The tunnel lights raced past the transport windows. Shadows swept across D’Anna’s shoulders as she shrugged off her coat. She held it tight, taking a long breath before turning out the inside. She brushed her thumb along the white synth-silk that stared back at her, a twisted mix of feelings rising from the pit of her stomach.

How much had she changed? Was she really any different when all it took was a change of clothes, and she’d fit right back in?

She didn’t know. She didn’t know, and it never got easier. No matter how many times, how many jobs, would take her topside again. It didn’t give her any answers. It didn’t make her feel any more certain.

She let out a sigh and pulled on her coat, tugging her hands along the hem.

But that old habit did little to soothe her nerves…

She tucked away her glasses, running a hand through her short, wavy hair. She looked up and down the packed car, leaned back in her seat, and cracked open her card case. She pulled her data card from her pocket and slotted it into the case, thumb brushing over each colored plastic circuit. She pulled out a data card that was marbled white - flowing lines of gray sprawled across the plastic - then snapped the case shut and tucked it away in her tunic.

If she was headed to the towers, she had to look the part…

Rosi tilted their head in curiosity as they sat across from D’Anna, their eyes boring into her.

How would she even begin to explain what she was doing?

“We can head up to the towers at the next station,” she said, meeting their gaze.

They glanced at her coat, circuits firing away in their core as they spoke, “I admit, I’ve never been outside the towers. Today has been… Curious.”

She smiled a little at that, but only a little, “It’s always strange your first time. But you get used to it, being down here in the sprawl.”

“You seem tense.”

“I…” D’Anna trailed off, clenching her hands into fists in her lap. “I haven’t been in the towers for some time. It always feels… It’s strange going back there.”

It was the easy answer, but it didn’t explain her coat, her glasses, her cards… But she didn’t have a better one. Not one that she wanted to give.

D’Anna’s mind wandered and her eyes wandered too. She looked up and down the car, looking at anything but Rosi’s questioning gaze. She glanced at the sliding door, peering through the window into the neighboring car. A shock of white caught her eye and sent a chill down her spine.

Security was on the transport. No, not just security…

She leaned back in her seat, willing herself to relax as she pulled out her notebook. With stylus in hand, she bowed her head and held her breath-

The car door slid open with a dull click, and a pale hand braced against the frame as the transport took a turn through the tunnels. Pursuit officer Hope stepped with precision into the moving car, the synth-silk of her overcoat standing out against the clean gray of her jumpsuit. Eyes like a shark gleamed in the tunnel lights as they raced past, only a thin band of circuitry running along the edges of those dark lenses. She was pale as a ghost as she walked down the aisle. Her eyes shifted silently as she looked about, the tunnel dimming as she approached D’Anna’s seat.

It had been a long shift…

The chatter from the cars around formed a distracting din that she had neither the time - nor the energy - to sift through. With a thought - a simple shift of the implants in her hand - the chattered faded into silence, leaving only the low rumble of the cars. She focused on that sound, circuits isolating and amplifying until the rumble became something more. The hum of the wheels, the barely-there hiss of the hydraulics, the beat of every seam in the concrete as the transport rolled past. 

It was simple, predictable, rhythmic, and after such a long day it soothed her.

She grabbed the rail overhead as she paused in front of D’Anna’s seat, hard, gray fingers clicking against the metal. Her other hand went to her ear, thumb tapping the transmitter just behind it. Her eyes flickered as she connected to the security network.

“Central,” she called in, sector security’s icon hovering like a ghost in the corner of her vision. “Checking in, how long till my next shift?”

Another voice spoke loud and clear through the implants in her head, “Hello again, officer Hope. You’ve got fourteen hours till you’re on call again.”

Good, plenty of time to wind down after that last chase.

“Thanks. Signing off for the day,” Hope sighed, rubbing her eyes.

The icon flickered and vanished as she shook her head, rolling her tired shoulders. And then she paused, frowning at the familiar face only a few feet away. She shifted her grip on the safety rail as she loomed over D’Anna, grabbing her shoulder in a vice-like grip.

“Miss D’Anna,” Hope said, the young android staring back at her, frozen. “Now, why are you headed up to the towers sector?”

-but it wasn’t enough.

A hand like a vice closed around her, and D’Anna froze. Her shoulder ached, and for a moment she could hear the sound of bone breaking all over again. She could feel the pain of her shoulder shattering, crushed between concrete and that unforgiving hand… The polymer joint flexed beneath Hope’s fingers, softer but sturdier than bone. All she could was stare up into those eyes, the eyes of a predator.

She couldn’t breathe. She tried to find something to say, anything that would make her let go. But nothing came. She… She had to say something…

“Why… Why do you think that?” D’Anna asked, trying and failing to keep her voice steady.

“Because-” she said, giving her shoulder a squeeze. “-there’s a tower station next stop. And I know you, miss D’Anna. You always have something going on. So, what is it this time?”

“I-I…”

“Excuse me, officer,” Rosi interrupted. “Miss D’Anna is returning me to my owners.”

Hope frowned as she turned to regard Rosi, studying them.

“Is that so?”

“Y-Yes,” D’Anna said, thankful for the opening. “I’m bringing him back from being repaired.”

“I see…” Hope hummed, frowning in thought. With a sigh, she slowly let go, “You’re lucky I’m off duty. Another time, miss D’Anna. Another time…”

The door to the next car slid shut behind Officer Hope as she departed.

And it was like all the air came rushing back.

D'Anna sagged in her seat as the tension bled out of her aching shoulder.

Too close. Way too close…

Rosi’s eyes flickered and zoomed back out as they lost sight of Officer Hope, turning instead to D’Anna as they spoke, “And who - exactly - was that?”

“Pursuit officer,” D’Anna sighed, her voice shaking as she pinched the bridge of her nose. “She’s an android hunter…”

She gripped her coat tight at the memory. 

She’d never told Himari what happened. She couldn’t. If Himari knew, she’d have… D'Anna didn’t want to get her in trouble.

Her shoulder ached and shook her from the thought. She gently rolled the polymer joint, soothing aching muscles and nerves with her other hand.

Rosi stared at her as the transport started to slow, their voice gentle, “Dangerous, then?”

“Only if she’s chasing you,” D’Anna offered a weak smile as she tucked her notebook away again.

If there was only one constant about New Concord, the chaos of the stations was it. From the moment the doors of the transports slid open, it was like a tide of conversation and motion came crashing through. The stations themselves were man-made canyons of metal, glass, and polished tile, spreading outward from the narrow platforms between the tunnels. 

People flooded out onto the platform, talking about their lives, running to work, and heading home after a long day. It was overwhelming as D’Anna and Rosi waded through the crowd.

It was days like this - all the noise and the crush of people - that made her miss the Towers–

D’Anna shook the thought from her head, scanning over the crowd as Rosi walked alongside her. The tide of people slowly scattered

The tide of people scattered the farther up the station they went. D’Anna looked up, the towers’ supports rising over their heads - industrial metal hidden behind polished tile.

Rosi’s eyes zoomed out as they took in the sight, “I… I never knew it was so high up.”

She gave a tired nod as she took their hand, keeping them on track, “I know. Now, we just need to get you back there.”

The entry to the tower station was a wall of polished stone and metal, a pair of security doors, and a desk the only breaks in its surface. A handful of officers manned the desk, one of them looking up as D’Anna and Rosi approached. She took a deep breath… And she walked like she had every right to be there, hands relaxed at her sides. A young officer at the desk looked her up and down, their eyes lingering on golden metal and white silk.

She was just another android coming to work. Nothing to see.

“Two boarding passes please,” D’Anna asked with a polite smile, leaning on the counter.

“Business?” the officer asked, meeting her gaze.

“Bringing a mech back from the repair shop, sir,” she said, nodding towards Rosi.

They broke into a smile with a soft chuckle, “Well, that’s pretty sentimental.”

“Not my place to ask.”

“Alright then, card or palm?” they asked, a contact plate flicking out of the counter’s surface.

“Card,” D’Anna set the data card on the plate with a flick of the wrist, the officer pausing at the pattern.

“Fancy card… Heh, you must be high end,” the officer said as they watched their terminal screen. “Let’s see… Identity code AT-S-039, android tower staff.”

They nodded their head as they tapped a few keys, uploading the passes onto her card.

“You’re clear to board,” they said with a nod to the door. “Go on.”

D’Anna bowed as she tucked everything away, “Thank you, sir.”

She waved for Rosi to follow her as the security door opened.

If they hurried, they should still be on for the next transport.

She took Rosi’s hand in hers as they made it through the transport doors. The whole care shifted beneath them as it began to rise along its guide rails. D’Anna shook the tension out of her shoulders as she went to sit down.

They’d be up in the towers soon enough…

Rosi held her back, their eyes focused on the tension in her face. They rolled through their thoughts before they slowly let go.

“You’re not welcome here,” Rosi stated as D’Anna sat down across from where they stood.

The tower transports were less cramped than those in the sprawl. There weren’t many people around to hear them.

“I was,” D’Anna sighed as she leaned on one knee.

If Rosi could, they’d be frowning as they stepped closer, gripping the rail over D’Anna’s head. She watched as they turned their thoughts over and over again, the lights of their eyes flickering.

They bowed their head, voice low though they wouldn’t have been heard, “...will you be alright?”

“Plenty of androids up there that look like me, Rosi,” D’Anna said with a small, if bitter, smile. “I’ll be fine.”