The Revelers (Serial 1)

Act 1 - Chapter 17: Ari

The Doc and I patiently wait at Rowynn's office at The Machinist's Shop. While waiting, I glance around, staring at some decorations hanging on the wall. The room is white and plain, with a metal desk in the middle littered with hard copy blueprints and diagrams for weapons and car parts. On her desk sits a holographic projector and workstation computer.

At the wall behind Rowynn's desk is a neon sign with her name, Rowynn's, written in cursive, the colors cycling from cyan, magenta, orange, and yellow. It's just like the neon sign outside the building.

On the wall to my left is an assortment of stainless steel, interchangeable, cybernetic hand augmentations resembling typical mechanic's tools. One looks like an automatic screwdriver. Another an impact hammer. The third with a butane attachment powering a blowtorch. And the fourth resembling an electronic welder. Simply put, tools to get the job done.

On the right side wall, an ornate stainless steel triggerblade hangs, displaying its rose filigree engravings on the blade. Strips of black leather wrap around the grip while the body and barrel appear decorative with a rose motif. Unlike my triggerblade, which is plain with a straight edge like a simple sword, the blade on Rowynn's triggerblade appears curved and larger like a cutlass. It kind of reminds me of something a pirate would use.

A woman with dark orange hair and a gray racing suit walks into the office. "Sorry, I'm late. I had some errands."

"No need to apologize, Rowynn," Dr. Williams says.

The En'ari elf android turns her head to me, meeting my gaze. Her reticulated scope-like eye-patch over her left eye shifts up and down, scanning for anything particular. "You must be Ari Kagura, aye?"

"Yes," I say.

"The name's Rowynn, lass. I run this shop. I heard about your exploits. You're apparently a legend in the WarGames scene."

"Legend sounds like a big word," I say, preventing my ego from inflating. I try to stay humble, even though millions of WarGames fans witness my achievements on the battlefield during every game. They know how awesome I am, but I let my actions speak for themselves instead of bragging about it.

"Don't downplay this, Ari. You know what you excel at. Though I wonder about your skills as a mechanic and a tinkerer."

"Well, I often tinker with my triggerblade, optimizing the weapon's parameters for any battle ahead."

"Do you have the triggerblade with you?"

My brows furrow. "Not on me, no. It's probably somewhere in Dr. Williams's office."

"She's right," Dr. Williams says. "Her triggerblade is in my office. I did not realize you wanted to see it."

"No worries, Doc. Actually, I have a simple task that Ari might find entertaining." Rowynn turns her head to me and smiles. "Ari, do you enjoy putting things together?"

"I do," I say, recalling times of me assembling the furniture at my dorm in CrystalCorps' Las Vegas campus.

"Have you done any modifications to your BMW motorcycle recently?"

"No, I haven't. It's bone-stock. However, I have tinkered with other brands like Harley-Davidson, Honda, and Kawasaki. I have a strange thing for motorcycles." When I was a kid, Dr. Williams would take me to a motorcycle shop in Vegas. The owner of the shop taught me a few things about repairing motorcycles. The older gas-powered ones are simpler, but since bike manufacturers don't make gas-powered bikes any more, I had to learn the concepts of electronics just to make some sense of the battery-powered ones. It's a challenge, I'll admit, but if I wasn't a professional WarGames player, I'd probably would have been a motorcycle mechanic.