Chapter 7: Space Hulk
‘Hmm?’ Abyssal let out a rare voice of shock as she cruised through space.
There was something very big that went past her sight. Something new. Something different than a gallery of pitch black. It was a big hulking pile of metal that somehow zipped past her as she travelled at a steady 300km/s. If she hadn’t been monitoring her omni-directional cameras she would have missed it in a heartbeat.
‘’Am I imagining things? Is that a real thing?’ She asked herself.
“Sanity levels at 28%. Chances of the object being illusionary are very high. Advise running self-diagnostics of systems.” Her machine-self replied to her question.
‘Shut up! If I wanted your advice, I’ll ask for it directly! Prepare the thrusters and calculate energy re-route and trajectory to object in question!’
“Thrusters ignited. Directional Propulsion System engaged. Routing power from energy storage tanks. Estimated arrival to object at 28.7 seconds.” Her machine-self replied as Abyssal made her way around to the object in question, curious about it and wishing to explore the matter further.
As the seconds passed, Abyssal could start seeing the object for what it truly is. Her imaginary mouth went agape at the size of the hulking metal. Within the view of her omni-directional cameras was a spaceship many times larger than Abyssal herself— a cruiser sized ship.
The shiny white metallic sheen of its hull shone dimly into Abyssal's camera— light from a very distant place shone on it. While big and menacing, the spaceship itself had seen better days. The hull and various parts of it were torn to shreds and there were large holes that bore through the craft. All around it was a cloud of debris; scraps of metal, wrecked machinery, and other parts that had once been a part of the vessel
Big was an understatement to describe the size of this thing. Throughout the various holes that could be seen on the ship, one of them was big enough for Abyssal to pass through. She could see the remnants of its weapon systems, torn to shreds. One such system was a long barrel that was twice her size, just floating along near the abandoned spaceship. Abyssal was sure that this thing in its prime could fit scores of ships her size and still have room to spare.
It was a space hulk. An abandoned corpse of a ship just floating around in space.
Abyssal couldn’t believe her ‘eyes’. In front of her was a real-life space hulk. In games, a space hulk is often the setting where scary monsters would nest— waiting for the living to come aboard so they may feed on them. It is also a great place of interest for looters who wish to find scrap metal and sometimes functioning parts for their ships. Sometimes, in some games, a space hulk would be the location of a pirate hideout. What better place to hide than a dead ship after all?
They are basically the Mimics of science fiction; you will never know what is inside one.
Abyssal travelled next to it before adjusting her speed to match the space hulk; during which, she never stopped looking at the space hulk with amazement. She could not find it within herself to say a word, just silence as she drilled this experience and her feelings deep within her consciousness.
This was the moment. An entire life on earth just wishing she could explore space and the secrets within. One year of absolute boredom and torture. Now was the moment she waited literally her whole life for! A chance to explore an actual space hulk. She was assaulted with a whole range of emotions— overwhelmed to the point that she couldn’t even speak back, just sitting there with her eyes and mouth wide open.
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It took her a while before she came back to her senses. During this moment, her machine-self had adjusted the ship to the point where the space hulk appeared to be just floating next to her. They may be travelling dozens or even hundreds of kilometres per second, but relative to everything, the space hulk and the ship might as well be still. It was no different than parking your car next to a shopping mall on earth.
Abyssal wanted to let out some witty comeback or some stupid line but found no mood within herself to do so. She only looked at the space hulk with a cold calculating look, thinking of her next action.
‘I wonder what’s the best course of action right now…? Do I explore it? Or just take whatever I can with the tractor beam and just walk away?’ She debated.
Abyssal didn’t know what to expect within the space hulk. She had no prior experience with such things— no proper one at least. There might be insect monsters or even killer drones that still protect the space hulk.
Also, there was only one way for her to explore the space hulk— by using her only drone, Kaon. The chance of losing her drone to whatever dangers lurk within was pretty high and she didn’t want to take a risk. She had grown attached to the cute drone over the past year; it was basically her limb at this point. To lose it would be a great loss to her.
But then again, just taking what’s around her and leaving would do her little good. She would just go back to the monotonous task of cruising around, looking for something. This time, there was no telling how long it would take before she could find something else.
She knew from experience playing all those space simulators back on earth that taking risks was a necessary thing to do. She won’t make it far if she only plays safe. That was true in the games and it was true for Kapitan as well. Her old captain wrote within her journal, all the time, about the dangers and risks that she took to get the best deals and outcome.
‘This might very well be my only chance to find something good and improve myself for the future.’
Indeed, there might be parts within this big hulking pile of metal that she could assimilate and add to her list of systems. A better reactor would be godsent to Abyssal. If not a reactor, then maybe a better EST or even more all-purpose drones for her to use. Heck, she could even use a radar at this moment— her current one was busted after all.
Letting out a sigh, Abyssal decided to push that thought for later. She then turned her attention to the pile of debris and metal parts that were just floating around in space. Whether or not she decided to explore the space hulk, there was no reason for her to not take what is outside the space hulk. The things that she could see should be safe.
‘Activate the tractor beam. Let’s start by beaming up some scrap metals and any other useful parts around the hulk.’ Abyssal gave out an order to herself.
“Activating tractor beam.”
‘Begin with pulling in that weird looking machine over there.’ Abyssal pointed out towards a component that looked like a rectangular block with many buttons and switches on it— a console. Or at least that’s what it looked like to Abyssal. It looked different than the console she has aboard herself, more high tech in a way.
It could perhaps be useful for Abyssal, she just needs to assimilate it. Best case scenario, it turned out to be a better console than her current one. Worst case scenario, if it turns out to be junk, she could scrap it for more nanomachines.
And so, Abyssal went on to pick up anything that looked even remotely useful to her. From old and destroyed components to just pure blocks of solid metal that she deemed good enough in terms of quality to store within her cargo— there might be a chance in the future where she could use these to repair herself or even sell them for money.
It was unfortunate that a lot of the objects she picked up were destroyed beyond recognition and couldn’t be assimilated into her system. Although, as she decided earlier, she would just tear them down to make more nanomachines.
There was one machine however that still worked and had gotten Abyssal rather excited. It was a small thing, pretty much inconsequential to most people, but to Abyssal, it was a huge first step to achieving greatness. Her very first useful loot.
“Abyss Fire Private Limited Atomic Clock System assimilated. Adjusting system time to reflect assimilated system.
Time: 23:34, 6th September, Year 3669.”
‘Nice.’ Abyssal let out a remark after seeing the date.