Regardless of whether Ryobi had fallen asleep or fallen unconscious in the vent shaft he was hidden in, the ether of darkness behind his closed eyelids was interrupted by a slow, methodical beeping, coming from somewhere beyond the metallic confines of his hiding place. Whenever his instinct urged him to open his eyes, he would see light from the hallway filtering in between the slits of the panel that covered the entrance of the vent. Not really sure what lay outside of the vent, he might try to strain his ears or squint for better sight on what - or who - might be lurking in wait for him. That didn't help much.

Neither did the throbbing on the right side of his head. It was coming back to him now; after catching sight of prisoners gunning towards his cart, he had booked it towards the first place that popped into his head. Namely, the vent shaft he was currently inside. In his hurry, however, he'd conked his head against the edge of the entryway, and while he wasn't bleeding, he sure as hell could feel a bump forming.

Things had gotten a lot quieter from how Ryobi had left them, but there was still the matter of the beeping. It was constant, and creeping closer. If Ryobi listened harder, he could hear that it was accompanied by the sound of light footsteps. Eventually it all stopped, though whoever it was still kept out of the officer's line of vision.

There was silence for a few minutes, and then: "I know you're in there, Officer Ito."

The voice was a mere whisper, although it was unmistakably feminine. Suddenly a face appeared from the right-hand side of the entrance, broken into lines by the slits. "It's me, sir. It's Kitt."

And indeed it was Kitt, the receptionist of sorts, in charge of keeping track of all personnel in the Prison Bay of Omega. She was the one who punched Ryobi in and out each day by use of a DNA scanner programmed through her eyes. She also functioned as a sort of break from the 'tough-guy' machismo that seemed to radiate throughout Prison Bay, as her voice and general demeanor were akin to that of an optimistic girl-next-door type. It was probably the Captain's attempt of putting the officers in a more comfortable mood to start a ten-hour patrol.

In any case, here she was, eagerly - can robots be eager? -staring at him through the lines of the panel. "Why are you in there, sir?"

There Sayako stood, her eyes smiling, dressed in a beautiful sea-green dress that slung over one shoulder and draped down to her knees. A flower of some sort, looked like a lily, adorned her hair, drawing attention to her eyes. “How do I look, Ryobi?” she asked with a giggle. Ryobi’s only response was a nervous chuckle. What could he say? This woman had stunned him into silence yet again.

Beep.

She took him by the arm, leading him towards the black limo. “I’m so glad you asked me to prom. I wasn’t sure if I was going to have to do the asking.” This woman... girl? Sayako was everything he ever wanted. “I even rented a hotel room for us,” she added with a wink.

Beep.

The limo doors opened, and Ryobi and Sayako stepped out of the vehicle into the entryway of the prison. The smell of burning plastic filled the air, and everyone was running crazily everywhere. “What’s going on?!” Ryobi shouted before seeing an inmate rushing towards him. The inmate grabbed Sayako’s arm, tugging, pulling, making her scream. “No! Sayako!!”

Beep!

Ryobi opened his eyes to see metal walls surrounding him, more of a prison than the one he normally guarded. The beeping noise from his dream turned out to be a reality, and despite his body wanting to get ready for a fight, he forced himself to remain still. Vent shafts were not the quietest structures to move around in, and Ryobi didn’t want to alert whatever was out there to his presence. Without moving his head, Ryobi looked around the area to see what was in his visual range. Light... so some of the power is back up. What time is it?

The view between the slats of the ventilation cover was not great. He could see the floor, but that’s about it. It was the only safe place to sleep, however... well, relatively safe. Being out in the halls was out of the question, and he certainly wasn’t going to try to sleep inside the prison. Here, he could get out, and as long as he avoided the long drops, there was minimal danger.

And then the footsteps approached. Was it one or two sets? It sounded like one pair, but you could never be too careful. That beeping sounded familiar, something from way back. Was it a scanner? Shit, were they looking for him?! Ryobi tensed, readying himself to spring into action if something came through the vent. Not much he could do if they had a gun, but he wasn’t going to go down without a fight. And then she spoke.

Kitt, thank God... he had never been so relieved to hear Kitt’s voice. She obviously knew it was him, so any option of stealth he had was out the airlock. He moved for the first time, stretching out his aching joints and trying to ignore the pounding headache. “Kitt... aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” he muttered as her face popped into view. Keeping his voice low so as to not echo through the shaft too much, he added, “Are you alone? Do you understand what has happened?” Ryobi was never sure exactly how sentient the AI was that powered the robots. She was smart enough to know if they were early or late, but that was fairly easy to program. Facial recognition and DNA matching was also simple enough. But would she know about a prison riot and what it really meant? Either way, it was unlikely she was working to let the prisoners escape. It theoretically should be against her programming. An ally... for now. Ryobi would take what he could get.

A sight for sore eyes? Were his eyes sore? Did she need to get in contact with the Med Bay? A million and one causes for sore eyes flashed through Kitt's computerized 'mind' and as she was about to ask if he'd like her to call a med-bot for assistance, he spoke again.

"Yes, I am alone," she answered, adjusting her body outside of the vent and tilting her head now in the other direction. The second question was a strange one; did she understand what has happened? Yes, and no. Not fully, since facts were facts and Kitt, in fact, did not have all the facts. What she understood was that something was different about today, and that none of it was according to plan. Judging by the reaction of the other officers', and now Officer Ito's, reaction, it was not according to plan, at all. One of the rampaging prisoners - 0941 - had pushed her down roughly and caused her a temporary blackout, so she didn't see everything that had happened. But when she returned online, it was not a very nice sight.

"I'm not entirely sure how to answer that, sir. The prisoners have all escaped from Prison Bay. I do not know how it happened, or where they went off to - I was offline until Miro jolted me. And then I saw all of the bodies... The others are collecting them now." Ryobi would understand that when she said 'others', she meant the other robots that worked alongside them in the bay. She paused, perhaps out of respect. "I was sent out to see if I could find any survivors in the area. And I have found you, Officer Ito. My instructions are to take you back to the Captain's office."

She paused again, bulbous black camera eyes still staring at him through the slits. "Will you come with me to the Captin's office, sir?"

Kitt had mentioned bodies. From the sound of it, there were several bodies to worry about. Ryobi sighed heavily. How many friends had he lost already? Worse, how many of his friends were now enemies? The information that the robot provided was of little more use than confirming Ryobi’s fears. Worse, he was to go to the Captain’s office.

The request seemed simple enough. To the bot, it was entirely innocuous; but to Ryobi, it represented several choices, any of which could end up with him dead. If Captain Burchill had sent Kitt, that meant he was either attempting to find who he had left, or was trying to locate those who were fighting against the prisoners. He could be behind the attack himself, or he could be another unwitting victim. If the Captain was responsible, then going to the office was a death sentence. If Ryobi did not go to the office, Kitt would relay that information as well, giving away his location. Assuming the worst case could help Ryobi stay alive, but it could also turn him as ruthless as the criminals he wished to return to their cells.

It was a classic case of damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Before Ryobi could make any decision, he definitely needed more information. He began to slowly move towards Kitt, explaining himself in a way that he hoped the robot’s programming could handle. “There was a prison riot, Kitt. The prisoners all escaped, but worse, they must have had help. There is no way that a breach like this could happen without someone pulling some strings. That person would need to be someone with clearance at least as high as I have, understand? It is possible that anyone above my position could have done this as well. So before I come with you, I have to ask a few questions to make sure it’s safe. First, did the Captain send you? And second, ignoring the part of your programming that tells you to do what your superiors ask, are you absolutely 100% certain that the Captain had nothing to do with the break?”

He was at the grate near Kitt now, but kept the closed bars between him and the bot for the time being. For all he knew, the robot was given orders to kill him when he got close. Of course, the Kitt he knew wouldn’t hurt a fly, but things were different now. A little healthy paranoia never hurt anyone, right?

The officer began moving towards her and Kitt readied herself to help him in whatever way he needed. But he was talking, as well, and talking nonsense, at that. Calculations of situations and a recall of facts that she knew all computed and solved and refreshed themselves in her brain. 'Riot', 'pulling strings'... Was Officer Ito implying that this whole mess was started on purpose? How would that even be possible? The entire point of this station was to prevent something like this, and being someone who's worked for as long as Ito has here, shouldn't he know this? His questions didn't make sense, at all! Who would want such a bad day like today? Was he trying to confuse her? If so, that wouldn't be very nice of him. And here she was, just trying to do her job and get him to their designated location.

Furthermore, asking her to ignore her programming?!

If robots could look mildly offended, Kitt's face would be just that.

But she tried to answer nonetheless, watching him as he paused just behind the bars that separated them. In truth, she wasn't sure what he meant by that second question; was he implying that the Captain would want to cause the ship harm? Captain Burchill was one of the people who was most kind to her! How could he be behind all of this silly chaos?

"Yes, Captain Burchill sent me. He asked me to find any survivors and bring them to safety in the office. He is there, along with Officer Benton and a med-bot. They are injured, but alright."

"I do not understand your second question, sir. Captain Burchill is simply trying to get you to safety - why would he want to trigger the riots?" She knew he had a mild bump on his head from an earlier injury, and tried to use that as an explanation for his strange talk. "You may have hit your head a little too hard, Officer Ito. Would you like me to contact a med-bot for you, as well?"

Evidently, Ryobi’s questions were a bit too much for Kitt, but for now, she seemed to be functioning relatively normally for a bot in chaos. “Step back a bit please,” Ryobi requested, placing a boot on the grate. He pushed it forward once Kitt was clear, sending it clattering on the floor. Once he pulled himself out of the vent, Ryobi looked down at the robot and, without so much as a warning, wrapped her in a giant hug. “This place goes to shit, and you're still sunshine and rainbows, Kitt,” Ryobi muttered, holding her in a bear hug. “Never change.”

He let go of the bot and stepped back from her. “Let’s hold off on calling in the cavalry just yet. I'm still piecing together what happened. I know someone had to have helped the prisoners escape. Why? Who knows. Maybe they were threatened. Maybe promised a ton of money or a job away from this floating pinwheel in space. Or maybe someone just snapped.” Ryobi gave a shrug. He was operating on assumptions at this point, and that was rarely good when working with robots. “What about you? Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary about the Captain, or maybe Benton? They've always seemed alright to me, but everything's different now.”

Ryobi glanced around the hallway fervently as he talked. Shelter would be appreciated, but danger could be around every corner. He kept his eyes peeled for anything that looked at all useful while he attempted to speak in a more calming voice than before. He still had little intention of meeting the captain yet, but Kitt had information. Right now, Ryobi would give his arm for some concrete info. And maybe a pistol.

Kitt obliged and took a few steps backward, blinking as Ryobi sent the grate clattering to the floor with his boot. The human pulled himself out of the vent shaft and suddenly wrapped her up into his arms. Unsure of what to do - as she'd never been shown much physical contact outside of the occasional high-five or pat on the shoulder - the bot simply stood there, white metal lids opening and closing over her camera eyes in confusion. She searched her database for a response and could not find one for this level of affection, so she settled for being polite. "Thank you, sir. I will try."

He finally released her, and she looked down at herself to see if he had made any sort of imprint on her with his gesture. When she found none, she looked back up at him, and shook her head in response. He seemed to have many ideas as to what had happened and more importantly (or so it seemed), why it had happened. Kitt, on the other hand, had no assumptions other than what could be worked out by probability - and that was not her area of expertise. She dealt with her facts and her observations; anything beyond that was left to her superior bots, like Ris. Ris was one of the models programmed to function as the sidekick to the officers of the bay, and Kitt knew Officer Ito had worked with her previously because she was usually assigned to his shifts.

"The Captain is as optimistic as ever," she stated, rewinding her previous encounter with him during which he had instructed her on this search. "He would like to gather whatever officers were left in Prison Bay to one spot in order to regroup and formulate a plan to secure the civilians in Home Bay. Nothing too sinister about him from observation, sir. Officer Benton is... a upset. He was really quite loud when I left him. Shouting about wanting to - uh - do terrible things to the escaped prisoners." Kitt shrugged her shoulders and attempted a joke, like some of the officers try to teach her. "The usual of him."

"They mentioned something about trying to get a hold of you, sir, and Officer Pryce when I left them. Perhaps they've been able to contact her since then."

Thinking the conversation over, Kitt turned and began making her way in the direction of Captain Burchill's office, which was still four sectors away. "I should warn you, sir... The cleaning bots are still working to clear the other sectors. There might be still be some bodies ahead... I have learned it is best to avert your eyes," she added, thinking herself clever for being helpful. When she registered that Officer Ito was not following, she stopped and turned back, waiting for him patiently as was her typical demeanor. Perhaps he wanted to know who she'd already seen on her way there? She waited for him to ask.

Home Bay... bodies... Pryce...

This wasn't how it was supposed to be. Sure, working on a maximum security space station wasn't the most glamorous of jobs, but the pay was good and there was enough going on with the space station to keep the families happy. And they were happy, at least as happy as any family could be. No one signed up for a full-stage prison break. Sure, everyone knew it was possible, but the likelihoods were a million to one.

Ryobi briefly considered whether he should have played the lottery more often.

He had met dozens of people during his time on Omega. Some had become great friends; some had left years earlier. Janetta Pryce was one of those people who just happened to click with Ryobi, possibly too much. The warden and he had spent some long nights working together, and some of those nights might have progressed towards things that went outside of the boundaries of "work." He had never told Sayako, but he was sure she had her suspicions. Not that there was much to do about it now. What was in the past had happened, and Ryobi couldn't fix that one time no matter how much he apologized. Or the second time... or third time.

But upon hearing Pryce's name referenced in the same manner as his own, he figured there was little choice he had. "Kitt, let's help out the Captain by finding Janetta. She's probably near her office," he suggested after a moment of silence. Ryobi turned the opposite direction from Kitt and began walking slowly to allow her to catch up. The comment about averting one's eyes particularly gave him pause. "How many have you passed? Officers, I mean." At the same time, Ryobi silently vowed to not avert his gaze. If he stopped feeling, they had already won. Even if it hurt, even if it slowed him down, that feeling showed Ryobi he was still alive. He needed that.

Kitt only briefly noted the short silence she and Ryobi stood in for a few moments before he gave her his answer. She in turn gave a nod or two of her head as she changed directions and followed behind him instead. This wasn't exactly what she had been ordered to do, but the task was similar enough; and she figured the Captain couldn't be terribly angry with her if she came back with two of his Officers in tow.

At his inquiry, Kitt gave a sad sigh, or what sounded like one. She brought her hands up to her chest and sort of fiddled with them, uncomfortable as much as a robot could be. "Well, sir... I've seen a few of them on the way here from the Captain's office. Officers Karsh, Windham, and Hedrych all did not make it... And Officers Gris and Davis, they were in really bad shape when I left them. I'm sure they've been taken to the med bay already," she added confidently. "Dr. Widmher and some of the orderly bots have secured their offices, so they're safe there for now. I just hope the doctor will be able to treat them in time..."

She wasn't sure what lay ahead for her and Officer Ito; after all, they were in the sector holding the prisoners' cells. It was a short walk to the warden's office, but who knew what could still be lurking around? She had turned her scanners back on, but she would be helpless against an attack. And so would the Officer, unless he could find something to use as a weapon.

---

"How did that feel, huh?"

Hot breath, unpleasant and unwelcome, against her ear. Thick, steel cuffs cutting into her wrists, binding her arms behind her back to the armrest of her desk chair. There was something else hot, and wet, dripping down her face from her temple; what she could only assume was blood from an open wound from an earlier blow to the head. It had made everything fuzzy, a blurry filter covering her eyes as she tried to gather herself coherent. Weakly, she tried tugging against the cuffs, and through her strands of long brunette hair, her eyes lazily wandered around her for some idea of escape.

Janetta Pryce was being held hostage in her own office . How fucking shameful.

Suddenly a strong hand grabbed her chin and forced her to look up at her assailant, who was now shouting for her attention. "Look at me, dammit!" Timothy Ginhearst grabbed her by the throat and squeezed, pushing his face close enough to hers that he could smell her hair. "Let me see those pretty brown eyes! Come on, Pryce! Why don't you want to play with me now?" His angry spittle flew into her face, and she strained away from him even though there was no where for her to go.

He finally let go of her throat, and as she drew in a big gasp of air, Ginhearst plunged forward and crashed his lips against hers. Disgusted and absolutely enraged, Jan gathered whatever strength and consciousness she had, used it to maneuver his lower lip between her teeth, and bite down, hard. Ginhearst let out a a loud yelp and lifted a paw of a hand to her face, pushing her away and into the metal back of the chair. Once again, everything had gone blurry, and this time there was a hint of black around the edges of her vision.

"You bitch!" Holding his lower lip in one hand, Ginhearst growled and pushed the warden's face more firmly against the back of the chair while he reached down and began to work the fixture of her bottoms. In her half-awake state, she tried to wiggle free from underneath him, but they both knew it was useless. "Silly, silly girl... Don't be trouble for me now... I've been savin' up for you, Warden Pryce. We go back a long ways, don't we?"

Start Recording.

So... according to my phone, it's been about ten hours since the breakout. Oh, Ryobi here. Found a friend. Say hello, Kitt.

...Hello?

Thanks, Kitt. She found me, wants me to go to the Captain. I've got some other plans right now. As far as I know, we've lost a lot of the guys on duty during the breakout: Karsh, Windham, Hedrych... maybe Gris and Davis if they don't pull through. The Captain and Doc are ok, as well as Benton. Shoulda known that sonofabitch would make it when Karsh died. No word yet on Warden Pryce, but I'm looking.

Those shits were smart. Cut most of the communication, so this phone is good for nothing but these messages and a flashlight. Gonna keep this off most of the time to save battery. At... uh, I dunno, two-thirds or three-quarters left. I've got nothing else useful on me. Gotta find some way to defend myself. Otherwise, Kitt and I are toast if we meet someone.

Cap wants us to meet up back at the office. I'm having a hard time trusting anyone, but Kitt says they're legit. That's all fine and good coming from Kitt, but I'll have a hard time believing it until I see it for myself. No offense Kitt, but your models weren't exactly built with empathy in mind.

None taken, sir.

Would be nice to get to medbay. This cut is pretty nasty, but by the sounds of Gris and Davis's condition, I made it out easy. Just a bit of a headache when I move too fast.

Anyways, should get to Jan's office in about ten minutes. Cutting this to save battery. Found the button to hit so I don't sound like a dumbass at the end of these. ...Says it's still going. Shit. Oh, here we g--

~ = + = ~

Ryobi shut his phone down and put it back in his pocket. Hiding in the prison's cells might have been a stroke of genius, but it came with a cost. There was little in the way of weaponry on this side of the bars, but he knew shivs were made and hidden all the time. Problem is, the prisoners needed to be crafty with their hiding spots, and they might have taken most of their makeshift knives with them. On the plus side, he knew most of the prisoners and which ones didn't care about solitary or longer sentences. Hell, most were serving life anyways.

Were being the key word. Now they were loose. Ryobi turned the corner to one of his least favorite cellblocks. This is where they put inmates with last names starting with G-L. One of the first cells was Gardea's. Ryobi shuddered as he sifted through the items left behind. The woman was a packrat, or perhaps a kleptomaniac seeing that she was in for larceny. She had several dozen lighters scattered through her room, but no cigarettes. And of course, she kept a knife tucked away under her spare orange jumpers, tucked into the prison-issue underwear.

Ryobi's mind briefly drifted back to one of his first encounters with her. She had refused to get out of the showers in an attempt to show dominance in a subservient world. Ryobi was forced to carry her naked body all the way back to her cell. Not that she struggled... in fact, quite the opposite. She draped her arms around Ryobi's neck, coyly showing off her privates at intervals. Sure, she was something to look at, but Ryobi wasn't interested, not even after she pulled his neck down to lock lips together. Ryobi had pulled away, of course, but he had requested someone else deal with her in the showers when possible.

Ryobi stood up and waved the fruits of his searching to Kitt. "Got one," he said, exiting the cell. "That was easier than expected. I'll keep an eye out for something you can use too."

Kitt followed Ryobi into the cell blocks, turning her head to look behind them every so often in case she had missed something from her scanners. While her post was in the reception area of Prison Bay, and she had come into contact with plenty of the inmates prior, she had never step foot into the cell blocks. It was off-putting, to say the least, to be wandering around the criminals' nests, so close to the spaces they've become so intimate with in the years of their imprisonment. Still, she was curious, and in Officer Ito's company, was brave enough to take just a few steps closer and peer into the currently opened cells while he looked for whatever it was he was looking for.

Ryobi stepped into Prisoner Gardea's cell and began searching - probably for stolen goods. Kitt new from a quick once-over of the female inmate's files that she was profiled as a kleptomaniac, and would probably have something of use for him. And alas, he found it; a knife, hidden underneath Gardea's pillow. He waved it up at her, and Kitt frowned with slight worry. Not that she questioned the Officers and their abilities in the station (she could never do that), but how had Gardea gotten a hold of such a weapon? Either the woman was that slippery, or someone had slipped up.

Regardless, Kitt returned her attention to Officer Ito as he spoke. Her eyes widened behind his back as she followed him out of the cellblock and back into the main hall of the sector. "Something that I can use, sir?" The robot gave a flattered, albeit nervous, chuckle. "I am not sure I would be of much service. But it is nice of you to think I might be." He knew she was not programmed for combat, but the idea that he would even think to find her a makeshift weapon of her own was kind of him.

Thud!

Suddenly a loud noise echoed down to them from further down the hallway, in the direction of Warden Pryce's office. Kitt jumped and turned her scanners toward the noise, squinting her eyes to increase the distance of their scope. Faintly, on the very edges of her display, she could make out two humans. "Sir, there are two bodies up ahead. I cannot make out their identities from this distance, but they are alive."

---

It had been an endlessly long day, and the whiskey burning down her throat was only half erasing the headache she'd amassed over the long hours.

Benton had taken verbal bait from Sterling and of course, gotten himself beaten quite well before Ris and the other officer bots were able to get Dawson under control. Big Daddy (she absolutely hated calling him this, though in her currently hazy state, she could give less of a rat's ass what his name was) was thrown into solitary for a week or two for the brawl, while Benton was down in the med bay, probably boasting about a win to Ami, would wouldn't believe it for a moment but would nod along for the sake of his dignity.

And while Janetta admittedly loved watching Benton get whooped into his place after all of his subtle misogynistic jabs at her, she did not love the large amount of paperwork she was left with. She'd been locked into her office since the time of the incident until clock out; and even then, she stayed behind. Why not? It wasn't like there was any reason for her to hurry home. No one was waiting up for her, nor did she really want anyone to be. Jan preferred the intimacy she found at the bottom of the bottle - or so she liked to tell herself.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. Clearing her throat, she lowered the small bottle until it was hidden beside her thighs. "Who is it?"

"Ito. Just checking in on you, mam."

Jan eyed the door, absentmindedly swishing the contents of the bottle around underneath the desk. Ito. She had always been drawn to him, had always been curious about him; somehow she knew he felt similarly. And now to be checking in on her, when everyone else had gone back to the barracks?

"Come in," she replied, and when he did, she added, "Close the door."

He did so, and came to sit in the chair opposite her at the desk. Jan sat back into her own chair as she watched him, an air of leisure about her face. Whatever it was about this man, she felt comfortable around him. Comfortable enough to raise her arm and take a swig of the liquor, all while observing Ryobi for his reaction.

"Long day, hm?"

Jan softly barked out a laugh, lifting her free hand to run it through her long brunette strands, which were always up in a tight bun during work hours. She stood up from her seat and made her way to his side of the desk, leaning back against it so that she was off to Ryobi's right side. "Don't tell the warden," she joked, reaching the bottle out towards him. "Drink."

It wasn't really a question, nor was it a command. But something in her expression was definitely challenging him, to see if he would play along.

There weren't many people Ryobi respected more than Warden Pryce. Day in and day out, she took the worst of the insults, shouldered the blame, and worst of all, filled out reams of paperwork while everyone else had gone home. Today had been especially bad in all fronts. Ryobi felt exhausted from splitting up fights between an inmate and an asshole with a mouth. Benton deserved every bit of what he got, and he should know better. Worse, a few stray punches had found their way back to Ryobi. He would owe Benton one for that.

Tired as he was, the thought of driving back to Home Bay was not at the top of his to-do list. Sayako and Benji were on a rare shore leave, but Ryobi had to miss out to cover an emergency shift. That meant while his family enjoyed a few weeks back on Earth, Ryobi was getting punched in the lip by Officer Benton. Sure, it only stung a little while, and Dr. Ami had already checked it out, but the circumstances simply made Ryobi less willing to take that journey home.

And now they led here, with a coy look on his superior officer's face, and a half-empty whiskey bottle dangling between her fingers, an invitation like no other. A moment passed where Ryobi had hesitated, the warning lights flashing in his brain, telling him to politely decline. The next moment, those warnings were drowned by a swig from the bottle.

Maybe he had done so to get to know the warden better. Maybe it was to join her in the celebration of the end to a miserable day. Maybe Ryobi was feeling a little lonely himself, or perhaps a different feeling than loneliness had crept up in response to the obviously inebriated woman in front of him. Maybe her hair being down made Ryobi see her as more than his boss, more than Warden Pryce, but a woman. Janetta. Jan.

Ryobi nodded and held the bottle back to Pryce, his expression clearly saying "challenge accepted." Good thing they were both off duty. And that the door was closed.

~ = + = ~

Two figures in the direction of the Warden's office. That could mean just about anything. There could be a couple of looters, or two officers searching for Prtce. Or maybe Janetta herself was there, with either a friend or a foe. In any case, it was more likely than not thst Ryobi wanted to remain unseen and unheard until he could get more information.

"Ok, Kitt, listen carefully. It is vital that we are quiet here," Ryobi replied in a low whisper. "If those are inmates, our only advantage is surprise. We're gonna sneak up there, and you're gonna scan them again. As soon as you know who's in there, you gotta let me know. Quietly."

Ryobi thought for a moment. Alright, how about this: if the Warden is in there, raise your right arm. If it's inmates, your left. Anyone else, just tap me on the shoulder. Got it?" Without waiting for a response, Ryobi darted forward, keeping low to the ground, his feet landing heel-toe so as to minimize noise. Kitt did her best to keep up, and although she was certainly not programmed for stealth, she seemed to be able to move forward without much commotion. It wasn't long before Ryobi got her signal: two hands raised: an inmate and the warden. That could only mean Pryce was in trouble.

The good news was that they were still out of earshot of the door. Those scanners had a longer range than Ryobi had expected. "Alright, what else can you tell me?" Ryobi whispered. "Quietly!"

"The identities are Janetta Pryce and Timothy Ginhearst, sir. Mr. Ginhearst has his back towards the door and Officer Pryce is sitting, facing the door in a chair." Kitt peered towards the door, fiddling with her sensors. "It seems that Mr. Ginhearst is quite agitated, as his heart rate is rather high. I am unsure of Officer Pryce's condition, but she is alive."

That was more disturbing than Ryobi cared to think about. He darted forward once again, hearing muffled shouts from inside the door. Profanities peppered the man's ululations, and Ryobi gripped the knife tightly. He would have just one shot at this.

Ryobi took a deep breath in, then out, calming himself despite what he could clearly hear transpiring inside the room. One second. Two. On the third, Ryobi pushed open the door with his left hand and rushed forward, bringing the blade about to hopefully sever the man's jugular.

~ = + = ~

"Long day, hm?" The fingers ran through her hair with an unintentional elegance. Ryobi doubted she even knew. Why was she approaching? Why is she handing out the bottle?

Why is she... oh.

Don't tell my wife.

"Don't come any closer, or I'll shoot!" The gun quivered in Ryobi's hand as he faced down the knife-wielding assailant. This was supposed to be part of training, not a stand off. Ryobi had only been a cop for a few days. His navy uniform had yet to even get dirty, and the badge he wore was so shiny that one could see one's reflection in it. Which Ryobi had relished in several times already.

The man with the knife laughed a single, sharp guffaw. "Yer a scrub. Anyone can see that. You don't got the guts to pull the trigger. Yer just a lil shitstain with a shiny new badge. So what yer gonna do is let me walk on outta here. Don't no one need to get hurt. I keep this cash. You don't get stabbed. Everyone's happy." He began to step forward, the knife still pointed at Ryobi.

"I s-said stop!" Ryobi's voice picked the worst time to crack.

The thief's haughty grin just widened as he continued his approach. "I'll give ya a hint, kid. If you ever pull a gun on someone, ya better be ready to use it. If ya pull out a gun and ya just don't got the guts, yer dead." His eyes glinted, and the knife moved.

--BLAM!--

Ryobi didn't even remember pulling the trigger, but the next millisecond was etched into his mind forever. One moment, the man was approaching, the knife beginning its arc towards the young officer. The next, everything was red, and there was a ringing in Ryobi's ears. The back of the thief's head seemed to explode, and the bullet continued its trajectory, embedding itself into the brick wall.

The worst part of it all was that smile. Even after the thief was most certainly dead, the smile remained: a twisted, evil, self-important smirk. He hadn't even seen the bullet coming, and in all honesty, neither had Ryobi. When his CO arrived from her short stint in the bathroom, she had congratulated Ryobi on doing the right thing. Sayako had sympathized, but never could empathize. The mandatory week in psych report did nothing to stop that grin from haunting his memories. His first kill. He had hoped it would be his last.

~ = + = ~

Ryobi stared at the scene before him, comprehending what he had just interrupted. Jan sat in her chair, her blouse ripped open and her panties dangling around an ankle. This was a scene he had witnessed before, but in a much different context, and anger was the only emotion he could feel. His gaze returned to the man on the ground. "Fucking shitstain," he murmured, stepping on the dead body as he approached Warden Pryce.

There was only one thing to do. Ryobi wrapped his arms around her in an embrace, silently waiting for the moment to pass. Ryobi's strength in conversation was as a listener, but he was absolute shit at comforting someone with words. Instead, the hug would have to do, as any words that sprang to his mind fell flat.

After a minute or two, he remembered Kitt and looked back towards the doorway awkwardly. Even though Pryce's state of undress was not his fault, an embrace with a mostly nude superior was something that garnered a measure of embarrassment, especially given their shared history. Thankfully, Kitt didn't seem like someone to judge, or so he hoped.

Droplets of salt water rolled down her cheeks, perhaps in a race to see which eye would be the one to ruin her blouse first. So far, the right one was winning.

But Janetta wasn't paying her tears any attention. No - she wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of acknowledgement. Her jaw was locked and her teeth were pushed against each other as she stared straight ahead, a stony expression plastered on her face. Even as those around her lost their composure and clung to each other for support, Jan kept her piercing gaze on the lacquered wooden coffin that was being lowered down into the ground just a few feet away from her.

Her mother, cold and seemingly at peace, being lowered into the ground just a few feet away from her.

Althea Pryce, the woman who's strength Jan had modeled her own after for the entirety of her twenty-eight year old life, was finally gone, beaten by an unfairly strong cancer that had been brewing inside of her for five years. Granted, Janetta was glad that her days of suffering were over. But that didn't make the sting of loss any less harsh.

As the ceremony came to a close and people began approaching her with a gentle hand on her shoulder or a squeeze of her tricep, Jan quickly dragged her hands across her face, wiping away the traces of a weakness. When she turned and almost on auto-pilot began reciprocating the hugs that were being offered her, and nodding at the murmurs of condolences in her ears, she could still feel the wetness on her fingertips. They were burning against her skin, her body's betrayal against her will. And as she left the site of her mother's grave, she silently promised herself that this would be the last time.

---

It was all over, and yet Janetta was still shaking from the episode. All sensory input was resting just at the edges of her attention, on pause as she felt Ryobi's arms slip around her. Normally, she would have shied away from this sort of affection from embarrassment; but he had seen her like this, practically bare and naked, many other times and in greatly different situations. Now he was simply seeing her bare and naked in a different way, and while she would have preferred the whole thing not to have happened, she had no choice but to let it.

With her face buried into the crook of his neck, Jan allowed herself a few moments of weakness, soft whimpers muffled against the familiar scent of Ito's skin. Her legs were pressed together tightly and she felt small - for a fleeting moment, she wanted to completely disappear into the warmth of his embrace. He said nothing, and she was grateful for his silence. Any words might have shattered her already fractured sense of pride. The hug was more than enough.

After a few moments, Jan had calmed down. Her breathing slowed, and she was able to regain a coherent train of thought; the first being that Ryobi had just saved her life and her sanity. A version of herself from yesterday would have kicked herself for becoming a damsel in distress. But Janetta was not a bitch, and she knew gratitude when it was owed. She shifted her face so that her lips were closer to his earlobe, and she sighed. "Thank you."

The two of them shifted apart slightly, and it was only then that Janetta realized there was another presence in the doorway. She would have started if not for her quick recognition that it was only Kitt. Poor, innocent Kitt, who had probably experienced plenty of her firsts within the past five minutes or so. The thought brought a bubble of laughter from somewhere within her, and again she hid herself into Ryobi's form, moving her torso so that her very exposed chest was a little less visible tucked into him. Crossing her legs, she shook her head and once again chuckled at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation.

"You should have told me you'd brought a friend to watch," she joked, voice again muffled against his shirt collar. "I would have put on a better show." Her defense mechanisms were already back online, patching up her momentary vulnerability with her usual sarcasm, and she knew Ito would understand that.

Kitt, who had followed Officer Ito to the doorway, was in shock. She knew this one, knew that Timothy Ginhearst was probably doing something explicit with the Warden behind the closed door. She also knew that Ryobi had no other choice but to take him down by way of the knife in his hand - but she had not been prepared to see just how gruesome it would be. Kitt had never seen blood, nor was she expecting the crazed look to still be alive on Ginhearst's positively dead face. How was that possible?

And there was the blood. So much of it. It was on the desk, pooled on the floor around Ginhearst's body, on Warden Pryce. Warden Pryce, who was very much indecent and very much in need of help. As soon as the prisoner had dropped to the floor and Ryobi had gone to her, Kitt had turned around and taken a step out of the room, torn between wanting to give them some privacy but needing to act on her duties and see if she was alright. She tried to pass it off as if she was simply doing something logical like keeping a look out for them, when in reality, she was as uncomfortable as a receptionist could be.

"Um, Warden Pryce - would you like me to call a medbot to see about you? That wound in your head needs attention," Kitt stated as calmly as she could. It was true; Ryobi's neck was a mess of tears and dried blood. She had never seen the officers this intimate with each other, but maybe now was an exception. So, still unsure of what to do with herself, she figured Officer Ito might do best to handle this with a human touch. She added, "I also spotted the keys for the cuffs on the floor near the prisoner's head, Officer Ito."

It had only been a couple of days since Ryobi last felt the embrace of another, but those couple of days were some of the roughest of his life. He held Pryce firmly, allowing her to soak his collar with tears. If he knew Pryce, and he was fairly certain he did, he was privy to the rarest of emotional responses from the Warden and should consider himself lucky to be trusted with such a gift. More important, she was safe, and no one important got hurt beyond repair. Physically, at least.

The embrace broke off sooner than Ryobi wanted, but an eternity would be too soon. He acknowledged Jan's gratitude with a nod, knowing that any more than that would be less than appreciated, and returned her jest with one of his own. "I should have called ahead. Next time, I'll bring popcorn," he muttered. At Kitt's interjection, Ryobi bent down to retrieve the keys. "Thanks, Kitt, but let's hold off on the medbots just a moment." With the keys retrieved, Ryobi unlocked the cuffs on the Warden's wrists and helped her to her feet. "First, we should get some spare clothes for you, Pryce. And a first aid kit, maybe use the prison showers to clean off. I have some things I'd like to pick your brain on."

Janetta hid the small smile elicited by Ryobi's response behind her hair; it was a subtle mixture of amusement and - most importantly - relief that he wasn't going to baby her about all of this. In all the time she'd known him, he had always had the correct instincts about her... On and off the clock. It really was unfortunate that he had a family waiting for him at home. Not that the fact had stopped Jan before. She was never really one to apologize for taking what she needed, and appreciated that Ryobi was of a similar nature.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the cuffs released their hold around her wrists, and the warden sucked a breath in as she stretched them out, wincing at how sore they were. There was a slight dizziness that washed over her as she stood up from the chair, but it left quickly; Ryobi had made a good call on holding off on the medbots. She was fine, for the most part, and she really wasn't up for dealing with being probed by the doctor or her minions right now.

A shower. Janetta didn't realize just how much she wanted to take a fucking shower until Ryobi mentioned it. The faintest groan escaped her at the thought of that simple luxury as she tugged her panties up from around her feet and made her way slowly towards the locker in the back corner of the office. She always kept a few pieces of clothing there for comfort, especially on the long nights. "First aid kit's in the bottom drawer of the desk," she said as she extracted a dark green shirt and a pair of jeans from the locker. She bent down to fish a pair of sneakers out, as well, and a last object that she grabbed from the bottom drawer of the file cabinet.

"And here's a present for you - I'm sure yours is in the hands of one of those scumbags," she added, reaching out to hand him the loaded pistol that she should have used on the asshole bleeding on her floor. When Ryobi had taken it, she bent down and grabbed her issued gun from where her duty belt had fallen. "I'm going to the showers." For a brief moment, unspoken words of a memory hung in the air between them, exchanged by a glance. Then, unable to help herself, Janetta grinned at him. "Come find me when you want to talk."

She brushed past him, perhaps slower than necessary, and exited her office. At the entrance, she patted Kitt affectionately on the head. "Thanks for your help too, darling," Ryobi could hear her murmur before disappearing from sight. At this point, Jan didn't give a shit that she was half naked and wandering a potentially dangerous hallway. Her usual shell of an exterior was returning, and she wasn't about to play anything safe after having had the power so harshly taken away from her. If anyone tried to attack her now, they'd enjoy a nice glimpse of their Warden's figure before she filled their eyeholes with lead.

Kitt watched the Warden strut down towards the prison showers in her underwear and a torn shirt, completely at a loss for what to say. She cleared her nonexistent throat and averted her eyes as Pryce turned the corner into the showers, and slowly stepped back into the office to face Officer Ito. "Perhaps... Ahem... Warden Pryce didn't really take anything besides the clothes and her pistol, sir. Perhaps we should take her comms device, as well? It might be helpful in contacting the Captain, if you need it."

There. That was a good change of topic. Job well done, Kitt.

The prison showers were essentially a large room with stalls and sinks on one side and a long line of sectioned off showers and benches on the other. Janetta, impatient as ever, had begun stripping as soon as she entered the room, leaving a trail of clothing pieces that led to a bench. There, she deposited her pistol and shoes before stepping underneath one of the shower heads. She turned the knob until the water ran hot over her skin and it filled the immediate area with steam.

Finally, a handgun. Ryobi felt at less of a disadvantage with the weapon in his hand, but caution was still needed. Pistol shots were loud and echoey inside the space station, and there was always a chance of a ricochet. Perhaps almost as enticing was the first aid kit, which was definitely a requirement for the pair of matching cuts the two of them had.

Ryobi noted the look that Pryce gave him, and although he wanted little more than to immediately follow her there, some pressing matters needed his attention first. The first aid kit was the first thing Ryobi picked up, and he quickly retrieved the antiseptic. "Kitt, could you look for a backpack, please?" Ryobi asked as he began to treat his cut. He inhaled sharply at the familiar sting as he cleaned the wound, and wrapped a bandage around it. It was shoddy work and temporary, but Ryobi wasn't exactly planning to avoid the medics forever.

Ryobi looked at the radio with some hesitation. Normally, checking in with the Captain would be top priority, and Kitt knew that. There was no doubt as to whether he should take the radio or not, just how quickly he should use it. Ryobi also wondered whether Pryce had checked in, or if she shared some of his same doubts. He would find out sooner or later.

Kitt returned with the backpack, and Ryobi thanked her as he dumped the contents out on Pryce's desk. Several personal hygiene products, other personal effects... Ryobi placed her wallet in the drawer where Pryce had stored the handgun and dropped the shiv there as well. With the new weaponry, the shiv was more dangerous to carry around than help. He tossed the useless material into the drawer as well and locked it before placing everything else back in the bag. He stopped as his hand hovered over a journal. He probably should leave this as well, since space was limited, but curiosity made him return the book to the bag, along with her phone, an mp3 player, and some hand sanitizer. The personal-sized pepper spray in the bag clipped into the utility belt, and Ryobi stood up, ready for action.

"Kitt, I need you to stay here and watch our stuff. I'm going to head back to get Pryce patched up. Should be back in a few minutes. If you need us, bring the backpack." Placing the pistol into his belt, he made his way back to the showers.

"Of course, sir."

Kitt cautiously stepped a wide circle around the pool of blood and its origin, curiosity just enough to stare at Ginhearst's body until she had crossed into a clear area. She didn't know what shivers felt like, but she imagined they'd be wracking her body if she were capable of having them. With Officer Ito behind her, Kitt began to check for Warden Pryce's backpack, and luckily found it in the locker.

She brought it back to Ryobi, who was dressing his wound. Kitt had to prevent herself from saying something about the Med Bay, knowing that both he and Pryce wanted to put it off for now. Instead, she took a step back and let Officer Ito pack his things, agreeing to watch the backpack while he went to patch up the Warden.

Nervous about staying inside the room with a dead human, Kitt grabbed the pack and padded her way outside, making a home against the wall outside of the Warden's office. She kept her scanners on and at the ready, on alert.

-----

How dare that shower feel as good as it did.

Janetta, once again fully dressed, was just pulling her hair up into a long ponytail as Ryobi entered the room. Finally refreshed and coherent, it was back to business. "What happened to you?" she asked, knowing he would take it as a cue to recount his adventures prior to busting in on her and her assailant. "Anyone contact you yet?"