Issue 6 prologue - Niki's second day

Leo threw everything in the back of the rental truck. Alpha drove it to the test site, and Leo and Pneuma followed in Otto. For hours, they subjected the thruster array to every test they could think of. Heat, pressure, exhaust venting, and emergency fuel ejection are all exercised, again and again. This isn't the first time they've done this work, but it's the first time they've executed the entire test suite. But the jets do their job.

Back at the workshop, Leo preps Otto. The huge car-robot unfolds, from a credible sports car imitation into something that looks more like a tanned hide. The construction robots - Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta, with Bob overseeing - mount the thrusters and run fuel pumps throughout the infrastructure. Leo takes care of writing the new pieces into Otto's proprioception software. It's midnight by the time they're done. Leo's the only one who needs to sleep, but he's the last one to quit working.

Leo's slung a hammock up in one corner of the workshop. He's toying with something in his hands when Niki's voice startles him. "Hey Leo?"

"Yeah, what is it?" He looks over. The motorcycle is parked, kickstand down, several feet away. She must have been watching. It's easy to overlook their presence when they hide in vehicle mode, he observes silently.

"Alpha. Beta. Gamma. Delta. And Epsilon and Zeta. Big brother told me about them. And Pneuma. And Nike. Are you Greek?"

Leo laughs aloud, the sound echoing off the workshop walls. "I'm a big mix. My dad's name is Judson Snow. Judson is from Jude, the short form of Judas - the betrayer from the Bible - and that's the Greek form of Judah. Yes, part of me is Greek. I've got some Italian blood too. My full name is Leonard Vincent Snow. Leonard Vincent from Leonardo da Vinci. My dad says we're his descendants. I think he means in spirit, since we're both inventors."

"Oh. That's cool. So you're part Greek." Niki laughs for a moment. "You're a Greek geek." She pauses. "And that's why you call us Greek names. Are we Greek too?"

"You can be whatever you want to be, Niki. The future is yours, now." Leo smiles softly, and returns his eyes to the figure he's turning about in his hand - a well-worn action figure replica of the Enforcers hero Hoplite.