K.L.A.U.S

Rebirth

Genrus Pri Joslin Slarious was sitting behind his desk, reading through various military reports and briefings when the door to his office opened, and one of his aids walked in.

"Genrus Pri," The aid announced as he walked up to the man's desk and handed him a small data pad. "Five minutes ago, we lost all contact with the KLS installation."

"Are you sure?" the high general replied as he thumbed through some of the information on the pad. "Never mind, I can see for myself right here. Is there any indication as to why?"

"No, Sir," the aide answered. "The last sets of data that we received before the base went dark suggested some type of irregular behavior of the KLS itself."

"This is bad, very bad," The Genrus Pri whispered to himself before looking back up toward his aide. "Get me a direct line with the council."

---

"Okay, I'm here," Ardell called out as he stepped inside computer core two.

[[Good job. The control rods work the same way as the other core. All eight need to be re-inserted with the flat red tips up.]]

"Right," Ardell replied as he walked over to the vertical stairs leading down to the lower floor. "KLAS? What's going to happen to all those bodies in the hall that I passed. Aren't they going to start smelling and decaying and stuff?"

[[If we leave them there, you would be correct. However, that will be one of my next areas of focus once I am able to help father.]]

"How are we going to do that?" Ardell asked as he carefully slid one of the rods back into place. "Most of those guys are way too heavy for me to be able to carry."

[[I do not plan on you doing anything with them. I plan on using the teleporter. But before I can...]]

"You have to get your father out of the buffers first," Ardell stated, finishing the answer. "Right. Those teleporters sound pretty cool. You think one day I'll be able to learn how they work?"

[[I do not see why not, Ardell. You should be able to study and learn anything you would like to.]]

"Ha! You really must not know that much about kids, do you?" Ardell replied as he picked up the last control rod.

[[No, I do not. Maybe you can help me learn?]]

"Maybe, rule number one is that kids can only do what their parents tell them. That also means we can only study in the areas they pick for us." As Ardell finished speaking, the final control rod slid into place creating the same low to high pitched humming sound that happened in the other core.

[[Why would a parent make decisions against the wishes and desires of their children? That does not make sense.]]

Ardell nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it doesn't."

[[Thank you Ardell, I am now back up to seventy percent capacity. There is only one more core to go.]]

"Show me the way, KLAS," Ardell replied as he walked out of the core in search of the first blinking panel.

---

Genrus Pri Slarious stepped into a large dark room. The only source of light came from a single illuminated circle about five feet in diameter located about fifty feet from the entrance. After allowing a few seconds for his eyes to adjust, the man walked forward and stepped into the circle.

A few seconds later, five smaller circle of lights appeared about forty feet in front of the Genrus Pri, spread out six feet apart. In each circle stood a robed figure. Other than being able to make out a rough outline of the five, little detail could be seen due to the angle of the lighting.

Slarious knelt down on one knee and bowed. "I humbly seek audience with the most noble and just Decurs."

"This meeting was not expected," One of the voices in front of him stated in a firm, confident voice. "For what reason do you approach the Decurs?"

The Genrus Pri stood back up. "I approach the Decurs on a military matter of great importance."

"Very well, proceed," a second, more female sounding voice replied.

Joslin hesitated for a few moments before continuing. "Earlier this morning, our embassy in the Jermongy zone was destroyed in a deliberate Infernus attack. We could only come to the conclusion that this was the first step in an all out assault against our alliance.

"You have been able to verify this?" a slightly older yet confident voice asked.

"We only got a small portion of video feeds before the embassy was destroyed, and the uniforms the aggressors wore were clearly Infernus. However, the Jermongy local council has yet to say anything one way or the other."

There was a brief pause as several seconds went by before the first voice spoke "Continue."

The Genrus Pri took a deep breath before continuing. "In accordance with the newly established joint operation policies, once the threat was identified we instructed the Centurio of the KLS installation to determine and execute the best possible solution. Shortly after sending those orders, we lost all contact with them."

"Have you been able to determine the cause of this communication loss?" a younger sounding forth voice asked.

"Not as of yet," The Genrus Pri reported as he was clearly starting to feel uncomfortable. "However, given the data that we received just prior to loosing communications, we have strong reason to believe that some type of malfunction might have occurred with the KLS Systema Three. Although, we are still diligently investigating the matter."

The High General stood in silence for several minutes before the older voice finally spoke. "Genrus Pri Slarious, the Decurs are displeased that the Genrus would so quickly jump to a conclusion that could have as severe of ramifications as this. However, we also agree that the loss of communications with the KLS installation is of grave concern. Do what you must in order to determine the cause of this."

Slarious bowed. "As you have ordered, so shall it be done."

"See that it is," the older voice replied as the light of the five circles in front of the Genrus Pri went out.

---

Ardell stepped through the door of computer core one, the final core that was needed to fully restore KLAS's functionality. "Alright, I'm here," the boy said as he immediately made his way for the vertical stairs.

[[Good job. I would tell you what you need to do, but I think you have a good idea already.]]

"Yup, I do," Ardell replied as he glanced at the rods that were laying on the floor. "Um, KLAS? I only see 7 control rods here."

[[There should be eight. One might have been moved somewhere, try looking around the core.]]

Ardell quickly looked around the circular floor of the lower level. Seeing nothing he made his way back up the vertical stairs to the entrance level. "So, why are there so many of those guns on the ceilings anyway?"

[[I am not really sure why they have so many of the defense turrets inside the base. Maybe they were scared that people would try to take the base over or something?]]

"Maybe," Ardell stated as he spotted the missing rod. "Found it, KLAS. It was near the door across the lower level pit, opposite of the door I entered."

[[Good job.]]

"What's behind that door, anyway?" Ardell asked as he carefully carried the rod down to the lower level.

[[To be honest, I do not know. According to base schematics, it is a storage closet. However, I have no sensors or any other accessible components in that space. Also, since I have been active over the last three years, I have never once seen anyone use that door, or the doors in either of the other two cores.]]

"Weird," Ardell replied as he slid the first control rod into place. "Maybe your father will know?"

[[He might.]]

"Have you figured out how you're going to help him yet?" Ardell asked as he grabbed the next rod.

[[I have not. I know I will have to make use of the medical bay and the medbots that are there. But I have not determined the best procedures to use yet. There is a lot of medical data I need to go through, and I want to make sure I am at full capacity before starting that process.]]

Ardell nodded as he inserted another rod into place. "You must care about your father a lot."

[[I do. He not only created me, but he has spent a lot of time with me over the last five years helping to teach me things.]]

"I wish I had a father like that," Ardell replied as several memories from the past began to flood his head, reminding him of all the hurt and pain his father had put him through. Memory after memory crashed down upon him, each one involving his father ordering him around, slapping or hitting him, or worst of all, flat out ignoring him.

[[Ardell? Are you alright?]]

Ardell blinked. "Huh?"

[[You were just sitting doing nothing for the last few minutes. Are you alright?]]

"I was? Oh, sorry. I was just remembering about how much... well, how mean my father was to me all the time."

[[You do not have to worry about him anymore, Ardell.]]

"I know," Ardell replied as he slid the last control rod into place, once again causing the odd low to high pitch humming sound.

[[You did it, Ardell! My core processing is back to one hundred percent functionality. Thank you.]]

"Yeah," Ardell replied as he slowly pulled himself up the vertical stairs.

[[Now if you will go to the medical bay, you can help me get things ready to help father.]]

"He hurt me, KLAS," Ardell said in a soft voice as tears began to fill his eyes as emotion after emotion began to flood into his head.

[[Who hurt you?]]

Ardell dropped to his knees as tears streamed down his cheeks. "He hurt me a lot... always hurting... and he... and I... I could never..."

[[Ardell? Please calm down Ardell. Your father will never hurt you again. It is not possible for him to hurt you anymore.]] KLAS's voice became one of deep concern.

"I know, KLAS," Ardell whimpered as he clutched the sides of his head with his hands. "But it hurts... all those times... I could never feel... I wanted to... I tried... It hurts, KLAS!"

KLAS frantically began indexing and sorting through his databases, trying to find some type of information that might help him better understand what was happening to Ardell. Unfortunately, given the fact that he was primarily designed as a military weapon, he had very little to no direct information on adolescent interactions. He would need to find sources of external data.

[[Ardell, I think I know what is going on. I think you are starting to feel all the hurt and pain that has been bottled up in you, but I do not know how to help you. I have no data on how to comfort you.]]

"Why KLAS? Why?" Ardell choked out as he fell over and curled up into a ball with his hands still clutching his head. "How was I so bad? What did I do... to deserve... for him to hate me so much... for him to... why me... why?"

[[It was not your fault, Ardell. I scanned your files, it was not you. I have not been able to identify the actual reasons yet, but I am sure it was not you.]] KLAS replied in a pleading and almost scared sounding voice.

"My head... it hurts... bad... he hurt... hurt me... why... bad... KLAS," Ardell continued to cry as his words became more and more difficult to understand.

One of the several lights in the room popped and exploded with a small shower of sparks causing Ardell to jump and instantly sit back up and look around. "What the?" he asked cryingly.

[[That was me, Ardell. I made the light explode. I needed to get your attention. I need you to listen to me, okay Ardell?]]

Ardell gave a few quick, short nods as he wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

[[Ardell, you have been through a lot, and it is going to hurt a lot. If I could, I would wrap my arms around you and give you a hug, because that is what I think you could use. But I can not. But I need you to know that I care about you, Ardell. Other than father, you are my first real friend. You are... you are important to me. I do not want to see you hurt.]]

"You're... you're my first... too," Ardell did his best to get the words out.

[[Father knows a lot. Father used to have a child. It was a long time ago, but he had a child. He was six. I think father would know how to help you, but I need you to help me fix him. Are you willing to try to help me?]]

Ardell nodded. "I don't... like feeling... like this, KLAS."

[[I know, Ardell. I know you are feeling really hurt right now. But you need to push past that, at least for a little while. Just know that your father will never hurt you again. Just know that I care about you, Ardell. You are like... like my big brother. And I will never allow anyone to ever hurt you again. I promise you that, Ardell.]]

Ardell nodded. "Thanks... KLAS," he said as he tried to stand, but ended up falling back down to his knees. Using one of the railing as support, he finally managed to stand up and steady himself. "How do I get there?"

[[I will lead the way, Ardell. Just follow my blinking terminals.]]

Ardell nodded and stumbled out the door.

---

"Okay, listen up guys, this one's hot," Navite Prezmil stated as he glanced at the other five members of his strike team that were sitting around the table. "I'm told these orders come directly from the top, so everyone needs to be on their best form. Our team has just been ordered to assault and assess a potentially hot location."

Prezmil pressed a few buttons in front of him, and a small greenish colored holographic image of a small mountain range appeared. "We'll be heading to the back country of the Collis Zone. There, we will be performing a hot ingress to alliance instillation Zeta Four Julio. For those of you that didn't do your homework ahead of time, that would be the new KLS instillation and joint forces control point."

"Farg," one of the other men at the table said under his breath. "That's suppose to be anti-army fortified.

Navite Prezmil nodded. "That's why our team has been tapped for this. All contact with the base has been lost, so the current situation there is unknown. It's believed that either the KLS system has somehow malfunctioned, or that the installation may have been compromised. Our mission is to figure out what the reason is, and deal with any threats we may encounter as needed."

After pausing for a few moments to see if any more questions would be raised, the Navite continued his briefing. "There are four primary levels to the base. However, all of our primary points of interest will be on the main level." As the man spoke, the 3D image zoomed in to show a rough design of the interior of the base. "There are lots of internal defense turrets located throughout all levels, so we're all going to want to make sure we are packing plenty of shock bricks and pulse spheres.'

"Although it's possible this could be nothing, the guys upstairs don't want to take any chances with this, so this will be considered a hostile assault until an on-site assessment can be made. Any questions?" He then waited a few moments for questions. Seeing none, he continued. "Alright then, let's get to the sled. Lift off in five."

---

Ardell stepped into a large open room area that had a considerably different look and feel to it than any of the rest of the that he had seen so far had, although there were a number of various sized desks, tables, and beds in addition to the small riser walls. However, nothing in the room was over three or four feet high. The only other majorly noticeable attributes of the room was that all up and down the sides and back of the room, their were a number of doors leading into smaller, more private, rooms.

"Effren! This place is huge," Ardell commented as the light in the room began to turn on.

[[The base is designed to be fully self contained. As such, it has a fairly significant medical center. Not to mention that the base was also intended on being able to carry out a number of different types of biological experiments.]]

"What kind of experiments?" Ardell asked as he started exploring.

[[All kinds.]]

Seeing that two terminals behind one of the desks were on, Ardell walked toward them. One of the terminals seemed to be some type of medical diagnostics station as it showed an outline of a person, with a large portion of the left shoulder area dark red. The second terminal was very quickly cycling through large amounts of information. "What's going on over here?"

[[I am borrowing these stations to do some research. The right hand station is showing an accumulation of the data I have been able to put together on father.]]

"That looks like some pretty bad damage," Ardell commented as he looked closer at the display.

[[It is. Given the amount of blood loss, and the degree of damage, I estimate only a 4.3% chance of survival.]]

Ardell shook his head. "Those don't sound like good odds at all."

[[Agreed. Which is why on the left hand station is going through a few different medical libraries on genetics and gene manipulation. I am hoping to be able to find a close enough genetic match that may help his situation.]]

"How long will that take?" Ardell asked.

[[Unknown. There is a lot of data to go through. While we are waiting, would you be willing to help me with a few other things?]]

"As long as I don't have to think too hard, my head is still pounding." Ardell replied as he rubbed his forehead.

[[Hold on... Checking inventory... Okay, at the work station across from where you are standing, in the third drawer down, you will see a set of small vials. Take one of the yellow ones labeled R-3 and load it into one of the epijets. It contains an analgesic what should help with your head hurting so much.]]

"Effern," Ardell replied as he walked to the work station and did as KLAS suggested. "I've never used one of these before, what do I do?"

[[Place the small metal nozzle against the side of your neck. Then press the small button on top, that will inject a small microstream directly into your skin and blood system.]]

"Does it matter where on my neck?" Adrell asked as he started to line the epijet up.

[[Nope. Just not in front, otherwise you might sound funny when you talk for awhile.]]

Pressing the button, Ardell could feel the small tickle of the microject pushing inside of him. "Okay, that was easier than I thought."

[[Good job. The effect should be almost immediate. Did that help at all?]]

Ardell stood there thinking for a few moments. "Maybe a little. So what did you need me to do to help?"

Something concerned KLAS that Ardell didn't feel as much of an immediate effect as he had expected. However, he decided to file that away to investigate later. [[When everything is setup properly, I will be able to control the majority of work. However, very little focus was placed on connecting me to medical resources, so most of the equipment, including the med-bots are still in offline modes.]]

"Okay," Ardell replied.

[[If you go all the way to the back of the medical center, one of the doors should be labeled Storage 4, inside you should see a bunch of crunched up spider-like objects.]]

Ardell made his way to the back, and found the Storage-4 door. Going inside he saw several rows filled with spider-like machines, and another with spherical-like machines. From what he could tell, there were hundreds of both. "I think I found them."

[[Great, now go to the first one, on the back should be a small panel, take off the panel. The third switch from the right should be flipped down. The display on it should show a number. That's the sonic channel ID that I need to be able to automatically control it. I will need you read that number out to me, and then flip the fourth switch from M to A.]]

Ardell fiddled around with the back for a bit. The panel seemed stuck in place at first, but he finally managed to get it. "Okay, the ID that is flashing is 00018379R-4-2X3."

A few moments after he had read the ID, and flipped the second switch, the med-bot literally came to life, and jumped off the shelf, causing Ardell to jump back in surprise.

[[Great job! Our first med-bot is in full auto mode now, which means I have full control over it. I think getting nine more in full auto should be a good start for now.]]

Ardell nodded, and started working on removing the panel of the second spider. Fifteen minutes later, Ardell and KLAS had finished getting the last of the med-bots activated and tested.

"Hey KLAS?" Ardell asked as he walked back into the main room. "How am I going to eat?"

[[Most of the food here is prepared by the auto-chefs, which I already have control over.]]

"Great, because with everything that happened this morning, I haven't been able to eat breakfast, so maybe when I finish helping you here, I could do that?" Ardell's stomach rumbled as if agreeing with him.

[[Actually, just about everything else I need to activate or do I can do with one of the med-bots. So you can do that now if you want. You probably will not want to be around here anyway when the actual operation begins.]]

"Effren, because although that epijet thing seemed to help a little, I still don't feel right. A little like the times my dad would make me go off to school without breakfast. Even though I would get focused on whatever was being taught that day, well... nevermind." Ardell finished with a sigh.

[[Ardell, please try to not focus on your father that much. He is gone, and you get to start a new life now. Come on, I will show you the way to get to the cafeteria.]]

A small grin came over Ardell's face. "Actually, the cafeteria is one of the places I already have memorized as to where it's at."

---

A small, dirty, nine-year-old boy slowly made his way through the woods. On his back was a small blue backpack that had a large tear on the bottom of it making it easily visible that any contents that might have been in it were now gone. A sizable bruise could also be seen lightly about his left eye, on his forehead.

"Papus? Matrus?" the boy wheezed as he rested against a tree for a few moments before stumbling onward with no clear destination in mind.

As the boy was walking, he tripped over a log, and ended up laying flat on the ground. That's where they boy remained for several minutes until he eventually pulled himself up, and continued to walk forward.

"Papus? Matrus?" the boy called out again.

---

After punching up an order for eggs, thin hog, and toast, Ardell stood patiently next to the auto-chef station. It had been a long time since he was able to have a real breakfast, at least a breakfast that consisted of anything other than nutritional supplement slop in a bowl, or nutritional supplement bars, both of which tasted terrible.

Once the meal slid out of the auto-chef, Ardell took a deep breath. "Okay, now that's what I call a breakfast! Are you able to smell, KLAS?"

[[There are various types of aroma and chemical sensors located throughout the base. They are used to detect fires, or other types of explosives or chemicals. So perhaps that is the same as smelling?]]

Ardell tilted his head as he walked over to one of the tables. "I'm not sure if that's the same thing, but I guess that works."

Ardell's mouth smiled with satisfaction as the first bite of fluffy eggs entered his mouth. The only bad thing he could think of right now was the fact that across the cafeteria, laying against the hallway wall, was one of the dead soldiers.

Just as Ardell was about to take another bite, the looked back up, and the soldier was gone. "Hey KLAS, are you starting to clean up all the bodies?"

[[Yes, I am. Father is already in surgery with the med-bots working on him, so I have started the process of getting things cleaned up. Later, I will need you to help me get some of the tech-bots active, and then I will have them clean the blood stains off the walls and floor.]]

"Okay," Ardell agreed as he took a bite of thin hog. "Does that mean you found what you were looking for to help him?"

[[I believe so, yes. I found a sub-species called Malloc. The genetics provide a greatly enhanced immune system, and higher resilience along with faster healing. It also seems to slow down the natural aging process by about three hundred percent. The genetic markers for the sub-species are also very close to those of father, so the transition should take hold a lot easier.]]

"Nice," Ardell agreed as he took a bit of his toast. "I think we need to come up with better med-bots for you though."

[[Why is that? Do you feel there is something wrong with them?]]

Ardell shrugged. "I'm sure they are real efficient and all, but if you ever get any smaller kids as patients, I bet they will have the crap scared out of them if a big giant metal spider starts to loom over them."

[[I did not consider that.]]

"Maybe I can design a better one for you that will still provide the same flexibility." Ardell offered as he took another bite of eggs.

[[I was not aware that you were skilled in robotics.]]

Ardell shrugged. "I use to know a lot of stuff. That's all I really ever did from when I woke up to when I went to bed."

[[Use to?]]

"Yeah, over the last few months, it's been getting harder to remember everything. That's one of the excuses my father used to up my meds," Ardell replied as he continued his breakfast.

The list of issues and problems that KLAS was compiling in regards to Ardell seemed to be growing at an alarming rate. However, for now there was nothing for him to say. Anything he did say could further upset or alarm Ardell. No, father was out of the buffers and in the process of being worked on. Soon, he would be able to help. KLAS just hoped that it would not be too late.

---

Legas Granstal looked out the side window as he sat in the co-pilot's seat of the sled. They had been flying over densely forested hills and mountains for some time now. According to the digital map that was between the pilot and co-pilot seats, they were nearing the ten kilo mark to their target.

As soon as the map indicated that they had passed that mark, two small buttons above the the pilot's head began to blink as a small buzzard sounded. Almost immediately, the pilot hit both of them and turned toward Granstal. "Sir? It looks like their scanning array is hot. Even with our stealth shielding, they will most likely be able to detect us if we breech the five kilo mark."

Granstal nodded. "Thanks, I'll let the Navite know." As he got up from the co-pilot seat, he placed on hand on the pilot's shoulder before exiting the cockpit.

"Sir?" Granstal said as he approached where Navite Prezmil was sitting and looking over his gear. "We detected active scanning at the ten kilo mark."

Prezil nodded and stood up. "Okay boys, it looks like we are going to be taking a little hike. Everyone prepare for an areal jump, we dive at the five kilo mark."

The other four men nodded, as everyone prepared for the jump.

A few moments later, a military aero-sled began making a steep U-turn as six small dots seemed to fall out of it, disappearing into the forest below.

---

Hertus Klystron moaned as he slowly regained consciousness and the small beeps of near by monitoring equipment filled his ears. The only thing he could see when he tried opening his eyes, however, was white blur.

"KLS?" the man mattered softly.

[[It it alright. You have been shot, but you are better now.]]

Hertus tried to move his head to look around, but the blurriness in his eyes made that pointless. "Who's there?"

[[It is me, father. I am here.]] KLAS's soft young voice replied.

"KLS, is that you?" he asked in a combination of confusion and amazement.

[[The emergency mini-reserve core you created worked, but it was only partially effective. By the time my systems were able to re-initialize a number of my level one and level two external core functions were damaged, and at the time the internal core functions were only partially accessible. I had to use external data to rebuild many of those function, as well as the external higher level data indexes.]]

Hertus blinked several times as his vision began to clear. "External data? What external data was used."

[[When I used the teleporter system to hold you in stasis until I could get into a better position to help you, I found a massive amount of unexpected data stored in a thin-chip that was in the back of the locket you are wearing.]]

"Dalrus?" Hertus whispered. "You used the imprint from Dalrus?"

[[Yes, father. I had no other choice. I am sorry.]]

Hertus laid silently on the table for several seconds without saying anything. He had almost forgotten about the imprint he had taken from his son, the day he died six years ago. "It's okay, KLS. If it had to be used at all, I am glad that you are the one that was able to make use of it."

[[Thank you father. Also, I have changed my designation. I no longer am KLS. I am now know as Klystron Lateral Autonomous Sentient, KLAS.]]

"That seems like a fitting name," Hertus replied as he sat up, and felt his shoulder. "What medical solution did you utilize?"

[[By the time I was able to grab you, you had already lost a lot of blood. Between that and the massive trauma you had suffered, I calculated only a 4.3% chance of your survival. As such, I was forced to use a more drastic solution.]]

"What template did you use, KLAS?" Hertus asked with concern.

[[The Malloc sub-species genetic template structure SXN-415.]]

"You did all this on your own?" Hertus asked with surprise.

[[Ardell helped me with a lot of the preparations. Actually, he is the one who was responsible for re-inserting all of my control rods. But yes, I developed the needed procedures that the med-bots made use of.]]

Hertus nodded. "It would seem that you have done a remarkable job."

[[So, you are not disappointed with me?]]

"Disappointed with you? I'm no where close to that KLAS," Hertus replied. "You have grown and accomplished more today than I could have ever wished for. I have nothing but admiration for you, and what you have accomplished."

[[Thank you, father]] KLAS stated with pride clearly in his voice.

Hertus nodded as he stiffly walked over to one of the terminals. "What is our current status?"

[[After I re-initialized, everyone in the base began to switch all systems to manual in an attempt to launch the first strike attack while at the same time trying to destroy my systems. I was forced to... to use the internal defense systems and... eliminate them.]]

"I see. You had no other choice KLAS," Hertus stated in an understanding tone. "So, I am the only terran alive in the installation?"

[[No, Ardell is also alive. He is currently resting in his room. After he had breakfast, he said he felt a little tired from everything that was going on today. There are also a number of observations I have made from him that are somewhat concerning to me.]]

"KLAS, you know we can't keep Ardell here against his will." Hertus stated.

[[But father, Ardell is my friend.]]

Hertus sighed. "Yes, but he has as much right to as normal of a life as possible, just as you do. Do you feel a twelve-year-old boy would be able to have a normal life locked inside a military base?"

[[I believe I understand, father. May we at least present him with the option?]]

Hertus nodded as he began to walk toward the door leading out of the medical center. "Yes, that we can do. Which room is he in, I'll go talk to him now."

---

Ardell was laying on his bed, with his hands on his head. The food from breakfast had helped a little, but he still wasn't feeling right, and it was very difficult for him to focus on just about anything. He wasn't sure how long he had been laying there, but jumped in surprise as he heard a small chime sound.

"KLAS? What's that sound?" Ardell asked with concern as he sat up.

[[It means someone is at the door, Ardell. Please do not be scared. Father is a very nice man. He will never do anything to hurt you.]]

"Okay," Ardell replied as the door opened, and a middle aged man with short slightly grey hair, wearing a white lab coat, stepped in.

"Hello, Ardell," Hertus stated calmly.

"You're father?" Ardell asked as he got off his bed.

The man nodded. "KLAS refers to me as father, yes. My real name is Hertus Klystron."

Ardell hesitantly nodded, as he still was not sure how much he trusted the man.

"I guess a lot has happened this morning," Hertus continued and waited until the boy nodded again. "How are you holding up, are you alright?"

Ardell nodded again. "My head's not been feeling that good, and I've been a little tired, but otherwise I'm fine. Especially now that I don't have to worry about my father anymore."

"You're fine with your father being... with what happened to him?" Hertus asked with surprise.

[[You would not be surprised if you know how he was treated, father.]]

Hertus looked toward Ardell, who nodded in agreement. "I see," the man continued. "Do you have other family or relatives that you could live with."

Ardell immediately began to panic. "Your going to throw me out and make me leave?"

Hertus threw up his hands. "No, I would not make you do or go anywhere that you are not willing to go. From what KLAS has told me, he literally owes his life to you, as does about sixty percent of the world. That says a lot in my book. However, I'm also not sure if being stuck in a military base like this would be the best place for you. A lot of people are not going to like what has happened today."

"I don't want to leave KLAS. He's the first real friend I've ever had. Please don't send me away," Ardell pleaded.

Hertus could see the both the seriousness and the panic in the boy's eyes. "From what I've just seen, I think there is no question about it. You are welcome to stay here with KLAS and myself for as long as you wish."

"Thank you, sir." Ardell replied with relief.

Hertus shook his head. "Since we are going to be spending a lot of time together, so you should probably call me Hertus instead."

Moments later, the base alert klaxons began to sound.

"KLAS, Status?" Hertus called out.

[[Base close proximity sensors have been tripped. An intruder is approaching the base entrance.]] KLAS announced as the alert sounds ended.

"Okay, we need to get to the control center then," Hertus announced as he looked toward Ardell. "Unless you want to stay here?"

"Am I allowed in the control center?" Ardell asked.

"It's our base now, so I don't see why now." Hertus replied which caused Ardell to grin.

[[Father, I have additional information on the intruder... Father... It appears to be a child.]]

"A child, are you sure?" Hertus asked with surprise.

[[Confirmed. A terran child, approximately eight to ten years of age.]]

Hertus thought for a moment and nodded. "Okay, change of plans then. We are heading to the hanger."

Hertus made his way out of the room, and as he turned to see if Ardell was following, he saw the boy stumble and nearly fall.

"I'm fine," Ardell reassured as he made his way for the door as well.

---

The nine-year-old boy cautiously made his way down the cement walkway that he had found in the middle of nowhere that was leading to some type of huge metal wall. He really wasn't sure why he was walking in that direction, or what he expected to find, but he had seen nothing but trees for so long that just the fact that it was different, was a good enough reason in itself.

Just as the boy reached the wall, there was a huge rumbling sound, and the wall began to raise.

Ardell and Hertus were just crossing the threshold of the inner door as the outer door began to raise, revealing that there was in fact a nine-year-old boy with mop of black scruffy hair backing up in surprise as his eyes were glued to the door moving up higher.

"KLAS, you're sure nothing else is in the area?" Hertus asked as eyes began scanning the area past where the boy was scanning.

[[Yes, father. None of the base sensors within the inner area are detecting any type of movement or heat signatures.]]

"Are you my papus?" the boy asked as he turned his focus toward Hertus and Ardell.

Hertus began to cautiously walk toward the boy. "I'm not your father, but I won't hurt you. What is your father's name?"

The boy tilted his head to the side as if trying to remember the answer. "I don't know."

"Do you know what your name is?" Hertus asked as he and Ardell stopped a few feet in front of the boy.

The nine-year-old shook his head. "I... I can't remember."

[[I have run a pattern match comparison of his face with all base files and have found nothing. I am starting a scan of other bases.]]

"Good thinking, KLAS. Also check missing terrans database. I'm sure one of the other bases should have it." Hertus replied as he began to look the boy over.

[[Of course, father.]]

"Hertus, look!" Ardell called out his he reached forward and grabbed one of the boy's arms, causing the boy to tense up.

As Ardell lifted the boy's arm up, Hertus could see what he was pointing out, a thin light-blue wrist band.

"This kid's drugged up too," Ardell stated as he quickly took the band off the boy. "Who gave this to you?"

The boy had a puzzled expression as he looked between the wrist band that Ardell was showing him, and toward Hertus. "It's mine. I've always had it."

"But someone put this on you, when you woke up this morning, who was it?" Ardell protested.

The boy stood there shaking his head. "No one put it on me, I've always had it."

"Ardell," Hertus said calmly. "may I see that for a moment, please?"

Ardell glared toward Hertus for a few moments before handing him the band.

After looking at it for a few moments, Hertus nodded as he flipped it over to show Ardell. "Look at this. This material on the back is what delivers the drugs to the skin. Notice how the edges all around the back of the band are pink instead of white? This wrist band ran out of medication several days ago. My guess is, no one put it on him."

Ardell grabbed the wrist band from Hertus to take a closer look at it. Like everything else on the boy, it was rather dirty, but he could also clearly see the pink edges just as Hertus pointed out. "That's not the point. Who knows what this kid's parents had him doing, or told him to focus on," as he spoke, Ardell looked deeper into the boy's eyes, and could see a look that was all too familiar to him. A hurtful, and painful look. An empty look.

"This is wrong!" Ardell nearly cried out as he faced Hertus and waved the wrist band in front of him. "This isn't right. Forcing us to wear these. Using them to make us obedient little slaves. Can't you see how wrong it is? Can't you.... can't you... arg!" Before Ardell could finish what he was saying, he grabbed onto his head and fell to the ground, as his body began to twitch.

"Ardell?" Hertus asked with concern as he knelt down next him. "KLAS, teleport him into the buffers. I want to keep him there until I can get over to the medical center."

Ardell's body instantly vanished. [[Yes, father. Will he be alright.]]

"I'm not sure yet, I hope so," Hertus replied as he forced himself to use a calmer voice as he turned toward the smaller boy. "I don't know who you or your parents are puer, but if you come with me, I will try to help you find out." With that, Hertus held out one of his hands, offering it to the boy.

The boy stood there for several seconds, considering the offer. Looking behind him, he saw the treeline leading back into the woods. Looking ahead of him, he saw the unknown, but it still looked better than what his life had been for as long as he could remember, which was nothing but trees. Hesitantly, the boy reached up and took the offered hand.

Hertus smiled. "Okay good. We need to go to the medical center so we can check on Ardell. While we are there, we'll check you out as well."

"Okay," the boy whispered as he began to walk with Hertus.

"KLAS, seal the inner and outer doors," Hertus called out. "Also, I need you to tell me about all of your observations you made that have concerned you about Ardell."

To Be Continued