08-30-2016, 12:43 PM
After spending the night in a dreamless sleep, Carmelita woke up in the Control Tower and noted the reply from Hiro on her eyepieces. She spent a decent amount of time writing the reply, so when she finally got out of the hammock Chip and Al3x had already gotten a head start on the morning.
“Any word from our guest?” she asked Al3x over the comms.
++Yes. The stallion appears to be trying to assemble some kind of vehicle out in the space by the garage. Chip is practically biting her nails over all the things he’s putting in the wrong places.++
“On my way.”
She descended the steps and emerged into the mid-morning heat, heading towards the hangar. As she neared, she saw the purple-furred tri-eye and the AI lurking behind a corner, watching their guest discretely with varying levels of interest. Carmelita gestured for Chip to follow her as she approached the stallion.
“Good morning, Sombra!” she called as the two of them approached.
“Good morning, Inspector,” Came the reply from the stallion as he began pushing more omnilium into the vehicle. “I don’t suppose you have any experience in making vehicles work, do you?”
“Not personally,” she replied. “But one of my co-workers does. Sombra, meet Chip. Chip, Sombra.”
The stallion looked up to see that a purple furred girl with three eyes on her face was staring at his attempt at transportation with ill-disguised interest. He hesitantly held out a hoof.
“Good to meet you.”
“Same. Mind if I have a look? Thanks.”
Chip brushed past his hoof with a cursory nod and began analysing Sombra’s vehicle. Whilst the stallion seemed about to take offence, the vixen extended a hand to halt his words and gestured to wait a moment.
It was a four wheeled enclosed chariot, almost a battle wagon. A large box on the top appeared to be trying to cool down the air inside, but the air intake vents were crossing over with the piping for some kind of dispenser that was interfering with both that and the reins that appeared to control the large harness that hung suspended in mid air in front of the vehicle.
The tri-eye grabbed a pad of paper from her belt and set about frantically sketching a simple redesign. The boxy structure became streamlined, the box cooling the air inside lowered itself to the front and supported the reins whilst the dispenser construct moved to be next to the seats that she sketched in along the back of the wagon. Quick labels of springs provided the diagram with a decent suspension, and she turned to provide the stallion’s still outstretched hoof with the drawing.
“Try that,” she said, cheerily. “It also frees up some space for mounting stuff on the roof or on the sides given the rugged construction.”
Sombra blinked and gave Chip a look before reshaping the vehicle with his omnilium. Black sparks of magic flickered into life under the harness, forming into dark imitations of his form, and soon the vehicle came properly into existence.
Sombra gave a relieved smile to the two bipeds and opened up the door at the rear, climbing the crystal steps that descended from the back before disappearing again.
“Thank you very much for your hospitality. I will stay in touch, but now, I must go have a little chat with the makers of that damnable site. Fare thee well.”
With that, he closed the door to the rear and took the reins, flicking them and encouraging the magical constructs to pull the vehicle out and away from the compound. As he crested the ridge and faded from sight, Chip turned to Carmelita.
“What a nice man.”
“Any word from our guest?” she asked Al3x over the comms.
++Yes. The stallion appears to be trying to assemble some kind of vehicle out in the space by the garage. Chip is practically biting her nails over all the things he’s putting in the wrong places.++
“On my way.”
She descended the steps and emerged into the mid-morning heat, heading towards the hangar. As she neared, she saw the purple-furred tri-eye and the AI lurking behind a corner, watching their guest discretely with varying levels of interest. Carmelita gestured for Chip to follow her as she approached the stallion.
“Good morning, Sombra!” she called as the two of them approached.
“Good morning, Inspector,” Came the reply from the stallion as he began pushing more omnilium into the vehicle. “I don’t suppose you have any experience in making vehicles work, do you?”
“Not personally,” she replied. “But one of my co-workers does. Sombra, meet Chip. Chip, Sombra.”
The stallion looked up to see that a purple furred girl with three eyes on her face was staring at his attempt at transportation with ill-disguised interest. He hesitantly held out a hoof.
“Good to meet you.”
“Same. Mind if I have a look? Thanks.”
Chip brushed past his hoof with a cursory nod and began analysing Sombra’s vehicle. Whilst the stallion seemed about to take offence, the vixen extended a hand to halt his words and gestured to wait a moment.
It was a four wheeled enclosed chariot, almost a battle wagon. A large box on the top appeared to be trying to cool down the air inside, but the air intake vents were crossing over with the piping for some kind of dispenser that was interfering with both that and the reins that appeared to control the large harness that hung suspended in mid air in front of the vehicle.
The tri-eye grabbed a pad of paper from her belt and set about frantically sketching a simple redesign. The boxy structure became streamlined, the box cooling the air inside lowered itself to the front and supported the reins whilst the dispenser construct moved to be next to the seats that she sketched in along the back of the wagon. Quick labels of springs provided the diagram with a decent suspension, and she turned to provide the stallion’s still outstretched hoof with the drawing.
“Try that,” she said, cheerily. “It also frees up some space for mounting stuff on the roof or on the sides given the rugged construction.”
Sombra blinked and gave Chip a look before reshaping the vehicle with his omnilium. Black sparks of magic flickered into life under the harness, forming into dark imitations of his form, and soon the vehicle came properly into existence.
Sombra gave a relieved smile to the two bipeds and opened up the door at the rear, climbing the crystal steps that descended from the back before disappearing again.
“Thank you very much for your hospitality. I will stay in touch, but now, I must go have a little chat with the makers of that damnable site. Fare thee well.”
With that, he closed the door to the rear and took the reins, flicking them and encouraging the magical constructs to pull the vehicle out and away from the compound. As he crested the ridge and faded from sight, Chip turned to Carmelita.
“What a nice man.”