Book 2: Chapter 52: Collider Surf

Book 2: Chapter 52: Collider Surf

USD: A few Days later

Location: 92 Pegasi, A3123Y Central Module

The Tears had been rendered uninhabitable for the duration of its refit, so Alex and Elis, with the help of a lot of drones, had to move all their belongings to the station.

If the Tears had been comfortable with just the two of them, the station felt enormous. Even with the addition of Amy and Logan, there were hundreds of empty rooms in the habitation section. Just finding each other had been a task that had tested Alex as she had to compare plain room numbers with the number she had been given.

Her solution was to use a bucket of red paint on Eliss door and blue paint for her own.

That had gotten her punished, because she forgot to ask first.

Alex stretched, arching her back while lying on one of the stations main mess room sofas. There were thirty of them. A dozen game tables, holotv booths, and other entertainment devices sat unused throughout the room. A bar set across one wall had enough space for a dozen patrons to be drinking or talking or whatever.

There was no one. And no bartender. She had tried to get a drink, but then realized that everything behind the counter was either some sort of concentrated flavor or that terrible tasting thing called alcohol.

She had ended up drinking water.

If it wasnt for the comfy sofa she had found to nap on, shed have questioned the fact that the space was designated recreation. She would have considered wasted space a better description instead.

Maybe it was just that everything was built for so many more people. With only the four of them, there was no avoiding the feeling of emptiness loneliness?This chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.com

Hey, A3123Y, were you lonely? Is that why you built your module with space for so many people?

Alex wasnt sure what prompted the question. Maybe it was because she knew how lonely she had felt when she had been when she woke up.

|Multitudes of faces|

|Cheerful with delight|

|Kebabs and Cake! |

Staring up at the ceiling, Alex frowned. It was sometimes difficult for her to communicate with the subcore.

Would you like an Avatar, A3123Y? We could use the next NAI computronics module for you to have one.

[Notice: Upgrading A3123Y with an Avatar will mean that it will no longer be considered a subcore. It will be granted a measure of independence from our control.]

Well, I wasnt trying to control it, anyway. But if we did that, would the Avatar be A3123Y or something new? Would it have its own, uhh form of you, Nameless? Which one would be in charge?

[Informative: This distinction is imprecise. A ShipCore consists of its Avatar and MainComputer, they are not separate. It is possible for you to designate A3123Y Avatar specifications or allow it to create its own. Our generation suite places Avatar authority above MainComputer authority.]

[Recommendation: Discover the cause for this error and correct it, so future ShipCores have the proper hierarchy of MainComputer>Avatar.]

No, I think having the Avatar in charge is for the best, even if we are a bit divergent and others would be in more harmony, or whatever.

Alex sat up from the sofa, sliding her feet onto the floor and standing up.

What do you think, A3123Y?

|A body built|

|To explore with|

|Great fun awaits|

Well, I guess that settles that. We can allocate the next module to A3123Y.

[Affirmative: Next module will be delivered to A3123Y within the next few days.]

Alex smiled, Great, I cant wait to meet you in person, A3123Y!

|Anticipation, Excitement|

|Jumping in preparation|

|Soon to taste, Kebab and Cake|

USD: A few days later

Location: 92 Pegasi, A3123Y Central Module, Armory

Elis grunted as a drop of oil dripped down from the MK4B suit onto her face. She was slid underneath the suit lying on her back while it was suspended by a mechanical lift. There had been extensive damage to the suit during its use on the Dedia IV, and she was doing her best to refurbish it.

All the tools she needed to do so were present, and A3123Y had set up a smart fabricator for her to use to machine and perfect any replacement parts she needed from a seemingly endless amount of available feedstock.

Combat suit engineering wasnt something she had done extensively before. Shed been trained to provide on-the-spot maintenance, but nothing like refurbishing a suit from the ground up.

Shed been getting a lot of practice doing so since she gained access to the armory on the Tears. Nameless had also provided her with datapad manuals on information she just didnt know. All of that still didnt make her an expert.

Alex shook her head. Eh, surely its not that hard to make them? Nameless, how long would it take to make one for Logan and Amys ship?

[Informative: A batch of 24 standardized 170cm x 100 cm starship grade monitor devices can be produced in 12 minutes. Delivery time would require 4.4 hours and installation by drone service would require approximately 12.3 hours based on the current scan of Badger MKII cockpit.]

See, why not do that?

Yeah, we get a big salary now, but how much would those cost?

Eh. Why would they cost anything?

Logan blinked at her. Because things cost money?

If you want one, just have one made. We can sell the other 23 to people outside of SR if we need cash.

O Ok?

[Notice: Order placed in production queue.]

Alex smiled cheerfully. See, even Nameless agrees. You need an updated monitor!

The ships comm buzzed and Amys voice came through. Hey, are you two on the way? I need a ride back from the AM collider. Its ready to be deployed to the sun after you examine it, and I dont want you to leave me behind.

Logan picked up the radio, which was attached to the comm system by a coiled wire.

Sis, we had some launch trouble. Fixed now and we are on the way.

Dont kill the boss, Logan.

He shook his head. The boss was doing more damage to him; he was sure!

USD: An hour later

Location: 92 Pegasi, Nearby A3123Y Orbital, AM Collider Unit #1

Alex flipped her flight suit into a spin as she turned around, keeping her trajectory moving away from the AM Collider.

She smiled as she took in the sight of the massive construction. It was already as long as A3123Y on its longest axis, stretching several kilometers. One side was covered in solar thermal voltaic collectors that would soak in the yellow sun of 92 Pegasi in a low orbit.

The entire hull was made of extreme heat-resistant ceramic to survive the abuse of the sun. A dedicated D-field modified by Nameless had been designed to help protect the construct from micro-impacts and provide additional protection from harmful radiation.

Kilometers more of radiators would hide in the construct's shadow. Multiple power generation apparatuses filled the hull, designed to convert and direct the excess heat into power. Nothing was perfectly efficient though, and the unused excess heat would be radiated away. There would be a lot of it, considering how close to the sun it would be.

Alex curved her course back toward the collider, this time aiming for the already extended radiators. They were pitch black panels she could only see because of the missing stars they cloaked.

Braking hard before she collided with one, she curved her course to flash down the length of it, laughing the entire time.

Reaching the end, she flipped and repeated the stunt, this time upside down with her EVA helmet only a few meters away from the panel. As she reached the end, she had to strafe to the side to avoid an antenna that stuck out of the main hull.

Alexs helmet chimed and the frightened voice of Amy reached her. Alex! Please dont kill yourself!

Alex let herself drift away from the construct a bit, using her HUD to triangulate Amys position on the station. A rectangle shrank repeatedly in a blinking motion until it highlighted a faraway section in green.

No worries! This is nothing compared to surfing a debris field.

She keyed her flight suit to maximum power and shot off toward the indicated location. It was the mooring arm for ships, which also had a glass annex that could retract into the hull when it wasnt needed.

Why would you fly around a debris field in a suit!?

Alex just laughed, and as she came closer to the section Amy was watching from, the other girls voice became more shrill.

Youre going to crash! Pull away!

Alex almost agreed. She was cutting it very close, but her HUD had morphed to a flight display that was showing her trajectory and prograde vector. A number on the side had a small countdown for a blinking collision alert.

At the last second, she began to brake, with a little added thrust upward to raise and curve her vector. As she came to a stop, her boots touched the glass and she skidded for several meters.

Thankfully, the glass was tough stuff and didnt even scratch, so she definitely wasnt getting yelled at by Nameless this time.

Hey Amy! I made it back! Are you good?

Alex waved down underneath her where she could see Logan and Amy standing looking up at her. Logan started to wave back, but Amy smacked him.

That was dangerous! came the complaint from the black-haired girl.

Alex shook her head and headed for the airlock. It was great! Lets head back, though. Im hungry and you promised to show us how you cook space kebabs.

[Notice: Tears of Fire has completed retrofit. Structural integrity and ship habitability has been completely restored.]

Alex felt like she was on top of the world. Yes!