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  Instead, I ask, “Palos, where did you teleport us to? I do not recognize this room.”

  Panting, Palos wipes her hair off her forehead and says, “Law enforcer, we are in the only safe spot in the world right now. Not a single soul can find us here. Not even Jornan can find us, even if she uses the blackest magic she knows.”

  “I am sorry, but that is not very specific,” I say. “I need the name and location of this place so I can estimate how far I am from the nearest Portal. I need to return to Xeeo right away so I can report on what happened and receive the repairs I need.”

  “I apologize, law enforcer, but we cannot let ye do that, at least not right away,” says Palos. She puts her hands together, a gesture I sometimes see Delanian humans do when they wish to emphasize their apologies. “We cannot guarantee that ye will be safe. I must speak first with the Head before we let ye go anywhere.”

  “Who is the Head?” I say. “May I speak with him?”

  “Not yet,” says Palos, shaking her head. “The Head may not even wish to speak with ye. She—the Head is female, by the way—is a busy person, after all, and rarely makes time to speak with non-members such as yourself unless it is urgent.”

  “Non-members?” I repeat. “I still do not understand. Are we in your organization's headquarters? Just what is your organization? Can you at least tell me the name so I may catalog it in the mobile Database?”

  “Nay,” says Palos. “Ye are not even supposed to be here, law enforcer, but I hope that the Head will understand that I had no choice but to bring ye here.”

  Before I can respond to that, the door I noticed earlier bursts open. Two beings enter the room, two beings who I have never seen before in my life and for whom the mobile Database records fail to provide any information.

  The first one is a dwarf, but unlike most dwarves, he is completely bald, without any hair on his head or his face. He wears thick wizard robes, like the kind the mobile Database tells me are worn by wizards living in the Winterlands, but I see no skyras rings on his fingers, which makes me wonder why he wears that clothing. Sensors indicate that his blood pressure is rising, which tells me that he is angry, though I do not know what he is angry about.

  The second is a female elf, one with short blonde hair. She is wearing a simple Delanian tunic, though she has apparently sewn pockets into it, or perhaps someone else sewed pockets onto it, based on its appearance. In addition, the tunic is made of a thick wool, which suggests she has been in a cold environment recently. Unlike her dwarfish friend, she is armed with a sword, although it looks different from the skyras swords usually used by the Knights of Se-Dela, as it is a dead gray color rather than a shining white. And unlike her friend, she is not angry, but she is worried, perhaps dreading some future problem that is going to happen.

  Palos turns from me to face the two newcomers, saying as she does so, “Ah, Rozan, Nacina, I—”

  “Don't say another word,” the dwarf snaps, pointing at her with an accusatory finger. “You know the rules, but you went against them anyway.”

  “Rozan, there's no need for that tone,” says the female elf, who I assume must be Nacina, in a much lower tone than the dwarf. She puts one calming hand on his shoulder. “I'm sure that Palos has a reason for her actions. Right, Palos?”

  “Of course I do,” says Palos, folding her arms across her chest. “I will explain them directly to the Head herself if I must. Let it be known that I did not save this machine to spite our organization.”

  “I don't care what your reasons are for saving it,” says Rozan, shrugging off Nacina's hand and pointing at me as if I can not understand what he is saying. “The rules say that we're not supposed to have any non-members of the Foundation inside either of our bases. And this robot is certainly not a member of the Foundation, for sure.”

  I quickly run the term 'Foundation' through the mobile Database files. My search turns up the Foundation for Homeless Jikorian Children, a non-profit Xeeonite charity that helps get homeless Jikorian children off the streets, but I sincerely doubt that that Foundation is the same as this Foundation, not in the least because the mobile Database files show that the charity does not have a Delanian branch.

  “I am quite aware of the rules, Rozan, but I still refuse to apologize for my decision,” says Palos. She gestures at me. “After all, if I had not saved him, then Jornan would have destroyed him. Would that have been a good thing? Of course not.”

  “You're acting like this robot is valuable,” says Rozan. He glares at me. “All I see is trouble. Now that he's here, he knows we exist, and no one is supposed to know we exist. Not even Waran-Una knows we exist, for the earth's sake.”

  “I think we should discuss this another time,” says Nacina, before Palos can respond. “Palos, you need to report to the Head about the status of your mission, although I can see that it clearly did not go as planned if you had to return without stopping Jornan.”

  “Yea, I did fail to stop her,” says Palos with a sigh. “Jornan proved far smarter than I thought. She killed all of the Knights and has already moved most of the cargo to Xeeo.”

  “Damn it,” says Rozan. “I should have come with you. Jornan wouldn't have stood a chance against me. Would have been running like the coward she is, she would have.”

  “Excuse me,” I say, causing all three of the Foundation members to look at me. “I still do not know what is going on here. Does anyone care to explain?”

  “No,” says Rozan. He shakes his head at me. “Don't try to trick us, you robot. We're not telling you a thing about us until the Head gives us permission to. Until then, keep your mouth shut.”

  His rudeness does not phase me, although I am disappointed that I will not be learning about the true nature of this organization anytime soon, or so it seems.

  Therefore, I ask, “All right. But if you will not tell me that, then will you at least take me to a certified J bot technician and a certified recharging station as well? My left leg is broken, you see, and I am extremely low on power as well.”

  I say this while pointing at my leg, which is still inoperable. I also do a quick check of my power level: 15%. It is draining far more rapidly than I thought, which makes me hope that these Foundation members will at least grant me that request, if nothing else.

  “Don't know if we can do even that much,” says Rozan. He looks at Nacina. “Do we even have a technician around here? Or a recharge station?”

  “I don't know,” says Nacina with a shrug. “I tend to doubt it, but you never know. And we could always use magic to repair him, if necessary.”

  That thought makes me uneasy. Delanian magic rarely interacts well with Xeeonite technology, even though both use skyras energy. While I know that there are some individuals on both Dela and Xeeo whom are studying ways to connect the two, there is a good reason they are usually kept separate. I remember one time seeing a visiting Delanian wizard attempt to put back together a fallen comrade of mine, which ended with my comrade bursting into flame. It might be better for me to wait until I can return to Xeeo before getting the help I need.

  “Robot, you stay here until we return,” says Rozan, pointing at me as if he thinks I am going to try to run away. “We are going to speak with the Head about you first. But don't worry; we won't be long at all, although if things go the way I think they will, then I doubt you'll like it.”

  Rozan then turns and stomps out of the room, followed by Nacina, who looks back at me apologetically, and then Palos, who does not say another word to me as she leaves. I watch all three of them go until they close the door behind themselves, leaving me alone in this strange room.

  -

  My internal clock shows that thirty minutes pass before the door opens again. While I am incapable of sleeping, I do go into power conservation mode while I wait, as my power level is too low for me to risk waiting in full-power mode. This turns off some of my functions, such as my connection with the Database, but that is fine because I do not need it at the moment.


  When the door opens, however, I raise my head in time to see a man enter the room, a man I have never seen before. He is tall and thin, similar to Jornan, but his face is scarred, like he was attacked by a wild animal at some point.

  He carries at his side a large black toolbox, which he rests on the floor near my broken leg. He gets on his knees, flips open the lid of his toolbox, and begins digging through it for the tools he needs.

  “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

  SYSTEM 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 lif
t 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.