Silic looked around, a confused expression on his face as the door behind him grumbled, before suddenly it shifted open, swinging up into the ceiling, leaving Silic to fall backwards onto his back. Groaning and rubbing the back of his head he hauled himself up and surveyed the cargo bay, his eyes scanning over the unmoving stacks of boxes and crates until his face lit up at the sight of what he saw after “Ah, you beauty.” he murmured to himself, walking forwards.
Before him, its basic design unchanged for hundreds of years, was parked a forklift, but this wasn't your ordinary industrial forklift, this was the road train of all forklifts. This was the product of a single minded determination to build the best in everything, its twenty-four-inch tires made for all terrain carried a slim just under two meter long body with the operator cabin riding high on top, a set of inset stairs allowing access on the side. The adjustable forks on the front were hydrologically powered and could be widened, raised, lowered or narrowed by the operator, able to lift almost any load.
“Oh this is perfect!” cried Silic, a smile blooming across his face as he pulled the latch and the door sprung open, climbing up he quickly looked over the controls “Ah, just like back on the floor.” he commented, remembering his years on the factory production line as he hit the starter button. There was a small whirr as the electric engine started, and then a dim hum as the machine idled, just as Silic was about to hit the accelerator he stopped for a second “Seatbelts.” he muttered to himself, strapping himself in. Safety procedures done with he put put the pedal to the floor, and was thrown back into his seat as the machine shot out towards the cargo bay doors, the lack of torque time giving the electric engine incredible acceleration.
Just as the machine was approaching the doors Silic realised the cargo door, still up in the roof, was slightly lower than the rest of the ceiling, just low enough to...”Oh Sha...!!” he screamed, not finishing as he kicked in the brakes, throwing him forward against the steering wheel and cutting him off in a choked garble. Too late, as the machine screeched out of the cargo bay the door on the ceiling caught on the roof of the forklift cab and sheared it completely off it a scream of tortured metal. As the now roofless vehicle came to a stop in the passage way Silic pushed himself up from against the steering wheel, looked around for the missing roof and quickly patted his head and face to make sure it was still attached, one arm and both eyes were enough to lose in his book.
Safely assured that his head was indeed where it was supposed to be, Silic pushed down on the accelerator a little more cautiously this time, wincing as he took a second to look back at the skid marks left on the floor “Yup, never getting that out.” he sighed.
