I can hear the clicks and whirs of machinery before I even open the door. I step into the room and am immediately assaulted by the smell of motor oil and rubber. Half finished projects, burnt husks of metal, and spare parts lie scattered across tables and workbenches.
"Yttri?" I call out, not sure if my mechanically-minded sister is even in here.
A face obscured by large black goggles and surrounded by curly hair appears over the top of a large engine. "Two minutes" she says, before disappearing once again.
For the thousandth time I wonder how she ever finds anything in this room. There is no rhyme or reason to where anything is. I finally decide that she must be putting her photographic memory to good use.
I hear a thump and turn to find the source of the noise. It's not like the usual droning of engines that fills the room. This sound lacks any discernable pattern, and seems to be coming from a nearby closet. I open the closet and clamp a hand over my mouth to stifle a laugh.
"This is not funny", Lopez says from his place on the floor.
My nod of agreement is counteracted by the hand still clamped over my mouth. I knew we were low on parts, but I didn't think Yttri would resort to this to repair the robot.
Lopez has four metal wheels haphazardly screwed into the sides of his head and a small stun gun on the side of his visor. "It's sort of an improvement" I finally manage.
"This is ridiculous and insulting" Lopez says, rolling out of the closet. His movement is accompanied by a grinding sound of metal on metal.
"Why were you in the closet?" I ask.
"Because he wouldn't stop bugging me" Yttri answers from behind me.
"You" Lopez says as I spin around to greet her. "You're the one who did this."
Yttrium points a wrench at the disembodied helmet threateningly. "Try it and I'll shut your voice off again."
"Try what?" I ask, wondering how they managed to become enemies in the twelve hours since Lopez got here. Granted, Yttri isn't exactly a people person, but she's normally good with machines.
"This little rat kept ramming me in the ankles last night, after all the work I did to fix him!"
"You didn't fix me" Lopez complains.
Yttri waves the wrench around while counting on her fingers. "I gave you mobility, combat capabilities, and reset your speech systems."
"I can still only speak Spanish, this isn't a real gun, and these wheels are humiliating."
"Well, excuse me for trying to make the best of things" Yttri says.
"Why didn't you just fix him normally?" I ask, hand on my forehead.
"I don't have the parts" Yttri says. "If I had a couple months to rework some of what I do have, then maybe I could make it work. As it is, I need to fix the hornet. That's top priority." She looks back down at Lopez. "I don't get what your problem is, anyway. You're like a mini tank."
"This is unacceptable" Lopez mutters.
I honestly have no idea how to handle this, I think, staring down Lopez. Finally I decide to just ignore him. "I need a list of whatever parts and materials you need" I say, turning to face Yttri.
Yttri grabs a scrap of paper from one of the tables and begins writing. "Going shopping?" she asks as she hands it to me.
I nod, staring at the barely legible writing. "Do we really need all of this?" I ask, noting the many mechanical items listed.
"Yes" she answers simply.
I decide not to question her. I honestly don't understand how most of what Yttrium does works. It's best to simply leave her to her work and trust that she knows what she's doing.
"Make sure to get me a new body" Lopez adds.
"I already put that on the list" Yttri says dismissively.
"Good" Lopez says, rolling under a table. I watch him for another moment before turning and leaving the room.
After donning my forest green Mjolnir armor, I put my helmet on and activate my HUD. Rho immediately creates a tiny avatar of herself in the top right corner and runs a diagnostic. "Everything is in working order" she announces. I nod. I already checked it all last night, but it's nice to have Rho double check things.
I make sure that I have all my weapons, including a new knife to replace the one I lost while fighting Gold. For a moment I wonder how many new scars he must have because of me, but dismiss the thought with a sigh. No use dwelling on it. He'll just have to find a way to live with it when this is all over.
I walk to the hangar and see Nick and Wash waiting by the pelican. Agent Washington is once again wearing his blue and gold armor while Nick is wearing a bulkier version of my own suit, but in light brown. As I get closer, I realize that Lico is with them. The boy gives me a hopeful look, but I shake my head before he has a chance to say anything. "No" I say.
"Please" Lico begs. I try to ignore the big puppy-like eyes he fixes on me, but it's no use. "I want to help."
I close my eyes briefly. I know this isn't fair to him. He and all the others are basically trapped here, and even though it's for their own safety, it's still suffocating. Still, he's too young for something like this. I need to keep him here where it's safe. I drop to one knee and put a hand on his shoulder. "I need you here" I say.
"No you don't" he complains. "All I'm doing here is waiting for something to happen. I want to be out there doing something."
"I need you to watch Rubi" I explain. "If something goes wrong, you need to make sure she and Franc are okay. Remember, you're their team leader. You need to stay with them." He looks like he's about to argue, but I point one finger to his chest. "Your team comes first" I say sternly.
Lico folds his arms with a huff. "Fine" he grumbles.
I ruffle his hair for a second before pushing him toward the hangar door. Rather than leave, Lico turns around and catches me in a tight hug. I squeeze him back, careful to not let the added strength from my armor get out of hand.
"Be careful" Lico says, voice cracking.
"Don't worry" I say, smiling. "I'll be fine."
"Oh, that's so sweet!" Tinu squeals behind him. I look up to see her dressed in a suit of giant, bright purple Hayabasu armor.
Lico pulls away with an embarrassed blush on his face. He turns and runs out of the room without another word.
"I didn't mean to upset him" Tinu says, voice managing to indicate the unseen pout on her lips as she holsters twin needlers.
Nick laughs. "Silicon's getting to that age where he doesn't want to be cute anymore" Nick explains to her while adjusting the sniper rifle on his back. "Just like when I stopped letting you do my hair. He wants to be big and strong and help fight." He climbs into the back of the pelican and walks to the pilot seat. Tinu, Wash, and I take our seats in the back.
"How long will it take to get there?" Wash asks. I glance over and see that he has a battle rifle on his back. Apparently none of us trust our ability to stay out of a fight. Or maybe we just know we're not that lucky.
"About two hours" Nick calls from the cockpit. I hear the engines kick on as he flips some switches.
"Where exactly are we going?" Wash asks, surprised.
"It's a nearby star system" Tinu says.
"Pelicans can't fly that far, especially not in two hours" Wash states.
"They can if they use slip space" I correct him.
"This ship has a slip space engine?" Wash asks skeptically. Normally those engines are big enough to fill the entire hangar.
"It's a micro engine" I explain. "Yttrium made it."
"That shouldn't be physically possible" Wash says slowly, trying to remember what he's read about faster than light travel.
"I don't know how she managed it" I admit. "She's kind of a genius.
"Okay, people, buckle up" Nick calls back. "We're about to take off."