Chapter 4:
Green-Eyes dropped me on my ass in front of a bunch of men. This isn't going where you think it might. They were dressed in army gear with guns at their hips and clipboards in their hands. They looked down at me in complete befuddlement and then they looked back up at him.
"You can't just…" One of them began. "Bring your friends here..."
"She isn't my friend,"
"Whoever she is, she can't be here."
I'm not sure where this place was. Let me fill you in. Green-Eyes here did confirm his name was Lockdown. I didn't wanna tell him how I found out, but he assumed I heard it from his crew. He was right, sadly. I felt so bad-ass, but he stole my thunder. The story of my life, I suppose. I told him how I escaped. I climbed down, ran around for awhile and hid in a crevice for the rest of the day. He called me stupid, and also confirmed the fact that those tunnels were very dangerous. If I crawled back there, I would have most certainly died from either scorching or even being electrocuted to death by faulty wires. He called off the search, and he made me explain the whole thing to his crew. They seemed to be dumbfounded, by what I could tell.
He was impressed how I was able to evade the rovers. They had thermal radars but were most likely unable to detect me due to the tunnel's overwhelming heat being rendered undetectable and making the area practically invisible, thus cloaking my own heat. Or at least that's what he told me. I don't know much sense that's supposed to make. I was taken to another part of the ship, and he let me down, finally. I thought this was a general cockpit, but then he told me this was dropship. It's able to pop off from the main ship, and he often uses it to get places and drop off or pick up supplies and other stuff.
That brings us up to date. We arrived at some sort of air field. There were many different types of planes and jets parked along the landing strip. It was a cloudy, chilly, calm morning. The ship has a name, Lockdown told me. The Knightship. It loomed overhead. Its build is just so alien. It looked like something straight out of a movie. Its engines were calm, stabled and dark in the center, almost like black holes in the sky. It hasn't been long since I've seen the outdoors, but after all that, I really started to miss it. I enjoyed the sweet breeze as the men argued with a giant robot in the background. They bickered back and forth for some time about me being brought here. It wasn't my choice, so I chose to stay out of this.
The soldier was mostly running his mouth until Lockdown finally revealed his alibi. He drew my necklace from a container on his hip and dangled it in front of the crew.
"I brought her back here because she had the shard," He stated. He let go of it and clinked against the concrete, landing between the squad and I. "She's working for me, now." I slowly reached out to retrieve the pendant, but it was quickly snatched up by the man, who held it up and observed it.
"It's in the jewel," I pointed out. I guess even the humans knew about the shard.
"We should take it in for further analysis-" The man began, but he was cut off.
"That won't be necessary," Lockdown assured. "It's an asset to our operation."
"He's using me as bait," I chimed in.
Everyone was silent for a moment. The man spoke up, again. "So what do you want us to do?"
"If she's going to be apart of this operation, she needs to be registered,"
"You're saying we should enlist her?"
"What else would I be saying?"
What an audacious guy. The man looked down at me, still on the ground and then back up to him. "I can't tell you anything for sure, but I guess I'll speak to the Colonel, we'll see what he says." And with that, he walked off toward a cluster of buildings in the distance. The rest of the men just stood around looking at each other. That 10 minutes it took for the man to get back was awkward as all Hell. When he did come back, he gave me a weird look, probably confused to see me still on the ground. None of the others had bothered to help me up or anything.
I raised an arm up to him, and he grabbed hold of me and pulled me to my feet. "We'll take her back." He said, "She'll be back, shortly."
He swiftly turned around, avoiding eye contact with Lockdown, who didn't even have a chance to say anything. The man beckoned me to come along, and at that, the man guided me off. I glanced behind me as the rest of the men kind of dispersed, while Lockdown just stood there. I was lead into a building, and I was brought to what I assumed was a waiting room. He sat me down and finally introduced himself.
"Sgt. Gunther," He stated, reaching out for a handshake. I accepted, and he had a very firm grip, my God. He shook my arm up and down like a wet noodle.
"Nice to meet you, Sgt. Call me Vega," I replied. He let go of my hand, and I quickly retracted my arm.
"We're going to take you back into the office, soon and we're just going to ask a few questions. We've never dealt with anything like this, before,"
"Yeah, me neither,"
"Just wait here, we'll be no more than 5 minutes."
He walked inside of a room down a hallway adjacent to where I sat. And thus, I began to wait. One of my favorite things to do in a waiting room is just taking a moment to look around at things. I noticed an empty front desk by the entrance with a computer sitting on it with its monitor facing away. There's also a small vase with a red flower sticking out of it, as well. I saw a door behind the desk and a small window covered by blinds. There were only four empty seats next to me and at the very end of the row was a globe on a tall, fancy stand. The walls had lots of photo-like paintings of jets, planes, and other aircrafts. The carpets were grey and speckled with black, almost like tv static. The walls were painted a light grey with a slight hue of blue. All in all, the room's dull. Colorless.
After taking a quick scan of the room, I watched the ceiling fan for a little bit. Finally, the Sgt. came out of the office. He called my name and motioned with his hand for me to come down and enter. I did just that. I sheepishly entered the room and sat down in front of an older man behind a desk. His hair was mostly grey and white, but with bits of black here and there. This was even applicable to his beard. His dark colored eyes stared down at a stack of papers, and he didn't seem phased by my presence.
"So what's she here for, again?" He spoke in a raspy voice.
"She has the All-Spark shard, Colonel," The Sgt. replied. He then dropped my necklace down on the desk in front of the Col., "It's inside the gem."
He reached over and began to fidget with it in his fingers. "How the hell'd she get a hold of this?"
"It was given to me I'm not sure where it came from," I added.
"I see. And you said Lockdown brought her here?" The Col. asked.
"Yes, they're working together or something," The Sgt. said.
"I don't know if this is something we should allow, but I'm not going to be the one to tell him no." The Col. jokes.
From there, they asked me a series of questions. My full name, my age, weight, and date-of-birth. They asked if I've ever owned weapons or if I've been diagnosed with any long-term illnesses or mental health issues, as well as a bunch of other stuff I don't really remember. They also took thumbprints and took my photo. It took almost two hours to complete, and when we were finished, I was sent back into the waiting area. I was also given back my necklace. I sat there looking around, once again. The Sgt. didn't come back for almost half an hour. When he did, he handed me a small, black, leather wallet. When I opened it up, I discovered it has an ID in it. I guess I have my own badge, now. I didn't get to have a good look at it. The Sgt. then ushered me out of the door.
We took a few steps outside. We both then quickly realized Lockdown was nowhere to be found. I can't say I was too surprised. I almost want to believe he left without me. All it took was a walk around the airfield to eventually find him in his vehicle form, parked behind a shack by some jets. We approached him, and he didn't seem to even acknowledge us. "We're done, now, she's good to go." The Sgt. spoke, trying to get his attention. He scratched his head, a little perplexed at the lack of a response. "What, is he asleep-?" As soon as the Sgt. finished, at the drop of a hat, the bot quickly changed forms and stood up.
"Did you really have to take this long?" He sneered. The Sgt. rolled his eyes, which visibly angered Lockdown. "Roll your eyes at me again, and cut them out of your skull."
The Sgt. seemed disturbed by this threat.
"We'll be going, now." Lockdown snatched me up in his fist, and I stared at him uncomfortably. I looked down and noticed The Sgt. looked concerned. I was then taken back to the dropship, and thus we went and flew back to the main ship.
Getting snatched up in Lockdown's fist tends to startle me, but I think I'm already getting used to it, at this point. The hatch opened up in front of him, and he stepped out from the dropship with his hand clenched around my little body. I wasn't sure what he was going to with me, now. I almost wanted to ask, but I wasn't sure if I should even bother. He didn't say a word to me; he just kept on moving. It seemed like the rooms turned cold when he'd walk through. He certainly turns the heads of the crew, as he makes his way throughout the ship.
Something about his walk makes him seem confident and bold, and all the crew members know this. By the looks of it, it seemed they fear him. The second I laid eyes on him - or I should say, he laid eyes on me, I knew he was a force to be reckoned with. He brought me to room with a large, round window. It had many small transparent screens circling the edge of it with unknown writings all over them. The window itself had a strange pattern of beams along it.
From out the window, I could see the airfield, and I realized this was probably the cockpit for the main ship. Lockdown stepped up on a platform, and I noticed a massive throne of some sort, presumably for the operator. From the beside the seat, a bit of movement caught my eye. I looked down to realize the same robot dogs from earlier were on the floor and at either side of the throne. They both had perked up at the sight of their master returning.
He took a seat and reached over the armrest. I would have thought he was reaching over to pet his dog, but I realized what he was really doing. He dragged over what looked like a giant pet cage, to me. It almost looked like the holding cells, but smaller. It was people-sized, in fact.
"I-is that another cage?!" I shouted like an idiot.
He glared at me, looking pretty annoyed. "Yes. This time, I'll be able to keep an eye on you," He removed the top and dropped me into it before replacing the top. He kicked the cage aside, knocking me over and at the same time, completely startling me. I heard a low, throaty growl. I turned around to see one of the dogs was laying on the ground with his paws out in front of him. He slowly began gnashing his teeth, before violently jumping up at me and breaking out in a barking fit and sending my cowering against a corner of the cage.
I looked up; Lockdown didn't seem phased. The dog did eventually stop, but his eyes were locked on me. With every little movement I'd make, he'd let out a short growl. I looked back up to Lockdown who was working with a screen in front of him. He seemed to be reading something by what I could tell. He would occasionally swipe his finger and scroll passed a wall of text before pausing. It was quiet for awhile. Until the growling of my stomach broke the silence. Everyone must have heard it, considering the dog tilted its head in confusion and I noticed even Lockdown was staring at me, looking somewhat baffled.
"Sorry," I said flatly. My bag was maybe a yard away from me. I looked at it and looked back to the hound. He was gaze still fixated on me. I sat up straight and slowly leaned in for it. The dog began to growl. The closer I got, the louder he'd get until I slipped my hands around the strap, he then let out a vicious howl.
"Stop that!"
I jumped at the sound of an aggravated bellow. I clutched my bag to my chest and realized it was Lockdown yelling at the mutt. It certainly shut him right up. He laid back down looking like a sorry puppy dog. He still didn't break his gaze as I opened up my bag and took out some canned-potatoes and a can opener. The dog's ears perked up. He kept watching my every move. I popped open the can and dug a spoon out from my bag. As disgusting as it may sound to some, I was quite content with eating them cold right out of the can. I thought I'd try and get on good terms with the dog. I slowly approached the side of the cage, and he watched me cautiously. When I reached the side of the cage, I slipped my hand through the bars and held the can up to him.
He sniffed but didn't seem interested in what was inside. I shrugged and sat down, and began to eat. I guess he's not interested in Earth food. I find it a little bizarre a robotic creature knows what food is. Why would a robot need to eat, anyway? I noticed he never stopped staring at me. Maybe he thought I had something else for him. I offered the potatoes a few more times, but all he does is just sniff and back off. Finally, I finished eating. I noticed him sniffing, once more.
"I'm done, there's none left!" I said, standing up and holding the can out once more. Suddenly in a quick motion, the dog snatched the can right out of my hand and scarfed it down, spoon and all. I stood there frozen in awe, jaw dropped.
"He loves cans," I heard Lockdown say tauntingly.
"Uh," was the only thing that came out of my mouth. I was okay with losing the can, but he had to have the spoon? Really? I don't have many of those.
More time passed. It's getting dark, and I guess the ship isn't going anywhere. We've been hovering over the air field for quite some time. I sat leaning against the side of the cage, in a corner. The dog and I have made peace, at this point. I occasionally reached out a hand and pet the big guy's head. He didn't seem to mind at all, surprisingly. I guess that can is all he needed.
"Are we gonna go anywhere or anything?" I shouted up to Lockdown. He looked away from what his screen and down at me. "Yes, you," I assured.
He looked away back to his work. "What difference does it make to you?"
I looked away and didn't say anything. After a few seconds, I sat up. "I don't see a reason why I have to be in this cage," He didn't say anything. Despite that, I continued trying to talk my way out of this.
"The dogs seem to be okay with me now, and I know not to wander off," He stopped what he was doing for a moment. Maybe it was working.
He glanced over at me. "You're trying to say you want me to let you out?"
"Yeah, I know you don't mean me any harm, and of course I won't do you any harm,"
"Makes sense to me," He looked back over to his screen and continued his work. The silence was odd.
"Will you let me out?" I asked.
"Absolutely not,"
"What?! Why?" I felt confused. Almost as about confused as a homeless man on house arrest.
"Because," he began, "I don't want you getting your scent everywhere."
"Scent?" I repeated back to him. "Robots don't smell things, do they?"
Whenever piss him off, he tends to give me this certain glare. "Yes. They do. I can't stand how you humans smell. You have such an odd scent,"
I couldn't believe it. "Are you joking? Is that really all this is about?"
"Absolutely. It's almost sickening. I frequently stop at the airfield. You'll have some grazing time in between missions."
I was even more irritated than ever at this point. I'm nothing more than a pet to him, by the sound if it. I gave up, and I sat there pouting in my cage, knowing I won't be free. At least he's nice enough to let me out at the airfield. I'll be able to eat and shower and use their restrooms or whatever else, maybe. The thing is, I'll probably end up sleeping in here, which blows. I looked up at Lockdown, and at the drop of a hat at that moment, his screen suddenly went out, causing him to jump. He growled in annoyance. At the corner of my eye, I noticed the small screens circling the window began to flicker out one by one.
"What the fuck?" He said to himself.