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2024-10-29 19:42:56Half the first floor was cleared before they stopped for lunch. Based on the increasing strengths of the golems they faced, Darian felt that either the latter half was more securely guarded, or the golems were growing stronger the longer they had access to a steady power supply. Maybe they had been weakened by time and were slowly regenerating and recovering now that the power supply was back on?
“Jackpot!” a shout brought Darian’s attention to the door on the left, where the Quarin team had finally unlocked access to a new compartment. “We’ve hit the motherlode!”
“What is it?” Darian went over.
“It’s the infirmary!” Le’tte informed him. “The medical equipment in here may be old, but they’re worth countless times more than all the office stationery and junk we’ve seen so far!”
“Can they be used?” Darian stared.
“They might not be fully functional, but their basic uses should still be fine. I mean, a bed is a bed, isn’t it?”
Darian nodd
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Kingdom of the Weak 378. Autoforge
Meanwhile, Remian called Xiao Yan over to a special hangar in the Starport for a secret discussion. “This is...” Xiao Yan inspected the tree-sized machine in front of her. “A Taurian Autoforge? It looks a bit worn out.” “Yep. It came with the Taurian mercenaries on the Asred.” “What do you intend to do with it?” “What if it were you? What would you do?” Xiao Yan snorted. “First thing I’d make with this is another Autoforge. And then use both to make two more, and then use those four to make four more and so on. Given the materials we have on this planet, I think using basic carbon synthsteel is the best we can hope for, so the new ones couldn’t possibly match up to this old thing, but compared to the machinery in your Industrial District, it would be a leap of several generations.” “Sounds good. Can you do it?” Xiao Yan narrowed her eyes. “If you want me to run it, you’re going to have to compensate me accordingly. I want half
Kingdom of the Weak 379. Another Way
That evening, Ay’eni and Le’tte made another call home and then decided to go find Remian. By then, they had a fourth autoforge ready to work. A third team was being brought in to build components with the refined synth-metals from the first team, most of them being previous magitech engineers from Ecclesia, and Xiao Yan was already talking about taking her tenth of the production to build her own Light Frame design. Ay’eni met Remian at the Starport cafeteria while he was having dinner, interrupting his private meal time with Phoebe. “Our people want to build a Portal.” Ay’eni got straight to the point. “It could take a few months to stabilize, but if we can get it done, your people would have an easy way off this planet straight to Quarin space.” “Quarin space? We were trying to get refugee status with the Tau.” Remian frowned. “Why bother with those low-tech survivalists? Your world is already accustomed to magitech, and wouldn’t take long
Kingdom of the Weak 380. Secrets in the night
That evening, a hooded and cloaked figure crept up to Rune Master Le’tte where he sat alone at a bar. It was a new establishment in Craggy Falls Starport, and one could still vaguely smell the fresh coat of paint. There were a lot of people eager to try out the new place, some of whom preferred not to be seen doing so, therefore a hooded figure like this one did not draw too much attention. Most folks around simply minded their own business out of politeness. That would never have happened in the Dragon Empire since over there, everybody’s spoiled brat and their cousins would be trying to pick a fight and bully any stranger they could and likely get themselves killed by people they couldn’t afford to offend, but Craggy Falls folks were more sensible. The hooded figure didn’t say much. A slender hand simply held out a pouch. Rune Master Le’tte also didn’t say much. He slipped a small package over, and took the pouch. The figure quietly got up and left the bar.
Kingdom of the Weak 381. Secrets in the Night 2
Contrary to Tim’s expectations, Remian wasn’t busy with Phoebe that night. Phoebe was at the Three Pines Ruins with the medics. Remian was actually trying to practice a Psionic technique called the Psi Shroud. There were many reasons why he was busy trying to raise his own personal powers that night after a long day of meeting people and talking matters over. Part of it had to do with seeing Darian lead an army of over a hundred qualified Tier 5 Slayers and realizing that the collective strength of Adventurers in the Wildlands had already reached that level. Part of it had to do with the way the Quarin looked down on everyone here. Part of it had to do with Mindy facing the Undead every day and reporting how they were encountering stronger and stronger ones. Part of it had to do with Alani beating back the Dragon Princess in a fight that Remian himself wouldn’t have dared to go anywhere near. Now, in Conglomerate teachings, there were three sorts of powers humans had
Kingdom of the Weak 382. Secrets in the Night 3
At that time, George was reviewing Xiao Yan’s proposal for a Martial Training Center while taking a break from the heap of reports involving preparations for the imminent Science Conference stacked up on his desk. “Hmm. I like the idea of using the Pit as a grand tournament arena. The shape is already mostly there...” he muttered to himself. “Wouldn’t Raven be surprised the next time she comes by...?” That was when Remian called in. [George! How are things at Kara-Goth?] [We’re fine. Busy, but safe. There’s been no threat or damage done since Nai’khan’s battle with Alani.] George sent back. [When is the next time Mindy comes back?] Mindy coming back means Raven coming back; she and her siblings were crewmembers of Mindy’s personal airship, after all. With all the new projects coming up around Kara-Goth, George held some hopes in being able to offer her a job around here she would like; that way, he might actually be able to convince her to stay...
Kingdom of the Weak 383. Daybreak
Incidentally, Tang Yin was asleep at the time all of those things happened. While it was morning where Mindy was, the Wildlands were far to the west of the Dragon Empire and for them it was still night. Tang Yin slept in cotton pajamas in a small room he’d rented from the Adventurers Guild, having joined it as a Tier 3 Adventurer himself. He was dreaming of a certain girl who was a friend of Gary’s, a brilliant minded mathematician who actually understood a bit of the spatial theories he talked about... Sunrise filtered through the curtains of his windows. Tang Yin slowly stirred, woke, and yawned. Upon waking, he felt no small sense of loss; that had been a nice dream, and he’d been on a boat with her, out on a lake... Wait, wasn’t that the Black Depths lake?! Goodness, what was he thinking, bringing a girl out boating on top of the home of giant electric eel?! “Get back to reality!” Tang Yin smacked his own face, then took a deep breath, shaking it off. “Wi
Kingdom of the Weak 384. The First Alien Immigrants
Xiao Yan, by the way, was very excited these days. Having the knowledge from the Conglomerate in this archaic world was one thing. Having Ermine and her Autoforge sneak her a few personal uses and subsequently put together half a rudimentary Tau workshop was an entirely different matter. Tau technology was nowhere near the level of the Conglomerate’s, but nano-binders and basic force fields were a whole lot better than trying to use screwdrivers and moulds. Just using the machines and tools in a room barely larger than the single-person Adventurers quarters like Tang Yin’s, Xiao Yan was able to outstrip the industrial capabilities of Arnold’s entire Kara-Goth floor’s worth of workshop. Her only limitation was space, and that mainly to protect secrecy. She didn’t have room to build the heavy Armored Frames that Arnold was selling, but putting together a Black Assassin Crossbow or ten in half a day was well within her abilities. Even those limitations weren’t going to
Kingdom of the Weak 385. Breakfast with Aliens
“Xiao Yan!” Eriane called, waving at her in the cafeteria. “Over here!” Xiao Yan glanced at her and Ermine at the table, shook her head and said, “Not today, guys. I have a date.” “A date?!” Eriane choked. “With who?” “Some space magic archer guy named Tang Yin.” Tang Yin said, looking around for a small table. “Wait. Tang Yin? Absent-minded, pale-face, mismatched shoes Tang Yin?” “You know him?” “Know her? He’s the guy who sealed the Portal in the south and locked Remian out!” “Oh? He sounds quite powerful. He’s single, right?” “Yeah. But... you and him...?” Eriane shook her head. “I don’t think you should go for it. You haven’t met Tim.” “Who’s Tim and why do you want me to meet him?” Xiao Yan asked. “You’ll see! Until then, don’t date anyone!” Eriane insisted. “Also, I think Isabella has something going on with him.” *** It had to be said, Eriane was not a typical eight year-old. She h
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- Kingdom of the Weak
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
- Kingdom of the Weak
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
- Kingdom of the Weak
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
- Kingdom of the Weak
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
- Kingdom of the Weak
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
- Kingdom of the Weak
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
