Agent047
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892 - Construction
🕑 Added 2025-04-22 04:02:54 +0000 UTCOnce the runic intent was fully imbued, Aron activated the rune. It had already been charged with enough mana to allow it to expand and cover the entire asteroid field.
Executing such an operation while the representatives were still present in the Trade Hub would normally have been considered a significant risk. However, that risk had already been accounted for. During the asteroid collection phase, the field had been strategically placed in a position where the sun lay directly between it and the Trade Hub. The sun’s brightness, in both the visual and mana spectrums, combined with the sheer difference in scale between the star and the asteroid field, rendered the operation invisible to the Conclave’s passive sensors. Switching to active scans or extending sensor coverage into the solar system would have been a breach of agreement—an act that could be interpreted as preparation for a hostile move and provoke a swift, forceful response.
It didn’t take long for the shield to finish deploying, enclosing every asteroid within its vast perimeter. While still connected to the structure through his intent, Aron shifted the shield from passive mode, where matter could enter and exit freely, to active mode, sealing it completely. He then deactivated all of the gravity plating and tractor beams that had been maintaining the asteroid field’s cohesion and preventing collisions.
With those supports gone, he began to shrink the shield.
As the barrier slowly contracted, the outermost asteroids were the first to be pushed inward. The shield's inward pressure steadily increased, forcing them to collide with one another. Ricocheting debris was quickly redirected and compressed again as the available space dwindled..
Over the course of roughly half an hour, the once-spacious field was reduced to a dense, interlocked mass. Nearly all the empty space had vanished, save for the unavoidable gaps created by the irregular shapes of the remaining asteroids. The result was the rough skeleton of what would become a massive moon.
Although he could have chosen to crush the asteroids together—grinding them down until every last gap was gone—there was no need. The next phase didn’t require that level of compression.
“You can start,” Aron said calmly.
There was no verbal response. Instead, a hundred ships shimmered into visibility as their stealth systems disengaged—precautionary measures, despite the extensive planning. Without pause, the ships closed in on the shield, now modified to be one-way passive, allowing entry but preventing anything from escaping.
As they reached the perimeter, each ship began releasing massive black spheres, each several hundred meters in diameter. The spheres, using conserved momentum, drifted inward through the thick barrier. Their velocity gradually decreased, a result of Aron deliberately manipulating the internal resistance of the shield. By the time they reached the inner layer, just meters from the dense asteroid mass, they had nearly come to a stop.
Then, silently and without further command, the spheres powered on.
They moved forward and magnetized themselves to the nearest asteroid. But instead of crashing or attaching physically, they phased through, sliding in as though the asteroids were made of fluid. A moment later, dense clouds of dust and particles erupted from the contact points.
The disintegration had begun.
They were atomic printers, now initiating the meticulous breakdown of every asteroid within the shield, atom by atom.
“Despite having seen it in the US (Universal Simulation), I still can’t get used to this,” Aron muttered, eyes fixed on the massive hologram floating in front of him. It projected a transparent, real-time visualization of everything happening inside the shield: the paths of the atomic printers, the slowly disintegrating asteroids, and the calculated timelines showing how long it would take to break the atoms apart—months of steady, meticulous work.
As the process unfolded, the fragmented atoms would begin to self-sort by mass. Heavier elements would naturally sink toward the center, while the lighter ones drifted outward, forming layers in a pattern that resembled the internal structure of a planet. This natural sorting would later be enhanced by the atomic printers once they completed disassembly and transitioned to the reconstruction phase.
A moon.
On the outside, it would be indistinguishable from any natural satellite, dusty, cratered, serene. But underneath, it would house a colossal quantum server, purpose-built to support the coming expansion of the VR system and manage the data influx from the Astral Conclave.
“It’s going to be one of our masterpieces,” Aron said, his tone flat but laced with pride. His gaze lingered on the asteroids, still mostly intact for now, lined up like prisoners awaiting transformation, not death, but something that would erase all traces of what they once were.
In many ways, he was enacting the fantasy of countless sci-fi tales, a hidden superstructure disguised as a lifeless rock in space. Yet he couldn’t bring himself to see his own civilization as truly advanced. Not yet. Not compared to the civilizations of the Conclave. As far as he was concerned, they were evenly matched, each side superior in some areas and lacking in others. The only undeniable truth was that, right now, he was outnumbered.
And the moon, amidst the construction, would act as the parts that would help him bridge the gap in number by allowing him to have the opportunity to gain technology that would make the numbers difference not much of a problem.
“Update me whenever we enter a new major stage,” Aron said as he turned away, walking toward what appeared to be empty space. But in truth, it was the stealth ship he had been standing on the entire time.
Behind him, the massive shield, now under the control of embedded reactors and autonomous systems, began to fade from sight as its stealth systems activated. Its presence slowly vanished from all but the most sensitive sensors, sealing away the operation inside until it was ready to be revealed… if ever.
Nova didn’t bother replying; it was already a given. She silently took control of the ship and began plotting a course back to Mars, currently the closest location with an operational stargate. It would be the fastest way for Aron to return to Earth.
Comments
Sol_Invictus(Hail the Terran Empire)
Yep, but everything that was described really makes the world feel alive and dynamic, so it doesn’t seem like Aron is the center of the universe, and his empire doesn’t come across as just an empty word — it actually feels like a functioning system.
Billiam
Tbh this is the coolest thing in the last hundredish chapters
GripenSupremacy
TYFTC
