xp_logs | GBOS: Water Water Everywhere (Reply)

Nico and Fred help expand the wells for the water supply in unique fashion.

"It's broken. Half of this stuff is always broken." The mechanic groused, pointing to the automatic auger that they had brought with them in order to deeper and extend the fresh water wells near the former farm. With the refugees coming in, they needed a lot of water, and the close by river was badly roilled by the earthquake and debris choked. "So, I know you're, what, Red-X? Don't you guys have some kind of funny powers that will help dig a few wells? No?"

Fred, while hefting one of the piece of the digging equipment that would've required three or more men normally, offered a labored shrug to the mechanic before setting the large borebit piece down. Huffing, Fred rolled his back and neck, trying to get used to stretching his 'power' out once again. Picking up one of the larger pieces of stabilization frames, Fred turned back to the mechanic, "Iffen I could do more'n helpin yah movin an the like, sir, know I would. I'm, uh, pretty much just good for hittin' an' takin' a hit."

Nico gave a thoughtful look at the machine. "I think I can cast a repairing spell, but since I can only do one of those with my staff, we should probably gather all the stuff that needs repairing." She said that while looking at both men next to her. "Not a funny power, but magic, mind you; is there something else you need to get repaired? Fred can go and bring it here, I'm sure." And just to be sure, she gave the boy one inquisitive look.

"Magic? Uh, alright." The mechanic said, pointing to a collection of heavy equipment. "All of this stuff is at some level of disrepair, whether it is working or not. Kid, you think you can move a ton of steel to these dig sites and get 'em working, I can show you what we need to do."

Fred tried to keep the proud smile off of his face, and failed miserably, "Just a ton? Heh, yup. Could probably handle that, sir. Maybe not all of it in one trip. Uh, maybe..." Fred had felt the dull ache inside his body since the morning began; all the heavy lifting was taxing his powers, forcing him to coax his abilities back into active use. He squeezed his hands till they popped, and gave a small nod to Nico, "Never been a fan of, uh, the magic stuff myself, but, uh...iffen it'll help...you sure you can get all this stuff upp'n runnin'?"

The goth was starting to reconsider her suggestion, but Fred seemed decided to carry on the work, and truth to be told, they needed it to be done. "I'm not a fan of magic either, you know? But yeah, I think I can magically repair whatever number of machines you get together." Benefits of the Staff of One; you could cheat at magic if you wanted. "We would need to keep an eye on them anyway, and probably bring someone who knows how to operate them so they don't, err, break again?"

"Ah'd say let's worry about gettin 'em workin in that first place, but ye're right..." Fred turned back to the mechanic, "Whaddya think? No real promises on gettin' this stuff all square, but iffen we getter' firing, can you keep it runnin?"

"Hell, if we can keep them running for a couple of days, we'll be able to extend the wells enough to support the new refugees coming in, especially once the river starts to calm down and we can start filtering it." He got off of the crate he was sitting on. "What do we need to do here, kids? Some kind of ritual or something; dance around them chanting and all that. My youngest watched that Buffy show. Figure that's about the same."

Nico had to refrain from grinning, mainly because the whole situation was completely anti-climatic, nevermind the guy cracking Buffy themed jokes. "No, just bring the machinery close to me, and you'll see some first quality fireworks. Fred? Whenever you want." She then bit her finger, feeling her warm blood flowing; by now she had gotten dreadfully used to it. "When Blood is Shed, Let the Staff of One Emerge."

Haul this, pull that. Fred was starting to sense a pattern. As he lifted the large crate and hefted it over to Nico, he grinned slightly. 'Least it's not study hall...' He huffed a little as he moved; his powers had been so passive recently that stretching them was certainly making him more comfortable with them, but it was more tiring than he'd remembered. He shook his head as he moved more of the equipment, looking away as Nico bit his thumb. He'd known he long enough to understand a little of how it is she worked, but still; the thought of magic made the hair on his neck stand up. "Looks like all of it, Nic. Do your thing."

Nico took a deep breath as she raised the Staff of One. "Fixit!" It was a big spell, Nico could tell as large bolts of blue electricity escaped the top of the staff, jumping eagerly towards the machinery, lifting it in the air with ease, parts moving, rearranging themselves, actually repairing the damaged ones. It lasted some minutes, and when it was finally done, the machines fell tot he ground slowly, as Nico lowered the staff, panting. "Okay...done. I need a...Gatorade please?"

After a few moments, Fred produced a bottle of PowerAde from the inside of his jacket. "Always be prepared." He said simply, with a grin, as he lit up a cigarette. He looked around, and smiled a bit broader, "You know? If it all goes this easy, we'll be done in no time..."

"If that don't beat all." The mechanic said, staring in wonder at the now functioning machine. "I'll tell you something, Miss. You ever quit the Red Cross, my brother-in-law would give you a job at his scrapyard any day of the week. Alright, you two rest a minute while I get the rest of the guys together and we can get these wells going."

Getting a hold of the PowerAde, Nico didn't have the energy nor the interest on telling the man she could only do a spell once, so she simply nodded, always drinking. When she finally let the bottle go, she took a deep breath. "Rest, yes. Sounds like a good idea. Somewhere with shadows, and more of these. You are in charge now", said as she looked at the man, tired but smiling at him. "Just let us know if you need something." She probably could make a smaller repairing spell with her own magic, but she would need to have some rest first. Still, it felt good to help.