This fragment is from the story "Steampunk" and is a continuation of a story that appears below. You can use the tags to view the story in its entirety.
Slowbull woke up slowly as the sun rose, his body objecting as he tried to sit up. It had been five years since he had been able to get out of bed with the ease of youth. He always woke up before the Miner Steam Piano Whistle woke up the district - he hated the noise of its jingle. He rose, his once-muscled chest straining with the effort, and limped slowly to the window. He plugged his ears as the Miner Chronometer in the center square struck seven and the piano whistle started. As he tried to ignore the noise he saw the steam start to pour out of the woods in the direction of the Miner steam generator as the steam started to fire from its exhaust ports. At that moment his lights flickered on, and he walked to the stove to make tea. He had become a man of habit in his old age, and as he did every morning he cursed himself for letting Lucy Miner go on her Spirit Journey.
"Ah... well. Ah hem. The shipment has been... delayed. You see, there have been increasing attacks from your neighbors in Kalokai, and the shipment was taken and destroyed. I barely avoided a raid myself on the way here. Those savages have been severely interrupting our shipments across the country."Slowbull woke up slowly as the sun rose, his body objecting as he tried to sit up. It had been five years since he had been able to get out of bed with the ease of youth. He always woke up before the Miner Steam Piano Whistle woke up the district - he hated the noise of its jingle. He rose, his once-muscled chest straining with the effort, and limped slowly to the window. He plugged his ears as the Miner Chronometer in the center square struck seven and the piano whistle started. As he tried to ignore the noise he saw the steam start to pour out of the woods in the direction of the Miner steam generator as the steam started to fire from its exhaust ports. At that moment his lights flickered on, and he walked to the stove to make tea. He had become a man of habit in his old age, and as he did every morning he cursed himself for letting Lucy Miner go on her Spirit Journey.
~
Lucy wiped sweat from her eyes and squinted hard at the partially constructed machine in front of her. It was a mess of cogs and belts and plates, and it didn't run quite yet. She overshot her aim with a screwdriver as someone cleared their throat behind her and it burst through the center of the contraption and stuck out the other side. She set it down and sighed as cogs from the machine rolled across the floor.
"Yes?" she said, doing nothing to mask her frustration.
"Excuse me, ma 'am. The supplier from the colonies is downstairs, here to discuss a shipment of iron bands," her assistant said, quietly, realizing his mistake.
"Alright. Clean up the mess here, will you? I mean, you can build a furnace, right?"
"Ah hem. No ma 'am."
"I forget sometimes," She said, rolling her eyes as she walked out of the balmy workshop down to the reception area. She walked through the door to the lobby and a man in a suit stood up quickly, striding over to shake her hand. She had met him before, once, and he wasn't any less greasy and bald this time. She shook his hand hard with only one shake and let him go. He looked at his now oil and grease covered hand for only a moment, hiding his disgust well.
"Hello Miss Miner. My name is Fredrick. We met before?" he said.
"Yes, yes. I remember. I have to say, Fredrick, I am surprised to see you here. I was expecting a shipment of iron bands, not a Public Relations stooge."
"Yes?" she said, doing nothing to mask her frustration.
"Excuse me, ma 'am. The supplier from the colonies is downstairs, here to discuss a shipment of iron bands," her assistant said, quietly, realizing his mistake.
"Alright. Clean up the mess here, will you? I mean, you can build a furnace, right?"
"Ah hem. No ma 'am."
"I forget sometimes," She said, rolling her eyes as she walked out of the balmy workshop down to the reception area. She walked through the door to the lobby and a man in a suit stood up quickly, striding over to shake her hand. She had met him before, once, and he wasn't any less greasy and bald this time. She shook his hand hard with only one shake and let him go. He looked at his now oil and grease covered hand for only a moment, hiding his disgust well.
"Hello Miss Miner. My name is Fredrick. We met before?" he said.
"Yes, yes. I remember. I have to say, Fredrick, I am surprised to see you here. I was expecting a shipment of iron bands, not a Public Relations stooge."
"I'm sorry to hear about your predicament, but I need those bands. You've proven your company untrustworthy, and I'm cutting the amount I'm paying by fifteen percent. I'll be sending people out to pick up the shipments from now on."
"You.. you can't do that," the man's face turned red as you stuttered.
"It's that, or I take my business to Kalokai. I hear they are offering severely discounted prices on your iron bands," at this the man turned redder and started to tap his foot and tug on his mustache.
"Why... I've never been... I'll send word on our decision," he said, still stuttering as he walked out the door. She smiled, knowing they would accept the deal before the day was out. She headed back up to the workshop to finish working on her new furnace design.
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