"Mr. Wallace, someone sent another flower arrangement next door." A secretary in sharp heels walked into a spacious office, reporting to a middle-aged man with a prominent gut.
"Who is it this time?" Mr. Wallace asked, leaning back. He'd heard a new tenant was moving into the building next door, but he hadn't thought much of it. These days, you could share a wall with someone for years without knowing their name, let alone a neighboring firm.
But the scene this morning had floored him. It looked like a startup run by a few kids, yet the director of the Tech Park Management Committee had personally stopped by to offer congratulations.
Not only that, but giants like SpaceX, Tesla, and FedEx had all sent massive floral displays. He couldn't help but wonder what kind of background this new company had to command that kind of respect.
"It's DJI," the secretary answered.
Wallace froze. "You mean the DJI? The drone kings?"
"Yep." She nodded. "I saw the card myself. Miami DJI Technology Co., Ltd."
Wallace stood up immediately, pacing for a second. "Go. Order the biggest arrangement you can find and get it over there right now."
"On it!"
...Originally, Nick and the guys hadn't planned on a grand opening. But shortly after they unlocked the doors, a flower basket arrived from SpaceX, followed by DJI, Tesla, FedEx, and several other firms they'd barely even spoken to.
Then, the head of the Management Committee showed up out of nowhere for a "congratulatory inspection," leaving Nick completely blindsided. By noon, so many "neighbors" had sent arrangements that the entire entrance was a wall of flowers.
He got why SpaceX and DJI sent them—they were partners. And while they hadn't signed deals with UPS or FedEx, they'd been in talks, so it made sense. But the random companies and the crowd of curious neighbors joining the hype? That was a mystery.
By day one, "Militech" was the talk of the entire high-tech park. Everyone was gossiping about who was actually behind the curtain.
The rumors weren't just outside the office, either; the newly hired employees were just as clueless. On their very first day, the big boss was nowhere to be found.
Nick, of course, didn't have time for a ribbon-cutting. He was already in Miami with Terry and a few new techs, preparing to join Ryan for the bidding meeting hosted by the City Tourism Department.
The city was taking this Fourth of July show incredibly seriously, even bringing in a panel of aerospace experts to ensure the bidding process was bulletproof.
Nick's team was there for the technical demo and the choreography pitch. They had to prove their plan was viable before they even got a shot at the final contract. After days of scouting and crunching numbers, they'd submitted their proposal the night before.
Once the panel saw the document, the room went silent. If DJI's logo hadn't been on the cover, the experts probably would have tossed it straight into the shredder.
"Twelve thousand drones at the least!? Are you out of your minds?" During the technical Q&A, a Professor Sun from the local university laid into them.
Nick just smiled. "We have total confidence in our system."
"Heh, big talk." Professor Sun sneered, glancing back at the plan. "You realize the stakes here. If there's a glitch or a mid-air collision, do you have any idea what the fallout looks like for the city?"
Nick shook his head calmly. "I trust our tech. That twelve-thousand-drone figure isn't a guess; it's the result of a rigorous simulation."
"Rigorous? Based on what?" another expert chimed in.
Nick pulled up a map on the massive screen. "We scouted every inch of the downtown waterfront and pulled historical wind and humidity data for this window from the National Weather Service.
Looking at the skyline and the desired visual impact, we decided to move the performance from the standard park area to the airspace directly over the bay to the east.
This gives us a massive flight window, keeps the swarm away from high-rises and residential zones, and ensures maximum safety. More importantly, we can sync the city's skyscraper light shows into the choreography, creating a massive, immersive display."
"Oh?" Sitting next to the experts was Director Moore, head of the Tourism Department. He was leaning in now. The idea of a world-record thousand-drone show was exactly the kind of move that would put the city on the global map.
"Can you walk us through the logistics?"
Hearing the interest from the man holding the checkbook, Nick nodded. "First, by flying over the water, we eliminate the risk of a drone falling on a crowd.
Second, the bay is a natural dark spot in the city's light profile, which makes the drone LEDs pop significantly more.
Finally, the airspace is huge. Theoretically, we could fly even more, but we've capped it at twelve thousand for this specific show."
"But it's over water," Professor Sun countered. "How do you launch and land twelve thousand units?"
Nick pointed back to the map. "We launch in five distinct sub-swarms from surrounding piers and barges. They converge in the center of the bay to form the main display.
Once the show is over, they'll navigate to a designated landing zone on the island across the bay for recovery by our ground crews."
Professor Sun nodded slowly, though he still looked skeptical. "Fine. But how do you handle the turbulence? Wind off the water is unpredictable. With a swarm that dense, one gust could cause a chain reaction of collisions that brings the whole thing down in seconds."
"That," Nick said, "is where our core technology comes in. Our system..."