Grease Monkey #1

In the high-stakes cockpit of Earth’s combat flagship, rookie Cadet Robin Plotnik is thrust into his first assignment: assisting Mac Gimbensky, a gruff gorilla flight mechanic who sees engineering as an art form. Dismissive of Robin’s training at first, Mac is stunned when the young cadet quietly fixes the Barbarian Squadron’s vectoring issues—transforming cold mechanics into something beautiful. As battle games ignite, Mac begins to see that Robin might just be a kindred spirit in the art of repair.

In "The Price," Robin is caught between loyalty and consequence when his friend Kevin asks him to copy vital flight coordination software after accidentally deleting his squadron’s files. As Kevin’s Hardrider Squadron begins dominating Robin’s Barbarians in war games, a pattern emerges—too perfect, too predictable. Mac, noticing the imbalance, uncovers the truth behind the sudden advantage and takes decisive action, shutting down the shared linkup and changing the access code. The revelation strains Robin’s trust, forcing him to confront the cost of friendship in a high-stakes environment where every move is watched.

In "Gorilla Tactics," newly arrived recruit Robin finds himself caught in a web of workplace paranoia aboard a tense, isolated ship, where rumors of the enigmatic Mac are used to intimidate newcomers. As tensions rise, Robin and Mac team up to turn the tables with a clever prank—only to find themselves fleeing the ship’s sadistic dentist, leading to a brawl in the Wagering Lounge and a sudden, unexpected confrontation with Kevin over a computer breach.