HisRigHan Chpt 2

==His Right Hand - Chapter 2 -==
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Unspecified Jump Point3118
Ramus the guide looked at the material before him. Others in the room scoffed at what was presented. Beside him an AI by the name of Aegean projected itself as a simple Word of Blake acolyte. It had presented new information, though limited, on the various oddities of misjumped ships and delayed transmissions. Ramus gave thought to these and the one that intrigued him the most was a misjump that took the crew 200 years to re-emerge. Numbers and calculations went thru his mind. He practically saw the jump eddies and flow in his own mind. Trying to describe it to Aegean though he was at a loss. The best he could do is draw a facsimile on a chalk board that he insisted to always use. Still the AI was puzzled at the meanings presented. Ramus only sighed.
"Enough of this for now. Pull up the Turbline system readings we have."
"As you wish."
The system was holo projected into the middle of the room. The various planets and asteroids that could be recorded circled around in the room. Ramus started to point at individual asteroids and spoke.
"Ok, what you are seeing here, here, and here in red are various asteroids that are high in germanium. Then this band here and here there is even more. The planets are also rich in it. The system is practically draped in it. This is what is causing any kind of misjump into the system. You see hyperspace is a current of eddies and shadows from gravitational pulls that can be accounted for. But with this much concentrated germanium, it changes those rules. Jump cores react by emerging first then what is around them in a split second later. That explains why we saw the shifts in all three JumpShips wrecks there. Aegean has come to grasp these concepts and has came to the same conclusions of how to circumvent this problem. I never told him my theories as to how, but rest assured. We CAN return."
"How is it done?" Came a question from Adept John, one of the other attendees.
"It is rather simple. More germanium is used to reinforce certain components in these sections. Any DropShips will also need this kind of wiring included in their docking collars. The whole idea is to sync the sub hyperspace bubble that forms when entering. There is another idea and that is to suppress it. That I am still working on in my head. The improved super jump drive though might be the key to entering Turbline also. It might be able to jump in before the subspace bubble forms. But that in itself might be a costly one."
"Has there been any other systems like Turbline that have done this to other JumpShips?"
Aegean responded to the question.
"No, nothing of this sort of thing has been recorded in mankinds history. This is the first time something of this nature has occurred."
"How much germanium needs to exist to trigger these misjumps? Could it be possible to mine the system enough that is it made safe."
"It could be done, the factor is pretty high judging from what data was given to me from Corden's dropship, but with sufficient time. The system could be mined to safety. We would be looking at decades. Maybe even a century. What if we were to remove some of the asteroids from Turbline and put them else where. We could mine them without having to modify a massive number of JumpShips. It would speed up the process of being able to jump in there normally. By Blake we could bring them to the colonies for faster processing. BUT... "
John nodded then paused in thought.
"What is the minimum projected amount of these kinds of concentrations of germanium that would continue to make a system dangerous to jump into?"
Aegean projected different factors onto the holovid. Star density, gravity, how many planets there were. A chart and another graph were presented as an answer.
"Just that much? Really, just that? A simple few concentrations of that magnitude? what if we were to introduce a number of these asteroids into another system altogether? Could we in essence make another Turbline like system in this regards?"
"It is very possible. It would take a number of trips for the Erynes to perform and doing so would render the system into..."
The AI and the room went silent. Adept John started cackling...
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Deback looked at his new true arm. A real true arm. He switched the channels in his new true eye to IR and then ultra violet to examine it further. He could make out the electrical signals and powerful musculature in it. He had opted to go with a stronger arm because it would meld with the Se'irim battle armors vibro claw. A powerful combination that he wanted when they returned to Turbline.
"Now raise each finger in order. Then touch your thumb to each finger in series as fast as can."
Deback started the motions remembering what his left hand use to feel and move like. The hand moved with him as if it was his real one.
"Good. Now Deback, pick up this cup."
Deback picked up the cup. He sensed the item was ceramic of some sort and it was... HOT!
He immediately placed it back on the table.
"Good. Now we will try it again, but I want you to think the pain off. Certain biofeed back we can not stop but certain signals can be willed away."
Deback picked up the cup again. It burned. Then he thought of the pain and redirected it in his mind. He thought of his hand being ice and the impulse of wanting to put the cup down went away.
"There. I did it. This is very strange doc."
"It will come in time, Deback. Now squeeze slightly"
Deback willed his hand closed and the ceramic began to flex. He noted he was squeezing about double his strength of what he envisioned with his old hand. Then anger hit him. The loss of his arm and the duplicity of Kendricke. What it had cost him and the life of Corden. The cup shattered sending hot coffee thru out the room. The doc had already anticipated this and was far away. He then started approaching.
"Good, but not so good. I saw you had effective motor control up till the very end. We will have to make an adjustment."
"There is no need. I reflected on a bad memory and became angry. I WILLED my hand to do that."
"Since that is the case. You are now released from my care. Good luck, Deback."
The doc extended his left hand in an offer of a hand shake. Deback took it and shook. He suspected it was another test. He could feel the warmth of the doc's hand. The sweaty palm and the little ridges of his skin. He shook with a moderate grip that would be reflected in any business deal. Both patient and doc grinned and parted ways.
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Deback watched with Zaphkiel as the Manei Domini of this era practiced and drilled in their Celestials. Something was off with how they conducted themselves. The fluidity of control that Corden had wasn't there. They were better than any of the inner sphere forces he had watched in the holovid library but they seemed robotic in nature.
"Impressive isn't it. The Master's vision and blessings given to us and we maintain it for the day The Promise is to be realized."
"They are sub par." Zaphkiel turned immediately to Deback. His eyes in anger and wonder.
"What do you mean they are sub par? They are blessed. They are Manei Domini and they..."
"They are robots. They lack the human enginuity of battle. They thrust at each other as children. Yes, they believe in the visions of Blake and The Master, but they have no fire in them. Corden was a veteran of Tukayyid and had tasted the fires of battle."
Deback started to walk off before Zaphkiel could respond. He approached a suit of Se'irim armor and got in. He fired up the battle armor and all icons came alight. He switched on the communication channels remembering Corden's lessons and spoke.
"This is Deback, the Right Hand of Corden. I claim a match against Adept Omega Frela for practice."
"Deback, I acknowledge you. Welcome to the field."
Deback engaged the armor and signaled the armoring station to switch out his trainers for live ones. He needed to make an example and demonstration of the combat. He was going to target the Archangel in an infernus configuration. He knew the surface like the back of his hand.
On the field he acknowledged Frela and then engaged the Se'irim's stealth armor. He became the hunter.
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Frela looked for the battle armor that hid amongst the rubble and forest. Her multi model senses scanned the different spectrums searching for Deback. She sensed movement in the distance and fired a Heavy PPC into the ground. Toned down particles of lightning struck the area. Nothing moved after that, but no training hit was acknowledged. She moved forward to the area watching for any tell tale signs of movement. When she made it to the spot she saw nothing. Just slightly scorched rocks.
Focusing her multi model senses again she scanned some more. Nothing. It was as if Deback had disappeared...
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Deback remained prone underneath some logs and rubble. He watched as the Archangel approached a spot he had moved from long ago. He had never used the stealth armor part of the Se'irim before. He hadn't needed to on Turbline because there were no electronic enemies. Here though he put his skills as a rider to use and the stealth armor amplified it. Stealth had been the one thing the masters had ingrained into their apprentices due to keeping them hidden from the populace. Then there were the lessons the night haunts had given in hiding. Using natural terrain to mask movement and ambush their prey. To blend in as the terrain itself.
As the Archangel went past him, he waited a few more seconds before he fired the recoilless rifle. Unlike the other training settings on the mechs, his battle armor ones were live. The rounds connected to an old dead tree that was next to the Archangel. The trunk splintered and it started to fall. Reflexivly, Frela had turned to face the unknowns that had popped up on her senses and had been presented with a falling obstacle. With the distraction in hand, Deback moved to behind the Archangel and stopped behind a boulder he had eyed earlier. In his mind, he planned out his next move.
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Frela batted aside the falling tree and damage indicators flared in her mind as the mass chipped off armor on one of the arms. Movement made her turn to a rough patch of ground and her multi model senses flared with a hostile target. Recoilless rifle rounds plinked off the center torso and in kind she unleashed a pair of Snub Nose PPCs and a pair of Light PPCs.
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Deback ducked behind the boulder. In a real life scenario it would have turned into super heated cover and he would have to endured some pain. But the mass of rock held. No myomers froze in place that would have indicated a kill. Only minor simulated damage. He judged from the weapons that fired that Frela had some heat she could endure and might be close to slowing down. He only feared the Heavy PPC that hadn't fired yet and now made his gamble. He broke from cover and ran directly at the Archangel.
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Frela cursed that she hadn't made the kill. Then the Se'irim broke cover and... charged her? The target weaved in a pattern she had not seen before. She brought up the heavy PPC anticipating the shot.
"GOT you!"
Frela fired the Heavy PPC, but the inhibitors determined that being so close to the target was too dangerous and shunted the discharge by dissipating the energy. However, the heat didn't and the cockpit heat spiked. Frela rode out the heat knowing she would be slowed, but the next time she would just fire the paired Snub Nosed PPCs. One hit would end the training run.
The battle armor stopped in place and froze to take a shot. Five trails of smoke broke the 60 meter distance and detonated on the Archangel. Frela didn't sense any damage despite the training hits. Then the cockpit heat spiked and sensors in her head blared. Inferno missiles! Frela pushed her machine to back up but the heat had almost slowed her 'mech to a slow roll. Then she felt the outer skin of her mech crawl as something had attached itself to it. Panic took over and the chill of sin. Fear.
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Deback climbed the Archangel as he had in the past. The surface of the mech was hot to the touch but he pushed on. He had one chance and he made for it. Reaching the center torso he could sense the Archangel was still sluggish. A Heavy PPC barrel scrapped on the surface trying to get him off. He scrambled over it and over the head. There he clamped his vibroclaw in place and carved a downwards hole. He quickly stuck his recoilless rifle barrel into it. But he didn't fire as the chances of taking out the compact engine and gyro were moot. Instead he pivoted down using the hole to keep himself in place and raised his left arm. The vibro claw accelerated down and into the cockpit. Shards of glass flew over Frela and an armored vibrating claw appeared around her neck. Deback had to just squeeze.
Both Manei Domini looked at each other in acknowledgement that the training was over.
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Zaphkiel waited for Deback to arrive back at the hanger. As Deback stomped in, he opened the hatch to the armor and looked at him.
"Remember when I told you that the Manie Domini needed to be out there doing Blake's work? I present this as an example. They are fine pilots but lack the real life skills in the crucible of fire. Their hearts are there but the experience lacks. Corden would have had knocked me off and been in position to stomp on me."
"You are impulsive and arrogant. You are also still young and don't see the long picture. None the less you have proven a point. You have done much for Blake my child and should be recognized as such. I think it is fitting a promotion is required and a title becoming of you. Phantom Adept Beta Deback."
Deback bowed his head then came up.
"As fitting the title of Phantom. You will be blessed with a VDNI."
Deback spine chilled at the thought. He knew the dangers of VDNI and knew the limits. The one thing he was afraid of was that it could cut short his time to see his return to Turbline. Zaphkiel could tell Deback was distressed. Before he could say something Deback responded.
"I thank you, Heres Domini. There is something to be considered. We don't know how long it will take to get back into Turbline and the blessed VDNI carries a heavy toll."
"We have come far Deback. Despite not progressing much on mech technology. We have advanced in cybernetics. The Buffered VDNI that the higher ranked Manei Domini in the past used has brought about some changes to the basic one. We were able to keep the same performance of the old VDNI, but still retain some of the negatives. Feedback still happens when plugged into any vehicle, but when unplugged. The VDNI completely isolates and shuts itself off now. The older Phantoms who have not earned the buffered VDNI have been around for decades with this... improved VDNI. They only start to exhibit mental issues in what would have been regarded as the first signs of mental toll in the first year of the old VDNI. We have been blessed. The buffered VDNI also has been improved to the point that no mental strain happens. Though we haven't been able to observe long term as those that earn the bVDNI are much older and die of old age before anything shows."
"In that case, Heres Domini. I thank you for this advancement."
"You will be under going alot of time spent in the care of the doctors. With that will come much down time and I want you to reflect on the virtue of patience. I on the other hand will consider what can be done to make the Manie Domini more active. Oh and Phantom Adept Omega Frela will be accompanying you during your journey here. She will instruct you in whatever way you need. In turn, show her what experience you gained while on Turbline. I am needed else where and can't accompany you all the time."
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Deback spent months in the care of the ones who would blessed him with the VDNI. Euphoria and pain he had never felt before were ingrained into him. They asked if he wanted a blessed pain shunt, but he always waved aside the recommendation. He wanted the full feel of his body and not the dull feeling he would have the rest of his life if he under took that path. On what he thought was his 18th birthday the blessed VDNI had fully been implanted into him.
During this time Frela had helped him thru the pain of the procedure and brought Deback about another understanding of mankind. Like any young male, the drive to impress a female was strong, and with that drive came the usual success of intimate bonding. With utter fanaticism and stories of the time of liberation of Turbline he had impressed and whooed Frela. Enough that they spent time in each others beds. They had a strange relationship that wasn't unheard of in the ranks, but she had started to regard him as a superior despite her out ranking him. The very fact that Deback had been converted and named by one of the first ones carried weight.
Also, during this time a movement started to grow. Like Zaphkiel had predicted a new faction bubbled up to start what would be called the Cordens. They would be a smaller sect more tied to the Masters than others. But the fact remained that Zaphkiel had to deal with it and what the faction brought was action. They talked about The Word being more proactive and not holed up in the colonies. To deal with it, Zaphkiel had a plan and one that he would use to galvanize the order.
Intel had come in from some Wraiths of a system that was close to the colonies that might have been ignored before. But now likely required attention. A baron pirate resided there and might reveal the colonies if he pushed further outward. Zaphkiel planned to direct a force with Deback in it to strike at this place and liberate the populace. Granted it would reveal the word to these people, but it was so back water that the rumors of Celestial Omnimechs appearing then disappearing would be written off as ghost stories. It would be Deback's first trial by fire in the eyes of everyone.
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Chapter 2