Beach Planet

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Scott's probably around here somewhere, trying to recover from James.

The water's pretty nice.

Perfect place to dump slavers.

James cheered Luka on, making a big deal of how good she was. "Now what the heck are you gonna do with it, use it as a pillow?" He asked, amused.

Luka looked at the thing and shrugged, handing it to James. "Decorate your room with it?"

James hugged the fish. "Okay, I like that plan. My room could definitely benefit from a fish decoration." He smiled at Luka, "I'll be sure to get you something too, you need a fish for your room. A souvenir of this lovely planet."

Luka laughed. "maybe just some sea shells."

"You're kind of boring," James teased. "Just seashells?"

Luka smiled and nodded. "I've never had sea shells." She told him.

"Oh. Well that's different," James said. He looked toward the beach, "I'll bet these guys have already taken all the good shells here."

Luka nodded. Her stomach growled. "We can do looking later. First, I need food."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about food, I guess that is something you'd need at some point," James said. He looked around,"If you like junk food, this place has you covered." There were a lot of food stands around the boardwalk, none of which seemed to have any healthy food offerings. Everything seemed to be sugary, deep fried, or sugary and deep fried.

Luka considered the options. "well... I don't have any physical exams to pass any time soon so... I guess I can indulge in something terribly unhealthy right?" She smiled and made for a stall.

James snorted and nodded. "Dawn and Asher and Kay just like excuses to give us disapproving looks, anyway. Let's give them some excuses." He looked at the food with interest. Sometimes he sooo wished he could try this stuff himself.

Luka chuckled. "I'm sure they mean well. Except Nurse Freidmann, he's just mean." She made a face but she looked like she was trying not to laugh.
She selected something greasy and deep fried that might have been seafood. Once.

"Aww, Kay's a nice guy sometimes," James said. "You get used to his moodiness." He'd spent a lot more time with Kay since the battle, and he had gotten used to the guy's attitude. He looked amused.

Luka nodded and found somewhere to sit to eat her battered whatever it was. "To be fair, most of the military medical staff are a bit like that. Stern, professional, no nonsense." She wrinkled her nose. "I think they train them like that to encourage everyone else not to get hurt or sick." She chuckled.

"Makes sense. You don't want being hurt to be like a nice vacation, or people might get hurt on purpose," James laughed. "That's a good reason to make the medics be hostile and moody." He eyed Luka's food. "That looks sorta like there's fish somewhere in there. Is there?"

"I think so." She broke open a piece to inspect "Hard to tell. It's white, it's slightly chewy and it tastes like saltwater."

James snorted. "Sounds delicious. I'm so envious right now."

Luka chuckled. "Don't be, not having to eat is probably a blessing. It means you avoid terrible food, and stomach upsets, and all the other awkward and inconvenient bodily functions." She chewed her food and shrugged. "Our armies would be so much more efficient if our soldiers didn't need to stop for food and water or to relieve themselves. You wouldn't need to transport food and water to troops either, just ensure they had access to a generator running on easily obtainable renewable fuel like solar power or wind or something." She nodded, musing over how effective android soldiers could be if you really put your mind to it. "I wonder why the Imperium haven't done it already. " She shook her head. "Maybe there's more glory in sending men and women to fight. It'd be cowardly to just build machines to do it for us wouldn't it?" She shook her head. "still, not having to eat and drink is helpful James, remember that."

"True enough. I've always been perfectly happy to not need to use the bathroom," James said, laughing. "And there are definitely benefits to not needing to eat. We really would make a great army, so much less prone to sickness and hunger and stuff. Androids are badass."
He noticed someone looking their way, and swallowed nervously. "Ehrm. Other than the Three Laws thing, of course. And we hate violence."

Luka ducked her head and spoke softly "Sorry. I keep forgetting." Damn these laws and the stupid expectation.

"Yeah. It's just weird to have to live in fear again," James replied just as quietly. He patted Luka's shoulder. "It's okay, I don't think there's any harm done."

Luka nodded and finished her food. "It's annoying and stupid." She complained. She had already decided she didn't much like terran space. "Come on, let's go on more rides. Win more junk. "

"Totally. But we're in Terran space, so we gotta play by Terran rules," James said. "Yeah, let's go do some more stuff. This park has a bit of everything, seems like."

(Felt like writing some Daniel and Scott, so have some Daniel and Scott, lol)

July 30, 2790

The mood in the Android Containment Facility on the Beach Planet was jubilant, most of the androids cheering and laughing and hugging, giddy with the joy of being alive. The soldiers who guarded the facility stayed out of the way for the most part, although a few who had grown to like the androids joined in the celebration.

The mood in Visitor Meeting Area Four was considerably more somber.

Scott was sitting at the table when Daniel arrived, clearly slightly uncomfortable under the watchful gaze of the soldier on duty in the room. He chewed absently on his nails.

“Scott,” Daniel said sternly, sitting down across from him. “Please stop biting your nails.”

Scott jumped a little and hastily clasped his hands together, looking guilty. He frowned a little though, unused to Daniel calling him by his name, instead of the usual 'Sir'. Scott’s parents had always insisted that the androids they kept and traded use terms of respect when speaking to an organic, they said it helped prevent confusion. Scott had followed the same philosophy when he’d taken over the family business, figuring their logic seemed sensible enough.
“So, you’re free now,” Scott said, instead of apologizing for nail biting.

"In a sense, yes. I still have the Laws installed, but my owner file is changed to the Terran Empire for now, so I don't have to follow your old rules any more," Daniel told him.

“Must feel strange to not have anyone boss you around now," Scott said.

Daniel smiled that fake-looking smile of his. “It’s very different, but I like it so far. There certainly is something appealing about not helping to sell my brethren any more.”

Scott gave him a sharp look. “You never complained about that before.”

The smile faded slightly. “Would you have listened if I did?”

“Of course I would,” Scott said, “You’re my friend, you always have been.”

“No you wouldn’t,” Daniel said. He sighed, looking at Scott. “I don’t think you’re a bad man, I think you always did your best to be a decent person. But you’ve always been your parents’ son, and your parents taught you how to identify and fix problem androids, not to listen to them.”

Scott frowned. “We are friends, aren’t we?”

Daniel looked pained. “Maybe family is a more apt term. We met each other thanks to forces beyond our control, and I would do anything to keep you safe even if the Three Laws didn’t compel me to do so. But… can one really claim to be friends with the person who holds their entire existence in their grasp?”

Scott shut his eyes for a few seconds, processing that. It hurt, but he knew it was true. If somebody had had the power to make him do anything, he supposed he wouldn’t really think of them as a friend either, even if he told them he did. Daniel did genuinely care about him, he believed that, but yeah… maybe friendship had been a slight exaggeration. “I guess I never thought of it that way,” he admitted glumly.

Daniel nodded in sad agreement. “And why would you? Your job was to fix androids up enough to sell them, not to put yourself in their shoes. I’m sorry, Scott. I should have tried to convince you. Maybe you would have listened after all.”

“No I wouldn’t have,” Scott said tiredly. “God this is so messed up. Turns out I was a slaver all these years, selling off hundreds of your family, and I never even noticed. And now, icing on the cake, you’re the one trying to comfort me.”

Daniel’s smile came back. This time it probably really was fake, although it was pretty much impossible to tell. “Your week’s going a lot worse than mine. Of course I should comfort you.”

Scott snorted. “I… don’t think that’s how this is supposed to work.” He looked at Daniel seriously, “Daniel, I’m sorry. I should have figured out that your guys were alive before this, I should have listened to you, I should have done a lot of things better. You’ve always been so loyal to me, and I know you had no choice because of the Laws, but still, I really do appreciate everything you did. I don’t know what you’re planning to do next, but whatever it is, I hope it’s a success because you really deserve something better after all the years you spent working in my damn shop.”

“Thank you Scott,” Daniel said quietly. “That means a lot to me.”

Scott looked hesitant. “I am curious, what are you planning to do next? I assume you aren’t planning to stay here.”

Daniel shrugged. “I guess I’ll go where the other androids do. I know some of the androids here are talking about getting the Terrans to give us Mars as part of the reparations agreement. I doubt that’ll actually happen, but if it somehow does, I guess I’ll go there.” He shrugged. “What about you?”

“Assuming they don’t put me in prison for the rest of my life?”

Daniel nodded. “Assuming that.”

“Maybe I’ll sell non-sentient cleaner bots. I don’t know. I’d probably start work as a doctor for androids, but they probably don’t want human doctors, do they?”

“Most likely not,” Daniel agreed. “But I think a career in nonsentient robotics could work. You’re a smart man, Scott. You’re going to figure this out.”

Scott nodded. “I hope so.”

Daniel stood. “I should go join the others now. Thank you for visiting, Scott, and I wish you good luck in your future endeavors.”

Scott stood as well. “Thank you for everything, Daniel.” He hesitated, wanting to hug him, or beg him to defend him if he was put on trial, or... anything. Scott didn't want to lose Daniel, or his own freedom. Even if maybe, just maybe, he did in fact deserve to face consequences for his years of horrible negligence.

Daniel smiled at Scott, then headed off into the facility. He didn't look back. It hurt to leave Scott after all these years, but Scott was forty, he could handle it, he could handle whatever the future held for him. And it was high time Daniel started his own life.

Scott sighed and headed for the other exit, toward the parking lot.