/*
There will be action coming up in the next chapter, I promise! I know that this story has been slow to start but I'm going to speed it up very soon.
*/
Chapters[7] plan
The plan is simple. I'm a representative from a defence contractor. I've learned of an incoming pirate attack on Eden Prime from a source I can't divulge for reasons of corporate security. I've got some weapons systems that I was going to sell but I'm willing to take the opportunity to test them out instead.
It's a fucking horrible plan. It's complex, relies on a lot of factors I can't control for, and might not even give me the outcome I'm looking for. I'll be the first to admit it's a shitty plan, and that it's the best I could come up with really says something about my planning ability. Spawning a couple 304s in orbit is getting more and more attractive every moment.
But at least I can tilt the odds in my favour. Come on cluless, I need hints!
setType(enum corporationType)
setDescription(String description)
extrapolate()
Okay, I can make my corporation look real. That's always useful. I need a good timeline.
setType(FakeCorporation);
setDescription("Safeguarding the galaxy without sacrificing morality."); ;;god that's fucking horrible
extrapolate();
setOccupation(aegis,ceo);
Now I have a legit corporation. The next step is what wares I need to hawk. I can't give them stuff that's too nice, or it'll seriously fuck up the technological development of the galaxy, but it has to be good enough to fend of Saren's attack. But not good enough to defeat him entirely. And the little voice in the back of my head is saying that inherited classes are going to come up.
First up, armor. I already designed some very effective systems for my Stargate fanfic, so I might as well recycle them.
import sgd;
I want to give them Aegis suits, maybe the Mark III or the Mark V. No, definitely not the Mark V, that one has jump jets and I don't want to drop those on them yet. Even the Mark III is a little advanced, with its stealth systems and all, although stealth is actually a thing here. Either way, I'm going to need to scrub all records of the SGC from the suits, modify the communications systems to sync with Alliance protocols, modify the control scheme to be familiar to the Alliance soldiers, and replace the shields with normal barriers.
How the fuck do I do that? If these were nice direct reality altering powers, that would be easy. But with reality programming, I'm going to need all the inexplicable hints I can get.
class aegis3mod extends aegis3(Selector sgd) replace () aegis(Selector Corporation);
replace () aegis(Selector Corporation);
replace appearanceLogos aegis(Selector Corporation);
replace () methodLookup("Alliance armor controls") . .controlsch();
replace () methodLookup("Alliance comm protocols") . ();
}
I think I need to compile the class before it'll work.
compile aegis3mod;
preparing for compile:
reading superclass information...
retrieving dependencies...
WARNING: multiple source dependencies may cause conflicts
setting up build environment...
WARNING: use of the default package is discouraged
building class:
integrating dependencies...
WARNING: element sg_naq undefined for universe UniverseMassEffect
WARNING: element sg_trin undefined for universe UniverseMassEffect
INFO: building with libsgmaterials from package .Stargate
INFO: interface sgccompute-mecomputecom undefined, creating temporary interface
INFO: interface sgccompute-mecomputehid undefined, creating temporary interface
INFO: interface sgshield-localphys undefined, creating temporary interface
INFO: interface sgdamp-localphys undefined, creating temporary interface
INFO: interface sgenergy-localphys undefined, creating temporary interface
extrapolating additional information...
INFO: expected 6E27 atoms, got 6E27 atoms
building class into usable object...
WARNING: origin not local to world, may cause undefined or out-of-bounds behavior
class built with 0 errors
Wow. That was long. Is there a silent option? What about a preview?
preview(aegis3mod);
A viewer showing the armor appears in the same space in my mind the code does. Aegis Foundation insignia, huh, I love the really generic auto-generated logo. It's so realistic and detailed...
Weapons next. I think I can just give them some from Halogen, so I can deal with that later.
Heavy weapons... I don't know the first thing about designing gunships or tanks or such. So I can just bring in some repainted Makos and generic gunships. I've got some designs in my head, but they'd probably ask too many questions about the puddle-jumper-with-gatling-gun.
It's probably best if I don't just appear on the planet, so I'm going to get a ride. Probably easier to just charter one, then I don't have to worry about the consequences of spawning stuff so much. Then again, I would love a cool ship.
No.
giveCredentials(aegisCredentials);
giveCredentials(aegisExpenseAccount);
I could probably go out and find a place to charter a ship, but why go out and meet people when you could just sit in your apartment and do it over the internet! I mean extranet!
There's probably something wrong with me.
I open up the extranet browser. In the future, people don't believe in URLs or IP addresses. Everything is by keyword. You just type in a keyword, and that's sent to a local server which searches its own database and returns cached results. Then that request is forwarded to servers further away, which search their own database, return results and forward the request again. The response from the local server- for me, the one down the street, is nearly instant, and the next few (around the Citadel) pretty fast as well. Once you get further than that you start seeing serious latencies. So the result page loads instantly, but keeps loading. That's weird and I miss Google.
By the way, I made all that up. I figure it's a good guess but I'm too lazy to look up how it actually works.
I search "charter flights to eden prime". Amazingly, the system does a pretty good job of interpreting my vague wording. The first three results are sponsored advertisements. The next two are local charter listings and the six after that are all websites of companies that offer charter flights.
I search the local charter listings first. No good, all the companies need at least 24 hours notice and the fastest advertised travel time is four days, plus a few hours at each end for loading and unloading. If I want to bring lots of big crates, then I'm looking at an even slower ship. Or paying way more, like not a little more, but way the hell more.
I try several of the company websites, with the same results. Finally, I come to the last one, Star Industries. I have an urge to add a k to the end of the first word of that name.
Hey, they have a live agent! I try it. The conversation goes something like this:
Silia: Welcome to the Star Industries live agent help support line! How may We help you today?
adminstrator s7-3700: need a charter flight
Silia: Established in !dateformaterror, Star Industries is the Citadel's leading provider of chartered starships.|
adminstrator s7-3700: need to get to Eden Prime 4 days or faster, need to book now, and need to carry heavy cargo
Silia: Star Industries offers a variety of charter options, including flicker ships, fast cargo carriers, and executive transports.
adminstrator s7-3700: are you even an actual live agent?
Silia: Silia by Ertec is an advanced virtual intelligence system designed specifically for customer service.
adminstrator s7-3700: Well, that's really helpful /sarcasm
adminstrator s7-3700: You should add a k to the end of Star in your company's name, just trust me on that one.
adminstrator s7-3700: also you're a fucking useless bot, bye
Well, fuck. Back to Plan A. Which is to magically teleport.
teleport(EdenPrime,TPFLAG_NOTELEFRAG);
There's a slight feeling of vertigo and disorientation, then my surroundings change to a futuristic city and I suddenly find myself falling. I probably only fall a few inches before something soft breaks my fall, and we both tumble to the ground.
"Fuck!"
