"Codex 4, stop!" Screamed Anji with her hands raised. "Don't hurt him!"

The lady Kurda screamed as well and the K28 commander cursed and sprung into action. His thick tentacle-like whiskers grabbed the assault rifle at his back.

Then some six sense made him feel something at the last moment. Someone is grabbing the scruff of his back. He raised his head suddenly and hit something hard, he twisted like a pretzel before biting into something and throwing it over his broad shoulder. Something black whisked past him who rolled nimbly on the floor. Then he was facing one of the infamous blackguards and they are both holding a gun over each other's head.

The problem was 4 more of the Blackguards are now pointing a gun at him at point blank range. and his 3 other security group member are also cleanly subdued by even more Blackguards that came out of nowhere. He cursed under his breath but did not move otherwise.

Who knew that the ambassador is protected by this many Blackguards? You are getting sloppy, old man.

"Stop!" shouted the female maid again as the blackguard on top of the prince slammed him once more to the floor as he continued to struggle. This last one made the prince stop and whimper.

"Ambassador!" Shouted the lady, near panic now. "This is extremely uncalled for! By attacking the prince of the empire, you are risking war with the K28. I demand-"

The lady stuttered when the ambassador turned to her with murder in his android eyes. "You demand? If this incident turned into a war then so be it! Your mongrel son attacked my-"

"Ambassador!" shouted the female maid. "I am grateful for your concern for the well-being of ...Brykar citizen under your care. But I am unharmed and well. Please do not make this an even bigger international incident as it already is. And please order your stupid blackguards to leave this place. Now."

It took a few moments but the blackguard holding the prince suddenly vanished. then the rest of the blackguard left just as suddenly. and then, the brown soldier droids entered the room with guns drawn, complicating the bizarre situation even further.

It took thirty minutes to fix the mess at the ambassador's garden but in the end, everyone retreated to protocol and things were naturally smoothed over. But both sides were reeling from the aftermath of what just happened.

In the lady's quarter, the lady Kurda still hasn't stopped berating not only her son but her staff and then commander Burgo himself, calling him everything from incompetent to a traitor. He took it in stride though since he is used to the lady's outburst.

His mind kept repeating the incident and keeps going back to a word he knew he heard but couldn't explain. The female maid shouted Codex 4. He knew he heard it right, but that doesn't make any sense.

The very word "Codex" brings ice into the veins of the most hardened K28 veteran. In the battlefield, veterans would rather hear words like "outnumbered" or "surrounded" or "artillery incoming!" than hear the words "a codex is here." The other words are also deadly but you have the chance of living through it, but if you hear that a codex is on the battlefield...then your life expectancy drops significantly.

As Burgo understood it during his first stint in the army, the codex is the Brykar's ultimate AIs. they are the generals, the admirals, the greatest warriors they have that they use to turn the tide of battle. Why in the name of the human does a codex need to guard the ambassador, no matter how important he is? It just doesn't make any sense.

"Are you listening to me, Burgo?" said the lady kurda.

Burgo sighed. "Yes, lady. I am," the K28 commander said. "But that doesn't change the fact that we are in the wrong here. Your son attacked a Brykar citizen."

"A maid! Hell, she is probably not even sentient, like one of those walking calculators they normally used as servants."

"Nevertheless, this made our chances of getting a Brykar representative to escort us toward the planet worth barely mentioning," said Ashanti, the young dark-haired poodle who served as the lady's chief adviser said in a forlorn voice.

"I'm sorry, mother," said Bentong the prince. He could barely look at his mother who sighed in disgust and left the room without another word.

The prince was shaking in his tears. "I'm so sorry. I thought she was trying to get my food and I just reacted."

The old soldier sighed and put his massive paw on top of the prince's head. "it's alright lad. Things like this happen," He said awkwardly.

The prince stared at him with longing eyes. "How can I make this right, Burgo? I want to help mother!" the prince said earnestly.

Then an idea grew in the veteran soldier's mind. And he smiled at the small prince. It will also satisfy his curiosity. "I think I know how you can help your mother," he said, a faint smile on his wide lips.

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

Anji is walking alone in the ambassador's garden still thinking about the botched negotiation. Truth be told, she did want to help other people, no matter how alien, and especial the K28 people since they all look so adorable... but in the end of the day, they are all a means to an end.

Her main goal is the great imperial library in the K28's capital city of Osmossa. According to info she discovered in the intranet, there are forbidden books in the library that deals specifically where the humans last visited before they left the universe once and for all. If she can glean those secrets, then compare it with the Brykar's massive network, she might find the exact place the human's left or have a clue on what technology they used to transcend. Either way, she will be one step closer to her ultimate goal in joining her own species.

The door outside the garden is buzzing and a dozen Blackguards materialized around her. "Get out, all of you," She said to her bodyguards, as she walks towards the door.

"It's the prince and the bodyguard. The skilled one," Said one the Blackguards.

"Out!" She repeated, tugging her skirt since she is still wearing the maid costume.

Her blackguards disappeared around her just as she opened the door. She faint surprise when she did find the prince and the cute bulldog bodyguard. "Oh! Hello, Prince Bentong! Let me find the ambassador for you," She said.

"Aah actually we came to meet you instead," Said Commander Burgo, The thought of Anji calling the ambassador almost frightened the veteran. Then he gently pushed the prince inside.

The prince could not look at Anji but his words were solid and to the point. "I... I am sorry for my actions a few hours ago and I owe you a big debt not only for myself but for my mother and servants as well. Your quick action truly saves us from the ambassador's bodyguards.

Anji almost snorted but she stops herself. "Think nothing of it, my prince," She said instead.

The Commander narrowed his eyes as he surreptitiously looks at the maid. There is something about her that unhinged him. For one thing, the maid wasn't subservient. Oh, she tries to hide it, but every now and then, her true self comes out in unguarded moments like directly looking at the prince and saying openly flippant words that no trained maids will ever say.

The prince step closer to her and two whiskers grabbed Anji's hand. "But I insist! Now that I thought about it evenit more, I can see that it was only your words that saved us in that forgettable encounter. I cannot live with this shame and debt of honor to you, tell me what you want and I will give it to you!"

The commander almost stops the prince for his words are getting awfully dangerous for a prince of the K28 empire and his realm.

Anji almost asks for access to the K28 library but she knew even the prince, and especially this prince, will not persuade the K28 bureaucracy.

Oh well, Anji thought, sighing. and then an idea formed in her mind and she started smiling devilishly with a glint in her eyes. Both the prince and the bodyguard watched her with wide eyes and gulped.

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

"Is... is this really what you want?" the prince squeaked.

"Yes prince," Anji answered immediately. "This is the only way you can repay your debt of honor to me."

Reluctantly, the prince laid down on the grass floor after taking off his fine robe and he was only in his huge colorful boxer shorts that embarrassed him but Anji finds adorable.

"What exactly are you going to do to him?" asked the nervous commander, hovering behind Anji. Twice, Codex 4 almost materialized behind them but stopped himself.

"wait and see, commander," Anji said simply. "Now young prince, raised your paw up in the air like this!"

The prince followed the crazy maid's instruction very slowly, his eyes fearfully darting back and forth to the maid and to the concerned commander behind her.

Anji flexed her fingers and asked, "Are you ready?"

Before the prince can say anything, Anji descended on the prince... and started giving him a full on belly rub.

Her small hands started rubbing and scratching the fat tummy of the prince, concentrating on some rough skin on the side and just under the armpit, all the while saying in a booboo voice, "Who's a good puppy! Who's a good puppy?"

Within second the prince was purring like a cat, his head arched backward and he presented his fat tummy even more. His hind leg started doing imaginary scratching the air as Anji found a particularly sweet spot on top of the belly.

With a smile, Anji added more pressure and the prince hind leg involuntarily started scratching even faster. Anji alternated slowly scratching the giant dog and sliding her hand at the length of the soft full belly, sometimes pinching, sometimes simply massaging the skin. She stretched the hard leather skin and then massage some more.

The commander stupidly gawked at his prince, whose eyes is now reaching his brain from the ecstasy he is receiving. And it wasn't even sexual. The annoying part of it all is somehow he is feeling this unreasonable envy of the prince. The things the maid was doing was somehow familiar in a primal way, something they've lost as a species.

This is a ritual that somehow connects them to their god, the humans, the commander realized.

Unknown to the commander, 2 dozen blackguards are also watching them and thru their eyes, several millions more of AIs are tuned in and doing the equivalent of a digitally stupidly gawking at what the elder is doing to the prince.

Anji happily kept up the massage for more than 30 minutes, and she only reluctantly stops since she is aware that the ambassador will find them any moment now. By then the prince is quietly howling in full bliss and can only sigh when Anji finally stops.

Unknown to everyone involve, Anji's belly rub encourage the secretion of barely forgotten enzymes into the prince's brain and with the combinations of massive electric impulses, actually created new synapses connections into the young prince's brain map.

It would take time for it to solidify, but Anji's 30-minute belly rub increased the prince's IQ by an unbelievable 82 points. Anji just created a genius.