Space Odyssey: Spectre-Chapter 411: Wolfsbane
Jace whistled in appreciation as he watched the ship pull into the maintenance dock. Originally it was just a maintenance dock. But the High Priestess had decided to make use of all of these docks and previously abandoned parts of the station. This was just one of the docks, but the entire area had been turned into a military zone.
Unfortunately they were still having issues with maze-like design. So there was plenty of construction going on around him. Fortunately he was given permission to design his own area for his unit. Just so they could operate as their own independent force. The construction would continue for a few more months. But at the moment he was more focused on the ship that was docking.
Their dock was one of the first ones to undergo the upgrades. So as it stopped the dock systems powered up and several beams of light hit the ship. The ship then began powering off and the doors and hangars on the ship began opening up.
Jace walked around the metal walkway looking along the side of the destroyer-class ship. It was nicknamed the Wolfsbane. A plant that sprouted out of the ground from the blood of the mythical Cerberus when it was exposed to daylight. The lettering was in a translucent purple that he could barely see with the black paint that covered the entire destroyer.
As he walked on the metal walkway he looked down at the hangar area. He could see large amounts of material and gear going into the hangar. Those were being brought on by dockworkers. Most of them were soldiers who were on vacation but needed a bit of bonus in pay. They were bringing everything necessary for the unit onto the ship.
His actual unit was not here yet. In fact there was no one aboard the Wolfsbane either. Well aside from the pilot, but technically the pilot was not a living creature. Actually it would be more accurate to call them a non-organic being.
As he walked through a door a line on the ground that was purple appeared. It was the ground lighting up. He followed it through a few turns and to an elevator. He took the elevator up and arrived on another floor. He then followed for a few more minutes until arriving at the door that slid open.
He smiled as he walked into the bridge of the destroyer. There were stations waiting for people to man them. But at the moment they were being completely run remotely. While the center of the room lacked a table or captain’s chair. Instead, hidden around the room and throughout the entire ship were holographic projectors.
A moment after he walked in, a familiar looking hologram appeared in front of him. "Jace!" She squealed. "You have no idea how excited I am. Now we get to run off and do all sorts of new and interesting things. The best part is that I will be with you most of the way."
"I can see you are excited. Did the High Priestess pass off everything relevant already?" Jace asked as he walked to the center of the room and tapped his foot against the ground. A second later a round pedestal began rising out of the ground.
"Nope, but you already know that because it looks like you are about to upload a secure mission file to Wolfsbane’s private network." Solisa declared with a chuckle as her hologram swam around him. "Major Jace, you are about to access my most sacred of places. Do you have the codeword?"
Jace frowned and tilted his head. "River Styx. Solisa, did you intentionally make that sound dirty?" He waited until the pedestal was fully up before he pulled out a small device. After he spoke the code a slot opened up on the pedestal.
"I did indeed." Solisa answered with a flip in the air. She then looked at him, "Charon."
Jace nodded once he received the appropriate response codeword. "Take a look at this information. No one aside from me and you will be briefed until we are on our way. Now tell me a bit about my new ship."
"Don’t you mean my new destroyer-class space craft? After all, I am the one wearing it like a body. In fact it would be appropriate to say it is an extension of myself. Wait, does that mean you are already inside of me?’ Solisa asked as she made the thinking man pose.
Jace scoffed. "Okay, then the destroyer I was given command of. Now can you tell me all about my new home away from home?" He asked as the device he popped back up without the blinking blue light it had before. He pulled it out and put it in his pocket, it was the new and secure data package. When it had data inside it the light blinked blue, when it was compromised it would blink red occasionally, when the device was modified it would blink green. The data package was something that MILD had recently started using to hand out secure information.
The only reason it had even become possible was because of the new warp slash faster then light engine they had created. They called it the Wave Rider core. Apparently it was an indescribable experience and cut down travel from months to weeks, weeks to days, or even days to hours. He had not heard much else about the new ship core, aside from the fact that Taylor Hielo was the main reason it was created.
He often wondered about his old tech rival and long time friend. But a quick search revealed that she was still aboard the Elysium with the other Spectres. They were still pushing the Crystoph Federation border. It had been more of a struggle on that front since they had been preparing this for so long. But this new core would change the field.
Of course the tech needed to be tested on larger space crafts for long lengths of time. Which was why the Wolfsbane had one. It would be the first in the fleet of ships to have one if everything went well.
Solisa seemed to glow blue for a second before all of the screens in the room froze and she looked at him. "Jace this intel-"
"I know. I will discuss it later. Now the Wolfsbane. Tell me all you can about it." Jace told her as he stretched his body. "We only have so much time before you are filled to the brim with soldiers that- my lords, you are making me do it now."
Solisa seemed to think for a moment as she studied him before she chuckled. "Okay. Then first off you should know all about the new Wave Rider core. I actually used it on the way over. It was phenomenal. It takes a few minutes to spin up but it is completely undetectable."
"Nice, that will be useful for slipping discreetly into enemy space. I assume the reason it is undetectable is that we are moving too fast. But as soon as we enter real space that would likely cause ripples. Is there a way to neutralize it?" Jace asked as the schematics and information appeared in front of him.
"My artificial overlords. It is like you and Chief Engineer Major Hielo are cut from the same cloth. Yes, there is a way. That brings me to the second piece of equipment aboard the Wolfsbane that I already tested. A Graviton core." Solisa pulled up a specific set of information.
"Graviton?" Jace asked with a chuckle. "Very flamboyant."
"Yeah... I think it might just be a temporary name. But it has multiple uses. Its primary is providing gravity to the entire ship. Then there is the gravitational rejection and pull function, like the one you found on that ancient human vessel. Then there is the final use, gravitational camouflage." Solisa declared with pride. "Honestly, that last one I am really proud of. Especially since your adjusted equations were a massive assistance in getting it operational."
"Nice. What about the backups?" Jace asked as he moved the information to the side.
"There are back up gravity generators that we can plug in. In fact they are being moved aboard the Wolfsbane now. There are also spare camouflage generators and the hull of the ship can be electrified or magnetized just like you requested." Solisa explained. "Now as for the ship’s energy source and power-"
"I know." Jace interrupted her. "It is already highly classified but I felt it when I entered the ship. Did you forget what I have primary control over?" He really did not want to talk about something if he could not help it. Honestly thinking about what they did terrified them. Especially since the Xenar clearly failed in their attempt.
"Okay, in that case I will move onto all of the features that would make a tactical difference in battle. Like the weapon systems, torpedo tubes, and various launching points. Would you like me to have someone bring up your official uniform? You will have to get changed to make your announcements and the celebration before we depart the dock." Solisa explained as she swam through the air around him. Pulling up a video of the hangar deck.
Jace sighed at the thought of wearing his new stuffy uniform. He would only wear it for official meetings and stuff if he had to. "Yeah... have someone bring it up."
