"Further to the left!"
Anturia watched the workers do as told.
"Aaaaand stop! Perfect, now hold it steady!"
Gamma started connecting the metal plate in its place using one of his so-called power tools, the buzzing sound it made having already drawn a few curious watchers, the young nurse being one of them. It all started a few days ago when Gamma had started hiring workforces across town.
This had appeared strange at first as The Mechanic was well known for being able to perform even the most complex tasks on his own, but over the past days, it had become obvious why he needed extra help. Gamma was planning something big.
What it was however was unknown to everyone. Gamma had not been willing to reveal any information about it so far and even the workers were told only the absolute necessary for what they required to perform their task on the said day giving them minimal insight and even that was only enough to know what would happen in the next 6 hours with no idea what the machine was or did.
The only reason why she had been able to get so close to the construction site was that she had offered to threaten those who got injured during the building process. It happened more than she would have enjoyed. While Gamma had done a lot of things to ensure safety it was still a risky job. The biggest reason was that it wasn't protected by the walls of town as it was built outside of it. 3km outside it in fact.
Gamma had chosen a mountainside to build next to for some reason, which was dangerously close to dragon territory. Six defensive towers were positioned around the site because of that, each one housing a handful of guards as well as four of Gamma's ballistas, one for each of the roof sides leaving no blindspots which potentially allowed dragons to get close. Additionally, there were three underground bunkers where you could seek shelter in case of an attack. It hadn't been until all of the defenses had been built that Gamma had started on the main project.
Nevertheless, there was still a strong sense of unease in the air as nobody actually felt safe despite the protective measures taken. What didn't help was the fact that a large amount of noise they created at the worksite attracted dragons quite frequently over the last few days. The defenses had kept them at bay but many simply stayed out of weapon range and working while being curiously stalked by the continent's apex predator could be quite unsettling.
Nevertheless, work was progressing quite decently or at last, that was what Gamma told them. She still couldn't figure out what the contraption they were building was for… or rather a huge machine as the word contraption didn't fit anymore viewing its size.
At first glance, it looked like a giant building towering at 110m in height, but that illusion was quickly shattered upon closer inspection. Only the base, a steel foundation which resembled a giant square of roughly 70mx70m and half the height had a slight resemblance towards it. The entrance was elevated and accessible through either a retractable ramp or a ladder which was attached to the side and let up to metal scaffolding that surrounded the upper part of the cube.
Said scaffolding was attached to said cube and it seemed like you were intended to walk there for some reason. Then came the upper part from which the design shifted drastically. There was a second platform of 65mx65m on the first and it looked like it was supposed to be able to rotate. On the said platform you found two giant parallel square 'blocks' both 60-65m in length, 10m wide, and 75m high. They both resembled more like multiple huge metal beams connected by scaffolding and metal bridges and tubes, with all kinds of pipes, gears, and hydraulics of different sizes running between them, then resembling actual blocks.
Right now they were working on the framework of a third part which was currently attached in between the two 'blocks' being elevated there. Her best bet was that it was some kind of hinge that was supposed to move up and down, but at this point in time, all she could do was speculate.
Anturia sighted, before turning towards the other two people who were watching Gamma work, having nothing else to do. "Let's go back inside, it's getting cold." They nodded following her into one of the tents which was set up to function as a tavern.
Once inside she stopped, pulling one of the two to the side while the other one went to get a drink.
"Robin…" she started unsurely not sure how to express her concerns. "I want to know if you… well…"
The guard gave her a confused look. "What is it?"
"Look, I know that you trust Gamma and all, and I don't say I don't do the same, but are you sure this entire operation is a good idea?" she finally replied, cutting to the point. "This isn't just another one of his crazy inventions, but an entire project where a big part of the town participates in. We're gaining way too much attention from the dragons and I'm afraid it's only a matter of time before the first casualties occur. I talked to Gamma about it, but he told me that we would be able to hold an attack off. I'm not sure if I can believe that… and even if we do, at what cost?"
Robin nodded slowly. "I understand your concerns… but why do you come to me about it?"
"Well, from all the people you're the most likely to know more about what's going on as you're the closest to Gamma from all of us. I was hoping you could tell me what he's planning. He's so secretive about it for some reason and I have no idea what he's trying to achieve… If I would at last know how long this would take I would know if the risk would be worth it."
Robin gave her a comforting smile. "Look, I might not know every single detail about this, but he has a good reason why he keeps the project a closely guarded secret. I can however safely say that it will be worth it. The advantages heavily outweigh the disadvantages."
"Enlighten me." Anturia replied, crossing her arms.
"Well you see, the machine will be able to ex… how did he call it again? Extra, no interact, no wait." he rubbed his forehead thinking. "Alright no, Gamma should be the one explaining this to you. He's way better at explaining this kind of things."
Anturia facepalmed, although she couldn't suppress a semi-amused chuckle. "You really can't remember anything important can you?"
"Alright, that's not true. I still know how the machine is called." Robin protested.
"You do?" she replied mockingly following him out of the tent. "Alright tell me then."
"It's actually quite simple to remember a name that silly." Robin replied heading in towards the location he had last seen Gamma work. "He said it's called a bucket wheel excavator."
Behold, the early days of the bucket wheel excavator!
This giant machine will be a high priority point of interest for all parties on both the human and dragon side.
I still need a better name than bucket wheel excavator, however. It doesn't sound as imposing as a machine of that size deserves, so to all the creative minds out there, I'm happy to hear out any ideas you have. :D