Today is much like any other day for a Technopriest, despite the recent murder of a Captain-Astromancer candidate, a scandal that is still sending out shockwaves through the Temple. There are still light strips to be fixed, plumbing to be repaired, assorted holy devices that must be kept ready in accordance with the Manual… And today, top priority on Sylvia's to-do list is the repair to an Omniscient Eye of the Inner Spirit which is going to be a particularly messy job. Fortunately this time she doesn't have just a Savanite crew to hand her tools, she also has an apprentice… Quinn, a Rath'ani who seems to know where to find things.

The order from high begins, "Technopriest Sylvia, you are directed to maintain Eye 115-DAL located in sector TAU-5-3, which the Inner Mysteries have revealed to us has malfunctioned in the Armor of Winter… " The rest of the order goes into meaningless details. Beneath that is a stack of sundry other work orders which must be completed after this one.

And so Sylvia's day starts in her rather small (but her very own!) office, as she picks up the work order…

Sylvia looks briefly at the work order, and reaches over to a very messy workbench she has in her office. Picking up the heavy tool belt there and strapping it around her waist, she grumbles miserably to herself. "Three months ago I said they had to replace the Shamara plate, because it was overdue. 'Finances' they said. 'No Money!' they said. Well maybe this time they'll learn to listen to me when I tell them maintenance needs to be done before things break." She shakes her head slowly to herself, before pressing a button on the wall. She speaks clearly into a tube that is set within her wall, "Quinn! Quinn! Get yerself in my office, we've got a job!"

A voice, obviously belonging to a younger technopriest, emanates from the wall after a short delay. "Yes, ma'am! I'll be right there!" it says eagerly. There are a few shuffling noises, then the noise fades away. A minute later, there is a knock at the door.

The overhead light, shaped in the form of a small foot-long U, flickers. But it's still a remarkable accomplishment that Sylvia gets her own, rather than having to rely on a lamp like so many.

Sylvia shouts towards the door. "Come on' in, its unlocked." She turns around towards a shelf that is piled on with books and papers, scanning them with a critical eye.

crreeeeeeaaaaak… The office's single door, a thick door set on what appear to have once been powered tracks, slowly slides open. As the crack widens, it becomes apparent that it is being pushed open by a pair of hands. A young Rath'ani, wearing the simple blue robes of an Acolyte, skips across the threshold, pulling himself short once he's inside the room. He stands up straight. "Reporting, ma'am!" he says.

Sylvia stands facing a row of books, her tail twitching lightly behind her as she thinks. "Ah-ha," she mutters, grabbing one of the books, flipping through it quickly. She turns slightly, towards Quinn, still buried in this book. "Ah, Flynn, nice to see you again." She snaps the book shut, and glares towards him. "We've got a job to do." She hands him the book. "Get your tools, we've got to go."

Quinn looks indignant at Sylvia's mispronunciation of his name, but only for a moment. By the time she turns around to face him, his expression is eager and respectful once more. "Yes, ma'am!" he says.

Sylvia moves out the door. "Be careful with that book, there's only a few copies running around and I'd hate to have to recopy it. Get a move on, time's a' wastin'." She heads out, Quinn behind her.

The younger acolyte follows after Sylvia as best he can with the huge book clutched in his paws and tools jangling from his waistbelt.

The title of the book appears to be… "The Workings of the Omniscient Eyes of the Inner Spirit and the Mysteries Contained, part one of four." It was authored by a 'Haynes' long ago, and the parchment and the leather binding fairly crackle under Quinn's hands.

Together, Sylvia and her apprentice head up a number of stairs and down lengthy corridors, through corridors whose lights have died out altogether and are lit only with braziers spaced at every intersection, filled with oil by nameless apprentices and slaves. The scent of incense becomes the smell of oil.

At last they reach a maintenance corridor which Sylvia unlocks with a large ornate key, and step in to find an access way directly beneath the Omniscient Eye 115-DAL… The installation resembles a circular hollow beneath some sort of swivelling device, appearing like a shrine of technology, surrounded by long segmented pipes which reek of grease and rust. Curiously, the dust is not as thick here as in other parts of the Temple that Sylvia and Quinn have seen.

Long cables drape almost everywhere, making it a small challenge to reach the access panels for the Eye.

Quinn clutches the book tightly to his chest as he gazes this way and that, following behind Sylvia only by instinct. "Wow!" and "Oh my!" escape his lips from time to time.

Sylvia starts wiping certain sections of the device, until at last she softly speaks, "Ah-ha." The dusting has revealed a panel which seems to be covered with strangely shaped runes and symbols. Examining the edges, she moves a hand along her belt, by feel finding the tool that she needs. Wrestling with several long cables, she carefully unscrews the panel. Removing it and placing the cover on the floor, the panel is revealed. Numerous luminescent lights and displays blink on and off in different colors, lighting up the darker sections of the room.

A low-hanging cable whacks the young Rath'ani in the forehead. "Ouch!" he says, rubbing the bruise. As he does so, Quinn loses track of where he's going… squish! "Ew, yuck!"

Lights wink at Sylvia, a fascination of the spiritual workings that drive the Temple. The green lights that stay on steadily indicate that the Omniscient Eye, or the 'Hyper-EM Frequency Sensor' as the spirits identify it, is functioning in 'Hydraulics', 'Power', and 'Logic'. However, 'Temperature' has shaded from yellow to orange, and some additional words suggest, 'Coolant grid malfunction'. Whatever one of those is…

Sylvia looks back at the display, its flashing symbols and other arcane runes displaying who-knows-what. "By the anchor, Quinn, settle yerself down there." She examines them, making some sense of their pattern.

A myriad of displays next to the basic telltales show universally flat lines inching across the screen, or else wildly zig-zagging lines that stay within a narrow rectangle.

Quinn's young voice sounds both excited to be here and disgusted. "But Technopriestess," he says, "is there supposed to be white stuff on the floor?" He wrinkles his nose as he examines his foot. Apparently, it no longer smells so good. "I just stepped in some." He walk-squishes up to Sylvia, still holding the thick volume.

Faint footprints leading from the puddle to Quinn are visible on the floor.

Sylvia takes out her small light device, known as the 'illuminating hand of Gaier', but is simply referred to as 'the light'. She shines it onto the book. "Here, hold this thing while I look up what this means." She opens the Holy Tome as the Rath'ani bears its weight. "And, um… no, I don't think that white stuff is a good sign." She leafs through sections of the book, at last reaching a heading called "The Eye's Blood". "Hmmhmm." she mutters, looking at the tome with her shining light.

Quinn's bespectacled young Rath'ani face peers out from under the book as he holds it aloft for Sylvia. "It's really disgusting!"

Sylvia nods lightly to Quinn, her gloved hands still holding the brittle parchment. "Nobody ever said this job was a clean one."

Quinn shifts his weight and shakes one of his feet. Bits of white goo fly off, but he isn't entirely successful at removing the goo. "No one, ma'am!" he hastily says. His brow furrows. "But it could mean a malfunction?" he says hopefully. "They taught us that."

The air shifts around a little in this maintenance area. It feels quite warm – hotter than the sunny day outside should warrant.

Quinn continues to recite his lessons: the Signs of Unholy Malfunction in the Sacred Machines of the Temple. He's somewhat distracted by the goo on his foot, however. He unconsciously wipes the back of one hand across his forehead.

Sylvia hmmhmms once more, nose in the tome. "Alright, Quinn, it says here that the Eye has 3 types of blood. "Yellow is for the strength of the machines on which it lies, White is for the Cold it works by, and orange is for the sight of the eye." She shines the light on the liquid that covers the floor. "Its bleeding white. Yep, something's broken alright." She leafs through several more sections. "The Armor of Winter is what contains the white lifeblood of Cold. It must be cracked somewhere." She shines the light back towards the unit, trying to follow where the liquid is leaking.

Quinn points back along his footprint-trail. "I stepped in the stuff over there, ma'am," he says, indicating the puddle.

The ancient tome wobbles a little as Quinn once more wipes his forehead. He hastily supports it once more as it threatens to fall.

Indeed, there are streaks of white upon the panels in one part of the Omniscient Eye. It must be bleeding – that means, in Sylvia's experience, that whatever is bleeding will have to be replaced and then fresh blood put in. But first she'll have to get it open…

Sylvia moves the light towards where Quinn indicates, illuminating the puddle. She takes a step nearer to it, her hoof making a 'clicking' noise on the deck. She doesn't notice Quinn's troubles, but seems enthralled in examining the bleeding panel. She gets up, and relieves Quinn of the burden of the big Tome. "Quinn, get that panel open." She places the tome on top of a portion of the large machine, keeping it open to the section on the Armor of Winter.

Quinn forgets about his foot in his excitement to get a closer look at the Holy Machinery. "Yes, Technopriest!" he exclaims, pulling some tools from his toolbelt. His youth provides no accurate indicator of his abilities, for within a few minutes, the young Rath'ani seizes the panel in both hands and pulls. It comes loose, causing Quinn to stumble just slightly as he sets it on the floor, where it clangs softly.

*Ding!* The panel clatters about on the floor, the lightweight ceramic spinning about a bit before thumping to a rest against pipes. It reveals a horrific sight… A crack running right across the device called the Armor of Winter, exposing the pipes within. A white puddle of gooish substance fills the bottom of the compartment exposed, and trickles slowly out to the dusty floor.

The Armor of Winter appears to be formed in three parts which completely enclose the workings of the inner Omniscient Eye.

Sylvia shines the light onto the Armor of Winter. "That's going to need to be replaced. Damn those money mongers! They wouldn't listen to me when I said this needed to be maintained every 3 months!"

"That smells terrible!" Quinn exclaims. "More white stuff!" But he unhooks several tools from his toolbelt should Sylvia require them in her work to restore the Workings of the Temple's Inner Light by invocation of the Sacred Rites of Component Replacement. He peers into the illuminated compartment. "Don't they listen to you, Technopriestess?" he says, puzzled. "They aren't trusted with the Knowledge of the Inner Workings, are they?"

Sylvia looks over at Quinn, lightly sighing. "Sadly, they care only about how much things cost." She shakes her head. "Use the flatblade to remove the 3 outer studs here, here, and here." she points them out to Quinn. "Carefully remove the Jacket of Bracing, then carefully lift the House of Armor, and move it out here, I'll help you with it. Hurry up, this needs to be fixed." She shines the light inside the panel – at least it gives enough light to work bye.

The Rath'ani stands on his tiptoes, his nimble hands quickly loosening the fastenings on the studs and slipping the fasteners into a small pouch on his belt. Re-hooking the 'driver in its place, he slowly and carefully removes the Jacket of Braceing. As he does so, he asks, "But don't they care about the Temple? It must be worth far more than even they could imagine!"

The housing slips and thumps to the bottom of the compartment, now that it is no longer secured in place. The crack widens.

Quinn's eyes go wide. "Technopriestess!" he exclaims, peering into the crack. "That wasn't right, was it?"

Sylvia looks inside as the jacket comes loose, taking the studs from Quinn. "Oh, they care. But everytime I write up a proposal on fixing things… " She shows Quinn the studs. "See this? They're metallic. Very expensive! Besides, they say, if they did everything I wanted, the temple would be bankrupt! Or at least, that's what they say… "

Sylvia shakes her head at Quinn. "That's not a problem. It looks bad but the book states that this is possible when the three studs are removed and the Armor is shown. 'When the armor is bare, you can see the injury's lair,' and so on."

"Oh!" he exclaims, looking relieved. "I'm sure you can fix it, ma'am! I know it!" He peers into the hole. "What do we look for?"

Parts of the inner workings of the Omniscient Eye are revealed by the slippage of the Armor of Winter. It appears almost to be a work of abstract art, something that Kame Ikata might have done in his later years, a fusing of metal and crystals and intricately carved sections of what appear at first to be ceramic…

No lights wink on or off, but the air smells of ozone.

Sylvia says, "Well, first of all Quinn, get that Housing out of there, it'll help us work better."

Rath'ani senses kick in. "Ma'am!" he says. "I smell the smell of the Circuit of Shortening… " He pauses, thinking of his lessons again. "Or was that Shortening of Circuit?" He peers into the Omniscient Eye. "It smells funny," he finally says.

"For this part, we must put the Eye to Sleeping, for if we don't we run the risk of the Eye injuring us in wrath – for even though we are helping it, in healing it we sometimes cause pain, and the eye may lash out in anger," Sylvia says. She pushes several buttons on the panel. The blinking lights and strange glowing red symbols fade, disappearing into inky blackness.

Quinn breaks off his musing upon receiving further instructions. "Right away!" He busies himself with his tools, carefully loosening a few fastenings and finally lifting the Housing free.

The Armor of Winter comes off in three sections, each of them quite large and unwieldy for a single Rath'ani to take off by himself. He staggers back under the second one, about to fall over…

Rath'ani feet stumble about. "Ack! Ma'am!"

Sylvia says, "Careful Quinn, those weigh more than they look!" She grabs onto him and a section of housing, trying to prevent him from falling into the murky blood."

Quinn practically falls into Sylvia's lap, still tightly clutching onto the Holy Artifact in a desperate attempt to save it from striking the floor.

Sylvia helps Quinn lower that artifact onto the floor. She knows it will be unaffected by its own blood. "Slowly… slowly… " she intones…

Even under his thick white-and-black fur, a bit of pink shows through. "Ma'am!," he says quickly. "I'm sorry!"

Sylvia shakes her head lightly. "Forget it. Just be more careful, alright? Sometimes you only get one chance to do things right." Holding onto the third piece of the House of the Armor of Winter, she carefully extracts it. Obviously too heavy for her, Quinn grabs the other end, and together they lower it to the ground as well. "Thank you, Quinn." She wipes some sweat off of her brow, just below her horn.

The young acolyte nods, the pinkness of his skin slowly fading.

The smell of ozone slowly dies away.

Sylvia sighs as she looks at the exposed armor. "Its impossible to fix that, the crack is too severe." She thinks for a moment. "It will have to be replaced. Have you see another one similar to it anywhere, Quinn?"

The young Rath'ani surveys the part carefully. "I think… " he says slowly, his voice trailing off. "There are similar in the Hall of the Ancient Machines. Perhaps they could let us borrow… " He looks back and forth from the part to Sylvia.

Sylvia looks at Quinn, putting a hand on her hip and thinking a bit. "Good idea. Leave this like this, and lets get going. I want to get this done before dinner time." She stalks out of the room, splashing through several puddles and hoofs clanking on the deck.

The slightly more weary technopriests make their way down into the bowels of the Temple and to a place called by some 'the hall of the Ancient Machines', by others 'the Equipment and Supply Requisition Center', and by yet others the 'No Way Alley'. The front of the large ware-house like areas is an office in which a young Cervani male with four points to his horns sits behind a desk. Numerous file cabinets sit behind him.

The young buck clears his throat… "Madam Technopriest – good day. How may we serve this day?" He doesn't stoop to acknowledge the presence of the acolyte.

Sylvia walks in, approaching the counter where the Cervani sits. She plops down her work order on his desk. "Lev! Long time no see. Few hours hasn't it? Listen, I need these three parts to fix the Armor of Winter, think you can help me? In the Book they're called "Sensor Cooling Grid".

Quinn trails along dutifully behind Sylvia. As she converses with the storeroom-clerk, he sits down on a nearby bench and tries to scrape the goo from his shoe with a tool.

Lev inspects the work order quietly. He looks askance at the Rath'ani as he scrapes goo onto the floor of the office, but doesn't venture to say anything. He inspects the work order once more, at length. "A 'Sensor Cooling Grid'? You've listed it on your work order as 'Cooling Grid', you know… "

The young Rath'ani is soon satisfied. Most of the goo is removed from his shoe. He scoops up the shavings of dried goo and dumps it all in the nearest wastebin.

Sylvia snorts lightly. "I didn't write the work order, you know! Besides, what do they know. I saw it with my own eyes. It's aSensor Cooling Grid. I think the part number is 115-500-551-9984-1, 115-500-551-9984-2, and 115-500-551-9984-3.

Lev rummages in the drawer of his decrepit wooden desk. Somewhere under a stack of yellowed memoranda he manages to find a pencil. A little more work produces a note pad. He holds the pencil expectantly over the paper… "Um, the numbers were?… "

Though he seems distracted, Quinn's ears perk up as he pays close attention to every word. He'll be a Technopriest someday … he hopes. He'll need to know this later!

Sylvia sighs a little bit as she is forced to say those long numbers again. "115-500-551-9984-1, through 3." She looks over as Lev writes them down. "9984, not 9894," she points out.

As Sylvia and the Cervani argue – pointlessly, he thinks – about part numbers, Quinn climbs down from the bench and quietly steals down the hall toward the door of the storeroom.

Lev gives the technopriest a look from under lowered brows. "Indeed. Thank you, Technopriest." He arises portentously from his desk. "If you'd care to have a seat, I shall consult the Reckoning of the Inventory." He turns to busy himself in a ponderous handwritten ledger with sewn bindings. He doesn't even notice the Rath'ani.

The buck mutters to himself as he reads, one hoof marking his line…

Sylvia turns around, moving towards the seats. Noticing that Quinn is gone, she mutters to herself, wondering where the slackard has gone off to…

The young acolyte, upon seeing that the door is open, silently slips into the storeroom. The racks and cabinets don't confuse him for long; he's been here before. Hurrying down the darkened corridors, he soon stops in front of a cabinet marked 'INT SENS LV426'.

Sylvia waits for a little while, trying to relax a bit. This is down time for her. She doesn't get a chance to rest often, so takes this opportunity. "Oh, and I forgot Lev, I'm going to need some of that 'White Blood', too. Umm… 'Coolant', it says in the work order. I don't know what the part number is for that, I figure you know it… "

The Inventory Clerk looks up from his perusal of the ledger. He raises an eyebrow, managing to look painfully affronted. "Do you know how different parts we stock here?" He sighs and deflates a bit. "But I suppose I'll see what I can do. The three others are all in stock, as it happens. We've one of each." He closes the Reckoning of the Inventory (sending out a small puff of dust) and moves to a slightly smaller volume on a nearby book stand. He begins to search for the number of the Coolant…

Lev looks up from the new volume after a short space. "The 'Enumeration of Components' lists a variety of Coolants, technopriest. Have you a more specific idea of what you're after?"

Sylvia says, "The eye's blood is white, Lev. How many different white coolants can there be?"

Lev seems momentarily non-plussed. "They're not listed by colour, actually… What sort of container does it come in?"

Sylvia gets up and goes over to Lev and his book. "I don't have any idea, Lev." She tries to peer over the book, resisting the urge to look for it herself.

The buck examines his book, and sucks on his lower lip a bit. "How about 'Coolant, Sensor Arrays, High EM'?"

Sylvia looks at the Cervani. "What's EM mean?"

Meanwhile, in the storage room, Quinn searches cautiously through Cabinet LV426's contents, searching for the Almighty Grid of Cooling of Sensors.

Lev gives the technopriest a suspicious look. Is he being tested? "Surely you know, Madam Technopriest?"

Sylvia looks a bit frustrated. "Let me see the book!" She twists the book around, reading through it. Finally she points at a line. "There, that one!" she pronounces.

Lev dutifully copies the number on his pad, seeming more relieved than annoyed at having the decision taken out of his hands. He consults the Reckoning of the Inventory for a short time before announcing that this item, as well, is in stock. He procures three forms from his desk, one pink, one white and one yellow, and attaches them solemnly to his clipboard. Opening a small glass inkstand that sits on a corner of his desk, he dips a pen and begins to fill out the forms, making frequent reference to the Reckoning. After a few minutes he hands the clipboard to Sylvia. "Now, if you could sign for the removal of the items from the stores?… There, and there, on each copy please… "

Sylvia scribbles her name with the offered pen on each of the forms, looking a bit annoyed at all the bureaucracy that she has to go through to get some simple necessary parts! "And here too," Lev says, pointing at a spot Sylvia missed. Again she signs, giving the pen back.

Lev returns his pen to its stand, and examines the forms one more time. Satisfied, he removes the pink one and gives it to Sylvia. Dipping the pen once more, he hands it to her again along with the clipboard bearing the white and yellow copies. "Now, if you'll just sign to show that you received your copy… "

Sylvia sighs, scribbling her name a final time on the clipboard. "I really should just get a stamp."

Lev slides the clipboard into its accustomed place on his desk. He seems to have no interest at all in the forms now that they've been filled out. Taking the original work order in hand, he leads on grandly into the store room, gesturing for Sylvia to follow. "Come along then, and let's get your parts. We'll not want to take all day about this… "

Sylvia follows Lev through the maze of the storeroom. How Lev can keep track of anything in here is beyond her.

As Lev and Sylvia make their way to the back of the immense storeroom, they soon come within sight of the young Rath'ani. He has been searching through a cabinet – carefully, of course! – for the appropriate parts. As they approach, however, he makes a startled sound and stands in front of the cabinet, looking puzzled and shocked.

Sylvia looks surprised, "Quinn!" She exclaims. "What are you doing back here?"

Quinn looks surprised that the question has even been asked. "Ma'am, looking for the Almighty Parts, of course! But, Technopriestess, ma'am, they're gone!"

Lev looks amazed and affronted. "Here now, how could you possibly be back in the storeroom already?"

Lev is dismissive. "Nonsense, acolyte. The Reckoning of the Inventory shows quite clearly that they're right here."

Sylvia stares blankly at Quinn for a few moments. "What do you mean they're gone? How can they be gone?"

The young acolyte gestures toward the empty racks. "Sir, ma'am, look for yourself!" he says. "They should be right there."

Sylvia looks accusingly at Lev. "What kind of a storeroom are you running here?" She looks annoyed, especially after signing so many papers.

The buck peers into the empty racks, not ready to accept that the parts aren't there. He turns to the Technopriest, and points at the rack. " This is where they are! It says so right in the Reckoning… " He deflates slightly, "Although I must admit that they don't seem to be here… "

Sylvia looks straight at the buck, who is much taller than she is. "Well, what are you going to do about it? I've already signed for the parts, you say you have them, where are they? Don't you know what's in your own storeroom?"

Lev looks appalled. "You have already signed, haven't you?" He thinks a bit, clearly having trouble with the idea that he might have to do something not anticipated in the procedures. "We'll have to order up a replacement, is all. You've already signed for the parts, after all."

From behind the two antagonists, Quinn speaks up. "If I may humbly suggest, sir, ma'am," he says, "perhaps another Technopriest has checked out the parts to heal another part of the Temple?"

The youngster's body language and expression seem to show that he is not being deceptive; he only wishes to assist as acolytes should do.

Sylvia looks over at Quinn. "If someone has, then Lev should know about it, since they would have had to sign the same papers I did. Wouldn't they, Lev?"

Quinn's gaze shifts to Lev and then to Sylvia.

Lev turns to Quinn, seeming for the first time to view his presence as less than an intrusion. "That's a most reasonable suggestion, actually. The technopriesthood isn't known for it's strict adherence to procedure."

Sylvia looks slightly offended at Lev. "Excuse me, none of us would just *steal* things from the storeroom when we can get them easily enough by signing a few papers!"

Lev regards Sylvia archly. "Well, certain irregularities have been known to occur. At any rate, it's easily fixed – we'll requisition more, and in a few months we'll have them here good as ever."

Sylvia looks frustrated. "A few *months*? The Eye of Omniscience can't be non-operational for that long. Do you have any idea how angry the upper priesthood will get? And don't you care that these parts are just *gone*!?" Aeonians don't get mad easily, but she's frustrated.

Lev looks a bit frustrated himself. "Well if you people would do a bit of preventative maintenance instead of waiting until things break, we could have had the parts ordered and received already!"

Sylvia angrily retorts, "If they would give us the money to do so we would do it, but they don't, because you don't even know if the parts are in your warehouse!"

Sylvia angrily mutters to herself, knowing she's starting to make little sense, which only frustrates her more, which only gets her angrier!

Quinn's expression changes slightly to one of determination, but only for a brief moment. Then it is gone, replaced by a sudden calm. He scurries up to Sylvia. "Ma'am Technopriestess," he says quietly. "I humbly request an audience with you." He bows formally in the manner he was taught to in his lessons.

Sylvia turns angrily towards Quinn. "What!" she screams at him, in frustration.

The Rath'ani's headfur blows backward slightly with the force of the yell; however, he simply repeats his request politely.

Lev sighs and crosses his arms. "Well, it's quite obvious that someone has helped himself to your cooling grid. And since it's already been taken, you'll not have one until we procure another. It's your choice."

Sylvia breathes quickly. Finally she calms down enough. "What do you want, Quinn?"

Quinn softly whispers into Sylvia's ear for a few brief moments.

Sylvia listens to Quinn, "A *what?*" she mutters. When Quinn finishes, she thinks quietly to herself, running her fingers through her mane in idle thought. "Fine. Lev, get me those parts, I know you'll try your best."

The clerk looks satisfied. "I'll order them right away. I'll let you know when they arrive. Did you still want the coolant?"

Sylvia nods to Lev. "Yes. Do you at least have that?"

Lev starts off down the aisle. "Provided that no-one has helped himself to that as well. Follow me, if you please… "

Sylvia follows Lev to get the coolant, wandering through the maze of storeroom shelves.

Lev raps on the side of a blue plastic drum, producing a dull thump. "That's still here, at least." He rolls out a two-wheeled dolly with a drum-retaining strap from a tiny alcove nearby, and gets a small hand-pump from a shelf nearby. "You can bring back the rest when you finish. Just put the pump in the bunghole and turn the handle. Don't lose the bung plug."

Sylvia looks at the dolly. "Um, I'm sure I won't." She motions to Quinn. Come on Quinn, wheel this thing along."

Quinn nods. "Yes ma'am!" and takes the dolly handle, walking back toward the door with it trailing behind him.

After leaving the drum next to the Eye of Omniscience, Sylvia turns to Quinn. "Alright Quinn, where do you think these parts are?"

Quinn, still trailing the dolly behind him, heads off down the winding corridors toward the Department of Chemical Processing, where the various liquids used for maintenance of the Sacred Inner Workings of the Temple are produced, purified, and tested.

After a few minutes, the Rath'ani stops in front of a door – a nondescript one, but marked 'Hall of Liquid Preparation.' "Ma'am, this is where I would start looking," he says. He turns to her, awaiting instruction.

Sylvia looks down at Quinn curiously. "Alright, if this is where you would start looking, I suggest you start looking!" She moves to slide open the door.

After the door squeaks and creaks open, Quinn cautiously peers inside. Empty, he thinks. I hope it stays that way. I'd hate to get caught. He slowly walks into the huge room, making his way between chest-height benches, cabinets full of vials and flasks, and past various pieces of machinery. Wow! he thinks. I wonder if I'll ever be assigned to this place by the Chief Engineer!.

Sylvia waits quietly by the door. She thinks this whole thing is a Hunt for the unattainable, but she has nothing to lose by trying. Still, she figures Quinn can do most of the work.

Things bubble merrily away. This chemical processing plant must be in use for the production of some particularly large run; huge pipes run overhead and straight across the room, and some kind of centrifuge device rumbles loudly like a dragon's stomach.

As he wanders up and down the tables, Quinn catches a whiff of something… he sniffs at the air. That's not supposed to be here. The Rath'ani makes his way past the loudly roaring centrifuge, past a huge cabinet with a vertically-sliding glass door, past shelves stacked with papers and bound notebooks. The smell grows stronger.

Meanwhile, Sylvia impatiently waits outside. Again, spare time is scarce for her, so she takes advantage of this to relax a little bit.

The smell is stronger… Quinn approaches a small cubbyhole full of quietly-humming equipment. Some of it seems to be filtering more White Blood of Cooling, perhaps in anticipation of the repair order. Other equipment seems to be grinding large chunks of a black substance into a fine powder. The acolyte's training is not sufficient yet to tell him what the machinery does. But his nose does pick up the smell, which is strongest…

there!

Deftly unhooking a tool from his belt, Quinn proceeds to loosen the fastenings holding an access panel to an idle machine. The panel is at first reluctant to move, but with a few tugs it comes free, clattering upon the floor.

The interior of the machine holds a contraption which, on first glance, might be thought to be the original workings. Closer inspection reveals this not to be the case, however. A large glass reaction pot filled with brown/purple sludge simmers slowly over an electric heater. The glass column that leads from the top is packed with glass beads, and clear fluid may be seen dripping and tricking partway up as it condenses and re-evaporates. And at the top of the glass column… a substantial metal structure, some sort of air-cooled condenser. The whole things smells very sharply of the fluid which drips out of the condenser and collects in a flask at the end.

Quinn surveys the contraption, being careful not to touch it just yet. Some parts are hot. He calls to Sylvia. "Ma'am, will you come, please?" he inquires.

Sylvia comes into the room until the large contraption confronts her. "By the anchor!" she swears, looking up at it, and standing next to Quinn.

Sylvia instantly recognizes the parts that are known as the Armor of Winter. "We have to get those down from there. Get a ladder Quinn. We're going to have to do this quickly, before anyone comes along."

The Rath'ani nods as he sets to removing the Armor from the device. He works slowly, trying not to burn his hands. "And this" – he indicates the rest of the contraption – "is the still from which all that anonymous liquor is coming. I believe, ma'am, that you'll find the rest of those missing parts here."

Sylvia calls up to Quinn. "Let'sget those parts and go. We can deal with the rest later." She assists Quinn in bringing down those heavy parts.

Quinn helps Sylvia to load the storeroom-dolly with the heavy parts from the still. Soon, they are ready to go. The acolyte replaces the access panel.

Sylvia, with Quinn, wheel the dolly as quickly as possible to the Eye.

With Quinn's help, the Technopriestess Sylvia is soon able to replace the Armor of Winter about the Omniscient Eye, then re-seal up the bracing that would keep it in place. So *thump* they fasten the panel back into place, and *clang* seal it up, and then as Quinn waits, all is ready for Sylvia to once again activate the holy mechanism…

Sylvia pushes the buttons again, and the red symbols and runes once again light up on the panel.

*Whirrrrr… * The sensor housing comes back to life and displays numerous diagnostics, circles slowly being filled as systems are tested. To the as yet unlearned apprentice, it might seem as if some angelic beast in the form of metal and ceramic was waking slowly from its slumber… A resemblance made all the more uncanny by the shifting of the legs that support the Omniscient Eye 115-DAL, rotating it through a full circle and shifting angle constantly…

The screens clear, the lights stay on… And sine waves arc cross the narrow rectangles that form the main display of the diagnostic panel. Words flash below: "TRACKING – HYPER-CAPABLE SIGNATURE DETECTED – IDENTIFYING… "

An icon flashes on one corner, appearing to be two triangles joined to each other at their apex, twirling about rapidly.

Quinn looks on, fascinated. I have a lot left to learn, he thinks. But I'll learn it soon enough. Fascinated, the young Rath'ani acolyte continues to follow Sylvia on her repair duty for the rest of the day – but he keeps thinking of his afternoon's adventure.

Sylvia looks up at the machine as it whirrs and clicks. "Isn't it great completing a project?" She picks up her clipboard and checks off the first job. "Quinn, get a mop and clean up all this white gunk all over the ground. Meet me in subsection 5B, past the kitchens, for our next job." She picks up the heavy tome. "Remember to return the dolly too." She leaves then, stepping out of the room and leaving Quinn amongst the huge complex machine… and a bunch of white goo.