03-10-2017, 08:16 PM
The day was dawning as Chip drove slowly out of the Town With No Name and off into the desert. A light breeze brushed loose sand across the dunes, and soon Chip had lost any semblance of the road that lead to New Babylon. Trusting in her own sense of direction, she pressed on, the hover car kicking up plumes of dust behind it as it travelled over the dunes.
As Chip crested another dune, a flash of colour caught her eye. Off to one side a small number of figures were crouched around the smoking bonnet of a large lorry. The lorry’s trailer was covered in solar panels and was heavily armoured, though this was partly concealed by the white and beige paint job. The cab itself was a soft rose, though the smoke was quickly staining it grey.
Chip altered her route, keeping a wary eye out for an ambush. As she approached, the figures resolved themselves into five individuals, each warily keeping their limbs near their weapons.
The tri-eye slowed the car to a halt, keeping the engine running. She wound down the window, leaned out of the window and called out to the group.
“You look like you might be in a bit of trouble,” she stated.
The closest figure, a human wrapped in white robes and head covering, looked around at the others. The green hedgehog-like being shook its head, tapping its claws together worriedly, but the short figure whose piercing yellow eyes were the only visible features beneath its brown robes elbowed them and muttered something. The human turned the other way. An insect biped with its four arms draped in light translucent silk gave a demure nod, while the fifth and final figure, a crystalline being whose shiny surface was muted by white felt patches, displayed his wrist for the human to see.
The human sighed and pulled down their head scarf to reveal a young woman’s face, a long strand of liquid silver escaping its prison to blow in the breeze.
“I guess we are,” the woman said, gesturing to the bonnet.
“Need a mechanic?” Chip asked.
“Seems so,” the woman replied.
“Then you’re in luck.” Chip killed the engine, letting the car settle onto the sand. The five figures nodded greetings as she stepped out to assess the damage.
---
After setting up a canvas shelter to keep the sun off the engine, Chip gathered her tools from the car and opened up the bonnet of the cab.
The group had dispersed, for the most part, setting up a couple of parasols and settling down to keep an eye out for trouble. The green hedgehog-like being was the only one to stay by the lorry, becoming the first to introduce himself.
“The name’s Sandslash.” His voice was surprisingly soft for a being that had large spikes on his back and enormous claws on both hands.
“Chip,” she replied, proffering a hand and shaking one of Sandslash’s claws. “Pardon my curiosity, but what species are you? I’ve never been that good at memorising them all.”
Sandslash’s black eyes widened, before a grin stretched across his muzzle.
“I’m pokemon, though it’s nice to be asked for once. And you?”
“I’m tri-eye.” Chip gave a hiss as she opened the bonnet and smoke billowed out. She waved it away and leaned in closer. “Oh dear.”
“What’s wrong? How bad is it?” Sandslash asked.
“See this?” Chip asked, pointing to the engine block. A pipe had shaken loose and was now embedded in a gash in the metal, plain to see between puffs of smoke that rose from within. “You’ve got a few crossed wires thanks to the pipe, and they’ve been jammed into one of the cylinders. What were you people doing, driving along the verse’s bumpiest road?”
“I guess it might have been a delayed misfortune jinx. Our convoy was attacked by a tribal coven a few days ago, a lot of spells were being slung about and we were using the vehicles as cover.” Sandslash wrung his claws. “Can you fix it?”
“Hey, I build stuff for a living now. I’ve got this.” Chip grinned and set to work.
---
Sandslash had brought out a minifridge filled with cool bottled drinks, carrying the whole thing on one shoulder before running the power cord up to the solar panels. Chp sipped her passionfruit presse as she took a break from welding the pipes back together.
“Hyabadah!”
Chip looked around at the cheerful noise to see the short cloaked being waddle up, nodding approvingly at her welding tools. She waved politely with her bare arms, her jacket around her waist to avoid overheating.
“Hi there, my name’s Chip.”
“Hyabadoka. Hinamada sona Hiyo noku.” The short being waved their arms around before pointing at the welding torch. “Hokudu?”
“Um…?”
The short being took Chip’s confusion as permission and began welding the pipe she’d half done, stopping every so often to turn the torch and croon as it marvelled.
After five minutes the short being had finished the pipe and placed the welding torch reverentially in Chip’s hands, patting it twice before heading off with a cheerful ‘Hinodaya!’. She watched them go in confusion.
Sandslash’s laughter came from her right, and she frowned. The pokemon chuckled as he got his amusement under control before explaining.
“Hiyo’s a Jawa, very dedicated to efficiency. Even with the ability to speak Omniversal, they still prefer to speak their hyper efficient language,” he said.
“... right. Well, they just finished the pipework for me. Time to switch tools.” Chip carefully schooled her features to hide how bemused she still was.
---
Chip finished cleaning the wires she’d carefully extracted from deep within the pistons, ready to solder them together. It had been a couple of hours, and the sun was now at its zenith, the heat oppressive and overwhelming.
As she let the alcohol evaporate from the bare metal, the insectoid appeared and gestured for her to follow.
“I think you should cool off,” she said with lilting tones. “Cobalt can handle this heat, but the rest of us are taking a breather in the trailer. Come on.”
Chip followed and they made their way to the rear of the trailer, where steps had been extended and the doors unlocked. The two stepped inside into blissfully cool air.
Soft blue lighting shone down from sunlamps that illuminated beds of plants, growing in blue tinted water. Sandslash, Hiyo and the human were already sitting at the far end, clustered on chairs around the minifridge rather than at the bank of computer monitors that lined the wall. A large cupboard gave a soft noise and Hiyo collected drinks from a hatch at the bottom, restocking the minifridge.
“Hydroponics…” Chip breathed, gawping at the trailer’s contents. “What are you guys doing with hydroponics in the desert?”
“Making medicine,” the insect replied. “I am Doctor Ch‘xi-tul, though the convoy all call me Greeny. Come, join us.”
Chip followed, still taking in the shock absorbers and the complex seals needed to keep the trailer’s precious cargo from breaking. She sat down, taking a bottle wordlessly and simply thinking.
“So, Chip, what brings a mechanic out here in the Endless Dunes?” Sandslash asked, popping bottle caps with his claws and handing out the opened drinks.
“I’m headed to New Babylon,” she replied. “Took some time off work, loaded up with supplies and struck out. What about you guys? Where’s this convoy and where’s it going?”
“Hiyodunakabala!”
“What Hiyo said,” Greeny explained, “Was that we’re a nomadic merchant convoy. We’re a group of fifty or so people with a bunch of trucks and sand skiffs between us. Only way to be safe in the Dunes is to travel together, and every once in awhile we make enough profit we can afford to drop by New Babylon with free medicine and supplies.”
“Speaking of which,” the human said, “Why are you out on your own? You don’t look like a fighter.”
“I’m linked to a recall station at work.” At their surprised faces, Chip began to explain SupraPol in more detail.
As Chip crested another dune, a flash of colour caught her eye. Off to one side a small number of figures were crouched around the smoking bonnet of a large lorry. The lorry’s trailer was covered in solar panels and was heavily armoured, though this was partly concealed by the white and beige paint job. The cab itself was a soft rose, though the smoke was quickly staining it grey.
Chip altered her route, keeping a wary eye out for an ambush. As she approached, the figures resolved themselves into five individuals, each warily keeping their limbs near their weapons.
The tri-eye slowed the car to a halt, keeping the engine running. She wound down the window, leaned out of the window and called out to the group.
“You look like you might be in a bit of trouble,” she stated.
The closest figure, a human wrapped in white robes and head covering, looked around at the others. The green hedgehog-like being shook its head, tapping its claws together worriedly, but the short figure whose piercing yellow eyes were the only visible features beneath its brown robes elbowed them and muttered something. The human turned the other way. An insect biped with its four arms draped in light translucent silk gave a demure nod, while the fifth and final figure, a crystalline being whose shiny surface was muted by white felt patches, displayed his wrist for the human to see.
The human sighed and pulled down their head scarf to reveal a young woman’s face, a long strand of liquid silver escaping its prison to blow in the breeze.
“I guess we are,” the woman said, gesturing to the bonnet.
“Need a mechanic?” Chip asked.
“Seems so,” the woman replied.
“Then you’re in luck.” Chip killed the engine, letting the car settle onto the sand. The five figures nodded greetings as she stepped out to assess the damage.
---
After setting up a canvas shelter to keep the sun off the engine, Chip gathered her tools from the car and opened up the bonnet of the cab.
The group had dispersed, for the most part, setting up a couple of parasols and settling down to keep an eye out for trouble. The green hedgehog-like being was the only one to stay by the lorry, becoming the first to introduce himself.
“The name’s Sandslash.” His voice was surprisingly soft for a being that had large spikes on his back and enormous claws on both hands.
“Chip,” she replied, proffering a hand and shaking one of Sandslash’s claws. “Pardon my curiosity, but what species are you? I’ve never been that good at memorising them all.”
Sandslash’s black eyes widened, before a grin stretched across his muzzle.
“I’m pokemon, though it’s nice to be asked for once. And you?”
“I’m tri-eye.” Chip gave a hiss as she opened the bonnet and smoke billowed out. She waved it away and leaned in closer. “Oh dear.”
“What’s wrong? How bad is it?” Sandslash asked.
“See this?” Chip asked, pointing to the engine block. A pipe had shaken loose and was now embedded in a gash in the metal, plain to see between puffs of smoke that rose from within. “You’ve got a few crossed wires thanks to the pipe, and they’ve been jammed into one of the cylinders. What were you people doing, driving along the verse’s bumpiest road?”
“I guess it might have been a delayed misfortune jinx. Our convoy was attacked by a tribal coven a few days ago, a lot of spells were being slung about and we were using the vehicles as cover.” Sandslash wrung his claws. “Can you fix it?”
“Hey, I build stuff for a living now. I’ve got this.” Chip grinned and set to work.
---
Sandslash had brought out a minifridge filled with cool bottled drinks, carrying the whole thing on one shoulder before running the power cord up to the solar panels. Chp sipped her passionfruit presse as she took a break from welding the pipes back together.
“Hyabadah!”
Chip looked around at the cheerful noise to see the short cloaked being waddle up, nodding approvingly at her welding tools. She waved politely with her bare arms, her jacket around her waist to avoid overheating.
“Hi there, my name’s Chip.”
“Hyabadoka. Hinamada sona Hiyo noku.” The short being waved their arms around before pointing at the welding torch. “Hokudu?”
“Um…?”
The short being took Chip’s confusion as permission and began welding the pipe she’d half done, stopping every so often to turn the torch and croon as it marvelled.
After five minutes the short being had finished the pipe and placed the welding torch reverentially in Chip’s hands, patting it twice before heading off with a cheerful ‘Hinodaya!’. She watched them go in confusion.
Sandslash’s laughter came from her right, and she frowned. The pokemon chuckled as he got his amusement under control before explaining.
“Hiyo’s a Jawa, very dedicated to efficiency. Even with the ability to speak Omniversal, they still prefer to speak their hyper efficient language,” he said.
“... right. Well, they just finished the pipework for me. Time to switch tools.” Chip carefully schooled her features to hide how bemused she still was.
---
Chip finished cleaning the wires she’d carefully extracted from deep within the pistons, ready to solder them together. It had been a couple of hours, and the sun was now at its zenith, the heat oppressive and overwhelming.
As she let the alcohol evaporate from the bare metal, the insectoid appeared and gestured for her to follow.
“I think you should cool off,” she said with lilting tones. “Cobalt can handle this heat, but the rest of us are taking a breather in the trailer. Come on.”
Chip followed and they made their way to the rear of the trailer, where steps had been extended and the doors unlocked. The two stepped inside into blissfully cool air.
Soft blue lighting shone down from sunlamps that illuminated beds of plants, growing in blue tinted water. Sandslash, Hiyo and the human were already sitting at the far end, clustered on chairs around the minifridge rather than at the bank of computer monitors that lined the wall. A large cupboard gave a soft noise and Hiyo collected drinks from a hatch at the bottom, restocking the minifridge.
“Hydroponics…” Chip breathed, gawping at the trailer’s contents. “What are you guys doing with hydroponics in the desert?”
“Making medicine,” the insect replied. “I am Doctor Ch‘xi-tul, though the convoy all call me Greeny. Come, join us.”
Chip followed, still taking in the shock absorbers and the complex seals needed to keep the trailer’s precious cargo from breaking. She sat down, taking a bottle wordlessly and simply thinking.
“So, Chip, what brings a mechanic out here in the Endless Dunes?” Sandslash asked, popping bottle caps with his claws and handing out the opened drinks.
“I’m headed to New Babylon,” she replied. “Took some time off work, loaded up with supplies and struck out. What about you guys? Where’s this convoy and where’s it going?”
“Hiyodunakabala!”
“What Hiyo said,” Greeny explained, “Was that we’re a nomadic merchant convoy. We’re a group of fifty or so people with a bunch of trucks and sand skiffs between us. Only way to be safe in the Dunes is to travel together, and every once in awhile we make enough profit we can afford to drop by New Babylon with free medicine and supplies.”
“Speaking of which,” the human said, “Why are you out on your own? You don’t look like a fighter.”
“I’m linked to a recall station at work.” At their surprised faces, Chip began to explain SupraPol in more detail.