Briefing

Marc sets his coffee down to examine the holographic image. After the female voice asked for questions, Marc waited his turn before he spoke up: Do you mind filling us who aren't in the know in on what a 'Doctor Worm system' is? How long was that one online, and if it is a model known to have problems what precautions do you guys put in place to ........... 'correct' the malfunction when it happens?"

The Doctor Worm system is an experimental AI system which is largely classified. This is the first and only produced unit. Reports from the CSS Vandammung state that, while the system was working, suspected personality disorders were occuring. DEB, the other ship AI, detected no malfunctions in his code or hardware and has diagnosed him as a possible schizophrenic or sociopath. You are cleared to know that there are no safety precautions in the Doctor Worm system due to the design, the DEB system was installed as a balancing AI.
The voice stops.
Continuing: The CSS Vandammung is a Remote Mining and Excavation Vessel assigned to the planet 3V8/56A4 for Unobtainium Type 4 mining. The ship arrived approximately 4 years ago and finished removal of planet for orbital mining 8 months ago.
The is another pause
Until the most recent transmission no major issues were reported and, outside of the highly unlikely event of simultaneous critical systems failure, there are no theoretical threats capable of ceasing communications for longer than 1 month 24 days. Part of your task is to find the reason for the communications blackout.
The voice stops once more
As per

Standard Operating Procedure

SOP, all key salvage must be acquired if the ship is lost.
The voice pauses
Are there any questions at this time?

"No safety precautions." Kismet repeats, shaking her head slightly. "None. What IS it with the people in R&D? Alright, I'm going to be generous and assume that the lack of traditional safety precautions is in some way necessary for this new AI to think properly, and move on from there. In comparison to a human or animal mind, how strong is this Doctor Worm's self-preservation instinct, and what kind of "immune system" does he possess?"

Most of that information is classified. The self-preservation instinct is high among current generation AIs used by the...
A large burst of static occurs as the voice says the companies name
...corporation, in order to cut the costs of rebuilding a new AI system.

"To be more direct, ma'am, how do we kill it?" Subject twenty wanted to make sure the computer program knew exactly what they were asking.

That is both classified and doing so will result in your immediate termination contractually and, in your case, bodily

Unafraid, subject 20 leaned back into his chair, "Understood, ma'am. How are we to retrieve the salvage? After another second of thought he added, "Are the others aware of relevant R&D contracts?" He meant project Helix, but was unaware of whether or not those present had been briefed on the project.

Salvage is to be recovered either with secondary shuttles or your ship.
The voice stops for half a minute
Information on Project Helix has been declassified: Project Helix is a biological program for designing stronger, healthier humans through prenatal genetic modification. Subject 20 is the only surviving member of batch #001 and, as part of the testing process, has been assigned to LSIR to ensure proper functioning in a non-lab environment. As part of the testing, he is to be treated as an inmate-class worker and, as such, is subject to termination at anytime as a result of failure

"I think what Kismit was asking was..", Marc interuppted briefly, "what defense systems does the mining vessel posses? What will the ship 'do', as in what security system does it have access to that it could use to injure us, when we jump in our vac-suits; use cutting torchs to breech an airlock; and continue the process of breeching doors till we get to it's core? I'm not familiar with Class IV Mining Vessels and if possible we will require a detailed holo of the CSS Vandammung, with the areas you want us to check out highlighted for us to study enroute to the site."

Frank sat in silence, chewing his bagel and listening intently. Clearly, he was the only one who didn't know what he was doing.