Apr 01 04:32:37 106 PA.
From Chronicles
Fri Apr 01 04:32:37 106 PA.
Kingsdale - Cali's Garage
The large garage has a small corner desk, with pieces of paper and catalogues of machine pieces on shelves against the wall. Along three od the walls, huge metal shelving units hold a variety of brown boxes, each marked with some arcane mechanics scrawl that indicates the contents. The other has a long workstation against it, and a series of hooks and shelves, upon which tools sit, in apparently random order. The workstation itself bears the weight of half a dozen dismantled machines of varying sizes. The floor is concrete, stained with oil, with patches of sand here and there. A large tub containing sand squats beside the garage doors, a shovel sticking out of the top as if someone shoved it there after use.
A row of pegs against the wall by the workstation has various coveralls, coats and other things hanging on it and a large noticeboard has a range of oil stained pieces of papers stuck to it with pins. Along the beam that runs the length of the garage, several jars have been attached with a nail through their lid. They seem to be storing small components of different sizes.
A door exits the garage, apparently allowing entrance to the upper floor by the use of a key pad.
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It's late afternoon on a Friday, and sun is bright in the clear sky. The doors of the garage are half opened, allowing some of the cool, outside air in. Amber appears, ducking under garage door while carefully cradling her bag in front of her. She seems lost in thought as she heads over to the area she has made her own, and begins taking a few things out of her bag. She seems distracted, and hasn't seemed to notice you.
Alistair was in some corner anyway, looking at this thing or that. Noticing someone new come in, he looks her way and tilts his head a little. "Hello!" he calls out and smiles, walking towards the young woman. "Do you work here, Miss?" he asks, brows hiking up a touch.
Amber jumps noticeably, as sharp gasp escaping her lips as she turns. She brings a hand up to lay on her chest as she takes a deep breath, her face reddening ever so slightly, "You scared me" she looks over at you and adds, "I didn't see you there." She takes a second to give the garage a once over, as if making sure she didn't miss anything else, "Um Yeah, Cali hired me part time, and said it was ok if use the shop on my days off, if I wanted." She moves her left hand to hold her right upper arm, and then, as if remembering something, extends her right hand, "I'm Amber, and you are?"
"Oh! Nice to meet you" says Alistair, reaching out to shake her hand. "I am Alistair; Cali said you do a good job" he smiles, nodding. "Do you like it here?" he asks, motioning to the garage after the greeting is done. "And I also brought some food" which might have been laying around now and then, assuming she noticed. "Just sandwitches but they should be good" a slight blush forms on his cheeks.
Amber smiles, "Its nice to meet you, " she says as she turns, removing her bag from her shoulder and placing it on the bench behind her. She pivots to face you, and she leans back on the bench, her hands behind her, "Yeah, I like it so far, Its much better that not having any garage to work with." She offers a slight shrug, "I've eaten, thanks." She tilts her head a bit to the right, "And how long have you been workin here? I knew there was another guy here, but I guess we just never bumped into each other."
Alistair is standing near where Amber has made a little area of her own, speaking with her. "Oh, no" he says, "I don't work here - that would be Zachary. I'm Cali's boyfriend" he explains, the blush deepening a touch. "I come by because ... well, Cali is here" he smiles, shrugging his shoulders a little. "I usually bring her something to eat and drink and such."
Zachary comes into the garage slowly, carrying a large stack of smaller boxes. Parts that are stacked up high enough to obstruct his view just a bit. Having to shoulder the door open has already unbalanced the stack, though he manages to keep the lopsided stack stable. He moves with smooth, graceful steps, exaggerated with his care. And he picks up on voices, head turned and craned slightly to note the two here. "Ambrielle.. assistance, please."
A deep red fills Amber's face, and she looks to be about to say something with Zach calls out to her, "She looks over to Alistair, "Hold that thought." she says, holding up 1 finger, "I'll be right back," She darts over to Zach's side, and takes hold of a box near the middle of the stack, and carefully lifts and steps back, holding her armful close, "Where are these going?" She asks as she turns to make room for Zach to lead the way.
Alistair's brows hike up at Amber's deepending blusg, then he steps aside when Amber decides to go help, and he looks to Zach as well. "Hello!" he greets, staying out of the way for the time being. He exhales a little and smiles, looking to see if there's any help needed from him.
"Over here," Zachary notes, pausing a moment to nod towards Alistair. "Good day," he murmurs before leading Amber towards the shelves for these parts. Dipping down to settle his own boxes down before turning to the young woman. Reaching out to start taking the boxes she has one by one, quickly slipping them away. He's clad in his far too clean work coveralls, with his goatskin jacket over it for the chill outside. "Thank you for that, I did not wish to drop any of these. Some aren't so rugged."
Amber makes a face at Zach, "Making me work on my day off," she says, mock displeasure in her voice, "I was just getting aquatinted with Cali's boy here, though I feel pretty silly not having picked up that she was with someone." She looks from Alistair to Zach, shrugging, "This a normal work day for you still?" She asks.
Alistair bites his lower lip, but seeing that they are busy at the moment, he goes to take care of a thing or two himself. Every now and then when he comes by he does organize things, but with the presence of Zachary and Ambrielle that seems to be less needed on his part, so he takes to making certain the fridge is at least stocked with good things - for Cali primarily, though there tends to be enough for everyone.
"It is," Zach replies to the question on this being his work day. "Though things have been quiet, so I went out briefly to secure these parts that Cali mentioned were ready." He glances towards Alistair briefly after he is done with Amber's boxes, having filled up the top shelves, thus he can hunker down with the rest on the ground to start slipping them into the lower shelves. Though he pauses a moment to look up towards her and smile. "I'm glad you were here." THen he begins to put the rest away.
Amber nods, "I was about to take advantage of some of these machine tools here, I'm gonna start fabricating some body parts." She grins, and looks over at Alstair, "Am I just in my own little world most of the time? I don't think anyone ever mentioned Alistair to me." She turns, eyeing Alistair a moment before calling over to him, "There any Caffine in there?"
Alistair looks over from the fridge, to Amber, then to the cofee pot - the last one was accidentally killed by Cali, destroyed by being left on the heat empty. There's a new one now though. "Well, yes" he smiles, "There is coffee and soft drinks, and then some natural juice drinks as well. And beer."
"Body Parts?" Zach looks up at the young woman, softly alarmed at the strangeness of that statement, though after that initial reaction, he seems to guess that it isn't anything too sinister. He glances towards Alistair and shakes his head as he mentions to Amber, "I haven't mentioned him, that is true.. I just hadn't thought of it, really." He then finishes up his stocking of the shelves before rising to his feet with a soft sigh.
"Can you toss me a soda? Anything cold please." she squares her body with Alistair, awating the tossed drink, she turns her head to look over her shoulder at Zach, "Yeah, I think i'm going to start teaching my psuedo-pet about appendages. So I thought I should start by making him a simple body, teach him how to walk first, then sorta go from there. I thought i'd start with a nice modular body that I could adapt to the different stages he's no doubt gonna go through."
Alistair reaches in for a can of something bubbly, and tosses it towards Ambrielle. "Here you go" he smiles and stands, blinking his eyes. He glances to Zachary, and Ambrielle as they talk about him, his eyes widening a touch for a moment. Then, "Why not get a real pet?" he inquires, shrugging his shoulders a little, his expression curious.
Zachary becomes more interested as Amber notes her 'pet'. Doesn't take him more than a moment to key to what she's saying. "You mean, you're working on an AI in an autonomous body?" His brows rise at the thought of such a thing. "Rudimentary, I'm sure, but still.. are you designing for a certain purpose in mind or merely to apply your knowledge?"
Amber catches the soda, and taps the top of it with two fingers a moment before opening it., "Thank you sir!" she says before taking a long drink, "It is a real pet, one that will listen to me, and that I can understand completely." she smirks, turning to Zach, "Its still mostly on the drawing board, but I i think, at least for this initial version, that I will design the legs first, then adapt the program to "figure out" " she uses her fingers to show the quotes, "how to use them. I'm thinking a basic 4 legged bot is all I need at first, then once he's got movement down, i'll think about adding some sensory inputs for him." She shrugs as she takes another drink, "One step at a time though."
Alistair looks from one to the other, listening to the conversation. He reaches in to take out a sandwich to eat, sticking around for a little while, looking over for things he might be able to help with - not a lot of things left for him to do, so he goes to have a look at the books, to see if he can apply his skills that way.
"Well, yes," Zach agrees, moving nearer with a slight nod of his head. Thoughtful as he considers the project. "A quadruped would be more stable.. the balance for two legs would take more work, though perhaps that can be something returned to. The locomotion would be simple. And would be needed to properly test sensory systems and responses." He pauses then, as if catching himself from the midst of what could have been a rather long set of musings. "Ahh.. though perhaps I should let you approach this as you will." His head dips. "It isn't proper to press in so on your project." He glances towards Alistair then as well and adds, "And interrupting, it seems." His brow creased slightly as he retreats a bit towards the workbench to consider the parts laid out, all pieces of an overall mechanism that he'd been cleaning out.
Amber shrugs, "I'm the one being disruptive, I think, you two are probably supposed to be here, and here I am showing up just to play." She finishes her drink and tosses it into a near by trash can, the shot right on the mark. "I don't want to distract you from anything you're supposed to be doing, but i'm always open to suggestion. I've been hearing stories that coalition has some sort of bi-pedal man sized robots now, so I know a simple enough AI is possible, and that it can handle movement and communication. Of course, I want something on a much smaller scale, and i'm not ever sure what sorta body I want him to have. " She looks over at Alistair, "What is it you do for a living?" she says, her voice a bit higher carry across the garage.
"Oh ... I ... " says Alistair, turning around to look at Ambrielle, "Right now, I help with farming, and building some structures; and I teach at the hospital" Alistair explains, "Don't make much money yet, but ... I'm sure at some point it'll be better" he smiles, "I'll fix some simple things too, if a Tractor breaks or something like that, and maintain'em, but I'm not good like you two are with it."
"It might be better to speak on the details of such a thing later, perhaps. When we might explore some ideas before a computer screen," Zach replies to Amber, relaxing some as she notes an openness to ideas. His attention lingering towards her for a moment before he firmly looks down towards his prior work. Only takes him a moment to slip back into that mode, though he listens to what goes on near him. It prompting a thoughtfulness in him as he lifts one of the uncleaned pieces to start rubbing away at it with a fresh cloth.
Amber nods, "Yeah, that makes sense, you're a Doctor then? You seem young to be teaching already." she hmms softly to herself, casting a quick glance over to Zach before crossing her arms before her, "And how long have you known Cali?"
"Uh, no, I don't ... have a degree that high" Alistair admits, blushing faintly, "But I'm good at it, and, I am teaching young children so it isn't like I can get very deep into the subject" he explains, "Cali ... a few months" he smiles at the mention of the girl, tilting his head a little. "We met shortly after I arrived in town."
"You would be surprised, the young can grasp deep concepts with the proper teaching method," Zach puts in, glancing over his shoulder a moment. "Though it is something, perhaps, for those well versed in teaching. It's a skill I lack, but I have seen it before." The rest he seems content to leave lie, returning to his painstaking cleaning of the part.
A grin spreads across Amber's lips, "She seems to be a beacon for attracting new comers to the city" she chuckles softly, "And teaching is an art itself, I've never been able to properly explain things I just know, and take for granted. So good for you, at any rate." she looks over at Zach, her arms uncrossing and her hands slipping into her pockets.
Alistair looks to Zach with a smile, "Some children, not all, I think" he nods slowly and looks to Amber then, "She is quite radiant - that is ... why we met, in a way. Actually I think I asked her and Miss Vyvian if there is a basketball court, and then there was something about choking on water, and ... well" he blushes faintly and looking back into the fridge. "Cali is nice."
Zachary grows a touch distracted as the two behind him speak. His thoughts rolling off a bit into the unknown. Enough so that his polishing slows, and grows negligent, though not enough that it stays him from querying Alistair curiously, "How it is that a basketball court and choking on water factor into this?" Asked with another slight turn of his head.
Amber's grin widens, "So its all about the looks huh," she teases, her large eyes bright with amusement, "I'm sorry, I probably don't know you well enough yet to tease." she looks over at Zach again and chuckles to herself, "Where did you meet her? And how is Miss Vyvian?"
"I went up to Cali and Miss Vyvian to ask if there was a basketball gym, and the water ... I choked on it and Miss Vyvian teased, I think" Alistair explains, blushing a touch. He looks back to Ambrielle, blushing deeper as he explains, "Cali is a beautiful woman, and a beautiful person ... " the next question is answered more easily, "We met in the gym, and I haven't seen Miss Vyvian for a while" the latter he seems a little sad about.
Zachary furrows his brow slightly at the response he's given. "I see," he responds before turning to look back to his polishing. A crease coming to his brow as he works on it some more. Lapsing into a bit of thought that ends up making his work a touch sloppy again. But he doesn't seem to notice it for the moment, a bit too occupied with listening and thinking.
Amber hmmms, "Well I guess I haven't really gotten to see Cali in any situation that wasn't work related, but she was nice of to take me in when she had no real reason too, so she's aces in my book." Amber walks over to her bench and picks a few of the parts she placed there, two going into her pocket, the third she begins to poke at with a repurposed dental tool as she walks back towards the two men, "So, where is Cali?" she asks, looking around.
"Cali is very nice; and she says you both do good work" says Alistair, nodding his head. Having finished with whatever he was doing at the fridge, he stands up and rubs his hands together for a moment. "Oh, home" he blushes that at that, "Or maybe at this time exercising or shopping" he adds, quickly averting his gaze and then looking to the exit. "I have to go, though, it was nice seeing you both. See you again later" he smiles, and starts on his way out.
Zachary blinks from his thoughts slightly when Amber comes near to where he's working, glancing towards her a moment before Alistair announces his departure. He turns his attention further ba ck and nods his head once, "Farewell, then. Let Cali know I secured her delivery, she needn't worry about it," he asks before glancing towards Amber again. "She's taking some time off. Everyone needs to from time to time."
Amber hmmms, "Well I guess I haven't really gotten to see Cali in any situation that wasn't work related, but she was nice of to take me in when she had no real reason too, so she's aces in my book." Amber walks over to her bench and picks a few of the parts she placed there, two going into her pocket, the third she begins to poke at with a repurposed dental tool as she walks back towards the two men, "So, where is Cali?" she asks, looking around.
Amber waves with her right hand, the dental pick woven between her fingers, "It was nice meeting you, I'm sure i'll see you around" She turns her attention to the Elf, "Sure, I can definitely understand that." she looks over at your work area, "You behind on anything? I could help pick up some slack if you needed."
"Actually, I'm nearly done. I just need to finish cleaning this. That's why I went to get those parts. I managed to solve several issues quickly.. perhaps luck in coming to realize just what needed to be done without too much searching." Zach smiles at her and notes, "Once that is done, I will have.. nothing more to do for the moment, though I should probably linger here, just in case further work comes during the early evening, before I am off."
Amber lifts the part she was working on up to her face and blows hard a few of the areas she was poking at with the pick, "Well, I'll be over at the grinder if you need me, the parts I picked up are almost exactly what I was looking for, shouldn't take too much effort to finish them off." She smiles as she turns, and heads back to her bench, and removes a few thin pieces of metal from her bag, and then, after picking up welders helmet, heads to the grinder. She turns it on, the large engine groaning noisily. She takes sets down her handful of metal bars and chooses one from the pile. She works at it on the grinder for a few minutes, lifting the face-shield occasionally to monitor her work. True to her word, she is able to go through a few such pieces with relative ease, her work methodical.
"Very well," Zach will reply, head turning a bit as she goes over to the grinder. His attention lingering towards her for a few moments before he looks back to his polishing. He too is pretty methodical once he gets distractions out of the way, working the cloth over each part of the mechanism intently. What takes time for him is digging into all the ltitle crevices and spaces, going above and beyond then it comes to detail work of this nature. Thus when Amber finishes, he'll still be working on the last piece of the mechanism, intent on getting the metal spotless.
Thirty minutes pass before Amber shuts down the grinder off and flips the visor of her helmet up, her arm coming up to wipe the swear from her brow. She turns, her arms and face damp from her exertion, and her shirt sports a new burn hole near her stomach, "That should do it, " she says, examining her work on the piece, "I have these cybernetic finger joints that should work perfectly for knee joints for the legs" she says as she gathers the parts that you guess will become the legs of her creation.
Zachary looks up when she s peaks again, glancing over. he almost rises to go have a look for himself, but remembers his own task to finish, lingering as he finishes off the last piece. "Glad to hear it. Where do you find y our materials, I wonder?" He sits up then and sets the cloth aside, taking the individual pieces in hand, starting to fit them back together carefully.
Amber lays out leg pieces on her area, her hand reaching into her pocket to pull out the two parts she put there. She holds one up to the metal rod she shaped, and then puts another leg piece up to form a joint. She looks over the parts and draws a few marks on metal pieces before moving to the next two and repeating the process, "I get them the same place anyone would get anything, " she says as she works, "The market, I few 3 or 4 way trades can get you just about anything you want, as long as you have the time to put them together. And I have alot of free time"
Zachary glances over as she lays out the items in question, curious despite himself. A nod given as he considers the work done to them. "I suppose that is true, though I don't think I could easily do trades for the gems needed for a proper techno-wizard device. Not that I have too many in mind for the immediate future. Only some vague notions to consider."
Amber looks over at you, "You know, I could probably help you with that, finding things is something I'm pretty good at. I'd be willing to setup some things for you, if you ever needed, and I bet I could get things for you cheaper than you'd expect." She seems to consider this, "Of course, i'd need you at the end to verify that i was getting the right thing. It wouldn't be that hard to put out some inquiries while i'm doing my own thing."
Zachary hikes his brows when Amber offers to do procurement. "That's something I will keep in mind, thank you," he returns with a soft smile. "I haven't anything to be found just yet, but if there were a way, besides credits, to find some proper gemstones should I need, that would be a grand thing for when I might need to make something. Or perhaps husks of devices to form the shell."
Amber grins, "Money is always the best way to go, and I can probably find some stuff on the cheap, but trades..." she trails off smiling, "Its amazing how far you can make a little bit go, if you want too. Thats probably what I like most about living here so far; the abundance of parts." she picks up two of her marked pieces and goes over to the machine-drill. "One sec." she says as she pushes the faceplate of her helmet back down and fires the machine up. She carefully locks her piece in and selects the bit she wants before slowly drilling a hole in the top of the part. She finishes, and does the same to a second piece before turning the machine off. She goes back to her desk and picks up one of the joins and holds it up to the newly created hole. She seems satisfied as she continues, "You'd be shocked at what I'm used to working with, never having the right parts for the job."
"I've heard some stories from a friend," Zachary offers as he finishes assembling the mechanism. With it done he breathes out lowly and rises from his chair. Back arched slightly to stretch it out before he turns to approach where Amber words, though keeping back a bit to remain safe. "Working out in the field,w here one can hardly bring the larger tools with them. He wanted to teach me to jury rig things. I declined, but I suspect I should have taken him up on that offer."
"Its a useful skill, for sure, but i'd rather have the parts to do things right the first time." She grabs a C-clamp from her bench and turns to heads over to where you are working, but stops when she sees you behind her. "I was just going to move so I didn't have to yell at you, " she says as she turns back to her bench. She secures the clamp, using it to hold one of the metal legs down tightly. She places the joint over the hole she drilled and uses a small laser torch produced from her tool-belt to slowly and carefully weld the joint in place. Her hands are incredibly steady, and she the precision in which shield wields the tool is noticeable. She allows a second for it too cool before grabbing the joint between two fingers and attempts to wiggle it, a smile on her face when the piece holds. "No, I think i definitely prefer this sorta setup, without all the pressures."
Zachary nods his head once, giving her a warm smile. "I finished," he offers for explanation of his move nearer. "I just hope that, should I need to do work out in the field, that I will be prepared." A soft concern in that, but it doesn't stay him from observing as she works. Nodding his approval to what he sees. "I'm glad that you now have this chance. I simply couldn't leave you to linger in the rough. Your skills deserve a more fitting outlet."
Amber continues to work as she talks, her current task finishing securing the second "bone" of the leg segment. She welds the second part, and release the clamp, allowing a moment to cool before she exercises the joint to test its movement. The leg looks vaguely spider-life, and she seems happy with the result, "This should be able to hold the weight no problem," she says as she turns to face you, still holding the part, "Any big plans for your weekend?"
Zachary nods his head, agreeing with Amber's assessment on the joint. "A proper job," he agrees, though her question brings him up short. He considers this for a moment before he shakes his head slightly. "I was considering some more work on my newest game. A new book to read. Perhaps a walk in the park." His brow furrowed. The potential bigness for such things obviously lacking and he's not unaware of that point and seems a bit self conscious at it.
"A pretty relaxing sorta weekend for you then huh." She says as she turns to place the leg back on the table, "Its starting to get warmer out, and the sun is out more, and thats always nice," She hmms softly as she sets up the second pair of leg joints to be fixed to each other, "I'm liking your game so far, though I have to admit i've started over once already. So far I like it alot, its nice to have another world to emerse yourself in for a bit." She looks back over at you over her shoulder, "Whats the setting for this new one? Or is it top secret?"
"It's what I often do," Zach admits when it comes to his relaxed weekend. Though the note of her enjoyment of his game prompts a warm smile. And curiosity as he wonders, "Why did you start over? Before you finished?" His brows lifted slightly. Quite curious at this. And on his latest project. "Well.. I'm still putting the core of it together. I think I'll work on it a bit more before I confirm anything. I'm still not sure what I intend will work well."
Amber nods her answer to you as she finishes up her second joint, "Yeah, I didn't like where my choices had led me, I sorta feel like I was faking it, so I once i had a better understand of how things worked, I started over again. I'll go an revisit my first attempt later, i'm sure, but I've not regretted my choice yet." She sets to work on her third joint, "Well, so far I like what I see, and i'm sure what ever is next will be great too."
"Well.. you are playing as a male character, so it factors in," Zach suggests. "But that you are enjoying it is a gratifying thing to know. I've made it not quite open ended, but with enough paths to take that one playthrough isn't enough to experience the whole thing. I've found that people like a game that isn't just over after you explore it once. Replayability, even if it isn't infinite, with things to collect that mark your progress."
"Everyone likes to have options, huh?" She says as she finishes up the 3rd and 4th joint quickly. She twirls her laser torch in her hand and slides it into her tool belt, the motion reminiscent of a gun being holstered, "All done with this, now its just the electrical work to tie into the circuit board, and then i should be ready to let him get started." She starts to clean up a bit, as she chats, "I guess I just like building things, wether it be a character, or a robot, so that sorta game really appeals to me. Its nice, really nice, to have things I can do just for fun, and not because I have too."
"Yes, people want to feel they've gotten the worth of their credits," Zachary opines. "If a game is short and linear, they're more likely to see it as not worth it. If there is much to do, it is worth it and perhaps they'll buy the next game that person makes." He shakes his head slightly then and says, "Perhaps we should do something more than talk about such dry subjects. Once I do some clean up, we could go.. do something." The something not coming easily from him. "it's been quiet and all of my current work is done."
Amber nods, "Sure, let me get some of my things together, and clean up my mess, and i'll be good to go." She starts to pack up her bag before heading over to the drill to sweep up the metal bits, "Have something in mind? Have you eaten recently?" she makes quick work of her small mess, and heads over to the fridge to grab another soda, "It ok if you just lock up and go? No one's waiting on anything?"
"The hours I"m supposed to be here are nearly done, there shouldn't be any trouble," Zach assures her, after doing his own clean up. Tools in the right place and all. "A bite would be a good idea, do you have a place in mind? Once I change, I'll be ready. Starting to go back into the back to do just that, though slow enough that she can offer up suggestions before he gets back there.
Amber shrugs as she gathers her things, her bag sliding over her head to rest at its usual place on her shoulder. She walks around idly as you finish up, her hands in her pockets "I don't really, I'm up for just about anything. You've been here a bit longer, what do you recommend?"
Zachary is thoughtful as he goes into the back, taking a brief few minutes to change before he emerges again. "Well.. there is a deli I've heard of. Normally I don't go to such places, but I've heard they sell lean cuts of meat. Now would be as good a time as any to see if this is true." He's in his normal street clothing, his carryall set over his shoulder. "It's near to where you live, I think. You spoke of.. the Retreat place, right? It's near to there."
She nods her approval, "Sounds good to me, I guess, I'm open to try just about anything." She motions for the door, "You all set? Shall we?" She smiles as she pushes the button near the garage door, allowing it to lower completely before engaging the lock. She heads for the normal entrance and waits for you to finish up any last bits, her eyes surveying the street outside.
Tags: Ambrielle, Zachary, Alistair
