Jonathan had worked at the Imperial Exploration Company (IEC) for years, it was his bread and butter, without being employed there, he wouldn't be able to get where he had. IEC had been one of the richest and most humane workplaces the empire had ever witnessed.
It had been a big shock to Jonathan when he had learnt that he would be the one to lead one of the biggest projects in IEC's history.
It had been simple, lead the workers, give them what they need to survive, build the generator, no questions asked.
Jonathan however, had a whole host of questions. First and foremost, while he was a great worker, why had he been chosen to be Captain?
He had always been a great worker, he had to, in order to be paid, yet he also did it because of gratitude, he was thankful that he had been given the opportunity to work at IEC. Now, he had an even bigger responsibility after years of simple examination work.
His blue eyes twinkled as he wondered this carefully, before he picked up the papers and looked at them again, this... machine was a technological wonder. It was no secret that IEC was powerful, so it would make sense that the empire had been the ones to order them to make it.
His eyebrows furrowed as he saw what site they were located in...Site 113, a place that had a lot of opportunity for forestry, as well as a whole bunch of resources. But with the mass food shortage the empire was facing, this looked like a bad place to settle...
There were many tracks, but sites may compete to claim the food, so that may affect morale.
Jonathan sighed 'This is gonna be tiring, isn't it...
PRESENT
Jonathan sighed as he remembered the times when life was simple, when survival was not yet an issue, when the winter hadn't taken over.
He remembered... flowers, how his wife loved them! That is... until she lay frozen in her bed one morning, refusing to wake up. Not moving, not opening her eyes... not smiling...
His children were still standing, but the sudden death of their mother had wounded them greatly.He shook the thought away, he had to fight for them, she was what kept him going, he had to do the same for his children and his people.
"Sir, people are sending in enquires via mail asking you what Project: Reconquest is..." Charles exclaimed, a bureaucrat that was assigned by the Captain himself to be his secretary.
"Almost gave me a heart attack there!" Jonathan laughed
"Sir, this is serious, please answer the question, if they won't know, I need to know, so I can start whatever wacky idea you have already" Charles replied annoyed at the Captain for ignoring him
"Charles, you will find out in due time, be patient my friend, it took a while to get what I ordered from the factory, I just need the engineers working the workshop to finalise the design I asked for, so we can begin the project... have you sent the workers to the outpost, the one with the Army warehouse? I have also sent orders to send Scout team #3 to the Aircraft wreck, we might be able to reverse engineer the aircraft to be able to make functioning air craft fast enough to do what is necessary for the mission to succeed." Jonathan said, carefully choosing his words, as not to sound undignified, as Captain he had to be seen as a role model, he had to choose what he said very carefully.
"Sir, the workers are just about there, the settlement shall begin sending out our shipments in due time. I wanted to ask, should we provide some form of heating for them? They may freeze if we aren't careful, we need the shipm-"
"Charles! They are people, not barbarians, not cattle, not sources of income, they are people with needs and desires, make sure that they follow all the laws that we have already signed in the city, send out guards to the Outpost to maintain order and if absolutely necessary we will build a prison there, now, the important question is heating for the outpost... I will discuss this with the engineers during the morning gathering, I also need you to gather all medical personnel, hunters, guards and previous scouts when they return, I will begin the project from there. Can you answer my other questions?" Jonathan enquired.
"Right sir, I apologise for thinking of resources before the needs of the people, as for your other questions, the Scouts have reached the wreck and are contacting us at this minute, would you like to talk to them sir?" Charles asked.
"Yes Charles, I absolutely would, read out what they are trying to communicate to us."
"Right Captain Jon, I will now read the telegraph they sent us, *ahem* Hello Captain, hello the bureaucrats listening, listen carefully, now, while the aircraft is completely wrecked, we have found some valuable steam cores, and a whole bunch of materials, and what's more interesting is, that by the design of the aircraft itself, this may the Dragonfly, the very machine that Professor Hawkins had be-"
"Wait what?! The Dragonfly?! Professor Hawkins?!" Captain Jon thought about it carefully, before staring at Charles, clearly uncomfortable at the sudden outburst.
"I apologise for the outburst Charles, but this may be very promising, continue reading please"
"Alright sir, *ahem* the very machine Professor Hawkins had gone missing on, it had been thought to have been lost on the Channel, however we don't know how it reached the Frostlands, maybe it's a blessing, it would allow us to get to the South, where it's warmer, and furthermore, we may have access to the production of steam cores, we may have the plans, but we still need the facilities to produce the steam cores themselves. We recommend telling the outpost set in Tesla City to see if they can safely find any plans or facilities that may allow the manufacturing of steam cores, however, do what you see fit" Charles concluded.
Jonathan thought carefully before giving his orders to Charles.
"Charles, send the scouts back home, we need them for the project to begin, do what the scouts suggested, we need the steam cores. Also, send a team of engineers right over there, after the meeting with them, as they need to see the machine itself to fix it."
"Right Captain! Shall I take my leave now?"
"You never asked for permission before, what happened to you today?" Jonathan laughed
"Hope maybe? I don't know sir, it just feels right, you've done so much for us, you're the greatest friend and leader we could ever ask for, you deserve respect. Also, I'm very sorry for your lo-"
"Right! You can leave now" Jonathan smiled sombrely
Charles left hurriedly, he had to obey the Captains orders, after all.
Maybe the Frostlands wanted to give us some hope after all, I can't let up now though, not after the worst is over, Jonathan thought tiredly, before he collapsed, his sleep debt caught up to him after all.