Embers After Flames, Chapter 12.5 (Patreon)

12.5

+++

On one side, one of the most advanced warmachines ever built, capable of operating in almost any environment, powered by a substance that laughed at the laws of physics.

On the other, a stationary set of buildings.

It was not a fight.

The SEA SPIDER tore the place apart within a single minute. Underwater, the Coral Beams lost most of their energy after a fairly short distance, but they could still hit across a few hundred meters just fine. What didn’t lose efficiency at all was the missiles, which, while not optimised for underwater use, were still very much capable of it.

The beams carved the place open. The missiles, acting as torpedoes, did the rest.

Water pressure handled everything else. The moment the outer shells, engineered to handle all the stress being placed upon them, broke, the interior was left open to the ocean.

A bajillion tons of water rushing in under extreme pressure does nothing good to anything, and ALLMIND’s base was no exception.

The base crumpled like a billionaire’s submarine, producing a noise that was almost like the ringing of a gong, except so much lower and so much louder. It echoed on itself a few times, buffeting the SEA SPIDER with waves of pressure.

Easily handled for the C-Weapon, though.

I had it approach, bringing the other sensors to bear. It was the electrosensitivity of the Coral that proved most useful next, because it meant that I was able to find a thin cable that had been extended underground, which went off well beyond what the SEA SPIDER could detect. Given that it was heading towards Belius, however, I was going to bet that it was how ALLMIND kept in contact with this place.

Mmm.

A shot from a Coral laser cut it entirely. The electromagnetic signalling stopped completely shortly, and I would bet that she’d hide her tracks soon enough.

Oh well.

...

This is going to be an interesting recovery mission, that’s for sure.

+++

“The last loose end has been wrapped up.” I spoke. “I will have the SEA SPIDERs keep searching, but I’m quite certain by now that ALLMIND has no additional production facilities. She is already pulling back her assets.”

“Ah.” Flatwell allowed himself a relieved breath of air. “That’s quite the comfort.”

“When she leaves the planet officially, I’ll have to go over everything again with a fine-toothed comb.” I said. “Just to make sure she hasn’t left something behind.”

“Without a factory and a way to replace losses, it is significantly less of a concern.” He leaned back. “But it is still a wise idea. Thank you for handling that.”

“It’s what I do.” I said, letting a bit of humour creep into my tone. “Nobody else is really in a position to do it, after all.”

He smiled, briefly. “We’re on track for everything else, then?”

“We are.” I answered. “I have everything you asked for completely ready to go. Consider your side of things completely open.”

What crossed his face this time was not a smile. No, it was an outright grin. “That is exactly what I like to hear.”

+++

Flatwell called a meeting with his outworld contacts only a few hours later. Since I literally was not doing anything else, I decided to watch it as it happened.

It was a virtual meeting. Most of these people were not available for him to meet.

“Flatwell!” One of them greeted, in good cheer. He was an unassuming man who had made an artform out of being completely unremarkable. A single look at this incredibly generic person and one would never expect he was a primary liaison for BAWS. “I hear you’ve been having excellent days on Rubicon!”

“Quite excellent indeed.” Flatwell smiled. “The vulture problem we’ve been having has finally been dealt with.”

The other man chortled.

“Then we must congratulate you on your victory.” Another spoke. A woman this time, whose outfit changed every time I saw her, but which had never deviated from being a display of Elcano’s artisanal work.

“Without support, it would not have been possible.” Flatwell demurred. “And I do believe that a helping hand deserves repayment.”

Several eyebrows were raised. “Oh, but we’ve had quite the excellent working relationship.” The first man spoke, still in good humour. “Are we not friends?”

“I should hope we are.” Flatwell smiled. “Otherwise, the gifts I’ve arranged would go unappreciated. I already had them delivered-” One of the people on the call looked down, glancing at something that wasn’t on the camera before her head turned towards it fully. “- and I’d wager you’re soon to be informed... Though it seems that Furlong’s locals were a bit more on the ball than I expected.”

The woman sucked in a breath, sharp enough that the microphone caught up on it. “You magnificent son of a bitch.” She said, in awe. “How did you..?”

“I had the support of a rather excellent specialist.” Flatwell said, amusement colouring his tone.

They, of course, didn’t realise that this ‘specialist’ was currently listening in on this very conversation. I didn’t blame them for that, and the compliment and thanks were both appreciated. It was a nice little bit of pride.

The Elcano representative shortly also looked at something off-screen, before she raised the datapad so that it was visible.

“Through the efforts of that specialist, we were able to acquire the mainframe of the Enforcement System completely intact.” Flatwell elaborated so that everyone who wasn’t currently being informed would know what had been arranged. “And, in turn, we have been able to acquire the totality of its data. Everything from weapon blueprints to the actual structure of the Enforcement System itself has been acquired.”

The BAWS representative looked gobsmacked, an expression that was mirrored among most if not all of them.

“With the Enforcement System destroyed, our prior arrangement of providing all combat data will unfortunately no longer be possible.” Flatwell tried to look regretful, but nobody would have been fooled. “As such, I made the decision to provide one last set of data in order to properly send our thanks. We have provided the totality of the data relevant to the PCA’s machinery to all of you, both the schematics and the records of every available machine. The only exception is the Closure Satellites, which we have taken over in order to guard Rubicon and must therefore remain obscured until we can afford to compromise them.”

This was, needless to say, quite the offer. Twenty years ago, we had recovered a significant amount of the PCA’s data, and it had promptly catapulted BAWS forwards significantly. They’d only continued developing since then, and while they hadn’t come up with much more in the way of things that were truly novel, it couldn’t be understated just how valuable this particular haul was as well.

The BAWS representative snorted, and then burst out into a loud laugh. “Twice!” He called out, in the throes of his amusement. “You did it twice!”

The Furlong representative shook her head in disbelief. The Elcano representative was still looking through her datapad.

Finally, the BAWS representative started clapping, his laughter finally dying out. “This-” He was still chuckling as he said it. “- was one of the best deals BAWS ever made. They truly do make things different on Rubicon, huh?”

“It wouldn’t have been possible without help.” Was all Flatwell said.

“I take it that you will soon petition the Collective?” The Elcano representative asked next.

“Indeed.” Flatwell nodded. “We are still working out the specific details, but I expect it will be done by the end of the month.”

This was, conveniently, about the same amount of time we’d expected to need in order to get the first Grid back online. It would be at a reduced capacity at first, but that would fix itself soon enough.

“You will of course have Elcano’s full support in the matter.” The representative spoke.

They had, technically, already gotten everything of real use out of the RLF and Rubicon by this point... but reneging on the deal now of all times would be of no benefit whatsoever. The only thing it would do would be to sour the relationship for no reason.

They knew it, we knew it, and at least half of this gift was simply to ensure they felt no need to back out.

“My thanks.” Flatwell smiled. “It will most definitely be appreciated when the time comes.”

+++

It took three whole days after the end of the PCA and the megacorporations for the mercenaries to realise that it was over. The work had dried up, and there was nobody left to provide jobs. The only remaining large faction, the RLF, had no real enemies and therefore no real targets.

The smart ones left immediately. There would be, after all, no more incoming pay for mercenary work.

The greedy saw it as something of an opportunity. Surely, they could succeed alone where three giants had failed. Usually, that lot ran into a C-Weapon and, if they had more than two brain cells to rub together, reconsidered the decision.

A few had not been that smart, which was a fact that was legitimately disappointing. Regardless, the wrecks of their ACs, if one remained, had since been delivered to the RLF.

What marked the true death knell for mercenary activity, however, was the official departure of ALLMIND from the planet, exactly five days after it was all over. Those who had not been paying close attention immediately took notice, and recognized that ALLMIND leaving could only be an indication that there would be no future career for mercenaries.

They fled the planet in droves. A lot who had come here had perished, but the rest, whether through luck or skill, had survived, and in living, they had found either fortune or ruin.

It surprised me that not all of them left. The RLF”s little outreach program to mercenaries had, ultimately, resulted in a few of them forging something of a connection to this world, and they hadn’t wanted to leave it behind.

Since most of them had decent enough service records and had been paid pretty well, quite a few ended up reaching the most unlikely thing that could ever happen to a mercenary.

They retired.

Sure, the cities were small, but life here wasn’t bad, and things were poised to get better. They had the COAM to live long and comfortably, and if they wanted something a bit less exciting than AC combat?

There was going to be an endless horde of jobs opening up soon.

Of all of them, however, there were only a few who I was particularly interested in.

So, I bothered to ask, and I found myself sort of surprised when they actually bothered to answer.

“Taking the PCA’s Closure Satellites was an inspired move.” Raven’s Operator spoke. “It was very impressive.”

“I thought you would appreciate the irony.” I chuckled. “Destroyed with their own weapons~ The guns of the tyrant falling into the hands of the liberators... But, that’s enough about us. I called to ask after you.”

“We will be leaving the planet, of course.” She stated immediately.

“I would certainly not try to convince you otherwise.” I said, allowing myself a moment of amusement that she’d thought I’d be trying something. “Ideologues, after all. No, the matter I wished to discuss was... a bonus, if you will.”

Raven’s Operator made an interested noise. “Bonus?”

“You spent a great deal many years being a thorn in the side of the PCA.” I said. “While I know you were doing it entirely for your own reasons, it helped us greatly. During the operation, we recovered much of the Closure System’s data. I am offering to provide you with a copy.”

“A curated one, of course.” She observed.

“Naturally. We’re rebuilding civilization and there’s enough information in there to pose a significant security risk.” The Enforcement System hadn’t known everything, but it had known enough. “I’ll give you the details about the dirty laundry, but I can’t compromise the planet. You understand, I hope?”

She hummed. “And will there be any other conditions?”

“Only one.” I answered. “Wait at least two months before you go spreading it.”

“Rubicon intends to rejoin the Collective, then.” She figured it out.

“It’s not really a choice.” I said. “What say you, Ideologues?”

“You have treated us with more kindness than most, especially considering the circumstances.” The Operator said. “Very well. One final favour, as we go our separate ways.”

“May the galaxy treat you well, then.”

They were gone by the next day.

And that was it, really. Everything had been taken care of.

Now it was time to get to work.