Holo begins fixing himself with parts from the drawers of a cart.
“How can I help?”
Holo directs me to a few cabinets and crates in the room. I set down my pack, relieved to be free of the weight, then gather up what he asks for.
“This will take me a few hours. I think you should rest. When I’m finished, I can help you get to Thruster. But I’m in no condition to fly a ship.”
"No way am I going to be able to sleep," I tell him. "All I can think about is finding a way to get to Thruster and help him. Am I safe to wander?"
He shrugs. Holo’s face twists up as he gasps and drops the tool like he’s in immense agony.
“Fuck this. I don’t know why you want to do this alone, but let me help.” I gather up a handful of parts that he seems to prefer and set them on the steel bench.
“It’s alright, really,” he rasps.
The dejection on his face tells me he wants help but doesn't want to ask for it because he doesn't think he deserves it. "Holo, I have hand-built three ships. I've repaired Thruster. You're tired and in pain. You're important to him and are the records keeper for the Titans if what I've seen from your eyes is any indication. Let me help you. I want to."
He swallows hard. “I don’t want to take help from a female or a Brother.”
"I promise I'll be gentle. My hands are steadier than yours right now. And you cannot expect yourself to only serve. You are a sentient being who has needs, too. And as much as we like that you're so amiable, it makes your friends happy to do some things for you."
“How can that be?”
I prop his feet up with a crate. "It shows us that we're needed. We all have roles. Let others help you sometimes. It makes us happy."
He lifts a hand and stares at his shaking fingers like he doesn’t understand why his body is failing him.
I pull up a large crate, sit on it, and brace his right knee between mine. “Can I get you anything for the pain?”
He shakes his head. “Nothing left here. Only Cara has natural remedies.”
“Okay, I’ll just get you back together as quickly as is safe. Will that help?”
He gives me a nod and supports himself on the table as I begin repairs.
Holo’s dislocated his knees, ankles, wrists, and shoulders. Getting them back into place is much more difficult than with a human because I don’t know his cybernetic anatomy. I have to rely on what I can see and what he tells me he feels to find and fix all the damage.
After a couple of hours, I have Holo mostly back together, with the exception of the nanobooster he says he needs.
“Feels like dry gears. But if I move slowly, it doesn’t bother me.”
“So Titans get arthritis?” I ask.
"In a way." He thanks me and motions to a cable cart outside the room. "We'll take that to the hangar. I think we can find something down there to get you to Thruster. I can't join you in battle until I get lubricant. I'll get too hot and seize up. I need Rebel to return to full duty."
“I understand.”
He runs the controls as I climb into the cage with my pack on my shoulders again. We swing out to the center of the round shaft and drop fast. I’m stunned by the sheer number of levels we pass as we drop into the heart of the planet.
“They were trying to reach the core with this one. Didn’t make it a 100thof the way. Ellipsis is a massive planet,” he tells me.
“Plenty of places for tunnels that keep you away from Solcrue,” I offer.
“Yes. They don’t like it down here. Neither do any of us, but…”
“You survived.”
He sighs as we set foot on the basement level. "At least this shaft is a bit warmer than the ones where Savage stayed. He chose the mountain territory like the other animalistic batch Relics and lived in the snow with Redline, who quickly overheats."
