[SNEAK PEEK]Self-Locomotion
Story by limewah on SoFurry
Markus runs tests on his new Neon Drone.
Thumbnail Art by Crisstail
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Self-Locomotion By Limewah Subscriber Reward for RMED (Mar 2024) 18+ SNEAK PEEK
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The Neon Drone went quiet.
“Eugh…” Markus sighed. His long golden and white tail slowly moved in front of him. He slipped his stylus back into the tool-belt wrapped and nestled in the fuzz..
The Neon Drone was still standing, at least…it looked comically morbid with that head flopping around loose inside it though, like a zombie with a broken neck.
Markus reached up, letting his fingers find the seam in the soft, almost fleshy synthetic material. He peeled it up and back, hearing the suck and hiss of the insulating seal breaking. The pink tendrils lazily wrapped around Markus’ wrists as he worked, with something that could have been mistaken for curiosity.
But Markus knew better than to assume that. It was a drone, after all - an unthinking machine.
SEAL COMPROMISED.
“Yeah yeah, don’t worry,” Markus said. “I’ll stick you right back in just a tick…”
He peeled the head-piece up and off, catching hold of the mannequin head before it could fall on the floor.
“The one thing I chose to skimp on,” Markus chuckled to himself as he examined the blank white canvas face, with a vaguely canine-shaped snout. It looked like the joint was loose.
It’d be an easy enough fix for now.
He gently set the head-piece aside on the bench, and stood on his tiptoes to slide the head back into place.
“A little epoxy will hold you in place,” he murmured. “You don’t need to turn your head anyway.” As his left hand held the mannequin head where it was meant to be, his right hand moved in. His thumb and ring finger pressed together, and the black fluid in his right pauldron slithered down the tubing and oozed out of the holes. The tarry epoxy bound to the metal joints, and Markus took hold of the head with both paws to keep it steady.
NO LIFE SIGNS DETECTED.
“Well, no, that’s because- huh?”
Markus’ laugh was cut short as he did a double take, looking at the Neon Drone’s head-piece still resting on the table. Its tendrils were still moving, its visor was flashing and pulsing. It should at least have gone into power saving mode…
“Hmm, that’s unexpected…” Markus tutted, curiously. He released his grip on the mannequin head and turned towards the helmet. “Right, let’s put you back on…”
As he lifted it up, there was a stunningly sharp pulse of light from the visor-screen. It stopped Markus dead in his tracks, his body seizing up in paralysis.
HOST DETECTED. RE-INTEGRATING.