Chapter 106. Advancement (1/2)
The Arkon Mark I was 100 meters of pure craftsmanship. As a mech designer, Ves appreciated mechs the most, but he had a decent eye for ships.
The Arkon model had a sleek, curving shape. Her outer plating gleamed in white. A predatory pattern of sky blue accents broke up the monotony. If Ves had to describe it, it looked like a fish with its tail chopped off. Massive thrusters at the aft allowed the ship to traverse space with speed, while its stubby wings helped balance the ship if it descended onto a planet.
The ship did not come with a name. For now, she merely held a numerical designation. Ves could think up a name for the ship and register it later at any Coalition port at any point.
Compared to the gigantic but sluggish passenger ships and the smaller but 'economic' transports, the Arkon Mark I was built to satisfy the vanity of the rich. The designers of this luxury vessel pretty much picked the most expensive options available.
This meant that the Arkon was faster and more resilient than any other ship of her size. In formal terms, the Arkon was classified as a corvette. These vessels ranged from fifty meters to two-hundred meters. They were built for speed, evasion and sometimes stealth.
Compared to a regular corvette, the Arkon featured extensive automation. Leemar even included a complementary navigator bot, so Ves could theoretically operate the vessel without a single crew member.
”Not that it's a good idea. A man should never rely on bots.”
A vessel controlled by bots and programs was highly vulnerable to malicious digital intrusion. Ves intended to hire a human pilot in the future.
The luxurious furnishings made up for the cramped interior. Dietrich's eyes widened at the fully stocked bar and instantly swiped a bottle of liquor. ”Do you realize how much I can sell this bottle of Doomsday No. 8? It's worth at least a hundred-and-fifty thousand credits back home!”
While Dietrich slobbered all over the complementary booze, Ves inspected the three decks for any other surprises.
The cargo bay was situated at the lower deck. As advertised, it contained enough space to hold four standard-sized containers. The bay came with an integrated lifting system that allowed for effortless loading and unloading of any cargo. For now, Dietrich's refurbished mech took up much of the space, so Ves had no opportunity to test this system.
Other supplies took up the rest of the space in this deck. For example, Ves bumped into large barrels that stored the ship's water, air and fuel. As the Arkon ran on high-density fuel, the designers put a lot of effort into securing the volatile mixture. The protective shell around the fuel tanks could take a dozen hits from a mech-sized weapon.
A lot of compartments operated out of the middle decks. The all-important engineering compartment regulated both the FTL drive as well as the standard thruster engines. It also regulated the power reactor.
Ves could imagine if pirates boarded his ship and wrested control of engineering, they'd practically be in effective command of the entire corvette.
Besides some boring systems such as the air and water recyclers, the middle decks also came with a fully furnished lab and miniature workshop. Leemar generously furnished both compartments with state-of-the-art devices.
Though Ves lacked the expertise to fully utilize the lab, he handed off the chunk of mineral to the lab's expensive lab bot. While it was fairly stupid compared to a human scientist, it was better than nothing. With the ore in its hands, the bot should be able to find out a couple of things about the ore.
While Ves had nothing to do in the workshop area, he still went over all the supplied gear. The workshop enabled him to do some basic maintenance and repair on mechs. The ship's engineer could also borrow the workshop's tools to keep the Arkon running.
What Ves found particularly surprising was that the workshop came with a mini-sized 3D printer. The model was recent and came with many advanced capabilities.
Unfortunately, due to its scale, Ves couldn't replace his old 3D printer with this state-of-the-art device. The small printer simply couldn't fabricate anything larger than a person, and if Ves wanted to print something advanced, he had to wait a long time.
The mini printer still provided Ves with another tool. If he ever needed to fabricate an advanced component, he could turn to this device instead of seeking outside help.
The bridge of the Arkon was placed at the bow of the middle deck. Ves had no clue how to pilot the ship, so he entrusted the controls to the expert hands of the navigator bot.
The top deck took up less space due to the Arkon's sloping form. The deck mainly offered comfort and accommodation to the passengers and crew.
The smaller cabins held enough space for four. The beds could be expanded into double bunks if Ves ever took in more crew.
The mess hall offered a comfortable place for people to eat their meals. In its standard setting, the dining area looked like an austere cafeteria. Crew members could eat their meals in peace.
When Ves changed the dining area's mode, the normal furnishings receded and the room turned into a classy dining room that could also function as a conference room. The wooden furniture and soft carpets gave the transformed room a sophisticated ambiance that would certainly help in impressing any guests.
The food preparation system was state of the art. The hall also came with an automated food fabricator that prepared any meals programmed in its systems. The food fabricator took in standardized nutrient packs as input and fabricated natural-looking meals such as spaghetti bolognese or instant noodles.
If Ves ever grew tired with fabricated meals, he could hire a cook to man the attached kitchen.
The observation chamber came with a retractable roof that allowed the occupants to gaze at the stars. The chamber also functioned as a leisure room. It came with programmable seating that allowed Ves to summon up sofas or bar stools as he needed. Dietrich currently monopolized the bar set to the side while Lucky cautiously sniffed at fish swimming lazily inside the aquarium set on the other end.
The final two compartments at the bow of the ship turned out to be the ship's best cabins. The staterooms offered enough space for the captain and the owner to take care of some paperwork. One of the extensive secure closets already came with a new set of clothes.
”Are all of these antigrav clothes?!”
The freebie certainly came as a surprise. Though all of the sets looked simple, Ves quickly realized there was more under the surface. All of the sets could be reprogrammed, allowing them to change their shape and color.
Not that Ves thought to play around with this function. To his underdeveloped fashion sense, the clothes were already miles ahead of his old wardrobe. He quickly changed to a set but left the float function for later. The last thing he needed was to bump his head onto the ceiling.
He retrieved another set of antigrav clothes and left it onto the bed of the spare stateroom. He already received more than enough gifts. Dietrich deserved a share as well.