The convoy trudged along the path towards Regna Ferox, oddly lively during the long and uneventful trip. There wasn't any Risen beyond the first groups they encountered. Instead, the Shepherds were all chatting about the training fight between Chrom and Garrick last night. Their fight had quickly garnered the attention of the entire camp, some coming out of concern for the prince and others for the excitement of watching the two fight.
They had slugged it out for at least half an hour. Both people used styles which favored heavy strikes with their respective weapons over dancing around their opponent. Although the duel favored Chrom at first as he easily deflected the former brigand's attacks, Garrick managed to put in more strength as the fight continued, showing everyone that his muscles weren't just for show. The prince was often forced to give ground to avoid getting crushed under the training axe.
The ending of the duel was quite disappointing for most viewers, however. The training weapons simply couldn't withstand the strength both fighters put in behind their attacks. Chrom and Garrick both had to be treated for splinter wounds afterwards, courtesy of both their weapons shattering in a shower of splinters when they crashed into each other.
Robin vividly remembered the scolding brought on by Lissa, still in disbelief that the princess could utter those words.
Back to the present. She was walking beside the wagon that held all their equipment. The Shepherds were scattered around it, mostly talking in pairs. No one tried striking up a conversation with her yet and she wasn't interested in starting one herself. And unlike the much older terrans, she didn't have close friends to banter with. Sumia was plenty nice to her but she was currently talking to Lissa, pegasus in tow.
For Naga's sake, even Garrick had someone to talk to! Although Vaike and the former bandit were just discussing axes and the man's training duel with Chrom.
Speaking of Chrom, he was actually walking alone. He could use some company.
Robin moved next to him. "Hey Chrom."
"Hey. What's up?"
"I thought you were lonely walking by yourself."
"I'm good. Thank you for your concern. Did you have anything else on your mind?"
She remained in contemplation for a few moments. There were in fact, many things on her mind, but none of them seemed important enough to bring up. However, she did have one question that was slightly bugging her mind as the days went on.
"When you found me collapsed on the ground and without memory, why did you take me in? Was it because I seemed like a damsel in distress, lying there, unconscious?"
"Well, as you said, you were collapsed on the ground and without memory. I couldn't just leave you there lest brigands find you. Who knows what they could have done to you?"
"You assumed I was a damsel in distress?"
"Well… kind of. You don't quite look like one though."
Robin's eye twitched. "If i were a man would you have done the same?
"Of course. I wouldn't leave someone behind."
"So pity was your reason."
"Isn't that enough?"
"Did you not think it might be some sort of trap? A woman lying defenselessly on the ground in the middle of nowhere isn't normal."
"Robin, if I see someone hurt or in need, I'm going to help them. That's just who I am, and there's no changing it. Or would you rather I'd left you there, face down in the muck?" He gestured towards an iron-clad knight "Being careful is what I have Frederick for anyways."
"I'm grateful for what you did for me, but it scares me all the same. Chivalry and longevity don't often go hand in hand." Robin sighed. "Just promise me you'll be careful going forth, for your own sake. Empathy, valuable as it may be, is too easily exploitable."
"I wish I had a gold coin for every time I had this lecture." He muttered jokingly. Chrom put a hand on her shoulder. "I promise. Just please, don't turn into a second Frederick. I've gotten enough nagging from him already because of the other new hires. Their weapons and trinkets are apparently very suspicious to him."
"Well, they're using something completely alien to us, and they said it wasn't magic.
"Fair point."
"Actually, speaking of which, how did you come to recruit the 'terrans'? I remember you offering to take them to the capital, but I heard nothing else until you had signed a contract at the castle."
Chrom hummed, recalling the events after Robin was found in the field. When they met at the village, the brigand situation was already under control. However, now that he thought about it, it felt oddly easy making his way through the half a dozen ruffians that they faced. There should have been at least double that number, if not more.
"Robin, at the village, didn't you feel like the fight was a bit easy?"
She took some time to remember the previous events. After a few seconds she came to the same conclusion. "Yes. So you thought that they had cleared out the brigands from the other side of the village?"
"More exactly, I was grateful that they helped us save the village and I was curious about them. Their 'guns' were clearly weapons of a sort, so I assumed that they were helping the village."
"And they couldn't possibly be bandits because they didn't look like them in any way and didn't attempt to strike you down as soon as possible."
Chrom nodded. "Yes. You're catching on quickly. I had thought that it might have been a good idea to let them remain there to protect the villages from further bandit raids, but they said that they were searching for work. That's why I offered them to go to the capital."
"Are you sure they weren't just trying to get hired by you? You are royalty after all."
"I don't know. However I do know that they didn't seem to recognise me as the prince. My mark-" He patted his shoulder. "- is a clear indicator that I'm royalty, yet they treated me the same way you did. I assumed that they came from another continent and just happened to end up there. It was especially odd when the man with the pot helmet could."
"Yes, but they could have just pretended to not know you're the prince." She replied, remembering the travel times on the map. It was very unlikely that people came from another continent yet ended up in a place well in-land whilst never hearing of the Exalt or the prince. They said their ship crashed, but that didn't add up. They should have been near the coast, mainly due to travel difficulties like bandits and foreign money. However, they seemed to be able to handle themselves quite well against any aggressors. Implausible, but not impossible.
"Yes, I know. I wasn't thinking too hard on that assumption." Chrom flushed, scratching his head briefly before he managed to regain his composure. "Anyhow, I thought that they were from another continent, judging from their odd weapons and I judged them as trustworthy. I hired them because I thought they were nice people, and I could use the extra hands in the Shepherds."
"I thought you hired them because their guns were effective at pushing back the Risen."
"You're also right because they managed to fight alongside us well enough. I'm not stupid, if they couldn't fight they would have little place in the Shepherds."
"You're quite kind to take in everyone at once. I think it helps us all greatly."
"Why thank you." Chrom grinned. "The Shepherds' name didn't just appear out of thin air."
"Just do try to be more careful in the future. You never know if something bad will happen because of your kindness."
He chuckled. "Yes, as I said, I promised."
"Could you please at least be more serious about it?"
He did his best impression of Frederick. "Milady, I shall do my utmost to hold that promise."
Robin snickered, a smile forming on her face. She playfully punched his side. "Don't do that when he can hear you."
"Of course, of course." He answered, trying to hide his own amusement. After a moment or so, he managed to control it. "But in all seriousness, I will try my best."
"Thank you." She said, accepting his promise.
Their conversation drifted off to a comfortable silence. They trudged forwards on the partially cobbled road, watching the forests slowly pass by them. It was mainly to spot any Risen or bandit threat that may accost them, but the scenery was nice enough to enjoy.
Robin hummed to herself, bathing in the warm sunlight as they marched. She didn't know if it was only her that felt the weather becoming cooler. While people said that her coat was heavy and cumbersome before, she felt it was natural to keep it on; something in the back of her mind told her it was important to her. Maybe it was a fragment of her life before she lost her memories. The cryptic symbols that adorned it only reinforced this belief. Plus, it kept her warm.
Her thoughts turned to the man beside her, a literal prince charming coming to the aid of a lost maiden. She inwardly chuckled, thinking that it would be oddly humorous and romantic if they ended up together. Perhaps fate brought them together on this journey.
Robin then remembered the conversation they just had, about Chrom's insistence on helping people even if it risked his life. It was definitely a foolhardy decision to hire her on the spot, and she both hoped that he would become more cautious, yet she also wanted him to stay a kind man, helping those in need.
Something irked her though.
"By the way," she began, "about that comment earlier, where you said that I hadn't seemed like a damsel in distress, were you implying that I wasn't ladylike?"
"Well… You don't quite behave like a lady since you fight off bandits with us, study tactics as if possessed and err…" He trailed off. "I'm not helping my case much, aren't I?"
"Not a bit." Robin deadpanned, crossing her arms. "You're not very well educated on manners, aren't you?"
"I did get educated on manners, actually."
"How were they, considering you don't seem to remember anything from them?" She pointedly asked.
"Please don't remind me. There was an entire term on etiquette. However, I will admit I am a bit out of practice since I have been speaking casually to the Shepherds and Emm for so long."
"I think you need the practice."
"I don't feel like it, honestly. I prefer being friendly and honest to my compatriots rather than putting up a fake image of myself. Plus, being un-ladylike isn't that bad."
Robin stared at him pointedly.
"I'm… Going to stop putting my foot in my mouth."
As they drifted once again into silence, she mulled over the words he put out.
Chrom was almost certainly honest about what he said. Would it have been better if he lied to her? She could see him gaining the trust from almost anyone by being nice and honest to them. In fact, she probably already trusted the man. They'd gone through three fights together already, and she had one spar with him. It wasn't much, but they hadn't had many issues with each other, manners aside.
The silence somehow grew more awkward as time passed. It itched at her how she may have pushed the man away when he was simply trying to be a down to earth, honest man. She broke the silence, intending to finish their conversation on a better note.
"Chrom, if you need any help learning something, especially if it's something from a book, ask me." She tried.
"Uh… Sure." He replied sheepishly, unsure why she suddenly mentioned books.
"And please, don't address me as a brute, at least before you've corrected your own manners. But, I appreciate the honesty." She said, trying to not sound arrogant.
"Hey, at least I'm not as bad as Vaike and Garrick."
Robin looked at the two shirtless men animatedly shouting at each other, both grinning stupidly and trying to arm wrestle while they walked alongside the convoy. They garnered a lot of attention from the Shepherds, everyone seemingly interested in which of the two musclebrains would win.
"I don't think that's something you should compare yourself to." She muttered.
Chrom looked at them. He grimaced. "Maybe not."
Hugo watched the sun come down. Already, there were stars visible in the sky. Only the brightest could be seen, but it was evidence of little to no pollution on the planet.
It was so similar yet so different to Earth. Trees, animals and even people that were undoubtedly nearly the same as from his origin planet. But there were differences. The maulers could have been mistaken for bears when far away, but on a closer look their paws left different tracks, their heads were bigger and their fur were shorter. He wasn't going to think about the insides of it though. A bit too much gore.
Although Hugo knew that his crew could easily blend in within the locals, he also noticed that the Ylisseans were shorter and had more vibrant hair. Their hair could have been dyed but it was definitely too expensive and difficult to keep their hair that way.
It made him uneasy. It felt like he was home, yet everything familiar was replaced by an exact substitute.
He realized his thoughts showed on his face when the man beside him poked him with his elbow.
"Hey Hugo, are you okay?" Julien asked casually.
"Yeah. Just thinking about things."
"You've been doing that a lot lately."
"Well you haven't been acting like a retard recently so I actually have time for myself. I wish you could have been like this more often."
Julien chuckled, briefly remembering the shenanigans that happened a few days earlier in their travels. "I can't fuck around all the time."
"Then keep looking."
"'K." The rifleman returned to observing the horizon, scanning for any threats that may appear.
Hugo turned his attention away from his compatriot to focus on the horses.
The silence did not last long.
"What were you thinking about?"
"God damn it." Hugo sighed in exasperation. "Julien, everything here feels wrong for some reason. We're on another planet but there's other humans, bears and animals. And also, magic."
"I don't see the problem with this place being nearly the same as back home." The rifleman shrugged, scanning the horizon for anomalies. "Not sure if I like magic though."
"That's besides the point Julien. What I mean is that this place isn't normal. There's other humans, Julien. And they can use magic. The only way that a place can be so similar to earth yet have people using magic is by God's will."
"I don't know. It might just be a coincidence. Even if this planet is special somehow, I don't really care. Guns still work. Magic just seems kinda like some weird voodoo shit."
"Bof..." Hugo exhaled, mulling over the possibilities.
The chances that a planet had the exact same things as earth was nearly impossible, but it existed. Humanity never got a chance to explore enough to discover many planets with life on them anyways, so very few habitable planets were known to have life. Since they were only recently able to achieve Faster-Than-Light speeds, everyone was more focused on expanding their reach into the stars rather than noting down what life existed.
"I just hope we didn't warp into another dimension or something." Hugo thought out loud. "Then we're kind of doomed."
"Well no fucking shit." His friend replied, shrugging. "We don't even have a way to get off the planet. How are we supposed to leave the planet and the dimension?"
"I wasn't asking your opinion." The blond man stated, a hint of irritation entering his voice. It was at times like these he would've preferred Julien to be more aware of the mood and more understanding of his comrades' concerns.
The rifleman looked the other way, hiding a chuckle. Hugo still heard him, but he decided that it wasn't worth it to pursue the issue. It would just become more annoying.
The weather felt a bit cooler now, something odd considering that they didn't travel for that long. Far ahead of them, past a short wooden bridge, he swore he could see specks of white. Surely it wasn't snowing at this temperature, it still felt like it was above 10 degrees. He adjusted his glasses, hoping the blank landscape ahead of him was but a figment of his imagination. After all, it certainly wouldn't have been the strangest thing to happen in recent weeks.
"Hey Julien?" Hugo asked.
"Yea?"
"Is that snow?"
Julien squinted, trying to find out what the blond man was looking at. It didn't take long for him to notice the white specks too, hidden underneath trees, under shade. It couldn't have been white flowers as some were on the branches too, unless there was a white plant that grew on them. Another moment gave him all he needed, as a ray of sunlight briefly reflected on one of them.
"Holy shit it's snow!" The rifleman exclaimed.
Hugo his head around, trying to communicate with the two other terrans hiding inside the wagon. "Hold on. Dominic! There's snow!"
"There's what?" A muffled voice replied from the other side of the flaps.
"Open the fucking flaps and look!"
A ball of brown hair popped out of the front of the wagon, curious as to what events may unfold before him. The head looked around briefly before its eyes landed on Hugo.
"'Sup?" Dominic asked.
The blond man pointed forwards, past the bridge. "Dominic, there's snow."
The scotsman saw the white flecks among the trees. He squinted. "Are you sure they aren't just white flowers? It's too hot for snow."
Another head popped out above Dominic's. Chan Sung swore he saw some sunlight reflect off them. "Maybe it's colder past the bridge. Magic exists."
"'doubt it."
"Damn. I don't know the word for snow so we can't even ask the others." Hugo realized.
Julien raised an eyebrow before pointing out the obvious: "Just fucking ask them what those white things are, it can't be that hard."
"Hey Chrom! What's that white thing over there?"
"Under the trees?"
"Yeah!"
"It's snow!"
"Aight thanks!"
"Wait there's snow!?" Robin asked, suddenly taking an interest in the trees past the bridge.
"OORAH SNOW!" proclaimed an excited Garrick among the cheers of other Shepherds. For him specifically, it was his first time seeing a glimpse of it.
"Shepherds, we will be setting up camp before passing by the river!" Chrom proclaimed from the front of the convoy, stabbing his sword into dirt to mark their spot.
A massive, collective groan could be heard from the rest of the group as they moved to set up their camp. The fatigue and disappointment at being unable to interact with the snow past the bridge clear in their tired voices. Dominic helpfully passed out the tents from the inside of the wagon to the Shepherds lining themselves outside, all weary from the long day of travel.
Hugo hopped off the front of the cart to go collect their tent, leaving the reins to Julien. He glanced behind him briefly, finding the marksman helplessly confused on what he should do with the horses.
He chuckled internally, leaving the man to his fate. The looks Julien got from fumbling around with the reins were extremely amusing, although he had to hide his expression to prevent anyone from knowing it was his fault.
The blond man stopped next to the entrance, waiting for the last people in the queue to take their tents. Chrom greeted him as he waited, stirring up some small talk as they both waited for their turn. Whilst nothing of importance was brought up in their conversation, Hugo did appreciate the humbleness in the prince's answers.
As he left the one-vehicle convoy to set up his tent, the terrans were left alone with the wagon. Julien had managed to understand that he didn't, in fact, need to do anything about the reins or the horses; They were disciplined enough to not wander too far. The rifleman hopped off then front and rejoined the rest of the Terrans. Dominic and Chan Sung disembarked from their side, the tent bag held in the scotsman's hands.
"Hey Channy can you carry my weapon? Thanks." Dominic asked, slinging the bag over his shoulder.
The korean man whistled something in the affirmative, now with two shotguns in hand.
As the most familiar with camping, Dominic led the group forward to his chosen spot. The short man was deceivingly enough a former rover* scout, and the knowledge became surprisingly useful when they first landed on the planet. For the outdoors, he was the one the crew relied on for information.
The scotsman put the bag down and began taking out the contents. As usual, the group helped the man lay down the tent and set up the tubes that held it up. A conversation sparked as they built it up, something casual to pass the time.
"Hey what do you think they're doing on the ship right now?" Dominic asked.
"Probably something stupid to be honest." Hugo answered.
"What are the chances they're trying to make a ramen burger?"
"That's retarded. No." Julien deadpanned.
Hugo thought for a moment. "I think it's pretty high, actually. There isn't much you can do at a village. They have to get bored at some point."
Chan Sung hummed in agreement.
Meanwhile…
Inferno. Fire and brimstone. To the inert ingredients on the cast iron pan, this was the damnation that awaited them as the heat around and below them steadily increased to insufferable heights. Flavors once dormant were violently released, permeating the air with a delectable smell, but at what cost? The hypothetical well-being of the contents of a ramen packet?
For Lucas, head chef of the ISS San Pellegrino, the answer was some tasty-as-fuck ramen.
"Lucas what are you making?"
"A ramen burger."
"Why not a normal one?"
"Because." The chubby man answered mysteriously, whipping the pan up and gracefully flipping the contents inside without splashing a single drop of oil.
"This is stupid."
They garnered a few jealous stares as they set up their spacious camping structure that could contain a maximum of sixteen. The bright red and lime green that composed it's colour scheme didn't help it either, making them even more eye-catching. When the group collectively finished hammering in the last pegs, they quickly retreated inside and zipped the entrance.
Hugo sighed in relief. "This brings back memories."
"What? The traveling part or the camping part or the part where we're in the middle of fuck off nowhere following a prince around to earn money?"
"Camp Vert, retard."
Julien paused. After a few seconds, he visibly remembered the memories of the first time the group went camping together. "Oh right! We weren't doing it for a week straight though. And it was actually fun."
"Oh shut up. You know what I mean." The blond man grumbled irritatedly.
Dominic chuckled.
All of the humor on Hugo's face disappeared after a moment of silence, eyeing every other one in the tent to obtain their attention. "Anyways, there's something serious I want to talk about."
Dominic gestured to wait. He opened the tent zipper and peeked outwards. When he made sure that they were alone, he closed the opening and gestured for Hugo to continue.
"Right, if I remember correctly I told Qihao to start up a company and spread our good faith. What we are doing is making connections within the country. I did a little bit of digging, and found out that this country is a monarchy. We need to make sure that the nobles don't hate us so we can freely expand our business. And if possible, make sure the royal family has good relations with us so we have a backup plan."
"Did you tell Quahini what you wanted him to name it?" Dominic asked.
Hugo slapped his forehead. "Shit, I forgot. He's going to name it something stupid."
"Well it's too late now."
"Yeah." The former captain cleared his throat. "Anyways, just make sure that the prince and princess like you."
"It's not that hard, they're nice people."
Julien brought up an important point. "Err… What do I do? I can't speak their language."
"Just shoot things when I tell you to." Hugo deadpanned. "I doubt you can do anything to help anyways."
The rifleman shrugged in reply.
"Anyways, how much ammo do you have left for your gun?"
Julien checked his rifle and unlatched the magazine, unceremoniously dropping it on the floor. He then pulled out the other magazine from his pocket and began unloading both on the tent floor. The powerful full-sized rifle cartridges were thrown in a small pile before being counted and moved into another pile.
"-twenty-two, twenty-four, twenty-six."
Hugo grimaced. "We already went through fourteen rounds?"
Julien nodded solemnly. "I only missed like, once or twice. I still needed two shots or a headshot to kill those zombies. Also, the gun isn't actually accurate. When I aimed right on them the bullets went somewhere else. I can only hit a bullseye at around a hundred meters with this gun."
"You still hit almost all your shots though. On moving targets, no less."
"Wasn't that far." The marksman shrugged.
He whistled, impressed. "I didn't know you could do that."
"Well no shit I can do that. Why do you think I was the one who shot the guns on the San Pellegrino?" Julien grumbled irritatedly, visibly vexed that his marksmanship skills went unnoticed onboard the ship.
"Anyways," Hugo continued, completely disregarding the marksman's remark, "do we have anything else that's important that we should talk about?"
"Well not much, really. I'm letting Sumia and Lissa learn how to play video games." Dominic answered.
"You're using your time for that? They probably don't even have the concept of calculators yet."
"They're actually not that bad at the games."
"What games?" Hugo asked, intrigued. It surprised him that they managed to grasp the concept of video games that quickly when they probably never imagined such things existing before.
"Old School stuff like mario."
"Ah."
"It kinda feels like teaching my kids how to play them. I kinda miss them." The scotsman sighed, closing his eyes to better remember the memories of his wife and kids back on earth, happy as an united family.
Hugo didn't know what to think of that, and didn't comment. On the one hand he was kind of happy he didn't have a wife and kids that he would be leaving alone forever, but on the other, the crushing reality of their situation began to plague his mind once more. He didn't know how his old friend was coping with it.
At least the other two seemed to be having a slightly better time dealing with their new reality. Julien had quickly adapted to their new lifestyle, although the man often whined about being unable to play games or access the internet. The man's parents and brother were still alive, but he didn't seem to mind losing them too much. They all knew the risks that came with flying a ship, and the man accepted it better than most.
Chan Sung, meanwhile, he could never get a grasp on his emotions. The man was as elusive as ever, always sporting some kind of wide-eyed expression whilst keeping himself quiet. Maybe he was still getting used to their new situation. Anyhow, he didn't act much different from when they were still in space.
Any further thoughts were interrupted when he saw a shadow loom over the tent. He could only make out a few details; the person had two pigtails and was looking at them. There were only two people that he knew had that hairstyle. The probability of it being the one with white hair was slim and he imagined it to be that of the princess: she probably wanted to borrow the gaming console.
Hugo got up and unzipped a little bit of the entrance, just enough to look outside.
"Hello." He greeted politely, doing his best to avoid messing up his Ylissean pronunciation. His brows rose slightly in surprise when he found out that the newcomer was not in fact, the princess.
"Uhm, yea… I just wanted to ask you a few things…" asked the seemingly unexpected guest.
"Speak." The blond man emerged from the tent, sighing in slight pain as his legs ached. Even riding the wagon was tiresome.
"I heard from Chrom that your group isn't technically part of the Shepherds, but work close together with us. I wanted to know some things, mainly about how we're going to work together in future battles."
"Indeed. By the way, should this conversation be private? We can move it somewhere else if needed."
Robin shook her head. "No. It's fine."
"Alright then," Hugo nodded in approval, "go on."
"Firstly, could I get some details on the weapons you use? I don't need to know how to make them, but rather what they can do. I've seen one of your men take down Risen from a field away yet only he does that."
"Right, a few things; Julien is our best marksman, and his weapon is called a rifle. It can shoot people from a kilometer away if he has time to aim. The rest of us use shotguns which only have accuracy for about a... hundred meters." He estimated. "One problem we have though is that we don't have much ammo for our guns. We already used up more than a quarter of our rifle rounds in that fight."
"That quickly?" She asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Yes. We make our own ammunition, so the next time we return to Ylisstol we can get more. Since no one on this continent uses guns, that's the only place we can get more."
Robin nodded in acknowledgement before she moved onto the next topic. "Right. And about field command; would you mind if I took charge?"
The blond man thought about it for a moment. On the one hand it might place his friends in more danger. On the other, she might actually be better than him at tactics. He knew he wasn't the brightest squad leader, and could clearly see that she had plenty more experience than him, even if she never fought with guns.
"No problem. Though, I will intervene if my guys are put in too much danger." He finally said.
"Understandable. Do you have any suggestions on how I should employ your men? Your weapons are completely otherworldly and I only have a slight idea on how to use them at their maximum effectiveness."
"There's probably some books you can borrow, but they're back at our base. I'm more of a political man anyways, so it's not really my specialty."
"You don't command your men in battle?"
"They can handle themselves." Hugo stated confidently. "Anything else important?"
"No, not really. However, I am curious to what this video games thing that Lissa has been babbling on about. Chrom had mentioned it too."
"Oh. It's just entertainment. Not much else. You can probably ask Dominic later. The gaming console is actually his."
"Sure."
"Then I'll meet you at the campfire later. My legs are killing me."
"I'll see you later then."
Hugo nodded and turned back to his tent.
Qihao looked at the utterly demolished medbay, the sensitive equipment strewn about everywhere, broken or damaged.
Whilst most of the ship was relatively intact from the crash courtesy of their structural integrity system, the medical bay was the one hit the worst by the impact. It had the most fragile equipment, things that were needed to keep people alive until they could reach a spaceport and unload the injured. It could also mend mild cuts and other minor problems, and even included a pod for actual stasis of one person, for extreme emergencies.
They had already salvaged what they could from the room, but most of the newer technology was completely wrecked and would require replacements, if they could ever get any. The village was nice to them and let them have a few buildings to live in and to stockpile their equipment, but that was all the assistance they would receive.
He swept away glass shards with a broom, the oval glass container of the stasis pod long since shattered to pieces. Once he deemed it safe enough, the engineer picked up broken pieces of the pod that weren't made out of glass, and put it in a small bucket. Any salvageable piece of electronics or hi-tech material was to be taken to the warehouse and sorted out. Whilst the ship's 3D printer provided substitutes for things they couldn't salvage, that machine was used mainly to create parts to repair the ship and had very high-grade material requirements. It meant that they could only make as many things as their current inventory allowed them. They were trying to piece together enough materials to make a makeshift refinery and factory for future production. It was a big project, but it could be done.
They had to get a proper refinery going before even considering using the printer for anything other than components they absolutely needed.
It was a long path, but they weren't going to let up on it. They had a shot at making something to get them off the planet, far fetched as it may be. It would take decades before any progress could be made, but there was little reason not to try. Regardless of the outcome, they may as well enjoy their technological boon as much as possible.
Selling some of the bandit weapons to the locals provided them with capital to invest in, giving them new options to expand. Lucas was genuine in his efforts to create a restaurant either in their village or in Ylisstol, Gilles wanted to improve local farming by large margins, some other crewmen wished to buy books and learn the laws of the land, Egor provided a suggestion to sell quality of life trinkets and board games and Qihao himself wanted to rush building the refinery to sell high grade material and weapons.
All of the ideas provided paths to stable revenue, but whichever one would be the most helpful was still under debate. For now, they just patrolled surrounding villages as a Private Military Contractor.
However, the news that a neighbouring country was providing equipment and training to bandits dampened the mood. Sure, each raid they intercepted provided them with more weapons and revenue from the villages, but it wasn't sustainable, especially since they occasionally took injuries which required time to heal, and put the little manpower they had out of action. And, with war on the horizon, they may be forced to fight for a faction they had little interest or benefit in joining.
Qihao stared at the bucket, lost in thought.
He stood there, immobile as his mind reorganised ideas and proposed new ones. Metallic footsteps interrupted him from going further, shelving his internal discussions for later. He turned towards the entrance and waited for the new arrival.
His hand lightly flirted with the holstered pistol at his side, an old sidearm from the first world war. It was one of the first things he recovered when they managed to unjam the hatch to his room. He originally bought it to be a display weapon in his room, a relic from an earlier, electronic-less age. And as boarding was risky and rare back in space, it was never expected to get any use out of it.
Their situation had changed. Any modern weapon or piece of equipment they could salvage from the ship was more than worth its weight in gold. Far more.
Seven rounds. Plenty to kill a man.
"Qihow! Are ya in there?" A friendly voice hailed, followed by a mass of black hair emerging into the hatch.
Qihao's hand went away from the pistol. Something was putting him on edge, though he wasn't sure what. Maybe the many firefights had frayed his nerves. Either way, it didn't matter now.
"Yes. What do you need?"
"The others are callin' for ya again!"
"Is it important?"
"Err... I dunno. I'll hafta' ask."
"It's fine. I'm on my way."
Qihao came into Donnel's view, bucket and broom in his hands. The asian man stepped over the bottom of the hatch that separated the room and the corridor.
"By the way, have you managed to read any books in english? The others told me you borrowed a tablet for it." His words came out in English, testing Donnel's newfound understanding of the language.
"Yea' I did! That book on words was mighty interesting, and purty funny too! Who comes up with sophisticated words like "serendipitous"?
"Donnel, that's a dictionary. It's supposed to be what you consult when you don't know what something means."
"Yeah but there were so many words in english I didn't knew that I had'ta learn!"
"So you used a dictionary on the dictionary to fix your inability to read the dictionary."
"Yeah exactly!"
"How the fuck?" Qihao uttered, amazed.
Donnel began excitedly mentioning the things he found out reading the dictionary as they walked towards the lounge. He spewed facts such as how "Tank" can both refer to a container for water and an odd metal chariot ("a bunch of hay", as Donnel commented). There were, of course, still a few things he didn't seem to completely grasp. But the young farmer's english was developing at a frightening pace. He still had a thick accent, but that would correct itself over time. Normally it'd take months or even years to learn to speak english, but Donnel somehow managed it in only a few weeks of Dungeons and Dragons nights and a dictionary.
It didn't take them long to reach the lounge. The rest of the crew were gathered there, scattered in various furniture they brought or salvaged.
They stepped into the room and moved to two vacant chairs. None of the crew seemed particularly happy about the meeting, but it had to be serious if everyone was called here without much prior planning.
Egor clapped his hands, grabbing the attention of everyone in the room. "Right. Everyone's here, I think. We can start."
"I've called everyone here because we haven't been using the money sent from Hugo nor any that we got from selling the weapons we found. I know you guys have different opinions on what we should invest in, but we can only afford to do one thing. I've discussed with the others and we've come to a conclusion that we don't really have a choice to try to get a forge going."
"Why can't we just open a restaurant? We could get a lot of money that way, you know? It's not cheap either." Lucas suggested.
"Quahini, could you explain? I know most of the reasons but I'd prefer it if you explained everything."
He stood up and nodded. The development was a bit sudden, but the others probably came to the conclusion after a bit of discussion between themselves. The crew's eyes went on him expectantly, waiting for him to give them a good reason to follow him.
"As you all know by now, there's a nation to the west of the one we're in sending soldiers to train bandits here. Because of them, we've managed to expand our influence to nearby villages and even get paid if we push them back, but this isn't going to last. Sooner or later there will be a full-scale war on this continent. We need to be ready to fight in case we're forced into it. Although we technically haven't picked a side yet, Hugo's already working with the prince. I doubt that they will simply let us go when we've already worked with the prince of Ylisse. Establishing a heavy industry around us and a supply chain for raw materials is our top priority because we will be able to manufacture weapons and armor to fight."
Qihao paused, letting the crew take it in.
"Well how are we going to get the iron? I mean I asked the blacksmith but he said he wasn't sure where he gets iron from either." The assistant engineer, Gilles, voiced in concern.
"That's something we need to work on. There's someone that sells him iron ore so there has to be a source. Some of us will be tasked to scout for it while everyone else builds the forge itself. I'm thinking Baichao, Egor, Gilles-" He turned his head towards the youngest person in the room "-and Donnel, if you're up for it."
Donnel scratched his head, quickly thinking over how he could join them. "Err… I'll have to ask me ma'. I normally need'ta help with the farm."
"Go ahead then. We're still planning the date and the starting route but you should probably tell her anyways."
"'Aye." The young farmer nodded and left the room.
"This is stupid. Why did we get ourselves involved in this in the first place?" Lucas complained when he was gone.
"That's cause we didn't at first, and then we met the prince so Hugo has this fucking great idea of leaving us here to hold our base while he does what fuck all knows." Gilles replied.
The "Well we didn't know he was the prince at first, and after that apparently Hugo, Dominic Channy and Julien got recruited. I don't know what was going through his mind either." Qihao said.
"Isn't that worse?" Lucas commented.
"Keep in mind that was before we raided the bandit camp and sold the weapons. He probably saw a good way to make money since we didn't have any good options at the time." The asian engineer added.
"I guess we just have bad timing." Gilles concluded, stretching himself with a sigh. "Right. Should we plan when we're going out right now?"
"Yes. It would be best if we got it out of the way early. Baichao, Egor, Gilles. Do you guys think you can come up with a departure time and route by yourselves?"
"Yeah, sure." Egor answered for them. The others simply nodded along.
"Take some horses with you if you need it, I don't the village minds much if we just borrow a few."
"Actually that reminds me, what are we going to do about the thing?" Egor asked, scrunching his face up slightly when he realized what he said wasn't that descriptive.
Thankfully, Qihao caught onto what he meant easily enough." The Engineering bay's door is stuck, unfortunately."
"Ah." Egor said, slightly disappointed. He grunted as he stood up. "Well let's go guys, we have an adventure to plan."
The other two grunted out agreements and followed suit.
When the russian man passed next to Qihao, he held his shoulder for a moment. "By the way, thank you for calling the meeting. I didn't think the rest of the crew would actually agree."
"No problem man." The part-time Dungeon-Master answered, Gilles and Baichao in tow. "I'll see you later."
"See you later, 'lads." Qihao replied with a crisp salute. Behind him, low mutters slowly turned into heated debates, the crew collectively drafting the final version of the plan.
The next day
The Shepherds had packed up their camping equipment in record time as the excitement of finally arriving somewhere with a proper bed pushed most of the shepherds into overdrive. They quickly crossed the bridge, an air of excitement buzzed the group. The weather was clear and sunny yesterday, but at present, the sky seemed much gloomer than the day before. Rain clouds hung overhead, but they seemed off, as if there wasn't going to be any downpour.
When they passed the small bridge, the air seemed to be different. It felt remarkably colder to most. Not many people seemed to heed it much attention, and the group trailed on. The small chunks of white on the trees spotted the day before were now slightly more common, dotting the sides of the road that they passed by. Curiosity was in the minds of many, but they restrained themselves and kept marching.
They continued onwards.
A few hours of marching later, something dropped from the sky.
White powder.
The shepherds were awed by the white particles slowly floating down the sky. They fluttered gracefully onto their hair, on the horses and of course, on the outstretched tongues of those who tried to taste it. Some tried catching the snowflakes in their hands or tongues as they moved, a few with more success than others. The general atmosphere seemed to brighten.
The terrans just chuckled, dragged into the Shepherd's happy mood. They felt they had shoveled enough snow in their lifetime though, so they weren't as excited as the others were.
However, there was one reaction that seemed to catch everyone's attention.
Out of absolutely nowhere, Garrick loudly proclaimed: "I, GARRICK, PROCLAIM THE OWNERSHIP OF ALL SNOW IN THIS AREA!" before he plunged into a snow bank beside the road.
Everyone stopped and went silent. Then, a silver haired archer jumped out of the wagon in a panic, thinking that they were under attack.
Lissa laughed. She tried to silence herself with a hand but it was too late.
It was infectious.
Virion looked around at the laughing shepherds. He thought that it was a terribly embarrassing prank. Why would this occur to him? He asked himself.
And then Garrick's head emerged from the snow bank, now with a snowy top hat adorning his head. The laughter seemed to double.
Virion slowly pieced together what happened. He realized he just misunderstood them and joined in with a chuckle.
By this time, the cold had begun to affect the Shepherds, most not used to the temperature.
They took the opportunity to pass our fur cloaks to everyone as they stopped to help Garrick out. The terrans refused the cloaks though, stating that the clothes on them were more than enough.
After seeing the terrans refuse the cloaks, Vaike made a valiant attempt at resisting the cold, choosing to remain shirtless. But, he lost miserably when a breeze wiped the grin off his face and his dignity as he reflexively hugged himself to stay warm.
A fur cloak hit his face. He quickly took it and covered himself.
They continued onwards.
There was a spike of curiosity afterwards, the Shepherd's attention now landing on the terrans. They weren't riding on the wagon this time. However, the main reason they attracted so much attention wasn't because they were walking. It was the fact that they seemed to ignore all convention and kept only their normal clothes on.
Chrom had tried to convince Hugo to take the cloaks earlier, but the blond man insisted they weren't cold. Their existence now seemed to be a curiosity.
Hugo swore there were jealous stares at them.
"It's not that cold, right guys?" He asked his friends in english.
"Nah." Julien replied, stretching his arms to enjoy a cool passing breeze. He then swore that he felt someone was glaring at him.
"Nope." Dominic said.
Chan Sung just shook his head.
One lunch break and some walking later, they arrived at the border wall.
A huge stone structure blocked their way. A large wooden gate sat in the center of two tall towers, where the two ends of the massive feroxi wall connected to the rest of the long fort, with no end of the wall in sight.
"Hey," Julien began, "does anyone else feel like we're at the great wall of china?"
"Julien shut the fuck up." Hugo ordered, eyeing the guards on top of the ramparts tensely. The border guard had their weapon drawn, and he was pretty sure that there shouldn't be that many guarding such a massive wall.
rover*: highest scout rank in canada, without being a counselor