Chapter 12 - The Old Man's Deal

Old Mister Drill's shop must have been the tiniest building on the whole of Mecha. It was only two storeys, and the sign out the front was hand-painted.
"Hello?" Adam called as Meow parked the ship at the front of the shop. She was silent, but the tears had finally stopped flowing down her cheeks.
"Hello!" A voice called back, as an old man appeared from around the back. Leaning on a metal cane the old man hobbled over to the ship.
"Looks like your on-board computer's down." The old man smiled at Adam's shocked expression. "Surprised, little furry thing? I'm Drill. I'm one of the few people here on Mecha who can actually fix things. I can tell at a glance what's wrong with your ship."
"Well, you're right about the on-board computer. A lady-robot suggested we pay you a visit."
"Ah." Drill smiled. "You mean KT83. She works at that big-ol' place down the street."
"That's her." Adam replied. Then he thought for a moment. "What kind of money do you take? All we have are Mauan credits. Will you fix it?"
"I s'pose I can." the old man said, "But i have to pick my granddaughter up from school, so you'll have to wait."
Adam frowned. He looked at Meow's sad face. Mister Drill noticed it too.
"Something troubling you, Missy?" Meow said nothing.
"What if we picked your granddaughter up and brought her back here?" Adam asked. "Then you could work on our ship."
"I s'pose that could work too. Consider that your payment for my service." The old man smiled. "My granddaughter's name is Mika. She's in class 37 at the school on Street 3467-C. I'll get straight to work."
Adam and Meow thanked Drill and exited the shop.

It took Adam and Meow about an hour to reach Street 3467-C on foot. Meow was silent the whole time, and after a while Adam gave up trying to talk to her. Adam was having a lot of trouble trying to figure out how the numbering system of the streets worked, and Meow wasn't helping at all." They turned around a corner, and came face-to-face with a huge silver building covered in neon lights and the letters "3467-C School for Future Mechanics".
As soon as Adam and Meow walked through the automatic doors, a loud buzzer rang, followed by an electronic voice.

Within a minute a mass of children between the ages of about five and fourteen flooded out of the nearby doors into the lobby, all taking loudly.
Adam jumped onto Meow's shoulder and shouted at a group of three little boys. "Hey! Do you know a girl called Mika?"
The boys turned to look at them. Meow could see they were holding some small pieces of metal. She wondered what sort of things they tought children at a school for mechanics. Quite frankly, she thought it was dangerous for such young children.
The oldest looking boy sneered at them. "What on earth is that furry thing on your shoulder? You should get that checked out, lady."
Meow frowned. "Hey, we asked if you know Mika, Mika Drill?"
"Yeah, she's in our class but she's pathetic. So she had to stay behind to talk to the teacher." The boy motioned to the pieces of metal. "That's how we ended up with this." The three boys snickered and ran out of the doors.
"What was that about?" Meow asked Adam.
"I don't know, but I guess Mika must still be in her classroom. Let's find her and take her home to her grandfather."

Meow walked down corridoors and up flights of stairs until she finally found Classroom 37. She could see a young girl of about seven and a small robot sitting at a table. The girl looked upset.
"Mika, is that you?" Meow walked over to her.
"...yes..." the girl answered shyly.
"I'm Meow. I'm here to pick you up, because your grandfather's working on my ship." Meow explained.
"Wait a minute!" The small robot glared at her. "How do I know that story's legitimate? I can't just let Mika leave with a total stranger!"
"Oh, of course!" Meow was a little taken aback. "Um... I'm a Sailor Soldier, if that helps."
"So show me." The robot demanded.

"Kitten Power!" Meow cried. Adam was engulfed by fluorescent green light, and was absorbed into the Kitten Soul Mirror. Bright lights flashed all around Meow as she closed her eyes. When she opened them she realised that instead of her blue sailor fuku, she was wearing a silver Sailor fuku with acid-green ribbons, and her hair was also acid-green. She had Adam's cat ears and tail but this time they were a light grey colour.

"Wow!" Mika gasped. "That's great!"
"Alright." the robot sighed. "I guess a Sailor Soldier is a trustworthy escort." He turned to leave, then called back over his shoulder. "Remember what I said, Mika. You have to concentrate and try harder in class. Otherwise you'll fail."
"I will!" Mika promised. She turned to Meow. "I can't believe Grandpa sent a Sailor Soldier to pick me up! Thank you so much!"
"No problem." Meow assured her. "Are you ready to go home?"
"But I can't!" Mika cried. "You see, the thing is, my little Robo got stolen. I have to rescue him!"
"What?" Meow asked, not really sure what else to say.
"I bet it was those Wrench brothers!" Mika said angrily. "They usually play at the scrap metal yard after school. We have to go there and save Robo!"
Adam's voice resonated from Meow's brooch. "Your grandpa said we were supposed to pick you up and take you home."
Mika's eyes filled with tears, and she grabbed Meow's hand. "Please! You're a Sailor Soldier, aren't you? You have to help!"
Meow smiled. "Alright, Mika. Let's go find those boys."
"To the scrap metal yard!" Mika cried.

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