"H-H-Hey-y, hey Kids! It's time to blast off with Gerbert Gerbil!" These words were heard at the start of nearly every Cosmic Crew floor show. A chorus of children's cheers proceeded the opening of the curtain to the stage. There, front and center, was the namesake Gerbil himself in his spacesuit.
Although Gerbert was a Gerbil he was nowhere near the size of one. The animatronic was many tens of times larger than the small rodent of his species. With his retractable helmet he was the tallest of the mascots, even able to dwarf most parents in that regard. Only Fuchsia was said to be taller because of her extendable neck, although due to breakdowns that had been bolted back into place.
The music started up for the mascot's signature "Cosmic Crew Fall In!" song that introduced all the characters. With robotic precision the characters went through the programmed routine. For some kids who had never been to the restaurant before it was delightful. Others, the regulars, were starting to tire of the same jokes and lyrics. All the same Gerbert had many young fans. He was, after all, the star of Cosmic Crew Entertainment.
"We h-h-hope to se-see you back real s-soon!" Gerbert waved goodbye with an iconic buck toothed grin as the curtain fell on the show stage, signaling the end of the fifteen minute show. While the crowd of children could be heard dispersing to the game corner or turning back to their meals, the backdrop behind the show stage lifted up. The dais of each animatronic moved back on their tracks to their maintenance stations, where a blue suited technician was talking to a much shorter, chubbier fellow.
"God damnit, what keeps making that stutter?" said the technician, angrily clearing his throat as he was immediately on Gerbert to open up a side panel under his helmet.
"I'm starting to think its the actuator," said Bilbo Dennings, the restaurant's main technician. Truthfully the only employed technician, as the company didn't consider hiring anyone else full time. Although there was too much on the little guy's plate with the constant work needed for the animatronics.
"Like that will affect the voice box," the temp scoffed. In truth this was his third call out to the Gerbert Gerbil & the Cosmic Crew restaurant. And it was definitely going to be his last. As he sought to find the right access panel there was a sudden jerk of Gerbert's eyes his direction.
It was a good thing the backstage was soundproofed, given how much the temp technician swore from the surprise. Bilbo tentatively removed the fingers from his ears.
"All of them are damn creepy, that's for sure," the blue suited man spat. "Sooner I get paid the better."
Bilbo sighed. Yet another mechanic to wash his hands of the place. The short man had been hoping for a lunch break but he could sense that he was going to have to do most of the work on Gerbert.
Before his next scheduled appearance the two technicians did everything they could think of to fix the stutter. No dice, ultimately. The origin of Gerbert's stuttering voice box remained a mystery in what little time they had. Hopefully it wouldn't get worse. Bilbo could already imagine the comments to be had about the glitch.
Throughout it all Gerbert just stared. He was an animatronic in low power mode. He could only stare.
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