[i]Why am I here, protecting these children so different from my own species[/i], the Clockwork Man asked of himself. The night had truly reached them now, him and his small group of merry children. However, when the Clockwork Man destroyed the first of the Broken Ones with his pistol, they were cowed into fearful silence. 

[i]They don’t even look like humans, really[/i], he thought. That wasn’t completely true of course, the Mystans were humanoid in appearance, but they sported far larger eyes than humans and their hair grew either incredibly dark red or jet black. Save for that small difference, they were uncannily similar to humans, though they lacked the little finger and the fingers they did have were longer and more deft, and their necks were marked with coloured grooves ranging from pale green to dark blue, marking the age of the individual. Otherwise they were similar indeed, and all of them favoured fur lined clothing which wouldn’t have looked out of place in Scotland or England even. 

Once again he was dragged from his deep thought by the sounds of metal on scrap, the Broken Ones were still all around him and he was a good ten minute walk from the camp. He needed to get closer, and then the Warding Machines the Mystans employed to deal with hostile technology like the Broken Ones would kick into action and do his job for him.

“Quickly.” He called, jumping onto a slightly elevated pile of scrap to survey the area. The Scrap Yard was like a maze, and difficult for the Mystan’s to traverse. Though the distance to the camp was relatively short now, it would still be hard going for the young ones, and all around them the Broken Ones lurked. Remnants of the Eternal Machine Wars, George was growing adept at picking out the most dangerous. Some even posed a significant threat to him, but he had been on the planet long enough to pick those out, armed as they were with Lazer technology they were difficult to sneak past, it was only his technomagic nudging them the right way which had spared him a dangerous confrontation. 

The three children struggled on, as he fired two shots in quick succession emptying his gun into a leaping scout bot. Strangely, it resembled a wolf, though half its head was sheared away and the other half was blown to pieces by his rounds. His free left hand crept into his satchel to seize more Elmorium covered bullets, and load them deftly into the Clockwork Pistol, as he leapt off the pile of scrap and re-joined the group, leading them on at a brisk jog. Suddenly, as if crashing into a brick wall, he was brought to a stop.

A familiar buzzing worked through his Soul Crystal, and he realised that they had made it into the protective shield of the Camp. The Warding Shield struck against any foreign technology, with a combination of technological interference and powerful Technomancy. Luckily, the Clockwork Man had become friends with a few of the Mystans since his arrival, and they had taught him the trick of protecting oneself from the effects. It was still difficult, even for a powerful Technomancer such as himself, but with one last effort he was returned to full strength, and walked through the most debilitating part of the shield. The group followed him, and he led them on, sparing one last glance behind him at the wolves at the door, so to speak. They could come no further, though this did not stop them running the length of the shield in irritation. He turned away, leading the small group up and towards the large metal gates of the camp. They opened before him, and he and the Mystans hurried inside. 

After saying goodbye to the children, and accepting the slightly worried thanks of the parents, he decided to pay a visit to the elder of the camp. Inside the gates the Mystan scrap settlement was as much a maze, but of homes and abandoned merchant stalls. The hour was late, and most had retired to their homes, which resembled strangely high-tech shanties. In the middle, smoke billowed from a larger almost tepee esque building. He headed towards it, and with a brief word to the two guards outside, armed with lazer carbines that could blow a hole through an elephant, not that they had any, he was admitted inside.