CHAPTER 3
The next day Zathura stayed at home. All missions had been cancelled due to unfavorable weather. He was glad, he wanted to get his thoughts together about the previous day. What he said at the end of the simulation still bothered him. As he walked over to the cabinet, he stopped to look in the mirror. It had been about 4 months since he'd actually looked at himself, other than to shave the stubble that appeared every so often. He stood about 5'11", not exactly tall, but not someone a lot of people could look down on. He usually wore his long hair in a ponytail, but today it was unwashed and sticking out a bit. He decided it was time to break the funk and wash up. He forego the drink in favor of a professionally mixed one, and after he had showered, headed for the closest bar. Zathura walked into the dimly lit bar a little on the paranoid side. He didn't know why, but places like this just gave him the creeps. He started to feel glad he'd brought his Varista, though he was sure he wouldn't need it. He ordered a Bloody Mary and sat down in a corner where he could see the entirety of the bar. As he was drinking the Bloody Mary, he felt a strange sensation, a pull, that made him look towards the end of the bar. Sitting on one of the stools was a cloaked figure sitting next to a very large, military style man. At the same time the cloaked figure glanced at zathura, and as soon as he realized zathura had seen him, he nudged the large man and they both got up and quickly left the bar. Zathura felt he recognized the cloaked one, and thought about following them. On any other day he would have, but due to the exhaustion of the previous day, and the effect of the alcohol, he decided to leave it alone. He still couldn't shake the feeling that he knew them from somewhere. Suddenly, his communicator beeped with mail. Zathura stared at it, halfway thinking about not answering, but figured he didn't want the sound annoying him. To his surprise, it was Iria, she wanted to let him know that the weather on the surface had cleared and they could start their mission if he wanted to. Zathura thought about it, and was feeling surprisingly better about the day. Perhaps if he got this over with he could have an entire day off for once, besides, the principal was sure to start wondering if he didn't check in after two days. He needed information, and hoped this mission would provide some.
Zathura arrived at the Lab shortly after Iria. The Chief was not too happy about this, as could clearly be seen by the expression on her face. However, she got right to the point and debriefed them about their current mission. The chief began, " As you may or may not know, Gal Da Val island is in a state of lockdown. There are three input terminals which control separate locks in the security system. We've been able to locate and activate the locks, thus opening the path to the cliffs, where we believe the center of the research facility to be located. Unfortunately, every team we have sent in have not come back, nor have we been able to contact them after they enter the compound." " So let me get this straight, you want me to take an inexperienced hunter inside the compound and attempt to reach the center of the facility. " Iria seemed a little dissapointed at that last remark. The Chief remained emotionless. " You alone have more experience than most of the hunters we had sent before, and if you believe Iria to be a burden, you may choose to leave her behind. " Iria felt as though she had just been slapped in the face. Her artificial body was beginning to compensate for the emotion that was welling within her, and started to produce tears. Iria quickly disabled that function and straightened her face, making sure neither Zathura or the Chief saw anything. Zathura thought about what the Chief had just said. It's possible that Iria could slow him down,...however, he finally decided that the extra firepower would be welcome, even if he had to worry about keeping her safe. " No, she'll be going with me. " " Very well, then there shouldn't be a problem. " A small smile spread across the Chief's lips as she said this. " The transporter is waiting for you, as soon as you're ready, tell Elly. " " Right. " Zathura turned to Iria. " Do you have everything you need? " Iria nodded yes. Zathura led the way over to the transporter and stepped through, Iria was right behind him.
As their vision cleared, they found themselves on a small cliff surrounded by waist high walls on three sides. There was a gigantic door before them. Zathura found himself wondering whether it was to keep intruders out, or to keep something else in. " Well, I guess I'll find out soon enough. " he thought to himself. His communicator beeped at him, it was Elly. "This will be the last time I can contact you before you enter the compound, there seems to be an energy field surrounding it that refracts our communication signals. " " Isn't there any way to compensate for it? " " We're working on it, but so far we haven't figured out how. That will be part of your mission. " " And just exactly what is my mission? " " You are to infiltrate the center of the compound and copy all the data on the central computer. We're looking mostly for log entries by the staff, any information regarding the experiments being conducted there, and of course the reason and source of the energy barrier that blocks communication. " " Alright, any info on what I'll be running into on the way? " " Like the Chief said, the previous teams have not come back, so we have no way of knowing what is in there. Sorry. " " That's okay, alright....if I make it out I'll call. " Zathura disconnected the link. He nodded to Iria to get ready. She hoisted her guilty light and clicked off the safety. Zathura activated his double cannon and activated the door mechanism. The door slowly slid down revealing a large courtyard. Apparently the security system hadn't completely been deactivated, there were still laser trip alarms that would respond to any motion within their proximity. Zathura took a step in, Iria followed close behind. They walked a bit further expecting trouble, but nothing happened. Zathura lowered his double cannon, which proved to be a mistake. The sound of an energy discharge sounded in Zathura's ears as he turned to find the dead body of an ul gibbon that had jumped down from the walls trying to catch him off guard. A split-second later they were surrounded by four or five of them. One of the gibbons spit a fireball at Iria, which she dodged and retaliated with a blast from her guilty light. Carnage ensued. Zathura leaped at the closest gibbon, slicing it across the chest. As it was trying to recover from the blow, Zathura brought his double cannon down on it's head, slicing the gibbon in half. Zathura turned just enough to see another gibbon about to strike him from the back, he quickly pulled his arms back and brought the point of the cannon behind him and impaled the gibbon. At the same time Iria had taken down two as well, and was already aiming at her fourth. The second she pulled the trigger however, the gibbon leaped above the blast and came down on Iria, knocking the guilty light from her hands. Just as Zathura was about to help her, the last gibbon forced it's way between the two hunters. Zathura was relieved to hear the familiar sound of mechguns firing round after round into soft flesh. With confidence that his partner was okay, he lunged forward and struck the gibbon, neatly slicing it's left arm off, and leaving a gash in its side. He then recoiled, and thrust the tip of his cannon into the gibbon's throat, and tearing out half of it in the process. As it fell to the ground, Iria holstered her mechguns and retrieved her guilty light.
Just as the duo thought they had cleared the room, something struck Zathura from behind. Zathura propped himself on his elbow and looked to see what it was. To his surprise, nothing was there. Suddenly the same strange force hit Iria, causing her to stumble backwards. This time Zathura saw a faint ripple in the air. " Thermal Camoflauge. " he said with not a small amount of surprise. He quickly got up, and before the ripple had a chance to disappear he slashed at it with his cannon. A tear opened in what seemed like the air itself, exposing black insides and severed wires. The thermal camoflauge started to flicker, and then died altogether. A sinow zoa stood before them. Iria, relieved to be able to see what she was fighting, quickly brought round' her guilty light and fired two shots into the machine. It sputtered for a moment before collapsing on the ground. Zathura looked at Iria and motioned for her to follow him. They made their way to the end of the courtyard and passed through the door. The next room was devoid of enemies, although it gave them an idea of what was to follow. They saw the sea straight ahead, and the path to the right led to the central control room. It was quite short actually, a couple of rooms stood between them and a thin catwalk. Iria confirmed that the catwalk ended with a teleporter which Zathura hoped led to the control room. As they passed through the rooms, Zathura was surprised to find no enemies. Instead what they found were the bodies of the previous teams and the enemies that had previously resided here. Because of the thick fog that hung over the area, the smell of blood was still thick in the air. Zathura poked a couple of the bodies out of childish curiosity before Iria scolded him, telling him that it was disgusting. They moved on towards the catwalk, and as they crossed it Zathura wondered if the courtyard was the only resistance they would have. After all, it looked as though the previous hunters had done their work for them. Something still didn't sit right with that theory. Something was waiting at the end, he could feel it. As they neared the final teleporter, Iria stopped. " Zathura,...I'm not sure exactly...but I believe whatever is causing the interference with communications is just beyond that teleporter. " Zathura realized she was probably right, and hoped that just once, he would catch a break and complete the mission without a hitch. As they stepped throught the teleporter Zathura realized that his wish was not going to come true.
As their vision cleared, they saw something amazing. Well, amazing if you weren't about to fight it. Just then Iria piped up. " It closely resembles creature known as a gryphon in ancient human mythology. " " Ah, it's alway nice to know I'll be battling against a mythological creature. " The gryphon must have heard their little conversation because it lifted it's head from slumber and looked their way. Zathura could almost see its eyes grow wide with rage at being disturbed. It showed this by getting up and letting loose a deafening roar. It then started moving towards them. As Rati cast its traditional Shifta/Deband combo, Zathura and Iria split. Zathura headed straight for the gryphon, hoping to divert its attention away from Iria. Why he was trying to get a two-story creature's attention was lost on Zathura as he ran beneath the gryphon. At this point Zathura attempted to drive his double cannon straight up into the gryphon's gut. However, when it should have hit it's mark, the gryphon was gone. As he heard shots being fired from Iria's guilty light, he came to realize that the gigantic wings on it's back weren't for decoration. This fact alone would have made the battle tremendously hard, if not impossible, however as luck would have it, the giant photon charges the guilty light fired were enough to blow a hole in one of the gryphon's wings. The creature reared back on it's hind legs and roared in pain. All the while Zathura was sprinting to catch up. He got there just in time for the gryphon to come crashing down, the shockwave created was enough to knock both hunters to the ground. The gryphon saw this as an opportunity and rose it's giant paw to crush Zathura. As the paw came thundering to the ground, a somewhat dazed Zathura found nothing to do but point his double cannon straight into the air. Just as the creature's foot was about two feet away from turning a great hunter into a smear, it stopped. Apparently the gryphon didn't like the fact that it had a double cannon halfway into it's foot. It recoiled, saving Zathura the trouble of extracting his blade. The gryphon howled once more in pain, and with a blue flash, the battle was over. Iria had fired her guilty light directly into the gryphon's mouth. At the angle which the hunters were so placed, the blast penetrated the soft roof of the gryphon's mouth and vaporized it's brain. The now lobotomized gryphon stood for moment, then fell to the ground with a thud, it's head leaking blood and brain fluids. Suddenly, Zathura's communicator beeped, it was Elly. " Zathura, the energy shield just dropped, are you alright? " " Yes we're both fine. What do you mean the barrier just dropped? " " I-I can't explain it, it just dropped all of a sudden. Anyway, have you found the main computer terminal? It should be on the eastern edge of the plateau that you are currently standing on. " " Yeah, I see it. I'll hurry and get the information that you wanted. " " Right, we've locked onto your location and we're sending a transport for you. " " Thanks Elly. " With that Zathura cut off the communicator. Zathura and Iria walked over to the terminal and Zathura brought it online. He then inserted a disk into the terminal and proceded to copy the data. When it was finished he inserted another one, and handed the first to Iria. " I want you to give this to the Chief when we get back alright. " " Umm...sure, but why are you making another copy? " " What copy? " " That disk you just inser...." Zathura cut her off. " Listen, if you want to work with me, you won't tell anyone about this disk okay? As far as you are concerned, that disk you hold in your hand is the only copy. " Not completely understanding, Iria nodded. " Good, let's go then. " Zathura pulled the second disk out of the terminal, and proceded to the telepipe the Lab had provided. Iria waited for a few moments, then followed behind him.
Once back at the lab, Iria gave a full report of everything that had happened. Much to Zathura's releif negelcting to mention the second data copy. Zathura was about to leave the Lab when Iria caught up with him. " Umm...I was wondering if you'd like to get something to eat later. " Zathura looked at her suspiciously. " Only one problem, you don't eat. " " Well, umm...I thought we could just maybe, you know,..talk or something. " " I have something I need to do. " Zathura replied sternly. " Oh, I see. Well, I'll see you later then. " Just as Iria turned to leave Zathura called out to her. " How about I give you a call as soon as I'm finished, it should only take me about thirty minutes, that'll give us both a chance to freshen up. " Iria smiled, and Zathura couldn't help but smile back. Iria trotted off to go home, and as soon as he was sure she was gone, he walked over to a transport terminal, punched in the Principal's coordinates, and stepped through. Zathura came out just in front of Tyrell's office. As he walked in Tyrell almost jumped out of his skin. " Oh, Zathura, it's you. Did you get any information? " " Well, The lab sent me to retrieve this information, so I made a second copy, perhaps you will find this useful. " " I will certainly take a look, erm...does anyone know about this? " Zathura tensed. " No, they beleive there to be only one copy of the data. " " Good, you have done well, however, you should leave so nobody suspects anything. " " Right, I'll be going now. " " One more thing. " The Principal said. " Your mission is not yet over, I hope you understand that, I still want you to find out everthing the lab wants to know, and bring me the data as well. " " Understood. " With that, Zathura left Tyrell's office and stepped back through the teleporter. Once on the other side, he reset the coordinates to that of a local shopping center, so his previous destination could not be traced. He then returned home to get ready for his evening with Iria. He wondered if it was such a good idea, recalling his feelings the day before. Certainly he was not falling in love with an android. " No. " he half chuckled to himself," That's just stupid. There's no way I'd even allow myself to harbor such ideas. " He reassured himself that they were just going to talk. As he walked out the door though, he started to wonder if that was it. If that was the extent of their friendship, and started to wonder just how deep a bond had been created during these past two days. For the first time since he was young, he felt nervous.
The next day Zathura stayed at home. All missions had been cancelled due to unfavorable weather. He was glad, he wanted to get his thoughts together about the previous day. What he said at the end of the simulation still bothered him. As he walked over to the cabinet, he stopped to look in the mirror. It had been about 4 months since he'd actually looked at himself, other than to shave the stubble that appeared every so often. He stood about 5'11", not exactly tall, but not someone a lot of people could look down on. He usually wore his long hair in a ponytail, but today it was unwashed and sticking out a bit. He decided it was time to break the funk and wash up. He forego the drink in favor of a professionally mixed one, and after he had showered, headed for the closest bar. Zathura walked into the dimly lit bar a little on the paranoid side. He didn't know why, but places like this just gave him the creeps. He started to feel glad he'd brought his Varista, though he was sure he wouldn't need it. He ordered a Bloody Mary and sat down in a corner where he could see the entirety of the bar. As he was drinking the Bloody Mary, he felt a strange sensation, a pull, that made him look towards the end of the bar. Sitting on one of the stools was a cloaked figure sitting next to a very large, military style man. At the same time the cloaked figure glanced at zathura, and as soon as he realized zathura had seen him, he nudged the large man and they both got up and quickly left the bar. Zathura felt he recognized the cloaked one, and thought about following them. On any other day he would have, but due to the exhaustion of the previous day, and the effect of the alcohol, he decided to leave it alone. He still couldn't shake the feeling that he knew them from somewhere. Suddenly, his communicator beeped with mail. Zathura stared at it, halfway thinking about not answering, but figured he didn't want the sound annoying him. To his surprise, it was Iria, she wanted to let him know that the weather on the surface had cleared and they could start their mission if he wanted to. Zathura thought about it, and was feeling surprisingly better about the day. Perhaps if he got this over with he could have an entire day off for once, besides, the principal was sure to start wondering if he didn't check in after two days. He needed information, and hoped this mission would provide some.
Zathura arrived at the Lab shortly after Iria. The Chief was not too happy about this, as could clearly be seen by the expression on her face. However, she got right to the point and debriefed them about their current mission. The chief began, " As you may or may not know, Gal Da Val island is in a state of lockdown. There are three input terminals which control separate locks in the security system. We've been able to locate and activate the locks, thus opening the path to the cliffs, where we believe the center of the research facility to be located. Unfortunately, every team we have sent in have not come back, nor have we been able to contact them after they enter the compound." " So let me get this straight, you want me to take an inexperienced hunter inside the compound and attempt to reach the center of the facility. " Iria seemed a little dissapointed at that last remark. The Chief remained emotionless. " You alone have more experience than most of the hunters we had sent before, and if you believe Iria to be a burden, you may choose to leave her behind. " Iria felt as though she had just been slapped in the face. Her artificial body was beginning to compensate for the emotion that was welling within her, and started to produce tears. Iria quickly disabled that function and straightened her face, making sure neither Zathura or the Chief saw anything. Zathura thought about what the Chief had just said. It's possible that Iria could slow him down,...however, he finally decided that the extra firepower would be welcome, even if he had to worry about keeping her safe. " No, she'll be going with me. " " Very well, then there shouldn't be a problem. " A small smile spread across the Chief's lips as she said this. " The transporter is waiting for you, as soon as you're ready, tell Elly. " " Right. " Zathura turned to Iria. " Do you have everything you need? " Iria nodded yes. Zathura led the way over to the transporter and stepped through, Iria was right behind him.
As their vision cleared, they found themselves on a small cliff surrounded by waist high walls on three sides. There was a gigantic door before them. Zathura found himself wondering whether it was to keep intruders out, or to keep something else in. " Well, I guess I'll find out soon enough. " he thought to himself. His communicator beeped at him, it was Elly. "This will be the last time I can contact you before you enter the compound, there seems to be an energy field surrounding it that refracts our communication signals. " " Isn't there any way to compensate for it? " " We're working on it, but so far we haven't figured out how. That will be part of your mission. " " And just exactly what is my mission? " " You are to infiltrate the center of the compound and copy all the data on the central computer. We're looking mostly for log entries by the staff, any information regarding the experiments being conducted there, and of course the reason and source of the energy barrier that blocks communication. " " Alright, any info on what I'll be running into on the way? " " Like the Chief said, the previous teams have not come back, so we have no way of knowing what is in there. Sorry. " " That's okay, alright....if I make it out I'll call. " Zathura disconnected the link. He nodded to Iria to get ready. She hoisted her guilty light and clicked off the safety. Zathura activated his double cannon and activated the door mechanism. The door slowly slid down revealing a large courtyard. Apparently the security system hadn't completely been deactivated, there were still laser trip alarms that would respond to any motion within their proximity. Zathura took a step in, Iria followed close behind. They walked a bit further expecting trouble, but nothing happened. Zathura lowered his double cannon, which proved to be a mistake. The sound of an energy discharge sounded in Zathura's ears as he turned to find the dead body of an ul gibbon that had jumped down from the walls trying to catch him off guard. A split-second later they were surrounded by four or five of them. One of the gibbons spit a fireball at Iria, which she dodged and retaliated with a blast from her guilty light. Carnage ensued. Zathura leaped at the closest gibbon, slicing it across the chest. As it was trying to recover from the blow, Zathura brought his double cannon down on it's head, slicing the gibbon in half. Zathura turned just enough to see another gibbon about to strike him from the back, he quickly pulled his arms back and brought the point of the cannon behind him and impaled the gibbon. At the same time Iria had taken down two as well, and was already aiming at her fourth. The second she pulled the trigger however, the gibbon leaped above the blast and came down on Iria, knocking the guilty light from her hands. Just as Zathura was about to help her, the last gibbon forced it's way between the two hunters. Zathura was relieved to hear the familiar sound of mechguns firing round after round into soft flesh. With confidence that his partner was okay, he lunged forward and struck the gibbon, neatly slicing it's left arm off, and leaving a gash in its side. He then recoiled, and thrust the tip of his cannon into the gibbon's throat, and tearing out half of it in the process. As it fell to the ground, Iria holstered her mechguns and retrieved her guilty light.
Just as the duo thought they had cleared the room, something struck Zathura from behind. Zathura propped himself on his elbow and looked to see what it was. To his surprise, nothing was there. Suddenly the same strange force hit Iria, causing her to stumble backwards. This time Zathura saw a faint ripple in the air. " Thermal Camoflauge. " he said with not a small amount of surprise. He quickly got up, and before the ripple had a chance to disappear he slashed at it with his cannon. A tear opened in what seemed like the air itself, exposing black insides and severed wires. The thermal camoflauge started to flicker, and then died altogether. A sinow zoa stood before them. Iria, relieved to be able to see what she was fighting, quickly brought round' her guilty light and fired two shots into the machine. It sputtered for a moment before collapsing on the ground. Zathura looked at Iria and motioned for her to follow him. They made their way to the end of the courtyard and passed through the door. The next room was devoid of enemies, although it gave them an idea of what was to follow. They saw the sea straight ahead, and the path to the right led to the central control room. It was quite short actually, a couple of rooms stood between them and a thin catwalk. Iria confirmed that the catwalk ended with a teleporter which Zathura hoped led to the control room. As they passed through the rooms, Zathura was surprised to find no enemies. Instead what they found were the bodies of the previous teams and the enemies that had previously resided here. Because of the thick fog that hung over the area, the smell of blood was still thick in the air. Zathura poked a couple of the bodies out of childish curiosity before Iria scolded him, telling him that it was disgusting. They moved on towards the catwalk, and as they crossed it Zathura wondered if the courtyard was the only resistance they would have. After all, it looked as though the previous hunters had done their work for them. Something still didn't sit right with that theory. Something was waiting at the end, he could feel it. As they neared the final teleporter, Iria stopped. " Zathura,...I'm not sure exactly...but I believe whatever is causing the interference with communications is just beyond that teleporter. " Zathura realized she was probably right, and hoped that just once, he would catch a break and complete the mission without a hitch. As they stepped throught the teleporter Zathura realized that his wish was not going to come true.
As their vision cleared, they saw something amazing. Well, amazing if you weren't about to fight it. Just then Iria piped up. " It closely resembles creature known as a gryphon in ancient human mythology. " " Ah, it's alway nice to know I'll be battling against a mythological creature. " The gryphon must have heard their little conversation because it lifted it's head from slumber and looked their way. Zathura could almost see its eyes grow wide with rage at being disturbed. It showed this by getting up and letting loose a deafening roar. It then started moving towards them. As Rati cast its traditional Shifta/Deband combo, Zathura and Iria split. Zathura headed straight for the gryphon, hoping to divert its attention away from Iria. Why he was trying to get a two-story creature's attention was lost on Zathura as he ran beneath the gryphon. At this point Zathura attempted to drive his double cannon straight up into the gryphon's gut. However, when it should have hit it's mark, the gryphon was gone. As he heard shots being fired from Iria's guilty light, he came to realize that the gigantic wings on it's back weren't for decoration. This fact alone would have made the battle tremendously hard, if not impossible, however as luck would have it, the giant photon charges the guilty light fired were enough to blow a hole in one of the gryphon's wings. The creature reared back on it's hind legs and roared in pain. All the while Zathura was sprinting to catch up. He got there just in time for the gryphon to come crashing down, the shockwave created was enough to knock both hunters to the ground. The gryphon saw this as an opportunity and rose it's giant paw to crush Zathura. As the paw came thundering to the ground, a somewhat dazed Zathura found nothing to do but point his double cannon straight into the air. Just as the creature's foot was about two feet away from turning a great hunter into a smear, it stopped. Apparently the gryphon didn't like the fact that it had a double cannon halfway into it's foot. It recoiled, saving Zathura the trouble of extracting his blade. The gryphon howled once more in pain, and with a blue flash, the battle was over. Iria had fired her guilty light directly into the gryphon's mouth. At the angle which the hunters were so placed, the blast penetrated the soft roof of the gryphon's mouth and vaporized it's brain. The now lobotomized gryphon stood for moment, then fell to the ground with a thud, it's head leaking blood and brain fluids. Suddenly, Zathura's communicator beeped, it was Elly. " Zathura, the energy shield just dropped, are you alright? " " Yes we're both fine. What do you mean the barrier just dropped? " " I-I can't explain it, it just dropped all of a sudden. Anyway, have you found the main computer terminal? It should be on the eastern edge of the plateau that you are currently standing on. " " Yeah, I see it. I'll hurry and get the information that you wanted. " " Right, we've locked onto your location and we're sending a transport for you. " " Thanks Elly. " With that Zathura cut off the communicator. Zathura and Iria walked over to the terminal and Zathura brought it online. He then inserted a disk into the terminal and proceded to copy the data. When it was finished he inserted another one, and handed the first to Iria. " I want you to give this to the Chief when we get back alright. " " Umm...sure, but why are you making another copy? " " What copy? " " That disk you just inser...." Zathura cut her off. " Listen, if you want to work with me, you won't tell anyone about this disk okay? As far as you are concerned, that disk you hold in your hand is the only copy. " Not completely understanding, Iria nodded. " Good, let's go then. " Zathura pulled the second disk out of the terminal, and proceded to the telepipe the Lab had provided. Iria waited for a few moments, then followed behind him.
Once back at the lab, Iria gave a full report of everything that had happened. Much to Zathura's releif negelcting to mention the second data copy. Zathura was about to leave the Lab when Iria caught up with him. " Umm...I was wondering if you'd like to get something to eat later. " Zathura looked at her suspiciously. " Only one problem, you don't eat. " " Well, umm...I thought we could just maybe, you know,..talk or something. " " I have something I need to do. " Zathura replied sternly. " Oh, I see. Well, I'll see you later then. " Just as Iria turned to leave Zathura called out to her. " How about I give you a call as soon as I'm finished, it should only take me about thirty minutes, that'll give us both a chance to freshen up. " Iria smiled, and Zathura couldn't help but smile back. Iria trotted off to go home, and as soon as he was sure she was gone, he walked over to a transport terminal, punched in the Principal's coordinates, and stepped through. Zathura came out just in front of Tyrell's office. As he walked in Tyrell almost jumped out of his skin. " Oh, Zathura, it's you. Did you get any information? " " Well, The lab sent me to retrieve this information, so I made a second copy, perhaps you will find this useful. " " I will certainly take a look, erm...does anyone know about this? " Zathura tensed. " No, they beleive there to be only one copy of the data. " " Good, you have done well, however, you should leave so nobody suspects anything. " " Right, I'll be going now. " " One more thing. " The Principal said. " Your mission is not yet over, I hope you understand that, I still want you to find out everthing the lab wants to know, and bring me the data as well. " " Understood. " With that, Zathura left Tyrell's office and stepped back through the teleporter. Once on the other side, he reset the coordinates to that of a local shopping center, so his previous destination could not be traced. He then returned home to get ready for his evening with Iria. He wondered if it was such a good idea, recalling his feelings the day before. Certainly he was not falling in love with an android. " No. " he half chuckled to himself," That's just stupid. There's no way I'd even allow myself to harbor such ideas. " He reassured himself that they were just going to talk. As he walked out the door though, he started to wonder if that was it. If that was the extent of their friendship, and started to wonder just how deep a bond had been created during these past two days. For the first time since he was young, he felt nervous.