Lucas Briggs

Lucas Briggs (though he will insist it’s “just Briggs”) was built with all the hardware necessary for security work. Fortunately, found the work suited him anyway and joined the Detroit police force. Briggs served on the force for over a decade with the idealistic if naive faith in the legal justice system and the goal of helping to close the increasingly narrow gap between humans and syncs through it. He was well-liked and respected by his coworkers and superiors, and most of them treated him no differently than the human officers. Even his partner was human, and they were very close friends.

Many of his missions involved handling human-sync gang conflicts and subduing pro-sync protests, as the fight for basic civil rights was still raging at the time. One mission in particular involved a a group of human gang members who had opened fire on a group of sync gang members in the street. The syncs were all dead or incapacitated by the time the police arrived, but two of the humans had waited too long to make sure they stayed down. Desperate to avoid arrest, they barricaded themselves inside a train station and grabbed a handful of sync hostages. Briggs and his unit followed protocol for peaceful release of hostages, but it soon became clear the gang members were not going to cave. His unit and two others surrounded the building. An officer tried to sneak in to disarm the hostage-takers, but was seen, prompting the men to open fire on their hostages and several bystanders. A gunfight broke out between officers and the perpetrators, providing a distraction for other officers to guide the remaining hostages to safety. Briggs managed to incapacitate one of the men, only to immediately take a few rounds to his neck, face, upper chest, and left leg. Four humans and sixteen syncs were killed by the time the second gunman was subdued, and several more were seriously injured.

The damage to Briggs’ hardware was extensive and took months of massive data backups, surgical removal of shrapnel, replacement of damaged parts, and countless hours of reprogramming to repair. By the time he came online again, sync violence had risen so high that conservative lobbyists had successfully pressured the city into banning syncs to serve on the police force, siting fears of corruption, moles, and sympathizers. Briggs and half his unit were discharged before he could even be relegated to a desk job. While the police department paid for the critically necessary repairs, they did not cover minor or cosmetic damage, including the bullet hole and spiderweb crack in his faceplate. Briggs was left with mild but permanent hardware damage, psychological scars, and no purpose.

A few months later he saw a story on the news about veterans working with horses as a form of physical and psychological therapy. He was sure it wouldn’t help with his physical problems, but he’d always liked animals, but it was worth a shot. It took him over a year, but with some help from his former brothers in arms, Briggs was able to save up enough to pay for a week long visit to one of the ranches. He packed his bags and headed to Colorado, and within two days, was negotiating an indefinite stay with the owners.

He now works at the ranch to earn his keep and spends most of his free time bonding with the horses by himself. He prefers petting and leading them and isn’t overly interested in riding. He’s taken a particular liking to a Norman cob named Duke, a former police horse himself who retired early due to a severe spinal injury sustained on duty. Thirty percent of the gelding’s spine is now cybernetic, and veterinarians deemed it too dangerous for anyone over one hundred pounds to ride him. The ranch owners decided to let him take it easy and don’t let even children ride him. Duke sparked an interest in driving in Briggs, so that he could work Duke without risking further injury.

Briggs is quiet and reserved, oftentimes even shy, but a diligent worker and a gentle soul. He keeps to himself and tries not to get in anyone’s way, but everyone on both the police force and the ranch know there is no one more dependable. He is trained in close-quarters combat and can use most objects as a weapon in a pinch. He keeps a hunting rifle on the wall in his room on the ranch, and a handgun hidden under his mattress. They’re mostly used to scare off coyotes and mountain lions, but he is not afraid to use them against human or robotic