[1-200] THE MECH TOUCH

Chapter 190: Breaking Point

That reminded Ves of his data chip and the valuable schematics within.

[Please stand by while I transmit incomplete schematics of the Kaius.]

Ves retrieved the data chip and inserted it into an open slot on his transceiver. After selecting the pertinent files, the device slowly transmitted its contents to base camp. Due to the great distance and the constant interfere in the air, the transmission dragged on for minutes.

[We've received your transmission in full and are in the process of verifying its contents. Please stand by.]

His transceiver started to release a lot more smoke by now. It shouldn't be able to hold on for long.

[My transceiver is breaking up. I have only seconds left. Please send rescue to my transmission point. There are half-a-dozen adult hexapods and a score of juveniles under Jutland's thralls. No elder hexapod kings are present to my knowledge. If the Kaius returns, I will attempt to sabotage it.]

[Our manpower is short. We can only divert a limited amount of help. Your rescue will hinge on the success of your sabotage. Rescue party will abort its attempt in the event of failure.]

For a moment, Ves felt the need to slam his fist down the radio. House Kaine practically pushed him into a corner and blatantly blackmailed him into disabling the Kaius! Still, if they had to fend off Jutland, Keller and the native wildlife at the same time, it'd be a wonder if they could send out a squad of mechs.

[Roger. I will await your rescue party. Out.]

His transceiver finally bit the dust before he received the final reply from base camp. He hastily put out the flames, then dismantled his entire setup before stashing his half-fried gear among the desolate pile of mechs.

After cleaning himself up, he left the junk pile and walked over the edge of the massive pool of water. A familiar juvenile hexapod padded over and croaked towards him as if he was a dog welcoming back his owner.

"Hey there friend." He said and tentatively reached out a hand to rub its head. The hexapod barely noticed his touch. "I guess you're nothing like a dog."

The dimwitted creature acted more like a badly programmed bot than anything else. Ves wondered how Doctor Jutland managed to direct these creatures in the first place.

Did he raise them from their infancy and conditioned them to obey him from the start? Had he fed them with a cocktail of drugs and slowly weaned away their instincts? Or did the crazy doctor use some mystical mind magic?

The truth mattered little to him for now, as his rescue party could clean up the beasts themselves. Ves only had to figure out a way to cripple the Kaius. He looked down the pool of water and tried hard not to smell the disgusting scent emanating from its murky depths.

"What can I purchase with my remaining points?"

His newly added insights into salvaging provided him with a couple of decent options. Sometimes, they had to bypass obstacles without resorting to heat-based cutters.

The most sophisticated salvagers in the center of the galaxy employed highly advanced nanites. These microscopic bots not only ate through the toughest materials, but were also capable of limited self-replication.

Sadly, the System's Store charged a ludicrous price for a thumbnail's worth of basic nanites. Even if he possessed the points to exchange them, his lack of expertise prevented him from employing them as he wished.

A lower-tech solution to salvagers was the use of chemicals. They relied on various acids and the like to dissolve extremely hardy obstacles. Proper use of chemicals required a lot of foreknowledge on the kind of materials the salvagers expected to encounter. If you brought the wrong formula, you'd be liable to waste your time.