The Brass Conductor

It was pitch black inside the vault, save for the frantic, erratic blue glow of the six puppies huddled at Livia’s feet.

Through the thick steel door, she could hear the muffled shouts of the Syndicate men and the heavy thud of boots closing in on Gideon. They were going to kill him. And then they were going to blow the vault open and take the pups.

Livia dropped to her knees. Panic threatened to drown her, but as she looked at the glowing blue cores of the puppies, Gideon’s earlier words echoed in her mind.

* They wanted to turn these pups into living, breathing EMP detonators.*

Electromagnetic pulses. Unrefined aether had the capability to short-circuit any mechanized technology in its immediate vicinity if overloaded. The Syndicate men were heavily reliant on their steam-armor and aether-rifles.

But how could she trigger an EMP without hurting the pups?

Livia looked at her right leg. The heavy, articulated brass-and-copper prosthetic. Brass and copper were highly conductive. If she could channel the raw aether from the pups' cores through a localized conductor, she could direct the blast outward, shielding the biological tissue of the animals while weaponizing their energy.

"Spark," Livia whispered, her hands shaking as she pulled off her heavy woolen coat.

She gathered all six puppies close to her, pressing them against her right side. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a spool of heavy copper wire she always carried for emergencies.

Working with frantic, desperate speed, she looped the copper wire around her brass knee, weaving it tightly through the metallic joints of her prosthetic. She then carefully, gently wrapped the other ends of the wire around the brass filigree collars encasing each of the pups' aether-cores.

"I'm sorry, little ones," she whispered, tears streaming down her face. "This might sting."

She grabbed the heavy steel wrench from her medical bag. She needed to create a spark. A massive surge of kinetic energy to jump-start the feedback loop.

Outside, a heavy explosive charge was slapped against the vault door.

"Stand back! Blowing the lock in three!" a muffled voice yelled.

Livia braced herself against the back wall. She raised the heavy steel wrench high above her head.

"Two!"

"Please work," Livia prayed.

"One!"

Livia brought the wrench down with all her strength, smashing it directly onto the exposed copper wiring on her brass knee.

The resulting spark ignited the circuit.

A blinding, agonizing surge of pure, raw azure energy erupted from the six puppies. The aether screamed as it traveled up the copper wires, hitting Livia’s brass prosthetic. The metal of her leg glowed white-hot, acting as a massive, directional antenna.

With a sound like tearing silk, the localized EMP blasted outward, passing straight through the steel walls of the vault.

It didn't blow the door open. Instead, complete, absolute silence fell over the manor.