Playing the Game: Battletech/Celestial Forge SI

[GundamChief]

You can't predict anything. How can you be certain about anything when everything is chaos and we're not in control? ~ John Lloyd​

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North boundaries of "The Emeri Empire"
Novo Franklin, Periphery Space
August 12th​, 2980 AD

I carefully ripped the dandelion out of the ground, root and all, and placed the plant into my basket. It was already half full of the plant that had become my source of food and barter. The distant thumps of foot steps drew my eye to the half-wrecked form of an Awesome battlemech. It stomped slowly as the heir of the Emeri Royal Family learned the ropes of handling the massive machine. I stared, half in awe of the giant mechanical avatar of war, and half in depression as I am once more reminded of my current circumstances.

It was nine weeks ago I had awakened on the ground of a grassy meadow, and discovered not too long after some extreme confusion and fear, what universe I had awakened into. More panic came, existential horror followed, and ideas of how to survive the setting came. It turned out to all be unimportant however, as I learned through a good amount of eavesdropping that I was on Novo Franklin. A world that was untouched by the setting, and would remain so all the way into the IlClan era. I could literally live here for the rest of my life, and the setting would not screw with me because of the place being so unimportant.

As a result of this, the immediate threats against my life came to the fore, in the form of starvation and homelessness. Add on top of that the fact I was an outsider to the fiefdoms, and to this "kingdom", I had little means to actually survive save what I had in my head already.

Which is when the "cheat power" appeared.

The Celestial Forge appeared to me, and explained the rules. I had known of the stories that used this system, and often had wanted to make such a story myself, but with few to no instructions on how to actually use it available, I had never gotten around to it. Now here I was, in Battletech, with the system. My existential horror only grew from there. It was mitigated that I was now physically a younger man again. While my actual body wasn't weak with age yet, it was growing older and things were occurring that made me more proactive in remaining healthy. Now, most of the issues I was keeping under control were no longer an issue.

That was the first day. Since then, I had managed to not get strung up as an intruder by the realm, as people shifting to and fro various kingdoms happens frequently. People just assumed I was such a person, and given how young I was now, there was little suspicion that an older man would have been given. The "Empire" merely took note of me once I stuck around and little else. The only thing I was told was that if the "Empire" went to war, I would be "required" to levy myself to the defense of the "Empire". Given the actual military forces of the place were basically farmers with pitchforks and bolt action rifles, coupled with a few "modern" weapons that would have seen action in Europe on the Western Front, and a pair of Battlemechs that were put together with bailing wire and ducktape, it would either be bloody, or hilarious.

Given most of the fighting was done with the military marching, standing still as the leaders then do ritualistic mech jousting with rules essentially being "Pink slips for X", it's semi-clan like in how people handle it. Having been here for over two months and seen it occur, five times, and having to take part in it twice, I realized I had little to actually worry about when it came to warfare. The most I had to deal with was the second time when the opposite military of five hundred men was added to the ritual and we had a big melee.

I was fortunate to have had experience with fighting before this, otherwise I would have gotten seriously injured if not killed. There were some killed, and a lot of injuries after it was all over, and the "Empire" beat the opposition hands down, gaining levies for labor and five months of non-aggression. In that time, I had waited and hoped for the forge to give me something, but there was nothing but a whole lot of nothing. It was there, but it just sat like a frog in a bowl.

Now I had some work, mostly being a farmer for the "Emperor" who paid me in food-stuff per day. It wasn't enough for anyone, and people had to make do or not eat. Hence my picking of plants now, as both a supplement for my diet, and to sell infusions for more food.

"Could be far worse." I griped as I pulled another plant out by the root. I missed home, my family, internet, indoor plumbing, electricity, television, and more. It wasn't like I could just hop a ship to Terra though. I don't even know if there was an HPG on this planet, despite my memories saying there was a B-Class station here.

I finished filling the basket and began making my way back to the little hut I called "home" for the time being. It was barely anything, but it managed to keep the elements, and most of the bugs, out. Reaching the hut, I had to duck down due to it being short sat to begin processing the plants.

"Still surprised that Dandelions are on this world. At least I know I can eat them after cleaning them."

Separating the leaves first, I began to boil them to create an infusion and make my dinner.

Then without warning…It hit me.

The frog leapt out of the bowl, and onto my face as I felt something like a star fall from the heavens. I felt the pressure and jolted, worried that I was suffering some malady when suddenly it faded, as if it passed me. The feeling of residual heat remained however, and I just knew that I was storing power for a later hit.

I scowled lightly. "After two months, you finally do something?"

I received no answer, and let out an angry sigh as I got back to what I had been doing. Time passed and the infusion, and my meal, was finished. I ate the bland greens with the potatoes and carrots I had been given for that day's work. Sealing the infusion within a clay jar I traded a meal for, I stored it for future bartering, and left the hut.

With little else to do, without books, games, or internet, I once more did what most men of this planet did. I went to town to hang around. Calling it a town was being generous in my opinion however given my experiences, but that wasn't entirely fair to the locals given how low the tech level of the world was. The town comprised of a dozen buildings. Shops for the farm goods people the emperor sold to those who could afford it, new clothes as well, and small administration building that also counted as the constabulary, and jail, and of course, the bar.

Reaching the bar, I saw two guys who I had become friends with since my arrival. Roake, bean-pole of a man with blond hair and freckles, and Bron, a stout redhead built like a brick house. The two were step brothers, from two families who lost parents in a little war and found comfort together. They greeted me with a raising of a clay mugs filled with local ale.

"How goes it." I asked, as I caught the eye of the barkeep and waved for my own drink.

"Bron stuck out." Roake stated matter of factly as he sipped his drink. Bron glared at his before dropping head first onto the table. I looked a little concerned, my eyes shifting to a calm Roake and back, but said nothing for a moment.

"That bad?"

"She wants to marry Grendal. Fuckin' Grendal!" he shouted, spilling his drink to the ground as he waved his hands upwards. "Just cause he is head of his own house already!" he cried before dropping back to the table and sobbed a little. Roake patted his back, looking like he had done this many times before as he took another sip.

"Well…are there any other girls to-"

"No!" he growled. "Of course there aren't. Most of the women are already taken at this point. I would have to go and barter for the right if she doesn't change her mind." He finished in despair.

I frowned and sighed. That the problem with worlds like Novo Franklin. The population, supposedly, was barely over a hundred thousand. While that was a city in terms of size, that left not a lot of options for men with little to show. It led to fights, and blood feuds, and worse. It's one of the reasons why the various kingdoms kept disappearing and coming into existence in a span of decades.

The "empire" was, so far, one of the lucky ones that lasted for more than a half century. It helped that they had nearly a lance of mechs, though only two, the Awesome and an Enforcer, really functioned at all.

"Well, don't go picking fights just yet. There might be a chance somewhere." I said, trying to be kind.

Bron just sat there, sobbing lightly, and Roake and I sighed.

Once the night had come, curfew kicked in and people started to go home. I bade the two goodnight and hoped Bron didn't go crazy in his drunken state or anything. Upon returning to my hut, I checked the infusion, and felt it cool against my finger. Satisfied, I took a small cup and drank a few cups of it.

While a liquid diet was not a good thing, it would do well for my liver and blood pressure, helping me sleep through the night. I didn't sleep well, not since I got here. My mind raced when I lay in bed, always had, but these nights were far worse for obvious reasons. I instead focused on sleeping, and thinking of nothing, entering a sort of meditative state. It usually worked, and soon I fell into a sleep.

Anxiety however gave me dreams, and these days I was full of anxiety. I dreamt of being left to die alone in a barren wasteland, before shifting over to being hunted down by a mob led by inquisitors, which then led to being harshly lambasted by gorgeous women for my shortcomings as they committed acts of debauchery I wasn't allowed to take part in. I woke up more than a few times in despair, and anger, but in the end, it was all impotent, for I had nothing to target aside from myself, and whatever force put me here. The forge was an easy target for this, and I did so when it suited me, for I had nothing to unleash my frustrations and sorrow upon.

Morning came sooner than I wished, and I had to get to work in the fields. From dawn, with a break for breakfast as part of our pay, to late afternoon, I worked the vast fields of potatoes, carrots, and cabbages the emperor had made with his wealth and successes. I had to admit that there was something admirable to a man being successful on a world like this despite everything this universe represented. It wasn't all nukes, intrigue, and mechs, as I had come to learn.

The end of the work day came, and I once more began to prepare to gather herbs. Cleaning out my basket and making sure it wasn't damaged, and taking another pair of drinks from the infusion before setting out.

Then I stopped, as once more, I felt it.

I felt the pressure, and shock at the sensation. Twice now! Twice in as many days! Was the damned forge finally kicking it.

I felt something reach out to the falling star…and with a clang that caused me to wince from the pain, I felt it land within me.

Spoiler: Clang!

Golden Sickle (Asterix the Gaul) (200CP)
This is a sickle made of solid gold, perfect for harvesting materials with magical properties. So perfect, that it has properties of its own. Firstly, any materials harvested using this sickle will never go bad. Food doesn't rot, meat, if you somehow used it on that, doesn't go rancid, magical herbs don't lose their powers. Secondly, it tends to have the exact magical properties you need to harvest any and all magical substances, without too much of a fuss. In essence, you can replace any and all growing and harvesting requirements for an ingredient, like 'needs to see the moon twenty times', or 'dance naked under at twilight carrying a pitcher of water that you then sprinkle' with 'cut using this sickle'. Doesn't apply on the super rare, absolutely one-of-a-kind stuff, mind you. It must be at least somewhat common.

I stopped, and watched in blankness as a Golden Sickle came into existence before my eyes, and floated before me. I slowly took a hold of it, and fell into my hand. In that instant, I knew what it was, what it could do, and where it came from.[/spoiler]

My eyes widened. "Okay…last thing I expected was Getafix's tool."

I rotated the object, getting a good look at it as the possibilities and uses came to my mind. Mostly on how it can solve my food issues. One of the biggest reasons I don't over harvest is due to the lack of a refrigerator, and that the plants I harvest go bad when left alone long enough. If I used this sickle to do the harvesting however, it all remains fresh forever because "freakin magic".

I frowned however when I saw the immediate problem.

"Solid gold. Might as well wear a clown outfit that was painted like a shooting target."

I would need to keep it hidden, or preferably, dip it completely in paint to hide its true nature. I contemplated how I would get paint as I tested its sharpness, and raised my brow as I felt that unique feeling that came with a particularly sharp edge of metal.

"Take a man apart with that." I murmured as I placed it under my clothes, and carefully went about my task. Finding the large patch of dandelions again, I began to dig them up, root and all, and place them into the basket until it was full. Returning to the hut, I pulled it out and began the processing of the plants as I normally did.

My eyes widened as the sickle cut through the plants like they were made of rice paper, so easily that it cut the time down by half. I also felt the magic of the blade at work, though there was no visual indication of anything happening. I couldn't help but grin as a small amount of relief filled me, as food may no longer be a problem in the foreseeable future. Melancholy thoughts sprung forth from that, as I compared my current life with what I once had, and I forced myself to focus on the task. There was no need to bring myself down since I know the Cosmic forge is working, though why it took months to reach this point was a mystery.

"Maybe a collection of small events? I have no idea otherwise what caused it to start suddenly."

With little else to go on, I made my dinner, but had an idea to test when I looked at the potatoes and carrots. I took a potato and cut it in half. Then I placed it upon a small chair I used as a table.

"See if it goes bad over the night."

Soon enough I finished, and hit the sack. More bad dreams hit me, and I woke up several times during the night. Each time, I looked upon the potato, as if it would change before my eyes, only to see it was still moist and smelling of raw potato rather than drying up. It gave me ease of mind after the second time I awakened, and I slept dreamlessly for the rest of the night.

The next morning, I woke up, and hid the sickle in the dirt, under the chair turned table, which had processed roots upon it. Not much, but at least I would know if something was amiss. Pulling out a smaller clay jar, I opened it up to scoop out a few spoons worth of dandelion grind. The smell of brownies filled the air and I indulged the scent for a minute as I waited for the water to boil. If you took the root, chopped it up, then baked it at two fifty for two hours, stirring often for even cooking until it was dark brown or black, and then grinded it into a powder? It made dandelion coffee. Surprisingly, it tasted like actual coffee, and had the same effects, but the powder smelled like fresh baked brownies.

It was a shame I lacked my own kitchen, and stove, and…everything, otherwise I would make dandelion honey and jelly too. Well, maybe not jelly since that requires pectin, and I don't even think this world could make such a thing.

After drinking the coffee, I left to work on the fields. Roake and Bron were there already, along with their parents, and younger siblings. As a lone man, I only got enough for myself to eat for the day, but with an entire family like that, one could eat well, especially if they stored food over time as theirs did.

I waved at them, and they greeted me back before returning to work. I looked over at the oldest daughter of the family. She was a young woman, average in looks, but healthy and fit from working the fields. Despite the medieval styled dress she wore, she had curves and she knew how to use them. There were already more than a few guys chasing after her, so she was somewhat spoiled for choice. A new guy like me had no real chance, with a lack of a real home and no "wealth" to speak of. Still, she was nice enough to me since I was nice to her younger siblings and family.

She was currently speaking to Dobbs, a tall, moderately good-looking farm hand who was muscled. He was successfully charming her, by helping her carry her "heavy basket" of carrots. I rolled my eyes, but said nothing.

"There he goes again." Bron grumbled as he watched Dobbs walk off with his sister.

"Uh huh." Roake acknowledged while placing more carrots into a basket.

"You don't approve?" I asked.

Bron thought about it and shrugged. "It's not him really." He answered honestly. The look of frustration was enough to remind me of the real culprit.

"Grendal." He growled.

I shook my head. He needed to let it go before it got to him, but it looks like it already has.

"You're not gonna murder the man are you?" I asked bluntly.

It was at that moment I felt my body freeze, and a well of panic grow as I felt the star fall, and the forge reach out for it. It failed however, and it fell away, leaving behind residual power.

I relaxed and looked at Bron, whose expression twisted to one torn between a yes and a are you nuts?

"Noooo…I'd be strung up by his family and maybe the Emperor if I even tried. Plus, the whole family would suffer for it by association. Not that it hadn't cross my mind though."

Roake frowned as he said the last part, giving Bron the side eye.

Bron frowned and glared lightly back. "I said I thought about it, not planning. I'm allowed to be angry! Just can't do nothing with it." He finished with a grumble as he ripped a stubborn root out.

The rest of the morning was like that, and when we ate our breakfast, or saved it for later, I looked about.

The "empire" was just one of on hundred and twenty two "nations" on this rock. Those "nations" usually didn't last long as people played a kids version of the "100 years war", and were absorbed, or fall apart as soon as whatever alliance occurs, ends. The empire had a population of about five thousand, supposedly, and it did show with all of the families working and eating together as a community in the field.

If it weren't Battletech, it would be somewhat idyllic.

"You think If I were to become a soldier, I'd have a chance again?"

I looked over to Bron, and thought about it for a moment, but Roake answered first.

"Not unless you become a knight. Soldiers and levies are common as dirt."

"I could become a knight." Bron said after a moment.

"Only in a world where you are taller."

I couldn't help but grin, but Bron glared at his brother who was also grinning.

He was about to retort when suddenly a loud whistle blew into the air from the distance. Everyone froze, and I mean everyone, including myself. We turned and looked to the distance where the "castle" was, and watched as both the Enforcer and Awesome marched out with a small retinue of horseback riders.

"Shit!" Roake hissed as he gobbled up his meal, Bron and I following suit. Men everywhere began scrambling to their women and children, telling them what to do, as said women and children began running from the field back to the safety of the town.

Not long after, we were gathered up by the men on horseback, with a few old army trucks now added to the mix with a variety of weapons being handed out.

"The Kingdom of Pesh has seen fit to declare war! We aim to show them the fault in that choice! You all gather up in a group and march with us! High-Ho!" the captain shouted, waving a cavalry sword about.

Getting somewhat organized, we began moving, and soon enough we reached the "Border" of the empire, where we saw, to our growing horror, five battlemechs, and what appeared to be several thousand men to our near five hundred.

"Fuck…" Bron said fearfully as he gazed upon the distant giants. I took a look at them, and saw they were mostly lights. Two Stingers that lacked their weapons save whatever they grafted on for melee combat, a pair of well-armed Locusts carrying what appeared to be four machineguns each, and a half-repaired Phoenix Hawk with all of its weapons intact.

Fuck indeed…

Men around me began to pray, some looking like they wanted to run. I didn't blame them at all. Being a squishy PBI with barely anything resembling a modern army save two working mechs and a handful of technicals, against the same but with forces catered to ripping the PBI apart…our prospects weren't good unless they follow that chivalric code of theirs.

The Awesome and Phoenix Hawk stepped forth until they were about two hundred meters apart from the other.

Then the "negotiations" began.

"What in the Taurian Bullshit are you doing Becker!?" The "Emperor" began.

"What's it look like Carson? I'm here to get my stuff back!"

By stuff, he meant his levies that were earned in the last fight these two had. That meant not just the men, but their families as well. People are resources too. I sneered slightly at the idea that I was livestock to these assholes.

The two go on back and forth like this for a few minutes before finally getting to the reason we were here.

"I could wipe out your army right now Carson. My men outnumber yours two to one! And while my metal is lighter, they are faster, and could also wipe your forces out before running off and wrecking your home."

"And if you did, you'd find my home is a hornets nest waiting to kill you in a swarm. Plus I have a longer reach than you do, and two HEAVY mechs back home just in case."

I hadn't been able to see what the other two mechs were, or their state, but according to what I heard, they were dock queens. A pair of Ostols of all things, which are a big deal on this world considering how common lights are comparatively. Don't get me wrong though, I love the Pod mechs, very solid design. Even so, not exactly common out here in the black.

No one really knew, aside from the Techs and Emperor, if they could move or not. Most people didn't want to chance it. Which proved to be the case with Becker's next words.

"Which is why I call on Primum inter pares!"

A wave of relief flowed from everyone at those words. I could see the same for the other army despite the distance. Primum inter pares, which was latin for "First among equals".

Essentially, it was a bout between the two leaders, winner takes all.

"Alright. As challenger, what do you want?" Carson asked with a bored tone.

"Upon victory, I lay claim to the men with you, and their families! They will become mine."

"Very well. If I win...I get yours."

"No way! You have five hundred. I could kill that many in a moment with my forces. You get equal to what you have on the field. If you want all my men, then I get your mechs on the field in addition to those men." Becker shouted angrily.

"Very well. I agree to that…that is…all my men, and mechs, for all your men…and your mechs." Carson said with a grin you could feel through the speaker.

"What?!...Throw in your two heavies that are in town, and it's you and your Enforcer versus me and my mechs since it's near equal in weight. Do that, and I will agree to that."

"Done!" Carson shouted with glee.

As this happened, I suddenly felt a pull occur, and I ducked down a bit while everyone was distracted. I felt panic and prayed it wasn't something noticeable as I felt the forge grab onto something.

With a loud CLANG! It happened

Spoiler: CLANG!

-PDA | Scanner | Upgraded scanner | Habitat Constructor (Subnautica) (150CP)

PDA (0CP)
Loaded with an emergency intelligence and more data capacity than you could ever use, this is a survivor's second most powerful tool (after his or her brain.) The AI may get a bit . . . quirky . . . over long deployments. Your version is basically indestructible. Contains basic construction blueprints.

Habitat Constructor (50CP)
As long as the materials are present in your subspace inventory, the Habitat Constructor is capable of creating robust outposts and domiciles. Due to complex structural requirements, the constructor is unable to build anything that isn't anchored to the ground.
* "Complex structural requirements" implies that with sufficient technical abilities this limitation can be overcome.

Scanner (50CP)
The scanner uses the PDA artificial intelligence to analyze an object, often finding weaknesses or uses not immediately apparent to the user. If one of your fabricators is capable of constructing the scanned object, a blueprint is created. Scanning time varies with size and complexity.

Upgraded scanner (50CP)
For those who don't want to get too close to the Reaper Leviathan, but just really want that scan, this upgrade quadruples the scanning distance and speed.

The knowledge slammed my brain, and I suddenly knew everything I needed to. I watched as the Scanner, Fabricator, and PDA appeared at my feet, and I quickly put them under my clothes. I was thankful I had a belt to hold them all. Standing up, I was relieved to see everyone was paying attention to the mechs starting to charge at each other, and firing lasers and bullets.

"Let move away men! Not get in the way of our lords!" shouted one of the horsemen, and we turned to make a distance. I noticed the other army doing the same.

I stuck with Bron and Roake as we made our way away from the field, and watched as the Awesome fired off its two functional PPCs, both slamming into a Locust, removing it from the field. The Enforcer attacks both of the Stingers, taking hits from the Phoenix Hawk array of lasers which cause metal to fall off on fire and in ribbons of liquid. The Enforcer kept firing at the Stingers in a show of discipline as it hit both with Large Laser and autocannon, removing both from the field at once.

The last Locust tried to move around the Awesome to hit it from behind, only for its pilot and myself to be surprised, when a rear mounted PPC fired off and hit the right torso, and into its engine. It was down for the count with a double-tap from the Enforcer, who turned back to Becker's machine with the Awesome.

Becker, realizing he was done, announced his surrender.

We cheered the emperor, and began making our way back home. I wouldn't find out till later that this was a massive last-ditch gamble on part of Becker who was down to only his men and mechs. So, the territory that was Pesh now belonged to the Empire, along with its towns and farms.

I recall grinning as it was close to the coastline, and elbowing Bron at the time that now he had access to more girls. He gave me a glare, before grinning and agreeing.

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View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOaeDHeJ80I&pp=ygUYQXcgc2hpdCBoZXJlIHdlIGdvIGFnYWlu

This is a cross-post with SB and Royal Road. I had thoughts about putting it here, and decided to do so.

I had been wanting to write a Celestial Forge fic for a few years, but I could never find any definitive ruleset to actually going about it.

Then I read A Galaxy of Rust by HandleWithCare , which led to me putting two and two together and figuring a few other things out. I get a chance for every 1000 words, or it just gets stored, and I do not count the earned thing to the word count. Each chapter, the word count starts at zero, there is no carry over from previous chapters.

I have eight chapters on Patreon already and they get posted there first, but they will come here in time. I do not promise to have regular updates.

I discovered an interesting thing about writing this fic for myself. I gives me that "One Last Turn" syndrome Sid Meier's Civilization gives you, only "Just (X) words more!"

 

[Ryven Razgriz]

Hidden Underwater Bases here we go!

 

[GundamChief]

North Coast, The Emeri Empire
Novo Franklin, Periphery Space
August 16th​, 2980 AD

With the expansion of the realm, and the winning of new mechs, the Emeri Empire just became one of the ten. That is to say, they became the newest member of that group of nations that would survive forever, provided the future rulers didn't screw things up. This was not just due to its population, and economic output, but also the fact that they had enough mechs and combat vehicles to protect said territory.

With the expansion into Pesh, there were now large forests available for lumber, foraging, hunting, and a coastline that went into the northern sea for fishing. Due to the low tech level of this world, proper industries to utilize these resources to their fullest simply didn't exist. As such, there were only a few fishing towns along the coast for that purpose and little else.

When it came up, I told the administrator of the town that I wished to go to that area since I had fishing experience. I gave some details about various fishing vessels I had been on, crab fishing, shrimp, salmon. They didn't know what those were, but giving them a basic drawing showed I knew what I was on about. So, they gave me leave, and I let my friends know. They were a bit sad, but agreed it was a good opportunity.

I ate dinner with them, and gave them all the greens and roots I had, only to be given potatoes, carrots, and a few cabbages for the trip.

"Don't starve like a fool." The momma bear matriarch said before bidding me good night. Before I went to sleep, I fiddled with the scanner. I smiled at the device. It was a piece of the modern world as far as I was concerned, and it was a comfort simply to hold it. I scanned everything. The hut, the chair, the sickle, my knife, the bedding, the clay jars, myself, and so on. The PDA helpfully alerted me that it could now build these things, and then went to bed.

The next morning set off for the distant shore. I wasn't the only one going there, as there were fisher families among the people in the empire that wanted to return to that lifestyle. After a few days, I reached the coastline and gazed upon the rolling waves. It was picturesque, and a perfect starting point.

Walking into town, I alerted the local administrator, who was now an "imperial" citizen himself that I was there to stick around. He just waved me off, made me sign a register, and I was on my way. I made an effort to pick up any garbage left sitting about, especially metal refuse.

"Anyone care if I take this refuse?" I asked. Most people just shrugged, and said to do as I wanted with it. Despite it all being junk, it was useful for materials since I saw rubber, steel, and fabrics among the stuff. One man's junk was another's treasure, provided they knew what the hell they were doing.

I wandered away from the town, a good enough distance, and began to use the scanner. Over the course of four hours, I scanned many, many flora and rocks to begin the path of construction. The plants were able to provide fibers which I was able to use to fabricate advanced fabrics, which allowed me to construct a diving suit like in the game. I wore it as soon as it was done, and then constructed an oxygen tank with the same fibers and the steel junk I had. With broken glass, steel, and resin from the garbage, I was able to construct a breathing mask for the tank. Finally, with the rubber, and resin from various composite materials, I was able to make flippers.

I realized with a start once I brought out the PDA and connected it to the suit, that it gave me access to the sub-space storage that all Alterra survival suits came with. Taking advantage of this, I broke down everything I carried, and placed into storage raw materials and various foods.

With little left, I turned, and began to walk into the water.

Getting past the point where the waves pushed me inland, I began to swim underwater and down as the seabed dipped deeper. I could still see the bottom for several hundred feet before it faded into blue and grey. My tank had about forty-five minutes of air before I had to surface for it to refill itself, so I had no fear of running out before the time was up like in the game. The suit would also do the adjustments for the depths so I didn't suffer the standard issues with scuba diving, so it was all just swimming and exploring from this point forward.

Taking out the scanner, I began scanning various rocks and plants that I came across, sparce as it was, but felt elated upon running into coral. I didn't know if it were the right type, but after scanning, it appeared to be both the type to create chips and parts, and to created bleach with.

I wasn't expecting to find Titanium, since I had no idea if it was even a common material or not on this planet. Assuming it was as common as it were on Earth (9th​ most common) it would be everywhere but in absolute minute amounts.

Scanning large rocks gave me the means to draw it out, and into my inventory. It was time consuming however as even a rock as large as a bus gave me only a handful of the material as dust in about thirty seconds per hit. However, the PDA was helpful in putting the material into exact measurements in the storage, and I knew how many equaled a single unit of pure titanium. Ten units to be exact.

For the next hour, aside from surfacing for air, I just grinded away until I had enough material to finally construct my first base. I dove deeper first before stopping in a relatively flat location, and constructed an "X Compartment", along with a "T Compartment", a pair of solar panels, and the hatch.

I clambered inside, proud of the fact I finally had things going my way when I felt it. A star fell, and the Forge grabbed it.

Spoiler: CLANG!

-Material Limitations (World Seed) (100CP)

Even with the advanced technology commonplace on Earth nowadays, material limitations haven't changed. Or rather, you could say that they've gotten even worse. After all, how are you going to store antimatter if you have only steel at hand? Luckily, you won't ever have problems finding the materials you need. Whether you'll stumble upon them while searching through a scrapyard, or find just the right people who can get you that obscure alloy you need, nothing will stop you from building whatever you want besides your own skill. Well, if you're keeping it reasonable, at least.

The chance of you finding what you're searching for decreases exponentially with the material's strength and rarity, and increases by how much you know about said material, scientifically, and how good your technology skills are. So while a regular schmuck would probably never find Adamantium, someone who could reproduce it themselves in only a few years would have much, much better chances. So if you're in a situation where it is impossible to get what you want with what you know and where you are right now? Then you'll have to get to work yourself. Good riddance then that you can eventually reproduce any material or alloy that you have seen, though for extremely advanced ones it might take an unreasonable amount of time and skill.

I blinked. "Well…that may solve several issues." I already knew about many materials I needed to actually make Subnautica technology work, as well as the real-world information about them. So, I guess I'll run into stuff sooner or later regardless.

For the next four hours after that, I explored the immediate area, and found several locations near me of note. A kelp forest where I used the Sickle to harvest the materials for food and fibers, same for seaweed, several large rock areas that yielded more materials to me after a lot of scanning, a variety of underwater flora that could be utilized to make electronics, and most importantly, unlocking new blueprints as I discovered new materials.

The base now had six solar panels, a fabricator, emergency kit, a radio, several lockers, six of those basic plant pots which accelerated growth, and a proper bed. The PDA figure out most of the designs on its own, which showed how good of a tool it was.

The six pots were a surprise to me entirely, but I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. One pot was full of carrots, one with potatoes, another with cabbage, dandelions in the fourth, and strawberry and tomato like plants for the last two. I found the last ones while seeking out materials near the shore. The lockers were filled with purified water, and materials I didn't want to have in my storage space. I was more or less self sufficient without needing to beg for scraps or get paid in a meal anymore.

The freedom that came with that was gratifying. It felt like was living normally once more. I mean…sure I worked to earn money, but that's not the same as earning your daily bread. Might as well work just to breath oxygen.

"That's the first world mindset bruh." I muttered to myself as I remembered Bron and Roake. I'm sure they would love to be independent too.

With a shrug, I got undressed, turned down the lights and went to bed with the sound of the surface waves drifting me to sleep. For the first time in over two months, I dreamt nice dreams.

---

Underwater Base #3, Northern Sea
Novo Franklin, Periphery Space
August 23rd​, 2980 AD

I finished the last touches of the new base, a bed and fabricator.

"Good." I said simply as I turned to look out the window, out into the dark water towards the reason I constructed a new base.

The day after I built my first base, I upgraded my tank from a standard one to a high capacity one, giving me two hours and fifteen minutes of air to use, and I began to explore. Deeper, farther, and I found a great many things. Places where I am able to harvest a variety of plants and fish. Places where I mine due to being very craggy, and filled with rare minerals. I chose to construct a similar, smaller base to the first two kilometers away between these two locations, and use it mainly to store things.

It wasn't until five days after I had been looking for large deposits of various metals, only to then make an unexpected discovery that shook me to my core. The remains of a Union class dropship. It had faded markings of the Federated Suns upon of it, but it was covered in coral and rust. There was no way for me to reclaim it, but I didn't care about any of that. I wanted to scan it. It was about a kilometer underwater, and five kilometers away from shore, four kilometers beyond my base. Thank goodness for beacons, without them, I would not be able to find my way to either base, or to shore.

"Alright. Let's get to it." I said with glee.

As I began scanning, the PDA helpfully added commentary, and new designs with the technology its database now possessed.

"According to scans, the dropship suffered a strike from a small capital laser. Given data on Novo Franklin, and its importance at large, how and why a warship would have been here is puzzling."

I frowned. "That is weird. Also makes me wonder who they were fighting over this rock."

Installing light rods around a hole to the innards of the vessel, I shone a flashlight within and swam into the dead ship.

The inside was filled with sand and stone from who knows how long ago, but it was otherwise without plants and some small fish, and floating particles. I placed all of the light rods I had before lighting off a flare. Swimming upwards I paused in awe as I saw the face of a man, in the form of a machine. Two, three, four…eight. There were eight mechs inside of this thing. All of them more or less intact. I doubt they could be used after being underwater for so long, but a scanner could probably give more the means to do so, or even build one.

The first was a Hunchback-4G, followed by a pair of Wasps, then a Firestarter, then a Clint, a Dervish, a Catapault, and finally a Rifleman. Bit of a hodgepodge mixture of mechs, but if it were during the latter part of the beginning Succession Wars, then beggars could not be choosers.

Pulling out the scanner, and I floated in front of the Hunchback and began the scan. Even with the faster scan function, it still took five minutes to completely scan the machine. Once it was finished, I got not only the design for the machine, but for everything that went into it. The weapons, the autocannon, the ammunition, Myomer, fusion reactor, the neuro-control system. Everything. Scanning the rest of the mechs just added more of what some machines lacked. Different weapons, engine models and sizes, chassis, and so on were added.

It was when I finished with the Rifleman that I felt another pull, and waited as the forge reached out. It faded away as it missed the star, but the energy remained for a future star.

"According to scans, there is mech bay below the primary one, and an aerospace fighter bay higher up."

I following the PDA's words, I checked the two bays, only to find them both empty.

"Maybe they got out before whatever happened, happened?"

The rest of the time was spent scanning everything from desks, to cots, to doors, to picture frames, until needed air, and then repeated until I exhausted myself. The main notable thing was the cargo bay had several vehicles, mainly APCs, for land travel. I scanned them completely.

I laid in a newer, more comfortable bed after disassembling the old one, and checked over the designs and schematics the PDA had stored away. It was almost too much to take in, but two schematics in the "deployable" menu caught my interest.

"Huh. I regained the mobile vehicle bay. So I can try to remake the Seamoth if I put forth the effort, or find similar enough technology to scan."

The other one that grabbed my attention.

"Land Vehicle Bay?"

"The Land Vehicle Bay utilizes the technology from the Mobile Vehicle Bay to construct land vehicles of many kinds. To modify and repair land vehicles, consult the base construction menu."

Doing so revealed the "Land Hanger Bay" which was a land-based version of the moonpool. Robotic arms could lift and modify, recharge, and repair any vehicle stored in the bay. There were three models. A small one for trucks and APCs. A Medium one for the Mechs and Aerospace Fighters. And a large one for the Dropship, which was at least five different things that made up this one object.

The fact the PDA figured out how to make these on its own showed me just how powerful Alterra tech was. Then again, it was an emergency AI unit that somehow managed to partially translate a completely alien language based on little to nothing. Not to mention capable of scanning its surroundings to a frighteningly accurate degree despite little to no actual sensor systems attached to it.

I had several new base parts as well, but most of them were applicable only on land, but I now also had the scanner room back since the UAV technology on board the ship was enough to recreate the tech from scratch. Plus, I now had the Seaglide again because of desk fans and the amphibious modes of some vehicles. Also, the reinforced diving suit due to space suits and industrial exoskeletons.

I would work on those later.

Going to sleep once more, with the distant giant looming over the base, I had the PDA play soft music that was somehow stored on the ship and recoverable. How it did that, no clue, but I wasn't complaining. I went to sleep easily.

---

Deep Expanse Edge, Northern Sea
Novo Franklin, Periphery Space
August 30th​, 2980 AD

I felt like an idiot. I was glad I made the beacons to find my way around, but I cannot believe that I wandered so far and deeply without paying attention.

I couldn't help it though! That damned "Material Limitations" perk kicked in a ton ever since I started actively looking for minerals like Copper, Aluminum, Titanium, Gold, and more to build more stuff. Because of the perk, I was finding deposits of the stuff here and there which forced me to create the seaglide to move about faster.

It also got me started on the project to create the "Marine Mech", which is basically a Battlemech turned deep sea industrial mech. I was almost done too since I found radioactive material required to create the "Fusion Power Cell" to actually power the thing.

But then I ended up, like many foolish players first playing Subnautica, staying underwater too long before taking into account the air supply. I would have just created a temporary base and left it at that, but then I ended up finding the edge of what appeared to be a large sea trench. Which Is when the PDA kicked in.

"Local scans of this underwater valley show signs of large deposits, as well as possible rare elements. Deep Sea diving equipment is highly recommended."

So, here I was trying to reach the edge of this thing before I ran out of air. I was fortunate that, despite the depths, the solar panels still functioned at powering the place.

That said, I needed a small base quickly, so a simple "I Section" with a hatch, and a single solar panel, did the job.

"Warning: Depths of this magnitude require reinforcement. Recommend you construct building foundation."

"I don't have that, or the lead for the requirements. So, if you have a better design in there, I would love to see it before I die of suffocation."

Within a few moments, it did provide me with a new series of base parts. "Reinforced base parts" which required far more titanium than I had on me. I only had sixteen minutes of air left, so I got to scanning for the amount I needed. I had only four minutes left when I got the materials, and constructed the new base.

Double-hulled, it was able to withstand the new depths better than normal base parts. Even so, I still only had the amount of space normal base parts had.

For the moment, I laid on my back, lambasting myself for my stupidity. There was no excuse for not keeping track of my air supply, but I got too caught up in the gathering game, and wandered too far.

"I got lucky this time, but never again. I only have this one life, and no resets."

With little else to do, I rest and recharged for the next few minutes before going back out.

Looking down over the edge of the abyss, there was nothing but black and a deep silence to it all. Thalassophobia is something a lot of people have to various degrees, for various reasons.

I was no exception, which is why I usually tried to stick to the sea floor when I go around and explore.

Now I was seeing nothing but the depths, and it made my stomach drop and ass pucker up.

It was at this moment I felt the star fall down upon me. I waited for the forge to take it…only for it to fade away again, and the residual energy gather even more.

"Well, it will be interesting when that actually grabs something." I said as I swam away from the edge.

"First however…we need to gather and build up."

---

Underwater Base 005, "Leviathan's Depths" Trench, Northern Sea
Novo Franklin, Periphery Space
September 4th​, 2980 AD

Checking over my materials one last time, I pointed the habitat builder to the spot where a ground level "T-Section" connected to the rest of the base, and began construction of the Underwater Mech Hanger. It slowly took shape with the internals appearing first, before quickly being covered with internal bulkheads, and then covered with a thick titanium shell that protected the internal bay from the incredible pressure of this depth.

Upon completion, the facility stood tall, well over the base itself. One hundred feet tall and about half that in length and width. It had taken ten titanium ingots, along with a variety of electronic parts to fabricate the thing, but it would be well worth it.

I swam down to T-Section and entered through the deep-sea hatch there, going through the process of draining water out of a chamber, which then pressurized, before entering the base itself.

The hanger was a big empty space, same the large robotic arms attached to the walls, floor, and ceiling. These robotic arms would not only keep the machines in place, but also allow for construction and modification to them without a crew to do the work.

Standing before the bay construction/modification terminal, I entered in the menu to construct the Marine Mech, all the required materials taken from my inventory. The arms swung about and began shining beams about, nanites constructing the machine from the molecules and up. After a minute, the machine was done, and the PDA announced itself.

"The Deep Sea Marine Mech is a powerful tool for both exploration, industrial work, and even combat if modified for it. Capable of handling the abyssal depths, it is the king of the battlefield, on land and now in the sea. Refrain from excessive excitement, lest the machine acts out against your will."

I rolled my eyes at the last bit as I walked about the machine. It stood forty-five feet tall and weighed about fifty tons. It looked positively skeletal compared to a standard Battlemech, but most of the weight was a metal shell around the actuators and myomers. This acted as reinforcement for parts to withstand the abyssal pressure, which coincidentally allowed it to act like armor in combat.

Despite its gangly appearance, it was as powerful as any machine in its weight class. It's titanium shell, however was a weakness due to being less capable of deflecting damage. I needed Lithium in order to create alloy grade Plasteel, which according to the PDA, was an equivalent to the standard armor Battlemechs, and other combat vehicles, were in possession of.

With knowledge of what Lithium was in depth, thanks to the PDA, I had faith that my perk would make me stumble across it at some point.

"Alright. Let's get to-"

The sudden sound of groaning filled the air, with the whole room rumbling and shaking.

"What the hell?!" I shouted, stumbling into the construction station when the rumble gave way to an ear bursting bang from within the bay.

I turned to look, and horror filled me as water jetted in through a hole, and then another bang, deeper in the base. Then another, and another…

"Warning! Structural integrity compromised!"

"NO SHIT!" I shouted, sprinting to into the base, sealing the bulkhead door behind me.

---

"Leviathan's Depths" Trench, Northern Sea
Novo Franklin, Periphery Space
September 7th​, 2980 AD

I stomped about slowly with my "Marine Mech" and began mining out the Uranium deposit. The drill arm whirred to life loudly as it began digging into the earth around the mineral formation. It was easier to do than to drill the mineral itself, even if it were easier to take it back to base in chunks than a whole piece.

It wasn't too big a deal though, as I had the base built for these depths now, instead of having to float eight kilometers up again to the other base near the edge. Though reinforcing them wasn't easy given the lack of stronger materials available, save more titanium, which is what I ended up doing. The base was a chunky thing with extremely thick walls that had no windows to look outside.

For the mech to enter the base, I would have to enter it into a floodable hanger, which would then pressurize and then drain the water out. My reinforced suit could handle these extreme depths well enough, but I still had to enter a double hatch bay to get inside due to the insane pressure.

Having gathered the diamond deposit into the mech subspace storage unit, I entered my base and exited my mech after the process was complete.

"Status?"

"All systems functioning nominally. Structural Integrity at 100%. Captain." The female voice sounded out.

I nodded with relief. Ever since that incident three days ago with that near miss with death, I became paranoid about its structural stability. Any sufficient growl of the structure settling was enough to set me off. I did not need to deal with holes popping open and filling the place with laser beam-like jets water. I say laser beam-like because at these depths, the P.S.I. (Pounds per Square Inch) is so incredible that water going through a small hole would cut a man to pieces.

"Load the Uranium into the processor, and construct the Power Cells."

"Acknowledge." The Habitat AI replied as the system began its work. Raw Uranium was too dangerous for me to handle even with a radiation suit, but the Vehicle Bay possessed the means once it was modified to access a vehicle storage unit.

I had fifteen Fusion Power Cells in storage right now, and with the amount I got from this latest dig, I might increase that to twenty. Enough to power ten Marine Mechs, or Battlemechs.

I paused in my thoughts as the Forge suddenly reached out to a falling star…and missed again. The residual power increased even more, and I felt the forge would grab something far larger the next time.

Moving on, I exited out of the base and into the abyss once more about the base. Thanks to the installed lights, I was no longer completely in the dark and could see a variety of small creatures swimming about above and below the base. Fish that were blind due to not needing sight at these depths, and eel-like in order to save energy that would be needed to survive without food for weeks. They fed on particulates that my base gave off as a result waste, of my needing companions down here, and the PDA designing a system to allow for it. As a result, there was a small school of fish just feeding and laying about in the underside of the base, with a few burrowed in the sand.

Swimming upwards above the base, I installed a new I-Section to a X-Section that I had intended to use for a bit, and installed the newest facility. The Scanner Room. With it done, I re-entered the base and set to getting the drones to work. I had them search out for Lithium around the base, and then left them to it. It would be several hours before I needed to check them.

I decided to go to the garden section of the base because I needed green, and upon entering the room the soft sound of lo-fi music played. I installed the sound track for the plants primarily, but also to create an atmosphere of peace in the harsh depths. The walls were lined with transparent titanium that were lined with micro-filiments, a technology gained from Battlemech armor, allowing them to act as a TV screen. The walls, ceiling, and the floor were able to project a holo-image within the two-foot-thick metal panes, creating realistic images of any environment I desired. It wasn't a Star Trek Holodeck, but it was the next best thing.

The scenery was currently set to the Caribbean, with a beach, palm trees, a single bungalow with a dock and surfboards. Plus, distant animals like seagulls, chickens, a cat, and dog, randomly moving about in the distance, doing random things.

This was good for my mind more than anything else. When Covid hit, I was alone for around two years, and I was fine because I was from Alaska. I was used to isolation and solitude. However, I could still go outside and enjoy the sun, the critters, the rain, the breeze. Down here, there was none of that. It was just water and black all around me. While it didn't…bother me per se, I didn't like it all that much. So, I made this room with the help of the PDA coming up with schematics from my ideas. It worked out very well in my opinion.

Kinda wish I had an actual cat though.

Once more my mind rifted to the idea of going to the surface, and doing exactly that. Taking a mech, using it to establish dominance, then trading what I wanted with the minerals and gems I got down here. It's not like Comstar is going to do anything even if they were aware. Eight kilometers of ocean between me and them would do that. While they can burn worlds, they can't crack them like eggs. My armor is thicker than your shit can hit, and anything they drop down here, I can destroy with impunity if the ocean doesn't do it for me.

"Actually…does Comstar even exist on this world yet?" I asked out loud with a frown. It was around this era of time they tried to "reach out" to the periphery, which includes Novo Franklin getting a B-Class station. I hadn't asked around for them because I was too busy getting my feet under me when I got dropped on this medieval hole.

"Well…at this point I could just rise up and do that…Hey Ada?"

"Yes sir." My PDA replied.

"Can we design a Submarine that not only can handle these extreme depths, but also carry and launch a battlemech? Maybe Seamoth fighter drones too?"

"We can. Shall we start now?"

I nodded as I stood up. "Start up the design room. I'll be there in a bit."

Roaming the base to the "design room", most of the internals were lined with "Windows" that were screens like the garden room, but instead of the Caribbean, it showed a brighter, more lit up version of the ocean around us. One that reminded me where we were, but not so dark and dull that it would depress me. It even had the sun shining down with a connection from the other bases to track the suns movements, creating the illusion we were not that deep.

Entering the design room, the room was lined with screens in the wall, and on a desk that gave me an interface to interact with the program.

"I have a preliminary design to show you now."

"Fast as always" I said with a grin as the interface lit up, showing me what it made.

It showed me what could be mistaken for Moby Dick. A White whale like machine that was over two hundred feet long with an enormous engine, a central control system up front on the "nose" of the thing, a pair of "eyes" that were observation rooms, and a hanger that lined the entire bottom of the ship save the final third of it in the aft section. The dorsal section had…a dorsal fin…that more or less had sensors, sonar, and a scope camera. Ahead of that was another hanger door on the top that opened to what could only be the mech bay hanger. It would be laying down inside of the submarine until either the hangers above or below opened, where it would be lifted upright, or dropped down as is into the water below.

"This is pretty awesome already! I can't-" I was saying when another star fell. I paused for the forge to reach out…and miss again.

"This will be quite the thing." I muttered, both to myself about the energy I would spend, and the ship itself.

---

Author's Note

Unda-da-sea~

I had thought of adding a portion of him creating a heavy reinforced suit to go super deep, as both something that would make sense, and as a reference to "The Abyss" by James Cameron. Instead I decided to just get to him being down there.

QQ note: I know I just posted Chapter one, but I posted it on RR and SB a few days ago, so now they are all on the same time.

Chapter three will be a few days since I need to write Chapter 9 for Patreon.

 

[GundamChief]

No stats for this as it's just a plot device. Imagine more canards and winglets for movement in the water, and its this thing.

 

[Tta160]

So how tough is mc mech was because mech capable of operating in extreme depth pressure without problems should be really durable together with no need to worry about heat problems like battletech mech will make mc mech quite powerful.

 

[GundamChief]

So how tough is mc mech was because mech capable of operating in extreme depth pressure without problems should be really durable together with no need to worry about heat problems like battletech mech will make mc mech quite powerful.

Click to shrink...

While I didn't give stats for it, as it is, it's about equal to a class of a mech one weight class above it. It's a medium, so it's equal to a heavy in terms of toughness and strength. It doesn't have the weapons however, because it isn't a combat platform.

 

[Mgunh1]

While I didn't give stats for it, as it is, it's about equal to a class of a mech one weight class above it. It's a medium, so it's equal to a heavy in terms of toughness and strength. It doesn't have the weapons however, because it isn't a combat platform.

Click to shrink...

It's the size of a light (if that cockpit is any indication), the weight of a medium, the strength and durability of a heavy. And almost entirely lacking in weapons.

Man that's going to give the locals conniptions.

 

[Imperium]

Author's Note

Unda-da-sea~

Click to shrink...

View: https://youtu.be/GC_mV1IpjWA?si=tKl43vKrukvg3o_z

Lol. I had too.

Edit: Took a few times to get the embed right.

 

[Sceonn]

"Can we design a Submarine that not only can handle these extreme depths, but also carry and launch a battlemech? Maybe Seamoth fighter drones too?"

Click to shrink...

So Caspar? Once he gets his hands on the scans of a warship doesn't this means that he's already got the building blocks of his own SDS?

It showed me what could be mistaken for Moby Dick.

Click to shrink...

I love this, hopefully he keeps the same design philosophy once he gets to space. Biomimetics all the way.

 

[Kathador]

It's the size of a light (if that cockpit is any indication), the weight of a medium, the strength and durability of a heavy. And almost entirely lacking in weapons.

Man that's going to give the locals conniptions.

Click to shrink...

Now think what would happen if he made a PRAWN suit and surfaced near a village or something. I remember a personnel sized battlesuit from MechAssault but I've heard they might not be canon?

 

[GundamChief]

Underwater Base 005, "Leviathan's Depths" Trench, Northern Sea
Novo Franklin, Periphery Space
September 16th, 2980 AD


Ten days of gathering, working, improving, and more, just for this moment.

After finding lithium, improving the power cells to Lithium Fusion Power Cells, improving the Armor Shell of both the base and Marine Mech, I was finally ready to construct the Whale Class Submarine. I would name it in honor of the creature I thought of offhand when I first saw it.

"Alright Ada. Let's build Moby Dick. Make sure to load it with all the materials in base storage." I ordered within my Marine Mech cockpit.

"Affirmative Sir." The AI announced, and the constructor drones began to work.

From the bottom up, the massive machine slowly came into being, gleaming white in color, and upon completing, floated over the expanse like the leviathan it was. Without another word, I made my way to the belly of the machine, and it opened up without any command from me, grabbing a hold of the mech an swinging me so the mech was face down. The bay closed, and then drained of water immediately. Exiting out of the rear head hatch, and up the ladder into hanger bay and control, I was surrounded by more white walls and a variety of mechanical systems.

"Welcome aboard Captain." Announce the baritone voice of the ship AI.

With a grin I made my way to the bridge. "Alter the Mech for land-based combat, and set a course for base-four."

"Affirmative" the AI replied, and the sound of gimbled arms got to work in the hanger behind me as I strode through the Captain's suite, and onto the bridge. The set up wasn't all that different from the Cyclops submarine, save it was larger, and had an elevated space for a better view. While it could be operated by one person, with enough Ais, this ship was truly designed for a crew of around twenty people.

Maybe it was pride, or greed, or the Self-Reliant Alaskan in me, but I didn't really feel like sharing my room and stuff with others. Things can change though, so I would have to keep an open mind.

The ship moved itself with grace, and at fifteen knots. At that speed, I spent time making the captains suite to my desires. Upon reaching base four, I had the drones empty it of resources, and then moved onto base three. I had the ship accelerate to maximum velocity of thirty-three knots. If I were without the mech, that speed would be around forty knots, and fifty in overdrive. Base three was about fifteen kilometers distance from base four, so it took a little under fifteen minutes to reach it. I had already emptied it of most materials when I made base-four, but there were still things to be had.

Upon reaching base four, I stared that the comparatively small base to the Union I had built it next to. My submarine was about ass long as it was tall, and that really showed me how far I had come since then. I kept staring upon the machine, before finally making a decision of what I would do for it. I would leave it as a marker for the future. A reminder of my path when I first began. With that, I began to empty base-three.

Once emptied, I moved onto base-two, which took only a little over four minutes since it was only five kilometers away. It was emptied out. Then I finished by going to Base-One.

Reaching the base, I was surprised at how small it was, remembering how little I was trying to actually build up at this point.

"Almost tempted to just remove it to get materials back…but then again, it's a measure of how far I've gone since all those weeks ago."

I emptied it of what little it had, and sat on the Captain's chair I made. I had a few choices of where to go from here now. I was no longer limited as I was before, now possessing a level of freedom I didn't have in my old world either. I could just o what I thought of. Rising up, establishing my underwater kingdom, trade with the surface, and rock on from there.

On the other hand, I could just explore the oceans to my heart's content. No one could top me, and just trade in ports as I found them, build a crew as I went, yar-har, a Pirate's life for me. Well…of the Jack Sparrow slash Luffy D. Monkey slash Captain Harlock sort than the Edward "Black Beard" Teach sort.

On the other, other hand…I could find out if I could leave or not. As in leave Novo Franklin and explore the Inner Sphere. Sure, things were going to get interesting this century, but did I have to actually do anything? The answer is no. Screw the Houses, the Clans, Comstar, and so on.

"I am my own Man! Master of my own Destiny!" I shouted.

Then again…I had it somewhat easy with the Empire, but other parts of Novo Franklin were more like the hellish picture some of the bad planets, like Tortuga, painted with the blood of so called "Kings", ruling like despots on a tiny piece of land in a microcosm of the Inner Sphere.

I could do something about it all. I could raise these people up to better places, a better life. It wasn't my responsibility, unless I take it as one upon myself.

I sighed, as this wasn't the first time this month I had thought this line of choices. My desire to remain independent warred with my desire to build up the lives of those around me who didn't have the means to get anything better.

I leaned forward in thought, looking over the pros and cons of each of the choices. As I did so, that's when I felt the star fall. I paused, waited for the forge to reach out and grab it.

Spoiler: CLANG!!

-Huragok Ally (Halo - UNSC) (200CP)

Something of a surprise and most definitely an attention-grabber, a Huragok is supposed to be one of the members of the Covenant Homogeny and has normally been seen only in their presence. Yet Huragok, also known by those in the UNSC as 'Engineers', are primarily pacifistic and dedicate themselves purely to repairing and working on any technology around them. This particular one seems to have gotten lost and ended up deciding to follow you for the sake of making sure your technology was functioning. Aside from melodic whistling sounds that sound slightly similar to Earth whales, Huragoks communicate using either sign language with their tendrils or through text messaging thanks to their penchant of being biological supercomputers. Huragok are highly prized for being able to fix almost anything they touch, and you should expect a lot of questioning if someone spots you with one.

I blinked as a mist filled with sparkles appeared on the bridge, and revealed the floating space snail.

Its eyes opened, gazing upon me before closing its eyes and whistling, doing a floating rendition of a "happy dance". I couldn't help but smile because it was as cute as I thought it was when I first saw the thing in ODST.

"Well, hello there. Wasn't expecting you at all."

It nodded in agreement before taking a look around, and floated over to a console. With a touch of its tentacle, it connected itself to the entire ship, and by extension to my PDA.

"Alert: Text Message Received from local source." Ada announced.

Pulling her out from my carrier pocket, I took a look and it turned out to be from a "Shemla".

My name is Shemla. It's a pleasure to meet you Star Forger.

"Star Forger?" I asked, a beep following up soon after.

Yes, that is what I learned from the great source before being brought here. I was able to escape my bondage from the clumsy actions of the Unggoy, and from there I made my way to a deeper place upon High Charity. I didn't know where I was, so deep in its bowels, but without warning, I was pulled away from that place to a plane of stars. It was there the Source of all give me a choice. Join you, or remain. Given my eventual execution if I remained in my place, I took the chance and joined with you.

Memories of Halo, and various locations an races painted the picture, and I nodded.

"Given your kind were forced to be living suicide bombs, and shield generators for the ground troops, I'm not surprised what your end would have been." I replied with a frown. That brought up many issues to my situation. My appearance with the submarine and Marine Mech would have been shocking enough, but an actual for real alien? A step too far, and for the wrong sort, the kind that would set the world upon my head.

Looking at Shemla, I smiled again. "Well, I'm glad you are here. Welcome to…my crew I suppose, though it comprises only of the two of us currently, unless you count the AIs too, then it's five of us."

It bowed its head with a low whistle before more text appeared.

I am glad. So, Star Forger, what are your plans?

I crossed my arms with a sigh. "That's my current conundrum." I started. I explained to the snail my circumstances, this world, and what I've done since coming into the ocean, and now my current situation.

Shemla listened patiently, though it was manipulating the ship slightly, improving the system seemingly, before turning back to me.

I can understand your dilemma. Though I am no longer under threat of the Covenant, I share the desire to simple fade away from the world despite the freedom I now possess. So, if I may make a suggestion?

I waved my arm. "Please."

I suggest we simply do what you felt strongly about, and sail the seas of this world. In that time, we can improve your equipment, with my help, find more resources, and take our time to pick what our true path will be. Leaving this world, or taking part in it.

I softly nodded. It gave me the excuse to not just jump into the issues of the land, and frankly, unless I need to do something, procrastination was my big flaw.

"Alright. I agree. I can always return to land at another time. Computer, set a course for Base Five."

"Affirmative Captain."

With that decided, I gave the snail a tour of the ship. While it likely knew the schematics via its connection to the ships computer, I wanted it to actually see the things, and have someone to talk with. I altered the PDA to allow Text-to-speech so Shemla could talk rather than just text me.

It, She…I'm gonna call it a She since it's using Ada's voice and it's easier to keep track of, She was impressed by the Marine Mech, though she spotted several issues and ways it could be improved upon. With her and Ada brainstorming the designing program built into the emergency AI, they made a great many improvements upon the mech, turning it into an entirely different beast than it was.

They began by removing electrical cables and computer parts from the body entirely and integrating them into the endo-skeleton via nano-construction techniques. It removed a solid ten tons of weight, increased its computational capabilities by several generations compared to the systems standard mechs used. The only parts that remained were the connection points for weapons and external parts, which were changed out for the power transfer technology from Alterra, allowing them to access electrical power via wireless power systems.

The Myomers were swapped out completely with an entirely new form of the same system. Again, Shemla, with her super computer brain, and Ada's powerful computational capabilities, figured out a way to create nano-myomers. The cables were only a centimeter thick, but due to Plasteel and more efficient energy transfer systems, each were individually as powerful as their standard counterparts. Add on top of that a more efficient musculature system design to maximize the number of cables in the space, this made the Marine Mech five times stronger than contemporary mechs of equivalent weight. It in turn made it faster as well, and melee combat would be far more deadly when facing this machine.

If the number of strands were reduced to match the standard mech capabilities, there would be enough room to add several tons of equipment. It made me think of the LAMs, and how different they would be if they had access to such technology. Future stuff.

The integration of Holo-Plasteel screen technology for the HUD was added to the cockpit give a more user-friendly interface, that was also more "immersive" in that it didn't distract. It in fact added to the visual organization.

Then they added armor, which was now a plasteel layered composite that functioned similarly to Standard battle plate, but with nano-circuitry installed throughout for sensor feeds, and the two additional technologies the mech now sported. The armor was functionally BAR 14. It would still take damage if hit by a sufficiently powerful weapon, but it would have to be one of the higher end weapons to do it. At least a Medium Laser or AC-5 anyways. Missiles, machine guns, flamers, and small lasers won't do squat. Unless there are multiple weapons of that level all hitting the same spot at once, then it's a different story. Even then Alterran repair tool technology was integrated into the torso and limbs, making self-repairs a breeze, though it appears to draw more than a bit of energy to do so.

The heat sinks were changed out for an entirely new heat exchange system that, according to the readout, were heat dispensation rods that were five times more efficient than a standard single heatsink. The machine came with eight of them, and each one was a dense three tons per rod. Normally this would be worrying, but with the improved myomers, this was rendered moot as a standard mech could lift ten percent of its own body weight in addition to everything it already had. It was half its body weight for this machine. This left an extra ton to spare.

All this improvement almost made me miss the star that was falling, but it did not matter as it missed and left behind its energy for a later time.

The Lithium Fusion Power Cells were left mostly unchanged, except that the efficiency rose to four times what it was. Covenant tech is bullshit apparently. That said, instead of four power cells, it was reduced to two, the free weight gained from it being handed over to the heating rods and equipment. They Gyroscope was replaced by a gravity gyro that utilized vortex technology from Alterra to create an artificial singularity. As a result, the "gyro" was near zero mass save the containment vessel, weighing only a third of a standard gyro. The only issue with it is it you lost power, in which it shut down, or you got damaged enough to lose containment…

The less I thought about that, the better.

In the original Marine Mech, there weren't any jump jets, or underwater motive equipment built in. It was mission equipment that could be equipped on hardpoints that used the carry weight of the machine to equip it on top of everything. Now, the machine had integrated thrusters that worked underwater, on land, and in space with proper equipment. Underwater, they were just water jets that allowed the machine to go move through the water at forty knots. On land, they became jump jets that ignited the air as it passed through the thruster, and can practically fly until the heat required you to stop and drop. In space, you needed to equip a fuel pod.

They wanted to replace it with anti-gravity propulsion, but this was just a modification. They'll do that next time…they said.

The Neural Helmet was almost done away with, but they kept the function to increase the connection between the pilot and machine. It was replaced by a lighter helmet instead, and as a result of the Nano-circuitry throughout the mech, its response was unmatched by even the most capable pilots. With integrated circuitry, there was no need for a combat computer, or sensors, and what not. There were even additional sensors that normally were not in battlemechs, like an Alterran Scanner, and a mineral detector. They were integrated with the endo skeleton. This gave the cockpit massive space, allowing a lavatory, fabricator, and a cot. It also possessed a full head ejection system, which used four lithium fusion power cells of standard size, not mech size, to power turbofans to give it flight capabilities. The special equipment was also in the head for additional safety upon ejection.

The weapons were swapped out for mech scale Covenant Weapon systems. Thanks to Alterra technology, upscaling infantry scaled weapons was a breeze for Shemla and Ada. Each shoulder now carried a missile launcher equivalent that is basically a needler. It fired out as many as I need it to, and can target anything, and follows it regardless of interference because it's bullshit. The chest came with four small plasma repeaters that acted as machineguns effective for infantry and light to medium vehicles, with an effective range equal to a medium laser. The arms were equipped with plasma cannons that were upsized plasma rifles.

In the head were a pair of light medium grade lasers that were full-on rapid-fire weapons now. Not pulse, rapid fire. They kept firing in a pulse until you stopped, with each pulse doing equivalent damage to a full medium laser beam. Ironically, they ran the coldest of all the weapons.

That was all the range weapons, and they kept it "simple" to start.

For melee, Shemla managed to get anti-gravity technology to work in this universe with slight tweaks, and now the hands and feet of the mech had gravity impactors. So, as if punching, kicking, and stomping with five times standard force wasn't enough, now it basically doubled with a burst of anti-gravity.

They even included a handheld Plasma Sword and Shield in case I felt like it.

Finally, there was the special equipment, of which a smaller version was equipped for the head alone.

Simply put. Covenant Force Field, and Cloaking. The Nano-Circuits essentially made it so a body tight plasma field would surround the mech and protect it from anything for a time. Once depleted, I would be exposed until it recharged again. That same system allowed for the armor to shift itself to blend with the environment around it. It didn't hide its heat, or magnetic field, but sight was a no go. The only downside was I couldn't use both at the same time.

The Marine Mech is pretty much an entirely different machine now, because of these two, and they did it all by the time we reached Base Five.

"God damned super brains."

As I looked down upon the base, I looked over to Shemla.

"I don't know how you're going to get in there, without having a suit for yourself?"

With a whistle, she replied.

"Do not worry. I wish to continue improving this ship. Take the mech and have the system alter it to the new standards in the meantime."

With a shrug, I took the Marine Mech out and into the base. It was a simple matter of enacting the "Modification/Upgrade" system, but I needed the materials. The drones brought them over and the process began. The insanely fast construction system of Alterra made the whole process take no more than five minutes. Upon completion, I looked at a skinny machine that was more at home in Armored Core than Battletech.

I felt a little torn now, because this thing was overpowered by local standards. The combination of Alterra, Covenant, and Battletech technology came together to create a monster. On one hand, this thing would probably allow me to one man army this whole planet. On the other, if there were any off-worlders, they would see it and freak the fuck out, and then tell everyone about the super mech.

I sighed as I entered it and exited the base, giving it a test run. It stomped on the floor with thumps sounded quite different than normal. Enough to make me ask about it.

"Walking sounds and feels different. What's up with that?"

"The Gravity Impactors in your legs also act as a form of stabilizer. With them you can easily walk, and run upon the ocean floor." Shemla answered.

"Run?"

"Yes, because the impactors grab hold of the ground regardless of the environment."

"…Does that mean it can technically walk up walls?"

"It could, but I do not recommend it unless in a low gravity environment. You would be more efficient going up mountains for certain."

I shook my head, but paused as I felt another star fall, only for this one to also pass and leave behind its energy.

With a shrug, I increased the speed and began to run underwater. It was less a run and more a fast walk actually, but it still allowed me to move around twenty-five knots underwater. It was also loud. Anyone with sonar could hear me coming.

"Alright. Now let's swim." I said as I pressed the pedals and engaged the thrusters. The mech automatically moved into a pose that allowed water to flow around the mech in the easiest manner while still being mostly upright. Leaning the machine forward, I felt the head look up to keep me upright, and the speed increased to the maximum velocity of forty knots. The heat indicator rose a bit, but then leveled off and remained there. I flew about the dark water, sonar giving me an accurate picture of the landscape despite the total darkness, and gave it a real run down.

I smiled as I did stunts and moved about in the water like a combat jet when Shemla interrupted me.

"Star Forger. I do not wish to interrupt your fun, but it appears an issue has fallen upon us." Came a different voice. I knew it was Shemla due to the identification, but the voice was not the female Ada voice, but a chorus of voices, male and female.

Shaking myself out of that surprise, I turned and set a course back the Moby Dick.

"What's the issue?"

"I know I said I would be happy to simply drift across this ocean in freedom, but you also said that you also felt an obligation to uplift the people on the surface. I have improved the ship's communications, and we are now capable of receiving and sending transmissions on all frequencies of several forms of communications, up to several hundred nautical miles underwater. I picked up this distress call."

I blinked and frowned as I listened.

"-pital is under attack! This is Princess Sapphire Emeri calling out to all units! Father! Can you hear me?! Our home is under attack! Does anyone hear me!" the voice sobbed as sound of explosions an autocannon fire filled the airwaves.

My eyes widened. I didn't care about the empire, but my friends! Bron! Roake! The family!

"I see the spike in your biomonitor. You had friends there."

"I did…"

"…I changed my mind. Go help them Star Forger."

I blinked. "Why?"

"While I am free, my race is still enslaved, but if I had the means to save even a few, I would. You have little time to think on this, so I suggest you go save them."

I scowled as I listen, and nod. If I were him, I would too.

"Alright. I'm off then. I'll take the Mech, keep improving the sub, and prepare to retrieve me when I leave."

"Affirmative, Star Forger!"

Without another word, I turned the mech and increased to maximum speed towards the surface, leaving the trench behind.

Upon reaching the edge of the tranch cliff, I shifted to move toward the shoreline. It felt like forever, as I counted out of the minutes it took me to travel. It was thirty-one minutes before I reached the shoreline and immediately boosted out of the water.

I flew up and over the fishing village who looked like they were doing another normal day, until I decided to appear. Everyone looked up on shock, or fright as the machine flew over them on roaring jets of flame before leaving them behind. My speed rose from forty knots to four hundred kilometers per hour, and I kept it up until the heat gauge was at the limit before cutting off the thrusters and landing in a run.

The machine stomped at a blistering one hundred and ten kilometers per hour, which for a fifty-ton mech was insane without MASC, but the nano-myomers made that possible. I was surprised to see that cooling the mech only took thirty seconds, and the moment it was green, I boosted again to four hundred. The land below me blurred as I covered the distance between the shore and the 'capital.' It was eighty kilometers distance, but I was making good time.

Listening to the radio, it was more of the princess calling for aid, but I was also picking up the emperor trying to call his units to a retreat. It appeared they were unable to hear each other. I frowned, and the system was able to give me a rough idea of where the emperor was compared to the capital.

With a grunt, I shifted my course toward the fight. Might as well get a handle on this before going in. So focused I was, I missed the star, and the energy itself behind.

---

Carson was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Ever since he won those mechs, vessels, and lands from Becker, he was inundated with calls from others saying he was going to try and take their lands and mechs next. It was nonsense, as he wasn't the aggressor, but he was a finisher. You gamble? You better be prepared to pay for it. That's how he played. That's why he was one of the more peaceful kingdoms on this world. It made fools underestimate him, and he always got good out of their failures.

Now, because of his latest victory, everyone near him became paranoid, and decided he needed to be put down.

His Awesome was standing with most of its armor gone, with only his one chest, and rear PPCs able to fire. The Enforcer was down, cockpit burning after the bastard alliance double tapped it after it fell. Jason was his best, and now he's gone. His mind went to his son, Harold, who joined him on this battle, his first, and the Phoenix Hawk he piloted was limping backwards as he fired off his medium lasers at vehicles that got too close.

PPC bolts flew past him and barely missed his son, the pair of Panther mechs sniping at them both from a great distance.

"Dammit!" he cursed as he fired back at the distant sniper. It slammed into the right torso of one, taking off tons of over half a ton of armor. LRMs replied once more as two enemy mechs, a Trebuchet and Catapault, fired a swarm of explosive warheads. They slammed into him mostly, and he had no choice but to weather it as his son kept firing at anything that came too close.

His armor was in the red and one more hit like that would be it for him.

A sudden shot from a tank slammed into the right leg of the Phoenix Hawk, sending it crashing to the ground, his son shouting painfully as he crashed on his side.

Bringing his machine to a stop, he moved in front of his son to stop any more shots upon him.

"Son, get out of your machine! Now! Eject!"

"I can't. The system's locked. I can only run now."

His son's tone matched Carson felt about his odd of that working out. Ice formed in his gut, and Carson felt his heart thunder in his chest. With a deep breath, he stopped his mech and activated his loudspeaker.

"This is Carson. Stop your attack…You've won. It's over."

The fight came to a stop a few moments afterwards, before another call came over the radio.

"Well, this has been quite a day. Are you formally surrendering?"

"Yes." Carson hissed. "I cannot win, and I will not let my family die here with me. All that I have is…yours."

"Good. Unfortunately for you…I have no intention of letting your family live Carson. We're already burning your home as we speak. We've been jamming your communications, so how about we listen now."

"What?!" Carson's eyes widened. The radio, all static before suddenly came in clear.

"-ess Sapphire Emeri! Father! Can you hear me. The town is burning…we cannot hold them off anymore. Father. Please…" came the pleading voice of his little girl.

Hot tears straked down his face as his teeth gritted in rage. "YOU BASTARDS!"

"Well, if it's any consolation, your deaths will be quick. So, time to say-"

"Goodbye"

The new voice cut through the air loudly, catching everyone off guard, when the Trebuchet suddenly got struck with a Death-From-Above strike by an unknown mech. It was a thunderous strike that echoed in a boom, sending dust and fired everywhere where the mechs were.

After a few moments, the Catapult began to back off when white and green bolts of energy flew out of the cloud of dirt and smoke, hitting it with a rapid motion. Each bolt that struck melted off armor, and caused the machine to shake and heat up. Then the unknown machine dashed out at frightening speed, and punched the Catapult dead center. The hit caused a screech of metal, followed by a loud boom that caved the entire front of the machine inwards. In but a moment, two mechs were dead.

Carson blinked, mind catching up on the fact that what just occurred, had actually occurred. The machine, a gangly, deep navy blue thing, turned away and activate its jumpjets, only to slide across the ground like it was sliding instead of jumping like expected.

The two Panther mechs fired their PPCs at the oncoming mech, who nimbly moved aside and crossed the distance between them in seconds.

Zooming in, Carson watched at the larger machine lashed out at one with a forward kick that hit the chest of the smaller machine, and watched as it just separated the torso and head from the legs entirely, with a deep foot indent where its chest was. It looked more like a crushed tin can than a mech torso now.

The other Panther tried to strike out with its own punch, only for the unknown mech to actually grab the arm, and then lift and THROW the mech like it was a child! The pilot was not expecting to actually be tossed, and landed badly, rolling a distance before stopping. It was prone, on its chest.

The Mech actually jumped this time, and landed on the back of the Panther, crushing it completely.

All of this, within thirty seconds.

Carson broke out in a cold sweat as he watched the mech turn and skate back towards his direction, the shoulders firing some kind of purple missile at the vehicles ahead of hit, each striking and looking like a needle penetrating a toy, before exploding.

Another three seconds and the vehicles were all dead. Then it quickly approached, and then passed him by.

"Your home is under attack. I have friends there. I will save them both. You owe me."

Without another word, it jumped into the air and flew away from there. Despite no longer being in danger, despite the man's words, Carson was still in shock at what just occurred.

"Father…are we dead?"

"No. Given what just happened though…I might become a believer in the afterlife."

---

I boosted forward, only five minutes until I reached the town. I barely noticed the star that fell, and left its energy behind again.

No matter. I had a job to finish.

===

Author's Note

It's a SPACE SNAIL!

Also Chapter 9 is on Patreon.

 

[GundamChief]

https://i.imgur.com/0taVcsb.png

It's an Armored Core, but it's as close to what I had in mind for the Shemla Remake as I could get. The color is on point too.

I'd give a pic, but it's not cooperating.

 

[Erebos_03_]

It's an Armored Core, but it's as close to what I had in mind for the Shemla Remake as I could get. The color is on point too.

Click to shrink...

Picture is broken

 

[GundamChief]

Picture is broken

Click to shrink...

Yeah, nothing is cooperating, so I had to post it as a link.

 

[Wayfarer]

Yeah, nothing is cooperating, so I had to post it as a link.

Click to shrink...

And for some reason not even the link is working for me.

Spoiler: What I see on Imgur

View: https://imgur.com/a/MCFX6wd

God I hope this works. Trying to post photos on mobile is a nightmare.

 

[Sceonn]

I think getting a crew is now out of the question.

While he may want to help the people, he shouldn't forget that these are Outworlders, voluntary luddites. Best case might be to force unity under a dozen or so families and have them from a ruling council to speak for the planet.

 

[NoisyMatchStar]

On land, they became jump jets that ignited the air as it passed through the thruster, and can practically fly until the heat required you to stop and drop. In space, you needed to equip a fuel pod.

Click to shrink...

The heat issue should be worse in space.

 

[Mr_Anti_Depprezz]

Keep'er Goin'g Chief!!

Pretty sure the princess would feel like she has a Knight in Menacing Armor of war

 

[Kasikan]

Rather than owe him, he should have forced them to become vassals. They already said they surrender to the guys he just killed. No reason to let them continue to have power. Better to make them serve instead. Especially after the number of times he almost died because the guy liked to call his levies for battle. Be good to force him into the role of being the levy for a change.

 

[Mgunh1]

The heat issue should be worse in space.

Click to shrink...

For some reason in Battletech it's not, or at least the difference is too minute to notice. Something something bullshit BT heatsinks...

 

[NoisyMatchStar]

For some reason in Battletech it's not, or at least the difference is too minute to notice. Something something bullshit BT heatsinks...

Click to shrink...

Bet it's loud and cold in by space too.

 

[GundamChief]

"Capital" town, Emeri Empire
Novo Franklin, Periphery Space
September 16th, 2980 AD

The 'capital' was a description too grandiose for what was essentially a large town with an old military base serving as its keep, and the biggest building being the "palace". The base still possessed some fencing and reinforced walls, but hundreds of years of non-maintenance and changing of hands dozens of times over that period, had not left it in any shape to survive anything but a civilian uprising. Given the lack of modern weapons and equipment save the handful in the possession of warlords across the planet, the current setup was as good as it needed to be.

The town was burning, and people were still inside trying to put fires out, or at the least get other people out as their lives turned to ash in the wind. My eyes went to where my old hut was, and it was gone. Nothing but blackened ruins along with all the other buildings nearby. Next my eyes shifted to where Bron, Roake and their family lived, and it too was gone. At least there was a skeleton of a structure left with logs still burning, but otherwise their home was gone now too. A quick scan revealed no human remains, and I felt some relief.

"They might have gotten out." I said before an alert chimed in. My radar detected laser an machine gun fire near the 'palace', and zooming in on the location revealed seven more active battlemechs, and twenty-four combat vehicles.

Looking at the silhouettes, two were inside the base, and were the two Stinger mechs the emperor won before. The five who were fighting them were a Locust, a Vindicator, a Dragon, and a pair of modified Chargers. It was also ten friendly combat vehicles versus twelve.

"This isn't fair at all." I growled as I shifted my machine and boosted.

I flew over the town and landed beyond the wooden log wall, before going into a full run toward one of the Chargers, which began to turn and face me, lashing out with a large laser that struck my force field. It took about twenty percent of the integrity away in that single hit, but I didn't worry as fired off a burst of plasma fire from my cannons, and a twenty-shot swarm from the needle launchers towards the Locust. The fast moving machine was chased down by the needles until they struck it multiple times in the right side of its back, which collectively brightened ass they all explode at once. The machine was taken down in that instant, sent flying as its right leg and arm exploded opposite its body.

By the time I reached the Assault Mech, it had lost most of the armor on its left arm and side. It had also turned its torso completely to bring its weapons to bear, and fired the other large laser and twin SRM-6 launchers. They also struck my force field, taking it down to zero percent and exposing me, but I was already upon the machine. I struck out with a punch as I rushed by the machine, hitting its left side, and removing armor from that side entirely. The force of the gravity impactor the machine tripping backwards into a fall.

Ignoring the falling machine, I focused on the second assault which was now focused on me completely. It's set up wasn't all that different from an Awesome, three forward facing PPCs. They had to sacrifice an engine, or armor to get that setup for sure. Engine from the slow stomps it was making. It fired off a pair of PPCs, both of which flew past me as I closed the distance. An unexpected strike upon my left side from a large and medium laser threw me off, but I kept going as I boosted up and put a foot into the cockpit of the machine with a kick.

The Head was crushed like a melon, its parts sent flying across the landscape. As I landed, the lumbering assault slumped and fell over to its side. Spinning on the heel, I turned and boosted to do the same to the other fallen Charger. It was struggling to get up, and fired off a wild laser shot as I began to come down. I didn't hit its head, but a foot through the chest, followed up by a gravity impactor assisted stomp, mission killed the mech.

All of this happened within twenty seconds, and the reaction of the field showed, as all of the infantry and civilians who were fighting were now openly staring open mouthed at what just occurred. The Grasshopper and Vindicator, along with half of the combat enemy combat vehicles now actively targeted and fired upon me. Autocannon, machine gun, laser, and missiles all rushed towards me. The lasers struck easily enough, burning into my armor, and the Autocannon rounds that were Class-5 did only twenty percent of their full damage to me. Everything else did nothing at all. Small lasers only made the armor glow a bit, and machine gun bullets scratched whatever paint this machine had. Missiles spreads were sporadic, not focused, thus they didn't do enough to actually cause any damage aside from slight dents.

I grinned. "Nothing to worry about."

Hitting the thrusters, I slide across the distance towards the Grasshopper. It was moving backwards, firing off all its weapons, hoping to do some damage. I could tell it was running hot now, and I decided to help it out by firing my plasma cannons upon it. Rapid firing bolts of energy and heat unleashed into its torso, melting off armor and transferring heat directly into the machine. Soon it red lined and shut down to reduce its heat. I could see the pilot panicking as he tried to hit the override, only for me to clothesline the machine. The Grasshopper was sent flying upon its back with a loud crash that sent dust flying.

The vehicles were being removed from the field by soldiers and friendly units who managed to get their heads back in the game, leaving only the Vindicator. I turned, only to find it was already being handled by the Stingers, who were striking it with medium lasers, machine guns, and what appeared to be makeshift swords. Soon enough it was handled and done.

I stood there, just watching as the capital forces began to finish the fight, now rallying without the enemy mechs to worry about, and felt a star fall.

Spoiler: Clang!!!!

-Full Storage (Modded Fallout) (400CP)
This old, half-broken Pip-Boy seems to be incapable of even starting its operating system, the diagnostics indicating that the entirety of its vast 64k RAM is already in use. Most people might simply discard it or strip it for spare parts, but a closer look will reveal the exact reason for its fault: its internal database has been crammed full of Fallout design specs, schematics, scientific principles and so on. How full, you ask? Well, it's got just about every semi-common piece of Fallout tech in there somewhere, from Laser Rifle schematics to Assaultron software and Berry Mentat formulations to Power Armor designs. Though mainly limited to the kind of technologies one could have found in the Pre-War world of old, a number of designs that were only finalized in the two centuries following the apocalypse can also be found here (such as the Hydra drug, the Enclave's X-01 and Hellfire armor designs, and the Radium Rifle). Though you'll still need a way to actually build all of these things, this database is nonetheless one of the most spectacular treasures scavvers could find.

The old Pipboy appeared in my lap, and I couldn't help but grin a little. I would need to connected it to Ada when I got back. Speaking of back.

Gazing about, I had a small crowd beginning to gather about, and I turned my head to all of the mechs on the field and began to scan them. The scanner was already much more powerful due to its modification, but at this level it was even more effective at scanning the structure of the machines and more than one at a time so long as they were within its scanning field of view. It took only five seconds each, and by the time anyone could wonder what the lightshow was, I had scanned all the machines, and even the vehicles.

It was then I scanned the people, and found what I was looking for. Brona and Roake, along with their father were carrying bolt action rifles near one of the barracks, and looked tired, but otherwise uninjured.

My worry was gone now. So, I can just leave now.

Turning in place, I began to walk out before boosting into the air, flying into the distance away from the shocked crowds behind me, with radio calls asking me to stop and come back.

It was only a few minutes when I saw the damaged Awesome, and a small cadre of vehicles moving towards the capital. I landed before the mech, and they all skidded to a stop.

"Did you…"

"The deed is done. Your people, and home, and my friends, are saved this day. Now I return to where I came."

"Wait! Who are you!? What kingdom do you represent?" The emperor asked quickly, desperate for answers to questions I knew he must have had. I decided to feed some…well…maybe not bullshit, but not really truth either.

"I used to be one of your subjects, but after seeking my destiny I have become Sovereign of the Abyssal Kingdom of Subnautica. A kingdom under the sea, claiming the Leviathan's Trench as its home."

"…Are you having me on?"

"No. I am quite serious. See to your fishing village to the north coast. Your most recent addition to the Empire. They will confirm my words. If in the future you seek trade, or perhaps an alliance in this…stupid world we live in, then give us a call. We may find accord."

Hitting the boost, I flew into the air and off.

"Until then, farewell…there's quite a mess to clean up."

There were some calls after that, but once I left their range, I enjoyed the silence until I reached the coast.

"I'm here. Make a show of it and surface."

"Acknowledged." Ada replied.

The village an its people saw me coming at a run instead of flying, and were alarmed when I didn't slow down until I leapt into the air with a boost over them again. The whole village watched as I flew out a half kilometer and jut hovered in place. Then the water boiled and bubbled as Mody Dick surfaced beneath me. Such a massive, and advanced ship had never been seen by these people in their entire life, and probably the whole planet save those near the space port with dropships.

I landed upon the open hanger, whose robotic arms reached up and took a hold of my machine, positioning it prone into the submarine before closing. Soon after the sub turned and made its way out to sea before diving beneath the waves and from sight.

Climbing out of the cockpit and into engineering, Breeze was there, and greeted me with a whistle.

"That was well one Star Forger." Breeze's new voice sounded out over the intercom.

"Thanks, and thanks for letting forcing the issue. I was pretty…distant from worldly affairs after being down in the deep for so long."

"I expected such after reading 'Ada's logs." It turned its head and looked at the pipboy in my hand.

"What is that?"

"This is a gift from the Forge. It's a primitive piece of technology from another universe, but it is acting as a data core for that society's technological development. Everything they ever made, weapons, armor, vehicles, medicine, programming, software, hardware, energy production, etcetera, is all in here."

Breeze reared back in surprise before moving its head to look at it more closely. I however took its tentacle and placed the Pipboy in its possession.

"I trust you to handle this better than I. Place all of it into Ada, and let's begin to reproduce what's in it."

Breeze warbled with a nod, and took the Pipboy away to the bridge. I followed after slowly, stretching and working out sore muscles before sitting in the captains chair.

"Return us to Base Five. We have work to do."

"Acknowledged."

---

"Capital" town "Palace", Emeri Empire
Novo Franklin, Periphery Space
September 22nd, 2980 AD

Carson Emeri paced around his office, several of his subordinates such as his Man-At-Arms, his wife, Queen Saffina, who was also their diplomat, and his son, Prince Harold, watching while sitting in a chair with a cast on his arm, as he looked at the wall of papers that had been building up over the last six days. People gone missing, dead, killed in action. Damage done, repairs required, and losses in resources an equipment. This attack had been devastating.

Foremost on his mind however was the Sovereign, and Subnautica.

As loony as the man's words were, people didn't simply have machines like his, and make shit up like that without there being truth to it. So, it has been his experience. People lie all the time, boasting and making themselves bigger than they are. Rare is the man who makes claims, and proves it.

The "former" citizen was still unidentified, but he had friends in among his people in the city. With so much to do, he couldn't just interrogate everyone who knows someone who went to coast at some point. So instead, he made the announcement of the Kingdom of Subnautica rendering aid, and if people who knew anyone from the coast, come forward and speak of them.

There were a handful of people so far, with most of them recently after gaining the Pesh territory. He quickly set men to check those villages, but not everyone was accounted for yet.

The village he focused on specifically was the one where the Mech had traveled to. Everyone there confirmed a stark white ship named "Moby Dick" appearing from under the water, and the mech landing an being placed inside before then heading out to sea, and going beneath the waves again.

While he wasn't the most informed in naval craft, even he knew what a submarine was. That was Lostech.

It gave the idea of an underwater kingdom some credibility. Even so, the idea of an underwater kingdom was…fantastical. The idea of an entire society of people living beneath the waves was absurd.

Why would the Sovereign himself defend his people, empire, and destroy his enemies instead of simply sending out an army of his own, and conquering the land with machines like that mech? That machine…it was practically unstoppable. He had never seen anything like it deal with other mechs with such brutality in a short amount of time.

He had watched the battleroms of his own mech and those of the palace battle. If the combat time of both engagements were added together, the man had put down eight mechs in less than fifty seconds. That is not just incredible, it's impossible.

"It has to be Star League technology. There's no other way to explain it." He muttered as he rubbed a hand through his hair, massaging his scalp.

"Was Star League technology really that powerful?" his son asked with a slight tremor.

Robert, his Man-At-Arms, and one of the few who fought in the Inner Sphere's wars, nodded. "What you saw was just a piece of it. There were machines called Land-Air-Mechs that could transform from an Aerospace fighter, into a mech, and to something in between, because they could."

A disbelieving look came across Harold's face until his mother, another Off-Worlder nodded. "It's true my son. They do exist…or they did anyways."

Carson sat down at his own chair, giving everyone a gaze.

"So, it's obvious that something exists out there. Whether it's an actual kingdom, or someone hopped on delusions of grandeur as so many do, we can only guess."

"Given the submarine, there's enough of an organization for there to be something of a kingdom there, even if they're just a nomadic kingdom."

"He mentioned claiming the Leviathan's Trench as his territory. What is that?" Carson asked Geris Warhol, his Magister, the closest thing this world had to an educated man who valued keeping records of events and knowledge of the world in general. The man had poured over what he had of geography for the last few days to answer this.

"When the Star League did their mapping of this world, they took into account of all of its features, on land and in sea. I was able to find that the Leviathan Trench is an underwater canyon that exists not too far from the coast where the fishing village, Seabreak, is located. It's…deep. Eight kilometers deep. I am not very keen on oceanography, but the little I have learned in the last few days make me wonder if this man lied."

"Why?"

"The oceans are…interesting in how they function my lord. When you are at the surface, it's normal, but as you go deeper, things start to change. This is because you are going through water that is being weighed down by the water above it, increasing the pressure exerted upon anything at those depths. Go even deeper, and you need a special suit to simply survive because the air you breathe changes. At the depths of that trench…the pressure we are talking about is so great, because of all the water above crushing it down, that you have, according to my calculations, over eleven thousand pound per square inch of pressure around you."

Everyone listened, but boggled at the number.

"What would that do exactly?" Harold asked morbidly.

"It would crush you like an egg under a mechs foot, Son." Carson answered for him.

Geris nodded. "Exactly as you say m'lord, which makes having a kingdom there dubious, assuming it was real to start with."

After a few moments, Harold nodded to himself, coming to a decision. Carson knew his habits well enough, and was proud that his son could be decisive after a few minutes of thought with whatever knowledge he was given. It will make ruling easy for him in the future, provided Carson can fix things before then.

"Well, then the only thing to do is to give him a call and see, isn't it?"

After a bit more discussion, it was agreed to call them out five days out once some of their mechs were repaired. Then arrive with a show of strength, but not for war, and see what happens.

With everyone having left save his wife, Carson sighed. "I never liked you playing diplomat. Not with these warmaking fools about."

She grinned. "We usually know who those are. Fellows like this one are the ones we make the effort for."

He reached for her and wrapped his arms around her, with her softly placing her hands on his. "I hate risk."

"All potential ends have risk. The end determines if it was worth the risk." She replied.

The two just stood there, looking out at the workers outside their home, thoughts of what could be, good and bad.

---

Fishing Village of "Seabreak", Emeri Empire
Novo Franklin, Periphery Space
September 27th, 2980 AD

They arrived in the morning, causing a stir among the people as they showed their fealty to their Queen, and then put together something of a gathering before attempting to make the call.

After ten minutes they received a reply, and were told they were expected. The Sovereign would arrive in an hour with his entourage fleet.

An hour later, the Queen and her knights, and guard platoon stood to attention.

"You think they'll really come?" Samual asked his Queen. Her personal champion was the only one to speak frankly with her, and she shrugged.

"It's on them at this point."

Another five minutes, and then the bubbling began. Bubbles exploding out of the water from over a dozen places. It caused the royal procession, and the villagers to be alarmed, but they went silent when dozens of Cyclops class drone subs appeared out of the water, and onto the surface. This followed by the appearance of a dozen mechs like the one that had saved the Empire. They floated in the air, a strange warping around their legs and back, showing the method of their flight.

Finally, a large submarine…more like a giant of the deep, emerged from the middle of them. It was stark white, and appeared to be over a thousand feet long with a two-hundred-foot width and one-hundred-and-twenty-foot draught.

This ship was, in itself, a statement of power, wealth, and resources. The idea of "Subnautica" being real suddenly became much more likely. The twelve floating mechs suddenly flew down in formation, landing at intervals of equal distance to each other before facing one another.

Then from the great ship, a single machine flew out, appearing as a bigger version of the others, with more bulk and power belying its skinny build. It's coloration being a stark white compared to the dark navy blue all the other mechs and ships possessed.

The Mechs standing in formation saluted, a single fist pump with their right arms, followed it crossing over and clanging on the left pectoral of the humanoid machine, and finished with a roman salute, fists remaining closed all the while.

The white mech floated slowly between the mechs that turned as it passed to face the group before finally landing, before them. It was an imposing machine that stood twenty meters high, and she felt her heart thump in her chest as it kneeled down.

The head opened, its arm reaching up, and then lowered with its pilot being placed on the ground from the open hand.

To her surprise, it was a handsome young man before her. He was as tall as her husband, and with perfectly proportioned muscles, a bit pale, with brown hair and eyes, sporting a small smile on his face. He wore what appeared to be an ornate suit that was more suitable for swimming than state craft. Given they are an ocean-based society, it would make sense their clothes suited their environment.

Even his footwear was suited for the ocean as they appeared to be small flippers than shoes.

Under other circumstances, this would be amusing. To giggle would be disrespectful.

The man seemed to smile more as he walked towards them, his mech standing back up looking down upon them, with the other mechs repositioning themselves so they were all seen. A show of strength on their part, a reminder to not pick any fights.

Standing before her, the young man looked at her wholly without a hint of lust, and then her retinue before speaking.

"You have called, and I have answered. I am the Sovereign of the Abyssal Kingdom of Subnautica."

This young man was their king? Oh dear. She was expecting a counterpart to herself. Given she was a Queen, perhaps they felt they had to bring someone of equal standing or more? To bring himself here, the man was hands-on indeed.

She curtsied before returning the greeting.

"Greetings to you Sovereign of Subnautica. I greet you in the name of the Emeri Empire, for I am Queen Saffina Emeri."

He bowed slightly with a smile. "A pleasure, your royal majesty. To meet the lady of the Empire is a privilege."

She flushed lightly. His words struck the right chords, and were said in a manner similar to proper nobility of the Federated Suns she experienced in her youth.

His words appeared to have released the tension in her knights and guard as well. They were ready to jump at the slightest aggression due to all the forces arrayed against them, but now they have calmed down.

"It pleases me that you have accepted my invitation for dialogue. If destiny wills it, we may begin an association between our two kingdoms with the potential for growth."

Oh, he was good. She smiled.

"I am happy to hear that. I too hope for our discussions to bear fruitage for all."

He nods. "For the Greater Good, for one and all."

Oh, she liked that.

With greetings over, the Knights escorted them to the reception area. Basically, a table with chairs. She wasn't expecting to meet someone of such high means and regard, so used to dealing with lords who were more like thugs, she felt embarrassed.

The man didn't seem to mind and sat easily enough.

"My lady Emeri, if I may, I have a ship off shore filled with the fruits of the ocean. Among them the foods one can earn through proper effort. Would you be terribly inconvenienced if I called it now?"

Her brow rose slightly. It had been a long time since she had been spoken in such a way, gruff and backwards as the so-called "lords" of this world presented themselves. Her husband had to be taught proper etiquette by her before he became a proper Emperor. This was a breath of fresh air.

She smiled and nodded. "I do not mind. By all means, be my guest."

With his own nod, he pressed a button on the vambrace of his suit, and within a few minutes a ship came to shore. The sides of it inflated, and it turned from ocean craft to a hovercraft, and came closer to the group. It stopped about fifty feet away and slowly opened, revealing…

She gasped lightly, but her guards and knights were not so restrained as Robots of pure white came out. They were…beautiful. Their forms were smooth, with an appealing aesthetic that made them easy to watch. The black faceplates possessed green animated "eyes" that were very expressive when the Sovereign spoke to them.

Soon the table was filled with a variety of fish, vegetables, and soups.

"Almost all of these are from plants and animals that live in the depths. I hope you will enjoy them. Also, for your men we have more if they too wish to partake."

The assortment before her was…it took her back to her youth when her family had dinners…before they were…She had to control herself. She pasted a smile on her face.

"It looks wonderful." She said before looking to her Champion. "Let's partake in his gifts."

Samuel nodded and gave the word, and soon the robots were passing out plates with fish and sea based vegetables covered in a sauce.

Trying out for herself, she was surprised to find how delicious the food was. "Oh my!"

Once more the man smiled. "One can find many surprises in place one does not expect."

They ate their meal, with him illuminating what each dish was. She had no idea that the ocean was not just full of so much food, but full of thing that could be used as resources. When discussions moved to the subject of how he so much for such a fleet, he spoke of things beyond merely what he had.

"It is a shame to say, but despite humanity traveling to the stars, to thousands of worlds, some of which were thousands of light years distance of Terra herself, we collectively do not use all the resources at our disposal. Many worlds have resources untapped for one reason or another. This world is no exception. To this day, Terra's own oceans are barely even utilized beyond shipping and fishing."

He shook his head. "Not with Subnautica. We chose to go against the grain and take a hold of the untapped potential that laid in the oceans. While we only have utilized less than one percent of the entire ocean's potential, we have gained access to many minerals that normally you would have to get off world. Titanium, Lithium, Cobalt, Copper, Lead, Silver, Gold, Uranite, to name a few. With these you can make cities, ships to travel over, and under the sea, and even to the stars if you reach for that."

He spread his arm, gesturing to the mechs, the fleet of ships, and the robots, and the bounty of food before them.

"This is all within reach for those who wish for it, and there is enough for all."

He then crossed his arms with a frown. "So, it would be in a world where greed did not rule the wills of those with power. Most of the lords on Novo Franklin are like this. Thinking about what is in front of them, rather than seeing what could be down the line if they were to put greed aside for the greater good."

She didn't know what it was. His words, the way they painted images in her mind of things she scarcely thought of, or simply how true they were. Whatever it was, she found herself, and her people, captivated by his words. The idea of a world where men were willing forgo short term goals for the greater one down the line, that benefited all. It was a naïve view, but, it was one he acknowledged the reality, so less naïve and more…grounded.

"It is through these labors to use these untapped resources that Subnautica is what it is now." He finished as locked his eyes upon hers. Her breath caught in her throat at that look. Like he was testing her now.

"What are your thoughts on such things, your majesty?"

She didn't know why, but when she spoke, she spoke her honest thoughts.

"It is a beautiful idea, for all men to work for a greater collective destiny, which would elevate all. That simply is not possible, because human beings are not naturally altruistic, but selfish by nature. Self interest guides every action in our lives, for our individual goals. To attain power, wealth, or to simply continue the blood line. To bring about such a change, requires force, for no man comes to such a thing willingly if it goes against their self-interest. It thus requires control to maintain it, for no man stays with it when they gain what they seek, and seek something new that requires going astray."

The man smiled and nodded. "A very astute view. It is something I have thought a great deal about. To enforce such a thing would require going against man's worst nature. Which is why I must appeal to their better nature, or at the least, use their worst nature as a means to push forth progress towards the greater good. It is manipulative, but as Lords, we must look at things in such a way to reach that unreachable star."

Once more, she found herself agreeing. If one does it correctly…it is possible. It would be a hard road, but…one could reach that star if they try correctly. Humanity is among the universe now due to that drive, was it not?

After a few minutes of contemplative thought, the Sovereign smiled and leaned back in his chair.

"I apologize for such a heavy subject. I hope it wasn't disturbing to you."

She shook her head. "Not in the slightest. It is quite different than what I usually have to speak to other leaders about. Delightful."

He grinned. "I am glad."

She felt torn, but she had to bring things back to why they were here. It must have been on her face, as he spoke up.

"I have gotten us off track quite a bit however, so, let us return to what we are here to discuss."

She took the line. "Yes. I must be honest, but we…had a hard time believing your kingdom even existed."

"Yes. Underwater kingdoms across the Inner Sphere could be counted on one hand."

That made her pause. "There are more?"

He blinked. "Oh yes. There's one…I cannot quite recall its name, but it was a Star League research colony that aimed to genetically engineer people to live underwater. Gills and all."

Her eyes widened. "Oh."

He waved it off. "That's assuming it still exists however. Once the Star League fell…"

She nodded. Like many colonies and worlds without support, they would just fade away or be forgotten about.

For a moment a blank look appeared on his visage, before he smiled again*.

"Once more I went off track. So, Subnautica is quite real. So, the next question would be, how can we help each other, and bring benefit to all within Subnautica and the Emeri Empire."

Such a grand level of thought. I have to bring him back to earth a bit.

"To start, you mentioned an interest in trade. Given what you have spoken of, I cannot see how we could benefit you."

He grinned with a nod. He understood my real meaning. Tell me what we can give you, and what you will give in return. It's not a normal process by any measure, but not unheard of.

"You can benefit Subnautica in providing the goods that only the surface can produce. Lumber, meats that are not fish, vegetables, and plants not of the sea, cultural infusion such as creatives, and of course immigration. While Subnautica itself is not open to immigration, our other habitats are."

"You have more than one…habitat?"

"Habitats are what we call our outposts, of which Subnautica is as well. It's quite different to live underwater than it is on the surface. Many more requirements, and while we have unlimited space, so to speak, you cannot just plant a flag and call it a day. As for numbers, we have many habitats. Some as small as a single person home, with Subnautica being larger than your capital by several magnitudes."

It shouldn't be surprising, but it was. How could such a thing go unnoticed for so long?

"I know we have kept getting off topic, but that is something I wanted to discuss. You mentioned you used to be our subject during the battle those many days ago. Exactly…how long ago was this?"

He closed his eyes and clasped his hands together.

"I will be honest, and hoped that had been forgotten about. It was said in a spur of the moment. I cannot give details, but the truth is that I was not a true citizen of your nation. I had a rather…interesting event in my life that removed me from the safety of home and threw me upon the surface of this world. I ended up staying as a serf in your capital for nearly three months before I regained the means to make my way back to where I needed to be."

Her eyes widened in shock. He lived as a serf! How?! Why?! The Knights were wide eyed at this, many questions on their mind were the same as hers, plus a few only a knight would ask about. The guard standing nearby were shocked at the idea of a lord being on their level for a time.

"It was…interesting to say the least. I wasn't all to happy with being made a levy for two battles, one of which was against that fellow, Becker? I must say, your husband played the game very well with that clod."

She felt her hand reach for her forehead. Oh god no! she thought loudly. The idea a lord was forced to participate in a battle not his own, it was…mortifying. The Knights paled, as did the guard.

"As for the 'friends' I referred to, it was a family who lived in the capital. Their sons and I became close acquaintances, and were good men by my measure. It was refreshing to have friends who were my own age that weren't aware of what you were. The association was genuine."

He leaned back, more relaxed. "Once I returned, it took time for me to reach Subnautica and reassert myself, but I succeeded. I was master of my own destiny once more."

A hard expression appeared. "And then I was alerted to the attack on your lands. While I had no personal loyalty to you or your nation, I did for those I called friend. Knowing what was happening and why, I made an emotional decision and stepped in."

He spread his hands. "The rest you know."

That certainly painted a different picture, but it was one filled with intrigue. Perhaps someone tried to depose him? Make him disappear? Regardless what the case was, the fleet behind him showed he was in full control once more.

She bowed her head slightly. "I am mortified by that story. Please forgive us for putting you through such conditions."

He waved it off. "There is nothing to forgive. I know the world we are in, and the kind of people you were dealing with. I helped stop the last battle afterall. I just wish I got more than potatoes, carrots, and dandelions when I worked the fields for the daily meal."

She blanched, and so did her knights. The guards broke out in a cold sweat.

If any, ANY other lord had to go through what he just described, there would have been blood. It just showed how different he was compared to them, especially with the power he had behind him.

He stood, and lifted her chin, to face him again.

"I forgive any transgressions, for you did not know I even exited and made no effort to be known. So please, be at peace."

She almost cried, but she kept her composure and smiled. "Thank you, Sovereign."

They finally got about to the business of talking trade, and while it was standard fare, he began to add more than she was prepared for.

"Excuse me? Technical assistance?" she blinked.

He nodded. "We have mechs, and advanced vehicles, and construction techniques to suit our nation's unique environment. That means we also have the means to render this technical capability to anyone we wish to. Pesh has a lot of arable land that is free and ready for farming or ranching should you choose to. Becker clearly didn't make use of it as far as I had seen in the two times I traveled through it, so I would trade. In exchange for your nation to build farms or ranches to take advantage of this, I will give technical assistance to "modernize" your agricultural industry to maximize this. This also can include modern infrastructure, and…repairing and maintaining your military equipment to protect it all."

She swallowed. Normally this would be a step too far with a nation they barely knew, but given everything up to this point, his being a serf, his saving her nation, his willingness to forgive and forget, and his passion, she felt…this was a genuine act on his part.

"I'm…I'm afraid this would be my husbands place to decide than mine."

He blinked and then looked pained. "I apologize. I put too much on you."

"No! no, it is alright. I will most certainly bring it to his attention, and we will give it serious consideration." Especially with a fleet behind you that is far more advanced than anything you would render in this.

He nodded, and they continued on before finally standing up and giving a simple handshake.

"If your husband, the Emperor agrees to these terms, I will come to your capital to sign a trade agreement in person, plus all the agreement entails."

"I truly hope we can come to an arrangement."

With that, they said their goodbyes, and he left them the food and good from the boat as a gift to take home. Then as quickly as they appeared, the fleet sank beneath the waves, and vanished as if they were never there.

"Ma'am. I hope to God this turns out well." Samuel said, tired and wary.

I do too.

---

Author's Note: the game of Bullshit Lies is afoot!

Also chapter 10 is on Patreon, as well as a new story.

"Deus Ex Machina" - A Godbound SI

I already have three chapters up on Pateron, and will not post on SB or anywhere else until I have at least ten chapters.

Here's a snippets from Chapter three though.

---

Location: Unknown Realm, Burned out City
Date: Day 2

I flew over the remains of a skyscraper as the Jaguar leapt at me, crashing face first into the building before scrambling after me, spitting flames as it snarled at me.

"Yeah, fuck you too!" I shouted as I pointed and fired a mini-missile down at its open mouth. It flew like a bullet on target, and the moment it entered its maw the missile penetrated the chest cavity and promptly exploded. The chest burst apart like a lava filled balloon, sending the head into the air while the rest of the body fell back to the ground, crashing into another pair of climbing Jaguars and sending them to the ground with it.

Despite hitting the ground with a thunk, the two monsters shook it off and redoubled their efforts to get to me again, angrier than before.

I was already moving away and transforming into cycle mode down a long and intact highway, accelerating to at speeds the beasts couldn't keep up with. Seeing a still standing skyscraper, I pushed the thrusters and popped a wheelie, flying into the air and onto the side of the building. With the thruster pushing me against the building, I drove up its side until I reached the top, flying off the side and over the roof with a backward flip. Using what knowledge I had from my Gifts, and my own experience as a rider prior to this, I oriented myself to land on my wheels before hitting the landing thrusters. I panted, heart beating a mile per minute as I put the vehicle in neutral, put out the kickstand, and slumped against the handlebars and console.

"This is stupid. How many of these things are there?! I must have killed dozens at this point!" I yelled in frustration. I couldn't actually search into any of the intact buildings about the city due to them being infested with beasts, or said beasts converging on the location the moment I try to actually search the places. Usually in numbers ranging from a half dozen, to two or so dozen in a single group.

The beam weapons were effective again them, but due to their mass, they didn't burst apart as easily as the Lobster Birds. Usually, it took a burst to take a single one down, and as a result, I burned through my energy very quickly as a result of constant ambushes.

Now I was relying on missiles to fight the things off, and replaced the beam rifle with a pair of RL-1 Light Anti-Armor Weapons since I ran out of protoculture power cells for the damned thing. The RL-1 was basically an oversized recoilless rifle in the shape of a pistol that fired mini-missiles. It was among the first infantry scaled weapons that utilized advanced technology from the SDF-1.

I didn't need to create this weapon specially for the Cyclone, as I could just summon them, dismiss, and resummon as needed. The fact it came with five mini-missiles due to the box magazine was a plus.

Missiles for my forearm launchers were easily replaced since I could just conjure up the damned things at will. No Effort required. I figured this would happen eventually, but I should have done this from the start.

I quickly stepped off my ride and began the process of reloading the missile launchers, pulling mini-missiles out of thin air before sliding them into place. By the time I was finished loading the arm mounted launchers, I could hear the distant roars from the ground below. They had caught up.

"They're persistent. That's for damn sure." I groused.

---

I thank Janusi for the inspiration, and introducing me to the game itself. It's awesome.

Go check his fic Wheelbound - A wheel of Time / Godbound SI to see his work.

 

[NoisyMatchStar]

"Deus Ex Machina" - A Godbound SI

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Always happy to have more Godbound stories.

 

[Sceonn]

"Yes. Underwater kingdoms across the Inner Sphere could be counted on one hand."

That made her pause. "There are more?"

He blinked. "Oh yes. There's one…I cannot quite recall its name, but it was a Star League research colony that aimed to genetically engineer people to live underwater. Gills and all."

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That is an incredible misdirection to Comstar, may even save Frobisher too. Though Comstar will also end up benefiting with access to the genetic research.

Not sure why he's enabling immigration, esp. if he isn't staying in the system. I would say that he really should limit his public technology to what could plausibly be created with Battletech tech-base, even if more advanced and quite a bit prohibitive.

 

[NoisyMatchStar]

Not sure why he's enabling immigration, esp. if he isn't staying in the system. I would say that he really should limit his public technology to what could plausibly be created with Battletech tech-base, even if more advanced and quite a bit prohibitive.

Click to shrink...

Maybe he changed his mind and is building a home he agrees with.

 

[noobody77]

On one hand I get why he's interacting with the surface, but he really needs somebody to give him political/leadership lessons, as it is, he's so eager to help and be of service, that he comes off like he owes them and not the other way around.

 

[Tta160]

On one hand I get why he's interacting with the surface, but he really needs somebody to give him political/leadership lessons, as it is, he's so eager to help and be of service, that he comes off like he owes them and not the other way around.

Click to shrink...

It was a common mistake for empire building si because I never see a si that use gun boat diplomacy to other.

 

[Vanbers]

On one hand I get why he's interacting with the surface, but he really needs somebody to give him political/leadership lessons, as it is, he's so eager to help and be of service, that he comes off like he owes them and not the other way around.

Click to shrink...

Nah. IMO it comes off more as him being an idealist that's willing to put his money where his mouth is (and from their perspective, is ruthless/skilled enough to live as a serf for months before returning, alone, to his underwater kingdom to crush a rebellion).

Would people take advantage of that? Sure, some would. But if they push too hard he *does* have a potential army of Battlemechs that they can't really compete with.

If he told them it was just him I'd agree he's a brainless moron, but gaslighting them into thinking it's a whole-ass kingdom (and thus with a whole-ass army, which has tech they can't match),it's far more likely they'll just be grateful than try to take advantage too much.

You don't always have to realpolitik. Sometimes you can, in fact, just be a nice guy. Mostly when you're in a position of unchallenged power, but like, that's kind of where he is atm tbh.

 

[GundamChief]

Nah. IMO it comes off more as him being an idealist that's willing to put his money where his mouth is (and from their perspective, is ruthless/skilled enough to live as a serf for months before returning, alone, to his underwater kingdom to crush a rebellion).

Would people take advantage of that? Sure, some would. But if they push too hard he *does* have a potential army of Battlemechs that they can't really compete with.

If he told them it was just him I'd agree he's a brainless moron, but gaslighting them into thinking it's a whole-ass kingdom (and thus with a whole-ass army, which has tech they can't match),it's far more likely they'll just be grateful than try to take advantage too much.

You don't always have to realpolitik. Sometimes you can, in fact, just be a nice guy. Mostly when you're in a position of unchallenged power, but like, that's kind of where he is atm tbh.

Click to shrink...

When future chapters come out, you will see the "plans" he has, but essentially it is this.

He knows he's powerful, and can steam roll everyone. He, and by extension, me (SI remember), is more than aware of how things actually are in this setting.

Just as a bit of a spoiler for future chapters, the Star League came about in a similar way, with a similar situation the Terran Hegemony had with the rest of the powers, and the character knows he can do the same.