The door of the engineering bay glided open. I stepped inside and pressed the button beside the entrance. The door let out a loud grumble as it slid shut.
I stepped further into the room. The lights switched on automatically. Sitting down on the maintenance chair, I placed IRIS on a table. I looked around and noticed a massive circular door.
Curious, I walked over and pressed the button to open it. The moment the door slid opened, a wave of scorching heat rushed through me. I immediately panicked and pressed the button, forcing it shut.
The door slammed with a loud bang.
I stood there, wondering if opening it was a good idea. Either way, I had just discovered the entrance to the engine coils.
Returning to the maintenance chair, I lay on it and stared at the ceiling. The heat from the engine coils would be enough to kill me if I decided to venture any deeper.
I snapped back into reality, realizing I was slacking off. Using my foot, I pushed the maintenance chair with my foot across the floor until I reached IRIS.
I grabbed IRIS and carefully pulled out the pin that was still lodged inside.
The screen was shattered, covered in web-like cracks. I rolled the chair toward a nearby crate and opened it, retrieving an Energy Stabilizer.
The way to fix it was similar to how I fixed it during that test. Using the Energy Stabilizer to disconnect the core, I can finally safely opened the inside without worrying about internal damage.
I grabbed the nearby Micro Wrench, unscrewed the small wrenches. The front panel opens and I carefully set it on the table.
The internal system was packed with countless of cables. Some were neatly bundled together, while the others ran individually throughout the device.
One cable stood out to me. There was a cable that was tied to a small chip and been split in half.
Picking up the Nano-Soldering Pen, I carefully reconnected the lines.
Tiny sparks danced around the tip as a soft mechanical whir filled the room. Once it was finished, I examined the cable.
It was perfect.
I set the front panel to its previous location, tightening back the small screws with the Micro Wrench before reinstalling the core.
The faint glow of blue light up.
Finally, I placed IRIS on the table. I grabbed a Lens Extractor and pressed it firmly on IRIS' damaged lens.
I pulled the Lens Extractor upwards and IRIS' lens was pulled up while sticking onto that extractor.
Rolling the chair to a nearby cabinet, I stood up halfway in front of a cabinet and let the chair glided.
I rummaged through the cabinet to find a box that was specifically for replacement lenses.
I mumbled while my hand continued to search,
"Not here. It's not on the top shelf. Why are there no labels to identify—"
BANG
The chair knocked over the tool racks.
I reached out my hand and practically threw myself,
"Wait ! No—"
CLANG
The tools fell over the floor. Rattling as I covered my ears to protect my hearing health. The door moved smoothly as it opened with a loud metallic sound.
In the center of the doorway, Varelius stood there. We both stared each other, blinking at each other. No one dared to speak.
Varelius closed the door before strolling to my direction. He squatted and helped me gather the tools.
He placed them in the box that also fell before turning to me,
"Why are you here ?"
I looked at him, my mouth was still open,
"Uhm..."
He sighed and sat on the floor,
"Sorry if I caused a nuisance with my brother. It's just that..."
He covered his face and grunted underneath. I glanced at the tools that had been perfectly placed inside the boxes. I lifted the box one by one and placed them on the rack.
I sat on the chair and skid closer to Varelius,
"It's alright. Take your time. I'm all ears."
He looked up to me and wiped a tear that was about to dropped,
"Thanks. It's just that somehow family burdens of the oldest child is unbearable to me."
I stood up from the chair and offered him to sit.
He instantly shook his head and raised his hand,
"No no no ! You sit there instead. I'm fine with sitting on the floor."
I sat back on the chair, my eyes darted to IRIS and back to him,
"Alright, continue."
He took a deep breath and sighed,
"My family... they... always expected the best from the oldest child. I never dare to tell anyone about my honest feelings..."
He stared at me, his shoulders dropped slightly,
"Just forget what I say. I don't have any courage to tell this. I'm afraid my family might mistook me for being weak and not... like what they always wish for."
I nodded and head to search for IRIS' lens. I held the lens and strode to the table. When I arrived, I forcefully removed the broken one from the Lens Extractor.
Once the broken lens was pulled out, it slipped from my finger.
CLANG
The lens shattered into glasses that was scattered everywhere. I looked to my finger and noticed it was pricked. A small piece of glass was lodged onto my left thumb. A small drop of blood was leaked out.
Varelius hurried to my side and asked,
"Aléssio! We should head to Arlo! Your thumb is bleedin—"
I raised my hand and waved it,
"No need. That kid is probably busy taking care of Zarina's arm or anybody's injuries. It's better if we don't burden him more."
Varelius panicked and started to do hand gestures that I can't understand,
"But if we—"
I plucked out the glass with my own finger, silencing Varelius,
"Done. Nothing could go wrong alright. Also fetch me a bandage, I'll wrap it myself."
He blinked at me and huffed as he sprinted to the door.
Another reason why I didn't want to tell Arlo is because I'll end up running away. I stared at the empty floor and laughed at myself.
I remembered the moment when I lost my dignity due to an injector or a stitching machine. I glanced at the pile of glasses and pressed a button beside the tool rack.
The moment I pressed the button, a small robot shaped like a vacuum cleaner jumped out of the wall.
It swiftly moved through every corner to clean any dusts and the glasses. It sweeped across the floor hurriedly and making sure it's sparkling clean.
I positioned the new lens right at where IRIS' lens should be. The moment it made a contact, IRIS' interface light up.
A light blue glow appeared, making an expression of "(ಥ_ಥ)". Its hands sprung up and continued to let out a bunch of sad BEEP.
It waved both of its hands at me while beeping. Flying around my head and snuggled on my chest.
It turned to me and the expression changed to "(｡•́︿•̀｡)", snuggling on my chest again. I hugged it tightly and threw myself to the chair.
I held it high while spinning around on the chair,
"Welcome back IRIS ! Don't cry."
IRIS' expression stayed persistent with those melancholy sadness.
I furrowed my brows and thought of a nursery to cheer it up,
"Uhh... A, B, C, D, E, F, G ?"
IRIS' expression finally changed and looked at me in a confused "(눈_눈)".
Or maybe it's judging me, isn't it ?