Jal closed the project it was working on and followed Sage Elvan. Once they were seated, Sage Elvan asked Victor Necri to run Milen’s parents’ names through the Zaletori database.

“I heard you went mountain-climbing.”

“Not really,” Sage Elvan responded. “We did go through a series of caves, but there wasn’t much there.”

The two talked about the multiple vehicle searches that Sage Elvan and Jal had been forced to submit to on the way back to Darej. Representatives from Haybuti and Zibran demanded that Sage Elvan get busy and broker some sort of agreement. Each side asked that the others be kicked out.

“Orto and Maruto Tona are not on the list of citizens of Zaletori from before the volcanic eruptions. I’ll try the listing from New Zaletori.” A moment later, Victor said, “Those people are not on this list either. Have you tried the worldwide listing?”

“Yes, but I wondered if they’d been overlooked in the census or relocation process.”

“That’s pretty doubtful. I suggested that the Zaletorian leaders use the same method the Aphxians had used of measuring out the land and registering each family before they chose their property. The process was completed pretty quickly. There are only a few people that have chosen not to claim property, and they live with family members.”

***

That night Sage Elvan was in the sitting room when Jal bounded down the tower. “Jan! Jan! Look at this! Here are the people who were found in the cave!”

Jan studied the pictures. “There are pictures of each of them? What are you reading?”

Jal flicked the top of the screen. “Early Explorers of Shifos Continent. I got it from the library in Pejaru. The group made several expeditions north past the mountains and returned safely. Their friends said that on the last trip they were going further north in the mountains, and then east. They had planned to return home along the coast. But they never returned. Here are the two that were on the ridge.”

“How many were in the group?”

Jal looked down. “Eight.”

“When did they leave on this trip?”

“In 6073.”

“One hundred seventy years ago? Their bodies have been perfectly preserved. How can that be?” Jan looked at Jal. “What were you doing with the wand when we first encountered the statues?”

“I cast an identify spell. It said ‘unknown.’ What were you doing in the speeder before you checked it back in?” Jal asked.

“I was cleaning up the floor.”

“You were picking up pieces of the residue from our shoes?”

“I was. I sent it to the lab for analysis.”

“I’ll be right back. I have something for you.” Jal jumped up the tower and quickly returned. “Here are the samples I collected.”

“I know where you got these two, but where did these other ones come from?” Jal told Jan what it had done. “Jal! You could have gotten us into a lot of trouble.”

“But I didn’t! I thought it through, made a plan, and carried it out.”

“How is it that you weren’t seen?” Jal told it about the cloak of invisibility. “Jal! I can’t believe you did that!” Jan sighed. “I’ll send these to the lab.”

“You didn’t tell Master Nacri about the conversations with Milen and his family members,” Jal observed.

“I don’t plan to tell anyone anything, until this investigation is complete.”

“They gave you two different sets of answers about their birthplaces. Do you think they’re lying?”

“I don’t know what to think, Jal. I feel like we don’t have all the facts.”

***

Jal’s days became busier as its schoolwork became more challenging. It was no longer able to complete it between tasks at Sage Elvan’s office. Jal began to wonder if I should stop taking combat lessons one day during a class session. Karriga had disarmed Jal several times, and now Puta sat on Jal’s legs holding Jal’s weapon.

“Get off!” Jal said crossly.

“I am, I am!”

“Why do you insist on doing that?”

“Doing what?”

“Wrestling my weapon from my hand!”

“We’re supposed to use all means necessary to disarm you,” Karriga pointed out. “It’s okay if you do it to us, and now you complain!”

“What’s going on over here?” Zarlesh Barloch came to their practice area.

“Jal’s mad that we keep disarming it.”

“Jal, I’ve been watching the three of you. It seems like you’re not paying attention.” Jal didn’t respond. “You two can go,” Barloch motioned to Karriga and Puta. “Jal, what’s wrong? These last few weeks have been rough for you. I wonder if you’re thinking about other things.”

“Maybe,” it muttered.

“Do you have exams coming up?”

“I have exams nearly every day.”

“Maybe you should slow down,” Barloch suggested.

“Maybe you should mind your own business!” Jal snapped. The moment the words were out of Jal’s mouth, it regretted them.

Barloch was shocked at this reaction. “You’ve never been like this before. I think you’re stressed.”

“I’m sorry,” Jal turned away. “I have a lot on my mind.”

“The situation in Haybuti and Zibran is worse than ever, isn’t it, Jal?”

“That’s Master Elvan’s problem, not mine!”

“My guess is that you worry about him when he goes back and forth.” Jal didn’t say anything. “If you ever want to talk, you know where to find me.”

Jal was worried about Sage Elvan, and it was also worried about Taryn. She had recently forgotten to transport Jal to its pottery and herbology lessons. Jal had found her sitting on the floor in the eating room and she couldn’t tell it what she was doing, even though there was a bucket of soapy water next to her. This morning she had burnt breakfast. She told Jal that she had never done this before. When Jal told her that it should run a diagnostic on her, she had refused.

Jal showered and dressed, then went to the waiting area where it typically met her. It studied as it waited, paying no attention to the time and assuming she’d been delayed doing errands. Nearly two hours later, Jal was still waiting. It tried to contact her on the communicator, but got no response. Two more hours passed and Jal tried again. It left a message that it was walking to the Peace Foundation offices, and would work until she came to transport it home.

At the end of the work day, Jal was still there. When there was a knock at the door, Jal turned, expecting Taryn. “Hello, Master Nacri.”

“Jal? What are you doing here? I saw the light and thought Jan was back.” Jal shook its head. “You should go home.”

“I’m waiting for Taryn.”

“She transports you back and forth, doesn’t she? You haven’t reached the point where you can transport yourself?”

“That’s right. It’s very out-of-character for her to not show up. She’s not answering my calls either.”

“Why don’t you come with me? I have an extra bed in my suite. Let her know where you’ll be.”

Jal tried again to contact Taryn and left another message, then went with him. They had a meal together, and Jal spent the night doing schoolwork.

In the morning, Jal tried again to contact Taryn, with no luck. It went with Master Nacri to the office and took care of tasks that were normally delegated to it. When it was finished, it sat at Sage Elvan’s desk doing schoolwork and answering the calls that came in.

Three days later, Jal was sitting at Sage Elvan’s desk when it came through the door. “I’m glad you made it back safely!”

“It’s good to see you too!” Sage Elvan was puzzled. “Why are you here today? You’re supposed to be home.” Jal told it about its numerous attempts to contact Taryn, and her lack of response. “You stayed here in the city by yourself?”

“I was with Master Nacri.”

“Good.” Less than an hour later, they stood together in the sitting room after having searched the tower for Taryn. None of the vehicles were missing, and Jal proposed that it look around the farm for her.

Jal found her in the chicken coop, sitting on the floor. It asked her to get up, and she didn’t respond.

Jal and Jan lifted her and carried her inside to her charging station, a bed in her room off the kitchen. Jan lifted off the cover for the computer in her chest. There was no indication that anything was wrong. “I don’t know anything about this. Let’s leave her for a while.”

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

They checked on her that night before bed, and again the following morning. Jan called a technician. She came out, looked over the android, and told Jan that the parts Taryn needed were no longer being produced. “Now what do I do?” Sage Elvan said to her.

“Her other parts can be used in other old models. Stop by my shop. I’ll give you a discount on a new one.”

“This one was programmed with so many of our family routines, favorite recipes, and places that we went.”

“I’ll move her memory chips to the new one.”

A week after Taryn died, Sage Elvan brought home her successor. Jal was busy with schoolwork and its crafting, and didn’t pay much attention to the new android. When Jal did, it was startled. Scuti looked like a very young Nobelan, barely older than a child.

“She’s going to take care of things?” Jal said to Jan that evening.

“She has the same programs and memory chips that Taryn had.”

“Okay. Is she connected into the system so she can see our calendars? I have some things coming up that I have to be at.”

“I saw that. Let’s remind her each morning of our schedules for a week or so and see how she does.”

A few days later, when Jal told Scuti that it was ready to leave for the Protector’s Enclave, she tipped her head, “What’s that?”

“You know this. Search your memory. Protector’s Enclave, Iragos Peninsula.”

She began the transport sequence and Jal stepped into it. A moment later, they stood together, looking around. “What? Scuti, where are we?”

“I don’t know.”

“You do know. Access your location module. Where are we?”

“Dagmon, Iragos Peninsula. There is the market.”

“I don’t need to go to the market. I need to go to the Protector’s Enclave. Try again.”

This time they ended up at Ridali Farm. “This isn’t what I said!” Jal was frustrated. “End present transport sequence. Initiate new transport sequence. Transport me to the Protector’s Enclave, Iragos Peninsula.”

“Say ‘please.’”

“What?”

The android carried out the transport sequence. When Jal looked around, it realized that Scuti had only transported them about six hundred meters from the Ridali Tower.

Jal looked at its timepiece. “Scuti, go inside.”

“Master Jal, you requested to be transported –“

“And you failed to carry out my request. Go inside.” Jal pressed its communicator and spoke to Dr. Gyasi who had Jal transported to his lab.

That night, Jan and Jal went into the cooking room for the meal. The table was set for one person. They looked at one another, “Are you not eating?”

“I am.”

“I am too.”

“Scuti, please bring us another place setting and meal,” Jan requested.

“No. I don’t serve impolite people.”

“Excuse me?” Jan responded.

“Jal wanted to be transported to the Protectors’ Enclave this morning. It did not say ‘please.’ It hurt my feelings.”

“Oh, brother,” Jal groaned. “This is exactly what we didn’t have to deal with, with Taryn.”

“I am not Taryn. I am Scuti. You will be polite and show respect or I will not respond to your requests.”

Over the following week, Jal had four different activities scheduled for the days that it wasn’t with Jan. Each time, Jal went to Scuti, stated that it was ready to be transported to a specific location, and said please. Each time, it took three tries before Scuti got the transport sequence right.

One evening Jal didn’t respond when Scuti told it that the meal was ready. Jal was in the middle of a conversation with Dr. Gyasi. Jal came down to the eating room when it was finished. It apologized to Jan, and explained what it had been doing.

“I’d like my meal, please, Scuti.”

“You didn’t respond when I spoke to you.”

“I was on the communicator.”

“You hurt my feelings.”

“Please serve Jal, Scuti. I know you have the food prepared. Give it the meal.”

Reluctantly, Scuti placed a plate of food and tableware in front of Jal.

“I’m going to Dagmon for a magic lesson in the morning, Jan. I expect I’ll be gone all day, possibly overnight.”

“I thought you just had a magic lesson.”

“I did. I’m very close to doing level six magic. I want to be able to do this so that I can transport myself to where I need to be.”

“I didn’t know that was a priority,” Jan looked at Jal curiously.

“It wasn’t until this week. I was late for several different activities.” Jal explained what had happened. “Her transport program needs to be removed and replaced. It must have errors in it.”

“Scuti,” Jan said to the android, “I want you to run a level two diagnostic on your transport program.”

While they ate, Scuti ran the diagnostic. “My program has no errors. I made those transports intentionally,” Scuti responded.

“Why?” Jan’s mouth hung open in surprise.

“Jal is rude and inconsiderate. It hurts my feelings.”

“I don’t have time for things like this, Jan. I’m trying to use my time wisely. I have a lot of things to do. This is just plain silly.”

“Maybe you need to be ready to transport earlier?” Jan suggested.

“Thirty minutes should be plenty.”

“You’re right, it should. If feelings are getting in the way of responsibilities, I only see two options. The first is to have all the programming erased and redone.”

“You wouldn’t!” Scuti seemed to gasp.

“The second one is to trade her in for a non-sentient one.” Scuti looked from Jan to Jal and back again.

Two days later, Jal came home from Dagmon pleased with itself. It had filled the back of the speeder with lots of wares and made a delivery to Tunne. After an evening with Eiske, Jal had slept well and enjoyed a large breakfast of fresh eggs. Most importantly, it had successfully demonstrated the ability to do level six magic. Jal carried the crates into the crafting room, put the speeder in the shed, and carried its backpack into the sitting room. “Hi, Jan!”

“Welcome home, Jal! You sound like you had a good break.”

“I did.”

“Jan, the noon meal is ready,” someone came to the door.

“Is there enough for me?” Jal asked.

“I hope so.” Jal followed Jan to the table. “Jal, this is our new housekeeper, Niki.”

Niki had prepared several of Jal’s favorite vegetables, and responded succinctly to Jal’s questions about its background. “I will begin in the morning by inventorying the supplies and preparing for the winter,” she told them. “Are there any special instructions that you have for me?”

Jal swallowed its mouthful. “You don’t need to clean the crafting room. And I keep my sleeping room clean.”

Several hours later, Jan’s voice came over Jal’s communicator just as Jal put a handful of water on the lump of clay on the pottery wheel. It wiped its hand on the apron it wore. “Yes?”

“Where are you?”

“In the crafting room.”

A few minutes later, Jan came into the room. “It’s time for bed, Jal.”

“I’m working late tonight.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I’m behind. Those four days in Nik kept me on top of my schoolwork, but behind in my crafting.”

“You didn’t go to see either of your mentors?”

“I did. Master Neve’s new apprentice is starting from scratch. She’s living with him and spending all her time at his extra wheel. He did two demonstrations and gave me assignments. Master Avina’s assistant said she was ill. She reviewed what I had done, and gave me places to gather seeds for spring planting.”

Jan looked at the shelves around the room. “It looks to me like you have a lot of inventory.”

“I do. A lot of it needs to be glazed and fired.”

“Please finish the piece you’re working on and go to bed.”

Jan watched as Jal molded the pitcher and measured it. It used a tool to clean up the edges and smooth things out. “Do you mind if I watch?”

“Of course not. There’s a stool over there.” The pitcher became rounded at the bottom but remained straight at the top. Jal explained what it was doing as it worked. When Jal was finished, it ran a wire at the bottom edge and removed the pitcher from the wheel. “I’ll put the handle on later,” Jal explained as it covered the pitcher with plastic. “I just need to clean up. It won’t take long.”

***

Jal tried to pay attention to the conversation in the Director’s office. Sage Elvan was explaining the research that had been done on the situation in the contested territory. “Jal, would you find the book in your tablet with the pictures of the statues in it?”

Jal stopped taking notes and flipped through its tablet. The Director looked it over and passed it back. “Please talk to the curator at the museum. Tell him that I’ve given authorization to move them. Where are you at with the investigation into those murders and missing transports?”

“I’ve not been able to verify some of the information about Milen and Kaden Badem. They’re not registered citizens of Zuphreon, not in the records of Zeletoni, New Zeletoni, or Zibran. Neither of the men’s parents, wives or children are on the planetary or district registries, but the children are registered in the local school. Their business is not licensed. They claim to be mining hercil and nothing else. Yet the residue from our visit there showed a high concentration of taenrine, which is used to manufacture explosives. The lab has identified a sample we brought back as umbine.”

The Director was astonished. “That’s worth a lot of currency. It’s several thousand mu-tok for a kilo!”

“Yes. If any other miners find out, these people could be killed for it.”

“They’re mining it illegally! There’s a penalty for that.”

“They could all be registered under other names and are trying to hide their identities. We’re running each of them through a facial recognition program. I’ll let you know when the results are back. They’re paying taxes when their transports stop at the weighing stations, and they’re receiving payments from Monitron Industries. They want to hire guards and they want assurances from the Zibran government that the hijackings are going to be stopped.”

“They are blaming the Haybuti for the hijackings?”

“Yes.”

“How do you propose to proceed?”

“I’m going to check records on Capesia and Tresdonia. I suggest that if they want to affiliate with the Zibrans, they register their business and submit paperwork to become citizens of Zuphreon and Zibran. Until that is all in place, Zibran will not protect their transports of raw materials.”

“What about the explosive materials?”

“I’ll explain to them that they are subject to inspection by officials to ensure they are only mining what they claim. If they refuse to allow the inspectors access, they will be strongly encouraged to find alternative means of revenue or leave the planet.”

“Have you been able to link them with those people who have been identified as political activists for either side?”

Sage Elvan hesitated. “Yes. But it doesn’t make sense. I’ve connected them to the Haybuti activists.”

“Could they be switching allegiances?”

“Perhaps. Because the Haybuti leaders don’t have the funding, they’re not promising anyone protection. There are several families in the area that have changed their allegiances to the Zibran in the last two months. Their transports have been hijacked too.”

“What is going on?”

“Each side is blaming the other. I have a hypothesis, but don’t have enough facts to substantiate a case in support of it.” She saw how serious Sage Elvan was. “I believe that there’s a third group that’s formed.”

“To what purpose?”

“To threaten the miners and force them to leave. Then this new group can create a monopoly. They would have the resources to manipulate a lot of people if they are mining explosive materials and umbine.”

“It would have to be someone with a lot of assets,” Director Watene said slowly. “There are only two people that I can think of that would have the funds for that. Dilip Goar and Nar Bal Desere’e.”

“This is all an unproven theory.”

She got up and walked to the window. “Both of them are forces that would be hard to deal with. We’ve been watching them for years. What do you propose we do about this third group? Have you identified the participants?”

“I’m working on that. If it’s a small group of people, it will be easier to address the situation.”

“What are you thinking of?”

There was a long silence. “Mykko,” Sage Elvan said quietly.

“Is that really necessary? Isn’t there another option?”

“The playing field was even, Director. We were working out a compromise. This third party, if they are gunning for a local takeover, needs to be eliminated. If they were to gain power, they could put the whole planet at risk.”

Jal swallowed hard. Sage Elvan was talking about having people killed. “There has to be another option,” it thought. “If the Protectors knew that this was what was being planned, they would…” Jal couldn’t imagine what they would do. “Where are they?” it wondered for the millionth time. “Why aren’t they stopping what’s going on? If we could get to those last known coordinates for the Protectors, maybe we could figure out what happened! Maybe something happened to them, and they’re still there!”

“Jal.” Sage Elvan was talking to it. “Director Watene is talking to you.”

“Just a moment. I’m a bit behind in my note-taking.” It took a minute and finished. “You were saying something about my job performance?”

“I was saying that it’s been impressive. I saw that you were in the office, even when Sage Elvan was overseas. You’re very responsible, and you’ve become a valued member of our staff.”

“Thank you,” Jal’s face flushed.

“I’m awarding you the next rank in your training. Please step forward.” Jal went to her and she added a pin to its sash. “You have achieved the rank of Third Secretary. I’d like you to continue as Sage Elvan’s aide. When you apply for university, come to me. I’ll write you a letter of recommendation.”

“Thank you, Director Watene. I appreciate your support.”

“Congratuations, Jal!” Sage Elvan said when they were back in its office. “All of your hard work is paying off.”

“Thank you, Sage Elvan!” Jal was filled with nervousness and excitement. “You know that I passed my fifth level magic test this past week.”

Sage Elvan looked at Jal in surprise. “You did tell me that. So you should now be able to transport where you want to go. I would do some local transports before trying the longer distances, just to make sure your energy level won’t be completely drained in the process. We’ll also need to set some ground rules about where you can go, for how long, and so forth.”

“Oh?”

“Well, I can’t just let you run all over the planet!”