Chapter 171 - Civil War

Chapter 171

Red Sands Desert, Principality of Rebirth

Dungeon Factory, Workshop

"So, any conclusions?" Asked Alexandra as she entered the workshop, Jared in tow. It was weird seeing the room covered in pictures, but since the guild hadn't allowed them to take samples of the enemy…

Seraph's golems saluted and the Earth-born saluted back.

"Yes milady! I have run a thorough search of my database, and the results are…disturbing, to say the least."

"How so?"

"Those weapons are indeed Sagitarian in nature. However they are…well, obsolete." The AI shrugged through their golems. "Or at least are variations on these obsolete weapons. Take the autocannons for example. They are clearly based on the model eighteen chemical explosive gun, automatic."

"Bit of a mouthful."

"The acronym is M18-MCGA. Regardless, it was decommissioned decades before I was put into operation, in favor of a laser based system."

"Let me guess, a more expensive, less easy to maintain system."

"Affirmative. Your assumption that my creators technological and industrial capabilities collapsed after the beginning of the war appear to be correct milady."

"Yeah. About the only saving grace in this mess. Extrapolating from this level of tech, what can you tell me about the force that's coming?"

"Based on Imperial strategic doctrine, which I had to rebuild out of the facility personnel's own records, personal diaries and documentaries, we should expect a large support vessel serving as a mothership to the automated unit. Possibly two, one for general maintenance far from the front lines, and the other for handling ammunition closer to the enemy. Alongside that, at least a full squadron of escorts of various kinds. Breakdown should be eight corvettes and two frigates, although keep in mind that this is pure speculation based on a doctrine that almost certainly was forced to change."

"You'd be surprised how rigid those doctrines can prove." Like with the UISN's insistence on carriers, that had lost them the first battle of Alpha Centauri quite handily. "But point taken, go on."

"After that, it gets more complicated. Assuming we are facing a full division, which would be consistent with the number of scout vehicles encountered, then we will have twelve thousand combat infantry golems, three hundred battle tanks, six hundred armored personnel carriers, twelve hundred unarmored transport vehicles, which can be repurposed into troop transports, fuel haulers, or simple cargo trucks. The more worrying part however will be the hundred and fifty weapons platforms."

"Ah." Weapons platform in this case almost certainly meant just a gun and the means to move and aim it, like the Federation's dalmatian drones, which had been effectively a dog robot with a giant sniper rifle turret. "I assume some kind of drone?"

"Yes. Heavily shielded and armed drones. High specialized infantry or tank hunters, meant to outpace heavier tanks and APCs, for a quick strike and retreat."

"So glass cannons."

"Effectively, although only by the standards of their technology. Depending on how decayed they are, they could prove formidable to our own weapons."

"I would worry more about the tanks."

"I would not. The vehicles that attacked included only a handful of skimmers, most relied on wheels and tracks. Yet another sign of the technology loss. It is unlikely that the heavy armor units will be fully grav capable. Thus they will be slow, hard to maneuver, and easy targets for massed artillery. The weapons platforms…will not."

"I see…when you say skimmer, you mean…"

"A form of limited gravitational drive. After a sort. I do not have full theoretical data on it, but after working on the escape pod and the Republic frigate's debris, it seems the 'airships' the Gods' lapdogs-" Alexandra winced. Seraph did not like the surface dwellers and their devotion to the 'false Gods'. "-use are simply high altitude skimmers."

"High altitude skimmers? That seems…counterintuitive."

Seraph shrugged.

"It is not. Skimmer technology is arcane in origin, but reproduceable with the right magitech systems. It does not allow the full freedom of movement a grav system does, but they are also cheaper, easier to maintain and far more resilient and stable."

"So the airships don't fly on their balloons?"

"Negative. The balloons seem to be a cost saving measure, in the most literal sense since mana is currency. But they are not necessary for flight. In fact, discussion with entity Emilia confirms that higher technology polities such as the Eris Empire do away with them altogether. Presumably to free angles of fire for turrets and missile launchers. Had they been necessary, I am sure the balloons would have been armored and a prime target for attack during battle, yet during every air engagement we have a record of, not a single time were they deliberately targeted."

"Ah. That makes a lot of sense."

"Yes. I theorize the runes for the airships were reverse engineered from civilian airliners, hence their ability to go to relatively high altitude, but their seeming lack of capacity to enter the upper layers of the atmosphere."

"I doubt the air would be breathable up there."

"But they do have the capacity to make airtight vehicle, and use spells to recycle the air. High altitude flight would also enable for higher maximum speeds and greater survivability and vision for reconnaissance crafts, but once again they are not mentioned. The only vessels that appear to be able to reach such altitudes are Erisian purpose built and more or less mundane jets."

"That answers why I was having such a hard time giving my golems flight. They simply don't use the same method on the airships! Alright, any progress on the drone we recovered?"

The golems all turned to stare at the recreated craft, or at least the parts they had been able to acquire, laying in the middle of the room in carefully dismantled bits.

"It is of Nolkor design, one of the nations the Empire was in a cold war during my time. But it is not in my database. Whether it was made to resemble Nolkor aircrafts for a specific purpose or is a design developed later into the war I do not know."

"Probably the latter."

"I would not, as you say, bet on it." Seraph gestured at various components as Alexandra gave her a questioning look. "This drone uses the full technological might the Nolkor were capable of. Had they been able to field such weapons while the Empire could not late into the war, then it would have been over in fairly short order."

"Maybe they kept some in reserves if needed, or this was in a depot lost at the beginning of the war and someone stumbled upon it."

"Possibly. I have also tried to access the onboard computers, but they are under security lockdown, and hacking is…not my specialty. I have handed the project to your, ah, other self, but she is focused on other matters for now." Alexandra nodded. This was important, but not 'giant death army bearing down on us and potentially teleporting behind our defenses' important. "Interestingly enough however the flight recorder appears unencrypted, and there were attempts to remove it."

"How did they fare?"

"Poorly. The recorder is an integral part of the entire computer system and is both heavily armored and impossible to remove without turning the craft inoperable. It is rather peculiar. There were self destruct charges on it, but not enough of them detonated upon the drone's crash, and the recorder should be readable."

"That might be why they crashed it in the first place. Trying to make sure it was destroyed because whoever sent it didn't trust their self destruct to work. With all the ordnance in the fortress, it might have actually been thrown out as debris and lost into the sands when everything exploded, had I not absorbed it immediately."

"Agreed. This feature is quite peculiar, but it should give us the launching coordinates for the drone."

"Pretty stupid design decision for a stealth system."

"Presumably it could be ordered to wipe itself with the right command codes, but designed to be impossible to do so without them. Which implies high level of paranoia between command staff and subordinates within the Nolkor, consistent with claims from my creators' propaganda broadcasts that their population was beginning to doubt in the Gods."

"Great. And it also means whoever sent that drone didn’t have those command codes either."

"Affirmative."

"Alright, well, see what we can use from that drone, and if we can reassemble it."

"Unlikely, but I will endeavor to do so."

"Good." Alexandra winced as alarms blared and alerts filled her vision. "Oh, what now?!?"

*****

Allya opened her eyes and sat up as someone pounded on the door.

"What is it?" She called out, still disoriented but her daggers already taken from under her pillow.

"Milady, Knight-Commander Philia needs to see you. It's urgent." Called out Rogard through the interphone.

"Shit! More constructs?"

"No ma'am, it's…ma'am, Sunrise has named their duchess queen of Asaria, and declared war on the crown!"

Allya's face went white as Pyn sat up as well, clearly still half asleep.

"I'll be right there!"

*****

Allya kept her expression on a tight leash as she stalked through the town. There were people everywhere, talking in tight knots, and her guards wore grim expressions as they patrolled the town, backed up by Willard's men and Crystal's golems.

But not Philia's knights.

She found the Knight-Commander at the foot of the docking tower, as her knights formed up by squads and disappeared into the tower, marching up the stairs as quartermasters directed golems into stacking crates in the elevators. It looked very strange to see knights in plate armor with slung rifles, but Philia's knights had taken to the Tarkian weaponry with gusto, and had taken to the instructors' teachings so well they had even helped train other units in the town.

"Knight-Commander." Said Allya as she arrived behind the woman. "I assume this-" She gestured at the bustle of knights and soldiers. "-means that you are pulling out?"

Philia turned around, her face taunt, and nodded.

"Yes milady. Their majesties have recalled me and all available forces."

Allya met her gaze.

"...That bad?"

"Worse. Sunrise…They had far more troops than we thought. They overran the border forts almost immediately. They're taking losses but they don't seem to care. They're simply swarming everything they come across."

"Shit."

"That's not the worst part. They've split their armies. One column is clearly headed towards the capital. Their majesties are summoning all the nobles to their aid, but a great deal many have declared themselves neutral, or thrown in with the duchess!" Allya winced. That was always the issue with a civil war in a feudal government. And she knew the neutrals would only wait to see which side was winning to throw their hat into the ring and get a piece of the carrion. "That's not to mention insurrections happening left and right. Clearly, they were organized in advance." And that made Allya very glad she had already declared martial law. "And a second column is sweeping the southern territories. We think it's headed for Darthar, or Sarth. Their majesties have ordered all royal forces to fall back to Asaria and Sarth and regroup."

"Damn it. Alright, I hope it doesn't need to be said, but I remain loyal to their majesties, and will do so until the very end. I never have, and never will, side with slavers. I also won't ask for the Tarkian weapons back, keep them for the fight ahead. Consider it an early contribution to the war effort."

"Thank you. I am very grateful for that, and so will their majesties, I am sure."

"However, you'll understand that I cannot send troops to aid them. Not in this situation."

"That much I had already surmised. And I doubt their majesties would expect you to."

"Good. As soon as this…Old World problem is settled, I will send what I can to defend Darthar and Sarth." Allya winced. "Is Willard pulling out as well?"

"Not that I am aware milady, but you will certainly want to talk to him." Philia cleared her throat. "Also, as per their majesties' orders to move as fast as possible, and keeping in mind…other factors, I have ordered my engineers to remain behind. Loading their equipment would take unacceptably long, and once we have left we will not have the airships to allow them to join us. So they will be with you until you are able to send your forces to help their majesties."

Allya nodded, grateful. She knew that Philia could have ordered the engineers to abandon their equipment…and had opted not to do so. These men and women would be worth their weight in mythril when the constructs came back. They might be using outdated defenses, but they were the only specialists in that field in the whole town! Except maybe for Alexandra -Crystal, damn it!-, but the dungeon core couldn't build outside of her influence.

"Thank you Knight-Commander, that is…deeply appreciated." She met the knight's gaze, and she saw that Philia understood the baroness knew what she had done. "And tell their majesties I will move to assist as soon as I am able."

"Thank you baroness." Philia straightened, and slammed her hand against her chestplate. "For the kingdom!"

Allya returned the salute.

"And for the crown!"

They exchanged nods, and the Knight-Commander went into the tower, accompanying her troops.