The Silver Seer

Chapter 6: The Basel (Adalheid) Twins

"Do you need to breathe?" A high-pitched voice, belonging to the youngest brother, asks.

"Yes." Reko rolls his eyes at the question. Just how stupid are these people? Have they never seen a mechanical soldier, or at least heard the stories?

If they were from Switzerland, France, Italy, or Germany, Reko wouldn't be suspicious at all. But with their origins cloaked in smoke, the teenager is on guard.

"Why are your eyes red?" The middle brother is far more sensible in his question, though Reko still thinks it is an idiotic thing to ask.

"So I can see." A sideways glance from Thilo. "Better than normal humans."

"Why don't you talk like a robot?" Again with the younger brother.

"Robots are beneath me." Another look from the older officer. "Because I'm not a full android."

Finally, the oldest speaks. "What other cool things can you do?"

"I can disable explosives, summon small blades at will, and recover from any injury given anywhere from an hour up to a week, in which I shut down and am non-operational." Reko summarizes, and he remembers a similar conversation he had with Felix.

"Woah! Are there any more of you out there?" The eldest brother's tone holds excitement and curiosity.

Silence. No movement, not even from Thilo. But before Reko can decide on an answer- yes, no, or undecided- the vehicle slows to a stop and Thilo jumps out.

Reko refocuses his eyes back on the road and sees the familiar collection of buildings with soldiers and civilians milling about.

He is finally here. Basel. More specifically Basel-Landschaft, the larger of the two cantons that make up the area.

The teenager hops out of his seat and begins off towards the closest building to him- Communications- but is stopped within seconds.

"Reko! Help the boys out of the vehicle, will you? How can Adelric live with you?" Thilo barks, and if Reko didn't know he jokes around with the boy, he would have his head cleanly separated from his neck by now.

"He doesn't ask much of me." Reko obliges to Thilo's demand, opening the rightmost back door to the vehicle, and the brothers emerge onto the gravel ground.

He glances around at the base, wondering if there is anyone who he can pass these nuisances off to. He hates being asked questions about himself. It wasn't that he didn't like answering them- he knew all the answers already. But it is a constant reminder that he is a mechanical being, more specifically a soldier and child.

But no one cares about what a child can do. Only a soldier. His captain thought of him as a human, and that's one of the reasons Reko warmed up to him so quickly. It is also the main reason why Reko still sees Felix as the young man he was before Forchheim, and only improving himself since then.

Reko's communication device makes a sound. He looks down at it, before a familiar voice comes through. It's Felix, and he's asking for both Thilo and himself to help Liam and Leon patrol Basel for any Russian soldiers, since there was news of an ambush earlier. The boy sees Thilo look his way, and the former gestures to the brothers, who stick not only close to each other, but to the teenage soldier.

Thilo jogs over to a soldier who is several feet away from Communications, and points to where Reko and the teenage boys are. The soldier looks their way before nodding. Reko gets the okay to leave the boys as the soldier nods to him and is by Thilo's side again.

They begin to walk towards Liam's office, a grand white building in the middle of the base. Unlike Felix, the more level-headed of the twins spends his time in Basel's formal office, usually chatting with his twin over the phone if they aren't present in his office together, which they usually are.