“What's the harm?” says Konoa. He grimaces, likely due to the pressure I am putting on his left arm. “Rozan, you of all people should know what the harm is in letting J997 go.”
“All I know is that clickers like him can be ridiculously hard to stop, even with forty Foundation agents working together to take him down,” says Rozan. “So why waste precious time keeping him here when we could use that same time figuring out what Reunification's next move will be?”
“What about the Head?” asks Konoa. “Did you speak with her about this?”
Rozan scowls. “Look, it doesn't matter. Rina, why don't you teleport our guest out of here? No need to delay, after all.”
That is when I notice Rina, the witch from before. She is not standing with the other agents; instead, she is standing twelve feet to my right. She does not appear to have been in the battle at all, as I see no scars on her or wounds. Even her clothes appear to be in perfect condition, although I do not recall seeing her during the battle.
Before I can react, Rina raises her hand and snaps her fingers.
As soon as she does, I feel Konoa slip out of my fingers, while the world around me turns black for a split second.
The next moment, I find myself standing in the middle of a wintery, snowy landscape, with no sign of the Foundation or any sort of Delanian civilization for as far as my optics can see.
***
Chapter 7
Scanners indicate that the temperature of the environment around me is below 10 degrees. While I am not in danger of freezing thanks to my internal heating systems, it is still not good for me to be out here in this weather for a prolonged period of time.
Snow is falling from the sky; not very heavily, but my interior weather forecast system suggests that a heavy snowstorm is on its way here and that I should look for shelter right away. Although I may be a strong robot lacking the usual weaknesses of most organics, it will not be wise for me to stay out here in the middle of a blizzard. There is a high chance I will be frozen and buried in snow, and with the apparent lack of civilization for as far as my optics can see, there is no guarantee at all that anyone will find and dig me out of the snow, should that happen.
Where, exactly, have I ended up? Aside from the heavy snowfall everywhere, mountain peaks tower around me, and the ground is rocky and uneven under my feet. I appear to have landed in some kind of frozen mountains, possibly the Winterlands, the coldest place on Dela. The pictures of the Winterlands in the mobile Database resemble what I am currently seeing, although there are no trees within my vision and there does not seem to be any sign of life at all.
I also wonder why Rina the witch teleported me out here in the middle of the Winterlands. Is the Foundation's Delanian branch located in the Winterlands? That is a possibility, as long-range teleportation is not easy for most wizards and witches to accomplish (according to the mobile Database's files on the subject, anyway). If so, then their headquarters is probably somewhere nearby, although with all of the snow piled everywhere, I cannot locate it even with my scanners.
But I do not need to. I am now free from that place. All I need to do now is find a nearby village or town whose inhabitants can point me in the direction of the nearest Portal to Xeeo and then I will hopefully be able to reestablish contact with the Database in a few days or weeks. According to the mobile Database, most of the Winterlands' settlements—including the large city of Delig—are located on the southern end of the mountains, where it is warmer and easier to live.
The problem is that I do not know my exact location, so I have no idea which way is south. Nor can I connect with any satellites in the sky above to aid me, as the Delanians do not use satellites and have forbidden several Xeeonite companies in the past from establishing satellites in Dela's orbit.
Then again, this may be for the best. If the Foundation's agents told me the truth earlier, then I am a wanted criminal in Dela. If I reconnect with civilization, then I run the risk of being arrested and possibly even destroyed. That is not an exaggeration; I know how well the Knights of Se-Dela are respected, even outside of their home country, and so if everyone believes that I murdered them, then only the cruelest punishment awaits me, especially if I run into more Knights.
Nonetheless, I must go, because my only other alternative is to stay here and allow the snow to bury me. Logic dictates that it is better to risk being captured and executed as a criminal than it is to hide in these mountains from civilization. Besides, all of the information I have learned about the Foundation, Reunification, and the lizard humanoids needs to be uploaded to the Database right away, so I have no time to lose.
My best bet is to head for Delig and see if I can find any Xeeonite visitors there. The mobile Database's files say that Delig is a popular tourist destination for Xeeonites visitors due to the extreme lack of snow on that world. There is even a ski resort owned and operated by Mayor Xacron-Ah, the Mayor of Xeeon, which seems like a good destination for me to go to, because that is likely where I will find Xeeonite tourists who may be sympathetic to my plight.
As soon as I take a step forward, my sensors pick up an abrupt spike of skyras energy directly to my left. A woman wearing silver robes—the Head—appears at my side, scowling and glaring at me like I have offended her somehow. Her clothing does not appear to be very practical for this weather, but the cold barely seems to bother her.
“Come here,” says the Head. She grabs my arm before I can respond. “We're going back. Right now.”
She tugs on my arm and the Winterlands disappear around us as quickly as they appeared.
In the next instant, I find myself standing in their headquarters again, only this time, I am not in the Portal room. Instead, I am standing inside a room I have never been inside before.
It is a round room, with full bookshelves running along its perimeter. A large wooden table, inscribed with designs that resemble creatures like hawks and bulls, stands in the center of the room, around which many Foundation agents are seated. Among them are Konoa, Rozan, Nacina, and Rina (though not Lanresia; although as she is likely still healing from the attack on the Xeeonite branch, it is only logical for her not to be here).
The others turn to look at us when we teleport in, except for Rozan, who keeps his head facing the table. He is doodling on a blank piece of paper, as if in an attempt to appear busy, although even I can tell he only wants to avoid looking at me, though I do not know why.
The Head lets go of my arm and stomps over to the table. She takes her seat on a large silver chair—almost a throne—that elevates her slightly above the other agents. I stand where we teleported in, unsure where to go or what to do, as I do not see any empty seats for me to take.
The Head looks at Rozan, who is still resolutely doodling, but does not say anything at first. Nor do any of the other agents, who are trying as much as Rozan to avoid looking at their leader. It is a puzzling thing; after all, shouldn't the Head be pleased with them, considering how they all helped defend their headquarters from those lizard humanoids from before?
“Excuse me,” I say, keeping my tone level and respectful. “I don't understand—”
The Head holds up one hand and I shut up. I do not want to shut up, but she seems so angry that I do not think it would be wise or logical for me to go against her obvious commands. Better to wait and see what she is angry about before I do anything else.
“Rozan,” says the Head, her tone short. She is glaring at him even worse than she glared at me earlier. “What do you have to say for yourself for ordering Rina to teleport J997 out of the headquarters and into the middle of the Winterlands like that? Without my permission or knowledge?”
Rozan still does not look up. As he continues to doodle away, he says, “It was just supposed to be a joke. He kept talking about how much he wanted to leave this place and go home, so I thought, why not show him why that's a stupid idea?”
“Did you even think about what would happen if Reunification found him?” asks the He
ad. She gestures at me with one of her hands. “Or if he got caught in that terrible blizzard that's coming this way? We would have lost him for good and someone else—like an agent of Reunification—might have found him instead.”
“So?” says Rozan. He sounds much less confident than he normally does, despite not making any eye contact with the Head. “He's just a stupid robot. It's not like he's a special snowflake or whatever.”
“As long as J997 knows as much about us as he does, he cannot leave this place,” says the Head. “Even teleporting him into the middle of nowhere for a stupid 'lesson' is dangerous. We must always know where he is at all times, because if Reunification were to get him, they could take his knowledge of us and use it against us.”
To me, that seems like a strange thing to say, because I don't know very much about the Foundation at all. Even if Reunification found me and took my knowledge, I doubt they would gain much from it.
But I say nothing, because I am more interested in listening to the conversation at hand in case they say anything important.
“But we did know where he was,” says Rozan. His doodles look more like scribbles, now that I zoom in with my optics. “You found him and brought him back here easily. I don't see what the big deal is.”
“I only found out about your numbskull idea when Konoa told me about it,” says the Head, gesturing at Konoa as she speaks. “By that time, only a few minutes had elapsed between Rina teleporting J997 outside and the time I was informed of this, but in our world, a few minutes can mean the difference between life and death. You should know this.”
Rozan finally looks up, meeting the Head's angry eyes. He has also stopped doodling and scribbling, although he still holds the pencil in his oversized dwarf fist. “I do know that. I was just so annoyed by the dumb machine that I didn't think it'd matter. And I think I deserve a little more recognition for how I helped fight off those damn lizard monsters.”
“Yes, I appreciate the help, but that does not change the irresponsibility of your actions,” says the Head. “You have always been headstrong and foolish, Rozan, but in all of the years I've known you, this has to be the dumbest thing you have ever done.”
Rozan drops his pencil on the table without looking away from the Head. He stands up. “All right. I messed up. What are you going to do now? Throw me in the dungeons?”
It is hard for me to tell if Rozan is joking or being serious about the dungeons, although his sarcastic tone seems to indicate he is joking. The other agents all appear embarrassed, especially Nacina, who is looking down at her lap rather than at the table.
The Head leans back in her chair, but she looks more troubled than relaxed. “No. Right now, I do not have any time to punish you. With the loss of the Xeeonite branch and the dozens of agents here who were badly injured in that earlier assault, we need every able-bodied agent we can get to defend our base.”
Rozan's shoulders slump, like he had hoped she wouldn't say that. He then sits back down on his chair, folding his arms over his chest, although he does not do or say anything else. The other agents still do not look at him, even though the Head does not appear to be angry at him anymore.
The Head looks at the other agents. “All right. Now that we have that out of the way, I think it's time for us to discuss our next plan of action before Reunification strikes again.”
Before the agents can respond, I hold up my hand and say, “Excuse me, but I do not understand why I am here. I am not a member of the Foundation, so why are you including me in this group meeting?”
“As I said, we need to keep you in our sight at all times,” says the Head. “Besides, we already know that you can escape from wherever we put you. You proved that earlier today, when you broke out of that room earlier and assaulted some of our agents. So I've decided to keep an eye on you myself.”
“I see,” I say. I look around the room and spot a door on the other side of the table, to the right of the Head's chair. “Is that door the only way in and out of here?”
“Yes,” says the Head. “But don't try to leave. The door's locked with skyras energy, so even you couldn't break it down if you tried.”
I have no intention whatsoever of trying to escape at the moment, because it is clear to me that escape from this place is almost completely impossible. I still want to escape, of course, but for now that is outside of my abilities. I will keep an optic lit, however, for an opportunity to escape to show itself to me later on.
“But the robot will get to listen to our plans,” says Rozan, tossing a glare at me. “And what if he does escape and reconnect with the Database? Or gets captured by Reunification, like you just berated me about?”
“Rozan, I do not want to hear another word from you for the duration of this meeting,” says the Head, without even looking at him. “Besides, you already risked blowing our cover when you had Rina here teleport J997 outside. I find your worry about his connecting with the Database to be quite hypocritical; in any case, he will not escape, so it's not a big worry for me at the moment.”
Rozan does not respond to that. He simply crosses his arms even more tightly around his body and refuses to look at anyone. Not even Nacina looks at him now, which is strange because Nacina and Rozan always seemed like friends to me. Perhaps they are not as close as they appear or maybe Nacina does not want to anger the Head.
In either case, the Head resumes speaking. “Anyway, it is quite clear at this point that Reunification not only sent those lizard beasts after us, but also destroyed the Xeeonite branch. That means they must be moving closer to completing their Mission.”
“By Waran-Una's name,” says Konoa, covering his mouth with one of his hands. “But how can that be? I thought our spies had reported that Reunification was still far from achieving their goal.”
“At this point, I don't know,” says the Head. “None of us do. But I can think of no other reason for why they would go to the trouble of attacking our Xeeonite branch unless they were entering the final stages of their plan.”
“So they're trying to take out all possible opposition in order to complete the final stages of the Mission without delay?” says Nacina. She rubs her hands together anxiously. “How did they even find the headquarters of the Xeeonite branch? I thought we kept the locations of our bases a secret from outsiders.”
“That is another troubling mystery,” says the Head. She brushes her blonde hair out of her eyes. “But considering we have not heard back from any of our spies, I think we must face the very real possibility that one of our spies has either turned or else was discovered and forced to reveal all he knows to the enemy.”
“I don't like either of those two options much,” says Konoa. “Have we tried communicating with any of our spies?”
“I ordered some of our elves to contact them,” says the Head. She grimaces. “There was no answer. Right now, we must assume they were discovered and tortured for their knowledge about us, which means that they are dead, in all likelihood.”
“Horrid,” says Rina, which is the first time I have ever heard her speak. She is shaking her head, a frown on her aged features. “But logical, from Reunification's point of view.”
“Indeed it is, Rina,” says the Head. “And I think it is safe for us to assume that Reunification not only knows the location of the Xeeonite headquarters, but also the location of this base.”
She gestures at the room we are in, although I understand that she is referring to the headquarters as a whole.
“Then we must reinforce the defenses,” says Konoa, slamming one fist on the table. “We must find as many able-bodied agents as possible and set them up to guard all of the entrances and exits. We must also shut down all Portals between Dela and Xeeo in this base so that Reunification does not attempt to invade us directly again.”
“Already done,” says the Head. “That is what I was doing while you fought off that assault from the lizard creatures. Every Portal that links this base to the Xeeonite one has been shut off and de
stroyed for good measure, so it's impossible for them to invade us that way.”
Although I know I am not technically part of this discussion, hearing the Head mention destroying those Portals reminds me of a joke I read about in Secrets of Humor.
So I step forward and say, “Then I guess those Reunification agents will need to be portal monkeys in order to get here. Right, fellows?”
The Head and the Foundation agents turn as one to look at me. I do not understand the lack of understanding on their faces, as this joke makes perfect sense to me.
“Don't you understand the joke?” I say. “It's a reference to portal monkeys, the only organic creatures on Dela and Xeeo that can use portals naturally. The joke is that the only way these Reunification people could get here now is if they were portal monkeys. Get it?”
Their facial expressions do not change at all, except for Rozan, who lowers his face into his hands and mutters something that my audio receptors pick up as, “And he tells jokes, too. Bad ones. Why me?”
“Anyway,” says the Head, drawing the attention of the agents back to her. “The point is that it is extremely unlikely that Reunification will attempt another invasion of the base, now that they have no way of transporting large groups of those monstrosities across directly into here.”
“That's a relief,” says Nacina with a sigh. Then she scratches the side of her face. “But what about the exterior? I agree with Konoa that we must shore up our defenses before they attempt to attack us that way.”
“I agree with both of you,” says the Head. “While Reunification's moves are often unpredictable, we can at least ensure that our defenses are capable of handling whatever they will try to throw at us.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” says Konoa. He puts his hands on the arms of his chair, like he is ready to stand up. “I shall go and find as many able-bodied agents as I can and send them to protect the entrances.”
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