Master of Steel: Father of Constructs Book 2 [LitRPG] by Aaron Renfroe

Author:Aaron Renfroe [Renfroe, Aaron]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pivot Press, LLC
Published: 2023-11-22T16:00:00+00:00

***

At the news they’d be turning around, Crystal Bay’s crew of soldiers heaved a collective sigh of relief. A few even stopped by to tell the two of them how happy they were to see them alive and well.

The next two days went by uneventfully and with relative silence. Other than the train attendees and the soldiers, there were no other passengers. Tabitha got a chance to use the on-board tub in total privacy, and Harvey got to diagram plans for bases and axes until his heart was content.

One benefit of the puppet, he realized, was that Reacher was able to communicate through it. When Tabitha grew tired of theorizing the impact of various specific densities of metals against rock, Reacher could step in and provide a sounding board. Moreover, Reacher’s knowledge of metals outstretched both of theirs.

The only downside was that the automaton couldn’t speak. Either Reacher lacked the capacity to transmit words, the damage to his hand prevented the complex commands, or something was off with the puppet. The best they could do was produce nonsense squeaks and growls, which Harvey learned to interpret quickly enough.

Thus, they dubbed the puppet Handsome Squeaker.

They arrived at Crystal Bay five days later than they’d originally intended to.

Harvey and Tabitha, along with Handsome Squeaker, exited the train at the station to find Maywen and Reacher waiting for them. Patrick arrived shortly after.

The station was smaller than the one at Lassos, as it lacked the switching station for more lines. It was also less populated. What it lacked in scale, it was made up for in flair. Reflective blue tiles lined everything, from the floor to the dome that covered the loading dock. Orange lights glowed in fist-sized pearl lanterns that lined the walls and ceiling. Elaborate copper tubes lined the floors, vanishing into the interior of the building.

“Do you smell that?” Tabitha asked, taking a deep breath.

Patrick gave her a strange look. “That’s sea air.”

“Oh.”

Harvey pointed. “Is that one of the puppets? Wait. Are all those puppets?”

Beside the soldiers exiting the train and the associated staff, there were thirty or forty more people in the station. All of them, men and women alike, had the same vacant beauty or handsomeness Squeaker possessed. At his pointing, one of the lovely redheaded women turned, smiled, and walked over.

“Hello, tourist!” The woman’s voice was high-pitched and chipper. She was wearing a flimsy white top with a nametag above the generous curve of her bosom. Her gray skirt was short, revealing tanned, muscular legs. “My name is Chia. Do you require assistance? Perhaps a tour, or a map of the area?” She bobbed as she spoke, bouncing on high heels, as if to deliberately accentuate her assets.

Patrick was captivated.

Maywen and Tabitha exchanged a look, eyes rolling.

“You’re an automaton,” Harvey declared, matching the woman’s tone with enthusiasm.

Chia laughed, as if he’d said something hilarious. “No, I’m Chia. I’m a personal assistant, in the employee of the Transit Authority, under license from the Assistance Department. If you’d like to hire my personal services, I’d be happy to negotiate the standard fee.

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