Chapter 04 | Overseer

                                    

                                          
I can recall two... no, three men in the ten, They were around a table in the back, smoking their cigars all the while. A female droid watched on from behind them, recognizable from the barcode on her cheek. Unlike the worker droids, she wore a gray military uniform rather than work garments. The men seemed to be discussing some sort of plan judging from how they gestured to the map. However, they quickly ceased their conversation once they noticed our presence.
                          
"Overseer, sir; two of the collaborator droids returned from patrol," the more neutral guard informed their leader firmly. "They returned with this LEX droid and are waiting for compensation. It didn't attempt to escape, but it has been making some... outlandish claims."
                          
If my hands had nerves, I'm sure they would've trembled uncontrollably. The most decorated officer's eyes narrowed in my direction, and one of his eyebrows raised suspiciously at the sight of me. 
                          
"A LEX droid? Without a fight?" He repeated, marching around the others to begin circling me like a shark around fresh meat. "That sounds like a bunch of bull."
                          
I tensed as he took hold of my jaw, staring at the barcode on my cheek. I didn't dare look him in the eyes, but I remember whispering a small plea. "Please don't..."
                          
To my shock, he released me immediately. I didn't see his expression, but I heard the Overseer hiss in excitement, "Well I'll be damned. This is LEX-001.  Inform the communication center and get the Taskmaster on the line! Tell him we've found his prize. I thought we would never find it, but I stand corrected."
                          
Before I could defend myself, the neutral guard interrupted, "Sir, there's something else you ought to know first. We're not entirely sure if this LEX is in the best condition, or if it's even the right LEX." 
                          
I didn't dare move a muscle and kept my eyes downcast. I overheard the bustling of people evacuating the tent before the gruff voice of the Overseer growled, "What do you mean, solider? I assume you scanned the barcode. What did the scanner say it was?"
                          
"It read it as LEX-001, but the droid has been acting a bit odd, sir," the guard continued, tripping over his words. "It doesn't act like the LEX we were briefed on. It hasn't put up much of a fight— truth be told, it's been acting much more docile. It's been anything but ruthless. It claims to be a TROY engineer that was transferred into the slums a few days ago. It even gave specific details about the personnel in question, and the ID code it gave matched the engineer in question. It gave other details on the engineer's personal life too, but we don't have the personnel file to confirm the information."
                          
The Overseer snorted with disbelief at the guard's claim. "It's yanking you boys' chain. Now get that machine secured in a spare connection port and have communications contact the Taskmaster."
                          
I couldn't stand being treated like a piece of pottery any longer. I tried picking through my own experiences, trying to find the right words to say. I quickly managed to stutter, "S-sir, I have worked on droids for about three years now. I'm still a bit shaky, but if I've learned anything, it's that droids make terrible liars. All the droids I have worked on have always told the truth if asked directly, no matter how reluctant."
                          
I finally lifted my eyes to meet the Overseer's cold gaze. "I don't know anything about this... this LEX droid. I've never worked on one. I never heard of one before today. Yesterday, I was a TROY employee and... a son who was trying to do his best to support his parents. Now I'm trapped in the body of android with nowhere to go."
                          
I paused, quickly trying to find myself in my cluttered thought process. "My identification code is 7452587. You can check my personnel file from TROY, and it should be able to confirm everything I've said."