Chapter 143 (1/2)

Chapter 143

Testing

Lucas piloted the s.h.i.+p mentally. With him around, there was no need for inefficient things like physical interfaces. As the s.h.i.+p lifted out of the atmosphere, one s.h.i.+p of each type that he had made so far also lifted off. They had plenty of fuel for their reactors thanks to the ARDs.

After an hour, they had reached the asteroid belt. It had taken them that long to get into range of the asteroid belt so they could jump straight to it. Aslo, who had been bored out of his mind, finally sat up straight in his chair. “Are we there yet? It’s been ages.”

Lucas sighed. “Oh come on. At first you were so excited since you got to see planets floating in s.p.a.ce. Remember that? You were all like, ‘How can something so big float?’ and ‘What does hypers.p.a.ce look like?’ Then the rest of the time you complained about how boring it was.”

“Well, because it’s true. It really is boring around here.” Aslo tried defending himself.

“Ugh. If it wasn’t for the range on the new s.h.i.+ps I would have jumped straight here.” Lucas grumbled under his breath. “Now that we are here,” Lucas said in a louder voice. “I believe it’s time to start showcasing the weapons.”

The drone scout spoke up, interrupting Lucas. “This asteroid belt is currently being used as a military base of operations. Only certain sections of the belt is not developed for  military use and can be used for target practice.”

Lucas facepalmed. “Why were we not notified of this when we departed?”

“The information was not relevant at the time.”

“Alright then, robot, where can I do this demonstration for you?” Lucas asked, obviously irritated by now. Everyone else was stifling their laughter at Lucas’ annoyance.

The robot, oblivious to his irritation, replied in its monotone voice. “Seven cruisers are currently launching from nearby asteroid installations. They will fire on several asteroids on the outskirt of the belt that can be used for the demonstration. They will also be taking scans of the demonstration as well to gather the information needed. If there are any more targets needed, the fighters will point out more of them.”

Lucas sighed and nodded his agreement. Focusing on the scans from his s.h.i.+p, soon he spotted the seven cruisers. A low power laser shot out of each cruiser, highlighting seven asteroids that could be used for target practice.

Lucas immediately marked the asteroids on the viewscreen, making them appear red. “First I’m going to be showing you the capabilities of this s.h.i.+p, so long as no other objections are raised.” Everyone glared the robot but it just sat there, once again oblivious to human emotion.

Lucas went back to his presentation. “I am  launching a stealth missile from the s.h.i.+p we are currently on. Launching in three... two... one... fire.” On the screen a translucent shape appeared from over the top of the s.h.i.+p. It reached one of the marked asteroids in three seconds. Immediately, a large explosion blasted the entire asteroid to bits. The half the missile impacted was vaporized, while the other half was turned into pieces no bigger than a man’s fist.