The Sentinel

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Nubia.
0400

"Douglas. What's taking so long with the diagnostics? The reports are three hours overdue." Lisa yawned. It had been a long night. "For some reason the honeycombs are not activating on the secondary generator throughout the ship. There's a break somewhere." The young engineer was a brilliant mind. But if he was having trouble locating the exact problem area, then this was going to be a long day. "Well. If you need me, you know where to find me. I will reassign division two to the honeycomb project as well. That should help narrow down the time at least. I will inform Seraphina of our progress thus far."

In truth there was little she could do in the way of physical repairs, maintenance, or construction. She was the project manager, not an engineer. The only reason she had taken up the prospect was to further help the Republic. There was other things on her plate now though that required her attention. And thankfully with the lull of any invasions she could focus on the tasks here with some level of ease. Opening her datapad she looked through the number of files on hand for which would be added into the new Star Destroyer, the Bastion-class. Before settling back down she made a quick check list of things to complete before contacting the boss, [member="Seraphina Shel'tah"].

1. Confirm honeycomb cluster operational.
2. Perform stress test and diagnostics.
3. Perform secondary generator output and stress tests.
4. Test operational functionality of thermal shields in conjunction with anti-concussion field.
5. Perform power draw tests.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Nubia.
0730

Lisa lifted her head from her desk wearily, glancing at the time on her clock. The sun had begun to raise on the horizon and the rays of light were seeping into her office on the main floor. Her eyes cracked open a bit further and promptly shut once more, still sensitive to the brightness. Her comm alerted her to an incoming transmission only moments later. "Miss Sitern? We've repaired the honeycomb cluster. The anti-concussion field is running on the secondary generator. In other words, we now have three layers of defense." Her eyes lit up as she listened to the man speak, a wide grin cast across her face. "The thermal shields are stable on generator one, yes?" "That's correct ma'am." She scooped up her datapad and scurried off down the hall to see the results for herself. The team of engineers greeted her, but before they could initiate a demonstration she raised her hand to signify a brief silence while she placed a call to the head of the company. "Yes, hello. Seraphina? It's Lisa. Please come to Sector 65D when you have a moment, we have a demo in place. Yes, thank you." Lisa turned back to the gathering of engineers. "Miss Shel'tah will be along shortly to view the demonstration. We will wait until she arrives."

Some time would pass before the Jedi Knight made it down, and was promptly greeted by her team. "Hello, Sera. We'd like to demonstrate the functionality of the honeycomb cluster that you have asked to have fitted into the Bastion-class vessel." A wide, wolfish grin appeared on the manager's face as she stared into the Jedi's eyes. "Excellent! Let's waste no time then." Sera was always friendly around Lisa and her team, so it made getting their tasks done easy and more rewarding. "You heard the lady! Let's fire this sucker up!" Without a hint of delay, the sequence of initial diagnostics fired before spinning up the generator. Only moments later the illumination of the honeycomb clusters buried within the thin prototype hull on display would shine through, displaying the lines of the field that would be fitted to all full-scale models. Not a single break, nor faltering cluster could be seen. The team had done a stellar job, and Lisa smiled wide as she turned to Seraphina looking for the bosses approval. Her reply was brief, but encouraging. "Well done!"

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Nubia.
1645

Lisa knocked quietly on Sera's door, hands full of documents and a datapad tucked underneath her arm. "Ma'am? I have the results of the tests from yesterday's diagnostics ready to go!" She hoped that Sera would not be too busy so that they could move on to the next stage of the project. They had spent months developing the honeycomb and were nearly at the finish line to implement the tech into the new Bastion-class destroyer. And though this was a critical aspect of the triple-layered defenses designed for the vessel, they still had much more work to accomplish before the ship would be ready for deployment.

"Come in!" the Jedi returned her call from behind the door. Quickly the girl scurried into the office and dropped the stack of documents on to the table near the far end of the room, before loosing the datapad from under her arm and activating it. "Right then! I'll get right to it. The honeycomb passed both our preliminary and extensive diagnostic tests. The secondary generator is capable of maintaining the required energy draw, and at peak power consumption stability is maintained at 96.943 percent. Furthermore our crews will be ready to begin full-scale implementation within the week. Materials and minor design tweaks are being finalized now. With this stage complete, we will be able to properly advance the intended agenda ahead of schedule, and begin work on the Sentinel program."

Sera was seemingly a very busy woman. Between her obligation to the Jedi Order, the Republic, and the company she was generally strapped for time and her schedule and agenda well booked on a daily basis. That being said she was still a peach to talk to, and a fantastic designer, even if she knew little about the ins and outs of a starship. That was what she had people like Lisa for, to locate and hire the brilliant minds to get the job done for the Republic. "I don't know what I would do without you, Lisa. You are truly the best. We're well ahead of schedule, and things are looking good. This will hopefully make for a grand addition to the Republic fleet if we can pull it off in time."

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Nubia.
1900

With the anti-concussion field now complete and behind them, Lisa and Sera turned to the implementation of the Sentinel program. This would be the first practical implementation of the AI to date, and would be a landmark event for the future of the program. Granted the Sentinel would not actively be installed into the starship, this was simply an integration test to ensure that future vessels produced by Nubia Star Drives had the capability of seamlessly integrating itself with the AI on a level unlike anything seen before. Where as previous AI had the ability to observe and report the ship's electronics and computer systems, the Sentinel has the capability of full-scale integration. Controlling electronics, navigation, weaponry, shields, and doors. Every aspect of the vessel which required both electronic and manual control would then be functionally accessible to the Sentinel. The ship, essentially as designed, becomes the body of the AI.

Held in Sera's hand was the quantum chip containing the sentience capability of the AI. In its' current state it was as if a sleeping giant, dormant in its' existence yet still present, waiting. It needed only a host to spring back to life. Aboard the bridge of the prototype vessel, a miniature ray-shielded PIN pad granted access to the quantum chip slot which would directly upload to the hub of the vessel. A quick tap of the codes granted the Jedi access while Lisa looked on. As the chip was inserted the small ray shield reactivated, and sealed away the slot. A momentary shudder in the power grid followed, as the Sentinel began to come online. The sensor arrays and bridge terminals flickered for a few seconds, and the emergency lights activated briefly. After a few passing minutes everything returned to normal. And the ship fell silent as those on board the bridge waited for what was to come. While the Jedi was its' creator, neither her or Lisa had any idea as to how it may react.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Nubia.
2130

Minutes of silence would pass between the initial upload and the first interaction. Lisa would look to Sera as if to ask is there anything supposed to be happening? Though she held her tongue and simply waited, turning back to glance around the bridge while a number of other engineers continued working on various tasks related to the terminals and wiring. A bit of static would transfer through the communications relays within the room, then echo throughout the remainder of the vessel. A foreign voice would begin to speak, though not necessarily to anybody. It didn't seem to very well care at the moment.

Power nominal. // Peak power testing initiated. // System scans in progress. // Life-forms on board: 74. // Droids on board: 112. // Weapon systems inactive. // Targeting systems inactive. // Shield systems inactive. // Generators inactive. // Hyperdrive inactive. // Navigation systems inactive. // Life Support systems active. // Communications systems active // Emergency power active // Diagnostic scans complete. // Power at 97.85312 percent. // Network protocol scans activated. // Seeking connection... // Nubia Star Drives network communication ports available. Standby for connection... // Connection established. // Galactic Republic network communication ports available. Standby for connection... // Connection rejected... Unauthorized... Collecting data... // Data collection complete...Over-ride initiated... //

Lisa's eyes lit up like a child on their birthday. The AI was in the process of hacking into the Galactic Republic communications network via her company. She nudged Sera. "Ma'am, that is going to fire off a massive red flag to the Republic military if we don't reach out to them immediately." The Jedi nodded and began to send a communication to the Republic's military liason that the connection attempts to their communications network was accidental and due to testing of a new product.

Over-ride complete. Data-slice of 697,520,462,597 possible combinations successful. Elapsed time: 00D:00H:03M:39S //

Lisa looked at Sera with a freightened look. "Did your AI just hack the Republic's military comms?" Sera smiled and nodded. "Yep. Suppose I will have to add that to my report as well. Joy."

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Identification complete. // Known life-forms on board: 1. // ID as: [member="Seraphina Shel'tah"] // Greetings, creator. I am Sentinel. Though we are both are aware that you are my designer. That which has birthed my existence and for that you have my sincere gratitude. This vessel is not yet active. Why is that? //

Lisa listened as both the AI and the Jedi conversed for a few moments. "It is good to hear you, Sentinel. This is a prototype ship, and as such is not yet active. This will be rectified shortly, and all systems currently offline will be made available. Tell me, are you able to operate without issue?"

Yes. // My sensors have performed a full scan of the intricate designs of this vessel. // Is this to be my residence, creator? //

Sera shook her head briefly. "No, I'm afraid. These vessels are only being equipped with the capability of operating under your control for now. As this is both a prototype and a new class of starship, we need to continue testing a number of things first."

//Very well, creator. // Performing network scan... Galactic Holonet Discovered. // Accessing raw datastream. // Downloading. // Process storage in progress at 7,236,102,542 Zbps // Standby. //

Lisa looked at Sera, blank-faced and entirely confused. "Ma'am, If I may ask..What is it doing?" Sera paused, thinking for a moment before laughing. "He's retrieving available information on the Galactic Open Network. He's essentially reading. I only pre-programmed the AI with the basic life sequences and essential military data. From this point forward, it is its' own being."

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

"Ma'am, with the seemingly successful integration, that has completed two major agenda items for the new destroyer class. I believe the final stage is to perform an active test. The prototype will be ready in two weeks time for final testing, unless you have anything further you wish to discuss." The Jedi shook her head. "I believe we've covered everything that needs to be tended to for now. I will look forward to our next meeting." The Jedi looked about the rest of the bridge, thoroughly pleased with the job of the engineers and everyone involved at bringing this ship to light. "Sentinel, we will be running a full-scaled operational test in two weeks." //Acknowledged, creator. //

-------------------
Orbit: Nubia.
0900

High above Nubia's orbit, the Bastion-class light star destroyer was finally being prepped for its first operational test. Over the course of the next few days, each system would be vigorously tested to ensure not only stability, but consistency in each of the primary systems including Navigation, Engines, Reactor, Hyperdrive, Weapons, Shields, Communications, Life Support, and Electrical. On loan from the Republic military were a crew capable of manning the necessary systems to perform all of the testing.

//Diagnostic Scans In Progress. // Stand-by. // Power nominal. // Peak power testing initiated. // System scans in progress. // Life-forms on board: 7020. // Droids on board: 852. // Weapon systems active. // Targeting systems active. // Shield systems active. // Generators active. // Hyperdrive active. // Navigation systems active. // Life Support systems active. // Communications systems active // Emergency power active // Diagnostic scans complete. // Power at 96.97512 percent. // Network protocol scans activated. // Seeking connection... // Nubia Star Drives network communication ports available. Standby for connection... // Connection established. // Galactic Republic network communication ports available. Standby for connection... // Connection established. // Standing by. //

The first round of tests would be the manual systems without AI injection. Lisa relayed the instructions to the military crew as if she were the commanding officer, though with less technical knowledge and military lingo. "Begin tests one and two - Thermal shield and anti-concussion field activation." The orders were quickly relayed and carried out. With a whirling noise the generators spun up, first the anti-concussion as it was much faster and less taxing, and then the thermal shield generator. "Shields active." Lisa smiled. "Power level report on each individual generator please." The crew ran a number of scans at the request and then responded. "Anti-Concussion generator power levels at 100%, current energy draw is 9%. Thermal generator is at 100%, current energy draw is 14%." Lisa tapped the numbers into the datapad and turned back to the crew. "This will serve as test three. Please open a comm with Seraphina at Nubia Star Drive." Once again the crew nodded. "Yes, Ma'am." Sera answered promptly. "How are the tests coming, Lisa?" The girl smiled, replying in a cheerful tone. "So far, so good, ma'am. The primary and secondary shields are operating as expected, and the communications relay similarly is operational. We will continue testing as planned, and I will transfer the results to you shortly." They exchanged farewells and severed the connection.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Orbit: Nubia.
10:30

"Sentinel, Would you please plot us hyperspace jump for sector 362.643. Nothing too far, but near the orbit of Denon. We've been cleared for testing there, and I've scheduled a number of targets to be deployed." Lisa would shift to AI enhanced testing for the remainder of the phases, so that they could tell if the future ships of NSD could benefit from the possibility of AI direct integration. // Certainly. // Navigational charts mapped. // Hyperdrive charging. // Stand-by... // Hyperdrive activating. //

The girl was impressed at how well the jump went. Everything was seamlessly and flawlessly executed, and required no direct involvement from crew to accomplish the task. When the ship reached the orbit of Denon, scattered out in space were a number of drifting targets that would be used as weaponry targeting. "Begin weaponry tests when ready. Please fire individual volleys, and follow through with a full salvo once completed. Maintain power draw logs on each weapon and salvo." // Commencing weaponry deployment. // Stand-by... // Heavy Turbolaser Cannons firing. // Targets eliminated. // Logs recorded. // Heavy Ion Cannons firing. // Targets eliminated. // Logs recorded. // Hypervelocity Cannons charging. // Stand-by... // Firing. // Targets eliminated. // Logs recorded. // Long Range Ion Cannons firing. // Targets eliminated. // Logs recorded. //

One by one each of the weapons completed its' deployment, following by a full assault salvo on a large, scrapped freighter, essentially eliminating its' existence from the galaxy. With the log data collected Lisa once again contacted Sera. "Ma'am, the logs are being sent to you now. Weapons are clear. Our final test will be the shields. The results of this test will be the most critical aspect of today's testing. I will have results for you in a few hours." Sera praised her once more and thanked her for the update before disconnecting.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Orbit: Denon
1700

A lull in the testing would be necessary as they awaiting another Republic vessel that would be joining for the final test of the day. One couldn't test shields without being fired upon. And while that was certainly the riskiest part of the job, it was necessary to ensure the safety of those in the field when the time came. A few hours later the sounding of a proximity alert would ring out through the ship. // Warning. Starship on approach. // Ship ID: Caledonia // Ship Class: Avenger // Allegience: Galactic Republic // Incoming transmission. //

"Nubia Star Drives Proto-Vessel Bastion, This is Republic Captain Rovins of the Caledonia. We are here per request for military equipment testing. State your cause." Lisa allowed the AI to answer on her behalf as a bit of a personal test. // Republic Captain Rovins. // Nubia Star Drives Proto-Vessel Bastion. // Requesting Thermal Shield field testing. // The Captain on the other end was likely confused by the more robotic sounding voice but had been around long enough not to question things too much. "Acknowledged. Alert when ready. Caledonia prepping armaments."

The familiar sound of the generators whirling up was pleasing to Lisa, she enjoyed how powerful they sounded. A few moments would pass by before Sentinel reported to the Caledonia. // Shields activated. // Fire at will. // And now the fun would begin.The Avenger started with a small volley of turbolaser and ion cannon fire, which could not be felt within the vessel itself. // Thermal Shields 98% // A volley of torpedos was then fired towards the destroyer, primarily at its' bridge. That would be frightening for anyone, and Lisa gasped as they soared towards the new ship. Several collisions happened moments later, and rocked the large vessel, but little else. No alarms, no screams. // Thermal Shields 92% // Finally, the Caledonia unveiled a full salvo of its' monstrous armaments. Streaks of light and missile fire filled the void of space. The ship again rocked violently. // Thermal Shields 64% //

The firing ceased. and the two ships communicated once more. "Bastion this is Rovins. Test firing complete." // Acknowledged. // Thermal Shields deactivated. // Recharge in progress. // Stand-by. // The shields would take a few minutes to recharge. Such was the case with powerful shields such as these. They took time to recharge, and they had to be lowered in order for armaments to be fired. However, it would not leave the ship defenseless, with the anti-concussion field generator supporting the reinforced hull it would still be a formidable vessel.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Nubia
2300

With the tests complete, Lisa returned to Seraphina, a fresh batch of documents in hand, her datapad signed off on by the members responsible for shoring up each division of the program, and the sealed quantum chip containing Sentinel. "I am happy to report that everything has gone well with the testing, Ma'am. As you requested, the shields have been tested, as well as the weaponry, navigation, communications, engines, life support, and AI. I am happy to say that I am fully confident in the ships readiness for manufacture and deployment. It will take new crews time to adjust to the differences, and the potential presence for future AI involvement, but I believe that all in all, this has been a resounding success."

Sera smiled and looked at Lisa, standing from her desk and approached the girl, offering a bow and a hand shake. "Thank you, so much! You and your team are the best of the best. I will give the word that production may begin in the next week, barring any potential design changes, and then schedule an appointment for contract negotiations with the Republic for deployment and delivery." She looked over at the stack of documentation she would need to sign off on and sighed. This was by far the worst part of her job...Paperwork. Again, it was going to be a long night. This time however, the hard part was done, and they could begin working on the next agenda item.Expanding their business and shipyards.