Using a small metal pick, with an even smaller spark of electricity, Skan probed in the machines, hoping to find out it's hidden mysteries. When he got a small electric jolt, he angrily combed his hand through his blue hair befire starting out again.
Time passed. Skan had know idea how long it was, but finally, he had figured it out. Or at least unlocked it. On the screen of a large and powerful compter attached to it lit up the information that Skan had forced out. Setting aside both the small square shaped machine and the pick, Skan studied the panel.
"Geez, Skan, you're still awake?"
Skan jumped in his swivel chair and spun around, still sitting, to see Seth standing at his doorway. Seth was Skan's Gear mechanic, who often looked after Sentry, Skan's Omnigear.
A Gear is a giant humanoid machine. They are often very tell, up to and including fifty feet, even higher. They often have human like arms and legs and weapons, almost purely for the ease of the pilot. The more like the Gear they are, the easier it is to pilot. Gears huge bodies can be used for building, or for archaological digs, but they have one very common use, fighting. The discovery of Gears totally revolutionized the battlefield, changing it to using these huge robots instead of foot soldiers.
An Omnigear is a very special Gear. When an animus, the pilot, finds an anima relic, a very very rare sacred item, the anima, or Gear, is highly advance, growing in power and speed over a dozen fold. However, only a few people are able to use anima relics, they have to be specially aligned with the pilot at their very birth, and nothing done can prevent or cause this. Skan considers himself very lucky.
"What time is it?" Skan asked, yawning. Suddenly, he realized he was tired, and there was no need for his sunglasses; it was already dark. He took them off, his blue eyes blinking.
"It's after twelve," said Seth. "Everybody is either home or asleep. I'll tell ya what. I'll look after this stuff, and you go home and rest, yeah?" Skan knew Seth had no problem with this, he was one of the rare individuals who slept during the day and lived during the night, like some kind of nocturnal owl.
"Yeah, sure," Skan said, pushing himself away from his desk. "It's all yours."
Seth watched Skan leave, until he turned a corner and his footsteps dissapeared. He shook his head and walked over to the desk. It sometimes annoyed him that he worked for a man three years younger than him. But the pay was well.
Sitting himself in Skan's chair, Seth was relieved to see that Skan had already decoded the device. Good, it saved him some trouble. Then he read what was on the computer screen. Then he reread it, then read it one more time.
"Whoa!" he exclaimed, scrolling down on the computer, reading more and more of the information.
* * *
Skan wasn't too tired to drive home. He had a nice car, a very nice car. It was a black Mercedes, and it cost Skan a small fortune. But nothing out of his reach. Being leader of the Engineer's Guild sure did have a large cash flow!
The Engineers Guild, the gear shaped building Skan just left, was a swiflty growing business, founded and led by Skan himself, one dedicated to buildinbg finding, and restoring lost technology. They were responsible for things from televeision sets to high class military Gear's.
Driving the black car down the nearly emtpy road, Skan was knocked out of his half asleep daze by a ringing from a telephone. A little annoyed, Skan reached into his tan trench coat and pulled out a tiny cell phone. He flipped it opne with one hand and put it to his ear.
"What!?" he barked. Anyone who called him this early in the morning, when he could be asleep, deserved nothing less. The fact that Skan wasn't asleep yet had nothing to do with it.
"Skan?" it was Seth. "You won't believe what this thing does!"
Skan sighed. For god's sake, couldn't it wait a half hour? But Skan's curiosity got the better of his pride, and he asked, "Yeah? What?"
Skan waited for a few minutes, listening to Seth's response. "Whoa! Cool!" he cried, slamming in the breaks, then making a u-turn. "I'll be there in five minutes!"
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