“Won’t you stay still, you little $#!^&* !”
Clenching his Stick of Binding in a menacing way, Cluricaun couldn’t contain his frustration at the whirring mechanoid standing before him. Or rather, squirming before him. That was the problem. The damned mechanical squirrel could not stay in place and the sound of that defective gear in the auxiliary balancing unit (also known as ‘squirrel tail’) was driving him crazy.
The little creature looked at him, tilting its head to the side with a click, stopping for a second before starting to run in a circle around the toolbox left open on the table.
Cluricaun sighed deeply to try and remain calm. This minor repair was going to take longer than expected. He could not simply turn the creature off. Doing so would erase the few months of memories it had accumulated since his little niece’s birthday. Polly would be crushed if she had to start training her squirrel all over again.
“ah AH !”
The squirrel tripped on an arc spanner sticking out from the toolbox and fell on its side, whirring and squirming madly to get up on its feet again. That was enough distraction for Cluricaun to grab a piece of rope and attach it swiftly to a hammer. Properly weighed down, the mechanical toy would not be going anywhere soon.
As he suspected, a bolt had failed in the balance mechanism. With the production of parts being geared to the war effort against the Burning Crusade, it was getting more and more difficult to get quality parts for mechanoids. Who cared about toys when planes and tanks were in demand ?
Well.. Polly did. And she would be thrilled when he would bring her mechanical friend back.
He was just finished releasing the squirrel from its bonds when a sudden screech shattered that quiet morning.
“ALERT ! ALERT ! ALERT !”
A mechanical alarm rushed by the workshop to the main hallways.
Containment blast doors slammed in the distance.
And as the lights went out, the screech echoed through the corridors. Closer.
Troggs ?!