Daedalus

by Skully

  “Wait, let me move the most used parts to lower one, and I will apply for lower three construction and renovation permits at the same time,” Ikaros said.

  “Okay Father, there’s no immediate urgency. Move the parts that you want to keep and recycle the rest. It will take weeks to get the permits anyway,” Daedo replied.

  “Can we build a tunnel from lower three to the practice yard and perhaps even a back door?” Mace enquired.

  Ikaros looked at Mace for a moment in contemplation. “I’m not going to ask why we need a backdoor, but the tunnel can be done. We will need a structural engineer to approve the design, especially if we are landing a possible 400 tonne load, two levels above. Where would this backdoor exit?”

  “Daedo and I will scout around the area,” Mace said.

  “We can’t go under the street or through someone else's property, legally,” Ikaros informed them.

  “I know, but we may be able to connect to an existing service tunnel,” Mace said.

  “We can look at plans or it's possible to have one of the prospecting drones to survey the area,” Daedo said.

  “How long have you been prospecting Africa?” Mace asked.

  “A little over a month,” Daedo answered sheepishly while looking at the ground.

  Mace ruffled Daedo’s hair. “Some kids just steal their parent's code to the kitchen and make a hundred litres of ice cream. You start international mining operations in your spare time.”

  “Speaking of parents,” Ikaros interjected. “Do we have your company again this break Miss Mace?”

  “Father. It’s Mace. Just call her Mace,” Daedo said.

  “But it's her last name, and you’re on break,” Ikaros argued.

  “Mace is fine. I am so used to it now I almost forgot my given name,” she said looking at Daedo.

  “Um,” he was lost in thought.

  Daedo: Myrmidon, help me!

  Myrmidon: Ameline

  “Ameline,” Daedo said finally.

  “Thanks, Myrmidon,” Mace said kindly while looking daggers at Daedo.

  “He said, ‘you’re welcome meathead’,” Daedo said flatly.

  “Did not!” she said loudly pushing Daedo.

  “Ahem,” Ikaros interrupted. “Parents. Staying. Permission?”

  “Sorry Ikaros, Sir,” Mace said respectfully. “My parents are always travelling on business. But they will drop in next week. They messaged me earlier today. I could go home if you wish. But I would be home alone.” She said shyly and sadly while looking at the ground.

  “No, no!” Ikaros exclaimed. “You will stay here with us. I don’t want you at home alone. No, I don’t want that at all.”

  Mace smiled and hugged Ikaros. She looked back at Daedo and grinned.

  Daedo: Oh you’re good.

  Mace: You have no idea.

  Daedo: What?!?

  Daedo began to ponder the last interactions he had with Mace before realising he needed his AI. He tasked Myrmidon with a high priority search and sort for manipulation techniques enacted on him in the last six months.

  Mace laughed at Daedo.

  Mace: You’re so easy to tease.

  Daedo: You should know better! You know I have to deal with Master Nader and Fortescue.

  Mace: You can trust me, Daedo, but be careful of Master Nader okay?

  Daedo: She said the exact same thing.

  Mace: She said to trust me?

  Daedo: No the other way round.

  Mace: That! How dare she!

  Daedo: You admitted to trying to hack her every week.

  Mace: That’s different! That’s training.

  “Ahem, I’m going back to work,” Ikaros stated after being ignored for a few minutes.

  “Sorry Ikaros,” Mace said. “We were being rude using squad comms.”

  Daedo was silent for a moment before changing the topic.

  “Let’s go for a run. I need to clear my head before I plan the mech construction details, mining op logistics, MIAS training, Upper academy scrimmage…

  Mace put a finger to his lips silencing him. “I get it,” she said.

  The pair ran along the river at a leisurely pace before a somewhat familiar voice interrupted their reverie.

  “Hey, if it ain't da rich kidz,” the ruff boy said before jumping down to block their path.

  Daedo and Mace stopped, not wanting to run into him or to try and run around.

  Mace: Let me handle this.

  As Mace began to speak two more kids appeared from behind a stack of crates. They were taller than the ruff boy who looked like he was ten or eleven. He was shorter than Daedo with tanned skin and greasy dark hair.

  “Do you want to fight me?” Mace asked gently while taking a combat stance.

  Daedo: What? I thought you were handling this? This isn’t handling.

  Mace: Trust me.

  “Nah. I wantcha to stop runnin through our hood like ya owns it,” the kid said. “But if ya wannabe ‘avin a fight. I can do dat.”

  He moved side to side like he was ready to rumble.

  Mace laughed at him.

  “Stop ya laffin, or I’ll shove ya mouth down on ma…….

  Mace moved forward faster than a snake striking the boy in the throat before he could say his next word. He crumpled to the ground struggling to breathe.

  “I was going to be nice, but I couldn’t bear to hear you speak like that in front of my friend here,” Mace stated. She looked at the two other kids, one was a boy, another a girl, “Are you going to help him or do you want him to die?”

  “What do I do?” the girl cried in a panic.

  Mace sighed.

  Mace: Watch them

  She bent down and moved the boy onto his side and opened his airway. He began to gasp taking in short breaths.

  The boy was struggling to get to his feet. He looked like he wanted to continue to fight if it could be called that.

  Mace pushed him back to the ground.

  “Stay down, or you’ll lose something precious,” she stated sternly.

  The boy and girl looked to charge, but when one hesitated, they looked at one another, and it was over. They lost the will to fight and ran off.

  Daedo: We should take him back to the workshop.

  Mace: You must be joking.

  Daedo summoned a hovercar and lifted the boy to his feet. As soon as he was on his feet, the boy pulled away from Daedo.

  “I want to take you back to my workshop and show you something. Would you like to see something cool?” Daedo asked.

  “Feck off. Ya stupid rich kid,” he said scornfully. He began to walk away. “This isn’t over bitch.” He called back gaining courage the further he moved away.

  Mace laughed.

  “Okay, you win that one,” Daedo said chuckling.

  Chapter 26

  Attendance at Fortescue Military Academy M1 Y:2142

  House Thoth, Squad Leader, Squad Zero

  M1 Rank: 1/1275, Tier 3 M-Rank: Null

  Term: 2 to 3, Break

  Daedalus Financial Position <1,660,000> bitcreds

  ◆◆◆

  The jets of the VTOL were loud.

  Barran covered his ears and yelled, “Is this the place?”

  Daedo pointed to his helmet and then at Barran’s head.

  Daedo: Put your helmet back on. It has noise cancelling.

  Picard: It’s damn hot. Forty-two degrees C. I’m glad the Daedalus bodysuit is Axel’s top model.

  Daedo: When we land, you and Barran will be in the Mechs. They have climate control. You won’t notice a thing.

  Barran: Yeah, that’s much better. I forgot how loud these things were.

  The VTOL landed and as the jets powered down, the ambient noise reduced. Daedo and Mace got into exos, while Picard and Barran were jumping into their assigned two mechs. The exos were not the same as the arena version as they had been fitted with full life-support capability, similar to the mechs.

  Daedo: Barran, zone one is
marked on your HUD reactor to go down first, so I’ll come and start it up.

  The zones and assignments were pre-planned. It was simple enough to use the same systems they used for combat in what was ostensibly a mobile refinery and manufacturing plan. The machines were small compared to industrial scale, but they could use these machines to build more. All they needed were raw materials, most of which surrounded them.

  Mace was herding the robots from the VTOL as Jeram looked on. He was not part of the plan merely the taxi driver.

  Jeram: When you guys told me that playing interstellar colony builder is what you did for fun, I thought you were crazy. But, I admit it now, this is pretty awesome, and damn, it's hot. It just hit 43 C!

  Daedo wasn’t sure if Jeram bought the story, but there wasn't much they could do, and they would simply not tell him anything else. If he was able to work something out, so be it. Even then, it was three steps from the truth Daedo wanted to hide. The land and rights were all in Daedalus' hands now. The Mauritania government was accommodating to say the least. Daedalus was an EU company and Mauritania, like all African countries, was an EU treaty state.

  The setup was to the northwest of the Richat Structure, otherwise known as the Eye of the Sahara. Buried deep below the earth was the arkernite Daedo was after. The prospecting drones had found a sample next to a kernite deposit, but only at this location. There was no sign of it anywhere else.

  Barran: The eye is cool. Can I walk on it later?

  Daedo: No! It’s iconic and unique in the world. We promised not to harm it in any way, and it's not part of our land. We are on the boundary of our property here.

  Daedo was going to mine the arkernite beneath it and had the rights to do so. It could easily be done without eroding or collapsing the anomaly.

  The two 50 t mechs easily lifted and walked a 2 t reactor into position, then into the foundry, and after that, the modified recycler would be used initially to refine before they could build a proper refinery in situ. The machinery was still heavily wrapped to stop sand getting into unwelcome places.

  Barran dragged out the mobile constructofoam plant. They had enough material to build a shed big enough to accommodate the base for the first month. Ikaros had prepared four heavy bots to assist, ensuring he added all the heat and sand protection measures he knew about from his years spent in the Fortescue facility.

  Daedo was fortunate to be able to draw on his father’s experience. Ikaros had repaired machines and bots for Fortescue customers for years. Machines which operated in harsh conditions, such as the Sahara were uncommon, but would show up regularly in the main Fortescue repair facility

  At this stage, the work was not highly skilled. It had been planned and programmed to the nth degree. Picard and Barran had the entire design appear virtually on their HUDs and Mace monitored to ensure everything went to plan. Daedo was nervous without his father here to oversee everything, but it was a necessary part of the deception. This supposedly was a cadet exercise.

  After an hour of setting up, the base was almost complete.

  Picard: Um, Daedo! We have visitors.

  Daedo looked to the west, Picard had pinged and shared her HUD. An ancient vehicle approached, and it was open air with four occupants. Interestingly, other than the driver they all had guns. The one at the back was operating a vehicle mounted gun.

  As they pulled up, one of the occupants fired a warning shot. He had much darker skin than Daedo, which was normal for the locals and he wore a scarf around his face but was surprisingly uncovered on the shoulders.

  Barran: They’re firing on us. Should I take care of them?

  Picard: He fired into the air, and I am certain they could shoot you all day and run out of ammo before you noticed.

  Barran: Look at their autotruck, it's… Is it powered with fossil fuel?

  Daedo wished Vannier was here. The locals didn’t look happy. Confident in his exo he made his way over to the visitors. The entire squad was unarmed, ranged-weapon-wise, except for the VTOL which had two sentry guns. Those guns would be massive overkill if something went wrong. Daedo knew that his squad would have to separate the men from their weapons by armoured hand if it came to that.

  Not wanting to remove his helmet Daedo spoke to them using the external comm system.

  “Hi, can I help you?” Daedo asked politely.

  They spoke in an incomprehensible language.

  “Do you speak universal?” Daedo asked.

  Their body language indicated they did not. And they were not happy, pointing at the construction work and the VTOL in an animated fashion with their assault rifles.

  Picard: Try French.

  Daedo spoke French which he had learned as part of cyberschool, “Do you speak French?” He asked.

  It seemed they understood French as they looked at one another and one spoke, “You should not be here.”

  Mace: Show them the government documents.

  Picard: You really think that will help?

  Mace: It's worth a try.

  Barran: Pfft. Point the big guns at them and tell them to fark off.

  Daedo ignored Barran although his method was more likely to succeed. But they were going to be neighbours, and he didn’t want to have to set up security which would have to deal with antagonised locals. The security itself was not an issue, it was what came after.

  “We have permission. And we own this land,” Daedo said simply. He brought up the local government documents showing title, registration and mining rights.

  The documents did not make the locals angry, but the words certainly did. “You do not own this land it belongs to our people, The Wadan.”

  “Unfortunately for you, the sovereign government of this area disagrees with your claim. Your argument is not with me, but with them,” Daedo said.

  “No, you are here. You must leave! You do not have our permission to build here,” the local said angrily.

  Daedo looked around. Other than the Eye of the Sahara, there was nothing to be seen except sand.

  “You aren’t using it,” he stated simply.

  “It is sacred land,” the local replied. “Not for you. You are not welcome.”

  “Why is it sacred?” Daedo asked.

  “I cannot teach you!” The local said angrily. “You would not understand.”

  “We plan to be here for a long time because we have the right. We can talk and work something out so you will be happy. But, in the end, if you are not happy, we will not leave. We are not weak, and we will not be pushed around,” Daedo said emphatically.

  One aimed his assault rifle at Daedo, while another presumably translated for the driver and another passenger. The driver pushed the assault rifle barrel down towards the ground and said something in their native tongue.

  The translator yelled, in French, as the vehicle turned around and took off, “Come to the village and talk if you are not afraid.”

  Daedo: Mace, can you track them?

  Mace: Already done.

  Jeram: That was hairy. How do you manage to come to the most remote and inhospitable place on earth and still be treading on other people's toes?

  Barran: It’s a talent. Angry people find us wherever we go.

  Picard: No one was angry at us in Nanterre or Munich.

  Barran: Just seems that way to me.

  Daedo: Or Zurich.

  Barran: Okay!

  Picard: Or Loire Valley.

  Barran: That’s enough. Okay, just here and the Academy. Happy now?!

  Daedo: We need to finish up and then head around to their village.

  Picard: I know why they have an ancient vehicle. There are no mag roads within a 100 km of here.

  Barran: Yeah, hovercars wouldn’t work.

  Daedo: It was a hybrid electric with fossil fuel. Maybe they just use the fossil fuel as a backup.

  Mace: That’s probably correct. But I never thought I’d see one in actual use.

  Jeram: Remote tribes often use centuries-old technolo
gy.

  Picard: What do they spend their UBI on?

  Daedo: If you don’t pass P7 of cyberschool you don’t get UBI in Africa.

  Mace: And they couldn’t speak universal.

  It was a logical conclusion that if the men couldn’t speak universal they probably never completed P7 of cyberschool and therefore didn’t qualify to receive Universal Basic Income unlike most citizens of the world.

  Daedo: Let’s finish getting all this together so we can start mining. We will probably have to get some security in place before we leave. Are you good for a round trip, Jeram?

  Jeram: Yeah, with this light of a load, the fusion drives don’t use much.

  Daedo: Barran, leave your Mech here, go back with Jeram and bring back sentries, foam and drones, enough to protect our assets.

  Barran: Can do.

  Jeram: We need to unload all the supplies into the base and then we can take off. It will take a few hours for the roundtrip.

  Barran: I will talk to Ikaros, hopefully, we can have the gear at the hub waiting for us, or on its way at least.

  The base was coming together with constructofoam floors, walls and ceiling. It was built well enough to keep the sand and sun out. The initial plan was to mine enough iron ore, silica, amber, kernite, copper and hydrocarbon liquids. With small amounts of these base materials, the base would move into stage two, and at the same time, a mining drone would retrieve some arkernite.

  Aemo would run the entire mining and refining operation, while Daedo was overseeing the manufacturing and expansion remotely.

  Once a small amount of arkernite was in hand, Daedo would examine and announce the discovery organically. Hopefully, without close scrutiny due to the tremendous luck involved.

  Mace: I have their location.

  Picard: Did they just expect us to follow? Or they thought that we knew where their village was?

  Daedo: It's not hidden, I can see it on the live public satellite map.

  Mace: Are we hidden?

  Daedo: No! Can we be?

  Mace: Anything is possible. You just have to know who to ask.

  Daedo: I’m not concerned. We own everything here that we need.