Praise the Maker

[Kabrute]

Screens surrounded the Maker, giving instructions in the form of pictures, schematics and diagrams drawn out to the finest detail showing exactly how everything fit together and where it all went.  Ada knew which symbol meant air lines or liquid lines though should couldn't say how she knew what these symbol meant.  She finished finished adjusting the drapes on her cot, and took a bite of the loaf she had found by the kitchens Ada thought about the Maker, as she often did while eating.  Others might eat at the tables,but the noise made it hard to focus, and Ada wanted to focus on the Maker.  She could see it at the end of the hall outside her door, sitting down there slowly cycling up.   Every so often someone new would step through, though it was hard to tell how often it happened.  Some of the eldest claimed it was as constant as hatch pacing, but Ada couldn't see the pattern.  She supposed she was too new.  Sighing she finished her loaf and stood, stretching.  Max stopped at the door "Wree?" he asked.  "Wreeeeee!" Ada squealed in reply, bolting out the door so fast Max barely had time to turn and keep up.  They were going to try to finish the new building today, if the Makers screens were correct, and Ada was eager to see what it would do. 

Ada hit the ladder heading up to the new dugout, leaping the rungs two at a time. Ahead of her Bubbles was struggling under a load of materials.  Normally happy she had been acting slower each day and the bit of green at the corners of her mouth had Ada curious but she didn't know what any of it meant.  They hit the top of the ladder at nearly the same time even though Bubbles must have been halfway up it when Ada started, she just felt so full of energy this morning.  As she entered the building and headed up to finish the duct work she waved to the crews hauling out trash and finishing up the walls, giving an encouraging "Wreee" as she raced past.

[DragonMage156]

Makes me wonder what the "maker" is.

[Kabrute]

Super computers surrounding the printing pod

[DragonMage156]

1 hour ago, Kabrute said:

Super computers surrounding the printing pod

Thought so. Will you be writing more? I'm intrigued.

[Kabrute]

Yes

 

[Kabrute]

Alex smiled as he hefted the hatch onto his shoulder.  Ada always made him smile when she went running by, always so excited.  Alex was considered an elder, he remembered things sometimes from the first days but usually kept them to himself.  No one talked about the first days, but they had survived, Praise the Maker.  Many hands make light work, and as Alex slid down the pole, hatch over his shoulder the smile stayed, keeping back those dark memories.
  Ada didn't notice, she was busy feeding material into her assembler.  The Maker wanted air lines through the ceiling here and Ada wasn't going to disappoint, even if she didn't understand why.  The Maker did not explain, it provided, Praise the Maker.  They had food, water, beds and all because of the Makers instructions.  Because of all of this Ada didn't need reassurances, the Maker never hurt anyone.  Not like those others...

[HotChocolate]

Oh man i love this already heck!!

Keep it up im super intruigedd

[Kabrute]

As Alex hit the bottom of the pole the hatch on his back shifted throwing him off balance.  Unfortunately for him, at just that moment Burt happened to trip coming through the doorway, scattering the copper he was carrying across the floor, under Alex flailing foot, sending the entire compliment crashing to the floor in a heap.  Seconds later the hatch crawled out from under Alex and scooped a chunk of the copper up in its chompers and sent it down the hatch.  Alex Mreeped in concern but Burt couldn't help, he was too busy laughing.  Alex untangled himself and began to chase after the hatch but it dug in just before he got to it.  Alex sighed and ran off and Burt started picking up the remaining copper.  He would have to go back to storage but it was worth the laugh.  He was still chuckling to himself when Alex showed back up with a bottle of water.  Burt raised an eyelash but Alex just smiled and emptied the water on the floor.  Seconds later the hatch popped up and Alex snatched it up, stuffing it back in the bag before letting out a Whew and a Huuzzah! and heading off to the coal pit.  Burt meanwhile booked it down to storage to replace his missing copper, he didn't want to have to mop that mess up any more than Alex did.

[DragonMage156]

I'm liking this. I assume Alex is an OC?

[Kabrute]

Ada finished connecting the ducting together and hit the switch on her way out the door.  The room was done, the last one in the tower.  Now they would get to see what it did when it came on line.  As she hopped onto the pole light began to leak around the doorway behind her, she spun, hanging on the pole mesmerized by the humming emanating from the room.  It was working.  Ada ran back to the door excited to see her life's work in action.  The door didn't open.

In all of Ada's cycles this had never happened before.  Doors opened in front of you and closed behind you, everyone knew this.  Walls didn't open, they only stayed closed, but doors weren't walls so why was this one suddenly acting like wall now.  Ada let out a Wraaaah and hit the door with her assembler.  A clang sounded above the hum but otherwise nothing changed.  Ada flipped the toggle, the door still didn't open so she figured it must be broken.  She looked at her assembler, then looked at the door, then back at her assembler and touched a little button on it.  She aimed the tool at the door and squeezed the triggers.

[Kabrute]

As the door opened in front of her Camille heard a noise straight out of her nightmares.  Someone was disassembling something.  Someone was breaking something. Wraaahahahaha she screamed down the hall, a couple of other heads popped out into the hallway at the sound of her cry.  As its echo faded a clear difference could be seen among them.  Most eyes were on Camille, but a few were on the ladder leading up to the new construction area and Camille launched herself down the hall following those stares.  They followed her, those who had focused on the noise instead of her cry, and when they found Ada surrounded by parts from the door and the wall around it they moved as one, tackling her to the ground and wrestling the tool from her hands.  There were only a couple helping Camille but three was enough and they quickly subdued Ada. The eyes peeking up from the ladder disappeared as Camille's eyes swept the area.  She couldn't see any reason for Ada to have freaked out but new ones snapped some times.  Tears began to well at the corners of her eyes as she thought about what was coming.  Together they picked Ada up and began the long march to the last door.  There was no room for breakers among them.  They couldn't let it happen again, not like before.  Now they knew what to do to protect themselves.  It wasn't the makers fault if someone broke it just happened sometimes.  Maybe the next Ada would be better, praise the Maker there would be another.

[Kabrute]

Ada didn't struggle, but her eyes roved constantly.  She had never seen this hall before, the colony was quite large and though she had explored a lot of it this hall was different.  The walls looked compressed, somehow thicker than normal tiles and the door at the end looked like it had teeth running up the sides of it.  What kind of door had teeth?  Ada's eyes grew bigger if that was possible as they approached the door.  She began to struggle a little then, fear washing through her in waves separated by curiosity, but they were already at the door and Camille was throwing open the lock.  They shoved her into the cramped space beyond then closed and locked the door between them.  Ada's breath caught in her throat, they weren't going to suffocate her in here were they?  Now she really did panic, Wreeeee she cried running in place turning circles.  *Woosh*, "Wyahahyaha" She was falling now and this wasn't helping her panic attack At All. *Splahoooosh* She hit the water like a sack of flour, and as she turned herself right side up, there was the ladder.  She started climbing, moving now by pure instinct.  As she broke the surface of the water she took a huge gulp of air, and nearly gagged.  It was putrid, if breathable.

Max was cleaning just a few floors down when everything had gone sideways and people were taking Ada and hauling her away.  He followed them, hanging back keeping to the shadows and watching from the ladder wells as they headed off down some maintenance corridor under the gardens.  There wasn't anything down there the he had ever needed so he really didn't know what Was down there.  Just as he was making up his mind about heading into the corridor after them, 3 out of 4 came back into the ladder well and headed up his way.  None of them said a word as they passed him, nor even looked him in the eye.  He looked at the corridor again and even started toward it, but a sudden dripping in the back of the head distracted him.  Just above him, water was leaking from the hall into the ladder well.  Max sighed as another drop hit him, drenching his shoulder and making up his mind.  He heaved himself up the ladder the few rungs and started mopping.  The least he could do was keep the walk ways clean.  It was his job after all praise the Maker he still had one.

[Kabrute]

Alex couldn't believe the news.  "Mwahahaha" he cried to Camille kneeling beside her in the mess hall. "Mreee" she replied through her sniffles, dragging her nails lightly down the wall once. He shuddered at the sound, "Mwah" he said dejectedly, shoulders slumped as he stood, turning away from her.  He had heard while coming back from the coal pits, hatch safely stowed away for later.  Now he was heading to the garden, nothing like working among the lice leaves and berry buds to clear your head.
  Ada shivered, freezing from the water streaming off her clothing.  She looked around slowly, alone in a small cavern coated in filth and debris.  Her breath caught in her throat, fighting her as she tried to get it down.  Every thing here was jarring to the senses and Ada was in overload.  No nice clean tiles, or polished walls here.  *Splaplat* the sound drove her clean out of her boots, she had never jumped or spun so fast in her life.  *Blarururb  splaqut*  It was coming from just around the bend.  She crept towards, fear long since so overloaded that she wasn't even processing emotions as feelings.  As her eyes slipped round the corner, her features shrunk inward and she fled back towards the waters edge.  What was that horrendous thing?

[Kabrute]

It was hideous, all green and slimy with eyeballs popping out and in, and Ada shuddered and let out the merest "whaha".  Something covered her mouth, which turned her into a tornado of knees, elbows and feet.  Her strikes found only empty air though as she spun trying to track this newest threat and suddenly she was bowled over and couldn't move.  The weight on top of her combined with the heavy breathing against her ear and Ada just knew she was about to be eaten. "Whaha" she started to cry again.  "Shhhhhh" the noise moved like a wind across her ear, and Ada froze, that was a noise others made for quiet.  It wasn't a something on top of her, it was a someone, and with that thought the kernel of hope was rekindled.  Ada relaxed so suddenly that the form on top of her lost its balance, shifting to the floor beside her with a light thump.  "Shhh" she heard again as a hand found hers in the darkness and began pulling her off to who knew where.  At this point though anywhere was better than being with that pile of living ick.