Before you blow up at me...

[Quartz]

Midday.

The sun was directly overhead in the skies above Christmas Island. And in the quiet, sleepy settlement of Madison the harbour was packing a couple more boats than usual. The winter season was approaching in a few months, and the inhabitants were building up a stockpile now.

A small percentage of the imports were redirected to the schools. Some more went to the smaller residential areas, supermarkets, commercial areas, and so on.
Inside a quayside building, a human with white hair was overlooking shipping lane schedules. Madison wasn't a major port, nor was it the biggest on Christmas Island - but it still attracted a lot of traffic that needed guarding. Items were onboard that were usually essential to the further health and survival of the growing town. And this guy was a part of the local coastguard team, and needed to know what was coming in and when.

In the human's ear was a tiny hearing aid, which appeared to be connected to a transmitting device of some kind - most probably a radio. As he went through the list, one item caught his eye.
"Captain, something of interest here. Parts I recognise from a time gone by, in theory should be out of production long ago. It's a small load, hidden amongst a load of potato boxes - heading to the main land. I'm guessing someone is restoring something, something of value no doubt."


Miles away, in a hilly part of the island, a lilac echidna was relaxing in the shade of the trees. He was playing with his small white cat, his mind elsewhere, far away from the wonderful scenery that was all around for all to see.
"Rare goods, eh? So what would you suggest these parts are restoring?" he asked, throwing another paper ball for the cat to chase.
"At a guess, looking from the destination, some sort of steam device."
"Come on back then, we got work to do."

Reaching into a pocket, the lilac one flicked his own radio off. He then looked at the cat, smirking. "Come on Shao, time to get ready."

[Quartz]

Nodding with thanks towards the office clerk, Edward placed a small brown envelope on the desk between them before exiting the main habour complex. He had a short walk to return back to the crew, and knew Quartz would badger him to do work as soon as he got back - and wasn't keen on it today, so began a relaxing stroll back to base, keeping a careful eye out and about for anyone that might be following him. As he took the same route to and from town, the human had a good idea of what to look out for and what looked out of place.


Moving further inland, Quartz was going deeper into the forested area. He wasn't too far away from the hideout either, the entrance to which was a giant oak which was older than most people's grandparents, and perhaps older still than their own grandparents. A part of the oak was hollow, and children would play there sometimes - hiding out in plain sight suited the echidna, as he reached down and pulled up a door. Making sure the cat was balanced gently on his shoulder, he began to descend down a long spiral stairway, pulling the door firmly shut behind him. From the outside, it just looked like a tree.
Inside, lighting illuminated a great stone staircase. Quartz walked down enthusiastically, pleased that a job might be on. As he got to the bottom - after a walk that felt like forever - he came across a huge metal door, with a black glossy pad to the right of it. Taking off a white glove, Quartz placed his palm on this pad. It activated and scanned him, opening the door. Quartz stepped inside, Shao now jumping off his shoulder and making for some fish he'd just caught a whiff of.

Turning to place his hand back on a pad on the opposite side - a safety mechanism, that if not activated on both sides would set off a silent alarm telling the crew someone had forcefully been made to open the door - the echidna replaced the glove on his hand. He then took a step towards the huge cavern that was now before him... a huge hollowed out gap underneath the forest, supported everywhere by scaffolding, girders, stone pillars... the works. One day, someone would come crashing through this. But this wasn't the important part of the hideout. That lay elsewhere, nearer the shore. This part was merely a warehouse of sorts, down on the ground many containers and other storage devices could be seen. A lone crew member was down there checking stocks, and upon seeing Quartz threw up a silent salute, before continuing. The echidna merely waved back, before catching wind of the fish and following his cat to the kitchen.

Upon entering, Quartz had to stifle a giggle. Shao was there all right - somehow running about with a trout twice his size firmly clamped into his mouth, outrunning the enormous seagull, Sparkx. Pulling up a chair, Quartz watched the mayhem unfold before him and sighed.
Today was going to be a good one.