Chapter 5: Test Drive
Present Day. Dealership meeting room.
I looked at Pinwheel and said: “That was insightful. A commander that is capable of responding to the emotional needs of the ship’s artificial intelligence, especially in a distressing situation like the prospect of being sold, says a lot about the commander’s ability to own and maintain a ship. I have no reservations about proceeding with the sale negotiation. If both of you are willing, we can continue with the test drive.” Pinwheel nodded eagerly.
“Alright, I’ll get the paperwork, and the two of you can board the ship.” Shiny Swap said.
I walked my avatar self to my ship self and Pinwheel followed. I lowered my head and opened my mouth so that Pinwheel and my avatar could enter my cockpit.
I stated “Running fully automated startup from deep cold. It's been 8 weeks since the last time my engines were active, so I am running the startup sequence in extended safe mode to allow the onboard systems to come out of hibernation and fully boot up. Expect ready for takeoff in seven minutes and twenty-two seconds.”
I used that time to introduce Pinwheel to my controls and HUD layout. Until Shiny Swap entered the cockpit and gave Pinwheel the test drive insurance agreement to sign. Also saying to me “I got you temporary dealer plates. Your tail number now is TY-198.”
My propulsion systems were not fully booted up yet, but I told Pinwheel "We can start walking me to the landing pad... which is technically a takeoff pad now. Either way, my propulsion systems will be ready by the time we get there.”
The pilot’s seat was well cushioned and molded into the cockpit, contributing to the design of organic skeuomorphism of my interior. Pinwheel adjusted the pilot seat a bit and put his hooves on the controls. He exploratively pushed them a bit. I realized that he was just trying to get a feel for them so I didn’t transform the inputs into actual movements for now.
Shiny Swap left my cockpit again to open the large vehicle gate of the dealership showroom.
Pinwheel watched this through the cockpit window. When the gate was opened, he looked ahead with determination and pushed the controls forward. I raised my head, looking ahead, and started walking in accordance with Pinwheel’s control inputs. After passing through the vehicle gate, Pinwheel made more inputs on the controls than necessary and seemed dissatisfied with how my body was responding. I had a suspicion about what was wrong and prepared to deactivate the control augmentation computer number two. The pegasus looked around the cockpit for a moment, then looked at the overhead panel and pressed the button to disconnect the number two control augmentation computer. Since Pinwheel’s control inputs now had a more direct effect on my movement, I staggered out of balance for a moment, but the still running number one control augmentation computer in conjunction with my always-on artificial intelligence countered the fall and I was walking steadily on the street towards the landing pad. Pinwheel manipulated the controls in sync with my movements, and he seemed more satisfied with my handling now and said “Much better, let’s get to that landing pad.”
We had been walking along the street for a while and we were almost at the landing pad now.
I established a connection with the regional and planetary ATC and filed a flight plan for the test flight.
The flight plan would take us into orbit in the direction of rotation of the planet, and then a short hyperspace hop to a station orbiting another planet in the same system. I displayed the route, and the estimated time of both flight stages. Pinwheel nodded in approval. I also got the response from ATC that my flight plan has been accepted.
"Tango yankee one niner eight, you are cleared to station Hillside via orbital trajectory and hyperspace jump. Maintain a speed not exceeding mach 1.5 until at flightlevel 450. Acknowledge." said the ATC voice on my com. My voice responded "Affirmative, we are cleared to Hillside via orbital trajectory and a hyperspace jump. under 1.5 until 450.” I transmitted a copy of the flight plan and the ATC clearance to Shiny Swap back at the dealership, as is standard procedure for test flights. Then I stepped onto the landing pad, facing east, and assumed a posture, similar to that of a cat, ready to pounce onto a high ledge. "Pinwheel, are you ready?" my avatar asked, turning its head towards him. He sat on the chair with his hoofs on the controls. "Ready!"
Pinwheel pressed the com transmit button to contact ATC and ask for takeoff clearance. After receiving takeoff clearance, he pushed the controls for vertical target velocity change. I increased power to the HFMP and ventral thrusters to lift us up. Confirming positive climb, I tucked my legs and followed the respective input from Pinwheel, increasing thrust on the main engines to increase our speed. I projected the intended path on the HUD of the cockpit window.
Apart from the ambient humming of the reactor and the rumbling of the thrusters, there was silence in the cockpit. The climb phase of a flight is critical, and with Pinwheel wanting manual control, there was not much room for conversation. In these several seconds of free time I kept myself busy by closely monitoring engine performance.
Sensors on the reactor and thrusters measured all the important variables and the Machine Integration Data Interface connector transmitted the data to the sense bus of the computer my artificial intelligence stack runs on. Normally the input would, at that point, be diverted to the Interrupt Autonomous Trigger Node of the AI stack, which would keep it outside of my focus and only push the data into my consciousness if something special, like an anomalous reading, demanded my attention.
But I just wanted to keep my mind engaged until I had something to occupy it with, so I made the conscious decision to read the data as it arrived in my senses. The performance values of the thrusters and the reactor were well within expected ranges, yet I still found it fascinating to observe increasing temperature values propagate through the propulsion systems.
We cleared 10,000ft and Pinwheel pushed the forward throttle controls to accelerate us to mach 1.5. With our steep climb angle, we would clear flightlevel 450 in less than a minute.
Soon, we had also cleared the atmosphere and we could drift until we were ready to engage the Friendship Drive.
Pinwheel stood up from the pilot seat, and walked to the back of the cockpit, through the door that led to the throat corridor and the cargo hold behind it. My avatar followed him. In this long, wide, open space, the constant slow and shifting movements of my bio-mimicking softmetal body were very apparent. Pinwheel surveyed the area and said “If I remember correctly from the ad, your cargo capacity is 125 standard containers?”
I responded,“With my 37 by 18 by 8 cargo hold, I have a capacity of 5328 cubic meters, enough to fit 126 intermodals, which I assume you are referring to by ‘standard containers’, for a total net capacity of 621 pilot's federation standard tonnes.”
I made my avatar bounce once with some excitement. It said "Oh! Let me give you the tour of the ship. So, this large hollow space, extending almost all the way to the rear, two decks directly below is the cargo bay, but I guess you’ve already figured that out." The avatar turned around and faced forwards relative to my ship body again. "Next to the corridor leading to the cockpit is the captain's quarters. It extends through my shoulders and my chest, come take a look." My avatar happily trotted through the sliding doors into the passenger cabin as Pinwheel followed it. The captain's quarters was a room that was built around the corridor leading to the cockpit. The corridor split the room in two halves. At the front end of the captain's quarters was a ramp that led above the corridor connecting the two split halves of the room. There was also a small compartment above the corridor that the ramp led to. It was a narrow space with low, angled ceilings on either side and windows facing the front where my head was visible.
Closer to the middle of the room, another ramp led below the corridor, to a similar cramped lookout where my front hooves were visible through the windows.
Through these ramps, either side of the captain's quarters could be accessed. The two halves of the room were separated into rest purposes on the right side, and work purposes on the left. On the rest side, there was a comfortable bed that could fit two or even three ponies. It blended with the floor and walls as if melting into it. On the work side, there was a desk and various other office equipment that one would need to command a ship.
Pinwheel ran up the ramp to the upper lookout. He sat down next to the window. I rotated myself so that the planet we just departed from was visible through the window. Pinwheel smiled and looked down to the bed, and then out the window again. "This, and not the bed, is the resting area", He declared. I replied "I can rearrange the room to better suit your preferences if you need me to." He said, "If I purchase you, I might be spending more off time here than in the bed. We can discuss potential reconfigurations at that time." He jumped off the top lookout and glided down next to my avatar "For now, let's continue the tour." Pinwheel and my avatar walked back to the cargo hold, specifically the elevated walkways to the sides of the storage area.
My avatar explained, pointing to the doors on the sides of the hall, "These are the passenger cabins, and that over there is a side exit."
Pinwheel looked at the so-called ‘side exit’ and said flatly, "That's obviously the bathroom." "Which technically is outside of the ship." my avatar added. "Oh, right, the sanitation isolation principle", Pinwheel replied, nodding.
He walked down the catwalk a bit and peered into one of the passenger cabins. They were small and cramped, with storage space being the priority. The walls were just tall enough so that a regular sized pony standing on the floor wouldn't be able to touch the ceiling. they were outfitted with storage drawers and small beds that could quickly morph to seats if necessary.
We walked past the passenger cabins and towards my aft to the engineering section. Situated above the rear cargo hatch and extending into the tail was the engineering room that housed the reactors, Friendship Drive, and other systems necessary to keep the ship in working condition.
Pinwheel stood at the threshold to the engineering room, but did not walk inside. My avatar stared at him expectantly. Pinwheel said "It's bad luck to examine the gemstones on the FSD of a ship you are considering to purchase." With no other option, my avatar led him back to the cockpit.
During the tour we had moved far away enough from the planet that I was ready to engage the hyperspace jump. "Friendship Drive charging" I announced.
I powered up my FSD and started configuring the hyperspace aperture. It was just a short, easy hop of only 621 light seconds to reach Hillside station.
Pinwheel sat back down in the pilot's chair and pushed the thruster controls forward carefully. I responded with my main engines pushing us into the aperture. Once again I found myself in the wonderous realm of hyperspace, with the energetic wisps, flowing currents, and compressed spatial geometry.
Assuming that Pinwheel would once again want to take direct control, I changed the sticks and pedals to controls that would adjust various parameters of the sails. Pinwheel worked the controls and carefully set the sails. He observed the sensor readings from the sails closely and steered us into one of the glowing currents that we could use for a trajectory towards Hillside station.
He set the angles and curvatures of the sails in such a way that their performance was 88% of the optimum I had calculated. It was extremely accurate flying, especially for a biological pilot trying his hooves at an unfamiliar ship for the first time.
After a while, the blue pegasus stallion said, "Okay, manual control is great, but I want to see your automated systems in action, too." He released the controls and pressed the button to reconnect the number two control augmentation computer. I could have reconnected the computer myself, but I thought it was kind of him to do it for me. The winches and levers (that were actually just for more intuitive inputs to the fly-by-wire system) appeared to move on their own as I made the minor adjustments necessary to optimize the efficiency.
As we neared Hillside station, its mass shadow was now visible in hyperspace, and I collapsed the hyperspace bubble around us to push us back into normal space. We emerged about 20 kilometers from the station with a good speed towards it. Hillside station consisted of a central cylindrical docking bay out of which two large metal arms extended to a ring where the station's habitation area was. The station’s rotation created an environment with apparent gravity similar to Equus. I contacted the station and asked for docking permission, "Hillside station, Neighkon Tango Yankee one niner eight with you, to dock."
"Neighkon Tango Yankee one niner eight, Hillside station, roger. You are number two to dock. Follow the Federal Corvette on final. Pad one four."
I read back the instruction to Hillside ATC. Behind us, an Anaconda emerged from hyperspace and also contacted the station. "Hillside station, DeLancie Sierra Delta niner five zero, to dock. Request permission."
The controller responded, "DeLancie Sierra Delta niner five zero, Hillside station, you are number three to land. Follow the Neighkon Constellation. Pad zero eight."
I noticed Pinwheel had been wanting to ask something, but was unable to due to all the chatter. When the radio was finally silent, he asked excitedly "Oh! Oh! Can we do a traditional approach?" I giggled a bit and said "I'll ask."
I contacted the station again and said "Hillside, Neighkon 1 9 8 would like to approach in the traditional way."
The controller replied, "Neighkon 1 9 8, traditional way approved. DeLancie 9 5 0, enter a holding pattern 6 kilometers in front of the dock." I felt a bit embarrassed that this maneuver would cause a delay for the other ship and squeaked a weak 'sorry' into the radio.
"That's okay, traditional way is a rare treat these days." then the channel closed.
Using thrust vectoring, precise thruster throttle control, exhaust cone angle adjustments, I was able to control volume, pitch, and timbre of the sounds that my thrusters made. I was using my thrusters to sync my movement to the station and approach its airlock while playing the tune to 'blue danube' with my thrusters. I had to fly through the station's airlock, and then find my landing pad inside the docking bay and touch down. Not only is the traditional way a beautiful display, but it's also a good benchmark for a ship's automated control systems.
I timed my approach and the performance of the music so that I would pass the forcefield of the airlock just when the cadence in the 28th measure was reached, because how else would you do it?
Once we touched down on our pad, I showed off my trade interface, where I displayed the station's available stock, nearby supply and demand history, and suggested routes in a user-friendly way.
I heard the Anaconda land, felt the slight tremor through the deck, and listened to it's deeper thrusters rumble. It was amazing how each ship's engines were so unique in sound. Like voices, almost.
Looking over the displays, Pinwheel asked, "If we're carrying that much precious cargo... say we encounter pirates, what then?"
My avatar puffed out her chest and said, "The Constellation XT class boasts one of the most modern and reliable defensive systems on the market. The only valid criticism that detractors have been able to provide is that it may be over-engineered. I have four individual shield systems that are both independently capable of protecting the ship, and can work together for maximum protection. First, there is the Transphasic shielding, which can make torpedoes pass right through me...”, “but it’s completely ineffective against phase-rotating multicannon rounds fired in large enough quantities." Pinwheel interjected.
"I was getting to that." I responded "I also have a polystratic repulsor shield with 11 layers of shielding, where each layer applies a stronger repulsion force than the one above it. The gradual increase of repulsion force allows the shield to absorb a lot of impact energy. Works well with all damage types, whether kinetic, thermal, or particle based.
In case another ship tries to ram me, I have a device that tries to distribute the impact impulse evenly over my entire body. This is called the inertial diffuser."
Pinwheel giggled and interrupted again "Does a chonky freighter with a soft cushioned hull even need that?" he quipped, playfully poking my avatar's soft sides.
I made my avatar reply "Of course the blubber on my body can safely absorb some impact force, but even then, the impact is still localized, which means the stress is concentrated on a small area. And objects inside the ship aren't protected and might be thrown around. That includes the crew." I made my avatar poke Pinwheel in the chest with her hoof while saying that last sentence. More forceful than he poked me. “We don't want to turn Pinwheel into Pinball, do we now?”
"Hmm..." Pinwheel said, pondering how he would fare between two large ships slamming into one another at high speed.
"Finally", my avatar concluded, "I have a structural integrity field. Makes my chassis tougher while saving on material." I flexed my hoof to showcase. I'm sure Pinwheel was amused.
Pinwheel looked up the defensive system status on the pilot's console, then asked my avatar "What about offensive capabilities?"
"Well, I have the exotic energy projector." my avatar said while tapping the maritime radar protruding from its forehead. It put its hoof back down again, adding, "And a GDN 15-A plasma flak."
Pinwheel raised an eyebrow "A Fallen Angel device? That's an odd armement for a freighter to have."
"How so?" I asked defensively "It's a remotely operated, destructible homing projectile. Perfect for distracting an attacker and staying alive. Plus it does a lot of damage at close range."
Pinwheel shook his head. "It's just such a weird combination. It's like you have all these over the top redundant shields, and you fight back with a flashlight and a Roomba with a blowtorch."
I wasn't sure if my avatar should laugh or be insulted.
"I'm a freighter, not a warship." I countered through my avatar. "My priority is to survive and protect the goods. Plus, an idea that is employed at designs by Neighkon is that if you can just outlast your enemy, you can win a swordfight using a needle."
"I guess you do have a point." Pinwheel admitted. Then he hesitantly inquired, "Can I see a demonstration of the Fallen Angel plasma flak?"
I displayed a map of the system LHS 453 and zoomed on the planet that Hillside orbited: Strawberry Dawn, named so after the colorful effects of its atmosphere that could be seen from space when the LHS 453 sun rises above its horizon. A shade so intensely red that it could have been called Sanguine Dawn if we weren't drawn so much to imagery of sweet things. I pointed out that it has an icy asteroid ring and stated "We can shoot it at an asteroid on our way back to the dealership."
"Sounds good." he said, smiling at my avatar. "Speaking of which, we should start heading back." I contacted Hillside ATC and asked for takeoff clearance. Once we received clearance, I took off, exited the docking bay, and turned myself pointing to the icy rings of the planet. I flew there using the old warp drive method. It was a lot slower than the FSD, but considering that we were already in orbit around the planet and that the warp drive, unlike the Friendship Drive, did not require a long charge-up before activation, it was an economic decision.
Arriving at the rings, I targeted a medium sized asteroid, and positioned myself far away enough so the action of the plasma flak could be easily seen from the cockpit. I activated the Fallen Angel and let Pinwheel have the fun of pressing the big red button.
The hatch on my shoulder blade opened and there were two dull "thud" noises as the plasma orbs were ejected. They flew a bit to the side and towards the asteroid, so that the asteroid and the two orbs were in a line. The orb closer to the asteroid exploded and hot plasma expanded in all directions. Less than half a second later, the second orb activated and the rays of plasma were redirected towards the asteroid. The rays seemed to favor certain angles as the rays that had been pointing further away from the intended target seemed to shrink and regrow several times while they were bent towards the asteroid and eventually converged in a powerful beam that melted a hole in the asteroid.
The hole continued to glow, even after the flak was depleted.
The small sizzling crater in the side of the rock floating in front of us looked beautiful.
The blue pegasus stallion cheered the successful demonstration, and then said, "Alright, let's get back to the dealership."
"Friendship Drive charging." I replied, and we were quickly underway to the planet we came from.
The journey back was uneventful, and we popped out of hyperspace in orbit around the planet. I aligned myself for a trajectory back to the dealership. I was very nervous as the pegasus did not discuss whether or not he intended to buy me. Although I could measure all the subtle signs that indicated he was satisfied and having fun, he did not give any deliberate signs of his thoughts on the matter, which worried me greatly. We landed in the industrial area, walked back to the dealership, and I lowered my head, opened my mouth, and the pegasus and my avatar walked out to meet again with Shiny Swap.
Shiny Swap looked at the blue pegasus expectantly, and they started to talk. They haggled for a bit, and then eventually reached an agreement. I was bought for only slightly less than the original sticker price of just over 338 million bits. Pinwheel did indeed take the offer of financing through the manufacturer bank.
I was so excited that I had finally been bought that my avatar let out a happy squeal like a little filly and just tackle hugged the pegasus.
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yay!! uwu
Love that detail there, timing the approach at the song's climax. When she said the 28th measure, I couldn't help but smile wide!
Jeez, if ships in elite had personalities, I don't think I'd ever leave the sidewinder.
I love it!
Might I suggest at least a quick sentence about a general broadcast before they discharge a weapon within cosmic sneezing distance of Hillside, and towards at least a relatively good ambush location? Said broadcast would explain the flash the station and other ships are about to see is NOT our main characters getting jumped?