33.Project

Herschel and Neil present their status on the Derelicts Project at a moot, revealing they have recovered two alien cargo vessels and plan to use materials from them to repair and equip the salvaged ship Bellerophon for transport to Earth. Bill announces that surveillance drones around GL 877 have been attacked by the Others, indicating the aliens have discovered they are under observation.

Herschel visits Neil at Project Herschel at Delta Pavonis, finding him exhausted from work. They discuss progress on the Derelicts Project—they have finished dismantling Hulk-2 and are manufacturing mover plates to outfit Hulk-1 (the Bellerophon) for travel. At a crowded moot, Bill delivers shocking news: over the past twenty days, surveillance drones monitoring GL 877 have been attacked and destroyed by the Others, with the last two drones chased rather than destroyed. Bill explains the Others likely learned of surveillance from the Delta Pavonis harvesting expedition and may have deduced a technological advantage. The Bobs are reconfiguring surveillance with randomized positions and fewer drones, though coverage will remain spotty for years. Bill then introduces Herschel and Neil to present the Derelicts Project. Despite initial stage fright, Herschel and Neil explain they found two alien cargo vessels: one totaled, one nearly intact with only A.I. and drive damage. They have dismantled the damaged vessel to repair the intact one (named Bellerophon) and plan to manufacture 24 mover plates for transport to Earth. They propose manufacturing stasis pods during the voyage and request Earth shift manufacturing capacity toward pod production. Thor questions the reliability of the alien power core; Neil confidently asserts its dependability and power. Discussion turns to pod production capacity: the Bellerophon can manufacture over five million pods in 3.6 years subjective time, while Riker reports Earth can only produce a couple million due to metal salvage constraints. The conversation becomes increasingly technical and abstract, prompting Herschel and Neil to quietly slip away to the bar.