บท 41: A strange Sith and R2's new suit.
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How do you describe space flight?
Once upon a time, a long time ago, on a far, far away planet called Earth, astronauts were considered to be something out of the ordinary... and understandably so, given that, apart from rocket technology that consumed a sea of fuel, there was no technology to get ships into orbit, and those ships were... so small.
But flying like this was a boring and unremarkable activity. You just sit there, piloting, manoeuvring between tangible and tangible threats, as well as regularly going out to sleep and eat like a cat. Living like a vegetable, no different. Even meditation classes didn't dispel the boredom - off-planet, in an artificial environment and without a teacher around, it wasn't the same.
So I didn't try to be sly, but I gave up on meditation, concentrating my energies on travelling and rebuilding my sword. Or else I'd be mistaken for a Sith and killed by my own, no, I didn't want such surprises.
Long or short, it was time X, hour Che, time to get out of the hyperjump to the final point of the route, to the planet Bimmel....
The system was a typical backwater - there were no holonet repeaters or beacons nearby, just a small, thin asteroid field. Among the asteroids, bioform scanners detected local parasites that sometimes molest ships. After flying around the cluster of these creatures, I was finally able to look around properly. There were only two planets in the system - one was a nearby star, and the other was a gas giant with dense rings.
Lavigating on the marshalling engines between the huge asteroids, I flew closer and closer to the planet. Some asteroids were more than a hundred kilometres in size and could be a place for the local cosmofauna to live.
- Erdva, take control, - I released the levers and turned to my droid. - Can you find the right asteroid?
- Affirmative. Scanning... - the restless droid inserted a shunt into the ship's network and fell silent. A couple of seconds later, the ship changed direction abruptly. The droid explained it this way: Asteroid eight-eleven detected. Shall we land?
- Of course we are," I shrugged my shoulders, "we didn't look for that pepper for nothing.
- Estimated time of arrival is nine minutes ...
- Then I'm off," I got up from the comfortable pilot's seat and went to pack, throwing over my shoulder to the droid to keep it moving. Erdva didn't answer.
I had to make a quick trip to the armoury to grab a blaster and a decent Jedi sword. No sooner had I cleaned myself up than I felt the slight gravitational anomalies that come with landing on a small object like an asteroid. Time, then.
The exploration was interesting. The ship appeared to land neatly on a special pad.
- Put on a helmet, - Erdv's voice came from the speakers, - the asteroid has no atmosphere.
I had to put on the required - a set of a spacesuit and a helmet. Only after I had put on a rather light suit, the droid opened the ramp.
The suit was uncomfortable, despite its light weight - it was designed for technical work in open space, so it was adapted for technicians - on the belt was a weighty compartment-compartment for tools, behind the back in addition to the micromotors, a small droid reactor. Again, mobility was worse than ever, so it was better not to even dream about fighting in such a spacesuit. But the micromotors were a nice addition - having switched them on, I soared above the ground. A second more and I was travelling at a decent speed towards the Nabuan-style house visible near a small rock. Flying on my own felt good-not like power hopping, where you have to constantly think about your trajectory.
- The scanner didn't detect any bioforms inside," the droid told me over the comms. - Reduce your speed, or you won't have time to slow down.
I took the astrodroid's advice-he knew more about flight than I did.
The closer I got, the clearer I saw the building. A Nabuan two-storey mansion, with the obligatory basement for storing provisions and a small decorative dome. Stopping to zero in, I lowered myself just outside the door.
- Erdva, is the recording in progress?
- 'Affirmative,' the droid replied. - Maybe I should have come with you?
- No, I'm sure that's unnecessary," I replied, switching on the torch built into my spacesuit.
The visor of the helmet displayed the data on the parameters of the environment - temperature below zero, gravity half of standard and no atmosphere.
It looked like a house - the windows looked more like portholes, but there was no light in them, of course, they were mirrored, reflecting the dangerous ultraviolet of the local star. For the same reason, it was impossible to tell if the lights were working or not. I could feel... emanations of the dark side in the force, but they were not the same as I had felt from the Sith - the classic, if I may say so of the sixth sense, "flavour" of the Sith force - rot, decay, stench. Their power is both aggressive and unpleasant, unnatural, which is reflected in their ugly appearance. Here, however, it felt different - the power was dark, but not so aggressively unpleasant, though it didn't make it any better in the slightest. Just a slightly different colouring.
I slowed down when I was a couple of steps away from the door. No means of entry revealed itself. Scanning the house forcefully yielded no results - I couldn't sense anyone inside, and the metal, though felt, wasn't going to do anything with it. "If the door is closed, we should knock," I thought, looking for any way to open it. I found one quickly - there was a nifty electronic device in the jamb that opened the door.
No matter how long the house had been abandoned, the reactors had long since died out, and it wasn't so easy to get in. I had to forcefully solder the door open and solder it behind my back.
Inside, the house looked more than abandoned - no belongings to be seen, no atmosphere, and no acceptable temperature either. An inspection revealed several rooms, bedrooms, a study, and a basement....
It was in the basement that the surprise awaited me - a large metal door that led to a cavity inside the asteroid, a Secret Passage? Possibly. I didn't bother with the door either, melting my way through.
Behind the door was a cave. As soon as I entered, I felt the sharply negative background of the dark side. This time the usual dark side of the force - flavoured with rot and fear. The cave was huge for its size, if my scanners weren't lying. And they weren't. I didn't have to walk far; after a few seconds, a ghost like the one I'd seen before the holocron appeared in front of me. I, anticipating it, was not frightened, though I thought hard.
- What are you doing here? - The ghost asked in a tone that expressed the rudiments of curiosity.
- I heard there was a Sith living here who was researching something," I frowned, checking my swords with my strength.
The ghost was silent for a few seconds. It looked almost human, except it glowed with a slightly bluish light and was transparent. In strength it felt like an accumulation of the dark side of the force, pulling dark energy from the cave itself through tentacles of force. His face was hidden by the hood of his robe.
- You seek his knowledge? - The ghost asked with obvious curiosity. From what I could see, the cave was like a natural holocron, providing not only preservation but also nourishment for the spirit.
- You could say that," I replied.
- In that case, we'd better go inside," the ghost smiled. Only his lips and part of his nose were visible from under the hood, but I could definitely read his emotions.
A strange ghost, something I really didn't think I'd encounter on an old asteroid.
The ghost floated above the floor towards the door of the house and I followed it. The light from the spacesuit's torches made it almost invisible, but still clearly visible. We made our way into the house I had just passed. The ghost floated into the main hall.
- As you realise, you seek dangerous knowledge," he said in a grave voice. Apparently, I managed to get him interested in it," Whether you leave here alive or not depends on what you're looking for.
Despite the threat, I tried not to lose my cool and answered:
- The great holocron at the Jedi temple told me that the owner of this house was dealing with the issue of travelling through time by hyperjump.
- Yes?" the ghost asked in surprise. - There was a case, but why are you interested in it? - He stared straight at me.
- Because I'm not from this time. During the hyperjump my ship was damaged by a gunshot, so I was thrown back a couple of millennia.....
- Okay, stop," he stopped me. - So you're saying that you... jumped back in time?
- That's right," I nodded, standing in front of the spirit, "I'm looking for a way to return to my own time. To the future.
The ghost thought for a few seconds, but then answered:
- I don't have what you're looking for. I have actually researched the effects of hyperjumping on the passage of time. Actually, time can flow faster or slower, depending on the field voltage that stabilises the internal flow of time. But that doesn't mean you can just jump to another time. Thousands of factors influence the parameters of the jump. You can't speed up or slow down the jump speed in real time, but you can change the subjective time inside the ship while in hyperspace.
- So I can jump, the ship will be in hyperspace for thousands of years, but less time will pass inside," I nodded.
- Yes, but the hyperdrive technology is too complicated. I've done experiments, but they all failed," I shook my ghostly head. - Even if you adjust one field in this way, it will lead to a change in the parameters of the entire system, so to do such a thing, you have to essentially redesign the hyperdrive ....
- And of all the variety of physical laws by which the hyperdrive functions, - I saddened, - no more than thirty per cent are open. And the main ones are unknown to us.
- Scientists have been struggling with the problem of recreating hyperdrive for millennia, but in vain. So far, at least," the ghost corrected himself. - They just copy other people's technology and make changes that simply repeat what they had before, with minor adjustments to the technology and materials used. Half a per cent iridium in the winding might speed up hyperspace travel, but....
- Efficiency is reduced by many times," I finished after the ghost. - So I came here for nothing?
- Turns out it was a waste. I was hoping you might need my knowledge.
- You want an apprentice? - I smirked. - Aren't you a little late for that?
The ghost smiled even wider:
- It's never too late, take my word for it. Though I do have something that might lead you to some answers. Or get you killed, as the case may be," he smirked. - During my research, I've been looking at the Mau Cluster, where hyperspace wriggles like it's been crumpled endlessly. It's a pretty dangerous place, by the way. After some brief experimentation, I was able to find traces of the Balancer station's influence. A mysterious and gigantic structure. On the station, in one of the vaults I found a lot of coordinates, or rather some kind of list. Some coordinates led to planets I knew - Vultar, Kron, as well as a whole set of coordinates leading to the wild space. I summoned all my strength and flew to the first coordinates, but I found something incomprehensible. A giant octahedron, with an edge of at least five kilometres. I never understood what this structure was, but the hyperspace around it was anomalous - the hyperdrive was malfunctioning and it was unreal to find it without coordinates - the hyperdrive with a slight deviation could take the ship anywhere and anytime.
I spent nearly a month researching it, but couldn't make any significant progress. The material it's made of is unknown, the nature is unknown, the age is unknown, the purpose is even more unclear. But the fact that this thing is somehow connected to the distortions of the hyperjump is a fact.
- I see," I nodded, not understanding anything, "so you're suggesting I go there?
- If it didn't work out for me, why don't you try it? I don't care anymore. If you die, maybe we'll meet on the other side..." the Sith shrugged. - I'll have someone to ask what this thing is.
The Sith was still a Sith, he didn't care about me, he was driven, even in death, by his own curiosity.
- In that case, give me the coordinates.
- Check my computer. If it's still working.
The terminal, strangely enough, switched on the first time. The Sith told me where to find the coordinates. I've established a channel to the ship:
- Erdva, do you see the coordinates?
- I see them, Captain! - The droid rejoiced. - Can you upload it?
- Can you do it?
- Easy, - answered the droid, - I have already hacked the network screen.
The droid, after installing the computing module, significantly expanded its capabilities as a hacker.
Having received the coordinates, I decided that there was no point in examining the building any more - even if there was something useful here, I didn't need it. The owner, or rather his ghost, silently watched my negotiations with the droid, and then simply melted into thin air.
There were no other clues, though I could trust a Sith, and one as crazy as this one? But I had no alternative. Judging by his speech and my guesses, no one would be able to help me with the hyperdrive modification. I had no choice but to fly to the specified place and see if I could do something about this unknown thing with my power. And there was no confirmation that it was still there - the drift in space lately could have moved the unknown thing far away from the point the coordinates pointed to.
- Erdva, what are your thoughts on this? - I asked, already flying out the door toward the ship.
- It's worth a trip and a look. If anything happens, we can probably get away.
- Are you suggesting there's an aggressor?
- I can't rule out the possibility that the creature deceived us. The probability is not zero.
The galaxy was certainly very, very big, but the speed of the hyperdrive did its job - a week's journey and I'm ready to leave at the right point.
By the way, travelling alone is difficult. Otherwise, you can't travel alone unless absolutely necessary - it negatively affects your psyche. I have to compensate with meditations, but I am not omnipotent - communication with Erdva is what brightens up my grey everyday life as a traveller. Erdva had almost developed into a full-fledged personality - he had a sense of humour, his own desires, a fascination with technology, which I had created a scanner (which turned out to be an ill-timed invention), as well as a certain reckless adventurousness. Tony Stark of a galaxy far, far away, that's what he is.
One day I went to the hold and, calling Erdv, I made him a new hull. A completely new hull, with the same colouring, but not made of durasteel like this one, but of a different alloy.
It didn't take me long to come up with a name for the metal - VBRS-1, Tungsten, Beskar, Ruthenium, Silver, number one.
Yes, my experiments went beyond manipulating the shape of metal - the further I went into metalworking, the more I realised that I needed metals with clearly defined properties. For strength, resistance to impact of one type or another, stiffness, reaction with other metals... In this alloy there are two highly refractory metals - Tungsten and Beskar - if we alloy, i.e. evenly distribute tungsten molecules in Beskar, the refractoriness of the metal will be much higher, and consequently, it will be impossible to burn the hull with a blaster shot, which has the main striking factor - instantaneous temperature recoil after destabilisation of the charge, i.e. after it hits a solid surface. VBRS-1 is much more difficult to burn through than durasteel. Resistance to svetoshashka, as I found out, can come from two sources - first - the metal is inert to the impact of photons, which in a super-concentrated form and make up the light arc of the sword. Exposure of the light-ball to such metal will cause the photons to reflect off the surface, the arc will open and the cycle will either be interrupted, if the sword is designed to be powered solely by recuperation, the reuse of spent energy. Such sword spends the battery charge only for creation of new photons and for overcoming the electrical resistance of conductors, i.e. the battery is small and the energy is spent slowly in stationary idle state and quickly in combat, as each blow spends a part of photons from the arc and they are recovered from the battery charge without returning to the cycle. The higher the battery capacity, the longer the sword can last in combat without recharging, but a compact battery cannot create an arch for more than a minute without regenerating, that is, reusing energy.
If a recuperation-capable light saber collides with inert armour, the photons will be reflected, the arc will open and the sword will shut down, even a small spike in energy consumption will suck half the charge out of the sword.
Another thing - swords with a strong battery - such I saw in the temple - the sword will not extinguish after collision with armour and the arc will be restored again as soon as the sword is moved away from the armour. In combat, this is the most rational solution.
There are superfluid metals - the essence of their resistance is that the sword burns through the metal slowly - the metal resists burning through, but does not reflect photons. In such a case the sword just needs to be held in one place, or increase the intensity of the arc, or strike several times in one point. The sword will also discharge quickly, but not as quickly as in the first case. Such armour also saves from blaster and any thermal weapon designed to burn through armour, so it is the most valuable. Metals resistant to photons are usually useless as a military resource, as it is enough to take a blaster and shoot anyone you want. Alloys and alloying do not help - the metal loses its properties. Thus we can say that it is not possible to make reliable and expensive lightsaber armour that will be easily penetrated by any other weapon, you can make heavy armour from beskar, but it will severely restrict movement, you can make light armour from beskar, but there is no guarantee that it will withstand a single blow or shot from something more serious than a gun. This is despite the fact that it will still restrict movement.
The logical solution is to abandon armour altogether, relying on skills and senses - the effect will be much greater that way. You can, of course, be clad in freak armour that reflects a light saber, but then you can easily get shot with a gun, even Jedi carry blasters, all of them without exception. The only exception to the rule is if it is known that the enemy only has lightsabers, then you can try to use sword resistant metal. But this is foolishness, every Jedi or Sith in the galaxy has at least a pistol, and the stiffness of movements with competent shooting will not give the gore-warrior to reflect the shot.
As expected, there are no miracle solutions, how to make yourself safe at once. However, there are less than one in a billion force-susers in the galaxy, so I shouldn't focus too much on force-susers, it's much more likely that I'll just get shot with a blaster.
That's what I was counting on when I designed the VBRS-1.
Judging by the complexity of the metal's molecular structure, it's almost impossible to create this alloy without directly manipulating the metals with Force Forging. This gave... a huge scope for imagination, because I could bind metals in almost any sequence at the molecular level and create metals with any qualities. But for this purpose it would be good to know the theory of metal science, and my knowledge was limited to the holonet, in which, nevertheless, it was possible to find both descriptions of alloys and promising ideas. For example, I got the idea of heavy armour from here. It was useless for a human, as the weight of the armour itself was about a hundred kilograms, and even with a power suit, the game was not worth it. Another thing - a droid - it could compensate for the weight by repulsors, thus remaining as light in the working state. Inertia was compensated by the engines, so the droid could dress in such an armoured hull without any serious complications.
In this case, the droid received a five-centimetre armour, which did not lose its strength even under strong heat and radiators for cooling after a hit, thermoaccumulators.
Speaking of thermal accumulators. My invention. There are metals with different thermal conductivity, so I introduced another layer inside the armour, which by billions of strings-pillars enters the main armour and draws heat from it, and after individual elements get heated up, i.e. draw all the heat from the molecular radiator, they are shot off. I have also built elements the size and shape of a pencil into the Erdva case. However, they heat up quickly and strongly, so I had to shield them and add a pistol-like firing mechanism. The thermo-batteries were made of extremely expensive metal, which was mined on only a few planets from the whole galaxy.
As a result of the work, Erdva was restarted.
- Do you feel anything?
- 'No,' the droid replied. - Only that I have become much heavier.
- That's no problem, my friend, all you have to do is compensate a little by running the repulsors at a couple of per cent of power.
- Done," commented the droid, "I don't feel any change at all.
- Good, close all the compartments, we'll test you now.
I pulled my Vestar blaster from the armoury and fired it at the droid. The spot where the blaster shot hit got red hot, but only for a fraction of a second, then the droid commented:
- Should I respond to the attack, or not?
- No, I'm only testing the armour for now," I said, taking aim with my rifle. This time, a segment of armour the size of my fist turned red for a second, but it faded immediately, and a red-hot cylinder flew out of the droid's side with a snap. The floors in the hold were made of heat-resistant material, so at most it would leave a slightly uneven melted trail. It's gonna take a long time to cool down.
- According to my data, this metal cools several thousand times faster than it should. Highly refractory materials tend to release heat slowly.
- Right, so I've built a system into the armour that draws heat and fires the thermal stores when necessary.
- You invented a new armour? - The droid asked in surprise.
- You could say that. Especially for you, my friend. Now you're safe from gunfire and flamethrowers.
The droid, judging by the fact that it turned on its axis, was pleased with the news. I put the rifle away and left the hold with Erdva, remembering to put the red-hot battery on a small ceramic pad - just stuck it in the mug with the rest of the tea. The tea immediately puffed with a cloud of vapour, and a crack appeared in the structure of the battery due to uneven cooling.
The ship came out of hyperspace where there were no beacons, no repeaters, nothing. Wild space.
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