. . . Taba Starbase
. . . Omicron Mu
. . .Hangar Three
The CV-2400 was approaching its destination - Taba Starbase. Visible cracks on the hull were leaving out a red-ish light escape in space. Whether by design or not, it was clear the ship couldn't have itself in any other position. The "Mini Razor" Cannon mounted on the tip of the Jackdaw had its barrel overheated to the point where the orange hue it created was visible if one was to look closer. Clearly it was used a lot. And recently.
The ship was given priority clearance to land on Taba due to the cargo it held within - a Nomad Power Cell found in the region of Planet Vaitupu. Fortunately, the item was removed from the cargo hold with great care by Order Agents whom were trained specifically for such tasks. The CV-2400's Pilot - Kyle Vaughn - jumped off the cockpit, taking a deep breath. "And amazing place, don't you think?" said the Junker, apparently to himself, only for half a second later, an excited voice bursted out of the ship, glitching at first, then becoming comprehensible again. [Ƭ_Ƭ-Ƭ-ƬΉΣ P-_PPΛΛI-ПП!""]...- this is so cool! I'm inside an Order hangar! WOOOOOOOO! Where's the Azurite? And the new toys?! A-And the - [FЦᄃKIПG ΉΣΛDƧ ӨF ƬΉӨƧΣ ᄂIBΣЯƬӨПIΛП Ƨ_Ƨ_ƧƧ_ƧΉIƬΉΣΛDƧ]. Kyle leaves a deep sigh, staring at the cockpit's board computer, shining red with every normal word Bit spills out, and a sudden blast of red lights as he glitches out. "We'll get there. Don't scare off the people around here, okay? We don't want another scenario like on Ames.
A full compliment of security staff was waiting in the hanger that Kyle had been cleared to dock in.
Standard procedure, given the cargo he was bringing. The vessel in question appeared...not unlike what one
would expect from a junker, one of the staff muttering something about expecting to see ducttape.
However considering it had served their Junker guest well so far in the harsh environments of the Omicrons,
it was hard to deny it likely performed as well as Kyle had indicated in his comm channel with the Admiral.
One of the operatives stepped forward after the docking procedures were completed and waited for their guest to disembark.
Securing the Nomad Power Cell and scanning Kyle for infection was their primary concern and they intended
to take care of that before other matters could be addressed.
The Junker had gotten out of the ship, looking at the Operative heading towards him, waving with his right hand calmly. He hasn't met the more common type of Order Operatives until now. As such, he continued to show respect to the the man regardless of his rank. "Good to see you! To whom do I owe the pleasure of talking to?" said Kyle.
A low chuckle came from the cockpit, loud enough to be heard through the speakers as far as five, maybe ten meters from the cockpit. "...you're disgusting me."
Kyle's greetings had been met with stern stares and rigid protocol. Only once he had gone through
all the procedures and was cleared of being a potential infectee did the operatives around him visibly relax. "Alright mister Vaughn, you pass muster. No offense regarding the reception, we can't be too careful with those space squids out there."
one of the operatives said, introducing himself as Lieutenant Jones in the process.
The operatives had mostly ignored Bit so far, having been briefed beforehand that they would be dealing with an AI of sorts. "So, lets get to business. You have a Nomad Power Cell for us and you'd like us to look at your ships systems regarding your...companion.
Where did you pick up such a unique individual anyway?"
Kyle was hesitant, though not visibly. This was mostly due to his own lack of information on this matter. All he really knew was the place he extracted Bit from, and a small, metallic plate found floating in the command bridge, which could have indicated Bit's current version. He simply answered with a scratch on his head, a smile, and a silent laughter. "Yeah...that might be a real problem. Bit was found on a wrecked Capital Ship in Bering. I did what I could to bring him back to "life" - which kind of worked.
The Junker's sentence was cut short, however. The board computer lit up like a christmas tree - only in red - and sparkled, letting the angry tone of a deranged AI poluate the surroundings through the ship's speakers mounted in the cockpit. [Щ_Щ_-_ЩΉY ΛЯΣ YӨЦ Я-Я__ЯЦIПIПG MY G_GGᄂӨЯIӨЦƧ ƧƬӨЯY?!]
Kyle's face simply went blank, looking at the Order Operative, then at the Jackdaw with a look that could only tell he's fuming inside, but couldn't let out the anger.
"I'll just...urgh...shut up." replied Bit, without adding anything else. The cockpit immediately closed. Only the awkward whistling was heard faintly for a few minutes.
A raised eyebrow was all the reaction the AI received from Lieutenant Jones as Kyle informed him of Bits origin,
one of the operatives in the background couldn't help but snicker though. Jones gave her a sharp glance before turning his focus back to Kyle. "Bering is practically a graveyard of Liberty and Rheinland warships, perhaps it was some form of military prototype."
The Lieutenant then glanced at the ship before looking back at Kyle and added in a softer tone: "Or a damaged mining AI."
With a small smirk Jones shook his head: "All joking aside, it must perform quite well for you to
go through such lengths to have thigns optimized. Now, where's that Power Cell so we can get started?"
"In the Cargo Hold. I believe your guys had already taken care of it. If not, it should still be there. I wouldn't touch that thing if I were you." said the Junker, concerned for his own safety, his ship's, and naturally, his neighbours.
Kyle takes a glance at his ship, again before continuing. This ship did handle quite well, honestly. And to be fair, it wouldn't be the same without Bit inside it. So tell me. What is the range of upgrades your Research Department could offer in exchange for this Power Cell? Or...in exchange for whatever deal Admiral Solandros arranged. Send him my regards, by the way. he said, returning his view at the Operative, scratching his beard.
Lieutenant Jones beckoned to several of the other operatives who nodded and approached the vessel, one of which was carrying what appeared to be some sort of containment or storage unit. "No need to be concerned, we've had our share of experience handling these things. As for what the extent of our help will be regarding your ships design and components, we will have to examine the vessel first. I don't suppose you have any schematics handy?"
Jones pondered for a moment before adding: "Any data readings regarding the AI's influence, or I should say stress, on the ships components would be useful as well." Kyle had given them a fairly good indication of what effects the AI had on the ship, but actual factual numbers would surely help the efforts significantly. "If not, we can always run the ship through some tests while we take measurements" the Lieutenant offered.
Kyle shakes his head at the Lieutenant's demand of the ship's blueprints. He knew the ship was mostly improvised, and the few blueprints he actually made were mere sketches of crucial components he could not bring himself to share, not even to his best allies. He took a moment to analyze the situation. In the end, he could only give a simple answer.
"I'm afraid the blueprints won't help. Everything about the ship is improvised, built by me with...his advices. I know the CV-2400 like the back of my hand, but that's about it. Run the tests, if you wish. I'd be careful around the engines and fuel tanks, as well as the lower pipes.
Lieutenant Jones let out a sigh, no blueprints, that meant things were going to take a bit longer. "Alright, lets let the engineers get started, meanwhile we can go ahead to the lab where your..friend?
will be moved to for upgrades once they're done examining its specs."
With that said Jones beckoned Kyle to follow him outside of the hanger.
"By the way, would you like to stop by the cafeteria for a meal before we continue?"
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Delivery of the Nomad Power Cell, Azurite Canisters connected to the Jackdaw![[Image: t4r0fuD.png?1]](https://i.imgur.com/t4r0fuD.png?1)
![[Image: 9Joq1q5.png]](https://i.imgur.com/9Joq1q5.png)
