Raindrops keep falling... [Open]

[General Gold]

“Sir… Please come back in the car. I’d really rather not have you get sick. You’re a very important person, and we can’t afford to have you contracting something out here among the rabble. Especially in this weather.” Some young man in a black tux called out from the driver-side window of a stretch limousine, eyes hidden by sunglasses.

A cocksure smirk covered the face of General Gold, who was more known publicly by his real name, Cian. Being the heir of a Fortune 500 company got attention, doing it well meant he got real recognition though. Positive recognition. Having a secure position in the upper crust of society, few people got to ask questions about his activities. Today was simply leisure. His normal butler, a wizened old man who did little more than make tea, answer the door, and be just the most dapper of gentlemen, was off on vacation. Cian, being the practical type, figured it was time he took one of his own. Of course, he had to keep some sort of servant nearby for security. “Shut your hole and just drive off already. I can handle myself. Security is always around anyway, right?” The redhead turned his head to the sky, feeling the torrential rain falling on his face, it’d soaked him in his entirety within a minute of stepping out of the car.

He’d chosen to wear a thick white shawl that extended far enough down to cover the majority of his legs, leaving only his head exposed to the rain. In fact, it was essentially a big, absorbent blanket wrapped around his shoulders. Still, it kept his clothing dry. As he began a leisurely walk, the limo began to move alongside him, matching his pace. “Shoo… Leave… Fly away. You’re horrible at taking orders you know…” Cian sighed, glaring at the man behind the wheel. Even if the man was not keen on the idea, he had to do as told and rolled up the window before driving away. “Good riddance, boyo.” The redhead sighed one last time before beginning his walk anew.

As he walked along the mostly empty sidewalks of the city, he kept his gaze up, enjoying the sound and feel of the rain falling down on him. It made his vision even worse by covering his glasses with raindrops, but he learned to rely on his other senses anyway. Without a care for who heard, he mused to himself, as if he were around people that were hanging on his every word, “Now that that business is duly taken care of, what, pray tell, shall we do on this most glorious day? Got an entire city to traverse, and not a restriction in the world…”

[Android 25]

25 kept the hood of his tattered brown cloak up as he walked through the rain in West City. the cloak kept him relatively dry, but he didn't care about that so much as he just didn't want the normal humans to see his armored body. Unlike other androids, only his head, without it's helmet, looked Human.

He walked with a heavy footed determination. his mission was as security for General Gold, a rich playboy who funded a lot of things for Red Ribbon Army. Gold supposedly knew of his assignment, and 25 was supposed to report to him ASAP.

He spotted the reclusive General waling down the street, and decided now was the best time. He walked right up to him and, knowing his reclusive nature, decided descretion was the better part of valor. He introduced himself in a low voice, so no one else could hear.

"General Gold? I'm Android 25, your new bodyguard."

[General Gold]

People didn’t normally wear cloaks, or shawls, or capes in real life. It was a movie thing. When the artificial wind blew, everything billowed up all nice and dramatic, making that oh-so-cool whoosy-flappy sound. That’s why Cian was wearing his wrap. But a challenger had appeared, sporting a tattered brown cloak, the calling card of the wandering sellsword, never quite ready to reveal his intentions. In the movies, they’d have both stopped, stared each other down, and a stray bird’s call or a sudden lifting of a shadow would signal them both to draw pistols and take their fastest shot.

Of course, this was no movie. The heavy-footed man came right up to the redhead as if nothing were wrong what-so-ever. The introduction was short and very to the point. As he had mused earlier, protection was never far away. ”The name is Cian. Let’s keep it that way, alright boyo?” Cian didn’t want to sound rude, but he did like the idea of keeping his identity as a General on the down-low. ”You got yourself a real name to use? Twenty-five is an awkward name for the general public. While we’re in public, I need to make sure we’re a couple of players looking for a wee bit of fun on the town.” His own speaking was hushed, and a little hurried. If he got too long-winded, he’d look suspicious.

His own voice got louder again, picking up a more casually conversational tone. ”Yeah, the weather isn’t smiling on us today, but that’s no reason we can’t enjoy ourselves today, right? I mean, we are on vacation. Got to live it up, no? Arcades, bars, shopping centers, fancy restaurants, not-so-fancy grub shacks, driving through suburbia hitting mailboxes with a baseball bat, movies… We got hours to burn. So in the tradition of my old Sunday morning cartoons… ‘Gee Brain, what are we going to do tonight?’ “ Cian’s face was lit up with a one-sided smile, putting his new bodyguard on the spot. Sure, he could come up with something fun to do, but he needed to make sure his new bodyguard wasn’t served with a stick up the arse.

[Android 25]

25 understood all too well why General Gold wanted to be called Cian out loud. It was his real name, after all. "Understood, Cian. I am your direct subordinate." the question about his name came as a bit of a shock, though. Red Ribbon had told him he wasn't Rocky anymore, he was Android 25, and he should act like it. But, why did he even remember his name of the past? It made no sense. 25 pulled himself out of his stupor in time to answer Cian's question.

"Rocky, sir. My name was Rocky before I was made into the 25th model Android. No one else knows that." He looked around, scared that he might see another General. They don't like free thinking in Androids.

He turned back to Gold, his expression relieved. "I do apologize for my appearance, Cian, but I'm not like other Androids. Only my head remains Human in appearance." He opened his cloak slightly so that Cian could see his armored blue torso. He closed his cloak back up again as he continued to walk with Gold, listening to his opinions about being on vacation.

"I've never had the pleasure of having fun, sir. Perhaps, since I'm supposed to help keep you safe, you can show me how."

[General Gold]

This… Was going to be awkward. Way to ruin a vacation, Red Ribbon. Still, Cian had an opportunity to have some sort of companionship, and he wasn’t going to waste that chance. He did have to wonder why they were designated androids though. Android implied a machine made in imitation of humans. A cyborg would be more appropriate, considering the crafting process involved converting a human towards mechanical enhancement. With cyber-enhancement, though, most didn’t act like machines. Perhaps the designation was an attempt to keep them in that machine mindset.

”Rocky… Rocky, rocky, rocky… That’s workable. Going to need a bit of a persona for you to work with in public. Don’t take it you’re a thespian. So how about… Military background. Special forces until your branch of the military was disbanded on the order of the PTO? You won’t have to worry too much about smoothing out your stiff attitude. Though using ‘sir’ might be a bit much. Out here, I’m your buddy, not your C.O.” Cian began walking backwards, having plenty to think about in relation to this new, very obvious piece of hardware. ”Might have to work on getting you set up with some new threads too. Blue isn’t a bad color on you, but you look stiff enough without the metal… Give me some time, and I can probably make some ‘armor conversion kits’ or some such. You know, for different combat situations. Like… social espionage.” Cian schemed at modifying his big blue partner. Having a modular chassis for combat situations could actually be really good for some operations. And he had the personal resources to pull off such a thing.

”Never had fun. Never, ever… You… Are going to be a challenge. Got to break you out of that shell somehow. Metaphorically. I don’t really have technical specs on you though, so we’ll need to keep inconspicuous. A movie wouldn’t be a bad option. Find a good comedy, dark place, everyone’s attention is one a big screen. Intense physical action is out though. People will look at us funny if you break a basketball hoop trying to slam dunk. Shop-hopping wouldn’t be bad. Everyone’s looking at things in windows, it’s usually loud, and there’s the added benefit of messing around with random amusing objects. Take your pick. Part of fun is choosing what to go do. If you eat, we could also just find a good place to grab a bite and gab for a while.”

[Android 25]

25 was a bit taken aback by Gold's questions, but not too frazzled. He decided to wait until he had gotten a chance to sit down with him before answering some of them. After all, he didn't want to ruin his General's fun.

Upon hearing the options that Gold gave him, 25 had made a choice, one that would give his General a chance to get to know him better, and vice versa, so that he could get back to his fun. He wanted to eat.

"While I don't really NEED food, I do find I miss some of the things I enjoyed before this new body was made." He gave General Gold a very humble bow of his head. "I would be honored to sit and eat and gab a bit with you, Cian. Perhaps I can properly gather my thoughts to answer some of your questions of me, as well. Refering to you as a buddy outside like this might take some getting used to, though. I've never met someone as lax as you. It's refreshing."

[General Gold]

Food. Food was always good. Well, not in excess, but who didn’t like to sit down and enjoy a meal then and again? It was perfect for conversation, as one person could talk while the other stuffed themselves silly. That, and it was Thanksgiving season for food joints. That meant that all the food was going to be top quality as far as warm and satisfying was concerned. It also meant that the bistros were going to be the place to be, since the fancier places weren’t big on comfort food.

”Sounds good, boyo. A good soldier knows to rest when opportunity rises, in case the next chance is far off. Keeps the head clear of stress, makes life just a little bit brighter, and I always find problems are easier to solve when I don’t think about them. But yes… I am very, very different compared to the rest of the generals. You don’t have to worry though. You’re in good hands. I’d rather us be friends no matter where we are, or what roles we play.” Cian turned his head over his shoulder, since walking backwards wasn’t conducive to finding a place to eat. Sure enough, in such a big place, there was a decent-looking corner diner across the street. Kind of folksy, which meant it probably had just the kind of comfort food Cian was craving. ”Well isn’t that convenient? They ought to do nicely.”

When they crossed the street, Cian opened the door for his new bodyguard and let him step in before taking care of the soaked business around his own shoulders. Once he had his shawl on a hook to rest while he ate, he opened the door once again to shake his hair out some and get the majority of the water out of it so he wouldn’t drip everywhere. A quick hello to a waitress got them a corner booth, away from the eyes of most people there, who were sitting up at the counter, reading newspapers while they ate, or texting away on cell phones. Cian slid into the seat with a dull ‘thump’, the seats being just springy enough to give an amusing moment of bouncing. Simple pleasures. Rocky would be able to keep his back to the rest of the diner, since he’d be wanting to keep his body low-key. ”Ah, there we go. Warm atmosphere, staticy oldies playing on the radio, and simple, filling food. What more could you ask for, eh?” Cian gave a smile to the guy and popped open the menu, happy to see that open-faced turkey and mashed potato sandwich with fries and gravy. His mind was made up immediately.

[Android 25]

25 followed his General into the restaurant and let his hood down, revealing a very human head, with sandy brown hair and green eyes. He gave a smile at the waitress, who smiled back, almost as if she were imagining muscle as opposed to metal under his cloak. He sat down across from Gold, his back to the rest of the restaurant, but his cybernetic sensors in his eyes were set to alert him to any change in heat signatures or Ki spikes. He was here to have fun with his General, sure, but he was also Gold's bodyguard. He wasn't going to be too lax. He could multi-task.

He opened his own menu and scanned over it for just a second, and when he got to his favorite comfort food, he immediately made up his mind; Chicken Fried Steak Sandwich, complete with cream gravy, and served with choice of Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potato Fries, or regular French Fries.

He set his menu down and looked up at Gold. "Well, I suppose I can answer some questions, now. Yes, I was training for Spec Ops. In fact, I earned top scores. Thing is, I didn't read the fine print. They wanted a keen military mind like mine for the body of Android 25. I'm only about a week out of the shop. My training was with Red Ribbon. I joined thinking that I could maybe do some good from the inside, but my current status as an Android prevents that. Too easy to be self-destructed by a general who doesn't like my attitude. I don't know why I still remember some things about my life before this, but it's still not enough to give me true free will. Memories aside, I'm still a machine, designed to follow orders." He paused as the waitress came by to take their order. He opted for Sweet Potato Fires to go with his Chicken Fried Steak Sandwich and ordered cup of coffee to drink.

when the waitress left to put in the order, he continued. "I'm glad I got relegated to you, Cian. So far, you're the only one who's treated me as something more than a machine."

[General Gold]

For a can of bolts, Rocky was starting to regain a sense of humanity rather quickly. Which was great, but also a given. Androids were partly human in design, and if he recalled, the mind was mostly preserved, used as a natural storage device for information, as well as providing the basis for the personality core, logic center, and adaptive A.I. processor. In other words, the human mind was used to do what Dr. Gero could not: program self-awareness. Being programmed to say “I exist” and realizing “I exist” were entirely different. A computer would never expand its programming outside of its allowed parameters. Humans could expand their mind “for the f*** of it.”

”Spec Ops is good. You’ll fit right in. You probably already know, but I take charge of small unit operations. Pararescue, infiltration, extraction… You won’t see us on the front lines unless the situation has gotten dire. Though not everyone was top of the class. Anyone can make a great soldier, they just need motivation. Every soldier under my command is fighting for something more than just a paycheck and relative safety from the PTO. As such, every life is too valuable to waste on standard protocols… Like your boom box. Your detonation code is specially encrypted and routinely scrambled so that there’s only one person in the army that can pull the trigger. Not even Black, nor Gero, nor anyone else, can use that frequency. Which means that you belong to me.” Cian shrugged as if having the life of another person linked to a little failsafe trigger was nothing more than an everyday occurrence. As if owning an android was the epitome of mundane.

Their waitress came by to take their order. From the earlier observation, he could tell that she was paying more attention to Rocky. Not that he minded that much. Sure, he was being one-upped by an android, but Cian’s playboy status was mostly reputation. He was too picky about women to do the whole woman-a-night thing some guys did. He gave his order with a smile and a thanks, not wanting to be too intrusive. ”It’s not a bad thing, really. You may be bound, but would you rather have one man with that power, or a dozen? And don’t you fret too much about the free will. Hopefully I’ll have you doing things that you’d have wanted to do anyway. A motivated soldier is a better soldier, am I right? Just know that you’ll be doing good work with me. We’re clean, we’re efficient, we’re doing the work that needs to be done. We’re all fighting for a better future. I promise.”

[Android 25]

25 nodded in agreement. Cian was right, if he was going to be controlled, at least it was by a man who treated him as if he had some measure of free will. He was happy to be assigned to such a man.

"Well, maybe working for you I still CAN do some good. And it'd be really nice to know I've got a friend." 25 accepted his food and coffee as it came to him, and smiled again at the waitress. He took a bite out of the sandwich and washed it down with the coffee. It tasted SO good, he'd almost forgotten what it tasted like.

After a minute savoring his first bite and sip, he looked back up at Cian. "So, what about you, Cian? I can't do my job very well if I don't know that much about you. All I know is that you're dirty-rotten-filthy-stinking-rich, and your...........RR connections. But that's all I know."

[General Gold]

”Ahh, thank you, lass.” Cian didn’t miss a beat as the waitress came with their orders. Everything kept moving along. It didn’t stop just because he was having a little chat. The universe did not turn about a human axis. So he didn’t stop. That’s why he managed to keep at least one step ahead of anyone else. As Rocky took in a deep bite, Cian picked up his fork and tore of a sizable chunk of his sandwich. Mashed potatoes, gravy, and turkey on toast wasn’t exactly made to be a portable meal. It was sloppy, but appearance never diminished taste.

”Trust me, boyo. You’ll be doing a lot of good. Work well with your brothers and sisters, stay loyal to Gold, and keep that hope… Someday you’ll see it. Hopefully sooner than later. I’m not just talk either.” Cian shoved the chunk of sandwich into his mouth, taking ample time to crew and finish it off. Mother didn’t raise a child who’d talk with his mouth full. A sip from a glass of water, and he was able to talk again. ”We’ll be taking a tour of my facilities soon. I need you to be familiar with what I have going on. You might already have the base data uploaded or some such, but shrewd businessmen learn to hide their real assets. And the forces that be have certainly made sure I’m exactly that.”

Another bite went down in due time, since Cian was hungry enough to want to finish his meal. He knew he could be long-winded, so his mind went to making his speech more efficient so he could finish sometime before his food got cold. ”You’re right about me being rich… Definitely have more than I need for myself. But it was inheritance due to legal procedure. I’m sure my birth father would have shoved it all away somewhere else if there was a way to do it. Most my mother saw of the man was during a vacation. So I’m a bit of a do-it-yourselfer. I fight alongside my men, which might make your job a little… Who am I kidding? A lot more complicated. I was shaken down for protection money. Instead, I cut a deal. I’d take a more direct role in the dealings of our mutual organization. In return, when absolute control is finally secured, I’d have my greedy wee hands in just about every business on the planet. They trained me, kept me alive to use my cash… And well… Let’s just say they haven’t yet even made a scratch on my wallet compared to my own projects.”

[Android 25]

By now, 25 had finished half his sandwich. He stopped to pour himself some more coffee from the carafe, all the while listening to his General. He found this man more and more interesting as he spent time him, and was more and more glad he was assigned to him and not someone like General Red.

"Protection money, huh? Sounds childish, but not unlike them." 25 took another swig of his coffee and finished his sandwich before continuing. "I suppose it's a good thing, though, that you became a General. Not just for my sake, but for yours as well."

After another swig of coffee, 25 started in on his sweet potato fries, lightly sprinkled with sugar. He remembered that they were his favorite since he was a kid, and it was one of the major things he found he missed. Tasting them as an android was a bit different from tasting them as a human being. But, he took the bad with the good, like his father would say. "I know you're on vacation, so I'm not going to stand in your way, there. But I would like that tour sooner rather than later. Gotta upgrade my memory banks, you know. But I wouldn't mind doing something else, first. Some window shopping, for instance."