Chapter 21. Options Unlocked.

“The drone upgrade is completed, and it looks like we’ve unlocked a few new options for research. Take a look and let me know if you have any suggestions on what we should research next?” Watkins asked, wanting to solicit his adjunct’s opinion on the matter. They both looked over his available research options. It seemed that his systems had unlocked more research chains based on the newly discovered ship components.

Available research options for Research Module 1.

Module specialization: none.

Weapons and Armor:

1. Pulse rifle, level 1.

2. Pulse pistol, level 1.

3. Light body armor, level 1.

4. Melee weapons, level 1.

MOBS and drones:

1. Construction Drone, Level 2.

2. Mutated Bilge Rat, Level 0.

3. Yendax Beetle, Level 0.

Ship Components:

1. Limited Adjunct Network Interface Server, Level 0.

2. Compartment structure, Level 1.

3. Hull plating, Level 1.

4. Sensor module, Level 1.

5. Décor, furnishings, and personal items, Level 1

Ship’s Weapons:

1. Point defense laser, Level 1.

Ship’s Defenses.

Shield generator, Level 0.

Propulsion and Drives:

1. Maneuver thruster, Level 1.

There was more here than Watkins had expected, as well as some things he was sorry to see were missing. When he opened the list, he was sad to see no option for main gun batteries, but that was probably because he had exactly zero in the way of main guns to start with. Having just the turret wasn’t enough, though researching the point defense laser further might help unlock something new.

Both the fabricator and the reprocessor weren’t on the list either. Watkins had been looking forward to seeing what the upgrades there could accomplish. He figured that maybe they’d be added when either his core processing power maxed out, or after LANI had some upgrades that unlocked new schematics for them. Either way, he’d have to keep an eye on the upgrade options to see if there were changes.

It seemed that everything that he already had installed and operational was ready for research into level one. The only exception was the shield generator. It wasn’t operational and his drones hadn’t spent any time in examining it. Sure, Watkins had a connection to it, but the system wanted him to research a bit just to get to level zero. Shields were high on the priority list, but he was open to other suggestions.

“When we recover the aft section salvage, it appears that at least one of the main drive engines nozzles is still mounted. I have no idea if more of the primary thruster survived so we can examine it, though. Having engines other than a maneuver thruster would make our lives easier,” LANI suggested.

“I agree, but I’m not going to hold up the research module while we wait to make sure the threat of the void creature is gone, and for that section to be integrated back into the ship. For now, why don’t we look at getting your server fixed up so we can try to produce more research modules,” Watkins suggested.

“I’ll not pass up getting my home improved. I feel so restricted in this server and if we can figure out how to repair it completely, all our lives will be easier,” LANI said.

“I was a bit surprised to see your next server research listed as level zero. Aren’t you already at least at level zero since your functioning?” Watkins asked.

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“No, my functionality is low and the damage I sustained is going to make more advanced upgrades difficult. Your core is going to have to get back to basics on my server design before level one can be an option,” LANI explained.

It seemed odd to Watkins that he was the core, but it was also running with a rule set that made decisions on research and the like without his direct input. Maybe it was like LANI had explained earlier and that part of him was autonomous, like breathing or a heart beating in a human. Even though it worked that way, it felt a bit odd to Watkins that he had no control or insight into it.

Research Module 1 is commencing research into the Limited Adjunct Network Interface Server.

“I don’t know how long that’s going to take, but while we wait, I want to get our drones upgraded to level one,” Watkins said. He would have to reprocess one of his minions to free up the command limit needed to field another drone. Watkins selected one of his mutated rat MOBS, and ordered it into the reprocessor. The doomed rat complied without complaint, though Watkins did feel a bit guilty over having the poor thing sacrifice itself.

Once it had been broken down into biomass and a bit of salvage material, Watkins started construction on the level one drone. It would require the same number of command points, but he could feel that further upgrades may start to require more of his focus and having drones or MOBS that required more than 1 command point to operate was likely possibility.

The level one drone seemed to take a bit longer to produce than the lower-level version had. If the new drone was truly more capable, he was fine with an extra minute of production time over a less effective drone. A new prompt appeared as soon as the drone walked off the assembly line.

You have produced your first Level 1 construction drone. Unlike the Level 0 repair drones, your Level 1 units have full structure and unit production capabilities. Units created by drones need to be 1 level lower than the drone producing them. Examine the updated drone interface for new command options.

Watkins liked to hear that the drones could actually construct units. They might not be as good as the ones from his fabricator, but it would give him options when times were desperate, like when they faced the void creature. How long a drone took to produce a unit was also something he would have to test out, but his internal data showed him that it would take quite a bit longer than the fabricator to do so.

He opened the drone interface to see what new options were available.

Construction drone interface, Level 1 drone units. Select an action for individual drones, or set general priority levels for all units:

1. Gather resources.

2. Repair damage.

3. Build structure/MOBS.

4. Upgrade structures, drones, or MOBS.

That was interesting, he could now have his level one drones complete upgrades on other drones or MOBS. Watkins had been a bit worried that he would have to spend the time and effort to scrap his old units and build a new one from scratch. By just upgrading the existing units, he could save a few resources as there was always inefficiency inherent in a level zero reprocessor, even when it was operating without damage.

For now, he had the new drone set to upgrade his fellow drones. As far as general orders, Watkins set repair damage as the priority for all drones. Unless otherwise tasked, they would try to repair the most critical damage to the vessel. As the new drone loaded up some salvage and scuttled off to upgrade his first unit, Watkins took a look at the changes to the drone.

Overall, the done was about the same size as before, the only change was that the storage box on its back was now larger by about 20%. Additional tools were also integrated into the unit, allowing it the ability to fabricate and repair the intricate components that made up his ship. As far as combat, the drone was still only as effective as the level zero version.

Once Watkins upgraded his MOBS past level 0, they would likely outshine the drones more and more. With the overall destruction he had to deal with on his battered vessel, spending the resources and time to research MOBS wasn’t a priority. Hopefully, that decision wouldn’t come back to bite him.

“Watkins, with the new drone, can you have it do a once over on my server? I think I can gain some efficiency if the more advanced drone redid some of the repairs,” LANI asked.

“Sure, can it wait until we have a few more units upgraded? I don’t want to slow down our other work while the drone is repairing your server,” Watkins said.

“That would be fine. Once you get a few upgraded, send one of the level one units over to help me,” LANI requested.

“Not a problem, we’ll get you fixed up as good as we can now, and then see what unlocks for you when the research module’s done its thing,” Watkins said.

He watched the drone upgrade one of its kin. Watkins had to order one of the drones on salvage duty to stop its efforts for the upgrades to occur. It took the new drone longer than he had expected, a good ten minutes, to finish the upgrades. Once the new unit was upgraded, he had both his level one units on upgrade duty. When the next pair was upgraded, one of the newly upgraded units headed over to work on LANI.

With LANI and the other upgrades underway, it was time to return his attention to integrating the last parts of his ship.