“Hello.”  Lieutenant Ada Josephs spoke as she stood in the formerly disordered main area in front of the Constructor.  In the days since Baron Nine had become part of the machine, the area had been cleared.  New equipment had been built, and the once decrepit remains had been removed.  They were working on new models, and they had refurbished the Vorethi-bot ships that were once ridden with debris.  Familiar classes were being built steadily.  Gone were the troubling red lights.  Orange and yellow illuminated the work areas, a bright feel filling the area.

“Hello, Ada Josephs.”  The voice from within the Constructor was Baron Nine-like, and yet it was its own voice.  A deeply thoughtful tone rippled through the words, the malice of the previous model stripped in favor of this one.  “It is agreeable to see you again.”

The tears threatening to spill out of the corners of her eyes tempered Ada’s smile.  It had only been a few days since she had said goodbye to her friend.  To be talking to part of him was hard.  “It is agreeable to see you too.  I’ve been asked to speak to you about your future with the Vorethi guilds and central government.”

A quiet rumble echoed across the construct.  “I wondered.  I have been making inquiries across the guilds and government.  I hope they did not send Blood Guild representatives with you.”  Ada told him of the expulsion of the group, and the ongoing events surrounding them and the Klingons.  The Constructor replied, “That is an interesting development.  We have purged all remains of their influence from our programming and directives.  They attempted to take control of us early in the process.  That did not go well for them.”

Ada understood.  She was ignoring the countless stares from the small Vorethi group waiting in the shadows far behind her.  “You seem to need information about how to be Vorethi.  I have brought experts with me to help.’  There were no visible eyes on The Constructor, but Ada felt like there was someone looking over the group.  She added, her heart bouncing around in her chest on its way to her throat, “Let me help you.”

A longer than usual pause before the Constructor answered.  “The Baron Nine within me tells of the trust he had with you, and the bond you shared.”  There was a grumbling somewhere within the machine.   “We will trust you as he trusted you.  Is this protocol acceptable?”

She smiled nervously and turned to face the Vorethi group.  “You are under my protocol of trust.  Does that work?”  The faces showed a range of fear, annoyance, and amusement.  They all spoke in quiet tones to each other before turning to her and nodding as one.  “Good.  Then let’s get to work.”

“Hell.”  Lieutenant Hazel Wallaker stood behind her science team in the Vestibule at the rear of the bridge of the Perseverance.  The probes had continued their work. Deeper and deeper they had journeyed, dug, and crawled.  The remains of shattered science labs with bodies of past creations, present projects, and plans for the future filled the quarantined and guarded cargo bay.  That wasn’t what had given Hazel cause to express shock.  The schematics and prototypes that they found in the deepest reaches of the station stopped her cold when her eyes grasped what she saw.  “Is that a gravity well stabilizer?”

The junior science officer at the console in question was working to quantify the type of equipment.  “It has the characteristics.  Working to identify the working elements.  The prototype doesn’t look like it was ever tested, but they were close.”  She tapped on the console; pieces of the prototype’s schematic highlighted.  “From what I can see, they hadn’t solved the power problem – keeping it online beyond the start-up and targeting process would have been at the top of the list.”  Another round of console work, and she whistled a low, awed sound.  “It wouldn’t have taken much work to do it.  A week, maybe less.”

Wallaker was working ahead as the officer spoke.  When she finished, Hazel filled in the gaps her mind had worked on.  “Those could collapse mines in a practical sense or in an impractical sense, hollow out anything of their choosing.  Guild compounds, towns, cities – the lot.  They weren’t trying to get better at mining.  They were getting better at killing.”  She turned to the officer. “Put a report together.  Captain Walton will need to hear this.”

“The pattern of conflict is inefficient.” The Constructor spoke to Ada while the Vorethi worked at a large console off to the side.  They were loading details to help the newly formed Vorethi-bot personality understand its place in the universe.  He continued, “Cooperative stabilizing measures are recommended.”

Ada felt a quiet smile cross her lips.  “There’s a lot of Baron Nine in you.  As sad as I am to have lost him, I am thankful he is helping you understand a better path.”

A harmonious rumble trilled from within the structure.  “There is something you must know.  The Perseverance is examining the base and will soon discover a gravity well project.”

She glanced up, curious at the sudden subject change. “That doesn’t sound good.”

“It is not.  You will need to ask them to complete a count of prototypes, models, and schematics.  We have a suspicion but cannot confirm it without your help.”

Josephs felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.  She tapped her badge. “Lieutenant Josephs to Captain Walton.”

A second later, “Go ahead, Ada.”  The doctor repeated the question that had been passed to her.  She waited while the captain, Commander Park, and Lieutenant Wallaker completed the count.  Wren’s voice returned.  “We’ve got three prototypes, four models, and schematics that outline the four models.”  

There was a long pause, and Ada’s realization hit before Walton could reply.  She muttered, “We’re missing a prototype.”  She looked up at the Constructor.  “How long do we have?”

There was a sound from the construct that sounded like a deep sigh.  “Unknown.”

Ada turned back to her badge. “Capt-”

“We’re on it.  I need a priority one channel to Fleet Captain Fontana!”

The channel cut.  Ada stood in horrified silence.