Rescue Operation IV

"Good. Um… Gilford, uh… Lieutenant Gilford Telareign correct? Interested in being commissioner of police for the city?" His mouth dropped open.

"Why are you giving us these positions?" Erilyn asked, though she was worried she was questioning the hand that was trying to feed them.

"Well currently my security forces stay outside the city to not interfere in normal affairs, I don't want the people being uncomfortable with my automatons walking around everywhere. Too much of a change in everyone's environment tends to cause issues in how people think, psychology and all that. I've already had the other towns and cities create human police precincts and fire stations, so that my mechanical forces aren't taking over jobs everywhere. I'd rather a warm heart and a kind face protect and serve the people instead of constant intimidation. My automatons are powerful, but they aren't there to replace everyone."

She was lying of course, her automatons could easily manage to be friendly to others, professional and courteous due to their programming. They'd do the job better and faster, however making sure there was a face behind the security of the city would put people a bit more at ease. She was trying to give them reasons to continue living.

"I… I accept, graciously. Thank you, your majesty." Selene nodded in approval. He was going to be the commissioner of Sweet Water Police from then on.

"Alright. I'll see about getting everything set up, please, enjoy the tea, rest and relax, tomorrow you can be transported to your new home. You won't be lost out there, I'll make sure there is some assistance nearby to walk you through the steps and get all of you up to speed, so don't worry." The time was getting late, about two hours before dinner would be served. They finished and started to walk out, with Nia pulling on a small plate on Selene's sleeve to get her attention, then thinking better of it as she realized she had just done something that would cause insult in Aureos. The empress just looked over at her with a questioning gaze.

Recommended Song: Jetta – I'd Love To Change the World)

"I'm… really sorry… that I can't be the queen you want… I hope… I can be a good mayor for you though. I wish it was different, I wish I was stronger, but I'm not. I can't rule Artinia, but… I know you'll do well. It should belong to you. Thank you, for… for everything." Selene put her hand on Nia's shoulder and nodded.

"I'll do what I need to do to end your brother's rule. I'm sorry you need to know that, but hopefully it also puts you at ease. You are safe in my empire, I swear it. No one will come for you at night, no one will try and kidnap you, and the people of Sweet Water will be overjoyed to have you there as their mayor, with Gilford and Erilyn protecting the streets and waters." A quick cupping of the princess's cheek, now a mayor with no royal title, and Nia smiled, tears of joy welling up now.

The mayor's entourage walked down the hallway towards the garden where dinner would be served with heating lamps nearby, tea only really sating their thirst. Selene watched them walk with two automatons escorting them. As they turned the corner, Nia turned and looked at the empress, smiling. They'd see each other again once they were eating, but for now the dev had some work to do now that she was back at the castle. She turned on her heel, walking the other way, with Bronze Team coming out of the shadows right behind her, heading to the research labs. She saw through some windows Antoine talking to the Rikter family, with Morlan seeing her as they had left the throne room. He softened up quite a bit as he gazed at her, with Elsei by his side, now let out of her room to speak with him.

He now realized she was helping them all. Without her, they'd probably be executed, the princess would be in the imperial city, just like her older sister… following the same fate. He nodded at her, realizing he screwed up in being mad at her. She nodded and continued. He would most likely become a citizen of her empire as well, a hero for the people to see walking amongst her armies alongside Brynhildr, Elsei by his side.

This would be the first time she'd have so many guests in her palace, with a small feast made by the maids just for this occasion. It would put all of them at ease to know they are here amongst friends. The Clockwork Empire didn't mean them harm, it was a force to be reckoned with against their enemies. They would soon see that.

I guess Clockworkian is going to be the identity my citizens are going to use. Eh… doesn't roll off the tongue like Artinian… was really hoping she'd take the throne… oh well…

With Werelosil taken over, and Silvinholm now becoming a hostile city, she was now going to work on surrounding it, waiting for the right moment to strike with her armies. She would apologize to Antoine, the nobles inside were no longer capable of being spoken to.

Once they entered the research labs, the shield that was damaged placed on a scanner platform and having laser arms rotating around it, looking at how deep the strikes had gotten. The corpses were floating in buoyancy tanks filled with clear fluid. Selene sat down and stared at the shield with the claws sitting nearby.

"How the hell did you manage to damage this, you creepy fucker?" she muttered to herself as she sat there, checking through all logs and reports. Compared to a normal design, the shield that Hrist was using was one of the most advanced pieces of defensive equipment this world could ever see. While not quite up to the material used by Valkyrja, the secondary systems inside more than made the Carbyne material more than a match for any godly creation. The problem was how it seemed to part like the Red Sea when the claws struck and sat there.

Thermal or radiation? No, logs don't show heating. Molecular Diffusion? No, the atomic bonds weren't so much as dissolved as rended from each other… wait…

Despite already knowing the shields were completely bypassed due to her screw up of not installing an oscillation frequency emitter, the high-end protective armor was nearly cut apart. She could only imagine what Tungsten Steel might have done. In her eyes, she feared Hrist might have been seriously harmed by the creature if she hadn't upgraded, even though both are still incredible defensive materials.

A quick atomic model simulation of how the Carbyne was being torn asunder, the timeframe of each portion of damage… the gravitational stress exerted seemed to be almost nil, yet at the points of impact… the armor receded.

Faith!... holy shit, the damn thing exuded stolen faith into the armor plating to try and push through! I can't even begin to think of how much damage that can cause normally, to steel wielding soldiers or a human body.

Selene took out the necromantic orb from her inventory, no longer needing the damnable thing, and threw it into a portable R&D lab in another portion of her inventory for as much data analysis as possible. She then took samples of the faith eater corpse to put in a slew of new R&D stations made for this, just in case she'd ever need to throw them away if they got contaminated somehow or warped in the process.

What she didn't tell anyone was that she had snuck away a few minor trinkets throughout the trip, both from the abbey and from Silvinholm, all of which were religious items of importance. A rosary, a small pocket idol, book of hymns, the list continued, all of which were placed in further R&D stations to see if she can gleam something about how faith was used by priests, monks, that creature, potentially even gods if at all possible.

The whole process of reviewing the logs, the scans, the small experiments she did herself took enough time for Jeeves to come looking for her and inform the empress dinner would soon to be provided, not even using the coms this time. "Ah, I should probably go get changed to evening attire for the dinner. Thank you, Jeeves." The oscillating frequencies for the shields would stop any sort of penetration now, trying now to fight through three separate frequencies at the same time overlapping on each other. What she wanted rather than needed now that she was reviewing her defensive tech was double layer shields and soon to be tier six magic immunity. Legendary quality tier would take some time to finally get finished, which all combined, not including any space created advanced materials to bypass Carbyne, could tip the scales against these things if she ever met them again.

Next time I'm not hiding our strength and speed, that was just stupid of me to try doing that… if one of those faith eaters shows up again, the military is just going to be there to light it up.

Selene got up and walked out of the research lab, letting the R&D stations in her inventory do their thing while she went back into the palace and got changed from her golden armor to a soft grey dress and overcoat. The dev headed down to the outside dining area and greeted everyone, with Morlan coming up to her and apologizing for throwing a punch at her. "I… please understand where I was coming from at that moment, I-"

"I understand Morlan, to you I was the enemy at that point. I'm invading your country, what else would you think? However, you discounted too much who your father was, is, even right now."

"I know. I… I know. I'm a fool for thinking anything otherwise for my family. We've always done what was needed to help others… I still am sorry for how I acted. It was unbecoming of a warrior of my statute. Ezra would scold me for doing that… please keep this a secret from him, if it is true the abbey is already being protected by your empire." The empress chuckled.

"I won't tell him if you won't, just keep a level head and open mind next time. I have no reason to lead you astray Morlan, just remember that." She didn't want to tell him she wouldn't lie to him in the future, as it just wasn't certain that wouldn't happen. The dev would do what she needed to for the protection and expansion of her empire.

The group sat down and enjoyed a quiet dinner, provided by the empress, talking about different subjects, with Selene mostly explaining how her empire worked. The religions were open though controlled in how they acted towards others not of their faith, the taxation system, how medical and healthcare was provided even without magic. Donovan gave her a very interesting warning that there were magic resistant or even immune ailments and diseases out there, though extremely rare. While he doubted she'd ever meet someone who had one, it was something to keep in mind with the modern medical science providing help to those who couldn't be assisted by a [Greater Heal].

The entire time, soft music was being played by a record player with recorded music from an orchestra living in Gold Pine now. It seemed to be a mixture of violins and harpsichords, which Melsia very much enjoyed. The Rikter family was going to be helped with staying in Glass Dale, waiting for the time in which the empire took control over Silvinholm. Once the city was taken over, the Rikters would be given back their lands and title, as long as they upheld their reputation in the eyes of the people. Given the political coup that had just transpired, the citizens there were probably angry at what was happening. While it was still possible to sweep in and take the city without much bloodshed, she'd have to watch how things turned out very carefully.

It feels like I'm doing what the President of the United States does with the CIA and NSA… watch my enemies, look for potential powder kegs and issues I'm going to need to address, move where required and worry about the potential cost of life.

The night ended quietly as the Rikters talked with Princess, now Mayor, Nia Erelius. They felt honored to meet her in person, which embarrassed the ex-royalty a bit as she blushed. "So, should I be going to the frontlines?" Morlan asked as he sipped his wine.

"I don't think you really need to; my automaton army is more than capable of fighting."

"So, I'm useless already. Sorry father, I guess you'll see your son become a farmer sooner than you think." Donovan and Melsia chuckled at that.

"There's plenty of other things you can do though. Take a tour of the towns and cities we have, act as a symbol of the empire that we are not here to kill and destroy, even the armies of Artinia. It could sway over the soldiers you have served with, show them the grass is greener on the other side" Selene informed him as she swirled her wine, taking a small sip at the head of the table.

"The citizens would see you as a beacon of hope Morlan, I'm sure of that" Melsia commented.

"It would also give you a chance to check in on Ezra once in a while" Donovan added.

"Oh, you'll all be able to see him often enough. I have plans eventually, once we take Silvinholm, to expand a railroad system near the abbey. I'm trying to make sure transportation around the empire is easy for everyone, not just my military" the empress chimed in. Donovan and his family all looked at each other, satisfied with that information, even if they didn't exactly know what a railroad or a train was yet.

I'm going to need to plan a scheduled advancement of my empire through the Eras, get them up to speed and slowly uplift them so they can understand high end technology. They're very nearly at Renaissance, if I can push them over the edge within the month, then to Colonial within a year… every year after that just go up an Era, give them a chance to settle in with the new improvements to their society.

Selene knew that the empire would see just slightly new and improved advancements in their daily life, to start reaching for bigger and better things; meanwhile, she would be in the background moving well beyond the tech tier she was at now. Exo-Atmospheric was just a stepping stone for where she needed to be, with the satellites launched already showing huge swaths of the planet she was living on, with a few of them scoping out the black void with stars glinting in the distance. While the ELT was still just being completed, there was already verified proof that an asteroid belt was found, though it was closer than Earth's Solar System, with another planet beyond looking about the same size as Mars. There was no research or analysis on the atmosphere of the new planet found just yet, the asteroid field would help with mining operations if she needed to start building a space fleet and stations.

As dinner ended, the guests heading to the library to settle down and have a nightcap before heading to bed, the dev played host with Antoine and Hrist assisting where possible. Bronze Team hid in the first-floor barracks, with no living soldier even there. They played games with each other and talked about what was happening in the last op, the empire's current state and why Turnie would not heal Deacon in the first-person shooter because he made a joke about her legs. He finally apologized as they continued to relax, the palace getting quiet once everyone turned in.