A sci-fi serial in 69 parts featuring original art with every chapter.
Braggadocio between American and Japanese robotics engineers on social media becomes serious once corporate backers join the fray and commission build teams for an international...
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Lumin, her engineers, and a significant portion of the build crew crammed onto a Southwest Airlines flight bound for Las Vegas. Everyone on the American robotics team was wearing the SHUFFLE PIGS t-shirts Lumin had designed and printed, featuring a ferocious, anthropomorphic boar wielding a shuffleboard stick. The few people on the flight that weren't on the robotics team seemed rightfully confused.
Lumin felt a hand grasp her arm as she was exiting from the restroom. "Kat? Can this wait until my hands are dry? There's no towel in—"
"Lumin! Updates!" Interrupted Katerina.
Lumin knelt down with Katernia. Kengi Sato's cube was still weighing heavily on her mind. "Hey, it's fine. We have to keep this hush-hush, alright?"
"Right," said Katerina. "So, it hasn't exploded yet or anything?"
"I had Skip put it in a secured equipment bay at the factory," Lumin whispered in Katerina's ear. "Only he has the keys. I'll decide what to do with the thing when we get back to Oregon."
Katerina looked around nervously. "I just have a bad feeling about this."
Lumin became nervous when she saw Richard looking at Katerina quizzically. "Haha! Yeah, they say that in every one of those movies! Okay, see you on the ground, Kat!" she said, hurrying back to her seat.
Katerina looked at Richard with a nervous grin. "I'm watching the Star Wars movies for the first time."
Richard shrugged. "Flash Gordon was better."
"Hey Boss, next time spring for business class!" yelled Dezzie. Lumin ignored her.
Lumin plopped down in her seat next to Yasamin. "Hey, how's it going?"
"I think I'm developing calluses on my fingers from this damned tablet but other than that I'm fine," said Yasamin, stuffing her iPad into the seat-back pocket in front of her.
"Is Biz on the ground?"
"Yes. BZ-X arrived at the hanger none the worse for wear. Somehow, everything seems to be falling in place for the match."
Lumin let out a sigh of relief. "Thank God. Oh, I almost forgot." Lumin dug around in her purse for a moment. "I knew you would never willingly wear a t-shirt so I had this made for you instead." Lumin handed Yasamin an unassuming pendant on a silver chain featuring an etching of the team's logo.
A smile beamed crossed Yasamin's usually stoic face. "Lumin, thank you. This is really quite thoughtful," said Yasamin, putting on the pendant.
"Well, don't act that surprised," said Lumin. "You've really been busting your ass behind the scenes. I appreciate you always having my back, no matter how outrageous my demands become or how bitchy I get. I couldn't do this without you."
"Lumin, despite my initial misgivings about this project I've since turned a corner. Going forward, I want you to know that I'm fully invested in the match. The technological innovations we've developed have the potential to permanently change the world for the better; no one's ever seen robotics engineering this advanced. Beyond all that, your tireless efforts to see this mad quest come to fruition has impressed me beyond measure."
