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
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The tribulations of Friday were long forgotten. The young cadets spent little time dwelling on the past when they were consumed with Gauntlet runs, studies, and research.
During the weekend, the obstacle course was replaced with a long run, which kept getting longer throughout the first term. Their first runs were eight kilometres, and now they ran up to fifteen. More than that was not advisable, so they focused on getting times down and kept the maximum distance to fifteen.
“How did you come up with a signing bonus?” Barran asked Daedo while they ran.
“They used to have them in CyberMech with pro teams,” Daedo said.
“I thought you never joined a team.”
“No, I stayed freelance. They paid me per match.”
“Oh I get it, you saw signing bonuses when they tried to sign you.”
“Why didn’t you ever join a team?” Vannier asked.
Daedo shrugged a little. “I didn’t want to become part of a group and follow orders, I guess.”
“Look at you now!” Vannier said with a laugh.
“Yeah, it wasn’t as bad as I thought,” Daedo said.
“Er,” Barran said, “maybe cos you’re giving the orders usually?”
As they ran, the cadets discussed the plan for their meeting in the afternoon with the Kangs. Keeping the pace well within their best allowed them to talk easily. When pushed, Daedo and Vannier couldn’t talk at all. Barran never seemed to have that issue.
When the squad got back to the workshop, Daedo found that Cisse had arrived and was down on lower two.
Her lab was a mass of pipes, cylinders, wires, and heavy reinforcement – the last giving Daedo both reassurance and trepidation.
“Good morning, Cisse,” Daedo said politely.
She stood and gave a salute, receiving only a head shake in return.
“Cisse, only people in the military salute each other,” Daedo said. “And there are tons of rules about it.”
“Oh, I like to feel I’m part of the squad,” she explained.
“Sure, we can register a private military organisation under Daedalus; you can sign up and then you can have another thousand rules to follow. Sound good?” Daedo teased.
“Ah. I think I’ll pass,” Cisse said.
“I want to start digging into all the details of the prototype. Can you walk me through the plans?” Daedo asked.
“Sure, sure. Let’s go virtual – it’ll be easier,” she said.
Donning their helmets, they entered the virtual space where Cisse brought up the complicated plans for the Troika reactor prototype. She walked him through all the stages and began to explain the challenges.
“While good in theory, even with the best available designs, we are struggling with particle acceleration and control,” Cisse told him.
“Is this why there are no antimatter annihilators in use?” Daedo asked.
“Pretty much. There are several issues – containment, cost of energy of the containment, size of containment, and the key issue … separation and control of particles.”
“The cylinder you’re currently using is at what temperature?”
“Three Kelvin,” she said.
“We have enough power for the accelerator and the cooling?”
“I added a second fusion reactor to the building. Between that, the lithium plasma, and the local embedded network, we’re good.”
“Yeah, I noticed the second. What’s its rating?” he asked.
The pair continued to dig into all the technical aspects of the design. Daedo felt like they were years off and needed breakthroughs in several of the supporting technologies – the plasma, laser control, the magnetic fields, and shielding. And those supporting technologies needed to use less energy than what was being created. Even if this was all conquered, they would have something that could fit into a building or a spaceship. Far too large for a mech and especially an exo.
Daedo said, “You’re working on laser control. Do we need help with the other three?”
Cisse nodded sadly. “I thought we could at least get a prototype up and running, but the laser control alone will take me an indefinite amount of time. The magnetic fields are fine for fusion, but for these subatomic particles, we need better containment; otherwise, we don’t control the reaction to the degree required.”
“Okay.” He had no idea what Nader had in mind, but he would do as she asked. If she could find experts to help with the problematic areas, then it would speed up their development; anything would be an improvement to the current status.
Daedo didn’t need to tell Cisse to be careful. Her legs and memories were a constant reminder of what could go wrong.
He headed back to the main workshop floor. Old Dawg had been stripped down to his frame during the holidays. The new designs weren’t ready, but there was no reason they couldn’t add the hydraulic mesh used on the exos to Old Dawg. His frame was covered with the unique power delivery system which doubled as an insulating armour.
Actuators were connected to all of Old Dawg’s joints. He would now be able to move under his own power once the cold fusion reactor was in place. Daedo had decided on the one large unit rather than a few micros. The weight-to-power gain for increasing the size was better than proportional, and the redundancy and delivery gains for having multiple micros would be offset by staging lithium plasma power storage units at each of the key conduit junctions.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Ikaros said, “Let’s get the reactor in so it’s ready for your visitors.” He was finishing off the lithium plasma storage installation by hand. The robots were not fully programmed for that sort of work. While assembling exos was automated, for other tasks they had to be driven manually. Ikaros preferred to do the delicate work by hand as opposed to voice or other remote control of a robot. That didn’t stop him from having them lift the heavy parts.
“Jack, bring over the reactor from storage bay seventeen,” Ikaros ordered Jack, his heavy lifting robot. Jack was on four wheels and able to lift up to ten tonnes depending on the angle and reach. That number dropped quickly to one tonne at his maximum reach. For anything heavier, they used the overhead crane, which spanned the main workshop; it was rated at forty tonnes.
“Thanks, Dad. As soon as that’s in, can you begin the initialisation sequence please?” Daedo asked.
Ikaros nodded. “I’ll have Axel-Zero walk him as soon as the lithium has charge as well.”
Axel-Zero said excitedly, “Can’t wait!”
The meeting with the Kangs would involve Vannier, Daedo, and Barran. Mace was busy with her projects. That left Axel-Zero and Picard who could assist Ikaros with getting Old Dawg ready.
“They’re here,” Barran announced as he entered the workshop.
Vannier led the Kangs into the workshop area to begin the tour and the cadets’ plan. She proceeded to introduce everyone again. The Kangs had not met Ikaros, but they had met all the cadets at the dinner.
“This is a nice workshop,” Mr Kang said politely.
“Do you have something like this for Dead Beat?” Vannier asked.
Mr Kang shook his head. “Only my garage in Korea. We rent space or pay for mechanics here in the EU.”
“Do you participate in the Asian Pro League as well?” Barran asked.
“Yes, we did,” Mr Kang said. “We thought it would be better creds over here though. So we came.”
So-Ra remained silent with a neutral look on her face. She neither smiled nor scowled, which was a positive.
“Let’s finish the tour,” Vannier said. She led them through all the workshop rooms, lower one, the testing facilities, and lastly, the upstairs, which held accommodation and living facilities.
There was plenty of room in the elevator for the group of five. It was a goods lift, capable of transporting the exos, robots, and equipment from the ground floor down to lower one or lower two.
“What’s on lower two?” Mr Kang asked, looking at the controls. He noticed the cadets did not include it in the tour.
“Our power engineer is manufacturing tailored reactors,” Vannier said. “She also has some prototypes set up down there. It’s a restricted area; only Daedo, robots, and Cissee are permitted.”
“And I wouldn’t be either, but I’m working with her on some of the technical designs,” Daedo said.
“I must admit, I am impressed with your setup,” Mr Kang said.
“Thanks, Mr Kang. What do you think, So-Ra?” Daedo asked.
“It’s okay, I guess,” So-Ra said softly. But she was actually amazed by the foundry, weaving, and plating machines. To her, it wasn’t a workshop. Daedalus could build a mech with only raw materials. It far surpassed the fabricators made available to them when they rented a workshop. Even Daedalus fabricators had the heads changed by their mechanic to be more precise and flexible in the types of work they did.
“Let’s take a look at Old Dawg,” Barran announced, and the group moved to the old mech they’d been retrofitting for the past month.
Old Dawg had been stripped back to his frame, and then Daedo had the robots work off any corrosion. The frame was in good shape; after an electrolytic bath, it looked as good as new.
The mech now stood with the exo mesh underarmour and power delivery technology attached to its frame.
“This is our technology added to an old frame,” Barran said, and then let Old Dawg do the talking with Axel-Zero in control.
She walked the mech around for a bit, and then Barran tapped his foot, sending her a message. Axel-Zero bent her knees and jumped with Old Dawg. The six-metre mech took off into the air, his feet getting up to three metres off the ground in the yard outside the workshop.
“Holy …” Mr Kang breathed. Although Old Dawg didn’t have plate armour covering the mesh, it was still impressive.
The mech walked over to the foam construct wall the cadets had prepared for the demo. Axel-Zero twisted to the left and then quickly to the right while throwing a jab at the wall. Old Dawg’s mesh-covered frame hand left a large indentation, but it also pushed the construct foam back by a metre.
Barran said, “Okay, we didn’t secure the constructofoam properly, but you can see the power delivery from the mark and the fact that Old Dawg pushed back what was a hundred-tonne opposing mass.” He nodded to Axel-Zero for feeding him the numbers and terminology.
Old Dawg concluded with a bow before walking back into the workshop.
“We have everything we need to work on mechs, exos, weapons, and even manufacture our own composites,” Barran said in conclusion of the tour. The group walked back to the upstairs area and sat at the dining table, which doubled as a meeting table.
“Mr Kang,” Barran said brightly, “we really want So-Ra to join us at the academy and as part of Daedalus. I would like to point out that Daedalus has been doing well since our last meeting, but … Look, why don’t you tell us what you want out of life, for both you and So-Ra. I’m sure we can work together to create a win-win situation.”
Mr Kang was surprised Barran was able to talk like an expert negotiator. These cadets kept surprising him. He looked at So-Ra and wondered if she would like it there. Would she thrive, or would they make her life a misery with pressure and work?
He had been thinking about it since their first meeting in Munich. The implications of following him around working on Dead Beat could lead to better things for her. But was that what she wanted? Attending an academy and completing all six years could mean anything – from working for Svarski to starting her own company. There were many considerations to take into account by joining the group. Mr Kang needed to assist but also to protect So-Ra.
“I would like my daughter to attend the academy very much,” he said finally. “I also want So-Ra to be happy. I don’t want her to be taken advantage of, and I am concerned about giving all her breakthroughs away. We have had offers from others in the pro league – good offers to armour their mechs like Dead Beat.”
“But then you wouldn’t have an advantage, Mr Kang,” Barran pointed out.
Mr Kang nodded. It was the very reason he hadn’t agreed to any deals yet.
“Mr Kang, we have an offer of a partnership for you and So-Ra,” Vannier said, her tone softer than Barran’s.
Vannier brought up a screen showing the key aspects. “Daedalus wants to sponsor Dead Beat for five seasons, for the full 50K bitcreds in advance. In addition, we would like to repair and improve Dead Beat here in our workshop at no cost. Because we are partners. And we want Dead Beat to do well with our name as the manufacturer.”
Mr Kang watched the presentation keenly and didn’t interrupt, even if he had misgivings about stating Daedalus as the manufacturer.
Vannier continued. “Second item. We will sponsor So-Ra into Fortescue Academy, not only financially – we will ensure she succeeds. This will last the full six years. That is worth over 20K bitcreds for tuition, and that’s before costs like bodysuits, exos, etc.
“Third item. So-Ra will become a shareholder in Daedalus and work as part of our R & D team in her specialised areas. The offer is for fifty shares, with a bonus of ten shares each year. This will equate to a total of no less than two per cent contracted equity, protecting her from dilution.”
“All we ask in return is that So-Ra does her best and that all her discoveries belong to Daedalus,” Daedo concluded.
Mr Kang had been thinking hard during the entire presentation. He was impressed the cadets had found the sponsorship credits in such a short time.
“I have questions,” he said, “Did you borrow the bitcreds or did the company earn them?”
Barran pulled up a revenue sheet showing the royalty and grants they’d recently received. “We are not relying on So-Ra’s IP to make creds, MrKang. She will benefit from all the discoveries coming from Daedo, Mace, Cisse, and the rest of the team. We’re working on technologies that will blow your mind. The exo you saw – we will get that listed as standard equipment with the EUDF. And that is just for starters.”
Mr Kang nodded. Daedalus was much more than he had imagined in Munich. He looked at So-Ra. “What do you think, my love?”
So-Ra did not want to answer this question in front of the three cadets, but her father left her with little choice. She had been thinking about going to the academy since the meeting in Munich but had said nothing to her father. She did not want to squash his dreams of winning the pro league. Attending a military academy, especially a Tier 3 one, was not something she thought would ever be possible for her. But it was now.
“I am not some weak rich kid,” So-Ra said firmly, giving Daedo, Barran, and Vannier a steely stare. “If I come to the academy, I won’t stand for being pushed around.”
Daedo smiled at So-Ra. “We don’t get pushed around. And if you’re worried about our squad, don’t be. My AI rightly classified everyone in Daedalus and the squad as family. We are inviting you to become part of our family.”