Merchant of death II

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The shift in focus was clear. If mass sales of armor were not viable, I had to return to what truly fueled the war: weapons. The Legion, always seeking to expand and dominate, needed a constant supply of armaments. And the best part was that unlike armor, weapons were transferable. They could be passed from one legionary to another, no matter how many died on the battlefield. A safe investment for the Legion, always willing to spend on tools of death.

"We'll go back to basics," I thought as I observed the factories running at full capacity. The rifle production lines were in full swing, but I knew I could optimize the process even further. The demand for weapons would always be high, and with the recent increase in conquests, more rifles, more ammunition, and perhaps some kind of innovative weapon that could offer a tactical advantage would be needed.

I began reviewing the blueprints for the weapons we were already producing. They were functional, effective. My goal now would be mass production, but also to develop something unique. Perhaps a new version of the assault rifles that would be more resistant to desert dust and sand, or weapons that could be easily repaired on the battlefield without the need for specialized technicians.

The Legion's iron supply had reached its limit. Flagstaff, which had once been a reliable source of steel, could no longer meet the growing demand of all the industries that the Legion and its subjects supported. This placed me in a critical situation: I couldn't continue expanding weapons production or other industries that depended on steel. I was forced to seek an alternative.

Then a lightbulb went off in my head: I remembered the surveys Diana had conducted in the territories near The Nursery. As a former national park, those lands had been protected, and the deposits of raw materials remained virtually untapped. I realized that I had the resources to exploit those minerals, and best of all, those resources were within my reach, completely intact.

I turned my attention to the pile of destroyed robots I had received as a gift from Diana. I had been using many of their processors for machinery, but now their purpose would change. I would repair them and equip them for mining. The protectrons could work non-stop for twenty-four hours, as long as they had power and spare parts. They would be the perfect workforce: tireless, efficient, and discreet. However, a clear warning was in my mind: I had to ensure that this operation remained completely off the Legion's radar. I knew well that they wouldn't tolerate the use of robots and technology of this kind, so hiding it was imperative.

With a plan in mind, I returned to The Nursery, gathering the tools and parts necessary to launch this ambitious project. The key was to operate in the shadows, keeping the mining operation secret while my factories continued running at full capacity.

I could have kept perfecting my power armor, but at that moment, I focused on helping a large team of technicians at The Nursery. The same ones I had left there to maintain the greenhouses were now dedicated to repairing agricultural robots, but they were also transforming protectrons into mining units. We installed specialized arms on them and sent them with a group of workers to the newly opened mines in the nearby canyons.

The protectrons quickly demonstrated their efficiency, extracting tons of rock and other minerals with unparalleled precision and consistency. However, a new challenge arose almost immediately: logistics. The canyon was narrow, making it unfeasible to use vehicles to transport the extracted materials. The vertibird, my most valuable resource, couldn't be allocated for that task. I only had one, and it was too important to wear down in simple cargo operations.

A train. The idea hit me like lightning. It didn't have to be an advanced machine, just efficient enough to transport tons of resources from one side of the canyon to the other in a short time. A powerful electric motor would be more than enough to do the job, and with the help of Vault-Tec power armor, we could speed up construction significantly. I could divert part of the steel production for the tracks and infrastructure and move several hundred slaves to handle the mining operations. This would help keep the frumentarii off the case; I didn't want them investigating too much into what we were extracting from the canyon.

The mining robots worked with unparalleled efficiency, equivalent to thirty or more human miners each. With their ability to operate 24 hours a day without rest, mineral production would be massive. This meant I would need a robust logistics network that not only maintained a constant flow of raw materials to my factories but also operated discreetly to avoid raising suspicion.

I envisioned a simple, sturdy rail system connecting the mines to my operational hub without relying on conventional transport. The protectrons could keep working uninterrupted while trains ran day and night, transporting the extracted minerals to the factories where they would be processed.

The key was discretion. If I used slaves in the mines, the frumentarii would have no reason to suspect anything. However, the protectrons would do most of the heavy lifting, allowing me to maintain an almost hidden operation while extracting tons of iron and other essential minerals.

The only remaining task was diverting enough resources to build the train and tracks without affecting other operations too much. The benefit would be monumental. Efficient transportation would allow me to expand my production capacity without relying so heavily on the Legion's external sources, giving me more control and, in the long run, more power.

Despite having nearly three dozen power armors and more than three thousand slaves, the construction of two train lines connecting the mines to the factories and foundries took a full two months of hard work. We pushed as fast as possible, using every power armor for the heaviest tasks while the slaves moved rocks, laid tracks, and expanded the canyon, leveling the ground where necessary.

The canyon's terrain was complicated, with narrow passes and steep drops that made progress difficult. However, with the use of power armor, the heavy lifting became more efficient, allowing the slaves to focus on more manageable tasks. The advanced machines I had developed, along with the protectrons reconfigured for mining tasks like expanding the canyon, became the backbone of the operation—although they only worked at night, unseen.

The train lines were straight and simple, designed to transport massive amounts of minerals from the mines to the factories as efficiently as possible. Each day, tons of iron and other minerals began flowing through the tracks, loaded onto wagons that moved continuously between the canyon's ends and the factories.

Though two months of relentless work seemed excessive, in the end, it was worth it. The mines were fully operational, and the factories started running non-stop. My reserves of iron and steel increased exponentially, giving me the power needed to expand my industry.

Only a few dozen kilometers of tracks turned out to be all that was necessary to transform the mine into one of the most productive operations in the region. The simplicity of the design, combined with the efficiency of the train and protectrons, made the project an unprecedented success. Every day, the wagons loaded with minerals traveled those kilometers of tracks, delivering tons of raw materials directly to my factories without interruptions or delays.

Much of the rock extracted was ultimately destined for construction projects, which turned out to be a strategic move that saved significant resources and money. With this stone, I was able to drastically reduce expenses both in my settlement and in the new Legionary cities being erected. Every block of extracted rock was transformed into foundations, walls, and roads, eliminating the need to buy expensive materials from other suppliers.

The infrastructure grew rapidly: new buildings, warehouses, and paved roads sprang up within weeks, thanks to the constant flow of stone and minerals. This not only boosted the development of my settlement but also solidified its position as a strategic hub in the region.

By the third month of the year, the fields, which had once been vast expanses of barren land, were teeming with life. The crops of the season were almost ready for harvest, with greenery spreading for kilometers. This sight reassured everyone in my settlement that this was just the beginning of many more harvests to come.

Each day, more slaves worked the fertile plains, expanding the fields and preparing new areas for planting. With the use of advanced machinery, electric tractors, and technology I had salvaged from Diana's facilities, we had managed to turn this land into an inexhaustible source of food. This not only promised to fill my pockets, but also provided an invaluable strategic advantage for the Legion.

With a sufficiently abundant supply of steel, it was time to ramp up the Legion's war arsenal. Obtaining chemicals for making gunpowder wasn't difficult. The chemical plants in Phoenix could continue to drastically increase their production, as they had been operating far below their maximum capacity due to a lack of customers. But now, we had a strong bilateral relationship.

One of the first large-scale industries I established was a munitions factory. Before, with the resources and capacities we had, we could produce a few thousand bullets each month, enough to supply about four thousand legionaries in active combat. However, with the new facilities, that number would multiply exponentially. We could easily reach tens of thousands of rounds per month. It was an ambitious gamble, but necessary.

The strategy behind this expansion was clear: offer the Legion automatic rifles at near-cost prices, much more attractive than the old bolt-action rifles they currently used. I knew the Legion's high command would hesitate to immediately change their traditional combat methods, but the allure of greater firepower and the ease of arming their troops with modern rifles would be hard to resist.

However, the real business wasn't in the rifles. I knew that once they adopted automatic weapons, the consumption of ammunition would skyrocket. That's where I would recover my investments. The Legion's campaigns would require tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of bullets, and I would be there, ready to provide every single one of them at a competitive price—guaranteeing huge fixed profit margins as Caesar's campaigns continued.

The next step was clear: the construction of the weapons factory. Along with the munitions plant, these were the first buildings to become fully operational after securing everything necessary for cultivation. The idea was simple but effective: optimize large-scale production.

With two thousand slaves working in rotating eight-hour shifts, the achieved efficiency was astonishing. Each of them specialized in a specific task on the production line, repeating the same action over and over without rest. This way, the parts of the weapons were produced quickly and accurately, while the final assembly was done at the end of the line, filling one box after another to be sent to the Legion.

The weapons, like the ammunition, would be mass-produced, following the same industrial principles I had established.

I had a direct channel with the decanus responsible for logistics, and as soon as the first shipment was ready, there would be no delay. The rifles and ammunition would be in the hands of the legionaries within days.

Finally, when dozens of crates filled with automatic rifles were produced, they were sent to McKinley, who would handle the sales to the decanus while simultaneously delivering Lanius's armors to his veteran legionaries.

With the factories fully operational and the production lines working day and night, the next few months would be crucial in determining the success of this new strategy. The steady flow of steel, the expansion of munitions production, and the introduction of modern weaponry would not only strengthen the Legion's military might but also fill my coffers with an endless stream of profits.

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