by Rohan Healy
“You seem like quite the mechanic,” Miles said, admiring Adam's work.
“Heh, thanks,” Adam chuckled, “learned from my dad, he started this machine shop way back in -20 when he was just nineteen. He was part of one of the last generations of people to come to Gyaros by choice.”
A woman who looked about the same age as Adam then entered the room to see what was going on. She had long straight hair that was primarily black though with a few grey spots and she wore a somewhat faded floral dress.
“Oh, this is my wife, Miriam,” said Adam with a smile and he placed his arm around the lady’s waist. “Honey, this is Miles and Lucy.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Miriam said, her kindly old face beamed a welcoming smile as she directed a polite nod toward Miles, “is there anything I can get you?”
“Maybe some water?” Miles replied.
“And how about you, Lucy?” Miriam asked looking down at Lucy who was closely examining an old radio.
“Some water will be fine thanks,” she answered, looking up at Miriam. “I don't really eat or drink much anyways,” she added, smiling. Miriam looked slightly concerned upon noticing Lucy's missing arm and also a little confused at how a child could be so calm with such an injury.
“Now why don't you sit down and we'll talk about this arm,” said Adam, gesturing towards one of the comfortable sofas as Miriam went off to fetch Miles and Lucy some water. Adam took a seat across the table and continued.
“First of all,” he began, “I gotta ask about the girl. That injury looks pretty fresh judging by the blood,” specks of red dotted the yellow sleeve from the not yet healed wound, “but she doesn't seem too shaken up by the whole thing. Frankly I think there's somethin' strange about her, about the both of ya.”
“Well, Lucy is...” Miles paused, trying to decide on the best way to put it “she's part machine, well, mostly machine I think. It's a long story but she lost her arm when we were attacked a few days back and I heard that you might be able to help. Doctor Galand patched her up, but he said you were the man to see about machines.” Adam looked over Miles' shoulder at Lucy, his eyes narrowed in a doubtful expression.
“I've seen plenty of machines in my time but none of 'em looked like that, where did she come from?”
“Well, I’m not entirely sure, I found her inside of a Talos shuttle near The Dustbowl but she doesn't remember anything before that.” Adam was still sceptical but agreed to help.
“I don't know what that girl is and I'm not gonna ask any more questions, but I'll see what I can do, if Galand says you’re okay then you’re okay by me. Usually I charge a pretty penny for a job like this, at least 20,000 talons, working parts are hard to come by these days and it takes a lot to craft a functional arm.”
“I-I don't have that kind of money,” Miles said looking worried. ‘Damn it! I left every last Talon I had at Humber Dam in return for everything Adara and Galand had done for Lucy!’
“Well then,” said Adam, “is there something you can do for me?” Miles thought hard about the question before replying.
“The Wilhelm station near here, it's damaged right?”
“That it is, what are you suggesting?” Adam asked curiously.
“I have some engineering training, maybe I can try and repair it?”
“Hehe, it'll take more than an engineer to repair that thing, boy,” Adam laughed, “you could give it a shot but you'd most likely end up dead.” Miriam returned with two tall glasses of fresh water for Miles and Lucy, placing them on the table in front of them. Miles thanked her politely and continued his conversation with Adam while Lucy fiddled with some of Adam’s contraptions.
“Why is it so dangerous?” Miles inquired.
“A whole pack of thrashwings are nesting up in the tower, they’re what's tearing the thing apart.”
“Thrashwings?”
“Big flying beasts, you've probably seen 'em in the skies. They look pretty from a distance but up close...even if you had a gun big enough to clear 'em out, you still gotta climb the tower and that's no easy task.” Miles looked down at the floor, dejected. Had he come here all for nothing?
“There has to be something I can do for you!” he said, desperate to get Lucy's arm fixed.
“I wish there was Miles, but I'm not too sure. Now, if what you've told me is true and that girl's some kind of robot, she can live without an arm. But I can't go around giving expensive machinery away for free, Miriam and I have to eat you know. I hope you understand that I just can’t help you without somethin' in return.”
Miles sank into the sofa in defeat, there was nothing he could offer Adam and he would have to tell Lucy that she wasn't getting her arm repaired after all. ‘She’s going to be devastated, damn it!’ At that moment Miles heard the heavy front door once again swing open, followed by a familiar gruff voice from the doorway.
“I don't fuckin' believe it...” Miles turned quickly to see a large, muscular dark skinned man standing in the doorway with a pile of wood held under a mechanical right arm. He had a white bandage across his chest and a black eye patch covering his left eye. Miles jumped to his feet and stared at the man in complete disbelief. 'It can't be...' he thought to himself, 'I saw him die, no one could survive a shotgun blast and a dust storm like that!'
“M-Maxen?” he said, finally regaining his ability to form words “I...but...how did you...”
“I was about to ask you the same thing!” shouted Maxen, equally as shocked.
“Woah! I want an arm like that!” said Lucy, jumping to her feet and running to Maxen in order to get a closer look at his robotic limb.
“You two...know each other?” asked Adam in a puzzled manner.
“I owe that man my life! I wouldn't have made it past my first day on Gyaros if not for Maxen,” replied Miles, grinning childishly, still unable to believe his eyes.
“Shit,” said Maxen laughing, “I don't know how you made it past your second!”
“It's a long story...” Miles said as the shock on his face was replaced by a gentle smile.
“Heh, same here, brother,” said Maxen, shaking his head and placing the wood down on the floor before approaching Miles and throwing his organic arm around him, Miles returned the embrace.
“So who's this little chick?” said Maxen, kneeling down to match Lucy's height.
“I'm Lucy, nice to meecha!”
“Looks like you and me got somethin' in common,” Maxen lifted his newly repaired mechanical arm. “Mr. Powell over there hooked me up with this baby.” He examined Lucy closely before adding, “you look like you're doin' pretty good for a little girl who just lost her arm.”
“That's because I'm not a human,” Lucy replied, smiling.
“Not human? What the hell's she talkin' about, Miles?” Maxen asked as he climbed back onto his feet.
“Lucy is some kind of android, but we don't know much more than that. She doesn't remember anything before arriving on Gyaros,” explained Miles.
“Huh,” said Maxen, looking at Lucy with a disconcerted air, “so I guess you're here to fix up that arm then?”
“That was the plan. But I'm not sure we can afford it,” replied Miles quietly.
“Damn, there must be somethin' you can offer Adam, right? I paid for mine by helpin' out around here, carrying supplies, killin' a few wild creatures that were messin with the crops,” Maxen said, turning to Adam.
“I offered to try and fix the nearby Wilhelm station,” said Miles, “but Adam said it's infested with thrashwings.”
“Thrashwings huh?” said Maxen, “I've had to shoot a couple of the bastards down since I've been here, maybe I can help out with that.”
“No, I couldn't ask you to do something like that Maxen, it's too dangerous and besides it looks like you're injured!” replied Miles.
“I think I can handle it, Miles. ’Sides, if it means this girl here can get a shiny new arm, I'm down,” Maxen said with a smile as he patted Lucy on the head with his human han
d. “What do you say, Adam?” he added, once again turning his gaze towards Adam who still sat at the wooden coffee table.
“Well, I've seen what that cannon on your arm can do, I reckon the two of ya might have a chance at fixin' the tower together but it's still a long shot,” Adam acknowledged frankly. He climbed out of his chair and added, “but I can promise you this, if you can get that station back in working order, I'll sort that girl out with the finest artificial arm on Gyaros. That busted station’s been playing havoc with our crops and sleep for weeks now, sure would be nice to have it back up and running properly.”
“Sounds good! You up for it, Miles?” Maxen said, slapping Miles on the shoulder with his mechanical hand.
“Only if you're sure about this,” Miles replied seriously.
“'Course I am, man! And I was just startin' to get bored of this place too,” said Maxen with a chuckle, and a wink toward Adam. Miles knew that Maxen had no shortage of confidence when it came to battle and fortunately for both of them, he had the skill and firepower to back it up.
“Thank you, Maxen,” Miles said, genuinely grateful, “I don't know what else to say...I just can’t believe you’re really standing here in front of me!”
“You oughta rest here for tonight,” said Adam, “you'll head out to the tower in the morning, I can bring you up to speed on the whole situation later on but for now, it looks like you boys have some catching up to do.”
Miriam came in to offer Miles and Maxen some cold beers and homemade potato chips which they gladly accepted and Miles spent the next hour or so telling Maxen about everything that he'd been through since they last saw each other.
“That's messed up, man,” Maxen said compassionately, taking another sip of beer.
“So what about you?” Miles asked inquisitively, “how the hell did you survive that storm?”
“I'm not so sure myself!” Maxen laughed, “just luck mostly, shielded myself the best that I could with my old arm while I looked for shelter, by some miracle I found a truck to hide under til the storm passed but I was bleedin' out fast. Musta gone unconscious from blood loss or somethin' cuz next thing I know, I'm in this back alley with a group of three, said they just arrived and thought a big dude with a gun for an arm would be a welcome addition to the gang. One of 'em was a paramedic of some kind, patched me up pretty good.”
“So what happened to them?” Miles inquired.
“Well let's just say they weren't too happy when they found out that my arm didn't work so good after the dust storm had its way with it, they basically told me to fuck off and take a hike,” Maxen said with a laugh, he took another sip of beer and continued.
“Didn't try to kill me though, which was real nice of 'em. So anyway, my top priority was to get the hell outta The Dustbowl so I jumped on the back of a truck headin' north and rode it to Humber Dam. I did a little work in Adara’s garage, saved up and got myself a big ass motorcycle. It's a hunk 'o' shit but it lets me travel so I can't complain.”
“What happened to your eye?” Miles asked, pointing to the patch that covered Maxen's left eye which had already been blinded long before Miles had met him in the shuttle.
“Piece of flyin' debris took it out during the storm. Heh, who said lightning never strikes the same place twice?” Maxen joked.
“You're lucky it did! You wouldn't have gotten far on Gyaros with two blind eyes,” said Miles with a chuckle.
“I'll drink to that!” Maxen said, raising the bottle in his robotic hand.
The day continued with Adam telling stories about the fall of Gyaros and how he had managed to maintain the area's Wilhelm station over the years as well as some of the crazy and funny experiences he's had running the machine shop as Maxen showed off some of the new features of his mechanical arm, making Lucy even more excited about getting her own. As it began to grow late Adam, Miles and Maxen started to formulate a plan regarding the Wilhelm station and the infestation of thrashwings.
“First of all, you'll have to make it up the tower,” said Adam, “but that ain't gonna be easy,” he added.
“What's the best way to get up there?” asked Miles.
“There’s usually a service elevator that goes all the way to the top but it hasn't been in working order for some time, which means,” Adam paused before continuing, “your best shot is probably to climb up the elevator shaft.”
“Sounds doable,” Miles said as he thought about the plan, “but we'll need some decent climbing equipment, ropes, hooks, whatever you have.”
“Equipment won’t be a problem. I've got just about everything you boys should need to get to the top of that tower. Now the thrashwings are another issue.”
“How many we talkin'?” Maxen inquired.
“A hundred at least, not all full grown but it's still a hell of a lot.”
“How can we take on that many?” Miles asked.
“Well the elevator shaft should provide you two with some decent cover, there's a lotta holes in the chain link exterior but it should allow you to take on the thrashwings one or two at a time. From what I've seen Maxen's a pretty good shot so it should be easy enough to take em out that way.”
“Then there's the matter of actually repairing the tower,” said Miles, “I'm guessing you'd know what's wrong with it?”
“I know just about all there is to know, I've been keeping it up and running for around twenty years after all. See, Wilhelm stations basically work by releasing combinations of water, Chimerium and other substances into the atmosphere to create various weather and atmospheric conditions and simulate day and night. The mechanism that releases these chemicals and elements is located at the peak of the tower, seems to me that the thrashwings have damaged this mechanism causing uneven solutions to be expelled.”
“So how do we fix it?”
“Luckily, the expulsion mechanism is just about the most basic part of a Wilhelm station. I'm sure I can walk you through it via radio if you get up there.”
“Alright,” said Maxen, standing up and stretching, “looks like we got a plan, I think it's time we got ourselves a little shut eye.”
“I agree, we'll need as much rest as we can get if we're going to pull this off tomorrow,” Miles said as he likewise climbed out of his chair.
Maxen was staying in the Powell's guest room upstairs and Adam had arranged for Miles and Lucy to sleep in the living room on two sofas with spare blankets and pillows. Getting to sleep was difficult with the weather conditions changing violently outside as well as the unpredictable day night cycle created by the damaged station.
“Papa?” Miles heard Lucy whisper from across the living area as he laid awake on the sofa.
“What is it?” he asked, sitting up. Despite the darkness of the room, Miles could see a worried expression on Lucy's face.
“You don't have to do this if you don't want to,” she said quietly, “I mean, it sounds really dangerous...” Miles thought for a few seconds about the current situation, it was true that attempting to repair the Wilhelm station was a highly dangerous task and even if they could clear out the tower, there was no certainty that Miles would be able to fix the damaged mechanism with the tools that Adam had at his disposal. But they couldn't have come all this way for nothing, Lucy had the opportunity to get the new arm that she wanted so badly and Miles couldn't take that away from her. Not to mention Adam and Miriam who have been living under a distorted Chimerium field since the thrashwings began nesting inside the tower. Since Miles arrived on Gyaros, he had murdered and stolen to survive, now he finally had a chance to give something back, to prove that he was still the decent man that he'd been trying so desperately to convince himself he was.
“Don't worry, Lucy,” he said, smiling, “we'll be fine, Maxen's pretty tough and his arm has a built in cannon. Besides, we've done pretty dangerous stuff before and we're still here, right?”
“Yeah, I guess so,” Lucy said with a giggle, “just be careful, okay?”
“I will Lucy. Now you
should try and get some sleep, we've got a big day tomorrow.”
“Uh huh,” Lucy said as she tried her best to get into a comfortable position on the sofa before closing her eyes. ‘God it feels good to be out of The Dustbowl and safe. And Maxen, you crazy son of a bitch, you had me mourning you all this time for nothing huh.’ Miles chuckled to himself as he turned over to sleep. ‘And Hellen, I don’t know what you’re doing right now, but know that your husband is thinking of you. I’m alive and I still have my dignity and humanity, that’s something that piece of shit Tyler will never have.’
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Chapter 21
The next day began with an early start as Miles, Maxen and Adam prepared for the journey to the Wilhelm station which, Adam explained, was about eight kilometres north-west through a dense forest. Apparently it was impossible to reach with any vehicle and so the trip had to be made on foot. After a light breakfast of fresh fruit and toast Adam began loading a large backpack with supplies necessary to scale the tower and repair the malfunctioning expulsion mechanism at the peak. Meanwhile Maxen and Miles studied a diagram of the station in order to formulate a basic strategy, in the end they didn't come up with much more than, “climb, climb, shoot, shoot,” but they at least got some idea of how to access the elevator shaft from the main structure. Miriam kept Lucy company, showing her some of Adam's gadgets and devices, she seemed to have a deep fascination with machines which most probably had something to do with her being one herself.
At 10:00, it was time to set out. Adam had decided to accompany Miles and Maxen to the base of the tower, leaving Lucy and Miriam at the house for the day. As they left for the station, out through the Powell’s back garden, Lucy could be seen on the small back porch of the house.
“Good luck!” she shouted and waved enthusiastically. Miles and Maxen both waved back as they continued down a small path that had been cut through the thick bushes by Adam on his previous trips to the tower.
