Space Odyssey: Spectre

Jace looked over the Puddle-Jumper as he walked into the hangar. It looked like Masilla was still putting her finishing touches on the new Cerberus Squad ship. But as his squad walked into the hangar they attracted the attention of all the engineers and maintenance workers on duty. They were a mix of soldiers from several different races. But he was sure that his and Vana's armor were catching the most attention.

Jace had outfitted himself and repaired his gear. He was still using the Pyre as his sidearm. He had replaced his Spectre knife with a new one that was not damaged beyond repair. He then had a modified version of a Pulse Schi on his back. The Pulse Schi was a medium range rifle that could fire either lethal or nonlethal laser bolts.

Jace had modified the Pulse Schi in such a way that it was stronger. It also used less ammunition with each shot, and did not have to cool off every five shots like the original version had to. The Vexical Empire did not have much in the way of nonlethal weapons so he decided to just borrow and modify one front the Victorium.

At least he was not like Ulin, who opted to just bring along a bow and a quiver full of arrows. Especially after seeing that the Centuria wore some type of gold armor and used laser based weapons that looked like bows, crossbows, and spears.

As they approached the ship he could see Masilla light up and clap her hands, "good-good-good! Your ship is ready and it appears you are ready as well. Is that a modified Pulse Schi on your back? How intriguing. You substituted several parts for Vexical metallurgy and materials." She seemed to realize what she was doing because a moment later she was stepping back.

Jace nodded at the ship and walked up the ramp at the back of the ship, "Walk me through the modifications you made to the Puddle-Jumper."

Masilla nodded her tree based head in excitement, "very well. But please do tell me how you modified that rifle when you get back." She then walked straight to the cockpit of the ship. "She has been rechristened the Guardian-01. She is still a Puddle-Jumper, but we outfitted its sensors to be the most advanced version we have available. They ended up just as strong as the Venture's sensors. We also messed with the shielding array, it is now far more durable. Then there is the warp engine, we could not get it up to the same speed as the Venture so it is only a single point slower."

"How about the gravity generator?" Jace asked as he looked over the controls.

"Gravity generator?" Masilla blinked in surprise. "No, we left that alone, why?"

"Remind me when I get back to show you how to turn a gravity generator into a camouflage drive." Jace told her as he began moving about the ship. "How about the weapons? Are they still the standard dual laser cannon?"

Masilla seemed lost in thought for a minute so she took some time to process and answer his question. "Yes, we left them alone but when you come back and we have enough time I plan to install the red dwarf power source that those automated cannons on Yati used. Command is still touchy about using them until we know what the negative aspect of them is."

Jace nodded his head as he understood their concern. "Okay, in that case I have to ask why did you name Cerberus Squad's new ship Guardian?" He was genuinely curious it was doubtful they would just pick a name out of the hat. He knew some humans worked like that but as far as he was aware the hydragentia had far too much pride in their work to do something like that. So there had to be a reason for her choice in name.

Masilla did the equivalent of smiling, which was still disturbing to Jace since he had yet to get used to all of the different facial expressions that the various races in the Victorium made. "It was actually my idea. I started looking into the origin or your squad's name. The mythological creature known as Cerberus was a three headed dog with something called a dragon's tail and all sorts of things. The creature appears to be something known as the Guardian of the Underworld. Which reminds me, what is your species fascination with death?"

"It is just something we developed. Soldiers especially prefer something involving dangerous or deadly creatures for a title or symbol. The deadlier it is, the seemingly more dangerous or deadly the squad or unit it relates to is." Jace began explaining. "But I honestly think at this point it is more of a habit than anything else.

"Ah…" Masilla nodded her branches and vines creaking as she did, "back to the ship's name. We named it Guardian since Cerberus is the Guardian to the Underworld. Which I have done my research correctly is where humans believe the deceased go?"

"Not quite." Jace shook his head as he stopped off the Guardian's ramp and stood to the side as Josef and Jul'an pulled a large box onto the ship. "Human culture is vast and varied. There are many cultural and religious beliefs. The one in question that the Cerberus and Underworld is from relates to something called the Greek Pantheon."

"This Greek Pantheon, is it something your Vexical Empire follows closely or religiously?" Masilla was distracted as Ulin pushed a hoverbike onto the ship. They were packing a varied number of items.

"No, but it does help us understand ourselves. Which is the reason we study it. The Vexical Empire does not have a specific religious belief. But it does allow the freedom of religions and cultures as long as those religions and cultures do not pressure or act negatively to others." Jace explained. "I am sure there are at least one or two articles that explain all of this in detail."

"Are you not worried about religious persecution?" Masilla asked, he had no idea where this question was coming from. He would have to look into the Victorium religions as well.

"No, most counties allow for religious and cultural freedom. Doing so makes trade easier." Jace explained, "not to mention it can prevent another type of uprising or way for discontent to spread."

"Spectre Jace we are ready to go!" Nila called out from the top of the ramp.

Jace nodded, "excuse me." He then walked up the ramp of their new ship, the Guardian of the Underworld.