Dragon Drive: Prototype

By Mitchell Koehler

Crios is a not-so-ordinary employee in his uncle's ordinary repair shop. When one day a couple of guild members show up, word gets out about his amazing skills. In no time the shut in Crios makes friends and heads out into the world, trying to prove how extraordinary he really is. Although soon he finds out that he is who he is for a reason, and he's part of a much greater plot all revolving around him and his guild, Dragon's Den.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mitchell Koehler
• Release date: Mar 5, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463500255

Mitchell Koehler

I've been writing for about a decade now, mostly sci-fi, fantasy, or some mix of the two. I hope to expand my horizons a fair bit as time goes on, so look for more things from me in the future!

Book preview

Dragon Drive: Prototype

By Mitchell Koehler

© 2014-2020 Mitchell Koehler. All rights reserved.

---Change of Season---

Crios Myshcell once again found himself in front of a computer monitor, up late after a long day of mind-numbingly simple work. The backroom to his uncle’s Kruxsetting shop was dimly lit by the ceiling lights at a quarter power, and filled with the hum of Krux condensers and the tapping of his pencil. He was trying to come up with a solution to a problem sent to him.

Crios’ day-to-day job was to repair broken electronics, appliances, and everyday machines powered by crystallized Ux, which was by no means something just anybody could do. This Ux is crystallized naturally or by condensers to create crystals known as Krux, which were the primary source of energy for the systems they were placed in. The function of the Krux and their systems are based on the Type of Ux they contain. These systems are commonly referred to as Matrices to differ from systems that had a different source of power.

What made Crios stand out from any other Kruxsetter working in an everyday store was that he had an almost innate affinity for his work. Where others would throw up their hands at trying to learn the habits of seventeen different Types of Ux in such complex systems, Crios just somehow knew at the young age of eight, when his uncle took him in.

Crios himself had grown up in the eleven years since he showed up with only a letter and a melancholic look. His chin had finally grown in, and outside his chosen attire, he looked older than he was. His blue headband was still on his forehead, slightly damp from the uncomfortably warm room. He wore a thin grey tank top that barely covered his shoulders. The edge of a scar on his chest was visible on his left side. With a pair of navy blue shorts, with a red stripe down the right side, and a pair of multicolored sneakers, he looked ridiculous.

Crios’ uncle, who he called Mr. Prickett as a child because he was more of a mentor than a foster father, told him that he looked like his father at first glance, but had the same eyes he and his sister shared, though they were now a shade of dark grey. Crios shared that sentiment, but with the curious lack of pictures of his father, he had no real proof outside his uncle’s words.

Another message popping up on his screen broke Crios away from his thoughts, but he quickly returned to thinking without replying. Instead, he let the numerous other people in the small chatroom, in an obscure corner of the Nexus, reassure the person with the problem that Crios would without a doubt come up with something.

It was around the time arguments were breaking out about Crios’ inexperience in irrigation pumps when Crios asked if the requester was using the pumps constantly or in spurts of work; Crios chuckled when they replied the latter.

Those pumps are powerful and use little energy when constantly running, but take a lot of energy to first start up. You’re going to want to swap them out for the Lite series, or if you’re experienced enough with irrigation pumps you can just swap out the case and turbines for a third of the cost.

Crios chuckled again as he was met with the online equivalent of stunned silence, logging off before anyone else could ask him for something. He stood up and stretched. A glance at the clock on the wall made him sigh and regret the coming day. ‘I should start stopping at midnight or something. At least then I’d have seven hours of sleep.

This one-in-the-morning shit needs to stop.’ He shut down the computer and flicked the light off as he left the room.

Crios tried to be as quiet as possible as he tiptoed up the two short sets of stairs to the rest of his home, above the workshop and connecting storefront. He stopped when he saw light at the bottom of the door to his uncle’s room. He paused briefly in front of the door, wondering if he should finally ask what’s up. He decided against it and continued down the small hallway to the small living room, eventually collapsing on the couch in only his boxers.

[X]

Crios woke up to the not-too-gentle prodding of his grey-haired uncle. He immediately downed the coffee he was handed without really caring how hot it was.

I suggest you take a shower. His uncle said as he walked down the short hallway to the stairs. It’s going to be even hotter today. Looks like it’s going to be a rather hot June.

Crios grunted in reply, shoveling down what was left of his uncle’s breakfast and his own. By eight o’clock, Crios was planting his face on the counter to the store while his uncle checked the work he did the previous night.

You know Crios, your work really is exemplary. Mr. Prickett said as he turned a repurposed car radio in his hands. I really should charge more for it. He pressed a sticker onto it and scribbled down some amount of Ere, the widely accepted currency across most of the known world. Sassoon was no different, especially being the capital of the country of Carcanas.

Too bad people barely buy anything at the prices we have now. Crios replied through the counter. Most people are too interested in buying what’s current despite it being a markup of 50%.

Plus we’re not really that heavy-handed on marketing; a few posters in a few Guilds and not much more outside word-of-mouth doesn’t compare to T.V ads. Mr. Prickett added.

The hum coming from the backroom stopped with a sudden pop and hiss. Mr. Prickett glanced back immediately. Crios groaned into the wood connected to his face before pulling himself away with a huff. "I’ll beat that damn clamp with a hammer this time…"

We’ll get a replacement Condenser soon enough! Just be happy I’m letting you keep the parts from the old one! Mr. Prickett called back with a wry smile.

Yeah yeah! And you better be happy I’ve kept it working for so long! Crios replied.

Mr. Prickett continued his labeling until someone walked into the store. Welcome! You’re here rather early! He said to the man in a clean cut suit.

"You did tell me it’d be available today at any time." The man replied, stopping near the spot Crios had been laying on the counter.

Crios! Where’s the heating pad!? Mr. Prickett called as he took a glance under the counter, finding nothing on the shelf.

The man arched an eyebrow at a clang and a profuse number of swears that came from the backroom. The low hum returned by the time Crios walked through the doors with a folded bundle of cloth. A grey canvas satchel was now hanging from his person.

"This is your best repairman?" The man asked Mr. Prickett.

"I’m his only repairman." Crios replied as he dropped the blanket on the counter. As the man pulled a cord out from inside the bundle, Crios slid a small metal cube onto the counter next to it.

You’ll need to use that to get it to work. The man frowned. The cord still had the controls attached, but the Matrix had be changed from before; the small Krux that provided the heat for the blanket could only be put in with the small cube, instead of a simple slot.

This is a new Matrix. The man said quizzically once he picked up the cube.

No shit. Crios replied with a snort. The other one was irreparable.

Mr. Prickett smacked the back of his head. Be polite. He said angrily.

I’m not paying for this. The man said as he dropped the cube onto the blanket.

Crios leaned across the counter on one arm. He tapped the cube with his other. "Well you see, this one will let you put in those Vibrating Krux you’re so fond of, and won’t break because of them."

The man’s eyes widened immediately. H—h-how-? He managed to stutter.

"I’m very good at what I do. Crios replied, picking up and placing the cube into the man’s hands. The man immediately flushed red, stuffing the cube in his pocket and scampering out the door with his blanket, dropping the money on the counter. Tell your friends!"

Crios called as he gathered the money. He pulled out a few bills and handed the rest to Mr. Prickett.

I thought it only had a Heating Krux when it came in? Mr.

Prickett asked curiously. Crios gave him a snarky grin before strutting back into the backroom to check on the Condenser. Mr. Prickett looked down at the money and grumbled to himself. Maybe we’d have more customers if you were more polite! He finally called back as he stashed part of the money in a safe and the rest into his pocket.

"Wellll, you know I don’t like interacting with the customers!"

Crios replied.

How do you expect to run your own store if you don’t like your customers!? Mr. Prickett asked with a laugh.

Crios poked his head out of the backroom. "Simple! They’ll know how good I am. " He replied before disappearing once again.

Mr. Prickett let out a long sigh before glancing at the front door. He scratched his chin for a moment before smiling. Crios!

What!? Crios asked, appearing through the doors once again. He frowned when he saw Mr. Prickett at the front door, wearing a hat. Mr. Prickett gave him a wide grin. "Nononono don’t you-! Crios was cut off as Mr. Prickett shut the door behind him. Crios collapsed onto the counter with a groan. Of course you would." He sat up. ‘But I’m playing by my rules.’

He dropped his bag onto the counter before going into the backroom to retrieve a chair. It let out a screech as the metal scraped across the concrete floor. Propping his feet up onto the counter, he cracked open a manual from inside his satchel. It was from a recently released game console and Crios wanted to stay up-to-date on any and every possible job.

He was nearly finished when the bell on the door rang. He was greeted by a sight rarely seen in the store: Guild members. They stood out primarily due to what looked like combat attire and the various weapons holstered and sheathed among the four in the group.

Crios looked at them with a stunned silence before they turned to him expectantly. Crios brought his legs down and stood up. "Uhh…

Welcome? How can I help you?"

We’re just looking. One of them replied as they began to scatter around the room.

The walls and windows were stacked high with merchandise that, more often than not, was re-built from the ground up by Crios.

The more expensive stuff was in the windows, and cycled clockwise around the store as time went on and stuff was outmoded. The oldest stuff would end up in Crios’ hands for a possible remodel, or dismantled to turn into something else. At the very center of the room were two massive crates filled to the brim with cheap Krux of varying kinds that were nothing more than for decoration by Crios’ high standards.

Even with Crios’ work being high quality and the Krux being nice keepsakes, the main income for the store was repair work, which, like most of everything, was done by Crios since his uncle retired.

Crios watched awkwardly from behind the counter as they poked through what was on display. One of them eventually approached Crios. She was tall and slender, dressed in dark blue jeans and a tight tube top that had a discolored patch on the stomach, presumably from the large belt she had placed on the table in front of him. A short blade hung at her hip.

This place does repairs, right?

Yes, Crios replied slowly, looking over the hefty metal belt in front of him. But Exo-Suits aren’t something we usually do. Not many Shields in used clock radios.

She let out a huff. "Well , do you know anyone who knows what they’re doing?"

"Yes. And he’s going to tell you the exact same thing I will."

Crios replied, flicking open the underside of the belt with only his fingernail and unfolding the rest of the Matrix system used to protect the user with Ux.

"You need to overhaul Exo-Suits every month or every 200

hours of use, because not only do the Krux wear out, the systems in place meant to prevent the Shield from interacting with the user’s Ux also wear out." He plucked out a frayed patch of material that was peeling off the inside of the belt. He glanced sideways at the woman.

"You also need to avoid keeping it running when not in use, charge it when the backup battery gets low… He looked straight at her to emphasis his final point. And avoid messing with the Matrix when it’s running. "

Her fellow Guild members snickered. Her face flushed and she glared back at them. She snapped back to Crios. "Well, can you fix it, smart ass?"

Yes. Crios replied with a playful smirk. "And I’ll overhaul it for free since I’m such a smart ass. Just need you to fill out the paperwork." He gestured down the counter at a stack of forms. The others approached Crios as the woman marched down the counter.

You know, she’s going to spite you for humiliating her. A blonde man told Crios.

Crios laughed as he pulled out a set of tools from his bag.

That’s not really a problem for me.

The woman returned to slam the form on the counter next to her belt and crossed her arms. Crios checked a few boxes before turning around to retrieve something from the backroom.

"It will be when she camps out every day to watch you work!"

He replied.

Crios returned with a box of spare parts and scrap he had collected. Fine by me; you can all watch as I finish this in only ten minutes. Crios ignored their laughter as he laid out his tools and wiggled his fingers. The woman still had her arms crossed as Crios began to take the belt apart.

Crios’ feeling of them watching him faded as he became absorbed in his work. He started by taking everything out of the belt, from the Krux to the wires to the fiber coating the inside of the Exo-Suit. He heard one of them say something to someone else, but he didn’t pay attention to what was said. He applied a new layer of the fiber, stripped the Matrix of its Krux, and reinstalled it piece by piece, replacing the previous Krux with new ones, only taking a brief glance at them before putting them in and moving on to the next piece. As Crios replaced the final piece, he still had a minute and a half left from his promised ten minutes.

Crios shut the Exo-Suit with a click and looked up for the first time since he started working. He was satisfied with the slack-jawed expressions. With a smug grin, he made a motion for the money to the woman.

"You’re not even going to test it?" the woman asked, pulling out her wallet.

I don’t really need to. I didn’t make any significant change to the design. I just fine-tuned the bits and pieces. Crios replied as he accepted the Ere. He did a quick count as he continued. "You’re going to want to get it recalibrated to the Types you want to defend against.

That’s the one thing I can’t do, for a lack of the necessary equipment."

Can you do weapons? The blonde man asked with an excited look.

"I can do anything mechanical or electrical with what I have. I can tell you what’s wrong and the price you should push for, but that’s it. And unfortunately for me, I can’t exactly charge for favors." Crios replied.

What is a smart guy like you doing in some nothing repair shop? The woman asked, gesturing to the room around them. She had replaced the belt over her stomach.

I live with my uncle. And trust me, I’d much rather be in my own shop, doing work like this. Crios replied as he turned the blonde man’s handgun in his hands, the others lined up behind him.

So you’re interested in Guild work? A silver-haired man at the end of the line asked, leaning sideways to make eye contact with Crios.

Aye. Crios replied, returning the gun to the blonde man.

It’s a quality piece. Antique too. Could afford replacement springs though. Shouldn’t be more than 50 Ere or so.

The blonde nodded. Thanks! My grandpa was a gunsmith, and this was his first real piece of work.

The redheaded woman behind him held out a pair of short swords with a shy smile. Crios smiled in return as he took them. And speaking of Guilds, what’s the name of your guys’? Crios asked as he tapped the edge of one of the swords with his thumb.

Verde Myth. The first woman replied. "My name’s Sage.

The blonde’s Christophe, Ally’s the shy one in front of you, and Tyler there at the end."

Crios. Crios Myshcell. Crios replied as he picked up the second sword.

"Myshcell!?" Ally exclaimed.

Crios jumped a little, nicking his finger on the blade. He noted it was sharper than the other one as he looked to Ally. Yeah. What of it?

The Myshcells are a legendary family of engineers spanning the entirety of the Great Wars! Ally explained excitedly. It’s no surprise you’re as good as you are!

Hmph. Crios grunted. There’s not much about my family outside that. Can’t be helped with what the Great Wars were, or the period of darkness that spawned from them. My uncle’s from my mother’s side, and he was the one who initially taught me what I know.

Ally nodded solemnly. Five wars over a span of 500 years took its toll on us all.

Crios returned the swords. Their temper has held out fine, but you should consider sharpening them more often and avoiding blocking with them at all. The hilt on the right-handed one is a little loose and could use a replacement. For the same quality and shape as the current one, nothing more than 20 Ere is necessary.

She nodded. Thanks. I hope someone finds something from those times soon. For both history and people like you.

Crios shrugged. "You can only really hope at this point.

Finding some ancient Monster would seem like the only way to learn anything about that time."

Tyler thrust a battered sword and shield into Crios’ face. I’ve worked with them a long time! He said proudly as Crios took them and placed them on the counter.

I can tell. Crios replied. I’ll start off with pointing out this is going to be expensive to do right. The shield’s been dented and smoothed out at least a dozen and a half times, both it and the sword are chipped and pitted to the point it’s a surprise they haven’t broken, everything not a solid part of either is loose and needs replacement; I could go on and on.

If you couldn’t tell, Tyler’s the kind of person to run head on into danger. Christophe commented.

He’s the one who distracts the Monsters while the rest of you figure out how to take them down. Crios replied flatly, turning the sword to look at the crooked edge.

Yeah, I’m not really the kind of person to stand by and watch. Tyler said, embarrassed.

Just know the difference between being courageous and being a fool. Crios replied, running his hand along the front of the shield. Though the lack of visible scars, and the fact you’re standing here, tell me you at least know how to handle your equipment. Crios let out a sigh. Unfortunately, you’d be better off replacing these two entirely. If price is no problem, it’ll cost upwards of 5,000 Ere to reforge everything. It’s certainly well made to have lasted so long, but there’s just too much for any smith worth his salt to do for pocket change."

Tyler nodded slowly, a pained look on his face. Is there any way to maybe reduce the cost?

Crios thought for a moment. If you could somehow acquire some scrap iron or some other source of metal, you might be able to persuade them to drop the price by nearly half. Possibly more depending on the quality of what you give, especially if you get quality fuel as well.

It’s a tad more reasonable I guess. I’ll just have to go out and do some stuff on my own. Tyler replied, optimism blooming on his face.

Crios nodded as Tyler took back his equipment. Safe transport is one of the biggest concerns and reasons for markup on most of everything. It’s why you rarely see a bottle or can on the street. They’re too valuable as recycling materials.

They nodded. Sage checked her cellphone. It’s getting close to ten, guys. The group gave Crios a wave as they headed for the door.

We’ll spread the word about your skills, Crios! Christophe called.

Please do! Crios called back. Once again, he was alone in the shop. Letting out a sigh, he dropped into his chair. ‘This just serves to prove my point; it’s not the customers, but how they see me.’ He glanced over at his manual lying face down on the counter. ‘I’m tired of these everyday repairs. I want to make something original.’

Crios picked up the manual and returned to his previous position, propping his legs back up onto the counter. At noon, he closed the shop temporarily for lunch. Grabbing a sandwich from the shop nextdoor, he walked across the street to eat at the large park.

Despite his uncle building the shop on Main Street, Sassoon, they made far less than he originally thought thanks to a recent recession.

Crios figured it was because Kruxsetting wasn’t something everyday civilians needed much of. It would have been better for business to be closer to the grouping of Guilds a dozen blocks to the East.

As for Crios, he rarely went farther from the shop than the park. Most of his friends were a ways away and better accessed using the Nexus. He didn’t much care for his sandwich, finding the meat bland, the lettuce tasteless, and the bread soggy. ‘Always make your own lunch, Crios.’ He thought as he sought to drown the blandness in mustard. He noticed someone tapping on the store’s door from across the street. Quickly washing his mouth out with his water, he whistled loud enough to catch his attention, and anyone else who had ears in the stores surrounding the park.

The man approached Crios cautiously, stopping halfway in the street, as traffic was practically non-existent. Crios noticed he had duffle bag filled with what he assumed was the work he was to do.

Do you work in the repair shop? He asked.

Crios nodded, forcing down the last of his sub-par sandwich.

"I’m out here for lunch and