"Huh," Richard said idly as the pod’s cargo manifest read its contents to him, a slightly disappointed smile creeping onto his face in an attempt to be optimistic. Sure, none of its contents were conducive to actually surviving, but at least he could make literally anything he could imagine!
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FEDERATION NAVAL LOGISTICS DIVISION - FREIGHT MANIFEST
Designation: CARGO_POD02
Vessel:
FNEF PATHFINDER
Loading:
OA515-4
Entry:
N/A
#
Item Name
Description
Serial No.
GWT
Remarks
01
HEAVY FABRICATOR UNIT
Commercial-use fabricator unit w/ AI Solver
0221-1124501
226.8
Engineering backup for emergencies
02
10x FABRICATOR CARTRIDGES (STRUCTURAL METALS)
Fabricator cartridges containing raw materials (Structural Metals)
0221-1124502
75.0
Fabricator juice :D
Checked and secured.
03
10x FABRICATOR CARTRIDGES (COMMON COMPONENT METALS)
Fabricator cartridges containing raw materials (Common Component Metals)
0221-1124503
If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.
75.0
Fabricator juice² :D
Checked and secured.
04
10x FABRICATOR CARTRIDGES (PLASTICS)
Fabricator cartridges containing raw materials (Plastics)
0221-1124504
75.0
Checked and secured.
05
General Service Android (C)
Android outfitted w/ custom Personality Unit.
0221-1124504
93.4
Who ordered a custom-made female model? Did acquisitions give this thing tits?
Checked and secured.
Inspecting Personnel
Remarks
Date
01
PO3 Arnell Write
All done! B)
D57-2106.29
02
CPO Adriano Aguilar
These manifests don’t allow for erasures, Write — you fucking cretin. Stop fucking around.
D57-2106.29
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Weapons, tools, clothes, even basic electronics — nothing was off the table! The AI it had installed would be able to design pretty much anything he needed assuming its training data was still intact, and the pod's battery should hold out long enough for him to get some generators or solar panels running.
The pod also came with an Android of some sort, and judging by the remarks from one of the cargo inspectors, it wasn't the androgynous sort the fleet was known to use. Richard didn't think it would be a problem though, as an extra pair of hands was always welcome — boobs or not.
He'd get that going later, once he had the extra power to... well, power it.
He began tackling his electricity issue, unfastening the massive machine as he queued a few solar panel arrays, power cables, and a basic generator unit that took any and all organic matter he fed it.
As an afterthought, he put in a few of the tools he might need for later — a respirator, a standard-issue rifle, a few magazines, and a basic reconnaissance drone — before placing one of each cartridge into their respective input slots.
Now for the second order of business — security. It paid to try and mitigate whatever risks might come to ruin his day, so identifying them always came first.
Before the impact that caused his cargo pod to separate from the ship, he heard the telltale deep thrumming of the ship's magnetic shielding coming online. This was usually done to shield against ion storms or solar flares, that much he knew, but neither of those things hit just a few of a ship's compartments — they were supposed to hit the whole thing!
Magnetic shielding was also how most ships a while back used to respond to energy weapons of any sort, but those were outlawed by the Federation ages ago. Even if they weren't, what the hell was that kind of firepower doing all the way out here?
To summarize; someone had access to some sort of energy weapon in this middle-of-nowhere habitable world, hundreds of lightyears from the nearest known inhabited system, and managed to get the jump on one of the Federation Navy's destroyers. A hostile ship, maybe? Or ground-to-orbit ion cannons?
That all meant he'd be up against an unknown, probably organized group of enemies with unknown capabilities, in unknown territory, with nothing but his sidearm and whatever equipment he could fabricate before they found him.
All that wasn't even considering the wildlife, plants, or whatever diseases his body might not be capable of fighting off — his immunoenhancers couldn't fight against everything, after all.
"So I'm fucked, then," he sighed, slumping into one of the pod's walls as another chime for a completed fabrication sought his attention. The machine stopped whirring as well, so there was nothing to do but start scouting and setting up outside.
He took the drone, allowing its propellers and camera systems to unfold and extend from its egg-like packaged shape.
He took the respirator, locking the seals shut over his face as he placed its oxygen supply on his back.
He took the freshly-fabricated rifle, feeling a little warmer than usual, though nonetheless comforting in his hands.
Richard slipped a magazine into his weapon, turning the safety off as he racked its charging handle. The rest went into pouches on his ballistic armour, a little shy of three hundred rounds ready to face whatever might come his way.
Stepping in front of the airlock that once connected his pod to the ship, it was time to finally figure out what the heck was out there.