Page 45 of Pandora: Alien Games

“Oh, my moon Goddess! It’s you, the one from the prophecy!”

He prostrated himself on the dirty floor in front of me, his forehead touching my feet.

“You’re embarrassing me, Dadoo,” whispered Hassym. “Stop acting so crazy.”

Dadoo still placed his forehead against my foot, His lips touched my sandals. “I’m honored, oh Sky Sent one. I’m your servant, don’t mind Hassym. He’s a heathen and doesn’t understand anything else but the way of the sword.”

I smiled. “Does he, Dadoo? I’m thankful for your help and happy to meet you. Will you tell me more about Hassym? I’m curious.”

Dadoo stood. He was as tall as Hassym and towered over me. “How may I help you?”

“Hassym said something about armor.”

“Yes, it belonged to one of the warriors of the Gods. I tried to clean and fix it, but it’s beyond my humble abilities.”

“Can I see?”

Dadoo walked me into a small workspace that was well lit. The workshop was larger than my old bunk I used to work on inventions. There were items and pieces of tech that looked foreign. I had no idea what they were for, but my little tech-loving heart bear faster with each item I saw. For a normal person, it seemed like a pile of junk, tech plates, circuits, and wires mixed with the beautiful, sweet scent of oil and cold tech.

A vest of armor in poor shape waited for me on the table under the work light. It was once glorious, colored in black with gold and green, and created for a female. A few pressure points on the armor that I wanted to research closer attracted my attention.

“Whatever you need, my shop is yours. My hands are yours.”

A set of electro screwdrivers sat on the table. This was clearly not of human fabrication and I had to what was going on. The moment I touched the armor, I felt the same way I did when I pushed open the door to Hecla’s sanctuary.

I sense a humming, a vibration.

“What are you using for power?” I addressed Dadoo who watched me. Hassym disappeared somewhere. I don’t care. Fuck him!

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know. All I know is it’s not from the Sphinx. I tried to clean it up and make it work, but it was impossible. I was afraid I’d damage it.”

I touched the surface and found a small indentation in the back. I pushed on it. A small cache opened. The only thing inside was a small, purple crystal.

“I assume this armor is not from your world either?” Dadoo asked.

“No. I don’t see a power source. I need to continue my research. I have no idea what I’m doing. Do you mind?”

Dadoo shrugged. “I wish I could help. Take what you need. You can’t break it because it’s already broken. I’ll bring you a tea. Good?” Dadoo spoke with an accent. I enjoyed his sweet, melodic voice.

I felt lost in a maze. Sky, you can fix stuff. I know you can fix this. Come on, girl!

There had to be a spare part here. This place was wonderland for an engineering freak. I had free rein but my time was limited. Eventually, I would have to return to the castle.

I opened the body armor but could not see anything. No entrance for a power source. Nothing.

Damn.

Would it fit me? I kept feeling this need to try it on.

Dadoo entered with a small cup of tea that smelled wonderful.

“Dadoo, help me, please. What if the armor works with energy from the body? I read some stuff about experiments made with body heat and kinetic energy.”

Dadoo held the armor for me and I slid my upper body into it. The moment he closed the cocoon around me, it felt right. I took a deep breath but nothing happened. It felt heavy, a huge weight pulling my light body toward the ground. My heart beat faster.

Faster.

My heart and breathing went nuts. I sweated and felt stupid as fuck. Frozen space rats, how could I even think that getting the armor closer to my body would fix it?

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