Hidden in the Depths

Chapter 4

"Now you need to put these last two pieces on the pad here- perfect! And now the fabricator does the rest! See, not so difficult right?" Techno had half a mind to protest and say that no, this was still very much impossible to understand, but he didn't want to dampen Fit's mood. So he just nodded and watched the bundle of cables, little pile of some yellow powder and different metal plates get turned into a multi-purpose repair tool.

As soon as Fit found that particular tool in the list of things the fabricator can make, he dragged Techno out into the water and demanded to know where he was stashing the valuables he found. The younger spent a good twenty minutes watching Fit rummage around the five crates he had in his possession, mumbling something about different metals and cable types required to make the tool. Technically the fabricator requires ores, but the technician was convinced the metal plates would work just fine.

It was odd seeing him move around with only one arm, but he was right when he said he only really needed his legs to swim. Especially when he only had to go such a short distance. The younger became his shopping cart, carrying everything Fit deemed useful up to the pod, stashing it in a messy pile until both men eventually climbed back into the pod.

Techno still wasn't sure where or how Fit had acquired that weird yellow powder thing and he was too afraid to ask for a detailed story after he heard the words 'exploding fish'. He'd rather not meet whatever creature deserves the title 'exploding'. Not that it mattered much now, with Fit proudly lifting the tool from the little pad. "This should work just fine in fixing my arm and whatever is still damaged in your pod. The stash of cables will also be quite helpful." "If you say so."

The pink haired man had switched from the floor to the single chair that the pod had, letting Fit have his fun with the machine. "Come on Techno, a bit more enthusiasm! This is the first step in getting us off this planet! Now come here and help me, I need a second hand to keep the prosthetic in check." They switched places for the sake of Fit being able to keep his arm still a little better when sitting. "Okay, let's start with the section down here..."

It took a little fiddling on Techno's part as the other slowly instructed him on which screw he needs to loosen, until finally a section of metal plating disconnected from the arm. As soon as the cables were visible, his only job was to keep the arm steady and turn it whichever way Fit needed it. Easy enough, even with the nerve-wracking knowledge that one mistake could just destroy the prosthetic entirely.

Silence filled the small space as cables were carefully nudged around, trying to find the problem that caused his arm to stop working. If Techno thought the stuff on the ship was complex, Fit's prosthetic was straight out of a futuristic sci-fi movie. Even more futuristic than space travel, which is quite the achievement. He dreaded the answer of 'okay, not this part, next section', not wanting to touch or open any more than absolutely needed. A wrong connection won't just break the arm, but probably hurt Fit too.

"Okay I found it. Right over here. Turn it more to the right, I can't properly reach it like this." Techno winced when he had to twist Fit's arm almost at a painful angle so he could see the cable better. "Good, just keep it like this..." The repair tool was a bit big to work on the tiny details of machinery, but the space between cables was just big enough to allow Fit to weld the cable back into place, connecting it back into the main circuit.

Almost immediately, the metal hand clenched into a fist. "Haha! Got it!" Techno took his hands away and watched as Fit lifted his arm, moving each finger and turning his arm this way and that, until he was sure everything worked perfectly. "This should do it. Help me close it up and we'll get to work on this pod." Getting the metal plating back on was a lot easier than taking it off, which makes sense if you consider how durable the prosthetic has to be.