Chapter 53: The New Fortress Construction Site and Multi-Legged Machinery
The construction ship drove a drilling machine into the seabed, embedding support pillars as it worked. As she monitored the progress through the footage sent from the Solar-powered Scout Aircraft (SWIFT) above, she skimmed through the information regarding the planned fortress construction site.
“The coastline is made of lava rock. It really feels like lava has flowed through this entire area,” she remarked.
“Yes, Ma’am. The coastline of the Afrasia United Kingdom is almost entirely covered in lava. Its total length exceeds 2,000 kilometers. It’s an unimaginable scale,” came the reply.
By the way, Port Town of Terek had a bay-shaped coastline, one of the few areas not covered in lava rock. Investigations suggested that the lava flow had split due to slight uplift, forming a bay that encircled Port Town of Terek.
“I wonder where it flowed from… But it must have been a long time ago, right?” she pondered.
“Yes, Ma’am. There is some vegetation, so it is believed to have occurred several hundred years ago.”
“Several hundred years… That’s hard to imagine.”
Considering that a vast lava flow covered the entire Afrasia United Kingdom, it could be assumed that a tremendous eruption had taken place. If the volcano that caused that eruption is still active, it might require caution.
“At least since our transfer to this world, no significant seismic waves have been observed. The likelihood of an active volcano in the vicinity seems low.”
“Natural phenomena like eruptions or earthquakes are certainly beyond our control… right? Hmm? No, maybe not…”
“If we install environmental control devices for planetary development (terraforming), we could manipulate it to some extent. However, we would need to prepare large-scale facilities both on the ground and in orbit, which is currently impossible.”
“That’s true… I think I was just reaching that level. I was in the midst of developing outer planets, if I recall correctly.”
“Yes, Ma’am. We were constructing immigration ships.”
Though it felt like a distant memory, the technology level in the game she used to play, World of Space, was supposed to herald the arrival of a great age of interstellar navigation. If only all that game data had transferred here, she wouldn’t have had to struggle so much. A massive platform in orbit would have made things much easier.
“…But thinking about it, if I had been stranded in orbit, I might have starved to death sooner or later…”
Considering the circumstances right after the transfer, it might have been fortunate that their starting point was on the ground (or sea). If they had ended up in orbit with zero food, securing sustenance would have been nearly impossible.
“Given the situation, it’s possible that food packages for the immigration ships were stocked. The Tree had zero food-related supplies from the start.”
“Oh, I see. Well, it’s not like it matters anymore.”
Recalling the early days, the meals had been terrible. There were hardly any decent ingredients, and Ringo didn’t quite understand the art of cooking back then. Now, with various ingredients available in Port Town of Terek, their dining table had become quite lively. Thanks to Ringo, the seasoning was perfectly adjusted.
“For now, the construction progress is going smoothly.”
At the new fortress, they were first constructing a massive pier offshore. From there, they planned to unload a large amount of supplies and begin building the fortress on land. Currently, they were in the process of constructing that pier.
“Yes, Ma’am. We are currently installing the support pillars. Once the structural materials for the flooring arrive, we will begin constructing the offshore facilities. Once we secure a sufficient area, we will extend a pathway toward the coast and deploy construction machinery as soon as the connection is established.”
“For now, we can use the stored cement for the foundation, but that will deplete our inventory. Do we have any plans for the near future?”
“Yes, Ma’am. We are currently exploring options. However, it seems that limestone is mixed in with the excavated soil from the seabed, so there is a possibility of discovering limestone deposits in the surrounding area. If that happens, the area around the planned construction site could become a promising mining site.”
“That’s good news. Please continue your efforts.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
The reason they had been unable to discover any decent mineral veins through SWIFT’s exploration was due to the lava layer covering the ground. A thin layer of magnetized lava had accumulated to a thickness of several meters. As a result, the low-output sensors that could be mounted on SWIFT were unable to detect anything. It was only through the powerful detection equipment mounted on the Albatross (Flying Ship) that these characteristics were finally revealed. They had been sifting through past SWIFT sensor data, but it was so filled with noise that it was nearly impossible to analyze. Thus, they were redoing the exploration using the Albatross.
“Exploration around Iron Town has been completed to a certain extent. However, we currently lack the equipment to take immediate action, so we will allocate resources to the fortress construction for the time being. We are also conducting a re-survey of this area, so we should soon determine the distribution of underground resources.”
Once they could begin unloading materials, they would be able to construct an energy plant. This would generate a large amount of power, which could then be converted into microwaves for transmission. That way, they could dispatch construction machinery to Iron Town. The current bottleneck in Iron Town’s development was securing a power source.
“Ma’am. Prototype 1, three units are ready for deployment. Shall I proceed with the landing?”
“Hmm?”
Having wrapped up her morning tasks (entertaining her younger sisters), she was just about to have lunch when Ringo spoke up.
“Shall I relay the feed to the dining hall display?”
“Ah, yes. Let’s watch it together.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
Prototype 1. This heavy machinery was a standard model being developed for future work machines, currently powered by a gas turbine engine. After the completion of the microwave power transmission system, it was planned to be converted to a receiving device and battery, but for now, it would use a thermal engine fueled by methane.
“Multi-legged machinery (Walker) Prototype 1, activating.”
The display showed WP1, which trembled as it extended its folded legs and lifted its body.
“Oh, it moved!”
“Commander (Big Sister), it moved!”
“Yes, it certainly did.”
WP1 was designed with multiple legs for operation on uneven terrain. Admittedly, it contained a significant amount of romantic elements. It used six legs for movement and had two additional legs for its working arms, totaling eight legs sprouting from its body. The overall structure was flat, designed to keep its height low. It was a versatile model capable of performing a range of tasks such as development, mining, and construction, and it was equipped with geological survey sensors. While it did have some armament, it was limited to a single multi-barreled machine gun, as combat was not anticipated. Its armor was also weak, making it a purely rear support unit.
For now, it was planned to operate within the range of Alpha-class, so that level of armament was deemed sufficient. It was also equipped with a simple drill for preliminary excavation, with the expectation that further tests would be conducted with other machinery after WP1’s initial survey.
“Commencing operation.”
WP1 busily moved its six legs as it accelerated, leaping off the deck of the construction ship and into the sea. Designed to be all-terrain capable, it could operate underwater as well. Using its eight legs combined with its working arms, it skillfully swam through the water.
“…It’s quite large, so it looks somewhat like a monster.”
Watching WP1 swim from above, she muttered to herself. At around 15 meters in length, it was indeed quite sizable. The sight of a spider-like machine moving organically evoked a strange sensation.
“If we get creative with the coloring, it could easily pass for a monster.”
“Once the equipment is in place, we can also produce active camouflage, so let’s prepare a few patterns.”
“Oh, that sounds good. Whether or not we disguise it as a monster is another matter, but camouflage is important.”
For mechanical weapons like this, typically, equipment that deceives the enemy’s radar is more crucial, but in this world, she doubted that would be effective. Therefore, they were also developing equipment for visual camouflage. While they had blueprints for weapons that originally existed in World of Space, they needed to design new machinery for anything else.
“That said… it’s about time we seriously delve into researching magic (fantasy), isn’t it?”
Having somewhat postponed the study of magic, it was probably time to prepare a research and development base. There seemed to be some progress regarding the investigation of the Rain Croin as well.