entry_8

2117 hours, Saturday, February 3, 1973.

When I said last time that Herr Gray chasing us was the worst thing that could happen, I was wrong.

We are besieged in the base.

I thought we had escaped Herr Gray. Everyone thought we had outrun him. Dummkopf that I am, why didn't I just think for once? I know him better than the others, even better than Herr Engineer, so how was I content to think he wouldn't plan ahead in case giving chase wasn't enough? It should have occurred to me that he might have split his forces! And why did they think they could keep the new base's location secret from him anyways? He is a genius; of course he was going to figure it out!

At the moment the forces outside of our boundaries are mostly Spy and Sniper units. They are well-hidden in the trees, as our new base is located further north of the old one and in a forest instead of a desert. We did not even find out they were there until the vehicles were inside the walls and Soldier tried to leave, presumably to scope out the surrounding territory as I have been informed is a custom of his. Herr Engineer and I were still in the van waiting for Miss Pauling to leave when the shot rang out. Everyone outside was cursing and yelling loudly in an instant, and despite Herr Engineer's impending disapproval I re-situated myself to look through the van's blinds again.

The Soldier was lying on the ground in the gate. Red fluid leaked from a puncture in his chest and pooled around him on the ground. He was still moving, but it did not look like he would be able to function for long. Even as I watched the Scout and the Spy dragged him back from the space in the gate, leaving a long and quickly darkening smear behind him on the asphalt. The Scout yelled something over his shoulder, and the Medic sped into my field of view with his Medigun in hand. I pushed myself up further to look, intrigued, but my attention was diverted.

E-001: ...look.

Herr Engineer had moved beside me, perhaps to try to make me move again, but now his gaze was on the trees outside of the chain-link fence. He was pointing to a space I estimated to be 2.3 meters off of the ground and to the left of the gate, where two points of blue light shone out of the shadows. I could not make out the silhouette of the sniper through the pine tree's needles, and the lights quickly drew back to be hidden from view entirely. But in that instant it was as though my processor started a search for anything similar in the area, and the eyes of my brethren popped out at me from under every tree and from many of the branches. Most were disappearing into the shade to hide as the first had done, the thin shadows that I could make out sinking back to where they were indistinguishable from the tree trunks. A few stayed at their posts however, lights glinting down at us like the LEDs of security cameras. In a way this was quite accurate; the few that were close enough to recognize were surely Spies, which meant that even at that moment they were sending images of our movements back to Herr Gray.

0031: This is bad.

Herr Engineer didn't reply. I turned my attention back to his teammates. Soldier was sitting up now, though Medic still had the beam from the gun aimed on him. The others were looking to the trees as we had been. They were not yelling anymore, perhaps because they were afraid. The thought made me feel odd; they are not often afraid. Miss Pauling stood apart from them with the blocky communication device in her hand. She kept speaking into it, pulling it from her ear with a grimace, hitting it with her hand, and speaking into it again. The ritual didn't seem to be improving the functionality of the telephone.

After three minutes Herr Engineer motioned for me to get down again. I complied.

It was only after 29 minutes and 3 seconds had passed that the Sniper came to the van to give us news. Herr Engineer stood as soon as he opened the door.

E-001: Well...?

Sniper unit: You know what happened?

E-001: Yeah...out through...blinds.

The Sniper sighed and shook his head.

Sniper unit: Looks like Gray's got us surrounded, so far as we can see. They're not firing on us or nothing, not so long as we're inside the fence from the looks of things.

E-001: Any...why?

Sniper unit: Well... Heavy reckons they might be trying to take us alive. That shot at Soldier might've been a warning shot. It's kind of strange they didn't aim for his head anyhow.

I took Drei out of her box and petted her back. It made me feel better, because I had just thought of something unpleasant.

0031: Ah... there is another possibility, perhaps.

Both of them turned to me. It struck me at that moment how different robotic faces like Herr Engineer's and my own are from human faces like the Sniper's. A small crease formed between the man's brows, and the corners of his mouth turned down with a subtlety of movement I have never seen replicated in the un-pliable metal of a machine. Herr Engineer's face did not move at all, especially now that his jaw was missing. It was a curious juxtaposition.

Sniper unit: What's that?

0031: Well, might he be trying to hold us stationary until the main bulk of his forces rejoins these? It would be much easier to take us alive if he had us outnumbered with larger, stronger robots. Spies und Snipers are for neutralizing units one by one; they are not gut at taking bases by force.

The Sniper frowned more and rubbed the eyes behind his glasses.

Sniper unit: God I hope not. I've had enough of these bleeding trashcans for a lifetime.

0031: Trashcans?

I was unsure as to whether I should take offense, but Herr Engineer interrupted at that moment.

E-001: ...bout... Pauling?

Sniper unit: *grunt* Well she can't bloody well leave, can she? She's stuck here with us. It looks like they've got our communications cut off, so no contacting RED or the Administrator. No outside help, but on the other hand she can't tell on you until we get out of this.

0031: So in the meantime what will Herr Engineer und I be expected to do? Where will we stay?

Sniper unit: For now you ought to stay right where you are. She could still potentially get through to the Administrator at some point; there's no avoiding that. We'll try to get you moved to inside the base soon as we get the chance, but for now...

He kept shifting his weight a very little bit. I thought he looked nervous, and Herr Engineer did also.

E-001: ...that ain't... dammit, ain't all... is it?

The Sniper shrugged.

Sniper unit: Well, it's just some of the others reckon Gray found out where we are cause maybe you're bugged.

This did not make Herr Engineer happy.

E-001: Stupid... son of a... RED Engineer... looked over...

Sniper unit: I told them mate, I really did, but they're still suspicious. Just stay put until tonight, we'll get you moved, and then we'll talk it over with everyone. In the meantime get your face fixed up. Them sparks are going to catch something on fire.

Herr Engineer sat back down rather abruptly, in a fashion that I thought signified he was upset. The Sniper looked like he was going to say more things, but instead he clapped him on the shoulder and left the back of the van.

I think we will be leaving the van soon. I have had time to patch Herr Engineer's wiring and am about to reconnect his jaw. It is a very good thing to have something to occupy my hands with at the moment. It is easier to feel that everything is following a preset schedule and that we have the situation controlled that way.

Nevertheless Herr Gray is still coming for us. It is because of my treachery, I know it. I have been a very bad robot indeed, and yet I continue to help Herr Engineer and his teammates. It is a terrible thing, to choose one's friends over one's Maker, but really what choice did I have at the time? I was becoming too aware of myself to stay with Herr Gray. Perhaps this is a fault of mine. Perhaps it would have been better if I had been reset or decommissioned instead of leaving the role I was made to fulfill. At the same time though, I cannot pretend that I do not like Herr Engineer's company. He thinks about things, and he will talk with me about these things sometimes, and it is just very pleasant to have someone there who feels like an equal.

It is a pity that he will be human again before long.

/entry_8