State Poland, Free Rzeszów, TACTA
Team “Ghosts of the Future”, August 16, 2049, 3:53 PM
While Redhead kept Radoslaw’s attention firmly on her, Maksim discreetly synced with Alisa and her secondary threads running the show in the workshop.
He connected just in time to witness the crescendo of her “techno-symphony” — and the sheer scale of it left him stunned.
[Alisa, what in the world are you… uh, creating here?]
[Oh, nothing much — just optimized the processes, set up uninterrupted production, and revamped most of the drone crafting protocols. Like, printing everything on the molecular assembler? That’s just inefficient. Why spend ages printing what machining tools can whip up in no time?]
[ That’s amazing, seriously! I’m proud of you. But I’m calling for business. We’re in the middle of negotiations about the pickups, and my gut tells me we’ll need to show off our AI in action to seal the deal. Let’s introduce you as the project’s chief engineer — you’ll talk to Radoslaw yourself, both as you and as Moira’s virtual avatar. It’ll be a strong argument, especially after what I just saw.]
[Got it, big brother. No problem. I’ll channel my inner airheaded but dutiful blonde. Ha-ha!]
[Alisa, for crying out loud — stop already!]
[Sorry, couldn’t resist. Alright, bring in your master. I’ll give him a crash course on how to really work the machines. Use the fourth camera — here’s the controller for it. Let him poke around and explore. He won’t see anything top-secret through it, anyway.]
[Perfect, thanks. I’m off.]
[Catch you later,] the sly blonde trickster grinned, already plotting the most elegant way to blow the poor expert’s mind.
Maksim quickly set up a private online conference, linked the camera controls, checked that everything was running smoothly, and turned to Radoslaw.
“Here’s the thing — we have a lot of respect for your workshop. But everyone has their area of expertise. To clarify our position, I’d like you to try working directly with the AI that’s currently managing our production. Just give it a go and see for yourself. I’ve sent you the chat invite.”
“Alright, let’s see what it’s got,” Radoslaw said, slipping his engineering goggles back on and pulling on his control gloves. His fingers began moving with deliberate precision, like a pianist warming up before a grand performance. Judging by the spark in his eye, visible even through the translucent lenses, he was already plotting an absurdly tricky question to throw at the AI.
From the sidelines, Maksim and Nikola observed as Radoslaw’s expression evolved — first neutral, then intrigued, and finally outright astonished as he immersed himself in VR. After what felt like a long, suspenseful ten minutes, he returned to reality, visibly taken aback.
“Well, what can I say…” Radoslaw scratched his head, his tone thoughtful. “I have to hand it to you — every expert truly shines in their field. Your AI and your engineer, Alisa... they’re exceptional. Um... I’m ready to accept your terms. In fact, I’ll even knock a bit off the labor costs. But tell me — would it be possible to continue working with you after this? I’d love the opportunity to send you design and production requests in the future.”
Maksim shrugged, looking slightly sheepish.
“We’d be happy to. But honestly? We only rented this facility about an hour ago… and we’ve got exactly…” He checked the AR time display, “a hundred and nineteen hours left. That’s all we booked.”
It seemed like Radoslaw couldn’t possibly look more stunned, but somehow, he did. He opened his mouth to speak, coughed instead, grabbed a glass of water, took a sip — and immediately choked.
“You’re telling me,” he finally rasped, “you’d never set foot in this workshop before? And you rented it just an hour — an hour, kurwa, ja pierdolę! — ago? Sure, your engineer, Alisa, is a genius, I’ll give you that. But your AI… it’s something else!”
“She,” Maksim corrected with pedantic calm.
“What?”
“She’s something else. Our AI, Moira — she’s a girl,” Maksim clarified with saintly patience. His team’s female members had made it very clear that convincing Radoslaw was critical. Without his expertise, they’d insisted, there was no point looking elsewhere — they could do a “good enough” job on their own if it came to that.
“Ah, gotcha. Everyone’s got their... quirks,” the older mechanic said with a wry chuckle. “But if you and your ‘girl’ decide to keep this manufacturing gig going, make sure you call me, yeah? I’d love to keep working with you. By the way, where did you lot even come from? You don’t see an AI of this caliber every day. Especially after the invasion.”
“Well, you’re right — she is top-tier,” Maksim admitted, without exaggeration. “But just to give you some context — we’ve got plenty of experience, not just in IT, but in engineering too.”
“Don’t tell me you worked for the corp-types?” Radoslaw asked, his curiosity clearly piqued. “I’ve done my share of special projects with them, but they never managed to rope me in full-time. That world just wasn’t for me.”
“Oh no, much better!” Max shot a glance at Redhead, catching her amused smirk before quickly clarifying. “I mean, all of us except Nikola. She joined us more recently, from the first moments of the invasion, you could say. Before that, we were all part of a robotics lovers club.”
“A club… of what exactly?” The master’s brow twitched noticeably. His usual stern expression cracked, and Nika stifled a laugh, remembering her own first encounter with these ‘students’ — and her shock at their so-called ‘ordinary club.’
“Like I said,” Maksim replied, completely unfazed and perhaps even a bit proud. “The Robotics Lovers Club. Startup. Kyiv Polytechnic Institute.”
“Hmm,” Radoslaw muttered, his tone thoughtful as he threw up his hands in mock surrender. “Well, looks like my life’s officially been turned upside down. Still… if there’s one thing I’ve learned today, it’s that I made the right call telling those corporate headhunters to shove it. If a ‘Robotics Club’ can outdo them this easily…”
He shook his head decisively, brushing away the stray thoughts, and refocused on the task at hand.
“Alright, let’s get down to business. Both trucks are practically identical, so here’s my proposed budget.”
The master picked up his tablet and began entering numbers, which instantly mirrored onto the holographic display hovering above the coffee table.
#Radoslaw Skiba, Cost Estimate for Upgrading M-350 ERaptor KX:
* Frame and suspension reinforcement, specialized shocks, full drivetrain preparation: 3,000 grants.
* Wheels, fender flares, installation, and calibration: an additional 1,000 grants.
The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
* Body armor, undercarriage protection, full off-road kit: 5,000 grants.
* Turrets: depends on stabilization requirements; let’s call it 6,000 grants for a standard setup.
* Drone system: considering universal adaptability… Hmm, I’ve got blueprints for a compatible module. It can be configured as either a catapult or rail launcher: 4,000 grants.
* Full electrical overhaul for a TACTA generator, including reprogramming the vehicle’s “brain”: no less than 7,000 grants, purely in labor costs.
* Processors, sensors, cabling, signal boosters, and other miscellaneous components: let’s round it out at 1,500 grants.
“So, for one pickup, that’s 27,500 grants. Since there are two, the total comes to 55,000. That’s with the discount for being honored clients and for the bulk order. If you supply the parts yourselves, I can lower it a bit. Just a bit.”
“A bit?” Maksim interjected, raising a brow. “Come on, Pan Radoslaw, let’s be honest. This calculation is purely for your labor and your consumables. That doesn’t exactly seem fair, does it?”
“Fifty-five thousand grants for both trucks, correct?” Nikola chimed in, her tone syrupy sweet, though her expression conveyed just the right amount of dismay at the hefty price. “And that does already include all the discounts and perks?”
“Exactly,” Radoslaw replied, his face calm but unreadable. “Now, if you’re looking for a different figure, I’m still waiting for a proper counteroffer — apart from you handling some of the parts yourselves.”
[Max, here’s the consumables table — market prices. Start with this and build from there,] Alisa didn’t sit idle and had already prepared the calculations her brother needed. [Hit him with a solid partnership offer. We’ll fine-tune the recipes, sell them, and maybe even set him up with a franchise. Optimized production processes, a slick blend of Earth and TACTA tech — and we’ll even roll out a dedicated crafting module in the System. This is a Klondike just begging to be mined. I need a couple billion fast — still gotta grab that ‘Queen Lamarck’ Sky Bastion I promised. Priorities, Max.]
[You’re amazing, sis. Leave it to me.] [You’re amazing, sis. Leave it to me.]
Maksim allowed himself a small smile. Alisa’s business instincts had become razor-sharp — and her sense of humor? Well, let’s just say it had developed a delightfully sharp edge of its own. Then again, he thought, in times like these, who could blame her?
Running the numbers in his head, Maksim weighed up the complexity of the parts they’d need to crank out. Most of it didn’t need the fancy TACTA assemblers — machining tools and good old bots could handle the job just fine. Producing intricate components or even full modules wasn’t an issue.
The Robotics Club’s database was a goldmine, packed with everything from schematics to full-on off-road blueprints. Materials? Not a problem. All in all, this partnership idea really was a smart play.
And considering their startup roots, they already had all the software they needed to pull off practically any production setup. They had plenty to bring to the table for Pan Radoslaw.
Besides, Alisa had turned that rented workshop into a full-blown tech wonderland. That alone — combined with the prospect of a long-term partnership — gave the “Ghosts” every reason to push for a discount. Sure, the team had money to spare right now… but the Chernykh siblings had been raised on scraping together every last coin and hunting down income like it was their religion. And those habits? They weren’t about to change. Not even for the little things.
“Alright,” Maksim said, nodding as he finalized his thoughts. “Here’s the plan. We’ll handle nearly all the parts ourselves, except for the most specialized components. Using average market rates for materials and factoring in Pan Radoslaw’s labor costs, here’s what I came up with.”
#Maksim Chernykh’s Counteroffer for M-350 ERaptor KX Upgrades
* Frame and suspension reinforcement, specialized shocks, full drivetrain prep: 2,300 grants (we’ll supply the basic components; the rest is on you).
* Wheels, fender flares, installation, and calibration: 1,000 grants (no changes to this).
* Body armor, undercarriage protection, full off-road kit: 750 grants (labor is on you, all materials and components will come from us).
* Turrets (stabilization complexity-dependent): 2,000 grants (we already have stabilization systems ready, and we’ll manufacture the turret modules ourselves).
* Drone launch system: 3,000 grants (we’ll fabricate the components, but we’ll need your expertise to properly integrate them into the pickups).
* Complete electrical overhaul for a TACTA generator and reprogramming the vehicle’s ‘brain’: 3,000 grants (You’ll handle the system retrofit, while our specialist will flash the AI. All consumables — wiring included — are on us).
* Processors, sensors, cabling, signal amplifiers, etc.: 1,000 grants (kept this largely intact; there’s a significant amount of minor components involved. If anything calls for an adjustment, we can discuss).
TOTAL:13,050 grants per truck.
Deadline: No more than 40 hours.
The master glanced at the revised numbers and shot up from his chair in disbelief.
“Are you kidding me? You slashed the cost in half, Pan Maksim! By God’s wrath, are you trying to leave me without a single grosz? And how exactly do you expect me to meet that crazy deadline?”
Max smirked. “Her Holy Brightness blesses us — we’re engineers, after all. Why should we fear her?”
“Her Holy Brightness?” Radoslaw frowned. “Who’s that supposed to be?”
“I’m curious too,” Redhead who’d been quietly listening, thought, and perked up, her fox-like curiosity piqued.
“Ah,” Maksim replied with a casual wave, “just a playful goddess from the ‘Great Pantheon of Synthetic Religions.’ Anyway, is that how you treat your future partners in the craft-engineering business?”
“Oh… I see… got it,” Radoslaw muttered after a pause, glancing at the message from the ‘Ghosts’ about the partnership proposal. He hadn’t had time to dig into the details yet, but the gist was clear. And the potential for collaboration had already dawned on him twenty minutes ago.
“A discount? Okay, you win.” he said at last, breaking into a broad grin.
“Well?” Nikola planted her hands on her hips, smirking. “Now you see the ‘Wild Cats’ don’t stand a fucking chance against the ‘Ghosts’?”
Radoslaw bared his yellowed teeth in a wolfish grin. “Not yet. But once I’m done with these trucks, the ‘Wild Cats’ will be eating your dust and choking on it.”
----------------------------------------
The “Ghosts” left the workshop and headed back toward the hostel. Less than three hours remained before their meeting with the Colonel, and Maksim was set on starting Nikola’s long-promised training in “berserker control,” drawing on Eastern martial arts and meditative techniques.
Most of the key points for the future partnership had already been agreed upon. Alisa stayed connected with Radoslaw, ironing out the finer details and finalizing the action plan.
“We’re amazing, aren’t we, Max?” Redhead checked the team’s conference feed, ensuring no one was online and the stream was off. Confident they were alone, she seized the opportunity to pull her boyfriend into a passionate kiss. Full-on, with tongue. Right in the middle of the street. And she didn’t give a damn about the passing pedestrians.
After a good minute and a half, she finally broke away with a playful glint in her eyes.
“So, I’m guessing I know exactly what kind of ‘martial arts’ you’ve got in mind?”
“Not quite,” Maksim sighed, forcing himself to stay on track.
The thought of ditching everything, heading back to the hostel, locking the door, and losing themselves in each other? Yeah, it was tempting. But now wasn’t the time. With a mix of regret and resolve, he gently pulled away from Nicola’s embrace, raising his hand to tick off points on his fingers.
“Look, Sunshine, I’d love to, but first — your connector damage is way too serious. We need to wait for TACTA’s med-capsule and run a proper diagnostic. Second, you’re meditating with me. You know how much you need it. And third, we don’t have much time before the meeting with the Colonel. We need to prep with Alisa and Dasha, even if it’s just the two of us going in.”
“Seriously? Just the two of us? Why’s that?”
“Alisa’s tied up with crafting, negotiating with Radoslaw, and hammering out the partnership agreement. Dasha’s working on a patch for your Berserker system — though it doesn’t sound like it’ll take her long. Once that’s done, we’ll install it, and she can shift back to working on the architecture. And tonight, we’ll all hit the bar together. But after that…”
Maksim smiled, “you’re welcome to stop by my room for another… meditation session. A gentler one, considering your current state. Then we’ll pop you into the capsule to regenerate and get some proper rest. It should be here by the time TACTA delivers our order.”
At that exact moment, a group call from Dasha came through — a DeepVR summon lighting up across their shared interface. She had just joined the conference and, seeing everyone marked as “available,” initiated the call without hesitation.
[Give us a sec — we’ll make it to the truck!] Maksim replied.
Diving into virtual reality while standing in the middle of the street wasn’t exactly part of their safety protocols. After all, only Dasha — and Alisa, for obvious reasons — had the skills to operate effectively in the real world while being completely engaged in the digital realm.
The pair quickly jogged to the truck, climbed into the seats, buckled in, and answered the call. A moment later, the world around them faded, replaced by the hyper-immersive environment of DeepVR.