Alliance (6 page)

“
Excuse me,” I say,
raising a hand in an attempt to catch his attention. “Who are you?
Are you going to repair my broken leg?”

The man does not answer. He simply glances
at me before returning to digging through his toolbox. Sensors
indicate that he is not afraid of me and his vocal chords are in
working order. For whatever reason, he simply sees no reason to
speak with me.

I do not like having people operate on me
who I know nothing about, so I ask, “Are you a certified J bot
technician? If so, may I see your certification? All certified
technicians have one, you know.”

The man still does not answer. He does not
even show me his certification, which makes me uneasy. Protocol
states that only certified J bot technicians are allowed to make
repairs or modifications to J Series Robotic Law Enforcers. This is
due to our unique designs and specifications, which require years
of training to understand, which is why most generic robotics
technicians are not allowed to work on us.

That this man refuses to show me his
certificate, if indeed he has one at all, is a warning sign. If we
were still in Xeeo, I would have sent out an alarm to the other J
bots informing them of this man's illegal activity and he would be
behind bars before sundown. While illegally operating on a J bot is
not the most serious crime in the world, it is still serious enough
to earn a criminal several years in jail if caught in the act.

This man, probably a Delanian, clearly
needs to be told about this. Not only that, but I will need to
arrest him as well and bring him before the Court of Xeeo to have
his fate decided.

As I think all of this, the man pulls out
a portable x-ray device. He waves it over my leg, probably to find
out exactly what the problem is, and observes what it shows on the
screen, although I cannot see it myself due to my current
position.

So I say to the man, “Sir, if you are not
a certified J bot technician, then I will have to arrest you and
take you to the Court of Xeeo. Illegally operating on a J bot
without a license is a criminal offense punishable by up to ten
years in prison.”

The man does not so much as glance at me.
He simply removes the x-ray device from my leg and resumes digging
through his toolbox, perhaps looking for the best tool to fix my
leg.

I do not like the fact that he ignores me,
though I am not surprised. I have run into this kind of criminal
before, the kind who freely breaks the law and does not show any
remorse or regret over it, even when you explain to him in the
plainest language that his actions are criminal. I always find that
attitude in career criminals, which makes me believe that this man
must be used to breaking the law, although the mobile Database does
not show any records on any men who resemble this one.

But I do not know how I am supposed to
arrest him. My power level is too low for me to try to fight him,
not to mention my leg is still broken. I do not even have my PRB
anymore, which I left back at the scene of Jornan's crime. I can
try to use my lightning bolt fingers, but that might drain too much
of my power too quickly.

It appears, then, that I have no choice
but to wait for this man to finish operating on me. As he does not
appear to have a certificate that allows him to operate on J bots,
I can only guess at the damage he will cause as he attempts to
repair my leg. It will probably be quite extensive, as untrained
technicians usually make many mistakes when they attempt to repair
a J bot.

“
J997's the
identification number, right?” says the man, looking at me with a
hard eye.

“
Yes,” I say without
hesitation. “And I will have you know that what you are about to do
is highly illegal. If you stop now, before you try to work on my
leg, I will not bring criminal charges against you.”

“
Right, well, if I'm
going to be working on you, I'm gonna need to knock you out for a
bit,” says the man. He lifts a tiny remote control. “This is a
robot nullifier. It can shut off any robot I want for as long as I
want. Don't worry, though, it won't cause you any lasting or
permanent damage.”

“
Usage of robot
nullifiers on J bot law officials was banned by the Law Enforcement
Aid Act of 3025,” I say. “By using that on me, you are adding
another twenty years to your ten year sentence for your crime of
operating on me without a certificate.”

“
Sure,” says the man,
nodding. “But you know, the only reason I'm telling you this is
because I have great respect for you J bots and I think you deserve
to know what's going to happen to you before it
happens.”

“
If you had true respect
for us, you would not be doing this to me at all,” I say. “It is
illogical to claim to respect us while simultaneously breaking the
very law we are sworn to protect.”

“
Let's agree to
disagree,” says the man. “Good night.”

He presses a button on the nullifier
before I can do anything else. My message alert center immediately
shows me that all of my systems are shutting down fast, so fast
that I—

***

Chapter
4

S
YSTEM REBOOTING. SCANNING FOR
DAMAGE … SCANNING …. CONGRATULATIONS! NO DAMAGE FOUND ON J ROBOT
LAW ENFORCER J997. J997 FULLY OPERATIONAL. POWER LEVEL AT 90%.
PROCEED TO FULLY BOOT ALL SYSTEMS.

The ceiling gradually comes into view as
my vision clears. While J bots have some of the most advanced
computer systems on Xeeo, it still takes a little time for us to
fully reboot if our systems are knocked offline. My scanners report
that my body is fine, however, which makes me glad, because
interior damage is difficult to fix without a certified technician
to help.

My memory, however, takes slightly longer
to fully restore. Soon, however, I remember that it is that
mysterious man who had knocked me out—the untrained technician who
thinks he can repair me as easily as any other robot.

But according to my scanners, my body is
in one piece. There are no problems anywhere. Everything is in
perfect condition. Even my power levels are high again, which tells
me that the Foundation members must have recharged my power
somehow.

As for my surroundings, I am still in that
same room that I was in before, the average, featureless room with
a single door. I am alone in this room, but that does not bother me
because sensors indicate that I can bend my left knee and move my
left leg again. Not only that, but sensors also indicate that my
left leg moves even better than it did before it broke.

While what that man did before was clearly
illegal, I cannot deny that he does a good job, an even better job
than what many other certified technicians who have worked on me
have done. Maybe he really does have a certificate; at least he
knows what he is doing, anyway.

Despite his good work, I will still have
to bring him in. Now that my power has returned, and my leg is
movable again, it will be much easier to catch and apprehend him,
although first I must find out where I am and what is going on.
Upholding the law is of utmost importance, but it is far more
urgent at the moment that I find out where I am and how I got
here.

I try to sit up, only to discover that my
movement is limited. I look down at my arms, legs, and chest and
see that they are strapped down by thick leather straps. Sensors
indicate that these straps are not normal straps, but are in fact
made of dwarfish leather, the strongest type of leather in both
Dela and Xeeo, and nearly impossible for most beings to break.

I understand now. The Foundation must have
strapped me down to the floor when that mysterious man worked on me
earlier. Considering how Rozan distrust me, I am not surprised to
see that they went to great lengths to keep me down in one place.
They must not think I am too much of a threat, however, because I
am still functioning without any problems.

I am barely disturbed by this development,
however. While dwarfish leather is a strong substance, we J bots
can lift up to 500 pounds of weight. Our strength is unparalleled
in many cases; therefore, I doubt it will take much of my strength
to free myself from this simple trap.

I strain against the straps, which hold
tight against my resistance. These must be new because they barely
budge against my efforts, but even new leather can be broken with
enough effort, so I keep trying. Sooner or later, I will break
free, because unlike organic beings, I do not tire at all.

But despite putting all of my effort into
straining against these straps, they seem to be getting tighter,
not lighter. This makes no sense at all, because that would imply
that these straps are somehow aware that I am trying to break free.
They are simply inanimate objects. Perhaps they are magically
enchanted to become tighter if met with resistance, a common tactic
I have heard certain Delanian witches and wizards do.
Unfortunately, my sensors cannot tell for sure.

Whatever the case, I will not give up that
easily. All I need to do is use my laser vision—a feature that all
J bots have, although one I do not use regularly due to its
dangerous nature—to cut through the straps. While dwarfish leather
may be the strongest leather in the two worlds, that does not mean
it can survive a laser.

Twin lasers, red in color, shoot from my
optics and strike the straps holding down my body to the ground. As
I predicted, the straps snap instantly, allowing me to sit up and
move my limbs freely. While I cannot get cramped arms or legs like
organic beings can, I do prefer having the freedom to move my
limbs, because it means I can find out where I am and how I got
here.

I stand up, dusting off my body. I twist
and turn my left leg to assure myself one last time that it does
indeed still work, and then step forward with it. When I do not
fall forward on my face, I walk up to the door, thinking that this
is much easier than I originally thought. I find it strange how the
Foundation members leave me unguarded, but perhaps the door is
locked.

I analyze the door and discover that,
unlike most of the doors back on Xeeo, this one does not slide
open. I am reminded again that I am in Dela, a technologically
primitive world in comparison to Xeeo, but this is not a problem. I
know how to operate Delanian doors, so I reach for the
doorknob.

That is when the leather straps from
before wrap around my legs and pull. Taken by surprise, I fall to
the floor as the straps try to drag me back to my original
position, but I am not stunned by this fall. Instead, I twist my
head over my shoulder to gain a better understanding of what is
happening.

The leather straps that I split earlier
are much longer now than they once were. They move like snakes,
wrapped so tightly around my legs that I do not see any way I can
force them off.

My logical mind wonders how this is even
possible. I did not detect any skyras energy channeling through
them earlier. This is clearly an example of Delanian magic at work,
however, which makes me wonder how I missed it. Maybe Delanian
magic is far subtler than I can detect with my sensors.

In any case, I do not intend to be held
down again. I fire another set of lasers at the straps, cutting
through them again. Now that my legs are free again, I stand up and
back up toward the door, while the straps hover toward me again. I
see no reason why they should, as I have already cut them down to
size twice. Analysis suggests that Delanian magic is responsible
for their increasing length, although that does not explain exactly
how it works. Perhaps the extra length is hidden under the
floor

In any case, it does not matter how it
works, because the straps are coming at me and do not seem likely
to give up anytime soon. Considering how ineffective my lasers have
proven against them, I conclude that the only way out of this
situation is to escape from this room.

I turn around and reach for the doorknob,
but before I can grab it, the door opens and I find myself
face-to-face with a Delanian human who I do not recognize. He is a
bulky human, with five skyras rings on his fingers. He looks like
the sort of human who does well as a guard.

“
What?” says the man,
who has a deep voice. “What's going on in here? How did you escape
the—”

I do not wait for him to finish. Instead,
I punch him in the gut, which causes him to gasp in pain, and
follow it up by jolting him with electricity. The electric jolt
causes him to collapse to the floor, allowing me to jump over him
as the straps continue to reach for me.

Landing on the floor, I turn around and
fire my eye lasers at the straps again. The lasers cut through the
straps and cause them to shrink back, perhaps afraid, although I do
not know because I kick the unconscious man into the room and slam
the door closed behind him afterward. I hear the straps beating
against the door, but it is clear that they are not strong enough
to break it down and are therefore not going to be a threat to me
anytime soon.

Shaking my head, I look around at my
surroundings. It appears I am standing inside the hallway of a
castle. The walls, floor, and ceiling are all cobblestone and
sensors indicate that they are normally very cold. Sensors also
show that the hallway is warmed by some kind of external heat
source, but I am unable to locate it. It is probably magic, but at
the moment I do not need to confirm that. Instead, I need to find
out where I am and how to get out of here and reconnect with the
Database.

Just as I come to that decision, a voice
shouts, “Hey, what are you doing out here? You're not supposed to
be out!”

I look in the direction of that voice and
see two elves running toward me. Neither of them have skyras rings,
but they are holding staffs and swords. Old-fashioned weaponry, in
other words, that will be completely ineffective against my
abilities.