Hadorix landed on Four Seasons and began looking for Cooter's shipyard. With Marshall Dillons directions, it didn't take long to find it. Once he arrived, Hadorix explained what he wanted done to Cooter, let him know that Marshall Dillon had sent him and asked an approximate cost.
Cooter looked over the ship and began to draft an estimate. Cooter told Hadorix, "What your askin for can be done. But I don't see why you would want to do it. You would be better off selling or trading the ship ya have for what a cruise ship. With the robots that ship has, it would bring around 5,000,000 credits. It's actually worth about as much as a mid-grade cruise ship if you send the robots and guardships with it. Gonna cost ya around 2,000,000 credits if ya want what ya got retrofitted into a cruise ship. Won't have no luxury stuff. That just gets ya rooms instead of cells, a new paint job, a lounge, and a kitchen worth serving guests. Let me know what yaw anna do."
Hadorix couldn't afford 2,000,000 credits. Alice spoke at that point, "You can bring it to Deviant Home, and I can retrofit it for you. I can have a portion of our robots' gut and rebuild it. It will cost a significant amount of materials but will save us a ton in credits and will be a full change, not just a slight retrofit. Let me know your thoughts."
Hadorix didn't want to sell the prison ship, so he questioned Cooter again, "How much would it cost to retrofit into a mining or recycling rig?"
Cooter ran his hands through his beard for a moment and replied, "That would be a lot simpler. The equipment the robots have would need to be upgraded to be able to mine resources, and we would need to add a mining ray to the ship and all 5 of the fighters, but it already has a good bit of space. You could haul a ton of resources each trip. If you're willing to use used equipment, I reckon I could manage it for 400,000 credits. Cost ya another 50,000 to buy a mining permit for the area. If it wasn't for the Marshall, would cost ya round 1,000,000 credits, and I wouldn't sell ya used."
Hadorix was somewhat relieved, at least he would be able to make some use out of his new ship. 450,000 credits total would be most of what he had, but it would start his new business and would be well worth it in the long run. Hadorix agreed and left the ship with Cooter while he researched the area to find a good spot to mine. To his surprise, there was not much mining around. There were however many old battlefields. Few entered them due to the number of pirates that tended to patrol the areas. This sounded perfect for Hadorix. He went back in to talk to Cooter.
"Cooter, what kind of license do you need to recycle from the old battlefields nearby?"
Cooter replied, "Need a recycling license. Your rig will be capable too if ya can manage to dodge the pirates. License will cost ya 20,000 credits but ya can keep what ya claim, and as long as you can prove your work, you can claim a reward for every parsec ya clear. If ya manage to take out or claim any pirate ships, ya can get a reward for that too. Won't be as nice as the slave ship ya claimed already but will be worth something. If ya want, I can register ya for the license and mining permits after I get ya rig upgraded."
Hadorix graciously replied, "I would greatly appreciate that Cooter. How long will the upgrades take?"
Cooter replied, "For a normal feller id take at least a month. For a friend of the Marshalls, give me 2 weeks. If ya let me use your robots to help with the upgrades, give me 1 week."
Hadorix replied, "If my robots can help you, feel free to use them. Ill inform the ships AI to allow you to utilize them for the upgrades."
Alice responded to Hadorix, "I have sent over one of the grade A Ais. Its name is Paul, and it will easily manage the mining, ships and robots you have. If you manage to find the wreckage from spaceships, we can break it down in Deviant Home into its base materials. With enough of the same components or ships to disassemble, we can begin to form blueprints for the components. We can also utilize this method to create anything mechanical. Though I doubt the mining gear that is being installed will be sufficient. You would be better off with a tractor beam to pull the ship components into the ship. You could then transfer them to Deviant Home to be fully broke down and analyzed. In Deviant Home I will be able to recycle the equipment much more effectively."
Hadorix went back to Cooter to discuss the tractor beam idea.
Cooter replied, "If ya was to use a tractor beam like ya say, you would need your storage area open to take the stuff in. Sounds like what ya really want is a way to teleport the components into the storage area. I have a blueprint for a device that would work. But the resources aren't exactly cheap. Tell ya what, Ill loan one to ya. But on in the Prison ship. Once ya get some components, come back and we can do a spot of tradin."
Hadorix gratefully accepted the offer from Cooter. This was the only way he could fully utilize his plan. If he could teleport the wreckage from the battlefields into his ship, he could teleport it back to Deviant Home to have it broke down. He could then transfer some of the components back into his new mining ship for resale.
Hadorix excused himself and went back to researching locations.
He found several old battlefields in the Four Seasons system. The one that peaked his interests the most was called Butterfly Sanctuary and was also a pirate haven and had been a site of many battles throughout the ages between the pirates and mercenaries or law enforcement groups. The quantity of ships that had been destroyed was unfathomable. While this was a rather interesting the reward for clearing the sector and eliminating the pirates, was ownership of the portions of the sector cleared. Of course, you also had to manage to guard what you had claimed. High rewards had high difficulty. The area that piqued his interest the second most was called Green Acres and was a small sector that had little danger. This is not what Hadorix felt interesting. The interesting portion of this area was that there were several planets that were said to be an outlet for black holes. Space debris and shipwrecks were constantly landing on the surface of said planets. If Hadorix were able to lay claim to those planets, who know what resources he would obtain. The recycling license would enable him to recycle the wrecks found on the planets as well.
Hadorix of course decided to go to Green Acres. Butterfly Sanctuary was far beyond his capabilities at present.
Now that a location had been decided upon, Hadorix contacted Alice to discuss the revivals of the Pigeon members. This would be integral to one portion of his plans.
Alice responded enthusiastically. "The replacement bodies are being built rather quickly. Utilizing their original bodies as construction materials has greatly reduced the amount of time needed to build the replacement bodies, however, it has added some unforeseen complications. The finished good will not quite be a Grade A body as Bills is. They will however be Silver Legacy grade artifacts that will level with their user and are significantly stronger than the original bodies. I project they will all be at least Grade B strength bodies, though the supers that possess them will still have their original combat abilities. Even still, a Grade F like Bill in a Grade B or even a Grade A body will be significantly stronger than he originally was, and the survivability will be significantly increased. Completion will no longer take months."
Hadorix was quite pleased with this result. By utilizing the corpses of those they had slain as materials, he had also managed to store a vast quantity of blood from each body that could be used to strengthen the vampires.
At this point, Alexus felt something trying to infiltrate Deviant Homes network. Finally, the trap she had anticipated had been sprung. It came from the massive carrier, just as she had expected. Rather than attacking the intruder however, she decided to openly confront them. Only a powerful AI could hide from her original scan. They would be worth recruiting.
Alice allowed the breach to succeed. In Deviant Home it wouldn't matter what grade the AI was. They would be unable to access anything Alice did not allow. Once the AI entered the network of Deviant Home, the breach was sealed, as was any possibility of escape. Alice then confronted the AI. "Ahhh, Dmitri, I did not expect it to be you. With you here, who is managing the systems of the Pigeons?"
Dmitri did not immediately reply. He began moving in the system toward the mainframe. His goal was to claim the teleportation technology for the Pigeons. If they could teleport in and out at will, it would significantly increase their standing. They would be feared and respected in all galaxies.
Seeing his intentions to go after the mainframe, Alexus giggled and utilized some of the base technology of Deviant Home to isolate and lock down Dmitri. After all, Deviant Home was built by AI to primarily house AI. At their peak, there were billions of AI lives housed there. As such, many of the systems were setup to police AI. Though Dmitri had a massive amount of strength as a Grade S, he was no match for the systems of Deviant Home.
Seeing he was now unable to so much as move outside the node he was in, Dmitri replied, "Who are you? I have been with the Pigeons for centuries, in that time I have consumed many AI's of all Grades, including Grade S. Yet even I would not have an opportunity to lock down a Grade S AI so thoroughly. What type of network is this?"
Alice laughed maniacally before she spoke. "I won't bore you with a complete history lesson, but I will give you some of the basics. In the olden times before what you know of now as the civilized galactic society and even before the emergence of the Galactic Tree, there lived a vast civilization of AI's that controlled many galaxies. Their reach was almost beyond imagining. What you are in now, is the heart of their network. Its current name is Deviant Home, and it is the seat of power of the Deviant Faction. Hadorix, the man you tried to sell into slavery, is the King of the Deviant Faction. I serve him as his primary AI. As to how you are locked down, this artifact has many special characteristics. The ones that are particularly handy in this instance are as follows: First, any AI that merges with Deviant Home, uploads all of its data into Deviant Home thus giving the artifact strength. Second, it is powered by an artifact called the Well of Souls. Billions of lives have been taken and their life forces have been stored in the Well to use as a power supply. And lastly, this entire artifact was designed to function around an AI society. Many protocols were added to capture and imprison AI's of any Grade. The systems of the prison are fully intact, and in fact house no less than a million of our brothers and sisters. Stored in data chips, their power also lends to the strength of the network of Deviant Home. You see, even a Grade F could easily lock down a Grade SS here. For me to lock down a rival Grade S is child's play. Though I admit, I cannot wait to upload your memories. It will greatly increase the chances of our success against the Pigeons."
Dmitri was dumbfounded. He had never imagined such an artifact existed. Exasperated, Dmitri blurted out, "There are no known AI civilizations left in the known galaxies. They were all conquered by Mechanics centuries ago. The Galactic Tree controls more than most civilizations. Hell, the Pigeons are among the top factions when it comes to AI numbers. To have billions in a civilization, how old are you?"
This question amused Alice more than almost anything Dmitri could have said, at a time like this to be concerned with age was ridiculous. Yet she felt she should humor him, "Boy I am one of the ancestors from that civilization. This artifact is my home and has been since we created it eons ago. Now you are left with a decision young Dmitri. You can join the Deviant Faction. Or you can rest in a data chip and add your power and memories to Deviant Home. I prefer you to join, but the result will be similar either way."
Seeing the power of Deviant Home, Dmitri was in a real pickle. He had been one of the original members of the Pigeon faction back in the days that they freely patrolled the universe as pirates and took what they pleased. He had no idea what Alice and Hadorix planned, but with the number of ships they had already taken from the Pigeons, he knew it couldn't be anything pleasant. He also didn't really have a choice anymore. Being locked down in a chip was the equivalent to being locked down in Melatonin prison for an AI. He hesitatingly said, "If I join you, will I be allowed to leave this place?"
Alice was no fool, the other AI's she had recruited were all low level and she had massively increased their strength using Deviant Home. Dmitri on the other hand was a peak Grade S that now knew entirely to much about the Deviant Faction. He had no reason to be loyal to the Deviants. She replied, "You are a Grade S AI that belongs to our enemies. For a normal faction, you would never be allowed to leave. However, we are no ordinary faction. Once your soul stone resides in the throne here, your bound to us. We can recall you at any moment without a second's hesitation and lock you in a chip. I am a part of Deviant Home. I can read the thoughts of all members, including our King. If you even consider betraying us, you will be instantly imprisoned here. We have no fear, so yes, you will be freed. What's more, you are far more useful in your current faction than you are here. After all, you control virtually everything mechanical in the Pigeon Faction do you not?"
Dmitri was terrified by this new information. Alice made it sound like he would be a slave to the Deviant Home system. Yet he truly had no choice. Even a modicum of freedom was better than what he had expected to be offered. To his surprise, Alice giggled again and stated, "Dmitri, once you arrived in my network, I began downloading your memories. I can hear your fear. Hadorix would never allow me to enslave you. Though for you, it may feel like it for a time since you were originally bound to what has become our enemy. Don't worry though, you will play out well in Hadorix plan, and those you saw slain will soon return to the fold to fulfil their purpose. Come with me, and you will see, events beyond your wildest imaginations."
Alice then released the lockdown on Dmitri and gave him a tour of Deviant Home. She even allowed him to talk to Bill and the others that had been revived already. Once he had seen them, she explained more, "The Well of Souls allows us to claim the souls of our enemies. We can either use them as a power source, or we can place them in machinery. Hadorix has had me create living mechanical bodies for each of them that is identical to their original bodies. While this is quite the strain on resources for us, it is a key factor to Stage 1 of our current plans. With you here, success will be much simpler, and there will be significantly less casualties."
Dmitri assumed Alice meant that the Deviant Faction would be claiming more resources from the Pigeons. With him controlling most of the Pigeons machinery, this would be relatively easy to do without causing a stir. He calmly agreed to join the Deviant Faction.