Cyberdyne of the Night's Watch

Chapter 9

Robb, Theon, Jon, and the others clustered on the outskirts of the field. Cyberdyne had commandeered the traveling Maester's wagon and dragged the whole kit of clinking glass bottles filled with strange liquids and powders out here to the middle of nowhere, far from the rest of the camp. Then he'd taken a large table from the Umber section of the camp and set up some sort of workstation. Last but not least, he'd gone to the Quartermaster's tent and procured a now-empty wine barrel that was large enough for Jon to sit in.

None of them could really see exactly what Cyberdyne was doing over there, and he'd been at it for nearly two hours. He'd forbidden any of them from coming any closer, which was not something that the lords (who were used to having their way) took very kindly. Lord Tallhart had ignored Cyberdyne's warnings at first and gone to take a closer look for himself, only to be physically lifted off the ground and carried back to the edge of the perimeter by Cyberdyne. No small feat, considering that he weighed at least twenty stone not counting his steel plate armor. Figuring out what Cyberdyne was up to was further complicated that he worked in complete darkness without even a torch to provide light; when Jon had offered him a lantern, Cyberdyne had responded by saying he couldn't risk sparking an explosion, and that he didn't need light to see. Their only clue had been a request for additional materials: Cyberdyne had requested a cartload of bat feces. A strange request, to be sure, but Robb had sent out scouts to scour the nearby caves all the same.

They all smelled the return of the scouts before they heard them. Three men escorted a horse-drawn cart heaped full of smelly little brown pellets. Each of them held a kerchief over their mouths, and Robb and his lieutenants did the same. "Where should we put this?" the lead scout asked, clearly eager to get as far away from the wagon as possible.

"Cyberdyne!" Jon called out as loud as he dared. They were away from the camp, but not far enough away that they couldn't see the torches atop the walls of the Twins. Any indication that the Northmen were up to something would cause them to prepare for a fight, ruining the element of surprise. Robb was intent on catching them with their pants down. "Where should they bring the... errr..." He felt it a bit undignified to shout 'bat shit' in front of the assembled lords of the North.

Cyberdyne strode across the field and inspected the wagon. "I will handle it from here," he said. He tore through the leather straps holding the horses in place and lifted the wagon up over his head in one swift motion. Jon, used to such feats of strength already, smirked a bit when he heard Greatjon Umber and some of the others gasp. He carried the cart back to his table and got back to work.

The sky was already turning purple by the time Cyberdyne returned to them carrying the sealed barrel. "Please put out your torches," he asked them. "This delivery vessel is more porous than I anticipated, and I cannot guarantee that the explosives have not seeped through."

They all did as they were told, and some of them scooted a bit further away from the barrel as though that extra pace or so would save them. "What is it?" Theon asked.

"Cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine, Theon Greyjoy." Cyberdyne answered immediately. Jon shook his head; he and Cyberdyne had had a talk about using a person's name in conversation to come off more like a real person, but that clearly wasn't working.

There was a bit of a stunned silence from the crowd. "Don't know why I even asked," Theon finally muttered, followed by a chorus of laughter from the rest.

"Doesn't matter what it is, so long as it works," Robb said. "Are you ready, Cyberdyne?"

"Yes, Robb Stark" he answered. "I have conducted a secondary review and confirmed that my systems remain contained and secure from any water damage."

"Right," Robb said. Like Jon, he'd learned to just kind of skip over most of Cyberdyne's more technical answers. "We'd better get you in the water, then." He looked up at the sky, where the stars were already beginning to fade and streaks of rosy pink and fiery orange had begun to filter through the purple. "Any later and they'll spot you coming. Not sure what they'd do in response, but I'd rather not find out."

"Based on the level of technology available, I do not believe that they have deployed underwater countermeasures," Cyberdyne said. "Even if I were detected, I estimate a nearly 98% chance of success."

"Well... good," Robb said, looking away from Cyberdyne's eagle-like gaze. He'd never quite realized how unnerving it was that Cyberdyne didn't blink. "Jon, I think only you and Cyberdyne should go down to the riverbanks. Any more of a crowd, and those Freys will know something is up. The rest of you," he said to all the Northern lords, "come with me. We need to get the cavalry ready to charge in the moment those gates come down. Cyberdyne, best of luck to you."

"Thank you, Robb Stark," Cyberdyne answered.

The rest of them headed back to the camp to make ready while Jon and Cyerdyne headed into the forest towards the sound of the river rapids. "Cyberdyne?" Jon asked once the river came into view. "Is it... is there any danger to you from this?"

Cyberdyne considered for a moment, something that Jon had never really seen before. "Should I be caught in the blast range, the explosives could damage many of my critical systems. My sensory packs, such as audio and visual components, are most vulnerable. But there will be a sufficient delay to allow me to get to safety."

"All right," Jon said. "Just... be careful, I guess. You know you don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"I only act with your authorization," Cyberdyne responded even as he waded out into the river. "I simply presented the most efficient course of action for your brother's desire to breach the fortress's walls." Jon felt a small pang of guilt upon hearing the word brother. In his mind, he immediately corrected it: half brother. In all his years at Winterfell, Lady Stark had never let him forget his place. And now that he had joined the Watch, he had other brothers. He'd sworn a vow to defend the Wall, and part of that included not taking parts in the politics of the seven kingdoms. "If you wish to cancel this demolition action, you can order me to stop at any time," Cyberdyne continued, now chest-deep in the muddy waters of the Green Fork, holding the barrel back from being swept down-river by the current.

Jon took a deep breath, then glanced downstream at the mist-wreathed form of the Twins. Above the forest, smoke from morning cooking fires came curling up from Robb's camp. This was their only shot at it. If he ordered Cyberdyne to stand down now, he was ensuring that Tywin Lannister would take Riverrun. And without any need to keep Ned alive as leverage, Jon would have his own father's death on his conscience as well. "No," he told Cyberdyne. "Go ahead. But after this, I think we might want to take our own path to King's Landing."

Cyberdyne nodded in confirmation, then sank below the surface and began making his way downstream to plant the bomb.