The Plains of Pluto
Copyright© 2025 by Lumpy
Chapter 10
Devnum
“You’re here very early,” Lucan’s voice came from behind him.
Hortensius stood and turned from the small furnace that he’d been adjusting, looking up to see the shipbuilder standing a few steps away, looking tired. Which was to be expected, considering the sun was just now making its way over the horizon, washing out the torchlight the manufacturer had been operating under just a little bit before.
“Lucan! I’m glad you’re up,” he said, walking over to stacks of metal sheeting that had been delivered late the previous evening. “Come take a look at this.”
The shipwright joined him and looked over the silver-colored metal stacked up almost to his knees.
“I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be looking at.”
“See these color differences? And if you run your hand along this section, can you feel the texture differences?”
“I ... yes, I think so,” he said, following Hortensius’s suggestion and running his hand over the plate.
“I was concerned with the uniformity of the metal composition. Most of the metal we’ve made to date has been much smaller than these plates, and I was concerned we’d get some variations in the composition while rolling these sheets out. I’d hoped we’d compensated for it, but clearly, we did not do a good enough job.”
“Do we need to wait and refine the process further?”
“We do need to refine it and see if we can get a more standardized product, but no, I don’t want to hold up production any longer than we need to. While they are not quite up to specifications, they are close. We just need to account for it in the riveting process. The metal itself should still stand up to the stresses once the vessel is assembled, and function properly.”
“So we’re ready to begin then?”
“Yes, but I do wish we’d had time to establish more permanent facilities. These portable furnaces we brought will do the job for now, but they cannot hold enough fuel reserves to operate unattended for long. And I am concerned that that might cause the temperature to dip and fluctuate a bit.”
“We discussed this. The need to get a larger, permanent furnace out here would also require reinforcing the docks to adjust for the weight, which we don’t have time to do. We do have men working on it and we should be able to start installing something permanent in the next six months, but you said we could make do with the portable ones for now.”
“We can. We can,” Hortensius confirmed. “Like the plates, we just have to make adjustments for that. It will make the work harder and slower than I’d like, but yes, faster than if we waited.”
“As the Consul said, war waits for no man. I guess that applies to processes as well.”
“True enough. Still, it complicates matters,” Hortensius said, and then gestured to a stack of smaller metal sections off to the side. “I’ve selected those for our initial tests. The Consul’s notes warn of several variables affecting the riveting process that his instructions would be unable to account for and that we’d need to experiment before settling on the best method.”
“Did he say what sort of variables?”
“Metal expansion and contraction, primarily. The heating and cooling process causes minute changes in the steel’s structure, and can be affected both by the temperatures and humidity, as well as salt content in the air. If we don’t account for it properly, we risk compromising the integrity of the entire ship.”
“And here I thought the caravels were too complicated to construct quickly.”
“Oh, we’re just getting started. You need to look at the later plans, for after the hull is assembled,” Hortensius said with a wry smile. He clapped his hands, calling out to the gathered workers. “Right then, let’s begin our first attempt!”
Men who’d been standing around waiting for the go-ahead for more than an hour sprang into action, some going to the furnace while others lifted up the plates, putting them between large holders Hortensius had installed earlier that morning.
While they had done some testing of the riveting process back in Factorium, the Consul’s warnings had prompted Hortensius to leave the bulk of it for testing here, so he could see the actual challenges they faced. Hortensius watched intently as the first heated rivet was hammered into place, examining it closely as the workers stepped away, moving to the next section to be riveted. After less than a minute, however, he called a halt to the process.
“Stop! Everyone, halt the work!”
“Problem?” Lucan asked.
“Yes. See this rivet head on the back end. It isn’t flush with the metal as it cools. There’s a gap, which means we didn’t get it closed tightly together. The rivets are supposed to contract as they cool, with the smashed tail of the rivet pulling in and locking the plates in place. That force of the metal cooling is what causes it to lock into place. The force of smashing it into place should also cause the shank of the rivet to expand slightly, filling the entire hole. That isn’t happening here.”
“But this didn’t happen in your factory tests, right?”
“No. You,” he said, pointing at one of the workers. “Show me how you put in the rivet.”
The man nodded and hopped to his assignment, going to the furnace and dropping one of the pre-made rivets into the glowing coals. The metal quickly heated and, once it was glowing cherry-red, he extracted it with long-handled tongs and carried it to the pre-drilled hole in the test plates. He carefully positioned the rivet through the aligned holes and then shifted the tongs to maintain pressure on the rivet head while drawing his hammer. Once positioned, he began striking the open end of the rivet, deforming the shaft. After several hard strokes, he stepped back, making room for Hortensius to look at it closely.
The manufacturer took the man’s tongs and nudged the still hot, but not glowing, bolt. To his dismay, it rattled slightly.
“Damn.”
“Problem?”
Hortensius didn’t answer right away, still staring at the offending rivet, his brow frowned in concentration.
“Yes. A serious problem,” he finally replied. “The rivet is cooling too quickly before it’s properly hammered into place. It’s not much, mind you, but enough to prevent the head from deforming completely. This means it’s not applying sufficient clamping force, and the shaft isn’t molding properly into the hole.”
Lucan leaned in, squinting at the rivet. “Which means?”
“It means the plates will have some wiggle room, and they won’t be watertight.”
“Ohh.”
The inventor looked at the bolt for another moment before he turned to the gathered workers, who were waiting expectantly for further instructions.
“Right, we need to reorganize. We’ll work in teams of three. One to heat the rivets, one to position, and one to hammer,” he said before pointing to a burly man with a hammer. “I want you to strike as soon as the rivet’s in position. Don’t hesitate. It’s important your end of the rivet is hit while it is still at its hottest. And you, hold it in place tightly. You’ll feel some force when the hammer strikes, so brace yourself.”
When the men all nodded their understanding, Hortensius stepped back and gestured for them to proceed. Again a rivet was put into place, although much faster than the previous attempt. When they finished, he waved them off and inspected the result.
“Better,” he muttered, “but still not quite there. We’re still losing too much time between heating and positioning.”
After staring at the metal for a moment, thinking he moved over to a small worktable that had been set up and pulled sheets of paper out of a satchel he’d set there. For several minutes, he flipped through the pages of diagrams and instructions, sometimes doubling back to reread a section. Finally, nodding to himself, he looked around the dock until he found one of the metal buckets his factories had been producing for several years sitting upside down so it wouldn’t collect water.
Retrieving it and a thick leather apron next to the furnace, he walked over to the man at the furnace.
“When the rivet’s ready, I want you to toss it carefully at the bucket that man will be holding. It’s important you don’t miss,” he said, before turning to the indicated man, holding out the bucket and thick apron. “Put this on, it should offer some protection. I want you to catch the rivet in this bucket, fish it out and slot it into position as quickly as you can.”
“Is this safe?” Lucan asked.
“Less safe than I would like, but the damp air is helping the bolt cool off faster. This will be an even bigger problem when they are several more steps away, working on the frame well across from the dock. I can’t think of a way to get the rivet to the positioner faster than throwing it, and the Consul’s notes indicate this is one strategy that can be used.”
Lucan seemed unsure, but stepped back. The team looked equally uncertain, especially the man tasked with catching the rivets, but they followed their orders.
The furnace worker heated the rivet until it glowed cherry-red, then quickly tossed it across, where it made a thunk sound as it landed in the metal bucket. The positioner fished it out, moving with haste to place it in the pre-drilled hole, followed by the hammerer smashing the rivet into position.
The entire ordeal lasted only seconds.
Once again, Hortensius moved close to the rivet to check it. To his relief, the rivet had cooled in place, held firmly by the surrounding metal.
“Excellent! This looks promising. Let’s do a few more to be certain.”
The team worked diligently, assembling more sections of the test frame. Hortensius watched silently, following behind them. After they’d completed a sizeable portion, he called for a halt.
Carefully, he inspected each rivet, checking for any signs of weakness or improper seating. To his satisfaction, they all appeared to be holding strong.
“This is good work,” he announced. “I believe we’re ready to begin assembling the test frame in earnest. We’ll need to assemble a larger section to truly gauge its watertightness, but this is a promising start.”
He took Lucan by the arm and led him to the worktable.
“Let’s go ahead and begin assembling the test frame. Once we get the first few spans done all the way around, we can lower it into the water and check it for watertightness. If this works as the Consul says, we should be good to continue. I will send some more men to you, since I think I just tripled the men it will take to build it. While you do that, I’ll need to return to the workshop and see what I can do to increase the metal sheet production.”
“You have a lot more faith in this than I have,” Lucan said, still looking at the riveted sheets wearily.
“The Consul hasn’t steered us wrong yet. I know this goes against everything you’ve ever worked on, but the idea behind it is sound, I think.”
“I hope so. I really do.”
Carthage
It was late, and Medb was not pleased to be summoned in the middle of the night like some kind of hired hand. The only reason she hadn’t immediately sent the messenger back with harsh words for his master was that the request had come from Claudius.
The praetorian had been all but silent for the past two weeks following their discovery of the contents of the crates. She’d even heard that he’d left the city for several days. She didn’t need him to report to her regularly, as he had earned enough trust for her to allow him somewhat of a free hand, but the silence had started to become concerning.
Although not as much as silence followed by a sudden summons.
She arrived with her small guard detachment at the prescribed warehouse and was surprised to see nearly twenty praetorians gathered around, waiting. More unusual than that was the pair climbing the warehouse with rifles slung over their backs.
She didn’t see Claudius right away, not until he stepped out of a darkened spot next to the warehouse. All of the men had dark cloaks draped over them, making them particularly hard to see.
“What is all this?” she asked when she reached him.
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