Memories from before: Speeder Service [Jezzarath] [Lockdown]

Alarm blares out. Hit snooze. Rinse, repeat.

Time to get up for work. Wait, it’s the weekend, why the alarm? Groggy, combination of late night reading the feeds, too much drink, and not quite being awake. Must have forgotten to switch it off before I went to bed. No that’s not it, something to do this morning, a reason for the alarm.

Feet clomp up and down the hallway. Kids are awake, alarm was probably unnecessary. They will be in any minute, listed demands reeled off and making the snooze button redundant.

Brain starts firing, and eventually I remember. The speeder’s service is due today.

Get up, make breakfast for the kids. Brew up some leaves. Wake Ze, better go or I’ll be late dropping of the speeder.

Service has come at the right time; speeder hasn’t felt right, lately. Ride has been bouncy, feeling every contour in the road. Gears have felt off, the Auto-changer not kicking in at the right time, engine revving like a teenager out on their first drive.

Drop off the keys with the mech, think about telling them about the issues. Perhaps that just jacks up the price, though, gives them an opportunity. Decide to take the risk. Rather be safe in the speeder, after all the monthly-plan should cover it, unless it’s something major.

The mech lab is only a few miles from the hab, so I take a walk back rather than wait.  I’m a long way from Citadel, even further out than the Belt. Out in the Wilds, as the folks in Citadel see it. A lot greener here, not just the kind that’s looked after; the rough kind. Yeah, maybe it is more wild, out here.

Despite this, the roar of a nearby speedway is still constant; the loud rush drowning out the natural sounds. The walk back from the mech-lab is good. Weight has crept up over the last year. Too little exercise, too much food, too much drink. Resolve to get out and walk more often. At least on weekends.

Home. kids are playing pleasantly, except when they’re not. A party, later, should tire them out, Ze is taking them. Other people and I don’t mix, at least not nowadays, not without the meds.

Comms unit chimes, speeder passed the service tests, only few minor maintenance suggestions. Say no. Credits are tight in these first few post-festive months. Credits are tight in general; this month is just a bit worse.