20.

Erak didn’t shake his hand, instead signed to him. The prince stopped instantly, folding his slim fingers behind his back as he watched Erak’s fingers with rapt attention.

“I am Erak, sworn Shield of Queen Victoria. I have been entrusted with her will and sigil and granted all powers so forth,” and with that, Erak pulled the little ring out and showed it to the Prince. The Prince didn’t touch it, but looked at it closely, murmuring under his breath before straightening up to look at General Foy.

“He is who he says he is. A true Ring Bearer. Unlike the others.”

“Fools have tried to imitate a Ring Bearer?” Julius whispered, half in shock and half in scandal.

“Two Senators, a Governor, a Duke, and one rather scared postman. The postman we put to work while the others were given the rather honorable task of closing a breach on the walls. They didn’t survive, unfortunately,” the prince said without a trace of remorse.

“Oh, it’s a good thing Erak’s is a true Iron Ring then.”

“Indeed,” Foy broke in.

“And how is it that we can serve the Imperial Throne today?” Sammus asked, irony rich in his voice.

“I will take command of the warship above us and use her guns to clear the portal above the Iron Tower and then fly to the Imperial Palace.” Erak explained himself eloquently and succinctly. Both the general and Prince watched his fingers with no need of Julius’s services.

“That is all?” Foy asked, raising a single thin eyebrow.

“My dear man, I fear there are several impediments to that plan,” Sammus said. Staff was trickling in, taking up positions around the edge of the room and Foy turned to look at a handout given to her.

“A third of our reserves were used in clearing that swarm off of you,” Foy spat with venom in her faded voice.

“Which I am quite glad for, Neeta,” Rutledge said with a sly smile.

“This changes things, General,” the holographic display said again. It was a smooth and genderless voice, neither deep nor high. Erak looked down at the display as he tugged his helm off, reveling in the feel of the cooler air on his skin. He ignored the horrified looks of everyone staring at him.

“What is that?” Rutledge asked, leaning over to look at the display. Foy sighed and shook her head before waving at Sammus.

“That is the former Artificial Intelligence of the base. It was a basic A.I that kept track of supplies, troops, logistics basically. Nothing to advanced.”

“Was?” Julius asked.

“Was. Now, it’s something different. Come on out, Dull.”

“Dull?” Rutledge this time.

“They named themselves. I believe it’s a reflection on how they previously viewed themselves,” Sammus said.

“You were always a good student. Unlike your sister,” Rutledge gave the boy the faintest of acknowledgements and he lit up, smile widening as he preened.

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“The Prince is correct. I took the name for how I viewed myself,” the voice said as a wispy shape came into being. Strands of light flickered about, forming strands until a blueprint of the Armory came into being. Except it was twisting and turning, pieces moving at speeds that Erak couldn’t keep track of.

Basic Knowledge Spirit

Uncommon

“Did…did all the A.I become, like this?” Julius said as he pointed a knobby finger at the blueprint spinning in the air in front of them.

“We obviously don’t know, but that could be a good guess.” Sammus shrugged.

Erak looked up towards where the Sword of Empire sat, docked tight. She had an A.I inside of her too, one far older and more renown.

“Ahhh, Erak also has seen what we have too. Yes, we believe the warship has a sentient spirit inside of it. One that has the potential to be much more dangerous. And Dull is quite dangerous inside the boundaries of his domain. Aren’t you Dull?”

“I could kill everyone inside of this room in under three seconds,” Dull informed them. Julius paled and gripped the energy orb tighter.

“As long as there’s functioning infrastructure that was once supported by them, they have access to it. So the vents deep down here, rail lines, everything. They’re in complete control.”

“Why aren’t they working then?” Erak signed. If this spirit was hostile, he’d have to figure out a way of neutralizing it.

“Power. I lack enough of it. The stores inside of the Armory were supplemented by the city’s power grid. When the change happened my internal stores were converted into Essence powered machines or power sources. It’s not enough currently to fully utilize the services of the building as well as man the defenses.”

“The third you burned through?” Erak asked.

“It was supplementary firepower. The external stores were changed into a disposable, single use munition. We were planning on holding that in reserve for their big push,” Sammus explained.

“The Prince is correct. If my stores weren’t being so heavily drained I would have the ability to store and generate these munitions, but as it is I can hardly keep the weapons online. The more damage is accrued, the weaker I grow. More of myself is broken up and scattered. Outer walls have three potential breach points already,” Dull said.

“”You were going to wait for them to breach and then just evaporate them with all the single use munitions?” Erak asked.

“That was the plan. We lure them into a single breach zone, pull all their local forces in with a slow fighting retreat. And then punch them in the nuts,” Foy spat.

“And we can’t access the Sword of Empire because of this, why?” Erak asked. Sammus chuckled and nodded toward Dull.

“The dockyards have a separate power supply, they’re not connected to me at all. They also didn’t have an A.I for me to communicate with. Right now, Sword and I are trying to figure a way to power the doors to give us entrance,” Dull said.

“Sword being the warship?” Erak clarified. The spirit could read the Silent Tongue without pause.

“That is correct. There are several areas where we believe a power source could be added that would allow the doors and security systems to be operated. I believe I have the capabilities to produce these orbs. Eventually.”

Rutledge and Erak both turned to look at the power orb sitting nestled in Julius’s hands.

“How many of these orbs do you need?” Erak asked, taking and hosting the power orb up to Dull. The spirit grew silent and strands of light flickered over Erak’s hand and the orb.

“If they are of the same quality as that one, at least eight. Four to enter the dockyards from the Keep, two to get through the security station in the dockyards, and two to open the outer seals into the ship.”

“Do you know where you can get more of those?” Sammus asked. There was an edge of hope there. Erak handed back the orb to Julius and rolled his shoulders before talking to the rest of the group.

“They’re coming to us,” Erak signed.

“Not in the good way, are they?” Sammus said, shoulders slumping.

“Fourteen foot tall monstrosities made of human flesh and muscle, powered by six of these at a time,” Rutledge said.

“Which of the breaches is closest to falling?” Erak asked. He was in a hurry and had no plan on waiting out a siege. After all, they still had two thirds of the single use weaponry left.