Chapter 372
I shifted from foot to foot and looked around my new workshop. It was freezing down here. The cold from the Underground bled up into this place, making the entire chamber absolutely frigid. A shiver went down my spine, and I cranked up the heat on my poncho. Getting to work should fix that.
There was a lot I still needed to do. The first place to start was on my industrial sized Foundry so I could start cranking out Roughriders without much issue. After that… maybe a couple smaller ones too so I could speed up some other kinds of production? No—I should get the power armor done next. Maybe make a true coil rifle with more punch? Some kind of automatic variant? The coil-pistol had been pretty useless against the wave tactics I’d gone against recently.
I shifted over to one of my work tables and got to work. The schematic for an industrial Foundry had been finished for weeks already. Ever since I handed the smaller one off to Nael, I’d been planning and reworking the larger one. I even had most of the parts on hand in preparation for when I’d finally get around to making it. It was just the chassis and frame that weren’t done yet.
While I waited for my multi-process 3D printer to get that stuff done, I went ahead and started on the other parts for the Foundry. It was an extraordinarily complicated machine filled with complex parts all shoved into a relatively small space. It was literally an entire fabrication facility in a cabinet. Or, in this case, a shipping container.
The core parts of the foundry relied on a central fabrication array. It was a mix of micro-assembly arms, part assembly bays, and 3D printing technology that could put together almost anything I could figure out how to make. Assuming I had the materials, of course.
This time around, while building up the mechanical arms, I took a bit of a different approach. Nael’s was small enough that a single assembly arm sat in the middle of the Foundry and could reach around the entire chamber. This one was quite a bit larger. I rigged up a gantry that several arms could move across. Instead of using a track or rails, though, the arms were suspended and moved around using electro magnets. It’d give them more freedom of movement, and allow easily swapping out different arms for different processes.
By the time I finished the last arm, the parts in my printer were done. I pulled them out, slapped together the chassis that the entire Foundry would be built around, and started to actually assemble the machine. The gantry went up first on top of the machine, and the rest of the assembly array fell into place. I had to rework a few of the arms to get them a bit smaller, but by the end of it all, I had the basic shape and parts of the Foundry done.
I took a brief break to send a program to Luna to improve, and then slid antigrav pucks across the entire machine. The pucks whisked the heavy duty machine into the air, allowing me to build up the rest of the frame around the central fabrication chassis. It was already the size of a car, and it’d only get bigger.
The terminal was next on the schematic… but I skipped it for now. The actual program I used for Nael’s Foundry was hand-built using my knowledge of fabrication robotics from Quantum Fabrication. It was probably better than anything on the market, but I had no doubt there were still some issues. Not to mention it had no ICE. Anyone could hack into it and either steal all of my designs, or sabotage production. Hence why I sent it to Luna.
I moved onto something new that Nael’s Foundry didn’t have—a resource fabrication array. Basically, the core idea was that I could dump raw materials in from Transmutation, and the Foundry would convert them into usable resources.
It wound up being quite a bit more complex than I initially thought it would be, and centered around laser arrays to break down materials. They were then converted into powders and bonded to make alloys. I had the manufacturing process for hundreds of simple alloys stuck in my head, so I made a new program to house all of that knowledge. If I put everything together right, I should be able to just throw in raw materials, tap a button, and it’d take care for the rest.
The resource fabrication array took up a lot more space than I thought it would need. It required several chambers that could control the pressure, temperature, and elemental ratios. Those weren’t small. It ended up thickening the entire Foundry quite a bit more than I originally designed on my schematic.
The real issue, though, was that I simply didn’t have the production capability to make the microscopic parts I’d need to shrink it down to size. It didn’t matter that I knew how thanks to Quantum Fabrication. I’d have to go through quite a few more evolutions of my tech to get to that point. For now, I was just happy with an automatic fabrication unit. I could figure out how to shrink it in the future.
While I waited for Luna to get back to me so I could set up the actual brain for the machine, I went off to the side to take care of something I’d been neglecting—power. The Foundry I made for Nael was already power hungry, but this thing would be a beast. The building owner would definitely notice the spike in power draw if I just plugged it in.
Thankfully, the eidolons had already solved that for me. I headed for the side-chamber I had my autominers dig out and dredged up the interface. It was about time I claimed that micro-nuclear reactor. The room was a bit underprepared, but the reactor itself was radiation shielded and fully self-contained. They were designed to be hyper mobile and self-sufficient, so I was just being a bit paranoid.
As soon as I wanted to bring it out, an illusory display of the reactor sparked to life in front of me. I twisted and turned the design around a couple times to get it lined up just right. Once I was done, Insight barked loudly against the back of my head. A sensation similar to my Aether Jumping tech filled the air. The nuclear reactor slowly pushed out of thin air and filled the space.
Just as I was about to set the rest of the reactor up and get it hooked up to my new Foundry, I got a text from Saint. A moment later, his voice filled the back of my head. “Here’s the contracts. Do you need anything else?”
”Thanks.” I wiped my hands off on a towel and headed back toward the rappel line up to the speakeasy. “I owe you one.”
”Speaking of, you got anything? I don’t have anything else on my plate at the moment. The Red Veil didn’t turn up anything. Someone already wiped out almost all mentions of them.”
”I’ll ask around.” The group behind them sure moved quickly. “Did you check the Crusade’s database?”
“Outside of the raid itself, there was almost nothing. Most of the guys captured were found dead in their cells shortly after, too.” Saint sighed. “I was really hoping it would link back to Kaynis.”
”Luna hasn’t had any luck either.” I hooked my ascender to the line and allowed it to pull me back up to the surface. “Kaynis… what do you think about that?”
”I don’t even know what to think in the first place. It’s like a ghost squad took him.” Saint went silent for a few moments. “Hey, something just came up. I’ll talk to you later, ‘Kay?”
”Chek, take your time.” Not like I had a bunch of free time at the moment. I went ahead and sent out a bunch of text messages alongside the contracts. It was really about time Cold Moon Solutions moved once more.
— —
I leaned against the Dragoon Saloon’s wall and casually ignored the gazes the nearby Jade Fang threw my way. Ishimaru was my first stop. Knight Winslow would meet me once she got off of work, and Uncle Ezra was out in the desert. At least, according to Mira. I’d have to pass the one I made for him over at a different time.
This time around, Shinobu stood just next to me, so nobody came to harass me. “How’s it been?”
“Quiet.” Shinobu took one last drag of his cigarette and flicked the smoldering butt out onto the street. It was quickly swallowed by the foot traffic of Ichiban Street. “You?”
”A bit busy.” I shifted and adjusted my mask. “Did he say how long?”
”He’s in a meeting with the other elders, so there’s no telling.” Shinobu shrugged and pushed off the wall.
“Right…” I sighed and shook my head. So much for a quick handover.
About ten minutes later, Ishimaru walked out of the Dragoon Saloon surrounded by a wave of heavily armed bodyguards in suits. Three others came out with him. Two were elders I’d seen in passing a couple of times, and the third was a young woman I didn’t recognize.
Elder Usagi was an older woman with white hair. She had on a kimono, and looked like the polite elderly woman next door. Anyone that dealt with her knew she was an Oni in human skin, though. As the Jade Fang Elder in charge of legal disputes, she was known to suck even the marrow dry of people that got on her bad side.
The other Elder I’d seen before, but was never actually introduced to. He was fully gorged out, to the point that it was impressive he wasn’t glitched yet. He had on a button up shirt that was only half buttoned up, exposing his fully cybernetic chest, neck, and jaw. The only part of him that was still flesh was his face. Vibrantly glowing tattoos of jade dragons and gleaming gold highlights highlighted his chrome.
”That’s Elder Anzan. He operates the Jade Fang Kage.” Shinobu’s back straightened. “And the Matriarch’s daughter. Best behavior, Shiro. Even roses have thorns.”
“You mean—“ I likewise straightened up and gave the young woman another look. She seemed maybe… twenty? Twenty-one? She had sharp features, and her chrome eyes gleamed with a soft green light. She looked a bit like me, actually. A streak of white flowed through the rest of her raven locks, which was all pulled back into a bun.
A chrome collarbone gleamed in the ambient light of the street just under translucent skin. Thin lines of circuitry ran down from it, and danced along a glowing tattoo of a dragon that ran along her arms. Most of it was hidden by a finely woven kimono mixed with glowing strands of blue and purple. An ornate katana neatly dangled from her side.
I took a breath, dropped Master of Disguise, and adjusted my posture. So much for being a short handover. Just what had Ishimaru said to get this group together? This went beyond just a mere showing of my tech.
The wave of bodyguards split and enveloped me and Shinobu like a crashing wave. I wasn’t disarmed or anything like that. Not that it’d matter. With the way they watched me, I’d likely end up in several chunks before I could even try to pull a weapon. I wasn’t suicidal enough to keep going down that line of thought.
”Shiro Tsukuyomi?” The woman’s voice was light and soft. Recognition flashed in her chrome eyes, and a small smile toyed across her lips. “You’ve grown a lot.”
”You know me?” I shifted from foot to foot and tried to go back through my memory. Unfortunately, while I had perfect recollection for schematics, Eidetic Schematic did not apply to the rest of my brain.
Elder Anzan crossed his arms, and the tattoos across his body pulsed with a dangerous light. “It is customary to bow when—”
”It’s fine, Uncle Anzan.” She laughed lightly like a twinkling bell and lifted a hand to cover her mouth. The long fabric of her kimono flashed with vibrant pink light. “Ishi, you didn’t tell me I was coming to meet an old friend.”
”I was unaware that you knew Shiro. My apologies.” Ishimaru bowed lightly and glanced toward me. His questioning eyes just made my own confusion deeper.
“Alas, it was a long time ago.” Her eyes curled into charming half-moons and she lightly brushed her hair. “We used to play tag while your parents were busy dealing with the fang.”
I… that did faintly ring some bells. Honestly, though, anything before the interface felt like a whole different life. Most of my childhood was buried under the events that happened after my parents died.
Did she actually know me, or… She had no reason to lie about that kind of thing, though, chek? “I’m sorry, I can’t quite remember.”
“Ah, then shall we reintroduce ourselves?” The matriarch’s daughter cupped her hands together and bowed lightly to me. Several of the guards tensed, and Elder Anzan looked like he was about to blow a servo. “Hajimemashite, Sakurai Yuki to moshimasu.”
I adjusted my posture to the formal stuff I learned when acting as Meno Maeni and returned her bow. I wasn’t well versed in Ukiyonese, so I didn’t even try. Just to be safe, I threw on my most innocent smile. Oh, and it was last name first. “Tsukuyomi Shiro.”
Her eyes flickered with a light green glow, and a light flush spread across her nose. “Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.”
That means… um… something like please treat me well and I look forward to working with you, I think. I really should’ve taken some more lessons. “Ditto.”
Ishimaru snorted and shook his head. Elder Anzan looked like he was literally about to explode. His face was all flushed, though he held his tongue. Mostly thanks to Yuki’s swift shake of her head. Elder Usagi, on the other hand, seemed to derive a great amount of joy from Anzan’s irritation.
Yuki’s head cutely tilted to the side. “Are you unfamiliar with our ceremonies, Shiro?”
“My apologies.” I imitated Elder Ishimaru. Ugh—all this formal stuff was such a drag. “I haven’t had the opportunity to dig deep and learn the old ways.”
“We all have our own mountains.” She nodded her head in understanding and shifted to a more business-like expression. “Ishi said something about a new type of flyer?”
“Chek. They’re parked up on top of a parking garage over there.” I pointed toward the mouth of Ichiban. From the expressions of those around me, I had a feeling I once more violated some other cultural thingy.
“Lead the way.” Yuki lightly waved her hand. The heavily armed bodyguards pushed out onto the street, creating a bubble for us to walk through.
Walking to the mouth of the street was unlike every other time I’d been here. Namely, I actually had space to breathe. This place was usually so packed that it’d put sardines to shame. We passed under the holographic tori gate and headed for one of the many parking garages surrounding the den of sin.
I kept my mask on the entire way. I dropped Master of Disguise so people could recognize me, but that didn’t necessarily mean I wanted my face out. Especially not with recently being exposed to Hope. Once we hit the top floor of the parking garage where it was open to the sky, the guards spread out across the roof.
I moved for the two Roughriders parked off to a corner of the roof. “If I knew there’d be more interest in my Roughrider, I would’ve parked it a bit closer.”
“Ishi just brought it up during today’s meeting.” Yuki stepped up beside me and inspected the hover bike. “These are from Cold Moon?”
“Chek.” I hopped onto the one I planned on handing over and turned it on. The engine rumbled softly, and the bike lifted up off of its stands into a low hover. “These are our newest product. They’re fully designed for small squad maneuvers, urban warfare, and ease of use. Even a toddler could fly one if it could reach the handlebars.”
I broke out into a full sales pitch that I prepared for Uncle Ezra. I hadn’t expected to use it here since I was originally just going to show it to Ishimaru, but there was a good chance of making some extra rayn if I played my cards right.
One of the bodyguards was called over and gave the bike a test ride. It barely took me a minute to brief him on how to fly it, and then he was zipping around through the sky. Ease of use was a big selling point. My market was for quick reaction forces and strike squads, so unlike other flyers, the Roughriders were designed to be easy to learn. They wouldn’t need a full pilot course.
By the end of the pitch, even Elder Anzan looked interested in the bike. “And how much would a single unit cost?”
“On the market? Seven hundred and fifty thousand rayn. The Jade Fang and Cold Moon have always been good friends, though, so we’ll sell them for just over six hundred thousand.” I patted the hover bike and brought them over to see my own. “As you can see, we also have several modules to fully customize the Roughrider. Do you want guns? Armor? Stealth? If we don’t have a module, and you want it, I can get the R&D department to whip it up in no time.”
Considering I was the R&D department, PR, manufacturing, and literally every other position in the company, I was probably setting myself up for failure. I read on the Net that bold claims sold more product, though, so that was exactly what I was going for. Not to mention every one I sold was straight profit considering my cost to manufacture was almost nothing.
Yuki bowed her head for a moment and then nodded to herself. “Can I fly it?”
“Um…” I glanced at the Elders and slowly nodded my head. “If you want to?”
She grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the bike. “Come show me how, Shiro!”
I was dragged over and forced to ride bitch while showing her how to operate the bike. So began the second most stressful flight of my life, just behind the time the building collapsed underneath me back in the AEZ.