Chapter 342 - 335 — What We Give Them

Meeting Hall, Elarion

Three folders rested in front of Lucien when the council assembled.

Cedric noticed them almost immediately while taking his seat. Lucas took the chair beside him, while Gandalf and Maerath settled opposite. Ironbreaker pulled one of the production sheets closer as he sat down, Malen remained near the windows, and Aurethar occupied the far end of the table.

Everyone present had already read the latest reports from Avarran, so there was little reason to repeat what they knew.

Lucien rested one hand over the folders.

"Good day, everyone. From what we already know, direct supply will not scale. Moving enough equipment through the shield to matter would require an absurd amount of soulsilver, so that option is clearly not feasible."

Cedric glanced toward the folders.

"So we help another way."

"Blueprints?"

"Yes, but selected ones only."

Lucien pushed the first folder toward the center.

"A standard infantry rifle."

The second followed.

"A machine gun."

Then the third.

"A portable multipurpose launcher."

Malen left the windows and moved closer to the table.

Lucas looked over the four proposed categories.

"No artillery or vehicles."

"Not yet."

Cedric glanced toward the unopened files beside Lucien.

"And nothing from the newer programs."

"Correct."

That was the limit Lucien had already decided upon.

Whatever crossed the shield would be mature technology whose strengths, weaknesses and counters Elarion already understood. He had no intention of opening the newest branches of Elarion’s military development merely because the Alliance needed help.

Cedric opened the rifle folder.

"Why these categories?"

"The rifle and machine gun can be produced in numbers large enough to matter. The launcher gives infantry something heavier without tying it to a single purpose."

Ironbreaker skimmed through the general production notes.

"They will adapt the designs to their own workshops."

"Exactly," Lucien said. "As long as the finished weapons meet the required standards."

Gandalf nodded.

"Some components may actually be easier for them to produce through magical methods."

"Then let them," Ironbreaker replied. "Their smiths only need to preserve the critical measurements and performance requirements."

Lucien looked around the table.

"Good. Since nobody objects to the categories, I want the best mature option for each one."

He leaned back slightly.

"Nothing experimental or something we would seriously regret losing if the information eventually escaped. What do you recommend?"

Cedric looked toward the rifle files first.

"For the rifle, I suggest the Mauser 98k. It is reliable, battle-proven and forgives mistakes. Dirt, rough handling and inexperienced soldiers are less likely to put it out of action than some of the newer designs."

Lucien glanced toward him.

"Range?"

"For ordinary infantry, roughly five hundred meters is a reasonable effective range. A good marksman can stretch that farther, but five hundred is what I would use when judging the weapon."

Ironbreaker nodded.

"I agree with the choice. Production is mature, the design is straightforward, and Alliance workshops can adapt their own methods without needing to change the weapon itself."

"So no reason to send one of our newer rifles."

"None," Cedric said. "The newer ones offer advantages, but nothing Avarran needs badly enough to justify releasing them."

Lucien nodded.

"Mauser 98k, then."

He shifted his attention to the second folder.

"Machine gun?"

Cedric barely paused.

"For that, I suggest the MG-34. Proven, flexible and already thoroughly understood by us. Around eight hundred meters is a sensible effective range from the bipod. On a proper support mount, it can control considerably more ground and the most important reason the demons have a cheap intimation which can serve as initial foundation."

Ironbreaker gave a grunt of agreement.

"It also saves them from needing different weapons for every support role. The same basic gun can move with infantry or sit in a prepared position."

Lucas looked toward Cedric.

"Useful against the numbers they are facing."

"Very."

"Then MG-34."

Two choices were settled.

Malen, however, had been studying the remaining files rather than the launcher folder.

"If we are already transferring infantry weapons, I would add another category."

That brought Lucien’s attention to him.

Malen pulled one of the files from the unopened stack and placed it beside the three folders already on the table.

"The AMR-20."

Cedric looked down at it.

"The twenty-millimeter anti-materiel rifle."

"Yes."

Lucas glanced between them.

"For Warhounds?"

"Partly," Malen replied, "but not as a primary tank killer."

Cedric opened the file.

"The AMR-20 gives them long-range precision against light armor, equipment and exposed machinery. Against ordinary material targets, a trained team can work around a thousand meters under good conditions."

Lucien looked toward him.

"And against a Warhound?"

"I would want the shooter closer if he is trying to hit something specific. Six to eight hundred meters is much more sensible."

Malen nodded.

"Optics, weapon mounts, exposed communication equipment, running gear."

Cedric continued.

"It can defeat lighter armored targets outright. Against a Warhound, a weak rear section or a very favorable side angle may be vulnerable at shorter distance."

"Front?"

"No."

The answer came immediately.

"I would not trust the AMR-20 against the main frontal armor. Firing repeatedly into the front plate would mostly tell the crew where the shooter is."

Ironbreaker snorted.

Lucien looked down at the folder.

"So it does not compete with the launcher."

"No," Malen said. "Different job. The AMR gives you distance and precision. The launcher gives you much greater striking power at close range."

That distinction made the addition worthwhile.

Lucien pulled the AMR-20 folder into line with the others.

"Add it."

There were four categories now.

The final one still needed an exact model.

Ironbreaker pulled the launcher folder toward himself and compared several available patterns before separating one from the others.

"For the multipurpose launcher, I suggest the Lancer-40."

Lucas glanced at the designation.

"Forty millimeters?"

"Yes."

Cedric studied the same file for a moment before nodding.

"I would choose it too."

Lucien looked between them.

"Why this one?"

Ironbreaker answered first.

"Because it is useful even when no armor appears. The heavier launcher patterns hit harder, but they are heavier, more demanding and more specialized. The Lancer-40 is something infantry will actually want to carry because it can solve several different problems."

Cedric turned the ammunition section toward Lucien.

"Forty-millimeter ammunition. Anti-armor, fragmentation, smoke and demolition."

"One launcher for all four?"

"Yes."

Malen looked toward Cedric.

"Range?"

"With the anti-armor round, roughly two hundred meters is where I would want an ordinary operator engaging armor. Three hundred is possible for a trained man under good conditions, but accuracy deteriorates enough beyond that that I would not plan around it."

"And the other ammunition?"

"Fragmentation and smoke can be employed somewhat farther because precise impact matters less, although it is still an infantry launcher rather than artillery."

Lucien looked at the anti-armor entry.

"Against a Warhound?"

"Frontally, unreliable. Side armor is a much better target, and the rear better still. A good hit can also destroy tracks, damage running gear or wreck exposed systems even without penetrating the hull."

"And shieldss?"

"A strong shield can reduce the effect considerably. A poor hit against a protected Warhound may accomplish very little."

Malen nodded.

"So it gives infantry a chance against armor without pretending to replace a proper anti-tank gun."

"Exactly," Cedric said.

Ironbreaker tapped the ammunition list.

"And when there is no Warhound around, it is still useful."

Lucas looked at the entries.

"Fragmentation against infantry."

"Yes."

"Smoke for movement or withdrawal."

"Yes."

"Demolition against positions and structures."

Ironbreaker nodded.

"That is why I prefer it."

Lucien looked across the four folders now arranged in front of him.

The package had started with three categories.

Malen’s suggestion had improved it.

The Mauser 98k gave ordinary infantry a rugged rifle with useful range and few complications.

The MG-34 gave formations sustained fire against massed attacks.

The AMR-20 gave trained teams a twenty-millimeter long-range weapon for light armor, machinery and vulnerable components.

The Lancer-40 gave them a forty-millimeter multipurpose launcher capable of carrying anti-armor, fragmentation, smoke or demolition ammunition.

Lucien tapped the table once.

"Good. Then we have four."

Nobody objected.

Ironbreaker pulled the 98k folder closer.

"One thing from the beginning. Ammunition standards remain fixed."

Lucien nodded.

"No incompatible local variants because ten workshops decide they know better."

"They will decide they know better."

"They can submit their improvements before adopting them."

Ironbreaker gave him a look.

"That will annoy them."

Aurethar smiled faintly from the far end of the table.

Cedric had remained focused on the four folders.

"And if one of these packages reaches the demons?"

The room grew more serious.

Lucien looked toward him.

"Then they acquire mature systems we already understand."

"Still a loss."

"Yes."

There was no point pretending otherwise.

"But one we can accept."

That was the line Lucien had drawn.

The Warhound had already demonstrated what happened when military information escaped. Once technology crossed the shield, absolute secrecy could not be guaranteed.

The answer was not to transfer nothing.

It was to decide carefully what Elarion could afford to lose.

Lucien pushed the remaining stack farther away.

"No tanks. No aircraft. No advanced engines. No armor metallurgy. No heavy artillery and nothing from the newer development programs."

Ironbreaker nodded toward the four approved folders.

"So these are the ceiling."

"For now."

Lucas glanced toward Lucien.

"And when Venn asks for more?"

"Lets see depending on the situation."

Whether he received anything else would depend on what happened with these four.

Lucien turned toward Cedric.

"I want the complete manufacturing packages restricted to selected facilities."

Cedric nodded.

"Venn and Karrek choose them?"

"Yes. Finished weapons can go wherever the Alliance needs them, but the full technical packages do not need to circulate through every workshop they possess."

"That will help."

It would not guarantee secrecy, but it would reduce unnecessary exposure.

Ironbreaker closed the MG-34 folder.

"Karrek needs to be on the technical call."

"He will be."

"Personally."

Lucien looked at him.

"Yes, Ironbreaker. Personally."

Aurethar’s mouth curved slightly.

Ironbreaker noticed.

"What?"

"You will understand."

"I already dislike him."

"You have never met him."

"That has never been a requirement."

Lucien let that pass and turned toward Gandalf and Maerath.

"Can the communication line carry the technical files?"

Gandalf answered first.

"Yes. We need matching recording arrangements on the Alliance side, but written material, diagrams and measurements can all be transmitted through the existing connection."

Maerath nodded.

"Detailed images will take longer than simple tables and text, but there is no serious obstacle."

"How soon?"

"Today, if their receiving side is ready."

"Good then prepare it."

Gandalf glanced toward Ironbreaker.

"We will need the files checked before transmission."

"They will be."

Lucien turned toward Aurethar.

"I want Karrek on the next technical communication, along with whoever currently oversees military production and ammunition."

"Venn?"

"For the opening discussion. He does not need to remain once the engineers start arguing."

Ironbreaker looked mildly disappointed.

Aurethar caught it.

"You were hoping he would?"

"Saves trouble."

Lucien gathered the four folders before the conversation could wander any further then he pushed the folders toward Ironbreaker, Gandalf and Maerath.

"These four go."

Lucas glanced toward the untouched stack beside Lucien.

"And the rest?"

Lucien placed one hand over it.

"They stay here."

He rose from the table.

"Let us see what the Alliance does with these first."