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"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like you all to listen carefully to the words that will be coming out of my mouth for the next few minutes. This includes all you new rookies in the room!"

The Chief of Police turned, facing the wall of officers lined up in the room, scanning over the crowd before turning back to the board.

"Now, as all of you know, in the next few days, a very special event will be happening, Colony Day, a whole week off of fun and festivities marking the occasion this wonderful little planet was colonized by us Human beings not even 50 years ago."

The Chief turned, watching the gathered crowd, who were still silent, listening patiently. The Chief took a deep inhale of his pipe before continuing.

"Now, there'll be a lot of questions regarding this, but sadly, it's beyond my control. As many of you know, we aren't the only ones on this planet, there's a whole lot of other aliens that live here, and a whole lot more tourists showing up to celebrate with us. Now, the government, or what I like to say, the rich folks on top, seem to have taken a disliking to a certain group of aliens taking up residence in the city slums, the Roaches. Now, before I continue, is there any questions?"

Riggs, the mountain of a man next to Benny, rose his hand slowly up into the air. The Chief pointed to Riggs gesturing with his pipe. Riggs spoke, his deep voice reverberating through the room.

"Sir, did I sign up for a shoot and clean op?"

The Chief shook his head.

"No rookie, you did not. This is strictly just a street sweep op. The rich folks up top don't like Roaches, and want them out of sight for the festivals during the week. This means they simply want them either pushed elsewhere, or rounded up and put somewhere for the time being. This means, no guns, and no violence."

Riggs nodded, letting somebody else speak. Riggs turned to Benny as the Chief began answering questions.

"Phew, glad it's not a shoot and clean op. Some bad shit goes down on those."

Benny simply nodded. Riggs was right. SaC operations were always, without fail, ugly. Benny thought those kinds of things should have been left to the military. But these days, the military wasn't concerned about what happened on the ground. So like it or not, some of the ugly work got dumped on the police force, to which the public responded harshly and even the other members of the force did too. Benny turned his attention back to the Chief as he finished taking questions.

"Now, let me give you a rundown on things first. They're only called Roaches because of the similar appearances and genetics compared to that of cockroaches back on Earth. But this does not mean you can step on them, and it does not mean that they are dumber than a box of rocks. It does, however, mean they are highly adaptable, having mutated to match various environments and species, already stumping our best scientists in trying to categorize them all. Which leads me to my next point."

The Chief took a long inhale of his pipe, blowing out several smoke rings before speaking again.

"You'll be equipped in heavy riot gear for this op, but only for the purpose of defense. It's damn well likely the Roaches won't want to leave, and I can bet my life's earnings that some of them will get ugly about it. Now, before we get started, are there any more questions?"

Benny raised his hand, who was then acknowledged by the Chief.

"Sir, where will we put all the Roaches? I mean, if they're like cockroaches back on Earth, then there's going to be a lot of them out there. And, how many teams do we have working on this?"

The Chief sighed, putting his pipe out and slipping it into his pocket.

"Now, this is where it gets ugly son. We can't just dump them off into an uninhabited zone of the planet like the rich folks want us to, so we'll have to hold them in our detainment facilities. This is currently a planet wide operation, with 9 out of the 12 cities participating. Currently, we'll have 5084 two man teams working in our city alone, this is not counting the other police branches helping and vice versa."

A lot of ooohs and ahhhhs broke out briefly before returning to normal.

"Now, are there any more questions?"

The room stayed silent, and no other hands were raised. The Chief checked an antique watch on his wrist, before sliding his hands behind his back and standing up straight.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Rookies and Vets, this operation is now in effect. Suit up, get to your carriers, and remember, absolutely NO violence of any kind, unless attacked, and then, only for defensive maneuvers. Stay safe, be patient, and watch each other's backs."

Benny fiddled with the locks over his gauntlets, as Riggs sat on the driver's side, munching on doughnuts.

"I don't know about you Riggs, but this suit makes me feel too big."

Riggs let out a hearty laugh, finishing the last of his doughnut.

"Haha, baby I was born to wear something like this! Now this is some NICE gear. Full body military grade power suits, stuffed with more defensive tech than you can shake a stick at!"

Riggs traveled along through traffic, taking the lower skylanes down to the slums below the mist and fog, to the home run, non-corporation related markets and homes. There was almost a permanent layer of fog down here, underneath the towering monoliths and super structures of the middle and upper class. Benny sighed as he rolled up his window.

"You know, I don't see why we gotta come down here. I don't think the rich up top can even see down here, and I don't think this makes the best tourist spot for fat mom and dad and their kids."

Riggs chuckled.

"You should be happy Benny Boss! We're in the fun part of town! Can you imagine what we'd have to deal with up top? The Roaches up there are way smarter than the ones down here, no doubt about it. Talking them into a carrier and then detainment cell won't be fun. But us, we got the easy street baby!"

Benny watched the lights of other vehicles pass by through the fog as they traveled lower.

"You know, it's a complete load of shit. Those rich bastards calling the shots like that. We're THE POLICE Riggs, not some personal arm and sword of some rich guy up top. Last year they did the same thing here, except it was a different bunch of aliens."

Riggs shrugged, the massive shoulder guards of his black suit enhancing the gesture.

"I don't know Benny Boss, but if you ask me, I think they do it for fun, just to piss us, and the aliens off. And hey, at least it's not a shoot and clean op."

Benny snorted.

"Ha, you got that right. Christ those are fucking sick. I'm glad I've never been in one. I hear the guys that do come back real mean, like something was let loose in them. Then they go up and up, and before you know it, they're on the personal force of some rich asshat."

Riggs sighed.

"You know Benny Boss, I hear those ain't just for gangs and all that. Sometimes a group of good guys gets under the wrong persons skin. Been a couple of investigations here. Nothin ever came out of it, all under the rug bullshit."

Benny and Riggs stayed silent as they traveled lower into the slums, eventually hitting rain amongst the clouds. The two listened to the patter of it along their hull as they finally found the bottom skylane, just above the roads where wheeled traffic still traveled. Below them, sat the endless rows of market stands, shops, shanty towns, and figures of dozens of other species as they all mingled and browsed, bustled and went about their daily life. Riggs and Benny sighed. They were both going to ruin somebodies day.

Riggs started up the scanner, passing it over the crowds as they traveled, looking for the right signatures. The work was slow and tedious, but initially, the first few batches of Roaches they came across complied, loading themselves up into the back of the carrier without any troubles. After a few prolonged waits in between scans for anything, they came across another Roach, peddling wares down below amongst the stands. Riggs set the carrier down nearby, as Benny stepped out onto the street. Riggs started fiddling with more controls, patting Benny on the back as he left.

"Go get em boss."

Benny strode forward through the crowds as they parted, headed towards the Roach. The rain was coming down heavy now, mingling with all the exotic smells of the markets down here. Riggs spoke to Benny through the link in his suit as he approached.

"Hey Boss, this one's going to be tricky. The scanner picks up a pretty high percentage of human bits merged with the Roach's own genetics. Chances are this one's good at talking with humans and has a decent understanding of them. Watch yourself."

"Thanks for the heads up."

"No problem Boss."

Benny walked through the crowds, now nearing the stand the Roach was in. He had to admit, if they didn't have scanners on them, he wouldn't have been able to tell the person he was looking at was a Roach.

It was wearing a large rounded hat that almost completely hid its head, save for the two long, string like antennae pushed towards the back. The rain poured off it easily, cascading in little waterfalls all around the Roach. It wore a large trench coat, large enough to cover the majority of its body, hiding its outline well. Trinkets were attached all over the coat, sitting in stuffed pockets and pinned to the fabric. On its back it wore one of the largest backpacks he had ever seen, stuffed with more of the wares it was selling. He knew if it were any of the other species, apart from some of the mammoth ones, they wouldn't even be able to stand with a pack that size, let alone move. He felt a little more secure in his suit, knowing it was designed for defensive purposes.

Approaching the Roach slowly as it was in the middle of conversing with someone, it spotted him, waving away its potential customer as he approached. Riggs spoke up in his suit again.

"Woah there boss, this one's smart, got a lot more going on in its head than others. Liven up."

Benny chuckled.

"I remember you talking about easy street earlier."

Switching the comms in his suit to external, he spoke into his mic to the Roach as it stood in the rain, waiting for him.

"Excuse me Sir, or Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to come with me."

The Roach waved its hands in a "I didn't do it gesture." It spoke, very clearly for one of its kind, using a combination of hand signals with its vocals to make its point.

"I have a permit for these wares. I can show you authorization if you wish."

Benny spoke again, catching the distinct vocals of a female under its large rounded hat.

"I'm sorry ma'am, I'm sure your wares are legitimate, but I'm not here for that. As I'm sure you know, Colony Day's coming in a few days."

The Roach stepped closer, unshouldering its massive pack, setting it down on the ground. By now, a crowd had drawn from curiosity surrounding the two. The Roach began fiddling through the various section of its pack.

"I can show you my authorization."

Benny stepped closer.

"No ma'am, like I said, it's about the upcoming holiday."

Benny took a step closer, as the Roach rose up from its digging.

"I apologize officer. But I do not wish to be swept under the rug."

The Roach let a sudden kick out, sending its massive pack sailing towards Benny right on target, the weight of it knocking him to the ground. The crowd let out cries as the Roach scrambled through them, making large leaps above them as it clambered over stalls and vehicles to get away. Benny pushed the pack off himself, with the help of his suit's hydraulics. Riggs was already on his way over.

Riggs helped him onto his feet, before heading after the Roach. He spoke in his comms as he ran.

"Don't worry boss, got a tracker on her. She ain't getting very far!"

Riggs linked the view of the small drone that was tracking the Roach as she moved, feeding them coordinates and routes they could take to intercept. Benny set off on another route that would take him on another angle of approach. She'd have two directions to watch out for. Setting the flashers on in his suit, he ran around the block, making good time as the crowds parted for him. Riggs spoke over the comms.

"Got a visual Benny Boss, she's a fast one! Better hurry up on that intercept!"

Benny rounded the street corner, now seeing Riggs chasing after her. She was fast and could climb over things easily, but Riggs was like a tank in his suit, easily battering through things in his way. Even still, she could move faster than he could. Benny moved ahead of the chase, watching the drone plot their course as he headed for the intercept point. Getting a block ahead of the chase, Benny arrived at the entrance of an alleyway between some of the ancient buildings, turning the suit's flashers off in the process. Any minute now.

Turning off the visual feed, Benny launched himself around the corner and straight into the path of the Roach. They both collided, the Roach tripping over Benny, but now clawing her way along the concrete as Benny held on to whatever he got a grip on. The Roach pulled with impressive force, ripping its overcoat as the materiel was torn between the grip and weight of his suit over the force she was using to tug herself free. It was then that Riggs came barreling through the alley, landing dead center on the Roach, pinning her.

And just like that, it was over. Riggs kept his iron grip on the Roach as Benny latched cuffs to her first pair of arms, then a smaller for her secondary. The drone that tracked the event flew over, staying just above the Roach, now monitoring her for any attempt of escape. Benny knew that with the cuffs on, escape was almost impossible, as they would send a signal through them to whoever they were attached to, disabling their muscles temporarily if they strayed too far from the officer that put them on. The event was both a good deterrent, and embarrassing for any that tried it in public. She wouldn't be going anywhere.

The trip back to the carrier was a silent one. The rain continued to patter down on them, until they arrived back at the scene. Riggs picked up the Roach's pack with both hands, and carried it with him. The Roach turned her head to face Riggs.

"You should not be allowed to do this. I legitimately earned my place here. You can't just sweep citizens around like it's a board game."

Riggs slid his visor up.

"Ma'am, with all due respect, I know. But me and my friend here ain't the ones callin the shots."

They walked back to the carrier, its large bulky form floating just above ground level, slowly rocking back and forth as if it were on the ocean. Riggs smiled.

"Look on the bright side, at least they didn't send us on a shoot and clean op for you guys."

The Roach chittered under her hat, her long antennae rubbing together.

"I am as good as dead if you put me in confinement. I would a have a better chance in a cleaning run than in there."

Benny lifted his visor up now.

"Woah woah, hold on a minute. What's so bad about confinement? We take good care of you guys while you're there. And I can promise you, we'll drop you off where we picked you up at."

The Roach chittered again.

"I am near the heart of your corruption. My enemies could easily find me there, and no one would know a thing. They may even pay one of my kind to do it, make it look like a skirmish."

Riggs spoke again.

"So who did you piss of so much that they'd go out of their way to kill a simple trader down in the slums?"

With some satisfaction evident, the Roach held her head up high, revealing for the first time her small mandibles and deep black eyes.

"I used the legal system here to my advantage, back before it became what it was now. I put a man, a rich one, in his place. He's been hunting me ever since."

Benny and Riggs both sighed. This wasn't something new around here. They'd been stationed on this world for only a month and passed down enough corruption to last a few lifetimes on other peaceful worlds. Sometimes it seemed like the only decent people where themselves, the Chief, and a few others in the station. But even they weren't clean anymore.

They walked towards the back of the carrier, Riggs heading back to the front, leaving the Roach's bag nearby. The Roach clasped her hands together.

"Please, if I am placed in your facilities, I will not survive. I beg of you, let me go."

Benny was about to unlock the seal on the back hatch, when he stopped. He banged his head against the metal.

"I can't do this."

He spoke through his comms, and visibly while the Roach merely watched.

"I can't do this again Riggs."

Riggs stepped back out, and strode towards the two.

"I know Benny Boss. But what choice do we have in the matter? The two of us will get bowled over like Swiss cheese."

"This is a life we're talking about here. We send her in there she won't come back out."

Riggs sighed,

"Okay Boss, there's something we can try. Chief knows all the loopholes."

He winked, before heading back to the cockpit. Closing the door and making sure things were sealed up tight, he opened a link back to headquarters. The Chief appeared on the screen in his office, surrounded by various holographic feeds. He looked up and smiled.

"Mr. Riggs, is there some reason you opened up a communications channel? I understand you work fast, but catching Roaches is slow work."

Riggs chuckled briefly.

"No sir, but I have something I need to talk about. It's important. It's about my "family."

The Chief caught on to Riggs, disabling his feeds and switching to a secure channel.

"Sir, we got another one. Benny won't do it again, and I don't want to either. You and I both know why we do these roundups. This needs to stop boss."

The Chief sighed, lighting his pipe, scratching his greying beard.

"We can't stop it Riggs, you know that. This entire system is gone. But there's still some loopholes left. Technically, we're only after Roaches on the streets, the ones with no connections to anybody. But, if you so happened to be in a relationship with one, and she or he, say, stayed inside your house over Colony Day, then that'd be fine. That's your best chance Riggs. I'll divert the feeds on your carrier. I'll give you an hour of leeway that won't be monitored. Take whoever it is you have, drop them off at your home, then get back to work."

Riggs frowned.

"Sir, I sent a drone after this one, it caught everything we did."

The Chief was already working on it as he thumbed through various holos.

"Send the drone to me Riggs. I'll purge it personally."

Riggs smiled.

"Thank you very much, will do sir."

The Chief started up his other holos again, before closing the connection down. Riggs stepped out of the cockpit, and climbed down back to the street. When he rounded the back corner Benny was in the process of unlatching the cuffs on the Roach. Riggs let out a hearty laugh.

"You got lucky today ma'am. There's still some good people out here. Only catch is we can't just let you go. You're gonna have to stay with one of us until the whole Colony Day thing is over. Come on in and I'll explain it on the way."

Now free of her cuffs, the Roach picked up her immense bag and followed Benny around to the front. It was a tight fit in the cramped cockpit, the Roach's bag taking up most of the space in the back, with the Roach crammed in tightly. Riggs started up the engines and began their slow ascent back up.

Riggs usually had a lot of traffic through his place, but Benny, handy enough, lived in the lower districts among the permanent shroud of fog and rain. So it was up to him to accommodate their new friend. The trip was relatively short, and in no time, they were at Benny's home. Benny led the Roach to his place, closing the door up with him once they got inside.

"Okay, I've got some food hanging around, not much space, but camp out where you like. My place is yours while you're here. Do not go outside though. Remember, you stay in here, for the whole time while this thing is on. Got it?"

The Roach lifted her hat, revealing more of her face for the first time. It was like he had seen earlier, a thick, reddish brown exoskeleton, but clearly with some human features blended in. The position of her beady black eyes, her smaller than normal mandibles giving way to a more human looking mouth.

"You do not know how much I can never repay you for this. Thank you."

The Roach watched him for a moment, before Benny turned around and unsealed his door.

"No problem ma'am. We're supposed to be police officers after all. Take care while I'm gone."

He turned and pointed a black armoured finger at her.

"And don't go outside."

Benny returned to the carrier, stepping back in as Riggs was sending down more doughnuts. Riggs gave him a big grin once he sat down.

"Hey Boss, I think the lady likes you."

Benny took a doughnut from Riggs.

"Not my type Riggs. Can say she is kind of cute though."

Riggs laughed.

"Hehe, especially when she's trying to get away from you with that one ton pack of hers."

"Let's not talk about that. That was kind of embarrassing."

"Sure thing Boss."

Benny scarfed down the doughnut as Riggs started up the carriers engines.

"You ready to finish the day up?"

Riggs chuckled.

"Do we have a choice?"

The day wound on as they made their way back through the lower slums, painstakingly running the scanner until they found something. For the most part, the day was easy. There were no more runners, no issues, and most of the Roaches complied, if only reluctantly, once things were explained. Once their carrier could no longer hold any more passengers, they rose out of the rain and fog and headed back to headquarters, were they would detach their cargo and connect to another empty carrier pod.

It was a long day, with many trips to and forth from headquarters. Eventually though, their shift was done, and they headed back to headquarters for the last time. Gathering in the large briefing room with all the other teams, Riggs and Benny looked over the rest of the teams that were there. Some looked fine, but with others it was clear that their armour was put to good use today. The Chief showed up, smoking his pipe as usual. He came in clapping slowly, before acknowledging everybody.

"Good work ladies and gentlemen. We count at least 500k Roaches being processed through our detainment systems, these 500k coming from our branch alone. You should all give yourselves a pat on the back, especially, some of you rookies."

He winked at Riggs and Benny's general direction, as well as a few others.

"I know it's a tough job and some of you went above and beyond what was necessary, and I appreciate that. Now, no doubt, I'm sure you're all eager to hear what you get for putting yourselves through such a wonderful day. Well, the answer is, your rotations have showed up, so that means you're all free to enjoy Colony Day this year. Now, pack your things up and get some rest. Enjoy the week off, because god knows I won't. Dismissed."

Riggs and Benny parted ways after removing their equipment, with Riggs giving him a pat on the shoulder.

"Take care Benny Boss. Keep that friend of ours inside. But remember what I said earlier. She's got more rattling around in that head of hers than most others."

Benny smiled.

"It's okay Riggs, if I need a heavy ass pack tossed off me like it's a toy, I'll call you."

Riggs chuckled deeply.

"You got it Boss."

The trip back from the police district was short, but Benny was tired from the day. A large gathering of storm clouds hung in the sky, threatening to rain over the city, more so in the lower districts. By the time he had made his way through the various skylanes, it was pouring outside. Stepping into his residence from the port for his vehicle, his home lit up in the gloom automatically. The sliders on his main viewport had slid shut, and he could hear the patter of rain on them as it slid down.

His residence was small, nothing fancy to look at, just one large viewport, and a central room that had everything he needed crammed into it, a simple bed, various machines and cookware, and the only rich looking thing he had, his TV. He found his guest huddled in a corner under his window, using her pack as a prop to lean against, and completely surrounded by bottles. She lay still except for the occasional twitch of her antennae from under her hat. Benny checked his fridge, and sure enough, every last bottle of booze he owned was now scattered around the Roach who lay sleeping under his window.

Stepping around the small collection of bottles on the floor, he bent down to her level, nudging her on the shoulder gently. She stirred slightly, parting her large torn overcoat in the process. It was the first time he had seen anything other than her small secondary arms and parts of her face. She wore only simple rags over her chest and down around her waist. Most of her body consisted of the hard reddish brown exoskeleton, but in the center of her body and all the way downwards, was a patch that wasn't exoskeleton. It still looked tough by her standards, but soft enough that she could likely feel something, better than her armoured body parts.

And then Benny realized what she had done to herself. Bits of her own exoskeleton, particularly on her arms and near her midsection were carved up, in ornate patterns, spiraling and twisting lines, and even various letters he could make out in another language. Her softer midsection had small rows of piercings in it, and more spiraling shapes and alien letters, tattooed into her softer bits. Sliding the remnants of her overcoat back over her, Benny rose from the pile of bottles. Removing his work clothes, he wandered over to his cramped bathroom, sealing up the doors and stepping into the shower.

The shower was short and pleasing, and when he stepped out, drying himself and ruffling his hair as he stepped back into the main room of his home, he found the Roach digging through his fridge, chattering away as she went. Leaning up against a wall, he spoke, catching her attention.

"Nice to see you saved some for me miss."

Her antennae pricked up as she pulled her hands out of the fridge, closing it shut as she staggered back. She slurred noticeably as she spoke.

"Wssss wuundering when you'd come back."

"And I wasn't expecting you to drink about a week's worth of booze out of my fridge."

The Roach waved her hands lazily through the air, her secondary pair joining in from under her coat for emphasis.

"No, sssved some. My drink though, cheap ccompared to yoouurs."

She staggered over to her pack and began rooting around in one of its many stuffed pockets, before falling over. She was up rather quickly, still wobbling.

"Ssss okay. Diidn't mean to do that."

Benny walked over to her, grabbing her by the shoulders and gently pushing her towards his bed nearby.

"I think you could use some sleep ma'am. You can borrow my bed, lot better than the floor."

She shook her head, swaying her wide hat.

"Can't sssleeep on bed with gear. Ssss dirty stuff."

The Roach removed her wide hat, tossing it un-expertly near the pile of bottles around her pack. She let her overcoat slide down her shoulders until it slumped behind her at the foot of the bed. Benny had a full view of the Roach now, and saw that the extent of the carvings in her exoskeleton were not only on her arms and torso, but on her legs, and trailed around to her back as well. Benny let her fall back onto the bed, as the sprawled out over it.

"Ma'am, mind if I ask what all those carvings are on you?"

The Roach chittered briefly.

"Lifetime of sssservice. Maaarks for all my owners."

"What do you mean owners?"

"I'm not native to thiiiissss world. Came from other worlds, with ownership of beings."

"You mean slaves?"

"Yess."

Benny sat on the edge of the bed with her. The silence was long as he sat there. He could only guess what life was for her, but her words painted a picture of things, and how she was here now. Someone, somebody who was rich and powerful, bought her, and she was brought to this world. It explained why she had inherited so many human traits. She had five fingered hands, and he could see as her legs hung off his bed, the same number of toes. The outline of her figure was distinctly human, with her original traits being regressed over time. Her mandibles were small, her secondary arms were likely slowly receding, and her abdomen was small for her size. Her legs lacked the extra digit so many other insectoid species came with, instead they were merely curved rather sharply backwards.

She had been brought to this world, and in having experience with humans and understanding how their minds worked, she found a way out through loopholes. Slaves were not allowed on this world, so he guessed she had used something to bargain with to escape. The man had pursued her, and using what she knew, she found a way to grant herself citizenship. She fled to the slums and started what they found her doing, selling various wares. And today he and Riggs had almost ruined all that she had ever clawed her way up to. The thought sickened him.

The Roach was fast asleep on his bed when he looked over her. Thoughts traveled through Benny's head as he sat on the edge of the bed. An idea was taking shape. And, handy enough, he had a whole week off for Colony day. He sat up and brought up his terminal by his only window. It slid out of the floor along with a seat. Benny sat down, and began searching, as well as contacting people. The rain continued to hammer down on his window throughout the night.

He had plans alright. But first things first, he had to set something up for the Roach. It was his job to protect people, not condemn them, like they almost did earlier today. And protect them he would.