Air and Sea II

Note to self, get battleships and large underwater subs built. Even a 300-meter sub would even the odds, right now all I have is the standard sizing list. Damn it, I should have gone with the new hull changes I'm going to put into effect in space… oceans are going to be a crutch until a revision of the shield emitters is completed. 800 times denser than air slows projectiles immensely, can't use electric weapons that well, plasma is useless, railguns could work if the guns were installed on the belly of the ship, of course they could cause blast waves below the surface that would toss the ship around… might need to say fuck it and redesign the fleets…

As she left the situation room and headed back upstairs, there was a request for minor funding by the government itself for some sort of building to house old magical items that they didn't have use for anymore, along with a tour for those with magical talents to learn from the creation, potentially gaining insight on new designs. Selene just raised an eyebrow and acknowledged it, though she'd have to have her Secretary of Labor get the land set for a museum and Secretary of Treasury to doll out the coin. She set a requirement that if they wanted the empire to partially pay and construct the museum, then it would be for more than just magic and artifacts, open to history and how civilization slowly built up so that everyone could understand and look towards the future.

Both Secretaries recommended to potentially get a zoo and an aquarium built somewhere as well. The dev agreed that she'd look into both if she had to agree to pay for them. The initial construction would be empire funded, while maintenance would be provided by the municipalities they were zoned into with taxes injected. The empress's initial thought was that it would at least get the citizens to use their brains, to learn about their world and want to explore a little more, along with adding tourism to the towns and cities. It would potentially cause people to see some towns as good places to settle down, evening out the population dispersion.

Sweet Water is obviously a good choice for the aquarium, but then of course if we took Alsam in the future… but then the Minotaurs might try to attack it if we can't get them to sit down for a little chit chat. Hmmm, Eld Horn Town… probably the best spot for the zoo, given they can't always hunt as the population goes up; instead of killing the wildlife, trying to contain it for education. Could work, as long as they keep a preserve nearby with a rescue center.

Selene walked out of the now unlocked war room and bumped into Brynhildr, the shield maiden just heading down the hall to the elevator. "Hey, I guess I missed you after we got back. Elsei said she saw you in the tearoom before."

"Just dealing with some aggressive locals." Bryn raised her eyebrows at her for a moment.

"I heard; did the orcs and goblins somehow come back?"

"No, this time merfolk and a slew of other bottom dwellers assaulting Sweet Water… attempting to anyways." The empress didn't want to try to explain the shortcomings that her naval fleet had with technological setbacks. Her science division had better come up with a way to allow shields to function in the water soon. While her navy was able to defend when no one else could hope to combat the sheer size of the hostile force, the fact some of her equipment didn't work as well in an ocean worried her. They were not the rulers of the waters surrounding the lands they lived on, at least not yet.

"Did you… did you require us to lead?" Bryn questioned, her face falling to a frown, as if she had somehow involuntarily shirked her duties as a General.

"That wasn't necessary, don't worry. It was a naval battle with some long-range ground support on station. Ground forces were sitting around on the mountains, no movement or tactics beyond shell with impunity. It helped, just wasn't a big factor." The blonde simply shrugged and looked around.

"Well, if that's the case, I'll leave it at that. At least everything turned out alright. Just let us know when you need us, Hrist and I have studied well."

"Yeah, I will, don't worry. On a different note, I hope you enjoyed the trip to the elven city; did you pick up any souvenirs for yourself?" the dev asked as they both headed down the hallway towards the elevator as she tried to change the subject.

"I did. A few knickknacks here and there, decorate my room a little. Did Hrist get a chance to uh, to lead the engagement for the so-called grand tribe?"

"I made that call, though she was there to help cleanse their capital alongside me. I also don't have any regrets about it either. All she had to do was what I set as an example."

"I… heard about that. Just be a little careful you don't let your rage take hold of you. I'd say you're as powerful as us now, give or take. That's a destructive force somewhat unchecked if you don't learn how to control your emotions."

"Duly noted, I figured it out the hard way. Still, it needed to be done regardless. A lesson very much learned." Both of them were silent as they entered the elevator and headed down. Once the doors opened, Brynhildr headed off to find her sister to spar a little and get some exercise while the empress headed off to meet a particular individual that she had sponsored, the old inventor who was creating gunpowder equipment to open cave ins for miners. He had apparently made a discovery with multiple mixtures of different chemicals to attain different properties, he just needed the funding to get quality reagents for the breakthrough. He also had almost no sleep under his belt, still requesting an audience with the empress. One of the mixtures was supposedly purported to disable a magic caster with a cloud of dust.

"Ma'am, we know you're heading to speak with certain individuals soon, however we wanted to get your input on the situation regarding the dwarves and the brand-new breach tunnel from the Drow." A coms channel chimed open from her staff, awaiting her decision on what was going to happen from then on. Why they couldn't have asked her before she left the situation room eluded her, though she did know it wasn't as if they had to be near each other to speak or transfer intel.

"Ah, right, about that. So, let me hear all of your recommendations."

"An option we have is to hold back and let them fight it out, we don't exactly owe them anything and they are a bit suspicious of us" Dominic said.

"You want them to be killed off? Look, we know they didn't exactly take too kindly to the empress's involvement with the unruly transient living in their basement, but to leave them to that fate isn't going to earn us any points in the international community" her Secretary of State, Gala, spoke up. She had surprisingly offered to name herself, with it being short for Galabāta, its meaning translated automatically from a Punjabi word for negotiation or conversation. Given that her full name couldn't even be spoken without it changing to something everyone understood in their own language, Gala would have to do. It was surprising that she had chosen such an interesting name, despite it not exactly being something anyone from India or Pakistan would usually use for their children. Selene had to have it systematically broken down into each individual phonetic letter just to hear it without universal translation kicking in.

"So, you want her to send in the cavalry without getting anything out of it? We can't be the police for everyone out there and get nothing in return. If that's the case, they might as well be a part of the empire with all that work. This would be the second time going in, eventually you just need them to fight their own battles if they aren't under our banner" Dominic replied. They seemed to have different views on some matters. It definitely helped with planning out what would happen next for the dev, having multiple ideas and advice placed before her. What seemed most interesting was that Gala was not averse to them going to war when needed. Foreign relations were all well and good, until the people you're trying to talk to pull a weapon out or are already openly hostile, hence being in agreement for the destruction of the Be'arkeln Grand Tribe.

"But what if we came to a middle ground?" Gala questioned.

"I'm listening" Selene commented.

"Ma'am, if you wait until the faith eaters are breaking down their backyard door, you could walk in and offer to help clear out their rather large issue. 12th Brigade is still underground, though with them being there the creatures are sealed off from escaping. Pull a pincer attack after speaking with the king at their weakest."

"That depends on if there are no other situations that we need to move the brigade to another zone Gala, we don't have the Underdark mapped very well. Illithid were spotted, along with vampires and bugbears; Drow and faith eaters weren't the only game in town" Will informed her.

"I know that. What I'm saying is this: wait until they really do need help, then offer our services. It shouldn't take long with that puppet army that was amassing; an entire Drow city, or at least most of it, boiling down a tunnel that could spew into their fortress will be a big incentive to listen to what she has to say, our empress that is."

"You want me to head in and negotiate? No ambassador?" the ruler asked.

"Hear me out ma'am. Your abilities, magic and psionics as well as specialties, all of it would allow a very easy restriction to keep the puppet army from pouring through. If they're scared enough, they'll be willing to do whatever you want to get rid of those things, along with the force that created them in the first place. This also proves you know what you're talking about, that they should respect you with your show of personal force. Any ambassador would just get the job done with a QRF, yet the issue still remains with opening up relations. Show a little more intimidation, along with some pleasantries and they might be more willing to work with us."

"The problem is, what would our empress want from them in return? Would the dwarves even join the empire? Runecraft is already being researched with initial tests proving fruitful per the science division, with no real resources needed from them that we can't already gain ourselves in bulk. Beyond playing the good guys, what do we get for sticking her neck out for this?" Will asked her.

"Anything she wants honestly, if they're pissing their pants to get rid of the infestation. What do you think you could gain from them ma'am?" Gala quipped. Selene stopped walking and leaned against a doorframe, two rooms away from the throne room to get a project demonstration of the equipment the inventor had crafted. She crossed her arms and thought for a moment.

What do we get from the dwarves beyond better relations? We're already working on the runecraft, I definitely could care less about the dragon eggs, the only thing I can think of is… the bunker. I doubt they've had enough time to take out all of the hoard now that it's corporeal and excavated the collapsed tunnel, but I just really want the dome and everything it's connected to, the science and magic behind that. That treasure means fairly little to me aside from any special artifacts in it, which Gabriel might be able to pick through quickly with dimensional magic while I chat with the king. Besides, my scanner didn't really pick up anything especially amazing in that pile, despite not really getting a good look at everything.

"I can think of a few things. Alright, we'll sit on our hands for a little until things get real over there, then politely show up again and see if there is anything we can do. Grey, send some long-term stealth assets in, keep an eye on the situation" Selene finally commanded.

"I'll get a team over there ASAP. With any luck, this will be at critical mass within a couple of days. If worse comes to worse, we still have the second option and hold back" Grey replied.

"I hope you accidentally counted Grey, given that there are now three choices available" Gala said coyly.

"Let them be wiped out then clean up after or save them and get something out of it. I hope you're not referring to the empress showing mercy to everything that is in trouble in the world, because that can have just as much a negative impact on relations as positive. Not everybody needs saving or wants to be saved. Sometimes you just have to let nature take its course." Gala sighed over coms.

"Ma'am, please tell me you're just listening to our advice and aren't seriously thinking of just going along with any of this?"

"I'm taking everything into consideration. Right now, surveillance, keeping us updated on the situation as it hashes out. The rest… I have a couple of days to truly decide, but I'd like to at least consider talking one more time. It isn't as if they completely kicked us out with the last visit, they just didn't like us trespassing in the mines or me sticking my head where they thought it didn't belong. Who knows, maybe they'll be a little more open to speaking to me once they have a rabid pile of puppets at their basement door." They all agreed, ending the coms link as the empress walked to the throne room and sat down.

"Your majesty, Mr. Nigel Coppers has come to give you a demonstration of his latest inventions" an announcer auto said as it bowed in front of her. The old inventor had a slew of stations set up outside the palace for her to see their full effect against target dummies and some young aspiring wizards looking to make a little cash to go shopping. She had frowned on the human experimentation, but they were supposedly volunteers with no harm to be done to them. They'd just have their magic blocked temporarily.

"Very well. Mr. Coppers, a pleasure to see you again. I take it our funding has helped you in your production of new and improved designs?" Selene asked him. The old man was bowing to her with his right hand crossed over his chest, not looking up at her this time. There was newfound respect from him towards the empress, with regulations keeping him from destroying his home, inspected reagents and supplies from well-respected traders so he could get the best quality goods, as well as documentation of his experiments that were archived and top-quality equipment from local companies. He was being treated as more than some crazy alchemist attempting to create a powder that detonated when used, but a certified inventor and scientist.

"I am your majesty! I am! I have a wide range of new and improved creations for you to peruse and see in use! But before I start, I should probably explain how I reached these conclusions. I have a speech ready for you."

"Proceed."

Meanwhile

Silara was bored beyond belief on her short hunting trip. Now that the city was out of "lockdown" from the event of yesterday, they were free to move about their forest without any hindrances. The problem was… they had found no game to bring back. The hunting party had searched for two hours, with nothing seeming to be living in the far eastern area of the forest where she liked to visit. Now that the bandits, poachers and slavers were completely cleared out by the metal soldiers from the empire, her home should be teeming with life now. She hated to admit it, but the Clockwork Empire was good for the dark elves, at least as long as they didn't disturb the environment.

There was going to be something called a "dressage championship" in Werelosil that they were given a chance to go to, it was going to happen by the end of the day. The princess didn't exactly like watching horses prancing around, or for that matter, seeing their panthers going through tricks the equines couldn't hope to attempt. The movements were going to be just too different, with jump heights of their giant cats being far higher than anything the stallions could ever manage. It wasn't exactly a contest.

Lady Silara, do you hear that?" one of the hunters said as he kneeled on a rocky outcropping, moss growing as they sat silently.

"No, I don't, and that's the problem. No birds." They looked around carefully, expecting an attack. Where were the automatons that usually protected this area? Did they divert somewhere else? Were they still at the cave down to the Underdark that their ancestors had climbed out of so long ago? "Wait, there." Her eagle eyesight pinned movement in the bushes further south, almost a mile away. No human would ever be able to equal an elf in senses, though the empress and her Valkyrja constantly exceeded even her people. That just told her that they clearly were not human.

The team slowly crept towards the movement, barely even there as the fronds shifted ever so slightly. Could the machines have made a mistake? Were there still slavers that hadn't been found? "Be ready" she commanded as the others nodded, a diverse assortment of hair colors and styles, mostly in the brighter hues to offset their darker skin tone with white and blonde trying to disappear into the forest and sneak up on whatever was hiding. As they neared closer, they saw an arm, a hand really, reach out and grasp at thin air while lying down.

"Go" Silara ordered as they crouched and sprinted towards the area, as quietly as they could. As if on que bursting from the foliage, their weapons drawn and bows aimed, they fell upon… a group of humans all lying around, ragged and unkempt. Most of them looked emaciated, with broken manacles on their wrists and necks. The princess landed right next to a young boy with brown skin and short dirty hair, seeming as if he was unable to move. Her long-curved blade was raised for a split moment before realizing they were not a threat, in fact they were quite the opposite. One of the men begged for some water to drink, with the boy asking as well, raspy and with cracked lips. There were signs of torture and bruises, which meant that somehow, they were escaped slaves. Had the empress forgotten to check all of Paldos City, or was there a hidden mine entrance somewhere that led to that now destroyed slave market?

The boy looked up at her, light shining down between leaves as her white hair dangled over his head. "Wa.. water… please…" At first, she seemed hesitant. These were humans, most of them anyways, with one being clearly from Seong Neow Republic, a dog man it seemed with a long ponytail. A slight hint of racism crept into her thoughts, as their kind either didn't come to her people's aide against Artinia, or the humans were the ones who kidnapped hunters from her home.

She quickly cast aside that thinking, as these were clearly not people who caused any trouble to them in the slightest, finding themselves in the same boat as every other captive. Silara sighed and pulled a waterskin from her side, popped the top and gently poured it into his open mouth. He drank eagerly and gasped afterwards, thanking her with immense gratefulness in his voice. "Where did you come from?" she asked.

"I… we…" his small hand rose slowly up towards her face, her own hand gently reaching out and clasping it. That was all he managed to say before passing out. How long had they gone without food?

"My lady, what should we do?" a huntress asked her. As the princess kept looking between the escaped slaves, her mind thinking of how incompetent the empire had been to forget to scour the whole city of Paldos, she realized it was the right thing to do to bring them back to the dark elf capital.

"Prepare our mounts" Silara replied as her eyes finally landed back on the small boy, clearly not from Artinia.

Noon

"And that is all that I have brought, your majesty" Nigel said as he stood there bowing in front of her, proud of his work. Selene had to admit, it was impressive, if a bit unorthodox. The volunteer wizard apprentices all stood around, covered in dust as their magic ceased to function. They'd have to wash their clothes and take a bath before the anti-magic powder was gone, making sure all of it was completely removed or it would interfere with their casting.

"So, you've not only created gunpowder, but other alchemical derivatives of it to perform other duties, not necessarily to cause harm but to disable or remove" she said as her arms crossed over her chest, nodding in acceptance to what he had shown her. One of the powders was a paralyzing agent, an ancient form of stun gun.

"That is the case, your majesty." He had not only shown a crude panzer Faust weapon, but also the anti-magic blaster that looked to be a single use flintlock flare gun, an antigravity grenade that was exactly what he was attempting to create for the miners in the event of a tunnel collapse, an oxygen grenade that would create a temporary bubble around the position it was thrown, along with quite a few other tools that weren't destructive. The inventor got the chance to not only reach his goal of crafting gunpowder, but also to save lives in the future with a wide selection of single use equipment.

"Good work, it looks like my sponsorship got you what you needed. Congratulations in your development of these tools, now you just need to find a company willing to manufacture them for their intended use, with strict protection of the copyrights and patents for you of course. They need to follow regulations of this equipment carefully, only selling to correct authorities."

"Yes, I'm looking into a few new manufacturers that might have what it takes to produce them in bulk. I am very happy with the fruits of my labor your majesty, this was an extraordinary task I completed." The requirements of the demonstration were that she be allowed to keep the test equipment, which would allow her secretly to research and backward engineer the same designs. The ones created for her to use would not be sold, as that would be relegated to the companies already being looked at by Nigel. If everything went according to plan, his own little shop would expand into a megacorporation for nonlethal and assistive tools for emergency response teams. He was even already looking into a quick sealant for critical wounds that a person could suffer, all of which was an alchemical mixture with a little magic and some coagulant herbal remedies blended in.

He's making crude steampunk creations. If these get out there, it could alter how everyone moves forward in technology, change how they go about completing tasks and innovation. Then of course, I had figured they'd be not quite the same as Earth anyways, given the access to magic and soon to be runecraft. Hmm…

The empress snapped back from her light daydreaming as the inventory picked up some of the disposable pieces that break off from the dischargers he used. Once he was done gathering what he needed to bring back to his shop, she thanked him for the demonstration and watched him leave the castle in a waiting wagon. Will walked up beside her, an automaton built with the design aesthetic of a metal suit vest in mind, dress pants and small rivets on the shoulders with a chain attached to a pocket watch. "The eras may not go exactly according to plan if things like what he showed me today start being sold."

"True, but then it's up to you if you want to restrict access to any of it. People will find ways to circumnavigate issues, to bypass barricades to a future, regardless of if you block off one avenue to travel. If you choose to keep them from moving into more of a steampunk civilization, we'll help you." The dev just took a deep breath and let it out loudly.

"No, the easiest way would be to let them build what they can, see where they believe the most good comes from. As long as they don't infringe on others or put each other in harm's way, keeping a code of ethics, then allowing them to dream and bring those dreams into reality is the best course of action. Who knows, maybe they won't move into steampunk and just continue down the path Earth went, with a few additions and a lot of magic added in. Of course, we know how that turned out, so maybe pushing them into the direction of cogs and steam is the better alternative, at least for now."

"Anything is possible ma'am. We- hang on…" Will replied, getting an update as they talked and walked back into the palace. "Ma'am, we have a bit of a situation arising near Olva'lore Forest. Apparently a group of six Tal Salunbal… monks… are heading their way. There was a skirmish at the border between their border and Artinia, with them showing signs of searching for something. There's a report from inside the dark elf capital that slaves were found just near the eastern section of the forest, dehydrated and starving." Selene's eyes widened for a moment.

"I thought we got all of the slaves out of Paldos City? Where the hell did they come from?" she asked. The dev double checked the report from Bryn, with it sure enough letting her know the whole location had been checked from top to bottom. She'd call someone a liar if they said her automatons weren't thorough.

"We did. It's possible there were secret underground cart tunnels built to ferry captives back to the city post haste, to not keep them at camps if they were deemed highly valuable, or, ahem, could engage in coitus with them. It's also possible there was an escape attempt dug by the slaves themselves." The dev had remembered the princess was still in a camp when she had arrived, maybe waiting for an inspection before being hauled back to the city. It could have been an escort instead to Aureos that Silara was being held for, by all accounts. They'd never know, and never really care now that she was back with her father.

"Huh. Well, we should probably get some survey teams out there, figure out if that's how they escaped. Are the new refugees in the dark elf capital?"

"Yes ma'am, being tended to by a relief medical team now. The elves are providing what assistance they can, though dehydration with malnourishment in an unconscious state usually requires an intravenous injection of fluids and nutrients. There was a child apparently found amongst the mix, still being tended to."

Those assholes would use children as slaves. Now I don't really care that we made that place a ghost city.

"Hmm, I wonder if making a house call might be in the pipeline today."

"You mean you going to the dark elf capital and meeting the escaped slaves? Mmm, it might prove worthwhile, show them they don't have to worry about being treated as abused labor to throw away. Could give them a reason to integrate into this civilization, instead of the one that is still considered a citizen of Seong Neow Republic. You heading there might help, though I believe it would do the same thing as providing a diplomatic envoy. Your time is worth more than that." The dev looked up at Will, very near a full head taller than her, being that he was based on a Light chassis. He didn't have the same instruments installed into his head as Deacon or Ethan, being completely bald with a matte gold sheen an intricate stylized etching along the temples of his forehead. His voice was stern yet soothing, the intent designed to keep her calm and focused when required.

"There's a cat girl there?!" she asked, believing she just got her hopes up.

"No ma'am, an anthropomorphic dog I believe. He's doing well from what has been reported."

"Ah. Well, a quick hop over there to see how well the elves are doing at the same time wouldn't hurt either. I need to see how well they've repaired their city, maybe check in with Weren about what he intends to do about dark elf expansion outside the forest now that they are free to do so."

"You sound a little disappointed empress."

"I… I-I'm not. I just… I kind of just wanted to meet a cat girl face to face… that's all…" she felt a little embarrassed, given that she had a thing back on Earth for collecting cat girl plushies, toys and action figures. She liked the look of the ears and tails mostly; it was just a small thing to keep her occupied when she wasn't working on a project or focusing on another time intensive hobby. One of her friends had thought it would be cool to try and cosplay as two of them at an anime convention, but she declined due to timeframe intersecting with a game development crunch. She wasn't big on dressing up as character either, she didn't think she could do them justice with poor sewing skills.