Chapter 83

Red Sands Desert, Principality of Rebirth.

Dungeon Factory, Temporary Command Center.

Alexandra gazed at the screen as the fleet began to assemble for departure, and had to hold back a snarl.

The UDC had finished its deliberation…and decided not to intervene. The reasoning being that, while she might have been attacked, she had neither been successfully kidnapped, let alone killed! So, if you took into consideration the fact that she did not have any conclusive proof the Republic was involved, it was not the UDC's business.

Her response had been…scathing. She hadn't been able to directly attend, but she had used the conference room, with its hologram projector on Gift's flagship. It wasn't as good as the stuff she'd used for remote meetings back on Earth, but it came surprisingly close, creating the illusion that she was in the same room as the other dungeon cores.. She smiled as she remembered the scene

*****

"I realize that this council has taken the decision to not entangle themselves in the current conflict. Actually, I suppose it would be far more accurate that you decided to order Gift to flee home with his tail between his legs while you wash your hands of the attempt to eliminate one of your own. You have decided that for, a variety of reasons, I was not worthy of your protection. Alright, so be it. I will protect myself, no matter what I have to do, and no matter who I have to enlist to make it so."

She saw some of the avatar start shift as the meaning of her words sank in.

"You can't mean-" Started one of them, the smug bastards who'd announced to her that the council wouldn't help her.

"Yes, I mean exactly that. I fully intend to enlist the help of the town, and the humans around me, to ensure my own security, and of course to return the favor."

"You can't do that! We won't let you!" Yelled out another of the non-interventionist dungeon cores.

"You won't let me?" Alexandra's eyes shone with a dangerous light, the same a UIS admiral had seen at the start of the second battle of Alpha Centauri, before she sent his fleet home in pieces. "As some of you have pointed out at length, I am neither a member of the UDC or an admissible candidate, due to the 'political instability' of my current position. And you have refused to help me, even when my advisor and I were on the verge of death." Several dungeons shifted uneasily at the mention of her advisor. "Well then, so be it. If I am not touched by your benefits then I am not bound by your rules either."

"If something happens to you while you've mingled in human affairs, we will not lift a finger to help you." Said the smug dungeon.

"Oh really?" She looked at the rest of the council, and her smile was anything but nice. "Strange. Isn't that exactly what just happened? In this case, what do I have to lose, exactly?"

That challenge, thrown directly in his face, seemed to leave him at a loss for word for a few seconds, and Alexandra turned around imperiously, before leaving Gift's conference room, not giving him the occasion to gather his wits and retort.

*****

Emilia had been horrified when Alexandra had explained to her what had happened, and the Earth-born had almost snapped at her advisor, before almost calmly explaining to her that either they sided with the town, or they might as well gift wrap themselves for the Republic, since the UDC seemed to not give enough of a shit to help them.

"Alex?"

Alexandra blinked, and looked over her shoulder. Speak of the devil….

"Yes vampy?"

"I, uh…I got a communication through the crystal?" Said the vampire girl as she clutched a sheet of paper.

"Oh, from your mother again?"

The duchess had been…well, not livid, vampires were livid by nature, but Alexandra had been impressed things weren't spontaneously catching fire just by being near the vampire. She'd sworn up and down that if she ever found the one responsible for trying to kill her darling daughter, she'd have his entrails made into a scarf, the Western Marches' official diplomatic neutrality be damned. The fact that she had an entire squad of her 'maids' standing behind her, including one wielding what looked to be an honest to the Gods minigun had put a certain emphasis on her words.

"Well, that's the thing…No. It's from another dungeon advisor. From my aunt actually."

"Ah." Alexandra frowned. "Is the UDC trying to threaten me?"

"No! No, far from that. It contained, well, an encrypted message, which I transcribed, along with the key. It was supposed to be your eyes only."

Alexandra blinked. What could possibly be the purpose of transmitting an encrypted message and the key? Why not just send the message. Wait, no.

It's deniability. Officially, the advisors never saw, or knew anything. Oh, they could certainly just read it if they wanted to, but that way they're officially unaware of what passed through their hands, she realized.

"Sure." Alexandra held out her hand, and Emilia gave her the note, before retreating out of the command center.

The Earth-born smiled sadly as her advisor left, probably to go check up on her maids. Then she took a deep breath, and looked at the sheet of paper.

It was a simple substitution cipher, and thanks to the absurd quantities of essence she had absorbed from the platoon she'd massacred, especially the mages, she quickly absorbed the key at the bottom, and automatically translated the text as a whole. It would have been remarkable feat for anyone without implants, but at this point Alexandra's mental capabilities had very little in common with a human's. Well, at least a human from Earth.

'Hello Crystal.

You do not know me, but I know you. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Laria, dungeon core of the Golden Gates.

I was present during the….unpleasant council session that just happened, and I wished for you to know that a significant minority, if not outright majority, of the UDC's members support you.

That, unfortunately, does not mean we were able to help you, and for that I am truly sorry. And as you know, our organization has our hands tied. However there are many who are considering alternative solutions.

For myself, I would rather avoid this, however I recognize that it is unavoidable. Thanks to my…cool headed nature, and my advisor's close familial links with your own, I was designated as our group's point of contact with you, as well as its overall head. While we cannot necessarily do much, we have decided to help you however we can. To this end, I would recommend that you take contact with Gift before he leaves, and obtain an audience with him, I believe he has something for you, on behalf of all of us.

Regards,

Laria.'

Alexandra blinked as she finished the message. Wow. Just…wow. She didn't know the UDC's internal dynamics, but she had been Arcadia's friend, not to mention an EFSN officer, so she knew politics. And the mere fact that there was a group willing to contact her this openly, almost immediately after the vote…the UDC had something terribly wrong with it. Something that went far, far deeper than refusing to help a single dungeon.

She shook her head, and ordered some of her golems to make their way to the transports even now loading Gift's forces back onto his fleet. She had an appointment to make.

*****

"Ah, Crystal. It's good to see you again." Said Gift as Alexandra entered his bridge. Arranging for a ship to take her avatar up to his flagship without anyone seeing it was always a non trivial exercise, but at least everyone, even the guild's guards, kept their distance from her entrance. She'd been very clear that anyone who even interfered with her reconstruction effort by even setting foot inside of her influence was going to end up in pieces. The half dozen golems she'd posted on a platform above the entrance with thumpers had….emphasized how serious she was. "I…regret how your last visit went."

Alexandra snorted.

"You mean you regret how many of your friends and allies turned to be self serving pig headed bastards?" She shook her head, sighing. "Regardless, I regret it as well." She chuckled. "Far more than you, for obvious reasons. Anyway, I was told by a….friend, that you had something for me?"

"Indeed I do." He snapped his fingers, and a monster, looking like a mix between a frog and a giant spider, emerged from one of the bridge's doors, holding a sizeable box. Alexandra had to suppress an instinctive step back as she beheld the abomination. "I realize that you might have a…dim view of the UDC right now, so I have gathered some reading material that will help change your point of view." He looked at her directly, and she felt the weight in his words…and what he wasn't saying. "Trust me, those texts have proven fundamental to the UDC, and a great help to many of our dungeons. I'm sure you will find them illuminating." He chucked. "Call them my own 'gift' to you."

Alexandra dutifully chuckled and grabbed the box, suppressing a shiver as the slimy, almost drooling abomination reverently handed it to her.

"Thank you Gift. I accept your, ah, present with gratitude."

"Of course! Oh, and one more thing. I would heavily recommend that you absorb what remains of your confrontation. You never know, something of interest might have survived from your enemies. Just a piece of advice."

Alexandra suppressed a frown, and nodded.

"Of course. Now if you'll excuse me?"

"Have a nice day, Crystal."

"Thank you Gift, safe travels."

He chuckled.

"I have a battlefleet. Wishes of safety are somewhat…superfluous."

"I guess so. Still, sometimes it's the thought that counts." Said Alexandra before leaving, weighing the box.

*****

It took her only ten minutes to make her way back to her dungeon, at which point she opened the box, revealing books. The top one looked like a manual actually, why would he-

Then she read the title.

'Unified Dungeon Army - Operational Manual #6 - Practical counters to influence disruptors.'

Alexandra's eyes widened as she looked at the title, before she quickly emptied the box, and checked the different books.

Instruction manuals. Every single one of them was a UDC military instruction manual. Actually, given the names on them, they probably predated the UDC, and were something the rebels had written for distribution to other dungeons during the First United Dungeon War. Detailed instructions on how to deal with invaders, influence disruptors, fortify surface access, counter enemies using tunnel tactics, and even how to organize troops for operations outside one's influence.

Alexandra whistled softly. A worthy gift indeed. She looked at the manuals, and immediately popped into dungeon mode. If what he'd given her was this impressive, it meant there had to be something worthwhile in the rubble of her command center. Although given the sheer quantity of said rubble, it might take a while for her to find it.

*****

She was looking over her options for recreating her forges -after all the advantage of a blank slate was that she could do a complete rework and try to make her installations more efficient- when an alert popped up about a new material, absorbed while she ate up the rubble.

Alexandra blinked, and expanded the notification. And her eyes went wide.

Gunpowder.

The revolvers. It had the be the revolvers the invaders' officers had used. Somehow, from the weapons or whatever ammunition pouch they had, enough of their gunpowder had survived to be absorbed. This was…

There were no words to describe it. Huge would be a massive understatement.

She pulled out her experimental files, the ones where she'd attempted to use her chemical explosives to make guns.

All of a sudden, she was considerably less worried as to how she could make the praetorian guard, hell her entire golem forces, more lethal, in case of another invasion.