This had not been part of the mission parameters Scout 895G had agreed to. He was so excited to finally get to work with the robots and prove to the higher-ups that he was qualified for more important missions, that he had gotten cocky. Plus, what was up with that Efficiency model?
Efficiency robots were household robots whose sole duty was to clean and tidy, but this robot was nothing like he’d ever seen before. It looked like one of the first models to have been released, making it over twenty years old, and yet it somehow had managed to take out one mid-sized Breacher and three model 10 Combatants. At first, he had thought the sass coming from the robot’s speaker was a voice intercom and Indo was speaking through the robot, but whatever code Indo had installed into that Efficiency model made it like nothing he’d ever seen. And now this robot was sitting in front of him with that unnervingly human mask on staring at him while he squirmed under restraints.
He was ashamed to admit it, but he was scared shitless. 895G had signed up to be a scouter, and Scouters rarely saw any action. All he was supposed to do was find out why Indo’s computer had decided to download the entirety of the world’s languages and then fall off the grid again. Indo had been missing presumed dead for almost two decades, so the head Scouts sent 895G to see if there was any merit to sending in Detainers because for all they knew someone had scavenged Indo’s computer from the landfill of Eldern and wanted to learn every language ever created. Well, it was too late to change his decision now, although he wished he had been taken captive with more grace and not sobbing so hard that Indo’s assistant, Petri, had needed to comfort him while he was getting tied up.
“Why are you here?” the robot asked him.
He remained silent, mostly because his mouth was so dry from fright that he couldn’t even muster up the saliva to respond. The robot merely lifted its crowbar and poked him in the chest. He nearly pissed himself when he remembered seeing the robot bashing in the heads of his crew without blinking. How could 895G be so afraid of something that barely came up to his shoulders?
“I’m asking very nicely here and would really appreciate some answers. I’d hate to do something we’d all regret.” The robot twirled the crowbar around its wrist with ease.
“I don’t know anything.” He choked out. Where were Indo and Petri? Shouldn’t they be monitoring this crazy robot?
“I don’t like that answer.” The robot leaned in and got within a few inches of his face. He could make out the slight scratches on the human-like mask the robot was wearing and tried his best to stare at the robot’s glowing blue eyes without looking intimidated.
“Let me tell you a bit about my situation. I’ve been stuck in this body and haven’t been able to talk to anyone but the little demons in my head for a very long time, so when I ask you a question I want an answer I like, because if I don’t get the answer I like sometimes the little crazy bits of me like to come out. Would you like that?”
He swallowed dryly and gave a slight nod, having to look down from the robot’s intense eyes. 895G concluded that either Indo was a genius that had created an AI program that truly believed it had its own entity, or that he had somehow transplanted a human consciousness into the robot. Either way, 895G needed to escape and let his managers know what was going on with this new type of creation.
“Alright, I’m going to ask again really nicely. Why are you here?” The robot asked again, backing up and sitting down on the metal table in front of him.
“A computer went online to download languages and we tracked it here.” He told the robot. If he provided it with vague information, maybe eventually he’ll find some sort of tool to release himself and then escape this bunker.
“Who’s ‘we’?”
“Oh, um…. The group I work for.”
“And what kind of work does your group do?”
“Monitoring online access and intervening when something strange appears.”
The robot went quiet and 895G hoped it was second-guessing its decision to take him captive.
“My group will expect me to check in within the hour. If they don’t hear from me they’ll send others, so I should check in.” He tried.
“And exactly how should that benefit me?” The robot stared down at him, its eyes not even flickering for a second.
“I could call them off so you don’t have to worry about Combatants and more Scouts coming after you. Plus I’m sure Indo and Petri would like to live through this.” 895G was trying his best to sound in control, but his voice cracked partway through. The robot seemed to be pondering his request though, so he felt a spark of hope light in his chest.
“Alright, but anything fishy…” The robot let out a laugh for no reason. “Fishy…” It whispered under its breath and laughed a bit more.
895G watched as the robot removed the comm from his belt and held it up to his mouth.
“This is 895G, checking in. Respond.”
Within seconds a voice responded.
“895G, this is Receiver 642A, what is your status?”
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“Location checked and no dice. Robots destroyed under landfill accident, but everything is fantastic.”
“Understood, 895G. Report back to HQ number 3 to receive compensation.”
The line went silent and the robot moved back to its seated position. It began playing with the comm device in its palm.
“So how many are coming?” The robot turned to face him.
“What do you mean?” 895G asked, trying to act innocent.
“Do you think I’m stupid?” The robot growled, crushing the communicator in its fist. “I’m asking how many reinforcements are coming to save you?”
895G’s heart sank. How had the robot picked up on the single cue word that indicated his trouble? Back in training to become a Scout everyone was taught the safety words that meant they were in trouble and needed extraction. ‘Okay’ meant a few reinforcements were needed. ‘Good’ meant at least a dozen were needed. ‘Great’ meant two dozen, and ‘Fantastic’ meant three dozen. Considering how he’d seen this small robot fighting he’d assumed three dozen were fine. But the robot had caught on to the word and all hope of being rescued vanished. 895G hadn’t contemplated his mortality realistically since he had pictured himself getting promoted after a few years, working as a Head Scouter, and then retiring on a well-earned salary. Only a few missions in and he was going to die. The weight of his death drained him of his energy.
“I asked how many are coming!” The robot stood in front of him.
“Three dozen.” He muttered, defeated.
“Perfect.”
He jolted in his seat in surprise.
“Why is that good news?” He asked incredulously.
“I don’t think I ever gave you permission to ask questions.” The robot tapped 895G’s leg with its crowbar. “But have you ever wondered why Indo and Petri live underground?”
“Uh, because they want to avoid detection?” What was up with that question?
“Yup. And it provides protection from anything that happens above ground.”
“They’ll be able to break through the hatch no problem!” He countered.
“You sure had some problems. How long do you think Indo and Petri have lived under this garbage heap?”
“I don’t know!” He cried out. What did the robot know he didn’t?
“What I’m trying to say is that they’ve got a pretty solid defense system. They weren’t expecting you to come strolling in, so it wasn’t engaged, but now that we’re getting company it is.” If robots could smile, 895G swore that the robot in front of him had the widest smile he’d ever seen.
“I don’t understand.” His voice quivered.
“I’m saying that those three dozen people you called in are probably going to die from burns and garbage avalanches if they step foot on the landfill.”
He felt as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over him. It took a little while for him to process exactly what the robot was saying, but if it was telling the truth the people he had called in were going to die because he made a mistake and got captured. All he wanted was a simple mission to move up in the ranks and now he was going to be at fault for almost forty deaths! His breath rattled in his chest as the weight of his actions set in.
“Please, let me tell them to not come!” He pleaded, tears beginning their descent down his cheeks again. He hated himself for being such a coward but would hate himself more if others died because of him.
“Oh, my bad.” The robot lifted its fist and let bits of his communicator fall to the ground. “Did you need this?”
“You’ve got to have a communicator around here somewhere!” He frantically glanced around the room, spotting only bits of robot and wires, but not the device he was looking for.
“Please! Please!” He sobbed into his chest.
“Awww, you’re so noble it hurts. I remember that feeling.” The robot leaned in and used its crowbar to lift his head to face it. “How about we strike a deal?”
“What kind of deal?” He questioned through hiccups.
“I get Indo to call off the reinforcements and you work for me.”
He stared into the robot’s unwavering gaze. Was it being serious? There was no possible way he was going to agree to that!
“Fuck you!” He spat at it, hitting the robot’s mask with tears and snot.
The robot backed away, wiping off the mess with its free hand. Its cold eyes snapped to meet his and chills ran down his spine.
“You have ten minutes to decide. After ten minutes, I will personally be sure to bring you the heads of the Scouts that come for you.”
It turned on its heels and strolled out, leaving him in the hardware room alone with his thoughts.
Why had the mission taken such a turn? All he wanted was to go home and rethink his career choice over a hot cup of coffee. Was HQ really sending in reinforcements? Maybe they didn’t think he’d be worth it and decided to just let him fend for himself? He shook his head and he knew he was just kidding himself. If there was one thing HQ was good at it was having agent’s backs, meaning that there was no doubt they would be sending 2 Breachers, twenty-four Combatants, and eight Scouts after him. Maybe the robot was bluffing and there really weren’t any defense mechanisms on the landfill? Even so, that robot had made such quick work of him and his robots that it had the possibility of beating all thirty-six reinforcements.
The choice was clear but he shivered at the thought of having to work under that sadistic robot. If he agreed would the robot even follow through on its promise? What would he even have to do? Indo, the environmental extremist, was involved so 895G suspected he would have to infiltrate the GreenHouse, but the robot was the one that scared him more. He came to the conclusion he would take the deal and save his companions, but at the first sight of escaping, he would take it. Although he would be working under the robot, it didn’t say anything about running away.
“I think you’ve come to your choice.” The robot stood in the doorway, arms crossed and holding some sort of circular device. The crowbar was gone, but that robot itself was a weapon so it did little to quash 895G’s nerves.
“Yes. In exchange for calling off the reinforcements, I’ll join you and your band of misfits.”
“Good choice. But you’ll be working for me, we’re not partners. And I don’t sleep, so please get rid of all plans of escaping.” The robot approached 895G and snapped the circular thing it had been holding around his neck. “This will help me keep track of you. Plus, it’ll help me train you since it delivers ten thousand volts whenever I flip this switch.”
The robot lifted its hand and revealed a small box with a switch on it. It then grabbed the cords binding 895G to the chair and ripped them apart with its robotic hands. When he was free, it stood back.
“My name is Terra. I hope we get along.”
895G had never been more afraid of anything than the short robot standing before him.