All negotiation must have an end goal in mind.
-Famous quote from Ushkia the Politician
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A light knock on the library door woke Mori from her pseudo-meditation. She looked up from her book and towards the door, “Come in,” she said. The door opened to reveal Fara standing there without her mask on. She barged in and sat on the end of the table, the area clear of Jel and Pride’s work to let her do so.
“Urgh…” she groaned, “Wearing this mask all the time gets on my nerves… How do you manage to wear that helmet all day? It just looks annoying to wear for so long.”
“Come on, I’m a skeleton. I don’t get uncomfortable, I just feel it on my bones like I would my cloak. So, did you just want to complain about the mask you’re wearing or do you have something else?”
Fara nodded, smiling, “Yeah, I do. We’ve arrived at the base camp. Well, we will in a half hour or so,” she explained, “Now, how’re you doing on our project? I already finished an armor design too. Assuming we’re doing this with bodies of humans or the like, right?”
Mori nodded, “For now, we’re going for human bodies. After that, we can try using Unio to change the bodies to make it all better. For now, though, humans or orcs, or elves or whoever else agrees to donate their bodies to this experiment. Now that we have some sort of plan for these things, I think we should come up with some weaponry.”
Fara tilted her head a bit, “Weapons? Why not just have them use swords and shields? It may not have range, but the armor will block most bullets anyway.”
“Well, sure, but the best part of these things, I think, is the ability for them to comfortably use big weapons…” Mori paused for a moment, “What are Gribnik’s warcaskets like?”
Fara’s face turned to worry, “Mori, you aren’t thinking of emulating the design of the warcaskets, are you?”
Mori shook her head vigorously, “No! I would never try to emulate those things. What I’m getting at here is asking if they’re somewhat similar. If they are, we can use the weapon design philosophy and make something for our own guys that can be better.”
Fara carefully looked at Mori for another few seconds before sighing, “Alright, that’s fine. But there’s a problem with that. They don’t really… give warcaskets weapons.”
Frowning, Mori stared at Fara, “What?”
“It’s true. They are handed big slabs of stone and sent in as shields for the poorly equipped infantry soldiers. Of the infantry, they can get lever action rifles. If they’re lucky. Some just get revolvers. I will remind you, though, that recent developments in Mount Averus tech makes these rifles called ‘bolt-action rifles.’ They’re apparently more reliable and longer lasting than lever action rifles with just as much punch.”
Mori tilted her head, “Fara, how long ago did your people discover guns?”
She thought for a second, “Apparently, it was a hundred years ago or so. Believe it or not, the Clockworks did not carry guns before that. They used swords and spears. Now though… well, they obviously have guns.”
“I see… well, it took Earth a whole millennium to go from gunpowder to bolt action rifles. Then again, it was a localized invention and the world was not getting a constant supply of it from killing robots. Alright, do you think that, if we ask nicely, we can convince the army from Mount Averus to give us a schematic for the guns?”
Fara shook her head, “Nope. They’re very protective of their tech. So much so that they always enchant their rifles to implode when someone tries to crack it open. Why? Did you have an idea?”
Mori gave a wavy gesture, “Kinda. I thought we could take a bolt action rifle, then upscale it to fit in the hands of a big mech soldier. If we can’t do something like that, maybe we can downsize a cannon and make a big musket… Well, that's for later. We’ll probably need a team of engineers and mechanics to actually make these things in any significant number.
“Now that I think about it, I don’t really know much about the other cities in the Vast Dust. I know Gribnik will be fielding an army of peasants and prisoners welded into metal suits, Green Oasis will be fielding a big group of normal soldiers, Mount Averus will be fielding a well equipped army, and that Nolus is just a fleet of glorified criminals. What about Nikolan or Affex?”
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Fara smiled, showing a glint in her eye that only came out when she was about to begin a long explanation, “Well, you didn’t really get to everything. Most of Gribnik’s army is peasants and warcaskets, but the nobles and knights also make appearances occasionally. They are actually adept at wielding magic, being the main force behind most of their armies with the rest of it being cannon fodder to buy time for big, flashy spells. They also have the Blue Robes following them, but I doubt they will factor into things all that much.
“Green Oasis, though, is a hub for Hunter activity in the Vast Dust. That’s why there’s a fleet just as big as the force Green Oasis is bringing made up of volunteers and Hunters.
“Mount Averus, though, is interesting. They’re, again, the most advanced among everyone in terms of magic and technology, but they’re also fond of engineering experiments. With so much material dropping at their doorstep, they’ll probably have something groundbreaking by the end of this.
“Nolus is… well you weren’t wrong. It’s just a band of cutthroats and thieves. It’s their Affex allies that are the more interesting ones. They’re working with old, decrepit equipment that only functions off of hopes, dreams, and hatred of their enemies. Those guys are vicious, and they want nothing more than to rip into their counterparts from either side of the border.
“The last of the major groups is Nikolan. Like I said, they’re master siege engineers and fortification mages, only rivaled by Mount Averus. Unlike them, though, they have enough high quality mages to make a difference. They also have a large number of True Chimerics. Those are people who basically become powerful sapient animals in an attempt to draw power from their new animalistic nature. They’re good fighters and good counterparts for the fortification mages.”
Mori gave a low whistle, “Wow, that was a lot. You sure you aren’t enjoying this too much?” she chuckled, much to the bemusement of Fara, “Anyway, so that’s the military strength. What about their objectives going into this. The Green Oasis fleet already diverted north to stay closer to Gribnik’s fleet, so politics will be a part of the planning.”
Fara nodded, “Agreed. Green Oasis, Nikolan, Mount Averus, and Nolus probably won’t make any moves or preemptively engage in closed-doors politics. Unless it’s to plan against the other three. Affex and Gribnik, on the other hand, are different stories. Affex, both north and south, will try to cause the most damage to the other in whatever way they can.
“Gribnik is going to try to screw everyone over. That’s all there is to it. They’ll tell their armies to advance just a bit slower than everyone else. They’ll cast their spells just a bit too late to save someone important. They’ll make an important commander be unable to attend a battle and get a large part of that city’s army killed.
“That is the sort of stuff the nobles of Gribnik will do. There’s also a good chance that they try to pressure lower-ranked officers and soldiers of other cities into doing things for them. Spying and… sexual acts are common. Mori, do not, ever, trust a Gribnik noble.
“One more thing, though. Gribnik is actually very large. They own a large part of the upper Vast, meaning that they have a large population and large food source. They also want to expand their territory. Just watch out for any of their traps and you’ll be fine.”
Mori leaned back, chewing on the information for a while, “Alright, so trust Green Oasis, Mount Averus, and Nikolan. Don’t do that for Nolus, Affex, or Gribnik. Alright, now let’s think of our own goals here.”
Fara glared a bit, “Mori, our goals are to eliminate the Hive. What else can we ask for?” Mori understood Fara’s reluctance to go into the meeting between them with ulterior motives— Mori was just as reluctant to do so— but there were things they needed help with and using the things they made to defeat the Hive was too important to give up.
“We need help, Fara. Our project here,” she said while holding up her notebook, “Could save thousands of lives. Just think about it. If we get a good flow of bodies, a steady supply of Clocksteel, and people to help with it all, we could produce legions of magically enhanced soldiers that could steamroll them! All we need is support for the project. Are you alright with negotiating that?” she asked.
For a moment, Fara thoughtfully stroked her chin before nodding, “That’s fine. It’s not like we’re asking to be paid anything that’s too much; we just want the resources to make this war quick and decisive. Alright, I’m in.” Mori grinned, standing and hugging her friend, “Do we have anything else to talk about?”
Mori thought for a moment before nodding, pulling away from the hug, “Yeah. Military strategy for ourselves. Obviously, I am far from an experienced tactician, but I had a few ideas I wanted to run by you first.” Fara nodded, gesturing for her to continue, “Alright, idea one: we use the wyrms to dig tunnels underneath the mountains and into the fallen city. Normally, they swim through the ground like water, but they were pretty good at excavation. How’s that idea?”
Fara thought for a moment before shrugging, “I don’t know enough about Hives to make that judgment. Using what I know, though, I think it could work. What was the other idea?”
“Alright, the other idea was a bit less… neat, but I think it could work. Basically, I meld a bunch of Clockwork husks together and use their bodies as an undead shield to block whatever attacks they have in store. How’s that?”
Again, Fara shrugged, “Same as before. Dunno. Well, we’ll be there soon, so let’s just-”
“We’ve arrived, Mistress, Fara,” Aerolat’s voice said, coming from all around them. Mori jumped a bit, but Fara held her in place while giving a teasing smile.
“Looks like we’re here. Let’s go,” Mori said as she led Fara out of the library.