act10mini

Life isn't easy for the Infected on the frontiers, and the help that we can provide is limited.

But the Columbians are giving land to homesteaders, even the Infected.

I see...

The Infected in Tkaronto are willing to provide supplies and housing. For a price, that is.

There's a brewery owner who's offering to help for free though. He's a trustworthy guy, just a little... eccentric.

Sounds like a good start.

Good work, Miss Elba.

What about the guerillas? Any response from Avrora?

Captain Avrora has travelled to the Northern Plains to find the troops who stayed behind. She probably won't make it here.

However, Sarkaz warriors from the guerillas have already rendezvoused with Nine's team.

Reinforcements from Kazimierz arrived yesterday.

Then we're almost at full numbers.

I'll check out the hangar. You guys go find Nine.

Got it.

A massive machine sits at the center of the abandoned warehouse, and industrial noises fill the air.

Reunion mechanics busy themselves around it, the sounds of metal cutting and welding following them wherever they go.

Lightly! Lightly! Don't break it!

We've finally gotten the engine out of there.

Oh hey, Mr. Guard!

How's the situation in Caladon? How are the Infected doing?

Could be worse, all things considered.

Setting aside Councilor Angst for a moment, we have half the city council in favor of maintaining the Infected community. Things won't get any worse as long as the community continues to operate.

Two months ago, a nobleman bribed a security guard to sabotage their power generator. Things could've been really bad if we didn't happen to have an engineering Caster stationed there.

Still, the Infected face a lot of difficulties. They need help.

I heard you encountered some trouble when transporting the engine?

I would call it a little unpleasant surprise.

As you predicted, there are a lot of people who don't look kindly upon the presence of the Infected community, but at least we took care of a bunch of problems.

Were our people at risk?

No one got exposed, although there are a few guys who should probably lay low for a while.

And we can't use the old supply tunnel anymore, after it got revealed by an explosion on the surface.

We'll need to scale down activities in Caladon for a few months.

It would seriously compromise the Infected community's day to day operations if anyone discovers our involvement.

Agreed.

But the incident also allowed us to extract the engine without a hiccup, no traces.

So... are you really sure this thing can fly?

I've ridden on something like it before.

Over in Columbia, they use a smaller version in cities... what do they call them? Rotorcraft?

I've seen recon rotorcrafts when I was in the Ursus army—about the size of a motorbike, maybe a little bigger.

But I've never seen a flying machine this big before.

Where did you get this thing?

Would you believe me if I said I found it in a trash dump?

I'm being serious.

Well, it's half-true.

This is the only surviving prototype from a Columbian military project to develop a hovering vehicle. It was abandoned seven years ago due to lack of funding.

After letting it rot in a warehouse for all those years, they finally decided to scrap it.

Now, the Columbians usually outsource the scrapping of military equipment to third-party contractors. There are just too many projects to handle themselves.

But as you can imagine, the contractor didn't exactly follow military SOP. All they did was take it apart and sell the parts to a 'scrap recycler'.

And this 'scrap recycler' sold the 'scrap' to us.

How did you even hear about the prototype?

That a-hole Dijkstra, of course.

Dijkstra? That weird Columbian Caster? The one who calls himself a 'Cracker'?

That's pretty amazing.

So, what do you think, Andrey? Is the engine good to go?

It's got enough muscle, alright.

But it's a little big... could throw off the machine's balance.

Are you really sure about putting a Victorian engine on a Columbian flyer?

We'll find a way. Getting it in the air shouldn't be a problem, at least.

Looking forward to it.

It's not like you could fly this with a standard driving license, though. What about pilots?

It needs two of them, and not many have the required skills, even in Columbia.

Nine was concerned about that too, but Dijkstra said he had an idea.

Either way, we've got more pressing issues right now.

We need a whole new control system, and that's not something I can whip up for you. You'll have to find one.

Not just any old thing will do, either. It needs to be something on the scale of a mining platform control system.

We'll also need to replace the insulation plates for the Originium engine.

I already told Nine about all this, but I don't know if there's been any progress on that front.

No worries, a trader will be bringing them over in a few days.

Are you talking about that bucket-head? He's got nerve, selling this stuff... How did he even get his hands on classified technology anyway?

He's got his methods. Best not to ask too many questions.

Oh, Nine! Hey there.

Well, you're the boss.

Speaking of which, Guard, you may need to bring Captain Red over to meet with the trader.

He wants someone from our side to be on site and 'have an understanding of the sourcing', in his own words.

What a weirdo...

But alright.

December 24th, 1097, 6:44 P.M.

So this is the rendezvous point.

Are you sure we can trust this guy?

Hard to say... but Nine trusts him, at least.

We've bought a lot of stuff from him, and in return he's asked us to do him a number of favors.

He's eccentric, to say the least... you'll understand when you see him.

I have a hard time trusting shady merchants like this...

A man wearing a strange helmet approaches from afar.

He is accompanied by several large men wearing shabby armor.

Yup... He might as well be carrying a sign that says 'Shady' in big red letters.

Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening, my friends.

Mr. Guard! How good to see you again, and looking so well too.

I wasn't expecting you to bring company. But I'm not seeing any trucks or vehicles?

Where are the goods, Mr. Cannot?

No rush, my friend, no rush!

They're not in my hands right now, but they'll show themselves soon enough.

I don't understand.

Have patience, friend, patience. They'll be here.

A few minutes later, a convoy of armed vehicles appears on the horizon, kicking up a cloud of dust over the barren ground.

Here they come.

Give me the binoculars.

Take cover! Take cover! They're armed with Originium cannons!

That's... Volvort Kochinski's mark!

I want an explanation, Mr. Cannot!

What you seek is right in front of you, my friend. You see that big one in the middle?