“Are you sure he can’t come with us?” Issi asked for what must have been the fifth time this morning.

  “He’s designed to monitor the feeds and report important information to me, not escort you guys around,” I replied as I poked at the bowl of soggy cereal in front of me.

  The little girl stood up on her chair, leaned forward on the table, and gave me the biggest puppy dog eyes in the world. “Please?”

  The two of us engaged in a staring contest for several seconds, me through half-lidded eyes, her eyes wide and shining, until I finally sighed. “Fine. It’s built on the same combat frame as all the other bots, and I can’t really test it until we get closer to Indianapolis anyways. It can escort you for today’s outing, just don’t expect this to be a regular thing.”

  “Hurray!” Issi cheered, throwing her hands up in victory. She took a moment to carefully sit back down on her chair before hopping off and running over to the bot. “Come on, Mr. Snoops, let's get you ready for today’s adventure!”

  The Scottish terrier nodded. “We need to be prepared; you never know what sort of filth we might find hiding in the shadows!”

  As Issi pulled the bot back towards her room, Eddie and Jennifer both turned towards me, giant smirks on their faces.

  “What?” I grumbled.

  “Despite your constant grumbling and nearly compulsive swearing, deep down you’re a real softie,” Eddie snorted. “And Issi knows just how to push your buttons.”

  “Maybe… but the truth is it was a pretty minor request, and I like to spoil you kids. If the bot was dangerous, I never would have let it anywhere near you all,” I said, before shoving a spoonful of soggy amorphous blobs into my mouth. It took me a couple seconds to chew through and swallow the disgusting, slimy mess. When I was done, I picked up the box and shook it at the kids. “How can you possibly eat this on a daily basis?”

  “What’s wrong with wheat-like puffs?” Eddie asked before shoveling what seemed like half a bowl of cereal into his mouth. “They’re tasty! And they have twenty-five percent of your recommended daily sugar intake!”

  “That sounds like a lot,” I muttered.

  “It’s the healthiest cereal on the market,” Jennifer replied. “Most have between sixty and a hundred and twenty.”

  “It tastes like someone found soggy cardboard and dumped sugar on it,” I grumbled. “You should eat something healthier.”

  Eddie hunched down and shielded his bowl. “This is the only semi-unhealthy meal that we’re allowed to have. It only happens once a week, when everyone’s too tired to make breakfast. You can’t take it away from me!”

  “I absolutely could,” I said, causing the boy’s eyes to go wide in fear. “But I won’t. It’s fine for you to have a treat occasionally, just not all the time.”

  I picked up my half-full bowl and carried it to the sink and poured the entire thing down the drain. “Just don’t expect me to eat it.”

  “More for me!” Eddie declared.

  After placing my bowl in the dishwasher, I wandered back to the table and sat back down across from the kids. “So, I feel like we haven’t had a lot of time to talk the last few days. How are you kids liking the vacation so far?”

  “It’s good… I wasn’t a huge fan of Yellowstone, and I’m not looking forward to the Badlands,” Jennifer admitted. “I prefer the noisy, industrial nature of the city. The outdoors unnerve me.”

  “You’re not the only one,” I muttered.

  “You’re both crazy. Yellowstone was amazing! I filled an entire notebook with my thoughts and poems! The scenery was breathtaking, and I can’t wait until we arrive in the Badlands,” Eddie declared after he finished chugging the remains of the gross slurry in his bowl.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “Everyone’s different,” I told the boy. “That’s why we’re stopping at a lot of different places. Both highly curated, artificial attractions in the cities and the natural wonders outside of them. Hopefully, when we’re done, everyone will have made memories they can cherish.”

  “You sound like one of those mesh getaway ads,” Eddie snorted.

  “Hey. There’s a reason people flock to that sh…slop,” I exclaimed. “People want to experience this sort of stuff; most of them just can’t afford to leave their apartments or are afraid to leave the city. You’re just lucky to experience it in real life.”

  “And we appreciate you bringing us on this once-in-a-lifetime adventure,” Jennifer solemnly declared, before elbowing Eddie in the ribs. The boy jumped in surprise, then nodded.

  “Well, I’m glad you’re both enjoying it,” I replied with a smile. I started to get up again, but before I did, a thought occurred. “Is there anything you two want, or need, for the Badlands outing?”

  “More notebooks!” Eddie immediately declared. “I’m running out!”

  “Didn’t Nyx provide you with a dozen when we left?” I asked suspiciously.

  “They provided me with ten,” Eddie replied. “I used two for journals and filled seven more with my thoughts. I’m down to my last book.”

  “How… We left Calgary less than two weeks ago,” I said blankly.

  “I had a lot of stuff to write about,” Eddie sniffed.

  “Fine, I’ll make sure you have a couple extra before heading down,” I said, before turning to Jennifer. “What about you?”

  The girl shifted in her seat uncomfortably. “Actually… would it be possible for me to stay up here and work on one of my projects?”

  “You don’t want to go down to the Badlands?” I asked, surprised.

  “Not really. I looked up the area on the net, and it’s just a bunch of fancy rocks and hills. I don’t mind going down if you guys need someone to look after Issi again, but I can’t imagine walking around and being entertained for more than five minutes,” she admitted.

  “That’s fair, the outdoors aren’t for everyone,” I said. “You sure?”

  She hesitated a moment, then nodded. “Alright. I know the ship is absolutely full of bears, so you won’t be in danger, but I’ll ask Deadbeat to stay behind and keep you company, just in case.”

  When I agreed, Jennifer finally relaxed, sagging in her seat. “Thanks, Evie.”

  “Hey, I get it. Nature isn’t for everyone,” I replied. “What are you working on these days anyways?”

  “Oh! I have a couple projects,” Jennifer exclaimed excitedly. “I’ve been messing with wrecked hover engines for a while, and I’ve gotten pretty good at repairing them. I’ve been trying to find a good way to use them to help the people around the neighbourhood. But because the repaired engines both require a lot of power and can be a little unreliable, I haven’t had any good ideas. Until now!”

  The girl grinned excitedly and pulled a ratty, beat-up notebook out from behind her back.

  “Have you been carrying that around with you the entire time?” I asked.

  “Of course, you never know when you’ll find inspiration,” Jennifer replied. “I’m sure that’s one thing Eddie and I can agree on.”

  As she flipped through the book, scraps of discolored paper containing rough sketches floated out. Although they might have been just basic ideas, each one contained exact measurements and a list of questions or reasons why the plan wouldn’t work. Each time one fell out, Jennifer gently gathered them up and slipped them back into their proper place. Finally, she found what she was looking for and placed the book down on the table so everyone could see.

  The page contained a complicated technical drawing and a ton of tightly packed notes, so it took me a minute to parse what I was looking at.

  “It’s a truck…?” I asked.

  “Sort of. I picture a single cab, mounted to the front of a frame, that can support multiple payloads. The two main forms it would take would be a flatbed truck and a bus,” Jennifer explained excitedly.

  “And this solves your problems… how?” I asked, confused.

  “Hover engines may draw a lot of power, but most of the draw occurs when they lift a vehicle into the air. I discovered that if I made a couple minor changes, I could limit the amount of power the engines draw, limiting them to hovering a foot or less off the ground. At that height, the engines support more weight, and the power draw is so low the engines could be powered by a rechargeable battery instead of a reactor,” she explained proudly.

  “That’s great,” Eddie muttered. “You would still need someone to invest in these rattletraps, and even the most successful small businesses around the shelter wouldn’t be willing to invest in some untested junk pile.”

  Jennifer’s expression fell slightly, and she opened her mouth to reply, but I cut her off. “I would.”

  The kids both turned towards me in shock and surprise.

  “If I want the undercity revitalization project to succeed, we need low-cost alternatives for transportation. I know old-fashioned ground vehicles would be simpler, but we don’t combustion engines and tires. What we do have are scrapyards full of hover vehicles. I can use your design to set up a bus line and test it out. If it works, people may want them to help around the area… if they’re cheap enough,” I said.

  “Evie! Thank you!” Jennifer exclaimed, shooting out of her chair and coming around the table. I held up a hand to stop her before she got too excited.

  “Although it looks like a solid design, I’m not a mechanical person, so you’ll have to work with the beavers to work out the technical problems and finalize the design. If they approve, we’ll discuss it further. Fair?”

  “Totally fair,” Jennifer exclaimed, nodding her head. “I should put something together so I can explain my vision. Thanks, Evelyn!"

  As the girl rushed back down the hallway, back towards her room, Eddie turned and looked at me. “If I may bring up my point from earlier… You’re a real softy.”

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