Attendance at Fortescue Military Academy M1 Y:2142
House Thoth, Squad Leader, Squad Zero
M1 Rank: 1/1275, Tier 3 M-Rank: Null
Term: 2, Round: 1
Daedalus Operating Capital: 130,000 bitcreds
----------------------------------------
Amelia Mace was thinking about the viscosity of molecules while practising yoga.
She woke up in the middle of the night – on more than one occasion – with an idea and quickly told her AI before going to back sleep.
While running the obstacle course, her mind wandered to synthetic compounds. How to make them smaller. What could be done to decrease friction?
When she had free time, she put her ideas into models to simulate the outcomes. Squad Zero had a potential recruit who was both talented and experienced with chemical engineering. Yet Mace was consumed with the challenge Daedo had given her. He had asked Jensen for an improvement on the hydraulic fluid they were using in the exos with the deadline being the end of the trial.
This task was also assigned to her with the same deadline. She took it as a challenge. It was a competition.
When Daedo beat her on the Gauntlet, it didn’t evoke the same emotional response. It was because she viewed Daedo as an ally; they were on the same team. If he was number one and she was number two, it didn’t really make a difference to her. They held the top two spots. Certainly, if the number one spot was held by another squad, her attitude would have been dramatically different.
Mace viewed Jensen as an outsider. Until he committed to Daedalus, and the squad, he would remain a competitor to her.
She was lost in deep thought when Vannier tapped her. ”Sorry. Dinner is in three minutes.” Vanner was always mindful of not disturbing her fellow cadets when they were studying, but she also ensured they didn’t miss group activities. Like meals. Meals were good.
It was 1715 on the first Wednesday of the term – merely three days in, and it seemed like a month to Mace. She’d worked and played hard on the break, and although she put in long hours at the workshop, she still felt invigorated when she returned for a new round of the Gauntlet and obstacle course. Her time spent with Daedo, Cisse, and Ikaros felt like a vacation, and the Munich trip had been a blast.
The only stressful part of the break was when her parents not only spent time with her but with the squad as well. Her mother, especially, was a worry. She asked questions, which Mace found not only embarrassing but surprising. She had never had a crush in her life, and while she liked and respected Daedo, he was a year younger and only a good friend and ally.
In her mind, it definitely wasn’t a crush. When her mother hinted at it, she just wanted to scream at them to leave immediately before her mother could spread her insane theories, embarrass her, and doom her reputation beyond repair.
“You working on chem?” Vannier asked.
Mace nodded.
Vannier smiled. Mace was a girl of few words. When a nod would suffice, that was all she gave. Vannier continued to query her as they walked to the cafeteria. “Are you enjoying it?”
Mace thought about the question. She had never considered whether she enjoyed chem eng or not. After a full minute of contemplation, she said, “You know what, I actually do like it.”
Vannier wasn’t surprised, “You like anything that’s math heavy and logical. It’s no surprise that you liked it once you got into it.”
“Don’t tell Daedo,” Mace said urgently.
Vannier thought about that for a moment. “You don’t want your like of the subject to influence the decision about Jensen? He has to want to stay as well.”
“He’d be an idiot not to,” Mace said without giving reasons. Vannier would know the reasons.
“What we have may not be obvious in just five days,” Vannier said.
“Just don’t say anything, okay?” Mace pleaded.
Vannier stopped Mace for a moment. They were about to enter earshot of the table. “Mace, I love you, but …” she paused and gripped both of Mace’s shoulders, looking her in the eyes. “I am not going to make a promise to do something that is not in the best interest of the squad.” She let go and began to walk towards the table, then she looked back at Mace and smiled. “And I never make a promise I intend to break.”
Mace stewed, suddenly angry, then confused about why she was angry. She schooled her expression. Vannier would do what she thought was right, and she was never malicious. Mace decided to just do her own thing, and what would happen would happen. There was no point worrying about it. Both Daedo and Vannier were responsible and smart; they wouldn’t put personal feelings ahead of what was the best choice.
Mace considered dropping the chem eng project. The one Daedo asked her to do. She could begin reading up on metallurgy now, as it was still related to chem eng. Her outward expression may have been schooled, but her mind was running a million miles an hour. She shook her head to free it of doubt. She wasn’t a wishy-washy person to change direction on a whim. She would see this project through. A decision would be made on Friday, and she would go in one direction or another based on that decision.
Vannier leaned over and whispered softly, “I’m getting the hang of reading you.”
Mace looked at her with her cool, emotionless expression. But her eyes told the truth – ‘You may be able to read a tiger, but that doesn’t stop it from ripping you to shreds.’ Or some similar analogy that had the same outcome.
----------------------------------------
As the squad enjoyed their communal meal, thankfully free of intrusions from outsiders, a message came in from Cillian Marais. It wasn’t considered an intrusion because it wasn’t some imbecile from Osiris Squad Twenty with some baseless accusation about cheating or some invented wrongdoing that Squad Zero had committed.
[Cillian Marais, Marais Industries CTO]
To: Daedalus; Barran, Daedo, Vannier, Mace, Picard, and Axel-Zero.
It was a vid sent to all the current squad members that Barran had included in his correspondence the previous week. In the vid, Cillian Marais was working on a vehicle, walking around the workshop while a drone, presumably, followed him and recorded what he had to say.
“Daedalus, or should I say Squad Zero?” Cillian said. He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. Anyway, I got your message, Barran. Thanks. I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you last week; we’ve been busy.” A drone followed Cillian’s arm as he pointed at something. “Our model four is due for final EUDF testing tomorrow morning, and it’s all rush-rush around here.”
The model four was a massive VTOL carrier. The cadets could see four external mech bays on the side, which probably meant there were another four on the other side. The carrier had enough jets on the underside and rear to carry two hundred tonnes of mechs and gear. It was enormous and looked like it was built solidly enough to withstand a few missile blasts.
Cillian said, “It was brought forward, so I couldn’t afford the time to come and see you last week. But after tomorrow morning, the crunch will be over. I’m sending this message now because Stanley also contacted me about you.” Suddenly, he looked across at a technician with a handheld torch and yelled, “Don’t pussyfoot around! Weld it on properly, Pierre, it’s a flying tank for God’s sake!”
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
He looked back at the drone sheepishly. “Sorry. We treat these machines with kid gloves so much the team tends to forget they can take a wallop when required.
“Okay, back to business. I can come out tomorrow night at 1800. Stanley said he could make that time as well. I am sorry if this interferes with your squad activities, but I have to head to North America and then China with the demo model fours. I’ll be away for at least a week. After you get this, just let me know whether to come to Nanterre this week or after I get back, and we’ll make other arrangements.”
Cillian made a circle with his finger aimed upward and then pointed to the model four carrier. The drone then slowly panned around the carrier showing its size and the workshop in the background. It made their workshop look tiny in comparison. There were a dozen of the demonstration model fours all looking finished and another dozen in the middle stages of assembly. Each one was twelve metres tall and approximately fifty metres long. They were built so solidly that the six undercarriage jets doubled as landing gear. There were another two jets on the rear and another on each of the wings.
The cadets could not tell what the propulsion method was, but it had to be fusion drives. Nothing else would be that size and have enough power to lift a two-hundred-tonne carrier.
Cillian smiled and waved. The vid winked out.
“Now that was amazing,” Barran said in awe.
Daedo had to agree. “Did you see the size of the plant? The bridge cranes alone were beyond anything I’ve seen. They must be rated over five hundred tonnes.”
“Only you would get excited over a bridge crane,” Barran said. “I was looking at the carriers.”
“No, that’s not correct,” Vannier said. “I think Ikaros would get excited over the bridge cranes as well.”
Everyone laughed at the thought of Ikaros’s reaction to the Marais machinery.
“What are we going to do?” Picard asked.
Daedo thought about the offer. Meeting at 1800 was not a good time. They could possibly miss arena practice, which was at 2015. The Gauntlet – their most important session – was at 2230, so it was safe.
“Let’s agree,” he said. “We can make this work; we just have to be back by 2230 for the Gauntlet.”
Barran sent off the missive agreeing to meet Colonel Martin and Cillian Marais at 1800 on Thursday night.
“Who’s going?” Axel-Zero asked.
“We need Barran and you, as business manager and finance. We need Daedo as the leader and inventor,” Vannier said.
“Vannier, Mace, and Picard,” Daedo stated. Jensen was not part of Daedalus.
“I’ll stay here and work on my project; you don’t need me for this,” Mace said.
Vannier nodded slowly, and Daedo said, “Okay, it’s your call.”
Daedo opened up his workshop control panel and ordered six of the latest exos to be produced for testing, upping the sizes of one of the exos for Stanley Martin.
“Colonel Martin is 2000 millimetres, do you think?” Daedo asked.
Barran nodded. “Yeah, that’ll be enough.” There was wiggle room in the exo, and if it was too big, the inside clamps could be adjusted. It was only a massive issue if it was too small or oversized to such a degree the clamps couldn’t grip firmly. Except for Jensen, Squad Zero exos were the perfect size for each cadet, which enabled peak performance of the powered armour.
----------------------------------------
Five squad members were about to leave for the workshop to meet Cillian Marais and Colonel Martin.
“Jensen,” Daedo called out. “Can you give me an update on the project?”
Vannier was still there, standing next to Daedo. Otherwise, they were alone.
Jensen nodded. He had been working hard to try to fit in. After initial astonishment at the physical activities, he had not complained. “I’ve made progress – enough to submit tomorrow. But to be honest, Daedo, I’ll only hand it over if I’m staying.”
Daedo rubbed his chin unconsciously. “I was going to use the results of your project to inform my decision.”
Jensen frowned. “Your decision? I thought Master Nader and the academy decided they wanted me and placed me in this squad?”
“Jensen, just as you are evaluating us, we are evaluating you,” Vannier said. “There is much more at stake here than a position in our squad.”
“What else is at stake?” Jensen asked.
Vannier looked at Daedo, who nodded. She said, “All the members of this squad are shareholders in Daedalus – a company we have built supported by our research and development. The meeting you heard about tonight is with Marais Industries and the EUDF concerning our exo.”
“And it doesn’t stop there,” Daedo said. “We reinvest all the profits back into Daedalus to purchase manufacturing machinery and materials. I won’t say much more, but we have big plans.”
Jensen looked shocked at first before his eyes narrowed slightly. “And you want me to help your company with propulsion and power delivery.” He referred to the hydraulic fluid as power delivery, because the exo – or a mech – would utilise pumps, pistons, motors, and hydraulic fluids to deliver power from the reactor to all the mechanical moving parts.
“Master Nader searched for a specialist to fill a need. Is that so surprising?” Vannier asked.
Jensen shrugged. “I’ll make a decision tomorrow; I want to sleep on it. If I decide to stay, I’ll send you my findings. I’m sure that will convince you.”
Daedo nodded. “Okay. That’s fair.” He turned to Vannier. “Let’s get going.”
Daedo headed to the workshop with Vannier, Barran, Picard, and Axel-Zero. It was unusual for cadets to leave campus during the week, but it was allowed with permission, which was sort of given by Master Nader. They arrived moments before their guests.
Cillian greeted them with a nod and a smile as he came in. “Thoth Squad Zero. Or should I say, ‘Daedalus?’”
“When we’re outside of the academy, Daedalus is fine,” Vannier said. “Welcome to our workshop.” She introduced the cadets, although Cillian, and certainly Colonel Martin, likely already knew everyone by name.
Cillian introduced the Marais business development executive. “This is our BDE; everyone just calls him Tom.” Tom was the expert that Colonel Martin had asked Cillian to bring.
“Now, I have to ask,” Cillian said, “do you have all your patents in place now? Can I take a close look at everything?”
Axel-Zero nodded. “Yes, sir, it’s all in place. You can look at everything except lower level two.”
“What’s on lower level two!” Cillian exclaimed before adding with a wave of his hands, “I’m kidding. You need to protect your ideas. Even from someone like me.” He covered his mouth and acted as if he didn’t want his colleague to hear what he said next. “Don’t trust Tom with any secrets. He’s in sales.”
Picard nodded knowingly and placed a hand on Barran’s shoulder. “We have one of those.”
“Let’s give you the tour,” Vannier said, leading the group through the workshop. She talked the guests through each room’s machinery and setup before arriving at lower one, which was the testing bay.
Daedo took over and guided the guests around the exos, including putting Colonel Martin in one for a hands-on demo. Picard showed them the railgun they’d been working on before the five cadets played a game of tag with Martin – all six of them in the medium version of the exos.
They had dropped the heavy version before the tournament last term. Barran enjoyed the extra speed of the medium, but Daedo preferred to have the entire squad in the same exo.
While the cadets were demolishing Colonel Martin’s pride, Cillian spoke with Tom. “We need to get this exo on the EUDF procurement list. Stanley is certain it’s better than what they’re currently using.”
Tom nodded. “Of course. What is the arrangement with the kids?”
“From my point of view, it’s just helping the next generation, and I can ask them if they’ll pay your usual commission. Is that fine with you?”
“You’re the boss. And yes, that’s fair,” Tom said. “What about the railgun?”
“It's not there yet,” Cillian said. Tom was an excellent BDE, but he couldn’t tell the difference between a military-grade railgun and Daedalus’s current model.
After the demonstration was finished, Stanley asked, “How was that?”
“You got pwned, Colonel!” Cillian laughed at his friend.
“Bah, I haven’t used one of these in years,” Stanley said. “But I’m certain it’s an improvement in speed over our current model.”
“It’s not ready,” Daedo informed the adults, much to their surprise. “We need to improve the power delivery and the mesh compound. We need another term.”
“We can demo this as a prototype and get the ball rolling,” Tom said. “Will it feature in the Tier 3 league?”
“It better!” Cillian exclaimed before adding more softly, “I’m sure it will, Tom.”
Tom nodded. “Good, that will help.” He addressed the squad. “Cadets, if you can give me six units the same size as Colonel Martin’s, I can start the process. Mr Marais will forward you the contract for your approval.”
“A contract for you to sell these to the EUDF?” Barran asked.
“Yes. Is there a problem?” Tom asked.
“Hell, no!” Barran exclaimed.
“Assuming the contract is acceptable,” Axel-Zero added.
“I am sure it will be very favourable for Daedalus,” Cillian said with a smile.
The contract Cillian Marais would send the following day gave Tom Synkov the right to represent Daedalus to approved clients. In each case, Daedalus would have to approve whether Tom could represent them to avoid any conflicts with their internal sales. There were no payments to Marais Industry, only a ten per cent profit share to Tom Synkov. Which meant Daedalus would keep ninety per cent of profits on any business deals Tom brokered.
Manufacture and supply contracts were problems for another day. Daedalus was given the expert help it needed to reach the most profitable contracts by someone the members trusted. If Tom failed, it cost them nothing other than the materials provided. The innovative mesh weave was protected by the patent with the IPO. It was possible for another company to manufacture an exo with it and sell it, but they would have to pay Daedalus royalties as determined by the IPO.
Stanley had told the cadets on his last visit that if they ever wanted his advice, all they had to do was ask.
“Before you go,” Daedo said to Cillian and Stanley, “I have a problem I wanted your advice on.”