The shop is roaring with business, you hardly even have time to restock the parts and gadgets before their shelf is empty again. It's tiring, but good, at least you know you and Asra have plenty of coin for your travels.
The solar system your ship is currently set up in is Vesuvia, which isn't an unusual place for you to be. You can also sometimes be found at the edge of the Prakra galaxy.
As the shop closes, Asra comes in with a new load of parts and gears. He brushed the hair out of his face and smiles at you, "Busy day?" He asks.
You nod, looking around at the nearly empty shop, "We might need to hire some more hands." You say, walking over to him.
Asra frowns and shakes his head, "I don't-"
That's when the alarm goes off. A shrieking noise that came with a red flashing light. You and Asra look at each other in confusion.
"It must be a problem with the mainframe." Asra says, furrowing his brow. He moves from the shop to the rest of the ship and you follow, trailing after him.
After a few twists and turns on the enormous ship, you reach the control room. Normally Asra only went in to set your destination when you were traveling.
Inside the room is a large screen, which takes up most of the wall. Below it is a panel filled with switches and buttons. Asra begins to toy with them, pressing the large green button and turning an orange knob.
The screen starts up, displaying the ship's name: A.R.C.A.N.A
You know at some point Asra told you what it stands for, but you can't quite remember. You try to recall. Astrological Reminder Central And Nodical Autosimulation? No, that wasn't it. Asra's Really Cute And Naturally Amazing? Definitely not that. Finally, you remember it: Automatic Receiver Cognition And Navigation Automation.
"It seems one of our systems went offline." Asra frowns at the screen, pointing at a section of it. "You see, The A.R.C.A.N.A. runs on 21 major systems, each of which is vital to make it run."
"Which system is offline?" You ask.
"The Devil system, part of the engine of the ship. I should've known that piece would be part of the issue, it's always causing trouble for me." He sighs, running a hand through his hair. Asra looks at you, "I know you've never been down to the engine room, but why don't you come with me this time, I'll show you how to fix this up."
You nod excitedly. You'd been apprenticing for Asra for years without seeing the real pride of Asra's work, his ship. As a master engineer, he is often called upon by many galaxies to do his work.
Asra moves to the other side of the room, opening a latch in the floor that you hadn't noticed previously. He gestures for you to come over.
"Listen, just so you know before we go in, you have to be cautious as we go through each system. The A.R.C.A.N.A. is often very unpredictable and I wouldn't want you to get hurt." He says, looking anxious. "If you don't want to come I'd understand."
"No, I want you." You say and with that you climb into the hole, following a ladder down for what feels like ages until you finally get to the bottom.
All around you is black, you can't see a thing. Asra hops off the ladder beside you, reaching for your hand to make sure you're alright.
"We're in The Moon's system. It has to be dark in here because the equipment is so delicate that it would be damaged from too much light exposure." He says, gripping your hand tight. "The door should be over here..." You hear Asra's hand glide against the wall, searching for the door. Other than that, it's eerily silent, you expected the machines to be loud, but there's not a sound in here.
"Aha, here." The door clicks and light floods in. Asra quickly rushes you inside and shuts the door behind you both.
You around in this room. It's much different than the last. Firstly, you can actually see. The room is tall and large, with huge machinery. Mainly, you notice it's two large machines, only connected by a single gear. Secondly, the machines are loud. However, it's not the usual unpleasant noises that most machines have, instead it almost sounds like a tune. You hum it as you follow Asra.
"That's The Lover's system." He explains, bringing you through another door.
You go through many different systems, some simple to get through, others more complex. Until finally, you go through the door that Asra claims is The Devil's system.
Immediately when you walk through the door it's hot. The roaring from the engine is searing and you can hardly even hear yourself think. Around you the steam from the engine gives off black smoke, making it hard to see.
"I think the problem is in that something's stuck in it!" Asra shouts over the noise. "We'll have to reach in and grab it!"
There's a ladder on the side of the engine, you reach for it and begin to climb, coughing from the amount of smoke surrounding you.
You look down through one of the slots and you see it. It's small, but it definitely doesn't belong. The only tricky part is getting to it. The engine has enough moving parts to rip off your arm, so you have to be careful.
Slowly, you reach your arm down, feeling around. Just as you feel the item on the tip of your finger, a chain wraps around your arm. It hurts and the chain is tight, but you still manage to grasp the object. As soon as the object is in your hand, the chain unravels from your arm and you're free to pull your hand out.
You finally get a good look at what the item is. It's a small figurine, most likely meant for children, of a goat.
Around you the engine room stills. The black smoke lessens and the noise isn't as deafening as it once was. Asra runs over to you and wraps you in a hug.
"You were brilliant!" He says excitedly. "You're on your way to being a master engineer."
You smile and hug him back before pulling away, "And to think, this all because of a little toy."
"How do you think it got in there?" Asra asks, scratching his head.
"I don't know." You say, staring at down at the figure. It's red eyes seem to stare back at you.
