Mark woke to the alarm from his comm-pad. As he opened his eyes, the system screen greeted him with the balances for the day. "Your Daily Bonus for today is 36,272 TP. Your new balance is 113,119 TP. Your Bank balance is 0 TP."
With a smile, the young man stood from his bed and walked to the door. This time, as he exited his room, he found Melly, Bart, and Rachel eating breakfast in the kitchen. He quickly sat in the empty kitchen chair. Rachel served him a plate of food.
Mark looks at his mother. "Thanks for the food, Mom. How was your date last night?"
A smile drew on his mother's face. "It was good. Even when your father's partner started calling him about a special mech or something. For some reason, your name came out a lot in their conversation."
Mark felt a bit sorry for that. "Yeah, sorry about that. I released some new products in my workshop last night. The products caused a bit of a commotion."
Bart almost chokes. "Mark, your new mech caused a frenzy on the A.M.S. community. I would not call that a commotion."
Rachel looks at her father. "What do you mean? How did Mark cause a commotion?" Her suspicious look returned.
Mark looked for answers in his mind. "It's nothing, Mom, a mech I made got a better review than I expected."
Rachel tossed a sharp look at her son. The woman was unconvinced by his ambiguous explanation. "I'm going to have to talk to your father about this subject."
Bart grabbed his daughter's hand. "Little bird, let the boy have his secrets; we all have them. Even you." Bart looks at Mark. "Just remember that your mother and I are here to talk when you are ready." The man's look sharpened. "Also, keep in mind that there is a difference between keeping a secret and lying."
Mark understood his grandfather's implication. "I'm sorry, Mom, Granmpa, the truth is that the mech I made turned out to have an S-grade rating and that caused a commotion."
Rachel fell into disbelief. "And exactly how were you able to accomplish that?"
"All I can say is that my friend TL helped me." Mark resorted to his half-truth methods one more time.
"When can I meet this friend of yours?" It was clear from Rachel's tone that she was not asking.
Mark's mental agility came with an excuse on the fly. "Well, Mom, that is going to be impossible. TL had an accident and can not physically move." Mark was not lying this time; he was telling the truth in creative ways.
Rachel's comm-pad sounds with a call. She looked at the caller ID and her face softened. The woman looked at Mark. "We will resume this talk later."
Mark took a deep breath. His father's call saved him. Bart was laughing in his chair. "That is what you get for doing a poor job at keeping secrets. Once you are done with your breakfast, start packing. If you need help, let me know." The man was amused by the whole event.
In his heart, Mark knew his mother and his grandfather deserved to know the truth. But they were not ready. In fact, very few humans were ready. The young man feared the backlash of people knowing the origin of his knowledge.
After centuries of fighting aliens in a cruel war for survival, Humanity developed a deep sense of xenophobia towards non-human species. Letting people know he was using the power of an alien relic will change everything. After getting a second chance with them, he will be dammed if something like that happened.
As he finished his breakfast, Mark helped clean the dishes and then left for his room. On the way there, Mark reviewed the droid design he had completed days before. "I hope these will serve as a peace offering for mom."
For two hours, Mark picked up everything he wanted to take to his new house. He used the hover box to carry his clothes and small personal effects. The books and other belongings went to other boxes; the movers his mom hired will take care of moving those.
Everything was ready. Before leaving, Mark took one final look at his room. For the past few days, coming back to his room had been a blessing in disguise. In his mind, it was akin to finding a familiar place after being lost.
The young man felt that this place was a piece of the puzzle that was Mark Warren. Saying goodbye to this place for a second time felt like ...catharsis.
As he exits the room, Mark carries the last of his boxes to the living room. His mother's things were also there, and there was even a box for Melly's things. Taking one final look at the kitchen and living room, the three of them walked out of the house.
As they exited Miller Hills, Marcus was waiting outside with his sky-car to take them to their new house. They loaded their personal effects, and with a nostalgic look, Mark and Rachel said goodbye to the housing complex.
Rachel barely spoke on the way to Riggan's point. Mark was quietly looking at some mech models, trying to find his next project. Melly was enjoying the view from the sky-car. The silence felt a bit awkward for Marcus.
The man tried to start a conversation. "So, how is your new House?"
Rachel turned to look at the man, "I have only seen the clips Mark has shown me, but it looks very comfortable."
Mark saw an opportunity to distract his mother from her witch hunt. "It's a lot bigger than Mom's Apartment. I actually bought it for the Droid Boutique. I think it's perfect for Mom. She can even hire her friends to work for her."
I have not decided yet if I will go back to robotics, Mark." Rachel's answer had a reluctant tone. She was still bothered by Mark's unexplained successes.
Mark decided to give his mother the two droid designs he had made. His Idea was to give her the simple droid first to lower her guard. After that, the young man will give her the other droid and ask Rachel to name it. "Mom, even if you don't want to take over the boutique, we can still hire people to work for us. But before you decide, I have something I want to show you." Mark first passed her the design for the Warren sweeper.
Rachel took a look at the design. "Mark, this is a working droid. The design looks simple, but there is something weird about it." Her interest was piqued.
Mark smiled; his plan seemed to be working. "Now take a look at this one." Mark sent his nameless design. "It's also a design my friend and I made. We want you to name it."
Marcus placed the sky-car on autopilot. "Son, I feel a bit left out. Can you send me some copies?"
Mark obliged with the man's request."Here you go, Dad."
Rachel was looking at the droid design with amazement. "Mark, I have a Master's degree in robotics, but this droid is beyond me. Some of these solutions I have never even heard of."
Mark filled with expectation. "What are you going to name it, Mom?"
Rachel thought for a moment. With a malicious smile, she made her choice. "I will call it the Mimi Droid."
At the same time, in the outskirts of Berant city, three men in a sky-car waited by the entrance of a penal facility. After a few minutes, the facility gate opens, and a man in a business suit steps out. Gold-rimmed aviator sunglasses cover his eyes. His hands and neck are covered in gang tattoos. And his black hair was neatly arranged. The man patiently walks towards the sky-car.
As he gets close to the vehicle, the front passenger door opens, and one of the men gets down to open the back passenger door. With a slight bow, he greets the walking man. "Boss, it's good to have you back finally."
Ignoring the greetings, the man in the suit gets into the vehicle. The bowing man closes the door and enters the front passenger seat. Inside, the man sitting beside the Boss offers him a cigarette. Once the Boss puts the cigarette in his mouth, the man lights it.
The boss gives a final look at the penal facility. " Gin, how are we doing?"
The man in the front seat quickly answers. "We followed your instructions, and everyone is lying low for the moment. But we are ready for new instructions. Our territory has shrunk, as you expected, but the areas lost are being occupied by an unorganised rabble."
"How are we on hardware?" The Boss asked, dark machinations moved on his head.
The man in the front seat hesitated a moment. "Not so good, Boss, the gunsmith passed away without finishing our order, and the other sources turned their backs on us after your ...vacation."
A hit of anger gleamed from the boss's face. "We invested a lot of money in the gunsmith's workshop. What became of it?"
Gin responded without hesitation this time. "The gunsmith's children sold the place and jumped the system. Do you want me to put a bounty on them?"
The cold expression on the boss's face spoke volumes. "Yes, but I want them alive. They will answer to me," he paused briefly. "Also, find out who is running the place now. If they can build droids, they can make weapons."
Gin started to tap and swipe on his comm-pad. "It will take some time, sir, but it will be done. What do you want us to do about our territory in the meantime?"
After taking A puff of his cigarette, the Boss lets out his decree. "Berant city is mine, teach this to this rabble." A light red glow could be seen through the tainted glass of his gold-rimmed sunglasses.
At the Droid boutique, Mark was unpacking his belongings in his new room. His plans were not a total loss. Rachel was still on her witch hunt, but she was enticed by the droid designs. If nothing else, he gained time to find another solution.
Livia and Alex had arrived and at the moment were helping Mark's mother with some other stuff around the new house. Marcus decided to go talk with his son.
Marcus knocks on the door to the room. "Can I come in?"
Mark looks at his father. "Sure, Dad." He keeps unpacking.
Marcus looks at the place. "This room is about four or five times bigger than your previous room." Marcus pauses for a moment. "Mark, your mother is only worried about you. Don't be angry with her."
Mark confided in his father. "I'm not angry, Dad; I would be more worried if she did not care. If anything, I'm a bit disappointed she does not trust my judgement."
Marcus shared a little wisdom. "Trust is a two-way street, Mark."
Mark felt he was going back and forth with the trust issues. "I know that, Dad. But since she raised me, I thought she would trust her work a little more."
Marcus decided to change the subject. "Anyway, I have a request I want to run by you."
Mark finishes unpacking and sits on the bed. "Sure thing, Dad."
It's about your mech. I would like to produce it in my company. The upgrades you made brought the machine up to modern standards. Don't get me wrong, there are many better machines out there, but the McCain Reaper version 2 would be a good low-cost solution. Besides, the low neuronal load allows practically anyone to use it. What do you say?"
Mark saw a great opportunity to gain more money and TP. "I think it's a great Idea, we can work out the details later. Perhaps I can work at your company."
Mark looked thoughtful. "Well, I have no problem with you working there. I love the idea, but you need a college degree. Sorry, but your education comes first." In his mind, Marcus imagined his son and him growing closer as they steer the company towards new horizons.
Mark thought of a way to get around the education issue. "How about hiring me as a part-time intern? I can help you with the special project you mentioned the other day."
Marcus saw value in his son's suggestion. "You know, Mark, that is not a bad Idea. Rowan has been wanting to talk to you for a few days now." Thinking of Rachel's reaction, Mark's father hesitated. "We'd better talk to your mother before anything."
Mark practically salivated thinking of the TP he could gain if he managed to squeeze his technologies into his father's company. "Let's wait for her to calm down a bit. Meanwhile, I can work from my workshop in AMS.
Marcus scratched his chin. "That is going to be tricky. At the moment, we are working on a project to get a military grant. Unsecure sites like A.M.S. are not allowed. But we can find other solutions.
"Well, while you find those solutions, I will start my new project," Mark mentioned this with ulterior motives. And by the look his father had, it was working.
Their conversation was interrupted by Rachel's voice. Mark, Marcus, come to the kitchen, lunch is ready.