RT2: A Conversation at the FOOD Diner
[The story starts with a group of robot mechanics talking about the Robot Tourney so far. Here is Jay’s favorite section.]
“I know what you mean about upsets. I had bets down on Julius Hector to win.” Replied Toed. “That was a battle! I was sure that the young gunslinger was going down right up to his very last shot.”
“That one was also weird.” Said Ralp “Why didn’t Fasthand just blow out the Sera-T’s kneecaps as soon as he walked on the field? Why go through all that deer in a headlight stuff first?”
“For dramatic effect, off course. He wanted to put on a good show. I knew that gorgeous Marshal Fasthand would win.” This was said by Alga, a young female dwarf mechanic to their left. She wore the same dirty blue coveralls that most of the Goffirrs wore, but was clearly identifiable as female since she wore bright red lipstick and pink bows in her beard. “You can tell just by looking at the boy that he was smart. And so polite. Not like those foul-mouthed Kuat pilots. He is a REAL man.”
“Stop drooling Alga. The boy is 1/5th your age! And 3 times your height; you’d need a step ladder just to make eye contact.” Toed said to Alga, then he whispered to Ralp “She has something of a crush, she even sleeps with a “Fasthand” action figure under her pillow.”
“I heard that! And I do not!” replied Alga standing up with anger. An angry female dwarf is a terrible sight, and most of the customers standing around the table moved back to give her plenty of room.
[Most of the story was about an accident-prone moogle’s attempt to do a daredevil stunt to entertain the crowds at the Robot Tourny. Below is the section where Mendleson is recruiting his crew.]
“So I need to hire a third squire, someone who can pretend to be distracting Goliath when I’m loading myself into the slingshot.” Said Mendleson “So I need to find someone who is fast and willing to play the part.”
“I’ll do it! I’ll do it. Please can I do it!” said an imp standing to Mendleson’s right that Ralp didn’t know. “I’ll even do it for free. I can run fast, and dodge well. Please.”
“I’m sorry; I don’t think we’ve met before. You are?” Said Mendleson with a serious but friendly tone.
“I’m sorry. I’m Tenison. I just joined the Goffirrs. I haven’t worked on any robots yet. But I’ve worked on a lot of cars before this, and I was an electrician before that, and built electrical generators before that. My mother always said I would never amount to anything. If she saw me on the inter-web network news, helping a famous daredevil with a spectacular stunt; that would prove to her I wasn’t a failure.”
“OK Tenison. You’re in. Kupo.” Said Mendleson. “Our crew is complete. A very productive night so far.”
“Wait a minute.” Said Ralp in disbelief. “First off, Tenison” He turns to talk directly at Tenison. “You don’t know Mendle, but you have been listening to all this. Therefore, you know Mendle is a major screw up with a long string of accidents and explosions in his past. And not only do you want to work for him, but you are willing to stand in front of a fire breathing robot he built, which has been programmed to be homicidal, and is carrying an unstable explosive device that can blow you back 3 generations. And you are doing this free, just for the joy of being on the inter-web Networks. Are you sure about this?”
“And Mendleson” Ralp turned back the Mendleson. “You know nothing about Tenison here. All you know is he has had many different jobs; his own mother thinks he is incompetent, and he is crazy enough to work for you. No offence Tenison, but that is a really questionable resume.”
“Works for me.”, said Mendleson casually. “Me too.”, replies Tenison
“OK. We have our crew. Kupokupo.” Said Mendleson. “Let’s stop chatting and get to work. I’ve got uniforms for everyone. A bright puce with hot pink highlights, I got the material on sale. The audience will have no trouble seeing me when I’m on top of Goliath’s periwinkle head or flying high in the air. There is a lot of work to do on Goliath yet, and I want to start practicing plummeting to my death with an umbrella in the morning.”
“Arrrgggh!” Said Squinty in disgust.
