Age of Space

So, despite antimatter drives being known as one of the most efficient engines out there, most smaller ships instead prefer combustion based xenofuel? Ronin thought as he read the document, one of his latest bounties from his recently completed exams.

Xenofuel, something only found in the sea of shattered stars at the edge of human expansion, functioned much like oil from the age of old. It was primitive, but somehow packed so much energy, it, in certain cases even beat out antimatter. In contrast to most other energy sources, it decreased in price the closer you got to the frontier. That is to say, on Concordia, xenofuel was the go-to source of energy if you wanted a fast ship.

From his resting spot along the bed, Ronin glanced over to his right. The partially constructed cargo ship stood there like a lumbering giant. Soon it would be ready to carry heavy loads to wherever its driver desired. What would some xenofuel do for this thing? The strain from the acceleration alone, would tear the ship apart. As for driving slowly on xenofuel? It'll just be a waste of credit.

Ronin’s expanded mind immediately did the calculations. He knew the answer almost the moment he asked the question. Cargo ships were only sturdy and reliable when driven at normal speeds.

The 10-meters long hulking ship only lacked an air lock, an engine and a cockpit now. He felt a budding smile forming along the corners of his lips. Only one or two good sessions left now, and the ship will be done.

Rising up, Ronin did a long stretch, raising his arms towards the ceiling, then went to work. Walking up to the 3-D printer, he began printing engine parts. The engine, being a scaled down version of the established Westein series, was one of the easier ones to build. The Westein company had been around for over a century and their fusion drives, though not the fastest, nor strongest, lasted forever. They were easy to maintain and used common parts that could be found anywhere.

As part after part came out of the printer, Ronin walked back and forth between the printing station and the control station. Holding the handheld multiscanner, he scanned every component before he printed a new one. Some of the components were so small, he had to redo them a couple of times after they came out a few micrometers too long or short. There were many parts to account for, but he stuck to the blueprint and made good time.

After around 4 hours, he was done, and every part was printed and ready.

Ronin moved over to the assembler control panel and activated the conveyor belt. The drive parts began moving along the belt and he gripped two of the virtual levers, moving around the assembler arms. It was time to begin putting this thing together!

“...”

2 hours later, and he was standing before a perfectly functional fusion drive. Between wires, magnets, heat buffers and more, the engine had represented quite the puzzle. Unlike with the outer hull plating, this was actually detailed work. To think that just 3 months ago, Simons spent just under 3 hours putting together a KGC-fusion reactor... Though I'm not sure which of the two engines is easier to build, at that time, I didn't even know how to operate an assembler. Ronin had improved, if he dared say so himself.

“Hey! Why did you start without me?” A clear voice rang throughout the factory.

“Hey man, it’s only the engine, ok? I haven’t even put it into the ship yet,” Ronin said, holding up his hands defensively.

“Always working when I’m not around, it’s as if he's doing it on purpose,” the figure grumbled. Ronin only heard it thanks to his enhanced hearing.

Seeing the angry bulbous man making his way over, Ronin just couldn’t help himself:

“Hey Simons,”

“What!?”

Ronin, with a mischievous grin, held up two fingers, then mouthed out each word slowly: “Two hours.”

Simons, knowing Ronin, knew exactly what he meant by that gesture.

“Bastard, now you're just angering me on purpose!”

“Hehehe, what are you talking about?” Ronin asked innocently, trying, and failing to suppress his laughter.

“Defiler, you know that my record on fusion drive assembly is 2 and a half hours! If you keep acting like that, I’ll tell everyone it was you who stank out The Happy Pearl!”

“Ok, hold on now, I’m only joking, only joking! No need to escalate like that. You can build the cockpit if you’d like? That would be an even bigger job than the engine.”

Receiving a grunt in response, Ronin had a few bots help him bring the Westein drive into the ship as Simons made his way over to the 3D-printer.

After entering the ship, he followed the bots until they reached the engineering deck. As the bots gently placed down the engine, he entered the room, hooked up the fuel injector, and began connecting cables. If he had to be honest with himself, calling this an engineering deck was a little like sprinkling a nutrient bar over a rock and calling it food. It was really just a small room, sectioned off at the end of the cargo bay.

Most of the cables were already clearly marked, so in short order the engine was installed, then firmly secured to the floor with the help of a power tool. The only thing left now was the airlock. He thought of his last ship, the Hemsway-D8, which, not long ago, had been ruthlessly stolen away, right outside district 101. Yeah, I’m not letting that happen again, not with this ship.

In order to protect his ship from thieves, he'd need an anti-intrusion system, and an anti-intrusion system needed weapons. Though making weapons was generally illegal, both his factory and his uncle had a security system with plenty of weapons installed. There clearly was a way for companies to get weapons in spite of them being illegal to most commoners. Perhaps…

Accessing the Concordia net, he searched up the various regulations on this and low and behold, after a little bit of looking, he found a loophole. According to the law, it was possible for certain types of companies to not only have weapons, but to make them. As for his own company, Maximum Solutions? Just the right type. He could even make weapons if he wanted. He'd need a permit first though. Also, every weapon made, had to be registered and tracked. If he bought a weapon, he'd need to report it. If he made a weapon and sold it to the wrong people? Well, he'd be in some DEEP trouble.

He wasn't planning on selling weapons though; he was going to use them himself.

Using the company name, he sent an application for a weapons permit. That only left an intruder detection system. He thought back on the day he first visited Nagata, as several turrets descended the moment he touched the man's front door… Wouldn’t that be something. The moment a thief breaks into my airlock, a turret descends and begins blasting.

He quickly found his uncle's contact ID and made a call.

The fog blanketing the dusky streets thinned as lights from rapidly moving monowheels began illuminating the desolate slum. As the electrically powered bikes drove out from a nearby tunnel, the sound of large singular wheels, rapidly rolling across concrete could be heard next. Finally, as the bikes approached further, the several men riding the bikes became visible. Covered in black market bionics and tattoos, it was evident that these men, were not men of the law. And leading the charge, was a bulky, blond-haired figure, noticeably different from the rest. His body had a clear lack of both tattoos and bionics, and though he'd normally wear a confident expression, right now, his face was tense.

Argus never liked traveling this way. He’d been recognized as a king before, and his words had been law. The underworld had belonged to him, but then that man had appeared. Like out of the ether, he'd snatched everything, like it was nothing. Everything that had once belonged to Argus, suddenly, now belonged to that man. Argus still felt shivers travelling down his back when he thought about those days. How unstoppable Specter had been. This road was a constant reminder of that past.

As they drove along, an eerie silence pressed down on the gang, muffling their will to go on. This heavy atmosphere, led to a subconscious release off the gas pedal and their bikes slowed down. As the slower speed made the surrounding streets more visible, several men and women could be seen. They were all bound and dragged along by Isamellos and his crew. All moving in the same direction. The heart of this place. Specter's lair.

Eventually, Argus's group arrived in front of a large facility, and one by one, the group parked their bikes and entered the building.

After a short 5-minute walk, Argus left his men behind. They weren't allowed past this point.

As he traversed the last few corridors of the building, more and more guards could be seen along the walls, watching his every step.

Eventually, he found himself in front of an old familiar door. Only he and Isamellos was allowed past this point...

“Argus, you’ve come,” a voice from above spoke as he entered the room.

He bent over in a deep bow, eyes locked onto the gray metal floor. “I’m sorry for the delay master.”

“How’s the war?” the voice asked, seemingly satisfied with his act of subservience.

“We’re doing well. The CLM has been halted and we are now in the process of pushing them back”

“Very well, and that other matter?”

Argus felt the tension seize him. This was it. Would he make it out? Before the mounting fear could break his composure, he spoke.

“The brat is still alive. The 3 million credits bounty is not enough.”

“Hmm, you couldn’t do it? Well, why didn't you raise the bounty?”

Through gritted teeth, Argus pushed out each word: “We’re, fighting, a war… we need, the money.”

The dark room seemed to become even darker and a rising killing intent broke Argus's composure. He began shivering as Specter spoke.

“I’ve changed my mind… you will capture that brat alive instead. Pay whatever it takes. You will also win the war... And Argus?"

"Y-Yes?"

"Cut off a finger."

There it was. The punishment.

Argus took out a small knife, placed his left hand on the floor, then pressed down the knife.

"You are lucky to still have your life Argus, but my grace is not endless… Do not fail me again.”

With gritted teeth, Argus rose up, then left the room, leaving a trail of blood behind him as he walked. He really hated this place.

[Alright, I’ll send over a few tactile sensors. Meanwhile, here, take a look at this information package. There should be enough data on the sensors here for you to install them on your own.] Nagata said over the holoscreen.

Ronin nodded back in appreciation. [Thank you.]

[Sorry for not having a blueprint for them. Blueprints cost way more than their worth, especially for me.] Nagata gave a slight shrug in apology, but to Ronin, the eccentric uncle had already done more than enough.

[No worries. I’ll get those blueprints on my own later. Right now, I just need a defense system for the new ship we’re building.]

Ronin wasn’t in any particular hurry and had plenty of time to look for sensor blueprints on his own. But why wait? He was so close to finishing the ship! He also really wanted to try integrating new sensors into the airlock. In a way, this would be his first modification to a design, ever. He couldn't wait to get started.

Suddenly, Nagata's expression changed, [Ronin? Have you checked the latest update from the trackers you injected into Argus?]

[No…] Ronin mumbled, accessing the site recording the nanites transmissions.

Then he saw it. The conversation between Specter and Argus. He checked the accompanying locational data, to see where the two had been when they talked. A map opened up, showing Argus's position, but… the blinking red dot, representing Argus, showed him as being inside the ground. Wherever Argus was, this was not a place covered by any of the maps he knew. What in the world?

[How do you plan to do this?] Nagata asked.

[Well based on this,] Ronin said, pointing at the virtual map, [I think it’s obvious I’d have to do some scouting first, but before any of that, why do you have access to my site? I'm the only person who's supposed to be able to use it!]

[Before any of that, may I suggest hiring help before going through with this?] Nagata said, smoothly brushing over the issue.

[Hrmh,] Ronin grumbled, he really didn’t like being spied on. I guess he’s called Psyrat for a reason. But what did he say? Hire help? Where was Nagata going with this? Now he was curious, [what do you mean?] Ronin asked.

[Despite your more recent... advantages,] Nagata began, [Specter is in a league of his own, and you’re alone. Why not hire mercenaries? You have the money. I can help you look for a reliable group if you want?]

Ronin thought about it for a moment. There weren’t really any downsides to hiring help. He’d have to keep his identity hidden, and it would cost him, but his recent technique, Presenceless, had been seen through by Argus. What then about Specter, who was said to be even more dangerous? Further, what if he chose to attack Specter's facility directly, and he encountered a security system equal to, or greater than his own?

Yeah, not taking that risk, he thought.

[Alright, you look for a reliable agency while I do the scouting, but don’t hire anyone before I'm done, ok?]

Nagata nodded, then closed the call.

“…”

As Nagata searched for mercenaries, Ronin walked over to the design studio and began going over the airlock design. He had to somehow modify the blueprint to allow for the installation of tactile sensors.

He began by increasing the thickness of the airlock door as well as the floor by a few millimeters. This way, he could install pressure plates without reducing the integrity of the airlock. The extra weight of the door led to its automatic opening and locking mechanism needing a little extra power, but he could easily solve that.

It was the same with the overall balance of the ship, which would have become slightly tilted towards the side due to the extra metal. But in both cases, the changes he’d need to make to the design were so small, he barely had to do anything at all. In fact, if he just left it as it is, the cargo ship, although it wouldn't be running at optimal efficiency, would fly just fine. Cargo ships were built with this kind of redundancy in mind in the first place.

The increased height of the airlock floor however…Yeah, that would cause some problems.

He’d have to change the height of the walls, the elevation of the wires embedded into the walls and the height of the airlock door. There was also the extra wires and electronics needed to run both the sensor system, and the weapon system.

I'm only changing the airlock and it's already getting this complicated… How hard would it be to design a ship from the bottom up?! No wonder there's so few real designers out there!

Ronin could feel his excitement rising! This was exactly the kind of challenge he yearned for. And in the future, there were no limits to how difficult he could make this for himself.

He looked over at Simons who was still busy printing cockpit components. With the continual increase in intelligence he’d been getting from the Kalvrakian Embrace, who knows what he’d be able to make in the future?

As he saw Simons fumbling a component, then begin reprinting it, he thought, we just might be in for the journey of a lifetime buddy.

He dove into the design work, carefully studying the blueprint. Then, after making a few alterations, he plugged the changed design into the simulation program.

The holoscreen lit up as he was asked the question:

[Run simulation? Yes/No]

With a big grin plastered across his face, Ronin answered: "Yes!"