Chapter 42: 42
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"Alien vessel, this area is already claimed by the A'Dfukl. Prepare to be destroyed!"
"A'Dfukl, the Scuzan will destroy you for the insults to our kind! Prepare to die!"
There was a flash from the Scuzan ship, that was so quick, Dustin almost missed it.
"What was that?" he asked.
"Homing beacon. They're calling others to this area. Looks like there's going to be a large battle soon." Granny typed a few things into her console.
"Ever hear of the Scuzan before?" he asked.
"They were nothing more than scavengers, two hundred years ago. It's hard to believe they've risen so far so fast."
"Your eggs will all be crushed beneath our feet!" howled a Scuzan over the communications as its ship shot towards the mothership.
"You Scuzan are irrelevant," came the reply from the mothership as a bright pulse beam shot from the A'Dfukl ship and blew up the small speeding vessel. The orange and yellow flames only appeared briefly as a rolling liquid before dying to the cold of space.
Suddenly ships began to pop into view as more Scuzan arrived to answer the summons to fight.
Small fighters streamed from the mothership towards the newcomers. As a few got close to their cloaked position, Dustin realized they were made entirely from nanobots.
"This paltry show of force will not be enough to wipe us out! The might A'Dfukl bow to no one!"
"The fight will be over soon, and you shall see who will win!"
"This is great, I wish I could sit here and listen throughout the entire battle, but we better get your girl and get out of here," said Granny, turning the ship towards the debris cloud encircling the planet.
As they drifted closer, Dustin was noticing some of his nanobots were starting to malfunction and uncloak.
"Stop the ship! Get us further away from the debris!"
Granny did as he said, and the nanobots were able to re-stabilize and complete the cloak.
"The sun must be getting way worse. If we try to take the ship through the debris field, we'll de-cloak and be targets for both alien groups." Dustin rubbed his head in annoyance.
"Figure it out boy. Those stray beams will be flying our way and they don't stop until they hit something!"
He glanced out at the battle that was raging. One of the Scuzan ships had managed to crash into the A'Dfukl mothership, and churning flames glided over the surface of the impact. The nanobots were being disabled left and right, and being left floating in space, ignored.
"I have an idea," he said, leaning forward and starting to type. If he could get those random nanobots, he would be able to repurpose them.
Soon, a swarm of his own nanobots were flying around, gathering up the abandoned bots. He watched to make sure the A'Dfukl and the Scuzan didn't notice as they were brought back to them.
"What are you doing?" Granny asked curiously.
"I'm going to make a personal ship to take me down to retrieve Olivia and Jake. You can slow-boat to the other side of the planet, away from the fighting to stay safe. I'll be back as soon as I can."
"What keeps them from firing on you in a small ship?"
"I'll be a smaller target for one, and I plan to make it look like their ships."
He started to type the specifications and Granny left him alone to listen and giggle about the trash talk the two aliens were throwing at each other.
The ship would be large enough for both Olivia and Jake to join him, but not much more than that. It would end up being just a little bit bigger than the ones they had flying around, but it shouldn't be noticeable in the grand scheme of things.
(DUSTIN, THE SOLAR INTERFERENCE WILL MAKE EVOLUTIONS VERY DIFFICULT AND UNSTABLE.)
'Alright, PED. Thanks for the heads up.'
He glanced up to check on the fighting and saw that there were a lot of bolts raining down towards the planet. Thankfully the debris cloud was catching most of it. The nanobot ships were starting to die, just floating undamaged in space. He guessed the A'Dfukl were having them use up all of their energy to distract the Scuzan while the mothership fired on them.
The debris field around the planet was growing as more and more ships were blown up and joined it.
He had the ship finished, and was fixing to head that way, when a thought occurred to him. Turning back, he started to add other features to the ship. If things got too tense, he wanted to be able to give it a verbal command instead of worrying about trying to describe what he wanted at the time.
"Get going boy, or she's going to have that kid without you," grumbled Granny as he made a few more adjustments.
"I'm going!" he growled as he jogged towards the hanger door. The ship was just finished being assembled as the door opened.
Dustin didn't hesitate as he threw himself at it, and it opened like some big mouth, then closed around him. He looked towards the door and the hanger started going through the process of bleeding atmosphere out of the room, before opening it.
As he charged his electrical organ, to power the ship, he was glad he had made that a part of his normal form.
Flying through the debris, he controlled the ship with his fingers, dodging the new larger chunks floating through the upper atmosphere.
"Scan for traces of Olivia and other nanobots," he commanded the ship as he flew lower in the atmosphere.
"Solar interference is too strong, scanners are inoperable." The mechanical voice was soft in his ear, and he cursed.
The sun was getting worse.
Watching for landmarks, Dustin was able to find the ship Olivia and he had abandoned when first coming to the planet. Remembering the AI, they had left there, he decided to stop and grab it. There might be some information in its memory that wasn't corrupted by the solar radiation.
Flying to the clearing next to it, he muttered, "Mech," and suddenly the nanobots reassembled themselves into a mech that landed heavily on the soft soil. Turning his head to either side, he could see that no one was about to sneak up on him and attack him.
The door to the ship was not opening, so he ripped it open. Dropping the door next to him, he leaned into the opening and looked around. The AI was nestled into a corner, and looked to be disabled. A faint blink that came every thirty seconds was the only sign that it wasn't completely dead.
Grabbing it up, he had the nanobots swallow it and position it near his back, before he jumped back into the air, returning to the ship form. It was time to track down Olivia and Jake.
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"Alien vessel, this area is already claimed by the A'Dfukl. Prepare to be destroyed!"
"A'Dfukl, the Scuzan will destroy you for the insults to our kind! Prepare to die!"
There was a flash from the Scuzan ship, that was so quick, Dustin almost missed it.
"What was that?" he asked.
"Homing beacon. They're calling others to this area. Looks like there's going to be a large battle soon." Granny typed a few things into her console.
"Ever hear of the Scuzan before?" he asked.
"They were nothing more than scavengers, two hundred years ago. It's hard to believe they've risen so far so fast."
"Your eggs will all be crushed beneath our feet!" howled a Scuzan over the communications as its ship shot towards the mothership.
"You Scuzan are irrelevant," came the reply from the mothership as a bright pulse beam shot from the A'Dfukl ship and blew up the small speeding vessel. The orange and yellow flames only appeared briefly as a rolling liquid before dying to the cold of space.
Suddenly ships began to pop into view as more Scuzan arrived to answer the summons to fight.
Small fighters streamed from the mothership towards the newcomers. As a few got close to their cloaked position, Dustin realized they were made entirely from nanobots.
"This paltry show of force will not be enough to wipe us out! The might A'Dfukl bow to no one!"
"The fight will be over soon, and you shall see who will win!"
"This is great, I wish I could sit here and listen throughout the entire battle, but we better get your girl and get out of here," said Granny, turning the ship towards the debris cloud encircling the planet.
As they drifted closer, Dustin was noticing some of his nanobots were starting to malfunction and uncloak.
"Stop the ship! Get us further away from the debris!"
Granny did as he said, and the nanobots were able to re-stabilize and complete the cloak.
"The sun must be getting way worse. If we try to take the ship through the debris field, we'll de-cloak and be targets for both alien groups." Dustin rubbed his head in annoyance.
"Figure it out boy. Those stray beams will be flying our way and they don't stop until they hit something!"
He glanced out at the battle that was raging. One of the Scuzan ships had managed to crash into the A'Dfukl mothership, and churning flames glided over the surface of the impact. The nanobots were being disabled left and right, and being left floating in space, ignored.
"I have an idea," he said, leaning forward and starting to type. If he could get those random nanobots, he would be able to repurpose them.
Soon, a swarm of his own nanobots were flying around, gathering up the abandoned bots. He watched to make sure the A'Dfukl and the Scuzan didn't notice as they were brought back to them.
"What are you doing?" Granny asked curiously.
"I'm going to make a personal ship to take me down to retrieve Olivia and Jake. You can slow-boat to the other side of the planet, away from the fighting to stay safe. I'll be back as soon as I can."
"What keeps them from firing on you in a small ship?"
"I'll be a smaller target for one, and I plan to make it look like their ships."
He started to type the specifications and Granny left him alone to listen and giggle about the trash talk the two aliens were throwing at each other.
The ship would be large enough for both Olivia and Jake to join him, but not much more than that. It would end up being just a little bit bigger than the ones they had flying around, but it shouldn't be noticeable in the grand scheme of things.
(DUSTIN, THE SOLAR INTERFERENCE WILL MAKE EVOLUTIONS VERY DIFFICULT AND UNSTABLE.)
'Alright, PED. Thanks for the heads up.'
He glanced up to check on the fighting and saw that there were a lot of bolts raining down towards the planet. Thankfully the debris cloud was catching most of it. The nanobot ships were starting to die, just floating undamaged in space. He guessed the A'Dfukl were having them use up all of their energy to distract the Scuzan while the mothership fired on them.
The debris field around the planet was growing as more and more ships were blown up and joined it.
He had the ship finished, and was fixing to head that way, when a thought occurred to him. Turning back, he started to add other features to the ship. If things got too tense, he wanted to be able to give it a verbal command instead of worrying about trying to describe what he wanted at the time.
"Get going boy, or she's going to have that kid without you," grumbled Granny as he made a few more adjustments.
"I'm going!" he growled as he jogged towards the hanger door. The ship was just finished being assembled as the door opened.
Dustin didn't hesitate as he threw himself at it, and it opened like some big mouth, then closed around him. He looked towards the door and the hanger started going through the process of bleeding atmosphere out of the room, before opening it.
As he charged his electrical organ, to power the ship, he was glad he had made that a part of his normal form.
Flying through the debris, he controlled the ship with his fingers, dodging the new larger chunks floating through the upper atmosphere.
"Scan for traces of Olivia and other nanobots," he commanded the ship as he flew lower in the atmosphere.
"Solar interference is too strong, scanners are inoperable." The mechanical voice was soft in his ear, and he cursed.
The sun was getting worse.
Watching for landmarks, Dustin was able to find the ship Olivia and he had abandoned when first coming to the planet. Remembering the AI, they had left there, he decided to stop and grab it. There might be some information in its memory that wasn't corrupted by the solar radiation.
Flying to the clearing next to it, he muttered, "Mech," and suddenly the nanobots reassembled themselves into a mech that landed heavily on the soft soil. Turning his head to either side, he could see that no one was about to sneak up on him and attack him.
The door to the ship was not opening, so he ripped it open. Dropping the door next to him, he leaned into the opening and looked around. The AI was nestled into a corner, and looked to be disabled. A faint blink that came every thirty seconds was the only sign that it wasn't completely dead.
Grabbing it up, he had the nanobots swallow it and position it near his back, before he jumped back into the air, returning to the ship form. It was time to track down Olivia and Jake.
"Alien vessel, this area is already claimed by the A'Dfukl. Prepare to be destroyed!""A'Dfukl, the Scuzan will destroy you for the insults to our kind! Prepare to die!"There was a flash from the Scuzan ship, that was so quick, Dustin almost missed it."What was that?" he asked."Homing beacon. They're calling others to this area. Looks like there's going to be a large battle soon." Granny typed a few things into her console."Ever hear of the Scuzan before?" he asked."They were nothing more than scavengers, two hundred years ago. It's hard to believe they've risen so far so fast.""Your eggs will all be crushed beneath our feet!" howled a Scuzan over the communications as its ship shot towards the mothership."You Scuzan are irrelevant," came the reply from the mothership as a bright pulse beam shot from the A'Dfukl ship and blew up the small speeding vessel. The orange and yellow flames only appeared briefly as a rolling liquid before dying to the cold of space.Suddenly ships began to pop into view as more Scuzan arrived to answer the summons to fight.Small fighters streamed from the mothership towards the newcomers. As a few got close to their cloaked position, Dustin realized they were made entirely from nanobots."This paltry show of force will not be enough to wipe us out! The might A'Dfukl bow to no one!""The fight will be over soon, and you shall see who will win!""This is great, I wish I could sit here and listen throughout the entire battle, but we better get your girl and get out of here," said Granny, turning the ship towards the debris cloud encircling the planet.As they drifted closer, Dustin was noticing some of his nanobots were starting to malfunction and uncloak."Stop the ship! Get us further away from the debris!"Granny did as he said, and the nanobots were able to re-stabilize and complete the cloak."The sun must be getting way worse. If we try to take the ship through the debris field, we'll de-cloak and be targets for both alien groups." Dustin rubbed his head in annoyance."Figure it out boy. Those stray beams will be flying our way and they don't stop until they hit something!"He glanced out at the battle that was raging. One of the Scuzan ships had managed to crash into the A'Dfukl mothership, and churning flames glided over the surface of the impact. The nanobots were being disabled left and right, and being left floating in space, ignored."I have an idea," he said, leaning forward and starting to type. If he could get those random nanobots, he would be able to repurpose them.Soon, a swarm of his own nanobots were flying around, gathering up the abandoned bots. He watched to make sure the A'Dfukl and the Scuzan didn't notice as they were brought back to them."What are you doing?" Granny asked curiously."I'm going to make a personal ship to take me down to retrieve Olivia and Jake. You can slow-boat to the other side of the planet, away from the fighting to stay safe. I'll be back as soon as I can.""What keeps them from firing on you in a small ship?""I'll be a smaller target for one, and I plan to make it look like their ships."He started to type the specifications and Granny left him alone to listen and giggle about the trash talk the two aliens were throwing at each other.The ship would be large enough for both Olivia and Jake to join him, but not much more than that. It would end up being just a little bit bigger than the ones they had flying around, but it shouldn't be noticeable in the grand scheme of things.DUSTIN, THE SOLAR INTERFERENCE WILL MAKE EVOLUTIONS VERY DIFFICULT AND UNSTABLE.'Alright, PED. Thanks for the heads up.'He glanced up to check on the fighting and saw that there were a lot of bolts raining down towards the planet. Thankfully the debris cloud was catching most of it. The nanobot ships were starting to die, just floating undamaged in space. He guessed the A'Dfukl were having them use up all of their energy to distract the Scuzan while the mothership fired on them.The debris field around the planet was growing as more and more ships were blown up and joined it.He had the ship finished, and was fixing to head that way, when a thought occurred to him. Turning back, he started to add other features to the ship. If things got too tense, he wanted to be able to give it a verbal command instead of worrying about trying to describe what he wanted at the time."Get going boy, or she's going to have that kid without you," grumbled Granny as he made a few more adjustments."I'm going!" he growled as he jogged towards the hanger door. The ship was just finished being assembled as the door opened.Dustin didn't hesitate as he threw himself at it, and it opened like some big mouth, then closed around him. He looked towards the door and the hanger started going through the process of bleeding atmosphere out of the room, before opening it.As he charged his electrical organ, to power the ship, he was glad he had made that a part of his normal form.Flying through the debris, he controlled the ship with his fingers, dodging the new larger chunks floating through the upper atmosphere."Scan for traces of Olivia and other nanobots," he commanded the ship as he flew lower in the atmosphere."Solar interference is too strong, scanners are inoperable." The mechanical voice was soft in his ear, and he cursed.The sun was getting worse.Watching for landmarks, Dustin was able to find the ship Olivia and he had abandoned when first coming to the planet. Remembering the AI, they had left there, he decided to stop and grab it. There might be some information in its memory that wasn't corrupted by the solar radiation.Flying to the clearing next to it, he muttered, "Mech," and suddenly the nanobots reassembled themselves into a mech that landed heavily on the soft soil. Turning his head to either side, he could see that no one was about to sneak up on him and attack him.The door to the ship was not opening, so he ripped it open. Dropping the door next to him, he leaned into the opening and looked around. The AI was nestled into a corner, and looked to be disabled. A faint blink that came every thirty seconds was the only sign that it wasn't completely dead.Grabbing it up, he had the nanobots swallow it and position it near his back, before he jumped back into the air, returning to the ship form. It was time to track down Olivia and Jake.
