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Chapter Three: Making Waves

Sixteen years old, the years were coming and going, and now I can say the domain was nearing half stability. The influx of immigrants is finally slowing down, but it still left much work to be done, one of which being security. With my work for the day being complete, I went to check on my personal project within the mansion, the first of the new tier two mechs, which I had to make a name for considering they were something entirely new. The lab these units were being made in was more of an issue to stock with materials than getting the staff, as some of father’s staff decided to follow me. The older folks were fine where they were, but much like my current government staff, these engineers were some of the younger generation. In my current predicament, where new techniques, machines, and policies were going to be implemented constantly, these younger members of staff would be more adaptable than those who’ve been stuck in a rut centuries long.

I walked through the halls to the lab, Edward reading off a report, “They say the first few mechs are about ready for pilot testing, however, they would like your approval to ensure these mechs were made to your standard.” I nodded, “Of course, with the fact these are new and entirely unknown mechs, they’re unsure to the standard of which they’re to be made. Not to mention the fact so much time and money went into the creation of just these units, it was enough that they didn’t want to mess up and feel the wrath of a noble. I decided to calm them, “Tell them I’m on the way, but to be calm. Their jobs are not at stake, and I’ll explain after I check the mechs.” Edward nodded, send a quick message, and we arrived at the lab in a few minutes. Dward said with a smile, “You’ve managed to understand the layout of the mansion faster than I thought, good work sir.” I smiled, “I did design the mansion, so maybe that’s the reason I understand it so well.” Once I said that, I put on a more dignified face and entered the lab.

The many people there all stood and acknowledged me, something I detested since it’s a dangerous environment. I said, “Remember, if you’re working when I arrive, keep working, I don’t wish for anyone to be injured.” The engineers replied, “Yes sir!” The mechanic who, under the wishes of everyone present, became my head engineer came to me, “Sir, the mechs are this way, everyone wishes to know how well they did.” I nodded, “Show me.” He led me to the bays where the five mechs sat, the designs made them seem akin to knight of old. Each had a sword and shield, and parts of the armor on one side remained off but nearby of the middle unit. The head engineer said, “We made each one the same way, so we left one unit’s armor off for the initial examination.” I smiled, “I’m impressed, what I’m seeing now is already fantastic work.” He led me to the exposed interior of the unit, an engineer handing me a hard hat for safety’s sake, and I began to examine the interior of the mech.

Now, the reason why the fully maxed tier one mech looked as good as it did was due to the extensive creation and maintenance of the unit. With tier two mechs, it was a vastly new machine, not to mention the possibility for additions to the mech. The first mech lacked the means to make changes to the unit for pilots with specific skills. What I mean is, in SGO, the tier one mechs were the most sought-after units, and it wasn’t for combat prowess. Their use for civilian use, these being things like mining, construction, and industry. I was one of the main providers since I usually got orders done on time, but that isn’t the point. The point of this tale was, once new machines came to be, tier one units were essentially obsolete on the battlefield. While the obvious reason being that they were unable to keep up with the base specs of the new machine, the true reason was lack of versatility.

Tier two units marked the first time where unit could have interchangeable parts, so if one person was better at defense, they had a heavier mech, but it could hold it’s ground far easier. The same went for speed, agility, strength, and so on, which leads to why the engineers sought my approval. This mech was so vastly different compared to the existing mech that anyone would be left worrying about the proper functions of the mech. Was it made properly? Was this new tech incorporated properly? Considering a lot of this tech was close to what existed for other machines, these questions were less likely to reach my ears, but I know they’d come once I begin going into tier four. I pushed these thoughts out of my mind, my focus was on the present and the mech that was going to make history.

A smile slowly crossed my face, there had been some spots that could use some work in many areas, but outside of that, they followed the blueprints to the letter. My excitement was rising, I don’t know how talent like this was still hidden after all this time with my father, but they could finally make use of their latent talent, “Amazing, some areas need some focus, but this is mech is well built.” I made sure to point out the areas that needed some focus on the blueprint, “Once these areas are done properly, I think the initial stage of the tier two mech is complete. You all have made history.” After a moment of silence, the whole back, including the lab where additional mechs were being built from the frames, erupted into cheers. These boys had worked hard over the past year, their excitement for the mechs themselves, and the techniques I taught them, allowed for the fastest development of a new unit I believed possible for the time being.

I held a hand up, silence came, I was able to speak, “Once these mechs are properly tuned, not to mention the new information is sent out, I think a little something is in order.” I turned to the head engineer, “How does this weekend look for everyone’s work schedule?” The head engineer took a moment to look it over, saying, “Outside of the construction of the new units currently in the lab, we planned to begin discussing mass producing these units.” I shook my head, “Move that to next weekend, this weekend, bring your families, we celebrate this achievement all of you put your blood, sweat, and tears into.” For a moment, the engineers didn’t react, but I think someone understood just how much this meant, “We made the first new mech in centuries!” Cheers erupted again, this time, I didn’t stop them.

Edward leaned to my ear, considering the cheers made it harder to hear, “Why did you choose to celebrate this achievement? You could have given them the day off.” I smiled, “I want to show that, for good work, they’ll be rewarded. Not to mention I want all of them in a room together to get a picture with them, they’ve made history, so we have to get a picture for posterity’s sake.” Edward sighed, “And you have a means to prepare such a party?” I nodded, “Included in the operational costs, now organizing it, that’s the conundrum.” I had no sense of how a party is made, much less runs, so I’d have to figure something out that they can enjoy, because committing to a noble part wouldn’t work for engineers like this. I have time, so I was going to make sure these men and women were properly rewarded for the excellent work they’ve done over the year.

~~~

Time passed, the party went off greatly, and work on the domain continued as normal. I watched some of the new tier twos walk off out of the lab, these two being made within two months of the first five mechs. With the internal layout of the mech understood by the engineers, they seemed to be able to increase the speed of the mechs, but they chose to have two teams focused on making new mechs as soon as possible. It would get more out, and as everyone began to understand the process, the mechs would be made faster with each new mech made. It was good enough for a decent fighting force to be made before my twenty-fifth birthday, which I was glad for considering the means that I can become more independent from my father. While we did talk while we worked on occasion, considering our schedules made it nearly impossible to meet in person, I didn’t want to rely on his hospitality for longer than I needed to.

Edward, after seeing the new mechs, asked, “Sir, when are you going to begin training to pilot a mech?” I looked to him, my confusion evident, “I need to pilot a mech?” Edward nodded, “Yes, as the lord of your domain, it’s both a means of self defense in times of battle, but also a means to protect your domain. Without a mech to pilot, you’re not seen as a proper noble.” I sighed, without so many things, I won’t be seen as a proper noble. I had to make a mech that fit my size and combat strategy, but I couldn’t just make it a weaker unit, I had to go above and beyond for it. “I’ll make a mech myself then, it’ll take time but give me a few years.” I replied. Edward looked to me, his eyes uncertain, “How expensive will this plan be? Knowing you sir, these plans have been quite expensive.”

I had to pause for a moment, despite everything, such prices were incredibly high, and getting to the end goal of my plans won’t be possible for decades at the minimum, so my goal was a very versatile tier three, the best mech I could make before the breakthrough into one of three branches. I said, “Maybe half the amount of what the five initial tier two mechs? I need to make sure everything works out, source the materials, pay workers, not to mention test the thing. In the end, this mech would make me the safest person in the universe at the moment of its creation, hands down.” Edward seemed surprised, “I expected it to cost more.” I smiled, “Do you want to hear what I believe is the best of the best? I’d need more zeroes that we earned from the domain overall.” Edward shuttered, if I said such words like that, he knew it was true, “I would rather not, I’d rather keep it a surprise.”

I nodded, “Understood, either way, I’ll be in the lab during my free time for a while, the tier three is a different beast to a tier two.” Edward asked, “So, when will you be training in piloting said mech?” I replied, “Put me in any mech and I can pilot it with no issue, but it will take me time to get used to it physically, the controls are like how I remember it.” Edward seemed confused, so I clarified it since we were alone, “I made mechs in a game I used to play, it was pretty realistic despite the tech being far behind it, these mechs function in much the same way. I usually have myself or other ride the mechs first to determine if they’re quality product first before they’re transported to whoever paid for them or are sold. Just give me time and I’ll be fine.”

Edward seemed concerned, but he replied with, “As you wish, sir.” I looked to the mechs as they walked towards the training area, their pilots ready to begin training. I had to pilot one, not just for fun, but as a duty for the people within my domain. I sighed, the future ahead of me was quite a busy one, but it was fine if my dream were to come to light here in this place. I walked to the area I left baron, my future would begin here, “Get some engineers who show promise, if I want this mech done in a few years, I’ll need to begin now to make it work.” Edward nodded, “Of course, however, you’ll need to spend another year in the education pod soon, so I suggest you leave enough time to ensure the project continues.” I nodded, already designing the mech that would best suit me in my head, along with a very particular creation that would make any pilot in this generation salivate, “This is going to be fun.”

~~~

Two years passed, and I made sure to take care of my education pod time at this point, and I felt odd to have barely grown, yet surpassed the age I died at before coming to this world. It took some time before I got out of bed today, letting myself get over the sudden shock that I was still perfectly healthy, but I couldn’t let that hold me down as I put on my personal equipment to work on my personal unit. The unit was coming along well, these materials were the best this universe could supply for mech units at the moment, which was horrible when I recalled that the wider universe only used tier one units. I shook my head at the thought, since I needed these alloys to reinforce my craft to the best that tier three can hold. Edward never stayed within the lab, mostly due to not wishing to get in the way, but partially to handle any miscellaneous tasks that didn’t require my input.

He did do it from an area to keep an eye on me however, his instincts were to watch over me, and I wasn’t going to not let him do what calmed his nerves. I looked to the mech, many parts being similar to the tier two in this stage, so I gave them the tips they needed when they asked. I, along with a slim few, were making something else, a mana generator. Something about this universe was that there were beasts that harnessed the power of mana, thus having a core that allows proper refinement of the mana in the air for their use. I had acquired one such core, one the size of a mech’s head. This seemed to have Edward nearby as the engineers I was working with asked a question, “Sir, not to be rude, but what is the purpose of the core? Last I checked, their use wasn’t in the military field unless it was used for shields or major magic attacks.” I nodded, understanding his point, “You’re not rude, it’s a valid question. So, to answer it, let me explain the reason. First, pass me the items I asked for.”

The man passed me a pair of gloves, one with a particular metal interwoven into the hands, I put them on as I explained, “You see, magic has many uses, the plan for today is to merge these three cores into one. Once combines, I can show you a means to manipulate the core into acting like a generator, taking ambient mana from space around the mech to allow it to use magic.” The men seemed surprised, one said, “But sir, that seems quite impossible! Scientists, engineers, and mages have tried this for millennia, before the Empire was ever formed even. To state this is indeed possible, and that you not only know it’s possible but that you can make it, it’s hard to accept sir.” I nodded, recalling my memory of SGO to ensure I prepared everything properly, “That I understand, just watch, and you will see.” I took the core and began to mold it, imbuing mana into the gloves which began to mold it like clay.

“From what I noticed, they we’re working against the nature of the core, not with it. They use the core until it’s depleted and toss it, but that’s not what I plan to do.” As I explained, the engineers were shocked that I was molding it so easily, enough so that Edward and the other engineers were approaching to get a better look. As I began to make the intake and outtake for mana, along with something akin to ventilation, I said, “By turning this core into something akin to a generator, imbuing certain runes into it will allow it to function as it did within the beast it once resided in. It’ll never run dry on mana, but it will take time to refuel any large usage of mana.” Runes were essentially magic in written form, it was used in shields, energy production, crop growth, essentially anything that had mana within it, runes were likely at play.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Due to the size of this core, I could easily handle it within a few days, but today was an example of the molding process, this was always done on the first day so the shape can properly harden before the rune application. From the explanation on runes, I explained the process from which I was able to mold the core, the metal I had placed within the gloves was something called Caeruleus metal, or in English as Azure metal. The metal was a beautiful blue hue, the rarest of metal coloration in reality, so when players discovered this once unassuming metal, they named it as such because they found it nice. When engineers like myself had it though, we called it “The Engineers Metal”, because we couldn’t get enough of it to make cores for magic technology. Though I excluded that name for the time being, and the lore of SGO’s findings for this metal, to focus on how the molding of a mana core works.

One engineer asked, “If you need mana to do it, wouldn’t that mean only nobles could make use of the process?” I shook my head, “Not at all, in fact, this requires so little mana that even an engineer inexperienced in mana could use this with little effort. Without mana though, these are just beautiful gloves made partially out of a strange metal. It’s why I chose all of you for this project, you all have mana to mold cores like this. For runes however, I have a different group prepared for the process due to the intensive magical knowhow that goes into runes.” I watched the engineers sigh in relief, I think they believed I was to have them do the rune part too, which was understandable. The whole day was just me teaching them about core molding, answering questions in regard to the process, and the means to connecting the core to the mech itself.

When they asked about connecting it to the mech, I quickly shut them down, “For the time being, I can’t connect the core to the machine, the mech cannot handle it. While it’s entirely possible, the material itself cannot hold against the stress. I’ll be making a machine on the side to act as the containment for the power, it’ll be done before my mech is completed, so I can test both at once.” As I molded a section of the core, I heard my father’s voice, “What in the world is this?!” I almost did something that would’ve added time to my job, and not a short amount either, but I was quick to cut the mana flowing into the gloves. I ruffled my hair, momentarily shouting relief, “Holy crap! I almost added three days to my work!” This was actually still on the faster side, especially in a world that didn’t know about this, but three days were slow for me and my processes. However, once I got my momentary stress out, I ran over to hug my father.

I exclaimed with pride, “Father, I’m making something amazing!” His eyes shifted from me to the machine, then to the mech that was on the other side of this lab, the machine entirely different to anything he’s likely seen. His voice had a slight shake to it as he asked, “Is… is this the tier two you were mentioning?” I shook my head, “No, that’s a tier three. We’ve had the tier two made for two years now, in fact, they’re what’s been replacing your forces on the ground.” I could tell what I said managed to start turning gears in his head, I had already made the unit I was speaking of and deploying them, so his eyes seemed to show that sudden confusion. He eventually asked, “How in the world did you…” I assumed he was asking how I did this, but he got too quiet, so I didn’t hear him after that.

I replied, “As much as I’d love to explain everything in detail, I’ll shorten it and say that the materials and means to make it have been possible, so I’ll be working it to the max to make this… pretty expensive unit. However, for the time being, it’ll be my personal unit as I work out the kinks of the need for more expensive materials beyond this point.” After a moment, father shook his head before he stated, “I came to ask if you would like to join me in a planetary conquest? It’s not against our fellow man, but against a large amount of mana beasts. By ensuring a majority of the planet is clear of beasts, we can ensure safety for the colonists of the planet.” I knew which planet he was referring to, in fact, it was one I was eyeing because it had, in theory, a behemoth somewhere on the planet. Behemoths are massive creatures, those that have a core that could make magic powered anything a reality, especially mechs.

I knew going there wasn’t possible for my current strength, and the core would be useless until I developed a stronger force to handle the behemoth, but if I had father’s backing, I could potentially defeat the behemoth if I played my cards right. I asked, “How much people will be deployed to the planet? If there are too little people willing to take the planet, it could take too long to be profitable or fail outright to keep a hold on the planet.” Father was silent for a moment, but he was able to reply, “I understand your worry, we have other counts from neighboring domains who are coming to show their might. Due to a lack of battles, many come for the sake of honor, even if they receive no spoils in war.”

I nodded, a smile forming, “I will, I have something I would love to obtain if it were on planet.” As I giggled with a little excitement, father said, “I would be careful though, the plant itself is a partial relic planet, it would be a shame if we lost the relics of a forgotten time.” Relic planets, named as such due to a large number of ancient structures from a civilization forgotten to time. Some say the capital of Avalon is one such planet, one that was returned to its former state, as what SGO called an Economopoulos. Older planet games used the term, considering the term was from two Greek words, so they used the same term in SGO as well. Father smiled, “If you’re curious, it’s mostly of a forge world with one city center, it’s a surprising set up to many who wish to look into it.” A city center with a mostly forge world, and it had beasts, it remined me of the planet I once ran, and it was a shame I couldn’t finish my planet when I was alive.

I proclaimed, “We’ll claim the planet, then finish the job the ancient civilization started!” Father chuckled, “A big goal, but if you’re so into the idea, maybe I should do the same.” He looked back to my tier three unit, his eyes seemed to hold a faint glint in them. He said, “You know, as soon as you display these new units to the counts that will be present on the planet, they’ll all clamor to get their hands on them, right?” I nodded, “That I do, it’s why I’m making a factory in orbit.” Father seemed surprised, but after a moment, he replied, “I shouldn’t have been so surprised, you did state you were going to make mechs quite often.” He asked, pointing to the now physically changed mana core, “What about this though? I don’t see the need for a mech to have one of these.” I replied nonchalantly, “I’m giving my mech a means to use magic to an extent.” Silence came from father, until he shouted in confusion, “You what?!”

I realized in the moment that such a prospect was likely considered impossible, that or so far-fetched that it may as well be impossible. I replied, “It’s a simple method… at least for me. However, with current constrictions on material and cores themselves, I can’t do more than make it an add-on right now. Even then, I had to have Ruby pull some strings to get even this sized core, so I can’t do this often.” Father seemed surprised, then said, “I won’t ask anymore, just make sure you’re ready within the next two years, we’re doing this around your twentieth birthday.” I nodded, “Understood, I’ll have as many forces ready as possible!” Father let me off with just that, but I knew two years would be a tight order. So, I made the new mechs our priority, that way we had enough for a powerful force on the planet. I smirked, “This is gonna be fun.”

~~~

Those two years flew by like lightning, especially since I was putting my hand on the mech creation front myself considering my expertise in this line of work. Thankfully, the planet’s economy was doing better after the influx of people, and the jobs were filled properly, with growth being back to a more reasonable margin. It left me plenty of time to properly amass a mighty force of mechs ready to move, my only sadness was a lack of knights. Knights, much like other games and novels with such a title, were those who were akin to knights of old who served their nobility. I lacked such soldiers since I was under my father’s protection, but I wished some shown interest in me at the bare minimum. Either way, I was within my personal unit as we boarded a ship my father was transporting us in.

Edward spoke to me, his voice uncertain, “Are you sure the domain will be fine with your absence?” I nodded, “Of course, the officials are working properly and taking their needed breaks, just make sure they know to rest when they need it.” Edward nodded, “Understood sir, just be sure to return safely.” I began to march into the ship myself, my time to enter was now, “I understand, but just know no beast is enough to kill me, only my fellow man could cut me down.” Edward seemed concerned, “Have you even gone beyond the foundation of basic swordsmanship?” I paused, my search for what I sought wasn’t fruitful, “I haven’t found the sword style I’ve been seeking for my build, please give me time on that.” Edward sighed, “I understand sir, just don’t take too long to do it.” With that, he disconnected, and I went to my room to await arrival to the planet.

~~~

When we arrived, I knew we had to make our arrival count to show off the new mechs, “Remember men, no one talks about the mechs tech, we show its might, not tell!” The pilots began to cheer, many seemed to be waiting for the day they could use these in actual battle. Once the bay opened, we marched out with excitement in our hearts, knowing today would be the day our hard work and effort was put to the test. As we stepped out, the comms of other soldiers and nobles alike would proclaim their awe of these machines. One noble stood out from the rest, his comment was different to the others, “They hold the insignia of count Flameheart, but they aren’t the machines I know, especially their lead unit. More than that, they don’t seem to be the standard units…” I smiled, it made me want to speak about them a little, “These mechs are the next generation, mine being something akin to a prototype for the generation after, just watch us, because we’ll show you just how these mechs shine.”

After a moment a map was shown on the screen, as this location was merely the front lines where the basics were established. Father began a speech; one I paid attention to just to understand the major points. For today, we’d be diverging to eliminate the beasts in the surrounding area and secure the area to establish a proper base camp. I was tasked with the southern side of the camp with my team, I had a noble there, mostly to act as my observer due to my age, but it was my area to work with. When I observed the area a smile crossed my face, “Men, which of you have speed-based units?” A few soldiers stepped forward, and I said, “We’re going to need that speed, so here’s the plan.”

~~~

To my curiosity, I volunteered to watch over Count Flameheart’s child, as I didn’t wish for honor in this excursion. It has been quite some time since I came to ensure my skills haven’t rusted over the years, considering my position had left me off any battlefield for an extended period of time, but Aurelian Stella Flameheart drew my attention more than I thought. From the moment he stepped out of the transport ship, his mechs drew the attention of all present, their forms different to the mechs we all piloted and knew of. To my knowledge, these were the first of their kind, and I was about to witness their strength firsthand. Aurelian had discussed a strategy with my men and I, we were to remain with weapons drawn as a few went ahead for the moment.

Our terrain seemed to be a large area of mountains, but the base camp chose it due to how easy it would be to reinforce the camp from this direction as long as the lone pathway to the other end of the mountains was secured. The area on the other side was a large, open plains where many large beasts made their residence, and they were all hostile to humans. To my surprise, Aurelian had been giving everyone commands to how they should prepare, ensuring my men had the safest position as we had the rearward defenses. When I asked why we took the rear, Aurelian replied with, “Due to your mechs being weaker, it would be safer for your men to remain in the back. We can hold our own, just make sure you’re ready to fire.” We were assigned to be ranged and support, something my men seemed surprised to be assigned by those we considered as mere recruits.

Aurelian and his machine, one colored in the colors of his family’s insignia, stood in the front with a sword in the ground, ready for the first sign of change. One thing my eyes picked out was the odd machine affixed to the back of his mech, one that I could sense held something magic related within. Before I could ask, I heard Aurelian shout as he lifted his blade into the sky, “Here they come, let’s show these beasts the might of humanity!” His blade flared to life, as his namesake was, his sword was wreathed in flames of magic. My men were shocked from this sudden show, magic on ones blade was impossible, even for the best of my men under my employ. However, for the men under Aurelian’s employ, they let out cheers as they slammed their feet to the ground, the very earth had shook under so many mechs stomped at once.

The forward group of mechs rushed through the path, their speed was unparalleled, enough so I had to pinch myself to know I wasn’t dreaming. One pilot shouted, “We nearly got the whole field on us! Get ready to fire!” As they ran, smoke filled the path as beasts roared towards us, sweat dripped down my face as I saw the sheer number of them, but Aurelian showed no fear, “Ranged units, ready your aim!” I did as he said and aimed, even some of his units aimed their own weapons, ones that seemed different from our own as well. As they got closer, Aurelian had yet to give the order to fire, his voice remained silent. Concerned for the safety of my men, I had to make it clear, “Young Aurelian, if we don’t fire now, we’ll be overrun!” Aurelian did one motion; he held his hand up as if to say, “hold your fire”. When I was about to command my men to fire, Aurelian said, “Ten more seconds.”

Aurelian’s men seemed still, as if they trusted their lord without any concerns to the horde of beasts that came barreling towards them. I decided to hold, to lay my trust into this young lord who barely even had ten years under his belt. Aurelian’s command was simple and swift, “Open fire.” Every mech that had ranged weapons began to unleash their all into the path, and in the initial volley, I understood why he waited for this moment. Each bullet found their mark, even those that flew far off the mark found a place in one beast or another. I felt my heart rush, skill or not, any individual with training could see the patience he held paid off. After yet another moment, he shouted, “Cease fire and draw your weapons! We enter melee!”

As we ceased shooting, I noticed we nearly blocked the path with corpses, which could cause other issues aside from the smell that would develop. Aurelian shouted, “Count Drakon’s forces, hold back, you’ll be our support. All other forces, on me, charge!” With a rally cry, Aurelian’s forces charged the remaining beasts funneling through the path, and it wasn’t even close. Aurelian had many areas to which his skills with a blade could improve, but it didn’t stop him from leading the charge and cutting down a fair amount of beasts on his own. My men and I had no room to enter the fray, in fact, we suffered no damage from the way he handled the mission at hand. While his mechs did sustain damage, it was merely scratches to the paint or blood that coated the armor.

I spoke to my men; they knew what I was considering, “It seems young Aurelian has some promise in his future, more than I expected when I heard he was to join the expedition.” My head knight inquired, “I understand my lord, but what do you wish to do?” I replied, “I’m not sure yet, but as the expedition continues, I’ll make my decision, but we do need to keep an eye on him.” My head knight understood my patience, “Understood my lord, we’ll do as we must to see as much of what young Aurelian can do.” Every noble present would soon understand what I have, and I wanted to ensure we held a connection with Aurelian Stella Flameheart. His mechs will shock the empire, no, the universe at large once word spreads. For now, however, I believe that the nobles present will agree with me to keep this a secret amongst us, we cannot risk losing him to foreign empire.