She called, "Get our salvage teams back aboard and let’s get out of here. I want us ready to return to port inside of a week."
"Give it two and I can get you more powers," I said.
"There is always going to be a reason to wait. One week and we'll see what comes from this little diversion. They're going to come for us, Emma. Turn this ship into a killing machine," Anna said.
That was the sort of instruction I loved to hear.
25
A week wasn't enough time to get done all of the work on the ship I wanted, but between my new repair drones, Rats, and Mechanites we managed quite a bit.
Our shields were up to full power and although it had largely exhausted my Biomass reserves to do it, the ship was now completely encased in BioArmor. Self-sealing and regenerating, we had completed the transformation from easy prey to knock out of the sky into an incredibly durable ship that any conventional attacks would hardly damage.
I'd given the Graven similar defenses, although with its smaller hull and energy resources largely going to the cannons, it still wouldn't be mistaken for a juggernaut.
I'd also had a few research projects completed.
Research
"Sonic Beam Cannons"
You have unlocked the power beam technology. Instead of standard beam weapon these cannons interface with an individual infused with a prime Power core seated in a control chair. Drawing upon their power an enhanced version can be fired at targets for positive or negative results.
THAT MEANT CORES I'd directly interfaced wouldn't work for me, nor would ones whose abilities I gained through research. However, Hot Stuff, Ophelia, Mechos, Doctor Batavius, Baron Wolfson, and Ratticus would all be able to use such a weapon. Hot Stuff would probably fire a beam of intense heat which had obvious destructive potential. Ophelia might be able to heal at a distance, and Mechos perhaps provide some sort of remote mechanical control. The other cores were an unknown.
Research
"Growth Lights"
You have extracted the remaining Flora Core essence from the lights and with it been able to produce three flash bulbs. When triggered, each of these bulbs can produce short-term but intense growth and enhancement of nearby plant life.
THAT WAS the power I'd hoped to get from the Flora Core, although only three uses of it was disappointing. Still, as Anna had proven with those Sparkseeds, even a short-term application of that power could be incredibly destructive.
The weaponry situation was also less satisfactory. We had gotten one of the main cannons repaired, but while it was powerful, the firing time was slow. We had side cannons that could fire much more quickly, but they were essentially anti-personnel weapons and little use against armored targets. Building a power beam would take around a month. I started the project aware it would be a long time to see results.
Inside the ship, I'd focused on defenses in a few key areas. The most likely route of entrance by invaders was going to be from above, which made deck five our first line of defense. Fortunately, it also housed the Wolves. I set aside a suite of rooms for Hot Stuff and her lieutenants. I might not think much of the Wolves, but that meant I was willing to throw their lives away. I made grenades and submachine guns plentiful so they could spray fire and destruction to their hearts content. I also rigged a supply of Pistonweed seeds to distribute throughout the level, along with a growth light. If I needed to, I could turn the deck into a killing floor.
In Engineering I planted Sparkseed throughout and constructed stairwells proofed against electrical charges as well as insulating it from the other decks. It didn't take long for Engineering to become an extremely hazardous environment for anyone other than the Rats, or my shielded repair drones.
For the Espionage deck I set into place routines to replicate what incidentally happened during the attack on the dome—it worked well. I could now, with a quick thought, trigger the sequence to open the ramp door and alter the pressure to send any invaders tumbling out of the bottom of the ship.
Research was well defended already by the Bats with their turrets and energy shields. That just left the Command deck, and Candice and Diana would do for security of my core. I did make one minor tweak, adding armored plates over my BioCore layered with a thin layer of Righteous goop sandwiched between them. I hoped it would serve as protection against any further assaults by a Command core.
During the week I'd kept the Powerhungry on the move. I thought it best not to present an easy target, and this gave us a chance to map some of the surroundings as well. The jungle was vast. I didn't have anything comparable in my records. The exploration found three active volcanoes and two villages that appeared to have been abandoned for decades.
While the jungles teemed with wildlife, civilization was a rare thing. I scanned several old wrecks, and at times detected ships at the very edge of my sensor range, but this part of the Rim really was desolate.
It was therefore something of a surprise when I got a hail. It was even more a surprise when I realized who it came from.
I opened a comm to Anna, who was practicing combat with her new teleportation ability. The Wolves she was sparring with were holding nothing back and she was crushing the competition by never being where expected.
I said, "I see you've found an all new way to hit on boys. At least this method appears to be meeting with some success."
"There are girls too," Anna said.
"Unfortunately for you, girls also have good vision. Perhaps you should try dating one of the Bats?"
"The goggles weird me out," Anna said.
I could understand that. Still, she really needed to accept what she could get.
"We've got a communication. It's the Righteous, they want to talk," I said.
"Which means they really want to talk briefly before betraying us and trying to kill us dead," Anna said, working loose her shoulders. "Get me a clip of Righteous killing ammunition and build a few Righteous Killer bombs. We'll chat with them."
Anna, unrealistic in love and practical in war. I generated ammunition for my drones as well and got Mechos to work on bomb triggers. We were ready to talk.
26
I sent acknowledgment to the Righteous broadcast and seconds later a ship materialized in the sky near us. We hadn't seen any Righteous vessels this large before. A massive sphere was surrounded by a ring. The entire ship was painted in shades of white and gold.
We were large compared to most ships—and this one was slightly larger than us. I sent science drones to scan it at close range. Perhaps I'd get some insight into their technology. At the very least it would aid in teleporting over bombs.
In all of two minutes Anna had somehow found time to change into a dress and fix her hair. I thought the risqué gown of red and gold made her look like an under-ripe tomato.
Anna took a moment to adopt a suitably languid position on her throne and keyed a video comm to the other ship. "This is Annabella Besari, Queen of the World. What the fuck do you want?"
There was a swirl of blue energy in the middle of the throne room and a holographic projection of a woman appeared. She adopted almost the opposite attitude of Anna, her posture stiff, and her uniform of white and gold surprisingly plain despite the bright colors.
"Commander Tala Reese. We want the stabilizer orb you acquired," the woman said.