Of course, with such a massive war machine as one of the Houses, it was impossible to keep track of every ship shot down. Liberty barely noticed the losses; each lost fighter was quickly replaced by two new ones. But this allowed groups like the TFP to more easily obtain spare parts and stay afloat. In this regard, the old habits developed during the Junker years came in handy.
"I'm less squeamish, I must admit. I've even had to dismantle graves on the spot for spare parts."
Locksmith wasn't shy about it. Playing noble was a luxury, one that would have been simply foolish to indulge in under the current circumstances. If only because he was no longer a loner. His responsibility was greater now.
He stepped back, giving her space, and watched her movements, crossing his arms over his chest. He nodded slightly when she mentioned desynchronization.
"I'm impressed you managed to find this so quickly. It's one of the side effects of my attempt to adapt the fighter to the method that allows the Technocracy to combine Sirius and Gallia technology."
Locksmith nodded to one of the weapons mounted on the hull. A Gallic model, designed to counter shields and systems.
"It's a work in progress... One thing clings to another. The calibration of one process destabilizes another. For now, it's the lesser of evils, but I continue to pursue complete success."
He approached the fighter's side, called up a virtual interface on his visor, and pressed a couple of buttons. The Defender came to life, and the deep blue lights along its hull lit up. A second later, the side wall of the hull slid open, revealing the fighter's steadily humming core, from which the power lines ran to the other systems.
"This one took the longest to tinker with. When I received this fighter, it was barely capable of developing a tenth of its current power. Now I'm experimenting with dynamically feeding energy to the shields and weapons, so I can focus power on the specific task at hand."
