One week later. Three months after planetfall.
"Ha!"
Julian punched the dummy robot's stomach and sent it flying backward. For the first time, he had landed a fair hit on this extremely agile dummy.
The dummy robot's eyes shone from white to red and spoke loudly. "Phase 1 completed. The successor has succeeded in landing a hit. Proceeding to phase 2."
Julian put his focus on the dummy robot's body, ignoring whatever it was muttering.
He shifted to the right, evading the dummy robot's sudden punch. Without waiting for the punching force to dissipate, the dummy robot used its left leg to briefly jump into the air and sent a roundhouse kick.
Julian raised both his arms, blocking the attack. He wanted to grab its leg but found that the dummy robot had retreated.
"Freaking cheater..." He called out.
Despite his curses, Julian charged toward the dummy robot. Both furiously sent out punches and kicks, shocking the air every time.
The dummy robot suddenly slowed down its tempo mid-punch. Julian noticed and adjusted to the changes.
He could feel the tension and pain as he forcefully restricted the muscles in his arms, trying to slow down the shifting of his body to a blocking stance.
His eyes widened when he saw the punch fast-forward, hitting the part right below his heart.
'What a feint-!'
The poor successor blatantly cursed Intellus as he made his way from the air into the ground face-first.
A small stream of blood poured out of his paling face and started taking deep breaths. His grunts were low and rough and his eyes started to despair in closing down.
"Stop! Stop, damn it!" Julian wiped off the blood flowing out of his parched mouth and clumsily stood up.
He opened his VNI and compared his body agility cycle measurement to the newly 'promoted' dummy robot.
"I have 4.01 Az, while that robot has a 5..." A sigh of defeat resounded. The statistical difference was too much for him to bear.
Intellus had to manually override the dummy robot's strength and create three distinct phases of the dummy robot for Julian to conquer.
"Let's stop here. I'll take some rest for now..."
He knew that he would just be beaten senseless if he continued with whatever Phase 2 was.
The dummy robot's eyes turned from red to white. It retreated to the center of the white training room, soon enveloped in vibrant digital lines.
The green proto insects swarmed into his insides, repairing the injuries and ruptures his body sustained after the training. He could not help but shiver in place, letting out occasional grunts.
Julian exited the training room after a short respite and headed to the second floor where the lounge area was located. Soft leather couches were placed in an orderly manner and grouped with clear and smooth rectangular glass polished by no other than Avina-2.
The lounge felt bleak and lonely despite its luxurious setting.
Julian chugged a mouthful of water, daydreaming of spending enjoyment with his recon company in this area.
"I wonder what's happened to the rest now..."
Moving tracks resounded in the hallway that pulled him out of his daze.
"Successor, Avina-2 has brought you your coffee!"
The little robot moved over and gently put the cup on the rectangular glass table. Julian picks it up and slowly brings it under his nose.
A blissful fragrance drowned him into ecstasy, and he couldn't help but take a sip. His VNI beeped, garnering his attention onto Hesab's portrait.
"Successor, I bring good news." Hesab's warm greeting extends to him. "The crystalline ants have indeed mutated due to the long-term digestion of villium ore deposits. Not only that, they can naturally absorb energy and release a strong concentration of light energy into their surroundings. Their crystalline carapaces also have traces of villium ore, along with some other minerals."
Julian sternly gazed at the catalog of the crystalline ants, forming a deep grudge against the entirety of their species. "You think it's a possibility that others may have mutated more?"
"That can be a possible conjecture, successor. After all, I had done my own sets of additional homework and there were... intriguing results. Consider it me forming an interest in their species as a whole. I hope the successor will not mind my insubordination."
Hearing Hesab's thoughts made him crease his brows a little.
Genetic mutations were considered a huge bane when it came to dealing with native creatures during planetary explorations.
The factors were too random, and nobody knew what sort of 'characteristic' made a specimen different from the rest of the pack.
And most of the time, it would go down the worst path unimagined.
Julian rolled his eyes and inwardly laughed at Hesab. "Enough about the insubordination. Since you've done some extra work, can we isolate them from their homes?"
Hesab let out a soft sigh, its head shaking in response. "These crystalline ants are very territorial and would generally not go out unless they have a reason to do so, successor. If I may also add, their antennae are a multi-purpose body part, communication, sensory. and offense."
"No wonder they crawled out when Avina tried to inspect the area with the EC-102. The energy release must have disturbed them." Julian hummed in agreement. "I remember seeing a large red dot approaching us after the short fight. That must've been the colony?"
Hesab smiled and eagerly affirmed. "Keeping in mind their basic grounds of behavior, your encounter outside of their usual habitat was more of a coincidence and curiosity from their sides. This, I can only ascertain much. Perhaps they were so disturbed that they started patrolling the area around them. That is a simple inconsistency with nature, my dear successor. Bother the process and it may result in random consequences."
Julian scratched his head in frustration that he now had to dump all his previous plans. "Can we lure them for hundreds of meters out?"
"That could be feasible, successor. I have to remind you that I will not be able to save you in case millions of them barge out of their rock caves."
Julian snorted, finding Hesab's words ridiculous. "Can a million of those even live? The villium ore deposits are limited so why would they breed so much? Also, why did you suggest it in the first place?!"
"Because why not, successor? The beauty of research is to find things out and let nature showcase its decision for the course. Our limited minds cannot fathom the complexity of nature, after all." Hesab openly shrugs and incites him. "Maybe they are only a thousand or so, or their queen is an idiot but that cannot be the case until we go and see for ourselves."
"Charming bastard..." Julian waved his hand, angered by Hesab's flowery exposition. The latter's tone turned serious, dumping his previous carefree attitude.
"Should I establish a connection to Intellus now? The data has been sent to him as you have requested."
Julian calmed down and nodded. He will find a way to deal with Hesab later. "Patch him in."
Intellus' portrait shows up on his VNI and takes the initiative to ask. "Successor?"
"Intellus, hope I'm not disturbing you again." Julian felt ashamed that he had to always resort to Intellus in situations like this.
"I am always ready should the successor require of my services." The humble Intellus reaffirms. "I have already received the data from Hesab and I have formulated a plan."
Julian gestured at Intellus to proceed.
"The best engagement is a direct contact against the crystalline ants. This will provoke the entire colony into charging upon you, successor."
"A great opportunity to lure them out," Julian added.
Intellus' eyes flickered in response. "I will notify Secturus of the changes that must be applied in security. He will coordinate the retaliation should the plan work in your favor."
"What are the odds that this won't fail?"
"The chances to fail are quite likely, successor. Hesab has not experimented with the crystalline ants' queen. Her behavior remains an unknown factor and we can only estimate that she falls into our trap."
Julian coughed out the coffee from his throat, grabbing the handkerchief held by Avina-2. "Then won't everything be futile then?"
Intellus nodded. "Should the worst case scenario occur, I will suggest that the successor fabricate additional handheld weapons that you can use with the PCS-MD-101 alone. The PMS-MD-102 may not have enough firepower to overcome the sheer number of crystalline ants that could be present in the area. This is a precautionary advice that the successor may ignore."
Julian quickly waved his hand in dismissal, smirking sideways as he listened to Intellus. "No, no. Your analysis is very correct. I also planned to do that last part."
"Then I am glad that the successor agrees."
Julian's face twitched, blanking out for a response. 'Would you have been angered otherwise???'
The briefing was finished and everyone went on their way.
Julian opened up the fabrication tab and queued in a 10mm automatic rifle, a 25mm grenade launcher, and ammunition for the two guns.
Larger caliber rifles were out of consideration knowing that his mobility would be affected, especially in a not-so-friendly environment.
Once he was finished, he opened up the information for the PMS-MD-102.
The armor integrity was always in the green though Julian starts to doubt if the strengthened steel armor could sustain the damage from the laser blasts.
"Hesab, something came up. Can we re-create the crystalline ants and test its lasers against the PMS-MD-102 armor?"
Hesab reconnected albeit slightly frustrated about the sudden call. "Of course, the successor is open to do so. But I do have to remind you that this specimen may not be as accurate as the real thing. It may or may not be powerful which could present... unforeseen circumstances."
"Such as?" Eyebrows raised, Julian waited for his reply.
Hesab cleared his throat and assumed an attentive pose. "Any damages the specimens may concur could setback the successor's plan by a long time. Are you sure you want to continue with this?"
On second thought, Julian knocked on his head for acting stupid. "I... guess not then. You can disconnect now."
He took another sip of the coffee and muttered under his breath. "I hope Avina can pilot the PMS-MD-102 well. Worst case, I'll have to exit and provide additional firepower. She best not damage its core. That will cost me a uranium for every mecha suit destroyed..."
The fabrication process on the upper right zapped through his eyes.
He stood up and stretched his arms, carefully thinking of multiple scenarios in his head.
An operation of this scale will determine the progress of his expansion scheme.
Succeed and he can momently extend outside the zoning barrier. Failure and he may have to lay low for a little while longer, a result too disastrous for his current situation.
Julian finished the short warm-up and exhaled a deep breath. His smooth and slender fingers trembled uncontrollably.
Under the guise of his expertise lies the nervous persona of a naive explorer.
