“The manipulation type automatons are good for more diverse jobs. They’re a medium-size build and can do most jobs, at a slower pace but they can be everywhere.” As Quino talked, he pointed at different tables and areas that held parts and semi-assembled automatons.
“When I was looking through the battleship, I found that there were a number of issues. For the third one, I was wondering if we would have these automatons ready. If we do, then I want to see if we can group people together and do a ground-up build—see where these issues are coming from. From that, we can update the other battleships and then leave it up to Jeeves to work on the remaining ships,” Dave said.
“We’ve got the basic ideas down, but the factories needed to assemble these, it might take a few months. If we’re willing to use more of the automatons and repair bots, then we can cut that down to a week or two,” Quino said.
“Sounds good to me.” Dave had been hoping that Jeeves would have been able to make the ships all by himself. Looking through the battleship’s coding when he was working with it and studying it with his Touch of the Land.
Even if they allowed the other ships to be made at the same time, it wouldn’t be a great loss. With the combination of soul gem constructs and the new automatons adapting the older versions of the battleships to whatever they came up with would at most take a few days.
Kol came out of the workshop that he was in, with what looked like a spine with overlapping plates midway up it in his hands. He put it on a table. The heat still came off it as the runes on the table quickly pulled the heat from what he’d been forging.
It had been formed with silver and ebony metal fused together, as well as a number of trace minerals and metals. Kol had gained a great interest in searching out new permutations of metals and materials to improve his smithing. With his smithing art Blind Man’s Touch, he was able to easily find a resonance with the metal that he was using and to greater understand what every manner and mixture of material would create.
“What’s that?” Dave looked at the metal contraption.
“This is the backbone of the new automatons. They’re too inflexible and based off using just metal to create them. I took some inspiration from our own bodies. This spinal column is hollowed out and will have a soul gem construct grown inside. With a certain mixture of soul gem and various materials, it is possible to turn it into a flexible material, much like ligaments instead of simply a hard one.” Kol smiled. “It can also be as strong as steel.”
Dave had a look of shock on his face.
“To have flexible soul gems, and at that strength, the number of things that we could use that for—we could save a massive amount of time, allowing them to follow paths that the regular sheet-like soul gem constructs wouldn’t be able to.” Malsour sounded lost but his brain quickly caught on as his eyes filled with excitement. If they had this kind of information and ability before, they wouldn’t have needed to sink the roots of the metal into the ground underneath the citadels. The soul gem could have used its malleable state to instead grow outward instead of from on top of the metallic superstructure.
“It will also make creating these automatons a lot faster. With the right magical coding, we can grow out different arms and various tools from this spine unit. We’ve been looking at having different machines for different uses and it’s a good idea, but with this, it could have presets, directly replacing the repair bots. It could carry items, weld them, work with magical coding—acting as an extension of Jeeves,” Kol said.
“I am currently running simulations and I believe that the time savings of this automaton with current rough models and with a three percent variation, we could save twelve percent production time. With increased data and greater use, in time, I believe that this number will increase,” Jeeves said from above.
“That’s incredible—bring a build time of ten days down to nine. The resource costs would simply be this base spine unit and the metal plating. The soul gem constructs, now that we’ve got the factories up and running at full blast, aren’t an issue. We’ve got plenty of power and the mines in the ice planet are yielding high fuel numbers.” Dave talked it over, thinking on it.
“You never said that you were working on this.” Quino looked over the construct.
“Well, right now, it’s really rough. I don’t know enough about magical coding or soul gems workings, only about altering their material characteristics. I melded the two together and it seems like it would be possible.” Kol shrugged.
“The interior of this isn’t bad, could use some refinement, but I don’t see too many issues with it,” Quino said, a grin appearing as he looked to Dave. “Well, looks like we’ll be able to do that build faster and sooner than you thought!”
“It’ll take a few days to get this unit grown and test it out, but afterward we should be able to make the various parts pretty easily,” Kol said.
“Okay, well, let us know if you need anything. This could be a massive boost to our production,” Malsour said.
Captain Xue cleared his throat. The group had forgotten about Xue and his security detail.
“Ah, sorry about that. Well, these two have a lot to work on so we’re off to look at Jeeves’s processing plants. You probably won’t find this as fun, but I know Edwards will and it will also mean delayed reaction times on your fire programs if you’re using AI and other computer programs in order to use your weapons and other systems within your craft.” Dave smiled.
***
“What can you tell us about the situation within the system Nal?” one of the Deq’ual system councillors asked Sato, who sat in front of the entire council.
Council Leader Wong sat in the center of the council members, also looking down upon Sato.
“Captain Xue and his protection detail were shown around the asteroid base and the location known as Ice City within the Nal system. They have now returned to their craft safe and unharmed. They were watched the entire time by Mirrors of Communication to make sure that there were no issues. We were able to learn of a great variety of technologies that Edwards and his people are working on to develop and understand to a greater degree. We hope to be able to bring this information and these creations to the rest of the people within the Deq’ual system,” Sato said.
“What were their military capabilities?” another councillor asked, sounding a bit bored with what Sato had already stated.
“We know that the people within Nal have advanced stealth technology, born from the magical coding system that we ourselves use. They also have sensor units that are better than our own. We do not know of their weapon capabilities nor do we know fully what their power plant situation, armor or other shielding is like. We do know that they currently have three large ships under construction. They refer to them as destroyers. We do not know their capabilities at this time but it is thought that they are built to enter and exit atmosphere. They have a variety of weapons. They have two more massive ships that are also under construction.
“They are referred to as battleships. They appear to be more heavily armed and armored. They also either have an incredibly powerful ability to do small jumps in-system, or they are able to stealth themselves, easily avoiding our sensors. Both of these ship types do not have any what we would call normal drive systems. They do seem to have the ability to move in space but we have not yet seen this,” Sato said.
“What kind of threat do you think that they present?” a new councillor asked.
Sato couldn’t stop himself from frowning. “It is my opinion that they are not a threat to us. They have no information of where we are or what our true capabilities are. They have allowed us to see within their base that they are keeping a secret from the rest of the universe. Ice City is not only a location that they use to innovate and work on new technologies that will aide them in throwing off the Jukal. It is the home of the majority of the people who work on the Pandora’s Box Initiative. They accepted us, not only to see what their abilities are but to see the
ir families. They have shown again and again their trust in us and have given us information that has allowed us to greatly advance our own capabilities and strengths.”
“Commander, there is no need to be defensive. We simply need to know if they are a threat or if they are someone who can help us attain our goals,” another councillor said.
Sato kept his words down as he heard the tone of the councillor. It didn’t sound as if they cared about the trust displayed—only the threat of the people in Nal and what they could get out of them.
The second councillor to talk spoke up again. “Would they be willing to give us their plans on their ships?”
Although the councillor didn’t outwardly display it and the question seemed innocent, Sato had been in these circles enough by now to see the greed in the councillors’ eyes and the way that a number of them leaned forward.
With the boost in how the military was doing things and the conditions within Deq’ual had been improved, the councillors had gained more power and they liked to have the people on their side.
“I do not believe that they will and that it might strain relationships between our two groups if we were to ask them,” Sato said in a voice devoid of emotion.
The second councillor seemed to have a thoughtful look on his face as Council Leader Wong spoke up.
“If it was up to you, what would you do, considering this recent development?” Wong asked.
“I believe that this is a good opportunity to create an outpost within the Nal system near the asteroid base. We have been talking about plans to create a forward-operating base to be used if and when we begin our offensive against the Jukal and to also act as a place to send out stealth craft from. There is no population in the Nal system other than the people from Emerilia. It is perfect to create a base. It would also allow us to strengthen ties with the people of Emerilia and we could start to trade resources and items,” Sato said.
“What kind of items?” the third councillor asked.
“Growing beds, automatons, items that would make our people’s lives easier while also increasing our production, both in speed and quality,” Sato said.
Before the tech that Edwards had been using to make ships and the shipyards, the council would have fought tooth and nail to build any warships. Now, with the extra resources and people being excited that they were actually doing something, they were happy to continue with making more ships. Changing the plans and upgrading them, however, that was being controlled by the Deq’ual leadership.
One of the councillors made to speak. Sato, reading their body language, quickly spoke.
“I believe it is of military importance that we place an outpost within the system Nal.”
A few of the councillors’ faces went darker for a few moments.
Sato had clearly seen that the councillor who had made to speak was looking to take a break from this meeting in order to talk to her allies. If they had enough time, then they would wrap it all up in red tape until Sato essentially gave them control of it. Once he stated that the military thought it was important, because the military had the people on their side, it became much harder to slow the process and wrest control to themselves and thus take the credit for everything while placing the blame on the military for anything that went wrong.
Sato saw a look of approval on Wong’s face.
“I believe that we should then put this to a vote, whether or not to fund a mission to create an outpost in the Nal system. It will be responsible for creating a safe harbor for our forces away from the Deq’ual system as well as building a stronger relationship with the people of Emerilia.” Wong looked to the council.
The council quickly voted. Wong read the results when it was all said and done. She looked up at Sato with a blank expression, hiding her emotions.
“Very well, Commander Sato. You are given permission to create an outpost within the Nal system. I expect a plan of action in front of this council within the next few days,” Wong said.
“Yes, Council Leader.” Sato nodded slightly.
“Very well. Are there any more questions? Otherwise, I believe it would be best to address the people of the Deq’ual system and tell them that we are not the only known spacefaring human group that we know of and that we have made allies in the Nal system,” Wong said. Her words mobilized the councillors.
Even though it was the military that had done it, they would use it to bring themselves into a better light with the people.
Sato didn’t care as he had gained the approval he needed in order to create his outpost.
Chapter 17: Weapons of War
“They’ve shaped up faster than I had hoped,” Lox said. He and Deia stood on top of Citadel One. Behind them, the artillery crews were hard at work, moving around rounds. They were just using training rounds that would let off flares of light where they would strike, not harming anyone but allowing the crews to work on their accuracy.
The aerial forces were moving constantly, making it hard for the defenders to peg them with their training weapons as well. They were erratic and almost suicidal at times but it flowed. Their communication skills had been good to start within their own units but now they were working with multiple units. They had trained and trained until they could communicate throughout the aerial forces, ground forces, and citadel forces to coordinate their actions.
The five Dragons were like heavy bombers being protected by the lighter aerial forces. The aerial forces fought off the biggest attacks from the defending citadel while the Dragons unleashed illuminating spells that showed where they would hit.
Mages and ranged fighters from the citadel added in their own fire, working with the artillery and the ground forces to suppress the defending citadel.
From the skies, the citadel’s forces had dropped in a dense stream. They had filled the sky with platforms and those wearing drop packs. Through training, their ability to trust their gear and focus on what they needed to do instead of what might happen had taken over.
Here and there, the defenders would knock out those coming from the citadel but Deia had faith that they would quickly rectify these issues, evolving their battle plans.
The speed at which they dropped out was much faster, not allowing the defenders to pick them off at leisure. And they were even quicker to move into formation; groups would land close together, quickly assembling into their units and advancing upon the defenders.
The dwarven shield units as well as the various skirmishing, ranged, and mounted units that they brought with them charged toward the enemy as soon as they formed up like an unending swarm. Anything that had a ranged ability worked to suppress the defending citadel and give these forces the cover and time they needed in order to close with the enemy.
“Feels like a lifetime ago that we were training together in the Kufo’tel forest, with me teaching you lot the basics of scouting,” Deia said, a fond smile on her face.
Lox snorted. “Fat lot of good that did. I remember Deli ripping the loudest fart on the first scouting excursion we went on!”
“Scared the deer we were stalking right off!” Deia laughed and shook her head, her smile dimming.
“What’s on your mind, lass?” Lox asked, seeing Deia’s expression.
“Just, you know, a number of us won’t make it back from all of this. We’re not only fighting the event, the gods are also stirring and the Jukal await us. If we’re to survive, we’re going to have to show our true strength at some time, and doing that will mean that the Jukal will descend upon us with all they have.” Deia looked at those forces assaulting and defending Citadel Two. “How many must die for us to get our freedom?”
They stood there in silence, looking down upon those they had worked with for five weeks to train and make them capable of fighting from the flying citadels.
“Too many,” Lox said, his soft voice in contrast to his build. His eyes held sadness in them as he took in the glorious sight of those fighting.
They captured that mom
ent in time, not because they loved to see people fighting and training, but because no matter the training that they gave them, some would live, some would die, but here and now they were alive and they were giving their all to survive— to win.
Even in the sadness of the moment, they wore proud smiles. Proud in the strength of those who had come together to fight for their families, their loved ones and for the people on either side of them.
In one week, their first battle would come—the end to their training and the start of the campaign to bring Emerilia back under the control of the people who called it home.
***
“Hey, Jung Lee.” Dave entered the secured laboratory that was buried deep under Ice City.
“Dave.” Jung Lee greeted him with a smile, reaching out his hand which Dave clasped, the two of them turning to face what Jung Lee was working on.
He had worked with the flying citadels for a bit but he had found that his skills were put to better use elsewhere. He had come to Ice City, lending his hand to the growing facilities as well as the alchemists. He worked on both of their projects but his main project within Ice City was working with the weapons, armaments, shields and armor that were supposed to stop them, of the Pandora’s Box Initiative.
The area that they were in wasn’t that large but it had multiple heavily armored and Mana shielded rooms with some of the most complex stealth runes and even self-destruction magical coding around it. The entire facility was powered by an isolated fusion power plant and could be completely shut off from the rest of Ice City.
Down here, Jung Lee experimented with bringing life and working on his various maladies and healing potions, and he also worked on weapons of mass destruction. It seemed like the two were vastly opposite but the more Jung Lee worked on them, the more they became similar.
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