Ophelia paled even further. "Is that me?"
"You learn not to think about it," Anna said.
I made one for Ophelia as well. I was feeling giving.
"The researchers are more vampires?" I asked.
"They transform into bats," Ophelia said, looking squeamish as she took the cookie and gave it a hesitant nibble.
"How uninteresting. Deck four?" I asked.
"The engines, currently non-operational. And uh, rats," Anna said.
That made them useful for the tasks, dexterous hands in either form, and the ability to get into small spaces.
"Deck five. That must be the Defense deck," I said.
"Right. Main cannons are located on top of the ship. They're still operational, they've fired at the bigger bits of wildlife approaching," Anna said.
"And they're defended by some Wolves that are total jerks," Ophelia said, handing over the rest of her cookie to Anna who scarfed it down without hesitation.
"You had a problem scouting the deck?" I asked.
"They killed her and ate her. Lots," Anna said, dusting her hands free of cookie crumbs.
"How does that work?"
"You don't want to know," Ophelia said.
Oh, how very wrong she was. I very much did. I could run my own experiments, later of course, once I had a proper research lab again.
"So when you say vampire, just what are we dealing with?" I said.
"I don't know Sylax well enough to understand just how deep her dysfunction ran when she made them. According to the lore they are superhumanly strong, attractive, immortal and capable of healing even great injuries by drinking blood. Weak to sunlight, garlic, and fire," Anna said.
"I can confirm the blood," Ophelia said, rubbing at her neck.
I guess she'd gotten sucked on a bit during her excursions. Her blood was useful.
"Has Hot Stuff tried burning any of them yet?" I asked.
"Not yet. So far they've been leaving our deck alone, although we've seen them go past making raids on each other," Anna said.
Were they utterly incapable of doing their own experimentation?
The way I saw it there were two priorities that took precedence over all others. First, I had to get a set of research facilities again, and that meant either neutralizing or gaining an alliance with the Bats. Science was my core focus and where most of my abilities rested, and that had to come before everything else.
Besides the Research deck the next most important was Engineering. We needed to get the engines operational again. I required power for my facilities to function properly and this airship was vulnerable on the ground. We needed to get back into the sky.
"Where are Mechos and Hot Stuff?" I asked.
"They went hunting again. We had to eat something while you've been down," Anna said.
"You should have eaten Ophelia. Call them back to the ship," I said.
"I'm not lunchmeat," Ophelia said.
"Of course you are. Any muscle tissue you lose can quickly be regrown. Don't be ashamed, it means you are good for something. Anna is probably envious."
"Not so much," Anna said.
"I am seriously not cool with that," Ophelia said.
Humans could be so very selfish. Ophelia still wore her testing bracelet. I'd have to modify it so I could render her tranquilized if necessary. I couldn't have the other humans starving or getting killed in the jungle, when there were better options.
"Call them back," I said.
I might hope that diplomacy could work with the Bats, but I wasn't going to depend on it.
I recycled the damaged sections of the hull for some building materials and put them to use building traps near the stairwells and lifts. Electrified netting that could drop from the ceiling to block passageways. Even a bat wouldn't be able to squeeze through the mesh without getting a nasty shock.
I was lacking proper fuel, but I did what I could with the limited resources to construct two flame jets in the throne room. I could direct a blast of fire at targets of my choosing. I wouldn't get more than a few seconds of use, but if fire was a vulnerability that would be enough.
I could have relied on Hot Stuff, who was vastly more dangerous and powerful when it came to burning things, but she was also more unpredictable and not directly under my control.
The others returned. Hot Stuff had more clothing than the last time I saw her, the woman now dressed in a tank top, shorts, gloves, and boots. Her gloved hand was on Mechos' arm. Were they indulging in courtship rituals?
It didn't surprise me from Hot Stuff, but I'd thought Mechos—with questionable judgment—had his sights set on Anna.
"Anna actually managed to restore you?" Mechos asked.
"We thought you were gone for good, sugar," Hot Stuff said.
"Unlike your friends I'm not that easy to kill," I said.
Mechos frowned, he was fond of his Mechanites and expected Hot Stuff to take offense. Hot Stuff didn't seem to care, her Flames had only been her ex-lovers. Mechos should probably take that as some sort of warning. However, it wasn't my problem.
"You shouldn't joke about that," Mechos said, on her behalf.
"Your Mechanites are alive—some of them, at least. And if you didn't like losing the others you should have made them better in the first place," I said .
Mechos had no excuse to be angry at that. Like me, he had his own upgrade core. The weakness of his minions was entirely his own fault.
"Good to have you back. We going to burn some people? Hot Stuff asked.
"We're on a ship full of people supposedly vulnerable to fire. What do you think?" I asked.
Hot Stuff grinned. "I think it sounds like someone is getting a giant plate full of cookies."
I appreciated Hot Stuff, she was both murderous and responded favorably to bribery. Humans were best when they could be manipulated.
3
I took the opportunity to absorb the Ice Crystal. When Frost had it, the crystal resulted in vastly lowered body temperatures and the ability to regulate cold, but crystal powers could be erratic and I needed to see what I'd get.
You have claimed a Frost Core
You have unlocked the ability of overdrive. Technological systems can be overclocked for short periods, but heat is a limiting factor. With this ability you can now periodically vastly overpower your systems for a short duration with no chance of damage.
THAT COULD PROVE USEFUL. I preferred being able to plan in advance, but I'd also learned how battles could be decided in just a few key moments. Anything that could make me stronger in those vital seconds was worth doing.
Absorbing a new power crystal also gave me a new core point to spend.
You have an unspent core point
Your host entity has unlocked new options
Your options are
Research 5
Research 5 will allow you to build science drones. These are research drones that can be dispatched into your surroundings to conduct research and observe specimens in their native habits. This both adds an element of scouting and allows a steady trickle of research points that can be used towards new upgrades.
Military 2
Military 2 will allow you to control a greater number of defense drones. There is power in numbers. In addition, defensive systems all acquire a minor upgrade.
Engineering 1
Engineering 1 will allow the production of automated minions. They are capable of autonomous ship repair and will halve all build and production times for new facilities.
Command 1
Command 1 will allow status warnings. Currently you receive no notification when an individual component is in distress. With this upgrade you will receive alerts with the issue, severity, and suggested fixes.