So, I'm ready to advance as far as possible. The locals, by the way, assembled a dozen robots, brazenly copying my bots. For reconnaissance and studying the nanovirus.
I wrote a firewall for the junior, but warned in advance: if the attacker has enough power, they'll break the defense. But simply autonomous nanites and their viral code can be brushed aside.
"You confirmed the ships are dead. Is that not so?" Margaret Parangosky asked.
I nodded.
"Confirming, activity is strictly residual. But as in the case of Forerunners, defense systems are alive; I can't say to what extent. I am extremely interested in this nanovirus. It needs to be studied."
The Vice Admiral just waved that off.
"You have samples on your bots. Upon return to Reach, you will be provided with prisoners for experiments. Then you can deal with it."
Excellent then. Of course, I'd like to watch the work on other unknown ships, but we use what we have. For example, right now a recon group with a mounting robot is literally cutting a corridor meter by meter through the crushed metal. We've already found six alien bodies, unfortunately fragmented. All infected, all have internal enhancement with nanostructures and cybernetics.
"One thing can be said for certain: the creators of this ship are clearly not against radical transhumanism, including cybernetization of the brain."
The frigate turned into a laboratory where robots perform autopsies, as several conclusions were made:
First, the nanostructure is present in many elements of the ship and crew; we have six infected marines and twelve engineers. A friend-or-foe system; over time, it turns foes into friends. This nanovirus is transmitted upon contact.
Second, the nanovirus affects the organism of the infected. Both humans and machines. My juniors (after forcing the nanite rewrite) decided they needed to read some Old Machines and that their orders were generally higher priority than mine; I had to wipe and rewrite.
Humans, however, manifested hallucinations and some absent-mindedness. Insignificant, but we suggest this is only the very first phase of the process. Margaret Parangosky gave the go-ahead for observation and attempted treatment. Medics are fighting for them alongside my bots, but usual methods are useless here. Hence the next conclusion.
Third, nanites in a favorable environment multiply rapidly, and if we don't solve the problem quickly, the frigate will have to be abandoned along with the crew and shot for disloyalty. The Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine was removed from the frigate immediately.
It seems we've figured out why the station's owners didn't haul all this stuff away; they simply became part of the team. Meanwhile, while some streams seek a solution, others are engaged in reconnaissance. Even if the crew is utilized, we need to know what this was.
Call from the Vice Admiral.
"Khaela, what about the treatment?"
I shrugged. The situation is complicated.
"An extremely nasty nanovirus, Vice Admiral. Infection upon contact, and then the restructuring of the organism in favor of the original design begins. The problem is that the restructuring starts almost immediately, and if you just use rewritten nanites, the restructuring will stop and the user will, at best, remain disabled. We can try to burn it out, but the target will likely have problems with their head. Not fatal at this stage, but unpleasant. It's not healthy for a human to have inactive nanites in their brain, Vice Admiral."
Margaret Parangosky nodded.
"Good. And the defense? What did you and Ajax come up with?"
That's easier.
"Having gained access to the interface, even a shipboard Smart AI handled it. Dumb ones are under threat, keep that in mind. We use modified nanites to destroy the original ones, but for those already infected, that's not an option. Fireteam Bravo, the infected ones, asked to be sent on reconnaissance, since they are already dead men walking. The engineering staff hopes for a cure. The problem is the low concentration of nanites. They are ineffective at this stage, but they simply have no communication systems. Physical intervention is required."
Margaret Parangosky frowned, hearing something she didn't like.
"You told them. You informed these people about what happened to them."
The avatar spread its hands in a perfectly human gesture.
"Approved by the captain and the head of medical services, Vice Admiral. Further infection had to be avoided, which means informing was necessary. They drew lots. Two will remain under observation for infection progression in an isolated box. Four will go on reconnaissance to go as deep as possible and confirm the danger. The captain approved. We were going to send a squad there anyway."
The woman thought, making notes in her tablet. Purely technically, the captain is within his rights. But having a superior officer on board changes the situation slightly. This infection is clearly an emergency, and the captain knows it. He also knows that the Vice Admiral will clearly keep them all for research. There's a chance that upon return, we'll have a new captain. That's not my business, in any case. But it is necessary to monitor the research of the virus. Looking at the code, one can confidently say: this is not Forerunners and doesn't look like The Flood. This is someone else. Someone I have no information on, which is completely unacceptable. I need to know.
"Khaela," Margaret Parangosky finally decided, "I don't like that you're acting behind my back. But if you can get information, that will be an acceptable result. As planned, a squad of soldiers and robots will go. Questions?"
Crystal clear.
"No, Vice Admiral."
She nodded.
"Excellent. I will wait for the results. Proceed."
Not the first time, Vice Admiral. I have experience hacking Forerunner machines; we just need the robots to reach them. We'll determine survivability in the process.
***
The recon group consists of five robots and twelve infantrymen. The robots are represented by my bot and four construction ones with cutters and rifles in their manipulators. Plus soldiers with shotguns and assault rifles. We haven't met a living enemy yet, but that's no reason at all. The Flood can be quite long-lived, and this nanostructure can power the organism from the grid, at least to maintain itself.
Connecting to the "Bravo" channel.
On this channel are the soldiers led by the sergeant. ODST, elite in sealed armor, which will help them survive contact with nanites. And our experimental defense—nanites reprogrammed to assimilate their own kind. Without energy support, they'll last a few hours, but it should work. Especially since the defense is experimental. My presence on the channel was noticed.
"Hey, guide. So, what's the plan?"
Yes, I'm coordinating them.
"It's quite simple. My bot is wandering through the innards of this ship while I look for what's left of the Forerunner transport terminal. And how we get there. After that, they'll punch an entrance for us, and we'll go on reconnaissance."
One of the soldiers was surprised:
"They're going to damage this ship even more?"
Unexpected. I waved it off.
"This infection really spoiled the brass's mood. If there are active disease carriers deep down, they want to know before it starts infecting the crew. Or eating the crew, as an option."
Understandable why, I suppose. Over the past time, it dawned on everyone: these are not Forerunner ships, and they are infected with something alien. Usual problems of pioneer researchers. Margaret Parangosky wants everything that can be extracted. I want all the data on these xenos. Considering the nanovirus and the clearly built, not infected, ships, the Forerunners have competitors in terms of repulsiveness. And here's the entrance.
"Good news, Vice Admiral. I've found a passage to the cargo terminal through the ship's depths. It seems the ship was dropping troops into the cargo terminal before destruction, so there's access through an airlock. The terminal is depressurized, but the ship's carcass protects well from the wind."
Wind—the main reason we have to contort like this. Continuous gas storm makes docking Pelicans or complex reconnaissance impossible. Three hundred meters per second is much higher than almost any ship available can withstand. Even a large ship without a shield would be subject to corrosion of external elements. No oxygen atmosphere and the nanovirus included. I still poorly understand why Margaret Parangosky even allowed this operation. The probability that in the presence of an enemy the whole group will go down is close to guaranteed. The simplest solution: ask.
"Why all this, Vice Admiral? I don't understand this situation; it doesn't fit into logic. But, as far as I know you, there is logic."
Margaret Parangosky smirked.
"That means I'm doing everything right. You see, our activity was noticed. And while my subordinates are working, I've removed extra pieces from the board. That's all. Especially since we turned out to be in the right place at the right time."
Fact. If this virus had spread through the crew, it wouldn't have been fun. This infection clearly writes in fanatical worship of some "Old Machines." Almost a memetic combat virus. And if we spread it among the enemy... It would be magnificent.
"I assume we intend to use this virus against The Covenant?"
Even without changes, turning part of the fleets or bases into a sect will hit them seriously. And if it's pre-rewritten, which Smart AIs can handle... It will be epic.
"Correct," the Vice Admiral agreed, "and that's another task for you. How is the squad progressing?"
The squad successfully landed. Punch a hole in the hull, conduct reconnaissance with a bot, drive drop pods in there. It would be difficult if the target weren't static or had shields. But we're ready. And then several hours of advancing through a three-dimensional black labyrinth of unknown black mechanisms using climbing gear. Among giant machines clearly providing mobility to the ship's limbs. And listening to the soldiers' chatter, of course.
"Who even gives ships the ability to walk? Whyyyyy?"
There are not only legs here. While my bot was looking for ways to leave this place, it found something interesting.
"There are bags of former living quarters nearby. They are open toward the airlock. I'll venture a guess that the ship includes a troop transport function."
The soldiers noticeably tensed up.
"Ow. So this thing managed to drop infantry before dying, huh?"
The sergeant cut him off.
"That's exactly why we're going here, genius. To make sure everything it dropped is already dead. And what isn't dead, dies now. Agreed?"
"Sir! Yes sir!!!"
Fine then, as long as they perform the task. No enemy yet. The biological block itself looks radically different from what we saw earlier. If before the cor
The hull consisted of compartments serving as armor for the giant mechanisms within and a massive sarcophagus at the center of the structure, which we would open later—it was crushed anyway. This block, however, more closely resembles a hive. Hexagonal walls with recesses, along which standardized capsules are mounted in a honeycomb style. Moreover, the shape of the corridors is such that one could potentially walk through them under almost any direction of artificial gravity.
"This confirms that the ship can move across a surface."
"Um, Skipper, didn't we already know that?"
I simulated laughter with static.
"The pressure from each leg. A ship like this must have a powerful gravity module so it doesn't sink into the ground with every step. It's irrational, but they did it. Search the capsules."
The search went much faster than our progress up to this point. After all, there are corridors here and ledges within them that can be used as steps. It slightly concerns me that the crew clearly has no intention of repairing the ship and hasn't laid corridors along the entire hull. It doesn't add up.
"Now this is what I call living space," one of the soldiers smirked.
And these, I assumed, were the inhabitants. Literally, insects. I climbed my bot onto the lid of a capsule where "it" lay. An insectoid, no question. Four empty eye sockets with yellow round pupils, three-fingered limbs. The body structure was generally humanoid, but wings were visible on the back; the shoulders were unusually wide, likely a muscular frame for flight. The body must be very light, even if they have three pairs of wings. The soldiers grew a bit tense at the sight.
"What freaks. Is it dead? And what's that metal sticking out of them?"
There are no pupils, so you can't tell where it's looking. And jaws like an ant's. Brrr. Nervous chuckles broke out. I stared at the alien a bit longer, scanning it, then replied:
"As for the virus, yes, I see the same nanites on the joints that infected you. Congratulations, you'll become beauties just like this," it was a lie, but necessary social interaction, "as for whether it's dead or not, we're about to find out. It would be very bad if they stood up after we left."
Opening the capsules wasn't difficult; though they were airtight, an army knife and a bit of effort solved the problem. It became clear that the organism was connected to the ship by several hoses protruding from the back of the neck. The disconnected cables didn't wake the monster; there were almost no energy signals. But we are talking about nanites; a control structure could be assembled from them quickly if there were an order. Then the creature was poked with everything in turn. With a knife, felt by hand to find soft spots, shot, cut, burned. The beast didn't stand up, but we made sure it was hacked to pieces anyway.
"So, the conclusion. It's definitely an insectoid. Quite fragile on its own, its body fused to a polymer endoskeleton via the nanovirus. Obviously, the weak points are the armor joints and the head, which unexpectedly..."
"Contact!"
They struck from one of the passages, then poured out of a hole in the ceiling. Moving on three limbs, the creatures used the fourth to aim weapons, utilizing an unexpectedly flexible shoulder joint. A human can bend an arm behind their head, but they can't aim and fire a rifle accurately behind their back while clinging to a wall. These could. And unlike the Covenant's Yanme'e humanoid insectoids, these were much tougher and didn't die from a burst to the chest. And they were armed with beam weapons.
Only its small size saved my bot from being dismantled. One of the soldiers lost half his skull diagonally; another had his arm severed before they could scramble for cover. The humans' robots are quite clumsy, but they are tough; they withstood the first attack, leaving glowing hot marks on their armor. They fired back with the machine guns in their manipulators, mowing down enemies crawling from all directions.
Switching priority channel.
"Vice Admiral, enemy contact confirmed."
Margaret Parangosky was already watching the monitor.
"Proceed. The information must be obtained. Everyone here knows what they signed up for."
They certainly do. But there are far too many enemies.
Switching priority channel.
The enemy dies just as readily as our soldiers. A large and poorly protected head is a good thing—when it isn't yours. It's just the most obvious vulnerable point, provided other areas are well-protected from hits. They take hits to the chest excellently. They fall, then get back up and continue the fight. The limbs are also held together by an exoskeleton; shattering it with gunfire isn't that easy. Especially when the enemy utilizes all three dimensions in combat.
"Aim for the head. The chest is protected," switching channel, "Vice Admiral. I recommend establishing a defensive perimeter aboard the Frigate. There are too few of us to control all the routes."
Margaret Parangosky snorted, looking away from the terminal.
"I noticed. Ajax, give Khaela the feed from the external sensors."
The guests weren't just inside. I looked. One of the ships that had previously been hanging in the void seemed to have powered its repulsors and was now flying toward us, gradually accelerating. It wasn't firing, but it held a course straight for the cruiser. The gaping holes in its hull didn't seem to bother it at all.
"Range thirteen thousand and closing." Shots and rockets were sent toward the carcass flying at the ship. The giant turret on the ship's spine began to rotate. It's good that it isn't firing. Does it not want to damage the prize? It's clear you can't fly away, otherwise you would have already. Ouch, one of the large robots was finally sliced apart by focused fire. What?
"What kind of sorcerer is this? What the hell? I forbid and deny magic! The only magic is friendship, and magic is heresy!" I shouldn't have spent so much time talking to Miranda.
One of the cockroaches running along the walls turned out to be unarmed but was throwing yellow spheres from its hands with various effects. What are you, and why are you doing this??? Where did the damn cockroaches get damn spells? I don't understand! It looks like the squad is going to have an even harder time. The second robot took out one sorcerer; in his place, one of the xenos dropped its weapon and started throwing spheres itself. Can you all do that, or are the sorcerers just camouflaged? Hmm?
"I don't get it, why didn't you do that from the start?"
One of the balls yanked a soldier out from behind cover right into the line of fire while he flailed in the air. Another ball hit a robot, causing it to start crumpling and deforming. In fact, only two-thirds of the squad remained, one of whom was wounded, plus the damaged robot and two intact ones. More and more creatures are crawling out, using the passages, climbing the walls, and throwing spheres. Furthermore, a short scan confirms a high degree of surface infection.
"We need to move, boys. Otherwise, we'll just be overwhelmed by meat."
The sergeant replied:
"Give me a route; charging blindly into nowhere will only make it worse! Everyone hear that? Prepare to fall back!"
And that means this whole crowd will head toward the Frigate. Well, we did what we could. The rest is up to them.
"Vice Admiral, you're on your own from here."
Margaret Parangosky nodded, staring tensely at the monitors and typing:
"The Frigate has been notified; they are setting up a defense at the airlock. Use the damaged robot to buy yourselves time."
Which is what I'm doing anyway. The robot is still holding out under fire, plugging the passage, even though a sphere crumpled a good half of its armor. The soldiers went around through the corridors, but in addition to the large insects, big flies appeared. Like small forms of the parasite, they swarmed the last soldier, and he froze, further blocking the passage. Looks like a form of stasis. Pity.
"No offense, this is an unnecessary risk."
The robot fired a burst at the frozen target. I don't want him transmitting information if their structure is capable of such a thing. I'll need to find out the limits of an organism altered by the nanovirus later. The small fry couldn't harm the robot, but the larger aliens pelted the mech with balls and beams until it completely shut down. The bot quietly slipped away after the infantry. I can't see what's happening in the Frigate's airlock, but I'll assume they are preparing. Next, a second bot will arrive to coordinate and collect data. It's nice to have a high degree of freedom of action.
What about the squid? It's charging, accelerated by repulsors under fire. It takes the damage on its armor and charges headlong. There is damage, but not enough. Interestingly, a rocket veered off and exploded.
"It's using gravity control as a shield. A super-mass field. You can see the projectiles just deflecting and detonating. Faster ones get through, but the rockets are just useless."
And it's huge. No, compared to the Boundless Will, the ship would look insignificant, an escort. But compared to the new humans' cruiser, it's twice as large. And now this giant pseudo-shrimp, like an open palm, is trying to grab the cruiser by the nose with three-hundred-meter fingers capable of crushing a heavy truck with a single "finger." What will the captain do, hmm?
"Prepare to evade? Fire!"
The turret finally fired. A blue beam pierced the ship's defenses, and in a powerful flash, two "fingers" fell off the carcass, and it began to spin around its axis. But it didn't shut down. It needs another hit like that, but now it has to reload.
"Three thousand, it's close!"
The turret will have time to reload, but not to hit. Too close for normal aiming. In space, rotations happen in fractions of a micron, which at a distance of thousands of kilometers turns into meters and kilometers of deviation. You have to be very precise. Or hit at point-blank range.
"Turn to twelve, shields to maximum, we're going to meet it."
I'm not participating here, only watching through the monitors in Margaret Parangosky's office.
Switching channel.
"Contact! Fire!"
The humans took up defensive positions in the Frigate's airlock, deploying M12 Warthogs, riflemen, and a couple of tanks. As a result, when the insects crawled into the twenty-meter corridor connecting the ships, they were met with bullets and shells.
"Today's lesson: kinetic energy and momentum!" my bot commented over the roar of weapons.
Against heavy weapons, the enemy's infantry forces aren't that good. It's not that simple, of course. The corridor isn't very long; the attackers don't care much about floor or ceiling, and they have wings. They crawl over all surfaces, fire, and try to close the distance with long lunges. Yes, they can't withstand bullets from a multi-barreled machine gun; a tank's high-explosive shell kills several at once, but for every ten killed, another ten crawl out.
And these sorcerers... No, I see they are somehow manipulating gravity; we'll figure out how later. The soldiers called them sorcerers; I'll label them that for now.
"Sorcerer on the ceiling."
The bastard managed to yank two soldiers out of cover with a sphere; they were sliced by beam rifles before dying. The small fry are also a nuisance, but flamethrowers and high fire density are saving the day here. They die quite readily from grenades and bullets.
"Ajax, how's the virus?"
A joint idea between me and the ship's AI: to create an "immune response." Nanites with rewritten code that would protect the soldiers from infection by attacking "viral" elements.
"So far, everything is within expectations, Khaela. But we'll conduct tests after the battle."
Margaret Parangosky nodded, more distracted by the giant squid trying to embrace us with its three remaining "fingers." Which had just lit up with a red "eye" hidden under the fingers. It lit up very ominously.
"Evasive!" the captain ordered.
The ship jerked upward sharply, just as a crimson beam struck the saucer of the bow shield. The beam plowed across the silvery surface, piercing it in a couple of places and hitting the hull, but the armor and shield held.
"It's passing by!"
Yes, it seems it can't maneuver properly and was hoping for a ram. Now we'll turn the turret and finish it off; it clearly lacks mobility. If it were even slightly more intact, we wouldn't be so lucky. But the ship doesn't think so. The bastard, flying past, suddenly struck the side with a finger at the level of the hangars. The three-hundred-meter sausage slid along the shield protecting the nose, then struck the hull, stabbing into the ship's body with a deafening clang and roar.
It shook violently. Margaret Parangosky and the guards were thrown from their seats into the wall; a deafening screech and cries of pain rang out. Sirens wailed; everyone on the bridge fell as well. The ships began to spin uncontrollably—the kilometer-long cruiser and the two-kilometer giant stuck in it. The captain, groaning, gave the order:
"Ajax, full speed! Evasive right!"
The giant ship is clearly disrupting the artificial gravity, so when the ship jerked, everyone flew into the other wall. I need to give a hint.
"Ajax, aim higher. If we disable it, the second one can be destroyed. If the second one starts moving too, the other, lightly armed cruiser won't be able to handle it. Better to finish this one off and send the second one into the storm. For reliability."
Ajax completed the task, and the giant was spun (with a nasty screech as our cruiser's internals were crumpled), and then the "finger" was ripped out of the breach. The enemy is spinning noticeably; it clearly lacks the power to dampen the momentum. Excellent, now turn and finish it. Margaret Parangosky didn't lose consciousness but is lying on the floor. She's keeping a straight face and remaining silent; the guards are also clearly enduring pain.
"Ajax, Khaela, report."
I continued to watch the monitor.
"The enemy has lost mobility. The Frigate held the front; sterilization is underway. The number of casualties is being clarified."
The strike group has entered the airlock and is advancing through the Forerunner complex. Resistance is minimal. It's noticeable; the enemy ship is trying to maneuver on its remaining engines. It's not going particularly well. It's drifting visibly to the side. The stream of cockroaches in the airlock has ended; mopping up and clearing is underway. The antivirus performed well, but everyone who participated in the defense will still undergo mandatory testing. For guarantee.
The local humans might not be technically advanced, but they know about safety protocols. As for the casualties, it's complicated; there will clearly be many. Both dead and wounded. The landing party moves through the gray corridors of the Forerunner complex.
Switching priority channel.
The squad consists of one robot, a bot, and six soldiers. The enemy attacks suddenly, from above, from the walls, and hiding in the shadows of mechanisms. One soldier died when a beetle sitting above the doors sliced his head open. It grabbed a second one, but the cockroach was put down by concentrated fire.
"Capsules, more capsules. And nothing like hydroponics. Any ideas what they ate, robot?"
The bot clicked its claws.
"This is a gas station. Autonomous. Potentially powered by the gases it collects. Let's go to the second floor; if the console still works, I can connect."
In the control room, they traded seven more beetles and two sorcerers for a soldier and the last robot. On the bright side, there really is a console here. Three soldiers switched to the aliens' beam guns. Of course, it's not very comfortable, but it cuts through flesh and metal perfectly.
"Okay, I'm... connecting."
The sergeant sighed, moving his only arm. He's breathing heavily; his suit's integrity is compromised.
"Success? What did you find, at least?"
"Not much; this is a technical station. These new ships arrived following the parasite. There are no ship specifications, only a notification of the arrival of three ships, parasite infection. Here, the notification was sent. Seven more followed, then critical damage. Battle. Obviously, the parasite captured the station and then lost the defense to the new owners. But who they are and why, unfortunately, is unclear."
"Shit," the sergeant cursed.
The bot chattered.
"Maybe not. I found navigation maps; forty light-years from here, there's a machine used by the Forerunners for rapid transport."
This immediately lifted the survivors' spirits. Well, yeah, the trip wasn't for nothing.
"Does it work? The Covies don't know about this, I think."
The robot can't do facial expressions, so I just replied:
"No response, but that doesn't mean anything. This station has been hanging here for a long time, thousands of years. About a hundred thousand, if I'm seeing correctly. But even if the Covies do know about the system, this terminal isn't being used because there's no response. Potentially, we can cause problems for them if the device works. Vice Admiral?"
Switching channel.
Margaret Parangosky herself is holding her arm, likely a fracture and a concussion. But she's conscious. I noticed this through the stream of personality:
"Given the force of the impulse, we were attacked gravitationally. The ship increased the mass of its limb for the strike."
The groans of the wounded can be ignored. The main thing is that there is enough crew to fire.
"Turret is charged, Captain," Ajax reported, "ready to open fire."
The captain groaned; he wasn't feeling well either.
"Fire when ready, Ajax. Go ahead."
"Yes, sir."
The turret rotated slowly, and the blue beam struck the carcass, depriving it of its only working weapon and its remaining fingers. Red lightning ran across the ship, and the energy traces vanished. It seems it's done.
"It seems so, hmm. They've lost power, Vice Admiral."
Margaret Parangosky, still lying on the floor while a medic examined her, nodded.
"Excellent. Destroy the second one. Dismantle the engines from the Frigate. We don't need them getting out. I'm waiting for a report on the enemy. A brief one; the full one when it's ready. Khaela, what do you have? Ajax, full report on the ship; I want to know how bad it is."
"Yes, Vice Admiral," Ajax replied.
I, in turn, answered:
"We found navigation maps. It's impossible to say where the ships came from, but they clearly encountered the parasite a hundred thousand years ago. We've likely found a Forerunner transport network; there are coordinates for reconnaissance."
"Excellent work," the Vice Admiral groaned, "get the people out if you can. And transfer everything you've found to my terminal. We'll think about how best to use it."
"Executing."
The second ship only withstood one hit slightly above where the weapon should have been. The shield went out, and the squid quietly vanished into the storm and didn't reappear.
***
Brief notes on enemy ships from:
UNSC AI Ajax. AI of the Ancient Empire Khaela.
Dr. Brakman, Senior Medic of the Frigate.
Regarding the carrier ship:
Not adapted for humanoid organic life forms. Likely, flying ones can move through it, but they are kept in "hives" near the limbs. Firepower and mobility are undetermined; the target was heavily damaged. But the ship is capable of close combat (!!!). As a weapon, it uses a suspension of superheated metal as a shaped charge under pressure. Extremely dangerous; it can burn through ship shields and armor, literally slicing it. Likely, the station was destroyed with this weapon.
Obviously capable of active gravity manipulation. Noted:
Gravity shields deflecting projectiles. Manipulations with the mass of the limbs and, likely, the entire hull for actions on a planet as a ground unit. Yes, it can walk on a surface with a probability of 0.8. We assume a "Creator" effect, where the forms used are similar to typically natural ones. Likely, we're talking about a sea dweller as the basis for the form. This would explain how the creature withstands environmental pressure and can move its limbs without antigravity. Or the original is smaller in size.
Infantry forms.
The standard enemy infantry form is an insectoid about two meters long with extensive cybernetics. Average body mass is forty kilograms, fused with armor, which increases the mass to fifty. Armor: polymer frame, stops bullets under seven millimeters well. More massive ones transfer the impulse to the body under the armor; rifle-type rounds over ten millimeters pierce the protection. Vulnerable zones: joints; the unprotected head is extremely vulnerable to fire. Thanks to wings, they can close the distance quickly. Weak in close combat, but numerous. Internals reinforced with nanotubes.
Assumption: standard egg-born infantry undergoing body reinforcement and loyalty programming via the nanovirus found in the blood of all individuals without exception. Cybernetics as compensation for the innate lightness and fragility of their bodies. Low mass; shotguns and large-caliber weapons easily knock an individual over but don't always kill.
Recommendation: double tap to the head.
Weapon: Emitter based on unknown technologies. Presumably analogous to the ship's weapon. Consists of two blocks. A heater that turns metal into suspension. And an acceleration chamber that, through gravity manipulation, turns metal particles into a cutting stream of energy. Effective against armor.
Magic (the soldiers came up with this). Some individuals can apply gravity manipulation. Autopsy showed traces of the metal used for manipulation in weapons and armor in the individuals' blood (reduces mass when exposed to electricity, facilitates flight in armor; alloy not identified). Creation of deformation zones disrupting armor has been noted. Antigravity zones throwing soldiers out of cover.
Recommendations: priority destruction. A deformation sphere can damage a M12 Warthog or a tank barrel, provoking a shell detonation before firing.
Small drones: Constructs representing an insect ten centimeters long with wings. No protection, numerous.
Weapon: paralyzer, placing the target in a short-term stasis barrier. Due to small size, they can penetrate vehicle hulls or bypass standard small arms. Recommended to use flamethrowers or EMP. Low effectiveness, but it's the best field solution.
Important: the enemy uses a nanovirus. Recommended to use antivirus code by the nearest AI. Protection up to 95%. In case of infection, immediate isolation of the infected and inform an ONI officer. In case of abnormal personnel behavior, inform ONI.
Access to the nanovirus without ONI AI control is prohibited.
***
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