Stainless Steel Angel

[Just Old Al]

Al went all out – a plate of dark chocolate digestives, a steaming pot of Kona, Jimmy Buffett on the office stereo – and the notebook

Half a biscuit, a deep draught of coffee, “Changes In Attitudes” ringing in his ears, Al opened the cover of the notebook.

The first thing that struck him was that it was a composite book of the old multi-subject type with pouches between the sections – and that both the pages and the pouches were full. This was obviously not just a build record, but was where Rock had organized his thoughts before creating more detailed reports. No small wonder it stayed with the chassis – it likely traveled with him when needed otherwise stayed with the car for anyone to record impressions.

The sections were divided – the first was marked “General”, and the rest for specific subsystems. The last, marked “Engine”, was the smallest of the sections, “General”, the largest.

The material in the General pouch was the first thing to come under his scrutiny. Pulling it all out carefully over the blotter on his desk, it turned out to be a voluminous pile of material.

The earliest document (they were in chronological order and dated) was an inventory of the shipment, signed off by the inspectors in Northern Ireland. Combined with this was the shipping paperwork from AHI at Runnymeade, and the shipping invoices from the carrier. Al made a note – this needed to get scanned and given to Ari to allow her to coordinate the pile of crap they’d pulled out of the hole and the floor above it.

Next were sheaves of diagrams, schematics for wiring – his ideas on the Americanization of the car. Obviously none of this was meant to make it back to DeLorean at the stages it was in, but Rock had some very serious ideas about how the car should be built – and they did not match DeLorean’s. Al had the impression that Rock was thinking about a lot more than supplying engines – but more like buying rolling shells and fitting them out at this very facility with American engines and control systems like Shelby and a latter-day Shelby Cobra. Had that been done, the AHI/Delorean ADMC-12 (Rock’s name for the project) could well have been a world-beater.

Still later in the pack were notes on the components – quality analyses by the metrology staff at AHI, hand-drawn stress analyses, design changes for cost savings, and corrections to the obvious Lotus lightness-at-all-costs designs that Rock’s backroom boys didn’t think would survive American roads.

Right about here, the project crashed. A copy of a letter on AHI stationery dated October 1982 cancelling the project an thanking DMC for its cooperation was stapled to a newspaper clipping of John Z’s arrest for drug trafficking and another detailing Delorean’s bankruptcy.

The tenor of the collected materials changed after this point, becoming less organized and more scattered in content. Rather than being a serious attempt at working within a production framework, this became the notebook of a man tinkering with a project.

Parts crossovers photocopied from catalogues, sets of diagrams scribbled on graph paper, parts receipts from various manufacturers – all in fits and starts with years between them.

All of this ended in late 2001 – nothing was added after that.

Al carefully filed all of the materials in his filing cabinet, in the original order. With that done, he turned to the handwritten pages in the “General” section – and began to read.

[FreeFlier]

AN: THis is a little...dark...be warned.

But ultimately lightening.

--FreeFlier

[GlytchMeister]

AN: THis is a little...dark...be warned.

What is light... without the dark?

[lake_wrangler]

AN: THis is a little...dark...be warned.

I wouldn't call it "dark", per se. It was a well written piece about real emotions felt by people involved in a reconstituted family. True to life (as far as I can tell, I've never been in those shoes...), it was a look into the psyche of a man willing to confront his fear, rather than let it fester. Kudos on Daisy's response.

[lake_wrangler]

Al carefully fled all of the materials in his filing cabinet, in the original order.

So, he hid in the filing cabinet, in order to flee from the material?

[Just Old Al]

it was a look into the psyche of a man willing to confront his fear, rather than let it fester. Kudos on Daisy's response.

Al had two ways to go, there.

First was to pack up the ambulance and just leave. It was the only thing still left that was his before.
The second was to do what he did.

The first was cowardice, the second the brave response. Daisy's response was the brave one as well - she didn't blow off his concerns, she took them seriously and took them to heart - and because of her love helped the demons to go away.

I have a lot of hope for those two.

Edit: FLED:== FILED. Twit.

[Warrl]

Al carefully fled all of the materials in his filing cabinet, in the original order.

So, he hid in the filing cabinet, in order to flee from the material?

A man of Al's size and age would find it difficult to hide in a filing cabinet.

He doesn't fold as well as he used to, probably never could spindle worth a darn, and would in consequence almost certainly end up mutilated in the attempt.

[Sgt. Howard]

I have to confess- the man (the use of the term here is rather charitable) who WAS Annie's husband didn't leave very big shoes to fill... a more loathsome, useless, lazy philanderer, scam artist, check floater, dole recipient you would be hard pressed to find. He all but gift-wrapped Annie for me then took offence when she fell in love with me... and his boys are not interested in him at all. I never spoke ill of him in front of the boys- they came to their own conclusions. The fact that I was living in a homeless shelter when I met them (I worked on one of his guns) and then proceeded to purchase my home had him openly questioning what sort of illicit trade I was in- but nobody took that seriously.
No... Al is learning about himself and about others. That happens, even late in life. And Al is no coward.

[Just Old Al]

The first page was dated 02/07/1981 – and in large letters the words “IT SHIPPED!!!!” were scrawled. Al smiled – he’d had days like that and could well understand the excitement of the day.

The next entry – approximately a month later – was more staid, and definitely the work of a man contemplating the historical impact of his words.

March 9, 1981:

The DMC-12 fitting mule arrived today – in several very big crates. We conveyed them to the underground storage area, and took the assemblies down for the present time to keep them out of the way of current production. We will be fitting this area out for its assembly and testing, once the parts examinations are completed.

I feel very proud of this event – this will be a new chapter for the Alexander Harvesters family. Supplying engines to manufacturers for inclusion in their products – starting with the DeLorean deal – will allow us to grow our markets both nationally and internationally with very little need for additional capital investment in factory space. The current engine plants are underutilized even with the current and projected sales forecasts for AHI products through the late 1980s – and this is an ideal way to use that overcapacity.

I am personally excited for this. The concept of becoming an independent supplier of engines for small-production vehicles will benefit AHI in many ways – and will give me the personal satisfaction of trying to grow the business in ways my father did not think of.

The next five or six pages were all detailed notes on the vehicle’s systems – a deep, in detail analysis of what was found in the uncrating and examination. The technical detail in these was impressive.

We set up the chassis on blocks on the floor and measured its straightness today. By use of plumb bobs and levels we registered it to reference points pre-marked on the floor then dropped lines from the reference points parked on the documentation.

The actual measurements were checked for variation from nominal referenced to the tolerances – and were far better than any of us expected them to be. We found the average to be out no more than 150 thousandths center to center – and that we attributed to tolerance stack.

Planar alignment was very good – the chassis was out no more than fractions of a degree in any direction – and well within the ability of the suspension component alignment to come out right on when assembled.

Assembly should not be an issue if the rest of the components are as good as this seems to be.

The general assembly quality seems to be very good – the finish of the welding is excellent, and the chassis sections sent along for destructive testing (which seemed to be cut from a defective chassis) all tested to well past material failure when stress tested. Sections cut and etched showed excellent penetration of the welds into the parent materials and no voids.

The entries on component testing were all essentially the same – pointing out issues, methods of cost control perhaps not available for a smaller manufacturing facility, much tut-tutting about the amount of hand finishing the components were going to need.

Far too many of the provided components, while of very good manufacture, have not been finished to an adequate standard of edge finish and deburring. Many of them look to have come directly off the punch presses to finish to assembly without tumble finishing, rotary deburring or some type of proper edge preparation. On edges where an owner may come into contact this level of edge breaking is simply unsuitable and I will be relaying this back to DMC as part of my reports on the progress of the analysis of the vehicle.

As he read, Al was taking notes on his computer – he couldn’t bring himself to mark the journal of his predecessor – it felt wrong. As he had that thought he smiled slightly – he wondered what Rock would have made of his desktop workstation – or the sophisticated computers and facilities in the back shop.

However that was here nor there nor anywhere Al wanted to be – from what he’d been told there were ways that conversation could take place – and Al wanted NOTHING to do with it. The toll of that would be far too high for all three souls involved.

Along with the notes on the car’s assembly and testing were notes on the negotiations with DMC and the search for an AHI engine to fit the car. These were not going as well as Rock had obviously hoped, and the board was making his life miserable.

R&D seems to be unable to come up with an existing design of engine to fit the DMC-12 and provide a power increase over the PRV V6 that was provided with the vehicle. With this being the case, I have appealed to the board for funds to search out engine designs that could be procured under license and manufactured in-house to suit.

The Buick 215 aluminum-block V8 engine, at present licensed to Rover Motor Corp for use in their vehicles Al smiled – the old Rover V8 was a staunch friend of his has possibilities especially when fitted with the dual-SU setup that Rover is using. It also does not have the reliability issues that the Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection used on the PRV engines has at present. Lucas is rumored to be developing an electronic fuel injection system for this engine that bears watching.

The board is pushing back on this – the current lack of sales volume at DeLorean is making further investment in this project uninteresting from their point of view. I have barely salvaged the project as it stands.

I hate to admit this to myself, but this is not looking good. This attempt to improve the fortunes of the company by diversification into engines has turned out to be a poor idea – poor choice of partners has turned this into a mistake – not a horribly expensive one, but a mistake. I have lost considerable credibility with the Board, and jeopardized my own position.

I hope to recover, but will need to be careful.

The last entry in the file from the time when the car was still being considered for production was telling – and quite saddening.

I have failed. Under pressure from the board, I was forced to terminate the experiment with DMC. DeLorean’s arrest for drug trafficking (which I refuse to believe is at all true) and the subsequent failure of DMC has killed the project.

I have arranged to purchase the fitting mule from the Company – I can at least build it and enjoy it myself. It will be bittersweet to see it running and drive it – I would love to have brought its design into the AHI fold but it isn’t going to happen.

Today is a sad day.

At the end of this entry Al sighed, and put a sheet of paper in the book to mark his page. There was a lot of technical detail on this car here – he’d written ten or twelve pages – but the emotional cost was high.

He felt sad for Rock – seeing a bright, promising dream of company growth and prosperity wrecked through no fault of his own must have been shattering. Doing so and having to go home to a wife and young son who depended on him, with his position at the head of AHI in jeopardy, must have been shattering.

In a small way he started to see Rock, not as a symbol marked “husband” or “father”, but as a man, not unlike himself. He’d had his own fair share of wins and losses – some of which nearly killed him…as had poor Rock.

Al closed the book, sighed, and turned off the light on his desk. His crew had left shortly before, Ari checking in on him as was her habit.

He left, heart heavy for the man who wrote the words in the book on his desk.

[Sgt. Howard]

Have you ever noticed- those who have spent considerable time in the company of death understand the depth of life?

[GlytchMeister]

Have you ever noticed- those who have spent considerable time in the company of death understand the depth of life?

Like I said earlier: what is light without the dark? Darkness serves to emphasize light. A ray of light in a bright place makes no difference, but a ray of light piercing through a pitch black cave makes all the difference in the world. It's hard to see the value and depth of life when you think you have enough of it... But when you are plunged into a world where you are surrounded by death, darkness, and know that you, yourself, don't have as much time as most people, what life you do have, and what light you can see become all the more important and precious.

[jwhouk]

Like duct tape. There is a light side, there is a dark side, and it holds the world together.

Unlike a DeLorean, which - though it has a shiny side and a dark side, it only gets you to your destination. Unless you have the Transflux capacitor option (sold separately).

[Dave]

Unlike a DeLorean, which - though it has a shiny side and a dark side, it only gets you to your destination. Unless you have the Transflux capacitor option (sold separately).

Meh. Special options purchased from the manufacturer tend to be seriously overpriced. The aftermarket dilithium crystals and Mr. Fusion add-on kits are a much better buy.

Just remember to comply with emission-control laws, though, no matter whose option you buy. Emitting more than one historical paradox per 100 hours of operation is considered temporal pollution and you'll end up facing a heavy fine.

[Just Old Al]

AN: Greg, for the dialogue, the wisdom, and for being my friend - I thank you.
AN2: Thank you to all of my co-authors - JWH, Glytch, Dinky, Taz, Shneekey - and to all of you for reading my drivel.

The next morning Al felt the need for a decent cup of coffee – his soul had taken a little too much of a pounding yesterday. Driving into the city in the Aston, he had his usual old rock and roll on the stereo, but he hardly heard it.

Yesterday was the first time he’d confronted his demon – the demon that he was unworthy to be where he was – or that he was a pet, to be kept and discarded.

“I love her, and she loves me,
But I don’t fit her society
Lord have mercy on the boy from down in the boondocks.”

“Oh for GODS SAKES!” Al snarled, changing the channel on the satellite radio.

Well, that certainly set the mood for the day. This ghost needed to go the Hades away in no uncertain terms – and he would – but the interim was not going to be a pleasant time. Soon after, he found a parking space and eased the Aston into it. Set to NOT blow up if molested he locked up the car and walked the half-block to Mucho Mocha.

The door dinged as he walked in, and Tina, ever-smiling behind the counter, looked up. Her countenance darkened, as she scurried to his order. With the coffee came a pair of warm chocolate croissants and a large Sumatra with molasses – very much not his usual order.

“Tina, I didn’t ask for –“

“Al, you look like Hades – and your aura looks even worse. Greg is at his usual table, and BJ’s not there today. You two go and talk – yell if you want more coffee.” Al reached for his wallet, and Tina waved him off. “Go. Talk. I’ll catch up with you later.”

Fortified with a tray of sugar and caffeine, he headed for the table where his blood brother dawdled over coffee. Looking up Greg started to offer a greeting – till he looked at Al’s eyes.

Al sat down, and passed over the fresh coffee. “How did you know I…forget it, I forget where I am. Tina, right?”

“Got it in one, mate. Greg, I’ve got troubles – and they’re not the kind you can solve with a wrench or a rifle.” Al grabbed one of the croissants and absent-mindedly began to play with it. He really wasn’t hungry..till the chocolate smell hit him.

“So, tell.” Greg, expression neutral, reached for the other croissant till he got his hand slapped. The small attempt at humor did not belie the pain he saw in Al’s eyes, though – and he sobered as the pastry made its way to his side of the table.

“Well, I well and truly spit the dummy at Daisy yesterday.

I doubt any of this is going to be a surprise, but I’m rather…overwhelmed… by my new family. Love them all, but being what I am - and you can keep the insults to yourself – this wealth and position is well beyond what I am used to by a long chalk.

Also – over and over and over again I keep getting reminded of Rock and his accomplishments – running a major international company, husband, father, scion of a powerful family. How in Hades do I compete or even keep up?

Yesterday, it came to a head. I was sitting and staring at the notebook – Ari was nagging me about it and I needed to review the data. I couldn’t bring myself to – I broke.

I called Daisy and told her how I felt about it all – how I hated that damn DeLorean, how I despised touching it because it was the project of a dead man that I couldn’t compete with. She and I talked about it.

Her take is that I am me – and I am not Rock Mk. 2 or Rock Substitute or whatever. She and the family want nothing of me more than what I am – and that thinking anything else is foolish because they love me for what I am.”

Greg thought for long moments. It was times like this he truly appreciated his relationship with Annie – simple, direct, give and take, a love of the ages that looked at nothing other than the love across the table.

“Damn. This is a tough one.”

“First off, she was right. I was there when you two got together – and it was not the engineer or the warrior or anything else that she fell for – it was you. Those are all parts of you, I know, but they had nothing to do with the you that she fell in love with.

I know Buck can’t stand that his mother’s taken up with what he considers engineering help, and Katherine’s gotta be giving him hell over it too. That’s gotta be tough to deal with-“

“TAKE THAT BACK! That is a DAMN LIE!” Al was half on his feet, and the clientele of the coffee shop was edging away.

THWACK!

“You know the rules. Take it outside or play nice.” Tina was not amused.

Greg sat, imperturbable, enjoying his pastry and coffee.

“Eat your croissant. As I just proved, you know as well as I do what the score is here even with your involvement. She loves you, the kids do too, and the young’uns adore you.

The only problem here is YOU. YOU need to get a grip and stop being so damn insecure.”

Greg reached over and put a hand to Al’s shoulder. “You are loved for you. Stop trying so Goddamned hard to fill the shoes of a man no one is asking you to compete with – and you’ll be fine. Also, if you take a look closer, I think you’ll find you filled those shoes perfectly when you and Daisy stepped out to the floor for that Samba, way back when – and that you have ever since.”

“Damn redneck. Why the hell do you have to be right so often?”

“Even a BLIND hog finds an acorn from time to time-" Greg chuckled, " I would say I'm only right when it actually counts. Any man who's been through three divorces and learned NOTHING about the human soul is truly a moron- besides, somebody’s got to lead your ass through the woods – you’ll get lost otherwise. Just be you – that’s all anyone’s asking for. Rock came and went- let him go! Daisy has his memories, that is her property- and from what I see, she has no desire to use that as a yardstick to measure you. Rock died- he was buried and mourned. What you're doing is the emotional equivalent of necromancy.”

"Yaugh! How perfectly vile!!!"

Greg just sat there with that half smile that is his trademark acknowledgement of a point won.

"How do you know these things?" Al asked after a bit of pondering.

Greg took a deep breath and let it go as he considered- "Not sure- probably instinctive- there are not many books on human/centaur relationships, you know... no, actually, I've had relationships where the woman in question did spend quite a bit of time comparing me to an ex... very toxic. Also easy to spot once you've seen it- that's not what you and Daisy have. There will be the rare, occasional moment of "Well, Rock would never do this," or "always do that" or whatever- and you will never hear it... that means nothing, trust me- Daisy is in love with you, a blind man can see that...you've just never seen yourself as a husband, a family man. What you're going through I went through in my first marriage- because I lacked experience and self confidence. I spent a lot of effort being somebody I wasn't... and that assisted greatly in the demise of that marriage..."
They continued as Greg explained some of the mysteries of two souls in full intimacy of each other...

Arania walked into the coffee shop – she’d seen Al’s Aston parked and was puzzled – this was not his usual day to come into town for coffee. She walked up to the counter, and Tina crooked a finger for her to lean closer.

“What happened? I got him to talk to Greg, but he looks like Hades.”

“I don’t know – but near as I can tell he had a meltdown yesterday. Daisy came out and they spent a LOT of time talking in the office, and he was there until very late last night – lots of coffee and his cookies.

It’s not the business – I’d know – but it’s something to do with that damn car build.”

“How are you doing with it? I know you were none too pleased to get stuck with that on top of your other work.”

“Weird enough – I’m kind of figuring out what’s so attractive. It’s a trip – a way to make things happen and MAKE things that didn’t exist before. It’s a good power trip – a power over iron and steel and time.”

Tina grinned. “It’s great to hear you say that.” She sobered again and said “I think he’s going to need your help on this one as much now if not more – this is not going to be a happy time till that damn thing is a car and not a pile of parts. That’s not auras or anything – that’s watching those two talk.”

Ari nodded. “I thought as much. Tell you what – can you let me have a to-go box of your house blend for Smokey and John? This way if he figures out I was here he doesn’t suspect I was checking up on him.”

Order filled, Ari headed for the door, and back to Minnetonka. She was going to be running late, but as long as she made it back before Al and bribed the boys with coffee – and he didn’t seem to be moving – it would be OK. She worried about him sometimes….

[jwhouk]

(Psst: Minnetonka, not Bloomington...)

[Just Old Al]

The chassis returned – and it was a day for celebration. Resplendent in its silvery coating of zinc, it was immediately sent off to AHI’s paint shop for several coats of AHI White over an etching primer – the tough urethane paint used on all of the farm machinery.

While the chassis had been out Ari had sourced four donor rims for the rolling chassis – the original rims had never had tires on them and were not going to be risked during the assembly. Luckily, Volkswagen Golf rims were a close fit, and four spare VW steel rims were bought with junk tires for the chassis to sit on while it was being rolled about the shop.

The work continued on the suspension parts and the engine conversion. The new flywheel had returned, surfaced and balanced for 10,000 RPM. This had been fitted to the LS1 engine, and the new clutch assembly fitted and aligned.

Al, cursing fluently in five languages at the annoyance of mating a French transmission to an American engine, had finished the adapter ring, and with the rebuilt transmission in hand the engine and transmission were successfully mated on the bench. Notwithstanding the ribald commentary from Smokey and John about soft lights and candlelight, the modified starter was fitted and the engine spun on the starter. Nothing clunked, clanked or make grinding noises – it spun smoothly, and the output shafts of the transmission did as well.

Al was MOST pleased.

“Bravo! FINALLY! Lady and gentlemen, we have a powertrain. Ari, how are we coming on the suspension parts?”

“Looking good. Soon as the chassis gets back here we can start refitting it. The new coil-over shocks are here with the springs, all the radius arms have been rebushed, the upper and lower A-arms are refurbished and ready to go on – the car’s rack is in great shape now that we’ve replaced the boots and regreased everything.”

“Brake parts?”

All in and ready to go. Got bulk stocks of materials – cupronickel line and the stainless-steel fittings you told me to source in - to make the hydraulic lines, and the new dust shields and mounts for the Wilwood calipers are ready to go. The flexible lines are all in and ready to go as well – they’re stainless over Teflon – sleeved in black vinyl to make them look like the old rubber. “

“The components?”

“In and ready to go. Sent the calipers out to get them resprayed in cast-iron grey to cover up the aftermarket parts – they’ll look stock.

“Wheels, hubs and bearings?”

“All refitted – new bearings all the way around – she didn’t need them but better safe than sorry. Stock American-made Timken all the way around, with the best high-temp high-pressure grease we could get for them.”

“Confidence level?”

“Five-by, boss.” “Right back atcha, boss.” “We are ready.”

“OK, looks like when Mr. Chassis gets back with his new coat of paint we are ready to start putting it together.”

“Ari – my office, please?”

Ari looked stricken – what had she missed? She walked up the stairs to the office, trailing Al in his battered old flight suit.

“Sit down.” Ari sat on the edge of the chair, leaning forward slightly, feet pressed tightly together.

Al lounged in his office chair – a leather monstrosity fit for a Bond villain that Daisy had bought for him.

“You missed a check in.”

Ari’s mind spun – what had she forgotten? She and Al talked all through the day – what did she forget? “Pardon?”

“A month ago you sat in that chair and told me how much you hated the mechanical work – and that you wanted out. I asked you to give it two weeks. That deadline came and went approximately two weeks ago.”

“So – I ask. Do you want out? I am satisfied that you have learned what I wanted you to – if asked about a procedure in the shops you know what it might be – and know the questions to ask. As such, at this point we could declare this a limited success.”

Was Al kicking her off the DeLorean project? Why? She’d done everything asked, and knew ever so much more than when she started. No, she heard him acknowledge that she had learned and knew what she was doing – then what was this about?

“Do you want to take me off the project? Why? I’ve learned everything you wanted me to – and I’ve done what you asked.” She realized with horror that her claws were starting to show – and hurriedly re-sheathed them.

“Ari, dear – please calm down. I don’t want you to do anything” Oh, yes, he did – but that wasn’t his choice to make “but I am asking for YOUR decision on something.

A month ago, you sat in that chair, balled up on yourself, miserable and unhappy. I asked you to give me two weeks more – and you gave me that and two beyond it. Now, I am asking you – do you want to come off the project? There is no shame or failure if you do – some folks just never develop the fire for engineering that the lads and I have. If you want off, I will thank you for your work and declare the training a success.”

Ari sat stock still, and Al noted with dismay that her claws were extending again. This, coupled with the tension in the air, convinced him that she was going to ask to be removed.

“Al…nothing would make me happier than to continue working on the DeLorean with you and the boys. However, there is one thing I request, no demand.”

“And what might that be, young lady?” Al asked, deadpan. Inside he was dancing a jig with glee – but never show emotion in front of the troops, and all that. Right now she could ask for a raise and a title and he’d likely give it to her – but this was not her aim – he could tell.

“When the key gets turned on that car the first time, I TURN IT. I have been cut, scraped, scratched, burnt, soaked and generally beaten up by that car – when it comes to life I am the one who is going to do it.”

Al smiled – a faint smile. Inside the jig had turned into hysterical laughter – she got it. She really got it. The fire for creation had been lit in the mind attached to those lovely wings – and Al was exultant over it.

“I think I can safely say that is a boon I can grant. Granted. I cannot guarantee you get the first drive as my stepson will no doubt demand it, but the first start is for us here. The honour is yours.”

“I have to be honest, here. I will never want to do this full time – not to down Smokey and John, but I can do more. I will always want to do it, though. Now that I see what can be done – I want to do it. WNG WMN can use some upgrades…”

Al held up his hands, laughing. ”Wait a minute, wait a minute! One step at a time, lassie. Let’s get this one finished then I will make you the deal I have made every person who’s ever worked for me.

The facilities are open for your use, and parts will be sourced at cost – you know what kind of a discount we get from suppliers. However, this gets done outside work hours – and I and I alone determine safety – that is non-negotiable.

There is, however, one more item I need to talk about you – and it’s not good.”

The apprehension returned – what had she done?

“Listen up. The NEXT time I catch you hooking O-rings out of recesses with one of your CLAWS we are going to have words. Claws shed particulates that do not belong in finely finished machinery, young lady, and you will use the proper non-metallic tool for doing so – am I understood?”

Ari nodded, blushing. “Understood. It was just easier…”

“Easier it might be. Right it is not. Mark my words, young lady and sin no more.” Al grinned – he’d gotten everything he wanted and tenfold more. Ari TRULY understood.

“Now, let’s get back to work. Teatime later.”

With that, Al and Ari, pardon Wing, left the office. Smokey and John looked up when they heard the door clack open, and they both looked at Al. Al flashed a thumbs-up at which point Smokey turned to John and said loudly “PAY UP!”.

[GlytchMeister]

When the key gets turned on that car the first time, I TURN IT. I have been cut, scraped, scratched, burnt, soaked and generally beaten up by that car – when it comes to life I am the one who is going to do it.”

Oh, man, that is really, really familiar.

The FrankenStratus kicked my ass too.

[Just Old Al]

When the key gets turned on that car the first time, I TURN IT. I have been cut, scraped, scratched, burnt, soaked and generally beaten up by that car – when it comes to life I am the one who is going to do it.”

Oh, man, that is really, really familiar.

The FrankenStratus kicked my ass too.

Turning the key on a rebuild or a major renovation/repair for the first time is better than sex. And no, it is not the quality of sex that is lacking - it's a completely different generative force. There is a reason I have a machine shop and all the repair toys - and that is because I can't NOT have them.

There is nothing like it - and I am DAMN sure that anyone who's created a machine - or rebuilt one - or done things like that will agree.

That is my personal gift from the Gods - machines and I understand each other. I can't paint, I draw poorly, I sing - badly - but put me in front of a broken anything and I will fix it.

[Warrl]

And when she starts it, someone needs to say "It's ALIVE!!!!"

And someone else needs to say "Congratulations, Dr. Frankenstein."

[Sgt. Howard]

"With that, Al and Ari, pardon Wing, left the office. Smokey and John looked up when they heard the door clack open, and they both looked at Al. Al flashed a thumbs-up at which point Smokey turned to John and said loudly “PAY UP!”."

HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH!!!!!!