Xanadu Weyr-Innovation Hall
The interior of the Innovation Hall facility is more spacious than it appears from the outside. It's also pretty much best described as orderly chaos. The rectangular shape of the building is taken up by a series of three sided stalls that line each of the walls. Eight in all each one is just big enough for several people to work in and are of different configurations; some having shelving and tables and some having a more open design that allows work from the floor up. In any case, the back of each work space is open to the main room to promote the common use of tools and the sharing of ideas. Two offices are on either side of the main entrance at the north and two more exits, seldom used, are located east and west in case a quick getaway is needed. The south end of the building features a very heavy door that is labeled DANGER in very clear red lettering. Access is restricted but it's pretty well known that behind there are two more stalls for special and dangerous projects.
It's the middle of this place that makes it work! Shelves full of just about every kind of tool someone could imagine are strategically placed so that nobody has to walk farther than anyone else to get to them. Quite a lot of parts populate those shelves as well from new-fangled electronics to old fashioned gears and gizmos along with the raw materials to make them. Comfortable chairs, arranged in three sets of two each scatter the free space and a sofa is tucked neatly into a corner.
The decor is kept quite simple with floors of glossy, polished marble and walls of what appear to be wood panel. Appear to be. It's actually some synthetic thing the plastic craft has concocted up and shows under close inspection. Fabrics, decorations and the like (along with most things that don't need to be there that could potentially be set on fire) are kept to a minimum. Here and there, clever designs and schematics have been allowed to go up on the walls but those are generally removed fairly quickly.
There's a handsome bronze curled up on the beach somewhere sound asleep. It's mid morning. Too late for breakfast. To early for lunch. What's a rider to do on their off day while waiting for the next meal. No, really? WHAT SHOULD HE DO? Za'ariah finds himself at loose ends. A boring cleaning session in his nearby weyr has given him the proper excuse to be….well here. Just past the entrance outside is a large pile of…wood? It could be some sort of furniture but it's hard to distinguish quite what it is. A bed? A desk? Shelves? It's seen better days whatever it is. Za'ariah is in the middle of this place stalking the shelves and muttering to himself. "Toolls…where are the tools…hmm, this could help. But any saws…."
Tools, did someone say tools? A loud thud from one of the workbenches followed by a grunt and then springing seemingly from the either (really just beneath the workbench), a younger man with a wild shock of dark curls and over-large welding goggles peers at the muttering bronzerider with sudden and intense curiosity. The gangly lad slides up the goggles as he makes his way over, "What kind of tool do you need," giving the pile of wood a dubious glance, "Or do you need repairs completed." Asks Veylin
"Gah!" Zach jumps about a foot in the air with his hand to his chest. "Where did…I didn't…you…" he stammers, his heart pounding in his chest as he looks around to see where exactly Veylin popped out of. "Gah." he says again. "Don't jump out from no where like that!"
Vey smirks a little at the bronzerider's reaction. "Come on, wheezy little nerd like me scaring a big ol' bronzerider like you?" Then, peering at the knot at the man's shoulder with a broad and unrepentant grin.
"This place has a giant red door with DANGER written on it. Where else in this weyr should I pop out? The ceiling? I could probably rig the electrics for a drop ladder if I tried…" FOCUS VEY. He shakes his head as if clearing the errant thought from his brain pan. "But back to the initial query, what did you break, and do you require assistance? I am supposed to assist if asked, per the Apprentice rules." The kid looks a little old to be a mere apprentice, but there you have it.
Za'ariah barely spares a glance towards the rank knots on his shoulder as if forgetting he even put them on today. He did! Lookit that. "I'm not a big ol' rider. I'm just Za'ariah." a shoulder lifts in a shrug. Another quick look this time upwards towards the ceiling. "Why would you come out of the ceiling?" blink. "Oh right. Right." a firm nod. "Broken. Right. My shelves. Well…nightstand..Wait. Bedstand." he can explain things, honest. Deep breath. "My headboard shelves are crooked. I tried to straighten them. It uh…didn't work." he finishes a tad sheepishly with one hand absently rubbing the back of his neck as he expains. "See, I can fix smaller problems but I think I made this one worse to be honest." "You are an apprentice here?"
Vey laughs, "Eh, your dragon's big, so still counts?" Visibly relaxing as Za'ariah starts explaining, pursing his lips to the side before immediately snagging a bag and stuffing various implements into the bag. Some seem reasonable, like a saw, hammer, and screwdrivers, while others seem more questionable. What will he do with a whole spool of wire, mini electrical lights, and a sodering kit? "What happened? Get a little too adventurous and wrecked the bed?" Snagging more components and switches. Run while you can, Zach. "Yes… Technically speaking. Haven't been here long, though; it is a new assignment. I got traded in from Monaco after accidentally making someone's computer explode. But I hail from Blackmoon Hold Originally."
You say, “Bed's fine." Za'ariah says dismissively. Narrow eyes watch the tool gathering warily. "All that is needed?" he wonders. "Wait…you um.." looks around. "Okay to work on this?”
Veylin glances around and shrugs, "I finished fixing the outlets under the workstation; they should provide twice the power output now needed for the power tools. Before you ask, I did remember this time to put a warning down to only use the high voltage stuff at the station." He shrugs, "And when I do a job, I do a good one; call it a matter of pride. Or a mental deficiency…. look, I know they call me gremlin, but it's just a nickname that is utterly unwarranted." He hand waves, "What about you? You always been a weyrbrat, or did they drag you to the sands from somewhere else?"
Za'ariah nods as if he understood anything Veylin just explained. "Warnings are good." That's all he has for that to be honest. "Hmm? Oh no no, I was in a trader's caravan. Lived out on my own was here looking for work." found work alright. "Never actually been in here before though. Thought maybe I might be able to find some books to help me fix them up.
Veylin says, “Huh, that had to be an exciting way to grow up, traveling all over Pern instead of just hearing about it from stories. Do you still do the trader thing as a rider or - you know, I don't know what most riders do. My perspective is skewed and frankly biased."”
"Haven't really been part of the traders for turns now. Left that life behind me when I was 16." oh so long ago! Cause he's so old at what? 19? 20? "You always ask so many personal questions before helping someone fix something?" wonders Za'ariah.
"Inquiry is the first step in the scientific process. Knowing all your safety gear is the second." Vey turns a moment as though realizing something, intently studying Zach's face before nodding to himself firmly. "Plus, a naggy sister told me that I should attempt to make new friends at this posting. You seem close to my age unless I miss my guess, so potentially a friend? So lead on to the shelves, my friend, and I shall make with the technical magic."
"Ah. Naggy sisters. I was lucky enough to be the only child. But there were plenty of other kids in the caravan." not that he was friends with any of them. His next statement proves it. "Annoying they were all though. But I suppose friends are a good thing to have." "But anyway…just this way." he leads the way to where his poor shelves need fixing. "I'm just a little over 20." he'll note once there. "How old're you…..?." he falters on the name
"Veylin, or Vey if you like." He offers, listening thoughtfully as the rider speaks, "The island was like that, huge families and more kids than anyone can shake a stick at, but - I dunno, does it sound arrogant to say that I don't think I fit in with the rest of them?" Falling into step next to Zach with an easy gait. "18, I've been an apprentice for over four months now."
Za'ariah spares a glance upwards as a bronzed shadow looms overhead before angling away from the hall. Once they reach the shelves outside he leans against them casually. "Oh I know all about not fitting in with people." a sympathetic grin is cast towards Vey. "You really think you can fix these?"
Veylin surveys the shelves with a keen eye as he listens. Then, pulling out the square and level from the bag and eyeing the nearby wood pile critically, and then Zach's biceps even more critically. "Think you can saw a straight line?" He asks, not unkindly. A tape measure appears, and Vey scribbles notes directly onto the wood. "Might have to use the drill for a few spots, but it's doable. I forget Xanadu Weyrs are more cottages and fewer impossible cliffsides, must be nice when you have to move weyrs. "
You say, “Oh sure, I can totally saw a straight line." more or less. He waits, arms crossed as Vey does notes and all that. The shadow returns as Deajienth does a windy landing to blow their clothes briefly. "Hmm?" Zach's eyes unfocus briefly. "Thought I'll have to leave you alone with this project for the moment. I've got a matter come up. I'll be back in a little bit though." he promises. "And I can help ya with whatever is needed then.”
Veylin salutes and returns to work at hand with the glee of a child set before an endless supply of legos and given free rein to build whatever their heart desires. "I got this, and you are in excellent hands." Such excellent hands that by the time the poor bronzerider returns, his headboard has been tricked out with recessed twinkle lights in varying colors with a set of neatly written instructions explaining the switches and secret booze compartment access installed with gears and pullies and everything! It details the visible light spectrum, the benefits of red light and blue light, and how to operate the tiny switches or send them in a wild pattern to 'impress' the ladies or lads since Vey doesn't judge either way. Unfortunately, the tech crafter is nowhere to be found and likely called off to torment another soul.