Nothing. Was the answer. His new clan knew nothing about automotive engineering. Or engineering in general, really. They knew how to hit stuff. Just not well enough to join another Clan. Which was apparently the issue with Kaleb's new Clan. They were the runts, the sickly, and the downright crazy. All eighteen of them. But something they were used to was manual labor. So, Kaleb immediately put them to work dragging out his new junk.

There was a bit of a hiccup in the plan when Aqwen noted he had not given Elder Rhot anything in return for the vehicles. But a quick agreement to teach forging techniques was all it took. Now, he had to get all three vehicles outside the cave to work on them. Which was made simpler with his brand new Clan. Surprisingly, they all seemed fairly used to the idea of hauling stuff around. So that was the easy part. The hard part was getting the necessary tools. Not that finding the tools was difficult in Under-Town, but Aqwen wouldn't let Kaleb go anywhere by himself now. The two argued about it for so long that Daivor and Roy managed to sneak away and find some of what was required.

Now Kaleb was sitting on top of the first APC with some purloined goggles on his face. Happily blowtorch-ing the first metal panel he found off. However, he was quickly interrupted by Aqwen, who pulled at his foot. Kaleb switched off the extremely hot tip of the torch and checked the fuel can and regulator. Seeing that everything was decent, he turned his gaze down to the tall lizard woman. But a nearby metal saw screeched through the cave, interrupting whatever his new watcher wanted to say.

Aqwen glared over at Roy as the boy quickly backed away from the second APC. A bent metal saw in his hands. The kid turned to look at Kaleb with a frown.

"Why do you get the damn blowtorch? None of these damn saws are worth a damn."

"Because both canisters of fuel on this thing are volatile as fuck. I don't need you blowing yourself up. Why don't you just get inside and use the drill on the bolts inside?"

"Mostly cause it stinks in there, doc! But fine, Daivor said he had something to loosen the bolts, anyway."

"My Elder, am I to understand that you are risking your life by using that blowtorch?" Aqwen asked, her tone exasperated.

"Aqwen, Roy literally found this at some junk seller's stall on the main drag. We were lucky that the damn canisters were half-full, and the regulators worked. But I've checked the lines and the valves. It's as safe as I can make it."

"Right." Aqwen nodded, still not sounding happy.

Kaleb shrugged at her and turned back to his work when she pulled his foot again. He gave a sigh and looked down.

"That wasn't what I was here for, my Elder."

"You can just say 'Professor.' I don't remember you being this rigid with Wulkun."

"That's cause Wulkun damn near raised me, damn it! Now would you stop distracting me? Your Clan needs your guidance."

Kaleb blinked and then looked up to the third APC. He had given his new Clan the directive to take the vehicle apart as best they could. Apparently, they took that to mean hit the thing until they got tired. Because all eighteen members of his Clan had surrounded the thing and were beating on it with metal clubs and spears. They had dented a few of the thick metal plates, though. To Kaleb's mild surprise. He looked around for the tools he gave them and found them scattered near the front of the vehicle.

"I told them which tools to use and where." Kaleb complained, taking off his goggles.

Aqwen nodded as Kaleb scooted himself off the top of the APC. "Yes, and then Nessha thought she had a better idea."

"Nessha is the big one that's probably going to challenge me like the other two, right?"

"Yes, Professor. It would seem her undermining efforts have already started."

"Calm down, Aqwen. I don't think she's exactly undermining me if all she comes up with is a slower way to deconstruct an APC."

"She immediately disobeyed your orders!"

"And if she had been smart about it, she would've led the Clan to victory. Instead, she has them bashing metal with sticks." Kaleb said, calmingly.

Aqwen went quiet as they got closer to the vehicle. The sounds of eighteen lizards taking turns whacking an APC were surprisingly loud. Kaleb noted with interest that they were using his own weapons to do it too. He shook his head at the mess they were making and put his arms up to get attention. Of course, that worked better when the people in question weren't a foot taller than you. But eventually they came around.

"Hey, so I see that you've chosen poorly. Do you want to tell me why the tools weren't working?"

"The only tools a warrior needs are weapons. Anything else is an insult to our hands!" A deep feminine voice rumbled over the sounds of metal striking metal.

Most of the Clan had stopped. But a lone lizard was still bashing away at the front of the APC with a short-hafted warhammer. She was taller than Aqwen and some of the other lizards and more muscular too somehow. She bashed away at the engine compartment of the APC like it had insulted her, and Kaleb sauntered closer.

"And how's that working for you?"

"RAGH!"

Nessha roared as she struck the front of the APC for the last time. Coming out of the swing, she stood and glared at him. Pointing her hammer at his chest, she continued.

"You would have us as laborers. Like the rest of your kin. I will not stand for it."

Kaleb rolled his eyes. "Oookay. First, the Basilinoids didn't want laborers; they wanted shock troops. Troops that only knew how to handle weapons. So, good job there. Second, I am a crafter or a builder. I make shit. Shit like the hammer you are holding. Hell, I made all the weapons you are using to ineffectually bash at this vehicle. So, that will be how my Clan helps the Brute Clans as a whole. If you can't get behind that, then you can leave and challenge like the other two geniuses."

Nessha hissed angrily but said nothing as Kaleb turned his gaze to the rest of the Clan members. They were all huffing tiredly and looked annoyed at having wasted their time. All except the elderly female Lizard. Who apparently still had a complaint.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"These tiny tools don't work right in our hands. They feel wrong."

Kaleb tilted his head in confusion at that. One of the skinnier Clan members ran off to the spilled tools and picked up a screwdriver. He came back with the flathead screwdriver held flat on his palm. Kaleb didn't see the issue. The tool was small but not completely unusable in the young lizard's hand. He waved his robotic arm toward the nearest plate.

"Show me what you mean."

Kaleb then watched as the young lizard attempted to dig the screwdriver underneath the plate. With the Brute Clan's strength, it should've been fairly easy. Then the lizard would be able to crank the metal plate up slightly and yank it off its bolts. But the tool sat awkwardly in the lizard's hand. It wasn't too small, but it was like the lizard had never held that type of tool before. Kaleb briefly wondered if that was what having a Skill of 0 in something looked like. Eventually the young lizard hissed angrily and backed up, turning to Kaleb with a scowl.

Kaleb snapped out of his thoughts at the look and nodded. "Alright, so normal tool usage is out for now. Normally, I'd teach you how to do it properly, and we'd go from there. But we don't have the time."

"So my way is the right way!" Nessha cheered, raising her hammer.

"Not quite, Nessha." Kaleb chuckled, holding out his hand for her weapon.

The lizard woman looked affronted, but Aqwen growled over Kaleb's shoulder and the larger weapon was handed to him. Kaleb grunted as he took the weapon and then gestured for the screwdriver.

"Since speed is of the essence. We're going to do this quick and dirty, yeah?"

He crawled into the back of the APC and found the first bolt sticking out on the inside. He placed the screwdriver's head on the bolt and aimed the hammer at the handle. Once he was sure all of his new clan were watching, Kaleb slammed the hammer down and felt the bolt head snap. The small bit of metal fell to the APC's floor, but Kaleb ignored it as he twirled Nessha's hammer.

"Quick and dirty, like I said. Smack the bolt head until it pops and then move on. When you finish, the plate should pop off. If it doesn't, then a judicious use of force should be applied."

Kaleb smiled at his own words and handed the screwdriver and hammer to Nessha. The warrior woman glowered at the weapon now. Clearly angered that it had been used as a mere tool. But another lizard spoke out.

"What about the innies?"

"Innies?"

The big lizard turned, and the group followed him to the front of the vehicle. He pointed at a circular indent on the metal between the front and passenger-side panels. Kaleb recognized it immediately and nodded. He ran back to the scattered tools and quickly found what he needed. Taking the hand drill back to the rivet, Kaleb got the tool into position and quickly drilled through the rivet, explaining.

"With these pop rivets, you just have to push out the mandrel in the center of the shank. So you can either drill it like I have, or you can slam a slim bit of metal down the center. Either way, that should undo the rivet. Clear?"

Once Kaleb was done, he gestured to the burrowed-out rivet and smiled. He turned over the drill to the questioning lizard, and the entire group quickly went to work. Kaleb watched them for a time, joining in helping where he could and answering questions. He found that the Brute Clan lizards were far from dumb; they just hadn't really done such work before. Once he gave them proper directions and actually showed them. They quickly picked up the work.

Soon they were removing the thick armor plates so quickly that Kaleb had to direct a pair of lizards to take them to the front gate. He would use the metal to reinforce everything there later. He was ratcheting the bolts off the APC's turret housing when he realized he had somehow joined his new Clan. Aqwen, who was holding the turret in place, scowled down at him for a moment before she smiled.

"Many hands make light work, Professor."

"I was supposed to be taking apart the other one."

"We'll get to it. We are making good time and, besides, you might find that difficult without your new toy."

Kaleb frowned as he watched Aqwen nod in the direction of Roy and Daivor's APC. The young teen was standing outside the vehicle with his mask on as he torched a metal panel off. Daivor maintained a watchful eye. Kaleb felt his frown deepen as worry settled into his gut. Aqwen tapped his side with her foot and grunted.

"Stop worrying. Once we're done with this one, we can rush over and help your human."

Kaleb huffed but went back to work. The turret and targeting computer were some of the most intricate pieces in the APC. The rest of his Clan tore into like a swarm of piranhas. Once the metal plates were gone, Kaleb had them rip the seats out along with the floor plates. One of the Clan managed to find a barrel where they threw the smaller bits of metal. When Kaleb finally had the wires and broken control panel for the turret out and on the ground, most of his Clan were helping Roy. To his shock, Nessha was even competing with the human to see who could remove rivets faster.

"It's a strange Clan, Professor." Aqwen huffed from his side, carefully sitting down the APC's engine.

"Well, I'm a strange… lizard. At this rate, we can start reinforcing the main gate soon."

"Should that really be the focus?"

"What do you mean?"

"The gate has held this long. Shouldn't we add to the defenses before strengthening them as a whole?"

Kaleb waggled his head noncommittally. "Maybe. But that would take longer."

Aqwen nodded before narrowing her eyes. "What if you got started right now?"

"It would take the same amount of time, and weren't you complaining about me not spending time with the Clan?"

"The Clan will still be helping. You'll just be working on something while they bring you what you need."

"Yeah, that's gonna be tricky."

"Why?"

"For what I have in mind, I'll need to be on the roof."

Aqwen went silent as she studied his face for any sign of a joke. Not finding any, she huffed loudly and turned toward the mansion.

"Where are you going?" Kaleb asked.

"You'll need permission from the other Elders." She said primly before disappearing around the corner.

Kaleb shrugged before glancing at the bits of electronics around him. Thankfully, the plating had all been moved. All he was left with was the turret, the control panel, and the engine cyclers. He placed the single cycler and the turret housing to one side as he stepped up to the larger, five-cycle engine. Gripping the enormous engine by its side, he attempted to lift the thing from where Aqwen had placed it. He got the thing an inch or two off the ground before his flesh arm decided to quit.

"Uff!"

Kaleb grunted as he scowled at the engine and then up at the wide roof of the mansion. Getting the heavy son of a bitch up there was going to be an issue. The sound of clanging and metal tearing made Kaleb turn back to his clan as they happily deconstructed the second APC. They were already dragging metal plates toward the front gate. Kaleb rubbed his chin as he thought about his plan. He could build the shield emitter down here and then hoist it up to the roof. It would speed things up.

Coming to a decision, Kaleb called out. "Nessha! Roy! I need the engine block out as soon as you can. Put the turret on hold for now."

"On it, Doc!"

"And what will you be doing?" Nessha asked, narrowing her eyes.

Kaleb grunted as he slid the first engine to a better space in the dirt. "Building a shield emitter from scratch, Nessha! Now hurry up; you are all going to need to help with its installation."

Again, Kaleb was stared at as if he were lying. But Nessha quickly moved to the front of her APC and started helping Roy. Kaleb mentally started going over what he knew about the hangar's shield emitters. A soft thump hit his shoulder, and he heard the sound of Daivor's belt as the gnome steadied himself.

"A shield?"

"Nothing fancy. A simple physical barricade against unmarked entities." Kaleb said as he carefully tilted the engine on its side.

He nearly crushed his fingers, but he got the sizeable chunk of metal down. He and Daivor studied the flat cyclers as a blueprint built itself in his head. Daivor was already puffing at his pipe.

"We could use magic to mark the Brute Clans."

"Won't we summon more gremlins if we try to infuse magic and tech again?"

"No infusion. Will just use runes as identifiers for the shield." Daivor said. "What are we using for fuel?"

Kaleb raised his cybernetic arm in answer. "We'll need to forge a battery. But for right now, I just need to build the emitter and housing."

"Simple enough." Daivor chuckled.

"Sure." Kaleb rolled his eyes as he unlatched one of the engine's cyclers.

The cylindrical bit of metal popped free and into Kaleb's hand. It looked like it could still handle a charge just fine. But the true test was yet to come. They needed to see what the things did in concert and how they handled a steady flow of power they weren't rated for. Exciting tests were ahead, but with the Elder's say-so the Brute Clan's defenses would be some of the best in Under-Town.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.