A young man walks around in the police department. His dark brown hair is tucked under the standardized police hat. He carries with him a small yellow envelope that he is to deliver. He is close to reaching the receiver; who is sitting at her own desk filling out what appears to be paper work.
"Officer Harley?" the man greets. The woman turns around to find the young officer through her green eyes.
"Oh hi there!" she grins. "What do you need Officer . . ." Officer Harley had hoped to find some sort of identification on her co-server of the law, or that she'd remember his name. "Officer?" she is finding nothing.
The man falters, "Officer Clark. You know, Jerry Clark?" The woman gives an awkward smile. "Oh come on Jade! You went to my birthday party last week!"
"I did? I thought that was a staff party."
What's-his-face can't believe what he is hearing, "We had birthday cake, and we sung happy birthday."
Jade scratches the back of her head, "Did we? Sorry I was tired then." She twiddles her thumbs on her crossed knees, "I'm sorry about that. I'm really bad at remembering names. I don't think we've talked a lot."
"I know yours!"
"Yeah that's strange. I don't know why I don't recognize you."
The man is not impressed, "Okay fine. The Chief wanted me to give you this." He shoves the yellow envelope to her. "You know who the chief is right?"
"Of course I do. No need to be rude Gary."
"My name's Jerry! Jerry Clark!" He turns away muttering to himself, "There goes my chance at asking her out."
Alone, Jade looks at the envelope, "Well that was weird. You better be worth that encounter." She flips the envelope to the front side and reads, "Assignment for Officer Harley and Officer Vantas," in the small handwritten words. Realizing that she needs her troll associate, Jade goes on the hunt to search for him.
The woman abandons her paper work and moves to find Vriska waiting impatiently by the department's plastic water tank. "Fucking water conservation enforcements. 'If you want free water then you have to follow the rules Vriska!' Bunch of losers don't know what they're thinking." Vriska mumbles to herself. Her empty blue bottle is held lazily in her hand.
"Vriska!" Jade calls out walking towards the troll. "Have you seen Karkat around?"
The spider troll turns away from glaring at the large man in front of her, "He's talking to Fussyfangs about something."
"Okay thanks! Also I don't think Kanaya likes being called that." Jade starts to head off to the receptionist's desk.
"Does it look like I'm trying to get on her good side?" Vriska shouts at her wandering ally.
Officer Harley shakes her head to herself and soon opens the door to the receptionist's area, and Officer Vantas is indeed standing next to Kanaya behind the front desk. Both trolls are examining the computer screen.
"No Kanaya," Karkat grumbles, "That's not far enough."
The jade troll rolls her eyes, "I'm trying my best Mr. Vantas. There's only so much I can do with your budget." The other troll chooses not to reply to that statement.
"Hey guys! What're doing?"
Karkat, being surprised at the sight of Jade, backs up from the computer and gets around the desk to turn the woman around. "Jade, what are you doing here?" Officer Harley stops her partner from moving her around.
"What's going on?"
"Nothing. Nothing at all. Why would you say something is going on? Do two trolls casually talking seem criminal? Great Harley, you've fucking insulted me now, so get lost."
Jade squints her eyes suspicious, "Kanaya, what are you two up to?"
"We're planning Mr. Vantas' vacation," she responds despite Karkat's obvious protests. "Mr. Vantas prefers others don't know where he is going, so they can't interfere with his personal time."
"Then why did you tell her!" Karkat roars at the receptionist.
The woman snickers, "Please Karkat, when I want my vacation, I'll keep it away from you. I need my own personal time." The receptionist rolls her eyes at their tomfoolery.
"Fine Jade, just don't forget that," Karkat warns. "What did you come here for anyways?"
His partner reveals the yellow envelope, "We got an assignment from the Chief. I thought we should read it together!"
"This isn't a super duper fun thing to do in fucking preschool. This is actual work." Officer Vantas snatches the envelope away from Jade. "For all we know, this could contain a murder mystery, or stolen goods, or an alien sighting! So treat this with the utmost fucking respect that it deserves, and not some afterschool special." Karkat opens up the envelope and reads the assignment. His posture depressions, "Okay fuck that, it's just a stupid security watch job."
Jade claps her hands eagerly, "Oh really! Where at? Do we get to watch someone special?"
"Uh," Karkat read the paper, "It's in the park and no one special. Just some rally. They only need security because is the fucking law."
"Come on Karkat, this could be an adventure!"
"Harley you're really getting on my nerves now."
At the park.
"Oh look Harley, you were right. This isn't going to be boring; it's going to make me want to blow my brains out." Karkat complains to his partner. The woman and troll are standing inside the park near a podium that above has a sign claiming, 'Half-Bloods Have Rights!' Officer Vantas kicks a rock stubbornly. "Can you loan me your gun? I don't want to have the bullets taken out of my paycheck because they were for personal usage." Jade shoves him gently to shut him up.
Suddenly, coming up from behind the two officers, someone wraps their arms around the two. "About time you guys showed up. You know we can't start without you here." Officer Harley turns to look at the male voice between the partners. She tires her best to keep calm. The male voice belongs to in what simple terms is a half-blood: the cross breeding of a troll and human. He has grey skin but no horns; sharp teeth but human eyes. It looks like a science experiment gone wrong.
"Shut up," Karkat orders, "we would've avoided you longer if I'd known you'd be here."
"Ahh Officer Vantas," the half-blood lets go of Jade and turns to the troll for a passive aggressive bro hug. "I thought you said you'd never see me again except in hell. Are you wrong, or is this hell?"
Karkat roughly thrusts the creature away, "Back away Reziki. You know my stay five fucking feet away from me rule."
"I know I know!" Reziki promises. He turns to Jade, "Now who is this lovely female?"
"Uh I'm Officer Harley; Officer Vantas' partner."
"Oh that's kinky Officer Vantas," Riziki mocks. "Aren't you lucky."
Karkat scowls, "I'm like her mentor you douchebag. Keep your ridiculous ideas to yourself."
The half-blood laughs at the troll, "So defensive. How do you put up with him Officer Harley?" He nudges the woman, but she turns stiff. Reziki cocks an eye at her, "Do I make you nervous Officer Harley?"
"Can I be honest and say I'm not around half-bloods too often," Jade responds realizing the chance to be racially sensitive is long gone.
"Well then pay attention to the rally and you might learn something darling." Reziki then moves to behind the podium. He holds himself high, and almost a hundred attendees to the rally watch him earnestly. The group consists of mostly half-blood, but also a number of Whites, a pinch of blacks and the occasional troll or human.
"My fellow rights activists," Reziki begins. "For too long the half-bloods have been oppressed by everyone around them. No one is free from the blame; even half-bloods have put themselves down. What a sad world we all live in. Why are we treated so? When humans and trolls were brought together so many good things came after the Great War once they knew peace. Technology increased, cultures mixed and became anew, and the inner-racial separations between the two species started to dissolve. Even the Whites and Blacks resulted from the forced combination, and they are some of those who wish to get rid of us! So why is it my friends that mixing the two species, is something to hate? So many good things came out of this joining, why are we the exception? Why is it, that when two beautiful creatures fall in love, they create a monster? Why are we called monsters? We don't look that different. We have similar thoughts and dreams. Why can't we have similar rights? We do our best to get honest jobs to only have someone tell us no. We deserve rights!" The audience cheers with satisfaction for their leader.
"I'm a rare case," he continues. "You see that I look very similar to you, but I was born by the great Mother Grub! She saw that my parents loved each other very much through the genetic material, so she chose me to live with the other trolls. To grow with them!" Reziki lowers his head, "But I learned quickly that I wouldn't be accepted by them. The jade mother trolls cast me aside. Threw me into the plains to die. There are too many cases like my own. But as I told you, I am a rare case. I managed to crawl my way into civilization where the most wonderful White woman let me into her home. She cared for me because no lusus would! However, she cared for many. She managed a care house filled with all sorts of other trolls. And the White woman, my mother, cared for me no differently than any other troll. She loved me just the same. While all the other trolls picked on me, she'd hold me and tell me that she loved me. But it wasn't always enough. When I seven sweeps I began self-inflicted harm. I hated myself so much. My siblings at the care houses convinced me that I was a monster. And nothing that my mother could say would convince me otherwise."
"This guy's a total drama queen," Karkat whispers in the back to Jade.
She flicks him on the forehead, "Shh!" Officer Harley then returns to listen to the half-blood's speech.
"When I became too old to live at the care house, I was forced to move. And that is when I became a true monster. I stole whatever I could to survive. I wanted work so bad, but one look at my physique and they'd hit me with whatever they had closest. I didn't want to die, so I lived. I stole whatever I could to live for another day. And every day I wondered if it'd be my last. Hope was gone and only surviving remained; until I met my soul mate. A wonderful troll who didn't shove me away, but taught me to care. He brought be back off my feet and helped me become a good person. A title that doesn't require you to be a human, troll or half-blood. And I spent my days with him in bliss, but nothing stays like that for long. Soon enough, someone lynched him for his beliefs; thus leaving me with absolute hatred. Yet, I did not revert into a monster, but I promised on his grave to help bring together a new world; one where trolls, humans and half-bloods can love each other without fear. And together my friends, we can accomplish exactly that!"
The audience adored Riziki's speech. They cheered and sung, "Half-bloods have rights!" back and forth. Jade and Karkat watched how the leader spun so much inspiration in such a short time.
"Now please donate to help our abused half-blood children rise up from the oppression, so they can get on the right tracks of life," Riziki finishes. He points to another half-blood who is holding a large plastic bin to collect money. Many of the attendees are already heading over.
"Wow," Officer Harley speaks amazed. "I never knew."
Karkat spits and returns to his cigarette, "How could you not know?"
"Well I understand yo-" Karkat gives her a dirty look. "-you being 'mistaken' as a half-blood and knowing, but I didn't know. I was home schooled. I didn't see a lot of half-bloods growing up until I joined the academy in the Capital. And there half-bloods aren't treated that badly."
"Well Skaia is a giant shit hole filled with assholes." Karkat looks at his partner skeptically, "If you're impartial to them, then what was with your behavior before with Reziki?"
"He just surprised me!" Officer Harley then sheepishly rubs her arm, "I'm not used to such a combination. It's not completely natural to me."
"Oh look Ms. Perfect has problems with freaks."
"Should you really call them freaks? It doesn't seem nice, and shouldn't you be more sympathetic."
Karkat takes a deep breath from smoke, "Harley I'm one hundred percent pure troll; not at all associated with these buffoons. I can say whatever the fuck I want."
"Well I think otherwise." Jade formerly reaches into her pockets, "I feel like I should give them some money as a donation, or at least give my regards."
Her fellow officer grabs her arm sturdily, "Oh no you fucking don't. We are supposed to be neutral. If you donate, then people will assume the police are on the half-bloods' side."
"Well shouldn't we? They are citizens too."
"It's not our decision to make Harley. You don't want to upset someone." Then the walkie-talkie on Karkat's chest calls for him. The troll brings it to his face, "What?"
"Hey it's Sollux," the male voice on the other side answers. "You need to come back. The Chief is organizing this big assignment for the majority of the force."
"What would make the Chief do that?" Officer Vantas questions.
"Apparently we're providing extra service for the public banquet tomorrow that the mayor is throwing. Report here immediately."