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The Dreadnought is the most advanced land vehicle of our time, and will likely remain so for decades to come. No other vessel can support a carrying capacity of over 500 people for months on end with little outside support. They are a project as important as the Generators themselves, for each will not only bring the last remnants of the civilized world to the Frozen North, the material of their construction will serve as the foundation for the last cities on earth.
You have your assignment, Captain.
-Directive given to the Captains of the Dreadnoughts when they arrived at the Dreadnought Construction Docks.
~~~~~~~~~~~
The HMD Indomitable left the ruins of northern Scotland on the first day of December, 1886.
It arrived at New Liverpool on the final day of February, 1887.
Winter was not kind. The frozen sea became as stained glass when the Dreadnought rolled onto the ice sheet. The cracks did not stop forming until Christmas. By then, the Indomitable had suffered engine problems from their constant attempts to stay ahead of the fissures. The holiday was still a celebration, but Boxing Day was spent sober.
They did not stop, but they did not try full speed again until after the New Year, when the Engineers were sure the engine could take it. The crew had to be distracted from the problem, or they would worry themselves into revolution. The Captain ordered them to begin writing things down. Any facts they could remember of the Old World, any stories they wanted to record. Anything they wanted to offer to future generations.
It kept their hands busy, even as the supply of paper slowly dwindled.
They passed by Iceland in late January. The Captain’s guides from the IEC noted that stopping off on the island for supplies was possible. The crew’s eyes could clearly see that this was never going to happen. Their only weapons, after all, would be modified versions of the piledrivers intended to keep the Dreadnought in place after they reached New Liverpool. They had no way to intervene in the full scale war that had consumed Iceland, and as such kept going to their new home.
(Some asked if they would even be able to claim it without violence.)
A volcano erupted as they turned away.
Hope fell.
February brought a grim note. A woman had been pregnant when she boarded the Indomitable. The Captain had ordered that she be given his personal cabin, amongst other privileges. New life was precious and any opportunity to protect it had to be taken. The crew had been waiting for the birth as they would have the birth of a member of the royal family.
The woman died in childbirth, and the child was stillborn.
Hope fell.
There was a vote on what to do with their bodies. It was decided that they would remain in cold storage on the Indomitable until they reached New Liverpool. They would be buried in the home they had tried to reach, rather than on the ice where they had died.
Some spoke of returning to England. They had not seen another Dreadnought yet. Surely that meant some stayed behind, and they could join them for a better chance at survival. Better to bury her in Liverpool than in some frozen hell they claimed.
These people were shouted down. The Generator would save them. Britain had given them New Liverpool. They could not spit on the last effort of the British Empire by shunning it when they were this close.
Liverpool had been a port, and the only construction site for New Liverpool to survive had also been a port. There were mixed reactions to the fact they could not see the Generator from a distance. Some had expected periodic pillars of smoke as the Generator activated to clear away snow. Others had been worried that others would have reached it, or one of the final construction crews had hijacked the site. The Captain reassured them that they would find a way to survive regardless of what state the site was in.
Discontent grew.
The weather cleared the evening before they were set to arrive at New Liverpool. It was taken as a good sign. They would be able to look upon their new home clearly. It was even close to 0F! That was about as warm as the weather got, these days.
The morning bell came with an order to gather in the mess hall for a crew wide announcement.
========================================================================
Fay Macks was the Head Engineer of the HMD Indomitable.
The man who was supposed to fill her position had died during construction of the Indomitable, and so she had been promoted. Some of the men grumbled, but they could kindly piss off, she’d gotten her degree from Oxford and she’d be damned if anyone took it from her. The Captain had been nothing but polite to her, and that was more than some of the idiots with degrees could say.
He seemed… different, when she first saw him in the mess hall. For the first time since she’d met him, the man was tense. She’d almost call him worried if the thought wasn’t jarringly out of character. He was as Indomitable as the Dreadnought, for God’s Sake!
(What could shake him?)
The rest of the crew filtered in. The Indomitable had been built to house 600. That was the capacity for the Generator as reported by the Construction Captain, and it was the standard capacity of the Dreadnoughts. Those projections had been made in early September, before the cold properly hit England. Of the original 600 cabins, only 116 had been filled. They had tried to wait longer for more to arrive, but the storms were getting stronger. It was getting too cold to live outside of the Dreadnought, and it hadn’t been prepared for long term habitation past the journey’s expected length.
The Captain’s voice echoed in the mess hall that was only 1/6th full.
“We will arrive at New Liverpool’s Generator at noon.” He paused to allow the cheering to cease. “However, there is a problem. As many of you are aware, we have not been able to see the Generator or evidence of it. Our forward scouts discovered the problem at dawn. The Generator is buried.” The Captain did not allow the shouting to last longer than five seconds as he drowned the panic out with the emergency siren until they shut up. “We will be bringing the Indomitable up to the edge of where the scouts estimate the Generator should be. The Indomitable will serve as shelter until we have better accommodations built within the Generator’s heat. The scouts will have finished surveying the area by the time we arrive, and we will begin digging immediately. Engineers, begin preparing the Indomitable for parking. You are dismissed.”
There was grumbling, but this was hardly the first time the Captain had done this. The vote on what to do with Mary and her son had gone like this.
(Hope falls. Discontent grows.)
Fay followed the Captain as he left.
“Did you have a suggestion, Head Engineer?” The Captain asked. His grip on his cane was tighter than usual.
“You seem stressed, Captain.” Fay said bluntly. “There’s something more than just the snow, isn’t there?”
“I will explain in my office.” The Captain said, which just left her to speculate in silence until they arrived.
It was a fairly sparse place, but almost everywhere in the Indomitable was. The main signs of life were a family portrait and a sword on the wall. There was a window that looked forwards. The sky was clear, and so she could see the mountain of ice and snow they were driving towards.
“You didn’t want anyone to overhear.” Fay said. It was obvious.
“No.” The Captain shook his head. “My predecessor sought me out while the Indomitable was under construction.”
That would be the Construction Captain. “Did he tell you why the Generator is buried?”
The Captain once again shook his head. “The French were active in the area. Tunnels and trains. They failed, and he looted their train.”
“Sabatoge?” Fay asked.
“No. I would prefer to think that they would not be so spiteful as to ruin our chances just because this effort failed.” The Captain said sadly. “However, I cannot discount the possibility.”
“The IEC gave us manuals for how to repair the Generator in the event of a disaster.” Fay said. “We should be able to fix it.”
“Good.” The Captain paused, as if he was trying to decide what to say. “He was not the only man to speak with me during construction. A climate scientist came to me before he left for the Arks.”
“I assume he didn’t have anything good to say?” Fay asked.
The Captain stood from his desk and turned to look out the window. “The storms we endured are only the beginning. Something happened to the weather, and none of the scientists could agree on what, but he knew one thing.”
“And what would that be, sir?” Fay asked, when it became clear he was waiting for her.
“There is a great storm coming.” The Captain said grimly.
“How bad is it gonna be, sir?”
“-200F.”
“Excuse me?” Fay wasn’t sure she’d heard him right.
“That climate scientist predicted that this foul mockery of a tropical storm could produce temperatures as low as 200 degrees below 0, Head Engineer Macks. That is cold enough for the atmosphere itself to begin liquefying.” The Captain said. “That was his most pessimistic estimate, but I have learned to expect the worst from Mother Nature now that she has decided to kill us all.”
“When will this storm hit?” Fay asked. She couldn’t even imagine the kind of heating technology they’d need to survive temperatures that low.
“I do not know.” For the first time since she had met him, the Captain seemed genuinely unsure of himself. “The City must survive. I will not allow this bastion of humanity to die out. Do you vow to do the same, Fay Macks?”
Hearing her full name from this man was moving, all things considered. “I swear that New Liverpool will survive.”
“Good! Now my conversation with the Captain of the construction crew gave me several ideas. You will need to tell me how feasible they are.”
“Of course, sir.”
========================================================================
“How bad is it, Chief Scout Roan?”
Clay Roan, Chief Scout of the Indomitable, took a long sip of the warm mug of fungal tea the Captain’s Secretary had brought him when they came out to meet him. They were standing on the frozen ocean, looking out at the grand pile of snow that had once been what his teacher dubbed Site 113. People were filing out of the Indomitable as they spoke.
“Well, it's not a glacier.” Clay said. He took another sip. It was good to get some warmth in him. It wasn’t proper tea, but it was the best they could make. “We cored it, and it's packed tight. Closer to coal mining than snow clearing.”
“But it can be done?” The Captain asked.
“Should be possible.” Clay agreed. “We’re gonna need more than just shovels and pickaxes if we want to find out what happened to the Generator before Easter’s long gone.”
“Write a memo that we’ll need a Wall Drill, Clair.” The Captain said to his Secretary before turning back to Clay. “Anything else?”
“We found some ruins behind snow banks. The snow’s coming from the sea, and that means we couldn’t see them on approach. They look like fishing huts.”
“Was there food inside?” The Captain pressed.
“It looks like they tried to leave some, yeah.” Clay said. He gestured at the ruins to the east. “That one had a couple barrels of canned fish inside. The other one had some kind of pole stuck in the ice.”
“A pole?” The Captain asked.
“We couldn’t move it, but it was past the edge of the coast. One of the boys said it might’ve been some kind of tidal marker.” Clay took another sip. It was savory, he liked savory.
The Captain grunted his acknowledgement. “Drink. When you’re finished, start looking around on top of the cliffs. Seek out anything that we might be able to loot or eat. Do not go further than a day away from the Dreadnought.”
“Aye Aye Captain.” Clay said. He raised his thermos in a sort of salute, which the Captain accepted.
He wandered off as the Captain started talking with his Secretary about diagonal drills and such. It wasn’t his business, and he doubted he’d be around to see it much. Clay was a scout, and that meant he’d be wandering around the Frostland most of the time. It was what he’d signed up for. Heck, it was even familiar. Sure, the land was a lot colder now, and the landscape had changed, and the wind wanted to kill him, but it was still the Frostland. Okay, maybe it wasn’t all that familiar anymore.
Oh well, someone had to do it. Might as well be the guy who trained for it. Who knew, maybe he’d find snow people. That’d be a treat.
Clay hit a button on his Lamp. The other scouts began to converge on his location. Good, the signals worked. That’d be a pain to find out later. There was an idea. They could use these short trips to figure out problems before they started going on longer expeditions. He should probably get some sub-chiefs trained up. One team was enough to search an area for construction sites. It wasn’t enough to scavenge resources from the entire area.
Once enough people had gotten into hearing range, he started talking. The cold meant he could throw his voice farther. Neat trick, that. “Alright men, we’re climbing up and looking around. Stick together and use your equipment. We want to find any problems now before we get too far away from home to fix it. Got it?!”
“Yes, sir!”
========================================================================
“Can you make a Wall Drill point down?”
“Wall Drills are designed to dig through snow and ice, sir. They aren’t designed to punch through permafrost and stone.” Fay said. “Why?”
This time he had come to her office. Well, it was more of a workshop at this point, but the plaque on the wall called it an office. She hadn’t bothered to engrave a new one yet.
“I would like to fish.” The Captain said.
“That’s rather hard with the ocean being frozen, sir.” Fay said.
“Ice is good insulation. The oceans froze top down.” The Captain explained. “There will be water below a layer of ice.”
“We drove on top of the ice, sir. That’s some bloody thick ice.” Fay said.
“Liverpool was a port city, Head Engineer Macks.” The Captain said. “The people will appreciate seafood. I would like to give it to them.”
Fair enough. She could really go for some jellied eels about now. “Did the Construction Captain mention what kinda fish they were eating?”
“Cod, Halibut, and Flounder mostly.” The Captain recited. “He claimed they once caught a shark big enough to feed the entire crew for one meal.”
“And you’re sure those fish are still alive?” Fay asked.
“As I said, ice is a good insulator. The water will be cold, but fishing should be possible.” The Captain said.
Fay sighed. “I’ll see what we can draw up. The project will need a Steam Core, however.”
They only had five. Enough for the two Wall Drills and three Coal Mines the IEC had guaranteed them, and no more. Not enough for a modern Infirmary, not enough for a Hothouse, not enough for a modern Factory. Anything extra would have to come out of that basic allowance, if they couldn’t get more.
“I accept the cost. We don’t have a chance at accessing the coal deposits until this snow is cleared away, and that will have to wait until after the Generator is free.”
“We’ll have even more after dismantling the Indomitable.” Fay said. “That should cover an Infirmary and a few other things as well.”
“We will not be dismantling most of the Indomitable.” The Captain said.
“Sir?” Fay wasn’t sure she’d heard him right.
“This Dreadnought was built to hold the population of a city. It has served as our shelter for the last 3 months. I will not abandon it in favor of a tent city.” The Captain said. “We will modify it, yes, but we will not tear it apart. I intend to, for lack of a better word, plug the Generator into the Indomitable for heating and additional power generation.”
“The Dreadnoughts weren’t built for that, sir.” Fay objected. “They were intended as transport and as a set of starting materials.”
“We do not have time to put in more work than needed.” The Captain said grimly. “This Dreadnought kept us warm during the storms in Scotland, and it will keep us warm during the Great Storm.”
Right. That. “Permission to begin researching how to brew alcohol, sir?”
“Denied. We can drink during the victory party.” The Captain said as he got back to his feet. “Before I go, I would like to ask one final thing.”
“Yes, sir?” Fay asked.
“Prosthetics.” The Captain said. “People will lose limbs while working. We will have to amputate because of disease. I would like you to assign someone to figure out how to build proper modern prosthetics. If they require a Factory, so be it.”
“Of course, sir.” Fay said as the Captain closed the door behind him.
Fay rubbed her temples. She was already getting a headache.
========================================================================
Glenna Foy was nervous.
She’d been helping clear away the snow and ice with everyone else when an Engineer had called her inside the Indomitable. It was nice to be back inside, even if it would mean putting all of her coats back on after this. It was so cold outside. They really needed the Generator. Walking outside and seeing the mountain of frost that had consumed the Generator was soul crushing.
Glenna didn’t know why she’d been called inside. She hadn’t done anything wrong. Sure, she’d added some banned books to the stockpile of preserved books the Captain had them make over the journey, but no one had minded back then. The Crown had gone too hard on censorship near the end. She’d wanted some of her favorite allegorical tales to survive the Frost. It was weird to take issue with that now, but it was the only thing she could think of.
“The Captain is expecting you.” Clair said. The Captain's Secretary was a cold woman, although still warmer than the weather outside.
Glenna couldn’t bring herself to answer, so she just nodded and knocked.
“Come in.”
The Captain was sitting at his desk, drawing something. He put it into a folder as she approached.
“Please, sit. Would you like some tea?” The Captain asked as Glenna sat down.
“Yes, please.” Glenna managed. That threw her for a loop. He was being polite. Maybe she wasn’t in trouble?
“I have a few questions for you.” The Captain asked as he poured her a cup of tea from the kettle on his desk. “I looked through the crew manifest. You were a tutor before the Frost, weren’t you?”
“Yes, sir.” Glenna said. The mug in her hands kept her from wringing them. She took a sip. It was nice to have a warm drink. “I taught Liverpool’s IEC Evacuation Director’s nephew his letters, and he recommended me for the program.”
The Captain nodded. He refilled his own mug of tea, but did not drink. “How long have you been tutoring children?”
“I started when I was a girl helping the others at my school in exchange for favors. Then they wanted me to tutor their kids, and it was more my career than medicine ever was after that.” Glenna said. She was oversharing, but she was still nervous. That was over 20 years ago. Oh, that made her feel old.
“Glenna Foy, this makes you the most experienced person here in the education of children.” The Captain said.
Glenna blinked. “What about Professor Fitzgerald?”
“He did not arrive in time.” The Captain said. “There are 15 children on this Dreadnought, Mrs Foy. The fall of the British Empire will not prevent them from receiving an education. Will you help give it to them?”
“Yes.” Glenna said. That made sense. It was something she could do. The children had mostly been in the care of their parents so far, and she’d done some babysitting, but this was more official. “What do you have in mind?”
“I intend for all of the children to be Engineers.” The Captain said. “This will mean a joint mechanical and bio-mechanical education.”
“What about literature and the arts, sir? History is important, surely?” Glenna asked.
“It is, yes.” The Captain agreed. “However, I do not think the children will find much use for the campaigns of Caesar or tales of William the Conqueror in this frozen wasteland. The arts can wait until after the main lessons are finished, or as an extra-curricular activity. Survival is our top priority. Old values cannot get in the way of that.”
“Suriving without the arts, without opportunities to grow and sing, is not life.” Glenna said with an amount of heat that shocked her.
“I did not forbid you from teaching them, Headmistress Foy.” The Captain said. The title made her sit up. “I know that the arts are important. All I am asking is that you prioritize the skills they need to survive over what will help them truly live for now. We do not even have the Generator ready yet, much less a concert hall. Shakespear does not fill the stomach on its own. Knowing who won the 100 years war will not keep you warm at night.”
“Do you expect the children to be out gathering food or building coal mines by themselves?!” Glenna asked.
“No. I do not want them to do that, but I do not want them to be left helpless if something disastrous happens either.” The Captain said grimly. “What we teach them now will be the basis for how they live in the future. The Frost will not end quickly. They will need these skills for their entire lives. New culture can be created. Survival skills can only be synthesised through trial and error. We cannot afford for them to bear that cost.”
That… was true. “I apologize for my outburst, Captain.”
“We are talking about the future of the first generation raised in the Frostlands, Headmistress Foy. The oceans were still wet 4 months ago. Adjusting to this new paradigm requires swift readjustment, and it is foolish to expect that instantly from everyone.” The Captain said kindly. “This will be hard on the children. Can I trust you to ensure they grow into people capable of thriving in this new, frozen world we find ourselves in?”
Glenna was not a schoolmaster. She was a tutor, and she tended to teach younger children. She was not qualified to lead an entire city’s education, but there was no other option. “Yes, sir.”
“Good! I have a few ideas for how this can go. However, it has been almost 40 years since I was last in school. These are suggestions, not mandates.” The Captain said.
“Of course, sir.” Glenna said.
The Captain leaned forward and steepled his fingers. “I am aware you mainly taught noble children, but how familiar are you with apprenticeships?”
========================================================================
Clair Mcroddon did not sleep well.
The hum of the Indomitable’s engine had changed. She had gotten used to the constant rumble of the Dreadnought’s motion across the ice. It would take her some time to get used to her circumstances. It wouldn’t be the first time.
The Captain looked like he had slept significantly better. He had a spring in his step, and his cane seemed like less of a walking aid than usual today.
“I see you are feeling chipper today, Captain.” Clair said as she set down the tray with both of their breakfasts on his desk. It was more efficient this way, and neither of them particularly enjoyed the crowds of the mess hall.
“I am feeling optimistic, Clair, that is all.” The Captain said as he cut into his salted beef.
(There was an American project to save the livestock, much like the Crown had sought to save as many plants and crops as they could, but the IEC had not contributed to the American effort. They had bought as much of the Empire’s livestock as they could for wholesale slaughter and preservation as long term rations. There had been some talk of collecting moose from the Canadian wilderness and instructing the Captains on how to begin domestication, but that hadn’t gone anywhere.)
They ate in silence for some time. This morning ritual was good because it allowed them both to wake up and be ready for the day. Frankly, it also meant no one had to watch the Captain cut his breakfast into pieces small enough he could swallow them whole. His teeth were fine, but his jaw didn’t heal quite right after a drunken brawl in his youth, apparently. Too much chewing hurt his jaw.
“What happened after I went to bed?” The Captain asked.
“The Wall Drill and Beacon are complete. The Scouts should be returning within the hour.” Clair reported. “Headmistress Foy will be meeting with the parents of the children today.”
“I see.” The Captain said before downing the rest of his tea. Clair had already finished. “Inform the workers that they must begin surveying and clearing the ruins by the sea. Those are free resources. Tell Head Engineer Macks that she should begin construction of the coastal Wall Drill as soon as she is capable of it. She can take from the workers dismantling the ruins to do so.”
“Yes, Captain.” Clair said as she collected his mug and added it to the tray, which she picked up as she stood. The fog had returned, blocking their view of the Wall Drill despite the headlights. “Will there be anything else?”
“Send the Quartermaster to my office.” The Captain said after a moment of thought. “That will be all for now.”
“Yes, Captain.” Clair nodded and left. He closed the door behind her.
Due to how early they woke up, the halls of the Indomitable were near silent. It was before dawn, so most people were still asleep. They had a few insomniacs on board, but they had been put to work. One would be manning the Beacon, if she remembered correctly. Most people would be in their beds.
The kitchens were one of the exceptions to this rule. They woke up this early, and thus she had her first objective. The cooks had not had much to do ever since they ran out of spices. There was only so much they could do to improve the rations the IEC had provided them beyond tenderizing the meat or stretching it further via soups and stews. Given the memories some had of soup in recent years, the latter options were off the table.
Clair put her tray in the designated area and asked a cook a question. When she received an affirmative, she left for the storerooms. They were less full than the manuals had said they would be. They’d been less full when they set out than planned. The IEC had collapsed faster than anyone had expected, and their logistics network fell along with them. At least the rations were being eaten by someone, she supposed. They’d need it, back in Britain.
“Quartermaster Bilton?”
Said Quartermaster glanced up from his clipboard to see her and smiled. He had a crush on her. She was not interested.
“Ah, Clair. What do you need from me today?”
“The Captain would like to speak with you in his office. As we will be meeting with the scouts in an hour, I would advise you to hurry.” Clair said, cutting off Wesley’s attempted gesture at his clipboard.
“I will have an assistant finish this, then, and head to the Captain’s office immediately.” Wesley said.
Clair nodded, turned on her heel, and began heading to her next destination. She ignored the invitation to dine with him tonight, as she always did.
The hum of the Indomitable’s engine grew louder as she approached the engineering workshops. It was a constant presence on the Dreadnought, but this close to the engine there was no way to ignore it, only grow used to it. It was a pleasant sound, but she was aware this was not a universal opinion. That was fine. People were allowed to be wrong.
Clair knocked, and despite the sounds of life within the Head Engineer’s office she received no answer. She sighed and opened the door anyway, as Fay had asked her to.
The Head Engineer was welding, which explained why she hadn’t heard the knocking. This also meant that her rather muscular arms were on display due to the fact that the IEC’s welding shirts were quite form-fitting. Clair allowed herself to appreciate the sight while Fay was working, but did politely cough once it seemed like she was done. Clair was a professional, after all.
“Oh, hello Clair.” Fay said as she took off her welding mask and wiped her forehead with the hem of her shirt. Clair pointedly did not follow this motion with her eyes. “How long have you been standing there?”
Clair glanced at the steam clock on the wall. “A minute or so. You must learn to hear when someone is knocking on your door, Head Engineer.”
Fay waved her off. “Yes, yes, you’ve given me the same lecture a dozen times. Welding’s loud, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
Some of Fay’s accent was peeking through. She must have been stressed.
“The Captain would like you to begin leading construction on the coastal Wall Drill as soon as possible.” Clair said.
Fay sighed. “Yes, I’ll get right on that after I shower. It was easy enough to work out the blueprint mods needed.” She gestured to the metal contraption she’d been working on. “Although this will have to wait.”
“What is it?” Clair asked.
“The Captain asked me to look into prosthesis. The IEC blueprints were harder to follow than I expected. Mass production might need a Factory, but individual limbs should be easy enough to make.” Fay said.
“I see.” Clair wrote a note for later on her clipboard. “Do you have anything else to report?”
Fay shook her head. It made her braid begin to fray, letting her red hair fall into her face. She began to fix it as she responded. “No. Although if the Captain asks me to get him a fresh apple any time soon I might throw his cane into the furnace.”
Clair raised an eyebrow. “There are problems with the Hothouse blueprints?”
“They’re designed for algae and fungal farms, not modern agriculture.” Fay explained. “I found garden blueprints in the library, but they’re meant for parks, not farming.”
“I see.” Clair added yet another note. “Is that all?”
“Yes, that is all I have to report.” Fay said.
“Thank you.” Clair said. She paused for a moment. “I would advise delegation, if you are beginning to strain yourself.”
“The others are busy making spare parts for the Generator in case we need them or preparing for Glenna’s students to swarm them.” Fay said dismissively. “I can handle it.”
Clair glanced at the clock again. “I must go to the bridge to make an announcement. Farewell, Head Engineer Macks.”
“I’ll see you later, Clair.” Fay said as she got up.
Clair forced herself to walk away rather than linger for a glimpse as the Head Engineer moved towards her closet. Once she had closed the door behind her, the Secretary took a moment to compose herself. She was a professional.
The Bridge was empty. She waited for the loud moan of the automated dawn alert to wake everyone else up. Clair pressed a button and spoke into a horn on the wall. Her words were echoed throughout the Indomitable.
“Good morning. This is Secretary Clair Mcroddon. Workers are to begin dismantling the Fishing Hut ruins on the coast with intent to gather as much usable material as possible after breakfast. Those assigned to the Wall Drill are to begin excavation after breakfast as well. Thank you.”
With that done, Clair settled in to wait for the Scouts to return. The Bridge gave her a fairly good view of the area, even if most of it was just the mountain of snow that had covered the Generator. The fog had cleared up, revealing that the Wall Drill seemed to have survived the night. That was good. They wouldn’t have been able to get much done if their construction projects blew away in the wind each night. That would have required even more digging.
Then again, that seemed to be the Captain’s answer to everything right now, so he likely wouldn't mind.
A few minutes later, the Scouts appeared as a black stain on top of the cliffs that overlooked New Liverpool. Clair stood and left for the Captain’s office.
The Captain answered her knock by opening the door. “I saw that the Scouts are here, Clair, and I heard the announcement. I take it your discussion with Head Engineer Macks went well?”
Clair suppressed a smile as she let the Captain lead the way down to the exit of the Dreadnought. “Yes. However, she wished to inform you that the Hothouses will require significant redesigns if we want to grow crops such as apples or wheat. They were only designed to produce algae and fungus.”
“It will have to do for now.” The Captain said. “The redesign can wait until after the Storm.”
(Clair remembered that conversation. It was the only time she could remember the Captain drinking.)
“Our plans for supply distribution are unchanged?” Clair asked.
“Quartermaster Bilton was willing to bend, yes.” The Captain confirmed. “He did not like it, but I managed to convince him.”
That was good, although Clair held her tongue. It would not do to insult a fellow member of the administration.
The entrance to the Indomitable was built with many closets full of warm clothing for them to change into. After that, they stepped forward into the heat lock, which was a room that gradually shifted temperature to match the air outside the Dreadnought. Their Head Physician had been quite clear that it could not be removed, even if it slowed down the boarding of people and the loading of goods, or getting those things off the vessel. There were some quite horrible health effects that happened if you repeatedly went from a warm place to a very cold place or vice versa, even with proper clothing.
By the time they were ready to step outside, the Scouts were filing into another of the heat locks as the Head Scout waited for them.
“Head Scout Roan, it is good to see you again.” The Captain said.
“You didn’t need to come all the way out here for me, Captain.” Clay said. “I was just about to go inside with the second batch.”
“It is good to get some fresh air.” The Captain said. “A walk like this means I won’t catch gout.”
“Nasty stuff, that, yeah.” Clay agreed. “I see things are going well around here.”
“They are.” The Captain agreed. “I hope your look around went just as well?”
Clay nodded. “Well, there aren’t any Generator smokestacks anywhere nearby, but both of the nearby sites failed, so that was about what I expected.”
“Were there any signs of life?” The Captain pressed.
“Some smaller smokestacks, yeah. Mostly to the North and East. They looked like they’d take days to reach, so I stayed put.” Clay said.
(There had been groups of refugees that fled North almost as soon as the Generator project was revealed. There were rumors that one construction crew just hadn’t left their Generator after finishing it. Clair doubted they were still alive.)
“Was there anything closer to home?” The Captain asked.
“We found a cave with some polar bears in it.” Clay reported. “Nearly lost Jerry, but they went down easy enough. Brought back the corpses after we rendered them down. Some of the boys should be putting them in cold storage as we speak.”
“Good. We’ll all appreciate some fresh meat after those salty rations.” The Captain said. “Was there anything else in the cave?”
“Some human bones. We buried the poor bastards.” Clay said. “That’s why we’re late. I wanted to be back by sunset, but rendering down the polar bears and burying the dead took too long. The good news is that the overnight tents work perfectly.”
“I see. I may have something for you.” The Captain said.
“What’s the gift?” Clay asked.
“My predecessor, the Captain of the Generator construction team of this site, provided me with a map of what his foragers found, along with their reports.” The Captain said. “Take some time to rest and recover. Clair will deliver the map and reports to your office later. Tomorrow, you’re going out again, towards those smokestacks.”
“Aye aye, Captain.” Clay gave a lazy salute and joined the last of the Scouts heading towards the heat lock.
The Captain did not join him, and instead headed off towards the Wall Drill. Clair sighed, but she followed him anyway. Truthfully, she did not quite understand his obsession with a personal touch.
A pipe ran from the Indomitable to the Wall Drill’s Steam Core, which then powered the rest of the facility. A large drill hung from the ceiling on guiding tracks that sparked as the drill went back and forth. It would be coated in boiling water and then plunged into the ice, only to be torn out as soon as the water began to freeze, and the processes would begin again.
“Any luck yet?!” The Captain called over the noise.
“Nothin yet, Captain! Should find it today though!” A worker called from where he was monitoring a gauge of some kind.
“Good! Don’t hit the Generator!” The Captain reminded them.
“We know!”
The Captain laughed and walked out of the facility. Clair followed him towards the western ruins. They were mostly cleared, but it seemed they had built a crane for some reason. She could agree that warranted investigation, at least.
“How’s the dismantling going?” The Captain asked the man that had waved them down.
“Its going pretty well, sir.” The worker said. “There was one problem, but the Scouts warned us about it yesterday, so we knew what we had to do.”
“And what was that, exactly?” The Captain pressed.
“They’re bringing one up right now.” The worker said as he gestured to the crane.
It groaned, but after a few moments it did lift something out of the ground.
“I believe Head Scout Roan may have undersold what your predecessor left us, Captain.” Clair remarked.
Clay had called them barrels. That was technically accurate, in the same way calling Big Ben a big clock was accurate. These were proper casks, the kind you would keep alcohol in for decades to age it. The cask the workers unhooked from the crane was taller than a man and wide enough for someone to lay down on top. Ice clung to the sides, but overall the cask was intact.
“That should be enough food to feed us all for days.” the Captain said with some awe in his voice.
“Yeah, mighty nice of the people who built this place to leave this for us, eh?” The worker said.
The Captain composed himself. “How many casks are in that hole?”
“Three, sir.” The worker answered.
“And the fish inside?” The Captain pressed.
“All fermented, canned, and frozen, sir.” The worker said. “They reek a bit, but they seemed fine to eat.”
“Bring them to the Indomitable. Have the cooks verify that they’re safe. If they are, we have been gifted a break from salted beef and pork.”
“Thank Odin for that.” The worker said before relaying the Captain’s orders to the crowd.
The Captain nodded and they walked away.
(The old Norse religion had grown in popularity as the Frost came. Christianity was less common now. Faith was secondary to survival, and some sought to survive Ragnarok.)
It would be good to eat something new for once.
========================================================================
Fay was annoyed.
“Work you stupid piece of crap!”
That was an understatement.
“Is there a problem, Head Engineer?”
And now the Captain had seen her like this. Wonderful.
“No, sir.” Fay kicked the offending Steam Core and turned to see that both the Captain and Clair were standing there in cold gear, right in the middle of the construction site.
“Your frustration tells me something is going wrong, at least.” The Captain asked.
“Finding water might be more complicated than we thought.” Fay said.
“How so?” The Captain pressed.
“Wall Drills are designed to punch through permafrost and snow, not thick sea ice. I designed around that, and now this thing should be essentially a large-scale version of the coring machines the Scouts used to determine where the coast was in the first place.” Fay explained. “We’ll have logs of ice to dispose of, but that was the easy part. The problems only started after we began construction.”
“I take it the Steam Core is one of them?” The Captain suggested.
“We may require a second one.” Fay said. “We’ve only built about half of the technical systems involved so far and this one’s already struggling. I’m considering sending it back for maintenance and having them bring me two more from storage.”
“Approved.” The Captain said. “We cannot afford to break any of the Steam Cores until we have the infrastructure to make more.”
“That could take years, sir.” Fay said.
“What will we need?” The Captain asked.
“The Steam Core production process requires precise tools and conditions to kickstart the processes involved. We would need at least a Factory, a Foundry, and a Machine Shop to even begin, sir.” Fay explained. “The Americans had a more streamlined, failsafe version, but I don’t know if any Americans are still alive.”
“Then let us hope there are more for us to find in the Frostlands. We can begin considering Steam Core production later.” The Captain said. “When you are done with this, please head to the other Wall Drill. They claimed that we would reach the Generator today, and I would like your assessment on what went wrong.”
“Yes, sir.” Fay said. She did not manage to keep her exhaustion out of her voice as well as she hoped.
“If you require a break, I am sure one of the other Engineers can finish this for you.” The Captain offered.
“I’m the one who made the blueprint, I’ll direct the construction, sir.” Fay insisted.
“Then I will leave you to it. Good luck, Head Engineer Macks.” The Captain said before tipping his hat and walking away.
Fay offered a wave to Clair, who did not respond with more than a nod. That was fine. She pointed to one of the Engineers she’d gotten to help her with this. “You. Take this back inside and tell someone to do maintenance on it, then get me two more.”
“Yes Maam.” The Engineer said before he began complying.
“The rest of you, stop gawking and get back to work!” Fay demanded, which got the rest of the idiots working.
Building the rest of the Ice Drill was much less frustrating, thankfully. She’d never worked on a project that required more than one Steam Core before, so it was a bit of a wakeup call. She didn’t want to imagine what would have happened if they’d avoided performing those engine tests. They might have burnt out the core entirely, and that would have taken ages to fix, especially without a Factory.
They didn’t end up needing a third, and the machine was done by noon. The log of ice they got out of the first successful use of the corer was damn near pristine. It was almost a shame they couldn’t preserve it somehow, but they didn’t have a use for it. Oh well, they could always make more. Maybe they could slice it up and turn it into drinking water?
Fay went inside the Indomitable to get herself a drink. She wasn’t hungry enough to eat yet, but she’d been outside for too long. It made her teeth chatter in ways she didn’t like. The tea helped. She grabbed herself a thermos of it after finishing her mug. The cold always made her thirsty.
The Wall Drill was at an angle it hadn’t been when they first got out here, and the drill itself was deeper inside the ice. It was warmer inside the Wall Drill than outside, thanks to the Steam Core, and that meant she could shuck a layer. Still not as warm as the Indomitable, but better.
“Have you found the Generator yet?” Fay asked a worker.
“No Maam. We changed the angle to make sure we didn’t hit the Generator, because we think we’re pretty close.”
“Good. Tell me when you find it. We need to figure out why this happened.” Fay said.
“Yes Maam.”
Fay nodded to the man and found a place to sit. She’d sat down for her afternoon tea, but it was still good to be off her feet after so much work. Her thermos made it better. She could admit that she’d needed a bit of a break, and this was the sort of nice, calming experience she’d needed. Just a moment to herself.
Some part of her wanted to fall asleep, because frankly these IEC jackets and such were comfortable, but she resisted. She knew the dangers of falling asleep in the cold. Humans didn’t hibernate. Thankfully, the hum of the Steam Core and the motors it powered kept her awake.
An hour or two after she arrived, she finished her tea. As if that was some sort of cosmic signal, the Wall Drill began to shut down. Fay got up to investigate.
“Head Engineer! We found it! We found the Generator!” A worker came barreling out of the tunnel to tell her.
“I can tell.” Fay deadpanned. “Lead me there.”
She followed the woman down the tunnel. Eventually they reached the farthest point, where it became warmer. Some of the workers were digging with shovels to clear the way.
“What happened?”
“The Drill hit open air when we moved it up again.” The Worker said. “It seems there’s some kind of clearing around the Generator.”
“I see.” Fay said noncommittally.
She waited a few minutes, and they broke through. There wasn’t any light inside, but they had their Lamps. The snow and ice in the cavity was pitch black, and it smelled like a factory smokestack. The Lamps didn’t start beeping, so it wasn’t full of bad air, but this was still bad.
“This entire area’s a fire hazard. Move some ventilation in here, now.” Fay demanded as she reached back into her pack for a gas mask. “And someone get some cleaning equipment down here, along with some light.”
“Yes Maam!”
Fay strapped it on as the workers rushed to fulfill her command. The Generator itself looked fine, but her Lamp’s light didn't stretch as far as she’d like. The pressure chamber wasn’t leaking, which would have been a very bad sign. However, the Generator also didn’t seem to be in the proper low power mode the manuals claimed the construction crews were supposed to put them into before leaving. Something had gone wrong.
Fay entered the coal stockpile that was built into the Generator’s foundations. She found the door for the control room and descended. Her Lamp did start to beep, but she plugged her mask in, so it stopped after a few moments. She set about inspecting the control panels.
Most of the gauges were shot. The natural gas well was still going strong, that was extremely relieving. The coal that was meant to tide over the Generator until they got here was above the levels it should have been at, but not by much. The effective output, however, was much lower than it should have been. That was quite bad. Stress levels were minimal, which was a relief after that.
Each day, the Generator’s control systems would generate a record of the average effective output, gas level, and stress of the last 24 hours. The records told a story. It seemed that the gas was completely fine, although it did fluctuate more than she was told was normal. Effective output was normal for the first month, and then stress went up to 25% over the course of a week. After that, both stress and effective output gradually fell. The automated systems had attempted to course correct, but they force shut themselves off every time it got to 15% stress, as they were designed to do.
The packet of notes on the table gave her the last clue.
The Captain came to see for himself.
“This is worse than I expected.” The Captain said when she showed him the cavity. “What went wrong?”
“The Generator couldn’t handle the storms that blew in off the coast. A blizzard hit in January and buried it is my best guess. This site had no protection from the coastal winds, and that meant the Generator became encased like this. The black stuff on the walls and on the Generator is coal smog.” Fay explained.
“Can you fix it?” The Captain asked.
“Yeah. We just need to clear away the ice on top and unclog the exhaust ports.” Fay said. “Its almost ironic, they built it too well.”
“Explain.” The Captain ordered.
“There were a few upgrades the IEC included for the construction crews to add if they had time before they were evacuated. Ours got everything, which meant we have the Riser System. That throws the heat of the Generator out into a wider area without the need for Steam Hubs, but it also makes the Generator more prone to clogging. I don’t know if it was inevitable, but the Riser System certainly didn’t help.” Fay explained. “However, one of the other upgrades, Overdrive, should help us fix this.”
“Is that feature safe to use while the Generator is clogged?” The Captain asked.
“No.” Fay denied. “However, once we clear the blockages, we can fully activate the Generator and throw it into Overdrive. That should melt the rest of the permafrost shell and clear most of the site.”
“What are the risks?” The Captain seemed wary of such a perfect solution.
“Water is heavy, and melting all of this ice and snow, even over the course of a day, will make a lot of it. We risk flooding the site, and I don’t know how well the Indomitable would handle undercarriage water damage. It wasn't designed for flooding.” Fay said.
The Captain began to pace. The sound of metal on stone echoed throughout the chamber for a few minutes.
Fay waited patiently. It was best not to interrupt the Captain while he was pacing.
She was rewarded when he stopped and looked at the Generator with a tight grip on his cane.
“Clair, instruct the workers to build temporary walls around the Indomitable and the Ice Drill. Dismantle the Wall Drill as well.” The Captain ordered. “Head Engineer Macks, focus on getting the Generator clean and operational. We will handle the risks.”
“Yes sir!”
========================================================================
On March 3rd, 3 days after the Indomitable arrived at the site of New Liverpool, the Generator was switched on.
Hope Rose.