"Sure, take me to him, I already know what he wants."
I followed the agent to the House of Eiovi, the capitol building. Two more humans took position on either of my flanks as we made our way through the halls to the main office.
'Eiovi is a constitutional democracy with the President at the head, they haven't figured out separation of powers yet though. Their constitution does give me the right to refuse anything he tells me to do, but the law can't protect me from these three macho men around me, so if he wants me to do something I don't want to, I'll have to have Rift Garden ready.'
The heavy doors to the main office creaked open and on the other side was a rhinoceros-horned hybrid.
'Oh yeah, and a requirement to running for office is being a hybrid.'
"You called for me?" I asked, feigning ignorance.
"Don't act like you don't know why you're here, you saw the clip of that Gluazian terrorist." President Kursattle said with a stony face.
"Don't act like that was a real Gluazian, his accent was too strong, but I will build your air fleet regardless."
"I'm impressed you noticed, but why the sudden change of heart?"
"Simple, I've been counseled by someone I trust. If I were you I wouldn't ask any more though."
"I know enough. Now, as for the details on the air fleet, I'm placing an order." the President handed me a paper.
TOP SECRET DO NOT RECORD
First air fleet specifications:
4 Chasers (Fast and small, 1-2 ballestae )
5 Bombardiers (Large and slow, Armored bomb bays and an alchemy lab)
3 Destroyers (Medium, many anti-glider weapons)
20 Troop Transports (Large and Slow, unarmed)
60 Helicopters (Must be able to land on Troop Transports and carry ten men)
TOP SECRET DO NOT RECORD
"When do you need them?" I asked as my mouth stood agape at the insane numbers.
"I'll worry about that, I don't need you building them, I need you designing them. You just need to know the numbers so you know how easy each one has to be to build."
'I guess that is the job of an engineer, one less responsibility is nice, but thirty-two less responsibilities are better.'
"Consider it done," I sighed "anything else?"
"Yeah, actually, could you make an enchantment like your Golem Glass for airships?"
'I can hardly refuse, after all, this will score me major points with the country and will definitely fill the coffers if it works.'
"Absolutely, but, of course, I don't work for free."
'If I took anything away from my time cooped up in the mansion, its that the free market never stops.'
"Two hundred gold." The president said flatly.
"Three hundred." I replied and the room went cold.
"Two fifty and you got a deal." The president wasn't paying out of pocket but his haggling sense kicked in and he brought me down.
"Deal."
********
I was once again in my personal workshop experimenting.
BANG!
The mixture I was working on exploded.
"Perfect," I smirked. "I remember this mixture, it uses crushed seashells, charcoal, and brimstone all mixed together to create a black powder, when ignited, it creates an explosion and a bunch of smoke."
"So you made black powder, my old world had a more advanced version." Devin looked unperturbed.
I gritted my teeth and glared at him. "You're telling me that after all that time with me getting my hands dirty and exploding, you already knew what I was making?"
"Well, kind of, I have no idea what the recipe is, I just liked shooting my *gun* at the range a lot."
"The fuck is that? Don't make up words."
"It's basically a tube that uses an explosive to shoot a little piece of metal out of the end really fast."
"So exactly what I was planning to use it for." My hand met my face and I massaged my temples.
"Well considering it was made on accident in my world and yours was on purpose, I'd bet yours is better."
"No way, this is too impure, did you see all that smoke?"
"Yeah, I guess modern powder was called smokeless so..." He trailed off thinking of ways to give my powder more kick. "I got it! Do you know the fundamental rule of alchemy?"
"If exposed to air all mixtures separate, right?"
"Yep, so, what we could do is alchemically combine methane and a purer version of your gunpowder in a particularity volatile charge that you would put in a cannon and puncture, the powder would slip out and the hydrogen would get trapped by the cannonball. Plus, any hydrogen that remained combined with the gunpowder would be insanely strong because it's denser!" Devin's eyes lit up as he described his master plan.
I dropped a small dose of gunpowder on his desk. "Get to it then."
And so we worked, and worked, and worked.
"I'm so close to the perfect mixture I can taste it!" I poured a small line of gunpowder into my explosion box and set it off.
With a satisfying crack, the powder ignited, leaving almost no smoke behind.
"Yes!" I put both of my arms in the air and turned my attention to Devin. "How is yours coming along?"
"Ahh!" Devin patted down his head, putting out a fire. He breathed a sigh of relief and addressed me "Well I guess?"
"I can see that, I'm going to get started building the model for the actual cannon."
I modeled several wooden and metal tubes and tested the integrity of their chambers after firing them.
"Cast iron is weak but abundant and easy. Wood is worthless. I'd bet forged iron or steel would be the best for high-quality cannons, but it would be the slowest and most expensive of the three. I haven't been able to test that one though."
"Shhh!" Devin said as he did some delicate work.
'I'll go get Laveki, she is a wiz when it comes to helicopters and I need her help.'
I made my way out of the room and once I closed the door, I shouted.
"Laaaaveeeki!"