He nods again. "Sounds like the guy. Any idea what I did to set him off?"

"Not r—" Martin frowns. "Did you say he shot you?" 

"Yup." He pulls one side of his loose rag of a shirt-remnant to indicate the healed but still bloodstained spot on his chest, before pulling the shirt back closed. "Got about half a sentence out of my mouth before he did."

"In that case...oh dear." Martin's mechanical face creases with worry. 

"It's likely that he thinks you're a new Mechanism." 

Honey ponders that for a moment, a sense of unease growing on him. "Should I try and let him know that's not the case?"

"Probably best not, although someone else should pass it on," Martin says as he stands up. 

"Though they'll have to find him first; I suspect he'll have gone to ground in the maintenance tunnels." He sighs. "Again." 

Honey nods. "Anything else you might use my help with?"

"Not at present, no—oh, have you eaten recently?" 

"Ah, yeah, I just made something for myself a little while ago. I hope that's alright?"

"Absolutely fine! I just worry if I don't see people at mealtimes, you know." 

He heads for the door. "I'll send someone to find Mac and let him know not to panic. Was there anything else?" 

"No, I think that's all." With that, Honey bows out and continues his wandering, though given his good mood he's aiming to encounter someone who sounds like they could use help again. Maybe Kolya? Engineering work is always abundant. Just need to track him down...

Where, oh where, could Kolya be? He's not in the kitchen. He's not in the cabin marked CHIEF ENGINEER that's probably his if it's anyone's. He's not in any of the recreation rooms around the kitchen and dining hall, and neither is anyone else. 

Maybe he's down on the engineering levels, like last time? 

Honey recalls that Kolya apparently tends to overwork himself, so engineering levels does make sense. Destination set.

The air down here is still warmer than on the higher decks.

The octokittens seem to like it, judging by how Honey hasn't seen a single one on the upper deck but can't go ten feet down here without nearly tripping over one. Most of them are mottled various shades of grey and brown, which blend in surprisingly well with their surroundings. Sometimes all that's visible at first is two—or sometimes three—glowing eyes. 

Honey pays the octokittens their toll of some small attention, but doesn't let himself get bogged down. Given their numbers, and the relative scarcity of humans on this ship, he figures they're probably not especially prone to asking for help with anything.

They seem to appreciate the attention, but don't impede his progress very much. 

One climbs up his leg and seems intent on turning his shoulder into its personal perch. It's soft and squishy, and purrs like an electric drill. 

This is fine, even if they're a little heftier than they look they certainly don't weigh heavy enough to be a meaningful inconvenience. Regardless, he travels onward in search of Kolya.

At one point, there's a clang from a ventilation duct almost directly above him. 

That sounds important. Honey hops up and grabs a bit of the ceiling that feels like it can hold his weight, before tapping the relevant duct. "Hello?"

"...fuck," someone says from the shadows inside the vent. The voice is unfamiliar, masculine, and hoarse with disuse. 

"What do you want." 

"I'm mostly just wandering around seeing if anybody needs help with anything. Is your, uh...current situation something you need help with?"

There's a brief pause, like the person is processing what Honey just said. 

"Nope. Fuck off, kid." His voice is, if anything, even harsher and less friendly than before. 

Honey proceeds to drop down back on to the floor, a little dejected. Back to looking for Kolya.

When Honey finds him, Kolya is half-buried in a tangle of wires, wielding a tiny soldering iron with intense focus. 

Honey watches Kolya for a bit, trying to ascertain what he's working on and also waiting to see if he notices him.