It's been...what? Weeks without an update? I lost track of time already from being stuck in a laboratory with no one but my machinations. At least 'Amp' kept me company while we worked on the Valkyrie's many, many flaws. It's still not ready to fly unfortunately. 'Amp' outright hates some of the changes done to the ship and I'm starting to think that is not a voluntary action. It's like a human body receiving a transplant or two, but it rejects the organs.

I shouldn't mind that for now, though. I wasn't any different when I got my first set of implants. My body was...not ready for that experience. I want to imagine that he's going through the same thing right now - in his own way. What I should focus on are the two Xeno ships. Right now the Rebel is semi-ready to fly. I've personally spent the past few weeks soaking in oil, mud, rust and a mix of three. The hull looked fine enough, but the interior? Eeh. It looked like it was eaten from the inside by termites. I mean, if the ship was made of wood instead of cheap metal and the main chassis wasn't -- yeah I lost track of what I'm talking about.
What I'm trying to say is that the hull is largely finished. Internal wiring is still a work in progress, but it'll work as long as the few cheap work I've done so far won't fail me. I ran a bit short on materials here so I had to improvise. Front floodlights now enable weapon hardpoints, Fuel pumps lag behind a bit when cruising so I need to bash the console to reset them. What else, what else...ah! Note to self. Life support is only partially functional. Oxygen fails to enter the cabin and there is no way to pressurize the cockpit completely right now. The workaround is that there is no workaround. I modified my helmet with a mount for a detachable tube that connects in the back of it. That's just the beginning of a somewhat manageable list of issues I've got to fix.

It's alright though. I like puzzles like these. No piece really fits with another so you just mash them together until something happens. Reminds me of how I first started out with the Valkyrie. God knows I barely knew how to maintain that thing, let alone fix it after a fight. It was a real struggle when I had no credits to speak of. Every day was intense with all the medical bills and no technicians even wanting to approach my bird. At least I had a cheap propane torch and spare metal sheets I could scavenge off a victory here and there. Oh right, and a bag of chips and SynthWater every few hours. Sometimes I even bought a ration cube of 'roast chicken'. Lots of calories in that one, but the taste was horrible.

But look at me now. I'm drinking beer from a two liter plastic bottle in a lab aboard a collapsing Frigate. If it weren't for the errors flashing my HUD I'd actually enjoy it. Sometimes I just want to rip my optics and eject them into space! But...that's no fun.

I'm getting off-topic though. I was talking about the 'Rebel' being somewhat useable, but I didn't say anything about the 'Aggressor'. So I will do that in the best, most professional manner I can for an audio log only I will listen to. THAT bomber is the bane of my existence and I've chosen to keep it on the sidelines until I finish the fighters. Thing's just the 'Rebel' but twice the problems. I've got no choice but improvise with that one and I seriously can't be bothered to do that right now. I asked 'Amp' to check the grey market for parts, so there's that. Alas, he's looking for stuff that fits, rather than original bits some lucky scavenger found lying in space.

I guess that's it for now. Next update should be in a few weeks when I actually do some progress worth mentioning.