AN- Well, on a quick flyby over Cap Au Diable, I heard today's strange quote. I've also got some other ideas floating around my head, but they might not get typed for a bit- I've got a mountain of work from classes to do. This also contains a little ode to HK-47, the awesome droid from Knights of The Old Republic. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to get his name for one of my alts, so give a warm welcome to HK-54!

HK-54 was a fairly average droid for his model. He was independent, observant, intelligent and light on his feet. His interests included long walks through the Vagabond Woods, Aratech sniper rifles, and fresh, attractive programming upgrades. But most of all, his favorite thing to do was to go to the quartermaster after a good day of wanton destruction and buy the latest and best in all things destructive. Unfortunately, he couldn't, because of a reluctant teammate by the name of Kandosii, who was currently sitting at the top of the Arachnos building. HK's vocabulator made a hissing noise, almost like a sigh. Meatbags could be so infuriating.
"Annoyed Order: Come down at once, meatbag. There is a shipment of new plasma grenades that just arrived," He shouted to the figure peering over a ledge, many meters above. Several civilians looked at the droid curiously as they passed.

"Like fek I'm coming down!" Came the reply from above. HK shook his head. "Exasperated Statement: I can't believe the irrationality of meatbags." "Well, you'd better bloody well believe it! I'm not going to come down until I feel like it!" A Mu Adept stopped several feet away from HK, staring curiously at the droid. Was this strange robot malfunctioning? Whatever it was, it shouldn't be here.

"I give you five seconds to find somewhere else to exist, robot." HK turned his head to regard the mystic. "Statement: Very well, I shall leave." The mystic nodded in approval as the droid turned on his heel, calling back over his shoulder to the form above, "Manipulative Declaration: I suppose I'll just have to spend the funds I had set aside for purchasing one of those X-Box 360s for you. Shame."

The Arachnos mystic suddenly found himself slammed into the ground with a loud 'Crunch!' as Kandosii dropped on him in his hurry to catch up with the droid. The droid turned to face the suddenly not so reluctant metahuman. "Smug Statement: I knew that would get you to come down." Kandosii shrugged. "I'm not going to pass up a chance to get a 360." "Annoyed Statement: I don't currently have the funds to acquire one of those overpriced boxes full of idiocy or my plasma grenades. We're going to have to earn it. Addendum: And besides, the Playstation 3's specifications show it to be a far superior machine." Kandosii glared at the droid. "Should have known-" "Interjection: You should have, meatbag. If you want a trustworthy droid, find one of those idiotic 3PO models. What a waste of good circuitry. Statement: I do not have time to exchange words with a meatbag. If you wish to purchase your glorified entertainment scrap heap, then you will follow me." With that, HK activated his jetpack and rocketed off, leaving his unwilling companion still trying to think up a retort.

Several minutes later, the 'partners' were flying over the sprawl of office buildings and apartment complexes spread haphazardly around the base of Aeon City. They were, of course, arguing. "I still don't get why you do so much console snobbery, HK. I mean, you appreciate self-serving, immoral actions, correct?" "Affirmation: Yes. It is the most efficient and logical way to go about any action." "Then why don't you like Microsoft?" "Exasperated Statement: Because, you brainless meatbag, they- Interjection: Quiet! I hear something." The duo stopped in midair, listening. There were indeed, strange and unidentifiable noises coming from the roof of a nearby office building, hidden by a taller block of apartments. Kandosii dropped down to land on the nearest roof, still listening. "It sounds like two people… I think I know them. They're that pair of Goldbrickers that keep on randomly attacking me whenever I fly by." "Statement: All of the yellow hued giant mosquitoes attack anyone that flies by." "You know what I bloody well mean!" They quieted again as the noises down below got a little louder, accompanied by a grunt and a crash. "Sounds like they're having trouble with something." HK was about to say something very witty about stating the obvious, when one of the Goldbrickers said something down below, in a stressed sounding voice, as the other sounds below continued.

"Hey, move your hand!" HK stopped for a fraction of a second to process this new data. English is a very confusing language, the context of a sentence making the difference between whether the speaker was merely tired of their mode of employment, or their job was actually killing them. HK never liked the language- there weren't enough words to describe the joy of shooting out the knees of a target from 120 km. But the phrase in question didn't seem to have any real violent overtones- the Goldbrickers were simply on a job, stealing something for their kleptomaniac king. But, as HK listened more closely to the noises from below, combined with the context of the phrase- in an isolated area of a usually unraveled portion of the area, then they might just be engaging in-

"Hurry up. I feel exposed up here," the voice from one of the unseen Goldbrickers reached HK's auditory sensors. He made a small distressed noise, like a mouse being trodden on.

Kandosii was standing at the base of the Arachnos tower in Aeon City, staring up at a distant form huddled on one of the outcroppings of the skyscraper. He sighed. "Come on, HK! I want to get a 360 before the shop sells out!" "Distressed Statement: No! I refuse to come down!"