Entry IV

It took ten hours after Phase Jumping in before I had enough Resource Harvesters and RUs to kickstart my production facilities into high gears. After that, I became a very busy bee to make up for the time I spent studying the Mothership's databases and drafting plans of action.

First off, the new AI my R&D developed is an astounding success. I'll spare you the exact details, but suffice to say that with the integration of my new synthetic crewmembers and HAVOC's personal handling of their loyalty programming and LANTERN generator, my Fleet is more than ready to go into action. Once I had all of my RHs and beginning strikecrafts retrofitted and updated my schematics, I began a massive construction project, with a dash of research and some reconnaissance here and there, to carry out my agenda.

My plan, short term wise, is quite simple, really: secure this system, gather intel, and expand. With literally no idea where exactly I am, I need to have a secure base of operations so I can send out reconnaissance squadrons to figure out where exactly I am, while also building up my military might to combat any threat I might and probably will encounter. To do that, I need access to resources beyond just having a single system under my control. I have to be careful, though. With no intel and just fresh out of an EXCEL Phase Jump, I need to be covert so to avoid causing conflicts with any natives I might encounter.

Long term wise… is pretty much up in the air at this moment. Can't really plan any reasonable course of action when I have no real idea what might be on the other side, after all. Which is precisely why I'm trying to secure a base.

So, to do that, I spent approximately a little more than over a week just building. Quite honestly, it was quite the sight to witness. Countless strikecraft bays churning out fighters, corvettes, and utility ships in the thousands by the hours, while the frigates, frigate-sized mobile refineries, and capitals ships were assembled at a much slower rate and quantity. I had also had some sections of what would become a series of space drydocks that were being carefully built and escorted out to be welded together to further the construction efforts. Asteroids were tugged aboard and devoured for precious, precious RUs to fuel such an undertaking, while swarms of Harvesters stream in and out of the Mothership alongside the 'crafts that were coming out.

It was little wonder I have to constantly migrate within the asteroid belt for fresh RUs. And the feel of moving within the Hyperspace… in comparison to that black hole, it was just… mhmm. So much more pleasant than before.

The only real kicker was the waiting. The one thing that Commanders really didn't have to worry about. So, in order to pass the time, I did some combat simulations with my ships to practice out my strategic and tactical skills, sent out frigate squadrons modified with some hastily assembled hangar bays filled to the brim with probes and satellites to recon the system, repainted my ships to be black with white borders with a new sigil - basically a circle in the middle of wings' whose edges are straightened out - as I'm not a Hiigaran, and dappling in my much beloved R&D.

Still haven't came up with a good name for myself, though. Half of them were cheesy as all get-out, the other half were just fancy titles that didn't really have any truth to them. The best I got was just simply installing my last name to the word 'Fleet'.

The Blackwater Fleet. Sounds menacing, really.

...Not quite sure how I should feel about that. Ah, well. I'll figure that one out. Eventually. Until then, I guess I'll just stick with the simple one?

Man, coming up with names is hard. Go figure.

Research, on the hand, were both incredibly easy and just as absolutely fascinating.

That… might have to do with the fact that it's my R&D AIs doing the real work, and I'm more of a spectator… or the superior officer reading the project summary.

With my new AI now on board, it spawned a whole new series of projects I could look into and develop. Mundane items, weaponry, infantry platforms, vehicles, and etcetera. Anything that has electronics in it, really, I can stick an AI to it. Pretty useful, really, not only in terms of spying and espionage when in enemy's hands, but as well as countless other subjects - research, labor, combat, and etcetera. I made sure my research teams were able to split consciousness so they can juggle multiple projects at once.

Freakin' AIs, man.

The more fascinating projects I actually personally took an interest in involves ground ops. Planetary bases, infantry, vehicles… as most of my more tried and tested hardware were more intended for space, the development of ground troops fascinated me greatly.

Quite honestly, most of my ground troops were actually these huge combat vehicles the Hiigarans used since their Exile on Kharak. Because, you know, nothing says 'screw you and all your loved ones' than a tank bigger than an apartment building coming right down on your head. They had their whole arsenal of vehicles saved inside the Mothership's databases - a just in-case, I would guess. They even have a land version of the Carrier, fully capable of building everything for the ground pounders. It's not as big as the one in space, but… it's still bigger than its ancestor.

I swear, it's like every generation of Hiigarans vehicles just keep getting bigger and bigger. What they're trying to do one-up each other?

So with my new AIs, we just removed the now unnecessary space reserved for the crew and added some slight adjustment. Like installing the piloting AI and, more importantly, making it even bigger for even more stuffs.

Of course, big and bigger armored cavalry can only solve so many problems. And that is where the infantry fits in, for situations too small and too delicate for giant robots. The R&D eventually came up with two variants of the same platform to fulfill the Fleet's standard infantry. They were dozens of others that were considered, but these two were, in the end, to be selected.

The first one, which I ended up calling the Titan, was a 1.8 meter tall armored suit with a resident AI, reminiscent of my own personal suit I woke up in, and painted with the black and white colors of the Fleet. The second one, the Disciple, is a carefully crafted android to look exactly like a human, with a performance level equal to a Titan battle drone and has their own personal body armor that looks exactly like the Titans. Both of them can wield any weapons inside the Fleet's arsenal with peerless expertise and accuracy, are absolutely devastating in close quarters combat, and has the downloaded knowledge and skills of Hiigara's finest soldiers. They are, without questions, the finest infantry a man could ask for.

As you can see, there really isn't any kind of practical difference between a Titan and a Disciple besides cosmetics. Like, for example, the Disciple doesn't have the same kind of armor the Titan carries around naturally, but it can make it up by wearing armor just like a human soldier. Or the fact that a Titan battle drone can carry weapons that are practically an extension of their platform, while also being modified on the fly, like installing treads for certain terrain for speed, or grav hover generators for aerial transport and the like. The only difference I could even see is that besides just cost and time to manufacture, the Disciple is meant to look, act, and be a human soldier, while the Titan is just a modular killbot that can modified whenever the situation warrants it.

And to support my standard infantry for situations when they either can't or didn't bring enough dakka to the mission is my little Dragonfly, an aerial infantry support drone about the size of a motorcycle filled out with MGs, missiles, and an AI. And it's just as modular as the infantry drones it supports, capable of swapping out missiles, on-board weaponry, and etcetera within minutes.

The key thing here is that the standard Titan, Disciple, and Dragonfly are meant to be versatile, swapping out weapons, internal electronics, and armor where the situation warrants it, often times literally, but through different methods. They're my soldiers. They're a call back to when we only to when humans were the only reliable method of war, although the equipment or tools they used changed. But just because I have, ah, conventional means of carrying out death doesn't mean I don't look at other, just as efficient means of killing.

War's an ugly business. Which is why it is best to end it as quickly and swiftly as possible. And sometimes that means being brutal.

The R&D developed this tiny little drone to look like an insect the size of your hand. I call it the Hunter Killer, and this adorable little critter was built to be a true cold, shrewd killing machine. Poison, projectile, blunt trauma, bladed legs - those are but just a few means it has to dispose of its prey. It is meant to kill, and by any means necessary. It is not an assassin drone. An assassin drone is the type of drone meant to neutralize the target without anyone being aware - before, during, and after the hit. Especially after. An assassin drone is the subtle knife in the dark that no one ever knows was ever there. This is anything but. This is made for when something must absolutely, positively die, but without any unnecessary collateral damage. It's a killer drone. A Hunter Killer drone.

I did consider calling it the Facehugger after Aliens, but decided against it, as it wasn't apt enough.

The Hunter Seeker, on the other hand, is a non-lethal - well, less lethal - variant of the Hunter Killer, for capture and interrogation. Still the same size, but packs a different punch. And the Beowolf is a mechanical drone built to look and be just like a wolf in situations where the Hunter Killer isn't suitable for. It could also, in a pinch, serve as a sort of a reconnaissance.

Wolves are extremely efficient hunters. The only reason they couldn't overcome the knights were because their teeth weren't made to overcome armor. Mine doesn't have that kind of problem, along with having some backup. Like missiles and anti-infantry kinetic weaponry fitted to the sides.

Yes, I'm ripping off of RoosterTeeth's RWBY. What they're going to do, sue me?

To carry and build all of my ground troops, my R&D ended up taking up a Marine Frigate, stripping it out to make more room, installed a modified munition fabrication system the Torpedo Frigate uses for my ground ops, added a hangar bay and some more compartments here and there, bolted some armor over them, and called it a day. So I now have a frigate whose purpose is ground ops construction, transportation, and deployment. So naturally, I named it the Mobile Army Rapid Deployment Frigate, or just D-Day Frigate, in honor of the Normandy invasion of World War II.

Naturally, these are just the highlights that my Research and Development came out with. No mention of slight improvements of the standard technology. No word of prototype warships being developed, like the Bullhead Frigate, a more heavily armored variant of the Marine Frigate whose main attack is a head-on collision so it could gorge out its passengers, or the Nanoswarm Frigate that shoots, or trying to shoot, laser beams with nanomachines inside them manufactured to take control of enemy starships, in imitation of the dreaded Beast.

No, I am not dumb enough to let the R&D experiment with that particular hardware without proper supervision and maximum security. Which, in this case, means having several explosives next to the reactors and Hyperspace Core set to blow if anything suspicious goes wrong, along with all its escorts' weapon batteries brought to bear against it in a secluded place. I ended up disbanding the project, as there were too many things that could go wrong and it wasn't worth the risk of having a nanite-Beast mucking around. Some good things that came out of it were greater improved nanotechnology and faster nanofabrication speed, shaving roughly ten percent off of my build speed on all class.

Another project my R&D tried their hands on were reverse-engineering HAVOC's toys: the LANTERN Psychic Shield Generator and the EXCEL Transdimensional Gateway. Suffice to say, they couldn't make head or tail of either of them. The LANTERN was apparently just a crucifix inscribed on whatever it's trying to protect, imitates an anomalous energy signature, could be replicated, although exactly how and why still remain unknown, and despite testing and numerous attempts, remain practically virtually undamaged by any physical means meaning to harm it.

Seriously. They ended up slagging everything except the LANTERN when they used an ion cannon array on it.

The EXCEL Transdimensional Gateway is a smiley face drawn on the surface of the Hyperspace Core. In pink marker. And accordingly to my cameras, when it is in use, it gives off a similar, but different, energy signature as the LANTERN generator and glows silver. And any attempts at replicating remain an absolute failure, unlike the LANTERN. It gotten so bad that the lead AI insisting on labeling it Things That Which We Do Not Understand (Yet). I mean, it's not like he's wrong, per se, but… yeah, let's just leave at that.

HAVOC is even less helpful, except to say that the shape or size LANTERN varies from individual. The only reason why the LANTERN is in the shape of the crucifix is due to the strong belief of the beholder. He has no clue about EXCEL gateway.

So in other words, I got an indestructible tattoo in the shape of a cross that apparently protects my soul from demons and a pink smiley face that teleports me across dimensions. Uh, woo?

I'm not sure how my family would feel about this. On one hand, I'm pretty safe holed up inside the Pride of Hiigara and my Fleet. On the other hand, I travel dimensions because of this weird pink smiley face and have a tattoo.

Eh. At least it isn't embarrassing or anything. Still, would've been nice if my EXCEL gateway was, like, a cat or something. So I would actually have somebody to talk to.

I thought about it, having a child AI (or five) so I could actually have someone to talk to, just like all those transdimensional Commanders I've read about it. In the end, I decided against it. Children are a really big deal. They're not something to be casual about or do it alone with. They're sacred, and they deserve the best I could give them.

Power never interested me, quite honestly. I've always wanted to follow the footsteps of my parents and settle down with a nice girl and have a big family. And right now, any children of mine deserve better than this, being raised by a lonely seventeen year old Fleet Command far away from home. They deserve to have a stable home, a loving father and mother, and a bright future to look forward to. Something that I can't give them just yet.

Maybe some other time, but not today.

Which is precisely when an update from a recon squadron popped up with the latest picture - wait a minute.

A blue planet, with two giant continents on the left and the right, a continental-sized tree off the shores of the upper half of the leftern-most continent, another set of continents near the north and south, a humongous whirlpool right in the center, and two moons.

I recognize this.

Satellite images followed shortly. Forests, deserts, tundra, farmlands, and dead, twisted lands crawling with sickness and disease. Cities of every variety, from broken ruins of something vaguely Medieval Western to short, squat, geometric towers and gates sprouting off the side of a snow-laden mountain to a once-proud and elegant city of white, red, and gold, cleaved into two.

And I could see species of every kind - people that I can see and recognize. A human farmer out working in his field. A bronze skinned elf with ridiculously long ears and glowing green eyes leading her brethren against a swarm of advancing skeletons. Short and stocky dwarves with long flowing beards and bulging muscles labored away in outdoor forges with their diminutive and candy-colored cousins, the gnomes. And more. So much more that I know of - green-skinned orcs, the cow-like Taurens, trolls, the Undead, and goblins. And even more. Demons. Furbolgs. Kobolds. Griffins. Wyverns. Giant bats.

Azeroth. I'm in freaking Azeroth.

Hoo boy. This won't end well.