Spark of War (Progression Fantasy)

El already had a headache as she walked from her meeting with the generals to Felps's laboratory. The brass hadn't been thrilled about what Dayne had learned – but thankfully they hadn't outright dismissed it because of that. In a way, Dayne's discovery put them all on a collision course. Some of the generals had hoped to take a wait-and-see approach, hoping the Depths would crash up against the combined might of Pycrin and Pili to exhaust themselves.

Except, El had found out during the debrief, the monsters had been spotted in more places than Salid. There were small monstrous groups showing up all over the world, word of the incursions reaching Balacin through the gates the Salidians were using. Their travels were – somewhat surprisingly – bringing in people willing to aid in the battle. Even if it meant aiding Pycrin. A few of the Salidians, Jenita in particular, apparently made sure to add that addendum every time she brought new reinforcements in.

But all this meant they couldn't just hold against the Depths in Pili. The monsters were scouring the world for fuel to open the gates. Pycrin had to take Wirock. If they could hold the rings, then the Depths couldn't force Sparks through. However, that put the most powerful Sparks dangerously close to those same gates in an attempt to protect them.

It was a risky, risky plan.

Too bad they didn't really have a better one.

Which was part of the reason she was on her way to talk to Felps. Apparently, he'd been working on a melding of magic between the Pilish and Pycrin weapons, and had come up with some more mobile alternatives to the Screamers. He'd also asked to see her by name, and the generals were eager to keep the mad scientist happy.

So, there she was… opening the door. Though, if she was being honest with herself, eccentricities aside, the man had provided her with an excellent weapon in the sword floating behind her shoulder.

"Elevator! Good to see you again," Felps said from across the room, a mechanical behemoth of some kind kneeling on its four legs in front of him. "Cabbage. Cabbage! The wiring here is all wrong. Backwards, even! If anybody touches this with their Spark, the cannons will fire in the wrong direction – directly into the cabin. Hrm, maybe we should test to see how much damage that would actually do before we rewire…"

"I'll fix them right now," Dr. Cabitz said before Felps could actually test just that. Probably by asking El to climb into the monstrosity.

"Hrm. Well, run some numbers anyway," Felps said, slightly disheartened. "Now then, Elevator, let's see that sword."

"You want the sword? Not me?" El asked. "I thought for sure you'd… you know what? Never mind! Here you go." With that, El unsheathed the sword from the pocket of In-Between, and held it out horizontally in front of her.

"Over here, over here," he said, directing her to the same cupboard the sword had risen out of the first time. "Back on the mount, if you'd please."

"Do I get it back?" she asked, somewhat protectively. "It's kind of handy for killing seawyrms."

"Of course you'll get it back. I just need to retrieve the readings it recorded."

El's eyes narrowed. "Recorded?"

Felps sighed and then rolled his eyes at her. "Your magic. The sword tracked your unique Spark as it passed through the weapon. I need to view the numbers to see if my project is on track."

"This sword wasn't your project?" El asked, somehow both curious and horrified at the implications. But, she put the sword where he indicated.

As soon as the blade was settled, Felps connected a handheld device to it via a pair of cables, then immediately became engrossed in whatever he was reading. He also didn't answer her question.

"Pssst, El," Pinoa said, waving from the house-sized… whatever… they were working on. "El… come here."

El gave Felps one last glare – which he completely ignored – then went over to see what the assistants were tinkering with. "What has that madman got you up to now?"

"Mobile weapons platform," Pinoa said. "Based on the interface the Pilish use, combined with our groundies' artillery."

"The use of electrum wiring is more refined than our normal methods," Cabitz added. "Drastically reduced the amount of electrum we need to actually install, allowing us to reinforce the construct with more durable materials." He glanced in the direction of where Felps studied her sword. "Still not as durable as your triple-forged electrum – or even the double-forged type – of course, but much less costly. We've also been able to move production along nicely because of this."

"So quickly? Didn't you guys just get asked to start on this a few days ago?" El asked, looking the beast up and down. In a way it looked like a massive bull – if one could stand twenty feet tall – with large cannons in place of horns. Maybe a bit square, broader legs… but… "A cannonbull?"

Both Cabitz and Pinoa froze at El's question, looked at each other with wide eyes, then began to chuckle.

"That's brilliant," Cabitz said. "I guess we have a name for our newest weapon!"

"I've made a note and will add it to the patent request," Pinoa responded.

"You… really need to patent this?" El asked, pointing at the intimidating cannonbull. Wide shoulders, thick legs, and the plating on it remind her a lot of a Guldish golem. "Never mind that, how many do you have so far? Two? Three?"

"Twenty-five," Pinoa said. "A whole herd."

"How? How do you have twenty-five of these already?" El couldn't stop herself from asking.

"We've been working on the design and construction for a few months," Cabitz said while his fingers deftly rearranged a confusing mess of wires. "Plus, the assembly factory was completed yesterday. We should be able to double that number in a few days."

"Assembly…? Of course Felps has a factory for making war-machines," El grumbled.

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"Originally for farming equipment," Pinoa said. "We repurposed the cannonbulls we'd already built – though they didn't have that name at the time – to what you see now."

"I don't even want to know what kind of field you needed this beast to plow," El shook her head. "That aside, twenty-five of these, huh? How do they work?"

"Three pilots," Cabitz started. "Two groundies and one Pilish soldier, ideally. The groundies control the movement and power the overall vehicle. The Pilish soldier is responsible for the solid-state cannons."

"Solid state…? The guns? Why the fancy name?" El asked, looking up at the impressive horns. Well, actually, they seemed to brace on the shoulders also, but the name was too good to change.

"The horns serve a dual purpose," Pinoa cut in as Cabitz seemed to be focused on a thick tangle. "Like our groundies' normal weapons, they can fire spears of condensed flame. Powerful and relatively cheap thanks to Felps's work. However, considering the conundrum with the rings on Wirock getting powered by those flames, we needed a second alternative.

"Which is where the Pilish weapons come in. While ammunition for the weapons is limited – and has increased the overall weight of the cannonbull – the shells won't power the rings. That's why the Pilish soldier is necessary. It's been determined the groundies can't utilize the Pilish method to power weapons, even with the same wiring technique used."

"And the Pilish shared that technique so easily with you?" El asked, finding it a bit hard to believe.

"Imminent extinction is a powerful motivator," Cabitz said. "Also, I believe the actions of your wing played a role in building enough trust for them to share some of their pistols with us. They refused to give over any of their suits of armor, or the chaining technique they used for their larger weapons."

"For the armor," El said, "that's probably for the best. Those things are a literal death sentence."

"So is losing this war," Felps said without looking up from his device.

El didn't have a snarky remark for the sobering comment, and all she could do was share a look with the two assistants. "You were able to translate the pistols up into these cannons?" El asked them instead. "Are they going to be powerful enough? The Pilish small-arms are great for hangnails, but they barely tickle the seawyrms."

"We upped the efficiency a lot," Cabitz said. "If we were able to combine our improvements with the Pilish chaining technique, I'm sure we'd see some truly impressive destruction."

"Based on our calculations, they won't be as powerful as the fort or ship-mounted weapons," Pinoa added in. "They will, however, be enough to pierce a seawyrm's scales."

"Good enough," El said. "What about dealing with hangnails?"

"We don't believe the hangnail claws will be able to pierce the cannonbull's thick armor. On the flip side, other than trampling the monsters, the bulls have little way to retaliate. The cannons' ammunition is too heavy already. Adding additional, smaller-calibre weapons would only make things worse. The pilots of these will need to rely on supporting groundies and Firestorm to protect them from hangnail forces."

"Or the water-using monsters," Cabitz said. "Unless one of them conveniently stands still long enough for the cannonbull to get a shot off."

"We call them clickers, now," El said, back to appraising the cannonbull. The 'weaknesses' weren't anything too serious – just like regular artillery in a lot of ways. Except, these things would be able to completely protect their riders. Drivers? Pilots? Whatever, they'd be pretty safe in there. "How about a seawyrm's breath? This going to stop it."

"For a time," Pinoa admitted. "Enough concentrated fire – er, water – will cut through eventually, though."

"Not much different than flame armor, really. Good work here."

"Thank you," both assistants said at the same time.

"What about that clicker body I brought you before? The black and white one. Learn anything from it?"

"Nothing, I'm afraid," Cabitz.

"Literally zero," Pinoa added.

El sighed. "That's disappointing."

"The biology and medical researchers we handed it over to, on the other hand," Cabitz said, an annoying sparkle in his eye. "They've been having a field day with it."

"They've asked if you could bring in some live samples to… study," Pinoa said, though her face blanched a little at that.

"Torture?" El asked, feeling a little queasy at the thought herself. Sure, they were the enemy, but they were still sentient. Then again, with the risk of losing the war as high as it was, could they afford to have weak stomachs for this kind of thing? "Not making any promises there."

"Maybe for the best," Pinoa said quietly. "When Dr. Blaade asked, he had a bit of a manic look in his eyes."

"His name is really blade?"

"It is, and it's fitting," Cabitz said.

"That aside, they learn anything you can share with me?"

"A few things from their initial assessment," Pinoa said. "The clickers are categorically stronger and more durable than a normal person. On an individual level, the one you brought in would be almost on par with an above-average Firestorm, if we included their flame armor. Dr. Blaade suspects it has something to do with their natural environment being deep under water."

"That strong?" El asked.

"Their skin is like natural armor," Cabitz said. "Not scales, such as we see on the seawyrms, but thick, leather armor instead. Not enough to completely stop a flaming weapon – or a PIC – but it shouldn't be taken lightly. This, of course, isn't including their dark water you made mention of."

"It's a lot like our Spark," El filled in. "Any weaknesses we can use?"

"They die when you remove the head," Pinoa said sagely.

"I… kind of figured that one out on my own…" El said flatly.

"That's about all we've got for you so far," Cabtiz said somewhat sheepishly. "The autopsy continues. And, even if you can't bring one back alive, perhaps one with all their parts next time?"

"No promises there, either. War and all that."

"Understood. I've got to head over to that wing later today anyway, I'll check in and provide you with whatever kind of update I can next time you visit."

"No guarantees I'll be back so…" she trailed off as the two assistants looked at her. They knew just as well as she did the generals were looking to keep Felps happy as he produced more war machines. And, El visiting helped that. "Fine. Thanks," she grumbled.

"Happy to help."

And I guess I shouldn't really complain, considering everything.

"Hey, Felps, you done over there yet? I've got to get back to the front line." El turned to the man just as he disconnected the wires.

"Readings are above my expectations," Felps said, then literally began to cackle madly. He even stretched his arms above his head, leaned back, and laughed at the ceiling. Then, all at once, he stopped. "Come back in two days for more tests."

"Why?" El asked.

"Two days. Don't be late," Felps said without answering her question, then immediately immersed himself back in the readings as he walked away. While cackling again.

"There's kind of a war going on," she half-shouted at the laughing maniac. "I might be in the middle of something. Like dying."

At that, Felps stopped and actually turned around. Was he worried about her?

"You can literally bend space and time to cross thousands of miles in seconds through the In-Between. Dying can wait until after you've finished the tests." With that, he turned again, and it was clear from the set of his shoulders he wouldn't be saying anything else.

Nope. Definitely not worried about me…

One last shake of her head, and El strolled over and retrieved the sword. A quick look showed it exactly the same as when she'd put it down – and a swift test with her Spark confirmed it – then she stowed it in the In-Between. "Do either of you know what he's going on about?" she asked Cabtiz and Pinoa.

"We do, but we promised not to tell you," Cabitz said with a helpless shrug.

"Is it… bad?"

"Define bad," Pinoa said.

"Maybe I should just…"

"Come back in two days, like he said," Cabitz interrupted. "Trust us. Come. Back."

El couldn't quite place the look on the man's face. Somewhere between pride and hunger. Whatever crazy thing they'd built this time… even Cabitz had a high opinion of it.

As long as it's not a triple-forged golem. I don't need to deal with another one of those going crazy.

Then she looked at the cannonbull. They weren't going to ask her to ride one of those things, were they? Despite the absurdity of the thought, her brain couldn't stop itself from imagining her on the bucking thing, flaming sword and wings glowing blue above, while the horn-cannons spat solid death.

Yup. Definitely absurd. But, maybe kind of badass.