Two documents rested on the cedar worktable in the warm light of the second sun.
On the left sat the Sovereign Mandate of Great Yan, a nine-inch tablet of dragon-veined jade trimmed with gold and rubies. It was heavy, ornate, written in court language, and no use at all for checking square.
On the right sat Austin’s agreement: one sheet of drafting parchment clipped to a pine board.
PUBLIC WORKS DEVELOPMENT AND RIGHT-OF-WAY EASEMENT AGREEMENT
SUNSET PEAK CONTRACTING SERVICES / GREAT YAN IMPERIAL COURT
Emperor Yan Ming knelt beside the table. Even with his new True Divine Transformation core, he kept his head down and his hands flat. A royal brush waited in his right fist.
The Prime Minister unrolled a silk transcript. His hair was still black from the solar restoration, but his voice shook as he read.
“Article One. Great Yan recognizes Sunset Peak, its underground facilities, its airspace, and its public works as a sovereign entity. All Sunset Peak territory within five thousand leagues of Mount Clear Sky shall have full legal immunity, tax exemption, and independent zoning authority for fifty thousand years.”
Austin sipped his tea.
“Good. We keep our own codes and run our own inspections. I don’t need a county clerk objecting to an underground foundry or a cooling-tower setback.”
The Prime Minister continued.
“Article Two. In place of cash payment for the airspace violations, noise damage, and grounding fees, Great Yan will deliver five hundred metric tons of Grade-5 Star-Iron Silver-Steel, ten thousand barrels of refined machinery oil, and one hundred thousand high-grade spirit crystals to Sunset Peak.”
Austin tapped the table with his pencil.
“The steel must meet Grade-5 specifications. Six percent aluminum, four percent vanadium. Tie Kuang will test every batch. If he finds slag, bubbles, or contamination, the whole shipment goes back to your capital at your expense. We’re casting high-speed guideways, not garden fences.”
Yan Ming bowed until his forehead nearly touched the parchment.
“Every ounce may be inspected. Our Grand Artificer Guild refined it in dragon-fire crucibles. Ninety-nine point nine percent purity, guaranteed.”
At the foot of the steps, Tie Kuang hugged his impact wrench.
“Five hundred tons of Grade-5 steel and ten thousand barrels of oil,” he whispered. “Boss, we can keep the presses and furnaces running without pause. We’ll pour seamless rail until the cows come home!”
“Settle down before you fog your glasses,” Austin said. “Let him finish.”
The Prime Minister wiped his forehead.
“Article Three. On the first day of every lunar month, the Ministry of Revenue will deliver one hundred wagonloads of refined copper, fifty crates of cured meats, mountain tea, and preserved citrus, and five thousand bolts of heavy canvas to Mount Clear Sky.”
Austin’s eyes brightened.
“An automatic monthly supply drop. Copper for the power system, food for the break room, and canvas to keep rain off the equipment. No grinding resource nodes. That’s a proper subscription benefit.”
He checked the box beside Article Three.
“Article Four,” the Prime Minister read. “Great Yan grants Sunset Peak a sixty-foot-wide easement along the full two-thousand-mile route of the Northern Imperial Highway, from Mount Clear Sky to the palace’s Great Spirit Gate. Sunset Peak may grade, excavate, build, operate, and maintain a high-speed maglev line, including power lines, tunnels, and passenger stations.”
Yan Ming pressed his palms to the porch boards.
“We beg the Master Builder to accept these reparations and ratify the accord between Great Yan and Sunset Peak.”
Austin signed in clear block letters.
AUSTIN (CHU YUAN) — MASTER BUILDER AND PROJECT FOREMAN
SUNSET PEAK CIVIL AND HEAVY INFRASTRUCTURE LLC
Yan Ming stamped his dragon seal beside the signature. Then he pricked his thumb and pressed a blood mark over the crest.
Golden light flashed from the parchment. A deep hum passed through the lodge’s foundation and into the mountain.
BEEP-DING!
Austin put away his pencil and stretched until his back popped.
“The paperwork is done and the citations are cleared. Pleasure doing business, Your Majesty.”
He turned to Tie Kuang.
“Take a crew to Lot 1. Remove the clamps and give Admiral Meng his release slips.”
“On it, Boss!”
Tie Kuang charged down the path. Soon the impact wrench rattled across the impound lot. One by one, the yellow clamps came off. Apprentices scraped away the orange notices and attached green RELEASED tags to the gangways.
On the Sun-Slayer, Admiral Meng and eight hundred marines watched their Emperor bow to the man in the blue hard hat.
Meng came to attention. His pride still smarted, but the Emperor had signed, and Austin had returned twelve ships and every sailor.
“The Void Armada offers its ships as an aerial crane division,” he said. “Let us repair the insult to our colors with useful work.”
Austin leaned over the porch rail.
“You’ll start on probation. Remove the cannon mountings, inspect every keel line, and rig the belly winches with braided cable. Then you can earn your keep instead of blowing shingles off my roof. My lift supervisors call the loads. You follow their weight limits, exclusion zones, and hand signals, even when you think you know better.”
Meng’s jaw tightened at taking orders from ground crews. Then he looked at the repaired Sun-Slayer and nodded.
“Understood. We will earn the crane role.”
Austin looked north. The imperial highway ran through forests, river valleys, and granite passes all the way to the capital.
He lifted his pipe wrench and addressed the mountain.
“Listen up, crew! The treaty is signed, the steel is on the foundry dock, and the route is clear!”
Fifty thousand cultivators, twelve siege golems, and three thousand artificers stopped work and looked toward the lodge.
“Three thousand mechanics on rail assembly! Twelve golems on viaduct supports! Everyone else on grading and compaction! We’re building two thousand miles of maglev track, and the Sunset Express is going to the capital!”
The crew leads raised their clipboards in answer. Then the radios crackled with shift assignments, delivery questions, and one argument over who had taken the good surveying tripod.