Rebecca
*They arrived just outside his tower. Ths doors were open already. Nearby the pond, standing up tall next to the cherry blossom, was the Imperfect, the colossal pseudo-anumidium. It was inactive, but it had an overbearing, unnerving presence to it.*

"Oh just hold onto it for a moment."

*He walked in and placed the Architon on what was essentially an operating table. Strewn about were various dwemer parts, and in the corner of the room... Some sort of cannon? The stained glass window shone light down onto the Architon in the shape of the Ghartok.*

"Set it next to it, I'll need to prepare a few things. Where did I put the caliper?"

*He sort of aimlessly looked across his cluttered desk until he found it.*
Kenneth
The place seemed serene and peaceful at first, but when Mirihil laid her eyes on the brass colossus, that serenity was somewhat broken. She wasn't sure how the Dwemer did it—living underground with stone and metal everywhere, nothing but artificial light to brighten it up... It seemed torturous. 

She followed him into the tower, doing a slow spin as she walked to get a full view of the place. The aetherium's thrumming had turned to a pleasant tingling now, magicka dancing to and from it. She placed it where Byleth instructed her to, slightly sad and strangely cold at the loss of the gem's energy. 

"Nice place," She said as she started to focus on the Architon. "Did the jarl give it to you for your work? Or did you buy it yourself?"
Rebecca
"I've lived here for 200 years... Give or take. I had been a recluse until Jarl Dumac took the throne. Thats when i had the chance to work with Calcelmo on the Excavation. I was there when Ulfric massacred everyone who didn't take up arms. It's true what he did."

*He took the calipers and gently opened panels on its torso. They clicked like a ratchet before locking open. There was a receptacle in the center of the torso. For a Dynamo core, and the Aetherium.*

"Most Dwemer constructs were simpler, but here in skyrim, Aetherium allowed them to create more advanced automatons. It leaves the Dynamo Core, and the Soul gem in that core, much more room to think instead of sapping their own power managing the steam."

*He placed a spare core, and that piece of Aetherium, and the chest snapped shut. Various bits of it began to glow blue. It rose, its torso bending, but it did not speak.*

"Pick up that Caliper."

*It was next to it. It grabbed it, knowing what it was. Byleth clapped, then shut it off.*

"I expected it to try and kill us, but it was a success!"
Kenneth
Mirihil's eyes widened a bit when he revealed how long he'd been here, and did so even more once he revealed the truth about the Markarth incident. She was stunned into silence, watching as she worked while her mind spiralled. She held no love for Ulfric, or for anyone who sought to rule others, but the subject was so deeply contended she'd dismissed finding the truth of it as a hopeless endeavor. To learn he'd really killed civilians, probably even children...

What would happen if he took power?

What would happen if he invaded Solitude?

No, no. Surely it wouldn't come to that. 

Her mind desperately latched onto his brief lecture as an escape. The aetherium was a power source, a conduit; that much she felt when its energy surged through her as she held it, and now that she focused on it, she could even sense it as it was lying on the table. 

Mirihil instinctively moved to follow the command when Byleth gave it, only realizing it wasn't meant for her when she was awkwardly mid-stride. She chuckled sheepishly to herself as she stepped back to where she had been. Watching the automaton function was nothing short of amazing. Still, Byleth's surprise at the fact that the construct hadn't tried to murder them was... Disconcerting.

"The aetherium's capabilities as a power source make sense in regards to allowing for a higher level of intelligence, but do you have any ideas why there's such a high concentration of it here in Skyrim? And how much of a connection do you think it has to other forms of Aetherial Fragments? Is it possible that a larger shard of it landed somewhere in the province in the Dawn or Merethic Era, and it somehow continued to grow after being buried by standard geological processes?"