>Compromise
You decided that you would have to ensure that Gero got something at least from the meeting. The space ship, old and battered though it was, might represent some nugget of technological achievement from which the good doctor could draw further innovation. At the very least, it would keep him happy.
And so this was how you came to land at the cave-entrance to the Doctor's base with an old space pod hefted above your head. The metal creaked and groaned in tune with each of your footsteps, and you were worried the whole thing might fall apart. Somehow, it managed to avoid that, and you laid it down just outside the lab – it being too wide to come in through the door.
"Impressive." Gero commented, about an hour later. You were standing beside the pod, which was now almost entirely submersed in humming drones. Gero's machines were measuring it, taking it apart, and scanning each section carefully. All under the Doctor's own leadership, of course. "While we acquired such ships in the past, seldom were they entirely undamaged. This will probably be useful to us in the future. Especially if I can get it running again."
"It seems old." You said. "Is that likely?"
"Hmmm." He waved a hand. " Possible. Not likely. I'd need large supplies of the type of metal from which the hull is constructed. The specific blend still alludes me. The engine should be fine, the damage was mostly to the exterior, and the thing was made to crash in the first place. Internal structure should be largely unharmed. I believe I might be able to render it functional at some later date. For now though, the real prize is the memory banks, and the information it holds. Though, it's certainly old, the Saiyans do not have good information security, and a lot of what it holds is probably still valid."
You had deleted the message which the Saiyan left, and hoped that that was one thing at least he would not find. You worried that there might be some trace he could pick up, but that wasn't how this worked, was it? You had been absolutely sure to hunt down every log relating to the message, so that not only did he not know what it had said, he didn't even know there had been one at all.
Still, you shifted nervously as the doctor poured over the machine. Wondering if he would uncover your handiwork.
"Sixteen." He said, after some time. "You have already proved your worth by returning this device, and Nineteen as well. Speaking of Nineteen, he has already made leaps and bounds and is nearly prepared to be switched back on."
"That is good." You said. "We are stretched with just Thirteen and myself. We need more agents in the world."
"Exactly." Gero nodded. "With three of us, including myself, we can only barely play the defensive role. The Saiyans still dictate when and where we engage, as well as why. I aim to change that now."
He turned and swept away, bringing you in his wake. The doors hissed open to allow you admittance as Gero lead you down to the meeting room where his projector was already spitting to life.
"Do you know much about the war when the Saiyans first arrived?"
"No." You said. "I was sleeping for it. I merely know that the line was held for some time, and that it finally broke at the capital when the Saiyans assaulted it."
"Correct. The capital was the linchpin of our defensive effort. All resources were being channelled to it, including my own. At the time, I had foreseen its destruction, and was preparing to leave. I was...not fast enough. My lab was buried under the ruins of the city, though its reinforced status should have prevented much damage. I had assumed that the contents of it were lost, both to the Saiyans and to myself. However, a few hours ago, I received a signal."
You turned to the wall as the projector began to create an image. Shifting ones and zeroes, a communication log. Standard, you noted. An automatic check-in that was undertaken on each power up. But that meant...
"Someone has found my equipment. And someone has managed to restore power to it. Do you understand what that means? Our whole advantage might soon be lost. Naturally, I have safeguards installed, and they are buying time as we speak, but the fact remains that with much of my networked systems down, I cannot self-destruct the lab, nor can I ultimately prevent the device being compromised. We have a week at most."
"You wish for me to destroy the lab?"
"If only it were that simple. The site of the former capital is where the Saiyans choose to make their first real city. Vegeta. Named after their lost homeworld. How sentimental. At any rate, the Saiyans are strongest there, with many elite warriors and slave soldiers. No android could hope to even get close to it before they were recognised and destroyed. No android but you."
You could already see where this was going, and spoke up.
"Because I have not been active for a great amount of time. They do not know my face."
"Correct. You fought their leader, Bardock, and some of their elites, but the greater number do not recognise your face. Especially since Bardock and those who do know you would assume you dead. No reason to spread around pictures. Every other member of my group is too well known, even I would be recognised long before I reached the ruins of the lab."
"You want me to go to the city and destroy the lab? Even if I did such a thing, I doubt I would escape unharmed. They would notice the explosion, if nothing else."
"The lab has a timed self-destruct system. Ideally, you could set that for several hours, or even days after you had left. However, that is not your main goal. My time in the capital was spent creating numerous weapons, most of which fell when it did. This might be the chance to reacquire them."
The picture changed. Now, you were looking at a comb-like wad of metal. The ''teeth'' extending along both sides. Tendril-like wires peeled from its back. Judging by the information that was being sent across the screen, the whole thing was no bigger than a thumb.
"This device is something I simply do not have the resources to create currently, nor will I have for some decades. It is an adaptive combat artificial intelligence core. Designed not merely to learn and grow as you do, but to actually change its physical structure. It utilises a liquid metal alloy base, meaning that it would also allow for vastly improved integrity of the mental unit. It is on a whole different level when compared to my other designs. There's a catch, of course. The device requires a body built specifically for its use. None of my current generation androids are capable. That device is part biological. However, Nineteen would be the ideal test subject. His reconstruction is not far enough along that I cannot modify him for compatibility."
"Tis device could be important?"
"It could turn the tides. It was but one part of a set that I was creating for use in the ultimate android. Reacquiring it would be the first step towards that goal. Not to mention, Nineteen's combat ability would be substantially increased. Eventually, he'd be stronger even than you. It would give us a powerful agent indeed. Whatever else happens, it must not fall to the Saiyans. They are mindless brutes, savages and monsters, but they do have slaves, and those slaves can and will make use of my technology with enough work. And though they are rare, there are some Saiyans of... around average intelligence who would be able to do the same."
He turned to look at you.
"The reward is this device, and anything else you can scavenge. The risk is that the Saiyans will begin to produce androids of their own, or at the very least weaponize my technology. As we do not have enough men for a frontal assault, we must rely on stealth and cunning. You, Sixteen, are the best chance we have.
The city houses a large population of slaves, both human and otherwise. A new face would not be remarked upon, and your android nature will keep them from detecting your power level. Allowing you to bypass security. I will furnish you with the required security clearance to gain access to the lab, and map it out for you. Everything after that is down to you. You will have to infiltrate the city, locate the lab, find out if they have removed anything, and then salvage what you can and destroy the rest. Don't leave my technology in the hands of those creatures. You know the harm it can bring."
"All in a week?" You said. "Seems a tall order."
"It is indeed. But it is also the longest amount of time I can possibly give you and be sure that the equipment is not compromised. After that, it becomes more and more likely that they have at the very least acquired my data on android creation. We would surely soon see them field androids of their own."
>Well, when it was put like that, you didn't have much of a choice, did you? Someone had to do this, and you were the best suited for it. Going to the city would be dangerous to the extreme, but what else was there for it? You had to get that tech back, before the Saiyans turned it against you.
>You refuse to go. It isn't that you believe the cause is unimportant, but you feel that you would not be able to infiltrate. You would be recognised, or something else would go wrong, and then Gero would be in the exact same position minus an android.
>Write in?
