District 42-Chapter 208: The day of the Seasonal Meeting
Casper was getting ready for the event that would happen on that day. It had been some days that he was preparing for this. His first mission was finally going to happen. He was putting a lot of pressure on himself, trying to compel his mind to act at max capacity, and so was his body, because this way he could meet the expectations that the Sgails had on him.
Casper was dressing properly for that meeting. He had to wear the clothes that Jarls would usually wear on those types of events, which were slightly different from what they wore when going to work, or walking on the streets.
Since his plan to go to the meeting disguised was approved, a small part of the Sgails would be going to that part, since the guest list couldn’t go above the average too much. Also, they could outstand if they do this, so a lot of people working at the same time was a no-go.
The other Sgails that would participate in that mission would be distributed throughout the streets near the Mansion where the meeting would happen. There, they would stay in the shadows, waiting for a signal if they needed to enter into action.
The expectation was that that Organization raising inside the Castle would try to intervene in the meeting somehow, whatever the objectives were. With just a small portion of Sgails inside the Mansion, it would be difficult to retaliate against them and protect the Jarls at the same time if needed; when it happened, the other agents who were spread near the Mansion, but outside, would be going to help.
"You look good." A voice sounded behind him. This voice was very similar to Casper’s, but a bit more soft and slow.
"Hmm... you are still trying to find a pattern that makes you more comfortable, Yanke? I mean, your voice is still just like mine..."
The little spheric robot, that had the size of a palm, floated around Casper. He, apparently, was glad that his master was back home after pass so much time outside there; however, Yanke was agitated as well, since he didn’t want him to leave again. In this matter, that robot was just like a kid that likes to be with his dad.
"Yes... Yes, yes..." His vocabulary was still a bit limited, and he had some difficulty in form long phrases to answer some things, but he was improving faster than Casper thought he would be capable of.
"Hmmm... Come to think of it, I never asked you if you want to be a boy or a girl... What about it, Yanke? Your name serves for both, after all."
The robot delayed for some time to answer that. The White warrior didn’t bother or got worried at all. He did it every time he found some new word in a statement or a different tone of voice that could explicit an emotion. The AI probably was computing the data she gathered and organizing it in its right place.
It took just some seconds for all of it to be done, and it was always very interesting for Casper to see how it worked out.
"I wasn’t the only one who helped to build Yanke, but I feel very proud of myself. That’s something you wouldn’t expect a military like me to do, after all..." He thought, smiling slightly while putting on the last piece of clothing he needed to.
Casper started to tidy up his hair, which was long like never before. The White warrior didn’t want to cut it short again like he always did when in the army, but it wasn’t good to keep it so growth either.
"I would like to be a boy. You said something at some point like: "If I was with her, I wanted to have a boy, right?"
Casper got startled, then looked to Yanke.
"How did you know that? I never said it once..." His expression was completely frightened, and he stopped to do whatever he was doing to go look after Yanke.
The robot seemed to get frightened by his master’s approach as well and floated really fast to a corner of the room. The AI was already developing self-protection and some sense of danger. Not that Casper would break him or something, but it was good that the basic instincts of a human were already appearing on Yanke.
"Hey, don’t get too startled, ok? I am not trying to hurt you, buddy... But, really, how do you know this about me? How do you know about something I thought from a period where I wasn’t even dreaming in pass through all of it? You know, it’s a thought of mine even before I entered into the Yanke Forces, so..." Casper’s voice was even failing, and his heart was bumping crazy fast inside his chest.
He was almost begging Yanke to say to him what was going on. With slow steps and a perplexed face, the soldier was cornering the little robot even more. That situation was so unbelievable that even now he was finding it hard to absorb.
’Man... what the hell is this...? Does a robot just read my mind or something? Did I say it when I was asleep or...’
Yanke was getting more and more frightened, his little body was faltering when flying around, and he was trying to say something, but his voice couldn’t come out as it should be. Casper noticed on the side that his computer was going wild as well, the archives, all data, and the code lines they programmed were being processed at a high speed, which meant that the AI was getting overwhelmed and confused.
When he noticed what he had just done, the soldier turned to Yanke with a worried face, just in time to see that the robot was stopping to float, and the blue light that always rounded his single eye and the details on his body went black and he shut down.
"Damn it!" Casper cursed, running after the robot and trying to turn him on again.
"Reset phase is starting." The AI said through the computer, the voice was still a bit messed.
"Oh, okay... I am sorry, Yanke."
"It’s okay." The same voice answered, and the computer shut down as well.
’Well, as I remember, the process to reset lasts for some hours... and the more he learns and processes on his ’mind’ throughout his lifetime, the more delayed the reset will be...’
The soldier let Yanke on top of the coach.
’It’s better for me to brush off this matter and just go to the mission before I get too distracted and end up arriving there late..."
The White warrior, then, forgot about all the questions rounding his mind and left the apartment, noting on his mind to remember to ask things calmly to Yanke the next time he saw the robot.
...
Although Casper arrived 15 minutes before the time they had settled, he was still one of the last Sgails to arrive there. It was a bit embarrassing to be looked at by so many people, and their expressions showing how pissed off they were because of having to wait for him to start to revise the plan were annoying.
There were about forty Sgails gathered in that place. It was a part out of the residential district where the Mansion was located. This way, no one would notice them, and they would have the time to converse a bit more.
Leonel was the one taking care of that troop, he would be leading that mission. Casper felt a bit awkward to be receiving orders while on a mission again. It was just like he came back to his time as a cadet.
’As I can remember, I have been leading people since the early times of my youth. It didn’t last too much until I got to a rank inside the army in which I could lead people... It has been a long time since no one tells me what to do while entering an enemy zone...’ He was rambling about it and barely forgot to stay focused on what Leonel was saying to all of them.
"Ok, we will be really brief here. It’s not the hardest thing we will be doing here. Group A, you all will be gathering around the Mansion. Stay alert any time for whatever the thing we want you to do. Always keep an eye on what is happening around you, and at the signal of any strange movement throughout the residential district, call us before something bad happens. Understood?"
The 36 Sgails that were going to work in Group A nodded to him. After that reminder, they left that place and headed as fast as they could in the direction of the residential district.
Leonel turned to Casper and the other 2 Sgails with him. They were all disguised as well, and the same goes for Leonel himself.
"We, Group B, will be going there as well, then. I don’t need to say anything here, right? Or are you three dumber than I thought you are?"
They denied with their heads, and after this, also headed to the Mansion.
