Ensuring the Future - ch 6
"It'll open when it's open! Which is to say, when it's been re-classified as an Abandoned Ruins. And don't even think about trying to sneak in there--"
Grace resisted the urge to roll her eyes as Justice read her the riot act about the Breach. Again. How he always managed to be in this area when she decided to poke around was beyond her. "I walk down this way all the time, Justice. This imagined notion of me even thinking of 'sneaking in' to the Breach is just that: something you've just made up in your head."
Justice opened his mouth to reply and paused at a sharp clearing of the throat nearby; Grace turned to see Olivia standing a few feet away, hands resting atop her cane and eying them both with a look that would be right at home on a disapproving mother's face.
"Ah, uh, hi Olivia - did Qi have the information you needed?" Justice said instead. Grace thought he even looked a little relieved at the chance to change the subject. ((Continued below cut))
"He did, in fact. And I need in there-" Olivia answered, jabbing the end of her cane at the Breach.
Justice let out a groan. "Not you too... Please tell me you're joking?"
Olivia shook her head; Grace hid a smirk behind her hand, disguising it as a sweat-wiping gesture. "Well sheriff, looks like someone is getting in there, one way or another."
"Not now, Grace," Justice huffed, glancing at her briefly before looking back to Olivia. "Look, the Breach isn't an Abandoned Ruins - that's why the door is locked. I take the safety of everybody in town seriously and that place is still dangerous - between the geeglers and the other wildlife, AND Logan, Unsuur and I haven't had the time to fully clear it out."
Olivia tilted her head. "I can promise you that I know how to handle myself in a fight, or did you somehow forget that Zeke did not handle those geeglers alone?" "That's different."
"Howso?" Olivia asked, tone dry. "Because a robot can't bleed to death?"
"No, because that was a small group and this is a facility full of things," Justice replied.
"Well, sheriff, you can give permission or forgiveness - I suggest you decide now because I WILL be going in there. The primary component needed for the hydrogel should be somewhere inside, according to Director Qi."
Grace couldn't hide the grin this time and Justice glanced between the two of them with an exasperated look.
"Y'all're gonna be the death of me... I want it clear I'm only allowing this - and by 'this' I mean, letting ONLY Olivia in-" he said, pointedly staring Grace down. "-because we need that hydrogel up and running. As for you, Grace, maybe just...adjust your stroll path to be a little less hair-raising, all right?" "Sure thing, sheriff," Grace said smoothly, with a little shrug.
Justice made a little shooing motion and she obligingly stepped back several feet, watching as he pulled a ring of keys out of a pocket and went to the Breach's entrance; the click of the lock turning was loud enough she could hear it from here, and the door slid open with a grating of metal-on-metal punctuated with a final squeak as it came to a stop.
He said something in a low tone - too quiet for Grace to make out - then stuffed the keys back into his pocket and started walking toward the Civil Corps building, shaking his head. Grace waited for him to get almost to the door before she jogged over to the Breach's door and stuck her head through. "Hey, Olivia?" The builder had gotten maybe fifteen feet into the place, and stopped to glance back at her questioningly. "I've been trying to save up to finish my archaeology degree back in Atara and try to do field work when I've got time that I hope will be beneficial when I go back. I've been focusing on Old World audio-visual media - since you're going in there, could you keep a lookout for anything that seems vaguely relevant to that? Discs, posters, radios... I also need some Small Chips - and I'll pay you for it all. Meant to post it as an official commission but I think Yan's been avoiding me."
"Hmm. I suppose if it's not too onerous or heavy, but do keep in mind that's not what I'm going to be looking for so I don't intend to go out of my way."
"Oh, I totally understand. Thanks ahead of time for anything you might happen to find," Grace said, smiling and giving her a little wave as she pulled away from the door and hurried back toward the saloon.
There. Now if I get caught down here again there's a witness and established precedent for what I might have been poking around for.
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"You what?"
Olivia looked up and was not surprised to see shock on Miguel's face -- she'd expected as much as soon as 'inside the Breach' left her lips. "You heard me. And before you drop the pearls you're so tightly clutching, do you really think I'd have gone this long in life as a builder without needing to protect myself?"
His mouth opened and closed a few times before he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "No...of course not. That is...logical. It is merely -- the thought of you having to do something so dangerous, it... Frightens me. Anything that might harm you or take you away from me again scares me to death. You weren't injured, were you?"
She straightened from where she was tightening a bolt on the condenser - all was well within it so now she just needed to build the hydrogel components - and grimaced as her spine popped like a dry reed. "I know, dearest, and I promise I'm just sore from all the extra 'exercise' and otherwise unharmed. But please also try to remember that I am not some fainting fairy," she said, laughing quietly and stepping a bit out of her way to give him a little peck on the lips (his eyes were still closed but his look of shock turned to one of delight at the kiss) then continued on to drop onto the stool at her workbench where all the blueprints were laid out. "I assure you I am much tougher than I look."
She heard the crunch of his footsteps in the sand behind her then felt gentle hands coming to rest on her shoulders before a kiss was pressed onto the top of her head. "I shall strive to keep it in mind going forward." His front pressed against her back and she resisted the urge to fully lean into him as he looked over her shoulder at the blueprints. "Is this as complicated a task as it seems?"
"Not really. It could be worse -- granted, it could be better as well," she grunted. "I might need to look at designing a back up system for the farm in the future."
Miguel let out a thoughtful hum, one hand reaching over her shoulder to pick up the plan she'd drawn up for that hydroponic unit for the Moisture Farm; she'd brought it back with her after taking some final measurements for the hydrogel earlier and had left it sitting on the corner of the bench, destined for a few small revisions when she had the time. "Yan was all up in arms again recently over your work at the farm."
She let out a short laugh. "Oh I imagine he was. He is welcome to throw as many fits as he likes - serves the little weasel right."
She heard a chuckle and then again he pressed against her as he returned the plan to the bench.
"Without intending to insult or question your work, do you truly think it is the best use of your time?"
Slowly she turned on her stool to look up at him; it was her turn to be surprised. "What? Why wouldn't it be? We all need to eat."
Miguel nodded slowly, his expression thoughtful but she could detect a bit of melancholy in it. "While that is true there have been fewer and fewer mouths needing to be fed over the years. While I absolutely applaud your efforts, I do question if it's worth it to pour all this energy into a dying town."
"Pessimism again, is it?" she asked, frowning.
"It is, though I don't care for it any more than you do," he sighed heavily. After a moment he smiled down at her. "I just don't want to see your hard work be for nothing. If there was a tipping point for recovery I believe Sandrock has passed it -- possibly before I even arrived here."
Olivia turned back to the bench and picked up the blueprint for the hydrogel's access door, pretending to look it over while she decided how to respond. To hear such a grim declaration of hopelessness... She knew hopelessness, and no doubt he still remembered it as well in the aftermath of Doss, but in this context it rankled her and the words to fully convey her reasoning weren't something she wanted to discuss. What she DID know, and had no inner hesitation to say, was that he was wrong. "...I don't believe that. As I said before, not on my watch: I will not be giving up until I personally decide there is no hope to be found here."
Miguel's hands rubbed against her shoulders then began to gently knead them. "And when will that be?"
She half-stood to lean forward (which momentarily pulled her away from his grasp) and held the plan flat against the backboard of the workbench, then pinned it in place with a few thumb tacks in the corners before plunking back down onto her seat. "When I am the last woman standing, I suppose."
There was a soft laugh behind her; only one hand found her shoulder this time, the fingers gently squeezing before falling away. "You're a braver one than I."
"Well, I've made it this far. Endured a lot. Tolerated even more. It hardens you against certain things...one of those is losing hope." She swung her legs around and fully stood up, facing him with a tired, wry smile. "I like to think I have that bitch in a choke hold and I am NOT letting go of it again."
His eyes widened at the crude language and she stepped around him to head over to the storage bin she stored the raw ore in.
"I... I admire your...dedication," he said then in a small voice.
She grabbed a nearby bucket and began loading it up - one bucketful roughly filled a furnace, give or take a few pounds; she had everything she needed so it was just a matter of getting the pieces made and assembled. In-between the sound of ore rattling and dropping into the bucket she heard footsteps again; they were moving away but only briefly. Glancing up she saw Miguel had paused halfway to the gate and was looking back, studying her thoughtfully.
"...what will you do, then, if I am reassigned to another location?" he asked softly.
"If I am not under contract, and you've decided you want to tolerate me after all-" that got her a smile and a chuckle, "-I suppose THEN, and ONLY then, I would have to follow you. Try not to be reassigned within the next few years," she continued, jokingly waggling a finger at him.
He held up his hands in a placating gesture, still smiling. "I cannot promise anything aside from praying that I will not be."
"Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a hydrogel to make and a farm to help water."
Miguel nodded. "I shall meet you at the farm in the morning, then?"
"I'm sure Zeke would appreciate the extra help."
"Indeed. He is a good man but he is just that: a man. He cannot be left to handle this sudden increase in labor alone."
Olivia hefted the full bucket and plodded over to the nearest furnace. "He has Burgess and Dan-bi helping, and I've helped when I have a second to spare, so he's not totally alone. Still, the more folks helping him the easier it is for all of us."
Miguel nodded and clasped his hands behind his back. "Good night then, my dear."
"Good night, Miguel. Sweet dreams."
Again he smiled and then turned to stroll from the yard; Olivia loaded up the furnace then went back for another bucket. So far they'd managed to stay ahead of the watering needs of the plants but it ate a lot of time with how many there were, even considering the ones they'd lost in that geegler attack...a back up system would definitely be on the To Do list in the near future. Even something as simple as a holding tank and pressurized sprayers powered by gravity would be better than having to tote and hand-water.
A concern for another day, she thought grimly. First she needed to get this hydrogel done - primary objective first, THEN she could focus on secondary tasks.
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Miguel closed his door behind him and hung his hat on a nearby hook on the wall, then rested his forehead against the door with a sigh.
Olivia was being just as stubborn as the other Sandrock citizens... At the very least she'd said she would follow him if he had to leave (depending on contractual agreements, anyway) but there was still no telling how long it would take to fully bleed Sandrock dry, and it was a task that would take even longer with her working against his efforts.
He needed to find another way to encourage her to leave before this dragged on too long... But, how? How, how, how...
If only she could be convinced to help him; he'd thought about that a few times these last couple of weeks but if she was so determined to save Sandrock he didn't think it likely she would agree to help slowly empty the town, nor did he have any ideas on how to even broach the subject in a subtle manner.
Nothing to do but carry on... I know she could be made to understand, for I do this from a place of hope as well -- hope that lives will be saved, order will be established, and mankind never need fear another calamity or tragedy. I know it in my heart, but I do not yet know the path to get there. I must remain vigilant for any opportunity to bring her into my full confidence and enlist her help in a gentle end for Sandrock and a brighter future for her people.
Taking a deep breath and feeling a bit more galvanized he moved to get ready for bed.
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"All right, go ahead - give it a try," she called over a shoulder.
There was a few moments of silence and then the click of a button being pressed, and the hydrogel in front of her whirred to life; Olivia watched the gauges slowly build up, the needles shifting up into the green zones indicating proper pressure and water levels, and then above their heads a gentle rain began spraying over the farm and everyone in it.
There was a scattering of cheers and clapping as she extricated herself from the inner panel of the hydrogel and pulled the door shut; Miguel, Mi-an, Justice, Dan-bi, Burgess, Zeke, and Mort were all smiles and excitement (at least, Mort seemed excited. It was difficult to tell through the beard) and Zeke gently patted her back once she'd walked over; he was smiling wider than she'd ever seen him smile, and that in turn prompted a smile of her own -- no false hope here today, my friend. "Well, I believe we are back in operating order," Olivia laughed, getting another little round of cheers. Zeke's hand gave her shoulder a final pat before he let it drop to his side; the smile didn't budge.
"Phew, I'm so glad that's over," Mi-an said, wiping a smear of oily dirt off her cheek. She'd helped Olivia with the more cramped back area of the hydrogel and her clothes and face displayed that fact quite clearly. "I'm so happy things are back to normal now!"
"Aren't we all," Miguel chuckled. "You both did splendidly but I think it may be prudent to relocate before we carry half the farm's water supply out on our clothing."
"While I admit I do need a shower I think it in everyone's best interest that I do that in private," Olivia said with a short laugh, flicking at hair that was either sweat-drenched or had a slick of lubricant in it - it was hard to tell. Setting new seals tended to be a messy business. "I'll see you two fine gentlemen later this evening and I promise I'll be more presentable," she added, nodding to Mort and Zeke.
Mort let out a dry-sounding laugh as he turned to slowly amble for the door. "Take your time, young one. That tea ain't going anywhere. It's not even made yet, after all."
The group headed out of the farm together with everyone moving off in various directions to return to their usual daily tasks; Miguel remained there with Olivia, waiting for them to be alone before turning to her. "Evening plans?"
"Ah, yes. Mort invited me to have tea and a chat later -- I'm assuming Zeke is supposed to be there as well, but if not I guess I just inadvertently invited him. Might just bring up the back up irrigation idea if he's there." Miguel nodded and offered her a hand and she waved him away. "No, no, I'm too dirty for that. Getting this lubricant out of cloth is a headache and I do not want to risk ruining your clothing if I brush up against you." He laughed and nodded his head toward the hill in the distance so Olivia took that as her cue to start walking, and he stayed alongside her.
"I had thought to invite you to do some light gardening with me later but didn't know you had plans. Would tomorrow be all right?"
"So far as I'm aware I have nothing to do tomorrow. What time were you thinking?"
They walked a few steps in silence before Miguel answered. "How about later in the afternoon when the sun isn't so direct?"
"Afternoon should be fine," she replied, reaching up to unbutton the two top buttons of her shirt and tug them open a bit to let the scant breeze hit her neck. "I-"
"Hey Olivia!"
She and Miguel both looked up to see Justice heading toward them at a jog; he came to a halt in front of them with an apologetic look clear on his face. "Sorry, I know you're wanting to head home and clean up so I'll make it quick -- we've got to do something about these geeglers and I've finally been given permission to take this little conflict directly to them. To do that, I'm going to need yours and Mi-an's help. I know you're busy tonight and I don't think the geeglers would be dumb enough to attack us so soon - they've gotta know we'll be on high alert now - so I want to meet up tomorrow with you builders to explain what we need to do."
"Ah. What time?" she asked, glancing at Miguel from the corner of an eye.
Before Justice could answer Miguel shook his head with a quiet hum, nodding to her. "The safety of Sandrock is far more important so don't worry about scheduling around me. Gardening can wait."
"Thank you, dear," she said, teasingly blowing him a little kiss.
He laughed at the gesture, giving her a fond look that must have sparked a bit of awkwardness in the sheriff as he glanced away and quietly whistled a few notes. "Of course. I will leave you to make your plans and then get home for a much needed bath," he went on, dipping his head to Justice before walking around him and toward the temple in the distance.
Justice watched him go a moment then turned back to Olivia. "Sorry for ruining your plans."
"Nothing to apologize for since he's right: safety comes first. Now, when were you wanting to meet?"
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Rumor about the geegler attack and how the farmer and the old broad had fended them off had circulated through town and as tonight's fireside meeting began to disperse and Olivia hung back to talk to the sheriff (their voices were too low to 'accidentally' overhear, and he didn't want to be seen eavesdropping) Pen watched them from the corner of his eye until his path back toward the temple left them at his back down in the square.
Matilda might not think the woman to be any harm but his hunches were rarely wrong. Some hobbling crone able to handle herself in a fight shouldn't be something that turned the dial up on his instincts but there was something there nagging at him when he thought of that coupled with how disgustingly sappy-happy-lovey-dovey she and the pastor were. Honestly, letting anyone get too close to ANY of them was just asking for trouble. There was also no way he was going to allow Miguel to bring the builder in on the plan at this point (it was bad enough Mason was retiring - that was one loose end Duvos would need to revisit soon) as they didn't need any more moving parts, and the woman gave off an infuriating 'holier than thou' sort of attitude so she'd probably turn them in anyway. ...even if Miguel didn't tell her anything and could somehow extract without tipping his hand he was STILL risking everything just because he couldn't keep his little preacher in his pants.
(Ugh, why'd he phrase it like that? Pen swore sometimes words just assembled themselves in his head and subjected him to awful mental images without any conscious input from himself)
There was also the issue of all the work she was pouring into Sandrock and specifically its Moisture Farm; that was only going to keep them out here longer. More time meant more chances for everything to fall apart, AND he didn't want to be trapped in this town for longer than strictly necessary.
Point being, Olivia had to go.
Matilda had ordered him to 'keep his hands to himself' and for now he was willing to obey that...but what if it wasn't him directly dealing with her? They'd be whipping up some tram carts to get across the canyon to deal with the geeglers (thank the Emperor for THAT - finally a good scrap to alleviate the boredom, even if it was just mutant lizards they were fighting) and Pen was sure those cables would be fragile, or persuaded to be. One little nick and enough weight and goodbye builder problem, and no one could pin (ha!) it on him.
The only downside was he could possibly take out the other builder (between the two of them Mi-an WAS harmless - Pen wasn't concerned about her at all but losing both builders would mean another one would be brought in and who knew what trouble THAT would cause) or one or both of the Civil Corps members; they might not be on the same side but he had to admit that Justice wasn't all that bad, and Unsuur could actually be pretty hilarious at times. Collateral damage was a fact of life when it came to war but that didn't mean he wanted to purposely cause it...oh well. If it happened, it happened -- so long as Olivia bit the dust, he'd call it a win.
Now, granted, this all depended on whether he'd get a chance to commit some sabotage. Ideally he'd want to do it after everything had been inspected, installed, what-have-you; someone would need to give the A-Ok for the mission to go forward first, so no one would expect anything later. That might be tricky...
He'd have to play it by ear. If he got the chance he would absolutely take it...and if not, there were bound to be other times and places where an 'accident' could occur.
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"I definitely don't envy you folks having to get across the canyon in this wind," Heidi said with a shake of her head.
"Luckily I am neither prone to motion sickness nor vertigo but it's not going to be a pleasant trip, no," Olivia replied. "I do think I trust the trams over this bridge however. I cannot believe how much those geeglers took off with."
To both hers and Heidi's eyes the damage looked random but unfortunately luck was not on their side when it came to the parts keeping the bridge up -- a lot of pieces in general were missing but an uncomfortable number of the supports were gone or damaged. Olivia had suggested one final check of the bridge just in case there were issues with the tram carts or the engines on the far side but now, having gotten a good look at it, neither of them were confident it could hold a person, much less anyone trying to carry materials across (train travel had already been stopped out of an abundance of caution previously, and thank goodness for that).
Miguel had walked with them - he'd come to see Olivia off now that the carts were in place - and sighed, clasping his hands behind his back as he peered ahead at the bridge. "I hate that we must meet violence with violence, and wish we knew what had caused the beasts to turn against us so suddenly, but I suppose there is no way around it. They cannot be allowed to cause further harm or, Light forbid, kill someone."
Heidi nodded, and then all three of them jumped at a loud banging noise from within the canyon.
"What in the world was that?" Olivia asked, scooting as close to the edge as she dared. The wind was still howling down there sending a constant stream of sand, dirt, and garbage careening down the canyon.
"I bet one of those skylights or access doors down there came loose again. Most of the buildings along this stretch had roof access - I think they'd land flying machines on them based on what paint is still visible on the ones we can actually see. Every so often something gets loose and bangs around down there until it finally gets ripped free," Heidi answered. "They're far enough down that I don't think you'll have to worry about it flying up and hitting you."
That was good to hear since there wouldn't be a single thing they could do about flying debris while they were crossing. "A concern for another time, an annoyance for the time being." She turned to Miguel. "I should get going. I imagine the others have assembled at the platform by now."
"Very well. Be safe."
"I will." She quickly kissed his cheek and gave Heidi a nod.
"I'll see if I can dig up the old blueprints for the bridge and get a more formal assessment for what we'll need to fix it," Heidi called after her as she headed off.
Olivia waved a hand over her shoulder to show she heard her and kept walking; last night they'd gotten the tram carts installed and earlier this morning she'd dropped off the tools she planned to take before going to check the bridge out with Heidi. She'd packed the bare minimum she believed they'd need to repair the engines on the other side to help reduce weight (they had to hand-crank the trams until those engines were fixed and any additional weight would make that more difficult) and didn't think even those scant few tools would make it over the bridge.
This had better work... If it doesn't then we're out of options unless we plan to build a second bridge for the sole purpose of repairing the first. Not the most terrible option but it'll add more time than I believe we have to spare.
Justice waved at her as she came up the ramps to the platform.
"Morning, Olivia. I think we're all ready to go if you are?"
"As ready as I can be. Let's get moving."
At his gesture she stepped into the nearest cart with Unsuur and Mi-an boarding the other; Justice walked on behind her and shut the little gate, then began to crank them out across the canyon. The wind wasn't as bad up here without the canyon walls focusing it but it was still causing quite a bit of sway.
"Think I ought to speed up or slow down?" Justice asked, panting a little as he worked the crank. His feet were planted and she could see him adjusting himself here and there to keep his balance as the cart swung back and forth.
"I don't think it'll matter, just keep your speed steady," she replied. "It won't be long until we're-"
She was about to say 'across' when the cable they hung from dipped suddenly, dropping them several feet with a groan. Her attention shifted up to the cable, looking along its length back the way they'd come first -- she saw no issues there; she turned to trace it across the canyon ahead of them and could make out a much thinner section near the other side.
Heidi inspected these cables, I know she did...there is no way she would have missed something this severe.
That weakened section was not safely over the platform they were heading for and there was a real danger that actually running the tram over that area might snap the cable entirely.
"Back up," she hissed at Justice. "Quickly. Back up-"
With loud 'twang' the cable pulled apart and the tram began to fall. Were they over anything? She'd been primarily looking up and ahead, not down at what was below them; with a grunt she grabbed Justice and pulled him down and low into the floor, kicking the tools away and pressing her cane into the corner where the tram's side met the floor to lessen the risk of them getting impaled on something they'd brought with them when they finally hit the ground.
By some miracle 'ground' was not so far as she was fearing; they crashed into the corner of a building and then through it, and then through the remains of the floor beyond that to land on a pile of rubble formed from that floor they'd just finished off. As the cart began to tilt Olivia grabbed her cane in one hand and Justice's collar in the other and jumped, hurling them out for the dusty floor she could see stretching out beyond the mound they'd smashed onto. Justice had the sense to allow himself to roll when he hit the floor; Olivia did much the same but came up on her feet, grimacing and glad she'd worn the leg brace today after all (she very nearly hadn't).
She HAD heard a pop as she'd landed back on her feet but as there was no accompanying pain it was likely just the brace itself that had made the sound, and a quick investigation showed one of the rivets holding a strap in place had popped loose from the frame. Of course, the tools she could use to easily fix it were somewhere in that wreckage... Growling under her breath Olivia stripped the brace off and dropped it on a flat chunk of concrete; she found a relatively hefty rock that she could use as a crude hammer without breaking her fingers in the process and slipped the rivet back into the empty hole in the frame before using the rock to hammer the rivet's edge out flat enough to hold the strap in place -- it wasn't going to work well or for very long but it would have to do.
"Everything still intact, sheriff?" she asked then as she slid the brace back on and tightened the straps down.
Off to her right Justice was eying the pile of rubble as though he was sizing it up for a climb but soon shook his head and turned to her. "Yeah, nothing broken here. Are you all right?"
"Still in fine form. Any idea where we've landed?"
He blew out a breath and looked up through the hole again. "I think we've landed in Gecko Station, and if we have then I'll know how to get out of here if we get to an area I'm familiar with... Assuming the geeglers haven't changed anything since I was last in here. We're definitely not climbing out, anyway." After a pause he turned and headed toward, hand slipping inside his jacket. "Looks like we're in this thing. This goes against pretty much every regulation in the book but we're in dire straits and, uh... Have you ever fired a gun before?"
From within the jacket he pulled another pistol identical to the one he carried on his hip. At the sight a memory of a wall of muzzle flashes rose in her mind and she shuddered briefly with a familiar fear bubbling up immediately that she had to swallow hard to push past. Not the time for that. "That won't be needed."
Justice blinked at her. "Uh. I... I thought I'd at least have Pen and a posse with me coming in here. I don't see just the two of us having a chance of-"
The pistol was still extended toward her; she suppressed the urge to knock it away (couldn't risk an accidental discharge). "-offer me that again and I will force-feed it to you," she said quietly. Justice looked taken aback at that; she turned to put her back squarely to him, bending to take her cane in hand. At the Moisture Farm and within the Breach there had been a small enough number that the cane, used as a bludgeoning weapon, and the geegler's own sickles had been enough to handle the hazards. Here though...it was too dangerous to rely on that working again. She could probably get away with not powering it at least.
This desert is determined to pry free things I would rather be lost to time... With a deep inhale she found the hidden latch near the cane's head with her thumb and pressed in while giving the shaft a deft twist; the head came free and with it the slender blade hidden within the cane's body. Pressing the two hidden buttons down inside the cane-sheath popped a section of the sheath's top free - a folding hilt for the blade that she snapped on before glancing over a shoulder to see Justice staring at the revealed weapon.
"Point me in the correct direction and try to stay out of the way."










