“It’ll be a tough crowd,” Trey whispered to Hunter just before they began. “I’ll warm them up for you.”
Trey cleared his throat and walked before the assembled crowd. Gill and Jesse had returned to stand among the artisans just moments before, leaving Hunter alone to figure out how the hell he was going to start the demonstration.
“Thank you all for coming,” Trey said. “In a little while, our scouts will report back what they’ve found at our outpost, and barring any catastrophic obstacles, we will then prepare for our assault. We’re enjoying a much-needed break after a busy period. This seems like a good time to bring you up to speed.”
“Some of you are already aware of what we’re facing,” Trey said, nodding towards the Guards, “Richard?”
Richard Pellar stepped forward and saluted Trey and the Captain. He also saluted Hunter, which caught Hunter by surprise because Captain Gregor was present.
“I’m Lieutenant Richard Pellar. Guard Captain Bell assigned me to his platoon just before the exodus. When we reached Skyhold, Clarke shot us down. We established a small foothold for ourselves in the forest. My squad, along with another, were each split into two groups and ordered to scout in different directions.”
He glanced at Hunter.
“On one such outing, we found Mr. Koar while he was floating down a river after having fled from certain threats, which are common to the forests of Skyhold. Some of these entities have given me reason to be concerned.”
He took a deep breath.
“After contacting Mr. Koar, we attempted to return to the platoon. Numerous unforeseen threats forced us to alter our course.”
“This is not news to any of us, of course,” Captain Gregor interrupted. “We all knew what kind of place Skyhold was going to be, and we prepared accordingly. But there’s more to the story, isn’t there? Something you encountered that has forced us to reassess our priorities.”
“That’s right, sir,” Richard said.
“We have encountered a new class of entity,” Trey said. “We have scaled the threats of Skyhold as such; Class-2 flora or fauna would be similar in stature and capability to anything we would find back home. Beast waves constitute most of the threat. Captain Gregor alluded to this threat when he discussed our preparations based on our limited knowledge of the world.”
“Class-1 fauna are beings who have developed a natural etheric affinity,” Trey said. The artisans all had similar reactions, talking to each other animatedly, “and among them, there are grades. The weakest of which we have found in beast waves, but the stronger grade of fauna doesn’t appear to take part, from what we’ve seen. We assume they have a natural immunity to the mechanism underlying the beast waves.”
There was another excited outburst from the artisans, but Joey scowled. They took that as their queue to rein themselves in.
“As such, we’ve now re-designated 2nd class to 3rd class. Creatures with weak etheric capacity are now classified as 2nd class. First class now includes mutated Brontogons, such as the Pyrothar—a larger, stronger, tougher Brontogon that generates significant heat. These creatures appear to have developed naturally, and we have it on good authority that this is because of Skyhold’s natural etheric saturation, which appears much higher than Sanctuary’s.”
Hunter smirked.
“That means that we should expect to find more Class-1 creatures out there,” Captain Gregor said, interrupting Trey, but Trey gave him a grateful nod for the added context.
“And that’s not all,” Trey said, his tone lowering. “We have discovered another class of creature. Some of you have heard of the anomaly that caused the beastwave to scatter.”
The artisans fell silent under Joey’s intimidating stare. Hunter, though, saw the widespread fascination with the strange anomaly reflected in the eyes of everyone present.
Lieutenant Pellar seemed amused by the rise of excitement.
“This creature could output an etheric reaction which dwarfed our current capabilities, and it has done so based on principles we do not currently understand. This new class of creature is now deemed A-Class. The Anomaly Class is just that — as we have no clue how, or why, this kind of creature can exist. The creature’s presence calmed the beastwave for miles around and healed both Hunter’s, and the scout team’s worst injuries.”
Hunter decided to speak. “This raises a terrifying possibility,” he said. “If an A-class creature can calm the beast waves, is another A-class creating them?”
If they weren’t standing on soil, and if they were not standing within the confines of the ship’s shield — had its steady background hum been a decibel quieter, you may have heard a pin drop.
“My friends, it is clear to me that we are not yet ready for Skyhold’s challenges, but we are stuck here for the moment. I have ordered that our defensive research will take a priority second only to the colony’s establishment, and only barely second. To that end, we have avenues of development open to us which we’ve never had before, and they will help us go a long way to evening the playing field. Hunter?”
Hunter saw Joey watching him with his eyes partially narrowed. Following his chat with Jesse and Gill, he realized he needed to add context. This would clarify that his new research wasn’t made up.
“I’ve already revealed this to some of you. Trey also knows, and you would all find out eventually anyway, so I don’t have many reservations about opening up to you all. My father was, of course, Gideon Koar. Before he died, he arranged for all of his research to be passed on to me. I have in my possession most of his research and ideas. The battery here is one example of his research, which I have adapted into a workable product.”
He put the battery down beside the rest of the constructs.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“But that’s not all that he passed on to me. What no one knew was that my father had developed a mutation,” he said, smirking when most people’s eyes widened at the revelation. “It was a mutation which I inherited.”
“The mutation granted my father a sensitivity towards charged etherium. It helped him gain insight into constructs and allowed him to push the boundaries of what humanity thought was possible. My mutation is significantly stronger than my father’s, enabling me to explore research avenues far beyond his capabilities, especially in optimizing constructs.”
He wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to invent anything as revolutionary as the wireless construct network. In fact, he still wasn’t sure how his father could do that, and his notes said little about the process. In the journals, all he could find were early iterations of the basic design.
“This research has consumed a significant portion of my life. In a nutshell, I’ve discovered certain etheric trends, trends which I’ve come to call ‘desires’. Any etheric charge will have some charges which it seems attracted to, and some which it doesn’t seem as attracted to. Brute force can solve the problem of combining these latter charge types for a new effect, but this demands a higher etherium draw and thus a higher affinity requirement.”
The artisans were nodding and several of the assembled Guards were as well. It was a basic enough description of the underlying principle that even a layman could follow along.
“But by researching all the ways that different charges of etherium want to be used—for lack of a better way of describing it—I have been able to invent new formulas that achieve similar effects to mainstream standards. But my synergistically optimized syntax results in an AR requirement far lower than what the established mainstream methods can match. In some cases, I have reduced affinity requirements in constructs by over 50%,” he said. Joey Geraldin had his arms crossed, and he was frowning. He didn’t seem to like where this was going.
“With the help of the some of the ship’s crew, I’ve applied that research in a way both new and old, so that we can have an edge in this new world. And this is just a demonstration a few of the thousands upon thousands of innovations that will be enabled by adopting my research,” Hunter said, letting that sink in. “My research and my father’s research will affect almost every aspect of how constructs are designed. This means we can make significant upgrades to the colony’s foundation, as well as—”
“—Hold on, I’m sorry for interrupting, but you can’t possibly expect us to change our entire body of standards at the drop of a hat,” Joey Geraldine interrupted.
“Hunter will take your questions after he’s finished,” Trey said.
“I understand that some of you have cause for concern,” Hunter said, “but my work will speak for itself. I need some volunteers, one person with an AR at or below 30, and another with an AR at or above 55.”
Hunter was initially surprised when over half the crowd raised their hands. But he considered the fact that this was a flagship crew, and they’d be a cut above the high standards the rest of the fleet had established for its recruits. A sense of curiosity and adventure was bound to be a common trait to these types.
“With all due respect, we have established these standards for a reason—”
“Again, I understand, Mr. Geraldin,” Hunter said, holding out his hand to forestall any more protest, “I know where you’re coming from. You’ve lived by these standards for years because they work. I get that, and with that in mind, I’m telling you we can do even better. Let me show you.”
The principal in the negotiation module of his leadership course was called ‘steel-manning.’ The main point that was emphasized in the module was that by strengthening your opposition, you can gain your own advantage. But in order for it to be affective, it required a certain set up. Hunter knew very well that he was not Aera, and he didn’t have half the social intelligence necessary to set up a situation like this on his own. Instead, was counting on the pressure of having Trey, the Captain, as well as the need for him to maintain face in front of his subordinates. All that, plus the genuine curiosity about what Hunter might have to share, should be enough to quell the man’s protests.
“Thank you,” Hunter said when Joey didn’t speak up again. From the volunteers, he picked a large Guardsman, and told everyone else with an AR above 30 to lower their hands. That left one hand raised, and it belonged to a young woman who was standing near the Captain. Hunter recognized her from the bridge, but he wasn’t sure what her job was.
“What’s your name?” he asked the big man.
“Tim,” the man replied.
“Tim, just to settle my curiosity, what is your AR measured at?”
“63,” Tim said.
Hunter whistled.
“That should be more than enough,” Hunter said, turning to the other volunteer.
“And your name?” he asked.
“Shelby,” she replied, “my AR is 29.”
“Perfect, thank you, Shelby,” Hunter said, glad she took the initiative to share that information. It was a small gesture, but a simple act of proactivity told him a lot about what had got her a spot on the bridge. Leadership training stressed the importance of recognizing and rewarding positive traits in subordinates. A generally optimistic outlook encourages greater contribution.
He pointed to the items he and the other artisans had brought from the ship.
“Tim, do you recognize that item?”
Tim walked over to it and picked it up. It was a large metal shield with several output-plates placed equidistantly in a column along its surface. These plates connected to a network of glyphs that fed etherium through wires acting as etheric channels, which led to a small backpack which housed a large etheric battery.
“Yeah, a Mark II Shield Construct. This is from our company,” Tim said.
“And what distinguishes a Mark II from a Mark I?” Hunter asked.
“All I know is the Mark I didn’t last that long, and the Mark II has the wire and the backpack with the battery. It also requires more AR to use at first, and the longer you use it, the less it requires.”
Hunter nodded and elaborated for Tim and the rest of the audience.
“In the Mark II, Oberon Enterprise has developed a stronger, lighter force field. This was achieved through advancements in understanding force fields and improved syntax for the emitter plates. However, the improved syntax had the unfortunate effect of causing a sudden build-up of etherium when the force field was actually impacted. The construct senses that there’s been a loss when there hasn’t been. So more etherium will be drawn through the user. This build-up harms the network; therefore, the shield’s designers added the backpack to absorb the excess charge and gradually return it to the network. This would ultimately lighten the affinity requirement while the shield is operated. Clever, right?”
“I guess,” Tim said, shrugging.
“Would you mind if I shot at you, Tim?”
Tim’s stoic, disinterested expression suddenly shifted into one of amusement.
“Sure,” he said, barking out a laugh. “These shields have saved my life more times than I can count. I have full confidence in it.”
Hunter nodded and grabbed the repulsor device.
“This isn’t necessary,” Joey said from the side. Hunter fought down his irritation. “There’s no need to put someone’s safety at risk to prove a point.”
“Mr. Geraldine,” Hunter said as he double-checked the Repulsor Device, “I appreciate your concern. If anyone gets seriously hurt today, I’ll allow myself to be disciplined as the Captain deems appropriate. Until then, I’d ask you to refrain from any further outbursts.”
“But—”
“That’s enough,” Captain Gregor said. Although his voice was calm, he enunciated the words with slow and sharp precision.
Hunter turned back to Tim and continued.
“Tim, this is a Mark II Force Pulse Emitter, or a Repulsor, for the sake of brevity. I used the Mark I, modelled after brass knuckles, to rescue my sister from an attack by a superior force. It uses a pulsing force field of sufficient power to send an average-sized man flying. We designed the Mark II device to adjust the power of its emitted field. I’m going to show the first two options, which, given your size and the shield, shouldn’t hurt you that much.”
“Shouldn’t?” Tim asked, but Hunter saw no concern, only genuine curiosity and amusement. Hunter glanced back at Trey, who didn’t seem as amused. Neither did the Captain, but neither seemed like they were about to stop him.
He appreciated the trust.