Chapter 31: Chapter 27

Star People

Chapter 27

GO, GO, GIGARAN!

Jan 14^th, 13 AE…

The ruined capital of Euracon…

The man turned the crank furiously as he tried to start the engine and bring the metal giant to life. After the five-hundredth revolution, the engine sputtered to life. Watching from an observation platform, the former Emperor of Sath, Garres Locran frowned with displeasure as he and his son Vexor watched the test pilot put the prototype through its paces.

“Look at that!” Garres growled. “It took five hundred turns of the crank to get it going! Does that dwarf engineer and his son expect us to waste so much time starting up our army?!”

“Well, at least it’s moving.” Vexor said with a shrug.

Dubbed as the Metal Soldier, the machine was sixty feet tall and humanoid in shape. Its upper body resembled that of an open-topped car. The test pilot was frantically working the levers and steering wheel as the Metal Soldier stumbled about like a drunken gorilla. There was no grace or precision whatsoever as the driver tried to keep the machine from tripping over its own feet. Finally, after a few minutes of clumsy movement, the engine in the back let off a huge backfiring noise, causing several of its gaskets to burst, and causing hot oil to spew out, along with some thick plumes of black smoke. The pilot had to bail out of the machine as it caught fire and tumbled to the ground.

As ice and water mages were called in to douse the flames, the expression on Garres’ face became even angrier and more frustrated. He turned to his son.

“I believe it’s time for us to have a bit of a discussion with those two dwarves.”

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Two hours later…

Both Clurke and Vulkar were on their knees and in pain after being beaten and tortured for the failure of the Metal Soldier Prototype. However, they were still able to raise their heads and glared at their captors in defiance.

“WHY HAVEN’T YOU MADE THE METAL SOLDIER ARMY THAT I WANTED?!” Garres howled.

Clurke coughed a bit before replying. “What? You expect us to perform miracles overnight? Didn’t I tell you that prototype wasn’t ready yet?”

“YOU LIE!” Garres shouted as he backhanded Clurke. “YOUR GIGARAN WORKS AND IT ONLY NEEDS ABOUT 10 TURNS TO START UP! WHY ISN’T MY METAL SOLDIER WORKING JUST LIKE IT?!”

As the older dwarf moaned from pain, his son responded for him. “You can’t compare the Gigaran to that hunk of junk you call a Metal Soldier! The Metal Soldier is a lot bigger, so of course it needs more cranking to get it going! And you can’t expect us to produce quality work with the shoddy materials you’ve provided!”

“What about those Free Land Battle-Mech parts?” Vexor demanded. “Surely you’ve unlocked their secrets by now?”

“A lot of it was too badly damaged and burned for us to examine.” Clurke replied. “What few components that we were able to salvage will require more time for us to study and replicate. Again, you’re asking for us to perform miracles overnight. That’s not happening.”

“I don’t want to hear any more excuses!” Garres snarled. “I’ll give you until the next full Moon to have a working Metal Soldier ready. If not, then your family, friends and fellow citizens will PAY for your failure, with their lives!”

With those words, he gave Clurke a savage kick to his side, while Vexor backhanded the younger dwarf.

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A little later…

“Father, I don’t think we can stall them anymore.” Vulkar said as he bandaged up his father’s forehead in their workshop.

“I feel that way too, Son.” Clurke agreed. “We can’t endanger our family or fellow countrymen by continuing to delay. We’re going to have to build Garres that Metal Soldier he wants.”

“It’s so unfair! He’s going to use our best work against our nation and…”

“Calm down, Son!” Clurke looked about and noted that the guards on the observation platform were still watching. He then switched from the Fundamental language to the ancient Dwarven dialect in which only his people could understand and lowered his voice to a quiet whisper. [“I said we’re going to build that Metal Soldier. I never said that it would be our best work! Our best work will still be the Gigaran!”]

[“What do you mean?”] Vulkar asked as he too switched to the Dwarven dialect and began to whisper.

[ “Make it look like you’re examining that actuator.”]

Vulkor picked up the mechanism and pretended to examine the insides. [“Okay, so what’s going on?”]

[“I didn’t let on to Garres or that fool son on his, but I actually made more progress on examining those Battle-Mech parts, than they believe. I think I might have discovered how they work.”]

Vulkor almost dropped the actuator but managed to keep calm. [“You found out how they work?!”]

[“Not exactly how they work, but I think I may have grasped their principle. Remember that strange-looking board I showed you before?”]

[“Yeah? I thought those lines were some strange etchings.”]

[“I took a closer look with a magnifying glass. Those weren’t etchings. Those were pathways!”]

[“Pathways? Pathways for what?”]

[“Electrical pathways! And those strange rectangles we saw? Looks like we were right! Those WERE the Free Land alternatives to the vacuum tube! If they’re able to create pathways and vacuum tube alternatives that tiny, then I can understand why their technology is so advanced and efficient!”]

[“So how does that help us?”]

[“If we are able to implement that level of technology into the Gigaran, then we might have a way to overcome our captors and save everyone.”]

[“That’s a pretty big if.”]

[“There’s also something else I discovered while examining the Battle-Mech. I came across something that looks to be some kind of converter. Like the ones we saw when we visited New Pearl Harbor.”]

[“You mean that device called a power converter? So how does that help us?”]

[“I might have thought of a way to overcome the poor power efficiency of the Gigaran.”]

[“What do you mean?”]

[“Think back to those ‘fissics’ lessons we learned there. What did that engineer tell us?”]

Vulkor thought for minute before responding. [“Energy is still energy… whether created by science or magic.”]

[“Right. And we learned from that Kyteeri engineer that magic is based on an energy particle she called a psion. So if energy is still energy, then by their reasoning, if we apply ourselves, it should be possible to convert other energy sources like heat or light into psions and also in reverse!”]

[“That’s an even bigger if. We’ve never been able to determine where magic came from, let alone how it’s made.”]

[“Correct. We’ve always taken for granted that magic is always there so we could use it. So why not use it now? That engineer told us that magic is worthless in some place called outer space, since there are so few psions present. Now you do know there are some places on Istaria in which magic cannot be invoked, right?”]

[“Yeah… the Desert of Virgarto… the Chasms of Biloto… and even the Barren Lands of Mustaria… but, I always believed it was because those places were tainted, and corrupted any magical spells. At least, that’s what the sages said.”]

[“What if those sages were wrong? What if the real reason why we can’t use magic in those places is because of the same reason why it can’t be used in outer space?”]

[“Because… there aren’t any psions to use for magic?”]

[“Correct. Right now, the Gigaran’s internal combustion engine is good, but it cannot produce enough energy to equal one-tenth the power and efficiency of a Scrapper. It can certainly do simple tasks like construction and transport, but definitely not for intense combat. We don’t have the means or knowledge to create high-energy sources like that micro-reactor we saw in Free Land.”]

[“But we DO know magic.”]

[“Right. What we need is a large enough source of psions to make up for the difference in power. We don’t have a large magic stone or Master Mage with us, so the only other possibility is to find a way to generate psions on our own.”]

[“Is that even possible?!”]

[“Free Land has already shown us that doing the impossible is standard for them. If they can do it, so can we! Let’s get started! We only have a couple of weeks to make this miracle happen!”]

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Jan 27^th, 13 AE…

Building 42 in the New Technologies & Development Department, Zedan continent…

“What’s seems to be the problem?” One technician named Kizler asked.

“I’m not sure.” Another technician named Carlox responded. “For a second, I thought I saw a drop in the radiation readings on our stockpile of Zedanium, but the instruments show all normal readouts.”

“Probably just a momentary hiccup in the system. We’ll just recalibrate the instruments on the next shift.”

What no one at the base knew was that their entire stockpile Zedanium, or Uranium 235, had been sabotaged and would become nothing but worthless lumps of lead by the end of the week. The Free Land spies had also left devices that would give false readings to the Zedan equipment to keep the technicians unaware of the subterfuge.

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Jan 31^st, 13 AE…

Euracon…

“Try it now, Son!”

Vulkar nodded as he cranked the engine and it managed to turn over after 100 revolutions.

Standing nearby, Garres and Vexor smiled in satisfaction as it seemed that their threats to kill the other dwarves had motivated the two engineers. Soon they would have a working Metal Soldier and would begin mass-producing it. Nothing could stop them now!

However, what they didn’t know was that both engineers were on the verge of a breakthrough that would not only throw a monkey wrench into Garres’ and Vexor’s plans for world domination, but would also change the course of history of Istaria.

Later that night…

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[“It SHOULD work! The theory is sound enough.”] Clurke said as he and his son were secretly working in their cell. The guards had long since dozed off.

After informing their family and fellow dwarves of their plans, every night for the last 2 weeks, the captives would slip a drug into the guards’ food, causing them to sleep nonstop for 8 hours. This would allow Clurke and Vulkar to work on the Gigaran’s enhancements. They didn’t have the counter-spell to unlock their Obedience Collars and it was assumed that either Garres or Vexor had it. There was just no way to force Garres or Vexor to give up the counter-spell and those villains always had the Dreanat constantly guarding them.  

So all of their hopes were pinned on the dwarven engineers to create the means to their freedom.

Both engineers gazed upon a circular disk of metal, about the size of a large dinner plate. In the center of the disk was a series of connectors and fuses they had salvaged off of the wreckage of the Star Gladiator Battle-Mech. They had also managed to find a working power cell from the console. It didn’t have enough energy to move the Gigaran on its own, but it was strong enough to work as an ignition device. There would be no cranking the starter to the engine this time.

Now the main obstacle to overcome was to generate enough psions to power the Gigaran’s systems. In short, they needed to create an amount equal to a high-quality magic stone the size of a three-story building. This was the number one reason why they didn’t try the magical route before. Trying to chant a spell to accumulate the required amount of psions would also take too long. They had heard about the expense and trouble the Kingdom of Naran went through, just to attempt to launch an object into orbit.

[“We have to find a way to focus and convert the fuel into the psions we need to power the Gigaran. And we need to do it at a steady and controlled rate.”]  Vulkar stated.

[“That’s a quite a riddle to solve.”] His father commented. At that moment, his face lit up as he came up with an idea. [“Hold on! I think we already had the answer to that riddle! We’ve had it for centuries!”]

[“What is it?”]

[“Come on, Son! You remember what I first taught to you about imbuing certain magical effects into swords and shields, right?”]

[“Well yeah, I do. You taught me the Ancient Dwarven Rune Alphabet and…”] Vulkar’s expression turned to complete surprise and he smiled as he realized what his father was implying. [“Hold on! I get it now! Since we can’t duplicate those Free Land electrical pathways, we can use the Runes as a conduit!”]

[“Exactly! Give me that TIG-welder!”]

The two dwarves put on protective goggles for their eyes as Clurke began using the TIG-welder to begin engraving dwarven runes into the disk near the center. This was a written system that was known only to dwarves and was never written down. It was handed down from generation to generation by word of mouth and they had quite a boosting effect when it came to imbuing objects with magic effects. Even the magic runes of Naran couldn’t compare to dwarf runes. Now the symbols would serve as a substitute for power conversion conduits.

After engraving the symbols into the metal and using a spell to cool down the metal, both took a deep breath. It was the moment of truth. Clurke reached out and pressed the switch. A few seconds later, the disk began to hum as the runes started to glow. The disk was connected to a small tank of fuel, which was being fed into the side. And then it happened.

From just a small amount of fuel, a large amount of magical particles began to form above the disk. Using their magical senses, the two engineers confirmed that they had succeeded. It wasn’t quite the same as the psions found in nature, but it was close enough. They had managed to create psions on their own. Using Free Land knowledge and components, plus ancient dwarven runes, Clurke and Vulkar had created the world’s first Neo-Psion Reactor.

Now, it was time for them to begin their plans to escape.

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Feb 2^nd, 13 AE…

Zedan…

“What do you mean the heavy water supply has been contaminated?!” General Himro exclaimed.

“We’re not certain how it happened, but the supply tanks have large amounts of particulate matter within them that will take several weeks to filter out.” The technician replied. “It is possible that one of the technicians might have contaminated it during the purifying process.”

“So we cannot use it as is?”

“That’s impossible, Sir. If we don’t have pure heavy water, then the creation of more Zedanium will be compromised.”

“And you don’t think it might have been sabotaged?”

“Very unlikely, Sir! The surveillance cameras show no evidence of unauthorized personnel entering the heavy water storage rooms. We even keep a record of how many times the tanks have been accessed.”

Himro glared at the technician for a long time before finally accepting his explanation as the truth. After all, if there was no evidence of tampering and no surveillance videos of any unauthorized people or spies, then they had to chalk up the contamination to bad luck. Not that they needed more heavy water at this point, since they had already constructed the atomic bombs they intended to use against the coming invasion by Free Land and their allies.

Of course, they were completely unaware that the surveillance footage had been tampered with and that the Free Land spies had the technology to contaminate the heavy water supply without opening the tanks. Not to mention that at this point in time, the Triderium Isotope 7 had already done its work and all of the Zedanium had been neutralized.

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Feb 6^th, 13 AE…

Euracon…

[“All right, is it all set?”] Clurke asked as he and his son were making the final adjustments to the Metal Soldier prototype.

Vulkar nodded. [“I’ve already installed it into the Gigaran. The others are in position and are waiting for the signal.”]

[“And the Obedience Collars?”]

[“It was a lot of trial and error, but I managed to find the right rune sequence to counter the collars’ effects. I’ve already inscribed the runes into each collar. We’re the last two who haven’t had their collars inscribed.”]

[“We’ll have to grin and bear the pain if they invoke these collars.”]

[“It’ll be a small price to pay. Ready?”]

[“Ready.”]

At that moment, Garres and Vexor arrogantly strolled into the testing bay, along with several Dreanat guards. Today was the day in which they believed would be the beginning of their ascension to ruling the world.

“So I trust that you’ve made all the adjustments and perfected my Metal Solider?” The deposed emperor asked.

Clurke gave Garres a condescending smile and replied, “I can say quite honestly, that the last two weeks represent my very best work.”

 “Excellent! Now show me the weapon that will bring this world to its knees!”

The elder dwarf motioned to his son to climb up the platform and begin working the starter crank. The Dreanat test pilot took his position in the command seat of the machine. Vulkar then began to turn the crank. After five revolutions, the engine began to sputter to life. On the tenth revolution, the engine turned over, indicating that it was functioning normally. The test pilot pushed a lever while pressing down on the pedals. The enormous metal figure took a step forward. The floor rumbled a bit as the metal foot came down. Then the prototype took another step… and another… and then another.

Both Vexor and Garres cried out in joy as the Metal Soldier began to move about with relative ease. The pilot made it raise and lower its arms. The torso rotated three hundred sixty degrees and there was no intense vibration. It seemed that the test was a complete success. At this point Vulkar climbed down to the ground to rejoin his father.

“At last!” Garres shouted with maniacal elation. “Once we mass produce this Metal Soldier, the world of Istaria will tremble at the name of Garres Locran! Not even Free Land will be able to stop me!”

“I believe Free Land would have something to say about this.” Clurke said in defiance.

“And what would they say about it?” Garres sneered.

“The same thing that I’m about to say… UP YOURS!”

That was the signal.

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As soon as Clurke said those words, several baseball-sized metal spheres began to drop from the ceiling of the testing warehouse. Two of the captive dwarves had been hiding in the rafters since this afternoon and were now throwing down homemade gas grenades at their enemies. They specifically aimed for the Dreanat guards who wielded weapons and control staves. The guards were rendered unconscious as they dropped to the ground, incidentally breaking their control staves. This ensured that Clurke and Vulkar’s collars could not be activated. Once their task was complete, they made their escape onto the roof and down the other side.

On the floor, Clurke and Vulkar took out hidden breathing bandannas, and put them on as they ran out the side exit and toward the Gigaran, which was still parked nearby. At that point, Garres and Vexor ran out of the building as well and caught sight of them.

There was a huge, rumbling noise, followed by an enormous crash as the Metal Soldier Prototype smashed through the wall.

“KILL THEM!” Garres roared as he pointed toward the fleeing dwarves.

The pilot nodded as he directed the Metal Soldier toward his diminutive prey. He arrogantly smirked. Even if the dwarves reached the Gigaran, it would take time for them to turn that crank and start it up. By that point, he’d crush them like ants!

With the Metal Soldier hot on their heels, Clurke and Vulkar reached the Gigaran and leapt into the cockpit. It had recently been modified to accept a driver and a passenger, hence the tandem seats. Clurke took the main driver seat while his son sat behind him. After buckling themselves in, the younger dwarf shouted out.

“Now or never, Dad!”

The elder engineer nodded as he pushed a large, red button on the console. The Gigaran hummed to life as the Neo-Psion Reactor began feeding magical power into the actuators and drive mechanisms. The dwarven mech swerved to the side, evading the Metal Soldier’s attack as it tried to slam one of its arms toward the Gigaran’s cockpit.

“WHAT THE HELL?!” The Dreanat pilot exclaimed. Since when could that machine instantly power up and move so quickly?

Clurke grinned as he activated another innovation that he and his son had recently installed in their machine. Inspired by the Free Land Scrappers and their pile-drivers, the Gigaran raised an arm and thrust it forward, aiming for one of the knee joints of the Metal Soldier. A solid steel spike shot out of the wrist by means of a compressed-air canister. It plowed into the knee and shattered it, causing the Metal Soldier to topple to the ground.

As the ground shook from the impact of the fallen  mech prototype, Vulkar leaned forward.

“Hey, Dad! When do you think those runes are going to go off?”

Clurke’s grin became even wider as he backed the Gigaran away. “Oh… I’d say… right about… now.”

Inside the Metal Soldier’s casing, a series of dwarven runes began to glow on the fuel tank. Then they activated, causing the tank and its contents to explode, engulfing the entire mecha and its pilot in a huge fireball. Clurke had secretly inscribed those symbols onto the prototype to make certain that no one would be able to re-create that monstrosity again.

He had also wanted to atone for breaking his promise to Free Land. In the test warehouse, the remains of Jerry Vandelin’s Star Gladiator began to glow as several rune symbols began to appear on their surfaces. In seconds, every last bit of stolen Free Land technology, save for some of the components of the Neo-Psion Reactor, crumbled away into dust.

All around the hidden compound, explosions and fires appeared as the dwarves began fighting back against their captors. With their Obedience Collars rendered useless and the dwarves vastly outnumbering them, what was left of the Dreanat began to abandon the area and their loyalty to Garres. As for the former Emperor and Crown Prince of Sath, they had long since ran off into the night. In less than a half-hour, Clurke, Vulkar and all the other dwarves had won their freedom.

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Feb 7^th, 13 AE…

 “Wow! I can’t believe we did it!” Vulkar said as he and his father guided the Gigaran up the loading ramp and onto the huge, transport shuttle. They were soon followed by the two hundred plus dwarves, as the captain of the transport approached Vulkar and his father, just as they were climbing down from the cockpit. Crewmen began securing the dwarven mecha in the main hold with gravity clamps.

The Terran officer saluted them. “Welcome aboard the Free Land transport shuttle, Sky Spirit. I’m Captain Robert Forrestin. I must say, we were quite surprised to receive a distress call from you.”

“We are most beholden to you for coming to our aid, Captain.” The dwarf engineer said as he shook hands with Forrestin. After driving away the Dreanat, the dwarves found a mana communicator in the main building of the compound. With a bit of fiddling around, they had managed to contact Empress Lexina. Through her, they were able to get in touch with Free Land and a cargo shuttle was sent to pick them up and transport them back to the Kingdom of Merin.

An hour later, the Sky Spirit rose up into the air and began the trip to the Merdov continent.

To be continued…

 

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