Within days, the latest skimmer disappeared from everywhere. The Talons and the Naval board said nothing and refused to acknowledge that any such skimmer ever existed. Dustin, for his part, got an unofficial apology from Cyclonis from the Arnor family by getting a dozen Talon Switchblades. As for Cyclonis herself, she gave Dustin back what he paid for the skimmer. And then mentioned something interesting.
"You know you have a budget with me, right?" Cyclonis questions, finding his surprised expression amusing after the disappointing silent one she has seen for the past few days.
"We have a budget?" Dustin asks, confused as he looks at her. "Includes vacation days?" he asks, smirking now.
Cyclonis rolls her eyes smiling. "Give me whatever you need to be paid. I can handle it. No one will complain if it's for you," she informs as Dustin did skim over the apology letter from the Arnor family, and the way they word it makes it sound like they will owe him more for the trouble they caused.
"And thus your faction becomes stronger," Dustin says with complete seriousness since they are alone.
Cyclonis nods as she watches him put the papers away into a file in one of the cabinets. "A true loyal citizen. A ruler could not ask for better from her subjects," she says with a sage tone.
"It doesn't hurt that this loyal citizen is also the head of one of the most powerful houses in your court and rich to boot," Dustin says, seeing through what she did since the duke is still breathing.
Cyclonis feigns innocence and smiles at him as she sits down in his chair. "Well, those are just bonuses to loyalty. You can't run a business or operation without any income or influence after all."
"It's ironic your first loyal subject in the court will be one of the first to be ruined with the reforms that come after the war," Dustin comments.
Cyclonis nods, looking out his office window to see the bay still working away on making more hull pieces of their mysterious, strong metal. And no. Not even she is clued precisely on the process as Dustin wants to perfect it before handing it out. "I could keep going, but then it would look as though I am giving favors to a select few of them one at a time. Weaken each down. It's a pick and choose scenario almost."
"You can't make everyone happy. I don't try. If I did, I would have never made my weapons. As the sky knights will hate it when they understand what it does to their position in society," Dustin says.
Cyclonis looks up at him as he rifles through the files in his cabinet. "You will hardly touch those skimmers, are you not?" she asks, almost directly to make him pause in his movements.
"Not yet. I will learn what I can, but you already know my stance and what I see for their future or lack of one," Dustin says.
Cyclonis slowly nods while tapping a finger against the arm of the chair. "I don't expect much. Even better fuel drain for one percent is helpful. But I know you always think fifty times more than us about things far beyond our comprehension," she points out, watching as he sits back down on his chair.
"I have my areas of expertise, but I don't pretend to understand crystals fully. Also, you have something else on your mind. What is it?" Dustin questions, finally picking up on the fact she wants to speak on something else.
"I would like you to meet with someone. I am considering making him my personal guard or promoting him to a special position that has authority over most of the Talons," Cyclonis says.
"Basically, your go-to public agent then? Alright, tell me about him as you will more than likely use him for assignments that involve me," Dustin says.
Cyclonis smiles. "You catch on quick. Yes. He might be valuable for what you need if I am out and not on the terra at the time."
"Is he one of your more senior commanders?" Dustin inquires.
"He is the famous Dark Ace," Cyclonis informs, and Dustin's expression falls and then morphs into one of rage.
"The same traitor Storm Hawk, Dark Ace?" Dustin inquires.
Cyclonis raises an eyebrow, wondering if she hit a specific nerve. "Yes. Why?"
Dustin takes a deep breath and exhales, calming himself in a few moments. "That is a bad idea. If you do that, I might kill him myself," Dustin informs calmly.
Cyclonis both keeps smiling but also getting worried behind her expression. "And why is that? Is there something wrong with Dark Ace? He is a formidable fighter and single-handedly took down the Storm Hawks."
"…I will level with you. I lost my mother to the last great battle. Do you know who was responsible for that and all the deaths on both sides?" Dustin asks, leaning forward putting his elbows on the table as he looks at her.
"The sky knights?" Cyclonis asks.
"More specifically. The Storm Hawks went from terra to terra, convincing unarmed civilians to hop into lightly armored and armed cruisers to fight in the battle. Also, Dark Ace is the last living member of the Storm Hawks, correct? So he is the only one alive directly responsible for what happened and the one who betrayed, so all my anger is concentrated on him. It makes it hard not to plan his death," Dustin informs, surprising Cyclonis a bit. "Also, the fact is I know the type from discussing with others. He is a glory-seeking dog who will betray his leaders without a second thought if it is convenient to him. He also will quickly discover the route in which we will take the empire after the war and would hate me as well for daring to take away what makes him great if you give him this post. After all, he is a sky knight stuck in the old ways."
Cyclonis slowly leans on the arm of the chair. "You have him figured out in a way. How do you personally know him?"
"I don't. The only personal feelings I have for the man are hatred and the desire to see him dead. I have gone out of my way a few times, so I haven't met him. While I fundamentally hate sky knights for personal reasons, I have far too many ambitions to waste time on Dark Ace's death. Ironically this path will get me to revenge in a sense on the sky knight's system. By making it completely obsolete and abandoned," Dustin replies.
"…Well. That's ambitious," Cyclonis notes to the side. "And I am guessing you will start on making that happen."
"The weapon I created already started that. Now it is only a matter of time. My work with the Tailwind hastened the progress as well. Tell me, what have most of the funds in the R&D been diverted to as a result of my inventions?" Dustin questions.
Cyclonis sighs. "Airships. Right now, skimmers are getting the bare minimum for civilian and basic military development as of now," she admits off to the side.
"Let us face it. There haven't been any major improvements to skimmers in almost seventy years, and even then, nothing revolutionary and wasn't rushed to adoption by everyone. The Tailwind, on the other hand, has had that effect, but I haven't been handing it out," Dustin points out.
"On account of still more upgrades to come," Cyclonis mentions before thinking of a way to steer their conversation to something less grim. "Speaking of which, what else are you planning?" she asks, getting a small smile on her face.
"Hum. Phase three of the development is now complete. Stage four is using what we have learned to get to the Stratosphere," Dustin informs after a moment of thinking it over.
"…I'm sorry?" Cyclonis asks after a while. A wide smile, but with a dumbfounded look on her face.
"The Tailwind was always meant to be the next stage in ship technology or at least the pioneer model for that step. To break this rut, our technological advance is in that we must break so many conceptions of impossibilities that only those who bury their heads so far into the ground that they suffocate will be able to cling to the past ways. With the deep's pressure conquered, we now have an airtight ship. That is one of the requirements for the stratosphere, given the conditions. The more significant issue now is rethinking the armament. The harpoons were decent, but the rate of fire leaves much to be desired. Going back to the drawing board for that one," Dustin says, thinking aloud.
Cyclonis nods, smiling and sighing under her breath. She doesn't have to worry about much now. But she would have to watch her step around mentioning Dark Ace. "What are you thinking of replacing it with? A crystal cannon?" she asks, also wondering if she would be brought in or make their canons better.
"It is on the board of possibilities, but also after looking over the designs your people sent me, I can name several reasons why it failed. A top contender is that the hull and internal of the ship were built as usual, and parts were even removed to hold the entire thing in. So the structure was not made to withstand the strain of such a weapon. The power needed to fire it was more than the generators could give, so they must have overloaded them in a jury-rigged way, causing it to explode and since linked to the cannon itself…well, I will let you imagine what happened," Dustin says.
Cyclonis sighs and places a hand on her head. 'First the shit skimmer, and now this? Why are my groups so terrible at building everything from a battleship to a crystal staff?'
"In the end, the main concept is sound, but it was too advanced for its time. I would like to meet the one who came up with this cannon. I think we would get along well," Dustin says, actually complimenting the work.
Cyclonis chuckles. "I'll see if I can arrange a meeting. He might be curious as to what improvements you will make. You are well regarded in all of the Atmos, after all."
"Let's hope he is still alive. As it has been a long time since the first designs for this were made," Dustin says.
Cyclonis shrugs. "You might get lucky. Just have to keep some faith around things working out."
"Hey Suzy, how are you?" Starling asks, talking over the radio to Suzy.
"Aye. Same old. Same old. You?" Suzy responds as she keeps an eye on the sky for new visitors and one particular person.
"I am doing alright. I have seen Dustin recently…in Cyclonia. We really need to get him away from there. He literally bought an entire hanger there," Starling informs.
Suzy huffs, perking her ears up at the sound of an engine approaching but lowers them when it's just another civilian ship. "That hoser will never get away that easily. They are giving too much to him to figure out their ships more. I doubt the council will approve anything like that."
"They wouldn't even have the budget to keep up with that, but I have an idea. You know there is a conference coming up for civilian cruisers that both the free Atmos and Cyclonia are hosting?" Starling asks.
Suzy is silent for a bit as she frowns. "Dustin isn't that much of an idiot. He's smarter than both of us combined. He will see right through what you're thinking."
"I am not planning anything. We are just going to commission him to make a new and better cruiser for the civilians while he is there as he should be invited as he is an expert in the field," Starling says innocently.
Suzy sighs and facepalms. 'What the fuck am I doing about to agree to this mess even if I don't have a choice in this matter?' she thinks almost bitterly and looks up out the window to see another civilian ship fly in.
"I can tell by the silence you also miss him too," Starling mentions as Suzy realizes she hasn't been talking for a few minutes.
"And you haven't?" Suzy asks, grabbing her ear and wringing it in front of her.
Starling chuckles. "Of course I have. He's the most exciting person I have met in my life. Next to you, of course," she adds and can tell Suzy is rolling her eyes. "Besides, bet you haven't stopped thinking about him too."
"You know it is strange. Not a year ago, no one besides a few of his friends even knew the name Dustin. Now he is one of the most popular subjects for people nowadays. He even gave his crew a new name. The Typhoon Ravens and as if overnight they are very famous. At this point, maybe even the fringe parts of the Atmos have heard of him," Suzy says offhandedly.
Starling hums. "You are right about that. But it's mostly because everyone wants a piece of what he's making. I mean, a ship that can make it deeper than the Murk Raiders? That's a shoo-in with the commercial frigate guys who need to deliver cargo alone. Imagine what even a regular one can be for personal use."
"Dustin always did want to push the boundaries…so maybe inviting him isn't a bad idea. As…Starling, can you get the council to call a meeting for all the sky knights?" Suzy inquires.
Starling is silent for a moment before sighing. "Won't be easy, but I can try to set something up."
"We will need to if we are going to commission him to make a cruiser for the public," Suzy informs.
"I see. Fascinating and not a half-bad idea," Cyclonis mutters to herself, reading the report one of her spies had sent her about a recent meeting of all the sky knights. "So you intend to sway Dustin a bit to your side by hiring him to do work. It seems you don't fully understand him yet, but he would still do it…and this is also a way for me to put more of my court into my debt and convince others to join me," Cyclonis muses, looking out the window to the stormy sky.
"Boss, we got a letter for you from Atmosia. Seems important," one of the raptors says.
Dustin looks up from his design work table before reaching out and takes the letter. Dustin hums as he reads it over before sighing. "Another party. And the council formally invites me. For…oh goodie. For celebrating the achievements that the Tailwind made, and the design advancements reached. What a joke," Dustin huffs, tossing the paper behind him, and goes back to work.
"We also formally invite you to share your opinion and be one of the experts to be consulted at the Atmos conference for civilian cruisers held by both the Free Atmos and Cyclonia," Salv finishes reading after picking up the letter from the floor.
Dustin sighs and hangs his head, pausing in his drawing. "Course has been made, hasn't it?" he asks knowingly.
The raptor clears his throat as he watches the disappointed expression on his captain's face. "Change course," Salv informs, interrupting the following line out of the lizard's mouth.
The raptor nods before leaving as Salv walks over to Distin, placing the box of crystals onto his work table. Dustin sighs as he takes and opens the box to find the wrapped pairs of crystals. "How did it go from doing mostly my own thing to being one to help out on their failed designs?" he asks, grabbing the medical supply bag from her hand as he follows her to his bed where she lays down to give him better access. He shakes his head the whole while, grabbing a chair, and sits down as he prepares everything.
"You pulled off things everyone considered impossible. Like you set out to do. Besides, this might be our chance," Salv informs, making him look up.
Dustin scoffs to the side, finding it too amusing. "Really? Cause there must be caveats to be the consultant to their ships. Besides, they can ignore it in the end in some way," he points out as he holds her head down and keeps one of her eyes open. "And I imagine maybe asking to design a civilian or commercial ship for them with some defenses for sky sharks only," he adds with some snarkiness as he grabs the medical tweezers and slowly moves toward her eye.
"That is precisely what they have in mind. They are trying to butter you up. They want to hire you to try and get you not to do business with just Cyclonia. That also grants opportunities," she then hisses and feels the withering crystal slide out of her eyes, leaving her sight half-blind. "You said you want to keep expanding and open up more bases for us, but for that, we need money, and contracts like this can get us that, and we can have buildings in knight territory," Salv points out, feeling him steady her head again.
Dustin hums as he grabs the fresh crystal. "I will do civilians. But I wanted to finish the Tailwind first. It would give us good ideas on what to grab from it to make a civilian ship because this airship is only there to shove everything onto it and make it fit. Taking out things and features only makes it lighter and more efficient," he points out as he slowly pushes the crystal into her eye. "And I will explain that thoroughly so they know I don't do things as quickly as they might think it would happen," he promises, adjusting the crystal now as he feels Salv grabbing his wrist as gently as possible.
"I think you are overestimating how quick they would expect this to be. They are still stuck in the past, and they don't know how your mind works. Nor do they realize that you would make it in such a way that would prevent them from just weaponizing them to use in the war," Salv says, smirking.
Dustin smiles as he already has the adjusting correct and just pulled out the second of her eyes. "When did the blind girl here become so smart?" he jokes, grinning.
"By watching and listening to you," Salv says as a matter of factly.
Dustin's smirk grows even bigger. "How could you watch when you are blind?" he questions while grabbing and slowly putting in the second shard.
"Oh, quiet you," Salv says.
Dustin chuckles as he adjusts the shard before feeling her grip his wrist tighter. "Okay, you all set?" he asks as he pulls the tweezers out, and she gasps softly from the almost alien feeling, rolling over and rubbing her eyes while they are closed.
Salv smiles and blinks a few times before looking at him. "As expected from a sculptor like you," she winks before helping him pack up the supplies.
"You spoke of the Atmos commissioning us for that, but knowing Cyclonis, I would bet she is also aware of this and is planning to make the same offer to me via proxies in the representatives she will be sending. So Salv, I have an assignment. Get me examples of both Atmosian and Cyclonian civilian cruisers so we can keep their styles in mind," Dustin informs.
