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404: Nemesis Project :404

What was once an officer quarters in the Revenant it now was Dagon's private work office. The planning table dominated the room, with several scans and iterations of the SS-0 'Nyx' that was being disassembled in the bay, the last of its outdated design. Nine years since its inception, that particular ship seen battle in almost all corners of Sirius and had been repaired by several different crews and techs. And now, the owner finally decided to listen to Dagon, after that ship went through three different engine blocks in two months.

Meallan Dagon got up from his very spartan bed, gently, not to wake up the newest addition to it. Paige stirred a bit, but kept on sleeping. Dagon smirked at remembering the eventful night, and sighed. She was nice, funny even. But eventually, not what kept him going. He looked at the table. The holo scans spun, calling for him. He had spent several days alongside with the twenty plus crew removing wiring and electric systems not native to the ship. By all means, the twenty ton beast was now bordering on the eighteen. Removing the nacelles, rebuilt years ago in a Tungsten alloy, was the current work. The heat resistance was handy and well thought, but the whole design of the nacelles was wrong, akin to a copy of the newest designs of the colonials.

He walked towards the planning table and shut down the holos, bringing up the main scan. The power core would be an issue, but he needed the original blueprints to know what it fed, currents, electromagnetic interference, power relays position and above all else, distribution of output. Last morning, as he was re-wiring one of the heat sinks, he felt one of the security magnets of the core. Samarium-Cobalt. Pricy. Smart. And troubling. It meant that the core was akin to heat builds ups way above from the expected. He sighed, and took at look at the foundry status. Six more hours, and it would be built according to his specifications. Thirty robotic arms made of a Tantalum alloy would be his workers in a furnace capable of deploying two metric tons of alloys per day. Reeves was not too happy about ripping a whole bay wall for it, but after a little convincing and the obvious security measures were in place, the Revenant could go travel through an asteroid field and get hit by mortars without the whole workshop going a-wire all over the place.

He pulled up his alloy schematic blueprints. Iridium-Molybdenum would be no doubt the meat. Very costly stuff to make. And even more costly to get. But the owner of the Nemesis Project had deep pockets, filled and lined with years of death and destruction that the very 'Nyx' waged. Tantalum and Titanium would also be needed. Copper aplenty for the wirings. Niobium as well. Dagon breathed in. The reactor would have to be a masterpiece. Punching in a security code, a power core schematic alongside with the inner reactor one appeared. He had spent the past four years designing it, but the Commonwealth and the Legion disavowed its construction and deployment. Too costly and to get some of the materials, compromises, political ones would have to be made. Not that it mattered now. This project had no strings attached, no bars held.

And if you are building a demon, you need a heart made of fire.

The blueprints were finally in his hands. The planning table lit up with all the data pouring in from the disk. Data, older than the latest wars in the sector, filled his eyes and his mind started to absorb all of it. His face turned into a frown in the very first seconds.

"What in the hells?" He spoke to himself, as his hand moved issued a command to zoom in on the weapon mounts. He gritted his teeth as the data was displayed. Fabrication process, blueprint, energy input readings, materials. Meallan sighed and swiped back to the main blueprint image. The power output to the weapon mounts was off the charts. It was bleeding all the excess energy back towards the main engine. The main engine was good back in the day, but the power couplings were all IMG make. They weren't stress tested for battle scenarios back then. Energy bleed was the most expected outcome, explaining the amount of heat sinks and dampeners.

"No wonder the rest of them exploded. That core was running on.." An idea came to mind and he pulled all the fabrication processes back up. He pulled the commands for the automated fabricating unit and started designing a new power coupling unit. He snapped his fingers. He needed someone to look at the energy readings from the core, couplings, energy mounts and all the circuits. He had just the man. Meallan opened up a comm and shouted.

"KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!"

A sharp beep cut through the deep silence of lab 14, followed by a second one just a second after the first. Khans head shot upwards, away from the constant flow of measurement data that ran down the screens in front of him.

It was not only unpleasant that someone dared to breach the silence he embraced with so much pleasure, but it came close to a sacrilege to interrupt his work without having the decency to the least send someone to talk to him. But no, no one had time for anything, things had to be done quicker not better. The third or fourth time today he questioned his lifes decisions, specifically why on earth he signed the contract with the agency.

He got up from his chair, strectching his itching bones and casually walked over to the console that so unpleasantly interrupted his work. With a bit of luck it was just a memo and he could get back to his tests in a second.

"KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!"

This was outrageous. But less boring than he expected.
Dagon was not part of the LSF, in fact no one really seemed to know where he came from. He was just brought onto the ship to work on a project for a certain operative, from what informations he had access to it was an engineering project.

Maybe he'd get something to think about for a change, not wasting his precious time with people in suits telling him he had to do his work faster.
Not like they had someone else capable of doing it.
With this thought Khan pressed the answer button, his words came out clear cut and his voice did not show what storm of thoughts the interruption caused in him.

You are lucky that I did not just ignore you after this. Next time send someone or I might just not hear the message.
Now, what do you need me for ?

Meallan sighed. Khan was very good in his own field, but sometimes a prima-donna. His way or the highway sometimes. And most of the times, Meallan went the highway and managed to sweet-talk his boss, Montoya, to get him into gear. However, today Meallan knew he had a treat for Khan. And that the diva would dive into this.

"Got something for you to look at. For the Nemesis Project." He sent the readings to Khan's console.

He allowed a couple of seconds to pass by so that Khan's eyes would bulge. The powercore was the work of a madman. A colonial madman. Genius for its time. But a madman. The whole ship was hard-wired on that, and coupling it with the IMG tech, it was a miracle that the Nyx, that was resting in the bay, didn't blew up in all these years.

"I need you to look at the whole electronic schematic of these blueprints." Silence was his response. "Remember that powercore design I threw at you, two weeks back? I need you to start working on it, with these schematics in mind. Tell me what you need on each end, and safely." A stiffled laugh came from the other end. "We ain't gonna rebuild it, Khan. We're gonna re-design it. Streamline it like a butterfly." Silence filled the comm again.

"You up for this?"

Khans eyes hushed over the data. Once he reached about the half of it his left eyebrow rose and his lips formed a slight smile.

This looks... interesting. What choice do I have in the first place, the bossman will be angry if I tell his favourite gear fixer he has to do it alone don't you think?

Without giving Dagon time to answer he uploaded the data in his personal network, then turning back to the screen.

I will need a lab with higher security measures, mostly against heat and power surges, a big pile of engine components, cables, conductors, superconductors, some alloys, as heat resistant as possible of course, two of the most diligent lab helpers you can find, lacking any initiative if possible. I do not want someone to mess with my work because he thinks he can do it even halfway as good as I can.
Expect me in your workshop in about ten minutes, I would like some coffee, if you have any.

Ending his monologue he began to take up devices necessary for the job at hand from all over his laboratory and put them on a cart. Firstly to not have to do it later and secondly to not have someone take them once people heard he moved. Trust was never one of his strenghts.

The grin was evident as Khan spoke. He was interested. And that was good for Meallan. As the comm shut down, he opened another and sent a message towards Reeves. Once again, he would not be that too happy. But it was his crew requesting it, so he would probably be somewhat kinder. The requisition was filled, and he went towards the coffee machine, to make a fresh pot. As the coffee was pouring slowly he thought about the specifics of the project.

The powercore was a given. He could not use the one that was native to the Nyx, since it was old, unstable and more prone to explode than anything if removed from the particularly precise balance. Khan was beginning to get on the job, and using his own powercore design that was binned by the Commonwealth due to the high costs, Meallan was certain that would not be a big issue in the future.

Money was plenty, thanks to Kaze's fat pockets. Her past as a Reaver and mercenary allowed to save up quite the pretty penny in these past ten years. Not that she used it, apart from this Nemesis project. Adding to that, if there was a money problem in the future, Meallan knew she would arrange for a way for it to pour as needed.

Materials however, would be problematic. There was a logistical problem rising in the horizon. Acquisition and transport through OSI channels was the perfect solution for those situations. The small automated foundry was set and ready and capable of churning out all the necessary alloys for the fabrication process, albeit at a lighter and slower rate than the industrial ones. But the total mass of materials needed would be way bigger than the capacity of the Revenant. Reeves would be fundamental in this. Meallan never really cared about limitations in the past, due to the Legion and Commonwealth infrastructure, but that would create delays, security issues and increased costs if they only request breadcrumbs to continue the project.

Design. Another headache. Meallan enjoyed that particular field, but his time is going to be fully devoted to the whole project management, direction and problem solving. He needed to review the personnel files of the Revenant R&D and see if talent was there regarding that specification. If not, outsourcing is an issue with this project limitations and specifications.

Engines... His mind continued to ramble on, as the beep of the coffee machine signalled that a fresh pot of coffee was waiting. He poured himself a cup and smelled the steamy fumes coming out.

"First things first. I need to talk to Reeves in person." He thought as he sipped the coffee and waited for Khan.

The meeting with Khan, a day ago, went well. The man was a genius in his own right and had a nose for pointing out future problems before they were even in the scope. He did point out several key points in the energy surges that might happen depending on combat situations and together with Dagon, they drafted an early design for the safety conduits to place in the key power coupling units of the power core.

Now, removing a couple of cold beers from his fridge, Meallan placed them on top of his counter waiting for the Revenant's boss, Reeves. Not the usual request from Dagon, a meeting face to face, and Dagon knew he already caused some issues regarding his... dalliances with the local females. But now, the project was getting ready to go full bloom. The Nyx was almost stripped of systems, and the full body work was in sight. Tantalum made, hardened with a boron/titanium alloy in all the key points. Only six tons, and built to withstand a beating. Or several.

But now, Dagon needed to up the tempo. And that meant a lot of things to request from Reeves. Money was a non-issue at the moment. Miss... Xei poured another 250 millions into the project account which would allow Dagon to contact Akibara soon to start shipping materials and more tools. Personnel for the project and space for the materials were the issues that were eating Dagon's mind. He was more used to worry about backing than the actual logistics. Perks and hardships of working for a self-sustaining mini-house. Now, it was almost the opposite. Nevermind the secrecy. Dagon still walked around with two Marshals on tow, and although they kept to themselves and gave Dagon some space, they were always there. As he sat on one of the stools, he pulled up the blueprint data from the holo console. More headaches appeared every time he looked at them.

"Now where the hell is Reeves?" He thought, closing the holo.

Having heard his required a face-to-face to discuss something, Avery made his way from the bridge where he'd been discussing potential plans to appoint a new C.O with his second-in-command. Naturally, he was curious on what progress had been made with the project so far and if further aid was required beyond what was already being generously provided.

The ship itself seemed largely quiet at this hour, the systems running on more or less pure automation while the bulk of the crew rested within their appropriate rotations. Despite something weighing heavily on his mind, he needed to put it out of focus and instead be concerned with the task at hand, it was beyond obvious that this project was of some importance to his colleague, the very least he could in terms of courtesy was to not be tardy in his involvement.

Yes, Meallan? Using someone's first name was a true rarity coming from a spook. He'd walked through the door rather calmly and even left it open behind him for the time being, taking a brief moment to glance around. He decided that since these may very well be his last days aboard the ship as its Commanding Officer, he may as well be friendly. To leave on a good note was certainly the best outcome to have.

For once he didn't seem to be acting in that typical formal manner one would expect from an operative, in fact he didn't even seem to be wearing his jacket, it was most likely that he was actually off the clock and here on his own will merely wrapping up what left over work there was. An assumption that would be further solidified when he popped open the beer and took a sip out of it before joining his guest at the counter to discuss whatever apparently needed to be brought up face-to-face and not over a com-channel.

The outskirt of Wendell Ice Field, Magellan system.

A lonely Guardian hooked to the dusty surface of a rather large asteroid, drifting at the extremity of the field, all systems shut. All systems...? Perhaps not. Hard to tell, even for the various detection equipment onboard the ships forming patrol AC-28. Lane Hackers. They were following a predefined patrol path, uncovered a few days ago in the data extracted from a Bayonetta wreck.

The pilot, inside the Guardian, raised his head in the cockpit, in an attempt to locate visually AC-28. An impossible task, given the distances and the chaotic spinning movement impacted to the asteroid, following the 'landing'.

The light formed in the core of distant stars shone on the opaque helmet of the pilot as he lowered his head to check his instruments. Passive capture was under way. The cryptography cell needed a large enough corpus of data encrypted with what was labeled as cypher CK-485-B for studies to begin, eventually leading to a potential way to decipher Lane Hackers transmissions using that very cypher. A long and uneasy task, that demanded significant resources. Generally speaking, Lane Hackers regularly proceeded to alter their encryption algorithms - the longest time observed between two versions was eleven weeks. If only they could get their hand on the co...

The pilot's thoughts were interrupted by a strident noise indicating a high priority tachyonic transmission had been received by the very long range communication array integrated to the Guardian.... A high energy blast that was without doubt caught by patrol AC-28 as well. Whoever sent that message couldn't possibly have made a greater job at painting the asteroid for AC-28 to investigate. The pilot released all the grapnels and proceeded with falling back as fast as possible, soon followed by the pack, rushing up for the scramble.

- "Attention, attention! This is Battleship Revenant. Identify yourself immediately." The voice was cold and uncompromising. The Guardian lowered its speed, to maintain a reasonable distance with the venerable dreadnought, while its pilot was sending confirmation codes to the beast in front of him.
A tense silence followed, before that same voice echoed again :
- "Welcome, operative."
- "Good evening." politely replied the pilot, before adding "I'd like to dock immediately, please."
- "Authorization granted, operative Ward. Bay one is all yours."
- "Thank you." answered the pilot before initiating the docking maneuvers necessary to enter in the old dreadnought.

There was little activity in the docks, noted the pilot as she walked out of the hold, once the Guardian was properly moored. Some mechanics actually gathered near the ship to take a look at the scars and assorted holes present on its hull. The pilot did not reply to their jeering, settling for a serene smile addressed to the crowd before quietly walking her way towards the officer waiting for her by the main door.

The officer saluted when she approached, soon replied alike.
- "Good evening, Lieutenant." said the pilot while observing him calmly.
- "Ma'am!" replied the Lieutenant, seemingly unsure of the way to treat this operative.
- "I'd like to see the Captain of this unit, Lieutenant... Mr. Reeves, is it not?"
- "Correct, Ma'am. But I'm unsure if his current schedule will allow that, Ma'am."
- "Is that so, Lieutenant?" peacefully asked the woman with a slight smile. "Well, do you think you could contact the bridge to reach his second in command, so that a meeting can be arranged as soon as possible?"
- "Aye aye, Ma'am." replied the Lieutenant before gesturing the pilot to follow her. "I will guide you to the bridge."
- "Thank you, Lieutenant." then said the pilot, before adding "By the way... Could you please give orders to limit access to this Guardian's whereabouts? I would also like to request your quartermaster to not issue refit and repairs on the fighter. Thank you."
- "Hmm... Very well, Ma'am." acknowledged the Lieutenant, slightly raising an eyebrow at this uncommon directive. - "May I ask.. Why? It definitely looks like the ship is in dire needs of repairs, with all due respect. "

Smiling with serenity, the woman took a few seconds before replying.
- "You are most correct, Lieutenant, however rest assured you shouldn't worry about it. The necessary repairs will be performed somewhere else."
She slowly raised her arm as to invite him to guide him.
- "Now this is settled, could you please show me the way? I'm afraid my schedule is a bit tight."
- "Aye aye, Ma'am. Allow me to give orders about your ship first..." nodded the officer before walking away with haste.

Meallan raised his and took a sip before sliding a data-pad. "Whoever built these was a nutjob." The image of the main blueprint appeared. "The fat ass is because it's heavy. It's heavy due to enormous amount of heat sinks. Why? Because the excess power bleeds all over the place, from the weapon mounts to the engines." Avery continued perusing the blueprints, sipping his beer, like he was listening to a normal report. "The origin is the power core. While whoever was in front of the whole project was a nutjob, whoever designed the power core was a madman. Brilliant one. But still a bloody madman."

Meallan turned around and looked at the planning table, spinning with a concept for a safety conduit made by Khan not even two hours ago. "I ain't going to rebuild this death trap, Avery. I just can't." Avery rose an eyebrow as he heard that. For little of what he knew from Dagon, is that the man was driven in his work. He would not stop. Before he could speak, Dagon turned. "So i'm aiming to re-design it, back into the drawing board. I want that old bucket of bolts to become a beast." Meallan slid another data-pad, this time with a requisition order. A list of materials that was slightly obscene. The Revenant could not hold that much amount of alloys and components. An external depot came to Avery's mind. But what made him spill his beer was the plus twelve bay techs requisition and permission to bring in at least two specialists of other organizations. Names retracted.

The Revenant was a tight ship. Black ops dedicated. Personnel black listed. No personal comms. Where the hell was he going to cherry pick twelve more. He needed more bunks. More food. More security. It dragged a whole new level of headache at this time. Nevermind the two 'specialists' that Meallan wanted to bring. Why, who and what were the questions in hand.

He sighed, placed his beer down and cleaned his chin, organizing his chain of thoughts.

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Meallan

Meallan

Gagadug.

Meallan

Gagadug.

Meallan

Meallan

Reeves

Susan Ward

Meallan