Zed was just about done fixing the shattered code along the treads of the light tank. It was difficult work. The treads had twin lines working in opposite directions to create traction. Easy to calibrate incorrectly. He focused his goggles on the line and worked with practiced precision. He was fixing a lot of tanks lately. Not that he minded particularly. The more tanks he had in the shop the fewer were shooting at his friends in the field.
Yeah, that was a cheerful thought. A few more like those and he'd be in a good mood all cycle long!
He brushed his musing to the back of his processes and focused. Tank treads.
"Zed?" Mara's voice floated beneath the folded code of the tank. He jolted and bashed his head on the half-compiled armor he was working around. Pain signals flashed in his vision.
"Ow...Yeah?" He slid out from underneath the tread and found Mara's pinched face staring back at him.
"Are you close to done?" She asked in a tense voice.
He rapped his knuckles against the tank, sharpening his connection with the vehicle code.
"She's in pretty good shape now. I'm just fixing the damage on the treads. I could compile her right now but Dyson likes em' pristine so I'm making sure she's running clean"
"Can you pass it off to Dash and Copper then? I need you to run an errand" Zed blinked away his goggles and let his mechanic functions power down. His connection with the tank code quieted to a low hum in his head. He focused instead on the curve of Mara's brow. He knew that look, it meant trouble.
"Is this errand gonna involve me getting shot at?" He asked in a suspicious murmur.
Her pinched look loosened some when she smiled "Hopefully not" she seemed far too uncertain to make him anything close to hopeful.
"Come on, details in my office" she turned and sashayed off, barking a command to the mechanic on lift duty as she passed "If you extend it that far its gonna snap! I swear to Flynn if you break the lift again I'm gonna put you on night shift for the next ten cycles!"
Link's thin face and bugging eyes disappeared behind the control panel of the lift. Wisely, he toggled the controls to a less severe angle. Zed couldn't really blame him. He'd made the same mistake before. Not that he'd ever admit it out loud.
Zed cued the door of Able's old office closed and eyed Mara as she seated herself primly behind the desk. She didn't have Able's imposing stare just yet. But she was certainly working on it.
"The tricksters have been on rumor collection lately" Mara started, steepling her fingers. Zed lounged in one of the chairs and raised a wary eyebrow.
"Ooooh great! Im not just getting shot at then! Im gonna get dropped in a garbage chute"
Mara rolled her eyes "Hilda saved your life with that garbage chute stunt"
"Didn't make it smell any better"
"Anyway, the tricksters have been collecting rumors. There's word of programs resisting the occupation down in the transport sectors. They collected some names. I want you to find these programs and figure out if they're worth recruiting"
" And you're sending me why? My beautiful face and stunning personality? My great sales techniques?"
"If I needed a pretty face Id send Paige"
"Hurtful and Im pretty sure you don't send Paige anywhere"
An unexpected female voice came from behind Zed, making him jump "Agreed, she doesn't send me anywhere. But that doesn't mean that I don't value her input" Zed whirled to find Paige, Tron's symbol stark on her chest, in a dim corner of the office.
YOU ARE READING
Tron: Deliverance
FanfictionAfter Sam Flynn left the Grid, he finally found his momentum in life. He took the reins at Encom, reconnected with Alan, and built a life with Quorra. He disconnected the Grid, leaving it in stasis for several years as he built his life in the real...
