced by a call notification.

A small sigh left Tucker's lips as he reached over to tap ACCEPT on the holoscreen. He knew his boss wouldn't leave him alone until he answered. The selection confirmed with a louder beep as the screen opened to reveal the familiar face of his best friend

Church's dark eyebrows were already pulled together in irritation despite it being barely past 7 in the morning. He received the same call so often that his body had gotten used to waking itself up beforehand. Yet, there was something a different in his friend's expression that morning.

"Are you coming in today?" The older man asked, blunt as always.

"Good morning to you to, Captain" Tucker replied back, ignoring the question. His eyes fell forward as a hand lifted to rub the tension from his shoulder.

"Goddamn it Tucker!" Church snapped back immediately. The darker man didn't need to look back at the holo to know his boss was rubbing frustrated creases from his forehead.

"I know I said I was ready. Just give me one more day" His voice was heavy, his eyes still downcast.

"No," Came the immediate response. Tucker's eyes snapped up to stare defiantly at the other man, a curse on his lips "I already gave you one more day. Hell, I've been giving you one more days for fucking weeks now. Tucker it's time. You're coming in. I mean it. I swear to God I will send Caboose over to drag your ass here if I have to"

"I fucking hate you"

"I know. Now get dressed. You have an hour before I send Caboose" The holoscreen clicked as the call was ended, the display shrinking back to the green numbers showing the time and date.

Tucker let out the curse he'd meant for Church before pushing himself to his feet. He stretched his synthetic arm across his chest, and then into the air before letting the limb fall into place at his side.

"Junior! Are you up yet?!" His voice carried through the house, receiving a single shout back in response. "Are you out of bed?!" He called, stopping at the door to his bathroom when silence greeted him from the boy's bedroom. "Get up! Were leaving in 30 minutes whether you're dressed or not." The thuds and slams from across the apartment were enough of a confirmation for the man to push his way into the bathroom for his morning shower.

Fourty minutes later both father and son were scouring the house for the boy's shoes.

"Well where did you put them before bed." Tucker called as he peered underneath the couch.

"I don't remember" His son replied urgently as he hurried back up the wooden stairs, a dark hand gripping the metal pole running along one of it's sides.

Tucker sighed under his breath as he pushed himself to his feet. The houses living area was very open with a cozy but clean amount of furniture. Still, his seven year old had somehow managed to lose his only pair of shoes somewhere in the expanse of beige carpets and white tiles.

"Found them!" His son almost cheered as he plopped down on the stairs, quickly pulling on the notorious shoes.

"This is the third time this week Junior"

"It's monday" The seven year old chirped, his face the picture of innocence when his father rounded the stairwell.

"Fine. It's the third time in seven days." The man bit back, handing the boy his backpack when he joined him at the bottom of the steps. "From now on you're taking your shoes off beside the door when you get home," He raised his hand to silence the child's protests while continuing firmly "and they will stay there until we need to leave again."

"Fine" Junior grumbled as he stepped out of the open door.

Tucked swiped his thumb over the digital pad to the side of the door, signalling the house to lock itself. In truth, he hadn't seen the need for the automated security system when it first hit the market during his younger years, but that was before he'd left open his bedroom window and a bat of all things had gotten in while he'd been gone. It had taken him hours to get it out on his own, as his friends were either assholes, lazy, or afraid of bats. Yeah, he wasn't letting Grif live that one down.

'Synthetic Fail. Calibration Required. Synthetic Fail. Calibration Required.' A feminized robotic voice sounded from Tucker's synthetic arm.

He tensed up, pain immediately shooting through the inorganic nerves. He grimaced quickly. His right hand pressing against the back of his shoulder, his finger digging into the mesh of the synthetic and organic flesh, as he leaned his right side against the house for support.

"Dad?" Junior called from his position by his father's auto, his tone high with worry.

"It's fine kiddo." Tucker did his best to send a smile over his son's way as he pushed away from the house. "Get in, we're already going to be late" He nodded to the car at his son's back.

The boy hesitated, looking almost afraid but after a moment he turned to the autonomous car, letting the door flip up and taking the passenger seat.

Tucker waited for another moment, letting the pain ease from his false limb before following after his son. He stretched and clenched his right hand several times at his side before slipping into the main passenger seat.

"What is your destination?" An automated voice asked

"Preset 2" The dark skinned man instructed. His teal eyes fell on the frowning boy beside him as the auto pulled soundlessly onto the road.

"Hey?" The man gave a reassuring smile as his son's eyes lifted to him. "I'm alright"

"Are you going back to work today?" The boy asked evenly, startling his father none the less.

"Ah.. Yeah, I am." His confirmation was careful, as he watched his son nod with an expression too grim for a boy his age.

"Junior, I'm going to okay. We're going to be okay, promise" Tucker nodded his assurance, as he held his hand out to his son.

Junior's blue-green eyes rolled in a sarcastic manner, but he made no complaints about being too old this time. He simply reached forward and linked his pinky finger with his father's for half an instant before pulling his hand back again.

Tucker smiled at their small gesture, glad that something so simple could still reassure them both that much.

Tucker motioned for his son to wait as he moved to step out of the auto. "Kai will be picking you up after school, alright? Have her bring you down to the Precinct if she tries to go anywhere weird again"

The boy smiled back at his father, likely more at the memory of the… eccentric women then the prospect of coloring at his father's desk after school. "Alright" He nodded, before pausing as the autos door slid open "And, Dad?" The boy's voice was a bit hesitant as he looked back into the eyes he'd inherited. "Be careful, alright"

The stunned man could only manage a nod, but that seemed to be enough. Junior's feet hit the concrete, and the door was falling shut behind him as the child hurried towards the school's main doors, his backpack bouncing with his strides. It wouldn't make much of a difference though, they were both already late.

A proud smile pulled at his lips as he instructed the auto to take him to Preset 3.

Tucker spared a half glance at the decal on the otherwise clear glass door as his moved to push it open. Bloodgulch Logistics Unit was printed above their acronymed emblem, though the man noted the color had been changed from a cobalt shade to a prime blue.

The Detective felt his smooth hair brush across his brow as his head shook at the ridiculously bright color. He was curious to some degree about what would have made Church change it, but as he stepped into the Precinct he knew he would be too lazy to ask.

BLU was just one of the specialized law enforcement agencies in Chorus. It's headquarters weren't anything spectacular, but their government backing was enough to get a decent building. Though personally he thought a police department should have something more fortifiable then windows for outer walls.

"Welcome back Detective Tucker" A warm female voice greeted him from behind the report desk opposite the doors. The woman was wearing a standard issue kevlar suit, though the lack of armour over it meant she wasn't expecting to be leaving the precinct. She was a bit too short for Tucker's taste with almost elegant features and long, light brown hair pulled back into a neat high ponytail.

His lips automatically pulled into a flirtatious smile as he moved up to the desk, only to have it fall away as the bright ring around the woman's pupil caught his attention. Her emerald irises were surrounded by a thick black circle, with a glowing green rim lining her pupil. It was a synthetic.

"BLU member's have designated me Shelia. It is very nice to meet you Detective"

"Ya, it's nice to me you to.. Shelia"

"Officers Caboose and Freckles left 17 minutes ago to ensure your arrival." The Synth continued sounding just as cheerful, despite Tucker's obvious negative reaction to its presence. The machine's inorganic eyes focused on the screens in front of it for a moment before lifting back to Tucker. "I will need a DNA sample to reinstate you into the system"

With an uncomfortable nod the darker skinned man extended his hand to grasp the synths. The unnaturally smooth skin polymer left him oddly unsettled, even as the synthetic's lips pulled into a smile.

The female synth's hand released him as an almost inaudible tone sounded "Your reinstatement has been completed and Captain Church has requested your presence in his office. If you'll excuse me I need to inform officer Freckles of your arrival."

The synthetic turned its head away a fraction, no doubt sending a data communication to Caboose's partner. Too bad, Tucker thought to himself as he moved into the elevator that would take him to the main floor, it really was pretty.

The precinct really hadn't changed that much, given how long he'd been away. Andersmith was still buried in his work, though the files around him looked more official now that he was a Detective; Palomo was still interning as punishment for lying about his age to get into the academy; Kimball's expression was still too critical as she stared at half a dozen holoscreens; and for a report who hated cops Kaikaina was still spending too much time arguing with his Captain.

"Shut up, Cop!" The woman's rough voice rang through the offices, not even earning her a second glance from those around her as she stormed out of the large office.

"Hey Kai" Tucker didn't bother to fight the amused grin that stretched across his features at the sight of his very frustrated Captain through the glass walls of his office.

"Tucker you're back!" The hawaiian cheered, her earlier argument probably completely forgotten with her new train of thought.

At the words he saw Kimball's pale blue eyes lift to him from across the room. "Did your Doctor clear you to come back to work?" The dark skinned woman asked sternly.

"Oh, hey Tucker. I'm sure it's fine Vanessa he was sleeping for fourteen months after all" A young voice chirped quickly.

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Kimball" The woman snapped at the same time Andersmith added "I think that's actually part of the problem Palomo"

"Ya, It's good to see you all. Hey Kai, I need a favor" Tucker inserted tactlessly, interrupting the arguing of his co-workers. "Church isn't going to let me clock out early on my first day back, so I need you to pick up Junior from school"

"Oh sure, I can do that after I visit big brother" The woman nodded, her wavy black hair falling to the side carelessly, but her expression was too glassy for him to be comfortable with.

"Are you sure, you can get Junior from his school, at 3 o'clock, and not take him anywhere strange?" He asked slowly, making sure the ditsy woman understood.

"Duh. I just said that" Kai eloquently stated, placing her tanned hands on her hips. Her skin was only a few shades lighter than Tucker's own, but with her outfit that day he wondered how the sun hadn't darkened it, considering how little clothes she wore. Not that he would usually mind, but it was too complicated to keep sleeping with her after he became friends with her brother.

He nodded carefully, specifying again when and where she needed to pick up his son before dodging her swatting hand and ducking into his boss' office.

"I'm not driving with one of those things." Tucker's chipped statement were the first words spoken after he entered his Captain's office.

"Nice to see you to Asshole" Church replied without missing a beat "You've been out for almost two years, Tucker. Synth partners have become mandatory."

"I've been around, for the last few months, just not on active duty. The difference being, that I know for damn sure that Grif and Simmons are still partners. I'm not driving with a fucking machine Church."

"Yes, you are. I don't give a shit how Sarge has gotten away with two of his human detectives being partnered, but I'm not fighting a bullshit regulation just because you have a grudge against synthetics. Besides, our synths are a bit ahh... unique." Church suddenly sighed, tossing aside his datapad. "Look, Tucker I read your psych evaluation. PTSD, Survivor's guilt, Psychological rejection of your synthetic body part. You're blaming the synthetic for that day, and you might not actually be wrong to, but you're still going to Grey's and picking up your new partner. I know you've heard about all the fucking cops getting targeted in the city. The synth can be with you and Junior at home, it'll keep you both safe."

"That's bullshit. I don't-"

"Shut the fuck up. I'm done arguing this. You're getting a synthetic partner or I swear to God, Tucker, I will partner your ass with Caboose until you agree to it, or he gets you killed. You know, whichever comes first"

"Fine, fuck" Tucker conceded. At least a synth would be less likely than Caboose to shoot him in the leg with an unloaded pistol. Or make him want to shoot himself after one patrol.

The building the auto stopped in front of was large enough to be a small university, but looked more like a very, rich and extravagant home. Of course, the caramel skinned detective stepping out of the vehicle knew better.

Emily Grey was for most purposes the smartest person in the city, and this pinnacle of money and modern architecture was just her personal lab. He was pretty sure that she spent most of her nights here anyway, but that wasn't because she couldn't afford a just as extravagant home.

"Detective Tucker!" An overly cheerful voice called from the building's front door. The doctor's dark hair looked as if it was meant to be tied back into a bun, but most of it seemed to have escaped and was now falling chaotically around her pale features. He didn't question the woman's presence, knowing her automated defense system didn't take well to unsupervised visitors.

"It's so good to see you again." The woman grinned as the darker man followed her inside the building. "I visited you in the hospital, but that supposed Doctor had me banned after a small violation of your rights"

Tucker's head snapped in her direction instantly, his eyes narrowing at the mad scientist. "Oh it was just a few DNA samples. I don't know what all the fuss was about" Grey laughed chipperly, waving his concern off with a hand.

"I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel about that…" Tucker stated as he walked behind the woman into one of the building's larger rooms. "Ahh… I'm here for a synthetic. Apparently the governments made them mand-"

"I know" The doctor interrupted with an almost squeal, leading Tucker through the various rows of equipment and experiments. "That's why I pushed Church to bring you in! I got my hands on an amazing synth, but the stupid laws won't let me activate anymore for personal use. It's so frustrating! I know there is something different about his programing but I can't study it fully until he's awake." The woman actually huffed, before her eager grin came back.

"Something different about its programing?" Tucker questioned warily. "Grey I just need a combat synth that fulfills the regulation."

"Oh hush. Here he is" The woman's grey-purple eyes brightened as she stopped beside an advanced medical bed, gesturing excitedly to the deactivated synth laying on its surface.

Tucker's first thought was that he looked like he was sleeping, and his second was that he wasn't horrible to look at. He had the body of a combat synth, hard muscles visible under every portion of exposed skin, which was everything not covered by a green pair of medical pants. His skin was quite pale, an odd dusting of light freckles just across his nose. His features were masculine, but the mess of ash blonde hair, pair of full lips and feminine blonde eyelashes gave a softness to his appearance.

The Detective's lips pinched down at the edges as it took in the thick white scars on the synth's body. "This isn't a new synth Emily"

"Of course not. Normal, factory regulated synthetics are so boring, I don't even bother buying them anymore. Oh!" The woman's squeal drew the darker man's eyes from the still body, he had totally not been staring at. "Feel his skin" She prompted with a grin.

Tucker looked at her skeptically, but it usually wasn't a good idea to disobey the good doctor. He hesitantly lifted his hand to touch the synth's exposed forearms. It felt just as Sheila's had earlier, almost human but too smooth to be real. Teal eyes lifted to the woman skeptically as she swiped a finger over some device, bringing up magnified picture of what he assumed was the synth's skin.

"Grey? Normal person here." He reminded her as he quickly pulled his hand back to his side.

"Right" She said quickly. "This synth's skin polymer is made of an extremely advanced and hyperflexible material, the likes of which I've never encountered before. To simplify it for you, his skin is more likely to stop a bullet then your battle armor"

Tucker stared at her in silence for a moment."Where exactly did you find this synthetic?"

"The black market of course!" The woman chirped as if it was a normal statement. "You should have seen the condition he was in when I found him to. It was just horrible, I've been repairing him for months"

"Grey" Tucker started, choosing to tactfully ignore the blackmarket comment. "I can't take a synth with unknown programing around my son"

"If I thought for a second that he would be a danger to Junior I never would have suggested you taking him. There is nothing wrong with his programing, in fact it's more advanced and capable than I've ever seen." The woman reasoned, a rare moment of serious covering her expression. "He's not dangerous, Tucker. He's just a bit different, and from what I read of your psych eval that might be a good thing"

The man didn't even react to the knowledge that the doctor had read his evaluation, hell she'd probably written one up of her own, but was too kind to say it. "Alright, turn it on. We'll see how that goes, but I'm not promising to take the damn thing"

Despite the harshness of his acceptance the woman beside him actually squealed in excitement, quickly turning to one of the high tech computers forming an almost room around the bed holding the synth.

"Alright, let's wake him up" Grey said quickly, moving over to the still, inorganic body.

The detective stayed back as the woman went about adjusting the chair to give her access to the back of the synth's neck. An instant later she was pressing a device to a tattooed looking patch of skin.

The pale body jerked suddenly and almost violently. In a way, it reminded Tucker of how he felt when waking from his nightmares. The synthetic gasped quickly, it's chest heaving with the effort as its eyelids suddenly flew open.

Tucker's eye shifted to the female doctor. He was certain the machine didn't need oxygen, but none the less the woman seemed content to wait until the synthetic's breathing had evened before addressing it.

Grey's eyes dropped to a holoscreen projected on her wrist before lifting her eyes back to the now activated synth. "You have been deactivated for a registered 1 year and 6 months. Can you confirm?" The woman's voice had become the most neutral he had ever heard it, but Tucker hardly noticed. His eyes caught on the synth's hand a moment after he swore it had been clenched.

"Deactivation record: 1 year, 6 months" The synthetic respond. Its was voice deep but smooth, an almost tremor going through the first syllable before its tone became neutral.

"Very good. I am Dr. Emily Grey. What is your designation?"

There was silence for a moment, and Tucker was almost tempted to venture close enough to gauge the synth's reaction.

"Wash" The synthetic finally stated, its body now completely still.

"It is wonderful to meet you Wash." Grey's excitement leaked back into her voice. "Can you identify your make and model for me?"

"Error. Data Corruption. Requested Information Unavailable. Running Rovery Scan"

Tucker scoffed from his position, drawing the doctor's almost purple eyes to him "Tucker, I appreciate that you are a Detective and well, naturally suspicious but synthetics do not lie. I already told you that he was in bad shape when I found him, that's why I couldn't find anyone this information myself. Now please, just trust that I know what I'm doing." Her voice was it's normal high pitch again, but with a note of irritation that honestly scared the man under her gaze.

"Information Recovered." Came the sudden voice of the synthetic. "Epsilon class Special Forces Synthetic"

"Special Forces?" Grey asked curiously, her gaze falling back on the synthetic. "Can you tell me who your manufacturer was?"

"Data Corruption. Information Unrecoverable."

Grey was nodding her head, her eyes trained on the screen projected on her wrist. "I see. Well this clears things up."

"Really?" Tucker asked his tone clearly skeptical..

"The Epsilon units were military designed. They were one of several models meant to be used against the Eastern Alliance before the Doctrine made it illegal to create synthetic armies. This one must be a surviving prototype."

"A soldier synth?" He scoffed, eyes wide with the realization.

"Oh calm down, silly. His core functions are just the same as any other combat grade synthetic, he just cost a lot more to create" The doctor smiled chipperly, though Tucker suspected she might be a disappointed at the discovery. "Wash, do you have a personality interface?" She asked, meeting the synthetic's eyes.

"Affirmative. Personality Interface was deactivated to conserve energy"

Tucker's eye were back on the machine. It's body had remained unnaturally still throughout the conversation, but there were still small things that caught his attention, like it answered a question before the doctor could ask it.

"Wonderful!" Grey chirped "Can you please reactivate all of your core functions?"

"Yes. This will take a moment" The synth stated, it's eyelids falling closed.

Grey still seemed quite excited by the machine, almost bouncing as she moved back to one of the many screens connected to the medical bed. As the woman straightened she beckoned Tucker closer with an urgent hand.

The dark skinned man obeyed, reluctantly as the bed seemingly followed the doctor's command, shifting back to lie flat.

"I still don't know about this." The words barely left his mouth as the synthetic's eyes opened again. The rest of his argument died on his lips as he looked down at those eyes for the first time.

Its irises, they were the exact same blue as the ceiling of his bedroom. The brighter, glowing circle around the synthetic pupil pulled Tucker back to reality. He shook his head quickly to himself, ignoring the sideways glance he was getting from the doctor, and the soft blue gaze of the synthetic looking up at him.

"You can sit up if you wish" Grey prompted, as if the Detective's shock hadn't been so blatantly apparent.

The synthetic did not answer, but its body was already moving. It shifted with an unnatural smoothness as its legs dropped off of the bed, looking back at the human's with a calm expression.

"How are you feeling?" Grey asked, looking back at one of the computer display's.

"The new scarring on my lower back is causing some pain." The synthetic's statement was simple, but Tucker almost raised any eyebrow at its mention of pain. Of course he knew that synth's had some touch receptors, but hearing one complain about back pain was definitely new.

"Wash's nerve receptors are as advanced as the ones used in your synthetic limb. It's one of the things that make him so fascinating!" Grey explained quickly. It seems his disbelief hadn't been as subtle as he'd thought. "Can you stand and show me your back please, I should be able to disable the nerves causing your distress" The doctor was polite as always, but it wasn't much of a question.

"Will that be permanent?" The synthetic asked without moving.

"Of course not, I wouldn't risk damaging you before I find what makes you tick" Grey assured in her usual, still terrifying way. "They'll reactivate slowly over the next few days"

For another moment the synthetic didn't move, but its expression was still passable as neutral. "Alright" It confirmed finally, its feet shifting to the ground before standing up fully. It was taller then him, Tucker noted with a frown, the synth already turning its back to the pair of humans.

Tucker let out an audible gasp at the sight. He had seen the scars on the front of synth's body, it even had one cutting across its eyebrow and another slanting across its left cheek, but there hadn't been anything like this.

A crescent shaped patch of white as big as his forearm surrounded one of its shoulder blade, and there were signs of more scarring at its side, but it was the thick, rigid marks covering nearly all of the synth's lower back at held the Detective's eyes.

Grey pushed past him, a strange, curved device in her hands. She pressed it over the worst of the scarring, a green light flashing twice before turning blue.

The synthetic's shoulders seemed to relax, and had the darker man not been trying to compose himself he would have heard a sigh of relief.

"How's that?" Grey's words cut through Tucker's mental bracing, as the synth turned back to face them.

"Better. Thank you Doctor" Its full lips pulled into a small smile, though it seemed oddly out of place on the synthetics otherwise blank face.

"My pleasure. Now, onto the important topics before Tucker gets impatient, and I have to forcefully prevent him from leaving!"

Tucker looked back at the women quickly, suddenly remembering why he vowed never to get on her bad side, or sleep with her. "Riiiight..." He took an awkward step away, receiving a quick eye roll from the doctor.

"Wash's programing is too advanced from me to risk altering until I have a full understanding of it. That poses an interesting scenario since I can't make serving as your partner and bodyguard his core motivation. But!" Her voice rose painful octaves as she stopped Tucker from interrupting "His core programing should take to the position on its own"

"Should? You want me to take this thing home, on a should?" Tucker as incredulously

"Of course not. We're going to test it out now!" Grey's eyes turned to the synthetic, her voice once again evening out to an unnatural degree, for her at least "Wash. This is Lavernius Tucker. He is a the lead Detective for a specialized police force in Chorus city, known as the Bloodgulch Logistics Unit. Current URA laws demand that he is accompanied by a synthetic who will act as his police partner, and a bodyguard for himself and his son, Lavernius Tucker Jr. Can you sync your motivation interface to these specifications?"

"Yes Doctor. However, I will need verbal confirmation from Detective Lavernius Tucker to avoid breaching his personal rights." The synthetic answered smoothly, its eyes already shifting to Tucker as if waiting for his response.

The human sighed, looking critically at the machine in front of him before shifting his eyes to see the non-subtle prompting from the good doctor. "If this things threatens Junior in any way, I'll take my energy sword to it." He warned evenly, remembering her early mention of it's possible bullet resistance.

"I mean your son no harm." The synth inserted, despite the adress not being directed at it.

"Alright," Tucker shook his head slightly before lifting his eyes to meet the soft blue of the synthetic's. "I, Lavernius Tucker give you permission to be… ahh motivated as my partner and bodyguard to me and my son." He glanced at the woman beside him with both eyebrows raised "Did I do it right?"

"A bit formal," There was a small tremor in the synthetic's voice that Tucker would have thought was restrained laughter had it been a human. "but acceptable. I will update my core motivation interface" The synth's eyes closed again, opening only a moment later as it nodded a confirmation at the update's completion.

"So that's it?" Tucker asked, looking between the blonde haired synth and the eager doctor.

"Well what were you expecting?" Grey asked, a slightly sharp note to her high pitched voice, clearly not happy that he hadn't found this all riveting.

"Nothing" He stated blankly "Do you have anything for it to wear?"

Grey raised any eyebrow as if that actually hadn't occurred to her before now. Her strange eyes shifted back to the synthetic for an instant before giving a wave of dismissal. "Not at all, but he is an excellent physical specimen"

"That's just fucking perfect, because Church doesn't give me enough shit when I don't bring a half naked synthetic with me to work" Tucker said more to himself then those around him "Let's go" His voice flattened as he addressed the machine, turning away before it could respond.