The simulation booted up, and Max fired the weapon, observing the ongoing calculations as the Moon Base's mainframe determined the likely outcomes.
The Orbital Lance passed over the simulated infantry as expected and impacted the planet placed behind them. But that was where all forms of normal ended.
The weapon was designed to both create and use Nitrogen Plasma, and the atmosphere of the planet was heavily nitrogen-based. What followed was a chain-reacting nuclear explosion on a planetary scale, tearing apart the atmosphere and crushing the planet itself into billions of tiny pieces.
"That's definitely over." Nala cheered as Max exited the simulation.
The mainframe had been instructed to run it a hundred times to determine the variability of the outcomes, but it was already clear that even without the chain reaction, this weapon far exceeded the basic Disintegration-based Orbital Lance, which was already more powerful than the original Ion Based Orbital Lance.
"I will have a whole cake brought down for our lunch. The security shouldn't stop the Androids from my ship." Max laughed as the team celebrated their victory.
Ranarth looked over at their station.
"Was that the intended outcome?" He asked.
"Not precisely, but it was within the parameters of our stated goal, so it is a stepping stone victory on the development path. Think of it like getting the first gene in a resequencing effort to affix properly." Max explained since the old man was more familiar with biology than weaponized physics.
"I see. Then congratulations. The other team isn't having quite as much early success, but they are learning a lot from the data that I provided. It would seem that the teams here are quite adept at understanding new technologies." The Darkling Elder agreed.
"They are very fast to adapt. It's part of their training but also a prerequisite to be inducted into these teams. They are the most innovative sorts that we could find, not just specialists who have been trained in procedural weapons development.
Don't get me wrong, we have a lot of those in the development department as well, but they are assigned to the testing and refining stages of the process." Max explained.
"Interesting. But why are they so excited about something as simple as fruit and cake with lunch? Are they on a restricted diet?" Ranarth asked.
"The combination of certain fruits and coffee is a form of stimulant and intoxicant to them. In a small dose, they become very hyper, and that is what I have ordered them for lunch. It should increase productivity, and it will improve their morale as well." Max laughed.
"What a strange employee benefits program. I will have to make notes for my kinfolk."
Max looked into Ranarth's mind and shook his head in dismay. They preferred using negative reinforcement for their alien subordinates. If they didn't perform to satisfaction, they would be tortured and then healed and sent back to work. It was incredibly effective after a million years of practice, but it was probably best if he didn't let Nico know that was an option.
The Android quietly brought in the cake in a covered tray along with the rest of the lunch order, and Ranarth immediately got up from his seat in the observation area to see what sort of food would get a research team so excited. It didn't look like much, but it smelled divine.
The two species could eat nearly the same things, though the Darklings had far fewer food restrictions and lower calorie requirements than the average human did. But for the most part, food was only a daily necessity for them, so their cuisine was simple unless they were trying to impress someone with their culinary skills.
What had been brought out to serve the researchers was quite the elaborate feast, with a half dozen different flavours for each person, though his calculations said that their nutritional needs could have been filled with increased portions of only two items.
But these Reavers seemed to treat every day as if it might be their last, celebrating everything and putting their all into their work. It was a strange ethic that he could only wish the worker species that his people used to do their manual labour held.
But then, if they were actually useful and intelligent as well as self-motivated, they would have been reseeded onto a planet instead of being left as the dregs of evolution and kept as menial workers by the ones keeping them from extinction.
Ranarth put that aside and focused on the collection of creative species in front of him, as well as the selection of foods that Command Max had ordered for his team.
"Oh, this is good soup. It could use some additional spice, but the flavour is immaculate." He commended the lunch selection.
Nala looked at him with interest. "Your people like really spicy food? I like spicy food too, but mother says it can cause indigestion."
Ranarth smirked at the little Innu. "My people value productivity quite highly. Spicy food is painful to eat, so the workers rush through their portions to finish faster. It has become part of our culture to finish daily meals quite quickly. This social event and brainstorming session over lunch seems to have its own productivity merits, though."
Nala nodded repeatedly. "Yes, it's the best time to talk about what we're doing next because it's not interrupting anyone's job if we talk during lunch."
Max smiled as the old Darkling made a mental note about the advantages of an extended lunch with workplace conversations and then filed it away to send back with his reports. Surely, the others of his species had considered it, but because they lived so long, there wasn't a constant series of new generations taking over and changing things, so they became hidebound in their ways.
It was one of the great drawbacks of a long life. Even if you had a genius in charge, they would eventually get stuck in their ways, and it would take a large event to drive a need for change and get them moving again.
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