Alliance by Timothy L. Cerepaka Read Free Book Online

attempt to catch his attention. “Who are you?
Are you going to repair my broken leg?”
    The man does not answer. He simply glances
at me before returning to digging through his toolbox. Sensors
indicate that he is not afraid of me and his vocal chords are in
working order. For whatever reason, he simply sees no reason to
speak with me.
    I do not like having people operate on me
who I know nothing about, so I ask, “Are you a certified J bot
technician? If so, may I see your certification? All certified
technicians have one, you know.”
    The man still does not answer. He does not
even show me his certification, which makes me uneasy. Protocol
states that only certified J bot technicians are allowed to make
repairs or modifications to J Series Robotic Law Enforcers. This is
due to our unique designs and specifications, which require years
of training to understand, which is why most generic robotics
technicians are not allowed to work on us.
    That this man refuses to show me his
certificate, if indeed he has one at all, is a warning sign. If we
were still in Xeeo, I would have sent out an alarm to the other J
bots informing them of this man's illegal activity and he would be
behind bars before sundown. While illegally operating on a J bot is
not the most serious crime in the world, it is still serious enough
to earn a criminal several years in jail if caught in the act.
    This man, probably a Delanian, clearly
needs to be told about this. Not only that, but I will need to
arrest him as well and bring him before the Court of Xeeo to have
his fate decided.
    As I think all of this, the man pulls out
a portable x-ray device. He waves it over my leg, probably to find
out exactly what the problem is, and observes what it shows on the
screen, although I cannot see it myself due to my current
position.
    So I say to the man, “Sir, if you are not
a certified J bot technician, then I will have to arrest you and
take you to the Court of Xeeo. Illegally operating on a J bot
without a license is a criminal offense punishable by up to ten
years in prison.”
    The man does not so much as glance at me.
He simply removes the x-ray device from my leg and resumes digging
through his toolbox, perhaps looking for the best tool to fix my
leg.
    I do not like the fact that he ignores me,
though I am not surprised. I have run into this kind of criminal
before, the kind who freely breaks the law and does not show any
remorse or regret over it, even when you explain to him in the
plainest language that his actions are criminal. I always find that
attitude in career criminals, which makes me believe that this man
must be used to breaking the law, although the mobile Database does
not show any records on any men who resemble this one.
    But I do not know how I am supposed to
arrest him. My power level is too low for me to try to fight him,
not to mention my leg is still broken. I do not even have my PRB
anymore, which I left back at the scene of Jornan's crime. I can
try to use my lightning bolt fingers, but that might drain too much
of my power too quickly.
    It appears, then, that I have no choice
but to wait for this man to finish operating on me. As he does not
appear to have a certificate that allows him to operate on J bots,
I can only guess at the damage he will cause as he attempts to
repair my leg. It will probably be quite extensive, as untrained
technicians usually make many mistakes when they attempt to repair
a J bot.
    “ J997's the
identification number, right?” says the man, looking at me with a
hard eye.
    “ Yes,” I say without
hesitation. “And I will have you know that what you are about to do
is highly illegal. If you stop now, before you try to work on my
leg, I will not bring criminal charges against you.”
    “ Right, well, if I'm
going to be working on you, I'm gonna need to knock you out for a
bit,” says the man. He lifts a tiny remote control. “This is a
robot nullifier. It can shut off any robot I want for as long as