Summary: Purah and her colleagues continue to analyze the Sheikah Slate recovered from Eventide Island. Hyrule Castle security reports several thefts, which remind Link of something he can't yet put his finger on.

It was a sunny early afternoon at the Royal Ancient Tech Lab, and Purah, Robbie, Lapha, and Midon were just sitting down for a meeting together. They had spent another solid week analyzing the Sheikah Slate found on Eventide Island, and Robbie had suggested they meet to review all they had learned so far. Purah had been reluctant to meet at first, feeling every minute of their time was better spent furthering their research. But Robbie finally prevailed.

"You know, even you can't think of everything, Dr. Purah, and you sometimes forget things," Robbie had said, citing some examples from prior times they had worked together. That finally convinced her the meeting was worthwhile.

After everyone was seated, Robbie began.

"Let's discuss what we've learned so far," said Robbie. "Since I called the meeting, I'll begin. We have solid evidence to show that the Sheikah Slate originally belonged to a Sheikah scientist named Salena, who was responsible for keeping Divine Beast Vah Naboris in working order. We can't be sure, but it seems likely that Salena perished somewhere in the Gerudo Desert area, trying to escape the Hylian purge of Sheikah technology ten thousand years ago. I believe that the rebel Sheikah, who eventually became known as the Yiga Clan, found her or her body and recovered her Sheikah Slate. We already have some anecdotal evidence that may be the case. You may recall we found the building plans for Divine Beast Vah Naboris among the documents the Gerudo recovered from the Yiga Clan Hideout, and we wondered how the Yiga came to possess them. It's likely those plans were taken from Salena as well, as it would be logical for her to have them since we know Salena handled the maintenance of Vah Naboris."

"All that seems plausible," said Purah, nodding her head.

"Now, let me turn to Princess Lapha and Prince Midon," said Robbie, after taking a sip of water. "What have you learned about the internal coding of the device?"

"Other than some code that corrupted shrines into creating monsters, code no doubt crafted by the Yiga, I have found nothing else suspicious so far," said Midon.

"I concur," said Lapha. "And I am a bit surprised at that. I would have expected more malicious alterations to the internal coding of the device."

"I suspect the best Sheikah scientists did not join the Yiga but either perished, fled to North Hyrule, or gave up technology altogether and settled at Kakariko Village," said Purah. "So, the Yiga rebels may not have been able to recruit members with sufficient coding expertise. We know the Yiga moved away from science and turned instead to become practitioners of dark magic. My sister's husband, Palan, and her son, Kalan, said there was no evidence of advanced technology when they infiltrated their organization. And you may recall the Yiga Clan needed to dupe a scientist from North Hyrule named Grendon to assist them in obtaining advanced technology. They couldn't do it on their own."

"Yes, those are all good points, and I agree with you," said Robbie. "I know you both plan to continue reviewing the code, but let's continue. That brings us to the pictures and text we've discovered and translated. Perhaps you could speak about that, Dr. Purah, as I know you've spent the most time analyzing it."

"Yes, very well," said Purah. "The pictures of ancient times are extraordinary! They will no doubt prove beneficial to both historians and scientists like us. Some pictures reveal locations and structures in pristine condition ten thousand years ago that lay in complete ruins today. And the information from Salena's notes sheds some light on events of long ago that we knew only in general terms. One example is her account of the Hylian attack."

"Yes, I am equally impressed by all of that," said Robbie. "From the architecture, we might deduce what some ruins were once used for."

"But what's tantalizing and frustrating to me are the pictures of ancient Sheikah devices that we don't recognize and whose purpose is unknown," said Purah. "I keep asking myself if any of those devices could have survived, buried somewhere, waiting to be uncovered like the Divine Beasts and Guardians? Or did the Hylian soldiers destroy all of them in their zealous quest to abolish Sheikah technology?"

"Yes, that's the big question," said Robbie. "I would love to get my hands on any of those items and study them. The technology looks amazing!"

"If we can determine from any of the pictures where one of these devices was stored, I recommend we approach Her Majesty with a request for funds to excavate that area hoping to find something useful," said Purah. "Given Her Majesty's enthusiasm for Ancient Technology, I think she would look favorably upon such a request."

"I agree that she likely would," said Robbie. "But we need to choose carefully and select only the most promising sites. If our early efforts prove futile, interest in the project will wane. Hyrule's funds are not unlimited, and, as you know, Her Majesty is also eager to improve things like education and public transportation. That includes spending money on schools, routine matters such as road maintenance, and so on. So, we will be competing for funds with other projects she also deems important."

"Yes, all that's true," said Purah. "I agree with you. We should study the pictures carefully and choose a promising location before we approach Her Majesty with our proposal."

"By the way, why does it always become 'we' and 'our' when it comes time to approach Her Majesty for funds, and other times it's just 'I' or 'me'?" said Robbie with a mischievous smile.

"Very funny," said Purah. "You know very well my sister Impa poisoned Her Majesty's mind about me, making her think I'm too reckless. Her Majesty takes comfort if you go along with me on any proposals. For example, she will want assurance that we understand what we're doing before we activate any unknown devices we may find, and she will trust your assurances about that more than mine."

"Very well," laughed Robbie. "Let's go over the pictures together and decide which devices look the most interesting and where they might be hidden."

"Oh, I almost forgot," said Purah. "I spoke with North Hyrule Sheikah Chief Saldon about having one of their scientists come here to assist us, and he recommended Aldora. She was Grendon's assistant and has finished her apprenticeship now. Saldon speaks highly of her."

"Excellent!" said Robbie. "The North Hyrule Sheikah may know or have access to additional information that could prove useful in our research on this. But see what I mean about forgetting, Dr. Purah?"

"I said almost forgot," said Purah.

"Midon and I will continue to look at code in the meantime," said Lapha quickly, eager to avoid an argument.

"Yes, good idea," said Purah. "Now, can we finally end this meeting?"

"Meeting adjourned!" laughed Robbie, as the meeting ended and they returned to work.

Meanwhile, at Hyrule Castle, Astra had finished her lessons for the day and had just wandered into the room her older sister Zelda used as an office. Besides Princess Zelda, Zelda's three-year-old son Horwell was playing there.

"Asty!" shouted Horwell as he spotted Astra and ran over to her, and Astra reached out and hugged and kissed him.

"How's my big boy doing today?" Astra asked, and he laughed when she gently tickled him in the ribs.

"Hi, Astra! Are you done with your tutors for the day?" asked Princess Zelda.

"Yeah, Zel, why?"

"Could you watch Horwell for me? The head of our Security Department asked to meet with me on short notice, and then I have the ambassador call with Mother. Randall is busy meeting with troops, and I did not want to burden the nursery staff again. Besides, I know Horwell has much more fun with you."

"Sure! I'm happy to watch him," said Astra. "We can go to the park together. Would you like that, Hory?"

"Yay!" exclaimed Horwell, clapping his hands.

After kissing his mother goodbye, Horwell left holding hands with Astra to play in the park. A short time later, a guard ushered in the head of the Security Department, Major Edon. Over time Queen Zelda had been gradually shifting duties to her older daughter, and oversight of the Security Department was one of them. The principal responsibilities of the Security Department were castle safety, including fire and theft protection.

"Thank you for seeing me, Your Highness, but there is something I need to make you aware of," said Edon.

"Of course, and please sit down, Major," said Princess Zelda.

"Thank you, Your Highness," said Edon, taking a seat. "Normally, I would not bother you with thefts, but the scale of the activity we just discovered is unprecedented. To get to the point, Your Highness, we have discovered there have been thefts of priceless items recently, and they were performed in quite a clever and sophisticated manner."

"Thefts?"

"Yes, Your Highness," said Edon.

"Please give me the details," said Princess Zelda.

"It was the museum curator who first brought the matter to my attention," said Edon. "And it was a sharp-eyed security guard that raised the alarm, though he felt funny explaining how he came to discover it. This museum guard liked to stop and look at some of the exhibits while making his rounds. There was one mask in particular on display, and he liked to line up his reflection in the case with the mask, which would give the appearance he was wearing it and show how he would look with it on. One day he noticed his face didn't quite line up with the mask when he stood in his usual spot, that the mask had been turned or rotated ever so slightly. He mentioned this to the curator later when he saw him that he had noticed they must have had the mask out for cleaning or inspection. But the curator said that no, they had not. That led the curator to inspect the mask, and after careful examination, it turned out that the mask in our collection was a clever forgery, and the genuine item has been stolen."

"A mask, you say?"

"One of the legendary masks from an age long past," said Edon.

"But how is this possible?" said Zelda. "We have security, don't we?"

"Yes, Your Highness, but the thief disguised themself as one of the museum employees, including proper identification, and was able to bypass our checks. They seem to know all about our procedures. We looked back at security recordings and identified the thief's picture, but it isn't useful. The individual wore a disguise that included their face and hair. We cannot even tell if it was a man or woman."

"Can you show me the picture?"

"Yes, I came prepared to do so, Your Highness," said Edon as he produced his Tab and the picture in question.

"I see what you mean, and this is certainly terrible news," said Princess Zelda. "My mother will be sad to learn of it. She values those ancient relics as important parts of our history, as do I. But if I heard you correctly, Major, you said thefts, plural?"

"Yes, Your Highness," said Edon as he lowered his head. "After learning of the first theft, the curator went back and checked other items. He found that several masks were missing. That caused us to do a more thorough check, and we discovered some jewels were missing from the treasury vault, namely two sapphires, an opal, and a piece of amber. Again, the thief was able to disguise themself and impersonate someone authorized to gain access to the vault, and they knew the protocol for doing so. It must be someone very familiar with Hyrule Castle procedures."

"So, you believe it may be what I understand is sometimes referred to as an inside job?" said Princess Zelda.

"Yes, Your Highness, it very well could be," said Edon. "Of course, we are expanding our efforts to find this person and ideally recover the stolen goods. But I understand how serious this matter is. I feel I have failed to provide Hyrule Castle with adequate security and have a letter of resignation here with me. I would understand if you wish me to submit it now."

"No, Major, I don't want your resignation. I want your help in solving this mystery," said Princess Zelda. "But you understand I will have to inform my mother. She has an ambassador call later today and may want me to inform the other races about this to alert them to this shameless thievery. However, my mother has also said that she will abide by my decisions regarding areas she has delegated to me, including your department. So, you have my support and please continue your investigation."

"Thank you very much, Your Highness, and I promise we will do our very best to find out who this culprit is and where the stolen artifacts may be," said Edon.

With that, he bowed and left, leaving Princess Zelda to puzzle over matters. Then she checked her Tab and noticed there were still a few minutes before her mother's meeting that she was expected to attend. She called her mother and relayed all she had learned from Major Edon.

"That's alarming news that we have such a bold thief in our midst," said Queen Zelda. "I think you should certainly mention it on our ambassador call."

"Yes, Mother, I agree," said Princess Zelda as they ended the call.

Queen Zelda shook her head as she finished her call with her daughter and prepared to start the ambassador meeting call. As soon as you think things are settled and at peace, something happens. At least no one was physically harmed by this latest news, but losing priceless relics from the past was heartbreaking.

When the call was established, they did a quick roll call, and everyone was present. The meeting included Princess Zelda, Rito Ambassador Rayna, Gerudo Ambassador Raynia, Goron Ambassador Hadon, North Hyrule Ambassador Laray, and Zora Ambassador Link.

"I'm glad all of you could attend," said Queen Zelda. "If there are no issues with the minutes of our last meeting, we can proceed with new business beginning with Gerudo ambassador Raynia."

Meanwhile, in Zora's Domain, Mipha was out spending time with the family while Link sat alone in his study, the room where he worked on his journal, waiting for the ambassador call to begin. He had been whiling away the time before the call, playing a game on his Tab that involved moving rapidly falling blocks into place. His son Midon had shown him the game before leaving for the Ancient Tech Lab, and Link found it clever and entertaining. Midon had added that more sophisticated games were available that played even better on tablet-sized Mabs like Sidon had than on Tabs. But he thought his dad should start with something simple. That was fine with Link. He enjoyed the novelty of it, the combination of quick reflexes and solving which block to slide where. But he wasn't hooked on it. It must be a generational thing, he thought. He closed the game as the ambassador meeting call got underway.

Gerudo Ambassador Raynia had nothing unusual to report but closed by emphasizing that the Gerudo were eager to make up for lost commerce during the time of the invasion. They had special sales going on at the moment that were being advertised on people's Tabs. They hoped that would encourage people to shop at their nearest Gerudo outlet store or directly by Tab. These sales will not last forever, Raynia added, so it's the perfect time to pick up some exquisite jewelry for oneself or a loved one or a custom-designed Gerudo device or outfit.

It sounded to Link more like a sales talk than a report, but he understood how commerce-minded the Gerudo were and how important such things mattered to them. And unfortunately, it prompted Zelda to make a joke at his expense.

"Ambassador Link, this might be an excellent opportunity for you to take advantage of this sale and pick up a new Gerudo Vai outfit," laughed Zelda. "The other one must be a bit worn by now."

"If I have to chase after a rebellious princess who continually seeks to escape my company, I'll consider it, Your Majesty," laughed Link.

They both laughed for another moment, and then Zelda resumed the meeting.

"Apologies to the rest of you," Zelda said. "That was a little inside joke. Goron Ambassador Hadon, you're next."

"Yes, the Gorons are all doing well with our mining operations rolling at full capacity," said Hadon. "As you know, we were relatively unaffected by the recent invasion. Our regular monthly report is on everyone's Tab. Are there any questions?"

Hearing none, Zelda moved on to the North Hyrule ambassador, Laray.

Laray's report mentioned some improvements to waterways and the fact that one of their scientists named Aldora would be assisting with some research at the Royal Ancient Tech Lab.

Rito ambassador Rayna reported on improvements to ground transportation in the area, which she emphasized was for visitors, of course. She added that snowfall in the Hebra Mountains had been exceptionally strong lately, and skiing was excellent now with deep powdery snow. The Rito had also made sure there was no risk from avalanches.

So, it sounded like the Rito were eager for more tourism, thought Link. He promised himself he would not plug Zora's Domain the same way.

"Next is Zora ambassador Link," said Zelda.

"As usual, the Zora report on water supply and its quality is on your Tabs," said Link. "There is nothing else unusual to report. My daughter Mila is finishing her work on the official history of the last invasion and expects to complete a draft in the next few weeks. She asked me to thank all of you for your people's cooperation in her research. Unless there are questions, that is all I have to discuss."

"Ambassador Link," said Rayna. "Master Revali asked me to inquire, should the subject of the invasion history come up, if he will still have a chance to review Princess Mila's draft before it is final. He said that Princess Mila agreed he would have such an opportunity."

"If my daughter agreed to it, then I am sure it will be so," said Link.

"Thank you," said Rayna.

Revali probably wanted to make sure Mila gave sufficient prominence to his and the Rito involvement in repelling the invasion, Link thought. He would be sure to remind Mila not to let Revali bully her into changing anything unless she agreed it was appropriate.

"If there is nothing else, then our last meeting report is from my daughter Zelda," said Queen Zelda. "I am afraid she has some disturbing news to share at the end."

Princess Zelda then began her report about Central Hyrule matters, which was primarily routine. But after finishing with her prepared statement, she moved on to the matter of the stolen artifacts.

As Princess Zelda began speaking of the thefts, a distant memory stirred in Link's mind. He had a vague recollection that he had run into a situation like this before, a thief who stole priceless artifacts. But as usual in these types of situations, Link was hesitant to speak up at once for fear of making a fool of himself.