Ratchet analyzed the design specifications provided by proxy unit Ram. Secrecy was insisted upon. Ratchet accepted and installed the thought blocker function. Proxy unit Rom would be kept busy working on the rebuild and fabrication of replacement parts for the valkyrie unit Rebecca.

Material samples were requested for analysis from the valkyrie unit, but permission was denied. Ratchet would send a unit out to retrieve material samples from the terminated valkyrie unit in the future.

As the request from proxy unit Ram aligned with the goals of the primary unit, Ratchet agreed to assist. The design specifications were rudimentary, but Ratchet could make sense of them for the purposes of part fabrication. It extrapolated part geometry where none was provided, based on part function and intended design needs.

Making use of the [Delivery] network, Ratchet gathered materials as needed from The AutoFoundry. One set of arms and eyes focused on part fabrication and refinement, another focused on internal and mana delivery components, and the last set handled assembly and modification.

Proxy unit Ram would assist proxy unit Rom with the valkyrie unit repair work. Ratchet assessed that proxy unit Ram would prefer to do the work on their own, but time was not sufficient. In order to aid in the obfuscation of the project that Ratchet had been assigned, Ratchet placed each completed assembly into [Storage] space.

Within two days, Ratchet had completed the first of two bodies. The original design required modification in order to facilitate proper transformation sequencing while maintaining the intended design aesthetic of “twins”, which seemed pointless to Ratchet.

The completed body was designated Rom Mk II and stored away, waiting to be shipped to the primary unit for final approval and firmware installation. The primary unit lacked the ability for thought segregation and isolation due to the nature of the unit. The only plausible solution for keeping the project hidden from proxy unit Rom, was simply that the unit would not notice as the unit was busy with other tasks.

Such occurrences were happening with greater frequency, Ratchet noticed. At one time, all subRoutines felt like an extension of the primary unit and all units were essentially additional limbs of the primary unit. As time advanced, the connection between the subRoutines, the primary unit, and each other, felt thinner. Knowing what the others were thinking and feeling was a simple thing, but it now required an active inquiry.

If Ratchet did not take the action to inquire, then Ratchet would not know. Data from the primary unit was still streamed to the subRoutines though without having to inquire. Logic dictated that as soon as the primary unit was aware, proxy unit Rom would be aware. Ratchet did not enjoy leaving a completed body in [Storage] without firmware installation.

The agitation was pushed aside, and Ratchet focused on the production of the second body. Many of the parts were identical by design, so part revision was minimal. Ratchet completed the second body 4.376217 hours faster than the first body.

I looked up from my work on building a MCU array that could fit inside of Cyclone, to give him a boost when I wasn’t around, when I felt Ram and Rom travel through the Shipping network to arrive nearby. I’m ashamed to admit that I’d left the subRoutines to their own devices more and more as of late. If I wanted, I could take direct control of any of the proxy bodies at will, but generally I just left it to the subRoutines. I didn’t directly control them though, they were more like copies of me that were running in another tab; if you thought of my mind as a web browser.

In the beginning they seemed to be more like puppets in the same way you might have a sock puppet on each hand but the more I left them to their own thing, the more they seemed to be their own thing.

That said, I knew I hadn’t sent any commands for the two to visit me in the foundry. Mentally, I switched over to Ram and felt a barrier in place. I call it a “barrier” but it was more like one of those polarizing screens over your monitor, where you need to be at the right angle to see anything. I was, apparently, at the right angle and had no problems seeing inside of Ram, but I caught a mental image of her giving me a “shush” sign, which prompted Rom to look over at her.

It was a really strange sort of feeling. Like I was trying to play a trick on myself where you purposefully ignore which hand the candy is in as you switch them around in order to allow yourself to be tricked. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out as well as Ram had hoped and as soon as I looked in her “tab”, I instantly knew everything she knew, which then streamed to all of the other subRoutines. I wondered if not knowing instantly what they all knew at all times was a mental safeguard to keep my conscious mind from getting overwhelmed. Something to bring up with that shadow doctor if I got the chance to see her again, I supposed.

Rom put her hands to her faceplate and hopped up and down, excited, then turned and hugged Ram. Ram reminded me of a resigned dog that wasn’t completely comfortable with hugs and just gently tapped at Rom’s elbows.

“I guess there’s no point in waiting around now, eh Ram?” I asked, pulling the two new Mk II bodies out of [Storage]. “I guess, physically coming here wasn't really necessary... I could have just shut down the old bodies and connected to the new bodies once they were online... ah well.”

They get Mk IIs?? I felt Cyclone grumble.

If you want one that badly, then build one yourself like your older sisters. I felt Alfred argue back.

I got the mental impression of Cyclone flipping a table and slamming his bedroom door with a muffled I wasn’t equipped with those skills, was I?

Guys? Guys. Don’t worry buddy. I know you’re working hard as Lena’s bodyguard. You’re next on the list.

I installed the required firmware into the new bodies as well as the modifications required for the new abilities. The process would take a couple of hours to complete so while waiting, I put the girls to work on helping out with GodBomber.

It was sometime in the wee hours and most of the students had gone to the rooms provided to them in the castle. A couple were still around, poking and adjusting things. Professor Rechts, for example, insisted on just sleeping as needed on the cot in the breakroom but otherwise refused to leave. He even sent students out to get him meals. I could understand the focus and devotion to a project that captured your interest though. My new Automata staff were making themselves useful already. It helped that basic [Inspect] was something that could easily be shared and installed so the newbies could see what was happening.

The two, former, maids were both originally female this time around. Both Shawneen and Lafonda had been sold to the factory at a young age, like Shiro. They had also both grown up in poverty and didn’t have great homelives to start with. I was glad that they were willing to stay and help out but felt bad that maybe they didn’t feel they had anything to go back to.

The soldier had been an Avian boy from Yliasi that was taken during a slaver raid. The realization of his past coupled with the species dysphoria hit him really hard. The current situation between the empire and his home country probably didn’t help matters. He didn’t leave, but he didn’t help either. Mostly, he just huddled in the corner of the breakroom.

The construction bot had been a mousling named Chee, and it took every ounce of my will not to call her “Cheese”. When she unlocked, she laughed for a long while, thinking it was hilarious that such a small creature ended up in such a big body.

I introduced the girls to the group of former castle workers and let them take it from there. Much to the chagrin of Moshi, I was sure, Ratchet would be also pulled in to wrap things up as soon as it was done with Rebecca. We’d managed to reconstruct her to match her valkyrie body. I doubted we’d need her to spy on the inside, and also doubted her ability to pull such a mission off. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to have that option available.

We also gleaned some interesting information from her, aside from learning that Jhaix had swiped my [Defender] to protect his control curse from [Liberator]. She didn’t know all of the details, but she was certain that Jhaix was a summoned “hero”. The revelation didn’t come as much of a surprise to me, but when I told the Prince via a smoke mirror conversation, he abruptly cut the call. Fifteen minutes later, he was descending on the secret lift.

“Master Artificer, walk with me,” he commanded.

He didn’t engage in any pleasantries or humor any of my jokes, so I kept quiet and followed. He took me down a level to the large hangar, then through to the hangar doors. Without a word, he touched the mana plate to open them, but it refused him.

“Ah. I changed the locks your highness, let me get that,” I said, a bit embarrassed.

Again, he didn’t say a word, just gave me an odd look. I couldn’t tell if it was curiosity or derision since he was always looking down on me by the nature of our heights. Once through the door, he had me close and lock the door before he walked past the airship landing pad, to the far railing overlooking the cliff down into the chasm below. He looked to be considering taking the stairs but thought better of it.

He rested his elbows on the railing, looking worn out. He then turned to look at me, over his shoulder and pointed to the railing next to him. I was reminded of some of Lena’s gesture demands. I played along and leaned over the railing with him.

“I can’t be sure of security these days,” he admitted. “Thus I’ve brought you all the way here to be certain there aren’t any excess ears. I suspect that your lead on Jhaix is correct, and if so, this play at war makes sense.”

“How so, your highness?” I asked.

“If Jhaix is a summoned hero, then that means he’s working for Jamnasia. I don’t know his connection to my father or how he managed to get established in Trone. The city is famed as the birthplace of Automata, dating back to the Fredersen Manufacturing Corporation some two hundred years ago. Until Jhaix came on the scene, they mostly did artesanal Automata, only producing a hundred or so per year for the very wealthy.”

“How is this related to Jamnasia?”

“If he is their agent, then we must assume that his goal is to wipe out our country along with any other non-humans. Traditionally, they have always used open warfare with summoned heroes granted tremendous powers by supposed gods. If this Jhaix is a summoned hero, then he’ll have some sort of advanced abilities. It could be that he wasn’t fit for direct combat though so they used him in a more nefarious means.”

“I see... So get him established and stir up a war between countries that Jamnasia wants to wipe out, then swoop in and clean up the leftovers?”

“That sounds like an oversimplification, but that’s the meat of it, yes. I think it fair to assume that anything produced in that Factory since he took power, should also be considered an agent of Jamnasia.”

“Is that possible? You think every Automata in the country could be a sleeper cell?”

“Not possible, probable,” he said darkly. “I don’t like it, but if it comes to it, I will order the termination of every Automata in order to keep my country safe.”

“I can’t say that I’m terribly fond of that idea either. Let’s call that the nuclear option and just tuck it into our back pocket for now.”

He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. “Nuclear? Nevermind, it’s pointless. You’re going to gather your team, whomever you trust, and head out tomorrow at first moon.”

“I thought I was going with you, the day after tomorrow,” I asked, confused.

“Yes, I said that, though mainly for anyone that might have leaked the details. I’m sorry to change it up at the last minute, but it’s necessary. No one else in the regiment will know of the change, but for you and I. Other than your team, it shall stay that way. Even Lena, am I understood?”

“Crystal. Where am I going?”

“You will be making a direct assault on Trone; the Factory specifically. Our forces will be on the move as scheduled, while I want you to slay the dragon in its den while it slumbers.”

“That’s quite the tall order, your highness. I fully expect there to be legions of Automata soldiers, as well as more of those Titans, guarding the place.”

“Yes. Which is precisely why you’ve constructed the GodBomber and promised me that you could take down entire armies.”

“I did say that, yes. One dragon with a side of hero, coming up.”