Two days later everyone returned to work and their speed was as astonishing as ever.
The material collection platforms were now barely able to keep up and it got worse as Tommy and the rest of the engineers put together more and more drones and power generators.
A week later the decision was made to bring the third platform online so that the system wasn't overloaded.
Also around this time Alice called Tommy for a chat.
-We can start implanting everyone with the synaptic link's whenever we want. I have enough implants for everyone and also some spares.
She said when he arrived.
-It's nice to see you too.
He answered,walking in and taking a seat.
-Not so nice since I have to do something I disapprove of.
She was in a sour mood ,and he knew why.
-Well it's either that or we spend another month or two training everyone to operate their power armors and the ship.
She knew that he was right but it didn't help to uplift her mood.
-The worst part is that after they leave the ship they need to leave their armors behind and i don't think that they will use those implants ever again after that not to mention
there is no way to remove them once they're installed.
-I don't like it any more than you do but it's necessary for our plan and like i said it saves us time on training.
Tommy knew that once you got the synaptic link implant you could just download the knowledge you required and it took a day or two to assimilate the information.
-I know,but just for the record i still don't like it.
-Noted, so how many people can we implant in a day?
-Around 12 people everyday and they need at least 3 days to heal without the tank and around 3 hours with the regeneration tank.
-So we set it up when the ship is completed, it'll take us around a week to load up all the supplies and ammunition so it should be enough time to do the procedures and have everyone healed and ready.
-As you wish, but if it's all the same to you I'll get mine as soon as possible.
I Don't want to have it but if i must then the faster the better before i change my mind.
-I don't see why not.
He agreed with her.
-Then get out so that i can get ready for the procedure.
He was stunned,he never expected her to want to do it right that moment.
After he left the med bay he went to talk with Jakob about their route.
-Hi there.
He greeted both of the navigators who were currently discussing something,pointing to different points on the star map.
They both went quiet and welcomed him in.
- You see Tommy to get to the nearest territory of the Coalition we will need to do around 30 cooldown stops.
And we are in the middle of choosing the best places to do a cooldown and not getting spotted.
Tommy knew that the FTLD's couldn't work indefinitely at least once a day; they needed a cooldown period of around an hour.
-Ok, I don't see a problem with that.
Tommy said.
-The problem is that according to the specifications this ship can move faster than anything else in its class but that's all theory and we won't be able to determine its real speed until it's launched.
So for now we are trying to find the best points for cooldowns along our planned route and in its vicinity in case we have to change cours.
Monic explained their current debacle.
-I see and without a navigation computer you have to do all the calculations yourselves.
They both nodded.
-You will have a nav computer when the ship is ready and we won't launch for some time after its completion so why don't you do it then?
-We will input all the data into the nav computer as soon as it's available but we first need to specify the locations for the computer to calculate and it's better to choose the locations now so that it will be easier to finish our work later.
Once we are away there won't be so much time for us to figure everything out and for the record we are doing the calculations for all three routes just to be safe.
Tommy nodded with appreciation for their work.
He had many similar talks all around the station and between them he repaired broken equipment or built more drones.
Time flew by and the ship's completion rate could be seen with a naked eye.
The number of the drones salvaging the ships also increased day by day until it reached 250 drones.
The materials were pouring in and soon they needed to get more ships.
Four months went by and the cruiser was finally completed.
The behemoth of a ship was a site to behold; it was big enough to be classified as a heavy cruiser and had enough output and firepower to easily destroy a battleship or give a dreadnought a run for its money.
Its shape was that of a shark but without its fins and with four powerful engines replacing its tail.
There were eight turrets mounted on it: four of those were MAC's and the rest were energy based weapons.
In many places along its haul there were other gun emplacements that were retractable.
There were also 24 torpedo tubes that were divided in the groups of 6 tubes for front ,rear,port and starboard side.
In other words this ship was a monster and their best hope to get out of there.
Right now there were still some ships being dismantled because they still had to get the power armors,weapons and ammunition for the ships MAC's.
The last four months were rather peaceful, no one was taken and they didn't have any new additions to the blue section.
The day the ship was completed was the day that the first batch of people got their implants and Tommy was in that batch.
His neck was a little stiff for the next three days after the surgery but he rejected the bath in the regeneration tank allowing someone else to use his time.
The meeting was long this time as they had to confirm their plans and the progress of preparations.
-How much longer before we are ready?
Tommy asked at one of the meetings.
Anne took a look on her tablet.
-We are still in the middle of production of :Ammunition,power armors,food,and some spare parts for the ship.
As for loading the ship:
the fuel is at 40%
Water is at 70%
Materials for the Matter converters are at 100%
Armory is at 100%
Food is at 25 %
Torpedoes are at 100%
Missiles are at 89%
MAC's rounds Are at 92%
I think that another week and we will be ready to depart.
She reported the status of the ship.
-In another three days we will have to bring in the next batch of ships and I suggest that we bring in the biggest we can find so that we'll have enough materials for our equipment and there should be plenty left for our surprise.
Garry expressed his opinion and everyone agreed that this was a good idea now that they didn't have to be as careful and even if someone noticed it ,the most they could do was to stop the station from regaining its defensive capabilities.
-What about the cargo ship?
Simon asked.
-It should be here today or tomorrow and we have the materials for them ready so it shouldn't be a problem.
Anne answered.
-Alice, how is the progres with the implants?
Tommy turned to the doctor.
-Another three days and it will be finished but the last batch will have to wait for a minimum of three days to heal after the surgery.
Alice made her report. The regeneration tank was already onboard the ship as well as all the rest of her equipment except what she needed for implant procedure and some first aid materials.
-Then just one week more and we are getting out of here,we will have our final meeting in five days.
After that everyone went back to work.