“What do you think, Iris? I readjusted the auditory sensors so we should be able to have a better voice command and longer sensor range, but will that effect output? I’m kind of fond of the vocal output we have now.” You heard a loud voice coming from inside the room as Leo waited before pushing a button that looked similar to a doorbell. There was a small crash from inside the room before the same voice shouted. “We’re okay! I’ll be right there!”

Leo made a small noise almost like a laugh as he moved to help you stand on your own again, having carried you through the entrance corridors to what must be their hideout. He looked you straight in the eyes again, his voice low. “Remember, no questions.”

You were able to nod before the door was pulled open and a frazzled looking guy stood in the doorway wearing an apron covered in grease, with his hair a wild mess and glasses crooked on his face. “Leo! What brings you here? Did you get in-” He caught sight of you and paused for a moment before his eyes widened. “Oh, hi.”

“She’s hurt. Fix her.” Leo seemed to be back to the cold short sentences. Or perhaps he seemed even more so when compared with the obviously chatty other man. He scooped you up in his arms again and carried you into the room over towards what looked like a work table, leaving the other man to trail behind.

“What do you mean? Is she a droid too? I thought all droids had different hair colors. That’s part of the differentiation. Her hair is black. Leo what are you doing, don’t toss that on the- well forget it now.” The other man sounded upset with Leo for having simply swept his hand across the table to clear a place before sitting you gently on the table. And sure enough, he wore a pout when he came to stand in front of you.

You noticed a few grease smudges on his face as well and raised an eyebrow, turning unconsciously to Leo before returning your attention to the other man. “I’m not a droid. He pulled me back one time in the alleyway and twisted my ankle. He said you could help.”

He blinked before glancing back and forth between you and Leo with a confused look on his face. “I’m not a medic. Iris is the one who can patch up people. I’m an engineer. And our N is recharging for the day, he still has another hour on his cycle.”

“Weren’t you just-” The start of the question was out of your mouth before you felt a hand grab your shoulder. You winced at the pain of the grip before catching sight of a flash of something crossing the other man’s face before he turned and walked away. You would have sworn he had been talking to someone named Iris before he opened the door, so you weren’t sure what exactly the issue was.

Leo leaned over, whispering angrily in your ear. “I told you not to ask any questions. Unless you don’t want Ken’s help. Like I said, he’s eccentric, but he knows what he’s doing.”

You glanced back off in the direction the other had went and blinked seeing a woman sitting on a ratty looking sofa along the wall. You hadn’t noticed her before, but you assumed she was the “Iris” that Ken had been talking to. Tilting your head in confusion you tried to make out what Ken was doing as he sat beside the woman, gently brushing the hair from her face. The odd thing was that she didn’t seem to be moving or even registering that he was there. Perhaps she was a droid as well?

“You might have to wait around a little while. I’m sorry. I didn’t know she was having an episode.” Leo dropped his hand from your shoulder and you turned to raise an eyebrow at him, but he didn’t seem to be in a particularly forthcoming mood with information.

You turned your attention back to the pair sitting on the couch across the room. You watched as Ken spoke with the woman in hushed tones, carefully brushing the hair from her face and staring softly at her. That was when you turned back to face Leo, feeling like you were intruding on something private. When you faced the droid, you were a little shocked to find him looking back at you. You dropped your eyes from the stare the droid was giving you before twisting your fingers together nervously.

You weren’t sure what the “episodes” that Leo had mentioned were, or even how long they lasted, so you worried that your sister would potentially run into trouble or worse, the enforcement droids who had been after you would decide to instead go after her. That thought terrified you. What if something happened to her while you were stuck here waiting on these strangers to somehow either help you or tell you they weren’t going to do anything. You wouldn’t even know about it until you finally went back to your apartment.

The panic started to bubble up in your chest and you tried to tell yourself to simply calm down, but the fear choked out all the air from your lungs and you felt yourself shrinking in on yourself. A hand on your shoulder made you jump, a small squeak of fear escaping your lips before you closed them tightly.

“Are you okay?”

The soft voice shocked you for a moment before glancing to see that Leo had knelt down in front of you and was looking at you with a concerned expression. It was almost unreal to see an enforcement droid looking something other than terrifying, but somehow the soft concern seemed to fit the droid in front of you.

“My sister-”

Before you could finish the worried sentence, Leo was nodding before turning back to where Ken was still sitting on the couch with the woman. “Where’s Ravi?” His voice was pitched loud enough to reach the other man, but still softer than you would have expected from an enforcement droid.

Actually, you were a little curious about the droid. His voice never seemed to reach the same piercing tone the enforcement droids were notorious for, and he seemed almost caring, rather than the harsh and unforgiving nature of the droids. He obviously wasn’t working with the other enforcement droids, as he had helped you escape. So that left you wondering if this group were the infamous rebels you had heard warnings about through the news bulletins broadcast throughout the city. If so, you were in even more danger than you had been simply for being out after curfew.

“Where do you live? We’ll get your sister for you. Ravi should be back any minute and while he looks intimidating, he’s completely harmless, your sister could probably beat him up if he tried anything.” Leo’s voice brought you back to the present and you frowned slightly.

“But where are we? And who is this Ravi guy? I don’t even know anything about you! He’s insane, she’s .. well, I don’t even know what’s wrong with her-”

“There is absolutely nothing wrong with Iris and if you don’t want me to throw you out to the droids-”

Ken jumped up, storming back towards you, and his voice was harsher than you had heard anyone speak in some time causing you to flinch before he stopped suddenly. That’s when you realized the woman he had been talking to was standing beside Ken with a hand on his arm, looking at him with a complex expression. What you didn’t expect was her to speak.

“Ken, it’s fine. She doesn’t know. She’s new, probably scared, and surrounded by strangers.” Her voice was soft and you watched as she gave him another nod before walking over to stand in front of you with a small hint of a smile. “I’m sorry, he’s just .. well, it’s a long story. I’m Iris.”

You blinked in confusion at Iris before nodding slightly. “I’m Star. I just-”

Iris shook her head, a small hint of a smile on her lips. “It’s okay. I have a younger brother, so I understand.”

“Yes, but Hyuk can easily take care of himself and he’s grown.” Leo scoffed, mumbling softly before being silenced by a frown from Iris.

You watched the interaction with fascination. You had never seen an enforcement droid shut down so quickly and simply. Part of you wanted to ask her how she managed such a feat, but you weren’t sure she would exactly side with you, as you were a complete stranger in their hideout.

“Oh, you’ve hurt yourself! Let me take a look.” Iris knelt down in front of you, gently taking your foot in her hand and you couldn’t stop the wince and hiss at the pain. “Hm, it looks like a sprain. I can try to wrap it if you like? I don’t think it’s anything serious.” She glanced back up to you for a moment before turning her attention back to your ankle, having removed your shoe and gently pressing her fingers to your ankle in whatever attempts at figuring out what exactly was wrong with you and how to fix it.

“I promise we won’t let anything happen to your sister. You’ve trusted me this far, give me just a little more? Tell me your address and we’ll get your sister and bring her here so she’s safe as well. And if anything happens to her, you can fulfill your threat to dismantle me with your bare hands.” Leo’s voice was soft as he moved to stand beside you.

There was a soft laugh from the woman in front of you before she shrugged. “I’ll tell you where his reset button is. But honestly, there’s no person she’d be safer with than Ravi.”

You blinked down at her as she started to wrap your ankle in a bandage, not seeming to acknowledge that she had even said anything about the conversation. You frowned slightly before turning back to Leo. “Okay, but if anything happens to her, I will destroy you and everyone here.” At his nod, you sighed before taking a breath. “We live in the West Corridor, Sector 3. It’s the building on the corner with the closed down bakery. The stairs are around the side, we’re on the third floor, apartment C. You have to know our secret knock though or she won’t answer.” Leo nodded and you shook your head, not quite able to get past the lingering doubts. “But first, I need to meet with this Ravi person.”

Before Leo could answer, a low voice came from the doorway to the room. “Who’s asking about me now?”