Episode 53: New Fortress Construction Site and Multi-legged Heavy Machine
The Work Vessel drove its drilling equipment into the seabed, embedding support pillars. She watched this scene through the footage sent from the Solar-Powered Reconnaissance Aircraft (Swift) overhead, while skimming through the information about the planned fortress construction site.
“The coastline is Lava Rock. It really feels like lava flowed all over this area,” she remarked.
“Yes, Ma’am. The coastline of the Afrasia United Kingdom is almost entirely covered in lava. The total length exceeds 2,000 km. It’s an unimaginable distance.”
For reference, Telek Port City has a bay-shaped coastline, one of the few coastlines not made of Lava Rock. According to the investigation, a slight uplift caused the lava flow to split, forming a bay that surrounds Telek Port City.
“I wonder where it flowed from… But it must have been quite a long time ago, right?”
“Yes, Ma’am. There is a fair amount of vegetation, so it must have been at least several hundred years ago.”
“Several hundred years… It’s a little hard to imagine.”
Considering that a massive lava flow, enough to cover the entire long coastline, had engulfed the entire Afrasia United Kingdom, it can be assumed that it was an incredibly large-scale eruption. If the volcano that caused that eruption is still active, we may need to be cautious.
“At least, no significant Seismic Waves have been observed since the transfer to this world. It is unlikely that there are any active volcanoes in the vicinity.”
“As expected, we can’t compete with natural phenomena like eruptions and earthquakes… Or can we? Hmm? No, maybe we can…”
“If we install environmental control devices for Terraforming, we can control it to some extent, but we would have to prepare large-scale facilities both on the ground and in satellite orbit, so it is impossible at this point.”
“That’s right… I think I was just about to reach that level. I was just developing an outer planet.”
“Yes, Ma’am. You were building a colony ship.”
It’s already a nostalgic memory, but originally, in the ＜World of Space＞ she used to play, the technology level should have been at the point where the age of great space voyages was finally dawning.
If that entire game data could have been transferred here, I wouldn’t have had to struggle so much. If only I had a giant platform in satellite orbit.
“…No, when I think about it, if I had been left in satellite orbit, I might have starved to death sooner or later…”
Considering what happened immediately after the transfer, it might have been better that the starting point was on the ground (at sea). If I had been in satellite orbit with zero food, I might not have been able to secure any food.
“Considering the situation, perhaps food packages for the colony ship would have been stocked. There were originally zero food-related supplies in ＜The Tree＞.”
“Ah. I see. Well, it doesn’t matter anymore.”
Come to think of it, the meals in the beginning were terrible. There weren’t any decent ingredients, and ＜Ringo＞ didn’t quite understand what cooking was. Now, there are various ingredients available in Telek Port City, and the dining table has become very lively. The seasoning is also perfectly adjusted by ＜Ringo＞.
“Anyway, the construction progress is going smoothly.”
At the new Fortress, they will first build a huge pier offshore. From there, they plan to unload a large amount of supplies and then begin constructing the fortress on the ground. Currently, that pier is under construction.
“Yes, Ma’am. We are currently installing the support pillars. As soon as the floor structure materials being transported arrive, we will construct the offshore facilities. Once a certain area is secured, we will extend the passage towards the coast, and as soon as it is connected, we will deploy construction machinery.”
“For the time being, we can use the Cement in storage for the foundation, but that will deplete the stock. I don’t suppose there are any prospects for more in the near future?”
“Yes, Ma’am. We are currently searching. However, it seems that the residual soil from the seabed excavation contains limestone, so we may find a limestone Lode in the surrounding area. If so, the area around the planned construction site will become a promising mining site.”
“That’s good news. Please continue to investigate.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
The reason why the Swift’s exploration failed to discover any decent Lode was the lava layer covering the ground. A very small amount of magnetically charged lava is deposited over a thickness of more than ten meters.
Therefore, it cannot be detected at all by the low-output Sensor that can be mounted on the Swift. This characteristic was finally revealed by the powerful detection device loaded on the Albatross.
They are washing out the past Swift Sensor data, but it is full of noise and almost impossible to analyze. Therefore, they are re-exploring using the Albatross.
“The exploration around Iron Town is mostly complete. However, we don’t have the equipment to do anything about it right now, so we will allocate resources to this Fortress construction for the time being. We are also re-investigating this area, so the distribution of underground resources should be clear soon.”
Once the materials can be unloaded, an Energy Plant can be built. This means that it will be possible to generate high power and convert it into Microwaves for transmission. If that happens, construction machinery can be dispatched to Iron Town. The current bottleneck in the development of Iron Town is securing a power source.
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“Ma’am. Preparation of Prototype 1, three units, is complete, so we will land them. Would you like to confirm?”
“Hmm?”
The morning’s work (taking care of her younger sisters) had come to an end, and just as she was about to have lunch, ＜Ringo＞ called out to her.
“Shall I relay it to the dining room display?”
“Ah, yes. Let’s watch it together.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
Prototype 1. A heavy machine prototyped as a standard model for future work machines, currently powered by a gas turbine engine. After the Microwave Power Transmission system is completed, it will be replaced with a receiver and battery, but for the time being, it will use a heat engine fueled by methane.
“Multi-legged Heavy Machine (Walker) Prototype 1, starting up.”
WP1 was displayed on the screen. WP1 trembled, extended its folded Legs, and lifted its body.
“Oh, it moved!”
“Commander (Onee-chan), it moved!”
“Yes, it moved properly.”
WP1 is a heavy machine that employs multiple Legs, assuming activity in uneven terrain. Well, I won’t deny that it contains a lot of romantic elements.
Six Legs are used for movement, and two more Legs are used as work arms, for a total of eight Legs extending from the torso. The overall structure is flat, designed to keep the height down.
It is a general-purpose type that can perform all kinds of work such as reclamation, mining, and construction, and is also equipped with a geological survey Sensor. It also has armaments, but only one multi-barrel machine gun, and combat is not assumed. The armor is also poor, so it is a machine for completely rear support.
For the time being, it is planned to operate within the range of Alpha-class, so it was judged that this level would be sufficient. It is also equipped with a simple Drill for test drilling, and it is assumed that after preliminary investigation with WP1, further testing such as excavation will be performed with another heavy machine.
“Launching.”
WP1 moved its six Legs busily and accelerated, jumping one after another from the deck of the Work Vessel into the sea. Because it is an all-terrain type, it can also operate underwater. Using all eight Legs, including the work arms, it skillfully swam through the water.
“…Because it’s big, it looks quite like a monster.”
Watching WP1 swim from the sky, she muttered. Because the total length is about 15m, it is quite large when viewed from the side. The sight of a spider-shaped large machine moving organically gives a strange feeling.
“If we devise the coloring, it seems like it could pass as a Monsters.”
“If the facilities are in place, Active Camouflage can also be produced, so let’s prepare a few patterns.”
“Oh, that’s good. Whether or not we disguise it as a Monsters is another matter, camouflage is important.”
For these mechanical weapons, equipment that deceives the opponent’s radar is usually more important, but I don’t think that would be useful in this world. Therefore, they are also developing equipment for visual camouflage.
If it is a weapon that originally exists in ＜World of Space＞, there is also a blueprint, but for other machines, it is necessary to design them anew.
“That being said… It’s about time we started researching Magic (Fantasy) in earnest…”
I should probably set up a research and development base for magic soon, as I’ve been putting it off. And it seems there’s been some progress in the investigation into Rain Croin.