Chapter 48: ~Finding the enemy.~ (1/2)
***Norfolk, Northern Ocean***
***Ascathon***
Water! As far as I can see. Fortunately, I have a few seasoned seamen to do the navigation for me … and hopefully we don't fall into the water. The sea is cold up in the north.
The bridge of my command ship is big and gives a nice view in all directions. It's basically empty. There is just a chair in front of a board with magical circuitry, it is placed at the front window. The pilot is the only job which requires a real magician on this ship. Manipulating the complicated circuits to keep the vessel flying is no easy task.
I didn't have the time to adapt the controls for non-magicians. Controlling levitation magic with magical circuits alone is actually pretty hard to do. Non-magicians are only able to apply power to a circuit or not. I would need to design a logical circuit which is manageable for non-magicians.
That's time-consuming and annoying. I will wait for a young smart head to get the idea.
In the left corner of the room is a table for the navigator and in the middle is a big table with a tactical map for the commanders.
The guys who are responsible for engineering have their own table close to the exit. They are after all the ones who come and go at the highest frequency.
I turn to the captain of the Resurrection. “How is it?”
“The core is fluctuating a little, but it should work out. We will meet the fleet from the Nation of Mist in about an hour.” He answers.
I nod. “If there is that much time I will go and take a look at the engine room.” I turn and leave the bridge. At the corridor, I take a stairway which leads me deeper into the ship.
The ship has four decks with the engine room at the third. I decided to place the most important part of the ship in its centre behind as many barriers as possible.
After a short walk, I arrive in a big room. A crystal as tall as a man is levitating in the centre of the room while shimmering blue. It is made of piezoelectric glass.
A technician is working on the circuits of the board in front of the crystal. He is probably adjusting the management of mana. My crystal engine is using the big piece of glass as a focus point to gather mana.
It's similar to a generator, but of course the technology has its perils. Glass is very easy to break. A crack in the big crystal could cause a catastrophe. On the same accord, it could be damaged by holding too much energy.
I look over the shoulder of the technician who is trying to tune the oscillation of the energy within the crystal to reasonable levels.
He is using the buffers which are holding the crystal in place to accomplish this task.
“If the oscillation is that big, you could introduce a new wave which is a reversed copy of the current one. Then both of them will negate each other.” I smile at the guy whose face became pale when he looked around. “It's just a suggestion.”
The guy nods and does as told. A wide grin forms on his face when the hated vibration finally stops.
I nod. “Good work. But don't forget that glass breaks if the frequency is ~too high~.”
His smile vanishes and he starts to concentrate on his task again. After looking at the crystal for a moment, I continue my tour while checking on the various devices which are most important to keep the ship flying.
There is still much to do if I want to create a new world order. Everyone's knowledge has to be raised in order to counteract the prejudice against technology.
I start to work on one of the buffers which keep the crystal afloat. Before I know it, someone calls out to me and I look up.
“The enemy fleet was sighted!” One of the officers salutes to me.
I nod and leave my work behind, realizing that the technician was looking over my shoulder. I hope he learned something by watching me.
The officer leads me back to the bridge where the captain is waiting. Everyone turns around and salutes to me. Even though I don't hold an official grade in my own military, everyone knows that my orders are absolute.
I don't want to be a warrior for freedom. Being a dictator is fine too. And the people of this world don't know anything else anyway. If I would propose elections, I would most likely end up with something like the council of elders.
Pah! It was a nuisance to shut those pests up.
“We see them through our orbs. They haven't changed their course, so I assume that we haven't been found out.” The captain points out a point on the tactical map.
“Good. Unfortunately, they haven't stated their intentions towards us. And I know one of their generals. It would be a pain in my ass if we killed him by accident.” I sigh while I realize the disturbed look on the captains face. “What? It would be awkward if I killed the guy who held my marriage.”
The captain bows. “That goes without saying. So we will head directly for them?”
“Yes, but keep a high altitude. I don't want to be in the range of their magic.” Then I grab one of the orbs for far sight and step outside onto the upper deck.