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Vlasa activated the magnifying scope in his eye implant as he studied the control circuit from the captured pirate ship’s main cannon. He looked at each component carefully, categorizing them and building a mental circuit diagram in his head. When he was sure each part had a legitimate function, and therefore was not a dummy component containing malware or a rogue AI, he reinstalled the circuit and returned his eye to a standard focal length.
“I believe we can do it, Captain.” He said, standing back up from the open service hatch.
“How long?” Ariana asked, a small glint in her eye.
“A couple of hours. Detaching the firing chamber and moving it over to Seraph is pretty simple. This gun is an aftermarket upgrade, so it isn’t fully integrated. Moving the capacitors and internal controls will take the longest.” Vlasa explained, “But if we just take the firing chamber and swap it out for our current cannon, it would be much simpler.”
“Yeah, but then we’d still only have one gun.” Ariana said with a dismissive wave of her hand, “We bring everything.”
“We don’t have the reactor capacity to charge up both of them, you know.”
“Can’t we strip this ship's reactor?”
“Not if we want to bring her back to the Hub to sell. She’ll need her reactor intact.” Vlasa said, and held up a hand to forestall the next comment. “And no, stripping it when we get there wouldn’t be a good idea either. First, a jury-rigged reactor upgrade is always iffy. Second, you’d have to pay docking fees on two ships for the week or two it would take to do it. And third, do you really think anyone is going to buy a ship without a working reactor?”
Ariana frowned and her voice was defensive, “Seraph didn’t have a working reactor when I bought her.”
“That’s because you’re far too trusting.”
“As a veteran of the AI Wars, if I were more suspicious by nature, I never would have let an Echanic near my engine room.”
Vlasa shrugged, “While that would have affected me personally, it would have been a far more rational decision.”
“Just move the gun.” Ariana said with a sigh. “What about the shields? Any chance we can strip that down and upgrade our own?”
“Maybe. Again, we’d run into reactor capacity issues, but we can probably strip the generators. It might be a bit of a mess, but could potentially boost us to a class 2. I’d have to talk with Squee. He does seem to know his way around a shield system.”
“Another hopeless alien a paranoid human never would have trusted,” Ariana said with a smirk.
“I will say I told you so one day.”
“Nah, when my naivety catches up with me, it will kill you too.”
Vlasa cocked his head and pondered Ariana for a long moment, “I honestly have no response to that.”
Ariana gave him a wink, and then left the room. Vlasa filed her response as something unique to her, rather than typical human behavior. He then left the weapon control room and went to find Squee.
As expected, he found the big Rokma in the shield control room. Maintenance hatches were open, and parts lay scattered all over the room. The disorganization brought up feelings of extreme frustration in Vlasa.
In addition to Squee, Olivia sat in one corner of the room, half watching Squee work, half staring at the floor. The complete silence out of the girl stood out as a variation in her normal behavior. But she was not interfering with his assignment, so he dismissed her from his thoughts.
“The captain would like an assessment on whether we can strip their shield system for upgrades,” Vlasa said.
Squee looked up from the component he was currently tinkering with, “What does it look like I am doing?”
“Creating a pile of potentially hazardous debris.”
“I am organizing the parts based on usage,” Squee said.
“Your manner of organization eludes me.”
“Olivia understands it. Ask her to explain it to you. I am working.”
“Umm...” Olivia said casting a glance between Vlasa and Squee.
“Never mind that.” Vlasa said, “Just tell me if you think we can make a compatible upgrade to our systems? Otherwise, I could use your help transferring the cannon.”
“Probably.”
“Good enough.” Vlasa accepted, “Olivia, come with me. You can help me with the cannon.”
Vlasa turned, grateful to leave the disaster of a room behind and started back toward the weapon control room. Olivia followed behind at a slow pace, still quiet. On the way, they came across Noah and Javi.
With his finger waving toward Javi’s eyestalk, Noah looked visibly irritated. His voice was low and inaudible from this distance. Vlasa did not hesitate to snap, “Noah, stop that at once. Javi is our passenger. Show some respect.”
Noah turned and cast a withering look toward Vlasa, “This doesn’t concern you metal man.”
“The well being of our passenger concerns us all. And I am neither a man nor metal. Metal accounts for only fifteen point four percent of my body by mass. The vast majority of my mass is still water, like most organic life forms.”
“Whatever. But this is between Javi and me.”
“Really, Vlasa, it is fine. Just a minor disagreement between Mr. Ramirez and myself. Nothing of consequence.” Javi said forcing a smile on to his face.
Vlasa frowned and continued to fix his gaze on Noah. After a few defiant seconds, Noah broke eye contact. Satisfied, Vlasa said, “Very well, if this heathen has not inconvenienced you, then so be it. Come along Noah, we have work to do.”
“I already have my own work. I’m not your monkey.”
“You’ll enjoy this work. It involves a very big gun.” Vlasa said, lacing his words with as much derision as he could muster.
“Oh. Well then. Lead on.” Noah said with a flippant wave of his hand down the corridor.
The trio continued down the narrow corridor leaving Javi behind. Vlasa felt grateful for the silence as they walked. It always boosted his mood to put Noah in his place.
When they reached the weapon control room, Vlasa gave instructions to the other two on what components to remove. He made sure to review all of the necessary safety precautions at least twice.
Once they got to work, he managed to filter the other two out of his mind for almost a full ten minutes before Noah began speaking.
“What’s with you, kid?”
“Me?” Olivia asked.
“Yeah. You’ve been quiet this whole time. I know servo slave master is a bit of a bore, but that’s never stopped you before.”
“I just don’t have anything to say.”
“That would be a first.”
“Oh shut up, Noah!” Olivia snapped, aggressively slamming the component she was holding down.
“Now I know something’s bothering you.”
“Yes, you! Vlasa, make him shut up.”
Unable to ignore the bickering any more, Vlasa sighed, “Noah, your lack of interpersonal skills is showing. I too have concluded that Olivia has been affected by something that has altered her normal personality. Given her general lack of communication, there is a near 100% chance that this matter is not something she wishes to discuss. I, therefore, see no reason to interfere with something that has the potential to increase her work efficiency.”
A small sob came from Olivia, but she tightened her jaw as she blinked back tears in her eyes.
“That’s cold. Even for you.” Noah said, shaking his head. He glanced toward Olivia, “You can tell us when you’re ready to talk. Some of us are willing to listen.”
After a moment of silence, they each turned back toward their work.