He plodded onward and upward, keeping a mindful grasp on the opti-reader. The soft tug of the magnetic boots he'd rigged for vertical climbing reassured him of his own safety, but from that height, anything else that fell would be shattered. A few more relay nodes on this circuit, then he could move onto calibrating the suspensors...
His thoughts usually drifted during these mundane times of routine and duty--always keenly aware of his work, but his concetration could be slackened some due to the familiarity of the tasks he performed. As head technician of the complex, he was solely responsible for maintenance. And he knew every access panel and service port like he knew his own skin. He thought of the duty roster, and the progress he hadn't made today. Today was unlike other days. He hadn't really begun work until after the midday meal, and it was only the realization that he'd have to cram the rest of the day into precious few hours that got him moving.
'Oh well,' he thought. 'So this will be the first time that only half the jobs are done. I'll have only myself to answer to, and I'll just have to catch up next time.' He chalked it all up to restlessness, which would be easily dispelled by a rigorous workout in the training halls. He decided to stop by there and join the third teams sparring exercises.
Ox's voice resounded from the floor below. "Owl! Have you got time to look at something for me?"
Rather than attempt a correspondence through shouts, and not wanting to trek down the wall in his boots and keep Ox waiting, Knight Owl disengaged the servos and floated down manually to talk to Ox.
"Several beasts have been complaining about hyperactivity of the mind during their RIC sleeps. Since it's probably a neural regulator malfunction, I figured either you or Mole could handle it."
Ox proffered a diagnostics slate, and Owl wordlessly took it. "Figured you'd be done inspecting the relays."
'Of course, and it's only fair,' Owl thought with a grin. 'One's obligations don't comply to One's desire to drag their feet.'
Edited by Viperfish, 10 September 2004 - 02:15 PM.