“We prefer to keep it that way,” says the arctic vampire, turning away from me and resuming her trek across the snow-laden earth. “The rest of the world could burn for all I care, although I suppose if that happened then there would be much less blood for me to drink.”
I resume walking after her, but say nothing. If she is unwilling to tell me her real name—an odd aspect of arctic vampire culture that not even the Database says anything about—then she is unwilling to tell me, plain and simple. I am not interested in forcing her to tell me; besides, from a strictly practical point of view, I do not need to know her name anyway. It is not like there are any other arctic vampires to confuse her with, anyway.
The further down this canyon that we travel, the less snow there is, until soon there is only rocky, frozen earth, with patches of snow here and there. Near the tops of the walls on either side, I spot what appear to be cave mouths and occasionally see movement within, but it is impossible to tell what creatures the movements belong to.
After about an hour or so of walking, the arctic vampire stops and says, “Did you hear that?”
I stop as well and listen. My audio receptors at first pick up nothing except the howling wind above, but soon I hear it: The sound of construction equipment—a drill, most likely—tearing through the earth nearby. I increase the range of my audio receptors and soon hear the creaking of a crane, the shouts of workers, and a minor explosion going off.
I look at the arctic vampire. “What is that noise?”
She glares at me. “The invaders, you dumb machine. They have big equipment they use to make loud noise and destroy the earth. I don't know what they're digging for, but they've been at it for months and I hear this sort of thing almost every time I come near their dig site, even in the middle of the night.”
“Months,” I repeat. “Well, now that I can hear them, I think I should be able to find their base on my own. You do not need to lead me any further; I can handle the rest of this journey myself.”
“Fine,” says the arctic vampire. She shudders. “I don't like going near those beings, anyway. They would kill me if they saw me. They always kill us.”
“After I deal with them, should I return to your cave?” I say. “Or will you come to me?”
“You can return to my cave,” says the arctic vampire. “After you handle these invaders, come back to my cave and I will tell you the location of the nearest Portal that will take you back to Xeeo, as part of our deal.”
“I expect you to uphold your end of the agreement,” I say. “Because if you do not, then I doubt either of us will be very happy about it.”
The arctic vampire smiles, revealing her long, sharp fangs again. “Unlike most Delanians, we arctic vampires have little use for things like 'contracts' and 'agreements,' but I do keep my word. I guarantee it.”
I nod, although I still do not trust her entirely, knowing the deceptive nature of arctic vampires. “Fine. I will make this quick because I do not want to waste any more time than I have.”
I turn to resume walking, but before I do, the arctic vampire says, “Machine, wait.”
I look over my shoulder at her. “What?”
“I just thought you should know that one of my fellow arctic vampires, Kalcan, is working with the invaders,” says the arctic vampire. She says the name Kalcan like it is a slur. “He is a traitor and the only vampire those killers have ever spared. But he is also even more powerful than your average arctic vampire, so watch out.”
“Why are you telling me about him?” I ask. “And why did you give me his name? I thought arctic vampires are supposed to only give out their names to those that they trust.”
“Because Kalcan is a traitor,” says the arctic vampire. She scoops some snow off the ground and crushes it in her hand. “He's no longer one of us. I want you to kill him if you see him. Let him know what the rest of us arctic vampires think about him working with the enemy.”
She speaks so viciously that I am almost taken aback. Something about her tone tells me that this Kalcan's betrayal is more personal than she is making it out to be—maybe he had been a close friend of hers—but the exact nature of his betrayal is irrelevant to my current situation, so I do not ask about it.
I simply nod and say, “If I run into Kalcan, I will be sure to let him know your feelings about him.”
“Good,” says the vampire. “Now go, machine, and rid our land of these invaders, just as you promised. And if you don't, then I will get to you well before the invaders do.”
I nod once more and turn to leave again before remembering something else I need to ask her.
So I turn around once more, saying, “By the way—”
But the vampire is nowhere to be seen.
-
Not long after we separate, I crest a hill and discover the dig site that the arctic vampire told me about. It is a massive pit in the earth—so deep and dark that I cannot see its bottom—that appears to have been dug out by heavy machinery. It is the largest and deepest pit I have ever seen, even bigger than the ore mines north of Xeeon, which makes me wonder what these people are digging for.
But I do not really have an opportunity to look as much as I like because I am not alone here. Large machinery, such as a giant crane on the other side of the pit, is operated by dwarves, although some of the equipment is clearly automated, such as a mechanical lift that allows the workers to rise up and down the pit easily.
I crouch behind a gathering of rocks and snow as low as I can, which allows me to remain hidden from the workers while still being able to see them. That drilling sound is closer than ever and appears to be coming from the massive pit. Even so, the echoing of the sound off the pit walls and the surrounding mountains makes it impossible for me to determine the pit's exact depth.
Near the crane is a box-shaped building that is clearly meant to be temporary, based on how flimsy its materials appear. Its roof is covered with snow, although one of the dwarfish workers, armed with a shovel, is shoveling the snow off as quickly as he can.
The temperature around here is much warmer than the rest of the mountains by at least twenty degrees, although it is hardly burning hot. I suspect that the presence of so much machinery and equipment is contributing to the warmer temperatures. Still, all of the workers are wearing thick clothes, which makes sense even with the warmer temperatures.
I search for a company logo of some kind among the equipment and the workers, but I see nothing at all. It is like they are hiding their logo to prevent anyone from identifying them, which is an illegal move under the Business Logo Act, which is supposed to punish this tendency for certain businesses to hide their logos when they are performing illegal deeds.
I am not sure that this dig is even legal. My knowledge of Delanian law is not as complete as Xeeonite law, but if these invaders do not have a permit of some sort that grants them permission to dig here, then that alone will help me take them down. Perhaps I should search for whoever is in charge here and tell them that what they are doing is illegal.
But then I remember what that arctic vampire told me earlier, about these invaders slaughtering the arctic vampires who tried to stop them. If they are willing to kill so many dozens of lives in order to secure this place, then I doubt these invaders are the kind who are afraid of one robot threatening to arrest them for their illegal behavior.
I therefore must gather as much information on them as I can first. That office building, the temporary-looking one, looks like a good place to start, as that is probably where the foreman is and where they keep all of their records on this dig and every worker who is a part of it, including any permits or licenses given to them by the government of the city of Delig or some other Delanian city..
That means I will need to sneak over there carefully, however. I cannot allow anyone to see me, otherwise they will sound an alarm and I will be found and caught. Stealth has never been my strong suit, but we J bots can be stealthy when necessary, so I will simply have to do m
y best.
I soon spot a route that will take me to the office building without being seen by any of the workers. Keeping as low to the ground as possible, I make my way behind the line of rock and snow leading from my current position all the way to the office building. It appears this wall is made of earth and rock dumped from the dig, although I do not stay still long enough to scan it because I do not want to waste time examining things that are irrelevant to the success of my mission.
I stop when a drone—a small, flying machine that resembles a flying security camera—soars by a little too close to my path. I crouch as low as I can behind the line of rock and snow, but I still think the drone will see me, although thankfully the drone does not fly overhead and instead goes flying in the opposite direction away from me.
Looking over the low wall, I see that there are in fact many similar drones flying around the pit, although they appear to be focusing most of their attention on the pit itself rather than on its perimeters. While I find it odd that a Delanian company uses these drones, considering how most Delanians tend to be distrustful of Xeeonite technology of any sort, it does make some sense, as these drones probably take pictures and video to allow the diggers to gain a bird's eye view of their work. No doubt they also make sure that the workers are not slacking off, in addition to keeping an optic out for anyone who should not be here, like me.
I resume walking doubled over toward the office building, although I do so more cautiously now in order to avoid being spotted by the drones. It seems unlikely that any will see me, but I am not one to take unnecessary risks, especially when these risks might end with my dismantlement at the hands of company workers who might be performing illegal activity.
Soon, I reach the end of the makeshift wall of rock and snow. Still crouching as low as I can, I am just about to make a run for the office building—which is not far from my current location—when I hear the voices of two dwarves on the other side of the wall, forcing me to stay where I am so they do not see or hear me.
“And then she said, 'What, I thought you were on Xeeo!'” says one of the dwarves.
As soon as he says that, his partner laughs so loudly that I wonder if it will cause an avalanche. Thankfully, however, the snow on the nearby mountains does not move.
“That's hilarious,” says the other dwarf. “You should tell that to everyone else. Best joke I ever heard in my life.”
“I should,” says the first dwarf. “But you know, Kalcan doesn't like us telling jokes, even on our break. Lousy snow-skin just wants us to work, work, work until we're dead.”
“Hey, keep your voice down,” says the second dwarf, who sounds worried. “Kalcan has eyes and ears everywhere, remember? Besides, I don't mind Kalcan pushing us to work. The more we work, the closer we get to completing the Mission, which I think is more important than not being able to tell jokes, even really great jokes like the one you just told me.”
“Eh, I guess you're right,” says the first dwarf. “I guess there will be plenty of time for joking around when the Mission is complete. Anyway, I'm done talking. Let's get lunch.”
I hear the two dwarves walk away, but do not look over the wall to see where they are going. I instead take this time to think about what they were discussing, as some of what they say does not make any sense to me.
What is the 'Mission'? I suppose it might be the company's goals, whatever those are, but they spoke about it too reverently for me to assume that that is what they mean. This 'Mission' must be highly important if Kalcan is forcing them to work without much time for breaks or jokes.
Speaking of Kalcan, he is apparently the one in charge here, if those two dwarves' conversation has any truth to it. That means that not only is he a traitor to his kind, but he is also the head of this digging company.
It seems clear to me, then, that finding Kalcan should be one of my top priorities. If I can find him, then I can make him tell me about the legality of this dig, as well as what company they work for. I might even be able to convince him and his workers to leave if they are doing anything illegal, although knowing how stubborn criminals can be, that seems unlikely.
Additionally, I wonder what that dwarf's joke was. I only got the punch line, but considering how loudly his friend laughed, I can only assume that it is a great joke. Maybe it is in Secrets of Humor; though I will have to check at some point later, because right now I have more important things to think about.
My main challenge now is to reach and enter that office building without being seen. The rock and snow wall I have been crouching behind does not extend all the way to that building. I will have to cross the gap between this wall and the building if I am to get there, but that also means risking one of the workers or drones seeing me as well.
The best way to do that is to create a distraction that will draw all potential eyes away from the office building. Then I will be able to dash across to the building and enter before anyone notices.
All of this would be easier if I was equipped with a stealth mode. Unfortunately, that particular piece of technology is available only to members of the Midnight Patrol Squad, of which I am not. Maybe when I get back home, I will apply for a position on the Squad so I can get that stealth mode.
In any case, I need to come up with a good distraction. If only I had a blind bomb on me, then I could throw it and distract the workers that way. Unfortunately, J bots are not allowed to carry blind bombs through Portals, because the strange properties of the Portals usually cause the bombs to explode prematurely.
I peek over the short wall again in order to see if my environment will give me any ideas for a good distraction. The crane is lowering something—another large drill, by the look of it—into the pit, while a drone nearby records the crane's actions. I also notice several dwarf workers making their way down using the lift, although there are still many workers outside of the pit where they can see me if I try to sneak across to that office building.
Pulling my head back down behind the wall, I look at the office building again. I can think of no way to distract the workers and the drones, which makes this mission much more difficult than it should be.
Maybe I can hack into one of the drones and use it to cause a distraction of some sort. That might work, seeing as these drones look similar to the kind built by Annulus Robotics, Inc., which is the company that also built we J bots. It might not be difficult to do.
Then again, hacking into any of those drones will surely draw attention to myself, especially if I fail. Besides, I have no guarantee that I can establish a connection link with any of these drones; for all I know, they are custom-made for this company, which means their software may be completely incompatible with me. I still think it is worth a shot, however, because I have no other way to make a distraction. And if I am found out, I can run, even fly, away, although that will definitely make the arctic vampire angry at me when she finds out.
Hacking into one of these drones will require that I send out a signal to whichever one is nearest. Assuming these drones are built similarly to the ones created by Annulus Robotics, Inc., then I will have to make it past the password field, as well as the firewall. In my experience, drones are generally easy to hack, which is partly why they are not in widespread use in Xeeo, although the more recent models put out by Annulus Robotics, Inc., have better security against hacking than most.
Anyway, I focus on a drone that is flying several dozen feet away from my current position; not close enough to see me, but close enough that I can try to hack it without being seen.
As soon as it is within range, I send out a connection signal to it. A moment later, the words 'CONNECTION ESTABLISHED' flash across my optics, followed by, 'USER NOT AUTHORIZED TO ACCESS DRONE.'
A password screen pops up in front of the access denied screen. I expect the password to be four characters, which is the established number of characters that all drone passwords are required to have, but instead this one requires a password with five characters.
As a J bot, I have a built-in password generator, which is usually used to access criminal files and computers in order to gather evidence for a trial. It is a complicated bit of software, capable of generating millions of different passwords in minutes, so I have no doubt that it will give me the password I need quickly, no matter how obscure it is.
So I run the password generator through the password screen, but the second I do so, even before the first password is generated, a large 'WARNING! UNAUTHORIZED USER ATTEMPTING TO HACK DRONE. ALL DRONES GATHER ON HACKER'S LOCATION.'
I immediately break off the connection with the drone I am attempting to hack. My vision returns to normal just in time for me to see dozens of drones flying toward me, each one sending off an extremely loud alarm, which combined with so many drones flying together makes a deafening sound.
Seeing that my cover is broken, I stand up and make a run for it in the opposite direction away from the pit. Soon, however, the drones are upon me, flying all around me and slowing my progress considerably.
The drones swarm around me so thickly that it is hard, though not impossible, to see through them. I turn every which way, but no matter which direction I look in, the drones have blocked off every escape route. Their alarms are louder than ever, so loud that I wonder if my audio receptors will be damaged by them.
Because there are so many drones no matter where I look, some of them fly into me or bounce off my head. I dodge some of them, but they keep coming at me so that I can barely avoid even that much. It doesn't seem like they are trying to capture me, however; merely stop me until someone else comes and gets me, likely the workers.
Alliance Page 14