Chapter 113 – Second Rescues
Talia watched as the spiders swarmed over the makeshift training grounds. Her eyes flickered from group to group, tracking their progress.
Hot Pink pranced atop a mound, demonstrating the proper stance for firing lasers. The spider’s legs twitched with excitement as she showed off the new gear.
Nearby, Dapple held court with a cluster of newcomers. Her steady stream of chirps and clicks carried across the clearing thanks to her communicator’s speakers.
As each group mastered the basics, Dapple assigned them to teach others. It was a simple yet effective system to teach everyone as fast as possible.
The spiders weren’t stupid. They were really smart. She’d given them tools, yes, but they were making them their own.
[Update: Full production of Tch’Llik’yzz’Lrr equipment initiated. Estimated completion time: 12-18 hours.]
Talia’s eyebrows shot up. “All of them?”
[Confirmation: Material supply lines secure.]
The numbers didn’t quite add up in Talia’s mind. Thousands of harnesses in less than a day? She shook her head.
[Notice: Slim Girl estimated arrival at jungle edge concurrent with equipment completion.]
Talia’s lips pressed into a thin line. Their desert crawler wasn’t going to be enough, although she was sure that it could hold a lot of spiders on its deck.
They were going to need something a bit more for the entire spider attack force. “We’ll need mobile shield generators to protect the Tch’Llik from artillery. I don’t want them stalled during the attack.”
Neo flashed a schematic across her HUD. A CRD-X9 topped by a towering shield generator. Talia’s eyes lit up, and she nodded. “Yes, that’s it exactly.”
[Warning: Limited production possible within rescue mission timeframe.]
The excitement fizzled, replaced by a twinge of frustration. “Why didn’t we build them earlier?”
[Explanation: Mobile shield units previously deprioritized due to force mobility. Firepower and mobile artillery emphasized.]
Talia sighed, rubbing her temples. “Right.” She squared her shoulders, pushing the regret aside. “Make as many as we can in the time left. The Tch’Llik are fast, but they’ll need cover to break through.”
Her gaze swept over the training grounds again. The spiders moved with growing confidence in their new gear. She allowed herself a small smile. Something was going right for once.
A spider, one Talia didn’t recognize, scuttled forward. Its multi-faceted eyes focused on her, and it extended a harness with a trembling limb. “How-work-on?” it chirped.
Talia took the harness, noting the spider’s apprehension. It was afraid, she realized.
She kept her voice steady, aiming to reassure it. “First, hold it with your forelimbs, then slip it over your head. Then you have to step through it while keeping hold of the front with your forelimbs. Once it’s centered over your back and belly, you pull and it will automatically clasp down.”
She held up the harness for demonstration. The spider followed her instruction. Once it was in position, Talia nodded in approval. “That’s good.”
At her words, the spider pulled the harness strap. It tightened automatically, and lightweight durasteel armor plating deployed across its body. The spider chirped in surprise.
Talia smiled at its reaction. “It’s fine, that’s normal.” She then guided the spider through using the laser on one of the target mounds. She explained the shield generator next, demonstrating how to trigger it by pulling its left forelimb inward.
The spider tested it out, and a shield flared to life around it. Talia nodded in approval before explaining that the shield generator could support almost sixty seconds of power or take five to six major plasma hits before losing integrity.
“Use-Only-When-Danger!” The spider chirped after understanding her explanation.
Talia nodded and smiled at its enthusiasm. As the spider scurried off to join her sisters, she noticed a dozen more spiders watching her, their own harnesses held out tentatively.
“Oh, wow,” she murmured.
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[Observation: Spider interaction with User increasing. Curiosity levels elevated.]
“I can see that,” Talia mumbled, her gaze still on the crowd of spiders. She felt a strange mix of apprehension and excitement. She was making progress befriending more than just the trio that had become her companions.
She repeated the demonstration a hundred times until she mastered exactly how to word and show them the most effectively. The spiders’ quick learning and enthusiasm buoyed her spirits.
Everyone was motivated and eager.
Talia stepped back to take a break, leaving the spiders she had taught to teach others. She watched as Dapple corrected another spider’s grip on its laser. Hot Pink bounced from group to group, becoming a blur of motion as she offered encouragement and tips.
A low hum drew Talia’s attention, and she turned, her gaze settling on the row of fabricators perched atop CRD-X9 trailers.
The machines whirred ceaselessly, churning out harness after harness. Vehicles rumbled back and forth, ferrying power cells and resource billets to feed the hungry fabricators.
On the opposite side of the working machines, lines of spiders stretched into the jungle. They shuffled forward, eager forelimbs reaching for the newly minted harnesses before scurrying off to join the training groups.
[Status: 89% of counted Tch’Llik equipped. Rescue operation on schedule.]
Talia nodded, her brow furrowing. “The Blues might not have great night vision, but it’ll still be better for us and the spiders. We need to stick to the timeline.”
[Update: Blue military build-up shifting from gate fortifications. Probable assault on HEM site is imminent within the next twenty-four hours.]
“They’ll likely rush back to defend the gate once we start the rescue,” Talia mused.
Neo’s response came as a tactical map flashing across her HUD. Multiple attack vectors blazed across the display, each designed to hamper the Blues’ ability to regroup.
Talia’s eyes narrowed as she studied the plan. “What about the auto-bases?”
[Informative: Forward auto-bases are operating at full military capacity. Rear auto-bases continue to focus on expansion and support.]
For a moment, Talia considered asking for exact numbers.
She caught herself, realizing the impulse wasn’t a good idea. Not that she hadn’t done so before when she had first arrived, but… back then, micromanaging everything had been possible. Now, she needed to trust Neo with the details and keep her focus on the bigger picture.
“Neo, we need to get the updated communicators distributed as well. I think it’s time we teach the spiders that been through the harness training with them,” Talia said. “Start distributing them to the equipped spiders.”
[Understood: Initiating communicator distribution protocol.]
Talia watched as the spider groups erupted into a frenzy of excitement. Hot Pink and Dapple moved through the throng, their movements fluid and purposeful as they demonstrated the new communicators.
Dapple’s forelimb slipped smoothly into the device, a perfect fit opposite her laser controller. With a gentle tap of her leg, a holographic projection sprang to life.
“Call-Talia!” Dapple chirped.
The device blinked, its hologram shifting to a vibrant green. Talia’s wrist buzzed, startling her. She accepted the call and suddenly found herself staring at... herself. Her own face gazed up at her from the holo projection in crisp detail. Her face, not her helmet.
A chorus of chirps and cheers rose from the gathered spiders. Talia blinked, caught off guard. “Oh. You’ve been getting video feeds of my face all this time.”
Hot Pink bounced gleefully, her legs a blur of motion. The spider was laughing. “Talia-Soft-Inside-Maker-Carapace!”
The revelation sent a jolt through Talia. She’d grown so accustomed to her exo-suit, except for the rare stint in the crawler’s crew quarters or the bootstrap module, she’d almost forgotten the person beneath.
Communicators flew onto eager spider limbs.
Talia held one of the devices in the air. “This real-time communication will revolutionize our coordination,” she announced.
The spiders chirped excitedly. The next few hours blurred by in a whirlwind of organization. She found herself immersed in creating a command structure that made sense for the impending battle.
Dapple took her place at the top. Then there were a dozen spiders that would each be in charge of a thousand, who would in turn have ten spiders reporting to them while in charge of one hundred. Those would have ten reporting to them, and so on, all the way to the bottom, which consisted of ten-spiders per squad.
As the pieces fell into place, an icy knot of doubt formed in Talia’s stomach. She bit her lip, the gravity of the situation hitting her. Was she leading them to their doom? Losing machines was one thing, but this... this was different.
Her gaze fell on Hot Pink and Dapple, their movements now practiced and confident. These weren’t just alien curiosities or pets. They were people—strange, certainly, but undeniably sentient beings—with lives and hopes of their own.
The alternative seemed inescapable. If they didn’t act, if they didn’t win... everything would be lost. It was her responsibility to see that they did the best they could and won with as few losses as possible.
A yellow counter blinked insistently in the corner of her HUD. Time was running short. She didn’t have time for self-doubt. Not anymore.
She squared her shoulders, pushing aside her doubts. Dapple noticed her movement and turned and looked at her expectantly.
“Let’s get everyone loaded up,” Talia announced. “It’s time to head to the Slim Girl. And then we will rescue our sisters.”