Buckler, unsure of what to do, brought the android back with his to the main office. His boss waited for him.
“Captain Fonn,” Buckler said as he let himself in.
“News?” Captain Fonn was a draft-dodger who kept balanced on the fence between cybernetically enhanced human and verisimilar android. He was too stocky to be mistaken for fully converted, but no human spark passed through his artificial eyes. Most who know him saw the title and the prosthetics as better left unexplained.
“I found someone,” Buckler told him. “While I was hunting.”
Fonn turned around, and examined the poor hermit: sluggish joints, one missing hand, and a face broadcast on a head-shaped monitor.
“I don’t know who he is.” Buckler explained, holding him up with one hand. “He refuses to speak.”
“Well, now..” Fonn grunted. “You can understand speech, can’t you?”
The face nodded. It was full of static.
“Then get him some clothes,” Fonn told Buckler, “and some leftover gear. He’ll be your new hunting partner.”
The face stared.