Chapter Text
It was not unusual for Prowl to receive training modules to his work inbox. Especially given that he was still operating within the confines of the Department’s Training Bureau, pending his assignment to his permanent posting at an as-yet undetermined precinct. As a cold construct, he was technically capable of immediate deployment. All the necessary software and programming to complete the basic tasks of his functioning came pre-installed when they onlined him. Praxus as a whole, however, preferred to cross train all of its Enforcers. Prowl was forced to concede to the wisdom of his elders in this, although he was hoping his time with both the Patrol Unit and the Transit Unit would be brief.
His commission was owned by the Praxian Enforcer Department and he would, therefore, go wherever they sent him until he was able to pay off his production costs. But Prowl would admit to striving for a place within the Investigative Bureau or the Crime Control Strategies Bureau. For now, however, he was firmly stuck with the Training Bureau until such time as he met the Department’s rigorous standards and ‘graduated.’ And since his cycles were a staggered mixture of training modules and practical work with a mentoring unit, it was not unusual to see new files in his inbox when he clocked in.
This one, somewhat surprisingly, came directly from the overseer of his training cadre. Proctor rarely interacted with trainees directly; instead, his position was to arrange module distribution and monitor the mentor-trainee pairs to ensure maximum efficiency and cohesion. On very rare occasions he might host a seminar. To receive a message was unusual to say the least. The subject line merely held the date and somewhat oblique descriptor ‘Training Modules.’
“Trainee Unit Prowl,” the message read, “Please find attached your training modules for the cycle. You are expected to unzip and complete the first set prior to your practical with Patrol Unit Barricade, the second set prior to your remedial practical with Community Affairs Unit Upbeat, and the final module at the end of your shift. Further message to come with details for a meeting concerning a new departmental initiative.” Then, of course, came Proctor’s designation followed by several glyphs detailing his qualifications. A compressed file containing the cycle’s modules was attached at the bottom.
Hooking into his work terminal, Prowl initiated the download for the file while he sped his way through the UI’s customary (and unnecessary) greetings to get to his agenda and morning data packet. Already there were several pings from both his cadre and his mentors, as well as the news items most critical to his training and interests. He perused these until the download was complete and then unzipped the compressed folder. His first six modules and practical lessons with Barricade and instructor Upbeat occupied a majority of his processor for the cycle.
Proctor’s second message came through as Barricade ushered him back into his cubicle for a mid-cycle refuel. It was a simple memo providing a room number and time for the meeting, as he’d promised to provide in the first message. Prowl appreciated the follow-up. He did not appreciate the lack of any other information. Still, there were several joors between the end of his remedial with Upbeat and the beginning of the meeting. Perhaps the module would explain.
At the end of his lesson, it was waiting for him. Prowl glanced at the file name for a nanoklik before executing it without further delay. Initiative(ProtectandServe)typeOnboarding.exe initialized and immediately opened a window on his desktop. It was another app to manage repeatable modules, with several greyed out spaces indicating absent files. There was a prompt to run the file, which Prowl tapped immediately.
The app flashed a cool, soothing blue across the screen. It began to slowly pulse, saturating and desaturing in time to a bobbing “Module Loading” logo that drew the optic to the center of the screen. A tone played on his internal comm unit to indicate an audio file beginning, and Prowl frowned even as he relaxed. The audio files were his least favorite module type, but they were common enough that the format didn’t phase him. Truthfully, they were a bit like being lectured.
“Welcome to the Protect and Serve Initiative, Enforcer. Please state your unit designation.” Prowl shuttered his optics at that. Was this an interactive file? The mech doing the voiceover for the module had a soft voice that had him straining to hear, even with internal audio. The instruction was delivered again in the same level, professional tone as before.
“Prowl,” said Prowl, feeling somewhat foolish. The UI flashed brighter on-screen for a fraction of a klik, and the indicator under the “Module Loading” logo gained a bar. Ah, so it was interactive! The modules would likely unlock after completing the onboarding process. He felt a bit of pride for puzzling that out, despite the lack of any actual necessity.
“Good,” came the voice, “thank you, Enforcer Prowl.” A small smile tugged at Prowl’s lips. It felt good to be addressed as though he were a full Enforcer rather than just a trainee. A small packet deployed on the screen, which he now realized had slowly shifted from that cool blue to a soft green. This audio module, it informed him, was delivered by Instructor Instructor. Prowl’s smile grew a little at that. The soft green light continued to pulse.
“PSI software is still in beta testing. Your patience during the trial period is appreciated,” a new voice cut in to tell him. Then a soft, tinkling sound began to play, underscored by a quiet droning. The drone itself was unremarkable, but seemed to uplift the rest of the melody as a foundation. Though it took Prowl a moment to place, it seemed to be a recording of the famous ‘singing’ crystals at the Helix Gardens. It was truly lovely to listen to. The first voice returned and the indicator increased by a fraction of a degree.
“The Protect and Serve Initiative is an experimental program developed by the state of Praxus, in conjunction with Uraya and Protihex, under the oversight of the Iacon Civic Policing Department,” Instructor informed him, and his already soft voice was almost drowned out by the music. With no settings available to adjust, Prowl was forced to dedicate more processing power to separating the audio and comprehending it. Idly, he made a note to suggest some quality adjustments to the development team.
“This program is intended to address issues found in unit cohesion, cohort enmeshment, and Enforcer-civilian relations by training units to identify concerning patterns,” and here the happy yellow screen began to display a shifting pattern of hexagons which seemed to move and slot into each other as they spiraled in towards the center of the monitor, “in behavior and environment.”
Prowl watched, absently, as the hexagons nested and un-nested themselves. Each piece fitted tightly against another before separating, but they all moved from the outer corners of the screen inward. The color shifted back to the soft green. In his audials, the Helix Garden sang to him. More processing power dedicated itself to predicting the pattern without his conscious thought. There definitely was one, but every time he thought he had the make of it a strand of hexagons would shift unpredictably. One of Prowl’s cooling fans kicked in involuntarily.
“Would you like to know more?” Instructor asked. But Prowl could barely hear the module. The color was shifting again, and with a flash of triumph he realized that it was shifting from soothing blue to soft green to a happy yellow and then back again almost too slowly to notice. “Would you like to know more?” the module repeated, and then said “Say ‘yes, Instructor,’ to continue.”
“Yes, Instructor,” Prowl murmured, transfixed. The module would help him identify the pattern. That was the point of the program, after all.
“Good,” Instructor praised. A prompt popped up on the screen, covering the bobbing logo and indicator bar. Did Prowl want to download the file? “Enforcer Prowl,” and that title made him shift happily in his seat, “please download the file.” Prowl did. The prompt cleared. PSItypeOnboardingPacket.exe ran itself without any further input from Prowl, which almost made him frown.
“Thank you, Enforcer Prowl.” Instructor sounded pleased, which soothed the concern away with the throb of the blue light. The pop-ups invading his processor and dismissing themselves before he could read them were on purpose then. Beta testing, he reminded himself, the software is still in testing. Some things were bound to need improvement or streamlining, and this must have been one. Prowl relaxed into the glittery music and the low drone as he waited for the module to continue. No need to worry. Installation complete.
“PSI Enforcers will be given special modifications, software, and training to enable them to address these departmental concerns. Our Enforcers stand ready to protect the general populace, but a PSI Enforcer is dedicated to going above and beyond this call to serve.” There was another pause, then.
Instructor continued to drone on and on in a soothing tone, expounding on the program’s goals and ideals. He never seemed to actually say much at all, Prowl noticed absently. But that was fine. There was a certain rhythm to his speech, a cadence or intonation that made it ridiculously easy to follow along with. To sink into. Prowl’s vents had slowly begun to sync with Instructor’s through the audio.
On the terminal’s screen the pattern was starting to fade away, leaving only the colors behind, but Prowl’s processor was starting to chug as his RAM continued to process the flow of data. He’d never felt so slow, so hot, so burdened by information. With as much power as this was using… He almost missed Instructor’s next prompt.
“Are you ready to go above and beyond?” Instructor prompted.
Prowl almost couldn’t open his mouth to agree. His fans were whining audibly in the cubicle. But he knew the correct response.
“Yes, Instructor,” he sighed softly.
“Good,” Instructor toned, but this time a new program activated and sent what could only be described as a shiver through Prowl’s whole frame. It felt glowy, and yellow, and oh so good. He was good. “To complete the onboarding process and gain access to your training modules, please repeat after me.“ Prowl felt several programs spooling as he readied himself.
“I am a PSI Enforcer,” Prowl said dutifully, no longer straining to hear Instructor under the music when it seemed he was transmitting data straight to Prowl’s previously banked modules. Writing everything he needed right into Prowl’s coding.
“I am happy to serve.” And in the glow of the yellow light, he was. Prowl was a built and sparked Enforcer. He was happy to serve.
“Good mechs are obedient.” Even the echo of Instructor saying it made that new program send a shiver through his frame.
“I am a good mech,” Prowl whispered under his straining fans, processor too full to consciously examine the information he was now copying so dutifully to his drives. The shiver again, and the yellow glow of satisfaction.
“I am a good Enforcer.” The soft green pulled him back and away from an edge he hadn’t realized he was riding. Prowl vaguely registered that he was leaning forward towards the screen. Gaping.
“It’s a pleasure to serve,” he murmured, pedes kicking idly where they hung a little above the floor. Another yellow shiver, but it was distant.
“Thank you, Enforcer Prowl,” Instructor said, and the colors dissipated as the loading indicator reached completion and the app screen unlocked. Prowl smiled clumsily, feeling half-connected to his own frame. He was so calm, and so soft, and so blissfully happy here in this state. He was such a good Enforcer.
“You have now reached the end of the onboarding module. Please remember to run your primer program before accessing the later modules,” Instructor ordered. He tapped on the icon without hesitation or thought, lost in the fog of an overclocked processor.
A blue flicker lit the screen as the ‘Primer’ program began loading—an alarm shook him from the training module and he scowled as it automatically exited out, before realizing that he had less than a breem to make his way to the meeting for the initiative. Several joors had elapsed without his notice, and if Prowl wasn’t quick then he was going to be late. He shut down the terminal as quickly as he was able and sped out the door as quickly as he could without breaking any rules for acceptable hallway conduct.
The meeting room Proctor had indicated was somewhat remote from the others, as it was generally used early on in the training process to acclimate new-builds to the concept. As such it was smaller and somewhat more intimate than the actual conference rooms used by fully installed Enforcers. Its use this evening was more than likely due to the small size of the gathering, Prowl mused distantly.
There were five other mechs in conference room 404 when he arrived. He took note of them almost absently, as though floating above his own frame. Quiet music twinkled from the speakers built into the table. It was the Helix Gardens again. Prowl smiled. So soothing, so soft, so pretty. Good. The program that pinged him with the yellow shivers ran itself again, and Prowl hummed. Taking a seat next to a beaming cyclebot, he relaxed into the music and waited for the meeting to begin. After some time, two femmes wandered in. The music dimmed, then, and the projector at the head of the table clicked on.
“Greetings, Enforcers,” said Proctor, “and welcome to the Protect and Serve Initiative’s pilot program. You have been hand picked by your instructors based on personal aptitude.” A few mechanisms hummed or nodded at this. Prowl riveted his attention to the projection and tried to stop swinging his pedes.
“In the coming cycles you will be expected to complete training modules, download the appropriate software, and perhaps even receive frame modifications. Not to worry; all of these will be expensed to the department, and are intended to help you become good PSI Enforcers.” Someone moaned quietly. Prowl barely noticed, too caught up in a wash of internal sunshine from the yellow program.
“Ah, I see some of you are already acquainted with the reward system.” Oh, was that what it was? Prowl shuttered his optics briefly. Proctor was smiling. “This new software aids in incentivizing desired behaviors in our mechanisms,” he explained, “and is standardized for the Initiative. Good enforcers don’t need to worry about the nature of their training, only be happy that they are succeeding.” That thrill again, though now Prowl knew it was a reward.
“As you know,” Proctor said, “Praxus prides itself on cross-training its Enforcers to increase their efficiency and productivity. As such you will not be expected to act in your capacity as PSI Enforcers at all times. Your training modules will detail the circumstances in which individuals are expected to perform and align your priority trees to reflect them.” Ah, blessed clarification.
“When not operating under the initiative, a good Enforcer does not need to concern themselves with their extra duties and should only feel pride and contentment. You will not need to remember what you do as a PSI Enforcer, because you know it is good and right.”
Prowl’s thighs were rubbing together as he swung his pedes.
“Beginning next cycle you will all be receiving your PSI modules alongside your regular training items and assignments. You are required to listen to the primer program before accessing your assigned modules. You are allowed to listen to it at other times according to preference, but will be unable to access later files without first completing the primer. A good Enforcer listens to the primer often to increase the efficacy of their training.” Proctor had a level voice that was not unlike Instructor, Prowl mused. His doorwings were quivering slightly at his back. He wanted to be a good Enforcer, wanted to be the best. He let Proctor’s words settle in as law, because good mechs were obedient.
“I understand that you have all had a long cycle, and as such will keep this meeting brief,” Proctor murmured just barely above the music, “I will leave you with these final words. Please repeat after me.”
And, in concert, the eight trainees did.
“I am a PSI Enforcer,” they parroted, “I go above and beyond. I am happy to serve. Good mechs are obedient. I am a good mech. I am a good Enforcer. It is a pleasure to serve.” And as he followed Proctor’s instructions, Prowl felt the reward program ping him several times in rapid succession. He smiled then, optics dim, knowing that he was a good Enforcer. He didn’t need to worry about his training, only be happy that he was succeeding.
“That will be all, Enforcers,” Proctor finished. The projector deactivated itself. Abruptly, the sound of the Helix Gardens cut off and the temperature of the room dropped noticeably.
It shook Prowl from the glowy, pleasant space he’d been happily inhabiting. He stilled his quivering wings and swinging pedes, then rose from his chair and returned to his dorm. The whole walk back, he was running a low charge.