บท 5: Chapter 5: The Venator
Daniel angled The Venator toward the outer edge of the system. Using the Hovarth Drive required minimal gravitational interference.
As he approached the limit, he mentally reviewed what he needed to Upgrade his ship's modules.
**
[Storage]
- 4x Sauveterre Engine Component
- 2x Hovarth Drive
- 6x Armor Components
- 5x Kg of Cillium
- 3x Kg of Thersium
- 1x Kg of Valkium
Capacity: 21/25
**
So, he only needed one more Sauveterre Engine Component to upgrade to Level 2, four more Armor Components to upgrade that to level 2, and three more Hovarth Drive Components.
The Sauveterre Engine and Hovarth Drive were the most expensive modules on a modern star ship, costing millions of GC's to install.
He'd have to focus on sourcing those components from dead ships for a while, before he built enough capital to buy them out right.
The Armor was a different story.
Most stations sold Armor Paneling in bulk, charging a couple 100 GC's per panel.
Daniel was worried he'd have to pay to panel the entire ship, before taking a breath and just asking the System.
"System, how do you determine Viable Components for upgrade?"
[Commander, this Unit extrapolates the necessary data from studying the Components, before applying the cumulative information and synthesizing a superior Module.]
"So I could buy 10 Armor Panels, and you would be able to get the information needed for upgrades from studying them?"
[Yes, Commander]
"How come you can't just scan the formula for the Armor Panel, and apply that to your data?"
[Commander, the process of retrieving the necessary Upgrade Components requires physical specimens on board, so that the Avatar can run multi-faceted tests to retrieve all of the necessary information.]
Daniel sighed, lamenting the fact he hadn't been blessed with an omniscient System, before turning away from that problem and considering a new one.
"System, how would I communicate with stations or another ship? Most communication is done via view screen, and I no longer have a fleshy body."
[Commander, the System can generate a 3D rendering of your previous appearance for communication. Would you like a preview?]
"Yes."
A picture of himself, lounging in a captains chair appeared before him.
He studied it, or himself, looking for any discrepancies.
His strong jaw and bushy beard was trimmed and neat. His deep blue eyes were bright and clear. His tanned face from too much unfiltered sunlight was clean and unblemished. His short brown hair was cut to perfection.
Daniel stared at himself for a long while, reminiscing about his previous life, before mentally sending it away and focusing on the present.
With that out of the way, he returned his attention to the Venator, which was settling at the jump limit.
"System, deactivate all modules and activate the Hovarth Engine. Set a course for the Narle System. Make sure to come in on the ecliptic of Narle Star, we don't want to get blown apart by the System Defense Platforms."
[Yes, Commander.]
The ship began to power down. Simultaneously, a low, robotic whir began to vibrate throughout the ship.
Through his optical sensors, Daniel could see the Albrecht Field began too slowly come into existence, wrapping his ship in a protective bubble, keeping him from getting ripped apart by the Dimensional bands.
[Commander, course set to the Narle System, arriving on the ecliptic. Commence Dimensional Jump?]
"Yes."
[Commencing Dimensional Jump into the Beta Band.]
[5...4...3...2...1...]
A roar reverberated through out the ship, and to all know sensor arrays, the Venator ceased to exist.
In a mere fraction of a second, the Venator left the Darsend System and arrived in the Narle System.
Daniel always marveled at the near instant transition between systems.
Hovarth Drives essentially created a hole in between dimensions, allowing ships to travel on the universal FTL currents.
Daniel's astrogator aboard the Sheffield had described in a pretty simplified way, but it worked for him.
Essentially, "Normal Space", where everyone and everything existed, was like a pond. It didn't move at all, which meant humans had to rely on their own engines, like the Sauveterre Engine, to travel in-system.
Dimensional Jumps propelled star ships into the Universal equivalent of a fast moving river.
Humanity has only discovered one other band aside from the Alpha band, which was what scientists called "Normal Space".
The Beta Band allowed for instant transition over 10 Light years, essentially allowing ships to hop from star system to star system.
However, the draw back was that the transition put an extreme load on the Hovarth Drive, which limited ships to one system jumps and required the Albrecht Field to protect the ship during the brief travel time.
Daniel was excited to find out how his Hovarth Drive would improve when he reached Level 2.
[Commander, you are being hailed by Narle System Defense Platforms. Accept?]
"Accept."
A panel appeared in the 3rd person view of the Venator, displaying the Ristare Federation flag.
A moment later, a pale-skinned woman with long red hair and sharp blue eyes appeared in the view screen.
A smaller screen, showing his 3D rendered face, was minimized in the bottom right corner of the panel.
"Venator, please deactivate all offensive systems and sensor blockers. Under Narle System Defense Code 446, you are hereby subjected to a lawful customs boarding party."
"System, do something. She'll definitely be suspicious if that boarding party find a ghost ship."
[Commander, Federation Customs boarding procedure only allows for the examination of the cargo hold. According to the Defense Platforms DataNet, most modern high-end ships automate their inventory control or operate. Nothing in the Venator's cargo hold violated the Federation's Contraband Policies.]
Daniel breathed a sigh of relief.
He'd know all of that, but a sudden panic that the boarding party would discover no one on board had shoved that information out of his processors.
"How about our identification, what does she see when she looks at us?"
[Commander, any ships sensor will identify your ship as the Njord-Class Corvette "Venator", commanded by Commander Venata. The Venator is registered with the Intergalactic Trade Association, legally allowed to trade in any ITA protected system. You also are registered with a bounty hunter's license, to facilitate upgrading the Venator without being labeled a pirate.]
Daniel was impressed with how thorough the System had been.
He didn't know why, but he guessed he wasn't used to such competent assistance.
He mentally keyed the communications array, commanding the system to connect him to the Defense Platform.
"This is Daniel Venata, commanding officer of the Venetor."
The view screen showing the lady officer showed her reaction to such prompt response.
Obviously, way out here on the edge of civilized space, she expected a gruffer commanding officer, but it showed in her face that she was presently surprised at Daniel's well-groomed visage.
"This is Major Stiller of the Narle System Guard, please open your cargo bay to allow access to my boarding party."
"Of course, Major. Just don't scratch the paint."
Daniel's 3D image showed a roguish smile, causing the youthful Major too blush slightly.
"Thank you, Commander Venata, we appreciate your helpful attitude."
"Don't sweat it. I know I don't have anything that violates the Contraband Policies. So I figured I'd help you guys, since the faster you finish, the faster I can unload my cargo."
Major Stiller obviously agreed with that. She gave curt nod, before cutting the link.
Daniel sat back in his mental chair, watching through his optical sensors as the Assault Shuttle carrying the boarding party slowly floated toward him.
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