Condition Evolution 4 Kevin Sinclair (top 100 novels of all time TXT) 📖

any decisions? When choosing a suitable ship for you, I took into consideration that you have been essentially nomads for quite some time. While the Uprising’s class of ship is comfortable, it is still limited. This ship, however, contains many of the things you may have missed. There are different areas for entertainment, sport, different dining areas. Those will be yours to fill, should you have more civilian people join you in time. The living quarters are larger and more comfortable, they even have working doors.”

I finally managed to form a response. “I can barely believe it. How long is the tour going to take?”

“That will depend on how thorough we are. I was planning on just showing you the essentials and then letting you explore the rest of it yourself.”

“I do have two more concerns,” Ember said.

“Which are?”

“Firepower and speed?”

Jezai nodded. “Valid concerns, at least one of you is asking the right questions.” He smirked at me. “The ship can move at approximately the same speed as the mining transport ship you took to gather your crew. Around half the primary engine speed of the Thoth or Seshat. Its jump drive has the same range as those two ships, although not as far as the Uprising’s folding drive. That piece of technology is a little special. Our scientists have studied and are trying to recreate it. Do you know who built the ship?”

“No idea,” I said. “One of the Veiletians, or even Calegg, might know. They’re into that kind of thing.”

“I will ask later. I still have questions of my own to answer. Firepower!” he said with a clap of his hands. “This is where your new ship excels; you will find its weaponry both diverse and extensive. While our developments in travel have been somewhat stunted, as we don’t leave this sector, our defense and weaponry technology has developed dramatically. In that vein, I might mention it also has excellent shielding, far above anything you have seen outside of our territory. You may be slower than you’re used to, but you are now a veritable mobile fortress.”

“I suppose that more than makes up for the lack of Hunter ships,” I replied, ecstatic with our newest acquisition.

“Ah, I have yet to mention the compensation for your Hunter ships. To replace their maneuverability in a dogfight you will find 40 fighter ships in the docking bay we are about to land in. Again, their weaponry and shielding are more advanced than anything the Galactic Empire has to offer. And based on the Hunter ships you flew in with, superior to the Fystr’s too.”

“No fucking way, dude! 40 legendary level fighter ships! Jezai, I think I might have just learnt to trust you again.” To everyone’s surprise, even my own, I hugged the big bastard before pulling back. “Er, sorry about that.” I laughed sheepishly and swiftly got back to the subject. “Can’t wait to see those fighter ships in action.”

“The time will come soon enough, and you will no doubt regret those words.”

I laughed, still embarrassed. “Probably.”

The bridge went quiet as we flew into the shadow of the huge ship, heading quickly toward the yawning mouth of the docking bay. It dwarfed the Uprising and despite my initial reservations, it fit in so easily!

Hwista took us into the cavernous opening of our new ship. Lined along one side of the docking bay were the 40 fighter ships Jezai had talked about. There was also another ship around the size of the Uprising parked up. “What's that other ship for?” I asked, thinking we might have even more ships.

“That is for the Apochros crew who brought this ship to our shipyards.”

I nodded in understanding. It wasn’t too much of a blow to not have that ship as well, all things considered. Vibrating with excitement, like a kid at Christmas, I didn’t bother to form a reply. Grabbing Ember with one arm around her shoulders, I pulled her close, looking around in wonder, crushing her into my side in what was supposed to be a hug.

“Ow! Careful, Shaun,” she yelped.

I barely noticed. “This is some next level shit, right?” was my only response. I looked back to Jezai to clarify, “And this is definitely ours, right? You’re not going to ask for it back?”

“Of course not, Shaun. It's the least we can do after everything that has happened.”

“I know you don’t use money, but how can you afford to give us this?”

“Honestly, it is not really a matter of cost, as we have more ships than we can use. We are constantly developing new and improved ships, while stripping down the oldest models to re-use. Having been in a state of perpetual peace for thousands of years, apart from the minor border skirmishes, we have a healthy surplus, always prepared for the fateful day when the Fystr come for us. I never thought we would be the ones to invite them. How things change! But enough of that; let us explore a little.”

Chapter 22

Ship Shape

The Uprising came to a halt and we all disembarked in short order. I clearly wasn’t the only one excited about our new home. The docking bay was truly cavernous. Even with the other ships and the Uprising, it looked empty. Visions of just how big we could make Uprising opened up in my mind. “How many people can we fit on this bad boy?” I asked Jezai.

“There are quarters enough to hold 20,000 people comfortably.”

All of our jaws dropped at that. “Holy cow, that’s massive!” I gawked.

“Will we be able to fly it okay with the numbers we have?” said the voice of reason, otherwise known as Ember.

“Flying will be no problem. Your main concern, if any, may be manning the weapons stations. While I don’t wish to dissuade the non-transcended elements of your crew from operating them, they are designed with the Apochros in mind. In time a transcended member of your crew should be able to synchronize their Mindscape with the weapons