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...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Lumin couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned in her cot, watching dust particles swirl near the blimp hanger's wooden ribs. In a moment of weakness, she picked up her phone and made an impulsive call. What am I doing?
After five rings Skip answered his phone. "Hello?"
"I didn't feel like texting you...so I called."
"Lumin? Hey...hi! What time is it," said Skip, groggily.
Lumin coughed. "It's late. Sorry. I didn't think you'd be asleep yet."
"Normally you'd be right, but it was a fairly exhausting day. I put the finishing touches on a row boat I've been restoring and took it out on the reservoir. Turns out, I shouldn't be restoring boats."
"Are you still squatting at your condo in Rancho Nerdo? When are you heading back to Washington?"
"I don't know," said Skip with a groan. "I sold my place before I moved, so I'm essentially homeless. I didn't think my resignation through very well. I'll be out of here soon...I just need to get my ducks in a row."
"Well...take your time, Dork. No one's itching to evict you from the middle of nowhere."
"Thanks," said Skip.
Lumin laughed. "Hold up. What happened to your boat? Did it sink?"
"No. I got a little too confident with the 40-year old outboard motor. It crapped out on me as soon as I got to the center of the lake. I had to paddle back to shore with my arms."
"That sounds like you," said Lumin, holding back another laugh.
Skip groaned. "My arms feel like limp noodles and I'm sunburned to a crisp."
"Another fun day trip, huh?"
"Yeah. Why does your voice sound like its echoing?"
Lumin looked around her hideout. "The acoustics are strange in here."
"Where?"
"I couldn't handle sleeping among a herd of snoring engineers with nothing but tiny partitions to separate us, so I sneaked away with my cot through a little door I spotted earlier. It led me to a surprisingly roomy space between the wall and the hanger's outer shell. I feel like Jerry in here."
"Jerry?" Skip's confusion was turning to agitation.
"You know, Tom and Jerry."
"Wait...you're with the rest of the team in the hangar? I thought you quit!"
"I'm being held hostage, send cheese!"
"Ha ha," said Skip, sarcastically. "By the way, I called Katerina to find out what you wouldn't tell me about the match...I couldn't resist. Sorry."
"It's alright. So, she told you about the dirty bomb?"
"Yeah, but only after asking me a series of incredibly painful personal questions."
