Sry for the long wait, RL has kept me busy and havent felt motivated so much in the last few weeks hope you like this

***

The wait for the food and water was long but it wasn’t unproductive. We gained the knowledge for the ion pulse engines we needed and began designing the new drone engines. This was quick, only about 4 hours of designing and redesigning until we came up with the new model for the three types of drones we have.

The laser drone became sleek and oval shaped unlike before which was a spherical. There were several exits for the exhausts around the body. The scanner drone was still a sphere but slightly bigger to accommodate the slightly larger framework of the new engine. And the shield drone also became more oval like but it was faced down the oval shape instead of straightforward like the laser drone, we did it like this to give it the impression of a shield while the laser looks more like a fighter. Thankfully the engine was also light weight compared to the old engine we had before. It cut the weight by 1\3 which helped a lot to increase the speed on this planet.

We made three prototypes one for each type of drone we had and tested them in manual control. Let’s just say the speed and maneuverability of the new drones is beyond what we expected. They easily outran the tiny fliers. If we practice enough we could fly circles around them.

The engine also increased power to the other systems a bit. Being the source of power, it increased slightly the strength of the shield and scanners. The lasers had an increased fire rate only bit no power boost.

The results were so great that we dismantled all our current drones and made new ones with the new engine.

After two days we were also reaching the end of our food and water supply but thankfully the transport came. We saw that far away, first it was the readings of laser fire and then we saw them speeding towards us at top speed while Golems followed close behind.

We quickly sent help which was about 10 laser drones. They quickly reached the cargo ships and began firing back.

The enemy forces were about 50 tiny fliers and 15 human golems.

They were all trying to destroy the ships but as soon as the drones arrived they were pushed back. The 30+ fighter escorts finally had the few seconds of distraction to turn around and begin a counter attack against the Golems. They began to fire at the humans Golems on the ground but they miss a few as they go underground to hide. I connect my comm to everyone participating.

Noah: all of you gain altitude to about 20 m that is out of the Golems jump range the small flying ones let us take care of it.

They received the order with thanks and ascended above the limit of the golems. We then controlled the drones to come in basic V formation split in two groups of five. We then drove the drones into the small herd of fliers while blasting away taking out nearly half of them before we pass them. Half of the remaining flies’ mu group killed came after us. With a quick U turn upside down we attacked again taking out the flies heading towards us and then processed to finish the remaining ones.

The other group led by Basil was also finishing up.

??? : thanks a lot for the support, those are some useful drones for sure.

Noah: yes we know but let’s talk at the base this isn’t the place to do it.

??? : Right we will be right there.

We helped escort them to the base. There were 10 loaded with food 10 with water and 2 with workers.

The food and water was quickly unloaded and sent to the carrier and a bit of water to the greenhouse.

In the group of workers were many kinds of workers like mechanics and techs who were taught about ion engines and so called terraformers. It is a special variation to a biologist and botanist in that they work on bringing life to any planet that has potential. Us finding ground water was pretty much all that is needed for a terraformer to be sent.

He said that it is mandatory for all large fleet ships to have a few because when a new planet is encounter and has potential then one or two are required to go down and help bring life to the planet. The methods are often quite extreme. For cold planets with almost no atmosphere you need to take it to the extreme and cause a few volcanic eruptions to make a primitive atmosphere from the CO2 and other toxic gasses. Then the planet itself will heat up and ground water will start melting and seep up and any ice above ground will melt making oceans.

The process is long as it takes quite a few years at least a good 10-20 years of heavy investment to get a basic atmosphere that can hold breathing air for above ground life. Marine life will just need a small push after the oceans appear since algae and sea plants will be imported from planets like earth or other planets depending on the benefits of the plant and then plankton and after some larger fish.

I’m sure you though 10 years is too little of time for a planet to be reshaped. Well you’re wrong at least in the game you are, here there is technology to help speed that up as well as techniques that are taught to terraformers to manipulate the planets natural disasters to your favor.

Now besides them, there were also the radio tower technicians, two of them. We had messaged to the station that the radio tower got wrecked and we were using our armors helmets to use the consoles. These guys were quick to get to work after landing. They requested some worker droids to assist and soon rushed off to the tower.

We didn't mind and let them go but after a few hours getting everyone to their place i got curious to see how it was and i went there.

What i saw made my jaw drop. Instead of repairing the radio tower they are giving it an overhaul. Two of the consoles had been remade completely and had three hologram screen over it, the other one as well. At the moment they were remaking the main console. Their concentration was admirable. The improvements left most of the radio tower looking like a workshop with all the tools and parts on the ground but if you take that out it looks impressive.

Not wanting them to screw up i leave for the research lab were the mechanics from the liberation ship at the station was teaching proper use of the ion engine tech. We may have the knowledge but we still need to learn to properly use it. I got there when they were beginning they had brought and stripped a fighter ship clean. Being the captain i also had to learn this so i jumped right in.

Five hours later and an aching head from the difficult task to make a medium size engine and we were done and put the fighter back together. It was a big headache to learn this but the benefits it gave were worth it.

Ship construction leveled to basic 8

With the raise in skill I'm getting better at all this mechanic stuff.

After learning from the pro’s we headed to the cargo ships and began repairing them. They had taken lots of damage and were in some desperate need of repairs and have been putting it off to get things in order but not with everything in its place we took up the work. We began with the fighters that were in more disrepair because they fought directly with the Golems. There were holes from where the little bastards hit and dig through so we started first by removing all the hull plating and checking the interior of the ship. We had a few combat droids ready with rifles incase there was something hiding side.

Unfortunately there was a few in both wings they were eating up the main structure of the of the fighter which only made me hold my forehead. the damage was extensive thanks to the time they were given to chow down. the wings looked like they would fall off with just a bit of pushing so with a few rifle shots we cleaned the bugs out and began taking the structure apart and rebuilding it. We worked on 3 at a time, most of them only had these bastards in the wings. seems they were aiming to take out the engines as they left the planet, little fucks.

well this work took a rough estimate of about a day and a half to complete all the fighters and 2 days to finish the 22 Dingys. during this time a second cargo came but this one wasn't attacked because we warned them of the dangers and how to evade it. we now had about 2 months worth of water and food and an over crowded landing port. at least we finished the repairs about a day after the second group arrived so all of them decided to head back together.

it was the third day after we finished the repairs and the landing area was a buzz of activity as everything was being prepared for them to leave more than 50 Dingys and 100 fighters were around taking off and getting ready. The fighters were all flying around the base within the 5km safe zone as the Dingys stabilized in the air. they all faced up a bit and began speeding up until they were at half their max speed. all of them had been checked and repaired so they could get the max potential out of them.

as all of them got about 2 km up into the air they began speeding up. we all watched them but we began feeling a kind of forbidding feeling. we didn't know why but soon it became stronger the ground began to vibrate like an earthquake...or something moving around.

I paled when i thought that. I was currently in the radio tower looking up at where the group of ships were.

Noah: hey get your asses moving something is coming after you.

??? : we don't see anything and the scans aren't picking up anything.

suddenly the ground outside the base burst open. like a volcano erupting the explosion of the ground was monstrously loud but what was louder was the rush of wind as a monstrous sized creature climbed into the air. Its width was at least half of the base itself and i couldn't see the end of it as it climbed higher.

??? : WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!!!

Noah: PUNCH IT GUYS OR YOUR DEAD!!!

i could easily see that they were accelerating at much higher speeds than normal and was sure they had rerouted power to the engine to play faster.

as we watched the creature climb towards the cargo team the sound it gave off was like a massive train passing right next to you. A storm of dust was happening as the thing kept climbing with no end in sight at least that is what i thought.

As it reached what i believe was around 50 km it slowed down and stopped before it started pulling itself back into the earth.

Noah: hello!!! can you hear me!! hello.

i call out but it was quiet for a while.

??? : w-w-we a-are fine...somehow. We escaped but almost destroyed our engines doing it.

Noah: *sigh* thats a relief...you need to have Mr. Mores teach everyone how to make the new engines there is no way the conventional engine will survive in this planet especially when escaping the planet.

??? : how will you guys get out with that carrier?

Noah: i asked Mr. Mores to order a Warp Drive cable he should have it. With it we can warp out of here and into space without worry.

??? : well...good lucky trying to find someone to come back down here.

Noah: …none of you want to come back do you?

??? : Nope

that last one everyone said together. a new headache was all it gave me. guess depending on players really isnt a good think. damn cowards this is just like when we needed to come to the planet they chicken out when the first sign of danger appears until the problem is resolved. Well at least i don't need them for another 2 months and by then i might already have a farm or something for food and water production but i'm worried about how we will set things up in the fertile land with something so huge lurking around. I'm amazed it hasn't eaten us already.

well with them gone the area has become emptier and now we could get to work starting with the terraformers. they seem to want to go to the land where we found good land. seems they want to set up a dome shield and make a kind nature preserve as a start along with farms to make our food.

besides them there were mechanics who were getting some equipment ready. they told me it was a type of scanner much more powerful than the drone ones. This will scan the dirt and give a process reading of the soil content as well as give a detailed layout of the subterranean layers how the ground is formed since there are different kinds of dirt with different compositions. We load all this up and two Dingy, one for the crew and one for the gear. From the carrier the fighter team was getting ready with the drones and were already circling the Dingy as wel left. The Shield Drone activated as we left the main shield and headed to the site.

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It took about an hour to reach the site with the constant assault from the golems. such annoying bastards they only give up when dead. anyway before we land we move the shields into the ground and push back every underground golem. After landing it became really quick outside, they didn't want to try their luck with the huge monster we saw earlier so they speed up the work and begin studying the soil and underground, mainly the underground river. i just stayed in my Dingy as they worked. they are all NPC and specialists at that so when talking about their specialty they can get really complicated with the explanation unless you ask for a very brief explanation. And i mean VERY brief they can be as eccentric as Gunner towards guns sometimes and they don't stop after they begin.

even after landing the Golems didn't give up and were constantly attacking but the laser drones were quite capable and the skill of us pilots were getting better and we even gained a new skills

New skill learn Drone Pilot

Drone Pilot

By manually piloting various models of drones you have gained an understanding of their workings and how to control the small robots.

It took about an hour for them to quickly gather all their info but they couldn't go over it because of the danger. we quickly packed and got in the ships before leaving towards the base.

back at the base they took all their gear into a large warehouse. i was curious as to why and entered. what i found was a lab with many consoles and a large holo projector table in the center. near the back was all the gear we had just used it was being set up with some extra cables connected to the consoles.

the room itself looked brand new but outside it looked like any old warehouse showing how well disguised they had made it. they had changed out all the metal walls and floors for new plate and it was all painted white like a normal lab. on the holo projector there was a large cone shape displayed. as i looked at it i realised this was the results of the scans. in the center of the land mass i could see a large blue area which i guess was the water. above there was various layers of dirt ranging in color of black, brown and red. in between all these were dozens of pockets of air that if you grab a pen you could connect all of them into a complex tunnel system. this must be the result of the Golems digging underground. there was also a scan of the area outside the fertile area the place was riddled with complete tunnels.

Noah: hey Conner why is there complete tunnels outside the area we scanned.

Conneor is one of the terraformers that came to down. he is a short man only 160cm with messy brown hair and a friendly personality that gets eccentric when he talks about terraforming.

Conneor: we don't know but we believe its because of the water.

Noah: they have fear of water?!

Conneor: we don't know for sure but its possible since they are made of dirt and rocks the water could cause their bodies to break apart.

the instant he says it out loud there was a long silence after as everyone looked at him.

Noah: good work ill be going to do something VERY important.

Conner: yes sir.

i ran out of the room towards the science lab. inside Mr. Kinter was their looking through his files.

Noah: Wilson i need to check something.

he looked startled as i called him by his first name.

Wilson: and that would be what exactly?

Noah: i want to check how the bodies of the golems reacts to water.

He doesn't seem to understand what i am planning and just shrugs and points to the back door.

Wilson: the remains of the Golems he have are in the back. the faucet and bucket are over in that closet

He points me to a small door. I grab the bucket and fill it with water then run into the room with the bodies.

i pull one of the bodies to the floor and level ground since they were piled up then grab the bucket and tip some water over it. Mr Kinter had followed me curious as to what i was planning. as the water fell on the body it was sucked in like a sponge and became a large clump before falling off the body in a mess of mud. the inside that remained showed pore filled rocks and lots of dust that kept falling off as it had some water in them.

Wilson: w-what happened?

Noah: the body absorbed the water and fell apart...so Conner was right the Golem do fear water.

Wilson: a fatal weakness like this and its the only thing we have so little of on this planet.

Noah: to kill of all of them we need to unfreeze the water. in other words we need to terraform this planet and bring life to it. tell me how is the shield done research?

Wilson: we haven't begun yet.

Noah: then start, the faster we can make them the faster we can gain large amounts of water from the underground river and start producing food and preparing the area for humans.

Wilson: but there is something i'm curious about, if they fear water why do they evade the base which doesn't have any.

Noah: …

Wilson: …

We both quickly go back to Conner in his lab. he was already looking through the mountain of info on the screens.

Noah: Conner we need you to scan the 5 km around the base and see if you can find water around here. the Golem's body falls apart when it comes in contact to water so they fear it by instinct.

Conner: thats all good and all but I'm busy.

Noah: if we find water we can start terraforming sooner you know.

he snaps his eyes away from the screen and towards me before i even finish the sentence.

Conner: tell me what do you know about terraforming.

Noah: not much but i know that water is the first thing that is looked for in any planet that is being terraformed.

Conner: correct that is why we take your own scans into consideration you didn't find water around the base but you did at the Site Alpha and we will concentrate our work there.

Noah: I've been wondering but there must be a reason the miners choose this place for their work besides the mineral here. they need water as well no one is stupid enough to not look into it.

Conner: unfortunately we cannot go into something with only assumptions. if you want work done around here scan the ground very well and find water if you do we will start work here as well.

with that he closes this conversation. damn for the only time his personality isn't kind to be when he works, i don't have any luck at all.

Wilson: mind if i scan your own scanner. its is of higher quality than our own if we can make some better scanners we can get this job done.

Conner: feel free to scan but just that it's really important.

i leave them tired from all this work. Damn its getting hard to do this now that so many pro’s are gathering from other ships that aren't my own. most of my workers and crew listen well enough but i can't do the same for someone elses crew. he is right though our scans showed this area didn't have water...unless that monsters hole. it vanished back inside after it appeared from the scans i wouldn't be wrong to say that the river was carved out by that one of those things accidentally finding an underground reservoir. if thats true then i should have some scanners go inside.

i race across the base into my carrier and then seat myself in a ship. i activate the manual controls of a shield drone and activate autopilot for 4 scanners and 10 laser drone and have them all leave the base. the giant hole the creature made is at exactly 5km away. it looks like an abyss swallowing everything with the shields active i move into the hole. the scanners already start scanning and mapping the tunnel out. the scans appear as a separate screen next to me. the readings are normal for the area.

As i move further there still hasn't been a single attack. The hole is already reaching as deep as the lowest levels of the mine shaft under the base. It was about half a kilometer that we picked up a new reading on the scanner. trace amounts of water started to appear near the lower right side of the tunnel. I stop my drone and have the scanners do a detailed scan of the area. It goes smoothly until it hits the bedrock wall between the base and the outside. The whole area was moist but no large body of water. The moist dirt might be the answer though there is still water though very little.

I continue down doing a general scan most of the tunnel now has water registered around. it was nearly an hour after i started that i finally picked up something larger. A detailed scan shows that a hollowed out chamber was found underground to the right about 20 meters off from the tunnel. Unfortunately we didn't have anything to dig with so i just told the laser drones to fire the lasers. They had really good penetration in this packed dirt but it didn't do me any good though I did have them fire away for a good 10 minutes before giving up.The scans also don't seem to pick up what is there but it is one kind of material. for now it was good enough to know there was something there.

After giving up on diggin it with the lasers i did one more scan before giving up and started to rise up towards the surface. at least i planned to until i heard a crack sound from the wall. i turned the drone to look at the source. it was the wall i shot at, it was started to form very deep cracks and with the lights the drone had i could see the trickle of water coming out. I instantly paled as i saw the cracks grow and the water flow increased. i quickly aimed the drone upward and floored the thrusters. the impulse from the ion pulse from so many drones caused the wall to collapse and through it a torrent of pressurized water shot out and up and down the tunnel. the drones were at max speed but the water gained ground like it was hungry to get the drones and it did get them. the shields didn't stop the water since they were set to stop the Golems so it washed the drones up and pushed them up and crashing into the wall even though the autopilot was working at its max to fix its trajectory. As if to make matters worse after about a minute the current became even stronger signalling that the tunnel was filled at the lower end of the tunnel and it pushed the drones even faster. Luckily the shield drone i was using got spared. the system quickly understood that the situation had become dire and made the shields push the drone to the middle of the current while the shields themselves fit to the size of the tunnel to keep the drone stable.

As the water neared the surface i could feel the vibrations in my seat so is set the drone autopilot to return to the landing zone and got out. Everyone was outside looking towards the hole and soon with a huge gushing sound a monster geyser erupted for a moment before settling down. in the place of the hole was a large lake that quickly froze over making a lid for the water.

Everyone was stunned as they walked up to the frozen lake. Conner and Mr. Kinter were at the front. i encountered them gawing at the lake. i connected my coms to theirs

Noah: guess i was right this time Conner.

He turned to look at me then looked between the lake and me then smiled and walked towards the base leaving one message before the connection cut.

Conner: You're right this time Noah...this time.

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