Author's Note: Well, here's the next installment. And, as promised, it has over a thousand words. Please read and review.
Disclaimer: Refer to the Prologue
Story Title: Corrupted Programming
Chapter Title: The Approaching Danger
Wakeman residence, Tremorton
"Mom!" moaned Global Robotic Response Unit XJ-9, AKA Jenny, the back of her head open with Dr. Wakeman's hands inside. "Can we please not do this now? I'll be late for school!"
"Well, XJ-9, if you're in such a hurry then perhaps you should hold still." Dr. Nora Wakeman answered, irritated. "I would have completed installing this remote diagnostic system sooner had you not fidgeted so much."
"Why'd you need to install this anyway?" Jenny griped as she squirmed on the table. "You could always run diagnostics every time I'm home. Which, I should remind you, I am most of the time."
"This system is far more efficient." Dr. Wakeman answered, ignoring Jenny's indirect remark about her limited independence. "Instead of having to wait for you to return from an assignment to run a systems diagnostic, I can now check you system's integrity right after or even during a mission. Not only that, this system also alerts me whenever something is amiss in your core programming. Think of the working time I would save if I corrected problems before they get too serious rather than after."
Dr. Wakeman finally shut the panel on the back of Jenny's head. Jenny reached behind her head and rubbed it.
"You know, Mom, I don't think there are any teenagers out there whose parents actually reach into the back of their heads."
"Well, I don't think there are any teenagers out there who need a remote diagnostic system installed."
"Whatever," Jenny said, rolling her eyes. "I just hope this thing doesn't do something that'll embarrass me. Like beeping out loud or flashing warning lights every time it detects something."
"I assure you, XJ-9, the alert function of that system is discreet. It alerts me and only me when something is wrong."
"Yeah, sure." Jenny said. She looked at a wall clock. "Uh oh, if I don't go now I'll be late again! Radzinsky will give me detention for sure."
She grabbed her school bag and deployed her pigtail boosters. "Bye, Mom. Gotta go."
"Wait, XJ-9, not through the—" Before Dr. Wakeman even finished her sentence, Jenny rocketed right through the roof. Dr. Wakeman sighed as she looked at the newly-formed hole in the ceiling.
"I'm sure my own mother never had this kind of problem with me."
Just beyond the Moon's orbit
The monotonous blackness of space was suddenly broken as a wormhole manifested itself. Out of the cosmic portal flew a small, sleek, insect-shaped craft. The wormhole closed as it turned toward Earth. Its thrusters flared as it sped past the Moon and approached the blue planet.
Inside the craft a purple-colored robot pilot looked down on the cockpit's instrument panel. He pressed a few buttons on a terminal and waited for a response. A moment later, it came: [TARGET LOCATED, PROCEEDING TO TARGET] the terminal stated simply. The pilot smiled.
"I found you, XJ-9." Viruz said to himself. His craft shimmered and then seemed to disappear as he activated the craft's cloaking field. Now he was invisible to both human vision and primitive human sensor arrays.
When the craft entered the Earth's atmosphere it became momentarily visible as a streak of fire hurtling toward the ground. But as it entered the lower atmosphere, all traces of it were again gone. It continued toward its target, unseen.
Just outside Tremorton High
A teen with spiky red hair looked at his watch impatiently as he waited. He looked up to the sky, his eyes searching.
'Where the heck is she?' thought Brad. 'If she doesn't show up within the next few minutes she's gonna be late. Heck, I'm gonna be late too.'
Then, he suddenly caught sight of a bluish streak out of the corner of his eyes. The streak seemingly grew larger as it came closer and closer. It suddenly stopped and was revealed to be a girl-shaped robot. She landed in front of the boy.
"About time you got here, Jenny." Brad said. "Another few minutes and you'd be late."
"Sorry, Brad." Jenny said apologetically. "Mom was installing some remote system in my head."
"Yeah, well, come on." Brad said. "We'd better go to class or we'll both be late."
The two teens bolted toward the school entrance. They managed to find their classroom and slipped into class just seconds before the bell rang. They turned to each other and breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"Looks like Radzinsky won't be hauling me to detention after all." Jenny said. "What a relief, the way this day started I thought it was gonna end up as another one of those bad days."
"Don't jinx it." Brad warned. "Every time someone says something like that it's always right before things go to heck."
Cluster craft, 30,000 feet above sea-level
The craft zipped through the air as it headed toward its target. Inside, its pilot's fingers flexed in anticipation. He would prefer not to take his target forcefully but, from what he knew of XJ-9, he most likely would have to.
Viruz smirked, willing or not he would soon leave Earth with the Cluster's new puppet queen. With her, under the direction of Grand Marshal Yomex, as the ruler of the Cluster many of Vexus' loyal subjects would soon abandon her in favor of the more beautiful and charismatic queen that would be XJ-9.
How could they not? Vexus' repeated failures on Earth and the pompous arrogance she and many other high-ranking robots had generated dissent in the Cluster. With XJ-9, a robot that had shown herself to be more efficient and amiable than Vexus, as the figurehead of Yomex's faction there was no doubt that many more would join them.
[TARGET FOUND] suddenly scrolled on the cockpit's terminal, snapping Viruz out of his thoughts.
The robotic High Commander smiled. He turned off the craft's cloaking device and started to land.
Wakeman residence
Dr. Wakeman had just finished clearing the debris from the part of the roof Jenny had blasted through when she heard the faint blaring of an alarm sound from the upper floor of her house. Knowing that it was the Global Monitoring System, and that XJ-9 was most likely not paying any attention to her link to them, she went up to see what the problem was for herself.
She opened the door to Jenny's room and went in, upon entering she slipped. Rubbing her rear in pain, she looked for the object that caused her to slip. It was an empty oil can, and scattered around the room were other cans, mechanical parts, and teen magazines.
"I really should have XJ-9 clean her room more often." Muttered Dr. Wakeman. She picked herself up and went to the monitors which, unsurprisingly, were covered with discarded teen magazines and junk. Grumbling, she picked a magazine off one of the monitors.
As she removed the magazine she caught sight of the monitor's screen. On it were the words: CLUSTER LANDING DETECTED.
She immediately dropped the magazine and accessed the monitor's controls. She manipulated the controls for a few moments until the screen finally showed where the Cluster presence was. To her surprise, it was just outside the school XJ-9 went to. And, according to the monitor, XJ-9 was in school and apparently oblivious to the Cluster threat.
Dr. Wakeman grumbled something about XJ-9 not paying enough attention to her link to the Global Monitoring System. She knew of the Cluster's interest in XJ-9 and the fact that they wanted to capture her, but she wasn't going to allow the Cluster to get their hands on XJ-9. She reached for the communications link, she had to warn XJ-9.
Author's Note: Well, that's all for now. I promise to try to make the other installments even longer, to all who reviewed the first chapter I thank you. I'll try to post the next installment as soon as possible.
Extra Note: I noticed something just after I finished this chapter. I noted that it started at the Wakeman house, moved to the Cluster craft, onto Tremorton High, then back to the Cluster craft, and finally back to the Wakeman residence. A complete loop. Anyway, please review this chapter.