110 Stockpile

"Come on!" I mutter as I watch the group of Fabricators shove as many pieces of Starmetal as possible into the cylindrical containers they are carrying.

My finger hovers over the quick Rewind button; I'm ready for another disaster to occur.

It isn't the first time that this scene played out in front of me, and they always ended up the same. The Starmetal stockpile became too unstable and exploded. Every Rewind allowed me to change a few things, and it allowed us to pick up a couple more batches of Starmetal. But it looks like we are at our limit, the Starmetal keeps exploding no matter what we do.

I sigh, there's at least a third of the stockpile left. But I can't figure out a way to grab more. I tried to create a portal nearby, but it made it explode instantly. Furthermore, our containers aren't using our new spatial storage technology since we would have to redesign the entire artifact to be compatible, and we didn't have enough time for that.

I did think about looping Rewinds and designing it myself, but it would take me decades to reach the Fabricators' level, not to mention that I would barely have time to test my design.

In the end, I decided to pull back. Time goes backward, and I order all the members of the Order to evacuate the area. It's a shame that we weren't able to gather all the Starmetal, but we still managed to get a substantial amount. If I had to guess, we probably have enough materials for two dozen Spell Jammers.

The members of the Order rush out of the vault and the villagers stare at us with skeptical eyes. The guards don't even say anything as we run out of the gate. I look over my shoulder; we should be at a relatively safe dist-

The earth shakes, and a bright light burns my retinas. The sudden shockwave is so strong that its slams all of us on the ground.

I grunt as I get up again, the impact was enough to trigger my shield. My mild headache disappears as quickly as it came, and I look over my men to see if anyone is injured.

"Is everybody alright?" I ask, and I am answered by a series of nods from the group.

Good, at least nobody's hurt. My attention then shifts towards the village, or rather what's left of it. There's a smoldering crater where the town once was, a testament to how powerful the Starmetal explosion was.

I shudder to think what would happen if it exploded in our Shard. It would be very likely that the entire Shard would be razed.

"Alright, let's go home!" I order. There's no Starmetal left, so we are free to use our portals without risking a disaster.

A couple of portals appear and we soon disappear from the surface of the planet. I emerge back in the Shard, and the Fabricators are already hard at work. The contained Starmetal is transferred to a special reinforced corner of the workshop, the metal should be stabilized thanks to the containers but better be safe than sorry.

But if I'm being totally honest, I doubt that this amount of additional protection will be enough to contain a Starmetal explosion.

Anyway, I chase the morose thoughts away and spot Alan nearby, so I walk up to him.

"How are things progressing on your end?" I ask the Chief Fabricator who watches the Starmetal stockpile with a wary eye.

"So far so good, the Printers are running as fast as they can, and production should go back to normal in a couple of hours," Alan announces.

I nod, at least the emergency call for Starmetal containers didn't have as much impact as I thought it would.

"Okay, and I assume that Krognar is hard at work?" I ask, and the middle-aged man grunts.

"He is. The Goblin was directing the production of the containers, but now he should be back to his machine. I don't know when it will be ready, but from what I gathered it shouldn't take too long to finish." The Chief Fabricator answers.

"Good, then keep me updated," I say before teleporting away.

We secured a substantial amount of Starmetal, and the Spell Jammers should be ready in a relatively short period of time.

It's almost time for war!

...Steve's PoV...

The events of that battle keep replaying in my head.

We should have failed miserably, my plan was full of holes, and the enemy saw through our strategy.

But I'm still breathing.

It's all thanks to John, who I thought fled the planet. But he didn't escape. Instead, he gathered an army and fearsome weapons that even the Stonecrushers would not scoff at.

I wonder where he got all his equipment from, and what he intends to do with it. It's pretty clear that he's going to go against the Empire and, even if he doesn't win, he'll be able to cripple them to the point where they are easy pickings for the other factions.

But let's stop worrying about John for the time being. It's true that he looked angry about what happened with Riley, but I'm sure that he has more important things to deal with for now.

Instead, I focus on my own problems. The Freedom Movement welcomed us as heroes; they kept praising me from doing such a good job.

If only they knew that their supposed 'hero' was a fraud.

But Griko made sure that nobody in the Movement was able to get a glimpse of the battle so that the truth will stay hidden. I worried about some of the men spilling the beans, but Griko assured me that he personally selected them and that they were loyal to the cause.

I trust his judgment; his last plan was a resounding success despite unexpected interferences. The new assembly was a push in the right direction, the combination of my perceived achievements and Griko's network allowed me to gain more control over a lot of aspects of the Movement, and the Freedom Union lost all semblance of influence.

Of course, the fight is not yet won. But the Freedom Movement is showing signs of stabilizing, and we are finally able to move forward as a cohesive group.

I already used my new position to pass some reforms I feel were necessary. We are beginning to shift from a ragtag assembly of small cells to a more centralized system, and logistics are finally getting the attention they deserve. New positions have been created, and they'll be responsible for the proper management of the Freedom Movement.

We also need to take care of our financial situation, but I heard that Griko has a plan for that too. That BirdFolk is a powerful ally to have, and I'm glad that we're in the same team.

...Daredrick's PoV...

Enough is enough. We are finally ready to clean up our borders, and I am almost shaking with excitation. Those pesky rebels of the Freedom Movement are going to feel the might of the Empire, and I'll personally execute their leaders. It will send a powerful message to the other factions that are thinking about opposing us, and it should quell any potential rebellion in our territory.

There are also small rebellious groups fighting for scraps around the newly acquired territory, but the cleanup operation I'm about to start should put them where they belong.

And that's in the ground.

I'll spare no expenses to destroy those bastards. I can't afford to let them run freely and disturb Imperial operations now that I'm certain that other Councils are beginning to make their moves. A massive war is about to be declared, and I will need every man to focus on the external threat.

At this point, the Empire should be able to weather any attack from anyone. We are better than those Families of old; we are ushering a new world order, a golden age for civilization.

And it's all thanks to me.

Future generations will admire the Stonecrusher name, and they'll curse the Enforcers for ever existing.

But before that, I have to take care of a few things. I have a couple of documents on my desk; they are all requests to use our more experimental weapons. They all passed the initial tests, so now they are ready to be put into actual use. I can't help but smirk as I read through the description of some of them.

The rebels don't stand a chance, and I stifle a laugh as I approve the entire pile of requests.

...Oracle's PoV...

I lick my lips; it looks like things are heating up.

All the major power blocks are making their moves, and a spectacular conflict is about to erupt. I can't help but shudder in excitement when I think about how P-02 will handle all the upcoming difficulties! There's some pretty nasty stuff in play, and I bet he'll have some troubles handling everything.

But he should be fine, right?

I lick the roof of my mouth, where a minuscule scar is located. I could heal it in an instant, but I chose to keep it there. It's a reminder, a way to remember that P-02 actually wounded me.

Just touching the damaged flesh is enough to make me grin and giggle. It's been a long time since I looked forward to fighting someone again.

My heartbeat increases by order of magnitudes as I replay the events of our battle in my head. The way he desperately struggled for his survival despite the overwhelming odds is really fascinating, and the most important thing is that he somehow succeeded.

I can't wait to see him again! It will be so much fun!

My head is already racing with new ideas to make P-02's life difficult, and I can't wait to try them out! How good will it be when I intervene in that pathetic conflict and change the course of the battle in an instant just to see P-02 struggle?

For once, I'm glad that I can't see the future. I missed this uncertainty; this lack of knowledge was a forgotten sensation a few months ago.

And I have to thank P-02 for that.

I hope he'll keep me entertained!