All work came to a pause once Fin arrived with the goods, but before that, Hunter had needed to deal with the sudden influx of more artisans from the Cloud. Work didn’t speed up too much after that, as the handful of new artisans required their own introduction to the work. He was thinking about how to most efficiently bring them all into the workflow he’d established when Hunter got a call from Trey, who told him that the Ambition would be sending down some help.
He found that now that the moment he’d dreaded was here; it wasn’t as bad as he’d feared. Despite the tension, the stress, and the stakes, Joey and the other two were pulling their weight in a way that Hunter hadn’t expected. They were a well-oiled machine far before Hunter arrived on the scene. They knew how to communicate with each other, and how to work with each others intuition and flow.
Hunter took some mental notes on Joey’s leadership abilities, unsure if he would retain them given his constant low-grade anxiety.
Within the hour, the miniscule multiplier that the new artisans provided began ramping up. It took another hour before they could produce the plates at twice the volume they were before. They all had a much-needed break when the machines finally arrived and had to be installed.
It was around this time that the first of the Ambition’s artisans arrived. The colony would integrate the Ambition’s crew over the next couple of days, allowing both ship’s crews time to adjust to the added personnel. They expected more ships arriving soon. Hopefully, the staggered approach would prove the most efficient; focusing on bringing in necessary resources rather than overwhelming the small outpost before planning and organization could begin.
Hunter appreciated the approach because it gave his own people time to practice coaching while he was there to observe. The artisans all learned fast — this wasn’t a surprise, the profession was full of memorization and it would logically follow that the artisans would be good at it. Glyphs, syntax, networks, a hundred different ways to draw channels, as well as the advantages and pitfalls of various materials were all things they’d drilled into their minds over years.
Some thought the new glyphs and the unusual application of the old ones were too much to take seriously. But their professionalism always won out over their protest. Taking the time to get Joey up to speed with Jesse and Gill had paid off. Joey was a known quantity throughout the fleet, and people respected his judgement. His endorsement swayed even the most skeptical artisans. This saved Hunter from having to repeatedly prove the efficacy of the Aegis, and the use of synergies.
In fact, Joey seemed to be enjoying the work. Once he’d gotten over his own skepticism, the excitement he felt for being a part of something new began to surface. He would look at the diagrams with what Hunter could only assume was incredulous acceptance. He would glance at Hunter with what seemed like a burning desire to ask a question, but then would think better of it and get back to work. Hunter appreciated that, and he promised himself he’d take some time to sit down with Joey and get to know him.
Hunter could respect the man’s position — not just his rank, but his thought process about synergies, and the new tech that it was going to bring. If anything, his skepticism was a point of virtue, even if it felt like an unnecessary obstacle to overcome at the moment. But if the stakes weren’t as high, Hunter wouldn’t feel as annoyed as he did.
He’d rather get along with him if he had a choice. He hoped there would be time for that in months ahead, as he didn’t expect to find time in the next few days or weeks.
They were about 2/3rd’s of the way through the entire Aegis system when gunshots echoed through the outpost.
“Stay focused, everyone,” Hunter said. He felt an intense urge to get through the work as fast as possible, and he was certain that the rest of the artisans were feeling the same pressure. Any hiccups in their work could spell the deaths of their defenders.
But if the Aegis system failed because of errors caused by a careless rush to finish, it could spell the loss of the entire outpost.
More engineering staff had arrived to reinforce their fabrication team, and were already bringing many of the finished plates to the walls. Hunter needed to be present to ensure the correct setup of the system. He’d only need to be present once, as the process was child’s-play compared to making the plates themselves.
Hunter inspected the battlements of the wall. The world’s nature necessitated the building of a thick wall around the outpost. But he knew the builders hadn’t designed it to defend against a combined Class-1 and 2 assault. A single Class-1 might break through, even with the Aegis system installed.
He kept his thoughts to himself. His leadership modules had underscored the importance of keeping morale high. They’d deal with the Class-1’s when they got here, if they got here. Maybe they’d be lucky and the Ambition would we able to pick them all off from high above.
Once the engineers knew how to align the plates correctly, setting up the wireless power transmitters would be easy. Hunter trusted the team could handle the rest of the installation themselves. He realized he might have been worrying too much about ensuring the system’s timely installation. If he was honest, he might have underestimated the intelligence and motivation of the rest of the artisans.
He had to stop for a moment in order to process that. Whoever wrote the leadership modules would probably highlight the childishness and inexperience he’d shown as examples of the qualities you’d see in a poor leader.
Hunter wasn’t a genius. He knew that. His sensitivity was an advantage, but half of these artisans could very well turn out to be twice as intelligent and driven as he was. But he seemed to have kept some of that reflexive arrogance he’d used to inflate his ego at the lowest point in his life.
It was another reminder that Hunter hadn’t earned the authority that he’d been given. Who knows what else he could be overlooking, and not even realize it?
Hunter had been standing outside of the workshop with his hands resting on his hips while he thought. He didn’t even notice Aera when she appeared behind him.
“Boo,” she whispered. Hunter jumped and brought a hand to his heart.
“Almost killed me,” he said. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to check up on you,” she said. “I’ve already contacted the civilian teams on the Ambition’s crew. Everyone from the Cloud already has a job to do, and dad has forbidden me from fighting against the beastwave unless the situation becomes critical. I saw your team setting up the Aegis system, and there were some troubling murmurs about a very stressed out young boss. So, I thought I’d drop by.”
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“I’m fine. Everyone’s feeling the pressure right now,” Hunter said.
“You’re right, but most of these people have had a lot of experience with dealing with this kind of pressure. No offense, Hunter, but you’re still new to this.”
Hunter’s shoulders sank.
“And I saw the look on your face when you walked right past me, lost in thought. Trust me, Hunter,” Aera said. “Dad always says that it’s good to know your weaknesses, but you balance that with knowing your strengths. I think I know you by now. Whatever’s going through your head, accept it and then move on. This isn’t your first trial by fire, and it will not be your last.”
Hunter nodded.
“Thanks, Aera. I needed to hear that.”
“That’s what families are for,” she said. It was so shocking to hear that it broke right through whatever stubborn barrier he’d been unwilling to see through.
She’d yet to acknowledge it until just then. Her actions had shown how she’d felt, and Hunter knew that she’d accepted his presence and that they now shared a last name. But the shock of hearing her say it must have been written all over him.
He gave her a hug, which seemed to amuse her, but she didn’t hesitate to reciprocate.
“How’s Trey doing?” Hunter asked.
“He’s tough,” she said, her voice lowering so that no one nearby could overhear her, “he’s pulled himself and the company through potential hell more times than I can count. But the place is ruthless, and it’s wearing on him as well.”
“Maybe you should check up on him as well?”
“I just did,” she said. “He seemed to appreciate having me around for a little while. I think I was able to help him regain some focus. But he’s always focused, and he knows how to work through the pain. The situation with Clarke affected him more than he let on, and I can tell that he’s feeling responsible for everyone’s suffering.”
“They all volunteered,” Hunter said. “No one forced them to come.”
“He knows that. I’ve heard some whispers of discontentment, people who wonder if they can trust him after he pulled everyone into this situation.”
Hunter pursed his lips. He didn’t enjoy hearing people challenging Trey’s judgement like that.
“That kind of stuff doesn’t get to him, usually. But this time it is. I don’t know, he’ll be fine, but we might need to find some time to keep him encouraged and focused on the positive. We all shared the same dream when we came here, before getting shot down and challenged at every turn. I think dream is still possible.”
“Yeah,” Hunter said, despite his doubts. What use was a vision if they were all stomped under the heal of some horrific creature piloted by a mind parasite?
“I—” Aera started, but Hunter’s radio crackled.
“Mr. Koar, some plates along the border aren’t activating. The main mass will reach the outpost soon.”
He didn’t let himself get pulled into the frustration and sense of despair.
“How much time do we have?” Hunter responded.
“I don’t know, sir. Not long, 10 minutes. Maybe.”
Hunter cursed and sprinted towards the sounds of gunfire and roaring animals. Aera was hot on his heels. It took him a few minutes to reach the wall, and he felt every second like it was a second closer to the end of the world.
“Where?” he asked the first engineer he saw. His uniform had the insignia of the Ambition on it. The man looked at him with confusion but then pointed him towards someone who looked like they knew what they were doing. Hunter recognized him from earlier in the day. He was part of the initial team who started installing the system on the wall.
“Sir, there are multiple zones that don’t seem to be working. We tried decoupling and then reconnecting them, but that didn’t work. We suspect the problem lies in their manufacture.”
Hunter felt a surge of panic in his chest. He shoved it away and asked the man to show him to the faulty plates. He passed a Lieutenant Guardsman on the way and informed him of what was going on. The news appeared to force the man to swallow vinegar, but he found a handful of Guardsmen resting from the fighting. They would follow Hunter and a couple of engineers along the wall while they troubleshooted the problem.
They built the outpost higher than the opposite forest’s clearing to better spot the beast in situations like this. He watched as the sparse trickle of creatures became a stream, and then the streams became something more.
The ground trembled.
Their window of opportunity to fix the gap in their system was closing. He ignored the fact that the Aegis System wasn’t built to withstand a Class-1 attack. He also knew June could easily break through it, as if it were wet paper.
Hopefully, the combined fire of the defenders and the Ambition would be enough to dissuade the creatures from getting too close.
Hunter had the Aegis activated. He blocked out the sounds of battle: gunfire, energy blasts, and the howls of the creatures intent on destroying the outpost.
It took him a few seconds to feel his way through the construct. His attention was brought to the bottom of the construct. Whoever had made it had messed up the syntax and rushed through the process of etching their channels around one of the output latches, which connected to other plates.
Hunter would have to go down there and fix it. He looked over the edge of the wall, to the small sea of animal corpses and the unending waves of beasts who were piling over them, and he felt sheer terror.
He forced it down. He steeled his resolve. His legs trembled. His hands shook.
“Class-1’s spotted with the main mass! Incoming!” someone yelled.
Hunter couldn’t let himself hesitate. The second he let the weight of the beastwave take hold in his mind, he’d be paralyzed with fear.
“I need a weapon,” he said, and one of the Guards gave him their sidearm. He already had his tools with him, and the drop from the wall wasn’t high enough to hurt him too much.
“Hunter, this is crazy,” Aera said.
“And I’ll need a way up once I’m done,” he said, ignoring her.
“Done?” one of the Guards asked. “You’re going down there?”
“If we want this system to work, then yes.”
“Sir, I can’t just let you—”
Hunter leapt off the edge of the wall. He shot at the beasts nearby so that he’d have room to work. The team opened fire on any of the other beasts that saw him as a target, which, to his ears, seemed like a lot.
Aera landed beside him. She’d taken a rifle from one of the Guards and was already firing into the beastwave. An engineer landed awkwardly beside him, and Hunter felt some relief that they’d found the will to jump down there with him. The other engineer didn’t seem to have found the same courage. Hunter didn’t blame him.
It was sheer insanity that let him jump down here. He’s not about to criticize a man for having fear. They’d been doing their jobs. That this system wasn’t activating was a mistake that fell on his own shoulders. Hunter had failed to do his job, and now he had to suffer the consequences.
His assigned Guards jumped down next, joining Aera to keep the area around Hunter clear.
Hunter had pried back part of the protective plating that would keep the construct safe from the onslaught of beasts. The engineer took hold of it, and Hunter bent down and got to work. They were fortunate that this specific plate would be such an easy fix.
As soon as he started fixing the errors he found, something heavy bumped into him, causing him to etch a line right through the glyphs he needed to fix. It was a creature that had fallen beside him, already dead, shoving Hunter on its way down. As he got back to work, he could see it in the corner of his vision, twitching in its death throes.
It took all of his willpower to stay focused on his work.
Don’t think about the wave. Don’t think about the wave. Don’t think about the wave.
It was impossible to keep his mind off of the wave.
He cursed his fear.
His hands were shaking too much.
I can do this. I’ve handled worse odds.
He hadn’t, but it helped him gain a bit more control over himself.
“There’s too many of them!” one of the Guards yelled.
“Hunter, we need to go,” Aera yelled.
“You go,” Hunter told the engineer, who was covered in sweat and seemed to be doing his best to ignore his impending death. The Guards on the wall had lowered a rope for them to catch on to.
Hunter could see the helmet of a guard on the ground in his peripheral vision. The body it belonged to wasn’t moving.
The engineer hesitated.
“You’ve done great. I’m almost finished. I’ll be right behind you,” Hunter lied as he worked, shoving the grief of the dead Guard way down, where it wouldn’t affect his focus.
“Thank you, sir,” he said, and jumped up to grab the rope.
“All of you, go. I’ll be finished soon. That’s an order.”
“Can’t order me, jackass,” Aera said. Hunter pursed his lips.
“No use in both of us dying,” Hunter said.
“Shut up, Hunter.”