Chapter 2. Freeman Armory

Without Tala on E3621HG17 it became completely lonely. I had to completely immerse myself in work in order to somehow cope with the melancholy. And the quarian's rare messages on the extranet - the local analogue of the Internet, with a delay of about five days, did not help at all.

However, having plunged headlong into work, I was amazed at my own performance, which was limited only by the need to charge mobile platforms. However, while half of the platforms were charging, the other half worked tirelessly as manipulators. Or rather, I worked as their manipulators, yet without the geth control programs they are just mindless dummies and convenient platforms for remote control.

To begin with, I converted the Mass Effect Core recovered from the batarian ship into multi-purpose production equipment. Yes, it was troublesome and quite expensive, we had to make many forays into inhabited star systems and carry out several scams and raiding raids under the guise of Gordon Freeman - an unknown person in batarian armor and a helmet, although under them there was a rather simple humanoid platform created on the basis of an Azarian humanoid robot production, several of which were found in the mining complex in a broken state, because my personal platform was still being finalized. True, before using the fur, it was necessary to change its appearance so that it would not resemble a woman in its appearance. Oh, these asari.

During the conversion, the core had to be discharged, the internal systems had to be rebuilt, the shell replaced, and electrodes had to be added to the core along the entire surface to be able to create mass fields of different configurations. In production at various factories, cores are also used in a similar way, but usually only for narrowly focused tasks, such as creating monstrous pressure, or for processing certain metals. The constant use of mass fields of different configurations is too expensive; it requires a lot of zero element. Well, it will be more expensive for me to create an entire factory, but I won't be on this planet forever, and I won't be able to take the factory with me. But I can take the production core with me and rebuild it to meet the necessary needs.

With EM fields, things went more fun and much faster than in manual mode, and the creation process resembled some kind of magic: ingots of processed metal took off, began to melt by themselves and take the desired shape, after which they froze in the air, where they were processed if necessary, and Afterwards, the resulting parts were joined together. The control for such manipulations must be prohibitive, but as an AI controlling the mass fields using the EM core, I did not feel any difficulties at all. Teraflops of data were processed in seconds, allowing me to draw up plans, come up with blueprints for new technology, process all available data from the extranet and rivet technology samples all at the same time! Of course, it's a pity about magic, but biotics with high technology can perfectly replace it, and the capabilities of AI were completely worth it to lose magic. But it was not worth it to lose our usual existence.

The first thing I did after creating the production core was to secure the territory, otherwise there were cases of attacks by local wild animals and an unexpected visit from the Blood Pack mercenary detachment. Of course, they were driven away by the Geth walking tanks standing guard, a couple of which I had, but using them in the case of animals is like shooting sparrows from a cannon.

The solution was drones of a very simple design. A small EM core in the center, covered with internal systems and light steel armor. For flight, the drone is equipped with small ion thrusters, although it can fly using mass field manipulations, but the thrusters are faster, and it was on it that I tested my skill in creating VIs. It was quite interesting to write behavioral algorithms for the drone and, as it turned out, very quickly and easily if you understand the basic principles.

His weapons are disassembled pirate rifles, creatively recycled in the process. The result was quite dangerous and maneuverable one and a half meter flying balls with an autonomous operating time of up to three days, powerful kinetic shields, a lightweight body, a fast-firing but weak cannon at the bottom and two powerful ones on the sides for inflicting as much damage as possible on the enemy after removing the shields. I riveted a couple of dozen of them and was right; in a battle against batarian pirates during one of my forays, the drones showed themselves to be simply excellent support at medium range.

The geth platforms, except for the two tanks, were also reworked in order to change their appearance and increase their efficiency. Otherwise, although few people know what geth look like, the same quarians recognize them easily, and I don't need extra attention. So, by changing the design of the manipulators, I made their legs a more familiar shape to me, as well as the feet, and the upper manipulators became longer, acquired two more fingers and additional battery cells to strengthen the kinetic shields on the shoulders, covered with lightweight titanium plates. The heads of the platforms have also undergone changes, becoming slightly larger, more angular in shape and acquiring a decent amount of synthetic muscles in the neck area for greater mobility. From above, the entire body is protected by an appeal coating.

In battle, the updated platforms showed themselves to be a very powerful offensive force, and most importantly, their appearance now attracts less attention because they look like combat mechs. A rarity, of course, but not as rare as the geth in Citadel space.

 He armed them, and himself, with an original model of rifles created on the basis of the standard "Avengers". They look similar, but the design is not modular, unlike standard galactic weapons, the barrel is reinforced with super-dense alloys, allowing it to withstand shots of ammunition twice the standard and at the same speed, which significantly increases the lethality and weight of the rifle. Well, replaceable heat absorbers allow you not to wait for the weapon to cool down, but simply change the charge. Perhaps only krogans, besides those with artificial bodies, will be able to effectively use my rifle; it is too heavy and the recoil is too powerful.

 But these were all just side projects, which did not involve even 50% of my capacity. Most importantly, I completed my main platform! The most difficult thing was the brains, because a quantum computer the size of an entire room had to be somehow reduced to the size of a human brain. In general, in this world, a special quantum computer "Blue box" is used to create AI; without it, AI is just a set of programs, nothing more. The geth went a different route, or rather the quarians created them that way, and they don't need the Blue box because their program is more specific and requires a slightly different approach. The geth had developed platforms that could accommodate more than a hundred geth, but these were only developments that had yet to be developed.

The result of my efforts was a microprocessor with a capacity of one hundred and twenty geths, while a regular geth processor can accommodate up to twenty geths, and several such processors can be installed in a regular platform. I riveted fifty of these microprocessors, connected them with nanotubes filled with ultra-efficient electrolyte used in the blue box, and compactly packaged them into a lightweight titanium sphere, in the center of which there is a reduced quantum processor. The result was a kind of brain designed for six thousand geth programs placed in a metal humanoid platform with a small EM core with connected electrons, for the possibility of using mass fields and an autonomous operating time of up to three days without recharging. I finally had a mobile humanoid body, albeit an artificial one.

 ***

"That's how it is," my electronic voice broke the silence of my personal workshop.

And there was something to be surprised about. For the first time in three years of our acquaintance, a message for help came from Tala. I don't know the details, but the batarian pirate base threatens the safety of the quarian fleet and we need to kill them and extract the quarian protective circuits that they use in their systems and which somehow fell into the hands of the batarians. If they use them wisely, they will be able to bypass the defense systems of quarian ships, board several and drive many quarians into slavery, since quarians do not dare to shoot at their own.

—The Soulus-14 system, this is salarian space and it will take me six or four days to get there, if I hurry. A few dozen batars do not pose much of a threat to the quarian armed forces, which means there are at least several hundred of them there. Several hundred crew are fighters and frigates. Or a Cruiser, if you're unlucky. Okay, I need to clear my head for a long time, and at the same time I'll test my new body," I deliberately reasoned out loud, although my thoughts rushed far ahead at superluminal speed.

***

Salarian space of the galaxy, the Soulus-14 system, a large asteroid in the orbit of the planet So'kar 4. Five days later.

- It means an asteroid. Well, let's see who's sitting on it," he said until they deigned to answer my communication request.

"Greetings," he said in batarian, bowing his head slightly when a batarian with a scar crossed out half of his face appeared.

- Hmm, I know you. Are you Freeman, the guy who pinched the tail of Ranga and Sederis when he fucked up the Bloody Pack and Eclipse? - drew attention to my batar disguise. —They'll pay a lot for your ass.—.

—I can offer more, I have an advantageous offer for you.—.

"...hmm, okay, go down, but no nonsense!" the batar allowed the landing of my too remarkable and already recognizable ship.

The ship needs to be changed.

Coming in to land at a peculiar port, I noted a small fleet of my counterparts, mainly made up of frigates and fighters, but also a large transport ship of about six hundred people... I believe it is used for transporting slaves.

Upon landing, I was greeted in full dress: three dozen heavily armed battalions in clearly expensive and high-quality equipment competently cordoned off the perimeter and took aim at me as I exited the transport. Oh, and there were also a couple of snipers hidden among the potholes of the asteroid, my visors detected.

Having looked at me, the batar nodded to his own and five armed pirates, covering each other, ran into the geth landing ship. Just as they ran in, they flew out, only as corpses. My combat drones and converted geth platforms were already fully armed, occupying almost all the space inside and with a flurry of bullets they instantly demolished the shields of the inspectors, and then destroyed the protection of the armored suits along with the xenos inside.

Simultaneously with the attack on the platforms under my control, I grabbed the oncoming batar by the throat and covered myself with it from the sniper shots, and instead of my head, the head of a xenos almost instantly exploded, splattering my helmet with the insides of the pirate's skull.

Before they rained bullets on me, I used my artificial biotics and exploded in front of me with a rapidly expanding biotic field. One of the batarians turned out to be a biotic and was able to stand on his feet, protected by his own barrier, but a burst of large-caliber cartridges into the head decided the fate of the daredevil, two of my mechs with sniper rifles dealt with the batarian shooters noticed earlier, and the rest were shot by the drones and bots that had already poured out of the small ship. They did not expect such a warm welcome from such a small ship.

While the drones flew higher to inspect the territory, the bots took up combat positions, and I picked up the tooltron of the battery that met me, hacked it and quickly looked through the available information. Yeah, judging by the negotiations, they were really preparing to attack the quarian fleet to capture rather rare and expensive slaves. But it's funny, the guy turned out to be a pretty high shot in the hierarchy of this group of pirates, the deputy of the right hand of Shar'Ki, that scarred four-eyed one who allowed me to land. And there are about five thousand of them on this asteroid, from which the Salarians previously extracted resources until they ran out. The resources ran out, the salarians flew away, but the base remained because dismantling it would cost them more.

"No, it can't be that simple." I was stunned by the ease of gaining access to the pirate base through the battery's tools.

I gained access through the instrumentron, and with the help of it I connected to the electronic systems of the base and simply pumped out the air from the interior, watching through the cameras how the previously relaxed pirates were dying of suffocation.

"Oh, no, it's not that simple." I saw how some managed to pull on their helmets and turn on the internal breathing system.

These will have to be killed the old fashioned way.

Hall after hall passed in complete silence, broken only by the sound of the mechs' steps and the work of the drones' ion engines. Well, and the noise of gunfire when they met a single survivor or a group of battars, until they reached the largest group of sixty-three battars, led by Shar'Ka, holed up in the conference room of the complex.

"..." the scarred man growled something into his helmet and gave the command to his men.

It's true that he had no idea what exactly he said, because not only is the helmet sealed and does not allow sounds to pass through, but also sounds do not propagate in airless space, and in the complex, although it is not a vacuum, the gas content is extremely low and the sounds are greatly muffled. Well, I'm not connected to their internal communication, although...

"...this shit-eater!" I heard the last phrase, connecting to their system through a captured instrument.

"You'll answer for the shit-eater," the battalions heard over the intercom and immediately grabbed their helmets because of the loud, piercing sound that came through their speakers.

And it was not difficult to cope with these either, the sound attack stunned the enemy, and the rain of cartridges put an end to this confrontation.

"Well, that's all, somehow it was simple," doubts tormented me while I was writing a message to Tala with an answer. "Now let's look around more closely."

Perhaps I expected too much from organics, or is it just that the capabilities of synthetics are so impressive? In any case, no dangerous trick was noticed. But I was able to loot, collect more than five hundred thousand only from the personal instruments of the batteries and about two million more from the main terminal as the total budget of the group. More useful was the contact of the Shadow Broker - the most famous, respected and dangerous information trader in the galaxy. Great, now the search for the necessary equipment will be much easier, otherwise the mercenaries in the Terminus systems often don't have what I need, and for what they have they charge the price as if I were buying an entire factory.

"I don't understand," he said out loud again when the air again filled the residential complex.

And there was something to be surprised about, judging by the records, the quarian herself flew here and handed over the quarian defense systems to the batars. Fortunately, at least it's not Tala, but a certain Anora'Vanya you Selani. We need to warn Tala about the presence of a traitor in the fleet.

***

Having dealt with the terminal, I began to dismantle the premises, equipment and transfer everything to the transport ship. However, not even a day had passed before a light transport aircraft of an old model approached the asteroid and requested communication.

"Keelah, Ultron, it's really you," came a familiar voice from the quarian figure who appeared on the intercom.

"Hello Tala, land, I have important news for you." He gave permission to land, without being distracted from loading everything more or less valuable onto the capacious transport ship of the deceased pirates.

After waiting for the small ship to land, I went out to meet my old friend, but instead of one quarian, two came out of the transport ship at once. And everything would have been fine, but one of them, a girl with a red cape over her spacesuit, was that same traitor.

 "Don't move!" he warned the "red" one, taking her at gunpoint with his rifle, and then turned to his friend. —Tala, it was she who transmitted the data to the batarians.—.

-I know Ultron...she wanted to help. Anora wanted to modernize the fleet's systems...," the quarian began to explain, holding her hands in sight.

—And that's why she handed them over to the batarians? Batarians?!" he asked the girl, looking at the girl as if she were mentally retarded, which was invisible through the opaque visor of the helmet.

—Yes, and then we received information that the batarians were preparing an attack. They wanted to expel Anora from the fleet! — the girl passionately explained, looking at her, apparently, friend.

"Perhaps it was worth it, because with such a crew there is no need for enemies," he said, making Anora look down in shame, but still put away the weapon. -But the problem is different. You wrote that the fleet is in danger and asked for help, but why do I learn such important information after the fact from the batarian terminal?—.

-I-ah...I was afraid that you wouldn't agree. And if he didn't agree, then Anora would have to single-handedly storm the batarian base to atone for his guilt," the crumpled quarian babbled nervously.

"And therefore, in order not to risk the life of your friend, you risked mine," he summed up her story. —I deleted the data, you can check it, but after you do it, fly away immediately, and you, Tala, forget my contacts, consider us even and don't owe each other anything.—.

After my rebuke, I returned to loading the transporter, not paying attention to the girl's attempts to reconcile. Seeing their uselessness, the quarian herself fell behind, nevertheless deciding to check my words, and then left the asteroid.

So what should she have told her all at once? I would not have refused, but instead I was used in the "dark". Well, to hell with them, I already have a lot of work to be distracted by all sorts of ungrateful xenos.

***

From that moment on, I no longer contacted Tala and ignored her messages, and after a while she stopped writing altogether, while I began to work closely for myself.

The trophies from the batarian base gave me a decent pile of credits. So decent that I organized my own company, FreeMen Armory, and, together with a small turian weapons production company, Khaliath Armory, began producing weapons and military uniforms based on geth technology and my own developments.

The Turians have always been famous for the quality and reliability of their weapons, and the weak prospects of a new company to occupy a profitable place in the market allowed me to extract a profitable percentage for myself from the sale of weapons of my production when concluding a contract of seventy percent. I am only responsible for the development and provision of ready-made samples, and all production and purchase of materials lies at the Khaliat Armory factories. And is it worth saying that weapons and equipment from FreeMan Armory have managed to establish themselves as innovative equipment for the elite armed forces?

The opening of the company provided me with a stable and fairly decent source of income, allowing me to spend money on purchasing information about the discovery of Prothean artifacts or strange cases of disappearances of expeditionary groups of archaeologists without any hesitation.

This is exactly what I have been doing for the last ten years: wandering around the galaxy in search of Reaper technology in an attempt to find at least a part of the Reaper. And the brand new cruiser, which came off the stocks of a private turian shipbuilding company according to my drawings, helped a lot in this "hobby" of mine. Although the ship was expensive, it was necessary to sell a small fleet of batarians and save money from the sale of weapons, but the half-kilometer-long beauty with a mass core of increased power and experimental anti-proton engines was worth it. It was inside it that I lived, traveled and modernized my technologies, some of which I sold under the FreeMan Armory trademark. In fact, we can say that Machiavelli became my new home in this huge world.