Steam and Heart.

The next day, the group ate a quick breakfast and made their way to Tuskville, taking some back roads due to the remoteness of the city. 

Tuskville was literally at the other end of the country, so they could see the major cities of the Federation in the distance along the way, especially the huge airships that took to the skies, both civilian and military. 

Alexis was responsible not only for guiding the group but also for constantly reporting their position and actions to headquarters so that if anything happened to them, their companions could use that information to give them the necessary support. 

Everyone on the road had a predetermined role. Since the first shift was taken by Laria, she did not work on the preparation of medicines or antidotes, but the others worked in their own areas. 

Lisa, for example, checked all the firearms, both hers and the others, making sure they were clean and in good condition, it would be fucking terrible to be fighting and find the surprise that your gun jammed or exploded in your hand. 

Jack, feeling better from his injuries, checked with Alexis some special weapons, like the explosives or Jack's gauntlet, which was his project. 

"What enchantments are you going to put on it? " asked Irina, who planned the group's actions because she was good at that. 

"I don't know, I have to make a lot of adjustments to it first, and I have to learn the right enchantment. But I have a few ideas in mind, one that brings strength is certainly needed," Jack replied, using a rather thin screwdriver to tighten some screws on the gears of his glove. 

Without its casing, a tangle of mechanisms and gears were visible to all, each one carved with intricate lines, they were not enchantments, but they were related. 

"I still remember you revealing yourself, carving those lines of energy into each piece of that intricate armature," Lisa said, her hair standing on end every time she saw the gauntlet exposed like that.

"I think I am creating something legendary..." Jack murmured with some fascination, even gently stroking the gauntlet, noting that it would need a polish later that night. 

"Do you still believe that legendary weapons exist? If they do, they are pieces of technology, not such extraordinary things," Alexis, who had just finished creating a rather dangerous explosive, pointed out the key point. 

"I know, but the stories are impressive, especially the gauntlets in those stories, I guess something that can suck the life out of a volcano or emulate the eruption of a volcano deserves the name legendary," Jack replied, finishing the adjustments to the weapon. 

"Then start naming it," Laria's cold voice came from the driver's seat, causing Jack to sink into his thoughts. 

"Googol Glove, in honor of the machine in the museum that inspired me to create this weapon," Jack finally spoke, receiving a boo from his three companions. 

"Ugly name you have chosen, my dear Jack," Irina said with mockery in her voice, the girl thought there were hundreds of better names, even ones that were embarrassing to say.

"Yes, why not better Gear Claw? - Lisa suggested, supported by her two companions. 

"Although embarrassing, it sounds a thousand times better than 'Googol Glove', imagine a legendary weapon being called that," Irina nudged again, making Jack pout. 

"Well, Gear Claw, although I don't know why they don't like the one I chose, it has an interesting story, you know, it's about..." After Jack started to talk about the Googol Gear for the tenth time, the team seemed to relax.

When they stopped to eat after a while, Jack picked up the special weapon Alexis had taken from the army, it was totally irresponsible of him to pick it up by himself, for such a beautiful toy, he should have called Jack to go with him. 

In Jack's hands alone was something that could hardly be called a conventional weapon, the length of it when assembled was over two meters, but contrary to what one might think, it was extremely light. 

"The way these energy lines fit together, can these patterns be used like this? What a beautiful enchantment circuit!" Jack couldn't help but examine the weapon, his amazement growing each time he saw something new and learned a great deal about enchantment. 

Enchantment was a rigorous discipline, energy lines were subordinate to patterns, but they had an extremely important basic function, allowing Pneuma to flow freely through an object with little loss. 

Patterns were combinations of lines of a certain shape to achieve a certain effect, and served as nodes for circuits, a group of patterns placed in such a way as to create an 'enchantment'. 

From the most basic, Corte, which increased the sharpness of a weapon, to some enchantments that were considered works of fantasy, such as those that could levitate a metal citadel, the Federation's ultimate weapon. 

The dark body of this weapon was made of ultra-thin lines that glowed faintly red, with a somewhat simplistic sight, but with the utility of this thing, you don't need precision except to manage to aim in the right direction. 

For what this weapon fired was meant to cause the most destruction, a prototype of a most devastating weapon, of which it was perhaps a good thing that not much could be produced. 

"Stop drooling over the gun, your girlfriend is watching," Irina touched Jack's rib with a finger and pointed at Laria, who was busy preparing dinner and ignored the nonsense her boyfriend was doing. 

But that was enough for Jack to hand the gun to Lisa, who was the only person present who could use such a powerful weapon properly. The girl was as excited as her partner but for different reasons. 

She didn't care about the enchantments, but about the weapon itself, its ammunition, its range, and its ability to do damage like an artillery shell; if Jack loved to learn about enchantments, Lisa was fascinated by weapons. 

"Now it's Lisa who's drooling over the gun," Alexis pointed out, who also loved the gun, though it was because of the technology and materials used in it, indicating how excellent this one-man cannon was enough to impress three kinds of fanatics. 

"Stop playing with that thing and come eat," Laria shouted, making the others calm down a bit, they could admire the gun later. 

However, during the meal, the subject came up, which was somehow inevitable knowing the three guys who constantly gave the object-loving glances, making Irina uncomfortable. 

"Guys, it's just an exotic weapon, it's no big deal," Irina spoke, making a big mistake as three pairs of glowing eyes watched her like predators. 

"Ok, I understand, it's a beautiful weapon," Irina resigned, she had to say those words or she couldn't eat in peace because she would be watched by three Pneuma Operators, that was not a nice experience at all, she can say that statement for sure. 

"It's called the Pneuma Cannon Load Type 01312," Lisa corrected, obviously knowing all the technical stuff about this cool weapon. 

"With enchantments of lightness, range, absorption, storage, and empowerment, capable of destroying a bunker with a few shots," Jack played along, and then they both looked at Jack, waiting for him to say his piece. 

"Using new alloys that resist Pneuma corrosion much better than previous versions, it also incorporates an electrical energy system to provide some extra power to the projectiles, or as a backup in times of Pneuma shortage, making it an electromagnetic weapon," with Alexis' explanation, even Laria looked with some interest at the black monster that was placed between the three of them, warily guarded. 

"Was it necessary to exaggerate so much? "Irina couldn't help but ask, even though she was a bit surprised when she realized that she didn't want to get shot by that thing. 

"Yes!" replied Alexis, Lisa, and Jack in unison, when it came to this kind of thing the three of them reached a rather eerie synchronization. 

"Understandable," even though she said that Irina didn't want to be the poor victim they used that thing on, luckily it was an experimental and controlled weapon, how Alexis got it is a mystery to the group, but the barracks didn't say anything, so they could keep it. 

"Finish eating", seeing that they had been distracted to the point that the food was about to get cold, Laria reminded in a loud voice, making her companions enjoy the rest of the lunch in a much calmer manner.

"It really feels good to drive," said Alexis, who was at the wheel of the steam wagon this time, he really liked using machines and the steam wagon was not lacking in that.

Besides, the advantage of his projection-type Pneuma was that he had extra hands, perhaps invisible to the others, but once the others got used to seeing him. 

Let go of the steering wheel of the car and it didn't crash, it allowed him to relax and enjoy the scenery. 

"I still think this is irresponsible," Laria pointed out seriously, but Alexis gave her a small smile, not bothering to take the car guide. 

"The wonders of extra hands, anyone who didn't know about the Pneuma would think Alexis was one of those psychics from the stories, with telekinesis," Irina then imagined certain things that could be done with hands, and at one point the skin on her face turned red. 

"You were imagining something dirty," Lisa, noticing the change in her friend, touched her cheek with a finger and said accusingly. 

"Bullshit!" exclaimed Irina, but her teammates already knew her, so they laughed as they watched her get redder and redder. 

"Come to think of it, Alexis, can you use those hands during sex? "Jack asked a little mischievously, although there was genuine curiosity behind his question. 

"Yes, but I won't go into details," Alexis replied with a mischievous grin on his face. 

"Can you use certain Pneuma projections for this? "Irina asked as Lisa nodded beside her. 

"If you get the right projection and are resourceful, even the weirdest ones can be used for sex. I once heard a rumor that a Pneuma Operator used her projection to masturbate, guess what she could project?" Lisa's question sparked the imagination of the others and everyone began to mention their ideas. 

"A sword? "Irina asked, her face still blushing, she had a projection of Pneuma based on a sword, so maybe... but Lisa shook her head. 

"A shovel? " Jack said something a little further out, but just as imaginative, but Lisa shook her head. 

"It's something that wouldn't normally occur to them," Lisa gave a hint when she saw everyone's thoughtful face, even Laria's. 

"I don't know, a cog? " Ignoring Jack's accusing look, Alexis said his idea, but Lisa's rejection was what he got. 

"No, come on, it's not that complicated," she said with a wicked smile as she saw her friends scratching their heads, well, all except Laria who looked at her with a small smile. 

"A differential machine" Laria's answer was so absurd that her companions instinctively thought she was wrong until they saw the smile on Lisa's face. 

"Have you heard the rumor?" it wasn't a question, it was a statement by Lisa and Laria shook her shoulders and even fixed her long white hair before answering. 

"No, I was just thinking of something weird to masturbate to and I thought of a differential machine, although Pneuma projections can be many things, even animals, I don't think the girl is a deviant. 

So if we take away the weapons, which are easy choices, or fancy things like mirrors or stones, I thought of this machine, especially because I can imagine how someone would masturbate with something like that" Laria's thought process might seem strange to those who don't know her, but she was a good doctor mainly because of her strange mind, which was quite flexible. 

"Sister, your mind is a mess and sometimes I wish I could open your head to see what I find," Irina said after her face calmed down, though she was still processing that the correct answer had been so strange. 

"I can't hold my ID the way I used to," said Jack, who set the example by holding the card with only two fingers, as if it disgusted him. 

The card was thin, palm-sized, and made of metal, which was brass; it also had an incantation "Information" inscribed on it. As you might guess, it was similar to the cards used for differential machines, only much more sophisticated. 

"Stop putting pictures in my head, Jack!" cried Alexis with some desperation in his tone, as a lover of machines, his respect for them was quite high, he never imagined that someone could do dirty things with one.

"I didn't mean to," Jack put his card away with some disgust, thinking that at least he wasn't the only one who wasn't suffering, which brought a small smile to his face. 

Thus, between jokes and small talk, the group left behind the tedious hours of a long journey. As they approached the mountains where their destination lay, the mood in the car began to cool. 

They were about to risk their lives again, but as operators, it was their duty. Only a puff of white smoke in the distance on the morning of the third day told them how close they were to their destination.

They had reached Tuskville. 

"Finally..." muttered Jack, holding his axe with a hateful look in his eyes, he was more than ready and recovered for this new mission.