Akça pulled the edge of the heavy parchment blueprints closer to her side of the table, tracing the winding lines that led from the coastal trade routes directly into the sharp, jagged peaks of the Namtab Mountains. Her eyes moved with analytical precision, calculating weights, travel times, and the frequency of Palsur border patrols.
"If we move these larger gears through the main highway, even the most incompetent imperial scout will realize they aren't parts for bakery ovens," Akça said, her voice dropping to a calculated whisper. She looked up at Kaahn, who was leaning against the timber crates, watching her. "We cannot rely on the standard Mayard supply routes for the heavy machinery. The weight of the hydraulic shafts will slow the carriages down, making them easy targets for unexpected inspections."
Kaahn nodded slowly, crossing his arms. "You're right. The front supply lines are designed to look natural—constant, light, and predictable. If a carriage suddenly breaks an axle under the weight of a massive cast-iron frame, our entire illusion shatters. What is your alternative?"
Akça tapped a specific point on the map—a dense, forested valley cutting through the lower ridges of Namtab, bypassed entirely by modern traders due to its steep terrain.
"We will use the 'Deadweight Separation' method," she explained, her fingers moving swiftly across the layout. "We don't ship the parts all at once. We will hide the smaller pistons and mechanical drills inside false bottoms placed beneath the large flour and sugar sacks already heading to the provincial branches. As for the colossal gears and the main shafts..." Akça looked at Kaahn, a sharp, knowing smile appearing on her face. "...we ship them as unrefined, raw iron structural beams. We will disguise them as construction materials for Mayard's new water-powered flour mills along the river."
Kaahn laughed softly; the brilliant simplicity of this logistics plan had fallen perfectly into place. "A flour mill. Of course. To the world, Mayard is simply expanding its empire of sweets, building infrastructure to grind its own grain. No one questions a wealthy merchant guild building a giant waterwheel by the river."
"Exactly," Akça said, leaning back slightly, though her eyes remained locked on the shift schedules. "But the true challenge isn't the transport; it's the human element. The workers building the mill will see these parts. Therefore, we must establish a rotating shift system. The crew setting up the outer structure must never meet the inner assembly team. The moment the massive iron framework is fixed into the mountain bedrock, the outer construction workers will be sent back to the capital with the promise of 'bonus rewards.' Only our most loyal master mechanics will handle the final assembly of the press molds and boring drills inside the hidden cavern."
Kaahn walked over to the table and looked down at the interlocking shifts Akça had mapped out. Every hour was accounted for, every risk neutralized. It was a masterpiece of operational security.
"You've managed to turn an industrial espionage nightmare into a routine delivery schedule," Kaahn murmured, looking at Akça. "With this setup, we can have the first functional production line running before the winter snow blocks the mountain passes."
Akça rolled up the blueprint carefully and tied it with a leather cord before handing it over to Kaahn. "Then we had better make sure those testing levers in the basement are working around the clock, Kaahn. If I am going to orchestrate a silent caravan into the most dangerous peaks of the kingdom, I want to ensure every single gram of iron we carry is absolutely flawless."
Kaahn took the rolled blueprint from Akça's hand and placed it inside the protective leather tube beside the table. His expression shifted entirely into a sharp, business-like focus. Akça's logistics plan was flawless in theory, but once on the operational field, the slightest human error could collapse the entire organization.
"The testing levers will be put into operation in shifts starting tonight," Kaahn said, pinpointing the Sihera river wharf on the map with his finger. "The moment the raw copper and brass plates from Palsur enter the warehouse, our inspectors will randomly take three samples from each batch and measure their crushing resistance under the hydraulic press. Not a single plate falling outside the tolerance limit will be loaded onto the mountain caravan."
Akça pulled one of the blank parchments on the table toward herself and began taking notes with her quill dipped in ink. "Good. Now that we have established metallurgical standardization[1] in Sihera, we can move to the second phase: route security. The valley road leading to the Namtab Mountains is narrow and rugged. The metallic noise generated by the carriages during their passage through here could be heard miles away due to the valley's echo profile. That would draw the patrols of the Palsur border outposts to that area."
Kaahn examined the topography of the valley floor on the map. "All mechanical parts will be wrapped in thick linen cloths and raw cotton bales brought from Mayard's central warehouses before being loaded onto the carriages. This will completely prevent the iron components from clashing against each other. Furthermore, to reduce the noise made by the wheels, the wooden rims will be lined with rubber-based sealing strips discarded from the Mayard branches. Anyone looking from the outside will see only a quiet supply convoy carrying flour to the mountain."
Akça moved her pen rapidly to add these items to the operational protocol. "We must also set strict rules regarding the management of the workers. The core team assembling the parts in the hidden cavern at Namtab will be the only group that knows the operational logic of the factory. Their connection with the outside world must be completely cut off until production is complete. Their families will be paid a regular salary from the Mayard budget, and each will be told they have been assigned to a 'special palace duty.' Communication will be carried out solely through your sealed letters, delivered by secure couriers whom I will appoint."
"The route of the couriers will not be fixed either," Kaahn added, taking the strategic plan one step further. "Communication between Sihera and the mountain will be handled indirectly through Mayard's provincial branches. The courier will not go directly up the mountain; they will drop the material or letter at a supply point along the road, and the mountain team will retrieve it from there. This way, even if the couriers are captured, they will never be able to reveal the exact location of the factory on the mountain."
When Akça finished writing, she blew gently on the parchment to dry the ink. She folded the paper and placed it before Kaahn. "As long as these rules are not broken, while the Palsur army sharpens its old-regime swords at the border, we will have long since established the army of the new era in Namtab. Now, let us call the logistics managers in the warehouse to prepare the carriages for the first shipment."
[1] Metallurgical standardization refers to the conduct of all production, testing, certification, and heat treatment processes for metals and alloys—from raw materials to the final product—in accordance with internationally recognized rules and standards [ASTM, ISO].