DIARY ENTRY 7: Another Observation – Gathering Actually

The team on the other room had just confirmed Hideki and the persocon entering their unit and the human giving the book to Chii.

"Interesting..." Ichiro mumbled as he ate his dinner viewing the screen. "Do you guys want a warm meal?" he asked further.

"I hope so... tomorrow... we've eaten already..."

"Alright then..." Ichi called as he picked up the phone.

Ichi knew this team's members well. For the job, they were the best people in this part of the galaxy. Highest ranked was Chiniaya (pronounced Chi-ni-a-ya) Yawase, expert in esoteric fields and persocon logic, as well as intelligence. Next up was Marko Stradivarius, a modern day "ninja"-in a sense, able spy and saboteur. His feats included the arrest of the entire Mafia, all members (families) and associates and also the assassination of one of the most hated people on earth- the second Kyrelian invasion commander. The third on the rank ladder was Miguel Alfonso, avid computer programmer/ hacker and persocon builder. Then there was Park Soon Ye, daughter of one of the biggest persocon magnates- Park Soon Jun of Hyundai persocons (robotics) division. The SF invests 5% not only in Mrs. Park's (Soon Jun's) company division, but on the entire conglomerate itself- heavy industries, cars, ships, all. She specializes in all things persocon, and a few hidden talents to boot. Finally, there is Yayoi Hoshikawa, the youngest and most known of the members. She was one of five females that have defended the planet during the first and second Kyrelian invasions. Her attack abilities only appear when a pair of special glasses are worn, and we won't divulge that for security reasons. Her normal specialties are close-in and long-ranged assassination. Even though they were at the most a year or two older than the youngest, they were fun guys. So much for introductions.

"Hello, this is the Anasaki residence, Yuko speaking... who is it?" the voice of one of the Supreme Commander's daughters came in.

"Um... can I speak to Anamiya? It's Ichiro Sunikata, her..."

"I know... her fiancée... please hold the line while I call for her, okay?"

"Alright 'mam..."

"And by the way, congratulations on your engagement, welcome to the family..."

Ichi waited as Yuko, a 21 year old, called Anamiya, a 27 year old. Even though Ana was older than Yuko, Ana calls Yuko auntie, because Yuko is the second child of the Supreme Commander.

"Coming auntie!!!"

"Here she is, have a good time..."

Yuko handed over the phone to Anamiya.

"Hey Ichi, how are you doing on your work?"

And the two talked long and Ana finally agreed to come over to Ichiro's early the very next day.

"Now people... take some rest, and tomorrow we'll have a ton of work to do..."

The next day, Ichiro was already up to receive Anamiya. While she set to work preparing breakfast for the team, Ichiro was already preparing for the operation ahead. As the team ate breakfast, the two males argued.

"I'm a saboteur, for crying out loud!!! There is no way your idea can work, in my sense..." Marko puffed as he ate.

"Well, by placing a spy in the household, we can monitor and yes, sabotage if needed..." Miguel said.

"Now you're talking! I fully understand the logic"

"Hey, what's the bid with you two?" Ichiro asked, still gearing up.

"I- we are planning to build a persocon spy to monitor the subjects and if necessary..."

"I know that Marko... okay, I approve of it..."

"Ah sir, I think we should make our move... your foolish neighbor has left the building..." Soon Ye called, on duty at the visual station.

"Alright then... Yayoi, no need for the rifle, Miguel, you and Marko must finish that spy in 2-3 days, Soon Ye; monitor the surrounding area visually... Ana, you provide me with a cover distraction just in case anyone tries to enter the room, and you Chiniaya, keep tabs on the psychic sensor... it that clear, team?"

The operation began. Ichiro walked to Hideki's unit and entered. He looked around the place, noting the usual piles of porn around. Ever since Ichi met Hideki, he noted his neighbor's constant mania for... certain things.

"This guy will never change... like ever..." Ichiro puffed as he found the persocon. It was lying on the floor- in apparent sleep mode. He tried to make Chii sit by lifting her back, but he noted one thing- it was HEAVY.

"I didn't know that she was this heavy... darn! I guess I must lift her..."

Then he remembered the doctor's words.

"Certain areas are switches for deployment... must be careful..."

"Thank you... I guess I must do this..."

"Sir, Hideki is returning... Ms. Ana can't slow him down..." The voice of Chiniaya came in the radio.

"Great..." Ichiro puffed as he jumped in the nick of time as his foolish neighbor opened the door. He activated his cloak as he hit and stuck to the ceiling, making him invisible. Hideki went around, fixed a few things and left the room. Everyone blew a sigh of relief as he de-cloaked and resumed his investigation.

"Now... I guess I have to try this..."

With deft hands, the persocon was lifted with a skill that can only be regarded as coming from an Arbitrarian. The long hours of secret lessons with the Director and his wife had paid off. He remembered the first time he met them personally, that was when Ana took Ichiro home from high school for a cooperative project. He never knew their true jobs until he enlisted in the SF.

"She's heavy... and now... the data cable"

He took out his laptop and connected it to Chii's data port (behind the right ear) via a duplex fiber-optic cable. He began to access her system and saved the findings on his laptop- actually, copying her entire system byte per byte. After that he lowered her and left her to doze the day off. Back in "base camp"...

"This cipher is easy to crack..." Miguel sneered as he cracked the security code. He pressed enter, and then the holographic projector lit up and displayed an image of Chii. It suddenly talked, in a voice like Chii but it was not Chii

"Who are you?"