Rene Abe had been pondering about the mark that had appeared on them. Kristine didn’t look too bothered, much more attentive to the idea of studying the technology of the Holmians presented to them so he had choose to put aside the mark on the back of their hand for now.

“How is it?” he said to Kristine who had been examining the technology.

“The crystal itself is a wonder, even that amount of discharge was not enough to negate all the power.” There was a metal contraption holding the casing of the crystal. The crystal itself could power an entire street for a week before it would go out. That is if said streets do not have appliances.

“Outstanding, this technology.”

“Does it make sense to you?”

“It doesn’t,” Kristine confessed. “This technology is honestly beyond our prowess yet. Of course, it shouldn’t take long before our departments put their paws on this.”

“I want to go back to my planes.”

“How about you help me fix this mess of a casing? Do you want to use this power supply to run your planes, I would let you do it, but please understand that you’d be frying the engines with this.”

“Maybe I should make it like theirs.”

“Impossible. The Vulcans are able to stand because of the materials they use that allows them to conduct the power relatively safely.”

The door opened. Rene traveled his gaze on the door and saw Mavin walking in. He sauntered next to the casing. Kristine adjusted the machine calibrating the tech.

“You again.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Mavin raised a brow. He observed how Kristine tuned the crystal. “So, how do you make use of this?”

Kristine turned, “We’re getting there, Mav. We were discussing how the Vulcans were able to walk imposingly.”

“Oh, didn’t you know that?”

They studied the demifiends of southern Lazon. Their bone structure and density, how each single one of the demifiends handle their movement without being dragged down by their sizes. The composition of their body had allowed them to move as fast as the normal sized animals without a demerit their speed. Most of the research of the demifiend structure was already in the archives of the Academy. Rene worries about the mental state of the man who would soon be in charge of storing them when they have better computers that don’t take whole rooms.

Kristine studied the casing. Mavin examined the analog machines, watching the meters, and checking the voltage. Seeing the voltage he flipped a switch.

“Do you know how to handle one?” Rene suspected.

“They did come to Lazon, you know?” Mavin reasoned. “Back then they only sent scholars to understand. They were already using this tech back then, mostly they guarded it behind their guns, but I had the opportunity to operate one. Had a pleasure to calibrate them as well.”

Mavin carefully operated the calibrating machine. He flipped the switch on the upper right, and watched as the voltage went down. Though Kristine had been reading from the documentation that they had left behind. She had a frown on her face seeing Mavin do it easily. Mavin always had this expression where he was looking at the machines as if it was something inferior than he was used to. A conceited expression that Rene didn’t understand.

“And it is calibrated. The casing is rather volatile, isn’t it?”

Kristine agreed. “It fried most of the machines. The only exception is the medical department since we made sure that thunder strikes won’t destroy them. They’ve been eager to replace them, but the Imperial Constables are checking the machines first.”

“Making sure they aren't listening?”

“Yup. Who knows what schemes they have? And even if they did think of using the discharge to ruin the equipment. At best they are using this as an excuse to advertise their equipment. As expected there are already petitions that demand the Empire to be compensated.”

“The nobles work fast,” Mavin said. “I doubt they’d get anything, knowing that the Crown Prince is interested. By the way, how are your dealings with the Prince?”

“Terrible,” Kristine pulled a plug out of the machine and placed her tools down. She sat on the stool next to the machine calibrating the crystal. “The Prince wants everything in Memepan and the rest distributed to the areas around the Capital. He brought out how no technology should be except for the lands she listed.” She gave Mavin a suspicious stare. “Almost as if you know that he will bring it up. Even Sir Sommer pulled documents that had already made it so that they agreed, and that it was also upon the Holmian request. Old Fred was able to discuss the terms when he came with Sir Rigel Armco. Bah, politics really is not meant for me.”

Kristine said. Rene knew that was a lie. She knew that it won’t be long until she had to join a faction. The second Prince was already out of the race, and his resolute affirmation that he does not covet the throne made everyone in the Hundred Nobles begrudgingly accept such a declaration. The talk of the nobles were whether the Lady of Shina or the Lady of Anastasia would win. 108 nobles picking on what side to bet on. But mostly it was because they want to know who would become the new Empress of the Empire. Not to mention that however wins means that they rightfully sided with the winning team.

It was a collective split into two factions. The real power comes from the two Grand Dukes who would gain more power as they bond with the Imperial Family. It was an opportunity to hold greater power than ever. To become part of the long-lived and ancient dynasty was nothing more than an honor. The Empire itself was not as unified as people think it is. There had been wars for freedom and wars for those who wanted the throne for themselves. If there was anything that the Imperial Family was truly most capable. It was that they knew how to survive and adapt to the times. It was the greatest strength that allowed them to rule with a firm hand for centuries.

“That so?” Mavin looked at Kristine as if she was a liar. Kristine didn’t deny or defend herself. She knew better than to let Mavin make her justify herself. He had his way of making you give answers without trying. Nothing really changed about Mavin other than his much relaxed expression. Almost as if the war had finally made him express an emotion other than stone.

Rene couldn’t find the right thought to describe it. Afterall, Mavin’s concern was sometimes patronizing. He liked to meddle all the time that they had been used to it. There were others who didn’t appreciate his meddling. Then again, Rene had appreciated the way he had meddled with his relationship with Kristine. They were bitter rivals that if it wasn’t for his nosiness, he pondered where they would be right now. Still fighting on who was the most superior?

It was also the reason that they had been fence-sitting. Their families had been eager to join the bet. It was a chance for them to prove themselves that they were in the race. They would have joined a year ago if it was not for their friendship with Mavin. Who would blame them, knowing that they had connection to the Tomas Family? Mavin has many eccentricities, but it doesn’t change the fact that he carries the Tomas name. Not to mention that they only had a few who they can call friends.

Mavin hangs around the laboratory, watching the items, and organizing the files. Though the equipment had been fried in the Academy, they still had their own self-funded laboratory around the area surrounding the Academy. Arkadia Academy was a city itself in terms of size. There were many who had taken their residence in Arkadia. It was a city of learning that was meant for scholars and students. Most of Arkadia Academy had self-funded labs that were constructed for the purpose of having their own laboratory. Rene and Kristine had founded this lab together. Mavin had a hand on finding people who would be able to construct them. At first they wanted it to be a spacious lab that would allow them to perform experiments, with Mavin’s meddling, they had two separate floors for each experiment. There was a basement where they kept most of their supplies, but Rene had been trying to find whatever Mavin was hiding inside the basement.

He must have kept something after he had funded the lab. Rene had expected Mavin to come today. He was going to get that out of him. Rene waited until Mavin sat to engage him in a conversation. Mavin was calm, composed, and he held no emotion other than the placid stoicism he always had. It was loose compared to the stony look that he had kept seven years ago.

“Feeling at home?”

“I am,” he said. “My room’s probably a mess though. Not that I kept anything other than clothes that I barely fit anymore.”

“They’re probably small for you now.”

“Had ever thought of hiring someone?”

Rene shook his head, “Hard to hire someone right now. Especially someone who is capable of working without offering his or her opinion on whatever faction they believe in.”

“Looks like you two tried.”

There was someone they hired. This hire didn’t last two weeks after the hire started offering opinions that did not meet their liking. Kristine was the one who fired the person after said person tried to persuade them. They wanted someone professional, and instead they got someone who cared more about the politics of the hundred nobles instead of the research.

“Let me guess, he called you two fence-sitters?”

Rene smiled tiredly. Kristine, who was not far from them, snorted at the thought of that hire. Ever since then they had not tried to hire anyone and had been managing the laboratory all by themselves. Rene had proposed to have at least someone clean the laboratory, but Kristine had given Rene her stubborn resistance against it. Listening to him, Mavin had an expression of a man looking at a clown.

“Is this the price of high intelligence?” he turned to look at Kristine. “And the other is no better, to be honest.”

“I can hear you.”

Mavin did not explain himself. “So, you are telling me that you two have been managing the lab all the time.” He rubbed a finger on the table. “I don’t see any dirt or at least loose materials all about. Good job.”

“This is still a laboratory, we have to make sure that the place is fit for work. Hazardous materials could endanger our lives. In any case, we do call people from the family to care for the cleaning. Of course, we have to supervise them, since we worry that they might cause an accident. That reminds me, Mav. The basement, we cleaned it up all the time, but there is a part that we seem unable to open.”

“Which part?”

“The one in the northeast side of the wall.”

Mavin studied Rene for a moment before coming with a small smile. “So are you curious about what’s inside that place?”

Rene opened his eyes. He didn’t expect him to admit it so quickly. Mavin stood up, stretched limbs, and started walking to the direction of the basement. “It would have been odder if you two didn’t know about it,” he called Kristine. “You know about it as well, Kristine?”

“We almost live in this laboratory Mavin Tomas, we know every place other than the one in the basement. Planning to tell us about it now?”

Mavin shook his wide shoulders as if he wasn’t planning to hide it in the first place. “What I am more surprised about is that you two never asked about it until today. It’s not like there was merit in hiding it from the two, not to mention that I was sure that you two would be curious enough to have unlocked it by now. Not that you can drill through that metal.”

The three of them headed down to the bulb-lit basement. Cases, flasks, containers, and crates filled with supplies, extra metal, and parts were neatly arranged in shelves. The two walked to the side of the basement until they reached the northeast corner that they had been talking about. There was a part of the wall that had been spotless. Mavin pulled on the panel, arranged the set of locks into a combination that they had no idea about. They had seen the locks and combinations, but the numbers and the combination was almost like a different language to them. Rene had checked all the things that might relate to this code and had come to the conclusion that it was a cipher that Mavin only knew.

“What is that cipher?”

“Who knows?” Mavin said to them. Kristine didn’t look too happy about not knowing what the code meant. It was not the Morse code that they used in railway, and certainly not a telegraph code.

Mavin stopped before placing the last combination. “Just think of it as a numeral system that should represent sixteen distinct symbols. I had honestly believed that you had solved it by now. Not that it would matter if you two would since I’ll just give you two the ‘cipher’.” There was amusement in his voice.

Kristine snorted. She folded her arms and looked away, annoyed at Mavin’s words. Mavin laughed as he completed the combination. There was a loud clack inside and when they opened it. They were welcomed with a T-shaped room equipped with a kitchen, a bathroom, and a snug storage room. Mavin walked inside across the room and opened the other side of the room’s door. Through that door they saw an armory filled with weapons. Though most of them looked like they were outdated, there was enough in the room to fund an entire group.

Kristine entered inside there were containers filled with dense, colorless, oily liquid. Kristine inspected the liquid and by the time she was done. Her face fumed and there was immediate worry in her eyes. “You fucking stocked the basement with containers filled with nitroglycerin!?”

“It’s safe, don’t worry.”

“Don’t you ‘don’t worry’ me Mavin Tomas. You do realize that if this container blows up then you’d cave in the goddamn laboratory.”

“Well, I did make sure that they were stored properly and tethered. Even if they do explode, you’d only feel a bit of the explosive since the outer shell of this room would keep it from damaging the structure and foundation above. Well, you do have to worry about the foundation below.”

Kristine had a mind to confiscate the materials inside the room. However, they followed Mavin down a hatch that led to a lever-operated elevator. Mavin took a step inside and waited for the two to come in. “What? Come on, it shouldn’t be ill-maintained.”

“Why the hell did you spend so much money on this?”

Kristine hesitantly took a step inside. Rene followed, holding on the bar that made him feel the illusion of safety. Mavin operated the lever for a while until it took them down a narrow pathway leading to a underoung harbour connected to a waterway. There were two boats anchored inside the place.

“I heard that there was an ancient canal system,” Kristine began, hurrying to inspect the stonework of the canal. “Amazing, even to this day, they still do not show any signs of degradation, it looks like they reinforced the stonework with concrete.

Rene walked near the water and saw how clear the water was. He had expected that there would be sewage flowing. Mavin walked to his side and said. “Ain’t this place pretty? Hard to believe that a waterway like this existed. Two thousand miles of man-made waterway, built secret enough that not even the surface could hear them build it. We should be 2500 meters from the surface. Hell, you could probably sail a ferry here.”

“This is surprising. I had heard that this place was a secret.”

“It is a secret to the common people. You’d be surprised how there is an entire city in this place. Though I doubt anyone other than those who have to have something to hide. Imperial Laws don’t work that much here, and most of the time there are ruffians who couldn’t give a rat’s ass about where family you belong. I don’t recommend using the boat to go north of the tunnel,” he pointed to the southeast of the waterway. “That way should take you to the sea. They don’t usually harm anyone and the place’s big enough that it would be difficult to encounter anyone. Besides, they’re probably too busy making a mess in the ebony market to care about some boat heading to the sea.”

Rene folded his arms. “So this means that this place is a smuggler’s tunnel?”

“Just think of it as a place where there is another microcosm of things that you have to understand. So unless you want to do business with the ebony market or just try to find a way to escape then this place should be the place. There is an exit in Kagasta and Bjerhol. The farthest one should be the Gorecan Lighthouse. I heard that they have someone manning the toll there now. This place does lead to the heart of the Empire after all.”

“It’s a weakness in the Capital’s defense.”

“No one is saying that it isn’t. As long as they know the way they can enter freely. That is if they aren’t spotted by the Imperial Rats down here. Most of them are so hidden that you don’t know if they are watching you or not. Well, as long as you didn’t attract the Imperial Family’s ire or some of the Grand Duke then you should be fine.”

Rene couldn’t wrap his head around this place just yet. It was certainly an impressive place and yet how could they have built this without attracting attention?

“Well, there are many wonders in this world and this place is certainly one of them. Besides, it’s not like we had technology to create elaborate waterways lke this. The Ancients back then just had a good idea of turning the naturally made caverns into this canal, and reinforced it.”

Kristine walked up to him. There were many questions in her head. “How did you create a place this big? You didn’t spend too much funds, right?”

“I didn’t. The laboratory is already below this place so I had an idea to connect them. I did have to spend a fortune acquiring the boats.”

“This place is being used isn’t it?” Kristine guessed.

“The Bradley House does. My family does make use of them once in a while. They just don’t use the elevator since I prohibited them to. You can see the warehouse behind us, right? There also bunk rooms that have been expanded by the Bradley House.”

Kristine studied the area. “I did hear that your family had deep connections with the Bradley house, but I didn’t expect your cooperation to be this tight,” she narrowed her eyes, her body moving close. Her eyes locked with Mavin. “Was this your decision, to make a place like this?”

“Yes,” he confessed. “When I still hold my title, I had them build this. Now that I have given the burden of rule to my cousin, you could say that I am just using the assets of my family now.”

“Hard to believe that you’d be dirt poor, Mavin Tomas.”

“I am lacking funds these days. So take it as I am borrowing from my family now.”

Kristine found it hard to believe Mavin sometimes. Not to mention that a facility like this would prove beneficial to the Tomas and Bradley Family. Knowing that a place like this existed didn’t make Kristine too happy. Nonetheless, she could not hide that curious look on her face. It was then that the gate barring the entrance started to open. Mavin took a step forward, reached out for the pistol he carried and told them to stand behind a cover just in case. A boat with a large storage compartment entered the area. There was a man who wore a leather coat piloting the boat. He was with four people who were armed with those submachine guns with drum-magazines. The four men who were in the boat noticed Mavin who was standing not far. The pilot of the boat signaled for his lads to calm down as he got out of the boat first.

“Igor, nice to see that you are still working for the family. You wouldn’t mind if I had brought my friends, right?”

The man called Igor looked at them. His beady eyes scrutinizing the two of them. His expression told them that he was evaluating their value. “Hey, don’t scare my friends.”

“Pardon me, good sir. It has been too long since I saw you. This is truly a kismet that we had met today.”

Mavin gestured for them to say that it was okay to get out. “Igor, this is Rene and Kristine, I’m sure that you heard of them, they are my good friends. Have someone guard this place just in case they needed help.”

“That wouldn’t be a problem good sir. I had a thought of letting Iggy stay to guard our recent purchases. Shall I have them call me through the telephone?”

“Yes. Tell Iggy to take care of them. I may not be the patriarch of the family, but I hope that you’d do me this favor.”

“Do not mention it, good sir. Or the Count will have our heads if we dare to disrespect.”

“Looks like you are all busy today,” Mavin pointed out. “The Falcones giving you trouble?”

“They had been rather problematic as of late, good sir. But that is something that your companions should not know,” he looked at Kristine and Rene with wariness. Mavin followed his gaze and nodded as if he understood. “Yeah, better keep them out of this.”

“What is?” Kristine asked.”

“Believe me, you don’t want to be involved in this side. Besides, you two should worry about your deal with the Holmians and the Crown Prince about the technology alongside the Webman Company.”

Rene frowned. The man called Igor was listening attentively to the words that he spoke. He felt like the man was pleased to hear that. The four lads who were with Igor took the sides and manned the entryway. Most of them wore those vests that he was sure that had seen the people in the arms department tested. To Rene they had this stern look on their face that differed them from the common guard he sees usually around the Academy. Mavin, who was talking to Igor, noticed the look that Rene gave to the four.

“They’re soldiers. Most of them work for Igor here.”

“Indeed, they are men who had decided to serve our house. Please do not worry, they are professionals who will do their best to accommodate you if you ever need to use this place.”

Kristine stood next to Mavin and asked. “So do they know the entrance to the lab?”

“They do,” Igor confessed. “But they have no access to the locks that have been placed by the good sir,” Igor pointed his eyes to Mavin.

“That’s right, I should give you two the code for this place just in case. Igor, you have a pen?”

Igor fished out a pocket pen from one of his pockets, producing a piece of paper. Mavin smiled at Igor, told him to turn around, and he did so without question. Mavin wrote the combination in the piece of paper and handed it to Kristine first. Kristine studied the paper, palmed her forehead, and gave it to Rene. Taking the piece of paper, he read the content of the paper and found himself troubled by the fact that he had not guessed such a combination. Even Kristine felt like a fool for not understanding it. It only showed that despite their curiosity over the room, they were more focused on their own research to care about the combination lock.

“I hate you sometimes,” Kristine commented, making a clicking sound with her tongue. Mavin Tomas grinned playfully, leaning his elbow on Igor who was amused by their reaction.

 

---

 

The discovery of the waterway, the canal, and the existence of an infrastructure that runs across the Empire was surprising to Rene. The years that it took, and the amount of work that was done and yet kept hidden was surprising to him. Rene didn’t have much thought of the waterway other than they could use it as a shelter. His family and Kristine’s family should have an idea about the waterway, but remained steadfast in keeping it a secret.

Back in the lab they started to tinker with the casing for a while until they received news that Sir Klaus Sommer and Sir Rigel Armco came to visit the laboratory. They had presented the documents and the other things that they needed to worry about.

The five of them sat on the chairs that they had prepared to meet their guests. Kristine spent most of the time studying the documents. Rene had a quick look at the documents and found that they were eager to make use of the Vulcans as iron golems that could help them in making a transcontinental railroad route that would connect nations to the Turian Continent. 

The Canic Company’s railway system only passed through Shapen, Fortel, Rovas, Cozel, and Macha. But this railway, if connected, would lead them to Ligny where the railroad route to Seland would start.

A total of 5200 miles of land to cover, and they accounted for the paths where the track would go. It would connect the Magnar-Azia Continent, and the Champier land bridge continent to the Turian Continent where the railroad would end in the borders of Holmia. It would take years to construct the tracks alone, and that isn’t counting the natural barriers and the volatile state of affairs of the world. But if they were able to keep the mileage of a Vulcan, and make them able to construct the rails then the workload would lessen. And even if they don’t, they would be able to build them through manual labor if they had to. The Vulcan would make the construction easier and faster.

Rene felt a headache just seeing the obstacles and problems that they have to consider. The amount of politicking, the bribing, and the talks on making a railroad that connects the borders of the continents was something he rather not ponder about.

Rene would have called this plan ‘idealistic’ and ‘delusional’ if it was not for the way they would approach it. According to the documents, they would first build the railroads around the most populated area in Champier. There was an already existing railroad in Holmia so what they needed to worry about was using the existing railroad tracks of Magnar-Azia to connect them to the tracks that they would build in Champier. Once they have built the tracks in the populated area, they would be able to connect the railroad route Macha to Ligny, and then finish it by connecting the rail to Seland. 

“But if they are able to accomplish this in the future, then the profit from transporting tons of goods by train would be astronomical. They would become the richest in the world. Aircraft and ships might be able to carry tons of goods in the future, but there is relative safety when it comes to transporting goods via train. Most of our seas are still uncharted, and we do not have the technology to recover tons of cargo when they drown in the sea,” Rene thought.

The rail freight transported would benefit the commerce of the three continents. Trade would prosper and at the same time those who would be involved in this continent-spanning project would benefit from it. There were many companies that have pledged to support the railroad system.

Kristine leaned to Rene. “Looks like their goal was the changes we’ll do to the power source of the technology.”

Rene couldn’t help but agree. If they were able to further improve the power source of the Vulcan. They would be able to use the hydroelectric crystals to improve where they would get their power-source from. Yes, they would need to charge the crystals and concoct them using the methods given to them, but the life-cycle of the power source warranted the use of such technology has too many merits to count. The fuel fossil that they would uncover would be used to power these charges, and the charges would be used to power the machines and improve the lives of anyone who holds the technology owned by the Holmians.

It was no wonder to Rene why they were willing to give the Empire access to this technology. The coast of placing the tracks on plains, foothills, and mountains and the creation of bridges for the tracks would need serious financing. The Webman Company being able to convince companies, and governments to finance this almost delusional project was a feat itself.

“This is impressive, beyond impressive,” Kristine commented. “I cannot even imagine the land grants, bonds and stocks, and the labor and wages. The cost is something that I rather not discuss or even dare to imagine!”

“We estimate that it would take us about twelve years to build 3284 miles. The world is a volatile place, and there are many factors that we would need to consider when building such a rail road. But that is the duty of the Webman Company, and the board of directors that will be composed of the territories where the train would pass. It is impossible until someone does it, Madam. That’s what I believe.”

Rene leaned on the chair. Kristine placed the documents. Rene knew Kristine enough to understand what her choice would be. Rene would support the railroad no doubt by making sure that the power source would be improved. To him it didn’t matter who was going to profit from all of this, but in his head he wanted to ride a train someday and take a trip around the continents.

Mavin took a glance at documents then said. “I hope that you know how to speak multiple languages, Sir Klaus.”

“I know some. The common tongue is quite widespread, but there are many territories who stubbornly refuse to use the common tongue,” he turned to Sir Rigel Armco. “I believe that Sir Rigel would be able to learn well. If not, then, there are many who would be eager to be paid for it.”

“Hey, M-mav, you’re not going to make me accompany Sir Klaus, right?”

Rigel’s face had a desperate tune to it. Mavin couldn’t but laugh at Rigel. It was a rather cruel remark, but in the end, they all had a good laugh.

But beyond that laughter, there was a huge pressure on their shoulders. Rene couldn’t help but feel the weight of this responsibility, knowing what this could mean for everyone who would possess this technology that they had promised to develop further.