Matuscarantos

  The next day, we completed the construction of two new specialized Robotics Facilities, on the southern cliffs. To save time and resources each was limited to the production of the underwater versions of the Reaver and Sentry models. They also had long downward snted ramps with a slight uplift at the ends hanging far over the cliff's edge. The finished constructs would slide down and the tilt up at the end would send them arcing out into the non-rock impregnated deeper waters.

  'Martann, are they ready?' My nerves were dancing with excitement, causing Ryll to be a little jitterbug scampering on my shoulder. I was more than ready to begin our subnautical dominance. Plus, we could now get eyes on the Naga in their home environment.

  'They should exceed the performance of all observable underwater life forms with a five mile radius of this Isnd.' Even gentle Martann felt more than a little amped up by the completion of these new units. His tireless work was about to be tested.

  Even as the first completed Manta Sentries dived under the wave they were forced into engaging hostiles. Huge swarms of Naga led hostile sea life were patrolling the Isnd's waters. But the razor sharp wing-like fins of our constructs made quick work of all that dared to challenge them.

  Martann had assured me, the new robots would be fast and agile swimmers, and that assurance was more than upheld, as they swiftly chased down any creature that neared our waters. We saw the proof now. By the time the second batch of Manta Sentries were gracefully diving into the waves, a widening circle of our influence had already been established.

  We all watched the robots' exploits on the monitors of the Robotics Facilities. Everything from their direct optical feeds was a confusing swirls of events, as much of the action was far too fast and the numbers involved far too vast. But there were also the broader sensor readouts that gave a more tactical picture of the subnautical battle. We could more easily follow the ebb and flow of the underwater conflict.

  I watched as one of the Sentries fired its disruptor beams right into the face of a oversized Naga Myrmidon. The subsequent bloody implosion was horrible, but no one here had any sympathy for the serpent man. Even Martann had grown comfortable with the need to remove these pests. One of the Sentries darted forward to carve a Naga Priestess in two, her shield coming just a touch too te to save her. This scattered a group of barracuda like fish that she'd been leading.

  'They are perfect! Excellent work, Martann!' I cpped the Phase-smith's shoulder, in friendly comradery. Ryll chirped her own version of congratutions at Martann.

  'Thank you, Hierarch.' His eyes gleamed with something that might have been pride. Watching the humble Protoss's positive reaction to praise was fulfilling. He'd worked hard, at studying the movements of underwater life, and it showed in his amazing work. It was difficult to tell by movement that they were artificial.

  Jar'thal and Selimaeth watched the Facilities' monitors so that they could closely follow the underwater sughter. They were both taking notes on possible future tactics should the need arise. They had reached an almost eerie level of communication that transcended the barriers of specie or nguage. Jar'thal described it as the perfect synchronization of warriors, Selimaeth simply shrugged it off as nothing special. Even now that they had transtor earring, that the Protoss attached to his head gear, they barely spoke.

  Once we were certain of our control of the cliffside space, we switched one Facility to only make Shark Reavers, a much longer process, while the other would continue to build Manta Sentries. While they were no longer defenseless, I still wanted a screen of Manta Sentries for every one of the extremely slow Shark Reavers to have room to work their magic.

  Leaving the Praetor and the Warmaster to keep an eye on the current conflict, I went to see if Ethrisal had managed to make enough transtion devices to outfit the rest of the troops.

  I found him working in the recently finished Crafter's Hall. He'd guided the newly summoned hordes of Wisps in the building of his own workshop. A full compition of all the other crafting stations in the building. Everything had been made from the Mineral cubes and glimmered with refracted light. Ryll swatted idly at a few colorful light beams.

  "Ah, Guy. Good fortune to you. I've finished another batch of transtors." He pointed to a nearby jewelry rack full of earrings. More than enough for our current needs. "This Mineral, that the Protoss produce, is amazing in its versatility. It's as if it was some form of Proto-matter or primal substance." He ran his hands briefly over his crafting table, then returned to his current task.

  His hands were a blur as they processed what looked like herbs, which he then separated out into their own little drying cubbies. "I've also finished enough modest healing potions to supply all of our troops with a few bottles. We should be ready for most small emergencies." He stopped and looked up at me. His eyes held an overly serious look, "Thank you, by the way. I haven't had this much fun working with simple tools in centuries."

  I nodded at him. "I can't really take much credit there. I didn't know who or what I was summoning. but I'm happy to have lucked into getting such a skilled Enchantmaster." Pying along with his over dramatization of the moment. Ethrisal was an odd duck, but he was a very useful odd duck.

  We both chuckled. "I'm going to head back to the other world today. I going to expand mining and production over there, did you want to come along?" Ryll stirred on my shoulder, she was looking forward to more SCOP dogs. And she was learning new words all the time.

  He shook his head, his expression one of regret. "Not this time, I have too many active projects to keep up with."

  I nodded again, "Alright, I'll get out of your hair. Have fun, while I'm gone. I know, I will." Sarcasm and idioms didn't transte well, but Ethrisal scoffed anyway. I grabbed a few healing potions on my way out of the Hall.

  Huh. I'd gotten universal denial to tag along on the trip from my key people. Sure they were busy, but I thought they'd be excited to see more of a different pce.

  I'd be accompanied by a priest, a druid and two zealots. An honor guard of sorts. The priestess of Elune was Velisa. The druid of the talon was Gethrial. The Zealots were Harad and Zem'tar. I'd spent a couple of hours running drills with them, both to get to know them and to see how we might cooperate in the event of danger. The results were not as poor as I feared they would be.

  Gethrial was a nearly perfect scout with his bird form. His basic knowledge of druid skills and spells gave us a long sting buff and some healing, in addition to a few attack spells. Velisa had several different types of healing chants as well as a limited shielding prayer. She was well armored and wielded a wicked bow. The Zealots both brought heavy front line melee attacks, between their newly forged psigives and a nasty charge skill. Their shielding and basic armor would guarantee that they'd be able to wade into the gang warfare of Night City with ease.

  Once it was time for the Portal to open I said my farewells to those staying behind and quickly stepped back into the cave that had been expanded into the staging point of our resource transfer efforts. The Probes had dug out a deep floor and constructed a ramp to access the Portal. The Pylon we'd built to power the Portal on this side now had the company of several others. I was impressed by the amount of work that had been achieved in this chamber alone.

  We rapidly stepped off the ramp to get out of the way of the Probes working to haul vital resources back to the Isnd. With my head swiveling back and forth, I quickly relocated the proper exit tunnel to return to the Nexus, and tried my best to expin Night City and this version of Earth of the 2070s to my guards, as we followed the path.

  The Night Elves especially, but unsurprisingly, seemed shocked and offended by the despoiling of nature, while the Protoss grumbled at the ck of Earthling discipline. They weren't wrong, but I had my doubts that either specie could truly understand the human condition. The uncertainty, the hunger and pain that drove humans to their insane choices.

  When it came down to it, I remembered all too well, how badly human greed could fuck everything up. It was long rumored that the Zombies I spend decades dodging had been crafted in a b.

  I looked back at my guards, measuring their strengths. Knowing all too well that this world held dark secrets, that were every bit as horrific as the ones I left behind.

  Matuscarantos