Three weeks later Anne and Tommy finally figured out a way to take control of each of the systems aboard the station but it still had a flaw and that was the need to control them everyday since they couldn't connect them to one centralized area.
The solution to their problem was unexpectedly right under their noses and it was Alice who pointed it out.
-Why don't we use the battle control center to monitor it all?
She said when they were discussing the problem once again.
Everyone looked at her baffled, they all forgot about it.
The battle Control was in a way better state than the main control center and it had everything they needed to pull this off.
Now all they needed was to find enough electronic parts for Tommy to build bypasses for everyone of the control devices but for that they had to wait for new ships because those that they were working on had been stripped of all electronics already.
So with some time to spare they decided to help some of the people with the drug problem.
Simon and Tommy selected 10 men to be the first group and then it went easier than anybody predicted.
One by one the men were given a canteen of alcohol and within three days it was all over.
The group of men was confused at first not knowing what was going on but after some explanation they not only understood their situation but all of them wanted to help with whatever Tommy and the rest were planning.
This also confirmed that prolonged exposure to the drug affected the personality.
For now they were told to work as normal but that was almost impossible.
When the new group started to work again,just like Tommy and the rest, they started to figure out how to dismantle the ship faster with the help of their tools instead of relying heavily on their cutters.
Tommy decided to gather them up and talk to them about it.
-Listan guys, you need to slow down with your work.
He went straight to the point.
-But why?
Asked one of the men.
-Because if we start producing more materials in less time the nobles might get suspicious.
And that's the last thing we need right now.
Everyone nodded their heads, that made sense.
-Listen i know it's not easy to stop yourself, and that you're all happy that you're back to normal but if we continue like this then sooner or later we will be discovered.
Tommy didn't have to say anymore than that.
- Now if you still want to help us with our plans then you will have a chance when we get the next batch of ships.
-Then what are your plans? we can't help without knowing what to do?
It was another man that spoke up this time.
-You will all get to know the details soon, but for now please do as I say and slow down.
This is only temporary, in fact in the not too distant future some of you will have to work really hard to cower for those that will be doing various tasks and would be unable to gather materials from the ships.
Tommy decided to give them something to look for, and it was a good decision because when the men heard that they all looked eager to do whatever it took to help.
-And don't underestimate that task,it will be crucial to our success, we can't do some things while still working and we don't have that much time and that's where you come in.
He once again emphasized the importance of what he was asking them to do.
-You can count on our help, just say what you need done.
Said yet another man and the rest agreed .
-Thank you all for understanding,this is all i have for you right now but like i said in the near future we will need all of you to help us and when that time comes i will personally explain the plan to you.
After that he left the group with something to think about and quite eager to do all in their power to help even if it meant to just work harder with the dismantling so that others were cowered and had more time to complete the plan.
In the end all of them hated the nobles who turned them into exiles and made them slaves.
Tommy was quite satisfied that it didn't take long to convince them and he was sure that they would like the possibility of getting out of here.
For the next week everything went as planned and before they knew it,it was time to get the next batch of ships.
The operation went smoothly and now there were another two fighters in dock 1 and a small merchant ship in dock 2.
All they had to do now was to wait and they used the time to brief their new allies about the plans they made and also about what materials they needed to look for so that they could move forward.
At first the men were astounded by the sheer volume and ambition of the undertaking they were just informed of but after a while they became excited looking at a prospect of getting their freedom back and screwing the nobles over in the process.
In the last week Tommy and Simon had a few chats with their new recruits and what they learned made them smile from ear to ear.
It turned out some of the new people had skills that they needed to make the plan work and that meant that they didn't have to learn these skills from scratch.
For example they found out that Paul, a short man with a bold head and overall look o0f a dwarf complete with a long beard. was a ship engineer before he was sent into exile,another one named Jakob was a fully qualified Navigator.
The others had their own skills,some were useful some were not but all of them wanted to help and as Paul once said :
-They can all learn.
With the addition of new people the gathering of the materials went smoothly not to mention a lot faster.
Paul and Tommy then started the production of the bypass units which had been a bit modified after suggestions from the old engineer.
In the meantime others were also busy Monic and Jakob were planning their escape route but it was hard without the help of a navigation computer and outdated maps they pulled from the ships and the station.
Jakob actually accepted Monic as his apprentice when he heard that she always wanted to become a navigator and she was a diligent student.
Alice took two of the men that didn't have any of the necessary skills and started training them as medics.
Anne on the other hand started to teach the youngest member of their group her programming skills and she discovered that 18 year old David was born for the job.
As for the rest of the group they decided that they will be working on the ships and gather the materials needed for their plans.
Also the decision was finally made thanks to Paul who convinced everyone that it would be way easier to build their own ship from scratch then to try and repair one of the wrecks outside especially if they managed to take control of the resources gathering and activate the facilities in the fourth dock,in the end this station was once a shipyard.
The only problem they had was that after gathering all the electronics they could get they were only able to build 4 bypasses and to take full control they needed 16 more.
So for now the decision was made that they will take control of the life support systems,fuel gathering and distribution systems and the resources collection systems.
The rest would have to wait for them to get more materials.
Everyone was excited when the preparations were complete.
Now they could finally start taking control away from the nobles and get their freedom back.