Bitlin watched as Nuli peered at the black device under a magnifying glass. He had brought the device straight to her shop right at close in hopes that she would know, or at least be able to find out, what the device was. She had run all sorts of tests and searched half a dozen schematics so far without any luck.
“Yeah Bit, I dunno either.” Nuli said sitting back with a defeated sigh. She spun her magnifying glass around and switched off the light in defeat. “I’ve never seen anything like it. No make, model, or even an id number.”
“I thought it was a power source by how it was hooked up.” Bitlin said.
“I don’t know about that either.” Nuli said rubbing her chin as she squinted at the small black hunk of material. “There’s ether in there, sure, but if it was a power source there would be some sort of indicator before the flow valve.”
“Could it have broken off?” Bitlin asked. “Things in the Dregs don’t always survive the fall.”
“Maybe,” Nuli said picking up the device and peering inside. “There’s no porting though. No gauge marker either. All I see in there is what looks like a piece of glass.”
“Glass?” Bitlin asked holding out his hand. Nuli handed him the device and shone a light at it for him to see. There was indeed a clear substance across the inside of the socket from edge to edge. He would have never known it was there unless Nuli had shone light on it directly.
“It’s in there.” Nuli said. “Can’t imagine what for.”
“Maybe that’s what the ether is coming from.” Bitlin said.
“It’s clear. No color, no ether.” Nuli said.
“A piece of junk then.” Bitlin said with a sigh. He had been so confident that this was something important.
“Maybe it was something important before it fell, but right now? Yes, everything from the Dregs is junk.” Nuli said putting away the various tools on the workbench. “Still, make you wonder what exactly they do up there, eh?”
“Yeah.” Bitlin said stowing the device away. “Thanks Nuli.”
“Course, be careful on your way back.” Nuli said ruffling Bitlins’ hair.
Bitlin bid Nuli goodbye and began his trek through the twisting alleys. He walked slowly and around puddles to avoid making excess noise. The under city never really slept and it wouldn’t do to attract attention right now. Enforcers were not the only people awake at this time.
Wakal was asleep when Bitlin returned and he was careful not to wake him. The old man still had a slight fever and would need time to fight it off. If he could. Bitlin took a deep breath and let it out quietly. The rust had claimed so much of Wake’s body it was a miracle that he was still alive. There couldn’t be much more time left until the metal strangled his heart. Bitlin looked at the arched ceiling as his ears roared with blood. He didn’t even notice that his hands were moving.
When Bitlin finally looked down he saw a small creation half put together on the floor. He blinked a few times and turned the dirty stack of parts around over his hands. What even was this?
There was a coil attached to an old-fashioned metal circuit. A heatsink was mashed on the side for no reason and a broken bulb sticking off the top. A bar of metal was screwed in a joint with reversed threads. Whoops, forced that one in. He paused when he saw an empty space and immediately knew what it was for. He reached into his pack and pulled out the device. He stared at the mysterious black cap briefly, then slotted it in its’ place as the core.
Bitlin waited for something, anything, to happen. Unsurprisingly, the hunk of junk remained inactive. Bitlin pursed his lips and ‘disassembled’ the ‘machine’, gently placing the parts back in the spare bucket.
He ran a checklist in his head and updated the mental schematics that he had of the projects he was working on. No new pieces. He paused and held up the black device. Well, no ‘useful’ new pieces. He spun the device in his fingers and examined it again in the low light. Whatever this was, he needed a name for it. A good one…
Bitlin fell asleep looking at the device still in this hand. His dreams were filled with machines he had made himself from scratch sitting around him in a circle. He was fixing one small machine when it filled with ether before his eyes. Heat singed his hands as he dropped the filaments that appeared in his hands. He watched in horror as the other machines he had made grew filaments and began to overheat. Hot metal glowed as the heat baked him from all directions as he tried to run. He woke up with a pounding headache.
He massaged his forehead and pouted as his head throbbed uncomfortably. Maybe Wakal was sick with something beyond his ailment and had given it to him. It had been a while since he’d been sick, but he still had to work. He put the device away with the rest, but in a place that he could distinguish it from the rest. He checked that Wakal was properly swaddled and left for the Dregs.
The alleyway near Nuli’s shop was illuminated for the first time since he could remember. Harsh blue-white light beamed down from streetlights that had been unlit for years. It was weird actually seeing the street for once as he walked through, but nice to finally avoid the puddles before he stepped in them. He kept to the darkness out of habit. Out of light out of sight. He still skirted the edges of the streetlights while examining the finally visible hardware. Remarkably simple, didn’t need to be complex, but he couldn’t tell which company made them.
A high pitch crash came from around the corner as he neared Nuli’s shop and froze in his tracks. Something glass had just shattered on the ground. HIs fever disappeared in a flash as his heartbeat quickly. Fear told his feet to run, but concern moved his hands forward along the wall. He paused at the window and just couldn’t help himself. He slid up the wall and peered through.
The front door to the shop was bent and twisted on the floor surrounded by broken glass from a display case. Nuli was cornered behind her overturned work bench by a group of strangely dressed men wearing masks. The strange men barely registered in Bitlins’ eyes for the large metal figure standing off to the side, glowing. A Preserver!
Large green ether channels bulged from the arms and legs of the large suit and disappeared into the chest and back of the mech. Weapons were attached in various places, but Bitlin was more focused on the armor itself. The metal plates seemed to flex as if allowing for free breathing. The forearms were too long. Were the pilots hands contained in the forearm somewhere? Those double jointed legs made the head almost touch the ceiling! The pilots’ feet must be in the second bend, extending the rest of the leg from the toes with stubby stilts. Springy. The body of the pilot became an outline in his mind as he worked out the internal mechanism. While Bitlins’ eyes were occupied with his examination, his ears picked up the conversation as if it was far away.
“It produces a special frequency when powered. Special, and unique. It subsists for quite a long time.” One of the men said slowly.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Nuli said.
“The most recent traces came from this location and they sustain for a while. Please try to remember something.” Another said.
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Bitlin had never heard the word ‘please’ said as a threat before. His eyes were still mystified by the Preservers’ mech unit. His bones rattled as his heart picked up in pace, trying to run away without him. A thought struck him like a light switching on in his brain. Enforcers worked in pairs so… wouldn’t Preservers?
His vision went blurry as he was suddenly wrenched off his feet and into the air. He gasped as his suit squeezed at him and he could feel it stretching, pulling him into a ball. He heard the seal of his suit hiss as it ripped and air rushed out. The outrage over his suit was dwarfed by the panic as small black spikes poked out from the yellow suit in front of his face.
A dark red light burst across his face as he found himself looking straight into the brightl red eyes of a Preserver. The subtle whine of metal on metal accompanied by heavy clanks filled his ears as he struggled. Pain erupted from his shin as he cracked it against one of the many metal ridge ridges on the mechs’ torso.
“Trespassing, eh?” The voice bellowed. Bitlin gasped as his ears rang like shrieking metal. He screwed his eyes closed and desperately covered his head. He felt himself jerked to the side and fly through the air. He landed heavily on his side and slid across the ground into the middle of the street.
Bitlin coughed rolled on his back as his vision swam. He clutched his side as it was stiffening and preventing him from taking a full breath. Heavy footsteps slammed on either side as the Preserver landed right above him. Bitlin cowered and squinted up at the mech outlined by the harsh blue light of the streetlight.
Crimson ether flowed like blood through filaments all over the Mech. The thick armor plates covering the chest and torso did little to obscure the massive amount of filaments stemming from the mechs’ chest. The ether ran in great streams through filaments from the mechs’ chest and into massive cylinders on the arms. The hands of the mech were large and covered with little barbs and spikes. Bitlin noticed a scrap of his suit was still stuck to some of the barbs on the knuckles as it reached down to lift him off the ground again.
“Can’t you read the sign? Road closed, means road closed!” The speakers blared down at Bitlin.
Bitlin’s eyes followed the Mechs’ arm as it pointed to large roadblocks that he had apparently walked past. Bitlin scowled at the signage flashing warnings in reverse. He must not have noticed the warnings while he was looking up at the streetlights.
“What’s happening out there?” One of the men called from the broken doorway.
“Just a rat.” The Preserver said and dropped Bitlin to the pavement.
“Get rid of it,” The man said waving his hand. “We’re bringing this one in.”
Bitlin coughed as his ribs finally allowed him to breathe. He stared at the stained pavement in front of his face. It? Rude. He heard a scream and crashing from inside the shop. His heart leapt to his throat and he found it hard to breathe again.
“Nuli!” Bitlin rasped from the ground. He floundered on the ground as he tried to crawl to the shop. His legs and arms just didn’t want to work! A heavy metal foot smashed cracks in the pavement next to his face, stinging his cheek with shards of concrete. Bitlins’ eyes watered as he looked up at the Preserver. Thrusters on the mechs’ back flared with heat as the Preserver jabbed its’ thumb at the barriers. Bitlin hurried to get up and smacked a hand on the wet ground. He froze. A tremors ran through his fingers.
Bitlin looked up at the Preserver again to see him facing down the alley, still as a statue. A muffled roar echoed through the street. The red Preserver made a few motions with his hand and the green one burst from the doorway.
The second preserver kicked up sparks as it slid across the pavement with an awful screech. Green ether flowed into the strange apparatuses on the Preservers shoulders and glowing crystal panels seemed to grow from nothing. Hardlight! So that’s what those things were!
He was jarred from his analysis as a building in their vicinity crumbled in a wash of dust and debris. The nearby street light flickered as it was knocked over and died when it shattered on the ground. Bitlins’ throat swelled to keep his heart from leaping out his mouth.
A large, lurching, thing, could be seen with the light from the lamp as it faded away. The sound of something snapping cut through the air. A horrible scraping sound crept across the walls as something was dragged across the ground. A large shape stumbled out of the dust cloud and Bitlin felt his heart jump off a cliff.
Rough brown skin wrapped, almost strangled, by tight cords. Diamond shaped scales covered its’ body shimmering and twisting as one. Thick arms and legs floundered about as if they were each moving independently. Small beady black eyes bored into a head that was too small for its’ body. Large dull teeth jutted out from a too large mouth. Bitlin noticed sparks from something grasped in the Giants’ talons as it was dragged across the ground. He couldn’t make out what it was, but he had a good guess.
Bitlin covered his ears to keep his head from splitting as the Giant bellowed a horrible cry at the empty walls. Bitlins’ legs were glued to the ground as his lungs reverberated with the noise. It was like being under a barge! Fresh air punched him in the face a the pungent pollutants of the undercity were blasted away. Bitlin blinked at the sky as tears streamed sideways across his face from the blast of air. The lights were so clear…
There was an impact in his stomach that knocked the wind out of him and the lights streaked in his eyes. The wind whipped past his ears and he felt himself flung around like a rag doll before hitting the ground. He doubled over as his stomach tightened and floated, making him vomit.
“Get out of here kid!”
Bitlin looked up through teary eyes to see the red Preserver skip back around the corner. He caught a glimpse of huge filaments filling with dark red ether as something was powered up. Bitlin winced as he rolled to his feet. What kind of device needed two 4/0 gauge filaments? How much power did he need and for what? Whatever it was, he didn’t want to see it go off.
Flashes of green and red illuminated the dust and debris that flew out of the alley as Bitlin leaned against the wall. That was enough curiosity for the day. No matter how he felt he had to get to work. The Quartermaster wouldn’t care if he was half dead, numbers were numbers.
A horrible scraping sound came for behind him and Bitlin turned to see the green Preserver sliding backwards across the ground. Claws pierced the wall over head and the concrete crumbled. Bitlin stumbled as he tried to get away as the wall came down. He threw up his arms to protect himself and squeezed his eyes shut. He heard a heavy clank and green light penetrated his eyelids.
Bitlin cracked open an eye to see the green Preserver holding up the rubble with their shields. Deep gouges ran up and down the Preservers armor as if torn apart. A large section of the helmet had been torn away revealing the pilots face. Her eye glistening green with ether. So thats what it looked like…
“Move.” The Preserver said through grit teeth. Bitlin crawled backwards across the concrete unable to look away as the Preserver slowly began to crumple under the weight of the rubble. A shadow fell across them.
Another lamp was knocked over as the Giant loomed around the corner. Bitlin’s blood ran cold as he looked up at the Giant towering over them. Bitlin heard a yell from next to himand the concrete cascaded to the ground. The green Preserver dove out of the rubble as it fell and skidded into the opposite wall.
One hardlight shield was broken and twisted with the other receding. The Preserver held up the remaining shield as it shrank. Legs bent, arms twisted, torso crushed, helmet broken, but still standing. Bitlin couldn’t even focus on the mech as the Giant towered over them.
“That all you got?” The Preserver said staggering in the crippled mech. Bitlin’s knees were jelly as he scooted backwards on his rear. The Giant reached up, its’ clawed hand blocking out what little light they had.
A brilliant flash of red light came from the behind the Giant. A great plume of dust and debris rose into the air as the Giant fell through the building and onto the street. It lay motionless with smoke rising from its’ back. Bitlin stared at its’ wicked face staring into the distance. The green Preserver fell over with a shower of sparks as her legs finally gave out.
“Took you long enough.” The Preserver said. The Red Preserver appeared on top of the Giant with his right arm practically obscured from all the heat it was giving off. Small radiators on either side of the filaments glowed red hot as the heat dissipated.
“I wouldn’t leave you out to dry.” Bitlin heard a faint voice come from inside the green Preservers helmet. “I moved a lot of people just now.”
“My engineer’s going to be furious.” The green Preserver said looking herself over. The Red preserver hopped down from the back of the Giant and walked over to them shaking out his arm.
“But did you die?” The voice went as the red Preserver picked up his partner and threw them over his shoulder. She said something back, but Bitlins’ head was too foggy to register anything.
Bitlin watched them as his ears barely registered what was being said. His head was still unbearably foggy. His hand twitched and he looked down. He stopped breathing when the loose dust around his fingers jumped. He made a noise of exasperation.
The two Preservers looked down at him as one, then everyone was looking at the dust around his hand as it jumped again. Down the dark end of the street an unlit lamp fell and smashed on the ground. Ambient light from above showed multiple large shapes lumbering towards them. They seemed to be merging together, almost kinda…, like… spinning….
Blackness fell across his eyes like a shutter. The last thing he remembered was a jolt in his neck and a hollow sound as his head hit the pavement.