Max stood in the middle of the research lab, surrounded by the new drones, with an amused look on his face.
"So, this is your plan? To overrun the enemy with crabs? I would have expected sharks, to be honest." He commented in a dry tone that didn't match the amused look on his face.
The researcher on his right burst into laughter at his comment. "That was Nico's first idea, but the crabs are much more versatile, and the body shape makes them better as repair bots for the Mecha. They're quite versatile, and we did our best to equip them for everything we could think of."
They began ordering the drones to bring out the various tools that they had equipped them with, and showing off their various assets. It was impressive, and Max saw a lot of potential for the killer crustaceans in the future.
"They can be useful in other ways as well. They're Warp capable, so they can be used as recovery drones for disabled units, and they've got a Void Shield, the newly developed defensive technology from the Rae 5 labs. They just wrap their legs around the disabled Mecha like this, and then they can carry them to safety." The researcher explained as one of the drones moved to wrap itself around the chest of a Mecha shaped dummy along the wall.
"Impressive. But the Mecha doesn't need to be disabled for that. If you have them move to that defensive position and sync their systems with the Mecha, they can serve as a supplemental defence for a crippled but offensively capable unit." He noted.
The researchers all lit up with excitement, and they ran off to their stations to program that capability into the drones, as it had been overlooked in their list of things that a drone might be needed for.
Normally, a unit like that was treated as disabled, and removed from the front lines to save the Pilot's life. But if they could just put up a whole new shield and use the drone as an armour plate to protect the cockpit, there really was no reason the Mecha couldn't keep fighting as long as its weapons were still online.
The code only took a few minutes to update, but they still almost missed the incoming message from the Moon Base. A cargo shuttle was coming their way with a transfer, and the code said it was requesting to dock at their bay, and not the usual commercial docks.
That must be the gift from Uncle Lu that they had been waiting on, and the excitement in the room was intense, with so many fully caffeinated workers in one spot.
Then a private message from Uncle Lu arrived.
[I will be sending you a courier with private documents for your perusal. Please inform me of your decision on the matters discussed within.]
It was a simple and straightforward message, unlikely to cause any suspicion if it was intercepted, but in context, it was highly unusual for Uncle Lu to be so secretive when he knew that Nico was monitoring the channel and would both secure the communication and delete all traces of its existence once it was read.
The cargo shuttle docked a few minutes later, landing in the empty bay next to the research lab, and Max led Nico and the team over to greet the new arrival.
An android stepped out of the shuttle. "Commanders, welcome. We have a delivery for you."
Max nodded politely, and the android activated the cargo transport system, slowly ejecting a crate that completely filled the cargo hold, before closing the cargo bay door and bowing formally to them.
"The delivery is complete, please sign the delivery sheet and I shall be on my way." The android informed them.
Max signed the form with a thumbprint and the android returned to the shuttle, then immediately requested clearance to return to the moon base.
It was all very mundane for a standard cargo delivery, even though it had been delivered to a reserved bay, but nobody outside Absolution would realize that, as the bay directly below it was one of the regularly used cargo bays.
Once the shuttle was gone, Nico cheerfully poked the encrypted lock's keypad with one finger on each hand and the crate hissed with the release of inert Nitrogen gas, the standard packing process for most shipments, as it would prevent oxidization of the cargo.
Inside were two shiny red and bone coloured Mecha on repair racks, waiting to be turned upright so that they could be fully inspected.
"Oh, that was kind of him, he even included the repair racks so we didn't have to make our own. That makes my life so much easier." Nico noted as she shrugged into a Tech Adept Harness and floated up to take a good look at the units.
Max activated the room's crane to latch to the hoist points on the repair racks and stand the Mecha up one at a time, letting them sit along the wall, but with enough room behind them to inspect the backs before they were moved to the other bay.
They barely fit inside the fifty-metre tall bay, and if the shoulder weapons were deployed and not tucked behind their backs, they would not fit at all without crouching. None of the usual Mecha transport ships were equipped for a unit this tall, and although it was sparsely equipped by most standards, Max could tell that this was a truly formidable unit.
"Oh, look at this. The power systems are all independent, but redundantly linked. The Warp Drive can be used for shields or weapons, but both are independently powered by their own Dyson Sphere. The layer shift function operates off the Shield array, so the weapon won't ever have to share power output. I like it. Taking these units offline will not be easy." Nico commented.
With the new armour made from the compressed monomolecular plating, taking them offline would be nearly impossible by most standards. That material was impervious to the weapons of ninety percent of the species they had met.
"I think that these will do just fine." Max agreed.
