See the Open Sun Go Past

[Ultimatum]

The first of the sensors was being installed into a protodroid. There had been some difficulty overcoming the power draw that such a complex and delicate device required. However, he had made it efficient enough to work within a combat droid's power supply, theoretically. That was why this droid was being tested with it. The droid was supposed to have been constructed for the purpose of testing future tech and was outfitted with most standard parts that Ultimatum put in most of his droid's.

The unit was being put together right in front of the AI, inside what would appear to be an operating room attached to a number of clear reinforced testing chambers. Ultimatum intended on putting the unit through tests that both tested the capabilities of the sensor and of the droid while utilizing the system. If this functioned as he anticipated, this would be revolutionary against stealthed opponents on the battlefield, or more importantly in locating people in an emergency situation.

 

[Ultimatum]

It was an hour of delicate work before the droid was made operational. The standard sensors on the droid had been replaced with the advanced new system. There had been a complexity with the systems taking up space that was used for other systems. There had been some rearranging while Ultimatum tried to create a more sophisticated system that would be more compact. While the calculations were running Ultimatum turned his attention to the now functioning droid.

It seemed to respond to outside stimulus in a normal way, there appeared to be no symptoms of power loss. However, that was only for now. Ultimatum expected there to be signs of power loss as the battle simulations took place. The stresses of the battlefield were much greater than most others, which was why Ultimatum was looking into other technology that would aid in that. For now he had to work with what he had, which was to make this tech as energy efficient as possible. Once the unit had began a full transmission of its current status, the computers could begin a complete verification and following monitoring while the tests took place.

 

[Ultimatum]

Now that the monitoring was taking place, Ultimatum began the testing phase. The first chamber was in effect a treadmill with holographic displays that would attempt to simulate a battlefield in which the droid would be unable to directly combat the enemy. This was not a test of the droid's brain capabilities, thus the setting of enemy intelligence was in no way special.

The test was straightforward and it acted as such. The droid seemed capable of running for extended periods of time, preforming complex maneuvers without significant power drain. When the test was repreformed, with the sensor equipment activated, Ultimatum found that the power drain was greater than before, but within acceptable perimeters. There was also an incredible amount of information entering through the droid's mind. It would be even more intriguing to see the results in the stealth detection tests.

As it was, the prediction for power draw was to the effect that the droid would continue to function for approximately two hours in the current conditions. Not a very long time given current droid battery capabilities, but then again it was plenty long enough for most battles. It was a question of how the stealth detection would work in battle conditions. That would be a complex situation, but hopefully the droids would be able to detect and send the location of stealthed units, even if they could not deal with the threat themselves.

 

[Ultimatum]

The second test, after an hour of the first, was the stealth chamber. It contained a number of various items with differing stealth tech to hide them. It would be most interesting to see how it responded. The first was perhaps the most common, technology that hid the heat of an organic body or a droid's motors. The vast majority of these technologies created something of a vacuum of heat, where the temperatures did not properly match with the surroundings. The idea behind the sensor was that it would be able to detect even the minutest differences in temperatures. If a small region stood out and was unnaturally out of place then the droid would be able to detect it and hopefully respond to it as needed.

The second method was sound muting, if one could not hear the enemy then there was no way for the droids to easily locate the enemy. Therefore he needed a system that would allow his droids to pick up even the slightest sound, or the lack of sound. When one is capable of making a system incredibly precise it is possible for it to be used as an locator of its own. Sound reflected off of every physical object, whether physical or not. If a droid took a step, if its sensors were good enough it could hear the sound over and over again as it returned after bouncing off of the various objects around it. With a basic calculation it would be possible to use the information to create a near perfect image of what surrounded the droid without a single photo-receptor. Therefore, even if the enemy was capable of hiding all of their noise and was completely invisible in most other ways, the noise from the droid would bounce off of the enemy and the droid would be alerted to a threat nearby.

The third method was the method of air movement. Definitely related to the sound, as the two are intertwined in how they function, it works in a different manner. Rather than measure noise and calculate images based on reverberations, the air movement uses incredibly sensitive sensors to calculate the movement of air in the surrounding area. In this way, it would be possible to locate an organic by a number of methods, if it breathes then it would be visible by the intake and exhale of breath. If it has moving parts, then the movements cause air flow disruptions which are then capable of being seen by the sensors. The sensors are even capable, when set on the highest power usage, of catching the minute air movements caused by organic pores. The final method of locating a stealthed enemy is by the movement of air around the organic. No matter what form of stealth is used, air moves around a being, therefore this sensor is capable of finding an organic based on the air moving around them.

The fourth and most algorithmic of the lot is the ability to calculate light waves. In much the same way of the air movement detector, the light is calculated in an area around the sensor unit. This was chosen due to the fact that the vast majority of both stealth technology and Force techniques relied upon the bending of light around a person. This sensor could then calculate the change in light movement to find an unnatural disturbance in light movements. Thereby locating an enemy.

 

[Ultimatum]

The heat tests went on without a hitch. Thanks to some equipment that he had picked up during a recent battle he had access to a thermal shielding material. For this, the other sensor were temporarily disengaged while the thermal attempted to pick it up. It was not very difficult, a few moments and the difference in temperature of the clothing and the surrounding air was evident. Ultimatum had expected this to be the easiest of the four to make right. After all, it was founded on technology that had been used for millennia.

The sound testing was a little more complex, Ultimatum had one of the Redeemed brought in to help here. With a noise suppressing system activated on the Nekghoul he began to walk around the small chamber, attempting to be as silent as possible. At first it appeared that the droid was no responding to any of the potential stimulus, however after a moment or two it began to react and located the hidden person. It was reset and then ordered to utilize its own sounds to create an image of the surroundings. It began walking in place, for a few seconds and then stood still while it created an image. A few moments passed before information was transmitted with a near perfect outline image of the droid's surroundings. Ultimatum decided to keep the image for potential proof for sale or something.

 

[Ultimatum]

The light was next, as Ultimatum had some concerns with the air tracking system. All of the objects were removed from the chamber and the Nekghoul sat down nearby. Arketh had been chosen due to his greater Force capacity than the other Nekghouls. At this time he was perhaps the greatest Force user that Ultimatum had access to at the time. Thanks to the Nox Holocron, the Nekghoul had learned how to hide his presence visible, though it was something of an imperfect stealth. It was enough to make it difficult to detect him visibly. The droid had all other sensors and receptors shut off while it focused the attempt at using the light tracking.

The monitoring witnessed a massive spike in brain work, most of the droid's mind was being put to calculating the light pathways. It was a downside that needed working on. However, the imagery created was an almost artistic in its flowing lines. It was akin to watching a river, and the point where Arketh was bending light around himself to make himself invisible was plainly seen in the image. The droid immediately turned towards the Nekghoul and it halted there. The next step was to check based on air movement.

Ultimatum believed that he had come to a solution for the theoretical issue that he saw. The result of the work he had was simply a recalibration of the system that would open up space for a small update. He waited to see what would come of the test first. It would prove to be a rather long preparation. Arketh was left waiting for some time while the systems reset and the air tracking came online.

 

[Ultimatum]

Now it was time to test the most sensitive system of them all. The droid began work and immediately there was a significant power draw. The information coming in was far too much, the system was being overwhelmed as it attempted to calculate the movement of air in a ten meter radius. Ultimatum sent the restart update and they waited for a few moments. The droid shut down and began installing the update.

It was about a five minute wait, when at last the droid began sending in information again. Ultimatum had reduced the area in which the air tracking worked, hoping to reduce both the mental taxation and the power draw. It seemed to be working for now. The system alerted the droid to the presence of unnatural air movement, specifically the breathing of the Nekghoul. Ultimatum sent in a command for Arketh to hold his breath. As the Redeemed complied, the system went through a thirty second reset as it attempted to calibrate for the lower air movement.

When it came around, the sensor indicated that it was capable of identifying the slight oxygen movement caused by the pores of the Nekghoul's skin. Exactly as Ultimatum had hoped, however this increased sensitivity also made it more drawing on the power. Better than before the update and it stood as an alright power drain about standard compared to other systems that would be in droids. With that done it would be time to move to the next test.

 

[Ultimatum]

The next test, and the last for this round, was the abilities of the sensor in a battlefield situation. The droid moved into the next chamber, using a number of devices the droid was put into a setting of combat with various stealthed objects in the way. It would require the droid to locate these hidden objects as well as avoid as much damage as possible, while attempting to destroy what enemies it could. There was a high chance that the various requirements would tax the droid's power reserves considerably, which would hopefully be capable of rectification when a more powerful battery was put into the combat models.

The test began and the droid maintained a high performance as it moved about defeating opponents. At first the sudden blaster fire seemed to cause a reset in all systems, but as the fight continued and loud noises and bright lights became normal the sensors seemed to be able to continue functioning at an acceptable rate. The only issue that continued to plague the droid was the limited power supply, something that the combat droids would have no problem with. It was towards the end that the droid began to slow down, the battery running too low to continue efficiently.

 

[Ultimatum]

The final test was unsuccessful, by mere moments. The droid had finally run low enough to require a recharge. It was entirely possible for the theoretical potential capabilities of the proper droids. Ultimatum simply had to go over the results and the sensor after the tests. It might not be obvious, but damage could have occurred over the various maneuvers that the droid conducted.

As the droid was taken back to the 'operating room' Ultimatum turned his attention to the information collected by the monitor computers. It was important to know what the actual numbers said, rather than the theoretical numbers that had been part of the initial creation. It would help in the production of later models, integrating them into past, current, and all future droids. He looked forward to seeing what the condition of the sensor was. If the current information was anything to go by then it was unlikely that considerable damage had been done. As standard however, the sensors themselves would be checked anyways. It was key that they got this right due to its importance in any number of roles.

 

[Ultimatum]

The last act of this procedure was the overview of the physical sensor system. Unless some unprecedented flaw could be found, it was beyond measure that there would be nothing more to do than set the preparation for the mass production of these devices, to become standard in all droids, and hopefully retrofit into some of the older models. This would be worth much in the future, both for military and other emergency services. The droid could envision it used in a fire fighter's arsenal. Allowing a droid to locate people trapped in a burning building or in a crash site. This would hopefully save organics across the galaxy.

That was the nature of the beast technology. Fueled by war, people created objects that changed how the war was conducted, then after the war had been completed, the technology would eventually end up in the civilian district where its most helpful uses would be found. Thus far, there was no technological advancement which could not be turned from a weapon into a device that helped organics. Perhaps their only failing was the fact that they did not first seek to advance the civilian world before the war.

That was something Ultimatum wished to see changed, he almost always planned his inventions to play a double role, no matter what circumstances they may play into. This was part of the future. The ability to detect hidden threats would minimize their usage for a time, until the opposition had discovered a more effective method of hiding. Until that day, he would work on what he had to fight. That was how he intended on aiding the organics in their advancement. By creating something that endangered their ability to hide they would rush for an alternative. In so doing they would create advancements that would in the long run help them.