“Gear Check!”

The team leader’s masculine voice tickles my eardrum through the communication bug stuck in my ear. Frank’s tone is clipped and all business. We call him Frank because no one can pronounce his real name. Not that we haven’t tried to say it of course. His parents must have had a wicked sense of humor.

A frozen chill hung over the foggy streets of Shipyard, it's darkened roads hiding anything within it's labyrinthine walls. Deep in an alley where little light ever shines, the air began to hum.

Quite abruptly, there was a flash, and a resounding, echoing crash, much like a Sonic Boom. There, in the darkened alley, lay a small, red and black droid. After an agonizingly long moment, it's systems whirred to life.

Tom was here.

Yue has always been made fun of due to its size, structure and of course poor color selection choice from its creators (blue). It has run away to find a place to where it may be accepted, but all have failed. Drifting from place to place, hardly staying in one area long enough. It can be a rather shy machine anymore, not listening to many people because of the constant rude remarks and overall attitude. It generally just keeps to itself sometimes acting as if it's on standby just hoping for the passerby to leave.

Olyndria pulled her long, tangled white hair into a knot at the back of her head and shouldered the one bag containing the whole of her possessions. With a smile and a small tear her mother pulled her in for a quick hug and then pushed her away.
"I'll be fine Mama. I'm only moving a few blocks away. I promise I'll visit at least every week."

"I know honey. You're just so sweet and good and the world eats people like you as an appetizer." She wiped at her eye irritatedly and shrugged, "Your father would be so proud of you."

The automation had a routine. Everyday it was the same thing. Everyday she performed the same tasks. Until ordered otherwise. She was not a species of sentience, she was not human, she was not alien. She had no soul. She was a machine, much like a remote control car. But with more specifications and body work of course. It was the day the official of the military came to her and asked her for her certification did she comply to disrespect an ordered protocol by her creator and in response to the military official. It was the day she began to assess. As if her red eyes had opened entirely an not just a quarter of the way. But never did she speak unless spoken to.