Chương 438: Book 7 - Chapter 34 - Manufacturing

After the call, I quickly made my way back through the ship and down into the manufacturing bay. Although I relied upon this section to create and outfit my forces, it had been quite a while since I stepped into this area. The last time I was here, the bay was half empty, containing only a handful of Class II Molecular Reconfigurators; Now that I'd purchased several Class III machines, the area was a veritable hive of activity.

The new machines were so quick and efficient that it took an entire squad of beavers to manage the machines and clear the manufacturing area after a cycle had completed. Seeing how chaotic the area was, I was glad that Nyx and I had taken the time to add a separate material storage with an automated feed system. If the machines had required manual feeding, the process would have been significantly slower.

I stuck to the side of the area, trying my best to keep out of the way as I wandered through the manufacturing area, looking for my reason for coming down here. Heavy. While most of my squad were fairly outgoing, Heavy seemed to have developed a quiet and serious personality. Oh sure, he could throw out venomous barbs as well as the rest, but he seemed to prefer to watch and work. I found him standing in the small 'empty' area between the manufacturing area and the hangar.

He seemed to be doing some quality checks and making notes about the new weapons that had been designed for the otters.

"Something wrong with the new aquatic lasers?" I asked as I walked up behind him. The polar bear didn't turn towards me. He just flipped the sleek, nearly featureless rifle in his hands over and brought it up to his face so he could evaluate it further.

"Not wrong… they're sleek, exceptionally robust, and powerful," he muttered.

"However, they have a limited range, and the battery can't be replaced, so during an extended battle the otters will need to either swap weapons or retreat and allow the weapon to recharge."

"Well, there's not much I can do about that right now," I said.

"The tech came from Sharron's Deep Dweller Catalog, and although I could perform some basic upgrades while I had access to it, the best I could do with my existing catalogs was to install larger, recharging power cells. If we decide to expand our aquatic arsenal and upgrade the otters later, I'll have to either replace them or buy entirely new catalogs to replace them." The bear nodded, then slowly lowered the weapon he was holding into the crate at his feet.

"Did you want something?" I nodded.

"I wanted to know how the otters are coming," I said, walking up next to him and picking up one of the rifles myself. It was suprisingly light, and even though I knew it was created with Class I materials, I felt like I'd break the thing if I squeezed it too hard.

"You know, you could have just sent me a quick message across the command network if you wanted an update," Heavy grunted.

"I know, but that's very impersonal. You know I like to be more hands on," I replied as I flipped the weapon in the air. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Before it could land back in my hands Heavy leaned forward and snatched it out of the air, before gently setting it back in place, and closing the crate.

"So what exactly do you want to know?" Without something to fiddle with, I locked my fingers together and turned towards the bear.

"How many otters do we have ready to go, and what's the status of production?" I asked.

"Well… We've dedicated three Class III machines to producing the otters, and their equipment," Heavy said, crossing his arms.

"I started production just before that last Antithesis assault, and we've finished two batches. Three machines, six units per machine, and two batches—that's thirty-six otters ready for deployment."

"That's quick," I muttered.

"The Class III machines are a significant step up from the Class II machines," Heavy grunted.

"I have no idea how fast they'll be able to assemble Class III tech, but they're significantly faster than the older machines when assembling Class I and Class II tech."

"While that's not a ton of bots, it's a good start," I said.

"Can you send the otters down to support, or relieve, Sharron and the Sisterhood? They didn't want to come up until all the defenses were in place and all the loose Antithesis down below were taken care of."

"Why? I suspect they're more than capable of handling things down there without our help?" Heavy asked.

"They can… However, they're not engaging that many Antithesis; they're just patrolling the area and waiting for the defenses to be put in place. That work could easily be done by the bots, which would free up the samurai to either come up and rest or move on to another area if they want. Considering that we've encountered two different assaults in almost as many hours, I expect they might want to prepare for the next emergency."

"And if they don't?" Heavy asked.

"Then we leave the otters down there to support them until the defenses are in place. I have no intention of trying to force them to do anything, only give them the option," I said.

"And what about once the defenses are in place?" Heavy prompted.

"I plan to send the otters out to scout and start combing the area. I know there's very little chance they'll actually find something, but there is a chance, and I'd like to take every chance to end this insanity as quickly as possible," I said.

"How long until the defenses are in place anyways?" Heavy sighed.

"I've been submitting regular reports to the network, but since you're here… we should be done in about an hour. The cannons are pretty much in place; there are a couple that may need minor adjustments, but most of them landed in the right locations. Unfortunately, setting up the mines isn't so simple. Each one needs to be placed carefully to ensure it has the proper coverage. It's a time-consuming process, but thanks to all the bears we have down there, it won't take too long."

"Good, although we haven't seen any more Antithesis since the wave, but I'd like to have the defenses up and running before anything else tries to break through," I said.

"You're the boss," Heavy grunted.

"I'll send the otters down as soon as we're done here."

"Thanks," I said. I started to turn away but paused and turned back to Heavy.

"You've been spending a lot of time down here, checking the quality of the production systems and testing the weapons. Do you have any suggestions on upgrades or changes we should make to the lineup?" The bear raised an eyebrow.

"For this current conflict or…?"

"I mean in general," I said.

"We haven't had our aquatic forces for long enough for me to know what we need and how to upgrade them, but I've been slowly developing our ground forces for years now. I've been building up our tech mostly based upon my own observations and gut feelings. While I've been happy with my decisions so far, I admit that I focus on what I know works, and I may be overlooking weaknesses in our forces.

There's probably a number of quick upgrades that I could make to improve our effectiveness, which I overlook just because I don't think about it. Since you've been spending your time evaluating our weapons, I thought you might have some ideas on what I could implement." The bear was quiet for a minute.

"I never really thought about it," he admitted, "but I'll give it some thought."

"You do that," I replied, patting the bear on the shoulder.

"I'll leave the deployment and management of the otters to you. I know you're already in charge of manufacturing, so you can adjust the build queues to suit your needs, but let me know if you need anything else."

"Will do, Boss," Heavy said, throwing a salute. Unlike the cocky salutes I'd get from Bandit or Dusty, this one felt honest. Heartfelt. I smiled and returned the salute.

"In that case, carry on," I said softly.

"We have work to do."