Patronage Part 3

Patronage
Part 3
Moving Day


After her return from her meeting with Mogul, Lien-Da found her Baby Freedom Fighters all tucked in and sound asleep, the modified Stork-Bots standing at attention to welcome her back.  She had them all deactivate and recharge, while she slept in the secondary bed she had setup in the bunker, not sure if she could trust her own creations now that Mammoth Mogul had modified them.  She slept roughly the rest of the night, and was awakened by S03 who had self-activated in response to the early warning devices she had set up in her room in the main fortress.  She quickly took the secret elevator back and changed into a fresh uniform and got the door just in time to meet the Dark Egg Legionnaires that had come to meet her for the daily inspections of operations.  The day moved at surprisingly steady pace from there . . . but while she tried to keep herself focused on the inspections and latest developments in the Eggman’s plans, Lien-Da couldn’t stop thinking about Mogul’s offer.  By mid-afternoon, things were well under way as usual . . . resources from all stations were coming in at nominal levels, and intelligence reports from the Region Commands indicated some minor delays but nothing major.  Then she received a summons from the Doctor.

Lien-Da reported to Robotnik promptly, keeping herself calm and stern as always . . . keeping up appearances as usual.  “You summoned me, Robotnik?”

Robotnik was in good spirits of late, the decline in Freedom Fighter resistance clearly brightening his mood.  “Of course I did, Lien-Da,” his voice surprisingly light hearted for once.  “Everything has been going so smoothly lately.  With the exception of a few, there have been no signs of the Hedgehog or the Freedom Fighters!  All our bases are working at peak operations.  And the development of the Eggman Empire is actually proceeding unprecedentedly.”

Lien-Da portrayed a congratulatory smile, though inward she knew she would soon remove those other “minor problems” from the board herself.  “The congratulations are in order . . . Master.  Your plans to break the Freedom Fighters’ will to fight succeeded just as you calculated.”

“Indeed, heh” Robotnik stroked his mustache nonchalantly as he leaned back in his control chair.  “In fact . . . things are going so smoothly, I’ve actually been able to catch up on some of the minor things I usually left to the bots . . . such as looking over the latest R’n’D reports.”  His little helpers, Or-bot and Cu-bot hopped out from behind the control station and held up the computer tablet with the aforementioned reports.

This news made the Kommissar instantly nervous, but her discipline kept it from showing.  “I see . . . anything I should be aware of?”

“On the contrary . . .,” The Doctor stated as she scrolled through the data, “it’s something I think you haven’t been keeping me aware of.”  He looked straight at his Egg Legion Commander, not angrily, but not quite happy either.  “According to these records . . . a number of components, chemicals, and even lab equipment have gone unaccounted for in the past few weeks.  And further delving reveals that some of the robot maintenance and fuel resources have been diverted . . . to a lab area that was marked for reconfiguring weeks before it actually was.  This all points to one simple conclusion . . . somebody has been working on her own little project without telling me.  Care to explain?”

Lien-Da felt like a mouse in a tiger’s cage.  Even though she dealt with the explosive device in her own cybernetics, Robotnik could punish her far worse if he felt inclined . . . she had to think of something and fast if she was going to keep the Eggman from finding out about what really happened to Sonic and the others.  “I’ve . . . I’ve been . . . working on some possible new mecha designs to help in the expansion of the Empire, Sir.  I simply wanted it to be a surprise.”

Robotnik stroked his chin in apparent thought, the look in his eyes clearly showing he didn’t quite believe that to be the whole truth.  “Well then . . . with things going so well . . . why don’t we have a look at these new designs!  With the Freedom Fighters weakened, now’s as good a time as any to push forward!  How soon can these . . . prototypes of yours be ready for review?”

The challenging look in his eyes showed he was moving in for the strike.  “They are only rough works, sir . . . but I can have all the research, records, and prototypes together and ready for your inspection at tomorrow’s Research and Development tour!”

“Good!  From these reports, I’ll be expecting something good!  And I’d better be impressed Lien-Da . . . for your sake.”

Lien-Da held her composure as best she could as she nodded to Dr. Eggman and stepped back out into the hall . . . but the moment the door closed, she quickly made her way back to her quarters, and all but dove for her secret elevator.  “Not good, not good, not good!” she thought as she descended into her secret nursery bunker.  “He’s already starting to suspect!” she muttered to herself as she moved rapidly to her computer counsel and began to randomly type in commands, her nerves and mind all flustered as she remembered Mammoth Mogul’s words.  She paced and muttered in ever growing fear and frustration . . . the air of which the babies could see and feel easily.  Baby Cream and Vanilla were the first to try and get her attention by pawing at the walls of their pens.  Then the rest of the babies tried to get their “mother’s” attention by pawing their pens and calling to her as best they could.  

“Oh, will you just be quiet!!!” Lien-Da yelled!  Then she slapped her hands over her mouth as the little ones began to cry.  The tough and ambitious Kommissar of the former Dark Legion of Echidnas, the last descendant of Dimitri . . . suddenly felt a great sickness roaring out from her heart.  “Oh, what have I done?!” She ran over to the pens and knelt down by them, trying to calm “her babies” down.

“My, my, my . . .” came a familiar voice from behind, “not quite the way a true mother should act toward her children, heh, heh, heh”

Lien-Da turned to see Mammoth Mogul’s holo-image once again standing before her, projected from the eyes of her entire flock of Stork-Bots. “Mogul” she said, trying to hide the tears forming on her cheeks.

“Seems the gears of fate are turning faster that you thought they would,” he said with a smile that clearly showed he anticipated all this.  “Are you ready?”

“Ready for what?” Lien-Da asked as she tried to stand, the stress from past hour and now the twisting in her chest leaving her legs feeling like jelly.

“Why, to see your new ‘Home-Away-From-Home’,” he said with a bit of showman’s tone.  “Everything is ready and waiting . . .”

Lien-Da felt dizzy as she stood up once again, the babies sniffling as they looked up at her.  This was the moment of truth, she felt as she look up into eyes of the towering hologram.  Robotnik was moving in to discover her secret and take all she had worked so hard for away . . . but was she ready to put her life in the hands of somebody like Mogul?  “I’m . . . I’m not packed yet?  All the equipment . . . the files and data . . . the nursery things . . .”
“My dear,” Mogul’s image leaned down and put its big finger under her trembling chin, “it is now . . . or never.  I’m prepared to uphold my end of our “merger” . . . now it is time for you to decide once and for all . . . if you are going to trust me . . . or risk losing everything.”

Lien-Da felt herself growing exhausted . . . her mind was so stretched and burdened with all that was at risk and what it would in tell to fix it . . . that she just fell forward . . . where the hologram of Mammoth Mogul caught her.

Lien-Da awoke to find herself laying on top of a large bed, her mind still spinning from stress.  She massaged the throbbing in her head as she slowly sat up.  “What happened?” she wondered as her vision cleared . . . and then went wide-eyed as she took in her surroundings, “And where am I?!”.