Cyberdyne of the Night's Watch

Chapter 8

Robb gathered the leaders of the Northern houses in his tent beside the overflowing banks of the Green Fork. With so much water, the river was far too turbulent to even consider crossing by raft. But even if it were calm, there would still not be enough time and resources required to create enough boats to ferry tens of thousands of troops across the river. Lord Tywin's men were on the march, and the Northern armies could afford no delay.

"Storm the castle," Theon urged. Greatjon Umber and Rickard Karstark nodded in unison. They'd been telling Robb for days now that the men needed a good, easy first battle to really boost morale before facing the main brunt of the Lannister armies. "Old Lord Frey has only got something like four thousand men. And he can't just extort you like this. He's a bannerman to the Tully's, for fuck's sake!"

Robb looked to his mother, sitting to the side. She was trying not to show too much emotion, but Robb knew that she was displeased by that proposal. "The Freys have used this crossing as leverage for hundreds of years," she told them all. "We're not the first army to try passing through here without payment. And we wouldn't be the first army to meet our end here, either."

"Agreed. We've got Tywin breathing down our neck," Robb added. "We don't have time for an extended siege." The tent fell silent for a moment as each of the lords waited for one of the others to chime in. Robb looked away, out the door to the stone bridge that spanned the river. Fires were lit all along the crenulations, letting the Northern armies know that the Frey men were on watch. "What would Frey want?" he asked Catelyn.

She tilted her head to the side to think for a moment. "Probably more than you'd ever offer under any other circumstances. Wants to be the new lord of Casterly Rock, I'll bet."

"But I'm sure he'd settle for Riverrun," Lord Karstark broke in. "Just as soon as the Lannisters take it. How do we know he hasn't already made that deal? His armies are clearly here instead of down there to aid his liege lord!"

Robb nodded. Both good points. "What do you think Father would do?" he asked Jon.

Jon, Ghost, and Cyberdyne stood near the back of the tent and had all remained silent. Most of the council was made up of great lords who'd ruled over their lands and made such life-or-death decisions for years. Even with all of Ned's training, Jon didn't quite feel ready to choose a battle strategy, nor could he understand how Robb and Theon could be so confident in their choices. "I think Father would not be hasty. If he couldn't get through the Twins so easily, he'd retreat back to the Neck and wait out Tywin there. Riverrun can survive a long siege, but Tywin has more foes than just the North. He'll have to leave eventually."

Robb considered that, then shook his head. "If we do that, Father will die down in King's Landing."

"Father would let that happen if it meant saving his men," Jon retorted. "He wouldn't sacrifice something important just for one man."

Robb refused to see the sense in that. "We need to get through the Twins today. It's the only option."

Jon had a sudden moment of inspiration. "Cyberdyne, how would you get to the other side of the river?" Since leaving Winterfell, Jon had realized that Cyberdyne was more than just a mountain of a man. He somehow knew things that would surprise even the most knowledgeable maesters and the most seasoned battle commanders. He'd already set the smiths to work up at Greywater Watch building something that he'd called a 'cannon.' Perhaps he'd see a way through here that Robb's other advisers didn't.

Jon's companion didn't even hesitate. "The river's width and speed indicates a depth unsuitable for traversing by boat or use of temporary bridges. The permanent bridge is the only viable option for crossing. I estimate that a force of four thousand men could be quickly overwhelmed."

"That thing doesn't know anything about sieges," Lord Glover interrupted Cyberdyne. Most of the Northern Lords were unable or unwilling to understand what Cyberdyne was and what he could do, even after repeated demonstrations of his strength and durability. "The Twins could take months to succumb!"

"A siege would be unnecessary," Cyberdyne said. "I detected several structural weaknesses in the foundation of the castle's gate. A sufficiently large explosion placed on the foundation just at the waterline near the gates would render the castle defenseless but leave the rest of the bridge usable."

The rest of the council was silent, in part stunned by the audacity of the plan and in part still processing what Cyberdyne said. The other lords were still not use to his technical way of speaking, but Robb was faster than the rest of them. "You're saying we can destroy the gates of the Twins tonight with one explosion. Are you sure?"

"Demolitions are a necessary input for my model's infiltration techniques," Cyberdyne answered. "Though my conclusion is dependent on assumptions including building materials of the fortification and available explosives, this tactic has a 98.1% chance of effectiveness"

"They'll see it coming," Theon warned. "There's no way they'll just let us sail a boat under their bridge without so much as an arrow sent our way."

"Yes," Cyberdyne added. "Using a boat to place the explosive would leave one exposed. I recommend travelling underwater to avoid detection, and only surfacing in order to plant the explosive."

"Traveling underwater?" Robb repeated. "How?"

"I'm guessing that's another one of Cyberdyne's unique talents," Jon said.

"Yes. My titanium-coltan alloy chassis is effective for combat, but too heavy for buoyancy. Although I am unable to swim, I can remain functional while completely submerged so long as the vacuum surrounding my processor chip remains uncompromised."

Robb, Catelyn, and the Northern Lords stared. Half of that hadn't made any sense.

"He says he can do it," Jon translated for them.