27.Repairs

Herschel and Neil successfully activate the power core of Hulk-1, an alien spacecraft, revealing an enormous power generation capacity. They then present their discovery to Bill, revealing that Hulk-1 could serve as a massive colony ship capable of transporting Earth's entire remaining population in a single journey.

Herschel and Neil, having spent months investigating and rewiring the alien power core in Hulk-1, prepare to activate it remotely from over a thousand kilometers away, with roamers and drones executing the final steps. The activation succeeds without incident, bringing lights online and powering engineering subsystems while leaving most of the vessel unpowered to avoid triggering security systems. The power readings indicate extraordinary capacity, far exceeding initial expectations. Recognizing the significance of their find, Herschel decides to inform Bill of their discovery. Bill initially rebukes them for not announcing the find immediately and for conducting such a dangerous experiment without proper backup protocols, noting that if something had gone wrong, no one would have known to activate their backups. He explains he's working on an improved backup system prompted by the Delta Pavonis battle. After Bill's initial rebuke, Herschel presents the full technical details: the power core uses a variation of the Casimir Effect rather than fusion, Hulk-2 is worthless salvage, but Hulk-1 is a large hollow container with functional built-in power and no AI or drive systems. Neil then suggests equipping Hulk-1 with mover plates and stasis pods, at which point Bill realizes the implications: the vessel could serve as a colony ship capable of transporting Earth's entire remaining population in a single voyage.