Part 1 [link]
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The last thing to grab on Allison’s checklist was her toolbox. It was the most essential item to bring. However, it was so bulky it was best to save it as the last thing to grab on her way out the door. The redhead noted the box felt a little heavier than usual; but, the thought quickly exited her mind with the task at hand taking priority.
Allison and two of the radar girls rushed into the blizzard. The last girl was left behind to monitor the radar while they were away. While the storm outside was harsh, the girls powered through the ice and snow. They quickly found their way to the building that contained the antenna. After prying the frozen, steel door open, they promptly shut it behind them. The trio didn’t strip off their coats as the structure was only somewhat warmer than the exterior.
The tower that contained the antenna was a cylindrical structure that stretched up for hundreds of meters. A system of ladders and platforms circled around it. Each granted access to numerous systems, panels, and reading that displayed the health of the antenna. The antenna itself was a massive steel construction and showed no signs of severe damage or wear.
“You, first third,” Allison pointed at one of the radar girls. “You, second third,” she told the next, “I’ll handle the top.” The three scattered to their own sections of the antenna’s tower. Normally, they could use their wings to fly to the top, but the cold weather discouraged such practices and forced them to climb.
After a quick once over of the antenna, all its systems, and panels, the three convened in the structure’s central shaft, albeit on separate floors. “Did you find anything?” Allison yelled from the highest floor.
“I told you we found nothing last time, and I guess what? I found nothing this time,” the first radar girl on the lowest floor replied.
“Same, nothing was wrong. Everything looked to be running smoothly for the most part,” the second radar girl on the middle floor answered.
“What do you mean for the most part?” Allison asked.
“Well one of the panels had a weird reading, but it was within acceptable limits,” the second girl explained.
“Every little detail matters,” Allison commented, “I’m coming down there.” The girl rushed down to the middle floors, toolbox in hand. “Well, what’s the problem?” Allison arrived in record time.
“Well, it’s this one,” the second girl pointed to a panel with dozens of readings on it. “It’s supposed to keep track of some power lines, but a few of the readings are a little lower than usual. Not enough to be an issue, and they kind of flit back and forth between being fine and being low.”
“That sounds like a sensor issue,” Allison deduced. “Give me a sec,” she discarded her coat and expanded her wings. The mechanical girl flew down below the platform they were standing on. She found another panel with the sensor she was looking for. After prying it open and fiddling with the electronics, she got the system working again. “I was right,” Allison returned, “the sensor needed a quick reboot, so what does it read now?”
“Not good,” the radar girl went pale, “one of the lines is producing under half its normal power. It looks like it works fully sometimes, but most of the time it’s not putting out nearly enough energy.”
“Just great,” Allison flew back down to the sensor and traced the power lines running to it. Each of the cables ran into a wall through a narrow gap. “Are you kidding me? No wonder you never found anything; you can’t actually see the problem,” Allison exclaimed. “Who thought it was a good idea to have power lines out of sight like this?”
“I think there’s a panel to reach in from the outside,” the radar girl on the lower floor commented.
“We can’t get there in this blizzard,” Allison pointed out. “We’d get blown away or freeze,” she returned to the platform with the second radar girl. “How could we possibly get in...Hmm?” Allison noticed her toolbox shaking and moving around on its own. “Don’t tell me,” she popped open the box to find Dee, Ver, and Mera inside.
“Hi, Allison,” Dee greeted the larger girl.
“I don’t even know how I got here,” Ver rubbed her sleepy eyes.
“It was Dee’s idea,” Mera passed the buck.
“You guys again?” The second radar girl grew annoyed.
“No wait, this is a blessing in disguise,” Allison smiled. “Ver, do you want to make up for what happened before?”
“Of course, I do!” Ver jumped to attention.
“Alright then, you three come with me,” Allison picked up her toolbox with the three small girls still contained inside.
~--~
The three tiny girls crawled into the narrow gap. Their small size allowed them to fit comfortably through the opening into the wall’s slightly wider interior. They followed the power line until they reached a small panel that the lines ran through. Ver quickly popped it open and found the issue immediately. The board controlling the flow of power through the panel had fallen out of place. This was clearly indicated by a couple of decayed screws falling out as soon as the panel was opened.
“Allison can you see this?” Mera trained her camera lens on the panel. While her video feed was transmitted back on its own, her voice was being broadcasted through Dee’s radio.
“Yeah, I can,” Allison replied through Dee’s speakers. “Should be an easy fix. Nothing looks seriously damaged. Just turn off that switch to the right, and Ver can screw the board back in.”
“Alright,” Mera replied. She and Dee moved over to the box’s right side and tugged on the metal switch. For their size, it was a difficult, but not impossible, task to pull it down and cut off the flow of electricity to the panel. Meanwhile, Ver pulled out some spare screws from a little bag that Allison lent her.
“This shouldn’t be hard,” Ver screwed the board back into place. A satisfying click indicating that it had settled right back into place.
“Now switch it back on,” Allison ordered; Dee and Mera quickly obliged. “Alright, is it looking better on your end?” Allison radioed the radar girl who remained back at the bunker.
“Still not quite there,” the girl replied, “it’s better, but we’re still missing some power. Hurry though the fleet is going to be here in the next-” She was suddenly cut off.
“Dang it, the storm’s picking up,” Allison noted the wind had grown louder and beat against the tower’s walls. “Mera’s feed is going bad too,” the redhead noticed the video becoming mostly static.
“What do we do?” Ver began to panic.
“The panel is on, so watch it close,” Allison began. “If I’m correct about what model it is, then it shows the flow of power through its circuits using a flowing yellow light. But, if the light is red anywhere, that means there’s a problem.”
“Oh, I see it,” Ver noticed three points where the flow of power turned red, each at a crucial junction.
“Okay, in the little baggy are a few gold wires,” Allison explained. “They’re basically a band-aid for panels like this. Just stick them over the problem spot, and they’ll remedy the problem for a bit. Be careful so that you don’t-” Allison’s voice was cut off as the storm grew even worse outside.
“That’s not good,” Dee shivered as the metal around them creaked from the force of the winds.
“Got to work fast. The fleet is coming,” Ver quickly snatched up the gold wires.
“Let’s switch it off again, so you do n’t-Eeek,” Mera slipped from her position as the tower began to sway in the flow of the storm. Dee tumbled away as well, their small size betraying them as the building shook.
“Got to hold on,” Ver wedged her screwdriver hand into the wall to keep herself stable. “Forget the switch. I need to put these on.” The tiny girl carefully applied the gold wires to the trouble spots. Like Allison’s metaphor described, they stuck on like band-aids. “Last one,” Ver put the last wire on before slipping from her perch and falling after her companions. The trio tumbled down through the interior of the wall, which grew alarmingly steeper. Finally, they dropped out of the narrow gap, only to be caught by Allison.
“We need to leave now,” Allison exclaimed as she stuffed the trio back inside her toolbox. She grabbed her coat and flew back to the tower’s entrance. She and the two radar girls fled the building with haste as it finally bent over too far and fell. Allison raced back to the bunker as the storm grew to further terrifying speeds. The three mechanical girls, plus the three tiny girls, made it back to the bunker in record time. Although, each was more than a little frostbitten.
“Are you guys okay?” The last radar girl greeted them at the entrance.
“We’re sorry we couldn’t-” Allison coughed. “We couldn’t fix it in time.”
“What are you talking about? It worked for a moment, at least,” the radar girl explained. “There was the brief window where everything went back to full power, and I blasted the emergency signal to the fleet. The signal may have cut out at the end, but that’s all the more reason for them to investigate.”
“Wait, that means,” Allison realized as she pulled open the toolbox. “Ver, did you?”
“I stuck them on like you asked,” Ver saluted with her screwdriver hand.
“You saved us, little one,” Allison smiled warmly.
“Aw, well, Mera and Dee helped too,” Ver blushed while Allison hugged her tightly.
~--~
Just as the radar girl predicted, the main fleet investigated the emergency signal within a cycle. The sight of the destroyed antenna was not pleasing to them. But, upon learning what had happened for them to even get the emergency signal, they changed their tune. The girls stationed at the bunker would be relocated to a more temperate portion of the planet. While that happened, some off-planet engineering experts would sort out the antenna’s repairs. However, before all that could occur, Ver was in line for some special praise.
“For going above and beyond your programming. As well as ensuring the safety of your colony, however small,” a captain from the main fleet praised Ver, Dee, and Mera. “I award each of you with the Dawn Heart Medal.” The three tiny girls were each decorated with a heart-shaped golden medal. Dee was giddy; Mera tried to hide her excitement while Ver blushed from all the attention. All the mechanical girls in attendance clapped for the three. Even the radars girls celebrated the tiny girls’ victory.
After the captain stepped back, the radar girl who yelled at Ver initially approached the three. “I’m sorry for yelling at you last cycle, Ver,” the radar girl apologized.
“It’s fine, I screwed up,” Ver brushed it off.
“Come on, don’t be like that, let me apologize, you little,” the radar girl pinched Ver’s cheek. Wrapped up in their little comedic routine, neither noticed the captain approach Allison.
“Someone told me they were in your charge,” the captain stated, “do you feel proud?”
“They are their own people; I just watch them to make sure no trouble follows them,” Allison denied. “But yes, I am very proud of them.”
“Then I’m sure you wouldn’t mind sharing some secrets on their creation?” The captain inquired. “The other colonies could use such useful little ones.”
“I’d be happy to,” Allison and the captain shook hands while the cheering and clapping continued. Whatever the future may hold, Dee, Mera, and Ver wouldn’t mind. Ver’s smile grew bigger and bigger as they celebrated her achievement. She was finally useful, and that’s all that mattered in her little mind.
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It's the ones you least expect who end up saving the day.
That should end this string of tales about the mechanical girls. Maybe I'll post more about them some other day. To give a little insight, I tend to write my posts in batches of four. So every four stories tend to be written in the same mindset, while the next four are written several weeks later. That's where this whole robot girl kick came from. By the time you're reading this, I'll have started on the next set of posts, so let's see where my imagination takes us next.
Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy
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