On the Crosspath

[Soban]

While they babbled on about ALG, Daniel’s mind drifted to the armor problem itself. GMG had produced a few notes and technical listings on the Bismarck, but most were outdated, and GMG weren’t exactly famed for battleships.

“Best tae bin that lot an’ start fresh,” he thought. “Beating the Hyperion’s a pipe dream, we dinnae even ken half the elements in its stack. We can match it, aye, but only by goin’ heavier.”

He sank deeper into his calculations, oblivious to James and Christian’s debate.

“Heavier’ll do, right enough—the Vega framework’s a brute anyway. Call it two months tae design and validate a new layered scheme. Production’s the choke-point. We’ve capacity, but it’s tied up in Zoner upkeep an’ local industry. I can reserve a few modules—though it’ll make the Livadians even mair cantankerous. Building it all locally’d take years, and reroutin’ transports will cost us dear. We’ll need outside industry in the mix.”

He ticked through Phoenix’s close allies in his head.

“GMG… nae, they don’t fabricate that class. The Order? Nah—already swamped.”

Burton cracked another sacrificial Rheinbeer, and the answer clicked.

“Aye! Use mighty Rheinland industry. Daumann’s reliable—they can forge the heavy bulk, and we’ll add the critical layers ourselves. In a few months they could churn out the core plates, an’ we’ll apply the finish. Shar­ing a wee slice o’ the research is harmless—if I steer the brief properly.”

He smirked, mind fuming like his trusty pipe, and sketched quick estimates for cost and timeline while waiting on James and Burton.