Seventh Ring
Part 18: Upgrade
New Earth, 418 A.C. (After Contact)
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Six shot into the air like a startled cat when he heard the sudden popping sound of Seven's arm. He had stopped to take a break from his training with Six to work on some repairs. The look on Six's face said it was not going well.

“Is it supposed to make that sound?” Six slinked his way over to Seven on all fours while his small, cat-like nose went to work on sniffing the air. Each time the Kazekian's arm made a sound, Six visibly jumped, but continued his slow approach.

“Probably not. I'm trying to tighten this rotor here, but I can't reach it.” Six's pupils grew nearly as large as his irises as he examined the area that Seven was trying to reach. It was deep within the rods and hydraulic cylinders of his cybernetic forearm.

“Want me to get it?” Six lifted his small hands and clapped his finger tips together in a crab-like motion. Seven assumed this was an attempt at trying to convince him that it was a good idea, but it did little to help reassure him.

“No, you can't just go digging around in there.”

“But that's what you're doing! Let me try.”

“No. I can do it because it's my arm. You could accidentally clip one of the Vesuleum tubes or something, and then I'd be screwed. What I need is a tool to get down in there...” Seven looked around their training area as if the exact tool he required would just magically appear. Six seemed to know what he was thinking.

“What you need to do is go see Lucas. He's got tools and stuff and can help you!” Six grinned, but seemed to regret it when his optimism was shot down by the disgusted look on Seven's face.

“That's the last thing I want to do; accept help from the same human who put this thing on me.” He motioned towards both of their collars and grunted before going back to work on digging around in his arm.

“Doesn't that hurt?” Six continued to watch and did not look up in time to see the confused, slightly annoyed expression Seven gave him.

“No, how the hell would--” Before Seven could finish his flabbergasted inquiry, he felt a sharp jolt race up his arm as the fingernails of his biological hand accidentally pushed an exposed electrical wire into one of the rods of his forearm. His fingers contorted and made strange buzzing sounds while his elbow suddenly straightened and locked for a few seconds. Compared to the electrocution of William's collar, this pain was nothing more than shocking, though it was enough to leave him stunned and slightly fried for a moment before he spoke again.

“Okay, that might have hurt.” Six looked out at him from behind the rock he had disappeared behind the moment he heard the frying zap. He seemed amused by Seven's taller-than-normal hair and the smoke that snaked its way out of the mechanical tendons of his arm.

Silence fell between the two of them as Seven tried to flex his arm and move his fingers. His cybernetic arm was not responding quickly enough to his brain signals, which worried him. He had another fight coming up the following evening and could not allow there to be any delays in his motions or abilities.

“Well...you wanna get back to training?” Six came out from hiding as soon as he was sure it was safe and the smoke had cleared. He kept his distance from Seven, but began a boxer-like dance in place as he had just been taught and practiced throwing small, quick punches into the air.

“No. I'll be right back.” With a groan, Seven stood and walked by Six as he continued. “Remember to keep your hands up. Your elbows are sinking.”

Seven was glad that William had loosened up and allowed him to wander around the farm unescorted and leashless again after he won his third fight in the Ring. Apparently, he had gained some trust, or so William had put it, and earned back a small portion of what little freedom the Drudges were allowed. While he would not deny enjoying an excuse to be around Ari constantly, he was glad that she was not with him now.

His trek to Lucas' workshop was slow and calculated. He was trying to talk himself out of having to ask for help, but he considered the risks he would be taking if he tried to go back into the Ring with a malfunctioning arm. His lip curled at the thought of a human digging around in his arm, but the other Drudges had grown to trust him for some reason and possibly even like him, as they did with Ari. He still did not feel that Lucas was without blame for their situation, but perhaps there was more to the story than he had been made aware of.

As Seven fought with his thoughts, he began to hear voices just up ahead. One of the voices clearly belonged to Lucas, but he could not identify the second. He quietly continued his approach and hid himself behind a tall tree that grew beside the house and around the corner from the entrance to Lucas' shop. He was in perfect spying position.

“Hang on Gabby, I have something for you!” Seven's eyes narrowed as he peeked out from behind the tree and watched Lucas appear from around the side of Gabby's supply ship. The young red-headed girl followed behind him with a mixed look of cheer and curiosity on her freckled face, but she stopped in the middle of the yard to allow Lucas some privacy. Seven's attention drifted from her to the sounds of crashing inside the shop. It was clear that Lucas had not cleaned up before her arrival and was having some difficulty finding what he was looking for.

“Lucas, are you okay in there?” He was not the only one who had heard the crash and subsequent string of cursing that poured out into the yard. There was no response from him, which prompted Gabby to call out again. “Hey, are you—oh Lucas!”

Seven's ears twitched just slightly as he watched Gabby's hands lift to cover her mouth. She seemed both surprised and happy at the same time, but unable to speak.

“I hope you like them,” he heard Lucas say as he approached her. Seven's head canted curiously when he identified what looked like a plant in Lucas' hands.

“Oh these flowers are so beautiful. Where did you find them?” Gabby lowered her hands and took the potted plant from him. She examined the leaves and petals very closely, trying to determine the species.

“It wasn't easy. All that matters is that you like them.” Lucas smiled and watched her study her gift. “I picked those because they reminded me of your hair. Because they are all orange and red and covered in freckles. I mean spots. Well, not that you are covered in spots or anything, you have freckles. But not everywhere, I just mean--” Lucas stopped talking when he felt Gabby land a gentle kiss on his cheek. Even if he had wanted to, Seven doubted he could have continued jabbering on. And for the first time, he witnessed a shared trait between Lucas and his sister Ari; they both seemed to have trouble verbally communicating their thoughts.

“I love them Lucas, thank you so much.” An awkward silence fell between the two as they stared at one another. “Well, I should probably get going, I have a ton of deliveries to make before it gets dark. I'll see you next week, same time and place?”

Lucas did not immediately respond. He could only nod after realizing she had asked him a question. Gabby laughed and waved good bye. She cradled the small potted plant gingerly as she approached her ship. Seven waited for her to take to the air before he decided to come out from hiding and join Lucas in the yard. Together, they watched Gabby's ship gain speed as it disappeared over the treetops.

“You busy?” asked Seven abruptly. Trying not to sound aggressive, he kept his tone neutral. He also did not want to ruin Lucas' mood, though it was highly unlikely anything could accomplish that.

“No, not busy...” he said quietly with a small sigh. “What's up?”

“I need to have something repaired.”

“What is it? Tractor?”

“No.”

“Is it Cornbot again?”

“No. It's in my arm.”

Lucas finally snapped out of it and looked at Seven with both intrigue and excitement. “No way! What do you need?”

Seven hesitated when Lucas tried to look more closely at the problem area. He flinched and pulled away when he reached to touch him. “It's just a wire that needs to be patched. And maybe a loose rotor.”

“Oh man I've been dying to get my hands on that arm since you got here. I can't believe you've managed to keep it out of harm's way for what, three fights now? It's pretty remarkable, especially considering you don't have any coverings for it.” Seven curled his lip as Lucas began to remind him of Six, but without the enlarged pupils. He did not like being inspected so closely.

“You could just give me the tools and I'll do it myself.” He tried to put his arm behind his back and away from view so Lucas would pay more attention to what he was saying. But it did not work.

“Nah, come on, I can do it! Haven't you seen all the things I've built around this farm? The robots out in the field that shuck corn, plow fields, and zap crows? I'm sure I can handle working on your arm, just let me see it.” Lucas circled around Seven as he tried to keep his arm out of reach. “I promise I'll tell you everything I'm doing and you can watch the whole thing.”

Seven finally lifted his arm high above his head and well out of sight and reach from the much shorter human. He shook his head as he gave in and agreed. “Fine.”

“Yes, excellent! Oh man this is turning out to be the greatest day of my life. Come on in!”

Lucas practically skipped back to the workshop with Seven plodding slowly behind him. He lowered his head to avoid scraping his ears on the top of the door frame, then found a tall wooden stool near the workbench Lucas constantly hovered over. He listened to him crash around through a sea of fuel cans, food and drink wrappers, and miscellaneous tools and mechanical junk that lay strewn about the floor. For an apparent genius, he certainly was a slob.

“So you said there's a torn open wire, right? I can fix that.” Seven remained silent while Lucas burrowed into a stack of papers on the bench. He pulled out a small tool that looked no bigger than a pen, but had a glowing laser light at the tip and what appeared to be tweezers. “Here we go, that's what I need. Okay, bring your arm over here a little more.”

Seven sneered as he hesitated, but reminded himself of what was on the line if he did not get himself patched up. He did as Lucas told him and watched as he pulled over a large magnifying lamp, positioning it for a closer look into his arm. Lucas fell silent as he carefully maneuvered his away around the thick metal tendons. In one hand, he used the lighted pen contraption, and in the other, he held a small metal pick used for dissecting and navigating tightly packed areas.

“Man, it's a good thing you came in here when you did. That wire definitely needed some work. I can reseal it and make sure it doesn't tear open again. It won't take long.” He reached for a line of soldering wire and placed the metal pick in his mouth while he worked. Seven did not like the silence that fell between them and decided to try and talk with Lucas and get some answers to questions that had plagued him over the past two weeks.

“Who is Lydia?” Lucas remained focused on his work, but he took a moment to side-eye Seven about his inquiry. “She was at the Ring at my first fight and seemed to know William.”

Lucas pulled the pick from his mouth and placed it on the work bench before he spoke. “I'm surprised Lydia was there, though it was most likely to see you and not William. Just stay away from her.”

“I doubt she likes me much anymore. What's wrong with her?” Seven watched a trail of smoke rise from his arm as Lucas pressed the soldering iron to the wire.

“Well, she's one of William's competitors and really likes to rub his fur the wrong way, if you know what I mean. She's extremely successful and knows how to run her business, which is why William despises her.”

“He didn't seem to despise her that night. He actually complimented her to Reece and then talked about me being a ticket or something.” Silence dominated the room as Lucas seemed lost in his work. Seven wondered if it was just his way of not talking about Lydia anymore.

“I'd be surprised if he complimented her, what with what she did to him and what he did to Ari. If I were you, I wouldn't mention Lydia's name around her. It gets ugly.” Lucas blew on Seven's arm to clear away any dust and debris.

“What does Lydia have to do with Ari?” Seven's interest piqued when the human girl's name was mentioned. Genuine concern was what Lucas saw on his face when he finally looked up.

“It's...sort of private and happened a long time ago. Honestly, I don't like to talk about it either. It was a bad time for Ari and I don't know if she really ever got over it.”

Seven did not understand what he was implying, but decided not to pursue the topic further. “Lydia seemed to know a lot about my race. I didn't think humans were so knowledgeable of Kazekians.”

“Well, Lydia sort of...specializes in alien races. It's sort of a special interest of hers, if you know what I mean.”

“You mean she...”

“Yeah. Yeah she does.” Lucas didn't want Seven to say what they were both thinking out loud. Instead, he just grinned and nudged him. “That's why I said to stay away from her. Unless, of course, you're into that sort of thing.”

“She and I would not be compatible, that I'm sure of.” Seven remembered how forward she was and how he could sense her desire to dominate him. Although now, with this new knowledge of her special interests, such an attitude did make some sense. “Are most human females that pale and covered in paint?”

“Paint? Oh, you mean make-up. It's sort of up to the woman, honestly.” Lucas squinted and leaned in closer to inspect his work. He moved the lamp a bit closer. “Personally, I think it can look nice, but I'd rather have a girl that wears no make-up than one who wears as much as Lydia.”

“Gabby doesn't wear make-up.” Seven leaned in closer to see what Lucas was doing. He had begun coating the exposed wire within his arm in a new layer of plastic.

“Gabby.” Lucas exhaled her name through a dreamy sigh. “One day, I'm going to marry that girl.”

“Is that why you gave her that plant?” He was not initially going to let Lucas know that he had been spying on them, but he was too curious to pass up the opportunity to learn about human courtship.

“Oh, you saw that? Well, that wasn't exactly me proposing to her, but it was just my way of expressing my affections. Girls like that sort of thing. It makes them happy. Do your women not like flowers?” Lucas put down his tools and examined Seven's arm while he spoke.

“We don't usually give our women plants on Kazek. Our courtship is quite a bit more forceful, I guess.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well...if a man is interested in a woman, he lets her know. If she is interested, she lets him know. And if she is not interested, she really lets him know.” Seven tilted his head when Lucas let out a laugh.

'How do you let a Kazekian woman know you're interested?”

“You touch her in some way. We're not a very physical race, especially compared to humans. So if the woman is interested, they touch us back. And if they're not, they still touch us back, but it's usually far less pleasant.” Seven could not help but share a chuckle with Lucas, who was laughing even harder now.

“Wow, I wouldn't stand a chance in your race, I'd have to be celibate for the rest of my life. I don't think I've ever touched Gabby, except on accident.” Lucas began to inspect the nearby rotor that Seven had indicated might need some tightening. “Although honestly, if one of our women doesn't want you touching them, I think their reactions are pretty similar to your women. That's why we humans try to court them first and appeal to their least aggressive side. Flowers, dinners, poetry, romance...that sort of thing.”

“We do flirt with our women, we just don't give them things until we are mated. Do human women like jewelery? That's a popular courtship gift on Kazek, as it's functional and decorative.”

“Oh yes, definitely. Though it's tough for us to get jewels and gems these days. Gold mining is also pretty rare, since most of the mines have been depleted. But we do have some jewelery made from steel and other recycled metals. They love it all the same.”

Lucas sat back and set down his tools. He had finished the last of his work and moved the magnifying lamp out of their way. “Well, you're all set, at least as far as I can see. Why don't you try it out?”

Seven sat back and lifted his arm from the bench. He bent it forward and back, fanned his fingers, and rotated his shoulder in a circular motion. Everything seemed to be in full working order, much to his surprise. “It feels good. That rotor definitely needed to be tightened.”

“Yeah, and I'm surprised that wire wasn't bothering you more. If it had touched any of the metal in your arm, it probably would have shocked you.” Seven did not indicate that he'd just had that happen. Lucas watched him as he stood and continued to flex his arm and stretch it out. He threw a couple of punches into the air and seemed rather happy. Now was his chance. “So...what would you think of me adding some paneling to that arm? Give it a bit of an upgrade and protect those wires and Vesuleum tubing?”

Seven stopped and dropped his smile. He looked down at his arm and considered Lucas' offer. The added paneling would help him during his fights in the Ring, as he often had to be very mindful of his arm being hit and potentially having the tubing damaged. It would be one less thing to worry about. And he had to admit that his arm seemed to be in much better condition than before, and he could not say that their conversation during the process had not been pleasant. He had missed the company of his male friends back on Kazek. And in this situation, it was somewhat enlightening to listen to a human male talk about human women and learn more about their cultural differences. Of course, Seven could not help but feel guilty about what he was about to say, as he felt as though he were betraying his father. In his heart, however, he knew his father would understand.

“Okay, let's do it.”

---

ARTIST NOTES:

This is really late this week, but HEY, the way I see it, I said I'd get one up once a week, and...it's technically the third week in November and I made it. >>;

I don't have much to say about this chapter aside from it was difficult for me to write. I didn't know where to go with it, so I just sort of let the story and dialogue flow. It sort of worked out, but there was a lot of technical bits because of Lucas and all his toys, so I had to do research. :| Special thanks goes out to jakejynx for helping me out with that and doing some editing.

And yeah, not gonna lie, I kinda LOVED drawing this chapter's illustration, haha. ZAP.

Until next week, folks. I hope you enjoy. <3

Artwork, Characters, and Story © Quaylak