What if they'd got a different cyborg?

Thescarredman wrote:
Final installment. Anybody wants to take it farther, it's yours.

 
Great stuff. 

It reminds me of Danjo3's great piece titled Quiet Desperation (which inspired me to write own story titled Spin Theory).

I read 'Quiet Desperation' some time ago, and enjoyed it very much. Thanks for turning me on to 'Spin Theory' - a very good read.

Came up with two one-shots last night, one of which is another handler-cyborg swap:

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“Synchromesh”





“I just thought things would be different, ya know?” Allison Pagani noted as she leaned against the front left fender of the Fuji White Alfa Romeo 8 Competizione Spyder, the melancholy clear in her voice.

“A petrolhead like you with access to a garage of exotics and supercars and a handler who hates to drive? I’d think you’d be in heaven,” Petrushka Ricci observed.

“Oh I know how fortunate I am on that end,” Allison answered. “I mean look at this…” She turned and swept her arm across the shapely curves of Wolfgang Effer’s design.

“You’ve only been a fratello for a bit,” Jay Valentine noted, his eyes more interested in the shapely curves of Allison in her haute couture high neck sleeveless mini dress, created by Giambattista Valli on commission specifically for wearing with the Alfa. The dress was primarily red cashmere to match the red leather interior with a white triangular swatch at the bottom left to reflect the Fuji White paint of the exterior. The outfit was completed with Chloé black leather knee boots and Dents driving gloves in black leather.

On weekends and when not-on-call, Allison preferred jeans, tees and sneakers, but when in public with her handler, she dressed to the nines in the latest wears from the top fashion houses of Italy and France. Triela may be the “princess of Section One”, but to Jay’s eyes, Allison was the real royalty.

“Track days are fun and all, but I want to be able to share my interests in doing project cars with him. The man worked for Scuderia Ferrari, for heaven’s sake. Think of what he could teach me!”

“Have you asked him about maybe working on one of his Ferraris or Lamborghini’s?” Jay asked, instantly regretting it as Allison fixed him with a hard stare.

“Like he’d let me put a spanner to them,” she replied. “Besides, the factories spend tens of millions a year on getting every last bit of performance out of them. It’s why upgrades are mostly limited to wheels and interior trim.”

“Maybe you need a different project car,” Jay suggested, trying to recover. “He’s Italian, so maybe an Alfa or Lancia?”

Allison looked thoughtful. While her handler had a large collection of Italian and British automobiles, he didn’t own anything Japanese and her current project cars were a Toyota Corolla GT-S / Sprinter Trueno and a Mazdaspeed MX-5. She’d performed a number of engine and suspension upgrades to them, turning the Toyota into a hairy drift car and the MX-5 into a fearsome track racer.

The three cyborgs heard the front door open and a handsome man in a black suit descended the stairs.

“Gotta go,” Allison noted, opening the driver’s side door and slipping into the leather bucket seat. She fired the 4.7-liter V8 into life, blipping the throttle before putting the car into drive and pulling up next to the entrance. Her handler settled into the passenger seat and Allison headed for the front gate. The security guard waved them through and Allison proceeded out onto the stone bridge that crossed the river that ran along the western edge of the compound property.

“So I was talking with Blacker over drinks the other night and I finally convinced him to run an entry in the 24 Hours Nürburgring,” Michele noted.

“Really? Awesome!” Allison said.

“I suggested we run an M3 GT4, but since it is just going to be us four and we have to drive it to Germany and back, Jethro feels we should go with something more streetable, fixable and reliable like an E90 3-series diesel and then modify it for racing.”

“A diesel would have plenty of torque and the 335d has almost as much horsepower as the non-turbo gasoline engine. The M Sport Edition adds an aerodynamic package and we can beef up the brakes and suspension plus add a roll bar, racing seats and a fuel cell.”

“Well give it some thought over the weekend and we’ll pitch it to Jethro. If he agrees, we’ll find some garage space. I hope you don’t mind spending the next two months of weekends with your old man wrenching on cars,” Michele noted with a smile.

“I wouldn’t mind at all,” Allison replied with an even bigger grin.

Man, this post makes me so happy.

MP5 wrote:Man, this post makes me so happy.

KuroNeko's first picture of Giulia gave me some inspiration.

Jay and Allison - the more things change...

Thescarredman wrote:

ElfenMagix wrote:Excellent Scarred! Almost worthy of a fanfiction if you dare add to its completion!

Final installment. Anybody wants to take it farther, it's yours.

You know, I completely missed you posting part two of this?

Awkward.

You know, you do an excellent job of plucking at heart strings, albeit with a somewhat gentler touch than, say, Taer utilises. This was a lovely little view into two lives that might have been, and I like that Triela is willingly stepping into the same shoes that Pino filled in the canon... she doesn't seem like the type to sit idly by. They're still the same people, and you did a masterful job of retaining the same names (as it were) with that, just on different sides of the conflict now, just as Hilshire and Christiano retain their humanity and positions as well.

Great stuff.

Great contributions ScarredMan and Kiskaloo!  

Let me throw in a curve ball...

Why would a cyborg / handler be swapped? Could Jose lend out Henrietta to Hillshire because Triela is down with the "Blue Flu?" Or a mission has to be done with a certain cyborg because she was the contact in the mission and the handler goes down due to injury and is temporarily replaced with another?

Here in these cases will be some interesting stories to thrown in...

ElfenMagix wrote:Let me throw in a curve ball...

Why would a cyborg / handler be swapped?

In Chapter 20 of Pactio, Michele needed to pay a visit to a US Army officer and since he was in his Italian Air Force uniform, he needed an "aide". Since Kara wouldn't really pass for an Italian Air Force officer, Michele took Laine (since she could drive, as well). This freed Kara to tag along with Hilshire and Triela on a mission to speak with a Russian arms dealer (Chapter 21).

Well, there is certainly canon to support girls going with other handlers, so I guess there could be a few reasons... generally variations on both being needed in different places at the same time, or a handler being down for whatever reason and the SWA not wanting to give up on having an extra pair of boots on the ground. That said, I don't think it is something that would happen on a whim or if it could be avoided. I mean, if they intended to play mix-and-match willy nilly, it would partly defeat the purpose of having fratelli in the first place. I dunno, maybe it's just my own views on the thing coming through too, as I tend to think of a fratello, to an extent, as a single entity, rather than two entirely distinct individuals.

That said: though it's not entirely the same, for the second part of A Roman Holiday, I sent Monty to Rome sans-Jethro... though that was also in part a case of standard-issue Blacker Paranoia (tm), and not wanting to go wandering around Italy looking like a fratello.

I think the feasibility of a swap probably depends on the cyborg in question as well. Not all the gen 01s would probably be suitable for a swap: Triela and Rico would be likely candidates (Triela, because she would understand and could cope, and Rico because Jean ordered her to), and we've seen Claes out with Sandro and Petra... though that latter did not end entirely well. Probably not 'Etta, at least from where I'm standing, as she seems a little too Jose-dependent/single master to work well with a different handler. As an aside: Chiara, as she seems to be developing for my own writing at least, probably not either. She seems to be coming out as bright, experienced and thoughtful, but not overly independent. She still needs Gaetano close at hand.

The Gen 02s, as a generalisation, would probably be better candidates for a swap. I think Monty would be both a good and bad candidate: good, because she's bright, mature, reliable and independent; bad, because she a) probably does not want to be there and b) also probably does not like who she's been paired up with. Raych also would be a bad candidate probably, as I don't believe she would do well without Danilo nearby to serve as immediate reference. Lets face it here: she's really just a Gen 01 wearing a Gen 02's body.

One thought: I think (about the time Voodoo and Robert were actively writing... hint, hint, chaps... old cyborg/new handler stories) the idea was kicked around of a "loaner" cyborg. Probably a girl whom had lost her handler, was brought back to a usable state and could be attached to dignitaries or visiting VIPs as protection, without needing to eat into the roster of active fratelli. It would be hard on the cyborg, and she also would probably not be as effective as an actual fratello, but it would at least allow the SWA to make use of an otherwise wasted asset.

This subject has always seemed to me such fertile ground for really interesting stories just waiting to be told with many cool variations, twists and turns.  

"Rico," Triela screamed chasing after the pint sized blond, her now bright pink hair trailing behind her in long twin pony tails.

"What, you said that Signum was so cool, and now you look a little bit like her," Rico shot back as the chase continued through the agency courtyard.

"Bernardo why did you give Rico hair dye," Hillshire groaned looking down on the commotion from the agency offices.

"Hey better I let her try out dying her hair then some of the other stuff she wanted to try," Bernardo replied with a shrug.  "Besides it's not like it's going to hurt anyone, and don't think I didn't see that figma of that anime character, Mylene Sterling or something that you had hidden at your apartment.  I think Triela would look cute cosplaying as her, and we could get Rico to dress up as Dana.

"Why didn't you pick Beatrice," Hillshire groaned fighting the urge to bang his head against the desk.

Bernardo found a kindred spirit when he stumbled upon the bed ridden girl all those months ago when he was transferred to the social welfare agency.  Despite the poor hand life had dealt her the girl remained upbeat bringing a ray of sunshine into the weary soldiers life.  Bernardo soon discovered Rico was something of a practical joker whihc Bernardo was more than willing to help with.  It didn't hurt Rico's eyes were the best and helped Bernardo on his quest to find a Mrs. Bernardo.

"So where are you taking Rico today," Sandro asked Bernardo as he headed out of the compound with Rico.

"Bird hunting," Rico replied.

"Again but you didn't get anything last time," Sandro asked.

"Yeah and where is your gun?" Petra asked.

"Not that kind of bird," Rico giggled.

"I really don't want to know," Sandro groaned.

"Bernardo, I thought you said Sanrdo slept his way through a quarter of the mafia, a third of the padania, and half of public safety so why is he upset?" Rico asked.

"Rico, remember that lesson about tact," Bernardo said pulling the young girl along.

"Sorry Bernardo, but I promise to help you spot a good one today," Rico replied.

 
No doubt about it, the general mood at the Agency would be lighter with this fratello on campus.

Now do one with Jean and Petra. I dare you.

"What is your job," Jean asked looking down at the leggy red headed teen he now had for a cyborg.  After years of pestering by his boss Jean finally broke down and became a cyborg handler, the first of the second generation girls.

"To serve and protect my handler at all costs,"  Petra replied in a monotone voice.

"Good, now read and familiarize your self with this," Jean said placing an agency manual and handgun along with the associated materials on the table before leaving.

Petra sat silently for a minute before another person entered the room.  A woman about the same age as her handler.  "Argh the nerve of that man.  Jean needs to be protected from himself before he ends up in an early grave." Ferro ranted bringing in several outfits suitable for a teenage girl.

"Do you like him," Petra asked innocently breaking the silence.

"No," Ferro replied fighting back a blush.

"You're lying but don't worry I'll protect Jean from himself," Petra replied.

some time later

"Petra what are you doing," Jean groaned as his cyborg wandered off again while on their day so Petra could acquire some feminine items.

"There is no way I'm paying for this," Jean groaned as he entered the high end cafe.

"Hey Jean look who I found," Petra called out standing next to an upset Ferro.  "Now don't blow it ok," Petra whispered to Ferro.

Jean might be a royal hard ass but even he had a weakness for a crying woman.  "What happened?" Jean asked.

"Some jerk stood her up," Petra said.  "She got all dolled up and this jerk comes in and berated her for not looking more like her sister before calling her well I can't repeat it and stormed out." Petra growled.

Jean's stony expression soften for a moment as he looked down at the upset Ferro.  The woman who always backed him up, and offered support on many late nights at the office and always seemed to be looking out for him.  "Petra, you are going to find this man and make him understand how special Ferro is," Jean growled.

"You got it boss," Petra saluted before making herself scarce shooting Ferro a thumbs up behind Jeans back.

"Now we are going to enjoy a nice meal, it would be a shame to get all dressed up for nothing," Jean said taking a seat across from Ferro.

So with great fanfare operation pull the stick out of Jean's ass began.  The only downside to the operation was Petra's sisters asking for advice on their own plans to get their handlers laid or relaxed.

Priscilla stormed down the hall her heels cracking sharply, handler and cyborg alike diving into empty rooms and closets for self preservation with the normal kind and gentle woman on the warpath.  Flinging the door to the handlers office open her slammed a folder on Sandro's desk.  "What the hell do you think you were doing," Priscilla roared.

"Um we were on a surveillance mission," Sandro replied.

"Yes, but that didn't include this," Priscilla screamed shoving several risque photos of women in various states of dress in his face.

"Um sorry about that I told Henrietta to finish out the memory card and well she has some interesting tastes. Besides would you rather she actually do anything," Sandro said with a tinge of pink.

"Which she got from you, you god dam lech,"  Priscilla screamed.

"Oooh, black battle panties today." a girls voice said as a flash came from the floor.

"I am going to kill Bernardo for getting me that coffee table book," Sandro thought.

"Henrietta, we talked about this," Priscilla groaned.

"I know, Sandro's book on photography said that to be a good photographer you need to master taking pictures of the female form.  Plus Saten does it all the time to Uiharu in A certain scientific railgun, and you wouldn't wear them if you didn't intend for someone to see them." Henrietta explained from the floor.

"Sandro, can you please explain to Henrietta just how wrong that statement is," Priscilla said before storming off grumbling about insane cyborgs.

"Henrietta can you please stop doing that," Sandro groaned.

"What I can't help it, you are the one that aged me up to 17 when I'm only 11.  I need time to adjust to the hormones," Henrietta replied using her standard response.  I mean haven't they learned pumping children full of chemicals and techno babble to age them six years is in no way healthy for proper growth and development.  That and the fact that her handler is a lech and her only adult role model.

Poor Sandro. No matter what cyborg he gets, he gets no respect.

My fav was the second one with Jean being kind to Ferro!    
Go Jean go!

“Jean,” Doctor Bianchi said, “I don’t understand. Your girl’s test scores are excellent. The two of you have never failed an assignment or merited a reprimand. Why would you want to up her conditioning?”

“Because she’s driving me insane,” the chief handler ground out. “Sure, she’s a good shot, and she follows my direct orders to the letter. But she second-guesses my every decision, argues with me constantly, and balks at any request I make that isn’t an order. She’s constantly picking at me over the stupidest things.”

Bianchi smiled at his desktop. “Well, she is a teenage girl. It might simply mean that she likes you.”

“I haven’t even begun to tell you the trouble she gives me. Her wardrobe choices make me embarrassed to be seen in public with her. I’m constantly telling her to go easy on the makeup because she lays it on like a prostitute-”

“Or a dancer,” the doctor reminded Jean gently.

“I look like a pedophile or a pimp next to her. And she…” The handler fell silent.

Sensing they were arriving at the heart of the matter, the psychiatrist said, “Go on.”

In a lower voice, Jean said, “She’s … flirtatious.”

“She flirts with other men?”

“No! With me! She tells me she wants to know me better, and lays her hands all over me. It’s sending me up the wall. I can hardly think around her anymore.” Jean rested his forehead on his palms. “Duvalier said if I didn’t spec my ‘borg, he’d give me one just like his first girlfriend. He didn’t tell me his first girlfriend was a red-headed nymphomaniac.”

Bianchi looked out his window at the medical section’s center courtyard, which was crisscrossed by a pattern of arrow-straight concrete walks that met at a center point. At that point, Petrushka paced back and forth like a caged animal, her gaze traveling from her wristwatch to the medical building and back again. “I think you’re mistaken about that. A nymphomaniac is a woman who’s addicted to sex. It’s you she can’t get enough of.”

   

You sir are a genius.  Excellent work TSM

Nicely written. I could see how Petra would drive Jean up the wall: for all the reasons above and, well, I wonder how much her intransigence would bring back unwelcome memories of Sophia's pursuit.

Been holding this one back, thinking I might do it meself, but what the hell.

Open challenge:
Elsa ... and Marco.

Yeah poor Jean the eternal straight man having to deal with looooove issues! Cool!