Sorry for the long absence. No motivation, depression, overwork, the usual.
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In the grim future of mankind, most industries were heavily reliant on 3D Printing.
The Refinery Rig hummed with power all night long, eating and crunching all that could be fed into its blender-like compartment, processing it into malleable materials ready for printing into production materials.
But to fire up this glorious Solarium beast, Adam needed more hands, and his ability to summon people from miniatures proved a cheat code to glory as he finally got the remaining members of the Trench Dogs Venuxian squad, namely Sharp, Patch, Jazz, and Buzz.
Sharp was a Corporal Marine while Patch was another Private Medic like Biscuits. Jazz and Buzz were Private Auxiliaries.
As the number of the group grew considerably, Adam had to make the first logistical decision: he sent out Biscuits and Sharp to scavenge for food, accompanying them on their first tour.
Biscuits went around the nearby area, looking through trash and empty gardens as well as the abandoned woodland, sticking her head under trees, going through tight holes like a rabbit, only to emerge with roots, herbs, bird eggs, and even snakes, proving herself the most valuable asset in the squad, an expert survivalist.
As for Sharp, the red-nosed, heavily mustached, middle-aged man with lazy eyes would simply look up at the sky, minimally aim his scoped, long-barreled blazer upward, and squeeze the trigger, causing innocent birds to fall midflight, allowing Biscuits to hop and catch them like an excited puppy.
This incredible skill demonstration put Adam at ease regarding the dwindling food supplies, and he slept for a couple of hours before being woken up by Elena with a scavenging report.
"Commander, so far, we have scavenged most metal objects in the suburban area and acquired some Tech Parts and Mech Parts along the way. Should we scrap them or do you have use for them?"
Adam walked out of the tent and looked at the pile of materials that kept growing in size as his soldiers kept hauling them over.
"I assume that none of those are Standard Solarium Parts, so you have no use for them?" He asked.
"That's true, sir. While they seem useful to this world's machinery, I wanted to take your opinion on them." She said.
Adam looked through the pile of scrap and found some really cool things: huge springs from old car suspensions, engine parts, car seats, children's toys, silverware, a grill, and even some Printed Circuit Boards.
"We can use the car seats and the grill for sure. If there is anything with CPUs and advanced tech parts, we may put that aside for later. As for the rest, it goes into the blender." Adam said.
"Understood, Commander." She replied.
"A question, though: The Solar Dogma is against fossil fuels, yet we make a campfire and use a grill. Is that alright?" Adam said, asking Elena a cunning question, masked by a concerned expression.
As if she had anticipated this question, Elena smiled and answered:
"Sir, we are not fanatics. There are some lines to draw when it comes to industrialization and warfare, but humanity's first technology was fire, and the Holy Sun is also a ball of fire; surely we cannot be this rigid, don't you think?"
Adam couldn't help but smile and shake his head.
"I was just pulling your leg."
He knew full well how most things worked within the Solarium. His question was merely a test to see how deeply the actions of his summons were affected by what he said and did.
There was something he didn't understand about his power. How could they have such strong egos yet still see him as a Commander figure without questioning it? They could defy him and press for their ideals and beliefs, but they still saw him as commander; how so?
It was baffling, but Adam believed that if he could survive with those soldiers at his side, he would one day figure out all these answers. Right now, he needed to focus on the present.
Adam walked with Elena to the Rig, which was making an awful noise, and as they got closer, Adam noticed something as they approached some long wooden crates piled right beside the machine.
"I haven't thought about it, but these B-Mats… can they really build anything?" He asked and looked at Elena.
"What are you talking about, Commander?" She asked.
"I believe I know what he means." Kave spoke as he passed Adam, "Come, let me show you how my Rig works."
"Your Rig?" Adam asked.
"My trophy, my Rig!" Kave replied with confidence.
Adam approached and rested his arm over his friend's shoulder, saying:
"Our Rig."
"I always knew you wanted it for yourself, bastard."
"Hmph! But you never learned that sharing is caring, asshole."
The two exchanged complimentary insults and then skipped to the important part.
"So, as I was saying, the Refinery Rig works on two stages: Processing and Printing." Kave said, pointing at various parts of the Rig, "The first part, processing, breaks everything into powder with Blazer beams. The machine takes that powdered matter and separates it into six different types. Follow me to the other side."
"Alright." Adam said as he looked up at the 15-foot-tall machine.
Just like its miniature form, the machine looked like a blender with two-thirds of its upper part being a huge compartment that could be scaled by a ladder to throw everything inside from above. Inefficient by design, since it was only meant for hoverbarrows—a technology they had yet to acquire.
The upper compartment was a grinding machine that would break everything down to smaller bits; then the lower compartment was where most of the action took place.
"The broken bits descended as they were processed by laser into powder. Then everything was passed through a centrifugation process, then filtered, and finally stored in these material banks."
Kave explained and showed Adam six barrel-like containers linked to the machine by various tubes.
"I see. So we have Mineral Powder, Silicate Dust, Biopaste, Carbon Compounds, and Water." Adam read the labels on every container, then looked at the sixth, asking, "What about the last one?"
"It is saved for any material unrelated to the scrap or for emergencies or if one of them overflows." Elena joined in.
"Great."
"Then we have the Printing Process. You know it. It is something like 3D printing but on an industrial scale. More like molding big parts first, then small ones; but since Blazer Welding is involved, it is rather fast." Kave added as he returned to the terminal, "Check this out."
As Kave was the only other person who could read the machine, he was instructed by Elena on how to operate and synthesize the needed materials.
"So in printing mode, you can select the output. Let's say we need Metal Blanks and Rods here. Now, as we press Enter…" Kave made a loud keystroke, and as if singing to his symphony, the machine's lower compartment started to hum with power as red light started moving back and forth from within.
"These are Blazer beams, right?" Adam asked with the excitement of a seven-year-old.
"Bet your ass they are." Kave replied, also looking at the red beams with the same level of enthusiasm.
The Auxiliary Men-at-Arms stood nearby, rifles and pistols firing continuous beams as they harvested scrap, felled trees, and even drilled through stone.
These were the Blazer Beams, a name that is a wordplay between 'Blaze' and 'Laser,' and it is exactly that. Blazer Guns fire heated laser beams, powered by Power Cells containing Fluxgel, so convenient that they can be left to recharge under sunlight for a few hours. Each Man-at-Arms typically carries six cells, providing sixty standard shots per cell, with adjustable power/quantity.
But the real star of the show here is the Blazers' Utility Modes. Blazers feature so many modifications that they are easily hailed as the Holy Multitool of War, including, but not limited to, cutting and welding materials, and even saving lives by sterilizing and cauterizing wounds.
After fangirling about the Blazers' utility for some time, Adam turned his attention back to the Refinery and familiarized himself with the basic materials that could be made from scrap: Mineral Powder from laser-fractured metal scrap; Crystalline Silicate Dust from laser-shattered earth and stone; Gooey Biopaste from laser-pulped biomass; Carbon Compounds from laser-vaporized, reclaimed carbon waste; and Water extracted from vapor into a clean container.
Then came the Printing stage, which was the true miracle of the Rig. Once selected on the terminal, it displayed all the basic printing combinations, as well as the right blazer intensity and water input, if needed, combined with other aspects like pressure, thickness, and many other options.
"So, what could we print?" Adam asked.
"The machine could literally do anything with enough material and power, but since my experience was lacking, I only know a handful of outputs." Elena replied.
"Go on."
The Sergeant demonstrated how to operate the machine to Adam, entering Solarium Standard Form codes into the terminal, allowing the Rig to print the forms needed according to shape, such as '0' for blanks, '1' for rods, and a vast combination of numbers, all listed within the machine's index.
Still, Adam realized that some of these applications would not be cost-efficient, as it would be too much hassle to print small parts using an energy-hungry machine like the Refinery Rig, making it better to craft small parts by other means.
Luckily, these codes and applications weren't just limited to metals, as they could apply to wood, glass, and fibers.
Sergeant Mechanic Elena Skarn imparted all her knowledge to Adam and Kave, who realized that with more Rigs like this one and more manpower and energy to drive them, they could maximize the production of their base and boost its economy to the stars.
Still, the Rig was limited in its printing capabilities to these basic materials. In other words, complicated designs such as Mech Parts and Tech Parts would need their own crafting stations or smart workarounds.
Elena started giving input to the machine, and finally, the machine hummed with more power than before as it started printing its first output. She chose to begin with Wooden Forms, creating the parts needed for a regular table. The output was a wood-like material made from biopaste and carbon, and treated with heat, which resulted in a very robust, carbon-fiber-reinforced wood.
Next, she started making Parts from Polyfiber, a material that could conduct power and make some fine wiring. Eventually, she ended with some simple parts that could be polished into mech-parts, metal arms, and many strange screws and pieces. It took almost half a day for her to finish the printing, taking turns with Adam and Kave to learn English from them and to teach them how to operate the machine themselves.
With all the parts printed, she assembled the table quickly, used the polyfiber to make wires, used a copper thread (which she printed with the simple parts) to make a coil, and some gears to transfer rotational power to the contraption she wanted to add.
Using her Blazer gun, she shredded a small circular metal panel into a saw blade, attached it to a slit she made in the table, ensured it could rotate, then attached it to a gear, a belt, and finally the belt to a simple engine, before closing the circuit.
WHIRRRRRRR!
Adam and Kave watched with their eyes almost bulging at the magic that just happened. Elena created a functioning industrial saw-workbench that cut other wooden pieces with precision and without breaking. She even added a switch for the saw, a mechanical lever to control its elevation, and a resistor to manipulate the speed of the blade, since she said it might be dangerous. She also added a power holder, a tool rack, and all manner of nifty improvements.
She was like a crafting freak let loose, and she never stopped until she felt satisfied with her work, even after bossing Adam and Kave around for printing materials.
"There is a slight problem, though." Elena spoke.
Adam and Kave looked at her while holding their breath. If this crafting freak faced a problem she could not craft a solution for, it was by no means a small issue.
"The workbench won't be complete without a workbench terminal. I am a mechanic, not a Techno-Nun. So, I neither have the experience nor the permission to build one." She explained.
Adam understood the dilemma, but beside him, Kave had a bright smile.
"I know a tech guy, a BIT grad. He's standing right here," He said, pointing at Adam.
"Well, I am proud of what I am, but I can't just fart a computer out of my ass… oh!" As Adam was about to disappoint them, an idea flashed into his head.
"That's a good 'Oh.'" Kave said and turned to Elena, "That guy knows his tech just like you know your mech."
"I'm intrigued." She said and crossed her arms, "Let's hear it, Commander."
"Well, truthfully, I'm still not pulling a computer out of my ass." Adam said, turning to Kave with a cheeky smile, "I am pulling one out of his ass."
Elena's eyes turned slowly to Kave's butt, smiling, as he seemed hesitant in front of the two.
"That's quite the small ass Citizen Kave has, Commander. Won't that be quite the labor?" She asked.
"Not at all, Sergeant. That guy's ass is just right there." Adam said, pointing at the Shelter entrance, which they had blocked with blanks some time ago.
"Wait!" Kave's eyes widened as he understood right away what Adam meant.
"That old thing should still be there, right?" Adam asked.
"Don't do this to me, man." Kave seemed to be begging Adam not to send him back to the place where he was trapped for one hundred days.
"You can either tell Sergeant Elena where that old shelter terminal is or you can just face your fears and go down there with her." Adam said.
"Why don't you just go yourself?" Kave asked.
"Because I'll have to stay here with Captain Creed and give him proper thanks for his offer of help. I don't want him to get bored, so…"
"Fuck!"
"Best of luck, friend."
Adam left Kave with Sergeant Elena, who looked at him and waited until he resolved himself. Kave dragged his feet to the shelter two days after parting, and a feeling of overwhelming dread crept over his heart.
Still, Elena had her hand on his back as she looked at him with stern eyes.
"Steel your heart, soldier. All of us here have grown in silo-cities, hundreds of floors underground. This is just a surface shelter." She said, retreating her hand.
Kave knew what she meant, but after two days of almost regaining his sanity, he now had to face insanity all over again.
From the back, Adam watched Kave, who finally braved the first step back into the shelter, guiding Elena inside. He had to do this if he was going to rely on Kave from now on. He had to purge weakness from his friend's heart.
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