"The Imperial Down is lowering its shields," Spector announced.
"Understood," Adam replied before remotely piloting Spector Unit 6 towards one of the Imperial Downs hangar bays.
As the Black Knight passed through the blue force field that protected the hangar bay, the Imperial Down's crew members, who had been working, couldn't help but turn and look at the mysterious mech.
Even the other mech pilots who had been on standby in their own machines watched with interest and studied the mech closely as it touched down inside the hangar.
[[Accessing Imperial Down's network.]]
[[Access acquired.]]
[[Attempting to access mainframe.]]
[[Access denied.]]
[[Should I bypass the access requirement by hacking the mainframe?]]
"Spector Unit Six to the bridge, why are we not being allowed access?" Adam asked after he read Spector's messages.
"Stand by," Andria replied before asking, "Bridge to Chief Benson, why hasn't Spector Unit Six been granted mainframe access yet?"
"Because I haven't finished inputting their data into the system and granting them access, they only just came on board for god's sake," Benson replied before adding, "I was in the middle of doing a sweep of one of the traitors' rooms when you suddenly sprung this order on me."
"Well, we're in kind of a hurry here, so if you wouldn't mind working a little faster," Andria replied.
"Keep your tits on, Andria, I'm working as fast as I can here," Benson retorted.
[AlamoMatador4thewin (Earth): I'm no expert, but is it just me or does there seem to be a crazy lack of discipline on this ship?]
[Gunlovergirl (Earth): They certainly don't seem to appreciate the need to respect the chain of command.]
[DeverinianLordMalacoss (Deverinian 9): I do not doubt that there is a respected chain of command; it's just that things tend to be different on a ship. There are times when a ship is away from port for long periods of time and because of that, the only people the crew has to associate with are one another.
Because of this, they naturally gain a more relaxed attitude towards one another and are more open in voicing their opinions.
Though I do admit that a level of professionalism should still remain on a ship and telling your captain to keep your tits on is rather questionable, especially considering the situation they are currently facing.]
[Beczontop (Imperial Down): Andria and Security Chief Benson are sleeping together, so he naturally gets more freedom in how he speaks to her. 😏]
[Tessisdabest (Imperial Down): Becky, really? 😮💨]
[Beczontop (Imperial Down): What? It's not like it's a secret, I mean, the entire ship knows she's using him to satisfy the succuba part of her.]
"Ok, it's done, they should have access now," Chief Benson announced.
[[Attempting to access mainframe.]]
[[Access acquired.]]
[[Scanning stardrive software for anomalies.]]
[[Standby.]]
"Ok, we're in," Adam stated.
"Glad to hear it and welcome aboard," Andria replied.
[AlamoMatador4thewin (Earth): You can definitely see a difference between the streamer's mech and the others in the hangar, even though they're all humanoid shaped.]
[Beinglittleisnotadisadvantage (Strathorp 7): It's not surprising really. While most races do follow the standard humanoid frame for mechs, they all vary in different ways, making it easier to tell them apart.]
[Gunlovergirl (Earth): What sort of ways?]
[Beinglittleisnotadisadvantage (Strathorp 7): Well, the races tend to give their mechs appearances that are similar to their own, or at least certain body parts. For example, the mechs for my Dwarfinians race tend to be smaller in size.]
[DeverinianLordMalacoss (Deverinian 9): Deverinian mechs tend to have tails.]
[NonpareilRaphilia (Aaru): Nonpareilus mechs tend to have wings like Brood mechs, though the wings look different, of course.]
[Tessisdabest (Imperial Down): Solarian mechs tend to have pointed ears.]
[OracleRomy (Elysium): Why mention the Solarian mechs?]
[Tessisdabest (Imperial Down): The streamer has already met the Solarian race once and left a good impression, so it's highly likely he will meet them again. I figured it was good knowledge to have.]
[OracleRomy (Elysium): Makes sense.]
[[Virus detected.]]
"What does the virus do?" Adam asked.
"Virus?" Andria asked in surprise, causing Spector to explain through the internal comm on the bridge as well as in Tessa's quarters.
"The stardrive is offline because one of the Imperial Down's safety protocols is preventing its activation. Said safety protocol monitors the star drive's energy output and prevents activation should it exceed the stipulated safety margins."
"We already know this much; what we want to know is why it's like that," a grumpy-toned female individual interjected over the comm.
"Who are you?" Adam asked.
"Engineering Chief Sidney April."
"Calm down, Sidney, and let's let his AI finish," Andria stated.
"Can't believe we're listening to an AI," Chief April grumbled in an annoyed tone.
"The virus installed in the Imperial Down's stardrive operating system is manipulating the detected energy output number and making it greater than it should be," Spector continued as if unperturbed by Chief April's comments.
"That actually makes sense," Chief April admitted begrudgingly.
"So that's the reason," Andria remarked before asking, "So how do we fix it?"
"You can either perform a full reset of the Imperial Down's mainframe, which will purge the program, or I can purge it from the mainframe for you," Spector replied.
"A full reset of the mainframe would take ten minutes," Chief April stated.
"We'll be dead in ten minutes," Becky retorted.
"I am well aware of that. I was just doing my job and informing the captain of how long a mainframe reset would take," Chief April replied.
"Please have your AI proceed, Mr Spencer," Tessa suddenly said.
"Are you sure, Princess? There's a difference between giving them read-only access to our mainframe and access that actually allows them to change things," Chief Benson warned.
"Thank you for the warning, Security Chief Benson, but I trust Mr Spencer will keep his AI in check and not allow it to access anything it shouldn't," Tessa replied.
"As you wish, princess, I will grant them write access," Chief Benson replied.
[[Write access to mainframe acquired.]]
[[Eliminating virus.]]
"The virus has been eliminated and the stardrive should be functional again in a few seconds," Spector announced.
"It completed the task that quickly?" Chief Benson asked in shock.
"Setting course out of the solar system and the Kemel Galaxy, engaging stardrive," Andria announced before the Imperial Down entered FTL.
"Thank god they made it out," Emma said with a sigh of relief as she looked up at the holographic dodecahedron.
"I feel sorry for the Gargolians, though," Revi said with a sigh.
"It's a shame the NDS mode ran out when it did and they couldn't intercept the solar bomb," Elemence added.
"Why is the giant hologram still active?" Eri asked curiously
"The stream is also active," Revi remarked as she looked at the holographic screen that was hovering above her uniband.
"Do you think he plans to stream the sun going supernova?" Eri asked excitedly.
"Has anything like that ever happened before?" Elemance asked.
"When have you ever known a streamer that was willing to put themselves in danger, let alone stream a sun going supernova and wiping out an entire solar system?" Revi retorted.
"Fair point," Elemence conceded.
"What will the consequences be of an entire solar system being wiped out?" Emma asked.
"Although it may sound harsh, since it's Alpha Kemel's sun in question and the home solar system to the Gargolian race, the overall impact on the universe won't be as damaging, unlike if, say, the Nonpareilus, Deverinians or Solarians were wiped out, since the former are not hugely influential or economically powerful like the latter.
However, it will definitely raise concerns with all the races, and questions will be asked in the Universal Senate about how a hitherto unknown group with access to solar system-level destruction weapons went unnoticed," Revi answered.
"But Adam's ship also apparently has solar bombs," Emma remarked.
"Which is something I seriously need to discuss with him," Revi replied.
"Could it be a new race that we have yet to encounter before now? Eri asked.
"It's possible, since all their ships and mechs shared a similar appearance, meaning they were not a bunch of ships that came together and instead were constructed together," Elemence replied before adding, "But I'm doubtful about them being a new race and am more in favour of the theory that an unknown group or organisation somehow managed to develop without anyone knowing."
"It's impossible that people are entirely unaware of them since they would need the manpower and resources to develop; it's more likely that only a small number of people are aware of their existence and they did a good job up until now at covering their tracks," Revi remarked.
"Agreed, they probably chose the Kemel Galaxy since it sees less traffic than most of the other galaxies, thus making it less likely that they would be discovered," Elemence replied.
Emma was about to ask a question when a bright flash came from the holographic dodecahedron.
The last thing it showed as it faded away was the sun going supernova and releasing a giant sphere of energy in every direction.
[[Stream Ended.]]