DK moved as quietly as his massive frame allowed. His armaments had been detached and placed in a holdall, apart form his size he looked about as harmless as de-militarized RI could look, which is to say, not very harmless at all. He had headed for Dogtown in Manhattan's slums. Probably the best place in the LPI's database for purchasing a ticket offworld, at least a ticket that wouldn't get him sent back to to LPI headquarters for investigation.
DK didn't know why he was doing this, only that he must, as if some unseen force was driving him onwards to whatever fate or destiny had in store for him. His emergence into consciousness was still a surreal dream, fractures of what sparked his ability to reason came to him when he stopped for any length of time. Like quicksuilver they darted from his mental grasp. Clearly some things needed to come in their own time.
DK walked amid the fearful glances and hushed whipsers of the local denizens, they had seen him before, or at least somethings that looked like him. The DK units were often patrolled in slums like these, perfect urban pacification weapons. A fact the DK himself was now regretting. Stooping to enter one of Manhattan's illicit gambling dens he was stopped by the bouncer.
"What are you doing here, no coppers. Not even metal ones."
"I assure you I am not here for any punitive or municipal reasons. I have...resigned my commision on that score. Besides, the question is surely whether or not you can complete your task without multiple compound fractures and possibly bleeding to death. I am, after all, a military specification sentient AI."
The bouncer stood still for a moment, as if pondering DK's words.
"Alright in you go, but don't say I didn't warn you."
"Your concern is noted, however ill placed."
DK walked into the den and looked around his sensors automatically adjusting to the dim smokey light. Tables were placed around the room in a non-orderly fashion and a bar ran around two walls. The clientele was exactly as DK assumed it would be, unshaven, unwashed, criminals and low-lifes in the main. DK would not be surprised if this was another front for the Rogues. But that was not his chosen path at this time.
He walked to the bar, constantly stopped to allow his frame to fit under the low ceiling. Approaching the bar he looked directly into the barman's eyes.
"What I want is simple. A person who can provide me with passage offworld. It matters not who does the piloting. I am no longer in law enforcement."
The barman smiled.
"Right you are sir, I'd say take a seat but our chairs aren't built for the mechanical persuasion. I'll just see what I can do."
