Chapter 29

Jacob felt his anxiety and fear come back immediately after hearing the message.

"We need to plan how we will make it through this. Genesis, what weapons could we buy from the store to help?"

"Yes, Sir, there are multitudes of weapons in the store, over 10000. Please provide more parameters."

"Adewale, what do you think, anything specific we could use to help??" Jacob hoped he would have an answer.

"Well, we don't know the enemy alphas. But we know the normal ones are weak against the bullets … if we hit them. I think a scouting tool would be best. How about a drone? If we can get an early sight, we can buy sniper rifles and try to pick off as many as possible. The trees make hitting targets that much harder. I can only think of two individuals who could pull it off."

"I'm guessing it's Kelly. Who's the second?" Jacob asked curiously.

"Me." Adewale responded matter-of-factly.

"Well, Genesis, how many points do we have? And what kinds of drones fit our needs and budget? Add in a list of the sniper rifles as well."

"Yes, sir. You have 3086 points." Genesis responded as a holo screen popped up in front of Jacob and Adewale.

"Eagle Eye" - a small, stealthy drone equipped with advanced sensors and cameras for reconnaissance and surveillance. Remote control range: 80km. 1200 points.

"Sky Hunter" - a larger, heavily armed drone designed for tracking and attacking enemy targets. Remote control range: 100km. 1500 points.

"Storm Chaser" - a rugged, all-terrain drone capable of withstanding extreme weather and providing reconnaissance in hazardous environments. Remote control range: 70km. 2000 points.

"Nano Scout" - a tiny, swarm drone capable of flying in formation and gathering intelligence on enemy positions. Remote control range: 30km. 2000 points.

"Dragonfly" - a small, versatile drone that can fly in tight spaces and equipped with a variety of sensors for reconnaissance and surveillance in urban areas. Remote control range: 50km. 900 points.

Jacob thought the drones would be extremely useful, even for future endeavors. All had more than enough sensors to detect life through the trees. He adored the nano scout; however, it was 2000 points to purchase one, the swarm not included…

"Stealth shooter" - a lightweight, compact sniper rifle with advanced camouflage and stealth capabilities designed for covert operations. Firing range: 2km. 1500 points.

"Thunderbolt" - a high-powered, long-range rifle capable of taking out targets at distances of up to 2.5km. 100 points.

"Dragonfire" - a powerful, anti-materiel rifle designed for taking out armoured targets. Firing range: 2km. 400 points.

"Nightstalker" - a specialized rifle equipped with advanced night vision and thermal imaging capabilities for low-light conditions. Firing range: 1.5km. 200 points.

"Cyclone" - a high-tech, modular rifle that can adapt to a variety of situations and environments. Firing range: 30km, but requires a ground to be placed, so the user does not get damaged from extreme recoil as it uses magnetic rails. 400 points.

"Let's get Kelly here and find out what she thinks. Let me send a message quick as well. Genesis, tell Akiko to ensure the colony understands we are taking proper measures to tackle this threat. And send a message to Kelly to arrive at Adewales' training area." Jacob looked at Adewale. "Which rifle do you think you want? Don't care about the cost."

He scrutinized them and pondered it briefly, but instantly knew what he wanted. "The dragonfire."

"You heard him, genesis. Buy 50 bullets for him."

"Yes sir, that will cost 600 points." A blue crate appeared beside Adewale, who flipped open it to find a shiny red sniper rifle.

"Well, what else do you think could help us in any way?" Jacob interrupted Adewale from going over his new rifle.

"Lights, if we can make floodlights or buy them. Unless we can buy tanks and power armour, this is likely the best. We should spend the rest of our money on more guns. We need as many as possible."

"Your right, and tomorrow we will get some more. I think we could arm a good deal of the colony!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself. That could lead to issues. We must keep the weapons to the walls and not allow them outside shift use. Make the AI force the rule." Adewale was serious. He did not want any weapons running around the colony. One bad day could make a lot more days bad.

"Ok, I understand and you're right. But I still intend to spend all of our points on the rifles, of course. The iron printer can wait…" Jacob was dejected he couldn't purchase the one thing they needed to move the colony to the next stage of development. Electrification.

A woman piped up. "Sir, why was I called away from duty? They could attack for tonight at any moment." It was Kelly.

"Well, can you shoot a sniper rifle? We intend to use your sharp skills to knock off as many as possible before they even get into range of the walls. Especially those alphas. Genesis, show her the list." Jacob said. He felt that the adrenaline and all his experiences were hardening him. A few days ago, he could never imagine having a discussion like this and inserting his own orders in the mix.

But people could die, they already had. Jacob was very aware that he could lead many more to their deaths if he slacked or made a mistake. While he was thinking, Kelly was searching through the list.

Her eyes lit up when she saw a particular gun on the list. "I want to try out the cyclone. That range is killer. I would break world records. Railguns are kickass too."

"Oh uh, are you sure? I thought you would pick the Stealth shooter or something to get closer… But ok, if you think you can handle hitting them. We will have drones. With that range, you can work with the AI to know where you should aim. As long as the AI watches where the drone goes, and can see its speed and the users' controls, it will calculate where you need to shoot. The rest is up to you, and math!… well, you can do that right, genesis?"

"Yes, sir, our processing ability is far beyond what was possible on earth. You will find that most issues dealing with mathematical predictions will be of no issue to us."

"Well, that's good to know. Spawn the weapon and 2000 rail gun bullets." Jacob said.

"Yes sir, that will cost 500 points." A box spawned beside Kelly, who opened it to find a large amount of metal bullets. Since it was a railgun, the bullets were pure metal, and far less complex than a regular bullet that requires explosives to propel it forward.

"Ok, which drone do you two think will be most useful? I'm stuck between the Sky hunter and the dragonfly." Jacob asked. Attempting to get this done so people can start practicing, also afraid they might be attacked by tonight's wave at any moment.

Adewale spoke up, "Use the dragonfly. It will be more likely to stay out of their tail range. Remember, they could destroy the drones with such long tails. The trees restrict us from keeping a proper distance. Therefor a smaller drone capable of staying right up against the treetops will be best."

"I agree. Buy it, I want to test this out." Kelly said nodding her head once.

"Well, genesis spawn two drones. Tomorrow, we will buy more guns with the remaining points."

"Yes, sir."

As the blue light appeared with the two drones inside their crates, Jacob continued to make plans. "Genesis, send a message to Sophia, top priority research. Floodlights using LEDs and batteries. We can buy them for now, the brighter the better. They only attack at night. Let's hope they don't like light too much."

Yes, Sir, I have sent the message.

"Ok, now we will send a message to the entire colony. As of tomorrow night, anyone not taking part in the fight will enter the storage facility and fill it from the top down. Ask some carpenters to make a makeshift bathroom for each floor so people can stay inside. Adewale, Kelly, do you need anything else?"

"For now, this is good, Jacob. We will test out the new equipment. Remember, some of us have points. We can use that for people's ammo and other items. One guard who killed a swiftstalker last night even purchased a thermos that can heat the liquid inside. No charging needed. Was 20 points."

Jacob nodded. This also gave him an idea of a working economy. These points might just be the key to a backup currency per se. "Ok, thank you both." He looked to the guard's in the area and spoke louder. "Thank you all for your hard work! Together, we will get through this and kick those Swiftstalker's asses!"

"Yeah!"

"I'm going to get my own thermos!"

"Time to get some swiftstalker headpieces for my new home!"

Everyone was encouraged by Jacob's speech.

Adewale patted him on the shoulder. "You keep up the good planning, we will keep up the good shooting." He hefted up the crates with Kelly and they moved towards the beach.

Jacob couldn't believe what he just did. All of his anxiety burst out, but instead of a panic attack. It was an inspirational speech. He couldn't help but think how excited he was to win the battle tomorrow. For him, the glass was finally half full.