Meet Roger
The mech valet
Roger was one such abandoned mech, until Rowan found him and cleaned off years of grime and moss. He doesn’t have much to say, but his unusual markings prove he has deep secrets that only a determined tinker will be able to uncover.
Snippet
Rowan finds an abandoned mech
With nothing else to do, Rowan pulled out the mech valet they’d found wandering in the Meadows and started to clean it. Phalian perched on her shoulder, chirping out his opinions about the shabby mech and her efforts to clean it.
The valet was an antique, built in a style Rowan had never seen. It was vaguely humanoid with a boxy frame and an over-large rectangular head. Stubby arms protruded from its torso. She suspected they were meant for attaching extension, but one had been broken off and replaced with a rusty bolt. Its legs were little more than metal sheaths for the wheels that were too clogged with gunk to turn. Large copper eyes had oxidized and turned green. They were ringed in another metal that was chipped and rusting. Adjustment knobs were cleverly disguised as ears and antenna stuck up like horns from its head.
She rubbed one of the horns with an oiled cloth.
“You’re just too cute for a mech, aren’t you?” The oxidized eyes stared at her. It was as if someone had built the mech to deliberately tap into the protective emotions one felt when confronted by a stray puppy.
She continued to wipe off grime with the cloth, then took out a chisel to pry a particularly stubborn bit of moss from its torso. The green fuzz fell away to reveal something amazing underneath.
“Hello.” She scraped some more to uncover a tiny etching on its chest—an anvil and hammer circled in vines. The metal bowed outward here, making the logo a sort of button. She laid a finger on it and felt the metal warm under her touch.
“Roger that!” The valet said as it came to life. The antenna on its head waggled. Phalian said, “SQUAWK!” and launched into the air to flap around the valet.
Conall approached. The valet swiveled to greet him.
“Roger that!” he chirped.
“You got it working. Did you get a thera chip from Murdoch?”
Murdoch hoarded their chips like gold. He’d need some hard persuading to give one up for an antique mech found rambling around the Meadows.
“Didn’t need one,” Rowan said. “He’s still got power.” In fact, she hadn’t found a thera chip port yet, but she still had a lot of grime to clean off.
“I’m calling him Roger.”
“Roger that!” said Roger.
“Of course.” Conall hid his amusement behind a scowl, but Rowan saw it shining in his eyes. The gruff old wolf had a funny bone under there somewhere and she was determined to find it.