Lacuna

Chapter 12

Completing the dee-dee took longer than Kahli would have liked, but she wanted to make sure she was prepared before entering the ruins. But after her training with Sam and Django, the robots in the ruins were nothing more than an annoyance. In fact, she still felt that the bandirats put up more of a fight, but she thought nothing more of it. She had come in for one thing, and one thing only; an engine for the dee-dee transport. And with her hands finally on it, she would be able to finally complete the dee-dee for Mayor Gale.

By now, she had more experience with the engines. She was familiar with how they worked and all their parts. She installed the engine with ease, adding oil and gas to power it, and the engine roared to life when she turned it on.

Mayor Gale was equally satisfied with her work, and as usual, her time and efforts were compensated for. She was really in a routine, now. She had a nearly fully functioning workshop, and when that wasn't enough to keep her busy, the animals were. Her mornings were often spent feeding, then mucking the barn and coop before she lost herself in her workshop for the afternoon. And more often than not, she spent her evenings at the Round Table with Emily, Antoine, Sonia, and Sam. And somewhere in between, she found time to exercise Star, exploring the rolling hills of Portia on horseback.

She made her way into town one morning, eager to see what work she could find for herself, with an unusual scent filled her nose. As soon as she stepped into the plaza, it became clear what the stench was. The fountain in the middle had turned green with pollution, and it caught the attention of several others as well.

"What is going on here?" Mayor Gale asked as he stepped out of the town hall.

"It's been polluted," Merlin said in an obvious tone.

"How?"

"I just checked the river," Sam said. "It's like this, too."

"Well, did you find the source?" Merlin asked.

"I tried," Sam started, "but it's coming from above the Bassanio Falls and the lift's been broken for ages."

Mayor Gale turned to Arlo. "Find out what's going on," he said. "The Portia River is our water source. I don't want our people getting sick from whatever this is."

"Fix the lift," Arlo said. "Got it." He turned to Kahli. "Looks like you've got yourself a job."

"Kahli to the rescue, as always," she said with a grin.

"I'll look into getting rid of this in the meantime," Merlin said.

The crowd dispersed, and Kahli headed immediately to the lift. Fortunately, after a quick examination, Kahli determined it would be a relatively easy fix, needing nothing more than to have a few boards replaced. She returned home to gather the necessary materials and tools, then set to work fixing the lift, completing it by the afternoon. With the lift fixed, the Civil Corps was able to find the source of the pollution.

Kahli stood with Emily outside of the Round Table, just ready to step inside for a couple of drinks when the Civil Corps returned from their search.

"Any luck?" Kahli asked.

"It seems the pollution is coming from a broken pipe inside the WOW Industries building, just above the Bassanio Falls," Remington said.

"I suspect foul play was involved," Arlo said.

"Do you think you can fix it?" Sam asked. "That should be enough to stop any more of that green goo from polluting the river."

"Sounds easy enough," Kahli said.

By morning, Kahli made her way to the WOW Industries building, finding Sam already inside. The building was mostly in ruins, a gaping hole in the center of the room, but most of the pipes - with the exception of the broken pipe - were still in tact and in use.