Outside the main gate of Kingdom capital city of Kingsted where there once was a crop field a large compound with high walls and guard towers had been erected. Inside most of Kingsteds scholars had gathered to witness something entirely unique. Once the compound was completely off limits to all but the most trusted, and now for the very same reason for the secrecy, people had gathered, and where in awe. Inside was filled with equipment entirely forring to the Kingdom, strange and exotic machinery floated metals and compounds and melted them down and alloyed them to more st.u.r.dy materials. Autonomous drones transferred chemicals compounds between industrial centrifuges and stabilized holding chambers with ma.s.s spectrometers. All of that would normally be enough for the scholars, as they tried to understand atomic theory by enquiring the drones about what they where doing. But now all the scholars had all gathered around a single site, with a large protective, and heat resistant wall on one side.[COMMENCING MAIN PROPULSION ARRAY AFTERBURNER ENDURANCE TEST, PLEASE STAND BACK.]
With that command a purple jetblast soared towards the protective wall, making the scholars cheer and explode with curiosity, among them was a single half elf girl that was slightly more paticulear with her questions. She had long fine golden hair that extended over her bright red adamant.i.te armor, with blue and slightly sleepy eyes she looked with wonder and curiosity as she asked presisce questions.
"So this is what propels the craft? By ejecting energised ma.s.s at great speed propulsive thrust is achieved?"
[AFFIRMATIVE.]
"Okay then… And the purple colour is a result of the composition of the fuel being combusted?"
[AFFIRMATIVE.]
"So how long will this "endurance test" go on for?"
[13 HOURS AND 33 MINUTES UNTIL TEST CONCLUSION.]
"Okay…. But I still don"t understand how that amount of material can propel that magnitude of that the craft carries?"
[ALL QUESTIONS OF TWR AND Ma.s.s DRIVES ARE CLa.s.sIFIED.]
"I see.. Then would it be correct to say that the effect is achieved through countless years of incremental improvement?"
[CORRECT, INCREMENTAL IMPROVEMENT IS THE CORNERSTONE OF ALL BRANCHES OF ENGINEERING EMPLOYED BY THE GALACTIC EMPIRE.]
Her name was Tia, the royal knight that had originally been in charge of researching the craft when it had crashed outside Kingsted encased in a black sphere.
"Then I have another question, about this machine over here-"
Diligently continuing to take notes and ask questions until most of the other scholars had left for the day and the sun was slowly setting, Tia continued to gather knowledge.
As part of the agreement Dax made with the Kingdom for its cooperation it was decided that scholars from the Kingdom would be allowed to fully witness the steps and processes needed to retrofit the recovered CAS-7 landing craft into the more modden CAS-A7 veriant, and so the refitting happened out in the open, to the marvel of observing scholars. In the center of the compound stood what remained of the CAS-7, not more than the basic airframe, as armor plating, hydraulics, AI, propulsion and life support equipment had all been removed to completely inspect and reinforce the airframe. The tent right next to the airframe had large windows into it, and where one of the few area"s the Kingdoms scholars under no circ.u.mstances could enter, for the inside of the tent had been made a "clean room" where not a single spec of dust remained and it was where the CAS-7"s sensitive computing components were being inspected and refitted and upgraded without the risk of a single speck of dust destroying an uncovered processor.
Right next to that a deep hole had been dug, at the bottom the aircraft"s main fusion reactor and backup radioisotope nuclear generator (RTG) where housed so to not give any visitor so called "super cancer" (as Dax colourfully put it). The rest of the s.p.a.ce around the now naked airframe laid about a kilometer of different kinds of wires and hydraulic lines that where being inspected for the smallest damages and imperfections in what was perhaps the most tedious but important part of the refitting, as a single faulty line could crash the craft. Last but not least was the vast array of large open zero gravity forges that refined, purified, compressed and formed metal alloys and printed the super dense but light weight carbon nano weave that would combine to from the CAS-A7"s new more durable and lighter hull.
All in all there where countless hyper advanced manufacturing and testings happening, which all interested Tia greatly, so much that she completely forgot to sleep, eat and take brakes.
"Oh are you still here Tia? It"s gotten quite late."
"Gary? Oh the sun is about to set huh?"
"What do you mean "huh"!? I bet you had nothing to eat today too."
"Of course I did, I"m not a ch-"
*GUUUUUUUUUUUU*
As if screaming for help form a more sane mind, Tia"s stomach released a loud howl for substance, making Tia"s face and ears turn completely crimson.
"I knew it. I brought some food so let"s eat."
".... Okay."
Appearing as a savior to Tia was Gary Pedersen, a middle aged thin man with short gray hair and a overall thin presence. He had with him some sandwiches filled with meat and tasty condiments, and there was even enough for two people, as if he had predicted the current situation.
Until recently Gary Pedersen was lowly ranked independent merchant, but after the merchants guild had been purged from the Kingdom after it was revealed that they dealt in banned goods and slave trade, Gary had spearheaded the formation of a new merchants union, founded by Dax. Almost overnight Gary had become famous in the economic world of the Kingdom, he held a monopoly on multiple revolutionary and highly profitable luxury goods that had appeared out of nowhere, the funds of which he used to buy up empty and desolate plots of land, all under the instruction of Dax of course. The plots of land proved to be rich in metals, and with mining technology millennium more advanced than what the Kingdom used, the metal were extracted with awe inspiring speed and efficiency.
Dax had made a deal with Gary, using the founds he had earned as a monster hunter he financed new ventures and provided new goods for Gary, in exchange Gary provided raw metals used to refit the CAS-A7 and Dax"s other equipment, and both men profited greatly from it.
"Are you here to deliver goods today too?"
After getting something to eat Tia noticed several of Gary"s employees where busy unloading alien looking metal containers and handing them over to drones or automated cranes.
"Yeah, this time it"s some sort of raw ore Dax needs to process here on site."
"Do you really need to oversee this personally?"
"Not really no. But this is my companies obligation to Dax, as such I"m here to make sure it is completed perfectly, oh and make sure you don"t pa.s.s out again."
"Muu! That only happened one time!"
"Hahaha, and that one time is penty."
After coming across a pa.s.sed out half elf with a satisfied expression on her face and fed her, Gary had formed a friends.h.i.+p with the curious scholar and they pretty much ate together every day, mostly to make sure one of them got something to eat at all.
"That"s the first time I"ve seen those kind of containers, I wonder what"s inside?.."
Tia had noticed that the normal deliveries Gary would transport was a collection of chemical compounds in pulver form and crates filled with hexagonal metal ingots, not environmentally sealed heavy metal containers.
"Yeah this delivery seems to be entirely unique… My people have been complaining about feeling strange when handling the containers."
"Strange?"
"Yeah. Like being carriage sick, which should normally never happen as they are my best men, but ICI a.s.sured us that as long as the containers remain sealed they"re safe to handle."
"Huh…"
Walking over to one of the containers Tia put a hand on it to try and examine the mysterious contents.
"It"s warm to the touch…"
"Yeah I noticed that as well, maybe it"s some kind of freshly processed ore?"
"I don"t think so."
Having walked up next to one of the containers Tia started feeling strange. Like her stomach was turning and something also started messing with her sense of balance.
"Heat would mean whatever it is is decaying, as for disruption to my balance could be…"
Mumbling to herslev Tia started to ponder about the container, but was interrupted when drones started gathering around it.
[STAND DOWN, FINAL WARNING.]
As the drones started pointing their rifles at Tia she put up her hands and backed off as the drones gathered around the containers. After inspecting the crates the drones formed a wall as automated cranes started moving the containers.
"Rude.."
"Don"t mind it Tia, that"s how they usually speak."
"I guess, but if those drones are so smart why can"t they speak in a more kind manner?"
"No idea…. Why don"t you try asking one of them?"
"I"ll pa.s.s on that. It"s gotten late all of a sudden, see you tomorrow Gary."
"See you another time kid."
Watching Tia channel flight magic and setting off for home, Gary wondered for a few moments how his life would have turned out if could use magic, before getting his men together and leaving Dax"s compound.
As they left the containers were gathered in the center of the compound, next to the well and then the real work started.
[EXITOC MATTER ARIVAL ON SCEDULE, MINIMAL INTERFERENCE. COMMENCING MATTER REFINEMENT AND POST PROCESSING... STARTING ENRICHMENT OF CONTAINER #1..]
As multiple heavy duty zero grav forges was moved to the center of the compound they were placed in a circle around the first crate and all drones in the area went into standby.
[COMMENCING PELEMIARRY ENRICHMENT AND STABILIZING…. 0.13%.... 0.54%...-]
With ICI steadily refining the exotic matter in the first container without actually opening through direct gravitational interference maxing out its processor with the extremely sensitive endeavor one of the other crates" containment slowly started failing as the raw ore inside started heating up trough decay that under no circ.u.mstances was allowed to happen. The crates that had been printed absolutely perfectly by ICI had been designed by Rex heavy industries, and made to close off the contents from all kinds of known outside interference, but there was one special particle present that not a single engineer from Rex had ever seen or heard of before present, and it was what was interfering with the containment field: Mana.