'OK. It's official. Put Alice on the *<span class="bbc_u">People We Don't Trust</span>* list. How are things looking outside?' 'About as bad as we expected. The local violence hasn't reached the levels it has in several of the other districts, but that won't last long. The entire city is under martial law; curfews are already being enforced.'<br/><br/>Luke leaned against the wall, out of the way as he observed Gwin's confrontation with Alice. His juice box lay empty on a nearby table. 'Have you received any progress reports from Roberts on the safe house?' 'Affirmative. He set up a standard B-class shelter approximately 70 miles southeast of our present location. All the usual cloaks and traps.' 'Excellent. We won't overstay our welcome, just long enough to pick up a few supplies and throw anyone who gets too curious off our trail.'<br/><br/>Gwin turned to him and offered an uncertain smile. "Thank you," she said. 'So, will you be helping, or hiding?' she then asked, transmitting the question directly from her implants to his. Luke cocked an eyebrow in surprise; it wasn't often that a patient learned to operate with an A.I. so quickly. Then again, he figured, these kids probably wouldn't know 'normal' if it leapt up and bit them in the ass. He shrugged with a smile. 'Haven't decided yet. Depends on who wins,' he shot back.<br/><br/>As she turned her focus to Gabriel's mind, Luke consulted with 'Ana. 'Now, what about the girl? Did you-' 'Affirmative. Her compressed A.I., which she named 'Jake', by the way, is still slaved to my command. It's also built enough connections throughout her brain to suppress her abilities if necessary. She'll retain full control of her powers, but she won't be able to use them against us.' 'Perfect. And her memories? Is, ah, 'Jake' managing to record enough data to transmit back to us?' 'He is, but for now it's being stored in a secured folder and he still lacks the ability to transmit or receive from a server or satellite. I did say his functionality was severly handicapped.' 'That's fine. We won't bother with reading her memories for now, anyway. It won't hurt to leave her her privacy. But if it should become necessary, we won't hesitate to collect the information.' 'Affirmative.'<br/><br/><strong><em>~Quantum Urbs, Medellin District~</em></strong><br/><br/>The first thing Etriun noticed was that he was strapped to a very large table.<br/><br/>The second thing Etriun noticed was that several of his internal components were no longer internal.<br/><br/>The third thing Etriun noticed was that the first and second things had a 97% chance of being related.<br/><br/>His sensors detected a pair of hands tinkering around with his propulsion systems, and he switched to his 'authoritative' vocalizer.<br/><br/>"Warning! You are in danger of violating this unit's warranty! Article 14 of Operating Protocol, 'No Unauthorized Repairs"! Cease and desist immediately!" The drone considered his situation a little further and spoke again. "Correction! Replace my extracted components and THEN cease and desist immediately!" The hands continued working, and one of the primary intake valves was removed. "Um. Please?"<br/><br/>The hands withdrew, and Etriun giggled silently. 'Wow, I can't believe that actually worked! Wait til I tell the others, they'll flip! Hey, I wonder if I can ask him to please provoke me!' The Cherubim was about to vocalize his new request when his frontal cameras registered movement. A young man, about 12 or 13, stared into his port-side cam and waved awkwardly.<br/><br/>"Um, hello. I didn't know this thing was piloted. It just crashed through the apartment window upstairs. I thought it was broken, I didn't know anyone would mind if I took a look inside. I'm sorry; I'll put it back together!"<br/><br/>Etriun settled in peacefully while the youth quite expertly reassembled him. The kid whistled while he worked, a nameless, random melody, and before long Etriun was calculating predictive harmonies and humming along with him. Within less than an hour, the drone was rebuilt as good as new. The boy unstrapped him from the table and he swivelled around in the air, his hoverjets once again in working order. "Your assistance is appreciated. Please identify yourself. Are you designated Noncombatant?"<br/><br/>"Um. What? Uh, no, I mean, yes, I'm a not-combatant!" "Understood. What is your name, Noncombatant? This unit is named Cherubim Etriun." "M-me? I'm Cody. Cody Tolk--er, Benson. Cody Benson." Etriun performed an extra slow barrell roll three feet off the table and spun in the air. "Pleased to meetcha!"