Watching and Listening - An Empires SMP AU

Cogs turning

           Cogsmeade was a busy place. It always had some mechanical issue to solve, and new machinery to create. As False was the grand architect and tinkerer and empress of Cogsmeade, it was her job to manage it all. Alone. 

           She whistled as she worked. False liked tinkering and having fun with gears in general. It was just part of her personality. She was hardcoded that way. False turned away as she opened up a panel that lead to the engine of a small blimp that she was working on, and held her breath as smoke came pouring out. Once the smoke cleared, she put her goggles on and got to work. "Okay, what's the problem here?" She asked the machine. False was one of those people who talked to inanimate objects. Less lonely that way. 

           "Hi, False!" Came a voice from behind her. Startled, False whirled around and whacked Jimena in the head with her wrench. The girl backed off, rubbing her temple. "Oh, Jimena, I'm so sorry!" False gasped, dropping her tools and rushing towards her. "Are you-" "I'm fine," Jimena said. "Maybe I shouldn't sneak up on you."

           "Yeah," False agreed. She picked up her stuff and turned back to the blimp. It had been parked on the ground, its deflated balloon lying flat on the floor behind it. The airship was already on the smaller side, made to fit two people on a leisurely cruise and on short trips. Without the giant balloon, it looked even smaller. 

           "What are you doing?" Jimena asked, bending over to look at the wiring. "This one won't fly straight," False explained, clipping a pipe. "I'm trying to see what the issue is." Jimena didn't bother False while she worked. She was just standing there, watching silently.

           "Can I help?" She finally asked after a while, as False took apart basically the whole engine, and motor oil pooled on the ground around them. "It's a messy business," False said, scooting over so her boots wouldn't be too stained. Her favorite leather boots were already dyed dark brown going on black by the grease and fuel of the machines she worked with, though, so why did she even bother?

           "I don't really care about staying neat," Jimena answered. "Do you need help?" "Well, maybe," False said, wiping her sweat. "Do you have any experience with mechanical engines?" "No, but you can teach me," Jimena said, squatting down next to her. "I'm not so sure about that," False said, unsure of herself.

            "Tinkering... it's just instinctive with me. See, I had amnesia too, and studying mechanics was a thing I did way back when I don't remember anymore. All this metal stuff I do, I don't know how I know all of it, how I understand. So I can't really teach you. Does that make sense?"

          Jimena nodded. "But still, what can I help with?" False didn't know what this feeling was that she was feeling. Maybe I'm grateful for Jimena being around, she thought. That's probably it. "Okay," She said. She waved at her toolbox. "You can pass me my tools when I ask for them. Is that okay with you?" "Yeah."

           As they worked, False and Jimena chatted a little. They wanted to learn more about each other. Jimena really couldn't remember anything, so the conversation was mostly about False. False told her about how she just woke up one day, met the other eleven emperors, and became one herself.

          "I started Cogsmeade from the ground up. No citizens, no one to help me. I just did it all by myself." Jimena was a good listener. She asked the occasional question, but she didn't interrupt when False was talking. It felt nice to talk to someone else about her experiences, which was a kind of unfamiliar concept to the grand architect of Cogsmeade. She normally just talked to inanimate objects. 

           False tightened bolts, unscrewed screws, replaced panels, clipped wires, sealed a leak in the fuel tank, fixed much more than just trying to get the blimp to fly straight. She cleaned out old gears, untied and retied cords, scraped rust off of oxidizing copper, checked the balloon for holes, topped off the fuel tank, washed the hull, and did basic maintenance of the whole airship. The whole time, Jimena was busy passing her hammers, screwdrivers, sponges, towels, pliers, everything she needed to tune up the automaton. Every turn, she found more problems, more issues that needed fixing.