Ave, peoples,
Some of your guys encouraging comments on previous TFS chapters inspired me to continue with this sci-fi story. However, I don’t have enough time to do everything I would like to every day, so it’s pick-and-choose between projects and activities. Nonetheless, I am attempting to get this back underway. And to show you that I am indeed working on it, I decided to post the work-in-progress Chapter 6.
Enjoy! :-]
Even as he had initiated the hyperenergy charge-up, Robert knew the U.E.S.F. scanners had informed them that The Future Spirit was preparing for a jump.
And all he could do was transfer any amount of spare energy from presently unneeded facilitations to the engines to speed up the process. Attempting a retaliation with weaponry was out of the question—the penetrator torpedoes had done more than damage the thrusters—they had wrecked the energy transistors that ran power from the core to the exterior firing units.
Robert would have utilized their firepower to destroy the docking tubes and save Onvelor from having to… give himself to salvage The Future Spirit’s security. But the L.aE.A.I. Droid hadn’t, and his master had decided a fiery fate in a selfless act of sacrifice; though illogically, he could have survived, somehow.
And Robert was willing to accept an illogicality, if it meant a hope.
Evolve programming made L.aE.A.I. Droids particularly unique from most other robots; L.aE.A.I.’s automatically learned and adapted, could theoretically “live” without any instructions (existing and doing of freewill), and technically possess and express emotion based on their exposure to biological, feeling beings; humans, generally. Though their “attaining of emotion” was a debated subject. It could simply be emulation of feeling, and yet, Robert had seemingly “felt” something before.
Back on Altritious when Onvelor had succeeded in the initial, and extremely important, step of the restoration project, he had brought something back that was thought lost forever. Onvelor had emanated such passionate exuberance then, and in that moment Robert experienced a phenomenon he supposed must have been the concept of “hope”. Now he wished his system would be filled with it once again, but instead, he felt nothing; as he almost always did.
Why hadn’t he reacted when the terminal was decimated, taking his master with it? Onvelor had recovered him from a scrapyard and repaired him from certain and permanent decommission. Robert could not comprehend why such a loss would not affect him…
Unless the override program Onvelor had initiated with that specific code phrase had purposely made it so…
A notification from The Future Spirit’s scanners suddenly drew his attention. Enemy vessels are preparing to fire; signature locked on, batteries trained to discharge. Evasion to prevent destruction is advised.
Confirmed. Replied Robert, noting for himself the imminent barrage of high-intensity laserfire.
Notification: U.E.S.F. Cruiser identified as Beacon of Prosperity is moving into the path of charted hyperspace course… Path obstructed. Hyperspace jump will result in direct, fatal collision with the opposing craft if not aborted.
Confirmed. Robert could visibly understand that the third part of the cruiser trio was attempting to block him through the forward viewport. He had noticed its movement beforehand and calculated that it would, indeed, obstruct The Future Spirit’s planned—and last hope of—a hyperspace course, positioning itself lengthwise like a mobile barrier.
Unfortunately, the engines were not quite prepared for the jump at that point.
Now the only path is through it. Robert mused. How could this starvessel successfully punch through a Cruiser-class ship at lightspeed without disintegrating upon impact?
Thankfully for The Future Spirit, Robert had had a witty master and could artificially compute at a high rate; those factors combined, he developed a rash but plausible course of action to bypass this predicament in about nine seconds.
Status on the Stasis Field Generator charge?
Approximately 90.0% charged and counting.
What energy can be diverted to increase the processes speed?
Internal and external lighting consumes a minimal amount of overall powercore disbursing. However, deactivating all lighting and transferring the energy to the Stasis Field Generator will assist the charge process by several percent.
Confirmed. Deactivate and transfer immediately.
Command received. Enacting now…
All over the entire ship, the lights went out, plunging it into darkness; save for the illumination from the consoles and Robert’s digital, pixelated face. He didn’t need lights, and neither did The Future Spirit at present.
Siphon any energy that currently does not power a necessary function and transfer it to the Generator.
Command received… Life support systems deactivated, minus in Pod Chamber 02… Elevator units deactivated… Internal gravity producers deactivated, minus in the primary M.C.B… Energy transferred.
Status on the Stasis Field Generator charge?
99.5% charged and counting.
…