Laos Territory — Logos's Personal Workshop
"Do we have to do this here?"
Kleber looked around the room.
The workshop was barely recognizable as part of a noble manor anymore.
Half the walls had been stripped down to their structural supports.
Copper pipes ran along the ceiling.
Metal conduits disappeared beneath the floor.
Several sections of the original stonework had been replaced with reinforced steel.
Even the furniture had been reduced to the absolute necessities.
A table.
Several chairs.
Storage cabinets.
And enough machinery to make the room resemble an engineer's laboratory rather than a noble's workshop.
Lucy stood beside one of the exposed walls.
She looked around with the expression of a woman contemplating murder.
"The entire manor has been in need of repairs for some time."
She turned toward Logos.
"This is what happens when you strip the house clean of all finery, sell half the decorative furniture, convert three rooms into workshops, and then decide that actual repairs are an unnecessary expense."
Logos looked at the wall.
"We had debt at the time."
"You still have the same building."
"Yes."
"And now you have money."
"Yes."
"So fix it."
Logos considered that.
"…Eventually."
Lucy narrowed her eyes.
"No."
Logos looked at her.
"No?"
"You are not turning this into another 'eventually.'"
A pause.
"The roof needs work."
"I know."
"The eastern corridor needs work."
"I know."
"The servants' quarters need work."
"I know."
"The western tower has a crack running through the foundation."
"I know."
Lucy stared at him.
"And?"
Logos sighed.
"I will allocate funds."
"Good."
She smiled pleasantly.
Kleber watched the exchange.
Then quietly muttered,
"This is considerably more frightening than the Carine Forest."
Bal nodded.
"I agree."
Lucy ignored both of them.
Logos finally placed a thick report onto the table.
"Now."
He looked around the room.
"Let us begin with the assessment."
The atmosphere changed immediately.
Lucy stepped back.
Bal straightened.
Masen put his bottle aside.
Desax folded his arms.
Kleber moved closer to the table.
The joking disappeared.
This was no longer a discussion about a damaged manor.
This was the first serious military review since Carine Forest.
Logos looked toward Bal.
"How is our army capacity?"
Bal stepped forward.
"Sixty thousand active personnel."
Kleber's eyebrows rose.
"Sixty thousand?"
Bal nodded.
"Sixty thousand."
Logos remained calm.
"Breakdown?"
Bal placed several documents onto the table.
"Forty thousand Bane Exo-harnesses."
He placed another report beside it.
"Two thousand specialized units assigned to your personal guard."
Another.
"Ten thousand artillery pieces."
Kleber stared at the numbers.
"And the remaining eight thousand?"
"Reserve, maintenance, reconnaissance, engineering, medical, logistics, and support configurations."
Logos nodded slowly.
"How many are combat-ready?"
"Approximately fifty-two thousand."
"Why only that many?"
"Repairs."
Bal tapped one of the reports.
"Carine consumed ammunition, damaged harnesses, and several specialized components."
"Nothing catastrophic."
"But our maintenance crews need time."
"How long until full operational capacity?"
"Three weeks."
Logos nodded.
"Acceptable."
Masen snorted.
"Three weeks if you stop breaking things."
Logos looked toward him.
"I don't recall breaking them."
Masen raised an eyebrow.
"You've built an army whose preferred method of movement is 'run directly into the enemy.'"
"That is generally efficient."
"Until something hits them."
"That is why we have armor."
Masen shook his head.
"That's exactly what I'm talking about."
A faint grin appeared on Kleber's face.
Logos ignored him.
"What about training?"
Masen leaned forward.
"The new bloods are reckless."
"How reckless?"
Masen took a drink.
"Very."
A pause.
"But they're learning."
Desax looked toward him.
"Considering you worked them until they fainted, I doubt that is a useful measurement."
Masen shrugged.
"They got back up."
"That is not the standard."
"It should be."
Desax sighed.
"If Lucy hadn't intervened, I doubt any of them would have remained loyal."
Masen looked offended.
"I was preparing them for war."
"You were trying to kill them."
"There's a difference."
"Not according to the medical reports."
Masen grumbled.
"They're soldiers."
"They are recruits."
"They're soldiers-in-training."
"They were sixteen."
"They'll be seventeen."
Lucy immediately turned toward Masen.
"No."
Masen froze.
Lucy smiled.
"If you work children until they collapse again, I will personally make sure you spend the next month doing paperwork."
Masen slowly put his bottle down.
"…Understood."
Kleber covered his mouth.
Bal looked away.
Logos continued reading.
"How many recruits have completed basic Bane operation?"
Desax answered this time.
"Approximately twenty-seven thousand."
"How many can operate independently?"
"Fourteen thousand."
"And the remainder?"
"Functional, but inexperienced."
Logos tapped the table.
"How long until they reach operational proficiency?"
Desax exchanged a glance with Masen.
"Six months."
Masen shook his head.
"Four."
"Six."
"Five."
Desax sighed.
"Five."
Logos nodded.
"Five months."
Masen grinned.
"See?"
Desax glared at him.
"I was negotiating with you, not him."
Logos looked toward Bal.
"What about officer quality?"
Bal's expression became more serious.
"That is our largest weakness."
The room quieted.
"Explain."
"Our equipment has advanced faster than our command structure."
Bal placed another report on the table.
"We have soldiers capable of operating machines that can destroy entire formations."
"But many of their officers still think like conventional infantry commanders."
Logos frowned.
"That is inefficient."
"Yes."
Bal nodded.
"We need officers trained specifically for mechanized warfare."
"Combined-arms doctrine."
"Artillery coordination."
"Logistics."
"Reconnaissance."
"Communication."
"And independent command."
Logos leaned back.
"How many?"
"At minimum?"
Bal considered it.
"Three hundred senior officers."
"Two thousand junior officers."
"And several thousand specialists."
Logos nodded.
"Begin."
Bal blinked.
"Begin what?"
"Officer training."
"Immediately."
Bal smiled faintly.
"I expected you to say that."
Logos picked up another document.
"And increase recruitment."
Lucy looked toward him.
"How much?"
Logos paused.
"Ten thousand."
Silence.
Masen slowly lowered his bottle.
Desax looked toward him.
Kleber stared.
Bal was the only one who didn't appear surprised.
"Ten thousand additional personnel?"
"Yes."
Lucy frowned.
"Why?"
Logos looked toward the table.
"Because sixty thousand is no longer enough."
Nobody spoke.
The implication settled slowly.
Carine Forest had changed something.
Not merely the perception of Laos.
Logos's perception of Laos.
Before—
An army existed to defend a barony.
Now—
The barony existed around an army capable of changing the balance of an entire region.
Logos looked toward the map of southern Gab and Faros.
"The negotiations will determine our next steps."
His finger moved toward the border.
"If Faros genuinely wants peace, we can remain defensive."
Another movement.
"If they want war…"
His finger stopped.
"…we need enough strength to ensure the war does not reach Laos."
Bal nodded.
"And if Gab asks for support?"
Logos remained silent.
That question mattered.
Because after Carine—
Laos could no longer pretend that the kingdom's wars were someone else's problem.
Finally—
"We will listen."
Masen raised an eyebrow.
"That's it?"
"For now."
Logos looked toward the map.
"Support is a resource."
"So is neutrality."
"So is information."
A faint smile appeared.
"We should not spend any of them before knowing what we are buying."
Kleber stared at him.
"You really have become a politician."
Logos looked offended.
"No."
Lucy smiled.
"He's worse."
Logos frowned.
"Explain."
"You actually understand politics."
The room fell silent.
Then Masen laughed.
Bal followed.
Even Desax smiled.
Logos stared at all of them.
"…I regret calling this meeting."
Lucy immediately pointed toward him.
"And after this meeting, you're going to inspect the manor repairs."
Logos froze.
"…I have another meeting."
"No, you don't."
"I could."
"You won't."
Logos slowly looked toward Bal.
"Commander?"
Bal immediately looked away.
"I value my life."
Kleber began laughing.
For the first time since returning from Carine Forest—
The workshop felt less like a military headquarters.
And more like home.