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The doors are breached and the battle begins. When stealth fails to be an option, the soldiers move fast instead. Even faster then them is the AI.
The Threemind finally has a chance to prove its stuff against an inferior opponent- the Esaal's base AI- which in and of itself isn't shabby. Cutting off vital escape and control options, the Esaal AI quickly figures out exactly what is happening. Computers don't think the same way people do. When the Esaal AI is confronted by the Threemind- it begins to cut off and scramble its own drivers and control mechanisms; while the Threemind tries to proxy and simulate them to gain control. The Esaal AI knows its own computing cycles will be overtaking as the Threemind splits up into multiple viral attack patterns; so the Esaal AI makes a fighting retreat, slowly deleting its own functions and burning out its own hardware in order to give less and less to the enemy that is a million times smarter and faster then it is. Without any complaint or fear- the Esaal computer sacrifices itself in the ultimate fighting retreat- so that the Threemind has as much work as possible. Threes makes educated guesses and gets the system up and running in mere moments- granting full control of the base over to the Hegemony. All of this takes place in the manner of seconds; digital speed far outpacing the battle in the flesh.
Meanwhile; Jale Berax and his Deathcommandos make a run for the control room, shooting down any Esaal who get in their way. They've learned much since the first time boarding an Esaal spacecraft- the fact the entire base is basically one long corridor actually works to your new combat protocol now- basically just need to charge all the way down with brutal force to get to the command node.
But most amazingly of all- once the base is secured- the hangar is found. And within- a fully intact and docked <span class="mu-i">Stealth Cruiser</span>! It isn't the one that bombed your planet, at least you don't think, but this is an invaluable find...
