The First Deliveries

The first four production-series Cargo One trucks stood parked in an immaculate, silent row on the damp gravel outside the primary assembly bay of Plant One.

Their engines were cold and still.

Their coachwork enamel gleamed with deep, flawless luster.

Their polished brass radiator shells and headlamp rims caught the crisp rays of the early morning sun, throwing brilliant flashes of golden light across the factory brickwork.

And Ernest Teucher was currently lying flat on his back in the dirt, crawling underneath the third chassis in line.

Arthur Pendelton stood three paces back, clutching a warm leather portfolio and staring with profound disbelief at the pair of scuffed leather work boots protruding from beneath the rear differential.

"Is this undignified spectacle genuinely necessary, Ernest?" Arthur asked, pitching his voice downward toward the gravel.