Chain 016: Supreme Commander

Chain 016: Supreme Commander
Location: Abandoned Neutral Planet, A.D. 3844
Age: 28
Identity: Drop-In
Drawbacks: [+800] Quantum Connection Lost
(Abilities: None)

[Free]      Information Acquisition
[100/1800]  Enhanced Reflexes
[300/1800]  Global Command
[600/1800]  Forging Bonds
[650/1800]  RTFM
[Free]      Derelict Craft
[700/1800]  T3 Engineers
[850/1800]  T3 Mass & Energy
[1000/1800] UEF Atlantis
[1150/1800] UEF Novax
[1300/1800] Aeon Paragon
[1800/1800] CP to MP conversion: 500 CP to 1000 MP

(Because... let's be honest, the moon isn't big enough.)

[200/3000]  ACU Import: Asgerd-Class Planetoid
[Free]      Enhanced Construction
[400/3000]  Personal Stealth Generator
[700/3000]  Personal Cloaking Generator
[1200/3000] Nano-Repair System
[2400/3000] Experimental ACU
[2600/3000] Conversion Ray
[3000/3000] Dark Star Generator

I had expected, when I transferred Dahak into the biggest vessel in the arsenal, that maybe... just MAYBE... I'd have some company on this journey if I stayed on board in command. I did NOT expect to feel the transition jolt the moment that the AI controlling the Achuultani was obliterated, and it was jarring to feel that, to see the bridge emptied faster than a fingersnap.

More jarring: I couldn't pull on ANY of the abilities I normally had at my disposal... or anything else. I couldn't open a portal to the warehouse, and I found myself abruptly weak with the disappearance of my cybernetics. At least I still had Dahak, though.

"...Dahak?"

"Restoring last known good configuration. Adjusting for system alterations." The voice that came out of the speaker was lifeless, monotone. Most decidedly not the AI I'd spent the last five millennia getting to know. That I called friend.

For the first time in five thousand years, I was alone.

When all was said and done, the system diagnostics told the story. I was no longer in a planetoid that was slightly larger than the moon, but instead in one that was slightly larger than the planet it was currently orbiting.  It seemed to have adapted the characteristics of something meant to be sent across the galaxy... constructing buildings, coordinating armies. Of course something this size could never fit through the gates that an ACU would go through. By the same token however, it wouldn't need to - sure, everyone else can go through those gates instantaneously, but it appeared that I was the only one with actual FTL capabilities... and could build structures on the planetary surface from a third of the way to the moon.

Of course, that would be a terrible idea because being anywhere remotely near a planetary orbit would be a recipe for disaster until this vessel had reconfigured its gravity generators to offset its effects on any nearby stellar bodies. And it would take a while, without having Dahak to speed through the math - the AI onboard was effectively lobotomized and couldn't infer much that wasn't a direct command with precise wording. As it stood, once things were set up, I had to move to the other side of the planet for a short time to correct any orbital deviancy before moving to a safer place in the solar system.

Having all three of the factions come to the system looking for me was rather unexpected - I'd left a handful of engineers on-world after all, but I'd set them to work building things to the locals - the various factions got into a spat and withdrew after destroying all but one of the engineers, but at least they didn't destroy what I'd built since there was no tactical value to them. And so I set off to ask why.

Apparently the answer was "you're an existential threat and if we find you we're going to annihilate you", judging by the UEF's response after the war had ended. They didn't do more than cosmetic damage at least, but it was enough to go off and find a star system to occupy and pretend to be a normal planet. Hey, if Dahak can pretend to be the moon, this one certainly had the capability of pretending to be a normal planet to anyone else's eyes. Especially with a Dark Star generator at its core for raw power. Frankly, it was not even a particularly long time to use engineers and a Paragon topside as a power supply; being able to convert energy to matter means you can certainly task them with putting down rock, dirt, water, an atmosphere. Sure, it's basically a dead planet with a handful of seemingly derelict satellites in orbit, but it was enough to fool the Cybran when they investigated it.

I admit I was rather surprised wehn the Seraphim made their appearance, with battles fought on the surface of the 'planet' between them and an alliance of the other three factions, but... well, I'm pretty sure everyone was rather shocked when I activated the vessel's systems and used the conversion ray to seize control of every single Seraphim unit. Some faster than others. I'm pretty sure no one expected the war to end there, with the War Leader locked inside a unit that ignored his commands.

I'm a jerk, but I'm not a total asshole - I gave the others warning to retreat, before I had my vessel engage FTL and leave the shell of the planet behind. Without the ship there for gravity, the atmosphere dissipated, the crust crumbled and fell apart, and Seth floated off into space among globs of frozen water and broken pieces of mountain.