Star People

Chapter 46

Espionage

Feb 7^th, 15 AE…

Kingdom of Merin…

At a newly-established, Mech-Frame manufacturing and assembly plant, the dwarf workers cheered as the first, mass-produced, dwarf Mecha rolled off the assembly line. Unlike the original prototype, the Gigaran, this was a basic model with no customized components, and was powered by a simplified Neo-Psion reactor. It was capable of basic construction, cargo and demolition tasks, but could be modified and upgraded with accessory attachments, depending on what line of work it was intended for. The frame was also modular, and components could be swapped out as technology advanced.

This particular Mech-Frame would be sent to Mithril Mine Number Ninety-Nine and would have drills and other excavation equipment added onto it. The main duties of the machine would be for digging out new tunnels and to haul out large amounts of raw ore. Several more Mech-Frames would replace the loaned Scrappers for defense against the Behemoths. Though the Free Land Battle-Mechs were still vastly superior to their dwarven counterparts, the diminutive people wished to be able to defend their lands with their own creations.

There were several hundred orders for the mass-produced version of the Gigaran, both for military and civilian purposes. However, they were reserved primarily for the Dwarf Nations, and would not be exported to other countries. The Council of Prime Directors and the dwarven governments agreed that the Gigaran and its innovations were considered as Star Alliance core technology, and therefore, would only be utilized by the member races of the Star Alliance.

As a result, several hundred dwarf engineers and craftsmen, such as Clurke and his family, had decided to immigrate to the Alder continent. The majority had settled in Polaris and Andromeda City, with Clurke’s family taking up residence in the same neighborhood as Mark Delan’s. Others wished to live near New Pearl Harbor.

With the invention of the Neo-Psion reactor, dwarf products became more advanced and demand for them began to increase. Adding Free Land technology increased that quality even further. Using their innate skills as craftsmen, engineers, blacksmiths, and inventors, the dwarves discovered that combining those abilities with Star Alliance tech gave them a level of precision and control that was unheard of. With nanotech lasers, they were able to inscribe runes at near-microscopic levels. Computer controls allowed them to make precise movements and fine details. Scanners and sensor equipment gave them the ability to make more accurate measurements and analyze materials. And new metallurgic processes and theories gave them a huge leap in their metalworking talents.

It seemed that the Dwarf Nations had entered a new golden age. And not everyone was happy about it.

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Feb 12^th, 15 AE…

Kingdom of Atlans, Aeronautic Testing Facility #7…

“So they won’t export a Mech-Frame to us?” Hodder asked as he and Jans watched the country’s newest fighter prototype being through its paces.

“I’m afraid not.” His subordinate replied. “Both the Dwarf Nations and Free Land were adamant about the matter. The dwarf Mech-Frame is considered the equivalent to the basic model found in Alder. And the dwarves don’t want anyone to mess with their runes, so we can’t get a Neo-Psion reactor either.” He let off a low whistle as the new fighter flew past them. “Damn, that new jet is fast!”

At an altitude of over 35,000 feet, the F-86 Sabre streaked across the skies, reaching speeds that were previously unheard of in Atlans. The test pilot could hardly contain his excitement as he pushed the throttle forward. Previously, he had thought the Mustang was an awesome aircraft, but the Sabre was head-and-shoulders above the best propeller-driven variants. He had dreamed of flying a Star Hawk or Byatta, but flying the F-86 was a good substitute. He glanced at his instruments and was amazed at the speed he was currently at. He was also impressed with the new G-Force suit, as it squeezed his limbs to keep the blood flow going and prevent him from blacking out.

On the ground, both Lenns and Akar watched the jet through binoculars. Akar also had a walkie-talkie to communicate with the radar station that was tracking the jet.

“What’s his speed right now?” Lenns asked.

“According to ground control, they’re tracking him at over 900 kilometers per hour or 560 miles per hour.” Akar responded.

“That’s more than a hundred miles per hour better than a Mustang at top speed.”

“The pilot says he wants to push it to 1,000 kilometers per hour.”

“Better not. He’s probably low on fuel at this point.”

Inside the cockpit, the pilot noticed a red light blinking on the fuel gauge, indicating that his main tanks were nearly empty. He let off a disappointed sigh as he pulled back the throttle, and began reducing altitude. The jet started to slow down as it approached the runway. The pilot reached out and toggled the landing gear switch. Below the nose of the Sabre, panels opened up as the front wheel swung down. On the underside of each wing near the fuselage, the rear landing wheels emerged. As soon as the landing gear locked into place, the Sabre made a graceful descent towards the runway. After the wheels made contact, the brakes applied and the jet eventually slowed to a halt.

The first test run of the Atlans F-86 Sabre was finished. However, it wasn’t just the scientists and engineers who had witnessed the jet’s performance this day. Hidden in the branches of a tree that was on a cliff that overlooked the testing area, a small bird had been watching. Normally, this would not be anything of importance, but this was no ordinary bird.

If one looked more closely, one could see that the bird’s eyes were unnaturally colored. Furthermore, this bird’s wings and general shape was more angular and artificial. This was not a normal bird, but a magic, bird-like golem; a spy golem to be precise. After recording the test flight of the F-86 Sabre, the golem took off and began making its way back to its home base, the continent of Vados.

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Feb 15^th, 15 AE…

The Empire of Sath, near the Plains of Kilori…

“Marvelous! Simply marvelous!” Chief Aviation Engineer Mendar Vaskor exclaimed as he watched the Sath’s replacement to the Wyvern Corps being put through its paces. The Corsair fighter was certainly a match for, if not more so than the Zedan Rakerat. It was quite maneuverable and its 2,400 hp engine gave it plenty of power to spare.

Mendar’s Zedan colleagues had to agree. The Corsair was a rugged and innovative design. It wasn’t quite as advanced as the jet fighters of Zedan, Naran or Atlans, but it was a far better choice than sending men riding Wyverns into battle. And its armament of machine guns, bombs and rockets was nothing to sneeze at either. The test pilot made a diving pass at some ground targets and opened up with his six, .50 caliber machine guns. The strafing run perforated the steel targets. The pilot made another pass and let loose with his six HVAR rockets, blowing up what remained of his targets.

In addition to being a competent fighter, the Corsair was a decent ground attack plane.

Watching nearby, Empress Lexina nodded with approval. Though they were still behind Free Land and some of the other nations like Naran and Atlans, at the very least the Sath could now boast a more modernized air force. They were also using more effective tactics. The old ways of combat had now been regulated to the history books, much to the displeasure of the traditionalists, like General Harumes.

However, the Empress wasn’t the only one who was interested in the development of the Corsair. Perched on the roof of the observation booth, another spy golem bird watched the plane being tested. Even though the plane wasn’t as advanced as a jet fighter, the bird’s masters were still wary of potential competition from other countries. After an hour of observation, the golem then took off to report back to its home base.

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Feb 27^th, 15 AE…

New Pearl Harbor…

“I’m sorry, but this is a restricted area.” The Free Land guard announced as he and his comrades blocked the path towards the entrance to a newly-built facility.

“Why aren’t we allowed to go in?” The leader of the group asked. He was a human wearing a business suit along with a badge that stated he was with the Atlans press. “We represent the Altans International News Network and we’re here to do a report on the Dwarven Rune process…”

“You guys are reporters? Then there’s definitely no admittance.” The first guard stated as he and his colleagues held up their AC-MAG rifles. “And in case you haven’t heard, the dwarves are part of the Star Alliance, and therefore the Dwarf Rune Circuits are considered top secret.”

As the guards continued to argue with the reporters, one individual moved off towards a secluded area and opened his briefcase. He took out a small object and tossed it near a ventilation grate before rejoining the group. Eventually, the reporters were turned away and sent back to the embassy.

However, the object that the undercover spy had planted was already hard at work. Unlike the spy golem bird, this was formed like a small rodent. The aptly-named spy golem mouse immediately cast its ‘scurrying spell,’ which allowed it to pass through the ventilation grate and into the ductworks. Its mission was to discern the secret of Dwarf Rune Circuits and the Neo-Psion Reactor, as well as any other Free Land technology it could find.

Its espionage mission would soon be cut short as Free Land was far more experienced in anti-spying tactics than the Sath and Atlans. No sooner did the spy golem mouse enter the main ventilation duct pathways, its presence was immediately picked up by the internal sensor network. The auto-defense system activated and started projecting an energy barrier around the golem mouse. It tried to use its scurrying spell to escape, but that enchantment only worked against solid matter, not energy. As a result, the magically-powered spy could only thrash about helplessly within its prison.

After thirty seconds of fruitless resistance, the defense system determined that the intruder was running on magical spell energy and emitted a disruptive burst of energy, much like an electromagnetic pulse or EMP. Since the Kyteeri knew about how magic was invoked via manipulation of psions, it also made sense that they would know how to neutralize it as well. The countermeasure instantly rendered the spy golem mouse inert.

A few minutes later, a maintenance crew would come and pick up the deactivated spying device and take it to the labs for analysis.

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March 1^st, 15 AE…

Kingdom of Merin…

Mech-Frame Assembly Plant Manager Gilus Rikon shook his head as he read the work order.

“Are you kidding me?”

He then walked over to the head office and handed it to his superior, Chief Boss Fulcor Garnes.

Fulcor looked over the order and frowned. “What load of slag is this?!”

“That’s what I thought too.” Gilus agreed. “Seriously, those people must think we’re stupid or something. This is what, the sixth fake order for Mech-Frames and Neo-Psion reactors we’ve had in a month?”

“Those guys in Vados must be getting desperate. Well, it’s their fault for cutting ties with the Dwarf Nations and Free Land. No Mech-Frames and no Neo-Psion reactors for them. That’s the rule and we’re going to follow it until the Prime Directors say otherwise.”

With that, the Chief Boss crumpled up the request and tossed it out the office window. It landed in a nearby waste bin that was ironically full of slag runoff. The intense heat made the document catch fire and almost instantly reduced it to charred cinders. There was a brief flash of magical energy, but no one paid it any mind.

After Naran had foolishly cut ties with the Star Alliance, the Council of Prime Directors had to come up with ways to ensure that Free Land and Dwarf Nation advanced technology didn’t fall into Naran hands or some other hostile entity. Under the suggestion of Prime Director Sierg Mortiz, all requests for dwarven Mech-Frames and Neo-Psion reactors had to be authenticated with dwarven rune signatures and markings. A good forger could make a believable document, but couldn’t re-create dwarf runes. The cheap imitation runes on today’s fake document were easily spotted by Fulcor and Gilus.

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March 2^nd, 15 AE…

The Vados continent, Zedan Town…

“That just about does it.” Engineer Locred Vartz commented as he switched on the repaired transformer.

“Got to admit, this is a whole lot easier than our old job.” His colleague and friend Zartag Kyrst remarked. “Don’t have to wear those heavy, lead-lined suits.”

“Still, I’ve had some ideas about using that Zedanium for something other than a bomb.”

“You mean, like what we’re doing with coal and stuff?”

“It would make sense right?” Locred pointed out as he took out a notepad and began drawing an image with a pencil. “Look, the turbines are driven by steam, right? So if we can use zedanium to heat up the water, we can drive the turbines to create electricity. And the steam can be condensed back into water and heated up again. And unlike wood and coal, zedanium can last for centuries.”

“Yeah, but there’s a couple of problems with that. First and foremost, where are we going to get zedanium? Just about all the stocks we had were destroyed, neutralized or used up during the war.”

“We called it zedanium back where we came from. I think it’s called something else on this world. What did they call it again?” Locred cocked his head in thought for a minute, and then snapped his fingers. “Right! They called it uranium. It was an isotope of uranium called U-235.”

“Two thirty-five?”

“That’s what Free Land called the atomic weight of the isotope. I overheard some of their engineers talking about the stuff when they dismantled our Ender Bomb facility. I also overheard another radioactive element called… plutonium I think?”

“Well, whatever they call it here, you just pointed out the other major problem; zedanium and whatever this uranium stuff is. They’re radioactive. Why did you think we wore those heavy, lead suits?”

“Yeah, I know. But if we keep the stuff contained with heavy water and proper shielding, it shouldn’t be an issue. The big problem is finding the stuff.”

“Do you think zedanium or uranium exist in this world?”

“I don’t see why not. I’m pretty sure I can rig up a radiation detector. If we can find a big enough piece, then we could boost our power output a thousand times or more.”

As the two continued to converse, neither one noticed the spy golem bird that was perched on a branch in a tree near an open window of the power plant. After recording their conversation, the spying device took off.

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March 7^th, 15 AE…

The Council of Prime Directors…

“This is the third espionage device that we have come across in the last 2 weeks.” Benjamin stated as he and his fellow Directors looked upon the holographic image of the spy golem mouse that had been captured.

“This is a spy golem.” Sierg stated. “I’ve seen them before. The Dreanat used them for covert surveillance and to record sound and images. They make use of magical wind and light stones. They’re usually made in the form of birds and small animals in order to be more inconspicuous.”

“So this is basically the magical version of one of our spy surveillance drones.” Anida remarked. “I thought the Dreanat were shut down after that Battle-Mech incident two years ago.”

“I’m afraid not.” Sierg let off a sigh and shook his head. “Even though the Empire of Euracon was their biggest client, the Dreanat will work for anyone, so long as you pay them. They’ve been around for a long time and there are still some branches existing out there.”

“So we know that the Dreanat are behind these attempts at espionage. So the big question is who’s hiring them this time around?”

“Perhaps the former Emperor of the Sath and his son, Garres Lorcra and Vexor Lorcra?” Nerto suggested. “They were never arrested and are still at large.”

“That’s a possibility, but I’m thinking more along the lines of our former allies during the Zedan war.” Nasaak remarked.

“The Kingdom of Naran?” Visak inquired. “That’s rather petty of them to do so.”

“Considering how prideful they were when they accused us of stealing their Divine Gate technology, I’m thinking Nasaak may be right on the mark.” Ben stated. “It seems history is repeating itself and an ally is becoming an enemy. We may be in for another Cold War.”

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March 15^th, 15 AE…

The Missouri’s bridge…

“We have now achieved near-planetary orbit.” Ensign Gatsbu announced as the star battleship reached its coordinates. Some distance away was the research space station, Wisdom, which was in geo-synchronous orbit above the Kingdom of Atlans.

“Today is a first. No nation has ever tested EVA space equipment in space, before being able to reach orbit on its own.” Reelan remarked.

“That’s because of the TPS.” Mark stated. “They’re still working on their rocket technology so they can fly up here themselves, but being able to experience space beforehand gives them some insight of what to expect and how to plan for it.”

“In other words, the TPS is giving Atlans and other nations a look ahead.”

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On the main loading deck of Wisdom, the teleportation portal activated, and a large, self-propelled, wheeled cargo platform came through, along with a group of Atlans engineers and scientists. Mounted on the platform was the latest creation of ASRA, a prototype manned space-pod. Even though they were still working on making a rocket powerful enough to get them into orbit, the Atlans were also working on methods of propulsion and life-support once they got into the vacuum of space. In addition to the space-pod, there were experimental spacesuits and new sensor systems.

It had only been a few months since the Kingdom of Atlans had launched Istaria’s first artificial satellite. Modeled after the antiquated device called Sputnik, the Atlans Star as it was called, was still in orbit at this point. Its primary function was to send a simple radio signal to the planet below. Anyone with an AM receiver could pick up the repeating ping.

“Look! There’s the Atlans Star!” One of the scientists exclaimed as he gazed through a large viewport window. His colleagues ran over to where he was and crowded around the window.

Outside in the cold vacuum of space, a small metal sphere coasted along on its own momentum, passing by the station hundreds of meters away. Emblazoned on its surface was the flag of the Kingdom of Atlans. Its four antennae continued to transmit the radio ping on a repeating loop. The Atlans scientists had calculated that the satellite will be able to maintain its orbit for another few weeks before gravity pulled it down and it would burn up in the atmosphere. During that time, ASRA was planning on launching two more satellites.

 After watching the Atlans Star pass by, the ASRA personnel got back to the business at hand. The head of the group, Chief Astro-Scientist Walmar Fulse stepped forward to greet the commander of Wisdom, Captain Jerald Venikar, and his primary staff. As the two parties exchanged pleasantries, no one noticed a tiny device that had been secretly placed inside the control panel of the experimental space-pod. A device that drew its own power from a magical gemstone.

To be continued…