Age of Space

Standing in front of a large holoscreen, Ronin once again ran a virtual stress test of the new airlock design.

[Modification equals 96% of original blueprints performance. Expand for more details?]

For a mere airlock to reduce the overall capability of the entire ship by 4% is a bit much... Ronin scratched the back of his head, thinking for a moment, then changed the small projectile based turret he’d been using with a laser-based one instead.

[Modification equals 95 % of original blueprints performance. Expand for more details?]

The performance went down by 1%? Oh right, lasers require more electrical power. Frowning, he began changing out wires. He also had to move around some of the existing wires, but eventually, the airlock design was—for maybe the 100th time today—redesigned and modified. Here goes nothing! He promptly loaded the design into the simulation program and ran the test.

[Modification equals 98% of original blueprints performance. Expand for more details?]

He'd finally gotten something above 96%! Hastily voicing out a “yes!”, he watched as the simulation data began appearing on screen. A wall of text with hundreds of figures intermixed began slowly scrolling past his eyes. Be it various forms of analyses, graphs or stress test models, he ignored them, continuing his search. This was not what he was after.

Finally, half-way down the document, he found what he was looking for and tapped the air. Promptly, the holoscreen changed, and everything else disappeared. Only the data on the laser-based turret was left now:

Double-Barreled Lasgun Turret:

- Estimated reload time: 2 seconds.

- Firing rate: 60 shots per minute.

- Penetration grade: Level 3 delta energy

Modelled performance at - 100%

It would have to do. He could probably increase the overall percentage more. Perhaps by half a percent, from 98% to 98.5%? But after redesigning and virtually debugging the airlock blueprint for who knows how long, he’d had enough.

With a penetration grade of level 3 delta energy, the laser turret was capable of burning through most metals. Even his obscenely expensive Heromaker suit would soon find its armor melted into slag with this gun. Provided it didn’t have the shield active of course.

Losing 2% of overall ship performance in exchange for a security system like this, was well worth it in his eyes. The next thief thinking they can steal from me will be in for a rude awakening, he snickered to himself. If they thought they could steal this cargo ship like they did his Hemsway, he’d welcome them to try!

As for getting a weapons manufacturing permit? The government had practically thrown one at him. Not even a full day had passed before he received the notification. It was quite surprising how fast the government would give out permits when they thought you were a big company.

“I’m pretty much done with the cockpit, you’re the only one left holding us back now,” Simons commented as he walked over.

“Take a look at this.” Ronin gestured at the new design.

“W-we can make, weapons?” Wide eyed, Simons looked back and forth between Ronin and the holoscreen.

“Naturally! Any respectable company can do this,” Ronin bragged. He’d only just gotten the permit today, but Simons didn't need to know that.

“A double barreled lasgun turret…” his thin necked employee murmured.

“We can build it together if you’d like?”

Ronin didn’t mind sharing.

The air around Simons changed as the bald youth seemed to gain a sense of dignity.

“Of course,” Simons said, clearing his throat. “What spaceship designer doesn’t know how to build weapon systems? We can’t let our future customers fly around in space defenseless.”

“That’s the spirit!” Ronin exclaimed, flashing a grin while giving Simons a couple of hearty claps on the shoulder. “I’ll start printing first, while you use the multiscanner. Let’s switch every 30 minutes or so?”

After receiving a nod from Simons in response, they headed over towards the printer.

“…”

The duo busied themselves with the framework of the airlock first, printing out the modified design. This was the easy part, and in short order, the freshly printed pieces were steadily traveling down the conveyor belt. Next came the hydraulics and electronics—Ronin scanned those. Work became a little harder, but they'd both done this kind of printing plenty of times before. After a short couple of hours, those parts were moving around on the conveyor belt as well.

Finally, it was time for the hard part.

“I’ve never made something like this before, not even at home,” Simons muttered as he looked over the laser turret blueprint. It was the only thing left now... the lasgun.

“This is how we learn. Not everything can be learned from someone else, or read in some step-by-step guide,” Ronin commented, shaking his head.

“Yeah, I know that… I just didn’t think it’d happen so soon, you know?”

A short silence followed as they both just stared at the blueprint. Ronin's learning experience had been vastly different from Simons. He'd had no private printer at his home growing up. No father to teach him the ropes. But... he still sort of understood Simons's sentiment... Making weapons, was something else entirely...

"This is really happening, isn't it?" Simons muttered, breaking the silence.

"What are you getting so melodramatic for?" With a smirk, Ronin bumped Simons on the arm, tilting his head slightly before asking, "now what do you say? Ready to make some weapons?”

A decisive glint flashed past Simons's eyes as he nodded. “Yeah, let's do this.”

The lasgun was based on fiber optic technology and rare earth element doping. All the elements required to make this was something any normal factory would naturally have in storage. One would think you'd have to make some kind of special order or acquire some specific material before making a weapon, but nope, besides the permit, there really wasn't much else.

As part after part was printed, one micrometer at a time, the advantages of having a more precise 3-D printer quickly came into play. Some components—such as the fiber optic rod—were extremely demanding on how precise their dimensions had to be. If you were but a micrometer off, you'd have to do it all over again. Still, despite having a good printer, getting the dimensions right, wasn't exactly easy.

The increasingly larger pile of defective parts kept growing as they worked. Fortunately, however, there wasn't actually that much they had to print. The lasgun, at most, couldn't weigh more than a few kilograms. And as time passed, it didn't take long before only the capacitors were left. They'd now reached the dangerous part of the printing process.

Ronin and Simons made sure to have a chamber ready for emergency ejections should one of the capacitors explode. The insulating material in the capacitor had to be perfect. With the amount of current required to fire a high-powered laser, the slightest imperfection would rapidly cause the capacitor to overheat. In other words, BOOM!

Fortunately, despite having a few close calls, they were extremely careful, and no explosions occurred.

After every part was manufactured, Ronin and Simons quickly assembled the framework. With both of them working together, both hydraulics and wires were swiftly fitted as well. The weapons system took a little longer, but not by much. Within half an hour, all that was left to do, was to test the lasgun...

“…”

Hiding behind a cargo container, the two professional designers watched as a small bot began heading towards the airlock.

In between nervous laughs, Simons asked: “Are you sure this is ok? Bots cost money, you know?”

“Hehehe, just wait and watch. Wait… and watch.”

Ronin, just as giddy as Simons, waited in nervous anticipation as the bot got closer and closer to the airlock.

The bot crossed the final few meters up the ramp, then entered. In swift response, the sound of moving gears followed, and the turret descended from the roof, blasting the bot with burning light. The bot made a series of stuttering sounds, then fell over, a large, melted hole appearing through its center mass.

“Dude! That was awesome!” Simons exclaimed, being uncharacteristically informal.

“Right!?” Ronin, while fervently nodding along, began looking around the factory. Now, what else do we have here that we can test?

“Ooh! I know!" He erupted.

"What?" Simons asked, eyes still wide in excitement.

"Let’s have a bot throw something into the airlock!”

Whatever inhibitions his big friend had had before, they were long gone by now, and the duo eagerly started looking for something for a new bot to throw.

“…”

Having, Cough, thoroughly tested the weapons system, it was time to paint the ship. Ronin walked over to the assembler and picked a color. He chose dark green as the base for the ship. Dozens of spray guns activated and began coloring. Next, he chose a grayish colored paint, painting every blocky, rectangular part on the hull that stuck out.

To finish it off, he moved one of the assembler arms to the left side of the ship and wrote, in big black letters: Heidenreich-B786.

Now, there’s only one little thing left to do before its done, he thought.

The next step might be small, but it made up for that with significance. Walking up to the 3-D printer, he printed a mechanically engraved plate in brass. Taking the plate, he walked up the ramp and entered the freshly painted ship. With a few quick steps, he was in the cockpit. Finding a suitable spot under the captain's seat, he brought out a power tool, then drilled the plate in place.

Ronin looked at the words imprinted into the brass plate, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction as he read them.

[Manufacturer: Maximus Solutions, Ronin Maximus & Bartholomew Simons]

Now... it's done.

As for test flying the ship? I might be able to handle a small Hemsway without a license, but this thing?

There was no way he’d risk it. He was a designer, not a pilot, and there were limits to what one could do with only an instruction manual as guidance. He asked Simons to find him a test driver, changed his appearance, then left for district 101. With the ship done, it was time to do some reconnaissance.

After reaching out to his various contacts, Nagata searched everywhere he could think of. Eventually, through the collaboration with an old hacker buddy of his, he’d found a group that fit. The Hammers of Fortune. They were expensive but had a reputation of keeping their word. Unlike other mercenary companies, they didn't flee or abandon jobs, even when the fighting got tough.

Normally they'd do war commissions. Be it sabotaging military installations, surveillance, or taking out high value targets, they did it all. But lately, they’d hit a bit of a dry spot and were resting over at planet Hartheim while waiting for the next war.

It will cost him, but I’ll be damned if I let another family member pass like 3 years ago. If push comes to shove, I’ll pay for it myself, Nagata thought.

He sent them a request, then began arranging for a meeting.

After scouring around district 101 for what must have been over an hour, Ronin finally found the tunnel entrance. It lined up with the path Argus had taken and was heavily guarded, so it was likely the path to the Ghost Butcher.

Activating Presenceless, Ronin ran past the guard posts and entered the tunnel. He grumbled inwardly, by the number of times I’ve been to this district by now, it’s beginning to feel like a second home…

The tunnel was pretty much empty and dark, and had it not been for his enhanced sight, he would have been running blind in this place. As he ran, he looked for traps, signs of surveillance, anything. There was nothing… Only the empty echoes of his own footsteps accompanied him.

Eventually he reached the other side, but aside from various shacks and buildings, there was nothing here either. No people. At least the space feels more open, he thought. Checking the locational data he’d gotten off Argus, he moved along the streets. The eerie silence continued for several minutes as he moved. Then he heard something...

step, step, step...

It was faint, but it sounded like footsteps? He moved closer, quietly following the sounds.

Then he saw it. Ahead, there was a long procession of people, slowly making their way forward.

With care, he snuck up even closer. He could make out more details now. The people making up the procession were all bound and chained. Everyone, besides the guards watching them, were bruised and scarred. All had empty eyes, looking as if they’d lost all hope. Ronin just stared... These people didn't talk, laugh, look around, nothing. They simply walked... slowly, step by step, shuffling their way forward. What in the world?

He followed them.

As the procession trudged along the empty streets, eventually something changed. Guards began appearing. Next, Ronin started noticing turrets and mines. Things were beginning to get a little dicey. He closed his eyes and imagined the foul energy escaping the fractal gate, whispering, “apocalypse,” and the mental image formed. This should distract the guards for a while.

Making it past another couple of buildings, he spotted a large facility. Protected by embankments with heavy lasers installed every 15 meters, this had to be it. The location of this place also fit the data he’d gotten off Argus. He sighed to himself, yeah, it seems hiring mercenaries was the right call all along. There’s no way I can take on something like this alone.