The next morning brought questions for Blake. Questions about what Minor Component Construction was.
Obviously, it was a skill for the construction of minor components. But what did that really mean? The best he could think to do was to test it. And the children's workshop was probably the best place for that.
The compartment held bins of old circuit boards. He picked up the bin and brought it to the workbench, taking a board out to examine
Advanced Diagnostic.
Repair Bot Processing Circuit Board.
12% Functional.
That didn't really tell him anything new. He dropped the board on the workbench and chose another.
Advanced Diagnostic
Repair Bot Processing Circuit Board
8% Functional.
Combine Circuit Boards Yes/No
Well, this just got interesting.
Yes
Repair Bot Advanced Processing Circuit Board.
100% Functional.
20% Increased Processing Speed.
"Neo, after I upgrade a repair bot, what's its increase in processing speed?"
"Approximately 50%, sir. A significant increase."
"For everyday people, would a 20% increase in processing speed be much to them?"
"Yes, Sir. A 20% increase would be a very favourable increase. If you are referring to the circuit board you are working on, that level of increase would create a highly desirable product to sell while keeping the superior upgraded products for yourself."
My thoughts exactly. A more practical product to sell. At a lower price than rare items, but a far greater market.
"Thank you, Neo. We have a new money-maker for a wider market. I still haven't started on any other circuit combinations yet."
He grabbed another circuit from the bin.
Advanced Diagnostic
Repair Bot Diagnostic Circuit Board
16% Functional
Putting the board down on the bench, he took another circuit board from the bin
Advanced Diagnostic
Repair Bot Diagnostic Circuit Board
2% Functional
Must be a lot of diagnostic and processing boards in the bin if he was pulling pairs like this.
Combine Circuit Boards Yes/No
Yes
Repair Bot Advanced Diagnostic Circuit Board.
100% Functional
20% Increased Diagnostic Speed
Another profit maker. The speed at which the repair bot could identify a fault equals money in the bank for a business.
Unfortunately, now wasn't the time for experimenting.
Ensign Booth was likely already in the Engineering Bay, claiming the next rare item on the list. It was time for the rest of the team to get to work.
He found everyone else, minus Booth, having breakfast in the Mess. After grabbing himself some eggs and bacon, he sat down to chat about the coming days work.
"15% of the ship explored doesn't sound like much, but it's a massive amount for a ship this size. And let's not forget that we don't have any reason to explore the whole ship. We're likely to hit the science area before we get to 50%."
"We've already got everything we might need from our 'would be nice' lists. Anything more will just take up unnecessary space." Ensign Connelly made a good point that Blake had already been thinking. He was just glad he didn't have to tell the crew to stop grabbing random things.
"I think the only items from that list we should grab from now on is clothing. We'll always be a bit short of those, but don't go crazy folks."
"We'll need to watch we don't wander into the Marines hanger by accident. You'll only do that once, I can promise you that, folks." Getting the warning from Jager somehow made it sound a lot more important.
"Everyone finished? Let's suit up and get to work then."
Blake didn't see any point in taking the ATAC for such a short journey.
The Grav Sleds, three of them, took them to the Engineering Bay to check on Booth. Aaron was so ingrossed in his work that they may as well not have bothered.Blake still demand his attention, if only for awhile.He let Blake know thst things were going well, he didn't need anymore repair bots. The upgraded repair bots had reduced the timeframe by 20%. Ensign Connelly tried to talk to him too. He just waved her off and let them get on with exploring.
The trip back to where they left off yesterday was quicker to reach, at least, going in a straight line up the ship. After that, the search continued. Since only the crew quarters were being checked, and only briefly, their progress increased. It was still just as tedious, just faster.
Two hours later, they got their first science station, some kind of Astrometrics lab. It didn't have any parts they needed. It told them they were getting close.
It was just after that that they came to a security station. No defence drones or turrets, a station for a guard, with palm and retinal scanners to gain access to a locked area.
"Marines wouldn't have this kinda security Chief, a guard maybe. More likely, they'd let us walk right in just to see the turrets take care of us. This is something else."
Neo chimed in, then. "Jager is correct, sir. This would be excessive security solely for the Marines."
"Let's see if my skill can bypass the palm and eye scanner then so we can have a look-see."
Neo had previously pointed out Blake's codebreaking effect from repairing things. He hadn't tried it on anything not damaged already.
The palm scanner flicked from red to green multiple times before it settled on green. The retinal scanner went through the same electronic battle until it too turned green.
The outer airlock rolled aside, showing the inner airlock.
"Got an atmosphere inside. BB Unit goes first, folks." No one was going to disagree with Jager, not when it came to their own safety. Only himself and the BB entered the airlock. The outer hatch rolled closed.
"I have lost contact with Jager and the Battle Bot, sir. The moment the airlock closed."
Blake almost leapt for the hatch but held himself back. If Jager and the BB unit couldn't deal with a threat in there, no one out here would do any better. 2 minutes later, the hatch rolled open again. Just Jager this time.
"All clear, but we got some weird shit in here that you're gonna want to see Chief."
Their was plenty of room in the airlock for the whole team. The airlock was twice the size of the standard airlock they had seen on board so far.
When the inner hatch opened, they were almost blinded by the white environment before them. Typical scientific lab white. Brilliant white lights and all. The room was large for a compartment. Around 30 x 50 metres. A few workstations sat ahead of them. " This way, Chief." Jager lead Blake towards the other end of the lab. They reached hospital examination tables first. Each with a naked skeleton on them. Some kind of operation had been going on with the cadavers head. Instrument tables were parked near the Corpses head, which were strapped down, along with arms and legs.
"What the hell were they doing here?"
Elenor shook her head in disgust. "Your guess is as good as mine captain, nothing good, though."
Jager kept walking, as if what they were seeing here was of no importance.
He was right.
Rows of stasis-like tubes came into view. At least 20. Each was full of some kind of liquid. A Corpse wearing a respiration mask floated in the liquid. Row upon row of them.
"Some kind of medical experiments were getting done on these men sir. Some that killed almost all of them." Jagers voice was bitter and angry. None of us knew if the dead here had been soldiers or civilians. But the way they had died was just wrong!
"Wait, did you say almost all of them?"