Enter Azure

My AV pulls up outside the ground floor of the labs. I immediately spot the officer that called in the request, barely more than a kid. I mean, I'm only 24, so I can't judge, but the **** really is scraping the bottom of the barrel. No old cops in Neonfall, I remember.

"You, Officer Daycare, give me the situation." I demand, flashing my holobadge but not stopping to listen, forcing the kid to keep up. I'm not waiting around for someone else to steal my gig. I begin putting my black firing gloves on, my sidearm's designed not to work without them.

The kid struggles to keep up, so he follows at a half jog. "Erm... We got an SOS call yesterday, so I picked it up today when I was going past on my beat." He stumbles. Fucking rookies, I need the information on the scene, not his life story. I throw a glare at him to hurry him up. "Right... I had a quick look, no sign of Professor Methus, only the body of an assistant. Must've been like it for a while because he wasn't bleeding anymore. I called it in before I went any further... CSIs are –

"Are not fucking entering until I examine it first." I spit at him. "Stay out here, no one comes in until I come out." I order, pulling my sidearm from its holster. No live ammo, standard issue is a quick-acting stun gun. The 'bullets' are made from a malleable metal that splats instead of pierces, it then releases an electrical signal incapacitating the suspect... Or anyone the trigger-happy fucks at the precinct hit with their shitty accuracy. Works through clothing too... Well, most clothing. All in all, it's at least better than gunning down some innocent because they didn't respond fast enough, most of the **** just call the weapon the 'Snapper' for its distinctive sound.

"But Detective, I'm meant to—" The kid tries to argue before I give him another glare. This causes him to gulp down the rest of his sentence and back away. Much better. With that sorted, I throw open the door and enter the labs. Most are abandoned, but I can see which one is the important one, it's the only one with the lights still on. Great job, Rookie, bet that light was off before he got here and he forgot to turn it off. Tampering with a scene 101, right there. That's why you leave it to the pros... What? I'm mostly a professional.

Stacking on the open door, I take a quick look inside the room. It's a cluttered mess, some of that looks intentional, but the shattered equipment on the floor tells me this was more than a small struggle. I slowly move into the room, my weapon still drawn and following my eyeline. Sure enough, I spot the body and no one else in the room. Holstering my Snapper, I walk over to check the body. No great mystery for the cause of ****: two great big slashes, one across his spine, the other along his throat... Except... There's no blood. Was the body moved here? No, there are no signs of it being disturbed.

This bit's always gross, I press my fingers into the wound, drawing them out to see... Silver. Synthetic blood. This isn't a dead body. AIs are uncommon – true AIs anyway; they're damn hard to make and usually not as effective as a human. But only a true AI can inhabit an Android body. The key distinction is that true AIs are always based on a human mind. This doesn't make them a clone of the person their brain is based on or anything, but it bases their abilities and emotions on it. At that point, most people would say just use the person you've got instead of a cyber knock-off.

Still, I suppose an AI that doesn't tire as easily would be handy for an ageing scientist. I check the bot's pockets and stumble across a scrawled note, looks like Methus left it for his droid. "Purifiers. Azure is secure. Retrieve when danger has passed. Security is Key."

The fuck is this referring to? Purifiers? Azure? I look around the room, trying to examine where the droid would have come from... retracing his steps, I see a knocked-over chair next to a counter. On the counter are acid-washed documents, all the details missing... But that word again. Azure... And one more. 'Closet'.

I turn to look at the closet in the far end of the corner, it's been flung open, all of its contents on the floor. I guess the attacker was looking for this 'Azure' too. Not the smartest cookie, though, unlikely that they'd store some big secret in a literal closet. Looking around further, I spot a different answer: a refrigerated medicine closet on the ground under the counter. When I approach, I notice a keypad and a handle, and turning the handle simply opens the closet... So what's the keypad for?

I take another look at the note. 'Security is key.' There's no way, right? I punch in the word 'Security' and hit enter, and I'm greeted by a successful beeping noise. Smartest fuckers in the world, and they're still setting their password as password. I turn to see the closet from before sliding along the wall to reveal a passageway. I guess our assailant was half right. I draw my weapon again and check the opening. The room inside is almost as big as this one, but wires hang from the ceiling like it's some sort of jungle of machinery. On the opposite side of the room is what looks like a coffin. I tentatively approach, keeping an eye on the ground, tripwires would be real easy to hide here.

Apparently I'm not careful enough.

As I get closer to the casket, I hear the sound of machinery grinding. I take a defensive stance, ready to duck out of the fire of any turrets if needed. Instead, the container opens to reveal a cloud of mist so thick I can't properly see inside. I carefully step forward to get a better look and... Still not careful enough. A figure launches out of the mist and engulfs me, arms wrap around my torso, and I struggle to break free unsuccessfully... Until I realise it isn't painful. I examine my attacker. Blue hair, long, smells like lilacs...

"Master, you're here!" A voice exclaims, finally releasing me from her grasp. As the mist clears, I see... A girl? No, a woman, from that figure a full-grown woman. A naked, full-grown woman. Looks like the carpet matches the curtains. "Oh, I thought you'd never get here. Have you come to take me home?" She asks cheerily, her smile visible even with all the mist.

I raise the hand not holding my Snapper. "Wait a minute... Who the fuck are you?" I ask, still reeling from the whiplash of going from an investigation to a low-budget porn vid.

The woman slaps her forehead. "Ohmigosh. Totes forgot to introduce myself. Duh!" She realises, admonishing herself. She waves away the mist between us and puts her hands on her cocked hips. "I'm called the Assistance Zone Utility and Resource Entity. But my besties call me Azure. You're my master, so you can call me whatever you want me to be." She announces with a wink. Her eyes momentarily flashing from a deep blue to a sultry pink.

Azure. It's a fucking AI. A weird as fuck AI. What kind of sick shit was Methus into? And who would destroy a lab over a sexbot? I've got more questions than ever, and this thing isn't helping.

"CSI! Don't move, you'll contaminate the place more than you already have!" A gruff voice sounds from behind me. I don't take my eyes off of Azure as I aim back and fire my Snapper at him, hearing an incapacitated body fall to the floor.

I said not to let them in. Fucking rookie.