Chapter 8

Armadi – Two days later

9:04 AM

Seltic examined the finishing touches of the machinery he was working on and smiled at his accomplishment. He was making steady progress on his new pet project, but still had a long way to go before it was finished. With his work finished for the moment, he set the complex assembly of hydraulics, cables, sensors, and metal aside and gulped the last of his coffee. As he prepared to stand, he heard the thundering of someone knocking on the building's entrance doorway down the hall.

He jumped up and sprinted down the hall towards the door, noticing Kyros standing with an impatient expression outside. Seltic cracked the door and poked his head out, asking, "Yes?"

Kyros gave him and odd look and answered, "What? You hiding something?"

"Uh... no."

"Anyway, Maya wants to talk with you when you get a minute. She's at her house."

"Okay, thanks," Seltic replied, waving him off. Kyros shrugged and stomped off. Seltic sighed and stepped outside, pondering what Maya wanted him for. Armadi was still relatively quiet, with half of everyone still asleep. The only activity in sight was the rather odd spectacle of Marcus washing the two hovercraft in front of the garage.

"Maya got you doing chores?" he asked the young raccoon as he passed by.

"Kinda, she told Stanley to do it, but he's too sleepy," he replied as he reached for the water hose.

"You should have got Maya to come get him out of bed."

"I was going to, but he promised me that he'd take me fishing tomorrow if I did it."

"Oh, okay," Seltic replied, walking off. Stanley was strange about some things for certain. He stayed up well past midnight almost everyday, and slept as late as Maya would let him. If he could get out of unnecessary work, he would usually find someone willing to do it for a trade. But overall Stanley was a good guy, and they had no problems getting along.

As he stepped up to Maya's house, he pulled his key card from his coat pocket and slid it through the reader. He groaned as the reader blared an error, and wiped his card clean. For months he had been meaning to get around to changing all of the locks out in the settlement, but the idea of removing and replacing the complicated devices always seemed to get pushed back in his mind.

Another swipe of the card was received with a confirmation beep, and the lock on the door clicked open. He stepped inside and glanced around for any sign of Maya. "Miss Maya, are you here?"

He heard the sound of someone shuffling around upstairs, and stepped towards the stairs. "I'm up here, come on up," he heard her call from the stairwell.

At the top of the creaky stairs, he found her sitting and studying a few pictures diligently. He inched over to her and peered at the picture she held. "You wanted to see me?"

She put the picture down and took a deep breath before looking up to him. "Yeah. I'm sure you're familiar with the rocket launches that have been plaguing the nights lately, right?"

He instantly recalled the deafening rumble that had come and gone repeatedly each night for the past two days. Through the irritating sound, no one had been able to sleep much, and it was beginning to show on everyone. "Yeah," he grunted.

"I had Kyros take these pictures of one of the rockets last night as it traveled overhead. I was hoping that you might be able to make something of it," she said, handing the pictures to him.

The grainy pictures revealed little to him that he figured she couldn't tell already. "I don't know , it's kind of hard to tell."

She dropped her hand onto the table and said, "I know... this just keeps getting stranger. What could Robotnik possibly be launching?"

"Weapons? Nuclear missiles maybe?" he replied at the first thought that entered his mind.

"I thought so too, but we haven't heard any explosions, and those rockets are very large."

"Well, if he was mining uranium in the mountains, a nuclear weapon would be logical... so if that's not it I don't know. Maybe he's just launching stuff into orbit?"

"But what?" she asked, frustrated.

"I don't know, it seems odd that he would turn his attention to space like that, but we can rest assured that he does have something in mind."

"Yes... and we simply can't afford to dally around anymore."

"I'm guessing that we're heading back to Robotropolis again then, right?" he asked, finally equating Marcus washing the hover ships with them seeing imminent use.

"Yeah, tonight after dinner, Kyros wasn't too happy about the idea. I'm praying that tonight will be the last night that we head in blind, and that we find something significant."

Seltic sighed and asked, "Alright then... is there anything I should do to get ready?"

"You look pretty tired, maybe you should get some sleep first. I think we could all deal with that."

"Yeah, I've been too busy working with the robot to get enough rest."

She perked up at its mention and asked, "I'd forgotten about that thing, have you learned anything?"

He smiled and replied, "Oh yes, I've been keeping it a secret, but I guess now is just as good a time as any. Do you have a minute?"

"Just wait here a second, I've got to check something first," Seltic told Maya as he opened the door to his workshop.

"Alright," she replied, wondering what he could possibly need to prepare. The entire prospect of him bringing her here was unusual, as even Seltic knew that no one else really understood what he did in workshop, or cared too greatly. He rarely found the need to show off any of his creations, and he hadn't made or modified anything of interest in some time.

"Okay, come in. Try not to freak out or anything."

She stood in the doorway for a moment, puzzlement plastered on her face. As she cautiously slid into the still-dark room, she searched the wall for a light switch. "Why are the lights off?"

"It's part of the surprise. Just remember, don't freak out," he replied from an indeterminate direction.

"Alright," she worriedly replied. From the darkness in front of her, a pair of red circles appeared, one dimmer than the other. She stared at the two glowing images and called, "Seltic?"

She jumped as the images blinked and moved to track her movement. Her heart began to race as she heard the hum of machinery and electronics begin to emanate from their direction. She found herself reflexively reaching for her nonexistent laser pistol as the lights began to fade to life. Mere steps away stood the ravaged form of the robot.

Where its legs had been sheared away in the explosion that felled the robot before, it stood atop the exposed skeleton of new legs; wires and actuators forming an inexplicably complex network. Its face was markedly more solemn than the crazed blood lust that she was accustomed to seeing, with one eye's mechanics exposed and its jaw joints rigged together. It reached out with its remaining arm and offered its hand with a pained smile. "Mrs. Morceaux, I presume?"

She stared back in a stupor, motionless. At last she remembered to let out her breath, and looked to Seltic questioningly.

"It's okay, Kaplain isn't going to bite. I'm not sure he even can right now."

"K-Kaplain?" she asked, nervously raising her hand to meet his.

The deer weakly took her hand and shook it. "Kaplain Daubach. Seltic's told me a lot about everyone here."

"I couldn't tell everyone at first, I was as surprised as you are that he was still alive. He was one of the first people to be captured and roboticized when Robotnik started his coup. He's been living as a robot now for over five years," Seltic picked up, trying to answer Maya's questions before she could ask.

"I-I don't understand..."

"I don't yet either really. Neither Kaplain nor I know exactly what happened, but he's somehow managed to overcome the mind control from the roboticizer. I obviously haven't been able to study his memory too closely though."

"This... is unbelievable," she said at last, looking Kaplain over closely. "You've started repairing him?"

"Yes, and I'm very grateful," Kaplain answered. "I'm extremely lucky to have met Seltic... without him I'd still be..." he paused, "dead."

"He doesn't have anywhere else to go, so I hoped that you wouldn't mind letting him stay here with us," Seltic continued.

"I know this is awkward... and I hate to put you in this position," Kaplain added.

Maya blinked several times and stuttered, "I-I suppose. We've got to let everyone know about this."

Kyros searched the outer perimeter of the cafeteria as he neared it, hoping to find someone to question about the nature of the meeting that Maya had called. He spotted Stanley on his way to the meeting as well, but was hesitant to start a conversation with him at the time. With no one else to turn to, he asked as he drew close, "Any idea what this is about?"

"Not really, other than she said it had something to do with Seltic and the bot we brought back. It might have something to do with the mission tonight."

"Don't remind me," Kyros grumbled.

"Not looking forward to it?"

Kyros stopped at the doorway and looked at him. "I'm just getting a little sick of running back into Robotropolis ever other day and not figuring anything out. And, to top it off, I've got a headache that would stun a bear."

Stanley shrugged and followed after Kyros as he entered the building. Kyros dragged himself over to the nearest seat and slumped into it, regardless of its normal occupant. He surveyed the group already present and found Seltic and Maya unsurprisingly absent. Through the milling about, he spotted Tantalus headed his way and prepared himself to end any potential conversation quickly.

Tantalus slowed to a stop next to him and asked the obvious, "Have you heard what this is about?"

Kyros sighed and replied, "No. I don't think anyone knows anything other than that it has something to do with Seltic and the robot."

"Like what? Did he wire it back up and is going to make it dance for us or something?"

Kyros half smiled at the thought but answered, "Like I said, I don't know."

After an awkward silence between the two, the gathering was interrupted by Maya slipping in through her usual door. She ascended the makeshift stage at the head of the room and called for everyone to calm down for a moment. Kyros could tell by her movements that she was uneasy about something, and began to worry about the message that she was readying herself to present.

"I assume that everyone here thinks that I've called this meeting about the mission tonight, but something a bit more pressing has come up, so I'll save that for later."

The room fell silent at her words, everyone paying close attention in expectation. She paused in thought before continuing, "Regarding the robot that we brought back the other day... Seltic... has made a startling discovery." She wrung her hands and swallowed, "Before we begin... I want to warn everyone to remain... calm."

As she stepped gingerly from the platform, everyone began to glance at each other with genuine concern. Kyros pulled himself into a more alert position and intently watched the door that Maya was pointing towards. He found his entire body stiffening as the door swung open, revealing two figures. Despite the intense sunlight obscuring them for an instant, he instantly recognized Seltic, but disbelieved what else he saw.

Before he could register what was happening, Kyros found himself leaping to his feet and reaching for the laser rifle he wasn't carrying, followed moments later by Vladimir. Sissera jumped from her seat and stumbled backwards over a chair and into Kyros' arms. The remaining members shifted in readiness to run as the robot's glowing red eyes came into focus and played across them. It too nervously jerked at their response, and hesitated before being shooed in by Seltic.

Seltic mounted the stage before the robot and looked out over the dumb-stricken crowd. "It's okay, you two, you can sit," he addressed Vladimir and Kyros. The two reluctantly returned to their seats, anxiously eying his companion.

"S-S-Seltic?" Sissera stammered from her forced seat beside Kyros.

"I know this is hard to understand... but I wanted to introduce everyone to Kaplain here," he replied to the group's blank stare. He motioned for Kaplain to pick up where he left off.

Kaplain slowly raised his newly-attached skeletal arm and made a weak waving gesture. "Uh... hello... everyone. Seltic's told me a lot about you."

Stanley spoke up, "I don't get it... is this a trick?"

"Of course not. But, it's a long story. Kaplain, would you like to start?"

The robotic deer avoided his gaze and muttered, "I... don't know where to begin. I guess... I should start by saying that I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused you all." He looked up and found Sissera among the audience and continued, "Especially you, Sissera. I know that no amount of apologies will make up for what I did, but.. I hope you understand that I had no choice."

She remained silent, merely offering a nod. "Th-thank you," he continued. "I also wanted to thank you for freeing me of my tormented imprisonment by Robotnik. And, whoever brought me here from that blasted city.

"I know that this is all very confusing right now... but I do have a large favor to ask of you all. As you are well aware... I neither have the ability nor desire to return to Robotropolis... and I'm certain that my hometown is long destroyed. I have nowhere to go... and I wanted to make a formal request to stay here with the rest of you. I will do whatever you ask of me," he pleaded.

The group continued to stare at each other blankly. After an eternal silence, Maya intervened, "I think that we all understand your situation, and we can't leave you at the mercy of the wilds and Robotnik. Doesn't everyone agree?" No one dared to be the first to comment.

Kaplain looked away and said, "I know how threatening I appear... but I assure you that I am no longer under Robotnik's control. I'm at your mercy... please don't put me at Robotnik's."

Maya once more broke in, "Don't worry about anything." She looked at Seltic and hinted, "Perhaps we should continue this later?"

He replied with a confused expression, before Kaplain interrupted, "I think she's right... let's go."

"I guess..." he said before stepping down from the stage and waiting for Kaplain to follow.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief in unison as Seltic led the crippled deer robot outside, and immediately stared at Maya questioningly. "Maya, what just happened?" Kyros broke the silence.

"But, how can we trust him?" Kyros stated to everyone.

"Yeah. I mean, he's still a robot," Tantalus added.

"I know, I understand what you're all saying... but I just don't know what to do," Maya answered. "I'm suspicious too, but Robotnik hasn't ever tried something like this before."

"Which makes me all the more worried," Kyros replied. "What if this has something to do with the project going on in Robotropolis?"

"Yeah, you can't dismiss that," Stanley said.

"He seems nice enough," Marcus added. "What's the matter with him?"

Maya placed her hand on his shoulder, and answered, "We don't know. We think Robotnik might be up to something."

"But didn't Seltic and Sissera say he was different?"

At the mention of her name, everyone looked to Sissera. She sat silently for a moment, spaced out in thought before noticing the group staring at her. "Huh?"

"Dear, are you alright?" Maya asked.

"I... don't know."

"Don't worry about anything, I'm sure Seltic knows what he's doing."

"Let's hope so. I don't trust this," Vladimir spoke up.

"I'll speak with Seltic alone later. Maybe he'll be able to shed some light on this," Maya said.

"He'd do anything to keep his pet project around," Kyros added.

Maya cut her eyes to him, but resisted the urge to scold him for referring to Kaplain as a thing. Kyros was right, but even she didn't know what to do. By allowing him to stay, she put everyone at risk, but she could neither find the reason nor heart to throw him out.

After nearly an hour of deliberation with the others, and aimless thought, Maya had decided that the only way she would be able to reach a decision or gain any comfort would be to speak with Seltic as she had promised. Unlike the past few days where he had kept the doors to his workshop closed and locked, with his secret known she found the main door slightly ajar. The gloomy lighting inside made the room feel more like a dungeon than a lab and repair bay, and she hesitated for a moment before pressing on into Seltic's half of the building.

She found him sitting in a chair across from Kaplain, silently contemplating the situation. He looked up as he heard Kaplain turning to face her, and responded to her concerned face with a frustrated frown.

"I need to talk with you," she said to him before looking to Kaplain with a half smile, "alone."

"I understand," the deer answered her, stepping aside to allow her to enter.

As he shuffled down the hall behind her, she continued, "I've spoken with everyone else, and I think you know how they feel about this."

"They don't know him. He's not going to turn on us and kill us in our sleep. He's a person, not just a robot," he said, returning his gaze to the floor.

"Yes, I know. Like you said, they don't know that. This is all very sudden... I wouldn't expect them to just accept him with no prior knowledge."

He rested his chin on his hand and asked, "So, what do we do?"

"I think they'll be more accepting of him if you can prove that he's trustworthy. I told them that I would speak with you."

"I can't prove it... but I just know. If you would just sit down and talk with him, you would too. He's a person, with no one to turn to."

"I believe you," she consoled him as she walked in front of him, "but do you have anything that I can tell them? Can we trust him while we're gone tonight?"

He looked up and replied, "Well, he's in no position to try anything. None of his weapons work anymore, and I'm running him on a battery right now. He can't stay awake for more than two hours at a time. It's not like he's going to destroy the town, or run back to Robotnik."

"What about Robotnik? Does he know that Kaplain's here?"

"I doubt it. He's only one of millions from Robotropolis alone. That is, unless Robotnik sent him here intentionally to find us."

"Do you think he did?"

"No. Kaplain's radio antenna was destroyed in the explosion. He can't send anything more than about twenty meters without it. I've already checked his body for any other transmitters, just in case he wasn't aware of the plot if there was one. He's clean. Even better, my workshop has lead shielding to keep our radio transmissions secret, so as long as he's still in here, he's invisible to radar and radio."

She listened intently and said, "Alright then. I'll speak with the others before we leave tonight. Just remember that we're counting on you to make sure that everything is secure."

"Don't worry about it," he said to her as she stepped towards the exit. "Kaplain won't do anything."

"I still don't know what possessed you to leave him alone in the workshop," Sissera muttered to Seltic as they crossed under a low scaffold.

"You didn't seem too eager to stay behind," he replied, barely visible through the intense darkness that filled the outskirts of Robotropolis at night.

She choked on her words. After her experience with him, she had reluctant to return to duty with the others, but the prospect of staying behind alone with him was even less appealing. "I would have at least turned him off or something."

"I didn't want to, because I don't know what might happen. It might kill him, after all."

Maya called to the two from a short distance back, "You two try to keep it down a bit, Marcus thinks he heard a buzzbomber nearby."

Sissera tried to think of something more to say, but after Maya's recommendation she remained silent. Making sound was what attracted Kaplain to her before, and she was in no hurry to repeat that encounter.

"I think we're actually almost there," Seltic said to her to pass on down the line. "I think I see a launch pad just ahead."

"Good, this is exactly where one of the construction sites were. This has to be what he was working on for so long," Maya returned to him.

"What's so special about a rocket launch site?" Sissera asked.

"That's the question," Seltic replied, stepping over a pipe line obstructing their path. "It doesn't make any sense."

The complete lack of nearby activity was beginning to worry Maya who asked Seltic, "Is there a rocket on the pad? There doesn't appear to be anyone around."

He paused and scanned the obscured launch pad before answering, "Yeah, actually I think there is."

Maya pulled Marcus close and wound her way past Sissera and Seltic to get a better look at the structure. The enormous skeletal launch rack rose into the sky, tethered to the surrounding buildings through innumerable support lines and power cables. An enormous rocket stood silently on the pad, defenseless to anyone who happened upon it.

"Now what?" Marcus asked her.

"I don't know, dear. I'm hoping that Seltic can figure something out."

The tenrecs slipped up to them and stared upwards at the launch site. "Let's hope so," Seltic said before stepping closer. He strolled a short distance around the rocket, and added, "It looks pretty standard on the outside, but it is a bit odd."

"What do you mean?" Sissera asked.

"Well, these aren't normal rocket engines as far as I can tell. Normal rockets use a mixture of chemicals to burn and produce thrust, but this rocket doesn't appear to be large enough for that." He pointed up to the rocket and continued, "You'd normally see several booster sections, and large engines on the bottom stage. But this is all a single stage, and has small engines."

"So...?" Maya asked, trying to make sense of the situation.

"It could just be more advanced than any rocket I've seen, or could just be specialized for something. Without seeing its payload I don't really know much more."

"Can you tell anything from looking at it?"

He stared up at the tip of the rocket and shook his head. "It's hard to tell. It could be a missile, especially given its size. But, if the other launches have anything to do with this one, it's probably a space rocket. Whatever it's sending into space has to be somewhat small though."

Maya sighed and looked around for any signs of activity. "Alright then, I guess we have no choice but to look inside. I'll stay down here with Marcus to keep an eye out for anything. See if you can find a way up inside." She looked over to Sissera and continued, "See if you can find an access hatch or something down here."

Seltic grumbled and looked up at the launch rack. The only way up he saw was a ladder, and he was terrified of heights.

"It's been a long time since I've seen this place," Stanley said to Tantalus as the two carefully made their way down the vacant halls of the holding cell wing.

"I know... it's creepy here. I'd hate to be stuck in one of these cells."

"I'd rather be in here right now than back out there with Kyros and Vlad," Stanley continued, peering around a corner. After discovering that the holding cells were right next to the launch pad that his team had been assigned to investigate, Kyros sent Stanley and Tantalus in to search through the cells and stay out of his way. Robotnik rarely had many people in the cells now, with newly captured victims normally being roboticized immediately.

"I guess so," the squirrel responded as he followed Stanley down the dimly lit halls through the complex. "Do you remember the way out of here?"

"Sure, but we've still got a few halls left to look through."

Tantalus was beginning to regret following him into the ominous building. He could already picture himself being run down by SWATbots and thrown into one of the very cells that he was walking past.

"You'd want someone to come bust you out of here if you were stuck in one of these jail cells, wouldn't you?" Stanley joked.

"Yeah, I guess," he replied, nervously checking behind him for any sign of robots or security cameras.

They both jumped at the sound of something scuffing against the concrete floor just ahead. After confirming that the sound was coming from one of the cells ahead and not from a security robot, Stanley hurried off towards the source. "Stay here and keep an eye out," he told Tantalus.

The porcupine jogged down the hallway towards the cell, slowing to an abrupt halt as he passed an occupied cell. He glanced into the cell, and his jaw dropped slightly.

"What?" Tantalus nervously called to him. His question was met with a feeble gesture for him to approach. He lowered his laser rifle and after a final search for security, he raced to Stanley's side. As he reached the cell, he dropped his weapon with a loud clack of plastic against concrete.

From within the cell, a teenage female chipmunk sleepily stared back. Even through her grime-matted fur and unkempt hair he recognized her face. He studied her familiar blue eyes for a moment longer before stammering, "P-Princess Acorn?"