Chapter Text
Summer 98
It was at the very end of the lunch rush when the saloon doors were thrown open. Amirah and Heidi, who were seated in their usual booth, and Owen, who stood nearby, turned their attention towards the panting sheriff who dashed in.
"Justice!" Owen returned to the bar, quickly filled a glass with Yakmel milk before placing it on the counter and saying, "You okay, dumplin'? Looks like you've ran a couple laps 'round the city. Did Truth run off without you again? What's goin' on?"
Justice grabbed the milk and downed it. "You won't believe what I just saw. You won't believe it!"
"Then spit it out, man!"
"Yeah, what's got you in such a tizzy," Heidi asked, resting her head in her hands. "I'm already invested and I haven't even heard anythin'."
"So, there I am, on the edge of the Shonash Bridge since the Geeglers are being more 'ornery than usual when one of 'em new builders runs up and asks 'What with the lizard people?' Well, I just tell 'em, it's just them Geeglers messin' with the bridge and tryin' to sneak into town and you know what she says?" He straightened up and spoke in a slightly deeper voice, "'If they're such a problem, I can help deal with them.' Like a bunch of giant, armed, lizardfolk meant nothin' to 'em."
"You can't be serious?" Justice just turned to Amirah and grinned.
"Oh, I am, and apparently so was she. I tell her, 'You should move along and stay clear. This here's Civil Corps business. We'll make sure they don't come in.' She just shakes her head, pulls out a spear and says 'Guess you won't mind some extra help keeping them out!' and she rushes into the gaggle of Geeglers. No fear, whatsoever."
A look of pain flashed across the Heidi's face. "Oh no! Don't tell me I have to put in another request for a Builder..."
It wouldn't be the first time a newcomer underestimated the harshness that was Sandrock. Light, she knew of at least one tourist who was buried in the graveyard after thinking they could handle the Eufaula. She would hate for there to be a new addition but the look on Justice's face said otherwise. "She wiped the floors with those lizards."
"Really?! Wow!"
"I don't believe it!"
"You're kiddin' me!"
Justice moved to the middle of the room and pantomimed swinging a stick. "It looked like she was more dancin' than fightin', the way she used that spear. But yeah, I wouldn't believe it if I wasn't watchin' it. She actually sent one of them Geegler Managers, you know, the ones with the hammers, into the canyon."
Owen whistled low. "Now, you're pullin' my leg."
"That's the thing, I ain't! I watched her do it!"
"I have to agree with Owen," stated Amirah. "It does seem far-fetched."
"Now I'm sure Justice stretches his stories from time to time," reasoned Heidi, which earned an exasperated "Hey!" from the sheriff. "But I don't think he would lie about this. Mostly because he would be stuck doing paperwork if the situation went south."
Justice rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Heidi. Back to the story, so she hits the manager over the edge. He goes down and the rest of them scatter with their tails between their legs. And as a parting shot, she actually runs one of the fleeing ones through and comes back to me, carrying the dead Geegler on the spear and asks, 'Would it be too much to leave his body as a warning to the others?' And I tell her that's not how we do things around here, we aren't barbaric. She just laughed and said, 'Just asking. Been to other places where that's the norm. Guessing Sandrock is secure enough that it hasn't crossed that line yet.' And then she hurled her spear, Geelger and all, into the canyon and walked away."
"I don't know whether to be amazed or disturbed," commented the potter.
"Well, the desert can make people do things they wouldn't normally do," stated Owen. "And that builder is right, not every village is as secure as Sandrock. That Geegler on a stick would be a mighty effective deterrent."
"Wait a second, Justice." Heidi raised a finger and asked, "Are we talking about Mi-an, the same tiny little thing that looks like a strong gust'll knock her over?"
Justice laughed, shaking his head. "No, not Mi-an. I'm talking 'bout the one from Highwind. Nicola. She's a biggun' of a lady."
"That makes much more sense." Owen took Justice's now empty glass. "I watched Pen give her combat lessons and that was the first time I've ever seen someone other than Justice give him a run for his money."
"Oh, Nicola? She's a sweetheart. I tried to give her a couple pots for free. She said she wouldn't take them unless she payed for at least one. 'Have to support the local businesses.'"
"Hmm..." Heidi scratched her chin. She vaguely remembered seeing a tall woman at the meeting but her mind was so preoccupied with other things, she didn't remembered if they had been introduced. "I don't think I've properly met her yet."
"Really? I thought she would've introduced herself by now, especially after the fireside meeting." Owen started counting in his head and put up seven fingers. "She's been in town for what, almost a week? Then again, ever since they got the crane lifts installed at the Salvage Yard, she's just been minin'. She'll come in when I open up and buy half of the To-Go meals and then leave. I once asked where she was goin' in a hurry and she raced out screamin' 'The furnaces demand sacrifice!' And then it's a coin toss whether I see her again for the day."
Amirah, Heidi and Justice stared at Owen with varying degrees of bewilderment on their faces.
The saloon owner just shrugged. "Don't look at me like that. I just make the food and tell the stories. Maybe I can add Justice's to my repertoire..."
"She sounds like quite the character. Tell me Justice, are you going to offer her a Corps position? She sounds experienced and taking down one of those larger Geeglers is an impressive feat."
Justice shook his head. "Amirah, just because someone can swing a big stick doesn't mean your Civil Corps material. Besides me, Unsuur and Captain are doing fine."
"Sure thing, honey." Owen rolled his eyes as he retreated to the kitchen, "Sure thing."
"Wait, what's that supposed to mean? Babe, come back! What's that supposed to mean?!"
While the conversation dwindled, Heidi was deep in her thoughts. She was a little concerned that she had only met one of the new Builders. She could hear old Professor Suarez's voice in her ears.
"For those who will be working with builders, your first lesson class has nothing to do with what's on paper. Builders and architects are like rice and soy sauce; by themselves, they could exist, and when you eat them it's meh. But when you put a builder and architect that have good chemistry together, that trust each other, the things that you can make together will be amazing. So have a good relationship with your builder and, I guarantee you, you will go far!"
She tried to develop that with Mason but he was cold towards her and dreadfully slow. As for Yan, the man was the most greedy, lazy and infuriating person she's ever had to deal with. But now Heidi had not one, but two builders who, in one week, have already out performed Mason and Yan. They would be an incredible asset, not just to Sandrock but for her future plans. She just needed to meet with them and make sure they were all on the same page.
Unbeknownst to her, Heidi would get her wish after the latest sandstorm blew through the city. She swept the last of the debris from the City Hall doors when Jasmine called out to her. "Aunt Heidi!"
"Hey Jas, somethin' wrong?"
"Yeah! I was on my route and Minister Matilda told me to find you and tell you to get to the saloon ASAP. Looks like the stage finally came down and they're trying to decide what to do next."
"Alright, tell her that I'll be there in a second."
As Jasmine ran off, Heidi entered Construction Junction, grabbed two blueprints from her desk and headed to the saloon. She spotted Owen on his knees, openly weeping by the debris that was once his stage. Matilda was patting his arm, trying to console the distraught man. Mi-an was standing off to the side, studying the wreckage and chatting with another woman who was drinking from a large mug.
If this was Nicola, Justice was apt in his description. She was tall, around the sheriff's height, on the plumper side and her skin was just a shade lighter than Justice's. Thick, blonde, curly hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail and held down with a dark green bandana. On left side of her face was a large scar that stretched from her cheek to jawline. She wore an orange and teal jumpsuit with pockets on the chest and a heavy duty toolbelt around her waist. The builders finished up their discussion and resumed studying the debris with their heads cocked to the right. After a few seconds, their heads simultaneously moved to other side. Heidi couldn't help but let out a quiet chuckle. Turns out it wasn't quiet enough because the new builder's head snapped in her direction. Light gold eyes scrunched up in suspicion and lips pursed as the woman locked eyes with the architect. Heidi gave her a friendly half wave but the other woman's expression did not changed.
Matilda looked over to the builders and then over her shoulder. "Ah, Heidi! As you can see, we've had an unfortunate victim with this last storm!"
Tears still flowed from the innkeeper's eyes. He looked up to the skies, raised his arms and screamed, "Light, why have you forsaken me?! This stage did nothin' but bring joy! Why did he have to go!? Stagey...why?"
The women sighed at Owen's unrestrained and over-dramatic grief. Matilda explained, "We can't send off Mason without it. Heidi, dear, can you draw up a new design?"
The architect stepped towards the builders. "I was sorta expecting this stage to collapse one of these days, so I already designed a new one. Here's the diagram, Builders."
She held out the two folders to Mi-an, who took them both, and then looked at new builder. "I've met Mi-an but I don't think we've properly been introduced. I'm Heidi, architect 'round these parts."
The cautious stare melted away as the tall woman held out a hand and gave Heidi a genuine smile.
"Nice to meet ya. I saw you at the fireside meeting but was pulled away before I could introduce myself. And I do mean literally pulled away. Pen is a persistent sumovabitch," she explained. Her voice was on the husky side, like someone who just rolled out of bed. "I'm Nicola but you can just call me Nico. From Highwind."
Heidi took it and when they parted, she caught a delicious scent coming from Nico's mug and asked, "I-is that Highwind West Mountain blend?"
"It is. You sure know your coffee!" Nico let out a laugh that made her belly shake.
"Please tell me you have more."
"I'm afraid not but I'm sending a letter to a friend of mine and I'll make sure they add an extra bag of beans just for you."
"Honestly, I was just joking. I haven't had my cup yet." Heidi was a bit surprised at the sudden generosity. "You don't have to do that."
Nico's hand went up. "Sshhh. I always give new friends a gift and since you are in that category and, now that I know what you like, you're getting coffee."
"Fine, if you say so! I appreciate the gesture," said Heidi, sincerely. Nico was already on her good side but to know she had a connection that could get her delicious coffee? Heidi was going to do everything to make sure that the blonde was happy in Sandrock. Or at least until she shared her sources. Her gaze went over to the old workshop that still bared Mason's name. "Looks like ol' Mason handed you down a real fixer-upper of a workshop, huh?"
"I'll say. Not even two hours after I got my license from City Hall, I almost broke my fucking neck and spent hours patching holes in the floor." Nico's head swiveled around before she said quietly, "Now I know I shouldn't speak bad of people but..."
"No, I totally get it. We were all on 'Mason Time' and let's just say," Heidi beckoned the woman to lean in closer to her. "We're really happy he's hittin' the trail. And now that we have two of you, we can actually get things done. Lucky for you, I do plenty of fixin' up! Come by my office sometime if you're lookin' to upgrade your workshop or your house. Are you really keeping the workshop name as is?"
"Nah, just waiting for him to leave and then I'll change it."
The church bells chimed nine. Was it already that late? Heidi started walking backwards towards City Hall. "And that's my cue to get going. Lots of proposals to review and blueprints to edit."
"We should do lunch so you can give me the nitty-gritty of Sandrock. Let me know when you're free."
Nico gave Heidi a wave before turning to her fellow builder. Heidi turned her body towards Owen and Matilda but stayed within earshot of the two women. She wanted to see if Nico's friendly nature was just for show.
"Alright Mi-an, which part do you want to do," asked the taller builder.
"You pick first, Nico. I'm fine with either."
Nico breathed in deep and steepled her fingers. "Let me rephrase: which part has the thing you really want to do?"
Mi-an's eyes went wide, a slight blush painted her cheeks. "I did kinda want to paint and work on the wiring. B-but that's only if-"
"That's all you had to say." She plucked the blueprints for the support out of Mi-an's hands. "Now come on. We got a date with Director Qi because I get the feeling we're gonna need more than what we have to get this job done."
"But he told me I'll need Data Discs for him to complete the research and I don't have enough!"
"Well, I have 40. I'll loan you some and you can pay me back whenever."
"Really? You have that much? I don't wanna be a bother..."
"Listen." Nico placed the coffee cup on the ground before grabbing Mi-an's shoulders. "No matter what that..." She looked over at Matilda, back to Mi-an and then lowered her voice just enough that Heidi could barely make out. "Fuckface, asinine, waste of Light, piece of shit Yan says. We both came to Sandrock because we wanted to make a difference, yeah? To bring it back to it's glory days. I don't need some bullshit half-assed competition to push myself. Besides I've dealt with people like Yan. I would bet a week's salary that he's the kind of...slimy shit that would totally fuck with the numbers to make himself look good."
"I didn't want to say it but yeah." Mi-an let out a snort, "Do you always curse this much?"
"They are sentence enhancers, thank you very much. Let's just say when you've lived the life I lived, you're allowed to swear once. Or twice. Or basically every eight words. But back to what I was saying, as long you have my back, I'll always have yours. Builder Bros'?" Nico held out a fist and Mi-an gleefully tapped it with her own.
"Builder Bros!" Mi-an pumped her fist in the air. "Yeah, let's make Sandrock a better place!"
"That's the spirit! Now come on and let's go see this Qi character and get us some new gear."
The pair hurried off to the Research Center and a genuine smile formed on Heidi's face. Seeing them interact, their zeal to get to work, filled her excitement and, for the first time since her return from Atara, hope for Sandrock's future.