Man of Flesh and Cogs (Milton's Awakening)

Despite his grip strength, Milton couldn't find a decent place to grip and tear the panel open. He glanced at the Zeroedge blade at his side but decided against it at the risk of puncturing the tank.
"Drat. Let's see, there should be other tanks around here. SO2... SO2..."
As fast as his feet could carry him, Milton took another lap of the work area for labelled tanks or machines with panels to potentially pry into.

"Jackpot. Hold on, Morgasimer! I found some!"
Spying the lifeless legs of the killed worker, Milton slipped the keycard into his pocket in case he was to return it and unclipped the SO2 tank from the belt of the deceased. Praying to whatever forces would keep Morgasimer alive and kicking, Milton ran back to her side, ready to shoot another dose of immune booster on her request.
"Okay, I'm going to replace the tank. Need to take a deep breath before I swap them out?"

Milton got to work with Morgasimer's tank. Seeing how there was possibly some SO2 left in the bigger tank, Milton would attempt to unlock one valve at a time, speedily attaching the open hose end to the new tank to make sure the airflow to Morgasmier would be as short as he could manage. Should all the hoses be connected to the new tank, Milton would check on Morgasimer to see if the new tank was supplying her the necessary gas.
"Morgasimer, can you breathe?"

Without a supply of energy to the mesh, the patch shredded away into tiny fibers as Milton covered his face from the rushing smoke cloud surrounding him. He attempted to focus his vision to locate Morgasimer to patch the hole up again until he picked up an old yet familiar sound from the center of the fog pocket. It was a distinct hiss and gurgling of soft material much like the sound of sealer gel commonly used in the labs and construction sites to quickly seal pieces of metal together in absence of a more permanent solution. Was this smoke actually doing something to that effect?

As Milton slowly marched towards Morgasimer, he stopped dead in his tracks as he once again saw the spear gun pointed directly between his eyes. With a sigh of both relief and frustration, Milton folded his hands behind his back and spoke as plainly and directly as he could.

"Is there a need to point that gun at me again? I accept your thanks, and I will explain my situation as quickly as I can. Firstly, Junction is a large space travelling civilization that makes regular "jumps" that transports the station to another place in the universe, often colliding with pieces of the world as it did to mine. Currently it is located in close orbit above a clearing just down the path. Secondly, I have previously identified myself as Milton Oak, but I also may be recognized by my model name NLP-12-5, as is marked on my body. Thirdly, I am not from an established civilization site on this planet. I came down from Junction to investigate the civilizations down here and perhaps bring back a flower for a friend. Is there any info you wish to share on your civilization?"

"Space traveling..." at those word's Morgasimer's arm would drop like a dead weight, her glowing red view port pointed directly at Milton. She listened to the rest of his explanation silently. Once he finished she slowly looked down at the grass below her shoes, the green lush blades curling and browning as the last of her old tank's gas slowly leaked out "You've... Been to space?" her voice became small, inquisitive "Y-You can take me into space!?"

Before Milton could respond however, Morgasimer would quickly go to the panel that he had tried to remove earlier. After producing from her suit a key card not unlike the one Milton had looted, she opened the panel, relieving several dozen tanks like the one she had on her back. Without a word or warning she tossed two to Milton and took two for herself. "What do you breath?"

So Morgasimer was fairly excited about the prospect of space travel as Milton was when he discovered where he was upon Junction's visit to Orbis Centra. Milton couldn't help but smile as he felt a connection with Morgasimer on the subject, brushing aside the harpoon gun that now dropped away from his face. Milton thumbed at the keycard in his pocket as he watched Morgasimer slide open the panel and retrieve the gas canister and pass him a pair.

"if that is what you desire, I believe I can help you gain citizenship into Junction. However, due to the nature of Junction's jumps, returning will likely not be possible once we depart. As for what I breathe, I normally take in oxygen with allowable traces of other oxides. However, my respiratory system isn't organic, so I can take in most types of non-fatal oxides with filtration in absence of oxygen. Considering the toxic gases in your canister, can I assume your people similarly breathe in SO2?"

"Well, SO2 is not a hospitable gas for me to breathe in, but I make do. We'll see if we can set you up in a biodome once we get there. This way."
With Phobetor now in Milton's arsenal of abilities and Morgasimer following close behind him, Milton made his way back to the clearing he arrived in. Stopping to pluck a flower in the foliage as they walked, Milton stood back with Morgasimer and loaded a flare in his firearm to signal the driver. Once the driver arrived, Morgasimer and Milton travelled to Junction, Milton imparting his communication number to get into contact with him once she was settled.

"There must be a grand tale to tell down on that planet. Morgasimer might just be the source I need to make the most of my trips. Hope they don't mind me keeping this keycard in the meantime...

[End]