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009. Underwater commandos ready sir!

Looking at how much things would cost had caused a bit of a shock to the scion of House Eggers.

Building a 'simple' structure was cheap, cheap as chips. Not worth it at all.

Then came building a fortress which was available... at cost... of a few hundred thousand for a full complex. The publicly available information from Dobless told him how much these things tended to cost.

Which was okay, a thing, great, a bit of a cost, but he would need to expand things out a great deal more if he wanted to actually make losses.

Which led to the next tier.

The Castle Brian.

For every thirty metres (why was thirty metres how they measured these things? He didn't understand, was this some weird Lyran Commonwealth thing?), it would cost him one million c-bills.

To build a thirty metre hexagon. A simple thirty metre hexagon that was six metres tall.

Why hexagons?

Huu just nodded, if this was the way that things were done, he would simply accept it and move on. Just like how there was only vanilla coke left. Or how there was only Pepsi-Max left (it was just like growing up in Australia all over again. 15 years before Pepsi regular started showing up in stores after Pepsi max had been everywhere). Someone had raided their facilities a few months after Coke original had been lost forever.

No-one knew who.

It was just how things were done.

Now then, back to the topic at hand.

He had two and a half months left in the cycle.

His profits at the moment, were two million c-bills, which was roughly the same as the Kroner once converted.

In other words, he had to lose all that money, and the money coming in, which was probably going to be around six million c-bills altogether. No, it was going to be even higher. It turned out building an enormous foundation for future construction was a good idea for future proofing in sim city games. It was a terrible idea when one was trying to limit construction to lose money!

He couldn't give a reason why they should stop building more gun factories and was left here... now... trying to mitigate the enormous profits with losses.

Budgeting that out for infrastructural expansion, something he could lose himself in. Designing things! That is until the intricacies came out, like two-point hospital which had killed his desire. Sim city, not actual city designing, damn it.

There was no System rule about having all projects completed by the end of the cycle, so he could drag something out to lose profits.

In other words, build big and build long! Build something that was going to keep costing money until it dragged all the way through the next cycle. Losses, the whole time generating losses!

Drag that out like the Great Eastern Highway and how it had roadwork on it for 5 years before he had transmigrated over.

It was why he was here now, that thought had led to him asking Glory for advice, and she in turn had turned to someone she knew that would be of great assistance (her words).

Sitting in his cottage, there were now several other people here to assist with his grand loss making undertaking.

Sitting next to him was Glory, and Hunter Bek.

Huu had never known a Hunter that didn't also have a mullet, Hunter Bek was not an exception. This one wasn't trying to do burnouts and destroying property while having a scowl on his face. As if he had been born with a scrunched face that never improved... and a mullet.

Never forget the Hunter mullet.

This Hunter was actually a consultant brought in by Gloria when Huu had asked about constructing large-scale buildings.

That said, Hunter was not a berk either, or an idiot, so he broke Huu's expectations wide open with that simple fact.

Perhaps where you were born caused different effects on the cultural osmosis of names? Like all Hunters had mullets, but they didn't have to have less than three brain cells.

A question to ponder.

In any case, on the other side of the table sat Erwin Jaxon, a master Machinist of the Interstellar Association of Machinists, representing (for this meeting) the union on Blackjack. The cottage was rather small so they were sitting around the kitchen table. All elbows and crampedness. Exactly the kind of thing that made a home feel lived in.

Himself looking mighty interested in what was being planned.

Gloria was self explanatory, her skills with the computer pad were able to make up for his complete lack of skill with them. Where was the keyboard and mouse? Did they not use them in the future because it wasn't futuristic enough?

It was currently connected to the holographic display Glory had brought in, that was in turn displaying a rotating something and doing digital things based on what he assumed was the spinny ball moving around.

What the hell was the ball in a holder thing that people were using!? A spinny ball with a single clicker. If he wanted to make money, building an actual mouse would be a good way to go about it.

Too bad Huu was on the straight and narrow path of losing money.

Anyway.

"Master Jaxon, the ground has been bought in preparation for construction, but actually designing the structure is what we are here for today." Huu spoke, remembering to keep his voice down. They were inside the cottage and he wasn't being muffled by the mask every time be tried to project his voice.

"I've heard of what you discussed with the team. A self-contained manufacturing city. Which is... quite the ambition, Little Boss. Are you sure about this? You're sinking money into a building when you could be expanding your production lines to make more money. The Machinists will be happy no matter the options you choose, but one will make you more money, the other is a money sink. Are you absolutely sure about this?"

Huu fought the urge to grin widely.

That was exactly what he wanted!

It was in fact, one might say, a genius of an idea!

Exactly what he was here to do.

"I am absolutely sure. I've seen Lott's Revenge and I've noticed that it isn't the kind of city you feel safe from a raid in. With the population spread all over the planet, the question isn't 'where do we defend', it becomes 'why defend?'. Yet now we have the munitions factory, it is something that we are forced to defend. The option of simply not engaging with raiders is no longer an option. But, since there are no defences nearby, we should take it upon ourselves, show true Lyran ingenuity and build it ourselves!"

There were nods of agreement from around the table.

"Mister Huu is absolutely correct. Now that there is a focus of industry, it will be the focus of any raid. Whereas before, the only real thing that sets us apart as a planet is the Blackjack School of Combat. But now we have Eggers Munitions, and it's only going to increase as the corporation expands. The solution then is to fortify the area to prevent the factory from being destroyed."

Nods all around.

"A standard fortress then?" The question was raised from Bek.

Huu paused.

A standard building was a good way of saying 'cheap'. As in, everyone had done something like this so many times that the costs were precisely measured and there would never be things like overrun of costs.

The solution was to take the standard... and do the complete opposite. That was how you lost money!

"Explain to me what a Standard Fortress includes."

Bek had clearly anticipated this reaction because he brought out a few sheets of paper.

"While there is no real standard construction of a fortress, most share similar characteristics."

Before the one paying for all of this, there were several images of different fortresses in the Inner Sphere.

Big, mountain-like things, one big tall point, the rest supporting it, big gates for things to come in and out. Like big, armoured, angry hills. Or angry, armoured brassieres.

"Typically, the structures that make up a fortress will be concentrated in a single area to provide a 'fleet in being' effect. Forcing enemies to circumvent the area or to protect the factories that are inside the fortress itself. Further, these fortresses are usually military only installations. There is little call for civilian structures with fortress costs as an example."

More examples were shown, with illustrated sections this time. Vertical slices in architectural terms that illustrated the interiors, all of them filled with ammunition, gunpowder, weaponry, soldiers, barracks, and even more guns. A more utilitarian space he could not imagine.

Elevators abounded, everything as compact as possible, everything self-contained into a pimple of death.

The solution then was to do the opposite and spread everything out, to have civilians inside the structure, to have the things it was meant to be protecting outside the fortress itself.

Perfect. But how does one do that?

He pondered.

If it was a big sprawling base, everyone would ask why was it outside the factory? If it was so big, it could just include the factory right?

Hmmmm.

What if.

What if it was like a giant wall? One that went around the factory?

Like, a giant wall where people could live inside and there were shops and schools and gymnasiums... and basically create the most worthless fortress ever? It would surround the factory so none could say it wasn't protecting the factory, but it wouldn't actually include the factory...

Huu remembered his home city, how the central business district (CBD) was filled with empty shops. Nobody was willing to rent them because shops in high density areas were worthless. Why were else there 'to rent' signs that stayed in one place for more than 6 years? Why else had he seen so many stores just close over the years never to re-open, some even being demolished and leaving empty lots in the city.

No customers, no people, absolutely worthless pieces of property.

But that didn't mean that there were cities that weren't full of people. The CBD was pretty full of... business types.

Hmmm.

No office buildings inside the fortress then.

But, everything else was acceptable.

Wait, if it went around like a wall, then it had to be thin! So everyone had to take the train... train!

Long, thin, with a train through the middle.

Absolutely perfect.

Nobody was going to want to live in a fortress where you had to travel by train to reach the stores or reach the swimming pool or whatever.

It was the perfect design. A military fortress that included civilians, that would be so unappealing that no civilians would ever want to live inside, and too full of civilians to be useful as a military fortress.

Perfect.

Now... how to explain this.

To...

Wait.

How was he going to build this?

Huu thought about it for a moment. He needed a company, that way he could control the profits and losses. If it was just making things for him, then there was no way it would make a profit, right?

"Mister Bek, can I ask what your background in construction is?" Bek looked confused for a moment before composing himself.

"I don't have one Mister Huu, I am, in fact, a consultant that liaises with architects and construction firms."

Perfect.

Someone who didn't have actual experience designing or building structures.

"Then I've made my decision. Mister Bek, are you willing to accept employment as the new head of Eggers Construction? A company that I will be creating to handle the construction and design needs of Eggers General Utility."

"Pardon?"

+_+

Hunter Bek, Erwin Jaxon, and Gloria Brantzollen sat dazed in the room that Huu Eggers had just left.

"In the name of Allah, I have no idea how such a man appeared on Blackjack of all worlds." Erwin spoke with some reverence in his voice.

Gloria felt it natural, Erwin had been asked to step in as CEO of Eggers Armaments. Keep things running normally while other issues were sorted out.

In charge of the company that had resulted in some of the largest changes in the Lyran Commonwealth in a very long time. Word was filtering back that raids had been beaten off with little to no infrastructural damage, militia presenting a wall of guns to the Drac forces.

The weight of responsibility was almost crippling. Whereas being one of a few Machinist Masters had been some responsibility, it was nowhere near as much as this.

Further, as a master in the union, he had been given enormous power in ensuring the union's mandate within Eggers General Utility was fulfilled. Which other corporations had been so willing to staff executive positions with union members? It was a move that was almost unprecedented, a move that demonstrated complete trust in Erwin, an understanding of long-term issues, and the courage to do the unknown.

Someone like that should have been born on Tharkad, to shake the Commonwealth with their intellect and willpower, not... here. On Blackjack. As much as she loved her adopted planet, Glory was well aware of its shortcomings.

Bek, meanwhile, was sitting shocked.

Mouth still moving to unheard words.

Gloria herself was trying to get a handle of on the scale of young Huu Eggers' dream.

With a radius of one point six kilometres from the centre of the factory complex, Huu had proposed a structure of such scale that she had never heard of its like in the Inner Sphere. Save, of course, for the Castle Brians of the Star League.

"This flies in the face of all logic... yet... yet I can see the genius." Whispered Bek, coming back to his senses.

"Explain it to me, as a machinist architecture is quite outside my speciality."

"This... Cradle that he has planned is a self-contained city. One that can supply itself with its own food, crops, manufacturing, smelting, recreation. The fact that it is so long allows it to serve as wall to prevent anyone approaching Eggers Armaments. Its size means that someone trying to land inside the fort will be shot at from all sides. It is the perfect blend of civilian and military."

Looking down at the hastily sketched out pad, Bek continued to think.

Continued to ponder.

"A self-contained city that will be able to defend itself, one with an internal logistical chain to maintain its integrity during a siege. One that will continue to operate, even when isolated from the rest of the planet, keeping its civilian and military population safe from external threats."

Erwin looked up in shock at the last sentence.

"He's preparing for retaliation. Those guns are going to cause problems in the Inner Sphere, they're going to come here to get revenge. The Cradle is designed as a... cradle for Blackjack's population... If the Combine come here, they will try to kill everyone they can, destroy all they can. Infantry defeating their mechs? They will be furious and trying to avenge themselves in any way that they can. And the Cradle will be ready to protect them, keep them safe."

Gloria tapped the table.

"Bek, you need to find architects to design this, the construction team to build it. The equipment... everything, I'll leave it to you, Little Boss has high expectations for you. This is the start of a self-contained city, it must be perfect or the society inside will break down. We are creating civilisation in a tube. Time is short, you must move now."

A distracted nod from Bek.

"Erwin, I need you to keep half the guns from being sold. We need them to defend the Cradle once it's been completed. If there are more machinists that would be interested in working from the Cradle, we would welcome them."

A nod from Erwin in his capacity as a master of the union.

"And you?" from Bek.

"I'll be having a chat with Baroness Eggers. I think the necessity of expanding her retainers to assist in defending the Little Boss, has reached the point where we cannot delay any further."

All three nodded.

The plans called for construction that had not been seen for over 200 years. The underground spokes that sprang out from underneath the plans for even greater expansion. Perhaps another ring outside, building a self-reinforcing fortress.

A true Castle Eggers with its keep, inner wall, outer wall, moat, and more.

+_+

Hunter Bek felt himself swimming through clouds.

Thick, blocking all visibility.

Yet intangible, unable to be swatted away.

Exultation in his bones. Validation, success, a chance to mark the world with his passing, a mark that will never truly be erased.

He had been raised to head Eggers Construction and... the responsibility was exhilarating. How did the young Eggers know that this was precisely what he wanted?

That he had been desiring a change, to build something of his own. To bring together all the people he had worked with on a project where they could demonstrate their greatness?

The Little Boss as he had heard Erwin say must have eyes that saw right through men.

Standing in the office building he had rented in Lott's Revenge for this event, Bek looked at the construction crews from around Blackjack. Each looking mighty interested in working with Eggers General Utility, the company that was making a rather grandiose name for itself.

"Welcome friends, all of you have met me before but maybe not each other. But, if you accept my offer, we will all become extremel familiar with one another. Huu Eggers, head of Eggers General Utility has made me CEO of Eggers Construction."

The men and women here were from the largest construction unions on Blackjack. While it didn't have the reach of the Interstellar Association of Machinists, located primarily on Blackjack, they were still significant players in Blackjack's industry.

Rough and ready some stood tall, their bodies girthed with muscles built over long years of carrying weights beyond mortal ken. Others were slender, their twitching fingers displaying the reactions they possessed to handle the enormous loaders and cranes that moved the materials to and from site.

Others still were calloused beings, masters of their craft, every tool on their belt lovingly cared for and used with expert grace.

In short, the best of the best of Blackjack's construction industry.

This call was unexpected for all of them. Most had thought he had been given a task and was here to recruit. Whispers from so many different mouths had the effect of a shout, reverberating through the room. This wasn't going to be a simple job call, it was going to affect their futures at the very least. Maybe it would affect the future of the entire planet.

"Our task for the foreseeable future? To build an arcology."

A pause.

Then bedlam.

"Yes, you heard me right. The thing that every boy and girl has heard of as a child. A self contained city, a Castle Brian where one never had to venture outside, where everything is within the boundaries of a fortress keeping them safe. I can tell you now, that is exactly what we are building. An arcology, a small Castle Brian to keep the people of Eggers General Utility safe. A nigh unlimited cheque to pay for it all!"

The room was completely silent now, the sheer, naked ambition that Hunter was exuding filled them with the same need to accomplish more.

"And once we've built one for General Utility, we will build another around it to keep all of Blackjack safe! This includes your families, it includes your friends, it includes everything you care about! If that isn't enough, we'll build more!"

Murmurs of approval rose as Bek paused to let his words sink in.

"Come forward and bring the terms and conditions home with you, discuss with your union friends, bring them on board if you feel it appropriate. We will need all the hands we can get for this. We're building a Castle Eggers! Greater than any Castle Brian!"

Roars of approval were heard from outside, to the shock of many.