Milton was worried that Brints’ desire for revenge would eventually wholly consume him, until he couldn’t think clearly or rationally. Just look at the last time that happened – he led those three right to my door. The next time I may not be so lucky.
“I understand your desire for total annihilation, but I doubt you could get close enough to hurt any of them right now, let alone kill them. If you can think of a way to do what you want without getting yourself – or more importantly, me – killed, I’m listening. Otherwise, we need to think of another strategy.”
ALANNA communicated directly to Milton’s “mind”, seemingly hesitant to speak in front of Brint, “What about the sweet-ass idea you had before we were attacked? It might potentially kill two – or perhaps, three – birds with one motherfucking stone. One: you bring this Whisp ‘back-to-life’, hopefully curbing Brint’s excessive hatred and burning need to kill some shit. Two: from what Brint has said, Whisp was an ‘Inventor’, with the ability to increase her fucking intelligence exponentially – which could help with developing a sound defensive strategy that won’t fucking kill us all. Three: you might learn more about this ‘magic’ shit from the experiment – and from Whisp herself.”
She had a point – the more help they had the better. He was worried at first that she would freak out and want to leave immediately; however, he figured that once she knew that it probably was a bad idea to go back to where there were bad people looking for her, she would decide to stay. All of this, of course, depended on what Brint had to say. He wanted to respect his wishes and didn’t want to do anything to hurt him, even if doing so would help Milton.
Brint didn’t have anything to contribute other than a barely audible mumbled tirade against evil businessmen, too-powerful and corrupt companies, and wanting to bathe in pools of their blood. Milton figured it was time to broach the subject.
“Brint, I need to ask you something. If there was a remote chance that you could have your friend back, would you want that to happen? I can’t guarantee that she would remember everything about her life, she may not even remember you. Would you still want her back if that was the case?”
Brint had stopped mumbling when Milton mentioned getting his friend back. When he finished asking the last question, the now-attentive Proctan didn’t even hesitate before saying, “Absolutely. I would give my life for her, so if that is what it takes I’m prepared to do just that. Even if she doesn’t remember me, she deserves to live – and I don’t. It was because of me that she died in the first place, so whatever I can do to bring her back – up to and including paying with my life – I will do.”
Well…there’s that. I guess that’s all the permission I need. Milton wasted no time after getting the go ahead, sending two of his drones to respectively carry Whisps’ body back from the Bio Lab to his Core Room. Once she was there, they laid her on one of the ledges, to keep her body dry out of respect.
“I suggest you look away. You really, really, really don’t want to see this next part.”
Since her body was a little too big to fit easily fit into his Molecular Converter, he needed his drones to reduce her size – i.e. chop her up. Brint refused to look away, stating that he had to watch so that he would be the first person she saw when she woke up. Milton tried to explain that it wasn’t exactly going to work that way, but the stubborn Proctan refused to budge on his stance. Mentally shrugging, he started his drones on their grisly work.
“STOP!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? YOU TRICKED ME – I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU WERE GOING TO BRING HER BACK!” Brint ran over to his shell and started banging on it, demanding that he stop what his drones were doing. Milton could feel him trying to order the drones to stop with his ability, but they were being directly controlled by the much stronger Station Core, so it was like an infant trying to wrestle with a gorilla – highly ineffective.
When the body was cut into three chunks, his drones took the pieces to the front of his shell and placed them in his Molecular Converter one at a time. Brint didn’t stop hitting him, but fortunately he didn’t have a lot of innate strength and was banging on one the strongest parts of his outer shell, so there was no damage whatsoever. The deed done, the now-crying Proctan collapsed in the water next to Milton, his head in his hands and his shoulders shaking with silent sobs.
“I told you to look away – that’s never pleasant to watch. Ok, now I’m going to start—”
New Discovery!
After analyzing the DNA of one of the citizens of this planet, you have discovered that your Reactor Core leakage has caused a mutation in their genes. These mutations vary, leading them to have a multitude of different inherent abilities previously unheard of before you crash-landed here. Place additional samples inside your Molecular Converter to unlock different types of gene-mutated abilities.
New option for your Biological Recombinator: Gene Mutation
Whoa! Does that mean what I think it means? Milton concentrated on his Recombinator and looked under the Gene Mutation option.[37] He was right! Now he had access to a gene mutation for special abilities! However, there was only one choice on the list – Intelligence Boost +1. It was an ability that, when activated, boosted the Combat Units’ Intelligence rating by +10 for five minutes and used 20 “power”. He assumed that “power” was the equivalent to mana or MP in this instance.
“ALANNA – take a look at this!” He communicated directly with her, and when he shared the information she immediately caught on to the possibilities unlocked with the discovery. “But, I didn’t think my Combat Units had any stats – what good would an Intelligence Boost do?”
Shaking her head with a long-suffering sigh, ALANNA said, “What makes you think they don’t have any stats? Did you even try to look at them?”
“Of course, I—," he started, then stopped when he realized he had never done any such thing. He began to concentrate on one of his still-living BBQs but was interrupted by the now-vocalized sobbing and sporadic wailing of Brint. Ashamed at letting himself get distracted by the new discovery, he immediately pushed everything other than helping his friend to the back of his mind.
“Sorry, Brint – let’s get this going now. In about an…hour or so, we should hopefully see some results.”
The sobbing Proctan was still ignoring him – which Milton couldn’t blame him for. He concentrated on his Combat Unit list and found what he was looking for – Proctan, Female. Instead of just selecting it for creation, he concentrated on the option and the exact DNA that was converted just a couple of minutes ago, attempting to merge the two things together.
Warning!
Making an exact DNA match without a Neurological Control Unit may have unforeseen consequences. Results may be unpredictable.
Confirm selection? Y/N
He selected Yes and only realized afterward that he should have tested this on something small first – but it was too late, the process had already begun. Just like most things, all he had to do now was wait and hope that everything turned out well.
Because if they didn’t, he was pretty sure Brint would never forgive him.
Epilogue – Rebirth
Warmth. Safety. Contentment. She couldn’t open her eyes, but that didn’t really bother her because she felt safe and secure in this warm cocoon of squishiness. Not knowing where she found herself wasn’t a concern either since she had no need to know. All she wanted was to spend forever in this place – without cares, worries, or pain.
She remembered pain, but she didn’t know why she remembered it. And then suddenly she did – images started to flood her consciousness, memories of her childhood, memories of the first time utilizing her special ability, memories of creating inventions, memories of her good friend Brint, and finally, hazy memories of three men bursting through the door to her home. NO! I don’t want any of this! Take them away – I just want to stay here forever, ignorant of everything I was! Especially what that fucker did to me!
Of course, her wishes had no say in the matter.
Before she was ready, a cold feeling seeped into her bones, an icy frigidness that started with her feet and gradually sent waves of frozen unpleasantness up her entire body. The instant it reached her head, she felt a tug on her feet followed by a brief moment of weightlessness. Landing on something hard yet soft on her side, the impact forced her to open her mouth and breathe for what felt like the first time. Unfortunately, she was under some type of liquid at the time and inhaled a lung-full of it.
She put her hands out in front of her in a panic and felt something hard under her left hand. She pushed away from it, hoping to get out of the liquid before she suffocated. As she broke through to the surface, the cold air of the…wherever she was…immediately caused goosebumps to form on her exposed skin. Coughing up the inhaled liquid, she stayed in a sitting position for a while before she was confident she had gotten rid of most – if not all – of it. She opened her eyes for the first time with some effort, a gummy substance causing them to want to stay closed.
Looking around, she noticed that there was a large funnel-like sheet of metal above her, water dripping down a now-closed hole on the bottom giving evidence of where she just came from. Closer around her, she found she was sitting in a rapidly-receding pool of water and she could see the water being sucked up by a series of surrounding tubes. Suddenly, a feeling of warmth began to infuse her body; the heat started with her head and moved down to her feet in a glorious defeat of icy chillness. When she was fully thawed and almost to the point where the heat was becoming uncomfortable, the radiant warmth shut-off.
Standing up on shaky legs, she moved to the edge of the pool and climbed over the edge, observing all that she could of the rest of the room. Stone walls – with joins so fine that she couldn’t even see them – surrounded a large rectangular room with high ceilings. She looked behind her at where she emerged and caught her breath – that thing is huge! I wonder what it does? A large metal cylinder sat on sturdy legs, with a metal walkway circling around the circumference leading to the top. She was intrigued and wanted to investigate, but the cold that started to steadily creep back into her bones and joints made finding clothing her top priority.
The faint sound of voices from outside a nearby door made her jump back into the pool and crouch beneath the edge. From what she could tell from the tones, it sounded like a man and a woman speaking together and getting closer to her location. She couldn’t understand any words yet, but it sounded like the woman was trying to calm down the irate man with a patient yet firm tone. It was only when they sounded like they were right outside the door that she recognized the voice. She stood up, hoping that she was correct.
“ALANNA, I don’t know where you are taking me, but if this is some sort of joke then it’s a cruel one. I saw what happened – as much as I regret watching, I know there is no coming back from what The Milton did to her body. Now, stop this farce and let’s get back to—” he stopped, jaw on the floor and eyes open so wide she thought they were going to pop out. Standing next to him was a very tiny, strange-looking woman about a foot-and-a-half tall wearing a skin-tight purple outfit of some type. On her heels was a small purple animal with six legs and a pink tongue hanging out of its mouth.
“Brint! Where the fuck am I, who the fuck is that, and why the fuck am I naked?”
Whisp couldn’t help but see that the woman standing next to him looked amused when she said, “Aww, shit – I think I’m going to like her!”
End of Book 1
Final Stats
Core Status
Name:
Milton Frederick
Type:
Station Core Prototype 3-B
Combat Level:
12
Experience:
105260/133500
Reactor Type:
Zero-point Energy
Reactor Output:
17%
Current Statistics/Attributes
Reactor Power/Strength:
17
Processing Power/Intelligence:
40
Structural Integrity/Constitution:
16
Ingenuity/Wisdom:
42
Processing Speed/Agility:
37
Communication/Charisma:
50
Insight/Luck:
35
Sensor Interpretation/Perception
26
Skill List
Name
Level
Name
Level
Sensor Control
2
Rudimentary Defensive Trap Design
3
Kamikaze
3
Basic Mechanical Engineering
3
Sensor Enhancement
1
Basic Construction
2
Drone Manipulation
3
Primitive Defensive Weaponry
1
Formation Fighting
3
Combat Communication
3
Cooperation
4
Survivor
3
Available Resources
Resource Type
# of Units
Basic Earth
205045
Basic Gravel
14038
Basic Metal
96734
Pure Water
50271
Organic Material
60452
Biological Mass
23050
Combat Unit Status
Processing Power: 40
Total Controllable Bio Units: 16000
Name
# of Units
Bio Units Used
Blood-thirsty Squirrel (Scout)
126
630
Lollipop Snake (Stealth Fighter)
12
120
Jackalope (Speed Striker)
7
30
Scaly Pygmy Wolves (Group Attacker)
12
720
Greywiener (Speed Striker)
1
100
Fluffy (Speed Striker)
1
110
Clawed Badger (Melee Fighter)
2
600
Big Bad Quizard
1
3000
Total Bio Units Used: 5310
Author’s Note
Thanks for reading The Station Core!
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Tables
* * *
[1] Sciurophobia – fear of squirrels.
[2]
Core Status
Name:
Milton Frederick
Type:
Station Core Prototype 3-B
Combat Level:
1
Experience:
11/250
Reactor Type:
Zero-point Energy
Reactor
Output:
2%
Current Statistics/Attributes
Reactor Power/Strength:
2
Processing Power/Intelligence:
5
Structural Integrity/Constitution:
2
Ingenuity/Wisdom:
5
Processing Speed/Agility:
5
Communication/Charisma:
5
Insight/Luck:
7
Sensor Interpretation/Perception
6
[3]
Drone Menu
Ground Drone Unit 1
Ground Drone Unit 2
Ground Drone Unit 3
Ground Drone Unit 4
Flight Drone Unit 1 (Inoperable)
Flight Drone Unit 2 (Inoperable)
Flight Drone Unit 3 (Inoperable)
Flight Drone Unit 4 (Inoperable)
[4]
Molecular Converter
Resource Type
Units
Conversion
Conversion Ratio
Conversion
Conversion Ratio
The Station Core: A Dungeon Core Epic (Station Cores Book 1) Page 29