Minor Repairs

Writers: Jane, Vix
Date Posted: 14th May 2007

Characters: Rikka, Benaran
Description: Rikka is called to repair an electrical problem and is questioned by Benaran.
Location: Amber Hills Hold
Date: month 4, day 1 of Turn 4

Threadfall, later in the day, would be a quiet time; indoors and busy in the workshop. Early in the morning was more frantic than ever, as if to make up for perceived 'time off' during Threadfall.

Rikka rushed into the main building of the hold, her skirts flapping around her legs as she hurried. This report of electrical lighting failure in two adjoining offices and a storeroom seemed like an easy task, and one she hoped to get out of the way so that she had more time on one of the trickier jobs on her list for the morning. She entered the building and headed off to the right - the east, she supposed, still not too comfortable with the locals' habit of describing directions by compass points. As far as she was concerned, east and west were for seacrafters, not for wings of buildings.

She hefted the leather handles of her tool bag as she walked, and was reassured by its weight. Her other hand went to her brown curly hair in an habitual check that the knot high on her head was still in place and that the halo of wisps wasn't yet out of control. No matter how often she tidied her hair the smallest strands sprang loose and went on their curling way, undermining the smooth, efficient look she hoped to achieve.

Benaran stood in the corridor, tapping his foot impatiently. Electricity was fine, convenient, much more efficient than glows - until it failed. When that happened, he had the onerous task of dealing with technicians, something that he despised. He rarely understood what they had to say, certainly did not understand the process of supplying power to the Hold. He glared around himself, waiting. . .

"Oh, hello," Rikka said as she reached the reported rooms to find a man waiting outside them. "Are you waiting for me?"

Bad enough a technician, but a female one? He sighed heavily. "In here."

"Certainly. Did all the rooms loose light at the same time?"

He regarded her with amusement. "I could hardly be in all of the rooms at one time, could I? When I arrived in this one, the lights would not come on. The others had the same problem."

"Somebody might have been in - It doesn't matter." She operated the switch to check that it was working, listening to the loud click that told her it was moving as it ought to.

"I told you it didn't work," Benaran muttered under his breath, annoyed that she seemed to question him.

"Uh-huh. Just checking the switch is operating," she said, used to her organized assessment of faults being misinterpreted as distrust of the report. She left the switch in the 'on' position and then crossed to the wall lighting and unearthed her small glowbasket to inspect the fitting. Neither switch nor fitting were likely culprits with three adjoining rooms but jumping steps to what was most likely invariably left the technician backtracking to find something less likely. "And that is fine, too. Were you busy in here? Do you need to wait?"

He regarded her with disdain. "The reports kept in these rooms are sometimes of a . . . sensitive nature. I will remain until I'm certain that all is secure."

Then it was the man's choice to wait. "All right. I'll just pop into the other two rooms." She was doing her best to remain pleasant but the man in the shadows was apparently not having any of it.

"And I'll go with you." A female technician? He reminded himself that she was definitely not to be trusted.

In the next room Rikka repeated her checks with the same result; in the third the switch did not make the distinctive sound she was checking for. "Ahh. This might be it." She put the little glowbasket down on the floor and tilted the small mirrors in the lid to throw the soft light onto the switch surround.

"What is it?" Benaran leaned closer, forgetting that this was a woman working in his desire to see what was happening.

"This switch is not making contact and sometimes two or three rooms like this can run on one circuit so that any fault will break the connection for all." She unfastened the screws and gently pulled the switch away from the wall. "In older buildings, mostly."

"_Older_ buildings?" At first the man bristled at this but a thought occurred to him that chased away his indignation. "This . . . if that is the cause, is it likely to happen again elsewhere in the Hold?"

"It can do." She disconnected the switch and cleaned it swiftly. "This should do it," she murmured as she reconnected the wiring and operated the switch where it hung, still away from the wall. The room lit. "Perfect," she said with a smile, pushing the fitting to the wall and refastening it.

"That's it? That's all you had to do?" He had leaned close to watch, studying each move intently. "Why, anyone could do that."

"Yes, this one was easy. Of course, if it had been something more complicated . . . A technician would still need to have been called."

"Minor repairs like this," Benaran waved toward the switch, "residents should be taught to fix them. Most of us know very little about how electricity works, yet there are things that we should not have to rely on technicians to do for us." The holder resented having to rely on others because of their knowledge - especially when those others were female.

Rikka shrugged. "But then you'd have to keep the tools on hand, this little glow basket or one of the wind-up torches. We're already here, and available to come when you need us." She put her screwdriver away and closed up the glowbasket. "After all, you _could_ sweep and scrub your own floors daily, too, to save having to rely on a drudge, but why bother?"

He was taken aback by her question, both because he could not dispute her reasoning and that she was bold enough to speak to him in such a way. Instead he glared at her. "Are you finished now?"

"Certainly. You shouldn't have any further problems but if you do just let the technicians know and I'll come back again." She bent down to gather up her soft-sided tool bag and as she rose she caught sight of the man properly for the first time now that there was light enough to see with. She was sure she recognised him but couldn't exactly put a name to the face.

He frowned at that. "Shouldn't someone more experienced be assigned to the offices of the Lord Holder and his sons?"

_That_ was why he looked familiar. "I'm a journeywoman," she added a belated, "sir," then continued, "I'm capable of carrying out my craft without supervision otherwise I wouldn't have been promoted."

"Hmph." He turned away from her. "I've work to do."

"And so do I, sir. Have a good day."

He waved her off without turning back to her. After all, he had better things to do with his time than talk to women who chose to behave so unconventionally.

Last updated on the May 19th 2007

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Minor Repairs