It had been a little over a month since construction had started. At first it was only the Hub above the surface. But as time went on the surface gradually gave way to more concrete. The Bunker continued to diminish in size as it was broken down and reprocessed. Finally where once a large COG bunker had been now lay the beginnings of a city.

The streets were lacking their greenery for the moment but the troughs and planters were waiting to be filled. Not that the current inhabitants were there for a tranquil atmosphere. Construction Mechs and DeeBees had been working constantly only stopping for servicing and to top up their reserves. There were living work crews but they were limited in number and only active during the day. For the most part the city was being built by machines.

Like other COG Settlements Phoenix Bay had been constructed from the inside out. Around the Hub were the main buildings of the city receiving their finishing touches. The primary hospital, police station, public archive and other key structures.

Further out housing and commercial buildings were being assembled. As they were finished basic furnishings were brought in. Everything was bare bones and more for function then comfort but the extra space would be a welcome change. Once people got settled in they would be able to order more custom interiors for the space.

Ramos was waiting by the hub to brief the First Minister and give him the tour. She wasn't nervous, this was the first time she was having a site inspected like this, but she wasn't. The place wasn't finished but he had wanted to see it before everything came online and the citizens started to move in.

She saw the cart with the First Minister approaching. Inside was Emmerich and a squad of Onyx as escorts. The cart slid to a stop exactly in front of the entrance to the Hub. It could have gone inside but Ramos wanted to make sure the First Minister got the full show. The cart door lowered to let them step off.

'First Minister welcome to Phoenix Bay,' Ramos said as she gestured to the city around them.
Emmerich nodded as he looked around before speaking, 'It's quite impressive. I know how fast we can put things together. Even so we're progressing quite well.'
'We're slightly ahead of schedule, we should be moving people in before the end of the week.'
'Excellent to hear. I know the current housing is not bad but I'm sure everyone will be happier with some more room to move about.'
'Don't worry. Space is not going to be an issue,' Ramos said before tapping on her PDA.
Behind her the door slid open, 'If you'll follow me please.'

Ramos led them into the Hub. The first area was mostly just monitoring and control areas.
'This is ground level control. We can monitor nearly every aspect of the city from here,' Ramos said as they entered the room.
A few technicians and engineers were seated at workstations. Displays on the wall showed the city layout with icons and updates. Some turned around at the sight of their visitor.
'Apologies for the intrusion. Just interested in seeing the work that goes on behind the scenes,' Emmerich said with a polite nod.
There was a round of nods and the staff went back to work. Pretending not to think about the First Minister watching them.
'Should we continue?' Emmerich asked, turning to look at Ramos.
'Yes this way to the main halls,' She said, leading him over to a lift.

The trip down was quick. As the doors opened the sound of industry reached them. Stepping out they could see the high set chambers each full of machinery working away. Ramos led them around each one in turn.

First up was the concrete area. Lines of crushers were being fed a steady amount of concrete chunks. They would reduce it down to size before passing it on. Serval mixing towers received the pulverized material and blended it to make whatever blend they were assigned to.

'We've got a concrete plant here. It can make new material. But at the moment we're using what is left of the Bunker as feedstock,' She explained as they passed a row of crushers.
'So I see. Will we need to start quarrying soon? Or did any of the local mines have a supply of gravel?' Emmerich asked, looking at the machines.
'For now we're holding off on any of the local stuff. The amount of dust in it should be minor but we want to run proper tests first. Push comes to shove we can find a spot with good access and start making our own.'
'Good to hear.' Emmerich nodded.

Next were the smelters. The first area was not a furnace at all. It was a set of chemical baths that helped separate the alloys out into their base metals. Once the metals were separated they could be forged or alloyed once more as needed. Vats of molten metal or acids moved across the roof on a rail system.

'So far we've not had any issues with metal processing. The Bunker had good quality material with very few impurities to filter out,' Ramos said. As they walked past the glass viewing window.
'If there's one thing we know it's that the old COG didn't skimp on the quality of the materials,' Emmerich said looking at the chamber.
'We also have a smaller test rig for dust alloys from the research team.'
Emmerich's head snapped around in surprise as he spoke, 'I take it this one won't explode if we use it?'
Ramos shook her head as she replied, 'No it's fine. We're just testing some of their options for larger scale usage.'
'Anything interesting so far?'
'We've made plates that float, a room temperature superconductor and one that is an excellent heat sink.'
'Already? I thought it would take longer for us to get those sorts of results.'
'You'd think so but once we sorted out the ratios we can dial the effects as needed. Only issue is that our supply of dust is miniscule so we have to keep recycling to run more tests.'
'Fair enough. Once we have the population settled we can look into reactivating the mines in the area.'
'Alright then. Next area module production,' Ramos said leading them on.

Module production was where new structure parts were prefabricated. Sets of panels, blocks and frames were churned out. Some were metal, others concrete and more were blends of the two. Some panels were more specialized with wiring and piping built in.

Presses and molds worked at a constant pace filling and forming their products. Once the modules were done an arm would remove them. Some went into storage others were placed on to waiting carts that whisked them off to the city.

'We're using the most economical types we can for now. They won't be pretty by any measure but they work,' Ramos said, leading them past a row of storage racks stacked with modules.
Emmerich stopped by a panel as it caught his eye. There were small flakes of metal and ceramic worked into the material.
He called out to Ramos, 'What's this one for?'
Ramos turned and walked over. 'That's a foundation panel. We're still following procedure. All foundations must be made with Jacinto special mix.'
'I take it the shards of metal are part of it?' Emmerich asked, confused.
'Oh right you wouldn't know. The Jacinto special mix was a wild idea from the Locust war. Engineers mixed in scrap metal and ceramic shards to try and make the stuff a mess to dig through.'
'It was… effective?' Emmerich asked.
'Oh yeah. Corpsers hated the stuff because it was sharp enough to cut them. Apparently the Locust had to mine though it by hand if they wanted to get past it. Slowed them down a great deal.'
'When did we use it? Surely if it can stop a tunneling attack we would have deployed it in bulk?'
Ramos shook her head and replied, 'They could only use it in some places. Mostly filling in sewer lines or metro systems to stop them using the existing tunnels. Not like they could cover the ground in it.'
'That's true. I'm guessing it's been improving since then.'
'Yes. During the war it was improvised with whatever they had to hand. The new stuff is bespoke. The fragments have been designed for maximum damage against anything trying to tunnel through it. We can still remove the stuff if we want fine. But nothing is breaking through without working for it. Say what you will about the COG Engineering Corps they know how to keep pests out.'

Next up was agile manufacturing. Dozens of smaller modules filled the room, inside each was a machine working at its task. The modules could be swapped out as needed. Lathes, drills, mills, cutters and other machines worked away. Each machine was automated with arms and conveyors taking materials and parts from one to the other. End products were loaded into bins at the end and moved off to their destination.

'We can go from extruding pipes to rifling Longshots at the press of a button,' Ramos said as they looked at the modular factory floor.
'Are all the new factories going to be like this?' Emmerich asked her.
'Most of them at least have some space like this. Specializing is all well and good for efficiency. But with this we can change track without missing a beat.'
'Will this be enough for us to build off or will we need to look into expansion?'
'This is just the Hub's main manufacturing space. There are a few other ones down here already in use. We can use all of them if needed but there's no dire need for that yet..'
'Good to hear. Are you still fine with opening the extra space up for citizens to rent and use?'
'Sure if they can come up with something better we benefit. Not like the space and equipment should go to waste.'

Their last stop in the production area was assembly. Automated bays and production lines took the parts and put them together. Tools, machines and other equipment were finished and then sent off for usage. At the moment nearly all of it was dedicated to getting the city above up and running.

Ramos looked at her PDA as they entered.
She turned to them with a slight smile, 'Right on time. If you'll follow me please,' She said, leading them to one of the bays.

Inside was a large machine with several sections that were interconnected. Each had a set of parts going into it. The whole thing was whirring and clicking as it labored away. Ramos led them to the output hatch. A raised rail ran through the hatch with plastic curtains around. As they watched there was a soft chime and the curtains were pushed aside.

It was a DeeBee Shepard model. The yellow paint was fresh and all the metal gleaming. The small carrier holding the DeeBee stopped letting the robot sway back and forth for a moment. Then the DeeBee powered up and was released, dropping to the ground.

'Governor may I introduce our first DeeBee fully assembled on Remnant,' Ramos said. Giving a little a flourish.
'DeeBee unit online and ready. Good Afternoon Governor. I'm here to help,' The DeeBee announced with a stiff salute.
'I take it this is what you set off with your PDA?' Emmerich asked.
'Perhaps.' Ramos said pretending to be innocent.
Emmerich sighed, 'Still I'm rather impressed you got a whole production line going given the situation.'
Ramos shrugged, 'Just the one for now. But we'll need to start building up our numbers if we want to maintain our pace.'
'Good. Very good.' Emmerich said as they left the hall.
The DeeBee was already marching off the control system and had found it a task the moment it powered on.

Ramos led them back to the upper levels and into a small conference room.
'That was the tour for the hub. I take it you want to find out about the rest of our work?' She asked.
'Yes how are the other projects progressing?'Emmerich asked as he sat down.
Ramos started up the holo-table. It projected an image of the city with a few locations in and around it highlighted. She zoomed in on a set of icons under the city.

'We've already moved some of our potable water into the city cisterns. At full capacity we'll be able to supply the whole city for months. Right now we can catch and filter any rain water to help top up the supply. We're also going to tap into an aquifer to give the city its own supply.'

She moved the view out and had a few sights flash.
'That also ties into our energy grid. We've got solar panels and turbines being set up at the optimum positions. This area is not suitable for geothermal so we're on wind and solar for now.'

Next the view moved over to the harbor area.
'We're setting up power lines and pipes to connect up the harbor. A number of the old buildings are being torn down. A desalination plant is being set up along with algae farms. That will get us some more water and basic foodstuffs. It won't be tasty but it will be edible.'

Finally the view moved to the dockside and the harbor entrance.
'We put together some barges and set up some cranes to clear the entrance to the harbor. The gate is being fixed and should be working shortly. The dry docks are getting a rework. The pumps were so broken we've had to rip them out and build new ones. Soon we can get the Journey and Pearl fixed up enough to sail out properly.'

Emmerich nodded as he listened. Ramos then reset the projector to the first view.
'Good. Any issues I should be aware of?' He asked.
'Nothing that we can change. For now it's just keep working, finish and move on to the next thing.'Ramos said shaking her head.
Emmerich was about to speak when his PDA went off. He lifted it, seeing O'Connor's ID on the screen.
'One moment.' Emmerich said to Ramos as he lifted the device to his ear, 'This is Emmerich.'
'Governor, I need to speak with you urgently.' O'Connor said firmly.
'Where are you?' Emmerich asked.
'At the Command Center. You'll want to be here to discuss this.'
'I'll be over shortly.' Emmerich said as he hung up.
He turned to face Ramos.
'Apologies but I'll have to run. Something has always come up.' Emmerich said as he stood up.
'Its fine we got most of it covered anyway. Let me know if you have any questions' Ramos said with a shrug

A short while later Emmerich was entering the Command Center. Once more he and his escort wove their way through the hallways to O'Connor's office. His aid nodded as they passed, still somewhat angry about when they forced their way past him.

O'Connor was sitting at his desk fuming as he read a tablet in front of him. He stood and saluted as Emmerich entered. Emmerich returned the salute and then they sat down.

'So what is the emergency?' Emmerich asked.
'This grade one charlie foxtrot,' O'Connor said, holding out the tablet.
Emmerich took it and read the title. Proposal for Seran alignment with the treaty of Vytal.
'They want us to agree to a treaty?' Emmerich asked.
'More like castrating us.' O'Connor snapped.
Emmerich looked up in surprise at his tone more than his words. O'Connor caught himself and took a breath.
'Sorry, sir. But this.' O'Connor said pointing to the tablet, 'This is butchery.'
'What do they want?' Emmerich asked, scrolling through the document.
'What don't they want? Troop limitations, weapons restrictions and that's just the start.'

'Troop limitations?' Emmerich asked, reaching that section.
'We would only be allowed one army. At most with a general in command. Recruitment would be fixed at one percent of our population.' O'Connor said. Rattling off the terms as Emmerich reached them.'
'That's absurd. Given the current situation we have nearly ten percent of our population in service already.' Emmerich said looking up.
'Which means we would need to discharge nine percent to become compliant. The battalion will come apart. We'd have a company or two at best.'
'That's nowhere near enough to keep our people safe. What the hell are we meant to do about security if we dismantle our armed forces!?' Emmerich shouted.
'Apparently hire Huntsmen to deal with issues.'
'They want us to outsource our security to random strangers? Why would we do that? Why would they do that?'
'Because they don't like standing armies since they could be used to attack. Vale keeps most of its ground troops on guard duty, same with Mistral. Vacuo doesn't seem to have an army at all. Atlas is the exception. And they only get away with it because most of the Grimm freeze before they become an issue.'
'Well that's not an option here. Consider that request rejected. What else is there?'

'They also have a limit on Artificial combatants.' O'Connor said.
'So DeeBee's. What limits?' Emmerich asked, looking for that portion of the text.
'We'd have to handicap them. Roll every Peacemaker back to the old OS. Scrap anything but the Shepherd types. No Deadeyes, DR-1s or anything but the basic Peacemaker.'
'Oh do I want to know?'
O'Connor held the tablet and read the text. 'No artificial combatants shall be built to a level that they can be a threat to humans. No machine may be constructed with the sole intent to perform harm. Their role must be supplementary to regular troops.'
'So we would just have armed security guards rather than actual troops?'
'That's what they want.'

Emmerich sighed, 'Moving on.'
'Weapons and equipment restrictions.' O'Connor said, pointing Emmerich to the section.
Emmerich started reading aloud, 'Prohibited weapons and equipment shall include but are not limited to the following. Any weapon intended to cause damage across a wide area. That's far too broad . Did they give any examples?'
'Yes they did,' O'Connor said, lifting a hand and counting off, 'Lancer GLs, Boomshots, Mortars. Pretty much anything that goes boom.'
'So all our explosive weapons and or artillery?'

O'Connor nodded then pointed further down the text. 'Also we're not allowed to issue more than one service weapon. Troops should be issued with a rifle, sidearm and melee weapon.'
'Why?' Emmerich asked.
'To stop us from having extra functionality. This whole section reduces our troops to riflemen and nothing else. Hell, we can't even issue canteens and rations as standard.'
'Oh do I want to know why that is?' Emmerich asked exasperated.
'Because troops are not to be issued with any means of extending their patrol range as that could be used offensively.'
'So giving anyone a bottle of water and a packed lunch is now a crime. What the hell kind of rules are these?' Emmerich said, looking at the list.

'Then there is the section about transport.' O'Connor said, highlighting it.
'Any vehicle used by the armed forces must be intended for a support role. No vehicles dedicated to combat are permitted bearing exceptional circumstances.' Emmerich said reading the text.
'So that means no Centaur, Kestrel or anything else that's job is to shoot things.'
'Do they want the Ravens as well?' Emmerich said mockingly.
'No provided we don't convert any to gunships we can keep those.'
'So our motor pool and air force become a shipping and taxi service.'
'That's about it. This whole document lists what we have to lose to become compliant.'

Emmerich sat in thought for a moment.
'There is no way in hell we're doing any of this.' He announced firmly.
O'Connor nodded at his words, 'Thank you for saying that. I was worried you might be tempted.'
'Not a chance. This world is not a gentle place. I'm not going to hamstring us by cutting off our limbs,' Emmerich said. Looking through the document.
'Amen to that. No point losing all our fighting strength because of some bit of paper.'
'What I don't get is why Atlas seems so well armed. There must be some loopholes in this that they're using.'

After a few moments Emmerich stopped then looked and flicked to another section.
'There's parts missing from this,' Emmerich said.
'Missing. What's missing?' O'Connor asked, leaning forward.
'Ships. There's nothing in here about water craft limits.'
'No no there was, I'm sure of it,' O'Connor said looking at the document.
'There are airship restrictions but nothing about sea going vessels.'
'I'll be damned, you're right. Why the hell would they not care about that. This planet is covered in water.'
Emmerich shrugged, 'Perhaps having a flying ship means you don't care about the water.'
'Could be but I'll have some people look into it. No way they just built those airships first. There must be a reason why they don't care about warships.'

'But this is a start. Do you have any legal staff?'
'We have some JAGs around here sure.'
'Get them to go over this. Find every loophole, technicality or straight out miss interpretation we can get.'
'You aren't going to sign it if we do right?'
'No. We're going to be very polite when we tell them we're trying to adhere to it. Then we're going to ignore it and move on. We've never signed on to it and I don't plan to. We'll give them some lip service but never put our mark on the dotted line.'
'Bit unfair to tease them like that isn't it?'
'I'm the First Minister. I don't play fair when it comes to the COGs survival.'