Galactic High

“How’s it going up there, Jack?” Alora called up to the human. “Do you need to take a break?”

“I should be okay,” Jack nervously called back. “The sooner I get done the sooner I can come back down, you would have thought I’d be used to heights by now!”

I’ll catch you if you fall! Chiyo told him. But try not to!

“What about you, Sephy? Nika?” Alora asked the two as they worked together, struggling to line up one of the solar panels with the brackets they had just fabricated to securely attach it to the roof of their home.

“We’re doing alright,” Sephy told them with a grin from the lip of the roof, knowing she could use her wings to hover to the ground if she slipped. “I was right about the guttering Alora, it’s a mess, and that’s just the parts we can see!”

“I can probably do something to help clear this bit up at least,” Jack pointed out. “Though I don’t know how yet, these new gauntlets are really weird…”

“That ‘toolsense’ thingy they do is dead useful though!” Nika grinned. “Speaking of, Jack, we’ve got this one into position, mind screwing it in place?”

“Sure!” Jack nodded, as he hovered his hand over the aligned brackets. “Artifex”

A faint yellow glow emanated from Jack’s palm as his mind was flooded with sudden knowledge about what he’d need. An impact driver, and enough rivets of appropriate thickness to latch it on, though he also knew that he would need more rails to keep the line of panels going, special hooks that could easily slide between their roof tiles to keep things in place, and yet more connectors.

In other words, the exact same information he had received the previous four times they’d done this.

However, he was able to resummon the impact driver and rivets he’d been using to attach everything together without damaging the roof, so that was handy. While he could try keeping his tools close at hand, the moment he put them down they seemingly disappeared. A quick call to Clan Bharzum confirmed that things would get less stingy over time as the gauntlets attuned to Jack, with it only having been less than a week since he’d put his new gauntlets back on upon receiving them.

Are you ready for another panel? Chiyo asked them. We’ve just got two left!

“Sure! Send it up!” Nika grinned. “Nearly done!”

“Would you say there’s room for more rows of panels from where you are?” Alora asked.

“Sure are!” The Kizun nodded. “Three rows on either side of just this roof, but I’d be worried about it weighing too much and collapsing, we are still living in a ruin after all!”

“Fair enough. We have the walls, though unless we stand the panels on top of them it’s going to be less efficient,” Alora noted. “However, some energy is still better than none. We would need rails long enough to go from the top to the bottom since I don’t think we can just bolt it to the wall.”

“I can get one of my drones to do the measurements,” Sephy added, while Jack put the finishing touches on the current installation, making sure it was securely attached. “But wouldn’t something that big and long be a pain to fabricate? It’d surely take ages and collapse under its own weight!”

“Could you build it in increments?” Jack asked. “And give it some kind of clip-on function that can let us put it together when we’re ready?”

Like the pieces of a puzzle, Chiyo mused. Yes! That could work!

“We’ll need to work on the design for that then,” Nika mused. “Unless we find something on the DataNet for it. I guess for now we can work on another roof on the other side of the house, though I’d want to check the structural integrity first.”

“We could get some workers that know what they’re doing to check it,” Alora reasoned. “It’s something I was tempted to do when I first rediscovered this place but there just hasn’t been any need so far.”

“Yeah we have enough of a budget to keep us afloat for about two months if we just carry on as we are,” Sephy added. “But there are some good investments that we can go for. Fabricating stuff out of scrap is great and all, but we’re still gonna need funds for certain things.”

“Makes sense,” Jack noted as he moved onto the next solar panel Nika and Sephy now had into position. “At least with the fabricator it means we’re spending less money overall.” He then grinned. “I take it you had something in mind you wanted to buy?”

“Yep!” Sephy grinned. “Okay, hear me out. The guttering sucks, and Jack said he can deal with this stuff at the top right? But it obviously hasn’t been cleaned in a really long time, so there’s probably worse inside. But while researching for our water problem I found a specialised drone that can actually cling onto the inside of pipes and move around, mapping it out, mulching any obstacles that shouldn’t be there and cleaning the pipes. There’s even a more advanced model that can even maintain and repair them! If we get one it might be able to help with our water collection!”

That’s a really good idea, Sephy! Chiyo grinned, before her expression dropped. I can imagine it would be expensive, however.

“It’s a little pricey, but we can afford it,” Sephy noted. “It’s up to you if you think it’s worth having.”

“Could it work on our water pipes?” Alora asked, thinking. “We’ve theorised that water is such a problem because of long term damage.”

“Maybe.” Sephy shrugged. “It would only work on minor damage though, it’s not designed to replace anything. It might still help until we can get down there though. At the very least the mapping feature can help work out where things are.”

“Might be worth doing, Alora,” Nika pointed out. “This place used to be your family’s estate that housed a bunch of people, there’s got to be a lot of pipes we can tap into.”

“Alright.” Alora nodded. “Add it to the shopping list, our basic needs for now are sorted but if we can have that thing running while we’re at school, that’ll be great.”

Perhaps we should make a list of other major purchases we might need to improve things? Chiyo asked. Getting builders and workers to check everything is already on there, what else?

“Better security is always good,” Nika reasoned. “More cameras, motion sensors and autoturrets for example...”

“That’s what you always say!” Alora noted. “They were some of the first things we bought when we all started living together!”

“True, but more would bring a greater peace of mind,” Nika noted. “Just because we haven’t been attacked yet doesn’t mean it can’t happen, despite our best efforts. We’ve done our best to keep our location secret from people we don’t trust, but there’s always ways for enemies to find out.”

“Not to mention all the crap that’s been going on in the city!” Sephy noted. “MegaCorps, Cultists, and a guy on an obscene amount of cocaine! While we should be out of the way of all of that, it could spill into our area at any time!”

“Point taken.” Alora nodded. “Speaking of which, we’re going to have to be careful with overnight guard duty when we’ve got double school.”

“I’ll put a rota together.” Nika nodded. “Many of our new residents are more used to it by now but I’ll still try and spread them out with those that are more experienced.”

“I guess I can save charges on my Ring of Lesser Restoration for whoever’s up,” Jack noted.

We can also purchase some nicer furnishings and appliances, Chiyo added. What wasn’t here when we first moved in was looted from scrap heaps, thrifted or ‘acquired’ during Shadow Work. I know bedding is a problem, and though the others haven’t complained, I know it’s not the best for them. Also, I’m sending up the last panel now! Chiyo noted as she lifted the final solar panel to be gently collected by the three workers on the roof, who began dragging it over to the edge of the roof.

“Pretty sure we can make beds with the fabricator, and it’ll accept a bunch of different materials for that,” Sephy noted as she and Nika angled it into position. “But mattresses and blankets, yes. I’m pretty sure you might be able to buy the latter in bulk at a militia surplus store, though speaking of materials, we’ll need to buy certain higher quality components we can’t scavenge at some point.”

“That might be another thing to prioritise,” Jack noted. “I’ve noticed things have been getting colder recently, is winter coming?”

“If we were on a planet it would be much easier to predict.” Alora noted. “But here it’s more random. We can predict weather to a degree, like the recent heavy rainfall but other stuff just comes and goes on a whim. I have turned the heating on recently so I suspect we’re due for some miserable weather. At least we’ll be in school for most of it.”

“Same here, and I usually have heaters. You’re usually pretty warm though, maybe I can come over with my blankets and shack up with you for a bit!” Sephy grinned, as Jack nervously coughed from embarrassment.

“Hah! Maybe I’ll join you too!” Nika chucked, as Jack almost let go of the drill.

“If it gets too bad we’ll all have a sleepover in the living room with heaters and blankets, and you can cuddle up with who you want!” Alora chuckled. “I’ll personally cuddle up to my hot water bottle, no offence Jack!”

“None taken!” Jack laughed back, as he finished bolting the panel into place, doing the final checks and tweaks, before the row of panels they had spent the last few days fabricating non-stop was complete.

It’s a bit late to turn them on to see if they work, Chiyo quipped. But at least we should be able to leave them now for the time being.

“I’ll run a program to monitor what we get.” Sephy grinned. “Though since after tomorrow and the weekend we’re going to be in a lot of ass pain at school, I reckon any more panels the fabricator shits out can just be leaned against the ruins or against the wall. Hook them up to the mains and keep them coming! Once we get the time we can work out what we want to do with them.”

“We will still need the materials for that,” Alora noted. “Our scavenger runs can only do so much, even though Karzen and Bentom have been absolute saints with those.”

“What if we advertise locally that we’re buying certain types of scrap?” Jack asked. “And we buy what we need from anyone willing to bring it to us. There’s some desperate people out there who have lost their jobs and wouldn’t mind doing that to tide themselves over. As long as we’re fair in dealing with them and they don’t ask too many questions it could work. Some local councils where I’m from do it to essentially pay the homeless to keep the streets clean. It’s basically a win-win for them.”

“Doing something like that might be bringing too many people to our doorstep,” Nika noted. “If we can do that without compromising our security, I’m for it.”

“Though we could get ourselves a cart or a wheelbarrow?” Jack suggested. “To help getting more stuff on our scavenger runs at least?”

“Yup, that’s a good idea! Added that to the list!” Alora nodded. “Unless we can fabricate it in good time of course.”

“Might even be able to do it the old fashioned way.” Nika grinned. “Especially when one of us has some new DIY powers!”

“Just give me some wheels and a few planks of wood and I can probably make a wagon of some kind.” Jack shrugged with a grin. “I think we’re low on glass more than anything else.”

“Yeah, it’s hard to find, unless you want to go scrounging around the city for smashed bottles for the really low quality stuff.” Sephy acknowledged. “And it’s not like there’s even much sand to be found to try and make it by scratch. That said, sand is a risk if it clogs it up.”

“We’ve still done well so far,” Alora told them. “So good job everyone!”

A shame about the hot tub though, Chiyo lamented. Even though we had no way of knowing the Klown attack was going to happen, it turned out to be a poor purchase. Still, I had hoped that the latest rainfall would fill it up.

“Well, it did fill up about half of the way,” Nika pointed out. “But there’s no denying that using it to fill our water tank was the best move. That reminds me, we need to keep our water filters up to date, especially if we plan to unclog the pipes.”

“While those can be fabricated, I would rather have a guarantee of success,” Alora pointed out. “They are cheap though, we can go on a shopping trip after school tomorrow and pick some up. I want to get our tasks done as soon as possible so we can enjoy the weekend!”

We’ll need a full list of things to do and buy before the end of school tomorrow then, Chiyo stated. And preferably another list of things to do before we have to experience four weeks of school in only two.

“Then we’ll talk to everyone living here about what they want, then try to prioritise what we improve.” Alora nodded.

“First thing’s first…” Jack mentioned, looking at the guttering and picturing in his mind what he wanted to accomplish. “Artifex”

As seconds passed as a list of possible solutions ran through his mind, courtesy of the ‘toolsense’ enchantment of his gauntlets, before the quick and fun solution won out.”

“Ah, I’d clear the area if I were you.” He told the others as he grinned, holding out the leaf blower. “This’ll do it!”

“Try and get it all on the grass if you can!” Alora called up as she backed away. “One of the Squa’Kaar can use their powers to have it fertilise the earth.”

“Well…” Jack chuckled as he began at the edge of the roof, looking at the clogged-up gutter, ready to blast it with air. “No promises!”

*****

“...so I must warn you, that although the current city-wide conflict involving our local megacorps, warlords and factions has begun to seemingly deescalate, there is a good chance of it flaring up once again at any time,” Mr Sparrel warned at the end of school the next day. “I would advise you all to still remain stocked up on supplies, and to remain safe. And as for my personal advice if the worst should happen, the Temple of Hope always grants sanctuary to those that need it, and remains publicly neutral in all conflicts, though if you have any closer options I would advise you take it, rather than risk any unnecessary travel. Any questions? Ah, Dextra!”

“Where do you think the conflict is gonna flare up again?” The strange drow asked from her seat at the back with a grin.

“Well I certainly hope it doesn’t flare up with your family, Dextra, especially with that attack last weekend.” Mr Sparrel politely chuckled. “And I am sure your House have their own predictions, but you asked for my opinion, no?” The Squarri raised an eyebrow, tittering again. “The more…tempestuous groups within the city will likely spark something. This Commander Cocaine fellow has proven to be quite wild and unpredictable. The Grand Cabal of High Wizards leading Myrodin Magitechnology are also quite prideful, and will no doubt attempt some kind of retaliation effort against Corvin Enterprises, likely by courting other groups with a grudge against them, which is to say pretty much all of them. Therefore, I would advise you stay away from where those groups are located, and you should be safe, at least until the conflict sparks once more.”

“At least that means there should be confirmed safe areas,” Nika whispered to the others. “Looks like our shopping trip is a go!”

“And for our final announcement for the day!” Mr Sparrel chirped with a sigh. “As I warned you earlier this week, I can confirm that the school shall run an extended education program for the following two weeks, and by the decree of the headmaster will include mandatory remedial lessons during next weekend.”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Sephy growled, as the room collectively groaned at that. “The gods damned weekend as well?”

“Probably to give us time to survive and sleep during the week,” Alora reasoned with a grimace. “They’ll probably give us an amended schedule on the first day.”

“How kind of them,” Jack sarcastically replied. “Guess that means we won’t be enjoying this weekend either since we won’t have the next one to give us a break.”

I’m afraid so, Chiyo confirmed. Even with the school apparently giving us more time to eat and rest overnight, there won’t be enough time to fully recover.

“Jesus Christ…” Jack cursed. “Well, we have food, probably enough water for drinking and cooking at least. Could we rely on the Deathball team showers to stay clean?”

”Not all the time.” Nika shook her head. “And we’ll get in trouble if we’re seen to be overusing them or abusing the system.”

“Yes, yes, I know,” Mr Sparrel spoke up, raising his hands to acknowledge the groans and complaining from the students. “It is unfortunate, but it is for your benefit!” He called out, though the students could see that he clearly didn’t believe it himself. “Once these two weeks are done you’ll be caught up to where you need to be, and then things will go back to normal. Most of my fellow teachers and your fellow students should be physically able to learn by then, though in the latter case assistant drones shall be used to cater to those in intensive care or otherwise incapable of movement. More information, including your temporary timetable for this adjustment period shall be provided to you at the start of next week, and I urge you to make whatever preparations you can, while you can. Class dismissed!”

Alora sighed sadly as they all got up. “This sucks. I know we all saw this situation was definitely coming, but I was still hoping for us to be able to enjoy this weekend for once without any kind of work or disaster.”

“It could be worse, at least we’re not getting shot at this time.” Jack patted the Eladrie on the shoulder, though still disappointed at the situation. “Besides, we should still be good for a few weeks afterwards, right? Maybe think about what you want us to do when it’s all over?”

I know what we’re doing, Chiyo informed him with a playful unimpressed look. You still owe me a date! I haven’t forgotten! I’m going to keep reminding you!

“I’m sure we all have various…ah…plans for showing Jack our favourite places in the city,” Alora chuckled at seeing Jack’s embarrassment. “Normally after something like this we’d invite our friends over, but I’m thinking that we could all do with a good time, and quite frankly our place is a bit of a mess.”

“Oooh! What are you thinking Alora?” Sephy grinned. “I know Vaal wants to get a bunch of us to the Temple of Merriment when Kizzarith and Arlox are able to enjoy the trip, but we could always check it out earlier if that’s what you want?”

“No.” Alora smiled. “I have no intention of interfering with Vaal’s plans. I think we should end the last day of school hell with the Aquaplex. Paying for an all-access pass until the next day for our group would be expensive, but after everything we’ve been through, we deserve it!”

“Oh hell yeah!” Nika grinned. “That’s gonna be so good!”

That would be quite expensive, Alora, Chiyo warned. Are you sure?

“I’m sure, we need this.” The Eladrie nodded. “It doesn’t change the fact that we’ll be on the lookout for a Run afterwards. At least it’ll hopefully be a proper one where we can prepare well in advance. Thanks to Clan Bharzum and the stuff we’ve looted from recent jobs, we’re not so desperate that we need to take on an immediate job that can go bad like last week, but either way our funds won’t last forever.”

“Only difference is our deadline for taking up some kind of work,” Jack reasoned. “I think doing something fun that’ll make us feel better is a good idea, though I have no idea what I’m in for. Didn’t you guys say that one Run can usually give you enough funds for several months?”

“Yeah!” Sephy grinned. “If the job is good. We’ve worked around complications before, but we can usually get something that lasts us ages before we need to take on another job!”

“Will that be the case with the amount of people currently living with us?” Jack asked, thinking about their food supply.

“Shouldn’t be too bad, though you could start charging rent, Alora?” Nika suggested with a shrug. “I know you once said in the past that you hoped to restore the other buildings and bring your family’s estate to its former glory to maybe turn the place into an inn or something?”

“Our estate. Technically mine, but it's your home too. My family no longer has any claim to it as long as I call it home,” Alora sharply pointed out, before calming down and holding up a hand in apology. “Sorry, but no I don’t plan on charging rent any time soon. In theory I know saying that makes me look like a fool, but in practice, everybody has pitched in and done their part in their own way. I don’t plan on taking advantage of them when they’ve been displaced from their homes or need our support, they’ve been through enough.”

“Well if you’re not charging them rent the least they can do is help carry the shopping!” Nika grinned. “Let’s get a move on!”

*****

“Oh wow, this place is much bigger than I expected!” Jack whistled, mightily impressed by the large warehouse-like Militia Surplus store. Outside the front were several mannequins of varying alien builds wearing uniforms, holding weapons, or in other positions best suited to advertise their products. “Oh! And they have tents here too!” He exclaimed, as Dante looked up at him curiously.

Um…Jack? Chiyo asked, confused by the human’s enthusiasm. Are you okay? You’re acting differently than you usually do on a shopping trip?

“Yeah!” Jack grinned as he looked at the front displays. “Oh my god there’s so much here! And those patches look cool!”

“Holy shit we’ve finally found a shop he likes!” Sephy laughed. “Well, I suppose we did go to a gun store the weekend we met him but we couldn’t buy anything there, so that doesn’t count!”

You went to a gun store for your first date? Chiyo asked the Skritta, smirking with raised eyebrows.

“Hey, that doesn’t count since we ended up going on a job!” Sephy grinned. “I’ve got somewhere better to take him now that I’ve thought about it, it's a better idea than a library of all places!”

Lies!

“Alright everyone!” Alora called out. “We've got a lot to get and I’d rather get this done so we can try and relax this weekend, so I think we should all split up. If you find what we need for our district, let us know where it is on the comm so we don’t need to spend all evening searching! Apart from that, it’s up to you if you want to buy anything for yourselves, but warm clothes are advised.”

“What’s on the list, Alora?” Vanya asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

“More than anything else we need blankets, sleeping mats, and anything else that'll make our nights more tolerable,” the Eladrie began. “But if you can find some reasonably priced supplements or energy boosters of some kind that can help us make it through the day, that’ll be great too.

“Drugs?” Sephy asked, earning a playful shove from Nika.

“Afraid not.” Alora chuckled. “Just whatever we need to survive for the next two weeks in relative comfort that we can’t fabricate.”

“Do you reckon they do a discount on bulk purchases?” Jack asked as he looked on in amazement of the stock they had.

“We shall see! I’ll have to speak to the staff up front to see if we can work something out.” The Eladrie shrugged, liking the idea. “I know we have enough people to help take stuff back, but if we can get free delivery thrown in that would be preferable.”

“Sounds good, let’s split up!” Nika grinned. “We sort-of know what we want, but there’s so much here it can’t hurt to browse.”

“Alright! The hiking poles look cool! See you guys in a bit!” Jack excitedly told them as he quickly marched off in the direction of said poles, followed by almost all of the males living with them.

I think we’ve broken him, he shouldn’t be this happy! Chiyo joked as she floated after him.

“Won’t he be able to summon hiking poles with those new gauntlets of his?” Sephy asked as the others chuckled among themselves. “I’ve heard Hoduth sometimes have ‘Walking Axes’?”

“Don’t know, he probably can.” Nika shrugged. “Personally I’m just glad to see him happy for once, even if it’s over something silly.”

“Maybe this somehow reminds him of where he came from?” Vanya opined from where she and Hessia had been eying up some of the clothes, whispering between themselves.

“I agree.” Alora nodded. “Let him have his fun. He deserves it.”