This is pretty good. Is it a Cincinnati reference? (at least I think that’s the roman general I’m thinking of.)

I’m not sure about dress whites, but I am an uncultured swine so~

Aww, poor little tractor. Is it sad story day or something? I like it, though. I might change one or two commas to periods just so it reads a little more smoothly, say between “waiting” and “the uniformed men,” or between “work” and “there was much to be done.”

Thanks Zoel, I didn’t have any particular historical references in mind when I wrote it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s some unintended parallels.

“Dress whites” is meant to refer to a kind of naval dress uniform. I wanted it to be fairly clear that he was a military man, without having to use the word “uniform” again.

Thanks for the criticism lostsalient, I just tweaked those two parts, please let me know if you feel it works better this way.

And yeah, it definitely feels like a sad story to me. Although I hadn’t set out to write a sad story, it just sort of came out that way.

Ah, the limits of artificial intelligence.

Dress whites caught me a bit off guard, too. I guess it seemed impractical to me for someone to wear something so pristine on a vehicle so prone to getting dirty. He is in a cabin, though …

But that’s a minor point. The bookends are really effective, here. They anthropomorphize this sad, little tractor, so eager to get work done for its master.

Please write more stories.

Wonderful story. Excellent use of limited space.

Implied descriptions is one of my favorite things about ficly; how much can you say without saying it.

Great story, loved the character development – and that includes the tractor!