This chapter just adds an important item to the bridge crew and explains its functions a little bit. The next chapter will be the launch and I hope to get to another planet in the chapter after that, and then I think it will either get really interesting or really boring.
"Bridge crew of Resilience, Hope, and Willpower, please report to the loading bay of your respective ships. "
It was launch day, and there had been a lot of last minute updates to do, and the launch was scheduled to begin in three hours. I headed to the loading bay of Hope, meeting up with the other eleven bridge crew members. The rest of the crew would be maintenance, gunners, repairmen, and other jobs around the ship. The bridge crew controlled all of the ship systems and settings and stuff. The bridge crew was the best dozen soldiers we could find after the Mundars landed, and had been trained as well as they could be in the little time we had left. We arrived in the loading bay and found one of the scientists waiting for us.
"Ah, there you are! Here, we have a last minute supply update for your ship. Just two items for the crew, it shouldn't take too long. " He reached into a nearby box and pulled out a watch on a leather strap. "This is a multipurpose watch, capable of time, direction, mapping, and communication. To activate different functions, just turn the hour hand to the desired number. The user manual explains it all. That item is for the whole crew, and is being handed out. "
He handed us each a watch and then grabbed another larger box. "This is an experimental piece of technology that we just got a few days ago. There was a large debate on whether or not this should be included in the cargo. " he opened the box, and inside was what looked like half of a combat visor, but it was different. It had a microphone that followed the jaw line to the bottom of my chin, and another cord that went just under my hairline and ended in the middle of my forehead. Both of the cords connected in an earpiece that went in my left ear.
"This is ARC, Analyze and React Computer. It is designed to increase reflex time, control your reactions, and help you survive. It also has an integrated AI. We have added a sentience program to the program, but you can deactivate it through the terminal. It has access to all of our data and stuff like that. It also has a USB cable attached to the bottom wire. This can access any compatible system. Also, the computer is specific to your DNA and neural patterns, so don't borrow anyone else's ARC. Anyways, I'll let you get ready to launch and stuff. Good luck!"
After he left, we went inside and prepared for the launch. I went to my cabin and put on the ARC. There was a humming noise, and the visor extended to cover both eyes. The glass then lit up with various options and settings.
"Hello, this is ARC. You probably already have been given a standard briefing on the system. How would you like to begin?"
"ARC, show combat visor. " I said. The glass blinked off and reappeared with my normal combat setup. Arrows on the periphery showing enemy and allies, a bar on the top showing the amount of power I was using, a list of my injuries on the left, and a list of allies and their status on the right. "ARC, create new visor" I plugged in the USB cord into a nearby plug on the ship.
"New visor created. What would you like to name it?"
"Name it Hope. "
"Visor named. Begin customization. "
"Put damage report on the left, with overall structural integrity and shield percentage at the top. Takeoff and burn procedure progress on the right, and make sure I can activate them out of order. Give me a power map in the center so I can reroute power as needed. That should be good once you've got all of that. "
"I do not have permission to access the rocket Hope. please grant access so I can add these settings to the visor. "
"Permission granted, do whatever you need to do to get it done. "
A few adjustments later, it was all set up nicely. I unplugged ARC from the ship and turned it off. The right half of the visor retracted and I went up to the bridge to see what needed to be finished before launch.