A Long Way From Home
"You appear to have survived your encounter with the mammal," the walls of the ship intoned as Mara left the bewildered Brady poking around the windows of the adjacent house.
"Yeah, no thanks to your lazy ass. Why couldn't you just zap him?"
"I informed you I was in extreme power saver mode. Now that I have integrated myself into the local electrical system, I have enough power to get crucial systems online. Please come to the control room."
"You call holographic manifestation 'crucial systems'?" Mara spluttered. "C'mon Fugi, I need engines; I need navigation; I need photo-voltaic-nutrient sol packs."
"Engines are non functional. Navigation is non functional. Solar nutrition packs non functional. Power generation non functional. Hull integrity non functional. Water purification systems non functional. Matter replication functioning at 14.2%. Holographic communication system fully operational."
"Thanks. You're busted to hell but at least I have a friendly face to talk to. What happened?
"Those logs are classified."
"Fugi, I'm the captain."
"Sixam protocol calls for all logs regarding the malfuntion of ships to be encrypted until the AI core can be uploaded at Central. This is to prevent tampering and operational security."
"Fine. What do I need to get you flying again?"
"That doesn't seem too bad. Yeah, they're rare, but this is a rocky planet. I'm sure the local geology will turn up something. Maybe even the locals have found some stuff that I can trade for."
"Removing any resources from me will only increase the amount of material you need to find to get home."
"You will also need a Zarinne core. Which can only be found on Sixam. I'm sorry Mara. I am permanently grounded on a pre-hyperflight planet."
"Then I am calling home to get one," Mara growled through gritted teeth as she stomped out of the room.
