Brad's Point of View
When Galiban called him "the king-consort" for the first time Brad Regis thought it was a joke, a quirk of the robot's personality being programmed by Reka.
A servant left the room discretely after laying out his outfit for the day: a suit by some Italian designer whose name he couldn't pronounce.
Galiban wasn't joking, he realized.
"My love," his wife hurried him, "it's time to get dressed. We're inspecting the robot factory today."
Maybe he spent a little too much time admiring himself in the mirror. Those weight-loss pills really worked by the way; he had visible abs after two weeks. Brad hadn't been unfit exactly, but he didn't look like he worked out, either. The change in his body wasn't just from losing the weight. Reka had a private gym built in Buda Castle and insisted he spend an hour a day training under the watchful eye of Alice Glass, the other reincarnator.
That girl was intense, but it paid off. He looked great and felt great. Reka, of course, needed no exercise to maintain her perfect body. His wife was magic.
"How's the drug business going, honey?" he asked while stepping into a pant leg.
She immediately perked up at the question. "Oh, excellently. China is making it for us; we only have to ship over the active ingredient," Reka said meaningfully.
Magic, right. The pills were magic.
"It's a hit!" she said brightly. "Alice tells me it's all over the Chinese version of NikNak. They're calling me the goddess of weight-loss!"
His wife leaned in conspiratorially. "We're actually making more money from this than the fusion crystals right now. Julie wants us to switch priority from cancer treatments to cosmetics, things like a pill that will de-age skin, and so on. Who knew people liked being pretty more than being alive?"
Reka sounded so innocent and naive when she said that that Brad couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Do what you think is best, honey," he said, brushing a tear out of his eye. He was like ninety percent immune to Reka-isms at this point but she could still get him sometimes.
"This could actually be a problem, Brad!" Reka said, indignant at his laughter. "The pills are so cheap to make, and when you consider the scale we sell them at, trying to figure out something useful to do with all this cash is sending Stacy and the finance team into a panic!"
"Where are we selling them, exactly?" Brad asked. He knew they'd been approved in Hungary but not anywhere else.
"China and the ASEAN countries, two huge markets, both full of people who want to be thin. A few European countries have approached, Poland for one, but Germany and France are dragging their feet." Frustration was apparent in her voice.
As a general rule, the eastern Europeans had been a lot more cooperative with Reka's new government than the western ones. Brad sighed. Proving themselves would take time. "Any ideas on what to do with the money?" he asked.
"Prime Minister Magyar suggested investing in other countries, building fusion plants like the ones we have. We'll definitely do that, but it won't be enough. A 'national dividend' was mentioned but there was some resistance from the other ministers."
"A national dividend," Brad chewed on the words. "Is that like a basic income?"
"The difference is a national dividend isn't guaranteed. The people only get a share of the profits if there is a profit," Reka explained. "The ministers stressed this cash is a temporary windfall and can't be relied on long term. Whether that is true or false, they don't want to create an expectation for payments we some day might not be able to meet."
Yeah, that would be bad, Brad thought. If the people got used to Reka's drug money and suddenly sales went down they wouldn't be happy. "Anything else we could spend money on?" he segued.
There was a wicked gleam in Reka's eye. "The military, of course. My legions are not what they might be, hardly befitting my status as Queen. I've got your friend Andy working on some wonderful toys for me," she said ominously.
Guess we're done making warehouse bots for Rainforest, Brad thought. Just the fun stuff now.
Alice drove them to an industrial park that looked surprisingly dingy.
"It looks better on the inside, my love," Reka told him. "These factories are from the era of collective ownership; it was cheaper to repurpose than build new."
His wife wasn't lying. Once they got inside everything looked slick and clean, vaguely sci-fi even. The production floor was white and shiny in a way that hurt his eyes a little.
"Some guys have all the luck," said a voice behind them.
"Andy!" They hugged. He hadn't seen his friend since the wedding a few months ago. Things had been so busy, for everybody.
"You look great, dude," Andy said. "Your majesty," he bowed jokingly.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," Brad said in good humor. Honestly, he needed a little teasing to bring him back down to Earth every now and then.
"Mr. Son," Reka said in a businesslike manner. "You've prepared the prototypes?"
Andy smiled. "Right this way," he indicated with his arm.
They made their way to an open area. There was something there...
"I've seen this before!" Brad said excitedly. It was how they escaped the cops back in America. "Jesus, up close it's like a giant dragonfly with a CIWS for a mouth."
"See-whizz?" Reka asked in confusion.
"Close-In Weapon System," Brad clarified. "It's the last line of defense on some Navy ships."
"Right you are, Brad," Andy said, patting the dog-sized dragonfly drone on the back. "This is the Hunter, our most basic combat model. It's mainly for anti-drone work but can handle close air support in a pinch. The main limitation is how little ammo it can carry."
Brad saw one of those chew through a blockade on the highway in a single strafing run. That was the weakest thing they had?
"The main gun actually runs the whole length of the 'body'," Andy supplied helpfully. "The caliber is too low to engage anything armored and expect to come out on top. For that, we have the Solyom in the next room."
Solyom, Brad recognized the word, "falcon."
"The form factor is not terribly unique, I grant you," Andy said as the moved along on the tour.
It looked like a flying wing, pretty standard drone design, but if it works it works, Brad supposed.
"The Solyom is for vehicles: tanks, IFVs, self-propelled artillery, even supply trucks. It can autonomously hunt them all! No need for outside control!"
That was Galiban at work, Brad knew. Their drones were built different.
"None of this is terribly revolutionary," Andy said. "But I think you'll appreciate the special room." Taking off his lanyard, Andy led them to a security checkpoint and scanned his ID. The security system beeped in approval and the sealed door opened.
He and Reka followed Andy in and...
Oh. Oh...
The walls were lined with terminators. Of course.
"Not as advanced as our old friend Galiban, but these are going to completely change the face of warfare."
"My undying legions," Reka said, her voice distant as she ran a hand over the shiny metal of a terminator chassis.
"We call this model the Vanguard," Andy announced proudly. "They are fully functional infantry, can handle individual and crew-served weapons, and fight on foot or mounted as a mechanized formation. Best of all, they can operate together as a squad or platoon with tactical integration. You can blast the hell out of the enemy with drones, but to take and hold something, you need boots on the ground. Well, here are the boots."
"Any limitations?" Brad asked. It seemed too good to be true. What would be the use of human soldiers at this point?
Andy frowned. "Energy. Every one of them has a diesel-electric hybrid generator on their back. When fueled up they can remain mobile for approximately twelve hours, but in heavy combat with a lot of running and gunning it'll be more like three. We're working on it, though!" he promised.
"I'll see what Galiban can do," Reka offered. "Even as they are, properly supported and refueled at need, they will serve their Queen well."
Brad was glad he was married to her; otherwise the look in his wife's eyes would be really scary!
*******
Alice's Point of View
"There is a new Demon King in the east," her boss said pointedly when Brad was out of earshot discussing something with Andy.
President Gratin of Russia, Alice knew. She'd been following the royal couple at a discrete distance and this was the first time Reka had spoken to her directly today. It wasn't usually necessary when she was on guard duty.
"Galiban tells me you've been performing well in the simulations he's generated," Reka praised. This sounded like the prelude to a mission.
"Already?" Alice asked simply.
The Queen shook her head. "We are not yet ready for open warfare. However, this Demon King has been rampaging across the borderland of Ukraine and other nations have sent his victims aid. Why not us?"
Reka looked so easygoing when she talked about war. Well, Alice served the Demon Queen now, so this was to be expected. "When do I leave?"
"We are not sending anyone," Reka clarified. "Rather, the Ukrainians are sending someone to us, an expert on automaton warfare. I'd like you to work with him, teach the fellow how to handle our new machines. He will return with a brigade or two of our Vanguards for his government to do with what they will. It will be a fine test of their capabilities in any case."
Just like that, the conversation ended and Reka went back to Brad. At least the Queen had her priorities in order.
A few days later Alice met a boy in a wheat field. She didn't know what she was expecting but it definitely wasn't this.
The boy looked young, with delicate features, pale skin from a life spent indoors, and hair so blond it was almost white.
"Kapitan Taras Usyk, Unmanned Systems Forces, Armed Forces of Ukraine," he introduced himself in pretty good English.
The slight resemblance with Darthaniel nearly gave her a panic attack, but Alice channeled her silverback spirit and brought herself back to reality.
Kapitan, is that like a captain? Why does Ukraine have officers that look like teenage boys? Was the situation already that bad?
"Alice Glass, Captain of the Royal Guard, Kingdom of Hungary," she returned the greeting, shaking his hand. "Your English is really good."
The boy blushed. "Mostly learned it from youtube and video games," he said awkwardly. "You're an American right?"
Alice didn't really know. She'd been so many things in her life, her lives. "I guess? But I work for Queen Reka now, you know how it is."
Taras nodded. Maybe he knew how it was, maybe he didn't. Alice handed him a tablet anyway. "What's this?" he asked.
"Your new video game," she explained. "Try it out."
Any awkwardness in Taras' demeanor disappeared as he played with the screen. "This is pretty intuitive," he said, his finger tapping the screen at an increasingly furious pace. "They can negotiate obstacles, move tactically, fight as a team." Taras' voice sounded far away. "You mean to tell me you've got bipedal drones that can do all that?"
Alice tried not to laugh. "Look behind you."
Taras turned, "c!ka bly@t!" he cursed, nearly jumping out of his boots.
The tablet wasn't a simulator at all. He was controlling the terminators in real time; a squad of Vanguards had taken position on the other end of the wheat field.
The boy looked at the terminators, then back to her, then back to the terminators several times, blinking in disbelief.
"So, how about a little game?" she asked lightly.
They retired to a bunker for safety. There was going to be live fire going off all over this wheat field pretty soon.
"Company vs. company," Alice said. "We've both got three rifle platoons and one weapons platoon with crew-served weapons." This was a pretty standard scenario for her that Galiban liked her to practice often.
Taras' eyes lit up. "You mean, these Necrons that Queen Reka made are really going to fight for us?"
Alice didn't know what a Necron was but she nodded, taking out her own tablet. "Ready when you are."
Taras is a tricky bastard, Alice thought, one of her squads getting ambushed by machine guns in the standard "L-shape" configuration that he'd used changes in elevation to conceal. Their battleground had expanded to the hills and a wooded area beyond the wheat field.
Alice was just the opposite, a pretty conventional, hard-charging commander. Find, fix, close with, and destroy. Why ruin a winning formula? The problem was finding Taras' company.
The boy was evasive as hell: probing, moving, concealing, ambushing. His mortars caused absolute havoc!
"It's like one of those boomer RTSs from the nineties," he said softly, fingers dancing on his tablet.
I don't know what that is! Alice thought.
Still, experience counted for something. The Vanguard wasn't a human. It could take hits and still keep fighting, especially if you avoided exposing the fuel tank in the back. By maneuvering aggressively, Alice was able to bait Taras into committing and she was able to bring the firepower she'd been saving to finish him off.
When it was over she saw tears in his eyes.
"You did very well," Alice consoled him. "We've got a factory that can build thousands of these and you'll get plenty of practice before you go back."
Taras sprung forward and wrapped his arms around her neck. He was shorter than her, Alice realized.
"Thank you! Thank you!" he sobbed. "This could save my country!"