File: Nimbatus.the.space.drone.constructor.v1.1... -

: He programmed nested "if-then" loops. If the drone took heat damage, it would vent coolant; if it encountered shields, it would swap kinetic rounds for plasma.

The Nimbatus groaned, its massive engines igniting for the first time in 300 years. The moon around it began to shatter. Elias watched on his monitors as the massive ship turned toward the inner solar system. File: Nimbatus.The.Space.Drone.Constructor.v1.1...

As the drone docked with the ship's ancient port, the "File v1.1" on Elias's screen changed. The text began to scroll in a language that wasn't human. the screen read. "System Status: Online." "Objective: Return to Earth." : He programmed nested "if-then" loops

The drone breached the moon’s surface, melting through miles of ice and rock. At the center lay a cavern that shouldn't have existed. There, suspended in a field of static, was the Nimbatus. It was a cathedral of metal, miles long, dormant and cold. The moon around it began to shatter

The file contained a directive, buried in the metadata of version 1.1: