The little Klaw Maintnenance Drone #13 had drawn the sewer run AGAIN, and it was sure the constant dipping into the filthy water was rusting some of it’s parts. Not to mention the continual almost overpowering urge to start repairs on the delapidated structure… It was alone, of course, the Watchers being too prissy to come down into the darkness, claiming something about it being too confined to fly, and a vagaries of air currents….
There was a slight movement ahead, and it’s single eye zoomed in to discover what had caused it when the tunnel in front filled with intense blue-white fire! The welding iris snapped shut, but for a few brief seconds it was effectivly blind. Amazing what can happen in a few seconds – in this case, something soft and blanketing dropped over it from behind, and a clamp slammed onto the small rotating key on it’s back, bringing it’s unwinding to a halt.
Tepic let his eyes reajust as the burning magnesium flare faded, then softly called his compatriot over, a smaller urchin of moreau extraction – most of the older and human urchins having been affected by the hypnosis. Together they folded the stalled clockwork’s arms and legs against it’s body and tied the top of the sack tightly before vanishing with it into the stygian darkness….
Some time later, down by the Docks, some barrels mysteriously appeared alongside the other cargo of a ship destined for the Antipodies, carefully stenciled “Sydney, Austrailia, Delicate Components”. The stevadores loaded them with the rest of the cargo, and with the care always used in loading anything labeled delicate, placed them at the bottom of the hold, covered in everything else…
The two urchins watched as the ship steamed out in the dawn’s light, gleeful that their night’s work had bourne fruit.
“Well, that’s three down, wonder if we will get any more?” the fox boy commented to his companion, who just stifled a giggle with his hands.
Doctor Dinosaur looked at the leaking aetherpipe on the maintenance deck as he tightened it with a wrench.
“Why did I build maintenance drones to upkeep the ship, if I’m going to end up taking time out of my vusy schedual to preform repairs myself anyway? It’s not like I have the takeover of the city to focus on afterall!”
The cleaning drone pointed out that he had sent 80% of the maintenance force out to look for the cat, then, next thing he knew, he was outside the airship, watching New Babbage race up to meet him. The last thought to go through his cognigator was ‘oh no, not again’.