87 km : 386 km
The drill was almost done with its first leg, which meant I had to deal with properly outfitting the tunnels it created. It all started with clearing them out, a seemingly endless line of rubble to pick up and funnel out.
No time like the present. I had assembled a rather large cleaner tech, which would automatically scoop up a set amount of loose rock and compact it into a more manageable cube. These cubes could then be loaded up and transported back to the entrance of the tunnel, where they could then be lifted out once I constructed an elevator.
That was all besides the point however, as I still needed somewhere to put all that material once I got it out. The initial plan was to fortify the base with it, but I needed something a bit more practical than just piling loose stone around. If I wanted to construct sturdy foundations and walls with what I had, then I needed a binding agent.
Rodite to the rescue! Because of its acidic properties, it would chew through the rock I mixed it with, forming a slurry that would quickly set once it was diluted with water and evaporated. Then it could be reinforced on its own to form complex yet tough shapes, or it could be used to effectively glue larger rocks together to form a larger piece.
It was a type of cement, which is why Rodite was so sought after besides its use in electronics. It was a fast acting construction material that could reliably be assembled on the go.
Problem, I didn’t have the equipment necessary to process the cement. The reason? Rodite Cement was typically used as a permanent construction material. Techs were anything but permanent, therefore they didn’t have a use for it, and therefore the designs weren’t standard for the companies.
No matter, I could create my own large scale mixer on my own, the only problem was the recipe. There were different ratios for different strengths of cement, ranging from smoother, finishing cement to stronger, foundation type cement. I was no architect, and neither were any of the cement recipes available to me. I would have to do some testing before I started any major construction.
Setting up several small batches, I prepared to start mixing, but first I actually needed the ingredients. Now was the time to build an elevator.
Starting with a solid frame, four pillars rose from the bottom of the tunnel, just barely fitting into the slight spiral I had carved out. Support came next, making sure the whole thing was rigid and secure, able to handle some of the heaviest loads. Then I added some custom tracks in which a carriage could traverse. The whole thing was driven internally, and using some designs from Geocorp, it could lift as much weight as I could reasonably pack on, albeit at a slower pace.
It was smaller than I would have liked, being able to carry only three or four stone cubes at a time, and that was because it was restricted by the stone around it. When the drill returned however, I could expand as much as necessary, but it worked well enough for now.
Now I just needed water.
I was in an arid shrubland. There were no nearby bodies of water. That was going to be an issue.
Sure the plane could hold some, collectors were capable of holding water after all, but it was an issue of volume. Collectors could only hold so much, certainly not as much as a tank of equal size, but they were effectively weightless, which made them great for travel. I needed a lot of water, and as far as I could tell, a single load from the plane would only be enough for one or two small batches of cement.
I would need a better option if I wanted to construct anything larger, namely, my base.
This was quickly proving to be an interesting conundrum, and I debated on whether or not it was worth pursuing. It was using up excess resources that I didn’t have another use for, but the difficulties of actually doing so were becoming more and more expensive. If I did do it, then I would have ready-made infrastructure for any future projects at the cost of complicated setups and increased visibility. However if I didn’t do it, then I would have to resort to constructing my bases purely out of materials desperately needed elsewhere, delaying my goals even further.
I started drafting up plans for a few solutions. One, I could construct a pipeline to the nearest water source, it would have to be set underground of course, and that required more drilling. Two, I could dig down to the aquifer of the region and work from there, also more drilling. Three, I could hope the drill hits a higher water table, and be able to pump it back to base along with the other resources.
Switching to the drill, all I could see was darker stone, which was only slightly damp. I wouldn’t find enough here either. I switched back to the plane, watching as the sun started to rise. All the other viable options required more digging, and since the drill was occupied with its own thing, I would have to wait until it finished before clearing out the tunnels.
That was going to be a problem. Every time the drill passes through an area, the stone it had previously excavated would become less and less manageable, making it more difficult to deal with in the long run. It would have to go over the rock once to get back to base to dig a well, twice to begin drilling another tunnel, then who knows how many more times as more drills were constructed and sent on their way.
Wait a minute, it was daytime! I could send down more Titanite! I wouldn’t have to wait for the drill when I could just make another one!
I immediately switched up to the moonbase, peeling out of it with the rover and beelining straight towards the nearest seam of Titanite. I rammed into the rock with my drill, practically exploding it as dust and ore were sent flying. The collectors snapped into action, picking up the succulent Titanite for me to bring back. I only needed to harvest two seams to fill the rover, and I raced back to the base to unload it before going back out for more.
In only a few minutes the silo was filled again, and a moment later it was firing Titanite off into orbit for collection. The whole process from moon to satellite to ground only took about fifteen minutes per chunk of Titanite, and since they could overlap, I could unload an entire silo’s worth in under two hours. Collection and transport were a different story, I had to make quite a few trips with the plane to move everything over, but that just meant I had Titanite to work with.
First things first, another drill tech. This one was a bit smaller, which made it capable of traversing the denser rock faster, it wouldn’t take long for it to reach the water table, and then I could construct a well. I sent it on its way. Next up was a simple excavating tech, it would be able to effectively hollow out the ground underneath the base, making sure to add any supports when necessary. That kind of space would allow me to move my storages underground, reducing visibility.
Finally, I made some guns. Now that I had the materials, I could arm my techs with more than just a single rifle or laser. I could also phase out some of my more expensive weapons with an abundance of cheaper alternatives. I could even outfit my base with proper defenses, and have an A.I. be able to actually retaliate against any incoming attacks.
They were still cheap alternatives though, and were nowhere near up to snuff against anything larger than my techs. I was dreading the return of that dragon I had managed to piss off. It wasn’t my fault those ponies intervened, and now I no longer resided in their protective radius. I just hope it didn’t notice that just yet.
The guns were also vulnerable to being rushed down. They didn’t have good range, and at the moment they were few and far between. I could think of several things that could exploit that, mainly insectoids, but the threat of the ponies was ever present. They had an organized military, something I would have to be mindful of when beefing up my defenses.
Ding
The small drill had hit water. After only a few minutes of digging, I was surprised it didn’t hit an aquifer sooner. Moving down to see, I had it reverse out of the hole it had dug, pushing up a small hill of gravel in the process. Once it was out, and the area around it was clear, I constructed the base of the well, giving it a solid foundation with a large pump. I then fabricated some Plumbite cable, and winding it around a motor created a winch in which to lower the pipe down.
Once it reached the bottom I pushed it further, penetrating the rock and securing it tightly in place. It was then sealed, and flicking the pump on didn’t immediately make it explode or implode, which was probably a good sign. It took a few seconds, but eventually murky water started gushing out the end, and I quickly shut everything off.
It worked, for how long I didn’t know, but it worked.
I hooked up the pump to a large tank, setting it to slowly fill as I extended a pipeline back up to the surface. The first load of rock and stone arrived not long after, and from there I went about pulverizing it and loading it up into some mixers. I started with drastic ratios, ranging from nearly equal parts Rodite and rock to almost no Rodite in the mix.
The results went about as well as you would expect, the saturated solution fully dissolved the rock, forming a thin slurry that required an absurd amount of water to set. It formed a very fine block, with easy to smooth surfaces and an easy pour. It was not very strong however, with even the slightest bit of pressure causing it to crack and chip.
The unsaturated solution also wasn’t viable, with large chunks of undissolved rock permeating the mix. It didn’t take as much water to set, but the finished block was full of deformities, crumbling to dust in some places while fracturing in others.
The middle test worked the best, with a higher strength overall, it could handle more pressure while remaining uniform in texture. It retained some viscosity however, making it harder to work with, and it still couldn’t match the limits I needed. More testing would be required.
The next round performed even better, with the data leading to a relatively cost effective mixture. Eventually, I landed upon a good mix. With a five to one ratio of rock to Rodite, it was pliable enough to work with, and strong enough not to falter under adequate pressure. Once it was mixed with a congregate and reinforced, I could use it to construct some of the toughest fortifications for my base.
I assembled another tech, this one with a large tank connected to several motors on the back. It spun continuously, keeping the Rodite concrete mix constantly moving as it was transported. When it arrived at its destination, the tank could be tilted back, and promptly poured into whatever form was desired.
It, along with the small drill, began circling around the plateau, filling out the first layer of many all the while putting a dent in my obscenely large stockpile of stone. Though it put a drain on my Rodite collection, it was easily replenishable with another trip from the plane.
I checked the large drill again.
36 km : 437 km
Looks like I would be digging some more soon, I switched back up to the moonbase to begin harvesting more Titanite.
To Be Continued…