Foot Patrol [Private/Niraya]

Clasping her hands above her head and stretching Bai let out a long yawn. She had been walking for quite some time in this area. There had been several break ins in the last few days and they wanted plain clothes officers to keep an eye on the area. Of course most the break ins had happened during the day since that was when people were out of their homes. Since a good few of the officers in the area were working on the parade thing that was going on Bai and several other detectives who weren't on a case at the moment had been called up to walk the neighborhoods that had the reports.

It reminded her of her time walking the beat when she first became a cop. Back in those days though it was different, she had on her uniform then. Now she looked no different from anyone else walking down the street. Of course she made sure she wore a longer jacket to hide her duty weapon and badge since that would be a dead giveaway for whoever has been breaking into these places.

“Man, I need more coffee,” Bai yawned again as she continued down the sidewalk. Keeping an eye peeled for suspicious behavior and listening for anything that sounded like a break in. These criminals weren't exactly subtle as every house they had broken into had been entered through a broken window or glass door of some kind.

Niraya woke up in the morning and took a shower. She didn't notice anything was wrong till she went to dry off her tail and it was sticking at a weird angel. She tries to correct it but it wasn't budging. "Oh Gosh Dang It!!!" She sighs and goes downstairs to fetch her tools. She removes the lock that held the tail in place and with alot of force slips the tail out of the locking mechinism. There was a soft pop noise before she colapses to the floor breathing heavy. "Ugh. Every time it feels like i get ran over by a train!" She pulls the tail around and examines it. It was clearly broken. She sighs and sets it aside before going to make some breakfast.

A few hours later once she had her breakfast and a change of clothes she sets up her workspace outside. She uses her protype drone to help her set things up so it wasn't in direct sunlight but it was clear someone was working on something outside. She puts her tail on the workbench and connects it to a computer before removing the fur from the mechanism. "Now...What has broken you today?" She pulls out a small flashlight and a pair of magnifying goggles so she could see in the machine more clearly. If any of her neighbors were outside they would just say it was the crazy robot lady at work again.

Turning the corner Bai continued walking. The neighborhood was pretty nice and it got her thinking about what it would be like to live out here. Of course soon she was imagining herself with a husband and kids and a small blush came across her face. Shaking her head vigorously she sighed. “Hell I don't even have a boyfriend yet, how the hell am I supposed to get married?” she asked herself.

Something caught her eye while scanning the area. A person in their front yard and it looked like they were working with something. As she drew closer it seemed like they were working with some strange device of some kind. Atop this woman's head was an obvious pair of fox like ears. A faunus then. As Bai got within hearing range she could hear this woman talking to the contraption she was working with. In fact it looked like she had a full on shop set up outside her house.

Finally in front of the house Bai could see that whatever was going on it was highly technical, and would probably go over her head. Though now that she was up close it looked like this thing was some king of mechanical tentacle, or tail possibly. Based on the bundle of fur like stuff that was nearby it was probably a tail. Now her interest was piqued. It made sense, if you could replace other limbs with a robotic one why not a tail?

“Excuse me,” Bai said while remaining on the sidewalk for now, “you mind if I take a look at what you're doing?”

Niraya was quietly working on finding the problem when she hears someone. She looks up and flicks the magnifying goggles out of her line of sight. She could see a person standing at the gate to her house. She had asked if she could have a look. Niraya's ears perk up and she smiles. "Sure come on over here...just watch yourself or a drone might hit you." She goes back to looking at the tail. "Spreader!" She raises a hand as she says this and a drone comes zipping by with a tool in its grasp. It drops it off in Niraya's hand. "Thank you." She begins to spread apart the various servo pistons and plates that made the tail move naturally trying to find the problem.

She stops for a second when Bai was next to her. "Hello. My name is Niraya Huntsmith. I am the Head Scientist at the Zerul Robotics R&D Labs." Her ears twitched a bit as she said this as she was slightly annoyed and happy at the same time. Annoyed because her tail broke some time during the night, and happy that she met someone who is interested in her work.

With permission given Bai opened the gate and stepped onto the property. As she walked closer she had to dodge a few drones here and there before she got up close. From this close up it was obvious that whatever this person was working on was extremely advanced. Along with the drones that were whizzing about it was all rather impressive, though still Bai wondered if that was what she thought it was on the table.

“Oh. Detective Bai Zhang, Bellmuse Police department,” She introduced herself to this scientist, “So what exactly are you doing here? I mean It looks like some kind of I dunno, tail or something. Is it for a dog shaped drone?” Looking around she didn't see any animal shaped robots but still it was a valid question to ask. The idea that it was some kind of prosthetic for use on a person didn't even cross her mind. For the longest time she had been without a tail and so getting something to replace it wasn't something she even considered.

She stops working and gives a small bow to Bai. "Nice to meet you Detective Bai." She goes back to work only to stop again when she asked if the tail was for a dog drone. She chuckles a bit. "Now thats an idea. A friendly dog bot, But no this tail is mine....but it broke during the night so i'm trying to figure out what caused it."

The computer beeps getting Niraya's attention she turns towards it and sighs. "Dang it. Full neural failure. This is just the worst. I have to rebuild it from scratch. At least i have a backup tail for such an event." She sighs then turns to the detective. "What brings you to town?" As she waits for the answer she waves over a drone and has it take the broken tail off to be disassembled at Zerul Robotics.

“Wait... your tail? Like a prosthetic?” Bai asked, now with the idea in her head. It almost made her wonder what it would be like to have a tail again, and if this was advanced as any other robotic limb then it would be almost like the real thing. Without even thinking about it she brought her attention to the small sub at the base of her spine where her tail used to be.

“Oh, There's been a series of break in's in the area so they have us walking around keeping an eye out,” Bai said while gesturing to the neighborhood, "You shouldn't have to worry though, these guys only go after houses where no one's home." Of course right now her mind was too focused on this whole idea of a prosthetic tail. “So... is this like a replacement for if a Faunus losses their tail or something?” she asked, wondering now if this was something that only Faunus got or if there were human's running around with robotic tails or ears. It was an amusing thought, though she wondered if any human even would considering the way Faunus could be treated in parts of the world.

Niraya walks into her house real quick before returning with her tail. "Well thats the first i have heard of these breaking. Guess im going to need to get my drone to so some surveillance around here." She puts her tail on the table and connects it to the computer to ensure it was in working order. "It could be use to replace a faunus's tail. I just invented this a few years ago in an atempt to be more like my sister who is a faunus." She looks at Bai who just had the expression of being stuck in a split decision. "Were you wanting to get your tail back?" A drone flies towards Niraya it was having issues floating. She grabs it and puts it on a changing stand. "Guess your low on power. I really need to get the docking bay setup so they can charge themselves." She realizes she trailed off and looks back at Bai. "Sorry about that they are like my children."

“Well if you get any information go ahead and give me a call,” Bai said while pulling out her business card with her name, badge number and phone number and the division she worked under “violent crimes” written on it. She did focus somewhat on the robotic tail that Niraya now had on, it looked just like the real thing and had she not known about it she would have just assumed it was natural. “Interesting... wait... so you aren't a Faunus then? But your sister is?” Bai asked, “that sounds like a complex situation. So then are those ears also prosthetic?”

“Damn,” Bai curse herself, “was I that easy to read? Most people just assume I'm human. But to be honest I've never even considered the idea of a replacement for my tail.” With a shrug she deeply considered the idea. Of course one of the reasons she had an easier time at the PD was because everyone assumed she was human. But then again she wasn't exactly scared of being known as a Faunus. “Oh don't worry about it, there sure is a lot of them,” she said while looking around at all the buzzing drones, “So question, it seemed like you could take it off, is that a standard feature.? There are times when I wouldn't exactly want people guessing I'm a Faunus.”

Niraya takes the card. "Sure i will be sure to let you know." The computer gives the green light on the tail and she puts it back in. She attaches the tail. Once it was in she started to breath heavy and had to support herself on the table. "Yes i'm a human. and Yes the ears are also prosthetic. but surprisingly work just like the real deal." She takes a deep breath and regains her composure. "I wouldn't recommend removing the tail at will. It hurts A LOT. Think of getting run over by the super large transport trucks in the quarry. that's the level of pain you feel removing and attaching the tail."

She smiles at Bai. "Its not bad being human, but i never felt like human was what i should be. These ears and tail make me feel complete." She looks away rubbing her a bit. "Though other see me as a faunus and treat me like they treat them. I dont understand why people can be so cruel." She sees the worried look on Bai's face and changes the subject. "Were you wanting to get your ears or tail back?"

Well that only made sense. If they were true prosthetic then working like the real deal would kinda be part of the deal with them. The look on Niraya's face as she attached the tail was extremely confusing. Bai couldn't tell if it hurt or if it felt really good. When it was finally over she still couldn't tell which was it. “Wow... that doesn't sound very nice, I'm going to assume that's not a feature that you put in the brochures then?” She joked slightly, though honestly it sounded like she was exaggerating to an extent. On more than one occasion Bai had been in some pretty painful situations.

“I guess that makes sense,” Bai shrugged. She always knew she was lucky to be treated like a human due to her accident but she never considered that some humans might want to look like Faunus. “That's for sure... makes me sick,” she said with some venom in her voice. If there was anything she truly hated in this world it was people who disliked Faunus just because they were Faunus. “Huh?” Bai perked up a bit without realizing it, “I never had ears, just a tail... and I never really considered it. But I guess it doesn't hurt to ask some questions. Like what all goes into getting one of these tails? And I assume it's expensive?”

She smiles at Bai and motions to her home. "Care to come inside so we can discuss this in a bit more private situation?" Her tail was swaying back and forth gently. Once Bai walks inside of her home she puts in a command on her wrist communicator to have the drones move the stuff back into the garage once that was finished they are to keep an eye on the block. She would then follow her inside. She would lead Bai to the living room which had a long 4 seat couch a coffee table and large TV. below the TV was the various equipment for the sound system. The decor was a bit barron but she was hardly ever home to begin with. "Care for something to drink. maybe a snack?" As she waits for an answer she walks into the kitchen to get a drink for herself.

“Sure, just give me one second,” Bai said before pulling out her scroll and opening it, “This is 67402 going ten seven B.” With that done she put her scroll back into her pocket and following Niraya. It was kind of hypnotic how her tail moved back and forth, and it almost made her jealous. Once inside she gave the place a quick visual rundown. It was definitely nicer than her own little apartment that was for sure, even if it was a little barren. And that TV was huge, way larger than the one Bai had.

“Water would be great, I've been walking all day,” She said turning her attention to Niraya before going over to examine the TV set up. She wished she could afford this kind of stuff but on her salary she would have to save up for quite a bit to get an entire set up this one.

Niraya smiles and nods she gets a glass of tea for herself and a glass of water for Bai. She took her time as she felt like having some Tea, Honey, and lemon. It was an old family recipe she got from her father. It was a very soothing drink only bad side is you have to drink it hot. "You seem interested in the tv setup. I got that for a great deal. $200 for the whole thing. You would be surprised what you can find on sale at various stores."

She finishes the drinks before returning to the living room. She sets the drinks down on the coffee table before sitting down on the couch. "So you are thinking about having a tail again. What would you like to know about the procedure before we talk about the design you want." Her tail wraps around her and she gently strokes it as it showing off the tail.

“Really? That's not bad,” Bai nodded, “I've been considering upgrading my setup but all the good stuff is usually pretty expensive.” That was a heck of a deal for a new TV and audio system though. Moving over from the setup she took a seat on the couch, again it seemed rather pricy and was definitely more comfortable than her own. Most the stuff she got from thrift stores and had was pretty old. It would have been nice to be able to afford such a place but that could only happen if she ever made captain and then she would be uncomfortably close to the politics of policing.

Taking the water Bai took a large gulp of it with a satisfied sigh, she definitely needed that. “Well I guess I want to know what kind of procedure it would be, and recovery time? As well would I be able to feel with it like I could with any other limb?” She asked, “I'm really curious, I lost my tail when I was young so I don't even remember what It was like to have one.”

Niraya nods at the questions. "A common question with possible surgery is involved. And to answer them....I guess you would want it be in rough context instead of full detail. So lets start with the basics." She lets go of her tail and it swings around to behind her. and she pulls Bai close and uses her finger marks where they would be operating. "Well first you will be sedated and the operation would begin with a incision here separating the spine from your lower body very gently this way we can slip in a plate between the disks so it can pick up on a signal from your brain. Then from there we then mount a connector to the base of your spine where the two disks meet." She rubs the spot so she knew the exact spot where the connector will be.

"Your next question. Recovery. Well that depends on user. For me i got very badly ill but i was back up on my feet within a month. If it all goes well and the antibiotics do there job you should be on your feet within a week. But we wont be mounting a tail on your right away. We have to wait for the spine to accept the new addition which once you recover should be roughly the time we can test for that." She pulls her tail around. "Yes! You will be able to feel your new tail. its connected to your spine and to ensure it moves as naturally as possible it gives feedback to your brain. Without knowing it you would notice people touching your tail with a feather." She chuckles at the last part, but quickly goes back to being serious. "The cost would depend mostly on your tail selection as that's 80% of your fee. the surgery will cost around $250. But Zerul Robotics has gotten some policies which will allow you to use your insurance to get the surgery so that cost can be negated if your job provides a decent coverage plan."

Bai listened to what the woman said to her. Ten minutes ago she would have never considered this and now here she was having the details explained to her. But the idea was appealing to her. Would it be a good idea with the work she was doing within the PD? She was already one of two Faunus detectives but not everyone knew she was one. Of course she could just tell them the truth, that she got a bionic tail. Most of them would just assume she was a human who got one, sure they might think she's a bit weird but they would probably still think she was human unless otherwise told. A small blush came across the detective's face as she felt Niraya touching the furry stub that was the only remnants of her tail, if the prosthetic was as sensitive as that little nub was she would have to be careful with it. Still though the procedure did sound like she wouldn't be doing much walking directly afterwards.

The recovery time didn't seem too bad for this type of surgery. Bai only ever had to have surgery once before when she was a beat cop and she had been shot. They had to go in and remove the bullet from the lungs and recovery after that had been a serious haste before she was back on her feet. "A week isn't too bad, it's a bit hard to get time off with my job but if a surgery is involved they tend to be more lenient," she said, "And that's great, wouldn't be much of a deal if I couldn't feel anything with it." The cost quickly made her wince. If it was two hundred fifty for the procedure and that was only twenty percent of the cost then the cost of the tail itself would be bad. "Well being a detective has a nice insurance plan, but the cost of the actual tail itself sounds rather daunting on my salary. Cops don't make a whole lot, despite what some may think."

she smiles and her tail wags a bit. But when Bai mentioned she couldn't cover the cost Niraya thinks for a bit. "Your a detective right? Well we at Zerul Robotics have been testing out new material for armor, experimental drones, and a few other things for the police force. If you want to test some of the stuff out....I could foot the bill for your tail." She tries to give an honest smile but she knew some of the stuff would be very dangerous out in the field. "Of course there are rules and regulations i have to go through to have you test out the tech, but i know a few loop holes. Word of warning you accept this i cant control what you are to test as my Father has a higher say than I do on this matter." She looks at her with a now more accurate worried expression.

It was an interesting offer, testing stuff for a robotics company. But unfortunately being a cop was government work meaning she would either have to do it under the table or jump through about seven hundred hoops before anything was considered. But another idea came to her head. The same person who had gotten Bai onto the plice force in the first place and had recently been introducing her to not only other higher ups within the force but some local political figures too. Of course her guess was that he wanted her to take his place when he retired, which would be soon.

"I can possibly do you one better," Bai said with a small grin across her face, "I have some connections with higher ups on the force and I might be able to get some convincing done for the Bellmuse police department to run field tests for your equipment. Who knows if it's good enough stuff they might just be interested in making a contract. Especially with some of the stuff that's coming out of Atlas recently I've been hearing talk around the station that they're looking for some new hardware to keep up." It was all true, the higher ups knew that if the Atlas military was getting things like the atlesian paladin then it wouldn't be long before they started showing up on the black market.

Niraya's face lit up. "Ooooh...Well now we can get somewhere. You connect me with the higher ups and i can present them with some safer stuff right away. the more prototype equipment will have to be done later. If things go well i will not only pay for your tail I will personally customize to your preferences." Her tail was moving around a bit showing she was excited. She blushes a bit and tries to calm down. "Sorry...Sorry. A business deal with the Bellmuse Police would just have my father jumping to the moon. Our combat droids might not be ready for police work. but the armor plating can easily tweeked for body armor on a human." She sighs. "I guess that's enough about work. You can stay if you like. Or if my drones happened to find something you will want to investigate. I wouldn't mind helping you with it."

“Well that sounds nice,” Bai said with a wide smile. A customized personal tail, that would be one heck of a deal. Of course she just wanted something that would be close to what her tail would be like now if she still had it. Of course she didn't know if there were any cool extra features these tails could do, like have lasers or something. She couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of a tail that shot laser from the tip.

“Don't worry about it, this would be huge for me too,” Bai said, “if nothing else something like this would put me in the good graces of just about all the higher ups." Though of course Bai would be going home tonight and doing more research on this company, and the prosthetics they make before making any sort of decision but so far everything looked good. One quick call to the captain would be all she needed to get a meeting like this set up. “It would probably be good to check the drones,” Bai said. Little did she know that sure enough they had caught something, a few blocks away their band of thieves had broken into a house.

Niraya nods happy to hears she was going to try. "Well nothing else i can do, But wait." When she mentions the drones she goes to her wrist computer that controls the drones and gets a live feed from then. "Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, noth...wait!" She was going through the various feeds but on drone 5 she sees something out of place. She moves the drone in for a better look. "We need to go NOW! break in at 8765 Stanberry not to far from here!" She leaps over the couch and quickly moves to grab her whip before bolting out the door. It was interesting to see her move so fast even with prosthetic addons. She moves the drones into position to keep an eye on the house in question but far enough that they wouldn't be noticed. As she got close she kept out of sight of the building and readies her whip. She waits for Bai to catch up unsure what police procedure was to taking down a robbery in progress.

Watching as Niraya looked through the different things on her wrist mounted computer Bai was thoroughly impressed. There really were some amazing people out there. Having never been that great with robotics or computer stuff herself it was interesting to watch. Though once she did find something Bai immediately went for her scroll. Before she even has a chance to tell Niraya not to interfere the girl is already up and out of the house.

“Damn it!” Bai cursed before jumping up and chasing after the red haired girl. Of course it was pretty easy for the detective to keep up since she kept herself in good shape. Stopping outside the house Bai pulled out her scroll again and opened it. “This is 67482, I have the suspects. 8765 Stanberry, robbery in progress,” she whispered into the device before putting it away again and drawing her service pistol. “Listen, all we do is wait for backup....” Bai said before she noticed the three men in the house coming out to a white van and starting it up, “or not.”

Niraya gave a deflated look at Bai when she said that they are going to do nothing. Then she hears the van start up. "We cant let them leave!" She stands up and focuses her semblance. ice shards begin to form around her hand. The shards then condense into a small javelin and she throws it very quickly trying to spike the path ahead of the van. She would then rush over the wall using it as cover to get closer to the van. She could hear the van sequel to a halt as the tires were popped. "Yes~." She was trying to be silent as she approached. She peers over the wall to see if the men were armed. Not able to get a good look she uses the drones to examine them from a distance. She could only the see driver checking the tires. the other two were in the van complaining. "Hurry up already!"

Once again the overly excited red haired girl acted before Bai could say anything. Though whatever she did stopped the van so that was good. “f***!” Bai cursed under her breath as Niraya jumped over the wall. Well looks like it was time to act. Getting up to her feet she broke into a sprint and came around the corner, there the van was stopped and one of the three was outside looking at the tires. As the one outside the van noticed her running up began to reach under his jacket for something. As he started to pull a gun out Bai got close enough to shoulder slam him to the ground. He lost his grip and his gun slid off to the side.

Rolling she got up onto one knee, and said knee was placed right on top of the head of the one she just tackled. Taking aim with her gun she pointed at the van with the other two inside of it. “Bellmuse Police department, slowly exit the vehicle with your hands in the air!”