Dynamic Patrol: Gel-Squad (Remastering!)

Chapter 33: Kipp

His aptitude for engineering was quite evident as D1 silently watched him perform her repairs; they were perfect, aside from some non-standard issue parts. She was noticeably rustier than before, and a few parts were substituted for bits the stranger was already keeping around his cave. They would suffice, but she was now a little shorter on her left side because of mismatched treads, "What's your model number?" The stranger asked as he completed her repairs; he had to get on one knee as he tightened bolts on her rear side with a socket wrench. "I am called model D1-A316. But my closest companions... my friends. They call me D1." She said, "What is your destination?" She asked him patiently. And he seemed to be eager to respond, "Kipp. It's nice to meet you! It's nice to have some help around here finally." D1 couldn't see it, but Kipp was smiling with glee at his newest acquisition, his very own droid. "I must be clear: if we are to co-exist, assisting you will be by my choice, not yours. I am free." Okay... so it was a bit faulty, Kipp thought as he tightened the last bolt. Droids don't get a choice. They do what they're told. "Whatever you say." He chortled as he placed his tools back into his toolbox. "I already have a person I am assisting. I am currently in service to an Omoecoon named Tommy." She said, and she hoped that he would enlist his help in looking for Tommy and Russell, who'd been taken to some unknown place and are probably long gone now. As she'd predicted, Kipp placed his hands on his hips as his eyes widened at the mention of the ship, "Wait? Are your friends from the tribe, or do you have a ship?" Kipp questioned eagerly, "The ladder." D1 responded.

"Do you think I could see it?" Kipp continued, "In due time, as long as you are not a member of the Omeocoon group who took my friends." It took him a minute to register what she was talking about, but then he snapped his fingers as the thought came to his mind, "You mean the one that patrols on the inner island? No, absolutely not! Those people are crazy. I've been hiding from them for years. They don't really like to share their island. I just kinda do my own thing, y'know? If you stay close to the outside of the island, they won't bother you." D1 took note of that. Kipp was already beginning to prove useful. D1 motorized to the mouth of the cave to see what the situation was. The cave was inside a valley surrounded by plenty of sand and vegetation and a calm river flowing through the entire location. Perhaps that's how she washed up here in Kipp's hands. She deployed her solar array and began to soak up the sunlight. "I wish to make a deal. When I have completed my recharging cycle, you shall assist me in locating my vessel; it has crashed on this island. We can use its sensor array to track my friends." Kipp followed her out, "You mean you don't know where it is?" Kipp inquired with a concerned frown. He was beginning to think that D1 was lying, but she reassured him, "I am not familiar with this island; I do not know the terrain without the ship's sensors."

Kipp rubbed his chin in contemplation and then moved away to retrieve a small hydrogen balloon with a sensor pod attached at the end. "This is the last one I have. It's gonna cost you." He grinned, "Very well, if material items are your preference, then you will find I have a great many to offer. That will be your payment for assisting me. When will you be able to launch the balloon?" D1 inquired, and Kipp responded, "We can launch it out of this valley by sunsset. I don't want those loony-toons to spot it and shoot it down. That would be a balloon wasted." He said, calculated, D1 concurred, and they would wait until she was fully charged to launch the balloon by that time. The suns would set. But until then, they just got to know each other better. "Why are you alone?" D1 started the line of questioning. "Because I was formed in the main city and ran away from my state home. I usually don't tell anyone, but you're a droid, so it doesn't matter. I've been out here for like... eleven years?" He said, questioning even himself, which made D1 curious. "So you are a child?" She inquired, "The official term is 'extrusion,' I'm an Omeocoon child! I like that because people don't expect too much from me, and I get to fit into tight spaces. Plus tiny hands," He wiggled his fingers to emphasize the tiny hands bit, "I can grow if I want to... I just don't want to." He said, and D1 took over with the questions again, "Curious, you claim to have run away from a state home. My primary user was a ward of the state. You ran away early, which suggests you did not have parents to coach you on the internal workings of the Omeocoon; how could you know such things about yourself?"

"It's sort of.. hardwired into me? I just know." D1 made note of that in her database about the Omeocoon. "And your items? Where did you acquire such things?" She asked, looking him up and down. He seemed to be rather stocked for someone who 'ran away.' Kipp did not hesitate to enlighten her at all, "I stole 'em!" He said confidently with a laugh, "From time to time, I'll go deep into the woods, you know-- where those tribe patrols go? And set traps for 'em. That's how I got this bag. Some of it I found in the forest, like my toolboxes; I'm the best engineer on this island," He said, pointing to himself with a thumb confidently. D1 highly doubted that in her presence, but perhaps he would be more useful as a secondary engineer. Their current second was Russell, who seemed to have more of an affinity for weaponry than he did for engineering. She just prayed he and Tommy were alright.