[Unfortunately, the Navigation and Control Systems haven’t been translated yet, but I can control them from here, and I have a full bridge suite of data available. Just give me a heading and I will serve as helmsman for the day.] Nico informed General Yaakov.
They had been working on the ship for thirty straight hours, and they were ready to start making way, but the controls on the Colony Ship weren’t usable by just anyone, as the language wasn’t intelligible, so a System Function that could bypass the need to translate was needed.
[Set a course along the Kepler border. Keep an eye out for threats, and those Klem Pods. I think that someone is about to make a big move once the Klem landing has distracted the Emperor. The Sector that the pods are going to land in is the same one that is chasing us, so their defense forces are almost all gone to Tapani right now, and we have no way to know if they are returning since we lost access to Kepler Military Communications.
I have some connections among the unaligned systems, and if you have any more, let me know and we can pick up supplies. Trading some of the destroyed Corvette’s hull sections should be enough credit to at least get us topped off on fresh foods and clothing creation supplies.]
[Setting the course now. Our total travel speed is still unknown and might take some adjustment to get right. It is an alien ship after all.] Nico informed him, then started tapping at the control panel.
As she did, the ship began to come to life, all of the unused systems were brought online and a gentle hissing filled the ship.
“What is that noise?” Max asked, trying to find the source.
“The ship wants the atmosphere balanced in the control area before the engines engage. There is probably an override somewhere, but I haven’t found it yet, so we will be able to take off the suits in a few minutes.” Nico explained.
“I am sure everyone will appreciate being able to move about without suits on. It’s a long walk back to the Dutchman to take a break and remove the helmet.” Max agreed with a sigh of relief.
The three-kilometer hike from the engineering bay to the ship every time he wanted a bite to eat was a pain in the neck, and Max would be more than a little happy not to have to do that again.
“There it is, engineering has an atmosphere, pressure nominal, the default setting is ten percent above standard, but the elemental balance is nearly identical to Kepler Terminus, with its slightly elevated Oxygen levels. You can remove your helmet now, the hallways outside are pressurizing right now, and the doors to unpressurized areas are hard locked.” Nico informed him.
“Oh thank you. It is so good to get the helmet off.” Max said, pressing the button to retract his helmet shell back into the armored suit. At least now his vision wasn’t limited and the claustrophobic dome was gone.
[Were you planning to pressurize the hold with the Dutchman in it any time soon? We are locked in.] Major Miller asked over the radio, sounding more than a little grumpy.
He had been running the logistics for the First Battalion since they arrived, and Max suspected that he hadn’t slept at all in the last thirty hours.
[Go to bed. The ship will be pressurized in a few hours, but first, we are going to try to engage the warp drive.] Max informed him.
[Good idea, I will be in my bunk. If this relic blows up when you try to take it to Warp I would rather not find out.] Major Miller’s nihilism made more than a few Pilots laugh, but he had a point. If you were sleeping when the ship blew up, you would never know it.
It took fifteen minutes to get the ship to agree that it was in a fit state to attempt to power up the engines. They had been inspected for damages inside and out, with over a dozen techs using System Functions to make sure there were no hidden defects over the last day.
The whole engineering bay glowed in bright blue as light flowed through the crystals at the core of the Warp Drive, then the displays showed the familiar graphic of a bubble forming around the hull and the engines shuddered gently before becoming smooth again.
“Well feth, what went wrong? I thought we were on the right path.” Max complained, looking at the glowing engine core, which looked perfectly functional.
“Nothing is wrong. The warp bubble has fully formed, engines are at seventy percent output, and we are sustaining a warp factor of two point five.” Nico shrugged.
“That was a translation? What utter bullshit have the Kepler Drive engineers been doing when this was an option?” Max asked rhetorically, but Nico answered anyhow.
“They used power relays and a phase modifier to engage the bubble, while this system filters everything through those perfectly tuned crystals. I don’t think it was usually this smooth, but the engines are running perfectly today, and better than expected. Even at seventy percent power, which is optimal cruising speed according to the computer, we are twenty-five percent above the previously recorded maximum speed.”
[Well she might not be a warship, but we are at warp, and all systems show stable. Pick us a destination General, I think the crew would appreciate some fresh food and a nice restocking stop.] Max called over the general Channel.
[That had to be the smoothest translation I have ever felt. It was barely a shiver of vibration through the ship as the engines engaged. You two are officially on maintenance duty the next time one of our ships needs engine repairs.] General Yaakov laughed, then sent a destination that was near the border, and only a few days away at their current speed.
[Head there. It is a neutral system, protected by Kepler, and my family has a trading post there. I will send a Cargo requisition, hiring us to move the supplies that we need. Nobody will ever know the difference.] The General informed them, and Nico updated the navigation coordinates.
“Now, how about we find a nice spot to sleep? There are engineering team quarters here, and they should be warmed up and ready by now. I set the temperature high in them so that they would be more comfortable after being in that suit for so long.” Nico told Max with a wink.