Voices raised above the din, chairs flying all around, the meeting was definitely not going according to plan, even though it wasn’t planned. After the return of the troops from Aloha Island, one of the grand elders of Cerberus called an emergency meeting. The meeting was being held in Fillis, the capital of Griffinia. Now, Cerberus had only three grand elders, and they represented the highest authority. In order to keep control over the organization, they would tell those who reported to them that they reported to the tribunal. No one else had met the tribunal, so using fear of the unknown; they kept tight control over the organization.

Among the three, two didn’t like each other, and the other one could not control what happened when they met. Thus as the meeting proceeded, it quickly devolved into madness as the two grand elders started by cursing each other and ended up throwing chairs. It was a fantastic time to be alive, even more to witness the scene. The third grand elder was sitting there, and as the tempers flared, he grew more agitated and anxious.

It was then that a man wearing a black suit and black sunglasses walked in. The two paused their fighting for a moment, as the man proceeded to the third grand elder and handed him a tablet PC. The grand elder took the tablet and motioned him to leave.

“Gordon, what was that all about?” asked one of the grand elders who was holding a chair.

The grand elder, who had been called Gordon, frowned slightly as he played a video on the tablet. The other two were puzzled by the frown, and they looked at each other, before walking towards grand elder Gordon.

“Tell me, is there anyone interested in knowing why I called this tribunal?” asked grand elder Gordon, as he paused the video.

“...” There was no reply, only blank, confused expressions resulted on the other grand elders’ faces.

“White, why did you mobilize the forces to go to Aloha Island? Have you forgotten that the tribunal is the supreme authority?” he asked, looking at one of the grand elders.

The grand elder who had been called White frowned, before answering, “Because I had to! Our spies told us they knew where to find the blueprints for the Rhizen canon and that one of the idiots rebelling against us was there. I could have called for a tribunal and we could have argued while the rebel escaped. I couldn’t have that now, could I?”

“Right. You once activated a cleaner to get rid of said rebel, how did that go?” asked the remaining grand elder, with a chuckle.

“Shut up Schwarz!” snapped grand elder White.

Sparks flew in the air, as the two glared at each other fiercely.

“We do not have time for this! We have a new threat, and this one might interfere with everything we have worked so far to build”, said grand elder Gordon.

“What threat now?” asked grand elder Schwarz.

Grand elder Gordon connected the tablet PC to the monitor across the room, using wireless interface. When the tablet was connected, he played a video. In the video, there was a robot wearing a gray bamboo hat. The robot killed soldiers left and right, dashing at a speed that could not be followed by the camera, let alone the eye. Moments later, another robot appeared, and this new robot was oval shaped.

The two robots appeared to be conversing about something, but then suddenly, a fight broke out. The fight was spectacular, and very unbelievable. As it progressed, a building was cleaved in two! Everyone watching gasped. Then came the attack that ended it! The robot wearing the bamboo hat threw a spear, but a purple snake-like beast emerged, flying towards the oval shaped robot. A moment later, when the dust settled, the oval-shaped robot was pinned on the ground some meters away.

Two more robots floated down, and one started walking towards the gray-robed bamboo hat-wearing robot. However, two monks suddenly appeared between the robots, and then the video turned static.

“What was that?” asked grand elder Schwarz, with a look of anxiety and worry.

“Simply put, that was our new threat. The robot wearing the Euphrasian-looking hat. As you both can see, its weapons are too sophisticated to be from this planet!”

“What are you saying? You think that robot is an extra-terrestrial being?” asked grand elder White.

“It’s not a matter of what I think! I asked an investigation into the robot, and what we found was interesting. The information was obtained from the archives of PI Robotics. According to the information, that type of robot is called a Sage Pixin. The weird thing about it is that Michael Avariz and John Kovakk made a bet decades ago. The details of the bet are not clear, but after losing the bet, Michael was to design a robot and load it with ‘wisdom from the sages’”, grand elder Gordon paused a bit.

He continued, “However, the project was stashed when PI Robotics almost went bankrupt and they had to make robots for the Griffinian government. That’s why the information was in the archives.”

“If this Pixin was supposed to be a joke, why is it so strong and dangerous?” asked grand elder Schwarz.

“I do not know. No one has any information on who made it or why, or how. All I know is that this robot is dangerous... Too dangerous actually. Either we capture and control it, or we destroy it!”

“Wasn’t that oval shaped robot the one that could hack any electronic gadget within a five mile radius? If that robot could just hack into this Pixin and control it, there wouldn’t have been a need to fight, right?” said grand elder White.

“What are you suggesting?” asked grand elder Schwarz.

“Let’s just destroy the darn robot! Simple!”

“Haha, every time you try to fight against an enemy, you always lose! And every time you lose, we lose either soldiers or a lot of money! For instance, take your latest--”

“Schwarz, no one asked for your opinion! I was talking to Gordon!”

More sparks flew in the air between the two. Grand elder Gordon simply sat there, watching the entire debacle with a slight amusement, and a lot of annoyance. A bell sounded, which was the tablet’s ringtone alerting that there were new emails. Grand elder Gordon opened the email, as the other two were busy bickering. As he read the email, his eyes widened, before his lips curled up into a smile.

“How much money have we lost ever since you started your ‘Projects’? White, you’ve disobeyed the rules of the tribunal through and through! Why should we listen to you?” demanded grand elder Schwarz.

“And how much have we lost funding your protests? There’s no return on investment on that!”

“You think there’s any from your side?”

“Of course! We have the blueprint for the Rhizen canon, which is three times more powerful than all the nuclear missiles we’ve built so far. One of them is enough to level an entire city! How’s that for return on investment?” asked grand elder White.

“At what expense? If we calculate the amount of money we’ve lost, the Rhizen canon does not even begin to measure up! Even if we sold Sky Haven to the highest bidder, we cannot recover that much amount of money!”

The bickering continued, while grand elder Gordon sat there, smiling as he thought of something. The other two grand elders suddenly noticed that Gordon was no longer paying attention to them. They turned to look at him, and realized he was smiling, which, by current circumstances, seemed weird.

“What are you thinking?” asked grand elder White.

“I have just received an email. Apparently, your rebel, the monks and the robot are all in the monastery. Any suggestions on what we should do to deal with them?”

“Let’s just nuke them! That’ll be killing three birds with one nuclear missile”, replied grand elder White with a loud laugh.

“Every time we listen to White, we end up regretting it! Before we do this, let’s answer this question first. What are the consequences of doing that, and what’ll happen if it fails?” asked grand elder Schwarz.

“Hmm. The worst that could happen is loss of a nuclear missile. Assuming someone survives the blast, they’ll not survive for long with the effects of the radiation”, replied grand elder White.

“And what of the robots? I don’t think they can be affected by radiation! Also, the rebel can upload his consciousness in multiple robots at the same time!”

“Wait, what? And how do you know about that?” asked grand elder White.

“You’re not the only one who does research, White!”

“Really? How many robots can survive a nuclear blast?”

“Let us not forget that the rebel has the strongest robot made on earth, under his control. From a report we had, it was blasted by a grenade and nothing happened to it!”

“You’re comparing a grenade to a nuclear warhead? And I thought I was the insane one!”

“What’re you insinuating, White?”

“I’m not insinuating anything. Or we could make the Rhizen canon, launch it and cross our fingers, hoping for the best.”

“How long would it take to make a Rhizen canon? By the time you’re done, the rebels would have been scattered.”

“Since you’re so adamant on turning all my ideas down, what do you suggest we do, Schwarz?”

“Well... I...”

“You what? Speak up!”

“I don’t have any ideas. I just wanted everyone to look at this issue from all possible angles!”

“Yes, if you don’t have any ideas, it’s good to shut up!”

“ENOUGH!!!!” yelled grand elder Gordon. He continued, “I’ve had enough of your bickering! We’re going to destroy them, but with caution. In other words, Schwarz, use one of your connections to destroy the monastery.”

“Huh? Why him?”

“Because you’re impulsive! I thought you’d have learnt from your mistakes but it seems...”

“No way. I’m not accepting this!! You know what? Let’s put it to a vote! All in favor of me leading the Punitive Force to destroy the monastery, say I.”

“I”, echoed grand elders White and Gordon, as both raised their hands in unison.

“There, it’s decided!” said grand elder White, laughing aloud.

“Why do you two enjoy torturing me?” asked grand elder Schwarz, sighing in disappointment.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll be fine...”

“Easy for you to say, all you’ve been doing is failing through and through!”

“Ahem. Let’s not get too excited, White, Schwarz. We still have plenty of things to do. White, pass on the blueprint to me, so I can start building the Rhizen canon.”

“Sure thing. I have a new project going around--”

“Oh no! More money wastage!”

“Schwarz, do yourself a favor and shut up!!”

“That’s enough you two! If there are no questions, then as the initiator of the tribunal, I hereby declare the session over”, declared grand elder Gordon, standing up. Everyone followed suit, and left the boardroom.

************

Captain Jack Johnson had been enjoying his afternoon at the base. Peaceful times were the best times to be alive. It was during times like these that people could focus on the niceties of life. However, all good things come to an end. As he was drinking coffee, there was a knock on his office door.

“Come in”, he instructed.

“A package for you captain”, said a soldier who walked in, carrying a small box.

“Leave it by the table.”

The soldier left the box on the table and closed the door as he left. Inside the box, there was a tape and a cassette player. Captain Jack played the tape.

“Your mission, should you accept it, is to destroy the base suspected to be housing terrorists in Tibet. Co-ordinates are provided at the usual pick-up point. You’re authorized to use one nuclear missile, and send any number of jets you have at your disposal. Failure is not an option. The secretary will deny any knowledge of this mission, should you get caught. Secrecy is of utmost importance”, said the voice recorded on the tape. “This message will self-destruct in 5...4...3...2...1...”

As the voice faded, the cassette player blew up, and the tape caught fire. In a matter of seconds, there was no evidence of the message. Captain Jack stood up and sighed, as he left his office, going towards the Air force base.

Less than an hour later, five F22 jets left the base, headed towards the Euphrasian continent.