Seemingly before Teisel had blinked, not that he'd notice, there were almost a dozen Serve-bots on the ship. Obviously, had he been able to see, he'd no doubt have become fully aware of the situation, but even listening gave one more than enough evidence to prove the fact. Hearing the same voice answer itself five different ways was plenty indicative as it was. For example:

"Where is the coffee pot?"

"I don't know!"

"Didn't Number Eight have it?"

"I don't know, did he?"

"Yes, he did!"

"No, I had it!"

"No, you didn't, I took it from you after that!"

"Oh, right!"

"Here it is, guys!"

Sighing, Teisel sat down at the galley table. "Can someone get me a cup of coffee, then?"

"Here you go, Master Teisel!" said a cheerful Serve-bot, shoving a cup of the brew into his right hand. The eldest Bonne had to react quickly in order to prevent the hot liquid from spilling onto his lap.

"Thank you," he stated simply, blowing on the coffee before drawing it into his mouth. He choked immediately upon tasting and swallowing the stuff, managing not to spit it out, as he had no idea who would be directly in front of him. "This is the worst coffee I've ever tasted!" he announced to the room.

"Sorry, sir," said a woeful Serve-bot near him. "I thought you liked it strong."

Teisel shook his head. "No, that's not the problem. It tastes kind of...sour?"

"Oh!" said another Serve-bot further away. "Number Two told me you liked your coffee to have 'bite,' so I made it with vinegar instead of water. Is that wrong?"

"Bite?" Teisel sputtered, slamming the mug down to the flat table surface and grimacing as the spilled beverage scalded his wrist. "Vinegar? Who in his right mind would use vinegar to make coffee? What kind of an idiot would make coffee with vinegar instead of water?"

"Sorr-rry..." one of the Serbots said, abashed.

Teisel massaged the bridge of his nose to assuage the tension. "Okay. Here's what I want you to do: Run some water through the reservoir, pot, and filter basket, then make another pot of coffee, with water only this time. Can you handle that?"

"Roger!" a Serve-bot answered enthusiastically, clearly setting about his instructions by the noise that emanated from the galley.

After receiving a cup of hot water this time, Teisel instructed the Serve-bots from start to finish on how to make a pot of coffee, and tried not to yell at them. After all, he had asked them to use "water only." Holding his third mug of coffee in front of him, he noticed it did seem to smell appropriate, if somewhat unappetizing. The mouthful of brew he tasted was definitely something that could be defined as "coffee," even if it tasted less than adequate.

He asked one of the Serve-bots to read him the directions from the coffee can to confirm the beverage had been prepared the correct way, this time. After verifying that it had, he wondered aloud, "Why doesn't it taste very good, then?"

"Ummmm..." a Serve-bot muttered.

"What is it?"

"Well, Miss Tron said we're running out of money, now, so we have to start buying the cheaper brands!"

This set Teisel marching off to Tron's workshop in a furor. Still holding the mug of sub-par coffee, he confronted his young sister, saying, "Tron, the Serve-bots told me we're running low on funds. Is this true?"

"Well, we are a little short..." his sister said contritely.

"How is that possible?" Teisel asked, trying not to make a face as he drank more coffee. "I brought over two million zenny with us from home. That should be more than enough to last us five years, or better!" He felt more than a little guilty about not being able to personally manage the finances, himself, although there was only so much he could do without sight.

"Well, there's more expenses than just food, you know!"

Teisel sat down on the deck stairs. "Tron, Lytrel and Bohannon used the refractors I brought with us to set up a bank account with monthly stipends for us. Are you saying that you've been spending more money than that?"

"Sure!" Tron said angrily. "You know that Bon's had regular doctor visits over the last few months, and it's not just that!"

Bon had been needing more medical examinations lately, as his cough had gotten worse, and Teisel had been present upon most of these, so he could personally attest to that expense. That being said, he also knew how much each visit cost, and that definitely did not account for the bank account running low at this early juncture. "And...?" he prompted.

"And, you may have noticed, we have a lot more mouths to feed on this ship than we used to! The Serve-bots have to eat, too, you know!"

Teisel scratched his head. "They do? You made robots that can eat? Wouldn't it be easier to just plug them in?"

"Easier, sure, but not cheaper! It's a lot less expensive to make them spaghetti than to have them siphon off power from the ship's generator!"

"I prefer Curry Rice!" A Serve-bot exclaimed with aplomb.

Teisel ran over the figures in his head. "Okay, the extra food would be a drain, but we still shouldn't be almost broke at this point. What aren't you telling me?"

From the abrupt sound, Teisel guessed Tron had stamped her foot on the metallic deck. "You don't understand, Teisel! My workshop isn't cheap to run, either!"

Teisel nodded. He'd hit the vein of the problem. "Tell me, Tron. Why is it so expensive?"

"I mean..." Tron stammered. "It's not just the Serve-bots. I'm making other stuff, here, too! Stuff that can help us! Like..the Finkel! It's important!"

"What's the Finkel?" Teisel asked, confused.

"It's a new robot I made!" Tron said, enthused. "It can fly with a propeller, and it can send what it sees and hears back here, so it's like I'm there! It's like I can go with the Serve-bots when they go to the island, even though you won't let me!"

"It does sound impressive. How much did it cost to make?"

"Two hundred and fifty thousand zenny," Tron said contritely.

Teisel tried not to groan. "I'm sorry, Tron, that is entirely too much. I can't have you spending our limited resources on making these new robots."

"You just don't understand! I'm making important things, here!" Tron sounded resentful.

"Yes, but we have to live! And if we want to live, we need money!" Teisel was shouting now, barely in control of his words. "I can't have you wasting our future on worthless contraptions! You need to focus on what's important!"

Tron sniffed. "But, Teisel, this is important to me. I want to help..."

Struck by his sister's statement, Teisel heard his own words echo in his memory. Leading has nothing to do with financial statements and earnings reports. It's about being able to make quick decisions and inspiring men to follow you... He laughed grimly. "Oh, father, if only you could see me now..."

Teisel stood up, walked tentatively to the work table and embraced his younger sister. "Tron. You are, without a doubt, the most gifted child I've ever known. I have faith in you. You've improved our lives so much in the last few years. But we can't keep spending this money. Can't you see that?"

"Mmm-hmm," Tron murmured, burying her face in his chest, clutching him.

"I'll tell you what," he said, grasping her by the shoulders. "How about this? You can make all the robots you want, as long as we don't have to pay for the parts. How does that sound?"

"What do you mean?" she asked.

Teisel grinned visibly, in the direction he thought her face was. "Machines break down every day. Diggers put down Reaverbots every day. Where does all that scrap go?"

"To the junk yard?" Tron said, confused.

"Right! The junk yard! And if one part of a machine is broken, how many other parts are still in perfect working order? A bunch, I think. And those Reaverbots may still have working refractors in them, and those are refractors you could use, aren't they?"

"Yes," Tron answered. "But how could I get them? You won't let me go to town..."

"Well," Teisel said, "I think you have about a dozen helpers here who could assist you in that, don't you? And you could send that Finkel of yours with them, to make sure they're doing an all right job, I'd bet."

"You're right, Teisel!" Tron said happily. "What was I thinking? Why would I pay for parts when I could get them for free! We'll start salvaging stuff tomorrow! I'm...I'm sorry for spending all that money."

"Don't worry, Tron," Teisel said, drawing her close. "But make sure you have them get a better brand of coffee from now on, all right?"

NEXT TIME:

A Shocking Endeavor