New Babbage

A low whirring sound, the clinking of metal against metal, occasional zaps of faint electricity: all typical sounds of Solaris's workshop, or rather, an ambience you would just expect upon entering the space of a mechanic DOLL. It's what Solaris is used to, the constant noise of work and responsibilities that rarely quieted, even moreso now that the war had come to a close. His queue had always been extensive during conflict, but now that it was over, his workload only grew. And of course it would; DOLLs that needed emergency repairs after their final combat, others who could finally get their minor issues and dings patched up rather than just learning to deal with them, no longer having to fight with what was considered the prioritized repairs. Those spots had always filled as soon as they'd emptied, though that's not exactly a surprise when it comes to warfare.

Though Solaris can't quite experience exhaustion as a human can, he still feels himself worn out. Perhaps it's a sign of a low battery, but he doesn't have time to pause and recharge. There's an "orientation" to catch - something he figures is just a more formal announcement of the end of wartime for DOLLs - and he still has an all too familiar patient on his workbench.

Raven had certainly visited Solaris for repairs handfuls of time in the past five years of his life, not much of a shock given her position as a DOLL soldier on the front lines. There was always something new: a broken arm, a broken leg, a fried chip or a shattered eye. Sometimes it was just one small thing, maybe a patch up of the secondary armor of her build, other times it was too many to count, leaving her a mess of broken metal and fried wires on his table until he could get the proper parts and get her back into shape. She spent quite a bit of time with the IT DOLLs too, Solaris had noted, though he never really asked why.

So there she sat on the bench, one of her hands held in his while he works away. She'd been decommissioned from combat like every other DOLL, of course, though some minor issues had risen after her attachments had been removed, mostly discomfort and difficulty in mobility in her knuckles and the joints of her fingers.

Frankly, the state of what's inside is a mess. Whatever DOLL - or human - had worked on her previously was either in a rush or just lazy, but neither leave Solaris's perfectionism resting easy. Trying to cut corners like this only made more work down the line. What a joke.

The intricate bits of her pointer finger are where he works now, the last one of ten he'd had to repair. She watches him work quietly from where she sits, though the attention on him doesn't throw off his workflow. Rather, it's his right eye beginning to twitch that does. The mechanical eye had been doing that a lot since installation a week or so ago, though he'd been reassured that it would eventually go away. He's not sure he believes it at this point, but he can't bring himself to complain. At least he'd even gotten a replacement in the end of his eight months of waiting for repairs. They could've just left him blind without one.

As the last wire is finally placed into its proper connector, Solaris reseals the metal and silicone of Raven's pointer, pushing back on the wheeled stool he's been sitting on for about an hour now. His head shakes a little, a hand moving up to whack the base of his palm against his temple; his eye finally stops twitching.

"How's it feel?" Solaris's gaze turns back up to the woman in front of him, her fingers already opening and closing to test them out. The movements are smooth and natural; that's a good sign.

"Much better." She finally responds after a few more seconds of testing, and Solaris smiles, one she returns warmly, "thank you, Solaris."

"No need to thank me, it's my job." Solaris shrugs slightly, his heels digging into the floor to pull himself over to another table, the wheels of the stool quiet against smooth ground. A holographic keyboard and screen pull up, and he quickly types away, a short report of #004528's repairs and the materials used.

She's slid off the bench then, quiet steps making way over to his table while he finishes up his report, the file slipping away with endless backlog of others. "They're really working you to the bone, aren't they?"

Solaris laughs lightly, "sure, but I can manage." Report system closed, Solaris finally stands up from his stool, a hand brushing at his pants to smooth them out. "I guess I get something of a break now, though."

"Did they schedule in time for you to recharge?"

"Well, they did, but that's later. There's some sort of orientation I've gotta go to first. It starts in..." His gaze turns towards the clock displayed on the wall, "Jesus, like ten minutes? I guess I finished your repairs just in time."

"Orientation?" Raven echoes, "Ah, I think mine might be later."

"A bit more free time for you, then?" Solaris quirks his brow slightly, and Raven nods, "something like that. I still need to check in with the IT department though, so I doubt I'll have much by the time they're finished."

"Someone botch your system maintenance too?"

Raven laughs, "no, this one is just routine." She makes way for the door soon after, it sliding open as she approaches, her hand resting along the frame as she turns to make her way into the halls, "I hope orientation goes well for you, Solaris. I'm sure I'll see you later, though...hopefully not in this shop."

He almost feigns a look of playful hurt, but Raven is gone before he can even speak, the door sliding shut and leaving the space in uncharacteristic silence with no DOLL to work on for the time being. And there wouldn't be for the next while; Solaris had an orientation to attend, and at this rate he was going to be late.