Greg led Kyto into the offices at the fishing district. The front office was not an office but looked more like a changing room with various jackets and coats hung up and several pairs of boots littering the floor. It was a working area and not something to show. Greg walked up to an inner door and knocked loudly.
"Yeah." a deep voice replied.
Greg opened the door and walked in. "Hi, Carl. I have the engineer from town with me to look at the cooler," he said.
Kyto followed Greg into the room. He immediately saw TJ. "Hey, TJ," he said, smiling.
"Ah, you got the job then," TJ said, smiling back at him.
Carl looked from TJ to Kyto, "So you are the engineer then. Well, it is about time they sorted their shit out down there. I have been waiting for nearly two weeks to get someone up here to look at the cooler. So, you know him, TJ?" Carl asked.
"Yeah, we go back away," TJ said.
The office was a square room with a large table in the middle and a map of what Kyto thought was just open water covering its entire surface. TJ and Carl stood at it and looked over a smaller map that showed the surrounding area. There was no desk and no formal office area as Kyto had come to expect, and it appeared like the outer area, which was a working area only.
Carl walked around the table and offered Kyto his hand. "You are vouching for him?" he asked TJ.
"I do. I have seen him repair some weird shit since we have known each other." TJ stated.
"Well, if TJ vouches for you, that is as good as it gets," Carl replied.
Kyto took Carl’s hand. His hand seemed tiny to him compared to Carls's, which was large, and his skin was rough, and he had a firm grip. Kyto looked at him, smiling; Carl had a weather-beaten face with deep lines and wrinkles. He must have been in his late fifties from what Kyto guessed, and it was obvious that this man worked for a living, unlike several of the people he had seen recently since arriving at New Talisia.
"I hope I can fix it; I can work my way around most things," Kyto replied.
"I can take you over to them in a few minutes once I finish with TJ here. Grab yourself a coffee while you wait," he said, indicating a coffee pot on a wood burner in the corner of the room.
"Thanks," he replied, walking over to the stove.
"When is the shipment going to be ready for return?" Greg asked.
"Should be able to get you loaded by the morning," Carl replied.
"Excellent," Greg replied, walking to join Kyto by the stove.
Kyto grabbed two mugs and poured them both a drink.
Carl returned to the table with TJ. "As I was saying, we have been and checked the areas where the sightings were made but have found nothing apart from old tracks. We are going to remain patrolling this area here." TJ indicated towards the map.
"It seems early this year for the Grylacks to return to this area. They normally do not start turning up until later in the new season." Carl said. "The last sighting was only two nights ago, so it could still be nearby."
"We will keep patrols out for the next few nights and see if anything shows up. I must return to town tomorrow, but four will be staying here." TJ said.
"That would be great. I know we have guards, but it also adds that level of security with your guys patrolling here and definitely helps with the firepower if one does come." Carl added.
"Sure, no problem. Anyway, I will let you get to dealing with Kyto, and I will check back in with you if we see anything before I leave tomorrow." TJ said.
"I am out on the lake tomorrow, so depending on when you leave, I may not be around. If not, Samuel will be here, though," Carl said.
"Great," TJ answered. "Kyto, I will catch you later," he said as he left the office.
"Sure, TJ," Kyto called after him.
"Let me show you where the coolers are," Carl said.
Kyto hurriedly placed his mug down and followed Carl as he left the office, leaving Greg to finish his. He stopped in the outer area and changed into a pair of boots before walking outside. The yard area would have once been concrete, but over the years, it had become patchy, and its surface was now covered in craters filled with puddles all over where it had been worn away.
The temperature by the lake was lower than it had been at New Talisia, not that New Talisia was warm because it wasn't; it was on the side of a lake itself, but the lake New Talisia sat on was much smaller and not as good for fishing as the larger lake was where they were now situated.
Carl splashed through the puddles, walking over towards the warehouse building. Kyto skirted around the puddles after watching Carl's feet sinking deeply into them. His boots were not as high up the ankle as his.
He could smell the fish in the air, which was a strong and potent odour that made him curl his nose. It was no wonder that Wild Ones would be attracted to the site. It probably smelt like a banquet to several of them.
The warehouse was a long, oblong-shaped building, and walking through the entrance, Kyto saw several people working. They were gutting and cleaning the catches, and the remains of the Wild Ones were being scraped into large barrels. The gutted and cleaned fish were then placed into crates. Kyto watched the operation as a full crate was lifted and moved over to where Carl was leading Kyto.
"Here they are," Carl said, indicating the two large metal containers situated against one side of the warehouse. They were both approximately thirty feet long and ten feet wide. "This is the one that has stopped working." pointing to the one on the left.
"Okay. I'll have to look at it to see if I can determine the problem," Kyto said.
"Hanij, the woman who stood by the cleaning station, runs the warehouse, so if you need anything, speak to her. I need to go and prep the boat for tomorrow." Carl said.
Kyto turned and looked over where Carl was indicating. Hanij was a woman with jet-black hair, deep-set hazel eyes, and a strong-set jaw; she turned and nodded at him by mentioning her name. She looked hardened, and her face showed signs of weathering like Carl's.
Kyto studied the people working in the warehouse. They all looked weathered and hardened. Fishing was not an easy life, looking at them. Kyto was no slouch, having spent years alone scavenging and travelling, but these folks all looked like they grafted for a living.
The cooler on the right was opened, and he felt the blast of cold air released, making him shiver. The crate was taken inside and stacked neatly in place. The container was almost full. Looking at the number of crates stacked up, it was apparent why Greg needed to do a collection.
"Greg is here, Hanij. Can we switch to loading once this batch is cleaned? I also could do with another couple of bait barrels loading on Marabell as well." he said.
"No problem, Carl," she replied.
"I will grab my tools from the truck and get to work," Kyto said.
"Sure," Carl said. He made his way across the warehouse to an open-fronted side, where Kyto could see the side of the fishing vessel moored there.
Once he had grabbed his tools from his backpack, he returned to the warehouse. He spent some time looking at the container’s controls; they appeared rudimentary, and a dial controlled the temperature; the bit he was unsure of was how they created the cold.
At the rear of the container was what Kyto believed was a compressor fed power from a generator he could hear running outside the warehouse. The cabling leading into where the compressor was situated looked fine, and he could see no tell-tale signs of damage. Although he was experienced in engineering and understood most items he looked at, he was uncertain how it produced the cold temperature and hoped he could find some books on it to read.
He began to dismantle the control panel and look at the internal cabling. Again, there were no visible signs of damage, and it all looked serviceable, but no power was getting to the container.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
He continued his investigative work by comparing the control panels on the two containers, concluding that it must be a power issue as nothing seemed out of place or worn. So, he traced the cabling back to the wall where they were fed outside.
He walked through the warehouse and outside to around the back, where the generator was situated. It was a large generator, and near it, Kyto was not surprised to see a significant fuel container, considering that these things were running all the time.
He traced the cables from the generator and initially could not see any problems. It was only as he performed a second check that he noticed the cable for the left container looked as though it had a scorch mark on it. He moved the thick cable and turned it over; on the underside of the cabling, there were teeth marks, and he saw the culprit lying well and truly dead in a depression under where the cable ran. It was a giant rat that had been gnawing at the cable when it had met its demise.
The cable's internal wiring had been gnawed through, and Kyto had brought nothing he could repair it with. His small amount of copper wire was nowhere near the capacity required to replace the cabling; he needed at least double the thickness and twice the length of the cable he had with him.
Kyto had seen another couple of generators on the site, one in the office area and another positioned by what he assumed was accommodation or similar. He picked up the giant rat by its prehensile tail and walked to Hanij to speak to her.
"Hi. We have not been introduced properly. I am Kyto. I found the culprit." he said, holding his hand while lifting the rat with the other.
Hanij turned around, looking at the fried rat swinging in one hand and wiping her hand on her bottoms, and took his other, shaking it.
"What can I do for you?" she asked.
"This beauty was underneath the cable feeding the cooler, and I do not suppose you know if the other generators have any spare cabling with them," he said.
"I am not sure, but I doubt they will have. We have not had an engineer at the site for a few years. Zac used to work here but got a new job down in town which paid better stacks." she said bitterly.
"So, who looks after the fishing vessels?" he asked.
"Carl mainly, he is a mechanic. He can fix almost anything to do with engines," she replied.
"Oh. I did not realise he was a mechanic." Kyto said.
"Carl has been here for over thirty years. He knows this place better than anyone." Hanij said.
"That is a long time. I will need to check the other generators, but I will likely need to get some cable delivered from town," he said.
"You better check in with Carl; I think he is still onboard, Marabell," she replied.
"Thanks," Kyto replied. He crossed over towards the side entrance where the vessel was. Painted along the bow of the boat was the name Marabell.
Kyto was fascinated by the vessel; he had never been this close to one that was either still floating or as large as it was. It was about seventy feet long from bow to stern, with a cabin at the bow and then a pretty flat profile with a large open deck. Kyto could see some very large-looking nets laid across the deck and winches, which he guessed pulled the nets in. There was no way nets that size could be pulled in by hand.
"Carl, are you there?" he called out. There was no response, so he carefully climbed over the vessel's side onto its deck and walked towards the cabin.
"Hello?" came Carl's deep voice from beneath his feet.
"Hi, it's Kyto. I have a question for you?" he called out.
"Give me a minute, and I will be out." came the reply.
Kyto could hear footsteps moving inside the vessel, and then, from the far side of the deck, a hatch was pushed upwards. Kyto watched as Carl climbed out from the belly of the vessel. He was covered in what looked like grease and oil.
"Sorry. I was working on the engine," he said as he appeared.
"No problem at all; I discovered that the generator cable that feeds the cooler has been chewed through, and the culprit who is to blame." Holding up the rat.
"Those fucking rats. It is bad enough the damage they do around here as it is." Carl snarled.
"Do you think you can fix it?" he added.
"I can if you have any spare generator cable?" Kyto replied.
"Unfortunately, not. We only have the cables that are connected."
"Well, I can probably have one sent up from town, but it will take at least a couple of days to get here."
"We cannot operate properly without the two coolers, so we will need it repaired," Carl replied.
"I heard you have a radio here. Is it okay to use it to contact town?" he asked.
"Sure, it is over in the accommodation, but it has been playing up recently."
"I can look at it for you. I have fixed several radios before and built my own."
"Built one?"
"Yeah. It is a portable one, but I can only receive and transmit it as it does not have the power needed or a large enough antenna to be able to. I have it with me, and I can show you later." Kyto replied, smiling.
"Why have it then if it can only receive?"
"It allows me to pick up messages and keep in the know about what's happening and any jobs that may be asked for."
Carl looked at him with some uncertainty. "So, it's for spying, then?"
"I would not call it spying. I like to know what's happening." He said, smiling.
"You will have to show me later," Carl said.
"I will go over now and see if I can get through to order the cable," Kyto said.
"That would be great. If you speak to Hanij, she should be able to assign you a room in the block as well."
"I will do. Thanks."
Kyto climbed from the vessel, and after speaking to Hanij, he was shown to the accommodation block, where the garbage pit was situated at the end of the compound, to get rid of the rat's corpse.
As he approached, A woman was tipping some fuel into the pit.
He threw the remains of the giant rat into it. The woman looked at him, raising her eyebrow as the giant rat struck the bottom of the deep pit, landing amongst the site's rubbish. Kyto could see rats in the bottom of the pit already, but these were still alive, picking through the site waste.
The woman lit a match and, taking a step back, dropped it into the pit. The flame erupted from the pit almost immediately and was a sight to behold. The woosh sound and fireball soared upwards. Today's fuel was so flammable that Kyto stepped back slightly in surprise.
The rats in the bottom began to squeal, and Kyto saw one scrambling up the pit wall, trying to escape. It reached the top and was just about to break free from the chasing flames when the woman's boot connected with it, sending it flying backwards. It landed in the bottom again, its fur catching alight, and Kyto watched the macabre scene as it squealed along with its brethren.
Kyto left the woman to her duty and went over to the block. He was shown to a single room. They were bare rooms with a camp cot, but it would do for a few days.
Kyto had gotten used to having a nice bed to sleep in back at Talisia with Tabs, and he would miss cuddling up to her. This was the first time they would be separated overnight since his healing period with the raiding gang.
He dropped his backpack off and then collected the tonic crate from the truck, which he had filled with his healing mana.
Greg had enquired why he had brought the crate with him, and Kyto had said he planned on trying to sell the tonic while there. That made sense to Greg, so he did not question him again.
Greg was busy organising the loading of the filled fish crates.
"I may be able to get back on the road before tonight the way the loading is going. Have you had any luck with the cooler?" He asked
"I need a new cable sending up." He replied.
"Ah. That is a shame. It was nice having company for the journey." Greg stated.
"I am off to radio town now. You need me to tell them anything?"
"No, I am good. I will let them know when I am leaving at the time." Greg replied.
Hanij had told him where the radio room was at the end of the block, so he headed over. The radio he found was like the others he had worked on; it was a basic model similar to the radios that some townships owned.
He checked the radio over, and it did not take him long to identify the problem; there was a loose connection on the transmitter path, which would have been causing the intermittent transmissions. It did not take him more than a couple of minutes, and after a bit of magic with his multitool, he spliced the wire back correctly.
The frequencies for several nearby townships - New Talisia was at the top - were scratched on the room's wall. He set the dial to the correct frequency and transmitted his message.
"Hello, this is Kyto at the fishing district; I have a message for Miss Agnos." he waited a couple of minutes before trying again.
The radio crackled to life shortly after the second message was sent, and the metallic-sounding voice came through the speaker. "This is New Talisia; please confirm the message for Miss Agnos."
Kyto replied, detailing the information about the cable and what he needed to be sent up to allow him to carry out repairs. The details were confirmed, and he was told to await confirmation. Kyto sat for a while before the radio eventually crackled back into life. "Fishing district, this is New Talisia. Materials are confirmed and will be sent. They should arrive in two days."
'Two days, what to do.' Kyto thought.
He left the radio room and went to find Carl. He had returned to the office and made him aware of the timescales.
"Is there anywhere to get coffee and some food?" Kyto asked
"If you are just after coffee, you can grab some here or over at the block, but food, no, we do not eat on the site. It is bad enough with the rats because the fish never mind adding normal food waste." Carl informed him.
"That makes sense," Kyto said.
"If you turn right out of the compound and follow the road a few hundred metres, you will come to some buildings. Several of the team live there with their families, and there is a bar that doubles up as our chow hall." Carl told him.
"That sounds great," Kyto replied.
"Tell Peter you are working on behalf of the district, and he will take care of you," Carl said.
Kyto left Carl in the office. He had been planning his trip for tomorrow, marking out a route from what Kyto could see. The lake was massive, and Kyto could not see the far side from where they were.
Kyto decided to locate the bar; he had only been eating dry rations for the last couple of days, and a bowl of stew or chowder would make a nice change. Paul was still at the gate, and he let him out, confirming where he needed to go.
The small compound was about three hundred metres away from the warehouse. Even though there were nearer buildings, they were unused, and several were now just piles of rubble. This area had never been highly populated by the looks of the surroundings.
The smell of the site began to lessen as he moved away, and he thought the houses might also be a distance from the site due to the constant smell.
He knew the fishy smell would linger on his clothes, and removing it would require a lot of cleaning. It hung like a thick cloud in the air around the whole site. Kyto appreciated the fresh smell as he reached the compound and took a deep, cleansing breath.
He was no more than fifty metres away when his display triggered.
You have healed a dislocated shoulder and earned 435 experience.
He stopped in surprise at the message. He had not even considered the tonic he had imbued before he set off for the district, and someone must have drunk it.
"Yes." He said to himself.
The compound was surrounded by a chain-link fence. There were seven buildings inside and no guards, but there was a pedestrian gate in the fence, which he let himself through, ensuring he closed it behind him. The buildings were set in a small U-shape, and there was a nameplate above the door to one of the buildings. Kyto could hear voices from inside; the nameplate read Captain Nemo's.
All the buildings were worn and tired-looking, including the sign above the bar. They had the same weather-beaten look as the faces of those who worked here. A generator sat off to one side, which fed the buildings, and he saw lights inside a couple. Two young children stood by one of the homes, kicking a ball between them. They both stopped and stared at the stranger as he entered. Kyto smiled at them as he walked over to the signed building.
He was reaching for the door when he heard the roar of a Wild One.