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2024-10-29 19:42:56Days since last Beast Tide: 15. Current Kill Count: 478 (81 since yesterday).
***
“No? Fine! Drop the lion!” Mindy ordered.
[No, don’t!] the lion under the airship yelped.
“Wait!” Remian also yelled. [Lion Lord, please elaborate. What do you mean ‘no’?]
[‘No’ means no.] The Lion Lord yawned again, settling down to sleep. [I know your kind. You want us all to work for you. Well, I won’t do it! If you want to hunt your own kind, do it yourself.]
[So you’ll let us hunt them?]
[What do I care?]
[And you won’t attack us?]
[Maybe we will.] The Lion Lord shrugged. [I make no promises.]
[We still have your cousin, you know. He’s still our prisoner.]
[So?]
[So we won’t release him unless you help us, or at least promise us safe passage!]
[Then don’t release him. See if I care.]
[Cousin!?] The lion prisoner protested.
[Don’t worry. These guys try to befriend Wilds all the ti
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Kingdom of the Weak 143. Busy Darian
While Mindy and Remian were flying off to start trading, while George was taking charge of Kara-Goth and the rest of Shadowflash Fief, Darian was learning an ultimate technique. Or at least, Doom said it was an ultimate technique. That’s what he called it. Darian wasn’t so sure. But whatever it was, it was definitely powerful. The first thing Doom had Darian learn was the Dragon Silhouette. He said, “You need to be able to survive out here on your own! I’m not going to run around rescuing you all day!” “Is it that hard to survive around here?” Darian asked, looking around Dragon Lake. “You’re in the middle of six Dragon clans with hundreds of members between them, any of whom might feel like snapping you up as a snack. You tell me.” Darian quit the very thought of protesting. “What’s a Dragon Silhouette?” “You know how Ha’res-dras sometimes appears bigger than he really is? He doesn’t actually get bigger. That’s his Silhouette.
Kingdom of the Weak 144. Busy Mindy
Days since last Beast Tide: 17. Current Kill Count: 528 (39 since yesterday). Mindy arrived at Fal’Herim with Remian and found a familiar face at the airport. “There! Did you see that?!” Asda pointed, shrieking. “One just ran past, behind you!” “Ma’am?” the guard turned around and looked about curiously before shaking his head. “I don’t see anything, ma’am.” “It was there!” Asda insisted. “There was a lynxmouse!” “Yes, ma’am.” The guard said politely. But when Asda turned around, he exchanged glances with the other guard next to him, who also shook his head wordlessly. “Hey! Asda!” Mindy pounced. “UWAAAAAH!!!” Asda shrieked. “It’s HER! It’s Mindy!! She brought the lynxmice!” “Wha…?” Mindy stared. “I didn’t! You can ask your airport customs people! They just did a full search of my hold!” “It’s you! I know it is! You’ve been setting lynxmice on me! Spying on me! Stalking me! Stealing my CHEESE!!” Asda pointed, sc
Kingdom of the Weak 145. Busy George
Days since last Beast Tide: 21. Current Kill Count: 672 (21 since yesterday). During Darian's first weekend. *** George stared at the map on the table in front of him, rubbing tired eyes. In his hand was breakfast, an Ashdale style plate of hash browns, eggs, and sausages. The images and icons in front of him seemed to swim for a moment. George shut his eyes tight for a bit, and wondered if perhaps maybe, just maybe, he should have slept in this morning. "Not today." He decided, gathering his guts and his willpower. "Tomorrow. Today, we need to face another Beast Wave." What should they do? Should they evacuate the mines, or just keep them running? Except maybe for the copper mine at Deadly Sands. And maybe the silver mine at the far southern end of the Misty Heights. Maybe even the Misty Steel mine at the source of the Three Forks River, at the heart of the Misty Mountains. Right. Misty Steel. That was a water elemental metal, similar
Kingdom of the Weak 146. Busy Tim
And then there was Tim. Tim skulked around the corner of a white palace corridor with a sound ampliflier runed conch, listening. “They’re there! The lynxmice are there! I swear they’re there!” Asda ranted on the inside of the building. “Double the watch! Inspect the kitchens at midnight! Where are the rat-trap engineers?!” [Guard coming around the corner.] One lynxmouse scout advised. [Ten seconds.] Tim darted away, finding cover around the next corner before the guard patrolled past, then resumed his eavesdropping on Asda’s conversations. “You want me to control the lynxmice?!” Asda was saying to someone on the other end of a communications crystal. “I can’t do that!” “You were friends with Fort Spoas once, were you not?” the pinched voice on the other end of the line pressed. “Surely you have discovered the secrets of taming the Wilds!” “Well… I think it’s mainly just food.” Asda replied. “Barbecued meat, usually.” “T
Kingdom of the Weak 147. George vs the Beast Wave (1)
George prepared to face the Beast Wave and discussed the issue with Aren. They only had one Sky Fortress with which to face the incoming Beast Wave this time, and George sent it out to evacuate the Deadly Sands mine. “But what about the Wilds already at the bottom of the Pit?” Aren asked. “We need an airship to get them out unless you want to open the tunnel that we sealed up from the Pit side…” “Leave them there. We still haven’t had any word from Remian about his negotiations and that Lion Lord’s cousin. At this point, we don’t even know if the Lion Lord would be coming up with the next wave to rescue the captives.” “And if he does?” “Then he can join them down there.” George straightened. “How many mercenaries have joined the defenses?” “Including the Iron Legion guys? Twenty-five.” “That’s barely two squads.” George frowned. “Let’s have them reinforce the front gates. We better make sure they have heavy armor comparable to the FDF’s.” “We can just lend them armor if need be
Kingdom of the Weak 148. George vs the Beast Wave (2)
Half an hour later, George was in his armored exoskeleton, standing shoulder to shoulder with Max and Markus, all three of them warming up as the alarms rang, and scouts reported. Rather than word of incoming Wilds, however, what they said was rather unexpected. “Airships to the south!” they said. “Wha…?” George blinked. “Whose?” “Uh…” there was a quick discussion and a reply. “Ours.” “Ours?” George stared blankly. “It’s the school Sky Fortresses.” Joshu explained. “They seem to be heading our way.” “They’re coming?” George brightened. “How long until they arrive?” “Uh… at this rate… probably later tonight?” Joshu guessed grumpily. He always seemed unusually grumpy these days. George rather wondered why. “What of the Wilds?” Markus questioned. “Best guess? Twenty minutes.” Joshu grumped. The comms crystal buzzed. “George here.” “Hey, George. How’s the Beast Wave today?” Remian ask
Kingdom of the Weak 149. George vs the Beast Wave (3)
The antlers met his armor with a stunning impact. “Aargh…” George coughed. He braced, while at the same time grasping those antlers, trying to push them away from his chest, suddenly fearful that they might pierce his armor and his lungs. The world tilted; no, not really, but George was suddenly looking down at the battle from above. He was lifted high above the stag’s head; suddenly, the stag’s back was right in front of him, an easy target for a glaive-wielder stuck atop the stag’s antlers. George gasped, one-handedly wielding the glaive while the other grasped the antlers, still trying to push them away. He aimed; he struck, a direct spear-like thrust straight down the back of the stag that had him caught in its antlers. The stag roared, thrashing. George yowled, dropping his glaive in the pain, now devoting both hands to getting the antlers unstuck from his armor. He was swung to the left, to the right, then he was flying, rolling across the groun
Kingdom of the Weak 150. A Night-time conversation
Remian woke up panting and sweating. Again. Sitting up, he forced himself to stillness, to calm, to breathe slower. Experience taught him the hard way; when he breathed heavily and felt like he was still suffocating, the fact was he was actually breathing too hard, too fast, and the oxygen didn’t have time to work. He had to slow it down, even though every instinct in him wanted to breathe harder and faster. There was a time when just getting up like that would trigger a response. Someone would reach over and pat him on the back and try to soothe him. But now… Alone in his room, he fought an old fight, an all too familiar struggle to live, to breathe. Weariness seeped in his bones. Sometimes, he wanted to just lie down and let it all end. Stop the fighting, stop the struggling, and just let go… Fight. Have to fight. Remian got to his feet, and left his gloomy dark room. He went out onto the deck, and looked up at the stars. It
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523. Comms
Somewhere along the line, he’d lost consciousness. George only realized it when he woke up to a splitting headache. “Ow.” He groaned. “What... where...?” “We’re on the way back to Sorrel.” Grace told him, appearing by his bedside. And it was a bedside, he realized. He seemed to be in the Kara’s Medical Bay. “I’m sorry. We had to retreat.” “Our... people?” George managed. “The HAC Troopers made it back. The Mechs... did not.” Grace paused. “We have the refugees though. And the Robotic Assembly Plant for Mining Drones. That’s all they managed to grab.” George slurred. “Mech pilots?” “Alive, if battered.” “Good. Alive is good.” George sighed. “This... didn’t go so well.” “Hey, at least we got the guys we were trying to save, and some machinery on top of that. You might say it was a success. A costly one, but a success.” “Casualties?” George asked. “Plenty of injuries to go around, but no deaths. So far.” Grace paused. “Some of the really badly injured might change that before lo
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522. Second Aid Mission
“Were these really the best you could do?” George asked, eyeing the six hulking figures in front of him hesitantly. “Mmm.” Juni grunted. In front of them were six brand new Mechs. 2nd Generation products, they were armored weapons platforms on legs, with jumpjets for the signature ‘jumps’ that earned their generation the nickname, ‘Jumpers’. Or were they? George wasn’t entirely sure. When he looked at them, they really looked more like 1st Generation Walker-types. Those Jump Jets seemed to be an afterthought, an added equipment haphazardly strapped to their backs. “Would they really work right?” Juni shrugged. Given the time and materials he had to work with, George supposed he couldn’t expect better. He had only just received 2nd Gen tech. Until now, he’d been working with 1st Gen expectations and schematics. One of these Mechs seemed a bit worn, evidence that it had been built quite some time ago, and only recently been modified for George’s requests. “Fusion Cell for power, Pu
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521. Next Step
It turned out that they also needed to acquire salvage rights to haul away ‘scrap metal’. Fortunately, that was a simple affair now that they had local currency. 50 USD and the matter was done. Grant, being the nearest specialist on matters of scrap to their location, graciously offered to transport their ‘scrap’ directly to their vessel out of sheer goodwill. Finally Benny and Sam went to try out the barbecued skewers. At Grant’s recommendation, though, they didn’t go to the Starport roadside stall. They ended up at another roadside stall run by a ‘foreign refugee’ someplace downtown not too far from Grant’s workshop. There, each skewer was loaded with rows of thick, juicy beef sausages, and only cost 20 USD for 10. Benny stretched. “Not bad for our first day. We’ve got three days here, don’t we? But we’ve already got half of what we wanted.” “What’s the other half?” Sam asked. “Technical manuals on engineering, power and propulsion. Tech, basically.” Benny yawned. However, whe
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520. Uber States Colony
“Black Fang, you are cleared for docking. Follow the designated path and welcome to Trifer, colony of the Uber States.” Benny stood on the observation deck of the Black Fang below the bridge, listening to the conversation between the comms officer and the dock authorities. He eyed the massive sprawl of structures and smoke emitted below and wondered. “This is what they call a ‘small’ colony?” The colony was bigger than Craggy Falls, Kara-Goth and Nightshade City put together. “Just how many people live here?” Benny asked next. “According to our sensors, about half a million.” The bridge crew told him. Okay, that was less than the human population of the Sorrelian Migration, which, after including the Cumin survivors, was over 800,000. They shared the sensor feed with Benny, Sam and Foxy. Looking at the scope, Benny realized that most of the colony below consisted of machinery and robots. Furthermore, what he saw on the surface wasn’t even half the colony. The entire complex went
- Kingdom of the Weak
519. Scoop
That evening, Benny and Sam left with Tim’s battle group, headed for the nearest Uber States outpost with medicine in the cargo holds. This left only one freight galleon to ferry materials and regretful space miners from the surface to Sky Haven. “It’s going too slow.” Remian decided. “I need to call Raven.” With Mindy busy trading across star systems, Raven had inherited (bought over) her airship fleet and company on the surface. They built more gunships and scout ships than freighters these days, mainly focused on providing recon and fire support to ground forces fighting Undead. But it was those freighters Remian needed now, the bigger the better. “We need them refitted for extreme high altitudes, as high as they can go.” Remian explained. “Also we need them spaceworthy, at least up to low orbit.” “You want our airship freighters to fly into space?!” Raven spluttered. “Yes, but not on their own. I want them to haul cargo and passengers as high up as they can. Around 30km woul
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518. We should call Remian
“Relax, I’m not asking you to build them from scratch. You’ll need to remodel a Galleon and a trio of our current Dropships. We do want proper Mech Carriers in the future, but for now, we need to deploy urgently, so we’ll just remodel what we have.” Ermine brought up some projections. “The Mechs in question are going to be Light Walkers, designed and built by J-Armory. Juni’s had a workable prototype for a long time, but it’s never been needed until now. Live testing is scheduled to start in three days. They’re powered by Fusion Cells, the kind that looks like dustbins, so you won’t need to worry about fuel lines, just cell-swapping. You won’t need to worry about replacing the He3 in the Fusion Cells either; spent cells will be sent back to J-Armory for recycling or refueling or whatever it is they do. Same goes for the weapons; Jamie’s J-Arsenal will handle maintenance and replacement and all that. The ship only needs to carry the Mechs, deploy them, and run basic maintenance. Repai
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517. Objectives and Objections
They met online the next day. Remian opted out, letting them handle it. Upon bringing up the subject of the Woofers’ request for more aid across different planets… Ermine snorted. “I refuse.” “What?” George stared. “I refuse to help them.” Ermine said stoutly. “I know that you guys all have some sort of savior syndrome, and it’s something that Remian seemed to have passed down from the very beginning, the sort of meddlesome hero complex that has you all trying to save the world at personal cost, but I’m no hero. I’m Tau, and we’re practical survivalists. We simply can’t afford to go around saving everybody. We need all our strength and resources to save ourselves. As for the Woofers, as a collective, they are a Class 5 Star Civilization, a whole class more advanced and stronger than us. They have their own governments and their own fleets. Let the Woofers help the Woofers.” Xiao Yan cut in. “As you say, they are a Class 5 Star Civilization. Since you’re talking about praticality, t
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516. Changing Gear
“Go, go, go!” green light flared in the bay of the Dropship as the floor fell away. George and twelve other figures were unceremoniously dumped on the ground nine feet below. They landed with heavy impacts. George staggered, realizing the gravity on this world was at least twice what he was accumstomed to back home. For a moment, he regretted leaving his Frame back on the ship, but they were here to clear the bandits out from a city center, meaning tight spaces, narrow access points, and needing to take care to avoid civilian casualties. Or at least, that was the plan. George and his squad had been deposited on the outskirts of the city, at the very border of a suburban district. “Incoming!” someone yelled. George crouched as something exploded; the ground shook and chunks of dirt flew through the air. “Get to cover! Return fire!” George called, even though he wasn’t entirely sure where the attackers were, exactly. The guys diving behind nearby garages and a public toilet clued hi
- Kingdom of the Weak
514. Out there
Quite predictably, the first of those calls to reach Sorrel II was from their dear friends, the Woofers. Three Paws explained it. [This is from Kelso III. It’s an agrarian world, roughly eighty hours’ flight from here for our fleet. Local gang bosses have titled themselves warlords and suppressed the citizenry with brute force. They take whatever they want, and demand whatever payment they like, on pain of death or torture. Local law enforcement has been completely overrun and even planetary militia couldn’t save the settlements under their control. The best our local paws could do is contain the situation and prevent it from getting worse.] Remian sipped hot coffee. Eighty hours flight for the Woofers Fleet should mean a bit less than seventy for the Tau fleet. “That’s rough. But what’s the point of calling us here to tell us this?” [We can help them. Just one division of your fleet could make a huge difference against these local gangs.] At the moment, the Sorrelian fleet consist
