Proof of Concept Time

After 3 weeks of work on the robot for the contest Lisa, Mary, Alison and Jean work together to load the Robot and its modules into a special Minibus hired for the occasion along with a driver.

After loading the Robot and its Modules into the Minibus everyone boards the van ready to head to the site of the Contest before the driver asks “Where do you need me to take you?”

Lisa tells the Driver where to go calmly before saying “We’re going to a contest there with the cargo.”

“Understood, I’ll get you and your cargo there safely.” The driver replies with a serious look before he looks over the Minibus to be sure everything is in order before starting the engine, checking the surroundings and beginning to drive.

As the driver brings the Minibus out the school gates Lisa looks at everyone and sees how nervous yet excited they are as she thinks “Not like I can blame them for being on edge in this situation, we’ve not been able to do anything like this for a while.”

“Now we have this chance to change things, maybe we can manage to get a fair shot or even a sponsor out of this.” Lisa thinks as she remembers how her club used to have sponsorships from several companies and individuals only to lose it all due to unfair circumstances.

“If we had Ashiro as one of our members by now she could have written more up to date software for us but we’ll have to make do.” Lisa laments as she looks at the Robot in the back worried the old software they used for its programming might not be up to par with what they need to win before turning her head to the front of the Minibus thinking “All we can do now is have faith in the robot we built, the software our alumni’s left us and the skills we each possess for operating the Robots we build.”

As the Minibus drives through the streets it enters the on ramp for the M8 Motorway as the girls look out at the cityscape their nerves settling slightly as they enjoy the view but not completely as they know they will likely face strong competition at the contest.

After some time the Minibus enters an off ramp near a large series of roads with two roundabouts and drives toward as business park at which point Lisa looks behind her at everyone else and says “Get ready, we’ll be there in a few minutes, once we get off keep a close eye on the Robot and don’t leave any part unattended, especially when approached by others.”

Mary, Alison and Jean all nod in response with serious no nonsense looks across their faces like they’re ready for anything, be it dirty tricks or legitimately tough opponents.

As the Minibus enters an entrance gate and pulls up to a building with several other large vehicles of various kinds parked near it giving away how many competitors the girls have.

As the girls disembark from the parked Minibus they look around at the various groups and the coverings of their machines before Lisa looks at Mary and Alison and says “Me and Jean will handle the unloading, you two scout out the competition, be back in 30 minutes.”

Mary and Alison both nod before heading off as a pair to look into their competition for the contest before the contest starts with their rain jackets on over their school uniforms.

Mary and Alison look over the vehicles everyone is using but notice they’re all rental vehicles from various companies with no direct ties to any schools, colleges, universities or other institutions that would attend such a contest leaving the girls with no useful info from the vehicles themselves.

Alison looks at one of the groups and notices someone she recognises from intel files the Alumni’s left on people from other schools at the time before tugging gently on Mary’s coat and gesturing to him at which point Mary nods affirmatively as she also recognises him as someone from the intel database.

“He’s the wiring and electronics genius from Saint Mungo’s that went on to study at Stow College right?” Mary whispers when no one is looking their way, wary of anyone paying attention to them.

Before anyone can take notice of them checking out the competition Alison whispers back “Yep, definitely him, he’s probably in his final year of study there but it’s definitely him, I doubt Stow College would hire a fake.”

A moment after they figure out the identities of half the other contest entrants a man walks over to them in a school uniform for Saint Andrews and calmly asks “You ladies are sizing up the competition aren’t you!”

Mary and Alison look at the man suspicious of his motivations and what he’s up to before Alison looks at him cautiously before she says “We’re just guessing where everyone’s from.”

“Oh really?” The man replies in surprise before looking at them with excitement as he asks “Who have you figured out so far?”

Alison looks at the man intently like she’s catching on to his game before saying “We’ve spotted a few big names like the guys from Stow, North Glasgow and Nautical.”

“Not just north but Nautical and Stow as well, how do you know Stow is here?” The man asks curious about how they figured out Stow is there.

“They brought their genius Electrician for this one.” Alison replies cheerfully before saying “Our seniors warned us about him, he gave them a hard time when he was with Saint Mungo’s.”

The man laughs before saying “How do you know he’s not a fake?”

“Do you honestly think Stow would stoop to such a low?” Mary replies cynically as she keeps looking over the various groups.

The man laughs again as he says “Guess you’re right, that would be pretty extreme.”

“We also know you’re not from Saint Andrews, you’re just wearing the blazer of that guy over there from their group in the rain jacket.” Mary states sharply before asking “So who are you with?”

The man looks at Mary like he didn’t expect anyone to see through his ingenious disguise that only cost him £10 to borrow someone’s uniform as he says “How did you figure it out?”

“I hadn’t until you confirmed my hunch.” Mary replies with a giggle.

“I’m from Glasgow University, you caught me with your well played trick!” The man replies as he notices the slight dark green peeking out of Alison’s jacket before saying “So are you ladies with Saint Mungo’s?”

Alison and Mary look at each other and nod before Alison replies “We’re from Saint Joan of Arc.”

“You’re joking, why would they send two teams?” The man replies with a look of shock.

Mary and Alison both look at him with looks like they just heard something truly terrible before Mary says “Don’t tell us those guys are here too.”

“So you’re not with those guys over there?” The man asks while pointing to a group openly displaying their Saint Joan of Arc school uniforms.

Mary and Alison look over at the group the man is pointing at and see the RCD Club standing next to a 6 wheel lorry with a large pallet with something large on it under a cover.

Upon seeing the RCD Club and their “Drone” Mary and Alison look like they’re fighting the urge to puke while Alison says “We are the Robotics Club, they’re the Radio Controlled Drone Club, or as we like to call them the Rip Off Club.”

The man laughs when he hears their nickname for the RCD Club before saying “Well, if you’re two separate clubs that are in direct competition that should be fine.”

After hearing that Mary and Alison turn around and begin to walk back to Lisa and Jean as Alison says “We’re going back to our group, we’ll see you in the contest.”

After rejoining Lisa and Jean, Alison and Mary fill them in on what they learned before Lisa sighs and says “So the Rip Off Club came too, just the kind of complication we need.”

Jean looks over at them without making it obvious she’s looking at the RCD Club as she says “Are they any kind of real threat to our chances of winning?”

A few moments after Lisa, Mary, Alison and Jean finish talking, a staff member for the company holding the contest walks over and asks “Who among you is in charge?”

Lisa looks at him and moves to the front of the group and confidently states “I am in charge, my name is Lisa McClure and we are the Saint Joan of Arc Robotics Club.”

The man looks at his clipboard before saying “Hold on, did you say you’re from Saint Joan of Arc?”

“Yes, is there a problem with what school we’re from?” Lisa asks outwardly curious but under her poker face worried that her guess at the answer might be correct.

The man scratches his head before looking over at one of the other staff members and signals them to come over before whispering to them as the other staff member quietly nods.

The second staff member takes the clipboard from the first and looks directly at Lisa as he states “There seems to be an issue here, we have another group representing your school here, the problem being we can only allow one group to represent a given party.”

Lisa looks the man in the eye as she states “You count us as ‘Representing’ our School?”

“Is that not the case?” The second staff member asks, confused by what Lisa just implied.

Lisa shakes her head before stating “It’s clearly written in the Schools Extra Curricular Club Charter, each club Does Not represent the School Itself without a Staff Member Present.”

“Do you see an invisible teacher among us?” Lisa asks as she half turns and raises her hand toward the group showing them there are only 4 girls there including her and a hired vehicle driver but no teachers among them.

The second Staff Member looks at the first and asks “Did the other group have a teacher with them?”

“No, they also came without one, does that mean they’re independent of each other?” The first Staff member replies not sure what to do in this situation.

The Second Staff Member looks away from the first as he pulls down the sun visor of his hat as he says “Just treat them as two separate groups unless a pair of teachers show up.”

The Second Staff Member hands back the Clipboard and begins to walk away saying “Just list them as participants as normal, we’ll need to work this issue out in the wording of the rules of future contests.”

After the Second Staff Member leaves the first writes down the groups details on his Clipboard and has everyone sign the safety register for in the event of an emergency and subsequent evacuation.

Once the Staff Member has all the important details written down he has everyone gather around and explains the details of the contest saying “The Contest will take the form of three different tests of your creations capabilities, mobility on a factory floor test, safety certification test and inventory management capabilities test.”

“I assume your machine meets the safety requirement of having a Removable Link Device?” The Staff Member asks procedurally before looking at them like he’s awaiting their reply.

“Yes, our robot is fitted with a Removable Link Device as both a primary and emergency Make Safe Device.” Lisa replies holding up the removed Link unit showing it isn’t currently installed in the Robot rendering it unpowered in its current state.

(A Removable Link Device is a simple yet effective commonly used in Robots meant for Combat but also wise for other types in the event of malfunction, mainly used as a Make Safe Device for disabling the Robot for Handling, Maintenance, Repairs and Transport.)

After confirming the Removable Link Device Circuit is present and noting it on the Clipboard the Staff Member gives the girls a Number and says “When this number is called please bring your Machine to the Loading Dock Door.”

After taking the number from the Staff Member Lisa notices they’re 5th in order and watches as the other teams respond to their numbers being called and going into the building with their Machines as she thinks “The Safety Certification Test shouldn’t be a problem, I have faith in the work everyone put into the physical side of the robot.”

As she watches the Saint Mungo’s group go into the building with their machine Lisa thinks “The issue is the older software he had to use, we were able to find suitable 360 degree cameras for navigation, problem is they’re newer than the ones our fisheye lense distortion correction software.”

Mary, Alison and Jean all notice how nervous Lisa is so Jean pats her back for a moment and says “Don’t be so stiff Prez, if you turn into a rusty robot then how will we ever manage to relax?”

After hearing Jean’s casual words of concern and encouragement Lisa lets out a heavy sigh of relief and says “I guess tensing up won’t help anything, we’ll just have to keep calm and move forward to the best of our ability.”

“That and, ‘If at first you don’t succeed, Blow It Up Again.’, is what gets my vote if this doesn’t work out.” Suddenly an unfamiliar voice rings out from behind them.

Everyone turns around and looks toward the source of the voice and sees a woman with Blood Red Hair worn in twintails, green eyes, a great figure and a fashionable outfit that pairs well with the hat she wears on her head.

Lisa’s eyes widen with shock and surprise at the sight of who is standing there, leading her to reflexively say the name “Ashiro Anzu Shirakaze?”

Mary and Alison look back and forth at Lisa and Ashiro with looks of disbelief while Jean looks at Ashiro in surprise before saying “You’re Ashiro?”

The moment she hears Jean’s reaction Lisa looks at her and asks “You didn’t know what she looked like?”

“I’d heard rumours and vague descriptions but never seen her myself.” Jean replies as she giggles innocently.

“I don’t have much time so if you don’t mind can we get to business?” Ashiro asks calmly yet with a hint of urgency.

Lisa regains her composure before looking at her and says “Yes, what brought you here at such a convenient time?”

Ashiro pulls a USB Drive from her pocket and says “I managed to slip away from the Computer Club but I can’t get away for long, I brought you this, it’s an image distortion correction program for current fish-eye lens cameras.”

“How did you know we needed that!?” Lisa replies in surprise.

“I found out via Jean’s Brother John, he filled me in when I was doing my research for my plan to join you.” Ashiro replies with a cheery look as she puts it between her lips and holds it there to free up her hands so she can take her laptop out of its bag.

After taking out her Laptop Ashiro turns it on and plugs in the USB Drive before looking at Lisa and saying “Can we get the Robots electronics working so I can update the software or can that be done via the controller?”

Lisa uncovers the robot realising what Ashiro plans to do before getting it ready for a software update and hands Ashiro the USB cable as she says “Please be quick, they may call us any time.”

Ashiro silently nods as she takes the cable and connects it to her Laptop and begins manually installing the new software as she says “I’ll need to get going once this is done but I’ll fill you in on my situation in a few days.”

After finishing the software update Ashiro disconnects her Laptop from the Robot before saying “You can remove the Removable Link again now, I’ve not only installed the program but improved and optimised your other existing software boosting efficiency by about 70%.”

“How did you do that after seeing the software for the first time?” Lisa asks with a look of shock.

As she puts away her laptop and hands Lisa the USB, Ashiro simply giggles as she replies “I studied the software beforehand using the copies John sent me on request.”

As soon as Ashiro hands over the USB a Staff Member calls the groups number at which point Ashiro pulls out her phone and begins to fiddle with an app as she says “I’ll be headed back now, good luck and don’t lose to those hacks in the RCD Club.”

Lisa, Mary, Alison and Jean all give Ashiro a thumbs up and say in unison “Count on us!”

After hearing their reply turns and begins to walk away before they quickly remove the Removable Link and cover the Robot again and proceed to the building's Loading Dock Door.

After entering they are directed to a freight elevator with a staff member on hand to operate it for participants.

The moment they reach the floor where they are to have their robot examined for the Safety Certification they are directed to a room with the number 5 on it.

As they walk down the corridor with their robot the girls notice security cameras placed strategically around the corridor making sure every single spot is watched before reaching the door marked 5.

Upon entering they’re greeted by a group of engineers who instruct them to place the robot and any parts for it in the middle of the room and stand back while they carry out the inspection.

After the Girls position the Robot and modules for inspection they move to the part of the room prepared for them to use as a waiting area and each take a seat.

While waiting patiently Alison looks at Lisa and asks “About this Ashiro getting copies of our software from Jean’s older brother, do you think he really gave her that software?”

Lisa sighs at the question due to her own feelings on the matter before saying “It wouldn’t surprise me, I only knew him for a year after the school opened back up after lock-down but he’s definitely eccentric enough to do it.”

“She’s extremely skilled, improving the efficiency of the software by 70%.” Alison replies with a look of envy at Ashiro’s coding skills before letting out a sigh and lamenting “I wish I was good at writing programs like she is, if I were we’d have less trouble with things like this.”

“Don’t go comparing yourself to her.” Lisa says with a stern tone before looking her right in the eye and stating “I asked an acquaintance who knows how to code but couldn’t solve our issues to take a look at that app for the 3D Printer and he said it was like reading an Alien Language!”

Alison looks at Lisa in shock at what Lisa’s behind the scenes investigation of Ashiro’s skills uncovered before whispering “Are you sure she’s the one who wrote such a freaky program, not someone else who lets her take credit for it?”

“Not from what my older brother says.” Jean states as she enters the conversation before continuing “My Brother asked James, his generation's Coder, to have a look at her handy work and he said he’d never seen anything so radical in his life.”

Lisa, Alison and even Mary who’d been listening without saying anything yet all look utterly stunned by what they just heard as James was the coding ace of his generation before moving to America for a job in Silicon Valley.

While the girls are busy looking dumbfounded by Ashiro’s unprecedented coding skills one of the staff members walks over and says “We’ve completed our inspections and tests, your robot is certified as safe to use.”

“Understood, then what are our next instructions?” Lisa asks calm yet curiously as she and the girls all stand, ready to proceed to the next stage.

The staff member hands them a certificate certifying that the Robot they submitted meets the standards of safety required for all participants in the contest regardless of if their designs will be adopted or purchased by anyone.

After handing them the certificate the Staff Member points to a door on the opposite end of the room from the door they used to enter and says “Exit via that door and follow the corridor, you’ll find a door marked with a Number 5, enter there and you’ll be instructed on what to do for your next test.”

Lisa nods and leads the girls over to the Robot and begin to move it out of the door ready to continue to the next stage.

After leaving the room Alison and Mary look at each other as they discuss the fact Ashiro has terrifying skills before Mary says “Do you know what she meant when she said, ‘If at first you don’t succeed, blow it up again’?”

“No clue, maybe it’s something from that game she plays.” Alison replies with a look of confusion as to where Ashiro got such a line.

After a few minutes they reach the second door marked 5 and enter ready for whatever is on the other side.

Upon entering the staff members there greet them kindly and professionally before one explains “In this phase you will navigate the Robot through a large stock room from this door to the freight elevator on the other side which will return you to the ground floor for the final test.”

“Do you have any questions?” The Staff Member asks while looking the picture of professionalism.

Jean raises her hand and asks “I’m the driver, might I know what kind of obstacles we have to deal with?”

“For the most part you will have to find that out during the test, but I can say that there will be moving obstacles, so be wary of those.” The Staff Member explains in reply as Mary and Alison ready the Robot for action.

After a few minutes the Robot is ready and in position with Jean holding the controller and looking at the monitors for each of the 4 cameras on the robot as the Staff Member in charge says “The test starts in, 3, 2, 1, begin!”

Jean pushes the control accelerator control stick forward slightly maintaining walking speed while keeping an eye out for anything mobile as she drives the Robot through several tall sets of shelves calmly.

After passing three sets of shelves Jean slows slightly as she pushes the left and right turn stick slightly to the right, keeping a close eye on the surroundings via the camera before heading forward following the markings on the floor meant to guide her into a row of tall storage shelves.

After turning left when the markings indicated to do so Jean notices a set of shelves about to fall down before aiming one camera at the shelf and another at the point where it is compromised and pushes a button to take a screenshot with both cameras and shows them to the Staff Member in charge showing the Robots capability to identify such things and says “This spot is dangerous, I’ll take a detour but before I do, I thought I should report the danger.”

The man nods and takes a note of the discovery while another notes something down on a clipboard regarding the discovery.

After returning the cameras to their default positions Jean slowly reverses the Robot toward the exit of the alley but stops suddenly before a man with a pallet lifter passes by before continuing to reverse out cautiously, stopping at the exit to check for any signs of bystanders before pulling out just to be safe.

After exiting the alley and entering the neighbouring one three alleys down from the one with the damaged shelves on the opposite side from direction they’d fall Jean carefully drives the Robot through watching for signs of anything unexpected and stops suddenly.

As soon as Jean stops a box falls from above about 1 metre in front of the Robot.

Jean takes a screenshot of the box and where it fell from and reports it to the Staff Member In Charge before carefully navigating around the box as the Staff Member with the Clipboard continues to take notes on the test.

After getting out of the Alley Jean uses the cameras to find the Markers and follows them to the freight elevator finishing the test.

Upon receiving confirmation the Robot has reached the Freight Elevator via radio the Staff Member In Charge looks at the girls and says “You’ve cleared this stage of the Contest, congratulations.”

After hearing what the Staff Member said Jean powers down the Robot as Lisa tells the man how to open the panel to access the Removable Link Device before they arrive at the Freight Elevator.

After several minutes of walking they arrive at the fake Fright Elevator used for the test and load the Robot back onto the Cargo Pallet ready to take to the next area.

Lisa walks up to the Staff Member In Charge with a serious look and asks “So where do we go next?”

The Staff Member hands them proof of having passed the test and points them to a set of double doors and explains “Head through those doors and you’ll find a Real Freight Elevator at the end of the hall, the staff member there will take you to the Ground Floor, from there head to a room Marked 5.”

Lisa nods in acknowledgement before doing as instructed.

Once girls reach the final room's door they apprehensively open the door and find…

To Be Continues