November 10th, 2038

AM 06:50:12


Her comrades may have been in flawless formation – legs divided at a perfect space; feet facing forward, shoulders straight and hands clasped behind their backs, all in matching uniforms…

But this show was hers.

The woman in black and white camouflaged fatigues, boots laced to the middle of her calves, utility belt jingling at her movements, a dark tank top around her torso and a pair of tags dangling below her neck. Her skin was caramel, giving stark contrast to her dark, short hair – one side of her head shaved.

Perhaps the more unnerving of her features was her eyes. Purple and maroon in color, piercing with a look of unnatural aggression that was stored away and spent like a stock option…an investment into a lifetime of war and conflict.

"My name is Liera Lastimosa."

She waved her hand, the tips of her fingers giving off a dim glow. The projector glimmered across her dogtags; fragmented holograms dotting her eyes with broken squares for pixels. She winced from the glare, scanning the room with blue reflections in her pupils.

"After an accident involving a tank and a few cluster missiles, I became the first human-hybrid to serve on this police force."

Her skin peeled away from her right arm, slithering up her shoulder. The smooth side of her head mimicked this inhumane taboo formed from crossing a boundary of species, revealing two silver implants like crescent moons imprinted along her skull.

Your thumbnail caught the clip of your pen, nipping the edge and sliding down the curved, aluminum piece that became dislodged from your fidgeting.

A hybrid being. A cross between man and machine, found here in the middle of Detroit.

SWAT was always around in their faceless helmets – those who had to sacrifice their humanity in order to protect and serve humanity. She was no different…

Right?

"Ten kilometers of internal wiring, eleven hundred expertly machined hand-assembled components…" She gave an almost reminiscent sigh, "But before you ask about the innerworkings of CyberLife's prosthetics…" And then she planted her knuckles on her hips, giving a toothy grin, "It's classified."

Your questions would go unanswered, it seemed. Maybe for the better. You didn't necessarily want to know what she was fully capable of, or what warranted the need to give her those capabilities. Part of the reason you didn't envy high-ranking officials.

They were the ones who were kept up at night knowing the darkest secrets of the world, fighting them behind political and militaristic curtains so the rest of you could live your day-to-day.

Her being here, with her team…it was just a peek.

The pen's clip finally broke, and you caught it before it hit the table.

"Alongside me I have Chris Grenier, our tech expert who graduated from MIT and got bored with an office job…"

She nodded to a man who was ignoring her and watching a police drone hover at his shoulder. He looked a lot like Chris Miller, just with sharper cheekbones, a boxed jaw, and a cleaner cut. Sounded like he was from New York. Brooklyn, maybe. There was an edge to his words that you'd heard before he'd escorted you out of the Stratford Tower.

"Don't forget Widget." He poked at the drone, and it rocked in place.

The ocular hub rotated towards him as if self-aware, the propellers underneath tilting it forward to jab at his cheek with an edge.

"Ow…" Grenier rubbed his face, and Liera sighed.

"Yes…Can't forget Widget."

She nodded at the man next to him, ignoring his antics and proceeding with introductions.

"Liam Miller, a MARSOC Scout Sniper…and the most successful marksman in SOCOM." She shrugged, "No big deal."

A disheveled beard guarded his face, a pale outline marking the bridge of his nose and around his eyes. Most likely from the sunglasses over his head, anchored above a cap flipped backwards. He must've spent a lot of time in the sun. You wondered what kind of war stories were told through the tattoos tracing the bulging muscles on his large frame.

"Howdy."

He rolled his neck and shifted his weight, lifting his chin at the audience.

"Next in line we have Sage Talon, a chemist from Oxon and the deadliest field medic you'll ever meet."

Her eyes were outlined with perfect kohl, complimenting her olive complexion. Black, silken hair was pulled back in a ponytail.

Deadliest field medic with a degree in chemistry…that made you weary.

She curtsied, "A pleasure."

Probably the politest in the lot of grizzled SWAT team members, though.

But when she took her formal bow, and the ponytail glided across her shoulder to hang in front of it, there was another woman that loomed from the corner, arms crossed with a leg kicked along the wall.

An intense woman, oriental in descent with muted, dark-red hair.

"Then we have Akane Mayumi, who specializes in close quarters combat. Her background is…"

She had the eyes of a predator who killed without remorse…Narrowing, observing.

Stalking.

"Classified." Mayumi finished for her, the creases around those eyes not moving with the emotionless declaration.

She was trained on you.

You had to break away.

"And last but not least," Liera continued, "My idiot brother Jack Cooper, a guy who just happened to be really good with a gun."

He was just a bit smaller than Liam, with a red and black tattoo along his right forearm rather than both.

"Thanks." He snorted.

They sounded different. He seemed American, sure. She was…Australian, if you had to guess.

You wondered how they were related, and how a DPD SWAT unit held so much diversity.

"No problem." Liera snickered, looking back to the humbled police officers, "We are a team of Specialists that are employed under Unit 32 of DPD SWAT known as the Marauders, named after the Marauder Mobile Command Truck, or MMCT."

She changed the graphic onscreen to a wolf icon – one bearing its teeth with dripping fangs and an eyepatch covering its left eye. A banner underneath had a message for the viewers.

"United We Stand, Divided We Ambush."

A powerful mantra. A hidden, mantra.

Who were these people, exactly?

"Housing CyberLife's HQ isn't easy on the city of Detroit. Never has been, never will be. Takes a lot to keep this place safe, and not just money. Organic talent isn't a purchasable upgrade."

Liera panned over to a document that looked like a service record; thick, black lines running along certain sentences.

Blacklisted.

"You probably haven't heard of us…We're a last resort, so to speak…" She flashed her comrades another grin before continuing her seminar, "But being a part of this brigade comes with added responsibility, which now involves informing you of what kind of dangers you'll face with a fresh perspective."

The room's attention was drawn to the door as it opened. Captain Allen slipped through, shutting it quietly behind him. He hushed the murmurs and leaned a shoulder against the wall, tilting his head in observation.

He was right next to you, twirling a pen between his fingers with an elbow balanced on a fist.

Nothing like the teacher watching over your shoulder.

"And I don't believe this man, the one that called us specifically and put us on his payroll, requires an introduction." Liera motioned towards him.

He held up a hand, "Pretend I'm not even here."

"Won't be too hard, sir."

He smirked, "Keep it up, Lastimosa."

The rest of the brigade may have let out a quiet laugh, save for the serial killer behind them, still staring at you…

But it wasn't everyday you heard someone crack a joke, an insubordinate joke, with Captain Allen.

That spoke volumes about them, and about him.

What kind of soldier was Captain Allen before his employment here to be trusted with the recruiting and deployment of such a decorated unit?

Liera grabbed your attention as she stepped aside, pointing to the projector, "Let's start with DPD's newest acquisition – military-grade gear specially outfitted for the mobilization of infantry and logistical identification of the targeted insertion area. The MILITIA Line, for short."

A series of black, SWAT-branded armor appeared, laced with LED tags and different functionalities.

"This suit was primarily rolled out for us SWAT members to lessen the burden of the repossession of our android squaddies, but with the city in danger of collapse, we're extending this gift to potential riot control units such as yourself."

There were gas masks, shields, chest and thigh plates – a fully-bodied suit that looked indestructible.

"The MILITIA Line was designed to look like our standard-issued equipment to avoid deviant suspicion and priority targeting. However, it's very different…" Her pointed finger moved along various points of armor with her prosthetic arm glistening in the light, "These suits are made of high-quality ballistic materials such as Kevlar and Twaron, and have been put through rigorous testing to ensure the highest level of personnel retention."

Personnel retention…like the headcount of you and the rest of those who could potentially be putting this shit on were nothing but a statistic.

A helmet enlarged; black without a visor, a section cut out for a mouth.

"The helmet's visual system is through a head-up display, or HUD, giving you a wider range of protection against penetrating shots." She threw a guided look over her shoulder, "But I won't be the one talking about that." Liera nodded, "Grenier?"

"Huh?" He turned his head.

She pinched the bridge of her nose, pointing at the screen.

"OH, oh. Right."

He traded spots with her, fumbling with a clicker on the podium.

"I can't do technological magic tricks, so you'll have to bear with me." He looked at the screen, hitting the button after getting a laugh out of the room, "We're gonna go over something else and backtrack to the helmet annotation."

A pistol overrode the previously depicted piece of armor.

It may have looked like yours, but the attachments were certainly more…advanced; branded with CyberLife running down the barrel.

"So, here we have a new weapon called the Smart Pistol MK6."

You leaned in closer, intrigued. This briefing was way better than Cheng's.

"Next-generation Virtual Intelligence targeting technology allows this weapon to include a reciprocating charging handle, frame-integrated ammo counter, multi-function Laser Aiming Module, otherwise known as LAM; improved ergonomics, and an integrated stand-off muzzle." He turned back towards your group, "Judging by the glazed-over faces today, I'm going to assume none of you have any idea what that means."

He clicked over to another picture of trajectory lines coming from the gun, and enemies highlighted in red boxes.

"The SP MK6 is linked with the new helmet you'll be wearing…but basically; you point, the pistol auto-targets androids, and you pull the trigger. Simple enough."

He waited a moment before pointing, "Yes, you in the back."

"What if an android gets ahold of one of these things?" Gavin asked, "You know, because some of our OFFICERS have a tendency to lose their guns."

It took everything you had to not turn around and swear at him, and judging by the look on Chris's face, he shared your sentiment.

He'd lost his gun in the interrogation room too, after all.

"I'm glad you asked." Grenier poked around on a wrist-mounted computer of sorts, "Widget?"

The drone floated over, projecting a hologram in front of him. He slipped a pair of gloves on, moving shapes around and enlarging them as he went on with his explanation.

"Each Smart Pistol is uniquely synced with your MILITIA helmet, which is fastened to a magnetic ring around your collar. That means, if you lose possession of this weapon, no one can use it unless they cut your head off."

Gavin smirked, "Nice."

You sighed at his nonchalant agreement to becoming a fucking super-soldier.

"Now, about the helmet, itself…When you put it on, it neural-links with the user." He held his hands up, "I understand that putting your brain in the control center of a piece of technology sounds scary, but it's a workaround for android hacking. No more hacking a mechanism that decrypts biological patterns." He snapped his fingers, "Also prevents civilian casualties. Collateral damage isn't fun for anyone."

"You telling me this pistol just knows what to shoot and what not to shoot based on thoughts?" Gavin huffed.

"Yeah, that's what I'm telling you."

"And it can't be hacked by an android?"

"You got it."

"You're confident in all this?"

Grenier looked at his team, and Liam returned a shrug. Then he returned to Gavin, smiling at the floor before cracking his knuckles from what seemed like a force of habit.

"I'm confident in all this because I designed it." He raised his chin, "When I tried to break it, I did. So I made improvements. When I couldn't hack it anymore, I knew it was time to roll it up to the big man in the Ivory Tower on Belle Island."

You tensed, your brows jumping as you rubbed your neck.

"No offense," Gavin was still kicked back, balancing two legs of his chair as his foot rocked against the edge of his desk, "But I think an android might be a little better at hacking than you."

"You ever take down an entire brigade of Ice Cutters with a single run command, Detective?"

Captain Allen coughed, clearing his throat.

Grenier rolled his eyes, sighing under his breath…and Gavin didn't have anything else to say.

Everyone just waited in limbo, and you were trying to put together the story behind the redacted statement.

Ice Cutters. Russian androids. With WWIII on the horizon…you imagined any ops involving taking them down would be very much "classified," as well.

Grenier fell in line, tossing the clicker to his squad mate, "Miller, wake them up a little…"

He poked his drone with a smile, mumbling a muted conversation with Cooper. He covered a yawn with the back of his hand as the Marine vet took his place.

"How in the hell do you use this damn thing…" Liam pursed his lips, a thick southern accent hanging on his words.

"You hit the button." Liera huffed through her nose.

"'Bout had enough of this…" Liam hit it once, then again – skipping a slide by accident, "Ah, shit-"

He tossed the clicker on the podium, putting his hands on his hips, "Alright, LISTEN UP!"

You jumped at his commanding bark, and so did the other officers.

"If ya'll need fancy graphics to learn how to not get shot out there, it's already too late and we're wastin' our time. So!" He held his hands out, "I don't need to tell you about the big guns riot control uses. You either got cleared for fully-automatic weapons, or you didn't. And if you did, you know what's comin.' Ain't that right, 'Other Miller?'"

"Y-yep…" You looked at Chris, who gave a meek wave, "Hey, Liam…"

Liam snickered, nodding at Allen who waved him off.

"If you ain't cleared to use the big guns, that means you're usin' a shield to protect your brothers nd' sisters who are. You hold that line, or they die. Understood?"

A flurry of quick nods followed. You might be cleared for a Smart Pistol with your Pistol Master certification, but you doubted you'd be handed an assault rifle anytime soon. Chris had military background; a Marine would feel right at home with one of those things.

"Now, I don't really feel the need to go on about how much the sniper team covers your asses out there, 'cause at the end of the day, it's a thankless job…but just so you know, we've got eyes everywhere. Make your damn callouts if you need help, and keep your head down if you tag us in, 'cause we ain't liable if you go 'nd get yourself shot on accident. Got it?"

You gulped, and nodded again.

"Alright then. 'Bout had enough of this public speakin' mess." He sucked his teeth, "Talon, knock 'em dead."

"Smoking them out would be more appropriate…" Liera mumbled, "Brute force is more her thing."

She nodded to the emotionless Akane Mayumi standing in perfect posture next to Cooper.

Sage toyed with the projection clicker, swearing silently as she fast-forwarded through Liam's assigned slides before arriving at a strange grenade.

"Ah, here we are." She turned to the officers, an English accent on her tongue, thicker than Elijah's subtle undertones when he came back to the States from Colbridge University.

Native, for sure.

"As previously mentioned, my name is Sage Talon, and I serve as a support unit for this brigade. This beauty here, is a self-constructed design that came out quite nicely if I do say so myself."

The members of her group whispered among themselves, and Liera had to cover her mouth to hide a laugh.

Sage squinted at them, and continued.

"The Electric Smoke Grenade disperses a compound that is harmless to humans before electrifying it at 200 milliamps for seven to ten seconds, depending on the size of the cloud."

A cocky grin stretched on her lips as she studied you and the rest of your peers, "Yes, yes…a current of electricity that would prove fatal to any human not protected by the MILITIA suit, imbued with grounding technologies. Androids, however, are vulnerable. Exploit that vulnerability as a last-ditch effort."

She took on a more serious tone, "If there are any civilian casualties or damage to city property with the use of the ESGs, the officer in question will be held responsible. This includes android canine units or the horses belonging to mounted police, which Rifleman Cooper will be explaining momentarily." She gave a slight bow, "I'm afraid that's all I have for you. Thank you for your time."

Chris leaned to the side, whispering as Cooper took his place as the next presenter.

"Jesus…Other than Liam, I met these guys once or twice but holy God are they intense…"

"Yeah, really." You looked at him, "How much longer do you think this is, anyway?"

"I don't know. They've probably all got talking points to hit before they wrap it up…" His brows creased, "You tellin' me you're not loving this?"

"I mean, I'm kind of tired…and this lighting-"

"I'm sure you're wondering why Talon was talking about robot dogs and horses." Jack interrupted, and the pictures on the screen had your jaw drop.

"To be honest, I was a little surprised when the orders came through."

There was a German Shepard in SWAT gear, eyes glowing blue with its tongue hanging out. A horse outfitted with an armored saddle, knee guards, and even a riot mask with the same blue bulbs for eyes.

"Let me start by saying, just like your MILITIA set-up and Smart Pistol, these beauties are one-hundred percent firewalled. What that means is that no android will be able to override their protocols, turn them deviant, hack your shit, whatever."

Grenier huffed, and Liam jabbed him with an elbow.

"If you had a few spare hours, I'd love to share the details of how these units are a masterpiece of design…but all you need to know is, 'Do they do the job, or don't they?' And let me tell you right now – they do, the job."

He played a video of an android canine running through a crowded street, taking a bullet to the shoulder and pouncing on an armed assailant until they fell at the knees. Teeth that ripped into flesh and kept the grown man pinned down.

Another video of a line of riot control horses and the officers on top of them, charging a crowd and dividing them into two, evenly distributed sides. A thoroughfare carved into a sea of bodies, flooding the riot with control units.

"Just mind your tosses when you're throwing those ESGs around. Talon wasn't kidding when she made them out to be a nuclear bomb to drop if all else fails. Those things'll put down our android units…so, again, just to be clear – do not use them unless your life depends on it."

You wondered why they'd even bother giving such a destructive device to a group of kind-of trained group of personnel, but figured it had to do something with that "desperate times, desperate measures," ideology. You also were wondering if you were even in good enough physical condition to wear the MILITIA gear, anymore. It looked heavy.

"We're almost done." Cooper stretched his arms above his head, and Akane walked to him.

Kept her back straight as her feet walked with precision. Held her hand out, and he dropped the clicker in her palm.

But she turned the projector off. Put the remote on the podium, adjusting it and everything else on the surface until all the papers, pens, and whatever else was perfectly straight.

She disappeared below the stand, something heavy sliding from a hollow shelf. She stood slowly, a round, plastic item in her hands that looked oddly like…

Her fingers latched around the top, hand pressing against the crown. She turned it to face it towards the officers.

Your suspicion was correct.

It was a spare android part – a head without ears, no eyes in the socket; something that looked like it was ripped off a crash dummy.

She withdrew an item from her belt. It extended into a modified version of the DPD baton, thicker – blunt…more solid.

She lifted it, dropped it; slapped it on her palm as if counting down for a brutal beating.

"Someone once told me you miss one-hundred percent of the shots you don't take…"

A low growl danced underneath her words of wisdom…of warning. Of a blood-drenched fondness and suppressing fire that was perilous.

"This was my answer."

She struck, and the impacted area shattered. Bits of plastic exploded from the fabricated skull, leaving a gaping hole that, if left alone, she'd probably drink out of.

The audible wince in the room was loud, but not as loud as the intangible silence.

"Is there…anything else, you'd like to say, Mayumi?" Liera raised a brow, swallowing nervously before lacing her fingers together, taking center-stage.

She looked at her with a sharp turn of her head, and then back to her baton. Ran a pair of pinched fingers along the cylinder weapon.

"Breaking your enemy with one of these hardened, expandable batons isn't very challenging, but…" She sprinkled plastic dust once her tracing touch reached the end, "I've found ways to have fun."

She stowed the baton back in her utility belt, falling in line and leaving the room stunned. She gave the back wall an empty stare, not paying any mind to the gawking faces. Her squad seemed unfazed, like this was normal…

Liera pursed her lips.

"Always a charmer…" She mumbled, "Anyway, now what we're going to do is open the floor to you guys for a Q and A. I'll direct you to one of these guys if I can't answer something myself. So…" She gave a subtle shrug, "Any questions?"

Liera kind of stood there, staring at her prosthetic, or at the specialists in line; finding anything to focus on rather than making direct eye contact…

The room was stunned. Couldn't react or find any words.

Until every hand flew up at once, and a slew of questions followed.

"Easy, easy…One at a time…" She searched for a cooperating individual, "You there, what's your question?"

A gloved hand caught your shoulder, and you jumped in your seat.

"In my office, now."

You cringed at the urgency in his voice. Captain Allen hadn't ever lost that tone, but here, he was capitalizing on it.

"Did you forget what I said last night?"

You remembered the text, and jumped out of your seat.

You ignored Chris's loud whispering as you matched Allen's pace, making your way towards the exit.

"I apologize, sir."

He rolled his eyes, the door pushed open for you to catch it as he gave Unit 32 a wave over his shoulder, "One simple request…"

One simple request to meet him in his office, first thing in the morning…and you'd forgotten.

It wasn't like you were trying to hide a limp, or process whatever doomsday preparation you'd just sat through. You hadn't even remembered you were CERT certified before this morning, much less ready to arm up in next-generation combat tech…

But much like anything these days, it didn't seem like you'd have a choice.

Things were much worse than they seemed…You just hadn't seen how bad, yet.

You had a feeling you would…

Soon.


A/N:

Sorry it took so long - lots of information with this one!

If you're thinking, "she's gearing up for something..."

You're not wrong.

(Pun intended)


Behind the Scenes

(Links on AO3)


Twitch Operator Video

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Widget Inspiration from XCOM 2

(Also inspired Pilot Grenier's drone-companion in "Of Steel and Stardust")

Detroit: Become Human Police Drone

United States Marine Corps Special Operations Command (MARSOC)

United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM)

Special Operations Capable (SOC)

United States Marine Corps Scout Sniper

University of Oxford (Oxon)

(Rated in the top 10 universities for chemistry around the world)

Close Quarters Combat (CQC)

Unit 32 from Detroit: Become Human (Bullet #3)

Marauder (Vehicle)

Mobile Command Centers

Marauder Corps (Titanfall)

Direwolf Banner (Titanfall)

(The Detroit: Become Human variant of the Marauder Corps insignia was a cross between the Direwolf Banner and the original Marauder Corps skull)

Special Recon Squadron (Titanfall)

("United We Stand, Divided We Ambush")

Smart Pistol MK6 (Titanfall)

Head-Up Display (HUD)

Brain-Computer Interface (BCI)

(The term neural-link comes from Titanfall, but in actuality, it's a form of BCI technology)

Neuromodulation

Hacking BCI is Possible

(Grenier solved this dilemma; futuristic spin on real-world events)

Virtual Intelligence

World War Three (Century)

(Ice Cutters)

CERT Traffic and Crowd Management Module

Electric Smoke Grenade (Titanfall)

URS12 Android Polar Bear

(Used to inspire android animals)

SWAT Canine Information

Canine Units (United States)

Riot Dog Demonstration Video

Mounted Police

Riot Control Horses

Mounted Police Riot Control Video

Most Durable Expandable Baton in the World Durability Test Video

Caveira R6 Quote

Riot Control***

Crowd Control***

(Both of these heavily influenced this segment)

Written to XCOM 2 OST