Ezekiel watched with bated breath as the old man went over the designs spread out over the conference table. This had been going on for the better part of an hour already. The occasional humming and hawing were the only sound the engineer had uttered all this time.
His eyes flitted from left to right as he rapidly scanned the project summary. Finally, he placed down the last sheet of paper. "Fascinating."
"Is it any good?" Zeke asked, the expectation clear in his tone.
"Hard to say," Jettero replied. "Where did you say you got those plans?"
"I didn't say," Zeke replied with a raised brow. "Does it matter?"
"Not particularly. I was merely curious, the plans are like nothing I have ever seen."
"In a good way?" Zeke asked again. He was starting to get annoyed at the vague answers.
"Calm down," Jettero said. "Stress is poison for the heart."
Zeke's hand unconsciously went to his chest. His fingers brushed up against the cold metal of the amulet covering the spot over his heart. Despite the obstruction, he could vaguely feel his heartbeat. The organ was beating a strong rhythm, like the drums of war. A smile made its way to his face. "I'll manage. Better worry about yourself, old man."
Jettero chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm not that fragile yet." His face turned serious in the next moment as he looked down at the plans one last time to gather his thoughts. "They are inconsistent," he finally said.
Zeke's brows furrowed. He tried to wrap his head around the cryptic statement but came up empty. "What does that mean?"
"Whoever created this has to be mad," the old man stated. "Some parts are very impressive, I have to admit. Especially the ideas for how to make the ship more attractive to potential clients are very well thought out. I've had many of those same thoughts as well, over the years."
Zeke's chest puffed up. It was a good feeling to have his hard work recognized by someone as accomplished as the man in front of him. However, his soaring spirits were brought low in the very next moment.
"…but the technical side is a completely different story. It's like those plans were drawn by a child — and not a smart one! Those designs read like a fairytale, like an amalgamation of different concepts all mashed together in one profane mixture! An insane creation with no basis in reality! A disgusting perversion from all that is good and right in the world!"
Zeke rolled his eyes. "You can stop now. Fine, I'll admit it; it was me who made them."
The old man stopped his tirade with a content smile. "Fess up sooner next time, or feel my wrath again, brat!"
"I'm quaking in my boots, you old fart," Zeke said with a smirk. His expression turned serious soon after. "What's the verdict?"
Jettero responded in an equally serious tone. "The plans are very basic. Straight out of a textbook. I don't think you would be able to sell a single unit if you were to build this as it is right now."
"That was never the plan," Zeke said with a shake of his head. "Those schematics were only supposed to be the starting point. The thing is, I ran into one roadblock after the other when I tried to make a proper design for my ideas."
"How about you describe those ideas, and I'll tell you what is realistically possible," Jettero offered.
Zeke smiled. This was exactly what he had hoped for. "The main focus of my vision is to make the ship smaller and lighter. I want it to be so light that even a single True Mage can power the enchantments."
"Not very likely," the old man interjected. "The plating on the hull alone is too heavy to —"
"Fuck the plating," Zeke interrupted.
"What do you mean by 'fuck the plating'? Without the plating, the defensive capabilities of the ship would drop to almost nothing."
"So?" Zeke challenged.
"So it could be blasted out of the sky by a single spell," the old man explained in an annoyed tone.
"So?" Zeke challenged again with a shit-eating grin.
Jettero's face had gotten so red that it looked like it was about to explode. "SCREW YOU AND YOUR ROTTEN BRAIN, BRAT! IT'S JUST NOT SAFE!"
"Relax, old man, stress is poison for the heart," Zeke said deadpan. In the next instant, his demeanor changed. His solemn expression made it clear that he was being serious with his proposal. "I think you are going about this the wrong way, Jettero. As are all the other engineers in Tradespire. All of you have become inflexible in your way of thinking."
"Fine, let's hear it. I can't wait to be enlightened," the old man said sarcastically. He had gotten his temper under control and was now gleefully waiting for the chance to show Zeke up for his ignorant beliefs.
"Let me ask you this: why would you build the private transporters the same way you build a full-sized airship?" Zeke questioned.
"Why not?" Jettero asked in bewilderment. "It's a proven concept, for one. Why even change it?"
"Because they aren't used for the same purposes at all," Zeke said. He could see the dubious look on the old man's face and explained his point further, "You talked about plating earlier, right? About how the airship could be brought down with a single spell?"
"Yes, what of it?"
"How often do you see people using large-scale magic in the city?" Zeke asked. The old man remained silent but his abstinent expression made it clear that he remained unconvinced.
"Can't you see? It doesn't make any sense," Zeke said earnestly. "The rich merchants walk around the city in silken attire, forgoing any and all protection. But the moment they step into their airship they are suddenly in danger of being attacked, does that make sense to you? If there actually was such a danger, they would be wearing armor."
Jettero's reluctant expression had shifted to one of contemplation while Zeke talked. It seemed that Zeke had managed to make him consider the point at least.
"All of those protective measures make sense on ships like the Alexandria," Zeke continued. "Those vessels travel between cities, sometimes even traversing hostile territory. But how does it make sense to have the same measures in place for a smaller ship that will never leave the city?"
After his explanation, Zeke remained silent. He wanted to give the old man time to think this through thoroughly. His heart was hammering in his chest. This was an important moment for Zeke. If Jettero was to find a fundamental flaw in his thinking, he would have to rethink his entire strategy.
Minutes passed in silence as the old man simply sat there in a trance. He completely ignored the fidgeting boy across from him as he considered the implications of this proposal. His eyes sightlessly stared into nothingness as he twirled his mustache. Zeke had seen him do this on occasion. He was pretty certain that the old man was mentally reviewing the impact of the proposal. It took an extraordinary amount of experience to be able to do this so casually.
"Weeeell…" the old man said, only to instantly fall silent again. "I… I guess there is a little bit of truth to what you said. Maybe we really have become a bit inflexible in our thinking."
A wide smile instantly spread across Zeke's face. This was as good as a confirmation that his ideas were feasible. "Right?!" Zeke said with glee.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, kid," Jettero cautioned. "Implementing such sweeping changes will not be easy. There are several structural modifications that need to be made if we were to change the material of the hull and strip the plating."
"But it is possible?" Zeke asked, his smile undiminished.
"…Yes," the old man admitted. "It's… it's not a bad idea."
"Great!" Zeke exclaimed. "Because I've got many more just like it!"
Shock spread on the old man's face. "…What have I gotten myself into?" the old man asked in an exasperated tone, but the slight smile on his face belied his words. There was a spring in his step as he stepped to the giant schematic of an airship on the wall. "Look here, if we really want to go ahead with your plan, we need to replace the entire prow with a different material."
Zeke listened intently as the old man walked him through the necessary changes. He was awed at the pace the old man was able to come up with functioning designs. It was no wonder he had been hailed as a genius in his younger days. Zeke took full advantage of Jettero's knowledge, asking whatever question came to mind. He felt like a dried-up sponge that had been dropped into a puddle of water, sucking up all the wisdom that was suddenly surrounding him.
The next few days passed in the blink of an eye for Zeke. He and Jettero spent almost the entire time locked away in the conference room. Nobody knew what the two of them were up to. Zeke had not even informed his inner circle about what they were doing. He was still determined to keep the illusion going that he had gotten the plans from a mysterious source. Frankly, he had no other choice if he wanted to keep his abilities a secret. He would not share his secrets with anyone until they had found their spy, at least.
Even though the old man must have wondered how Zeke came to be so knowledgeable, he never brought it up. Zeke guessed that Jettero recognized that he wanted to keep the matter private and didn't pry out of consideration. The old man had also never asked how Zeke was going to turn Lue into a Mage. For some reason, he trusted that Zeke would follow through without his urging.
Unbeknownst to the old man, Lue's 'play sessions' with Maya had already started her on that path. To Zeke's delight, the two girls had become fast friends. He had instructed his sister to show Lue how to meditate and Maya exulted in instructing the younger girl. Zeke had also arranged for the regular meditation sessions for the children to be held again. Despite his busy schedule, he had pledged to personally oversee their progress at least once a week. This decision garnered him a lot of sorely needed goodwill from the staff.
Zeke had not fully realized how much tension there was among his people. Even though most were staying silent about their true feelings, he could sense that many of them were not happy with his leadership. More than once did he catch people discussing their plans to leave his services behind his back. His sphere of awareness made him incredibly perceptive to such things. The reasons they named were diverse, but he apparently had no lack of shortcomings. He had neither the years of experience, the strength, nor the fortune Maximilian had commanded.
Not that they were wrong, but it still grated on him to hear the words from their lips. His struggles to keep them safe and employed were not at all reflected in their attitude. Still, he didn't have the luxury to dwell on such matters at the moment. He had a deadline to keep if he wanted the von Hohenheim household to still have a place in Tradespire by the end of the month.
Zeke took a deep breath and thrust his shoulders back before entering the conference room. He found David, Margret, and Kerim in one corner of the room. The moment he entered, they stopped their discussion to greet him. Zeke returned the nod before focusing his attention on the other occupants.
His parents and Jettero were already sitting at the table, merrily chatting about Lue and Maya. They seemed to never get tired of bragging about the latest achievements of the girls to each other. Despite everything, a smile found its way onto his face. He was glad his parents got along so well with the old man. He wanted the engineer to feel welcome here.
Soon his face turned solemn again. He waved for everybody to take their seats. Today would be the day. Today he would present the fruits of his labor to his inner circle. After this meeting, there would be no turning back anymore, no adjustments to their course.
This meeting would determine the future of their house.