Chapter 38 - Northern Salvation

Note : And this concludes book 1 of Manaforged Robotics ! A bit shorter than expected, but this felt like the perfect place to end it, and I didn't want to ruin the ending with just filler.

I'm most likely going to end the streak here or tomorrow. It started with chapter 21, and has gone for far longer than I expected. Not record breaking, at 18 chapters in a row (plus some announcements and map updates), since I believe I managed 21 with The Fallen World, but very impressive none the less.

In any case, I don't think anyone will begrudge me taking a bit of a break. Especially on this story, as if I'm being honest, I am hovering on the edge of burnout on it.

I hope you'll enjoy this final chapter for book 1 of Manaforged Robotics !

P.S : I noticed I forgot to mention the riot bots in the previous chapter, so I made some edits, they should be live on patreon.

Chapter 38

Starborn Mountains, Starfire Valley

Starfire Pass

The Hand watched as the valley came alive with distant flashes of light, and the echoes of gunfire and explosions.

Click click click click, stop.

They pocketed the coin.

"Send a runner to the strike unit. Tell them to pull back." Said the Hand to one of their bodyguards, who saluted, and left.

The weapons and technologies of this time were unfamiliar to them. But unfamiliar or not, the very reason they were here was because of the collapsed mines all over the provinces that had been brought back into the fold.

If they had explosives to deploy against the diversionary attack...they almost certainly had more down there. Still, better to be thorough.

If nothing else, the last thing they needed was someone second guessing them, and using their 'hesitancy' and 'cowardice' to their own benefit.

"Deploy a contubernium of the militia down into the mineshaft." They told another one of their bodyguards, and the undead saluted.

If they were right, then that would be a small sacrifice. It was not like the tunnel would be useable either way. Sending illusions would be cheaper, but the automata in the depths of the mountain had proven their ability to see through such artifice.

And if they were wrong...well, a good outcome.

The Hand watched as the sun rose over the peaks, and simply stared at the undiminished glory of the star, the frailty of their eyes taken by death.

The commotion in the valley had died down. Victory was possible...but unlikely. Very unlikely.

Suddenly, there was a rumble, and the ground shifted ever so slightly bombs detonated, and rock crashed against rock.

The Hand smiled.

"Perhaps these rebels are worth something after all." The Legate would have a field day. They were always glad for a worthy opponent...and looking for even worthier recruits.

Their smile died.

Nevertheless, they had failed. Mineral production would not begin until reinforcements arrived. And that meant holding the pass until then.

At least the workers wouldn't go to waste. There was going to be plenty of things to keep them busy, until the reinforcements arrived.

The Hand turned back towards the pass, and the defenses arraigned towards the wider world.

They just needed to still be there when backup arrived.

*****

Sapphiria looked up from the hunter she was tending, as she received the alert. She smiled, and returned to work.

"What was it?" Asked Malry, as she applied some balm on the man's wounds.

"The Hand tried to be sneaky. They failed." She winced as the hunter moaned in pain, and scanned their wounds again. "You'll pull through kid. It's not gonna pleasant and you'll have some scars, but I'm told the ladies dig them."

"That's...one way of wording it." Said Malry. "Given that you're a lady yourself."

Sapphiria was tempted to do a snide comment about the visible hickeys on the diviner's collar, or the rope burns on her wrists and cheek, indicating Ramina had found something in addition to sheer distance to keep her pre battle 'recreation' from being too loud, but she bit it back.

"I detest the title. Besides, I don't swing that way."

"Yeah I realized that." Sapphiria gave her a piercing gaze, and the diviner simply shrugged. "I have eyes."

The AI blushed, and simply got up.

"Come on. We have more people to tend to." And a rapidly depleting medikit to do it with, unfortunately.

"Right. We're down to the light wounds now, right?"

Sapphiria winced, as she saw some of the people still awaiting treatment. They'd gotten first aid of course, but many were still very messed up. A few were weakly waving at her.

"Define 'light'?"

"As in 'they won't fucking die'."

"Then yes. Light."

They moved on to someone who had a speartip stuck in their shoulders, and Sapphiria thanked the stars and the entirery of the Bureau of Personnel for the prescience of giving her a surgical kit with an automated sterilization field -fancy way of saying 'my armor has a box of ultraviolet and infrared emitters'- as part of her medikit, because it was probably the single greatest thing she had right now. She could run out of sterilizing gel and other substances, hence why they were down to using Malry's medicine and remedies unless absolutely necessary, but good luck trying to use up a neosteel scalpel.

They began setting up for the extraction, as Sapphiria scanned the wound in depth, and Cia helpfully supplied the appropriate documents from the library.

"Thanks." Murmurred the AI inside her helmet, as she opened the surgical kit and pulled out the necessary equipment.

If there was one consolation to this whole mess, it was that the squishies had a far greater chance of making it with her here...and if she was being cold blooded about it, she finally got to see more magic in action, with Malry and Ramina having deployed some spells for the more dire cases.

"Ready?" She asked Malry, and the soldier.

Both nodded.

"Alright, let's start."

And she began cutting.

*****

"I mean no offence to you, Kalia, or your men, but I really don't want to ever do that again." Said Sapphiria as she collapsed into one of the council room chairs.

The mage-magistrate nodded.

"I...understand. I'm sorry. I hadn't realized that as a healer...I'm sorry."

Sapphiria sighed. That wasn't the main reason she didn't want squishies to put themselves in danger, but it was the only one she could explain to them.

"It's alright."

"So, what is the...the final count?"

Sapphiria brought up her archives. She'd deliberately kept the number outside of active memory so it wouldn't haunt her as she worked.

"Total right now is...twelve dead, seventy four wounded. Thirty of those with are serious." Which had brought home just how many of Kalia's people were militarized. Half of Astralis had shown up to the battle. That was...a ridiculous percentage of people under arms, even for squishie warfare. "Most of the others are fairly light. Some cuts, scrapes, stuff that penetrated the armor but didn't deal serious damage."

Kalia sagged in her seat.

"That's...a lot better than what I had feared."

Sapphiria nodded. She could say the same. Especially when the dozen hunters she'd gotten had been among the seriously wounded, and one of them had died from their wounds during the battle, before she could tend to them.

"It is...but it still a tragedy."

"We've gotten used to tragedy." Said the mage-magistrate. "And thanks to you, it was a vastly lesser one than it otherwise would have been. Thank you, Sapphiria. For my people, and the families who won't grieve a loved one today thanks to you."

The AI didn't know what to say. The squishies...the last time she'd lost some...

She avoided Kalia's gaze.

"You're welcome." She said, her voice strangled by emotion. "I was...just trying to do the right thing."

"Which makes it all the more important to thank you." Kalia's voice was soft, and understanding.

The AI just nodded in response. She couldn't trust herself to say anything right now.

Realizing that it probably wasn't a good idea to prod her further, Kalia, turned towards Gregor.

"What are our scouts' report?"

"They say a small unit from a horde departed during the battle, but before the explosion, and what looked like a few squads returned to their maniples afterwards." Gregor coughed as the AI grimaced. "I believe the Hand may have smelled the trap."

"Unfortunate. But so long as the tunnel is sealed, it doesn't matter. And they still lost something in the attempt. Malry, what's our status on supplies?"

"Not good." The diviner sighed, rubbing her face. "Sapphiria was a huge help, but I'm running low on...damned near everything."

"The biggest problem is mana." Said Ramina. "With the spells we used...we tried to use it as little as possible for medical, but we're still critical. I don't...I don't even know if we'll have enough to power the rolling fortress now."

Silence descended upon the room.

"So we're in the critical range now." Said Kalia.

"We are." Confirmed the artificer. "I don't know how long I can keep the rest of our tools and infrastructure operating without magic." There was a hint of desperation in her voice, and she turned towards Sapphiria. "Perhaps you could..."

"I can't loan you any. I'm in the same position, I'm afraid." As in 'I have no mana', which was strictly true.

"...Fuck." Said Kalia.

"So they can just wait us out." Gregor hit the table with his fist. "Damn it."

"No. There is a solution." Said Kalia, after a few seconds of oppressive silence. "But none of you are going to like it."

Malry shook her head.

"I know what you're thinking, but you can't be serious! We're already dealing with dozens of wounded, which not only means they won't be able to work, but so will the people caring for them! We're not even close to being prepared for winter, even with Sapphiria's generosity! We can't afford an expedition north."

"We don't have a choice, Malry. It's either that, or die the next time the Hand feels like making a try at us again. And Sapphiria's generosity may dry out if she doesn't have more mana to work her miracles."

The AI looked at them worryingly. Maybe she shouldn't have said that. Crap.

The diviner looked like she was about to argue further, but Ramina spoke up before she could.

"How do we intend to proceed? Our resources are limited."

"Going to Northrend itself is obviously suicide. But mana tempests can disperse crystals far and wide, and this place hasn't been harvested for centuries." Everyone nodded at that, and Sapphiria did as well, like if she had any idea what that meant. "So we have a good chance of finding something close. The issue, of course, is going to be winter. If we want to prepare..."

"We'll have to set supplies aside." Said Gregor. "And with the preparation time...we'll probably have to trudge through the snow, both ways. I don't care, and I think Sapphiria won't either, but anyone else brought in is going to have a very bad time."

"I could...make something that'll help. A vehicle to carry and house us." Said Sapphiria. She had schematics for snowpiercers, among many, many other vehicles. If they could work on pre-terraforming Europa, where oxygen froze solid at the poles, they'd work here. "But it will take a while, and I might need to enlarge some of the tunnels for the components to pass through. Plus...I will need a bit to work on some of the special bits." There was no way she could build a snowpiercer's fusion reactor core yet. That meant she was going to make some unholy lashup to power the thing. Luckily, the squishies needed rest, that meant there would be some pause periods. "I'll warn you though, I will most likely have to lead the expedition."

Kalia sighed.

"I was afraid you'd say something like that, but..." She winced. "At the same time, you're the best person to send to make sure it's a success."

"As much as I hate to say it, I'll have to join it as well." Said Gregor. "Sapphiria and I are the only two immune to the cold, and two pair of unimpaired hands will be better than one."

"And I'll join too." Said Ramina, and she raised her hand as Kalia opened her mouth to protest. "It's not like I need to stay here. What, are the mecanisms we can't run going to suddenly need repairs or maintenance? No? Besides, we're going to need a mage on that expedition, unless you'd care to run into an abherration field and lose everyone. That means either me, you, or Malry. You're not leaving. We need you here to keep things together. You're our leader. Malry also specializes in divination and alchemy. She needs to stay here, to take care of the wounded, to make more salves and other remedies."

Kalia closed her mouth with a snap. Malry looked like she wanted to argue as well, but clearly couldn't come up with something to refute the artificer's reasoning.

"Very well." Said the mage-magistrate. "It's decided then. We shall prepare an expedition north. May the ancestors have mercy on our souls."

END OF BOOK 1