I installed that genetic template and then activated the fire sprinklers. Fiery droplets began to rain down from the ceiling.
It was agony for me, it was agony for them.
Anna and Mechos didn't stop working even through the torment. It was a good ninety seconds before I began to feel strange. I was getting flashes of the landscape above—the surface. Glimpses of some vast ships that soared through the sky. I also didn't love the Commander, not anymore.
I stopped the fire from raining down at once.
They'd somehow interfaced Thomas with my organic circuits. It was flashes of his memories I was getting, along with his power-resistance.
Anna and Mechos would live. Now to figure out what to do about the Commander.
33
"They're dead," I said to the Commander.
"Good," the Commander said, his eyes glued to the monitor. The man did seem more appreciative of the women on the screen than the one close to him.
I had to figure out how to handle him. I didn't think it would be too difficult to lure him into a containment cell. Clearly, he was sexually interested in both Sylph and Hot Stuff. That desire made him an easy target to manipulate.
Up until now I'd wanted to capture anyone I wanted whenever I could, but rarely had a power like the Commander's seem like such a direct threat to me. If Hot Stuff got out she could cause extensive property damage, and Sylph could almost certainly escape with relative ease. This man could control my mind in an instant.
I didn't want him alive.
I had to figure out how to kill him.
"I can tell you're interested in them, but neither can be let out of containment. Sylph is still under research and Hot Stuff's body temperature runs so hot the contact would prove fatal for you," I said.
The Commander frowned at that. "It is good of you to be concerned about my safety, Emma. Is there nothing you can do about them?"
I had just the lie ready to go. The best sort, based on truth.
"I can't, but I do have a biological fabricator. I can make you a woman to interact with to any specifications you choose. An exact duplicate of one of them, or someone else completely different."
"Hot Stuff's tits and Sylph's legs?" the Commander asked.
That combination would look a bit like Anna. The man had terrible taste.
"Of course. I can make her for you at once and you can see if you like her. Would you like me to show you the way?"
While I was keeping up this conversation I was busy multitasking elsewhere. I hadn't yet tried to manufacture anything so biologically specific, but I had a plan of how I wanted this man to go out.
It only required a few special tweaks. A modification to one of the cabins upstairs to reinforce the door, a sprinkler system loaded and ready to go.
"Lead on, Emma," the Commander said, and looked to his companions. "You two can have fun with each other."
They complied at once. The Commander seemed entirely too interested in human coupling. I was glad that my new organic brain hadn't instilled any such cravings in me.
I guided the Commander up to the residences.
"So how was it that you knew to look for Sylph?" I asked.
"I've had my fun with her and some of her people before. They keep me well-supplied in things, just as you will," the Commander said.
Good, one of the corpses then. That meant no more loose ends after this.
"The room is a bit claustrophobic but for the bed. You'll want to disrobe in the hall," I said.
The Commander was confident in his abilities. "I'm not getting undressed without a reason. If you've built this girl, then show me a picture."
How demanding. I put up an image of Anna on a nearby monitor.
"Stunning," the Commander said.
Soon there was a pile of clothing on the floor and he stood before the door. I dimmed the lights and opened the hatch.
The Commander stepped inside. As soon as he was through I slammed the door behind him.
The sprinklers sprang to life. There are virtues to being a science facility and having biochemical production equipment. I was able to put together a truly absurd amount of giant mole pheromones.
In seconds, the Commander was pretty much the most attractive thing a mole could imagine, and despite his abilities my moles were far too stupid for him to convince them otherwise.
It didn't take long for the screaming to begin. This was my warrior mole, so it might occasionally flare to life, but I did order it to try and suppress that impulse as much as possible. I wanted things to last for a while.
I shut off the sensors to allow them some privacy. I tranquilized the Commander's two companions and moved them to separate cells. I suspected they shared no trace of his ability, and were simply under his influence. Perhaps when they regained their own minds I could find some use for them. If not, I could always use more biomass.
I got Anna into the Infirmary and Mechos back into his testing labyrinth. The man might have helped me, and I'd see him brought back to health, but I still wasn't going to take any chances.
I gave it a few hours before I checked back on the Commander. There was little enough left of the man, a few stringy bits of blackened flesh clinging to the skeleton. It seemed the mole had eaten some of him after raping and burning him to death.
In the middle of the corpse's ribcage was a small cluster of crystal glowing a dim orange color.
I commanded my warrior mole to pick it up, but as soon as contact was made the crystal flared away and I felt a charge coursing through my systems.
You have claimed a Command Crystal.
You have unlocked the ability of command at a distance. All range limitations for your drones are now rendered irrelevant. You can control your minions and agents at great distances.
That wasn't the power the Commander had. So far the abilities I'd gained were at least something similar to the abilities my test subjects possessed. Was that because I was researching them, or was it chance?
Did each crystal have a range of gifts it might bestow? I'd have to find out more about this. I'd also have to do some improvements—with this latest modification I should have a major update available.
34
I wanted to apply my major upgrade before I worried about any others.
You have an unspent core point.
Core points can enhance your competencies and open up new options for Research and Manufacturing.
Your options are:
Research 4
Research 4 will allow you to institute advanced testing protocols. These protocols will halve the research times of all projects. In addition, when beginning a new project, you will gain an enhanced breakdown of the possible benefits.
Military 1
Military 1 will allow you to build defense drones. Defense drones are mobile weapon platforms capable of base defense and attacks at a distance. While basic in function they can ultimately be updated to become formidable weapon platforms.
Manufacturing 1
Manufacturing 1 will allow the production of automated minions. They are capable of autonomous facility repair and will halve all build and production times for new facilities.
Up until now I'd been obviously focused on research each time. I did love my SCIENCE more than anything else. If the most recent research update would gather the passive core points I gained, it would be an easy decision, but it seemed it just halved research times.
Although those were getting uncomfortably long, there were other concerns. My facility kept facing new threats, and when the teleportation abilities finished unlocking, if they performed as hoped, it would do a lot to solve my resources bottleneck. I could make stronger cases now for either a Military or Manufacturing upgrade.