Chapter 133 - Resort (4)

[CONNECTION WITH GA-05E SPARTAN HEAVY ASSAULT VEHICLE ID:450897 DELTA ESTABLISHED. FIREMISSION RECEIVED, NOW EXECUTING.]

"Is that supposed to happen?"

"Yeah, I'm having the Juggernaut break itself out of the sphere. But you properly want to take a few steps back."

As a high pitched hum slowly started increasing in pitch and intensity Terra, along with Mare, Solaris and Lilly started slowly backing away.

"Command do you have the field wave under control?"

"Affirmative. ICI dump scan data to GA-05E please and use it as targeting for the first wave, Lux clean up the secondary wave profile please."

"Cleaning up secondary wave, 10 seconds."

[UPLOADING DATA SCHEMATIC TO GA-05E, HIGH BANDWIDTH DATABRIDGE ESTABLISHED, 8.29 SECONDS TO APPLY NEW TARGETING PROFILE.]

Slowly the high pitched hum increased to such a scale that it could be heard all over the small atoll as Lux and Dax kept calmly talking.

"Set up point defence HEL burst and configure the matrix, I'll reprogram the secondary compression wave."

"On it. ICI how are we on reactor integrity?"

[PRINTING OFFENSIVE REACTOR DIAGNOSTIC:

CORE TEMPERATURE: 89.001 CELSIUS

FUEL MIXTURE OPTIMAL.

HOUSING INTEGRITY AT 99.91%, REPAIR ADVISED.

CRAFT SURFACE TEMPERATURE: 562 CELSIUS.

REACTOR COOLING:

PRIMARY: ONLINE, 56.100 RPM-

SECONDARY COIL: ONLINE, 0 RPM READY FOR TASKING.

PRIMARY OUTPUT BUS AT 55.2 GIGAWATT.]

"We're still good but I'm not trusting a cold system with WEP, even with diagnostics we don't know if there's a critical problem waiting immediately down the line."

Even after seeing the surprisingly positive diagnostic on the craft's reactor Lux still realized that they were working with unmaintained equipment, which had a tendency to act exactly how one didn't want with little to with no warning.

"Obviously, Let's get this over with now then."

"Affirmative. All scripts are ready to execute, recommend we go now."

"ICI execute all layered commands."

[DIRECTIVE CONFIRMED, GA-05E NOW EXECUTING 5019 LAYER COMPOUND REACTION PACKAGE.]

For a split second the very fabric of spacetime seemed to bend in an unnatural manner around the sphere, before it started melting as it was violently torn apart in hexagonal grids about a square meter in size, then came the compression wave. Like it had done to flesh and whatever else came to close to it the hexagonal sphere fragments where violently compressed before they were repulsed into the air, landing a few kilometers away from the atoll.

"There she is!"

When Terra finally laid eyes on what was inside the sphere she initially couldn't comprehend what it was. 'The Juggernaut' as Lux called it hovered motionlessly in the air lacked any components Terra could rationalize, truly it was a completely alien craft. It had no wings, no visual c.o.c.kpit nor any external means propulsion, with a completely smooth round form.

"CRP command successful. Commence full atmospheric heat exchanging, bring out all octillery radiators and dump all waste heat."

On Dax's command the smooth surface of the craft broke up, and a more rigid structure below.

"That's how a normal GA-05 looks, the smooth exterior is the added armor that gives it the E designation."

Seeing Terra and the others confusion Dax clarified what exactly was they were looking at.

"I see.."

Seeing glimpses of what looked to be a more normal craft under the smooth external armor Terra rationalized the craft as a larger and rounder CAS-7A without any engines, completely relying on gravitational manipulation to sustain flight.

GA-05 heavy assault transport, Lazarus cybernetic industries 'E' custom modification 'Juggernaut'.

Designed as a mix between a flying main battle tank and an armored transport, the GA-05 Spartan is an extremely robust assault transport that can get ground forces in and out of any situation. Boasting a 200 year service life the latest 05 modification was the first landing craft to completely forgo any conventional electric or chemical propulsion like rocket motors or ion drives, instead completely relying on an advanced 4th generation multi cored gravitational drive that works as the crafts propulsion and main defence at the same time. With the advent and successful implementation of a new generation of gravitational drives the GA-05 quickly proved to be mostly unkillable with any form of kinetic projectile, so the Iron forces adapted and switched tactics accordingly, bringing mission success rate back down normal figures, that is until a executive of the illusive Lazarus cybernetic industries got an idea. What if one took the GA-05 design and scarified a large portion of its firepower for an absolute defence? Even with approval such an idea quickly proved a endless pit for government funding, and was then abandoned by the Galactic Empire with the closing contract guaranteeing Lazarus any rights to prototypes developed in pursuit of the contract. Not much is known about the E verrainet's development after that point, as prototyping was moved to one of Lazarus' countless black sites, but what emerged 5 years after prototyping concluded would completely shock the world. A late 4th generation gravdrive with 6 individual supercritical cores capable of complete independent action on a zero pulse delay action, all inclosing crystal lattice titanium ruby armor and a tactical class fusion drive with a stable energy output normally only found in capital class dreadnoughts were just some of the E variants features, all for the price equal to about a fifth of the Galactic Empire's total military spending budget, each. Being so outrageously expensive the design outright eliminated any official orders, but somehow a single E verinant found its way to the 125th combined ops orbital drop troopers with the official reasoning being that Lazarus had requested that the sole prototype should be used for field testing.

After a full hour of waste heat radiation where the Juggernaut visually heated up the surround air and dumped a years worth of thermal energy from its internal heat sink while making the tropical atoll even more unbearably warm it was finally cold enough to board Lux and Dax entered.

"I'm back guys."

Holding back tears as she walked in the rear ramp to the troop transport Lux was flooded with memories of her fallen comrades.

"We're going to make them pay, don't worry."

"I know…. I'll go check on the reactor."

With reassurance form Dax Lux pulled herself together and went to check on the main reactor housing as Dax moved to the commander's quarters while checking stored munitions on the way.

"Here we are. Now if I remember correctly its up here…"

Entering the commander's quarters which consisted of a small closet like room with a bunk bed and a desk cramped into it Dax crawled half way up into the bunk bed and loosened a wall panel to find a sealed metal container.

"There we are~ ICI check structural integrity please."

Placing the palm of his hand on the container Dax held out hope as he waited for ICI to check the contents inside.

[REQUEST CONFIRMED, CHECKING SEALED PERSONAL CONTAINER #0000159932… SCAN COMPLETE, SEAL INTEGRITY AT 100%, CUSHIONING HOLDING, ALL CONTENTS INTACT.]

"What exactly do you think you're doing?"

But at some point Lux had sneaked up behind him and as Dax slowly turned his head to face her he felt the full blunt of her bloodl.u.s.t.

"Securing valuable goods."

"Oh I see~ I only ask because it looks like me you're securing some kind of contraband you've hidden on my craft, but that must be just my imagination."

"That's because it is just your imagination, you've always been a child with a strong imagination."

Showing no signs of fear facing imminent death Dax acted like a true qiton in his last moments.

"Is that so? Somehow I find that very hard to believe."

Lux on the other hand quickly saw through her superior's deceptions and showed a warm and friendly smile, truly to Dax she looked like a demon in that moment.

"Now there is a very good reason for all this."

"I'm sure there is, but I don't really care at the moment~"