Sigma 16 T2 - ​Chapter 100 - Wings (Patreon)

Talia stood in the shower, her skin and entire body vibrating from the sonic waves. The sensation was supposed to be an improvement over a regular shower, with a massage function designed to enhance comfort and blood flow. She wasn’t convinced.

“I don’t like it.” Her voice echoed slightly in the enclosed space.

[Report: The sonic shower is working at full efficiency and should improve User comfort and blood flow.]

“It’s just making me vibrate. I could think of some use for that, but it’s not what I’m after. Do we even have hot water?”

[Confirmation: The shower is equipped with standard water functions.]

“Good, do that.”

A momentary delay followed, then cold water cascaded over her head. She sputtered. “Hot water, Neo!”

The temperature quickly adjusted, but the initial shock left her huffing. “You did that on purpose. What’s the big deal?”

[Explanation: There might have been cold water remaining in the system from previous tests. Sonic showers are a clear improvement.]

Talia rolled her eyes. “You don’t even have a body, so how would you know?”

Neo didn’t respond. She closed her eyes, letting the hot water run over her. The warmth soothed her muscles, though the sonic shower had already done most of the cleaning. Eventually, it was enough, and she slowly washed off.

“We should install a bath or hot tub instead of this sonic shower thing,” she mumbled.

[Affirmative: Item will be added to the list of future upgrades. User preference to be boiled, noted.]

“Pft.” A smile tugged at her lips. “Really? We can upgrade the module with a bath?”

[Clarification: It will require a rebuild of the module, which is currently impossible.]

“Gah,” Talia sighed.

She stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel to begin drying off, her mind already shifting. Her skinsuit lay neatly folded on the counter. She slipped into it, and the fabric conformed to her body like a second skin.

“Neo, give me an update of important items,” she ordered.

[Report: Rosetta has arrived at the spider nest.]

“Do we have better communication there yet?”

[Update: Ongoing improvements are based on multiple relays. A novel bridging device will allow a hard connection through the jungle barrier without opening a path for information packets. Previously this was done via low-frequency transmission or physical transport.]

“We’ll have to look into whatever makes up that jungle barrier later. Something that can block signals so well and regrow so fast might be useful for bio-shielding or even speeding up hydroponics. Imagine if we could get real food faster.”

She pictured herself munching on a Sigma 16 jungle leaf salad. Maybe not the most decadent thought, but it would still be a massive upgrade compared to Nutri-paste.

[Warning: Consuming Sigma 16 lifeforms is highly toxic to human physiology.]

A frown creased Talia’s lips. “Can you read my mind? You told me you couldn’t before.”

[Clarification: This unit cannot read User’s ‘inner voice’ or thoughts directly. This unit monitors brain activity. Sections involving wish fulfillment and hunger were activated. Combined with User’s personality and behavior, determining User’s thoughts is trivial.]

Talia blinked. “I hope I’m not that open book.”

[Reassurance: As User’s personal Neural Enhancement Operative, this unit is closer to User than any other and has rare insights into the unique individual that is Talia Fremont.]

She blinked again, skepticism creeping into her voice. “Did you blow a circuit? Did I have a stroke? Or did you turn on the therapy AI or something?”

[Report: User’s physical health status is optimal. This unit is running without error.]

Really? Whatever. She sat down and shook her head, a small smile appearing. The shower had left her feeling totally clean. “Alright, Neo. Let’s get back to work.”

[Affirmative: How would User like to proceed?]

She considered for a moment. “Let’s review what we know about the Tch’Llik’yzz’Lrr planetary weapon and how it might affect our efforts to return to orbit.”

[Informative: The jungle and various mineral structures inside the planet are aligned in a way to allow control devices located in the jungle network to weaponize the planet’s magnetic fields to create directed energy attacks.]

Talia shook her head, trying to wrap her head around the concept. “So, the precursors made something that looks natural and organic, but is actually a giant planetary weapon? Fits what we’ve learned so far, I guess.”

[Confirmation: It is a complex manifestation of multiple finely tuned mechanisms that create the weaponizing effect. The requirement for HEM by Big Red likely hints that the jungles provide some type of energy source. The effect is massive, possibly automated, and does not require Tch’Llik’yzz’Lrr involvement at all. From observation, it covers the entire planetary body from poles to equator.]

Talia blinked. “We did a test?”

[Report: Several high-altitude flying units were dispatched and reached a flight ceiling of approximately 11,000 meters. The effects are engaged on natural meteorite bodies as well. Theoretically the system could destroy large kilometer sized meteors as well.]

A cold shiver ran down her spine. She had gone flying without them knowing any of this. Heck, it was what had caused her to end up on the surface in the first place. “We should have figured that out before flying in the Seeker.”

[Clarification: The effects grow in strength with altitude until a point of diminishing returns is reached. User would likely have been unharmed if attempting high-altitude flight by readjusting below the danger zone.]

Mind reading again? “Okay, so it’s not a hard limit,” Talia said, nodding.

[Confirmation: That is correct.]

She leaned back. “What about repairing the ship when we get to it?”

[Informative: Analysis of the research and bootstrap module indicates that construction of a new vessel is likely required.]

Talia frowned. “Do we need to even go get the old ship, then?”

[Clarification: While User’s vessel is unlikely to be refurbished, components and modules on the vessel would speed up the production process and enable more functions and capability. However, an orbital capable vessel built by current research technology and capability plus auto-base assistance is fully possible. It would not be FTL capable, but exploitation of other system bodies in the system would allow orbital construction of a full starship.]

She leaned back on the couch, absorbing the information. The idea of constructing a new ship from scratch was daunting, but maybe it was something she had already been expecting. Neo was right.

The research and bootstrap modules had been pretty beat up. She doubted the main ship was in much better shape, and it was big.

Talia’s fingers tapped rhythmically on the armrest of her chair. The idea of recovering the wreckage seemed less critical.

“Recovering the wreckage isn’t as important as I thought,” she said with a firm voice. “We should change our primary focus to dealing with and stopping the Blues—Closing the gate and stopping any reinforcements.”

[Affirmation: Prioritizing the Blue threat is logical. Suggest focusing on air units and drone capability due to Blue weakness in these areas.]

Talia frowned. “What about their anti-air weaponry? How do we counter that?”

[Report: Emphasis on high-flying stealth units and small, fast low-flying attack drones would be ideal to take advantage of Blue blind-spots.]

“So, something like the Seeker for high up and quadcopters on the ground?”

[Clarification: Those two designs are close but not ideal weapon platforms.]

“Alright, I’ll let you come up with the designs then,” Talia replied. “But we should upgrade the Seeker-H7. I need a personal aircraft that can accommodate… the spiders properly. Preferably with better protections than last time.”

[Acknowledgment: User directives will be added to the research lab queue while maintaining previous vaccine priority.]

Talia nodded. That seemed to cover things. At least for a little while. “Good job, good talk.”

[Suggestion: In a worst-case scenario, the gate could be repeatedly bombed with fusion munitions after attaining local superiority.]

The thought made Talia wince.

A continuous stream of nuclear artillery thumping on the place? The gate couldn’t be invincible, right? Worry pricked at her as a chime indicated an incoming message from Dusky. It was the regular update interval.

The main screen lit up with a strategic snapshot. Her stomach sank as she noticed a series of lights on the map that weren’t supposed to be there.

[Report: High amount of Blue activity detected.]

“It looks like it’s time to play,” Talia said, her voice steely. It was time for round two.