CHAPTER 128: A SUCKER FOR KIDS, SHE WAS.

After having breakfast, the team from Fortress Four continued their search for Alfred. Sunshine was letting them handle things on their own more so that they could learn to navigate the apocalyptic world.

She did not sit by Nimo’s side and vanished into the space because she had a line of job requests waiting. They were in holo message form, sent by clients from all worlds.

She scrolled through the virtual screen in the space while yawning. Most requests were for her to fix robot legs for all sorts of creatures. It was mundane, repetitive work that she really didn’t want to do.

"Points Suni, do it for the points." She told herself. "Points and experience."

She was about to close her eyes and reluctantly make a choice when one job caught her attention. It had no description. "System what is this job 0015 Fish X."

[It is the tracking number of a cracked underwater speaker or murmur beacon used to calm giant fish in many water worlds.]

"Water worlds? There are water worlds? I would like to go there if possible." Sunshine could barely contain the excitement.

Imagine swimming in all that fresh water which was pollution free. She would go there with a hose and pass it through the space to the real world and fill all the reservoirs on the base.

They could even dig a swimming pool and build their own fish ponds. She could picture it clearly and her heart was longing for it. Oh how the children would love to swim!

"System. can you make it possible for me to visit a water world?"

The system let out a tired sigh. [Host, it depends. Even I don’t decide what worlds are open to which repairman. I take what is available. When you are a grand master, you will have privileges to go anywhere and maintain residence on all worlds.]

It wasn’t the answer she wanted but it was better in some ways. "Alright, so then what is the problem with the speaker?" Sunshine asked.

[It has malfunctioned and instead of soothing giant fish it is making angry shark growls that are stirring trouble on the Levias sea. Another repairman should have taken the job but they all seem to be busy so it was offered to you. The pay is promising.]

"I will take it." Sunshine stretched her hands and cracked her fingers as she got into work mode. She wondered where the Levias sea was and what it looked like. "Levias..." she whispered the name. It sounded fancy.

The speaker appeared in front of her and Sunshine began to study it. It was spiral shaped and pure white in color. There was some green on the base as if it had been rubbing against green kale or vegetables for so long. She guessed that it was stationed somewhere on a reef.

The words Unit 0015 Fish X were written on the back in blue.

"System, what is the specific problem? Do a scan."

There was silence for a moment and then the system shared its findings.

[Two corrupted sound chips which are leading to misinterpreted frequencies. The soothe function has been replaced with rage.]

Sunshine tapped the head of the speaker and she laughed. "Aah, someone is having a bad day. You are sulking aren’t you?"

The speaker sensed a voice and it responded by letting out an angry shark roar. It made Sunshine wince and cover her ears. She could not stand the roars and they made her heart pulse rapidly in fear.

She felt like she was being hunted and she could not imagine what the poor fish had been enduring.

"System how do I fix this?"

[Replace the chips with new ones and recaliberate the sound settings.]

She tapped the speaker again like she was comforting a child. "Don’t worry, doctor Sunshine will fix you and then you can go back to keeping Levias calm and friendly. Maybe while I fix you, you can show me your last memories."

She set to work, opening the speaker up to access the chips. Her mouth moved non stop as she worked. "So, I don’t suppose you are willing to share what life is like under the sea. Does it ever get boring?"

Beeping sounds were all she got in response and yet she continued to drone on and on. Sunshine found it much easier talking to machines that people. Machines were simple, they did what was expected of them and rarely surprised you.

Forty five minutes later, she was finished and the testing process begun. She powered the speaker on and it announced this loudly by bellowing like a well.

"Wrong sound, friend, your settings say that you should send out lullaby noises." She whispered. Fingers moving quickly as she adjusted the frequency bands.

She tested the sound again and this time, a gentle soft lullaby sound came out.

It was a soft chime that made her feel at ease.

"It feels like my ears are being massaged." She mumbled.

[Congratulations host on another perfect fix.

Reward: 360 gold coins and 28 merit coins.

System reward: Tidecall shells which emit calming vibrations to pacify hostile creatures.]

She grinned. Castiel would love the shells, Earl would take them to school to show off. Ariel, he would study them like a little scientist.

"Nimo was right, I have become a sucker for kids." She laughed at herself.

She left the space and discovered that the cars had parked. Major Elio was standing outside the window of their car, scanning the outside with those unnerving sharp eyes of his.

Some soldiers were polishing and testing their weapons. In the back of a truck, Private Kerri was kneeling beside Philip, applying ointment onto his wounds.

Sunshine got out of the car and went to the truck to check on Philip as well.

"Finally, people were starting to wonder where you were." Nimo sighed when she saw her friend.

Sunshine smiled at her, then she reached into the bag and pulled out a croast leaf she had claimed from the Veldek forest.

"Mash this leaf and apply directly on the wound." She instructed Kerri.

Kerri gave her a skeptical glance but obeyed, placing the mashed leaf on the inflamed skin. Within moments the swelling eased, and the angry redness began to fade.

Philip’s breathing steadied and eyes widened.

"The...the pain around my chest is all gone." He told them in disbelief.

The group exchanged looks.

"What the hell is that?" Siegfried the most curious one asked.

"Herbs as you can or more specifically, a mutated herb that I came across and studied carefully." She answered easily.

She was not done, she reached inside the bag and pulled out a handful of coconut beans.

"This is a mutated fruit. The gel inside will boost you energy levels." She handed one to each person.

Sunshine gestured at Nimo to help her with the distribution.

The soldiers and civilians in the truck bit into the fruit. The effect was immediate. O’Toole straightened his back in surprise, his sluggish posture replaced by alert focus. "Holy shit! It is like an adrenaline shot. Can I have more?"

Father Nicodemus cleared his throat.

"Sorry father." O’Toole said, "Next I will say holy cow."

Father Nicodemus blinked. How was that really different? He sighed and raised his hand but he lowered it quickly and sighed. No matter what he said, one of the soldiers would say something else like that within seconds or a worse curse word.

"Don’t throw the seeds. They are edible too and they can be used to grow more coconut beans." Sunshine quickly the group when she saw Elio tossing out a bean.

Nimo’s uncle Patrick was making loud suckling sounds. "What the hell is this? The seeds are soft and delicious."

"Coconut beans, or mutated coconuts." Sunshine replied. Whether it was the truth or a lie, nobody would know anyway. "Let’s go to the place where Alfred’s phone last pinged and wrap up our search."

If he was not there, then this was the day Nimo’s heart was going to be broken and Sunshine was suddenly feeling the urge to throw up.