The Iron Pillars

Chapter 4

When Brant's feet settled down on the concrete flooring of Aaron's workshop, he cast an exploratory glance about the space. Rows of spotlights hung from the ceiling. Not all of them shone, but those that did illuminated small portions of the room. 

A freestanding anvil stood not far off, smooth and shiny in finish, and possessing only half a dozen dents. The iron block was horizontally sandwiched between two workbenches. A mound of tools lay stacked on one, and on the other, wires and metal plates sprawled across the workspace. Drippings of crimson-hued adhesive snaked across the work in progress. 

Reinforced shelves lined the walls, their horizontal beams bulging outward as their contents, varied, numerous and often large, tested the tensility of their boundaries. Whether exotic or commonplace, the items resting on the shelves appeared just the sort to fuel Aaron's endless projects. 

"This way." Aaron said, abruptly ripping apart the blanket of silence. 

He led the way to a dimly lit corner of the room, which derived most of its illumination from a pair of lights recessed into the floor. Several vehicles filled the space. Some sported wings, and others, wheels, and still another pair utilized both. The majority of the vehicles bore signs of incompleteness, with open hatches revealing splayed wires, and several instances of metal skeletons merely suggesting the contour of the ship-to-be. 

A lanky black robot stepped out of the shadows and mechanically waved as the party drew near. 

Baird's eyes widened. "Sila?" He turned to Aaron. "I thought you said it got destroyed." 

"Master fixed me." the robot declared. 

His eyelids opened still further. "Woah, three words now?" 

Aaron smirked. "I took the opportunity to make some upgrades. Basically, I tripled the linguistic algorithm's efficiency." 

"That's awesome." 

With a nod, Aaron turned to Sila. "Where'd you park the Stingray?" 

"Right over there." the robot replied, pointing a long finger several yards down the line. 

Aaron led the party down the row of vehicles and stopped before an indigo ship with a body shaped like a pill, with flat, semicircular wings extending outward in a wide circumference. On the back of the body, a vertical projection rose up, with a turret fastened to the top. 

"So, that's it." Aaron said, briskly moving on. "I should also show you the other thing we're bringing along." 

He stopped before a lengthy rectangular vessel with rounded corners and a bright violet hue. It stood at a short height compared to Aaron's other creations, only about five feet high, including the retractible legs it rested on. 

"What is it?" Brant asked. 

"I call it the Armory. It's not a passenger ship, but it's handy for holding weapons and dispatching them where needed." Aaron glanced at Wendy and smiled at her. "It was her idea, actually." 

She shrugged. "Only a bloody idea. He actually designed it." 

"Well yeah, but a flame's impossible without a spark." 

Baird unsheathed his sword. "Show me how it works." 

Aaron grinned. "With pleasure." 

He took the blade in one hand, and in the other, he received the remote Sila offered him. He clicked a button on the remote, and a row of lights on the vessel's underside beamed down. Some of them shone red, and others green, but they seemed to follow no discernible pattern.