by Skully
Tsinghua ultimately won by a slight margin. With one Mech left standing, Romulus had earned a combined twenty-seven from the Arena and Gauntlet which was seven clear of the twenty minimum.
Fortescue 56, Tsinghua 44
“A good result overall,” an interloper stated startling the M1 cadets.
They turned to see a middle-aged man of medium height. He was fit, and his dark hair was only slightly greying above the ears and through the sides. He was taller than the M1 cadets, at 1800mm, but was much shorter than Colonel Martin who was closer to 2000 mm. He was wearing the Templar colours of a white bodysuit and red cross.
“Excuse me,” he continued, “I am Marshal Odo. I am equivalent to one of your Commanders here at the Templar Military Academy.”
“Are you allowed in here?” Picard asked genuinely.
“My apologies, it is the visitor's area, but it is not restricted access to Fortescue competitors. It is with a minor impoliteness only that I intrude in your area.”
“Can we help you?” Vannier asked politely.
“May I sit?” Marshal Odo asked.
“It is your Academy,” Daedo answered. The Marshal nodded, smiled and slid onto the u-shaped lounge.
“How do you think you will fare in the next match?” Marshal Odo asked conversationally.
“I think we will win with eight still standing,” Barran answered cheekily.
Marshal Odo chuckled. “It is good to show confidence,” he observed politely. “And you did beat us in the exo arena quite handily.”
“Ahuh,” Kang replied knowingly. She looked at Vannier and rolled her eyes, indicating she thought she knew where he was headed with the idle chit chat.
“We only just won the exo match,” Daedo corrected.
“Did Daedalus develop those exos entirely in-house?” Marshal Odo enquired.
Daedo peered at the Marshal for a short moment, “Some parts are from the open market, but others are internally developed and the design is our own.”
“It’s impressive,” Marshal Odo stated.
Barran sighed. “Get to the point,” he said, his patience had run out.
Marshal Odo straightened. He was second in charge of the Templar Academy and would view an M1 cadet speaking to him in such a manner poorly. He stared at Barran for a moment before continuing.
“I am aware of the arrangement Daedalus has with Fortescue, as I surmise most academies are now. We’re impressed with your moxie, to say the least. It’s our assessment that without your intervention Fortescue would be in a precarious position right now. I’m not sure they appreciate nor deserve you, any of you.” The Marshal looked around the entire table.
“I can sit here and praise you through the next match, but I have one burning question. Where do you plan to go next year? Surely not Fortescue?”
The cadets looked at one another.
“He has a point,” Barran said with a hint of humour.
Chapter 37
Attendance at Fortescue Military Academy M1 Y:2142
Inter-Academy Round 2 Fortescue Points: 193, Rank: 6, PR: 0.4825
Tier 3 Daedo M-Rank: 140
Term: 3, Round: 2
Daedalus Financial Position +2,650,000 bitcreds
◆◆◆
The cadets sat uneasily. The Templars were smashing the upper Academy team in the arena from pillar to post. Poor Barran was subdued with the Templar’s Marshal sitting amongst them, where he would normally be extremely vocal regarding the shortcomings of the U3 cadets and Romulus in particular.
“My apologies cadets,” Marshal Odo stated. “My presence here must have been uncomfortable for you given the result.” The Templars still had five mechs standing after downing all eight from Fortescue. They had excellent weapons, but that was offset by the speed and durability of the Fortescue Mechs. The real difference was teamwork, tactics and piloting.
“No need to apologise, Marshal,” Axel-Zero said kindly. “It’s a competition after all and your team performed exceptionally.”
Barran looked at Axel-Zero as if she was crazy while he considered plastering her mouth shut.
Jeram interposed himself upon the group. “The carrier is ready to be loaded. Are we just taking the gauntlet eight?”
“No,” Daedo replied. “We will take the arena eight as well. Ikaros will need to check them at the workshop,” which meant the Fortescue carrier would take the other eight mechs. Although large, the Marais carrier which Daedalus used could only manage eight mechs total. It could easily take all the exos and up to thirty people as well.
Jeram nodded and took off. He had taken on the logistical duties, slowly becoming part of the team even if it was an ancillary role.
“I guess that’s my cue,” Marshal Odo stated. “Give some thought to what I said and contact me when you can. We are open to discussions and can certainly work something out.”
Within moments of Marshal Odo leaving, the cadets began chatting enthusiastically.
“You know we could get heaps better offers,” Barran said making his view known after a few moments. “Templars are good ‘n all, but they are still Tier 3 and, at best, if they win this year, Tier 2.”
After the second round, with four matches completed for each Academy the standings were:
Academy, Score, Performance Ratio
Tehran Mech, 271, 0.6775
Templars MA, 240, 0.6
Seoul MA, 230, 0.575
KAIST, 229, 0.5725
Tsinghua MA, 201, 0.5025
Fortescue MA, 193, 0.4825
Lockheed Martin MA, 192, 0.48
Heidelberg MA, 188, 0.47
ETH Zurich, 178, 0.445
Mumbai MA, 169, 0.4225
Humboldt MA, 160, 0.4
Udon Thani MA, 149, 0.3725
Although the performance ratios were a factor from their actual score, it is what the experts paid attention to. An Academy with a PR above 0.7 would almost certainly gain promotion. And the most important was the relegation zone, anything under 0.3 was certain relegation.
The spread this year was moderately close. Fortescue was performing well despite scoring below 500 in all their mech matches which was a good outcome because the mech competition carried heavier weighting, (500 equated to a 0.5 PR).
Their performance in the exo competition achieved well over the 500 average.
What was certain is that all academies would be determined to beat Udon Thani, thus assuring they were not relegated at the Asian Academy’s expense.
“I like the idea of leaving Fortescue,” Axel-Zero said. “My family were led to believe it was a much better academy than what we’ve found.”
“The academics are solid,” Vannier stated. “It’s the politics that let it down.”
“Who’s to say that all Academies aren’t the same?” Kang asked. She received shrugs all round. No one had first or even second-hand experience of another academy.
“We could tour other academies, the ones putting out offers at least,” Barran stated and looked around the excited faces.
“Only after the end of term four,” Vannier said, “during the six-week break.”
“It would have to be a full scholarship for me to consider it,” Picard stated.
“Oh, we will be asking for more than that,” Barran grinned.
“What would we ask for?” Axel-Zero asked.
“To be taken seriously would be a good start,” Vannier said.
“What do you think Daedo?” Mace asked quietly. She had said nothing, but neither had he.
“I think we need to think about it,” he said in a non-committal tone. “Let's get on the carrier as we have a detour planned.”
“Detour?” Vannier asked.
“The Eye of the Sahara,” Daedo stated. “You have the reports, but I thought it would be good to take a look firsthand while reviewing them. I’d also like to see how the changes to the mechs stand up to the conditions.”
“Like the sand all through them last time,” Mace stated, no
dding.
The Templar Military Academy was situated on the Black Sea near Sevastopol. The Daedalus carrier would fly south west to Mauretania rather than due west back to Paris. The trip was 4,000 km (2500 mi) and would take less than four hours. It could travel faster, but with winds and full load, it would reach a top speed of 1200 km/h (750 mph).
The cadets still found carrier flights exciting, albeit noisy. Their comms reverted to helmets with noise cancelling activated.
“She’s heavy,” Jeram called over the comms as they lifted off.
During the four hour flight, the cadets attempted a nap without much success, so they decided to bring forward the weekly business report rather than complete tutes. After a hectic week, they all wanted a break from academics. Weekends were for building, playing and Daedalus.
“All forty pre-orders have paid their deposit now,” Axel-Zero stated. “With royalties and rentals, we’ve paid our Marais debt and have over 2.65 M bitcreds in our account.”
“I remember being happy when we sold exos to Siderus for 20 K,” Barran laughed.
“Without any new business, the fulfilment of the forty mechs, avoiding relegation escrow deposit reimbursement and bonus, our balance will be over 13.5 M bitcreds.”
Although all the cadets were aware of the sales and success, having the number spoken out loud by Axel-Zero brought silence to the group.
“Outgoing we have the purchase and upgrading of adjacent lots in Nanterre; royalties on the mech sales, materials, as well as the equipment requisition and fees for the Eye of Sahara. This is expected to be 1.5 M bitcreds,” Axel-Zero stated.
“I am putting in a request to have the budget for the Eye of Sahara increased to five million bitcreds,” Daedo announced. “After I show you what we have planned today, you can form an opinion for a vote next Sunday.”
“Five million?” Mace asked.
“What the hell costs five million?” Barran asked.
“I thought it was going to be self-sufficient after the start-up cost?” Vannier added.
“I’ll show you today,” Daedo explained.
“Couldn’t we build a secret base on an island with great beaches, swimming and nice weather?” Barran asked and received some non-verbal support.
“This place is special, and its harshness is nothing compared to what’s out there.” Daedo pointed up to the sky. “Asteroids, Space, Titan and Mars are all incredibly hostile environments. The Sahara is a resort in comparison.”
“I can’t wait to see the progress and the plan then,” Vannier said in a conciliatory tone.
When they arrived at the site, it was early evening, and the sun had fully set minutes earlier. The sand was bathed in red from the sun’s dying light. Daedo had Jeram hover two hundred metres above the landing pad and open the back door after the cadets had donned their exos.
“I have created an overlay of the plans which show current and future build,” Daedo stated as the back hatch yawed open. Air swept into the cabin, but it was not as hot as during the day, at this height and time it had cooled to a moderate temperature.
The seven cadets stood at the edge looking down, and they could see the current underground mining and manufacturing facility.
“At the moment we only have the small mining drones, and their role has predominately been prospecting. They can retrieve ores when found but due to their size and capability tunnels close behind them,” Daedo began.
One of the prospecting areas shot off far to the north. “What’s up there?” Picard asked.
“Iron ore and some non-ferrous metal deposits, copper in particular. The local area is rich with kernite and hydrocarbons, but we have to go further for iron and copper,” Daedo said.
While hydrocarbons were the primary resource for constructofoam used in construction, iron was still extensively used in the alloys used for machines and robots.
“Wouldn’t it be more efficient to fly the ores back through the air?” Mace asked.
“Yes,” Daedo answered, “But the entire base will be underground, including supply lines.”
The current base was much larger than their expanded workshop. AEMO had been busy as had Daedo and Ikaros, remotely controlling the building of the refining and manufacturing base.
“It is true, we could slowly use the current forge and machines and slowly but surely build bigger machines, fabricators and robots, but I want to speed this process up. There are large mining and construction bots we can purchase and ship in now, and that’s just the beginning. Take a look at this,” Daedo said.
The overlay expanded showing the future plans in blue, and while Jeram moved the carrier slowly, the cadets could see from a top-down angle at the moment.
“Wow,” Axel-Zero stated.
“How many people is this for?” Vannier asked perceptively.
“I haven’t added living areas to the plans yet,” Daedo said.
“Are those Arenas?” Picard asked looking at the massive underground structures.
“No,” Daedo said, “Life support and food production. However, it is mostly biomass, greenhouse and hydrofarm facilities.”
“Why so many?” Mace asked looking at the expanse.
“They need time to replenish and when in full use they need to be rotated. That’s only enough for two thousand people,” Daedo said.
“Two thousand? Why two thousand?” Barran asked.
“You know why,” Daedo said. From their studies, they all knew that two thousand was the minimum amount of humans needed to ensure the continuation of the species. Any less and genetic material and manipulation would need to be implemented.
“What’s on the top floor, I can’t see the unique icons in this area,” Picard asked.
“Sensor shielding and cloaking,” Daedo stated.
“Are those sentry guns? They are huge!” Barran asked and observed.
“Yes, in addition to drone surveillance, security with mechs and exos being the secondary force. See the workshop and hangars,” Daedo highlighted the area.
“It’s like you are playing a real-life tower defence game,” Mace observed. Her tone was sombre which contributed to her delivery sounding humorous.
Nearly all the cadets laughed while Mace and Daedo were grimly silent.
After a pause, Daedo asked Jeram to land, and they entered the existing, albeit temporary plant.
“AEMO has done an excellent job,” Daedo began. “He has, in human terms, hundreds of years’ experience in many types of environments. We would have failed dismally without his knowledge. The breakdown rate was horrendous, and drones get stuck all the time. Now we have fit for purpose prospectors. He has almost finished scanning down to four kilometres and a hundred in each direction.”
“That much?” Vannier asked surprised.
“He follows superficial scans which inform where to prospect in more detail. Depending on our targets, and the geological surveys we purchased have been helpful, but they did not capture anything close to what we now know. We even discovered a new element,” Daedo stated.
“What?” Mace asked incredulously. New naturally occurring elements were extremely rare. Synthetic elements were a dime a dozen, but something found underground was a one in twenty-year occurrence worldwide. Daedalus had been mining and prospecting for figuratively a few moments, and they had come across a new element when one-hundred-year-old mining companies had discovered one or none.
Daedo waved his hand, “I will cover it in more detail when we review the analysis by Cisse. We are exploring its potential as a superconductor.”
“Daedo!” Vannier exclaimed. “This is the sort of news you share immediately.”
Daedo shrugged looking a little sheepish. She was correct, it was a mistake on his part to hide it even for a week or two. “I wasn’t sure at first,” he lied. “I wanted the tests to be completed before I told you about it.”
“It’s okay,” Axel-Zero said.
“I understand,” Vannier said kindly, but the look on her
face showed she was uncertain.
Mace looked in the other direction.
“I can see a large cost for the new machines,” Barran changed the subject, “But I can’t see a five million budget.”
Daedo nodded, “If we stock up on the latest machines and pay for expedited orders at most it will be two million. I want another million for supply and specifically the expertise needed for the green factory.” The biomass, greenhouse and hydrofarms were identified as green icons and lines in the expansion plans.
“The remainder is for communication, computer processing, security and lab equipment budget. The base needs to be self-sufficient and, at the moment, it has little to zero capability in these areas.”
“What’s the hurry?” Mace asked perceptively.
Daedo walked across the sand in his exo as if in thought. “You’re right,” he began, “if what we have been told is accurate we have a few years at least, but does this mean we should wait? Why not hurry, I would ask you?”
“I’m far from an expert,” Picard said, “but a base like this will have many issues that will need sorting out. I don’t see any harm building it and working out the issues ahead of time.”
Axel-Zero quickly looked something up on the net. The only bases she knew of that were akin to this one were the EUDF major bases and the academies, albeit there had many differences but they were of similar size and complexity.
“It took three years to build and commission the EUDF base in the Loire Valley. I take it commission means to get everything working,” Axel-Zero stated.
“Everything takes longer and costs more with the EUDF,” Picard added.
“Even with our expenses and a five million bitcred budget for this base, we still have millions left over for an island base,” Barran suggested.
“We need a billion,” Daedo said.
“Why?” Barran asked exasperatedly.
“Research, experts, soldiers and equipment not to mention to build our capability to enable space travel and exploration. I don’t know the exact number, but it's not going to be cheap. We need enough bitcreds that we can do anything we can imagine and not have to worry about the cost.” Daedo replied.
