Doctor Lucas Darnell had always thought of himself as a problem solver. He had always wanted to know more and solve ever harder problems. He attended the New Ephyra University and graduated with his degree as a Doctor of Science.
But over time he had learned he wasn't be all end all genius. Sure he could grasp many concepts but not the finer details that underlined them. At one point he thought of leaving his role as a researcher and becoming a professor at the University.
Instead he let his bosses talk him into running a project. It was a simple thing really. They wanted to upgrade the turbines inside the hydro electric dam to boost efficiency. The issues were getting the materials development department and the systems designers to communicate. Both had wanted to use their own ideas to help attract more funding to their department. But some of the suggestions would conflict so the project was delayed. He managed to help both teams sort out a middle ground solution that met their targets on time. But also left the door open for future upgrades that they could build on. A true win for all involved.
It had opened his eyes to the fact he didn't need to be the one trying to solve the hard issues to be respected. He could be the one supporting them getting them the resources they needed to help improve people's lives.
Of course that was before the war back on Sera. Now he wasn't looking at new process efficiency metrics or alternative configurations to improve production yield. Now he was looking at combat assessments and alterations to equipment to eliminate some of the harder to make components.
Darnell opened the next message in his inbox. One of the teams had sent over the new configuration for the Kestrels. They had made adjustments to the internal munitions handling system so it could be adapted to other ordinance. They had also included their first attempt at a replacement for the usual laser guided missiles.
It was a rocket pod that would hold seven unguided rockets. Given the pods size the Kestrel would be able to have four on its firing mount. Giving it 28 rounds to bombard a target before needing to drop the empty pods and load a fresh set from its internal bay. If they couldn't use precision weapons because of material limits they might as well have raw firepower it seemed. Not like the Grimm had any armoured targets that would justify a missile.
He would have preferred to be working on less destructive projects but such was fate. Darnell was about to stop and get something to drink when his terminal beeped in alarm. It was an update from the Materials Compatibility team. He read the subject line.
We managed to find more of the spill. You might want to come down and have a look.
That sounded ominous. The Materials Compatibility team was not actually doing checks on materials. They were the few personnel that Darnell had managed to assign to Myers' little investigations.
A few minutes later Darnell was entering their section of the labs. The door was not outwardly guarded. But he knew there were DeeBees waiting in two side rooms that would stop anyone trying to enter without permission. He headed for the main lab seeing Penelope Gilliam the team leader waiting for him. She had a chair waiting in front of a presentation screen.
'What did we find?' Darnell asked. Walking in and sitting in the waiting chair.
'Some strange stuff.' Gilliam said. 'We looked into those poles you sent over. Quite a hard nut to get into.'
'How so?'
Lots of military grade anti tamper stuff. We lost several trying to figure out how to open them up.'
'Anti tamper. What sort of anti tamper?' Darnell asked. A look of worry on his face.
'Thermite charges with a secondary explosive. Try to open one without the right steps and it burns out its guts before exploding.'
'But you managed it?'
'Yes. Cost us a few but we did figure out the security and get them open.' Gilliam said.
A set of images appeared on the screen. The strange poles with their internals opened in several close ups.
'Hardware is a mix of standard and non standard. From what we can tell they are some sort of designator or guide. Lots of components that are used in locators and such.' Gilliam said. Pointing to the electronics in some of the images.
'Do we think they are involved in how the Bunker teleported?' Darnell asked.
Gilliam nodded. 'We think so. It would make sense if you could move something that way you would need a means to guide it to where you wanted it. No point being able to move matter if it appears upside down inside a mountain or under the sea.'
'What about the spill you mentioned?'
'That is where it gets confusing. We looked at the crystals that the DBi team had popping out of their Fabricators buffer. Turns out they are a near exact match for the dust the locals are using.'
'A near match?'
'Yeah some extra radiation on our samples but that's to be expected. Otherwise it's just the trace elements that sets them apart. Sheer luck the Fabricators spat them out as they did otherwise someone could have been hurt or killed.'
'So Sera had Dust? How could that be? Surely we would have noticed the effects this stuff has.'
Gilliam spread her hands. 'I can't tell you exactly why. Current theory is that what Dust was on Sera was concentrated in one location. In such a small amount that any contamination would be unnoticed.'
'Makes some sense. If it's so small the act of analysing the sample destroys it. We would have assumed it never existed.'
'That is not the only part I needed to talk with you about.' Gilliam said. Looking more concerned.
'What's the matter?' Darnell asked.
'Inside each of those poles is a type of dust that's not a match for any of the natural forms.'
Gilliam showed him a new image. It was a close up of one of the poles and inside was a faintly glowing crystal. It wasn't like any of the others he'd seen. It seemed to be made of a spectrum of colours. Some parts were purple, others bright yellow or bright blue, almost cyan. There were also small points of light mixed into it.
'Not natural? Someone on Sera already processed Dust into a new form?' Darnell asked. Shock showing on his face.
'That or they used what little of that type was up. It might be that's what let them make the Bunker teleport. Given some of the stuff can negate gravity I won't see it as impossible.'
'Interesting keep appraised of any new developments.' Darnell looked at his watch and sighed before standing and moving to leave. 'Now if you'll excuse me I need to check in with the team looking into Dust integration.'
'Ask Bell not to blow the roof off the place again. Just because we can fix it doesn't mean he can break it.' Gilliam called out.
Darnell gave a quick wave over his shoulder as he left. He doubted that the Dust integration team was going to live that one down any time soon.
A brief walk later he was standing outside the new Dust integration lab observation area. It was new because Darnell had insisted they build a separate area to house the experiments. Given the issues that had occurred, that had been the right choice.
He walked in seeing scientists and technicians using VR rigs in rooms branching off each side. The rigs allowed the occupant to puppet a DeeBee unit like it was their own body. Unlike the Command DeeBees that just matched your movements. The proxy bodies were all inside a separate lab a good distance away doing the actual testing.
He headed straight over to Emmett Bell's office. Bell was the team leader for the Dust integration team. He was a little bit of a character preferring to leap before he looked sometimes. Hence the proxies.
Bell was using the rig in his office and Darnell had to call him and ask him to disconnect. Bell popped out of the VR rig with a grin.
'Great news. The samples we received were in great shape. Provided we can sort out the stability issues. We should be on schedule.' Bell said. Dropping into his chair.
'That means we should be able to process the stuff as well right?' Darnell asked. Taking the seat opposite.
'Sure it's doable. There were a few sites on the CCT net about making your own dust. Mostly textbooks or old records from when it was more an art form. For now we're looking at how to purify and concentrate it safely and produce a stable output. Brute force attack trying as many methods as we can as fast as we can. But there have been… issues.' Bell said. Making a pained face.
'Issues? Like blowing the roof off of the remote lab.'
Bell held up his hands at the accusation. 'We were trying to see how pure we could make it. Turns out there is an upper limit at which point the stuff becomes so unstable it's too sensitive to make.'
'How sensitive are we talking?' Darnell asked. Feeling worried.
'Lets see. Touching it, moving it, leaving it alone, exposing it to any form of light or radiation.'
'So it goes off by existing…'
'That would be the best way of putting it.'
Darnell sighed. 'Have there been any other incidents I should know about?'
Bell rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment. 'We have had to carve some DeeBees out of blocks of rock and ice. Replace the burned and crushed ones. One attempt to alloy gravity dust is still stuck to the ceiling in bay 4. We can't get it down so we decided to see how long it takes for the effects to wear off... or if it wears off.'
'Great. But no repeats of the prior incident?'
'No. We learned not to expose the refined material to the particle accelerator the first time... Also because we don't use said particle accelerator again. I take it a replacement is still not an option?'
'Sadly we don't have any more to use. Not until we can get manufacturing up to the levels we need.'
'Fair enough. In the meantime we're trying to determine the right process to allow bulk refining. Right now we can process small amounts in the lab just fine. But if you want more than a few kilos a week we'll need to nail down the process for bulk refining.'
'I take it the locals didn't leave that part on their net?'
'No I'm guessing that's what they are holding back as a trade secret. I'm guessing they won't share it with us even if we ask nicely.'
'Fair enough. Any new developments let me know. If we can get you more samples I'll send them along.'
Darnell headed back to his office and drafted a report for the First Minster. They were making some progress on their current assignments. Time and fate permitting they would be able to get some basic refinement process going within a year or more. Until then the dust mines were basically just holes filled with dangerous rocks. But once they could refine the stuff, then the possibilities would open up.
Jacques Schnee was not a happy man. His newest expansion of the SDC was being blocked by some glorified squatters. He had expected some sort of reaction by now. Reports were fragmentary at best as only a few journalists had been allowed in by the Serans. But there were no signs of stress or strain. For the Gods sake there was usually at least some sign of a response by now. Reports of arrests or riots or other such things.
This was all taking far too long for his liking. He would need to step things up. He pondered for a short while then it hit him. The Serans were clearly on guard against the SDC. But he didn't need to use the SDC name to start with.
The SDC still owned portions of several smaller dust firms. Under other names and through holding companies to avoid any accusations of monopoly. He contacted his attorney again and gave him the new orders.
'If they won't allow the SDC to take possession we'll go by stealth. Have any firm that was going to be bought out next quarter acquire one of our mining rights the northern areas. They can dredge up some third grade huntsmen and secure the mines for us.' Jacques instructed.
'Yes, sir. I'll use our contacts in Mistral to manage the auction. We may need to let a few go to avoid suspicion.' The attorney said.
'I don't care about that. We'll just start buying out whoever tries to buy up the rights. Better yet we can hold off until they have the mines secured for us. Then fire the current staff and bring in our own people to replace anyone who refuses to be rehired.'
'Very well then. I'll sort out the rights we want to sell and have them put up for auction. Depending on how this goes we may make a profit off right from the start.'
'Good I want it done before the end of the week. The next board meeting will not be about our losses this year. Am I clear?'
'Yes sir.'
Over the next few days the rights to the northern mines were out for tender several companies bought up. A number of them were used to working a single mine and looking to expand. The area was reported to be lower in Grimm since the Seran arrival drew most of them south. Most of the companies were considered trustworthy and were hiring huntsmen above board. Others not so much.
Nick Wood debated if he should get another drink. His current cup was almost dry but he was light on lien now. Being sent as a recruiter for Gleaming Gem Mining seemed easy work. He'd been trying every trick in the book to meet his quota. Buying drinks, offering bonuses and even some minor hard selling. But even here in some dive bar in the lower levels of Mistral he was two short. The bosses would not be happy.
People were either not desperate enough to sign up. Or smart enough to know they were going to be used as Grimm fodder.
'Excuse me are you still hiring?' A soft voice asked.
Nick lowered his cup. A young man was standing at the table. He had black hair and pink eyes. His clothes were mostly green with some patches on them where repairs had been made. On each hip was a pistol but they were a miss matched pair. He was also far too young to be a huntsman.
'I am hiring. What you got a brother or sister who's too busy to sign up themselves?' Nick said. Taking another small sip.
'No I'm interested in signing up. Are you taking apprentices for this contract?' The boy asked.
'Apprentices? You want us to sponsor you?' Nick said narrowly avoiding a spit take. 'Forget about it kid, you need training before you can sign up for a job like this.'
'I've helped take down Grimm before. If the company sponsors me I can get credit towards combat school or even an Academy.' The boy said eagerly.
Nick rubbed his temples. You always got some hot shot like this. Young kid who managed to kill some pup of a Grimm and thought they were a huntsman.
'Look kid, I admire your drive. But this isn't going to be a lone Beowolf harassing a farm. You'd need to be able to take care of yourself in a fight. No hand holding. You mess up you die.'
'I can take care of myself. And I've got a partner to watch my back.' The kid said firmly.
'So there's two of you?' Nick asked. Rolling the thought around inside his head.
'Yes. Me and my partner. We've been helping fight Grimm to pay for our travel costs. I can give you some references if you need.'
'Sure you can kid.' Nick said. Poor sap had managed to make it this far. Either he was lucky or skilled but if it was luck and he ran out. That was a dark thought. Nick took another sip to steady his nerves.
'Your partner. They as old as you?' Nick asked.
'Yes.'
'Got any ID you would be able to show?'
'No our village was attacked by Grimm and our records were lost.' The boy said. It seemed like he was used to that phrase. How many other jobs had he taken like this? Then again it was a likely story. Town gets overrun and anyone missing is assumed dead. If they were already dead no one could question their age.
'Okay then I'll sign you up. I'll need your names here.' Nick said. Holding out a sheet.
The boy took it and wrote down two names quickly. He put the same contact number down for both of them and marked nearly all the other boxes with X's. Then passed it back.
'Airship is leaving in the next few days. Depending on when they finish preparing. You'll get a call with the dock location once it's arranged.' Nick said.
'Thank you we'll be there.' The boy said leaving.
Nick read the names. Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie. Well if they didn't have any next of kin at least they wouldn't need to send a letter of condolence. He decided to order another drink to celebrate hitting his quota.
Ren left the bar and headed for the hostel they had rented a set of beds at. Finally after months they had a real contact. He knew it was a shady one but it was this or years of trying to get a real huntsman to sign them up.
He reached their spot seeing Nora wearing some worn clothes like he was. Given their budget fresh clothes would be a luxury. So they were patching what they could and buying second hand. She was working on her latest version of her hammer. This one was a reworked sledge hammer she'd traded for. She had added a dust vial holder to the face so she could add the effects when she struck her target. Their current dust quality left much to be desired but every bit would help.
Nora noticed him and turned with a look of worry on her face. 'So were they still hiring?'
Ren took a breath, readying himself. 'Ye-'
Nora tackled him, squealing with glee. 'Yes. Yes. YES!'
'Keep it down over there.' Someone called from another room.
'Sorry.' Ren said. Before turning back to Nora.
'So we're huntsmen now?' She asked.
'Not quite. We'll be apprentices. The pay will be less and I trust them as much as the last people we worked for.' Ren said with distaste.
'But we will be getting some credits for a combat school right?' Nora asked.
'Yes. We will get a record of the job from the company at the end. With that we can try for some proper above board jobs. No more of this taking bar room work for shady people.' Ren said. Letting his anger out for a moment.
Nora rested a hand on his shoulder. 'I know you want to be legitimate but we need to do this for now. Think of it this way. Once we get our licences we can take on some apprentices of our own. Help other kids like us out.'
Ren nodded. 'You're right. A few more days and we'll be a step closer to being huntsmen.'
Emmerich was finishing up for the day. The last few meetings about changing their clocks and calendar had dragged on. Some people insisted they needed to retain them. He had to remind them no less than three times. They were not on a planet with a 26 hour rotation any more so the clocks were wrong. The planets orbit around the sun was different so the old calendar would not work. They might have been from the Ministry of Preservation. But they seemed more like the Ministry of Persistence. Finally they had agreed with him.
He checked his inbox dreading a new crisis but none seemed to have appeared. There was a report on the demolition process. A few more days and they would be able to move the Constructor into place. Then things would start to speed up. The design Ramos had sent over would give them a great deal of flexibility to work with. Once it was all up and running the city would be a fitting capital for the COG.
There was a query attached to the message. What were they going to call the city? Settlement 13 was hardly his first choice and given it was their only Settlement there was no reason to do so. Emmerich sat back for a moment thinking. Something old with some history perhaps? Not one that had already been done that was just asking for confusion. So not Jacinto or Ephyra, those had both old and new cities back on Sera.
He searched up major cites from the COG. There were quite a few he tried to narrow it down somehow. They were going to be a major location with all sorts of industry to start with. Speyer perhaps? That had been an industrial city. But was that all they were going to be? Industry? What about culture? He tried again. Hanover? Home of the famed Cougars Stadium and home of Augustus "Cole Train" Cole, interesting. But he doubted that Thrashball was going to be their greatest gift to Remnant. He knew he was biassed since he was also more of a Halvo Shark fan... Halvo Bay. That might work. He pulled up the record.
Coastal city, that was good, they were going to expand to the coast at some point. It had been a centre of learning with its academies and universities. Including the Military Academy where Onyx Guard cadets were once inducted. A degree of industry in its shipyards and factories. It seemed a good fit, but he hesitated. Was he right to make that choice? This would be people's home and he was just about to pick a name on a whim. He thought for a moment. Why not open things up?
Emmerich typed away for a short while working on his idea. He liked New Halvo Bay but he wasn't the only person who would have to live with the name. So why not ask the people what they wanted to call the place. Give them some ownership of their new home. He drew up a poll and made it live for anyone to add a name and vote for what they wanted. If a better suggestion won then so be it. They could use the other names when new settlements were built. It was a win win.