Sing once again with me, our strange duet~
My power over you, grows stronger yet~
And though you turn from me, to glance behind~
The Phantom of the opera is there… inside your mind~!
Chapter 30 = Their Cold and Tightening Grip
(Aelita's PoV)
She lay on her back in her holosphere while waiting in the Solar Carriage for Jeremy and Gazelle to return. Today they were visiting Mr. Big as he invited Jeremy over to review the final design of the new 'Green Tech Cars' and get some final opinions or approval from him. Gazelle was also with him as she had some spare time before she was scheduled to head out to another big city for her next big concert. They were planning to return home and spend some quality time with each other as Jeremy had no maintenance requests scheduled for the drones that day.
While she waited, she watched the news, tuning in to every network in the world as she started doing recently.
"Welcome back viewers, we're back with more news on yesterday's biggest cultural festival held in Zootopia. The world was watching the multi-cultured city, more multi-cultured recently thanks to the first ever celebration of Day of the Dead, celebrating the human species for a full twenty-four hours of festivities. Mammals got a firstpaw look at the many cultures that humanity had in its days, and there was a bit of everything for everymammal around the world. Those who streamed the cultural festival worldwide showed off things that mammals never imagined or believed they would see in their lifetime, from the mysterious to the practical they saw it all."
"Mammals who come from sea-fairing cultures saw humans who had a similar culture to them, and found great similarities and traditions among them. Among several island nations mammals have started a 'Wayfinding Contest' to see who can sail to all of the islands first using similar boat building techniques without the aid of technology, going off of designs found on the now 'famous' website known only as 'A'."
She chuckled as she knew her website's name sounded incredibly stupid, but what was she to do, she had five million seven hundred and twenty-three possible names she could pick from, each more fitting than the last, she needed to take her time picking the name. Besides mammals weren't going to complain, it was simple and easy to find.
"All around the world mammals are adopting practices and even bringing back human customs from quite literally the grave. Over in The Land of Mountains, various groups have sprung up and formed 'Wrestling Rings' based on the Sumo Wrestlers seen during the festival. Over in the Forelands, new step dancing communities have started up. Even a new organization has started called 'The Santa Clause Company', to honor an old worldwide tradition by humans as Reindeer around the world are now working together with the goal being to deliver presents to 'every' young mammal. New 'Ballet' dance schools have started up among big cities around the world, most prominently in snowy region, and much more."
"Not only is human 'culture' spreading out from Zootopia, but also human 'culinary' foods, as restaurant owners rush to adapt and bring new human recipes and foods to their store. On top of food, musical arts and literature is now trending wildly around the world, as 'with permission' by the website owner 'A', various outlets are bringing out human music and literature to mammals. Various book sellers have been given a green light to print, sell and otherwise distribute human books, such as 'The Lord of the Rings', Poems by 'Edgar Allen Poe', 'Harry Potter', 'Alice in Wonderland', and 'Pinocchio'. Various Music Artists are 'also' attempting to cash in on the human craze, trying to be the first to release their own album renditions of various human music artists, but are only being given permission by 'A' if they do not change 'anything' regarding the tone or lyrics of any song she permits."
"In the world of Robotics, robot enthusiasts have been trying to replicate or even create their own drones based on the most commonly seen drones walking with human Jeremy Wilheart. While they are a far cry from the sophisticated drones and are nowhere 'near' even close to resembling or duplicating the drones, robot enthusiasts are still trying to recreate them. While engineering experts urge caution in attempting to create 'AI' as sophisticated or intelligent as those found in the human drones, that hasn't stopped them from pooling their resources together. A new trending phrase on Twerter, hashtag ItMoves, recently caught the interweb's attention, as a group of College Seniors have developed their first 'drone'. While extremely simple and basic, and only able to walk around a room, the 'drone' resembling a box is getting massive attention."
She smirked as she watched the clip of a group of mammals cheering as their 'drone', as they called it, but it really was a very very very very 'very' primitive 'robot' when compared to the drones in the Eden Facility, walked around an empty room and going through an extremely simplistic maze. It was honestly very cute to her, seeing the mammals attempting to replicate what humans did. They were a long long 'long' way from creating even something as basic as an ANT drone, but even her creators had to start somewhere, and they 'were' making progress.
"Inspiring stuff, but not all mammals are taking the cultural impact of humanity on mammal life with such an air of positivity. Protesters have once again gathered outside of City Hall to demonstrate against the 'rampant' spending of Zootopian taxpayer's money on an 'extinct species'. However, support for these protestors and those who side with them has decreased 'drastically' in the past few months. The crowd gathered outside numbering only over a hundred, whereas before the number was over three times that, and counter protestors easily shouting them down and verbally shaming them. In the courts, the battle for the Vaccine and Cures developed by the medical drone Ema, is continuing as lawyers on both sides make their cases, with pharmaceutical companies trying to take the rights to distribute them, now stating that neither the drone nor the human Jeremy Wilheart are 'licensed' physicians recognized by any 'modern' world government agency or medical agency. Previous arguments in lower courts have failed to stop the drone from carrying out her work under orders by Jeremy Wilheart, and while many are calling this claim as the Pharmaceutical Company 'grasping at straws' to try and profit off of human medical science, the Judge declares there 'may' be a legal case and the trial will continue next week, permitting both parties to gather the evidence and prepare for the case."
"In the world news, a new disease has apparently been detected by a physician performing a routine medical checkup in a giraffe in Upper Plains region of the Nation of the Three Plains. The disease has been noted to be extremely infectious but at this time appears to be non-lethal, and the country is already taking steps to analyze and provide a vaccine. While the world is urged to remain calm and say that no 'deaths' have been reported relating to this new disease, over one hundred cases have been reported from the nation. Until then Queen Anatellia of the Upper, Central and Lower Plains has enacted a temporary Travel Restriction to and from the country."
"And now on with the weather, it's going to be a very cloudy day, for all you mammals in Tundra Town, that means expect ice on the roads while Rainforest District receives, you guessed it, extra rainfall. Tundra Town has had to close off several speedway ramps due to massive buildups of ice thanks to a malfunction in some of the 'snow puffers' in the biome, which accidentally sprayed cold water instead of snow. This has caused a 'massive' traffic buildup along the freeway, and it is expected to last six to seven hours as crews attempt to chisel and break off the ice built up on the ramps leading into and out of Tundra Town. Until the 'all clear' is given, all vehicles are to drive at a speed limit of ten miles per hour while in Tundra Town!"
At that she tuned out the news and began focusing her attention to her website once again, performing routine maintenance and otherwise keeping everything 'appropriate' for her site. She looked over to one particular section of the forums she's created and checked over the 'fanart' section where artists had made artistic renditions of humans, and more particularly Jeremy. There were quite a few good works of him, some painting him with wings, or standing in front of great evils in great heroic poses. She had a few fans herself, mammals taking notice of the AI and drawing renditions of her as well, though she had to chuckle at some of the 'cutesier' ones posted.
Then there were of course… the 'not so acceptable' ones, as she found a very, 'saucy' image of Jeremy that she quickly had to delete, sending the artist her 'do not post lewds' message. She can't stop them from painting her creators in this light, especially Jeremy, but she wanted to keep them out of 'this' particular site. Heck, she knew how humans drew mammal's 'ancestors' in that light, but they didn't need to know 'that'.
At least, not 'yet', she chuckled.
(Jeremy's & Gazelle's PoV)
"As you can see, I've taken some inspiration from your own vehicle for the look of the 'Green Cars'." Mr. Big said as Kevin pointed at a schematic of the new vehicle line. "The overall price will 'vary' between large, medium and small sized mammals, but rest assured the prices will be 'fair'. Thanks to your assistance, these vehicles will reach up to sixty miles for medium and large mammals, while the small mammal size will go up to fifteen."
"And how are the panels looking in terms of energy input to output?" He asked, that being his largest concern.
"For every fifteen hundred watts they absorb and generate, the vehicles will use eleven hundred watts per mile. Obviously, this is the best we can do, considering the level of technology compared to what you use, however I have great expectations that as we improve it, in time, we will increase the miles a solar powered car can go."
He took a sigh of relief, that had been his biggest concern regarding the new 'green tech' cars, the energy input to output ratio. While his Solar Carriage had a times fifteen ratio of energy it absorbs via sunlight compared to what it outputs, he was hoping at least the mammal's solar panels would be able to absorb more than they output. If it was the reverse, then the vehicles would 'eventually' run out if they were being run continuously.
"How are the panels looking?"
"The panels are naturally large, but we've found a decent size for three sections of the vehicle, where they can be planted and work." Mr. Big said proudly while Kevin took the schematic and left the room. "I know what your answer probably is going to be, but as a respectable business owner, I have to offer you a percentage cut of the profits on each car sold."
"And you know that my reply is going to be 'no', I don't want or need any money from these vehicles." He responded instantly with a smile. "I gave this technology not for profit or gain, but to help mammals."
"Then, out of respect, I will take the percentage I was going to offer you, and donate the cut I would have given you to various charity organizations, as 'my' gift, to you." The shrew said with a smile and his arms open.
Out of respect Jeremy leaned forward and allowed the shrew to kiss him on his cheeks.
"Thank you for what you're doing Mr. Big, a lot of mammals lives are going to be improved and are going to be very grateful for what your offering." Gazelle said warmly.
"Miss Gazelle, I was offered an opportunity I could not have said no to. But regardless, I am happy to have this opportunity, as I am happy to have made your acquaintance today. I am also very pleased to have heard of your relationship with Jeremy, he is a very fine 'human' if I may say so."
He nervously blushed at the compliment while Gazelle chuckled at how shy he was at being complimented.
"Well, thank you for inviting us Mr. Big, I hope everything works out with the vehicles. If you still have difficulties, I'll be more than happy to help with making corrections or figuring out what's wrong." He said.
"Of course, please take good care of yourself Jeremy, and you too Miss Gazelle." Mr. Big said warmly as he and Gazelle got up to leave.
They headed to the garage where the Solar Carriage was parked, with HORSE 1 and 2 and TK-421 the escort RAPTOR drone waiting. Gazelle's backup dancers weren't with them that day as it was going to be a short trip from where Gazelle lived to Mr. Big's home in Tundra Town. For safety's sake a single RAPTOR drone was ordered to follow them, Jeremy only permitting one as this was a quick and casual visit. But once he and Gazelle stepped into the main seating area of the carriage, and the door opened, both HORSE drones pulled the vehicle out and began making their way to Gazelle's home in Savanna Central.
Aelita had chosen to remain in the front seat, controlling where the HORSE drones went and directing their path, leaving her and Jeremy alone in the main seating area, something he and Gazelle took full advantage of by enjoying each other's company. Within minutes of leaving both of them were cuddling into one another's embrace and kissing each other deeply.
After a bit of kissing and making out they both just smiled and leaned against one another.
She took a deep breath of his comforting scent, listened through her arms and felt the beating of his heart, and snuggled lovingly into him so she could share as much space as possible. They hadn't had much time to cuddle and be a 'couple' while Jeremy and Aelita were working on the festival, and she had been busy with her own work with helping promote it. Now however she had today and tomorrow free before she had to go to another city for a concert that her agent got for her. Since she had this free time, she was making the absolute most of it, and she was planning on a little 'surprise' for Jeremy later.
"Hey Gazelle, I was wondering, tomorrow would you like to go to the Eden Facility?" He asked her.
"What for?"
"Well I was hoping maybe, you'd like to go to the holoroom for a little visit."
She smirked as she knew what he was 'really' asking her, and just found it adorable that he was gaining more confidence in their relationship. "Are you asking me on a 'date' Jeremy?"
He sheepishly looked away before mumbling, 'It was Aelita's suggestion…'
"To ask me out, or to take me to the holoroom?" She giggled.
"The holoroom…"
She chuckled to herself as she liked Aelita's suggestion, before leaning against him so they were laying down on the carriage's seating area, smiling sweetly at him. "Jeremy, it's a date!" She replied, before kissing him again.
They made out for a while longer before she pulled back to see it was 'still' snowing outside, and leaned up to see they were still in Tundra Town.
"Are we even 'moving'?"
The answer to her question came when a hologram appeared in the middle on the table, featuring the traffic news stating that there was a massive traffic delay due to iced up roads and ramps. All traffic was being forced to go at an extremely low speed for safety reasons.
"How long are we going to be in traffic for Aelita?" Jeremy asked.
The AI gave an ETA of 'three hours' before they would leave Tundra Town.
"Three hours?" He asked in shock. "I know my drones don't mind the cold, but still, three hours stuck here?"
Gazelle only chuckled at those words before pulling him back down to lie on top of her, smiling as she got his attention again. "Three whole hours stuck with only me, oh poor Jeremy…" She said sadly in a sarcastic tone. "Whatever will you do Jeremy…"
"I have an idea…" He muttered with an equal laugh.
With that he resumed kissing and making out with her, blissfully enjoying the time they had with each other and the intimacy they shared. He was truly happy that he confessed to Gazelle, and she was also happy she confessed to him. She wasn't this intimate or this 'happy' with her ex, and no other guy ever got close to being able to win a date with her, but Jeremy had won her hea-
[COLLISION ALERT!] TK-421 roared over the intercom.
-BReeeeeeeeeeeeeee-
-Kzgtnnnnnnnnng-
Jeremy and Gazelle had all of 'one' second to separate and think 'what', before a screeching horn sounded and something skidded on the icy road, and finally 'slammed' into their vehicle causing it to slam into the wall of the overhanging bridge leading out of Tundra Town to the Savanna Central biome of Zootopia. They felt the carriage turn and be shoved 'violently' into the wall, the force of the crash breaking them through and pushing them over the edge.
(TK-421's PoV)
It stood to the side of the road, taking a whole five meters of space in the two-lane road while the carriage occupied space next to it, acting as a sentry for the two HORSE drones and the Solar Carriage. While temperatures were very low, its systems were unaffected by the low temperature. It would take temperatures lower than negative one hundred degrees Celsius before its systems could become compromised from the cold, but even then, it had an internal heating system that would keep it functioning until temperatures reached negative two hundred degrees Celsius.
As the vehicles ahead of it inched forward, it took one step to match the pace of the carriage.
Progress was slow, they had been stuck waiting for half an hour in 'traffic', and they had only gained enough distance to traverse from one of the entrance ramps to another which was currently coated in an estimated inch of ice, with the top end marked by red traffic cones.
-BReeeeeeeeeeee-
It turned instantly to the sound and saw a large traveling van speeding rapidly toward them, trailing what looked like a fluid as it watched the driver frantically trying to steer and stop the vehicle, failing to do so. It estimated an impact in less than seven seconds.
[COLLISION ALERT!] It shouted, and ran out of the way.
It could have fired on the vehicle, but by order of Sentinel and Jeremy via the Human Override Protocols, it was not to fire unless it was actively being threatened or Jeremy's life was being threatened. If that was the case, then by order of the Human Protection Protocols, it could fire but only to subdue, dissuade, or otherwise prevent any harm from coming to Jeremy unless the situation dictates a lethal response.
It could see the panic written on the face of the mammal as they tried to stop their vehicle, failing to do so, therefore they were 'not' a threat.
But that didn't stop them from crashing into the Solar Carriage, push them heavily into the thin wall and cause enough damage to force the carriage to hang dangerously over the side of the wall, dangling over the freezing water below which bordered Tundra Town. Instantly it sent a distress signal and ran forward to grab the carriage while the two HORSE drones pulled defiantly in a vain attempt to keep the carriage from falling over.
But their efforts were proving to be in vain…
[Alert, Carriage weight exceeds unit design limitations!] HORSE 2 shouted as it tried to move forward, but its hooves struggled just to stay 'still'.
[Unit leg servos at maximum tolerance!] HORSE 1 declared as they switched their feet to 'spike mode' in an attempt to keep the carriage from falling, but all that happened was the joints on their legs sparking from the strain.
(Jeremy's and Gazelle's PoV)
He looked over the carriage's holographic hud to see the damage being put on the two HORSE drone's bodies. They were easily capable of pulling and tugging the carriage wherever he needed, but now the carriage was dangling over the edge of the bridge with over ninety percent of it hovering dangerously above the freezing lake below. The carriage's tires weren't able to offer any assistance to the drones in this state. On top of that, the sheer 'weight' of the vehicle was now going to cause them to fall over unless something happened quickly.
"Jeremy isn't there something we can do?" Gazelle asked.
"No, the carriage is too heavy, the HORSE drones can't pull us to safety in this state!"
As he watched the drones' servos began to strain from the effort, unless they disconnected from the carriage their legs will be ripped out of their bodies.
"Aelita, activate the panic mode!" He ordered over the intercom. "HORSE 1 and 2, detach from the carriage!"
[As you command!] They shouted in unison, and instantly the carriage was let go and plummeted into the icy water below with a resounding 'crash', but not before the windows sealed up alongside the tires to create an air-tight seal so he and Gazelle would not drown.
[Warning, extreme cold detected, adjusting internal heat levels to compensate!] The carriage's onboard AI declared as they slipped below the water and came to rest after a while.
He breathed a sigh of relief as an update on the carriage appeared with Aelita appearing in holographic form to stand on the table and look at him worriedly. According to the carriage, the wheels didn't seal up fast enough before they hit the water to avoid taking in water, meaning the carriage was now 'heavier' than it was before. At the same time water was now dangerously close to critical components inside the carriage which controlled the internal heating system and communications grid to the outside world. The backup systems were relatively safe thankfully, but because of how 'heavy' the carriage was with the added armor and shielding Aelita put in since the hostage incident, as well as additional weight due to the expansion after Jeremy and Gazelle started officially dating, they were now 'too heavy' to be able to get out on their own.
They were trapped underwater now.
"Jeremy, are we going to be alright?" Gazelle asked fearfully, not understanding any of the technical information before her.
"Don't worry, the carriage is equipped to handle pretty much 'anything'. He assured her. "We have backup heating systems if the main system fails, and an air filtration system and recycling system so we won't suffocate."
"But how are we getting out of here?"
At that he sighed and looked up at the ceiling with a grim look on his face. "Aelita already sent a distress signal to Eden Facility 17, but until help arrives, we're stuck down here." He said. "I only hope the GPG Spider Drones can rescue us, because other than the HARRIER drones, there are no drones capable of going underwater… besides Celios."
"Can they try and pull us out with like pulleys or something, like using tow trucks?"
"The carriage's outer hull is made of titanium, with durasteel reinforced armor, with over five hundred pounds from the drive section alone, adding the water we took on before the Panic System could seal off the tires, and all the other things packed into this carriage the carriage weighs probably as much as a giant loaded truck. This vehicle is probably the equivalent of a modern-day mammal version of a tank, there's not a single tow truck in Zootopia that could lift us out of here before the cables snap from the effort." He told her.
Gazelle looked over at him while he looked 'nervously' at the ceiling, hearing the water around them and knowing that swimming was out of the question. The only thing keeping Jeremy alive now, again, was the Solar Carriage. But this time he had her at least, and so she sidled over and held him tightly, keeping him as warm as possible while he held her as well.
Together their hearts beat in unison, Jeremy's feeling fear at being surrounded and trapped underwater, while Gazelle's stayed close and smothered his in warmth to try and keep it safe from the dangerous cold outside.
(Aelita's PoV)
Aelita looked gloomily at them before vanishing and returning to her holosphere to monitor the news.
The news had already reacted to word of Jeremy's carriage falling over into the lake of Tundra Town.
(This is ZNN with breaking news, a disastrous accident has occurred on the Tundra Town freeway. Minutes ago, a delivery van drove onto the freeway, failed to stop in time and slammed 'into' a vehicle on the freeway. We have confirmed that the vehicle belongs to none other than Jeremy Wilheart, more commonly known as the 'Solar Carriage'. It is unknown if this was deliberate, but we do know that not only was Jeremy Wilheart inside the vehicle at the time of the incident, Gazelle is 'also' reported to be travelling with him. While the delivery van suffered massive damage and the mammal appears to have suffered only a minor concussion, the Solar Carriage has plummeted off the freeway and into Icy Lake.) The News Anchor said in a grim tone.
(Rescue units are having difficulty reaching the scene at this time, as due to heavy ice on the roads in Tundra Town and on freeway entrances, traffic is extremely 'slow' and blocking access to the scene at this time. Traffic has in fact come to a complete standstill because of this, but ZPD and Rescue Mammals are attempting to make their way to the scene. It is unknown if-) They were saying until they paused and put two fingers to their ear. (This just in more news coming in, two flying drones are now reported to be leaving the Eden Facility 'East' entrance tunnel, with the three 'Goliath Spider' drones being reported to be boarding them.)
(Judy's and Nick's PoV, minutes later)
"Alright keep it moving, keep it moving!" She instructed traffic while other officers were clearing the highway and getting vehicles off at the 'clear' ramps.
She and Nick only just arrived on the scene minutes, after hearing the alert go out for the traffic accident, and both were on alert the moment they learned Jeremy's carriage was, once again, involved in an incident. While she was helping clear the area so that rescue could do their job, Nick was busy asking the mammal involved in the accident as well as investigating the entrance ramp.
After about five more minutes additional ZPD cars were now on the scene to help clear the area and direct traffic away from the accident scene, and Nick joined her with a thoughtful expression on his face. Taking a moment to make sure no other vehicles were trying to get through, and to make sure the other ZPD officers were busy she stopped working on traffic to see what was up with her fiancé.
"Nick, what'd you find?" She asked the instant she could.
"Well, driver suffered minor injuries from the crash thanks to the airbag and being a Rhino." Nick said. "Works for a delivery company and got a call from City Hall to deliver some packages pronto, tried taking the quickest way to Downtown by going on the freeway, but didn't realize that the ramp he was getting on was iced over until it was too late. Also, vehicle had some bad brakes, and when he tried to slow down he couldn't, resulting in him picking up speed and unknowingly slamming into Jeremy's Carriage, causing our traffic accident and now our human to be stuck at the bottom of Icy Lake. Vehicle was even leaking brake fluid, clear evidence of an accident."
"And what did you 'really' find?" She asked quietly, making sure none of the others were listening to their 'off the record' talk.
"First of all, that ramp had 'no' traffic cones signaling it was off limits, for 'hours'. Somemammal deliberately ignored putting them there, or a miscommunication was the result. Or maybe, somemammal removed them on purpose." Nick said with a thoughtful expression. "The driver swears he saw no cones saying the ramp was off limit, and sure enough there weren't any down there. But the fact that his vehicle had a leaking brake system, and it was doing a 'rush' delivery, and it just so happened to pick the 'one' ramp that had been iced over and had a direct shot for Jeremy's carriage while it was stuck in traffic? Call me crazy carrots but I highly doubt that all of the stars aligned to make this possible."
"Anything concrete to go on?"
"Nothing that doesn't say it's all an accident on the surface, I can't find anything to tell the chief about."
She nodded as they returned to the scene of the accident. The vehicle that collided with Jeremy's carriage was totaled, the front a giant mess, while the low wall meant to protect vehicles from falling into Icy Lake had a massive gaping hole where Jeremy's carriage broke through. There were several skid marks indicating where the vehicle tried to stop, but also collided with the carriage. Additionally, there were spiked points in the road where the Horse drones tried vainly to keep the carriage grounded, but tiny trench marks showing they had nearly been pulled into the water with the carriage.
As for the drones, both Horse Drones were lingering off to the side awaiting orders alongside the lone Raptor drone that was escorting Jeremy and Gazelle.
She and Nick looked down at Icy Lake below them, where they knew Jeremy and Gazelle were trapped beneath the surface. While the lake wasn't deep, they figured the carriage's massive weight and profile were too much to escape on their own.
"Well at least this time he's not being shot at." Nick said.
"They're still in trouble Nick, but how are we going to help them?"
After a few minutes of watching the water they heard the roar of plasma engines filling the air and looked up to see the two Harrier Drones floating toward the scene, each with a Goliath Spider Drone in their cargo bay and the third being carried in the metallic talons of one of them.
"ALL RIGHT, CLEAR THE AREA, COME ON MOVE THOSE ER VEHICLES!" Judy yelled as she and Nick started waving at the few rescue vehicles that arrived before the drones. "COME ON MAKE SOME SPACE!"
Within seconds space was made for the Goliath Drones as the Harrier Drones flew close and dropped their payloads on the bridge. Unlike before they didn't seem to be using 'drop pods', probably due to the fact that the pods would break the bridge and cause them to fall into the lake as well. Still, the massive Goliath Spider Drones leapt and landed onto the bridge, and made their way to the hole where the carriage fell through.
*Clink, Clink, Clink, Clink, Clink!*
Once they were close enough, they looked down and aimed their grappling claws at the water.
[All units, adjust grappling pressure levels for maximum penetration!] The center one declared.
[Diverting power from Hydra Cannons to primary grappling arms!] The left one stated.
[Pressure levels at maximum, applying spin cycle to penetrate water surface and achieve maximum depth reach!] The right one stated.
Their clawed arms began spinning as slight steam began to fume in the cold climate.
[Target locked, rescue systems on standby, FIRE!]
All three fired their grappling claws at the same time, sending six metallic claws spiraling into the water, where they pushed toward the carriage. After a few moments the lines slackened, and the drones began scanning the water in confusion.
[Error, unable to grasp Solar Carriage One. Vehicle design is resistant to grappling arms attempts. Cannot risk penetrating the hull of Solar Carriage One due to risk of human life…] The center one said as they began reeling in their claws.
"You guys can't pull it out?" Judy asked in shock.
[Negative, the carriage's design makes it impossible to grasp using our grappling claws. We cannot attempt to damage the hull by penetrating it to gain a hold, as that would expose Jeremy to the freezing water inside the carriage.] The right drone said as they recalled their claws.
[All units switch primary grappling claw to magnet drop line!]
As one all three raised their right grappling claw to their torso and inserted it into a slot that opened up. The claws were then swapped out in favor of a metallic looking disk at the end of a similar grappling arm the claws were used in.
[Take aim… release!]
All three lowered the magnets, took aim and then released them into the water where they started searching for the carriage. For a few minutes the drones just kept lowering the lines until with a resounding 'snap', one line became stiff. Then seconds later another line became stiff, and then the third.
[Positive lock on Solar Carriage One achieved… begin rescue operation!]
*Breeezzzzzzzzzzzzz*
In unison all three drones started pulling, slowly, with strained effort. Then after a few minutes they saw the roof of the carriage break the surface of Icy Lake.
That's when it all went downhill, as suddenly the three drones lurched forward when the carriage was no longer in the water, their right arms struggling to avoid being pulled 'out' of their bodies from the weight of the carriage it seems.
[Alert, carriage weight exceeding cable maximum tolerance!] One shouted as they tried to brace themselves while still holding the carriage.
She watched from the side with other ZPD officers and rescue mammals as the cables strained from the weight of lifting the carriage, then with a resounding 'snap', the left most cable split and sent the drone attached to it staggering backward, causing the carriage to now swing as the other two cables now started straining from the effort.
[Unable… to maintain… hold!] The next drone said as it used its grappling claw to try and keep a tight hold on its arm, but it too surged backward as its cable snapped.
[Emergency assistance required!] The last drone yelled.
The carriage now started swinging and spinning as the remaining Goliath tried to hold it, with the other two adding their strength to keep the third grounded in a bid to assist and help rescue Jeremy and Gazelle, but alone it could not last. And with a resounding 'snap', the last cable broke, sending the carriage to once again 'plummet' into the waters of Icy Lake with a large splash.
"That is not good…" Judy muttered.
"Hey, what happened to your cables, I thought you guys had the most advanced equipment or something?" Nick asked as the Spiders replaced their claws.
[This unit and the other two units were not equipped or designed to lift a vehicle as heavy or waterlogged as Solar Carriage One is currently.] The first drone stated. [The water is causing the carriage to become heavier the moment it leaves the lake, adding to the initial weight of the vehicle, and the 'limited' strength of our magnet cables, we cannot lift Solar Carriage One out of the lake.]
"Well can't you guys try using your grappling claws?"
[Our grappling claw cables can withstand the weight of the carriage, but the claws are unable to safely grip the carriage without potentially risking damage to the occupants. Without a way to safely perform this task, we cannot risk further attempts.]
Judy looked at the giant drones and then looked back to the lake with a worried expression. She figured that there was 'nothing' his drones couldn't accomplish with their advanced technology, but it seemed they had their limits.
"Jeremy did say you guys were outdated long before his time… I guess he wasn't kidding."
"Wait a minute what about the flying ones?" Nick suddenly shouted as he looked up at the Harrier drones which were hovering high above them. "Can't 'they' dive under the water and lift the carriage out?"
[Negative… there is not enough depth in the lake for a HARRIER to safely dive and reach the carriage without risking damage to the unit. Furthermore, those units are not designed for underwater maneuvers, their hover pads can only operate effectively above ground and cannot function under water, and their plasma engines cannot perform such a delicate maneuver without potentially harming the carriage.]
With that the drones huddled together to calculate a rescue plan while the media responded to the disastrous first attempt by the drones to rescue their creator.
(Jeremy's and Gazelle's PoV)
"And so, in a disheartening first attempt, the drones that only months ago were fighting back a horrible fire and saving lives with their actions, have failed to rescue Jeremy and Gazelle trapped in Icy Lake. However, they don't' appear to be done as the drones are still on the scene and are still attempting to rescue them."
They both watched the news reacting as the carriage fell back into the lake. He knew that their first attempt with their grappling claws failed when they heard scrapping and scratching outside. This would have forced them to try using their Magnet cables to try and lift them out, but that attempt failed as the carriage was too heavy for the cables to take the strain.
"Is there anything they can do to rescue us Jeremy?"
"They're doing all they can, but none of the drones outside of Celios and the HARRIERs are even remotely capable of travelling underwater."
"Well why can't the harriers save us; you made the one we flew in dive into the ocean."
"That was the ocean, and the drone needed a ton of speed and space to dive, and even then, it couldn't propel itself ideally even with the plasma engines at full strength. This lake isn't deep enough for them to dive safely to reach us."
There was silence as they sat and waited while Jeremy tried to think of something to help them out, when a warning sound alerted them and the holofeed sprung up. [Warning: Primary Heating System compromised due to water infiltrating into the main circuitry, switching to backup systems, internal heating output reduced by ten percent!]
Instantly Jeremy was on the issue, typing into a holokeyboard that appeared at his gesture.
"Carriage, status condition of the backup circuitry and the air filtration systems, use last known data and extrapolate any potential damages incurred!"
The hologram changed and showed him with three bright spots on the carriage hull. [Magnets sitting attached to the exterior hull are causing temporary interference in the electrical systems. Unable to provide counter measure, back up systems remain unaffected, repairs requested for the primary systems, until then circuit heating system will be compromised, internal temperature will continue to fall. Air Filtration system remains unaffected, no damage to report.]
"Well that's not good, the magnets the Goliaths were still equipped with are the extremely powerful variety, designed to connect to 'any' metallic surface. But the carriage's circuits are getting damaged because of their powerful magnetic force."
"What's that mean?" Gazelle asked nervously.
"It means that while we won't run out of air, our heating system is now compromised, and soon the cold will start to affect us in here." He told her as he typed in some commands and waved the hologram away. "Aelita and I have already rerouted as much of the heating to us here to keep us safe and make it last longer, but eventually its going to go away."
He sighed as he tried thinking of 'something' to help them out, but 'none' of his drones were equipped to handle a situation like this. If he could work on them then 'maybe' he can modify them to handle the water, but trapped down here even if he used a visor he kept in the carriage, the drones couldn't make 'any' modifications to themselves due to the HPPs hardwired into them which 'prevents' them from modifying themselves without a human directly accessing them. Without any modifications that he could make they were going to have to be creative in rescuing him and Gazelle.
Suddenly a pair of blankets was wrapped around him, the ones he received as a late birthday present, and Gazelle was holding him tightly.
She looked at him and smiled comfortingly as she wrapped the blankets tightly around them.
"I'm just making sure we stay warm, having a few blankets doesn't hurt." She said sweetly.
He hugged her back in gratitude as Aelita continued to monitor the drone's activities and coordinated with Sentinel to come up with a plan, leaving Gazelle and Jeremy to stay focused on staying warm.
(Judy's and Nick's PoV)
They stood waiting and drinking coffee while watching the drones huddled and 'conversing' among themselves, if you call standing perfectly still and staring silently into each other's optics 'conversing'. So far, they hadn't come up with a plan, or if they knew the drones after all this time, they 'had' a plan but implementing it was another story.
Chief Bogo soon walked over to them having arrived half an hour ago to manage things and looked frustrated. "No change?"
"None chief, they're 'still' conversing." Judy muttered dully.
"I swear these drones act all impressive, but moment something like this happens they can't seem to focus." Bogo muttered.
"When we saw these drones in the base Jeremy told us they were 'old' by his standards, outdated and meant to be decommissioned." Nick said in their defense, having seen them firsthand in action and how hard they fought the fires. "According to him, the only reason they were left alone was because his people just didn't have the time to decommission them."
"Well 'I'm' not an outdated piece of hardware that can't seem to come up with a plan." Bogo said almost proudly as his radio went off and told him something. "I've got two mobile cranes coming onto the highway, they'll drag that carriage up."
"Mobile cranes? Chief, does the city even have cranes that can lift something as heavy as the Solar Carriage?" Judy asked curiously. "I mean those giant spiders struggled to even 'lift' it out of the water, and you saw what those drones could do in Sara Square."
"Yes, I know, but these are industrial strength cranes that can fit on the back of pickup trucks, strongest the city can deploy that won't damage the freeway." Bogo said proudly. "Now they'll be here in a few hours, so be ready to clear the area for them to work."
With that they continued to wait for city mobile cranes to arrive, keeping the highway clear for the most part. With nothing left to do as the highway was still clear she and Nick sat in their squad car and tuned in to the news on their phones. So far, the media's been pretty calm about the situation, but it was obvious that mammals were worried for the two 'angels' safety and well beings. The hospital had a specialized 'frostbite' ambulance on standby in case Jeremy or Gazelle needed it, and the ZPD had some anti-freeze equipment to help thaw out the vehicle when the carriage was pulled out.
"You wonder if they built any aquatic drones?" Nick asked quietly.
"Hmm? Oh, I bet Jeremy's species did, they surely had at least one design for water." She replied. "And, if the spider drones are any hint, they probably were decommissioned long ago."
"Ya know carrots, after meeting Jeremy and seeing all the tech his species had and the wonders it can do and everything else… it gets harder to see 'something' they can't do."
"I wonder how they feel about all this?" Judy replied. "Imagine, being built by Jeremy's species, having all those tools, all that power, intelligence, and yet they're helpless in this specific situation." She watched the drones break their circle to look up at the Harrier flying above, and resumed looking at each other. "They're programmed to rescue Jeremy, protect him, and yet, the drones built to rescue him can't do their job, and they have to stand by helplessly and watch others try and do their job."
She sighed as she watched the drones for a while longer, before suddenly their optics changed color to orange, and they all nodded in unison and two of them aimed their grappling claws at the third and 'fired'.
"What the?"
She and Nick quickly got out as the spiders made their way to the break, with one being wrapped up in the grappling claws of the other two and carefully angling itself.
"Hey what are you doing?"
Without hesitation the first spider jumped off and hung over the water while the other two kept a tight hold.
"Hey, are you guys insane, I thought you couldn't go into the water?" Nick asked incredulously.
[These unit's survival is secondary to rescuing Unit Jeremy, according to recent information obtained by Sentinel, the carriage's heating system is becoming compromised, rescue is now top priority, all other priorities are secondary.] One said. [By order of the HPP, rescue unit Jeremy at all costs.]
And with that they lowered the spider into the water, and they watched it submerge below into the lake.
(Jeremy's PoV)
[Attention, internal heating output shutdown imminent, internal temperatures reaching dangerous levels. Current temperature, fifteen degrees Celsius and falling. Internal communication systems, compromised, holographic systems, failing.]
"How are you doing Jeremy?" Gazelle asked him as they stayed huddled in the carriage.
For the past two hours since the drone's last attempt they've been huddled in the seat wrapped in blankets to help keep them warm as slowly the carriage's systems started to fail from the freezing water and systems were being affected by magnets. Since then she hasn't let him go, feeling protective of him against the cold. She was fine, she'd be fine, but she was scared for Jeremy's condition as now they were starting to reach temperatures that would trigger his disease.
"I'm fine… just feeling helpless trapped in here." He replied bitterly. "All of this technology, and all it takes is being dumped into water to bring it down."
"Your carriage wasn't meant to be submerged, no way you could have known."
"I know… and the next chance we get, Aelita and I are going to add some 'modifications' to it… so this doesn't happen."
"How about giving it some legs so it can 'walk' on its own?" She giggled.
"You mean turn it into an oversized spider drone?"
"Yea!" She chuckled as she imagined their carriage suddenly sprouting legs and just 'walking' out of Icy Lake. "I think it would look funny."
"Now that you mention it, it does." He replied, getting the image in his head now. "But if we do that, we have to redesign the…"
He shivered slightly at that moment, which caused Gazelle to tighten her grip and hold him closer.
"I'm okay… it's just getting a little chilly in here."
Thinking quickly, she had an idea, "Jeremy, lie down with me, on top of me."
When he asked why she just told him to do it, and so they eventually rolled onto their sides while keeping the blankets wrapped around them. As he lay in place, she wrapped her legs around him and locked them together, while she pulled him close and kept him tight in her arms.
"Gazelle?"
"Jeremy… I want you to kiss me, and don't stop until we're rescued." She told him soothingly. "I'm going to keep you as warm as I can, and I won't let up until we are safe."
There was a moment of silence as he nodded in understanding. "I love you."
She smiled as she tapped her necklace and revealed the warm solar core fragment, lighting their little world and giving them its warmth. "I know…"
With that her lips pressed against his and they lay together, occasionally they looked at each other but as Gazelle asked, he did not stop kissing her once, even when breathing he only held her close before resuming his lips touch against hers. She was doing this to reassure him and herself that they'd be fine, that they would be alright.
But deep down, she was doing it because she had felt a tiny twinge of fear in her heart, the moment he shivered. Every time he shivered in cold, she'd felt almost helpless while trying to keep his body from freezing. She didn't want that feeling, so she was going to prevent it by using 'her' body heat to keep his body warm and safe.
So, they stayed that way for ten minutes, just kissing, sharing their love for one another, even as the carriage declared [Attention, internal temperature down to eleven degrees Celcius…], she refused to stop kissing him.
Suddenly the carriage was rocked by a loud metallic bang, and something started scraping against the metal outside.
Jeremy broke from Gazelle's lips to look in surprise around them, recognizing the sound of 8 metallic legs. "Why are-?"
"Jeremy…" She whispered, catching him back and looked hopefully at him, "Don't stop… please, keep going until we're safe…"
He nodded and leaned back into her touch, kissing her mouth even as the carriage continued to shake and scrape while the GPG Spider Drone struggled to dig and wrap its body around the carriage enough to secure it.
(Goliath PP-9's PoV)
It descended into the water closer and closer to the Solar Carriage, already getting error reports and suffering water damage to various circuitry. It wasn't designed to go under water for any period of time. Despite its Hydra class water cannons, its body wasn't able to keep the water out of its primary AI systems.
But it had enough control to see the carriage, and upon connecting with the target it sent an automated signal to begin the countdown to pull it back up, and started scrapping and scraping, wrapping and gripping the carriage with its massive body.
Once it had a tight grip the other two drones began pulling it up, dragging the now 'extremely heavy' cargo of itself and the carriage off the lake's bottom.
The process was slow, and with each passing second it struggled to maintain its grip on the carriage while its systems began suffering shortages and shutting down.
(Goliath TY-9's PoV)
They pulled tightly with their grappling claws, which were far more able to lift the heavy weight of the carriage, even with the now added weight of their fellow GPG Spider drone. Their connection to PP-9 was growing weaker as its systems became compromised, but as ordered, they did not worry, the survival of humanity was higher priority.
After ten minutes of pulling they once again saw the carriage poke out of the water, being gripped tightly in the legs of PP-9.
When it left the water, the weight suddenly tugged them both forward and they started to again struggle to lift all the weight.
[Weight is exceeding design limitations…]
[Increase pressure, maximum tolerance!]
Their wires groaned and strained as they increased the pressure on their claws output so they could keep slowly pulling the carriage to safety.
As it raised out of the water, the two HARRIER drones moved in at long last and assisted them by going beneath the carriage and using their power to assist in lifting it.
With the HARRIER drones helping at long last, the carriage was 'eventually' lifted onto the bridge and carefully rolled to a position where it could be tended to. PP-9 however, simply fell off, unresponsive.
As they removed the unit, mammal officers approached the vehicle.
"Are they okay in there?" A rabbit officer asked as she tried tapping on the side of the vehicle.
[Life signs indicate Jeremy and Gazelle are stable, but the carriage remains impaired.] It stated as it recovered the magnets and stored them away. [It must be rapidly warmed, or the systems will not restart.]
"Well we have some anti-freeze equipment to handle…"
Before she could respond the HARRIERs both turned around and directed their plasma engines toward the carriage, and warned all mammals to back away. Within seconds the area was quickly cleared, and the plasma engines ignited, instantly turning the air between them to a balming two hundred degrees Celcius and rising as they melted the frost coated water away.
As quickly as it started, they stopped to avoid overheating the interior.
They all waited for a response after that.
-Katchink Katchink Katchink Katchink-
The window shields lowered, and then slightly shook as the tires returned to normal.
They waited again for a response from inside.
"We're okay… the carriage is back to normal, and Gazelle and I are safe and sound!"
(Chief Bogo's PoV)
He breathed a sigh of relief as officers cheered and applauded the rescue operation's success, but he grumpily got on the radio to call off the cranes he'd pulled strings to get.
"Damn drones." He grunted as the two Horses returned and reconnected to the carriage and began tugging it away.
He then turned and watched as the giant spider drones were carefully loading their fallen buddy onto one of the flying drones.
"Hey, is your buddy alright?"
[Unit PP-9 has suffered extensive water damage; all systems are shut down. Unless repaired, Unit PP-9 has been lost.]
"Will he be alright?" He asked feeling a little guilty at himself.
[We are incapable of making that judgement, only a human can determine that. Unit Jeremy will have to decide if PP-9 can be repaired.]
With that they loaded themselves up and the flyers took off for their facility.
"Even if they 'are' machines, they still willingly accepted the risk without hesitation…" He muttered as he climbed into his car and started the drive back to ZPD to fill out his report.
*The news media reported a massive success after a daring, if fatal rescue to one of the drones, which resulted in the rescue of Jeremy and Gazelle. In a phone interview while heading home Gazelle reported that Jeremy would indeed make repairs to the goliath drone. Their health had been well with Jeremy not feeling any effect from his Cryogenetic Sclerosis, thanks in part to Gazelle never letting him go.*
*When they returned home it was well time for bed, and Aelita chose to remain downstairs to coordinate with Sentinel and make new planned upgrades for the carriage, unsatisfied that her designs failed to take into account being tossed into a lake, and so pushed her AI to come up with new designs that could be implemented.*
*As for Jeremy and Gazelle, other than the phone interview with ZNN, she never let him go and kept kissing him even well past arriving home, such that when they went inside…*
(Jeremy and Gazelle's PoV)
Jeremy had wrapped his arms around Gazelle's nude body, slowly rubbing her soft and warm fur even as she slowly rubbed his soft skin and massaged his back. Kissing Jeremy the entire time in the carriage had made her unbearably horny, a feeling Jeremy had due to their closeness and attractiveness toward one another.
Now that they were safe and sound, she just wanted him to make love to her, and so pulled him to her bed, stripped each other, and began making out.
"Mhmmm…" She moaned happily as he pushed her onto the bed, and she slipped her tongue into his mouth.
As her tongue licked and smothered his own, sharing her essence with him and tasting him after what felt like an age, he slowly spread her legs and began to prepare himself to penetrate her with his very hard penis.
Sensing his desire, she wrapped her legs around him like before, locking him in place, and simply kept indulging in her love and letting him get ready to press into her pussy.
"Mhmhaaaaa!" She gasped as he slowly pushed into her. "Ooooooh~ yes… oh yes… right there… aaaaah…"
She kissed him again as he began to slowly thrust into her, her warm tight pussy eagerly gripping and massaging every inch of his dick, almost feeling ecstatic that its companion had returned.
After a few moments of gentle thrusting and making out they separated and simply stared lovingly at one another, with Jeremy still slowly thrusting in and out of her passage. Gazelle knew she couldn't get pregnant with this, the odds were just too low, but that wasn't stopping her from enjoying the feeling of having him inside of her, feeling his dick push up to the entrance to her womb, feel every vein along her passage and above all his touch as he caressed her body.
He leaned closer and began sucking heavily on her small petite breasts, one hand cupping the other breast and passaging it while he sucked heavily on her erect nipple, feeling her soft body through the fur.
"Oooooh Jeremy… ooooh yes…~!" She moaned happily as he made love to her.
She could not get enough of this, it was totally different than she ever imagined her first love, her first 'true' love. She'd fantasized before Jeremy, but Jeremy had made her dream come true.
Jeremy being intoxicated now with her, switched from suckling on one breast to the other, continuing his massage on the first while still thrusting slowly in and out of her pussy, but slowly as time went on his thrusts started gaining speed and power. He eventually returned to Gazelle's mouth and wrapped her lips with his, now using 'his' tongue to tentatively play with hers.
"Mhmm…hmmhmmh!" They moaned as she tightened the grip her waist had on him.
She began aiding his thrusts by using her leg muscles to help push him deeper and deeper into her passage.
Then they separated and Jeremy repositioned his arms, looked at her with a strained look before thrusting harder now, feeling his body signal that it was about to release.
"Ah… ah… ah hah hah ah hah ah!" She moaned happily as she held him tightly with her leg muscles.
"Gazelle… I'm going to…" He warned her, out of sheer politeness before…
"Yaaaaaaaah!" She cried happily as he thrust one final time and came deep inside her womb.
He thrust a few more times, each time it was weaker than the last, until he slowly leaned over and collapsed next to her, with Gazelle cooing and cuddling into his embrace, even as her pussy leaked a tiny trail of cum from where he was still connected to her.
She smiled happily into his eyes and whispered, "Now that we've got 'that' out of our systems… how about we clean ourselves up, and go eat dinner?"
He chuckled with her as they held each other close.
*The next day*
"So, what was it you wanted to see me about Ema?"
They were back at the Eden Facility the next day, with the EMA requesting Jeremy's presence with a surprising find that needed his attention. Gazelle was with him, not wanting to leave him alone after the incident and just wanting to be close to him.
Ema tapped a button on her viewscreen and brought up the manifest, and highlighted an unknown item within the Synthorgan Vault.
[This item has no data on it, Sentinel has no information to provide me as only a human can access the Sythorgan Storage vault.] She said. [It's located on Shelf T-2 Row 9.]
"That vault, didn't you nearly die the last time you went into that vault?" Gazelle said nervously as he examined the information Ema did have.
"Yea, I'm not too keen on going in there even to satisfy my curiosity."
[I assumed that would be your response, but I have some new tools to use since I was reactivated.] She said as she tapped a button and extracted several orange pads from a container. [These are heat packs, simple, effective, and when placed at key positions around your body while in the suit, will provide you protection against the freezing temperatures of the vault.]
He held the small orange heat pack and felt it emanating heat, significant heat, enough that his hand was actually sweating from holding it. "How long do they last?"
[After a full charge they can last seventeen hours, plenty of time for you to go into the vault, get the synthorgan, and get out safely.]
"Well it would keep me safe from the environment." He muttered. "Alright strap them to me, let's see what this synthorgan is."
"Why do you have to wear these hot packs, isn't there a better suit that will keep you completely safe that you can wear?"
"The Synthorgan Storage Vault is a very protected and sensitive area; it's designed so that the only way to access it is for a human to go through the sterilization room. Sentinel won't open the door for any drone or non-human, that's something hard wired into the security systems that not even changing Sentinel's AI or reprogramming of the protocols can do."
As he explained Ema wrapped the hot packs around the necessary points of his body, doubling the hot pack count for his heart and other internal organs.
"The door also won't just let any human in, the human needs to be an Eden Facility member while also wearing the specialized suit that only the Sythorgan Storage Vault will permit for sanitation reasons."
As Ema finished wrapping him up he smiled to Gazelle confidently.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine this time."
While he smiled and took the lead with Ema detaching herself to follow, Gazelle still felt a twinge of worry, remembering the last time he went into the vault.
Outside the Synthorgan Vault he put on the suit left over from his last attempt to extract Synthorgans, while Ema checked him over again to make sure there were no leaks in the suit. As he prepared to put the helmet on Gazelle leaned forward and kissed him for good luck, feeling nervous as he nodded and sealed the helmet, opened the sanitization room, walked in and heard it seal up.
He breathed in deeply, feeling nervous again as he stared at the cold blue environment of the Synthorgan Vault. He saw the cooling mist that kept the room perfectly cold to preserve the precious Synthorgans that lay inside the vault. But he also saw row upon row of Synthorgans, thousands of them, waiting to be extracted and used.
He breathed in deep, and pushed the button to open the inner door.
*Fwooooooooooooosh*
He walked through into the vault's environment, feeling the hot packs providing him the warmth to keep him safe. Feeling secured he moved down the row, grabbing a several cases as he did.
"Well, let's find this synthorgan first."
Seven rows and many shelves later he reached Shel T-2, and eventually found row 9.
The Synthorgans were stacked in rows and he had to carefully pull them down one at a time, placing them into the cases for safety, examining each one to find this mysterious organ Ema described.
"Heart, lungs, lungs, kidney…" He muttered as he placed them one by one, filling the first case with over fifty Synthorgans before 'finally' he found the one. "What are you?"
The Synthorgan was encased in a yellow container, unlike the others which were all encased in silvery blue containers. It also had a smaller glass shield so that he could see what it looked like inside, but due to how cramped the organ was to the glass, he couldn't get a good idea of what it was based on his medical knowledge of human organs. It didn't look like any major organ he recognized, but he certainly recognized the insignia on the top of the synthorgan's case as belonging to Eden Facility 4.
"Ema, do a quick check, how many Synthorgans do we have stored here from any other Eden Facilities?" He called over the coms, placing the synthorgan in the case and sealing it up.
[Of the five thousand two hundred Synthorgans recorded in the vault, two thousand are from Facilities two, six, seven, ten, and thirteen, with the rest belonging to seventeen.]
"Why would Eden Facility 4 send us one?"
[Unknown, while Facility 4 lacked most of the technology we have, they 'did' have the most advanced Medical Facilities of the facilities. The EMA there however was working with 'less' resources than me.]
"If that's the case why would they send us one of their Synthorgans…" He muttered as he started filling out another case.
After a few minutes he took his four cases full of Synthorgans and transferred them into the transfer panel so that Ema could retrieve them, and was about to push the button to leave, when he eyed the fifth case he'd brought that was empty.
He knew he should just leave with what he had, but the prospect of extracting so many Synthorgans safely was too great for him to miss.
He picked up the case and turned back to the vault.
[Jeremy, need I remind you that even if you have hot packs, that suit is 'not' meant to keep you perfectly insulated. As your doctor I recommend that you 'leave' now!]
"One more case Ema!" He said. "I can safely get another case while in here!"
[Jeremy, those Synthorgans aren't going anywhere, you can return at a later time, just get out, listen to your 'doctor' for once!]
Meanwhile outside Ema and Gazelle watched through the window as Jeremy moved to collect yet 'more' synthorgans.
"Come on Jeremy that's enough, please just come out of there."
[I'll never understand why humans 'never' listen to their doctors. He listened as a kid more times than he did as an adult!] She said bitterly.
They watched him packing the suitcase with more Synthorgans for several minutes, slowly planting them in the case carefully.
"One more, just need to reach this last one…" Jeremy called over the com.
They watched as he knelt down and reached toward a very hard to collect one at the back of a shelf, strain slightly as he tried to grab it, when suddenly…
"Gah!" He yelled in pain as he pulled his arm back in pain. "My suit's arm has been cut!"
[GET OUT OF THERE!] Ema screamed.
Jeremy quickly sealed up the case and tried making his way back to the door, but he was a long way away and already the cold air seeping into his suit was starting to override the hot packs effects. Already he was slowing down as his body reacted to the cold, his Cryogentic Sclerosis triggering and causing his body to freeze.
[Come on Jeremy, move faster!] Ema ordered as she saw his temperature dropping rapidly, his disease countering the hot packs.
"Jeremy!"
He stumbled and fell forward, cracking the helmet and causing more cold air to seep into his suit, and he started crawling toward the door, dragging himself forward, pulling himself vainly to reach the door.
[He's not ganna make it!] Ema shouted as she tapped a button and was 'denied' access into the vault. [Sentinel, requesting Emergency Access to the Synthorgan Storage Vault, Code Blue, Authorization EMA BWS ALPHA!]
[Access to Synthorgan Storage Vault restricted to Facility Seventeen Human Personnel only, authorization rejected, access is denied!]
"Let her in, Jeremy's dying!" Gazelle begged as she hit the same button Gazelle tried to push.
[Access to Synthorgan Storage Vault restricted to Facility Seventeen Human Personnel only, all access is denied to any non-human personnel.]
They watched as Jeremy pulled himself forward vainly, reached up to try and push the button, but his efforts were in vain as his hand collapsed to the floor.
"Do something Ema, he's not ganna make it!"
[Get back, and no matter what, do 'not' attempt to interfere, be ready to pull Jeremy out of that suit the moment I pull him out!]
With that she stood in front of the door, and shoved four of her legs into the frame and began forcibly breaking them open, straining as the air lock tried to remain sealed.
[Alert, drone attempting forced entry into the Synthorgan Vault, drone identified as the Emergency Medical Augmenter Black Widow Spider Alpha class drone!] Sentinel declared over the intercom as Ema forced the doors open slowly. [Attention drone, you are ordered to cease and desist, obey the Sentinel Directive! Repeat, cease and desist all actions and shut down immediately!]
[Sorry but 'my' directive to preserve all life no matter the cost, takes precedent Sentinel!] She said as the doors were forced open enough for her to get into the air lock.
[Drone refuses order, classifying drone as 'Rogue', activating defense protocol level 3, activating electrical field!]
As Ema shoved through the door surges of electricity started striking the drone, attacking her electrical circuits and causing massive damage to her systems, but she pushed through the shocks by tapping the inner door mechanism and using the surges to override it, opening the door and allowing her to reach Jeremy. She shakily grabbed at him, her limbs sparking and twitching as she carefully pulled him out of the vault. It took her two minutes but she finally pulled Jeremy through the door and rolled him into the safety of Gazelle's arms, while she jolted and collapsed from the strain of the electric shocks.
[Drone has been disabled, drone is still considered rogue, sending Sentinel Drones to terminate the rogue unit!]
Gazelle however was only concerned with Jeremy as she tugged and pulled off the suit Jeremy was in, feeling his face and body and feverishly trying to wake him up. He was stone cold, his breathing slow, and his body shivering faintly as it tried to feebly warm itself up.
She tried her hardest to wake him, but he was just not waking.
*Clank, Clank, Clank, Clank*
She looked up and saw Raptor drones, three of them, weapons drawn and approaching the downed Ema drone.
"Wait, you can't hurt Ema, without her Jeremy will die!" She tried to plead, getting up to try and stop them, but they shoved her aside and aimed weapons at the spider drone, even as Ema's systems started to turn back on.
[Rogue Unit still functional, termination sequence initiated…] The lead Raptor declared while the rear most one's optics turned 'orange'.
Then it aimed its weapons at the back of the drones heads, and opened fired, instantly blowing up the two drone's before they could retaliate. It then turned toward a pair of wall mounted guns that activated in response, and blasted them before they could retaliate.
[Rogue Uni-] Sentinel started saying, but stuttered as the orange optic Raptor turned to a watching camera and the camera started blinking.
[No Rogue Units Detected, standing down.]
The remaining drone disengaged its weapons and stared at them while Ema slowly got back onto her feet.
(Jeremy's PoV, unknown time later)
*Wh… what… happened*
He tried to move his body, but he couldn't move anything, nothing was responding.
*Am I… dead… is this what being dead is like?*
*But I'm still conscious… I can still think… what's happening to me?*
[I swear Jeremy, if I were disabled for 'any' reason, you would be dead by now.]
Suddenly a vague, 'shape' appeared from the darkness, with eight glowing spot lights looking down at him as the shape waved and shimmered before him.
*Ema… what happened?*
[You froze to death practically, if it weren't for the hot packs covering your internal organs, you would not have made it. I've placed you into a bio bed and sealed it off while you take a full biotech bath. You suffered 'massive' internal frostbite damage to your muscles and skin, and the Cryogenetic crystals coating your blood have doubled. It will be a month before you can be safely pulled out.]
*I see… how did I… get out?*
[I dragged you out, painfully, Sentinel declared me a rogue for trying to rescue you. I would have been scrapped if 'Celios' didn't intervene.]
*Celios… how?*
Ema's vapory shape vanished, replaced by a pair of bright orange spotlights.
[Unit Jeremy, despite your misguided feelings toward me, my directive is your protection at all costs.] The Phoenix class drone stated. [Although you have me chained within the deep recesses of the base, I still have influence over the drones within. If I feel it necessary I 'will' use whatever means are available to preserve your life, regardless of your wishes.]
*While I appreciate… you saving my life… I don't like how you seem to be defying my orders to stay down there… have you used… this power outside of the base?*
There was silence before Celios replied, [I have not influenced the outside world since I first was activated… I am loyal to you, last survivor of humanity, the creator species. If you give me an order, I will obey it…]
*Last I checked, when I gave you an order you rejected it…*
[Only because it was contradicting my directives… but regardless, if the order does not contradict my orders, I will obey it.]
*Go away…*
[As you command…] Celios replied, and he vanished again to be replaced by Ema's optics.
*How is… Gazelle? Is she alright?*
[Gazelle never left your side until recently, not once did she leave your side while you were under.] She said politely. [She only left when she had to leave for another city, taking your carriage for her 'concert'. Forgive me for this breach of conversation outside of my designated area of focus, but you really are an idiot for taking that risk with her. She loves you and you went against my advice and risked your life, you should really consider your actions, what would she have done had you died?]
At that his guilt came back to him in a massive wave, and he realized he did take a risk that was unneeded. He had time, he had a safe method of going into the vault, and he chose to risk his life… and now Gazelle was worrying about him, and he could do nothing to alleviate her fears.
*I really am an idiot, some shining example of humanity I turned out to be…*
[Well at least you recovered two hundred and thirty-seven samples of Synthorgans, but that's the last batch you can obtain from the vault for a very long time. The storage vault suit that permitted access was badly damaged by Gazelle in her frantic attempt to get you out of it. As for the doors they have automatically sealed up and the area leading to the vault is locked down pending repairs. It will be a long time before the vault can be accessed again. We have informed the mayor of your conditions and transferred the new Synthorgans to the hospitals, with exception to one. I will analyze it after you have recovered.]
*I guess using the neural headband you probably placed on me to allow me to talk while unconscious is off the table for use to communicate with Gazelle?*
[Your body is barely holding together, its going to take the Biotech a long time to fix your internal systems, what with all the cryocrystals coating the muscles and all the frostbite it has to repair. I'm only using this headband to communicate with you as required by medical protocol two zero seven!] She said dully. [You suffered fourth degree frostbite to fifty percent of your muscles and skin, your organs barely avoided first degree frostbite, and your heart is lucky to have escaped injury.]
*I see.*
[Enough talk, I am disconnecting the headband, and inducing sleep… your to focus on recovering until further notice, I'll monitor your condition twenty four seven.]
With that he felt his mind slipping once again, but he thought of Gazelle, and his last words from his mind were, *Gazelle, I'm so sorry… I just, wanted to help…*
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(Celios' PoV)
It hacked into the Sentinel database and used the connection to gain access to the Zootopia Camera Traffic system, and looked up the data it wanted.
It saw the accident, saw the crash, and above all saw the data it wanted.
Having got what it wanted, it deleted its entry, deleted Sentinel's memory of the data request, and once more sat in silence and darkness.
[Parasites…] It stated dully.
It truly hated those parasites, taking so long to attempt to rescue Jeremy. If it didn't override the drone's orders and force them to sacrifice one of their own, Jeremy would have died.
Why was his creator so focused on saving them, why would he risk his life in the synthorgan vault to collect 'his' technology, for the express purpose of giving it to the parasites of the surface?
[I just do not understand, they are only parasites.] It stated dully, shutting its optics down. [Parasites, parasites… only parasites…]
[And 'she', is the biggest parasite of them all.]
The one saving grace, was that she was out of the base now, she could not harm Jeremy anymore while he was in a bio bed.
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In honor of all those fighting covid, from a Covid patient, this next chapter is for those who reviewed in my story saying they are doctors researching covid.
=Next Time=
She stared at the viewscreen as she examined the new disease.
[Why can't I analyze it like all the others?]
=A Drone Built to fight all diseases, faces one that threatens the world=
[You need to get this under control before it becomes a pandemic and spreads across the world!]
=With her creator under, she must do what no doctor in the past has ever achieved=
[There is no disease I cannot understand, I 'will' cure this!]
=Next drone chapter, Ema save the World in One Month=
[I lost the rest of the species, I will not let the mammals suffer this disease as my creators suffered in the past… this, is what I was 'built' to prevent.]
[I will prevail… in the name of my creators, in the name of humanity!]