NOVEL WEB Chapter 32
The last week had flown by.
I had been looking through and adjusting templates. Finding ways to change and adapt Human goods into new and better equipment.
Militech Trench Coat with Bullet Resistant Triweave had been changed to Trench Coat with Khalai Alloy Interweave Mk 6, Armor: 4 almost the exact same weight.
Norco Armored Vest with Polycarbonate Plating had been adjusted to Armor Vest with Khalai Plating and Psi Shield Emitter Mk 5, Armor: 5 and Shield: 10 just a bit heavier.
It took a day each to get both of those just right. Several Prototypes had been created then ultimately disassembled.
In the end, I couldn't find a way to change the brassy sheen though. I'd just have to live with it.
Another day was spent tweaking the Omaha Prototype. I found a few template for gun mods and finally got them to be compatible.
[ Omaha Khalai Variant Mk 8
Range: 45 yards with Reflex sight
Damage: 9
Ammo: 12 round Extended magazine +1 round in the chamber
Mods: Extended Barrel with Baffling. Slide adjusted for Recoil Compensation. ]
Much quieter and easier to handle with only a small loss of damage. It was well worth the time.
Two days were spent pouring over the schematics for both the Galena and the Supron. I made dozens of improvement to both and even armed and armored versions.
The problem here was I couldn't assemble them in the Valley. I'd have to have the Probes widen a path through the mountain and I didn't think we were ready. I'd have to wait until I created our first outpost.
I spent a day making a more streamline version of the Probes. The fins were almost pure decoration. Removing them allowed me to thicken the armor a bit and add and extra power crystal. Increasing the output of both their weapon and shield.
I experimented with an unnamed Infused Probe to make sure their Cores could be transferred with no Personality loss. Everything when smoothly so I got Scuff and Fix upgraded and ready to Rock.
[ Wisp Infused Khalai Probe Mk 2
Unknown Unit
Armor: 4 +2
Shields: 15 +5 (Shields now block Spells)
Damage: 10 +4 (May affect Incorporeal Beings)
The Combination of an Elder Wisp and a Khalai Probe. This Unit has partial Stealth.
This Unit has has been upgraded by Warp-Smith Ryan Crestwood ]
They were almost ready for a heavy assault role.
A day was used to try to adapt my cyberware. The Khalai themselves had Cybernetics so I though I could just switch and swap things, but it seemed it was going to be more complicated than that. I wasn't sure what I was missing.
Alina would do some research on it.
In between tinkering sessions, I had tried golden orange-type fruit, red banana-type fruit, a green plum-type fruit. While of of them were good, I preferred the Silver Apples. I was also longing for meat, but none of the fish in Meadran's pond were big enough yet.
I could buy something from the Company Store, but it seemed a waste to buy something I was just going to eat.
I did however buy a Feralassian Forest Cockerel and several matching Hens, on a daily sale. Only 100 Points for the bunch when they were usually 100 per chicken.
The Cockerel came up to my waist in height and was still growing. It leaped at me only to bounce out my shield. It wasn't overly aggressive, that was mostly a reflex from being transported to a new place. It eyed me warily. I smirked at it.
It was a magnificent beast vibrant plumage in every shade of green with undertones of dark blues. The hens were monotone forest green.
I also bought a bunch of Dustwallow grubs, for another 100 CPoints. There were good for aerating soil and even their final form was something both relatively harmless and the chickens would eat it.
Future food source obtained, I continued my day.
Our first Observer was built in the new Robotics Facility. I immediately sent it to spy on the City Center zone and all the Corps there.
This was a permanently stealthed unarmed unit. It could intercepted data and passively collect information on anything with in a mile of its position. As far as I could tell, there was no human technology that could detect it, at this time.
The downside was they took days to make and a large amount of resources.
I queued up a Sentry Unit next. These could operate as a Mobile Shield Recharger this would be a cheat of epic proportions.
As testing had shown a shield's output had to be exceeded all at once to get damage through. Most small arms fire we had encountered was only capable of this if multiple rounds hit the shield at the same time, overloading the output causing the shield to go down to recharge. While under the effects of the Recharger the shield shouldn't go down minimizing damage to just whatever round managed to get through.
The Sentry also had a disruptor beam weapon, capable of frying circuitry. The damage was low but the ability to knock out vehicle systems and heavy cyberware would be invaluable.
It would take 8 days to complete and I was getting antsy.
I was talking with Meadran and it seemed that until some of out trees grew bigger we couldn't build much Kaldorei Infrastructure. To advance the mana abilities and create mana based weapons and armor would require specific types of Treants.
New types of Wisp would also give access to new options, those were governed by Meadran's advancement.
With my current 84 Tree points, I could exchange for up to 8 random seeds. The seeds might be Treants, might be other type of special trees, or most likely be one of the many species of relatively normal trees from throughout the Multiverse.
I decided to hold off on this. Moon Wells and Keeper Statues were enough for now.
And Lumber production was constantly improving. We had set aside 1 Unit of Lumber for every 5 produced. I had 50 units of lumber to trade now.
One unit of Lumber was an 8ft long 4"X4". Yeah, the Supron wasn't going to be able to haul much of this.
Fortunately, I had made connections.
I had the Probes take the whole load out to where the Broken Bridge was. Once they were done, I loaded up a few backpacks of fruit.
I had added a few different type of attachment points on the Probes. To facilitate looting. I found I had developed a taste for it.
Scuff and Fix along with newly minted Chuck and Barry, also WI Probes, carried two backpack apiece. The packs rest on their sides like saddlebags.
I geared up in my new equipment, with my own backpack of fruit and a new rolling tool case. Gave my farewells to Meadran, Lumi and Alina and head out of the Valley.