Chapter 65: Fulfillment
"Why did you make me travel out here so early?" He trapped a yawn inside his throat, but the way his jaw distended and the low groan he emitted wasn't left unnoticed. "And right after a meet with Ch-4 and Fourth Headman, too."
"You exaggerate. This is hardly early, especially for someone like you. Ch-4 is quite the pleasant young woman to converse with, so long as it isn't on governance." The Sixth Headman had been spending too much time around Eighth Headman.
The Prime Beacon blamed himself for permitting that. Once upon a time, the respectable gentleman would have never allowed his eyes to roll. "And it's because we both have busy schedules, you more so than I."
"Then why haven't you ordered some of your men to construct another laboratory back at Ardiseg Hall yet? The First has converted plenty of its space into specialized facilities relevant to our work."
"The First," the Sixth Headman stressed, "does no research and experimentation with volatile and hazardous materials. Very volatile. Very, very hazardous. In fact, the war simulations your people are always running can hardly classify as such in the first place. Didn't you ever notice when visiting other rays' floors how no one does the work that requires them to roll up their sleeves there?"
"I'm afraid each time I did, I was either accompanied by Eighth Headman or one of the others from the home interest." They nodded in combined melancholy at the former's mention.
"Lo-2 seems to be quite attached to you," the SIxth Headman observed with sly intent.
"And I to her, but not like that. Before you entertain those ideas, remember she's older than both of us combined."
"And she doesn't look a day older than thirty." They nodded in unison a second time, this one lamenting how some people seemed to win big with both the appearance and relevance departments. "This world doesn't hold much importance on the idea of fairness, does it?"
"Has it ever?"
"It would be nice if it did."
The Prime Beacon brought them back to the topic at hand. "But what we're here for today isn't' as dangerous as that, yes? You could have a basic, non-committed facility on one of your floors for activities like it."
"'Activities like it'…'activities like it?' You pretend as if you didn't bring me a composite metal blade forged from completely alien material that reacts in unknown ways to unknown phenomena and types of energy, and then ask me to have it reforged without so much as telling me the name of the stuff!"
"I didn't know what it's called. I swear it." He tried defending himself, but it was a lackluster attempt.
"The Reverb. Ul-5-Chardo-B280. Red Night. Those are three, three reasons why we do not perform experiments and studies on unknown items, phenomena, and individuals, or Aud, in centers of population. Ever," the older man hissed. "Ardiseg Hall is the headquarters of the government. Each ray has space there, but it's best used for logistics and administrative purposes. I don't know why the First insists on using their floor space for other reasons, but that is the way your ray has run itself. I will not similarly endanger the civilian populace for something so pointless as convenience."
"I agree with you there. Which one of the original city architects thought it was a smart choice to place the foundations of Ardiseg Hall right at the intersection point between four civilian districts? I'd like to meet them." For what, he left unsaid.
"That wasn't what I said."
"I drew conclusions and added my own remarks."
"Unhelpful and inaccurate."
"Fine," he surrendered. "I won't badger you on it any further. You're right, your ray will run according to its separate ways."
"...badger me?"
"Hmm?"
"Isn't that an extinct animal?"
Knowing where this was going, he sighed and skipped "bother" and "nag". "I won't intrude to judge your decisions."
"Thank you, then. If you could speak like this at the start, we could be much better acquaintances."
They entered another room and scanned themselves in with the help of one of the Sixth's employees waiting behind screened glass. The woman saluted, and they pushed through hanging sheets of absorbent material into a hallway with vents lining the floors, walls, and ceiling. Doors slammed down on either end of it, and the Sixth Headman sighed. "I dislike this part."
"You and me b--" A concentrated burst of air shoved the two of them in every direction at the same time, almost achieving the same effect as an anti-grav generator. The artificial gale continued to buffet them, then they were drowning in a foam.
It passed quicker than either could swallow or choke without intent, leaving them disheveled and breathing hard. They were back on the ground, the foam and gusts were gone, and the doors slid back into position.
The unblocked hallway led to an isolated whirl of activity, condensed into a space so small it hardly seemed adequate for all the people rushing around. Well, some floated above with the assistance of anti-grav nodes intending to avoid the hubbub below. The ample height of the ceiling allowed for it.
The atmosphere here was reminiscent of the one accustomed to him: seriousness abound and zero distractions permitted. That included no stopping to salute, especially since many participants were wearing thicker than normal skinsuits, wore helmets or face coverings, and carried or carted around vats and containers of who knew what.
He didn't. Everything looked thick, from the clothing to the various means of protection to the walls themselves. "Aren't we underdressed for being here?"
"You wanted us in and out as soon as possible." The Sixth Headman shrugged. "I figured we could skip a few steps."
He moved to rebuke that, then relented. "I guess I did ask for it." A supervisor halted them and redirected their steps to the left, where after a longer corridor of sealed doors they came across a large chamber with racks.
On each rack were storage containers, holding all finished or trial products. He wasn't sure why the researchers stored the two together, but if it made sense to the planners, he had no reason to butt in.
The Sixth Headman leaned down, pulling free a case from one of the bottom racks near their feet. They brought it over to a table in the center, and he watched as the older man submitted his thumb and whispered something to his HUD.
He turned to the Prime Beacon after. "Press your thumb to it now." They were switching origin signals for the biolock, from his to his own.
The reader beeped, and the case clicked open. With a hiss, small wisps of steam escaped from the unsealed edges. He glanced at the Sixth Headman. "Is it still hot inside?"
"Not anymore. We transferred the finished variant here not long after the refitting process. It was smoking then."
"This is quite the impressive case then." The lid came up the rest of the way, and he beheld what was once Tool's weapon. The original blade was thicker and squat, like that of a short sword or the pairing blade of a WAV.
This one was narrow and long, more than a meter in length. The crossguard was absent, with a simple, smooth bulb of the metal near the bottom to signify where the blade ended and the handle began. The handle had hooks, with dozens of grooves running its length. It compromised the integrity of that part, but it was a necessary addition, or rather, subtraction.
It acted as a modular sheath, intended for both his hands and the wrist slots for pairing blades of his WAV. The end curled up in a barb.
"Saving our current energy budget paid well in the short term for you. We almost exhausted an eighth of our entire allocation for this."
"The smelting or reforging?"
"Both." The Sixth Headman clinked the blade's flat side with a nail. "This had a tough shell to crack, but we managed in the end."
"Can I take it now?"
"Of course. Why do you think I brought you here? To ogle it from afar?"
"Then don't mind if I do." The grip was smooth and, well, grippy between his fingers. The blade was heavier than he'd expected it to be, and he realized why the hilt was large enough for five or six hands. He hefted it, then glanced at the case. "May I?"
"It's an expensive case. I'd prefer my men not need to make a second one for storage."
"The metal is definitely stainless. I wouldn't have problems carrying it with me like this. I may make In-3 quiet more often with this around us."
"You'd get tired of it." The SIxth Headman shook his head. "Hold on until my men send you some test products. You can do whatever you like back in your training hall."
The Prime Beacon nudged him with an elbow. "I thought you didn't condone experimentation at Ardiseg Hall."
"I'm remembering now why you don't strike me as friend material. Don't take this the wrong way, but Lo-2 felt friendlier than you at times, even with all your smiles and gestures of goodwill."
He wasn't wrong. "We don't need to make friends out of each other. Our relationship isn't dependent on amicable relations. I give and take, you give and take. And so long as you continue to give results like this, we'll do fine without being 'much better acquaintances'."
(Just so no one is disappointed since I've picked up the slack, I've got two difficult education periods coming up. One in January, and one in March. If anytime during those two months publishing chapters falls to the wayside, curse me. Make it a vicious one.)
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