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Description
XR looked at Renee and chuckled. She was wearing a sad-looking oversized pink shirt. She wasn’t eating because the LGMs had told her not to eat or drink anything after midnight because the implants were set for nine o’ clock sharp. She was stuck wearing the huge shirt because it was the most comfortable thing she had. Apparently relaxing was a big important part of pre-op time. “Oh, shut up will you?” She glared at him good naturedly.
“But there’s so much to tease right there!” The bot motioned at her loose shirt and pajama pants.
“Please, because everyone wants to see me look like a mess.” She snapped. Renee snatched his hand right off his wrist. They should really fix that, she thought.
“Oh, I will.” XR threatened playfully. He took the hand back. “I will.” After reattaching his hand the bot prepared a camera.
“So, what are the implants for?” Booster looked up. He had a bit of sympathy in his eyes, like it was some kind of quadruple bypass. The girl rolled her eyes.
“It’s just an attachment to keep my eye from shorting out again. Dad’s going to replace the whole thing.” She smiled at Booster. He relaxed slightly.
“What time do you have to go in?” Buzz asked. He might be able to change the lock for the criminal records room if he had enough time.
“I’m not sure how long it’ll take. I guess I’ll be out whenever.” She looked at the table worriedly. Hopefully it wouldn’t take all day. She had to get around to asking XL soon or she might miss it. Renee wasn’t going to do it now, though, because she wanted to look nice. If she wasn’t too sore after the surgery she would put on her best clothes without wearing a dress and ask him.
~~~
'Thank God for Star Command.' Alan smiled at the replacement eye he had ordered for Renee. Star Command had the authority to order something on-demand, and it was great for getting something in fast when you needed it. For example, he had ordered only the machinery part of the eye, which might have taken three weeks to arrive. The Zephyrite had the original cover and operating chip in front of him and he was cleaning up all the parts, removing the oil they had added so it wouldn’t rust in during shipping. Renee was in the operating room right now getting hooked up with that nerve monitor. He shivered nervously. He may have been very familiar with machines, but he didn’t trust them.
Not that he didn’t like machines; he was glad that Renee had taken such a shine to XL, it just worried him. They seemed to be getting closer and closer to his daughter, and she was getting closer to them. It infuriated him that that energy vampire had threatened her life after she had saved his own, and considered that plenty reason enough to not trust robots. He even considered that XL had worked for it at one time… he hissed under his breath. Robots had done his life an injustice.
First there had been, back in his academy days, the day he and Ty had gone to test the first experimental ranger for extra credit. Needless to say it didn’t turn out well. Both men had lasting scars, especially Alan whose arm had been broken. The bot had even bitten him on the knee and caught his tail with a flame thrower. After that, when Renee was young, XR had hurled her out a window. He didn’t really hold it against the ranger, but he wasn’t happy. Then it all kind of came at once- the threats, finding out about Ty’s condition, on and on, you know the rest.
He tried to cover up the anger and gripped the cover of the bionic part tightly. He ran his fingers over the edge of the cover, thinking. All he had to do was assemble the rest of the eye so it could be inserted into the already fitted casing. He would let it go- for now. XR was free from the blame, XL to. It was only the things left that burned him. He ran his fingers across the science bay desk in a steady thrum, beating at the table to kill his anger so he could get back to work. Finally his anger sifted away in little pieces and he moved on to rubbing the other side of the frame in lighter thought. His claw slipped into a small indention.
That wrecked his train of thought- something was there that wasn’t supposed to be. He looked down at the eye and held it close to his face, looking for the indention again. Finally he found it- a small and smudged up letter. Renee touched this place often it appeared. He rubbed off the spot with a rag and looked at it closely, making out a small but carefully carved N. He flicked to the description of the product. Here was the section about the lense-
Virtually unbreakable, protective for the glass cover and internal machinery, and unmarked by the company the terrilium rim is stained gold to give off a glow pleasing to the eyes.
And there it was- ‘unmarked by the company’. In context and everything. Whatever this N was, it wasn’t supposed to be there. Even if the cover was marked the bionic part was made by CompuKlerm. Something was definitely wrong here. Alan was struck with suspicion again. He grabbed the office phone.
Buzz answered after almost three rings. “Lightyear here.” The man said calmly. He was in his dorm, the same dorm he had had for the last twenty years. That was the only reason his old academy friend knew the number.
“Buzz, I’ve got a question.” Alan kept examining the eye, hoping for the world it meant nothing.
“Shoot.”
“What was the name of that robot Renee repaired again? It escapes me.” He leaned on the table, leeched of emotion.
There was silence on the other end for a second. “Nos-4-a2.” He said reluctantly. “Why?”
“Just a second Buzz.” Alan took out a notepad. “How is that spelled?”
“Alan, seriously, why are you asking this? Did Renee say something?” He sounded a little apprehensive. The girl may have been found innocent but the way XR insisted was enough to keep her under suspicion.
“No Buzz, she didn’t say anything. That’s exactly the problem.” He looked back at the eye hatefully. “She didn’t say anything at all.”
“Do I need to come down there?” Buzz asked. His voice had gotten cold.
“Yes, you should come down here. And bring XR and XL with you to, please. I think this concerns them as well.” Alan’s voice was a monotone now. His face said exactly the same thing- nothing. His mind, however, was in storm of turmoil.

Description
XR looked at Renee and chuckled. She was wearing a sad-looking oversized pink shirt. She wasn’t eating because the LGMs had told her not to eat or drink anything after midnight because the implants were set for nine o’ clock sharp. She was stuck wearing the huge shirt because it was the most comfortable thing she had. Apparently relaxing was a big important part of pre-op time. “Oh, shut up will you?” She glared at him good naturedly.
“But there’s so much to tease right there!” The bot motioned at her loose shirt and pajama pants.
“Please, because everyone wants to see me look like a mess.” She snapped. Renee snatched his hand right off his wrist. They should really fix that, she thought.
“Oh, I will.” XR threatened playfully. He took the hand back. “I will.” After reattaching his hand the bot prepared a camera.
“So, what are the implants for?” Booster looked up. He had a bit of sympathy in his eyes, like it was some kind of quadruple bypass. The girl rolled her eyes.
“It’s just an attachment to keep my eye from shorting out again. Dad’s going to replace the whole thing.” She smiled at Booster. He relaxed slightly.
“What time do you have to go in?” Buzz asked. He might be able to change the lock for the criminal records room if he had enough time.
“I’m not sure how long it’ll take. I guess I’ll be out whenever.” She looked at the table worriedly. Hopefully it wouldn’t take all day. She had to get around to asking XL soon or she might miss it. Renee wasn’t going to do it now, though, because she wanted to look nice. If she wasn’t too sore after the surgery she would put on her best clothes without wearing a dress and ask him.
~~~
'Thank God for Star Command.' Alan smiled at the replacement eye he had ordered for Renee. Star Command had the authority to order something on-demand, and it was great for getting something in fast when you needed it. For example, he had ordered only the machinery part of the eye, which might have taken three weeks to arrive. The Zephyrite had the original cover and operating chip in front of him and he was cleaning up all the parts, removing the oil they had added so it wouldn’t rust in during shipping. Renee was in the operating room right now getting hooked up with that nerve monitor. He shivered nervously. He may have been very familiar with machines, but he didn’t trust them.
Not that he didn’t like machines; he was glad that Renee had taken such a shine to XL, it just worried him. They seemed to be getting closer and closer to his daughter, and she was getting closer to them. It infuriated him that that energy vampire had threatened her life after she had saved his own, and considered that plenty reason enough to not trust robots. He even considered that XL had worked for it at one time… he hissed under his breath. Robots had done his life an injustice.
First there had been, back in his academy days, the day he and Ty had gone to test the first experimental ranger for extra credit. Needless to say it didn’t turn out well. Both men had lasting scars, especially Alan whose arm had been broken. The bot had even bitten him on the knee and caught his tail with a flame thrower. After that, when Renee was young, XR had hurled her out a window. He didn’t really hold it against the ranger, but he wasn’t happy. Then it all kind of came at once- the threats, finding out about Ty’s condition, on and on, you know the rest.
He tried to cover up the anger and gripped the cover of the bionic part tightly. He ran his fingers over the edge of the cover, thinking. All he had to do was assemble the rest of the eye so it could be inserted into the already fitted casing. He would let it go- for now. XR was free from the blame, XL to. It was only the things left that burned him. He ran his fingers across the science bay desk in a steady thrum, beating at the table to kill his anger so he could get back to work. Finally his anger sifted away in little pieces and he moved on to rubbing the other side of the frame in lighter thought. His claw slipped into a small indention.
That wrecked his train of thought- something was there that wasn’t supposed to be. He looked down at the eye and held it close to his face, looking for the indention again. Finally he found it- a small and smudged up letter. Renee touched this place often it appeared. He rubbed off the spot with a rag and looked at it closely, making out a small but carefully carved N. He flicked to the description of the product. Here was the section about the lense-
Virtually unbreakable, protective for the glass cover and internal machinery, and unmarked by the company the terrilium rim is stained gold to give off a glow pleasing to the eyes.
And there it was- ‘unmarked by the company’. In context and everything. Whatever this N was, it wasn’t supposed to be there. Even if the cover was marked the bionic part was made by CompuKlerm. Something was definitely wrong here. Alan was struck with suspicion again. He grabbed the office phone.
Buzz answered after almost three rings. “Lightyear here.” The man said calmly. He was in his dorm, the same dorm he had had for the last twenty years. That was the only reason his old academy friend knew the number.
“Buzz, I’ve got a question.” Alan kept examining the eye, hoping for the world it meant nothing.
“Shoot.”
“What was the name of that robot Renee repaired again? It escapes me.” He leaned on the table, leeched of emotion.
There was silence on the other end for a second. “Nos-4-a2.” He said reluctantly. “Why?”
“Just a second Buzz.” Alan took out a notepad. “How is that spelled?”
“Alan, seriously, why are you asking this? Did Renee say something?” He sounded a little apprehensive. The girl may have been found innocent but the way XR insisted was enough to keep her under suspicion.
“No Buzz, she didn’t say anything. That’s exactly the problem.” He looked back at the eye hatefully. “She didn’t say anything at all.”
“Do I need to come down there?” Buzz asked. His voice had gotten cold.
“Yes, you should come down here. And bring XR and XL with you to, please. I think this concerns them as well.” Alan’s voice was a monotone now. His face said exactly the same thing- nothing. His mind, however, was in storm of turmoil.