Chapter 65. Fail-safe.

  The defensive barricades in the station’s main cargo bay were completed, and reinforcements were trickling in for the assault group. While Watkins waited for enough troops to amass, he ordered a drone to move into the compartments on the opposite side of the station, where he had cleared out with his first assault. If Carter launched another assault from that direction, Watkins wanted as much warning as possible.

  Research Module, Level 1 has completed.

  You have been awarded 15 core points.

  Current Core points: 90/300.

  While waiting for the assault team to get back up to strength, the research module’s level one research had completed. A quick check showed that he was also close to completing the maneuver thruster research. With a freed-up module, he had to decide what to start up for his next project. He could research up to level two for his systems now, but each level of research was going to take longer than the last.

  “Lani, can you help me figure out what to research next?” Watkins asked.

  “Sure, let’s take a look. I think that one research path that we’ve neglected stands out. With our modules being upgraded to level one, we should think about finally starting on the universal fabricator. More efficiency and shorter production time could mean the difference between life and death,” Lani suggested.

  “I was thinking along the same lines, though getting some weapons to level two is tempting. This will hog one of our research modules for quite a while, and even with the upgrade, I suspect the fabricator will take longer than the reprocessor research did,” Watkins said.

  You have started research on the Universal Fabricator, Level 1.

  He also ordered his drones to upgrade the existing research modules to level one. It would take a while, but once completed, his research speed would increase. He also tried to have a third module created, but once again ran into a roadblock. Still, it was something he’d have to keep trying, and maybe after another core level or further research module upgrades, he could add a third module to the mix.

  “We’re ready to continue the assault,” Watkins said after organizing his research. There were only fifteen MOBS assembled, but he didn’t want to delay any further and possibly give Carter a chance to formulate an effective response.

  The drone with the assault team activated the next hatch, and a burst of laser fire greeted them. It was just a single turret, placed in the exact same spot where the others had been located. His MOBS blasted it apart without any trouble and without suffering any further casualties. The compartment in front of him was another oversized one, and not at all what he had been expecting.

  The compartment was dominated by two large machines. One was identified by his core when the drone with the assault team scampered over to examine it. Watkins shared the information with Lani.

  Simple Fabricator Unit, Level 0. This device was the prototype for the Universal Fabricator currently aboard the Canon. The Simple Fabricator is limited in capacity and is unable to produce anything beyond the complexity of Level 1. This device is inefficient, and it requires more power, time, and resources to function when compared to the fabricator aboard your ship.

  The size of the fabricator was half that of the one aboard the Canon, and it was far less effective. That might explain the rather lackluster drones that Carter had been using aboard the station. It also meant that Carter wasn’t going to be able to replace losses at the same pace that Watkins could.

  “Lani, what do you make of this other machine?” Watkins asked. It was positioned near the fabricator unit, and as the drone examined it further, he could see that it had several cables and even a flexible hose connecting it to the fabricator. The device resembled a series of storage tanks linked together with a maze of tubing and power cables.

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  “I have no idea, we can probably figure it out once we tap into the station’s database. I would suggest that for the time being, we make sure it isn’t a threat of some kind,” Lani said.

  Watkins agreed, ordering another drone to join the first and help in a more thorough examination. They stopped short of dismantling the contraption, but there was no indication it contained an explosive. A small blow off valve attached to one tank leaked a soupy biological material, but it was inert and not a threat.

  “I think it might be a liquified from of the biomass bricks that our reprocessor can create. We can’t waste time here, though, and need to press the attack,” Watkins ordered.

  A drone was left behind in the compartment to keep tabs on things. The fabricator was active, and it looked like it was slowly producing another drone. Watkins’ drone would take care of anything that came out of the fabricator, and his attention was drawn to the next hatch his forces were opening.

  His MOBS had the pattern down at this point, and once the hatch slid open, they hit the deck, avoiding the inevitable laser blasts from the turret mounted on the top bulkhead of the compartment. A few plasma blasts disabled the automated weapon, and his troops stormed inside.

  It was another of the large compartments, and one that was familiar to Watkins. It held almost an exact duplicate of his reprocessor, and shelves lining the walls of the compartment securely held a respectable number of resource bricks. Since he was familiar with the device, his core was able to identify it for him.

  Reprocessor, Level 0.

  Watkins felt a bit smug knowing that he had already upgraded his reprocessor to level one, while Carter, who was likely awake for far longer than Watkins had been, was still stuck at level zero. His troops and the drone cleared the room, finding no additional threats. Another notice hit, the prioritization of salvaging the defensive turrets had finally paid off.

  You have unlocked the schematic for Internal Weapon Hardpoint, Level 0. This weapon system can mount any pistol caliber energy weapon and has a discrete power supply.

  You have been awarded 10 Core Points.

  Current Core points: 100/300.

  He could now make the simple turrets, but was limited in the type of weapons he could mount on them. A round or two of research would improve it, but for now, he’d be stuck with the equivalent of a plasma pistol mounted to the turret. That meant he’d need more research into the pistols, which meant more pressure on his limited number of research modules.

  For the time being, a single-shot plasma pistol with a long recharge time was better than no defense, so he had a portion of his core calculate the optimal locations aboard the Canon for his new turrets. He was limited in the number of available drones, but he decided to pull one away ship repairs to start work on the turrets. They would take time to build, but even the simple turret design would give his defending MOBS and crew a big boost if they were boarded again.

  There were only two more unexplored compartments remaining aboard the station, and this time, when his MOBS opened the hatch, there was no incoming fire. What greeted him was what he had hoped to find. Several rows of servers, similar to Lani’s, lined the compartment.

  In the center of the compartment was a small pedestal holding a glowing core housing. This housing was only a tenth of the size of Watkins’, and he could feel the energy inside straining to handle all the functions that were required of it. The MOBS checked the compartment for any threats, and his drone approached the small core. When it was withing a few feet, Watkins was able to establish a link.

  “Are you ready, Lani?” Watkins asked.

  “Yes, I don’t think that Carter and whatever council programming is in there can stand up to the two of us,” Lani said with confidence and more than a little anger. So much had been taken from them both, and the council had then tried to take everything else.

  “Captain Watkins, you’re here,” Carter said. He didn’t sound angry or defiant as Watkins expected. Instead, he sounded scared and remorseful. It was strange how much his core could interpret emotions from the data shared among them.

  “Petty Officer Carter, you need to stand down and relinquish control of the station to me,” Watkins ordered. He could feel his core reach through the connection as Lani helped him sift through Carter’s weaker core. Data from the servers poured in, trying to overwhelm them. The council’s tricks and programming were well known to them now, and they had little trouble fending off the attacks.

  “I want to, Captain, but the council is making me do things, I’m sorry I’m not strong enough to resist them completely. You need to destroy the…” Carter said, unable to finish as the council intrusion shifted away from Watkins and Lani, and over to Carter’s struggling core.

  “Hang on, Carter, we’ll help you,” Watkins said, moving to intercept the data striking out at Carter. Something shifted, and a command from Carter leaked out into the station. The comms array, which they had purposely not targeted in the earlier space battle in order to communicate with the station, sent out a tight beam message. It bounced off one of the working sensor buoys. From there, the signal bounced again, heading out of the system.

  “What did you just do, Carter?” Lani demanded as they pulled apart the council assault and began to free Carter from its hold over him.

  “I’m, sorry, ma’am, but I’ve been forced to trigger the fail-safe. I think that I might have just killed us all.”