This post was inspired by a prompt in the Worldbuilding Community - Worldbuilding Prompt #885 - Additional Parts & Pieces.
Enjoy !
Image created by AI in NigtCafe Studio
~ Unit FGX-32B, do you read ? Come in please ? ~
~ Unit FGX-34A, do you read ? Come in please ? ~
~ Unit FGX-55D, do you read ? Come in please ? ~
There was no reply. Unit FGX-41G spent an indeterminate time considering this. Sensors were non-operational, so it activated some nanobots to repair a visual detector.
It took a while. When it was able to open it's eye, what it saw was not encouraging. Actually, it was downright depressing.
A desolate surface, some nameless moon, covered with scattered debris from the space battle. Smashed war machines, burned out enemy cruisers and unidentifiable hunks of twisted metal that had once been shining engines of destruction littered the surface as far as the sensor could see.
Unit FGX-41G was uncertain how long ago the battle had been. It's core had been knocked offline and had been putting itself through diagnostic routines until it had some semblance of functionality however imperfect returned.
The unit turned the visual sensor downward, attempting to view itself. That was hard, the arm didn't really want to flex in that direction. But what it could see wasn't good. It's own core, exposed to the radiation of space in an armoured shell that had been cracked wide open. Some hull plating, and a lot of wire, burned plastic and mangled metal.
But it was an Einheriar. It was programmed to self-repair and resume active status.
This was going to be challenging.
It had seen the surface covered with smashed war machines. Many of them were it's fellow FGX units. With any luck there would be enough additional parts and pieces to do something with.
Nanobots worked on the microscopic scale. They were very good, but terrible at working on the macro scale. Not many had survived the battle and subsequent crash landing. They could fuse metal together one molecule at a time. But time was in plentiful supply.
Six months later, unit FGX-41G's nanobots had built a jointed arm some six feet long with manipulators at the end from fragments of metal and burnt wire. It was crude, but better than nothing.
With the arm, it started to gather scraps of broken machinery from within reach and assemble them into useful things. Meanwhile the nanobots were put to work repairing the armoured shell around the core.
Soon, FGX-41G had built a little wheeled rover vehicle with manipulator arms of it's own. The device was sent off to search among the shrapnel for useful parts and any other surviving nanobots.
Slowly, slowly the task progressed. The army of nanobots grew. A drive unit was found here, some wheels to make a larger rover found there, a broken off plasma turret was freed from a crater way over there.
It took the best part of a decade, but by the end of it, Unit FGX-41G was able to use it's sensors to see.... well, a mess of a machine. It was like all the junk in a scrapyard had assembled itself into a heap. But it was all connected, and it all worked, sort of.
Unit FGX-41G launched itself into space and sent a tachyon beam towards Home Base with a simple message.
~ This is Unit FGX-41G. Temporary self repairs complete. We are back in the war. ~
