Chapter 1009 (2/2)

“You want to do all these things in a month…?” Tatiana asked. Her mind tried to imagine how much manpower would need to be mobilized to accomplish not just the tasks that Randidly had stated, but the laundry list of things that he undoubtedly wanted to do with that land.

Randidly nodded. “I have the feeling… I will need to go away for a while at the end of the month. For quite some time. I’m not too sure of the details, just that it’s something I can’t avoid. In the meantime, I need to finish the upgrades to Erickson Steel and take care of some other loose ends… Oh, how has steel production been? Since my demonstration.”

Tatiana shrugged and turned away from the edge of the wall. She was growing a little unnerved by looking at the completely still Riders below. “It’s been a week, Randidly. And fuck, there are already results. It’s slightly aggravating. I’ve been looking at some of the raw numbers from the Quality Assurance Department. In terms of uniformity and density-”

Randidly gave Tatiana look. She rolled her eyes. “Fine, fine, 5% increase in quality on average across the board. And the best part is that most of this growth is fueled by the average smelter. Some of the top end producers have only changed by 3-3.5%. Which is still a great boost, but the fact that it's the lower end that is improving the most-”

With a wave of his hand, Randidly cut her off. “I’ll do another demonstration in another week. But before that, we need to expand the drone production and Engraving divisions. A lot. Double their member count. Or at least try. On such short notice, it might be difficult.”

“We can’t recruit locally, but we have quite a few connections with some of the Academies and Universities in Zone 1.” Tatiana did some quick calculations in her head. “In fact… several have been pushing for us to offer internship programs. With that, we can probably get about 40 applicants within a week. I can screen-”

“Don’t bother, you work yourself to the bone already.” Randidly gave Tatiana a sharp look. “I missed it before… but I’ve asked a lot of you, haven’t I? I’m sorry. Heh, I know someone that I should introduce you to… well, you will meet eventually.”

Then Randidly shook his head. “Well anyway, just bring them in for an interview. I’ll screen them myself. I should be able to cut through the riff-raff pretty quickly. Plus, we need to be sure that they would be willing to work for Erickson Steel for an extended period.”

“Only you would casually call Zone 1’s brightest students riff-raff,” Tatiana said warmly. Despite how much she loved working at Erickson Steel and managing so many spinning plates, it still felt pretty nice to hear Randidly so frankly acknowledging her contribution. Tatiana’s face twitched as she suppressed the urge to smile. “But that works. Anything else you need?”

“Seeds. You should start stockpiling foodstuffs as well… and water filtration systems. We will be able to take care of most of our needs if we have a few high-Level individuals, but its always better to be over-prepared.”

Tatiana felt a strange sense of foreboding. “Randidly… you told me to get more land and be sure to secure the mineral rights… now you want to gather seeds and water filtration systems. Maybe I’m just overreacting, but do you plan to-”

Randidly held up a finger. “It’s better not to say, even here. But yes. It’s just a matter of building the scaffolding right now. That’s what I need the space for.”

Tatiana considered that. “If you extract all the value from the land here and then leave, the Zone 1 Government won’t be very happy.”

“Yea well… I don’t think most governments will be satisfied with me, for as long as I exist,” Randidly laughed quietly as he looked out into the night. Tatiana’s eyes swept down to the several hundred strong army that Randidly had returned with. That he had created with a single Skill.

I suppose someday I’ll stop being shocked...

“...whatever do you mean, governments will not be satisfied with you?” Tatiana asked wryly. “Your constant stream of jaw-dropping surprises is exactly the sort of thing on which governments thrive.”

Randidly gave Tatiana a look laced with amusement. “Even so, better to draw a clear line now, so no single government gets any ideas about to whom I owe my allegiances. That’s why, for all the trouble that Erickson Steel has had to endure, I’m glad we’ve been ostracised. It will make it easier for everyone if the break is a clean one.”

“...as opposed to how messily you broke things off with Donnyton…?” Tatiana said quietly.

Randidly just smiled in response. For several seconds, the two figures stood in silence as they watched the statue-like Riders waiting below. A low wind came through the area, causing the grass to stir in mute revelry at surviving the pounding of heavy hooves they had just endured. The Riders seemed to be fixed in place. Tatiana couldn’t resist the shiver that burrowed into her body from the unnerving display.

“Things are going to get strange again, aren’t they?” Tatiana asked.

Randidly shrugged. “Maybe. Give it a few months. It will feel normal to you in no time at all.”