reflections | detroit become human

one.

PART ONE | OCT 2037
not just a piece of plastic

The main reason why Tessa García hated the first week of training was the sleepless nights she had to drag her way through, caused by their first activity of group bonding – a communal bedroom.

Being forced to share a room with seven guys and two girls made Tessa grimace when she first found out about the situation – but also feel relief when she saw the other two girls scrunch their noses up at the idea. Unfortunately, she found herself drifting on the outside of the two, their exclusion bringing her mood back down to an all time low. Not like it was an uncommon thing for the girl.

Unlike the guys, who mostly all immediately got together and celebrated – like they were back to being teenage boys having sleepovers on school nights.

So when Tessa found herself staring up at the ceiling on the second night, listening to the different pitches and volumes of snores, she knew the next few days were going to be painfully long.

On the Wednesday morning, the training squad of ten was sat in their briefing room, making small talk as they waited for their captain.

Tessa was leaning on one of the tables with the two other girls, a black coffee wrapped around her small hands as she struggled to keep her eyes open. Her surroundings were foggy, due to the lack of sleep, but out of the corner of her eye she could see one of the guys staring at her from the front of the room.

Her chocolate brown eyes narrow as she stares back, fixating on the smirk plastered on his face. His name was Dillon, from memory. His face made Tessa shiver – looking away and shoving her head down as the door opens to reveal Captain Johnson.

"Squad three, listen up. We've got an added member joining our group today," He announces. "It seems as we're the only one with this new addition. Fuckers."

Tessa's ears perk up as she hears the annoyance in her captain's voice. Surely one more person shouldn't be that much of a hassle.

Seconds later, footsteps indicate someone entering the room, making the chatter disperse. The silence and occasional whisper force the brunette's head to lift up, her eyes widening as she spots the person next to the captain.

However, it wasn't a person.

"Hello, my name is Connor. I'm the android sent by Cyberlife."

–

Tessa remained silent as her other group members shouted profanities towards the front, complaining about having to train with an android. Her eyes stayed glued to it, fingers tightening around her mug as she looked at the emotionless being.

The girl had nothing against androids. They'd never done anything bad to her – in fact, her foster family had an android which Tessa had grown quite fond of. It almost made her feel sick watching the other recruits blast it with verbal abuse.

"Hey, alright, shut the hell up!" Captain Johnson yells loudly, grabbing the room's attention. "Look, I don't want to work with this fuckin' thing either, but we don't have a choice. Cyberlife sent it here to observe and learn – that's all. You don't gotta have anything to do with it, just pretend it's not there. It won't bother you unless you ask it to."

"Is it gonna be here for the full six months?" Someone asks.

"Only three."