Dyson Sphere IC

[leafy_kille]

The year is 4673 it has been 4 years since the inhabitants of the Dyson Sphere where awoken from their 1000 year cold sleep and things have mostly returned to what could be called normality.
The New Dyson Military reformed only 6 months after the awakening but has yet to venture outside the sphere’s sensor range, Commander Tyne is addressing the crew of the NDM Hercules, a purpose built ship to be the first to explore what lies outside the range of the sensors on the Dyson Sphere.

“Greetings, for some of you this will be the first time you have seen me in person, for others you have already been working with me for a number of years, the purpose of this meeting is to allow you to meet the other members of the crew of the new NDM Hercules that is due to be launched next week and also to issue you with the equipment that you will be using aboard her to allow you some time to familiarise yourself with its use before we launch.”

“After we conclude this meeting today you will all report to the infirmary where you will all be fitted with a military grade PDS (personal defence system) this is an upgraded version of the standard civilian PDS and is much better suited to dealing with weapons fire should you encounter the Gorg or any other hostile forces on your mission. It also provides for protection in the vacuum of space as well as radiation shielding far beyond that of a civilian PDS and gravitational compensation should you find yourself in an environment with an inconveniently low or intolerably high gravity.”
“This will not make you invincible and it runs of your standard 100 point internal power unit, so be careful not to allow it to become depleted, especially in a hostile environment, the nurse will give you the specifics of the system and its operation when it is installed, though I am confident that you will adapt to its use easily as most of its functions are fully automated.”
“I am aware that a few of you have used one of these before so just bear with the formalities.”
“You will also be issued with a standard self loading, semi automatic side arm with recoil suppression and two, 20 shot clips, these are not to be reclaimed at a Synth point and must be carried on your person at all times.”

“after you have been fitted with your military PDS anyone who thinks they are qualified to wield a larger weapon is to report to me and anyone who thinks they can pilot a strike craft is to report to Dave, Dave come and introduce yourself to everyone.” The commander finally steps aside from the podium to allow Dave to step forwards.

Dave leisurely steps onto the podium and begins “hi I’m Dave and I’ll be piloting the Hercules I have been working with the commander for nearly 2 years now, if you have any questions regarding this fine ship I’m the one to ask as when I’m flying her I can feel every bolt, she has 4 class3 strike craft suitable for atmosphere entry and capable of comfortably housing 3 people for anything up to a week or two and up to 20 people at a squeeze, so anyone who thinks they can handle it please come and see me and ill show them to you, if your good I may even let you fly one with me for a trial flight outside the sphere.”

Dave then steps aside and the commander returns to the podium “Ok so are there any questions?”

[Enigma]

"Sir!" The engineer shot up.

"Commander Sara Taylor, engineer. Information about the Hercules' capabilities have been... restricted," she paused, a slight frown on her face the only sign of frustration at being blocked so completely. She continued, her voice slipping into its usual mono-tone, "Please tell us more about the ship and its capabilities."

Sara sat down as abruptly as she sat up, but perched on the edge of her seat, totally focused on the commander. Ready to record.

"Sir!" growled a smaller figure in back, gold fur gleaming in her tropical camo fatigues. "Marine Sergeant Teri Leonidas, Chimera Volunteer Company. We will have more to fight the Gorg with than a handful of strikes and a side arm, surely!" Teri slid into parade-rest rather than sit back down.

[leafy_kille]

"yes Teri I believe you will be wanting to report to me once your military PDS has been installed, I will be waiting for you in the armory where I'm sure we will be able to find a weapon you are trained with."
"As for you Sara, it is up to Dave how much he tels you about the Hercules, you may report to him after you have had your PDS installed." At this point Dave steps up to join the commander and says;
"that is indeed correct if you want to know more about her I'll be happy to give you a guided tour, paperwork is nothing compared to seeing the real thing, in fact I'd like it if everyone came to the hanger bay airlock in sector B7red, I have just granted you clearance to go there at 14:00 once I have dealt with our strike craft pilots, who I will meet in the rec room once you have had your PDS installed."
"any further questions?" the commander chimes in.

[RootZero]

Lieutenant Whitson lounged in her chair, staring at the pilot uninterestedly. She didn't really give a damn about the new ship, except what it represented; a chance to get out and see something new. She wanted to get hold of a real weapon as soon as possible, but evidently she needed her new PDS first. She wondered idly about acquiring a higher capacity power pack, but didn't bother to ask. That was well out of her price range, both in her own savings and in what the military would be willing to spend on her.

Her interest was sparked by the chimera at the back. She'd never worked with one before, but she supposed she'd get the chance to chat when they went to the armoury later. The rest of the announcements drifted past her. One ship was very much like another, after all.

"Any further questions?" Tyne asked. She stayed silent. The sooner they got this over with, the sooner she could get her PDS and new weapons. And maybe a proper job brief. She still wasn't entirely clear what she was doing here, except... where else would she go? A number of officers had made it clear since the awakening that her patchy record was still well known, and Tyne's leadership was widely regarded as the only thing keeping her in line. Maybe it was, she thought, allowing herself a faint smile.

[Enigma]

Teri frowned, but nodded before she sat down. Clearly the Commander was of the "first names" type - just as long as you didn't forget their first names were "Sir".

Had everyone forgotten being asleep for a thousand years? That was a thousand years the Gorg had to develop new weapons and new tactics! For all anyone knew, the Gorg might actually be inside the sphere - it had a surface area of 550 million Earths! And that amount of territory took a long time to check, even with satellites scanning inside and out.

She knew she'd volunteered to be on this crew so as to be one of the first to take a peek at what was out there. And that meant the first to venture away from the shell, where anything could be waiting to take a bite out of their flanks. It wasn't too reassuring to know that right now, in some forgotten corner of the sphere a lab had her custom dna on file, ready to regrow a new body for her if she didn't make it back. For all she knew, it'd happen already. There could be a whole army of Teris crewing a swarm of Hercules class ships, each going out to be bait on the line while Humanity watched from the safety of the sphere.

Maybe that's why she only saw a handful of people here at this briefing? Or were they only doing this in small batches?


Sara waited. As soon as the new pds upgrade was installed, she'd finally get a look at the new ship.

[leafy_kille]

Commander Tyne waits for a few moments longer than strictly necessary before concluding that there where no further questions and directing everyone to the medical facility.

The procedure is surprisingly quick and painless taking only a few minutes and leaving only a slight itching in various locations where the graviton emitters had been installed, it was explained that since the graviton technology in this suit was very new that its use wasn’t automatic since it required quite a substantial amount of power but that it could be activated by simple thought interface much the same as most machinery, or it could be activated vocally for those that prefer not to think to machines. The emergency intervention side of it was however still automatic, so if you find yourself in an environment with gravity that would kill you the graviton emitters would be activated automatically but only sufficiently to stop the gravity from causing you any serious harm. It is also explained to you that this graviton technology can also have combat applications, such as stabilizing weapons, recoil suppression and even simple running and jumping enhancement.

As the procedure is completed and your body is released from the surgical restraining field the nurse hands you a small pamphlet containing various bits of information about your newly upgraded PDA and the expected energy costs of its most commonly used features.



this is a military grade PDS and as such it does not cater for comfort by default, it is practical and if allowing you to get banged about a bit will save some energy then that’s what will happen, though no serious or debilitating injuries will result unless the PDS runs out of energy. It is a smart system and if you are running dangerously low on energy or it knows that it will not get any more for an extended period of time it will permit more harm to come to you in the interests of preserving your life above your health.

Deflecting a shot from a regular solid munitions hand held fire arm: ~ 5 energy/bullet (for a normal 0.22 caliber munition, higher caliber weapons fire will require substantially more energy dependant on the mass and velocity of the projectile)

Providing for movement, air, vacuum protection, temperature, radiation and other hazards of normal space: ~1 energy/minute

Gravity alterations to allow for running up to 5X faster and jumping up to 10X further than normal (with practice): ~10 energy/minute and ~5 energy/jump

Augmented lifting capacity recoil suppression etc. required in lifting and accurately firing a vehicle weapon such as the main cannon from a tank: ~1 energy/10 seconds while carrying/aiming and ~10 energy/shot (note this can be reduced to ~5 energy/shot if you are wiling to be thrown backwards substantially with each shot)

Gravity normalization: ~1 energy/hour for each 0.1G of alteration required (note gravity of between 0.5G and 1.5G is usually ok for normal activity)

Preventing damage from a hand grenade or explosive ordinance at point blank range: ~20-40 energy

Radiation shielding from excessive sunlight or other radiation sources: dependant on intensity but not normally more than 1 energy/hour

Purification of atmosphere to allow for breathing, assuming atmosphere is mostly nitrogen oxygen: ~1 energy/hour

Creation of breathable air for planets with no/negligible oxygen or nitrogen in their atmosphere: ~10 energy/hour

Protection from laser weapons is dependant on the energy used in the shot and is ~ 2X the energy used to fire the shot for a direct hit or ~1 energy for all glancing blows that can be refracted to avoid serious injury

For all explosions, weapons fire or other incidents that can’t be prevented from causing the incapacitation of the user the life of the user will be preserved if possible leaving enough energy to sustain life in the current environment for 1 hour. If it is not possible to do this all energy will be used to preserve the brain case completely depleting all energy.

All PDS can be customized for personal preferences and automated functions, please consult your computer technician for such alterations.
Upgrades can also be made in many areas to increase efficiency in certain tasks or to add additional features, consult your commanding officer for these as most are restricted to highly skilled and experienced military operatives.



almost as soon as you leave the medical facility you get a message on your communicator, that was apparently fitted when you got your PDS installed, from commander Tyne “will all crew trained in heavy fire arms or non standard weapons please report to the armory immediately” followed by another from Dave “will all crew wishing to try out the strike craft please report to the rec room, if you need directions just ask one of the military guards around the base they will be able to provide you with directions.”

[RootZero]

Whitson stretched as she left the facility, then jumped on the spot a little, barely leaving the ground but engaging the PDS to refamiliarise herself with the feel of augmenting her capabilities. The interface between self and machine was very smooth, and she realised for the first time that they were really at the cutting edge here. New ship, new gravitech... new weapons?

As if on cue, the communicator cut into her thoughts.

<Will all crew trained in heavy fire arms or non standard weapons please report to the armory immediately.>

<Deep space, yes!> she thought, then hoped it hadn't been transmitted back. That would just be embarrassing, surely she ought to know how to use a communicator by now.

<Will all crew wishing to try out the strike craft please report to the rec room, if you need directions just ask one of the military guards around the base they will be able to provide you with directions.>

No, boring... she'd played gunner before, but just swinging the things around on drills wasn't her idea of fun. She almost asked directions, but there were only really two directions people were going in, and she could guess at the basic layout of a ship, so how hard could it be to find the armoury?

[Enigma]

Teri gave herself a shake as soon as the door slid shut behind her. Having someone poking about her insides like that made her shiver. Then her communicator gave her a start.

<Will all crew trained in heavy fire arms or non standard weapons please report to the armory immediately.>

Casting her eye about, she sighed and asked, "Eve? How do I get to the Armory from here?"


=============================

Sara paused as she left Medical to mentally scan the cost figures into her memory, then neatly folded the pamphlet and put it in her pocket.

In her head, a wireframe of the local area floated inside her head, showing her current location and the location of the rec room. Without a backward glance, she headed off towards Dave.

[leafy_kille]

#at the rec room#
when Sara enters the rec room Dave is casually siting on one of the chairs looking out the window but he looks round when you come in.
"I was hoping for a larger turnout but your results on the sims are by far the best, so I'm glad you came, your report also said not to get between you and your maintenance, ill be glad to have an engineer on my ship that is capable of getting repairs done no mater what gets in the way."
"we had best wait a little while to see if anyone else turns up, tho there was only one other that scored highly enough to actually be able to fly one of these, they are not small for strike craft, in fact there have been recon ships smaller than these in the past."
"here have a look out the window here," Dave indicates to the window he was looking out of when you first entered "you can see nearly all of the NDM Hercules, ill show you around her after you have had a go in one of the strike craft."

#The NDM Hercules # (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_hhmcXkhQDDY/TDBrRpcL2PI/AAAAAAAAACk/C7lm_TXbl5c/s1600/space+ship.jpg)

#at the armory#
The commander isn't immediately obvious when you arrive at the armory, and the main door into the armory is a huge locked steel bulkhead, the entry room has several seats, and it looks like you are expected to sit and wait for the commander.
Once everyone is seated there is the sound of heavy footsteps from the other side of the door and a large lifting robot operated by the commander opens the huge steel door from the other side "Ok then lets see what you can operate with your nice new grav suits" the commander says jovially, broadcast a bit too loudly from the lifting robot as it beckons you to follow him as he turns and clanks back into the armory proper

The armory as it seems is actually just a small part of this area, the weapons are all behind a large shield generator and there is a huge firring range with targets ranging from tanks, buildings and fighter craft down to human shaped dummies and small paper targets, and some interesting looking apparatus that seems to be some sort of combat training device for hand to hand fighting.
"so what are you trained with?" the commander asks stopping the lifter just outside the shielded.

(note: it is ok to be trained in any form of weaponry, but don't expect to get one if your trained in something like missile launchers!)

[Enigma]

Sara eyed the starship hanging there. It looked bigger than she'd thought it would be. The crew seemed a lot smaller than she expected as well.

"When can I examine the tech manuals?" she asked, turning back to Dave.

===================================

"Uh, M41 Pulse rifles and M56 Smart guns, sir!" Teri replied to the Commander. She was proud that she was just tall enough to use the smart guns. "M83 SADARs when we could get them!"

The armory was massive! She wondered how much she'd be able to carry away from here, then eyed the exoskeleton the Commander was using and wondering if there was another?

[RootZero]

When it came to her turn, Whitson responded with a grin. Enthusiasm over the prospect of getting her hands on a real weapon again showed through in her speech.

"What've you got? I'm most familiar with the D Series Rifles, but I like the Ms better. Also all of the D Series pistols, and the basic missile weapons course, though I've never used one outside training."

She studied the training devices with intent interest, though she was really waiting for the shield to come down and let her at the weapons. Was that an NI port there? It'd make sense for training instructions, certainly.

[leafy_kille]

#at the armory#
"Excellent, I was hoping as much" the commander says from the lifter "that is an excellent selection skills. Wait there a moment and I will get you some suitable weapons to try."
With this the lifter walks up to the shield that goes down momentarily as the lifter pases through it and then immediately comes back on again, the lifter then picks up one large rack in one arm and a large chest in the other before coming out of the shield again in a similar manner with the shield only going down momentarily.
On the rack are several solid munitions rifles that seem similar to the M series rifles that Whitson and Sera are familiar with and this is set down near the firring range with the chest.

Tyne then powers down the lifter and gets out, jumping to the floor from the lifter he says "here are a selection of M series solid munitions rifles, ranging from the long rang snipers to the rapid fire automatics I would like to see your skills on these targets" he indicates some paper targets at varying ranges.
"once you have fired one single clip at the target of your choice you are to then disassemble and perform a full inspection and cleaning of your weapon before reassembling it. once this is done you may then select another weapon and target and repeat the process. once you have demonstrated your skill with the 2 guns that you are best with from this rack your scores will be assessed. You will be issued with a copy of the weapon you display the best skill with provided you manage the exercise satisfactorily."
"the rack is there, I suggest you service the gun before you begin as some have not been used before. you can get ammunition from me when you are ready to begin"

[Enigma]

Teri reached into the trunk and pulled out a M41 Pulse rifle. For a weapon a thousand years old, it looked as new as the day it was manufactured. Or maybe it was new. Without a magazine loaded, the led readout said 00, but she turned away from the others slightly before pulling back the rifle bolt and looking to make sure, then checked underslung grenade launcher and confirmed it was empty before pumping it, making sure it the action was smooth.

Satisfied, she glanced through the case. The case wasn't big enough to hold a M56 smart gun rig - had it been discontinued or was it too big a gun to take on board? Maybe she could pick up a pistol or a combat shotgun instead. The commander surely didn't want her field-stripping a sealed M83 SADAR disposable missile launcher, did he?

Looking through, Teri found a blaster pistol. She'd need to put in a charged magazine, but they were good for a thousand shots. Satisfied for her selection for now, Teri retreated to a work bench, then grabbed a fresh cleaning kit and started in on the pulse rifle. Would they give her live rounds or half-loads for the grenade launcher?

[leafy_kille]

There are indeed no smart guns or disposable missile launchers in the selection of weapons presented.
Commander Tyne watches Teri as she selects the M41 and the charge pistol and gives them a going over to make sure they are in good order, once Teri is satisfied that they work the commander gives Teri a single clip for each explaining that each clip contains only 20 shots.
"I would also like to see your performance with the slung under grenade launcher on the M41 so I'm going to issue you with one single grenade which you can use on any of the targets in the armory that you think will best demonstrate its effectiveness, choose carefully, as your target selection is just as important as your ability to fire it correctly and accurately" Tyne says handing Teri the 2 clips and the single grenade.

#at the rec room#

Dave thinks about Sara's request for a moment "I'll get you one made, though I think it will take you a while to study it, this is no small ship" Dave says walking over to a Synth Point and plugging in his NI jack, presumably in order to give it some sort of authentication code.
A few moments later the Synth Point has produced a data pad which Dave then hands to Sara.
"you can read that when we are done here, as I'm sure you would like to see the real thing as well as just read the manuals!"

at this point Bernard finally arrives "sorry I'm a bit late guys I hope I haven't missed anything"
"don't worry I haven't started the sims yet, and once we are done with the sims I'll be taking you on a tour of the vessel, hopefully Tyne will have finished with the issuing of weapons and such to the others by then and we will all be able to have a look round together."

"The simulator for the strike craft is just down here" Dave leads you out of the rec room and down a corridor to a secure room that he opens simply by touching the PC panel beside the door.
The room you step into is a fully holographic environment, the amount of power this requires must be staggering but at present it is off so it is just a blank room.
"Run NDM Viper 025" Dave declares and the Viper strike craft appears along with a mock up of the docking bay of the NDM Hercules
NDM Viper (http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs18/f/2007/217/d/0/SHIP_Design_by_Miggs69.jpg)

[RootZero]

Whitson considered the guns carefully, picking several up and checking the action. She'd not had the opportunity to handle any of these in a while, so she took her time. Her first consideration was a slender sniper. The precise sights and memories of happy shots past called to her, but it wasn't exactly the kind of weapon you carried for general use.

Next, she picked up an M41, like the cat-person was using beside her. If she was going to get intimate with one particular weapon, she might as well be using the same as at least one other person. She was no stranger with having to borrow ammo or even guns from her peers. The grenade launcher was slightly off-putting, as she wasn't even sure what the last time she'd used one was. She briefly considered the M40, virtually identical but without the launcher, but decided against it. In the end, she picked up an automatic and brought it back over to the Commander to get ammunition. She'd hold off her decision on the second gun until she'd got into the feel of this one.

[leafy_kille]

#at the armory#
Tyne watches as Whitson examines the guns noting that she considers the older M40 as well as the M41 before finally selecting the M41.
"I see you are not a fan of the grenade launcher on the M41, there is the new M43 if you would like to try something without a grenade launcher, it still uses the same ammunition but it has a scope and the option for single shot, burst fire or fully automatic, you should find it a notable improvement on the M40 which is a bit out of date. or are you happy to stick to the M41? it is a good gun made all the more popular by its grenade launcher, but it isn't to everyones taste, this is why the M43 was made."

[Enigma]

#at the armory#


Commander Tyne gives Teri a single clip for each explaining that each clip contains only 20 shots.
"I would also like to see your performance with the slung under grenade launcher on the M41 so I'm going to issue you with one single grenade which you can use on any of the targets in the armory that you think will best demonstrate its effectiveness, choose carefully, as your target selection is just as important as your ability to fire it correctly and accurately" Tyne says handing Teri the 2 clips and the single grenade.

"Yes sir," Teri nods, tucking each magazine and the single grenade carefully under her belt, then crossed over to the firing line where she selected the first booth, laying both weapons down on opposite sides of the shelf.

She caught Tyne's comments to Whitson and grinned slightly. She didn't trust the Navy with grenades either.

"Shooter, eyes and ears on!" announced the RSO-bot, sliding on its overhead rail behind her.
"Aye aye, Sir!"

The synth point built into the booth shimmered and produced in the bin a pair of safety glasses and hearing protection made to fit her, as well as a paper target. (-3 ep)

After donning her safety gear, she took the paper target and stretched to reach the little hooks, then pressed the little button that sent it whipping to the far end of the range.

Some ranges used laser sensors but they were not the same as live firing against paper targets.

“Does the shooter understand the course of fire?” the RSO-bot behind her asked.
"Sir, I understand the course of fire!"
“The shooter understands the course of fire. The range is clear. Shooter, load and make ready!” A tiny red light on the shelf winked out as a yellow one turned on.

Taking a stance, she picked up the pistol in her right hand, checking the safety was on, then with her left carefully pulled out the magazine for the pulse pistol and loaded it. The tiny led display just down from the emitter lit up, scrolling up to '020'.

“Is the shooter ready?”
"Aye aye, sir!"
“Shooter ready…Standby!”

She paused, waiting. The yellow light was blinking. Then with a loud beep it turned green.

Teri took aim at the target and thumbed the safety off, then gently squeezed the trigger. The pulse pistol fired, a small black dot burned into the paper target high and to the right.

Her lip curled. She adjusted and the next nine shots burned nine holes in the center of mass.

Teri paused, lowering the muzzle slightly.

“If the shooter is finished...?" asked the RSO-bot.
"I want to change targets," she replied.
"Safety and unload the weapon." The yellow light was blinking again.

Thumbing the safety back on, she pressed the magazine release stud with her gun thumb. The magazine dropped slightly into the palm of her free hand. She gripped it and slid it out, then laid it on the bench in front of her.

"Hammer down!"
Pointing the pistol at the target, she squeezed the trigger. Nothing happened.
"Holster a safe weapon," the RSO-bot announced.
"Aye aye, sir!" she said, putting the pulse pistol back on the edge of the shelf and stepping back.
“The range is safe, you may go downrange to score, reset and tape targets,” RSO-bot announced, the light turning red.

Teri nodded. She pressed the button to bring her paper target back. A new target was already forming in the bin of the synth point. (-1 ep)

Her second round of ten shots were rapid fire, all center of mass.

Teri then switched targets and weapons, repeating her performance with the M41A. Two shots were a little low, but acceptable. (-2 ep)

For the grenade shot, lane barriers crackled to life as a bigger flat target slid up. The grenade took it out, slightly low and to the left of center. (-2ep, 92 ep remaining)

#at the rec room#


"Run NDM Viper 025" Dave declares and the Viper strike craft appears along with a mock up of the docking bay of the NDM Hercules
NDM Viper (http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs18/f/2007/217/d/0/SHIP_Design_by_Miggs69.jpg)

"This looks like it's only built for two," Sara frowned. "Is there a shuttle or does this have belly clamps for a pod?

She didn't like pods, she remembered. She wasn't sure why now. Pods were efficient, allowing for some versatility. Perhaps it was the stark utility of the pods, squarish modified modular cargo containers, robbing the trans-atmospheric craft she was looking at of a certain amount of grace.

[leafy_kille]

#at the armory#
Tyne watches carefully as Teri meticulously conducts her target practice with each weapon, "well above average for such range." the commander comments as Teri finally exits the booth "your skills are impressive, though I was hoping that you would fire the grenade at multiple targets, as that is after all their primary use. I have decided to issue you with the M41 and one full clip of 50 shots for it, however I'm not going to issue you with any grenades for it, and I'm also going to give you the option to take the charge pistol instead of your standard side arm. Much as it has less stopping power you are remarkably accurate with it and it is a highly efficient weapon when used accurately.

#at the Viper simulation room#

"you would be surprised, its actually built for 3, it is pretty roomy inside, and 3 can live in one for up to a week pretty comfortably, but yes for larger items or more passengers it does indeed have a pod, however thanks to its graviton design it can pick up just about anything that isn't too big, it is designed to be able to lift off and leave orbit carrying anything up to a 10 tonne payload, though when its fully laden its range and maneuverability are severely reduced. This will be an exercise in simple controls and basic maneuvering first so if you would both like to step inside."
As Dave finishes explaining this a ladder extends from one side of the craft allowing access, and as Dave said it is surprisingly spacious inside with a Synth point, a reclamation unit bunk beds for 2 to sleep at any one time. the piloting is done through the full sensory interface chair in the middle of the main room which allows you to see, hear, smell, etc. everything the ships sensors can detect at the same time as controlling the ship with your thoughts.
"Ok your up first Sara ill set the simulation for basic flight training and you can begin when you are ready"
The view outside the ship changes from the inside of the hanger to deep space with a target ring not far in front of the ship.
"your first task is to power her up and fly through that ring ahead of you"

[Enigma]

#at the armory#
"your skills are impressive, though I was hoping that you would fire the grenade at multiple targets, as that is after all their primary use..."
Teri's face remained locked but her whiskers bristled.

"...I have decided to issue you with the M41 and one full clip of 50 shots for it, however I'm not going to issue you with any grenades for it, and I'm also going to give you the option to take the charge pistol instead of your standard side arm. Much as it has less stopping power you are remarkably accurate with it and it is a highly efficient weapon when used accurately."

"Sir!" Teri scowled, coming to attention. "The range's lane barriers should have reported shrapnel hits for both the kill and maim zones. The grenade launcher lets us hit a target farther and more precisely, be it a bunker, door or mob of charging Grog who might run past a thrown hand grenade!"

She could almost feel the spirit of her DI grinning, wherever she was.

"While the bucket patrol can scoop us up and pour us into new bodies, if I'm going to be running into any enemy mobs, doors, bunkers or airlocks, I would hope I'm carrying an M41A with an HE Duo round chambered for them to do that, sir!"

#at the Viper simulation room#


"Ok your up first Sara ill set the simulation for basic flight training and you can begin when you are ready"
The view outside the ship changes from the inside of the hanger to deep space with a target ring not far in front of the ship.
"your first task is to power her up and fly through that ring ahead of you."
Sara had taking the basic piloting course at the academy, what the Command jocks mocked as "Flying for Engineers." Engineers were expected to understand how systems came together and to fly shuttles. This was not a shuttle, and a ring was not a part of the standard simulation - marker buoys were. This was a precision flying test.

Sara powered up the board and stared at it for a few moments. It was set up in a standard configuration. This would never do. She unlocked the dynamic board and re-arranged the control and readout apps, removing some to replace with better engineering apps. She also disabled the foot controls, spawning new control apps to replace them on the board.

"Eve, record and lock this configuration," she instructed.

Now she had her board settled, the checklist came up in her head.

"Primary generator start. Secondary generator start," she said aloud as she pressed the command buttons. Engineering readouts began flickering and rising as batteries dipped then steadied as the generators came online.

"Green line. Confirm all hatches and ports sealed."

Her eyes ran over the life support readouts. O2 at 20%, C02 less than 1 ppm, holding steady.

With seals confirmed, she ran her eyes over the entire board, comparing the readings to the checklists in her head.

"Main engines start," she ordered, pressing the buttons. The simulation "powered up" as the engines came online.

She glanced at the situation board and nodded. All green. IFF squawking, running lights on, inertial dampers set, no gravity detected, landing gear retracted. The simulation was showing open space, the only nearby object the simulated ring floating ahead. Checklist completed.

"Board is green, request permission to proceed," she requested formally.

"Permission granted," the simulation responded.

"Distance to target - twenty five meters. Engaging maneuvering thrusters."

Rear jets fired, gently pushing the simulation forward while the side thrusters aligned the small craft to the center of the ring, allowing the simulation to past through it.

Her eyes shifted to the forward readout, awaiting the next obstacle.

[RootZero]

"I see you are not a fan of the grenade launcher on the M41, there is the new M43 if you would like to try something without a grenade launcher, it still uses the same ammunition but it has a scope and the option for single shot, burst fire or fully automatic, you should find it a notable improvement on the M40 which is a bit out of date. or are you happy to stick to the M41? it is a good gun made all the more popular by its grenade launcher, but it isn't to everyones taste, this is why the M43 was made."

"Thanks sir, that sounds more like my thing. I'll give it a good go."

Whitson found the suggested gun amongst the others, and accepted a clip of ammo from Tyne with a smile, then sauntered over to the nearest free booth.

She almost totally ignored her bot, not defying its instructions as such, but not responding verbally either. She hated the little electronic, artificial semi-intelligence controlled things with a passion, and flatly refused to treat them like real commanding officers.

Nevertheless, she kitted up in goggles and earmuffs before loading the gun, as she wasn't an idiot. She couldn't remember how many times she'd asked the synth points for this kit, and her personal snazzy black-and-blue design for the goggles was firmly imprinted on her mind ready for synthesising.

She hooked five targets up side by side before sending them whizzing off to the very end of the range, then clicked the M43 over to single fire, flicking the scope up on the top. She took careful aim on the first target, then moved to the second briefly, confirming in her mind the distance between them.

A breath in, a breath out, and she was ready to fire. The five shots went off one after the other, each following on from the one before almost as soon as she heard the click indicating the next round was ready to fire.

When all five shots were done, she patted the barrel of the gun absently, frowning slightly at the targets. The second shot had barely clipped the edge of the target and the third was off centre, though the other three were neat, clean shots. She was out of practice, it seemed.

Barely paying attention to the irritated RSO bot, she called the targets back and hooked up a new one. A brief bout of fiddling with the controls in the booth yielded her a target about three quarters of the way down the range, moving slowly back and forth in the narrow confines. She moved the slider on the side of the gun over to fully automatic, and pumped several rounds into the target, concentrated in a fairly small ring about the centre of mass.

The counter indicated she still had six rounds when she paused, so she switched back to single shot, and took careful aim, smirking. Two shots went high of the centre, one to either side, and the other four marked out a slightly wonky line below the main cluster of holes.

Whitson smiled to herself, clicking the empty clip out of the rifle and squeezing the trigger briefly with the muzzle pointed down the range, though not bothering to aim. Once dismissed by the bot, she exited the booth, returning to Commander Tyne for feedback, and with a question.

"Sir, do you have any reccommendations for a handgun? This is a lovely gun, but she's not going to be suitable for all situations, and it's been a long time since I was given a choice of pistol, and the Ds are a little outdated now, aren't they?"

(ep remaining : 91)

[leafy_kille]

#at the armory#

Tyne watches as Whitson simply loads the gun without checking it, then proceeds to almost totally ignore the RSO bot and finishes her last few shots by drawing a fairly good smiley on the target and then doesn't bother to service it afterwards.
"I guess I wasn't expecting orthodox from you, but a smiley on the target is a bit too much, you can stick with your standard side arm, it is functional and cheap, you can upgrade it to something else later if you want but I don't think I want you playing about with live ammunition anymore, I will issue you with an M43 but you are not going to get any munitions for it until you go on a mission that may require you to use it." The commander says, less than amused by your disregard for procedure, he then turns to Teri.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but there will be no 'bucket patrol' this is the only ship of this specification that we can produce, and we will be the only crew to leave the sensor range of the sphere for at least the next decade. We simply don't have the energy to produce another ship with a gate drive that is needed for long range missions." Tyne says looking very serious.
"we have no idea what is out there but rest assured you will be armed appropriately if we are going to be assaulting any enemy positions, but this will suffice for now as you certainly wont be needing any grenades for on board the ship, even if it does get boarded a grenade would not be a very good idea on the ship as it would likely do serious damage to it. So do you want to keep the charge pistol or your standard side arm?"

#at the Viper simulation room#

"That was very nice, at least you remember your basic flight training, lets see if you can handle something a bit harder, load course 05." Dave says and the ring that you just passed through vanishes to be replaced by a dozen similar but rather larger rings in a roughly oval pathway.
"this is to see how you can handle the ship at speed, you will be timed from when you pass through the first ring, i expect you to complete 3 laps in under 5 minutes without missing a single ring, and if you can manage it in under 3 minutes in less than 3 attempts ill let you try a combat simulation after you have done the take off and docking sequences that i have to make sure you can complete."

[Enigma]

#at the armory#
The commander then turns to Teri.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but there will be no 'bucket patrol' this is the only ship of this specification that we can produce, and we will be the only crew to leave the sensor range of the sphere for at least the next decade. We simply don't have the energy to produce another ship with a gate drive that is needed for long range missions." Tyne says looking very serious.
"we have no idea what is out there but rest assured you will be armed appropriately if we are going to be assaulting any enemy positions, but this will suffice for now as you certainly wont be needing any grenades for on board the ship, even if it does get boarded a grenade would not be a very good idea on the ship as it would likely do serious damage to it. So do you want to keep the charge pistol or your standard side arm?"

Teri sighed silently. Officers. They had no clue. After a firefight, the surviving juniors always got stuck with Bucket Patrol, the grizzly job of collecting the brain cases of the fallen. 'No man left behind' was never truer.

"Commander, I will take the standard side arm, sir!" she said, the tips of her claws digging into her palms. "Will the shotgun still be a part of our T/O&E, sir?"


#at the Viper simulation room#

"That was very nice, at least you remember your basic flight training, lets see if you can handle something a bit harder, load course 05." Dave says and the ring that you just passed through vanishes to be replaced by a dozen similar but rather larger rings in a roughly oval pathway.
"this is to see how you can handle the ship at speed, you will be timed from when you pass through the first ring, i expect you to complete 3 laps in under 5 minutes without missing a single ring, and if you can manage it in under 3 minutes in less than 3 attempts ill let you try a combat simulation after you have done the take off and docking sequences that i have to make sure you can complete."

Sara nodded and started her run. Her first lap was longest, taking a minute twenty to complete. The second lap was easier, taking a minute seven, then the third lap was 58 seconds. Her jaw tensed, but she she continued to the docking/launch drills in textbook fashion.

[leafy_kille]

#at the Viper simulation room#

"very nice, just under a minute on your final lap" Dave comments as you finish the final lap.
The launch and landing sequences are dull and routine and on the whole very easy, tho atmosphere entry was made a bit more challenging by having to do it in heavy fog.

"Ok you pass as a basic pilot, now its your turn Bernard"
Bernard waits for you to exit the pilot chair before getting in fasting his NI jack to the chair and laying back.
Bernard then totally rearranges the controls and readouts back to something very close to how they where originally.
Having done a full piloting course Bernard breezes through the exercises managing to get just under 3 minutes on his first attempt.
"so now you are both familiar with this craft, how about some simulated combat? i haven't made any automated combat programs for this so we will be facing each other. I think an asteroid belt should provide adequate cover and obstacles, now remember these things do have shields so they can take quite a beating but as with your own shields the less the shield has to do to prevent damage to the ship the less energy it will need to expend, the main weapon is the front mounted mini-gun, if you can keep it trained on a target at close to medium range for any length of time it will rapidly tear it apart as it fires explosive rounds, but you need to be careful with your ammo as there is only enough ammunition for 30 seconds of sustained fire before it needs to be reloaded, and since your flying the ship that wont be possible, but that shouldn't be a problem provided you are not wasteful of your ammo you can easily do enough damage to take out both other ships with even 1/10th of that ammunition.
In addition the ship also has 4 long range missiles 2 on each wing, these are homing, but are not ideal for use against smaller craft as they can usually avoid them with a bit of fancy flying even in open space.
the simulator can only manage 2 at a time so i think you two should have a go first, ill play the winner!" Dave then looks at the two of you.
"yea sure sounds like fun" Bernard replies

[Enigma]

Sara exited the trainer. The battle had been illuminating. She knew the technical specs, the manuals on small craft combat, but Bernard had been better.

It had not been all bad. She had managed to evade him in the asteroid field and score a hit.

[leafy_kille]

As the last few days before take off drag on, Commander Tyne eventually gives permission for some real flights in the Viper around the outside of the sphere ahead of the launch of the MDM Hercules and even lets Whitson practice with live ammunition again, tho he still refuses to allow her to carry any ammunition beyond the clip for her side arm.

Soon enough the big day arrives, the NDM Hercules is ready for launch, the regular military crew get on board along with a few specialists and Eva turns up in person, to bare witness to the launch.

Dave sits down in his pilot chair and plugs in his NI jack taking control over the ship he announces over the internal coms, that are also broadcasting to some speakers to address the crowds that have gathered to watch this event,
"The Hercules is prepared, I have green lights across the board, bringing primary engines online"
With this the huge ship comes to life and the gravity drives receive power,shifting very slightly as the strain on the mooring clamps is removed,
"decoupling mooring clamps, gate drive charging, now reading 35%" and the ship moves very slowly a few centimeters from its moorings which then retract leaving the huge ship hanging there in the dry dock with little more than a few meters clearance on either side.

"gate drive now at 95% preparing to initiate gate, depressurize the dry dock"
The air in the dry dock is pumped out and as the gate drive finally reaches full power the complex gate mechanism produces a two dimensional circle in front of the Hercules revealing open space on the other side, the vacume on the other side draws out the last of the air in the dry dock puling the ship gently through the opening with no need to fire its thrusters, it takes a good 30 seconds for the whole of the Hercules to pass through the gate which promptly vanishes once the whole ship is through, leaving the dry dock completely empty and the Hercules and its crew in high orbit of the Dyson Sphere.

The transition was incredibly smooth, if you were not looking out of one of the windows you could swear that the ship never moved.
Dave then again addresses the ship and the crowds around the now empty dry dock;
"gate successful, we have achieved a stable orbit around the Dyson Sphere and will now prepare for the much larger jump to Cygnis IV to begin our mission, Hercules over and out." and with this Dave disconnected the feed to the crowds.
<I hate public addresses like that it feels so pompous and unnecessary> Dave thought to no one in particular, to his surprise Eva responded <you did a good job!>
<Eva! What are you doing here? and more importantly, if you are here who is maintaining the systems on the Dyson Sphere?>
<Don't worry, I have created an autonomous AI to maintain the Dyson Sphere systems, I have decided to come with you as I have never seen anything beyond the Dyson Sphere>
<You seriously created a new AI just like that?>
<Actually I have been working on it for months, but it isn't fully sentient yet, but in time it will become truly sentient just like me.>
<I hope you know thats highly illegal, the commander would blow a fuse if he knew you where here!>
<Your not going to tell him are you?>
<Don't worry your secret is safe with me at least for now, but I'm guessing you where pretty sure I'd say that or you wouldn't have taken the risk of revealing yourself to me, tho the rest of the crew will need to know about you if you are going to help on the ship>
<Yes that is true but I will reveal myself to them at a time of my choosing if you don't mind.>

Commander Tyne then makes an address over the ship coms "Congratulations people, we are now in deep space, it will take a few hours to charge the gate drive for our trip to Cygnis IV so if you would like to relax and enjoy yourselves for a bit you have all received a bonus for a job well done."
(all receive 25 energy into your personal account)