After taking a very long shower in the incredible tub I dressed in a black jumpsuit that Taimia provided for me. I couldn’t remember the last time I had felt clean. The prison clothes were happily dropped into the recycler, and in the dresser I found the jumpsuit. Taimia explained that the tech was called particle synthesis but was actually somehow associated with nanobots. Truth be told, I understood about half of the things she explained to me, if i was lucky. Taimia then proceeded to make dinner for me in the same manner, a box on the wall opened and inside was food and a tall glass of water with ice. I enjoyed the roasted chicken breast, buttered green beans and corn. It was a thoroughly satisfying meal that tasted like real meat and veggies. I had been afraid it would taste manufactured or something, but I was pleasantly surprised.

After eating I roamed the ship, exploring. My eyes exploded wide when I crossed into the aft section of the operations deck. The three letters REC were written above the door and when it opened, there in front of me, was a waterfall, literally. Almost the entire floor of the space was taken up by a huge swimming pool, the lip of which came to chest height. Peering over the wall I could see that it actually went down further into the floor, but there was a slope inside of it. The waterfall cascaded down from the top deck on the right side of the room and looking up I could see a high dive board across from it. There was a low wall behind the waterfall and I made my way over to look behind it only to find a jacuzzi in a secluded shadowy corner, like a grotto. “Now I know why this was considered a luxury yacht” I said to myself.

Behind the waterfall, the entire rear wall of the room all the way up to the ceiling of the top deck above me, was a massive window. The view it would show in space would be incredible once we were in space. The support braces that crisscrossed the window would hardly detract from the view. The open floor held six sun loungers with several more folded up and stacked against the left wall. Behind me against the wall flanking the door were two ladders set into an alcove in the wall. I climbed one to the top deck and found myself on a balcony overlooking the pool below.

The waterfall was being shot out of a long and narrow rectangular opening in the floor at the base of the balcony on the right side. A safety railing ran the length of the opening to the floor below with a small gate near the diving board. The window from below continued over the entire ceiling of the top deck and to the sides were areas with tables and chairs. Between the ladders was a door and through it was the rest of the topdeck.

Immediately in front of me was an open dancefloor that was perhaps ten meters squared. To the right was an alcove with several musical instruments set up for group play. On my left was an alcove with tables and chairs. Beyond the dancefloor was a square shaped bar with seating on all four sides. Past the bar were a dozen tables each with multiple chairs. And again, the entire ceiling was glass criss-crossed with support braces. Lights were lined into the braces but weren’t doing much right now as the dock lights shining through the glass were much larger.

“Taimia, this deck and the one below look like an epic party scene, but they looked designed for way more people than can fit on this ship. There just aren’t enough crew quarters.”

“The quarters on decks Q1 and Q3 can be configured to be one large cabin or multiple small ones. I can reconfigure each one to hold up to four quarters, each capable of housing two individuals.”

I quickly did the math in my head. “So this ship could house thirty two people?”

“Thirty five,” she corrected me.” You forgot the Captain’s quarters. And if the need is great I can reconfigure the top deck into sleeping quarters as well. However there are no shower facilities or private restrooms for those individuals.”

“This ship is incredible.” I said to myself

“Thank you” Taimia replied

I looked down to the Fajani gun I still had clipped to my belt. It was awkward and bumped my thigh with every step. “You mentioned Templar armor earlier?” I asked her.

“If you proceed to the armory I can outfit you right now. I started an active suit when you showed interest this afternoon.” Taimia said

Unsure of what she meant, I rode the lift down one deck and entered the room labeled Armory. It was tiny, rectangular in shape and smelled like burnt ozone. To my right was a desk with two consoles and a chair, in front of me was a bench large enough for two or three people and to my left was a tube that was about three feet in diameter and ran into the floor and ceiling. As I looked at it, the door to it opened. “Remove all clothing and jewelry then step inside the tube.” Taimia instructed.

I stripped quickly, my excitement propelling me. Once in the tube I followed Taimia’s instructions and stood with my feet in marked circles and my hands placed at certain points along the back wall. Blue light cascaded into the small tube and rotated around me. I could hear thumps and wumps as I was scanned. Then it happened; energy flooded into the tube and I shut my eyes against the bright light. The air flashed hot and cold repeatedly and my skin rippled as layers of something grew along it. Plates of heavy metal slid back and forth causing my bones to vibrate. The experience wasn’t painful but it was extremely intense.

When the light faded I opened my eyes to find I was now looking out of the visor of a helmet. The HUD on the visor was unlike any I'd seen before. Looking down at my metal armored hand, I could see incredible levels of detail. There was an oval shaped port on my palm with ridges that coned out from the center and I was fully able to discern micro pores all along the length. The door opened and I stepped out. I could feel power humming within the armor. It didn’t vibrate but there was something tangible about the sensation. Even though the armor must have weighed at least my own body weight or more; it wasn’t bulky and I could move in it with ease, as if I wasn't wearing armor.

“The version of Templar armor you have is the same as James Malaki. Your progenitor nanites allow you to interact with the suit in ways not possible for an ordinary human. As a result there are parameters unblocked for you that expand the suit’s capabilities. For example, you have the ability to scan technology and replicate it. Adapting it to fit the needs of your suit and your personal preferences.” Taimia instructed

“What about this?” I asked, reaching down to pick up the Fajani weapon. As I stood I gasped in shock, I could feel the texture of the weapon right through the gloves of the suit. With awe I placed my hand on the wall and moved it from side to side. I could feel everything.

“Hold the item away from your chest and scan it.” She said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I held it out, but nothing happened. “How do I scan it?”

“Every feature of the Templar armor is mentally controlled. You must will the suit to do what you would like. It may be awkward at first, but it will become second nature over time.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, then held the pistol out again and imagined my suit scanning it. A thin blue beam lanced out and danced over the gun for a few seconds then disappeared. On the visor I could see the words scanning with a progress bar while the suit was doing it. ‘Scanning’ changed to ‘Adapting’ and it also had a progress bar. It took about ten seconds to complete and the word ‘Implement’ popped up with a question mark. ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ options blinked back and forth in the space the progress bar had been. I looked hard at the word yes and imagined pressing a button for yes. ‘Location?’ popped up with a wireframe cutout of a person from the waist up. There were four red flashing regions, two were the hands and two were the shoulders. I focused on the right hand and it changed green. Nothing else happened so I did the same to the left hand, it changed as well. Unsure of the next step I imagined my selections were complete and the diagram vanished, it was quickly replaced by ‘Implementing weaponry into left and right hand cannons’. That lasted only a moment before it was replaced with the word ‘Implementing’ and a timer that counted down from just under six hours.

“Wow” I said “and now I’ll be able to shoot like this gun?”

“Yes.” Taimia said matter of factly. “I have a library of equipment scans that can be adapted that you may review and pull from at your leisure.

I held my hand out and imagined myself shooting the shots from the port on my palm but to my surprise the vambrace on my forearm spiraled open, rotated at my wrist and enclosed my entire hand in a large cannon barrel.

“I urge you to practice cautioning your thoughts. The suit will respond as you see. Everything on the armor is mentally controlled, that includes activation and firing of weapons, scanning objects, opening and closing the armor and use of the internal and external communication tools to name a few. There are potentially several hundred items that exist or can be adapted into the suit. All of which is mentally controlled. You would not want to accidentally discharge a weapon in public or open your armor while in the vacuum of space for example.’ Taimia said into my ear

“Point taken.” I said and imagined the cannon retracting the same wait it had opened. It did as I imagined and I looked over my wrist finding no trace that it was ever there. I closed my eyes and imagined myself with no armor on and I felt metal sliding against metal as it retracted to, somewhere. When I opened my eyes, there was nothing left of it. But I could still feel the power of it humming all around me.

“This is why Templar are required to have very strong mental discipline. The Armor Host will be confused if the wearer panics. The host will attempt to only act on clean thought, but when the thoughts received are fractured or erratic it will be confused and may do something dangerous.” Taimia said

That confused me. “Wait, what’s an Armor Host?”

“The armor host is an artificial nanohive mind that acts as the middleman between you and the armor. They interpret your thoughts, actions and impulses, relaying those commands to the armor while also relaying information gained from the suit back to your brain and synapses. Allowing you to experience and understand the feedback with your own senses and intelligence.“

“I’ll have to study up on the ship and this armor in detail. One thing is nagging at me though, where is the armor right now? Under my skin or something? I can still feel it even if I can’t see it.” I asked her as I started getting dressed.

“The armoring process creates a pocket dimension that exists all around you. It is anchored by the nanites within your body. The nanites interact with your brain which is why you can feel the armor at all times, you are feeling the armor through them. The armor is stored in the pocket dimension when not needed and can be called on at any time. Only a fraction of the armor actually leaves the pocket dimension as the fusion reactor that powers the suit it is located within it as well as most fabrication, weapon and peripheral components.” She said

I was about to put on my boots and Taimia interrupted me. “It is not recommended to wear large shoes. The suit will damage or destroy them when armoring.”

“Then what do I wear on my feet?”

“James Malaki’s preferences set a precedent within the Templar. Though it was never a requirement, armoring up boots, vambraces and a vest became the standard casual wear for the armor.”

I considered what she said for a moment and imagined myself with boots, bracers and a metal vest and within a moment I was wearing them. Without the armor being fully connected I could feel the weight of it as it sat on my chest. Moving my arms and legs felt clumsy too. I had to force myself to lift my legs higher as I exited the armory. I’ll probably build up some good muscle this way too. “This is going to take some getting used to.” I said

“Zeveriah has alerted me that your friend is awake.” Taimia informed me.

“Do I need to go up there to get him? Or will he be able to make it down here on his own?” I asked

“Zeveriah says that he can direct your friend to the hanger.” she said

“Ok, let's do that. Taimia can you set up one of the crew quarters for him and let's have a meal ready for him too. I bet he’ll be hungry. While he is on board I do not want him anywhere near any of the operational areas of the ship unless I am with him. Just his quarters, and topdeck.”

“Understood. I will make the necessary preparations.”

I rode the lift back up to the top deck and practiced moving around in the armor more. I was about to ask Taimia about a lightweight version of the boots when I felt them change. Looking down I could see they had changed slightly. I decided to experiment and imagined the boots becoming featherweight. The armor rippled and contracted forming a short slipper around my foot. Taking a few steps felt like walking around barefoot.

With trial and error I found a happy balance and though the chest armor was still heavy, it's weight was distributed very well across my torso and it didn't feel like much of a burden. After reducing the weight of the vambraces slightly they too felt natural to wear. I was pretty certain that less weight also probably meant less protection, but if I were to get into a fight I'd just armor up fully. I was genuinely impressed and down right astonished at how intuitive the armor was, as well as its level of versatility.

I rode a lift down to the hanger and waited at the top of the open ramp. But I didn’t need to wait long, after only a few seconds Aaron came into view. He was limping and carried the shield generator with him. "Taimia, you said the suit can copy any tech?"

"Very nearly. Though it may not be able to integrate everything it copies." She said

"What about a shield generator meant for a small ship?" I asked

"It depends on the technology. You would need to scan it before I could give you an assessment." She replied

A thought crossed my mind and I shuffled it about before tossing it out. "Taimia, can you integrate technology from other ships into the Tempest?"

"It is possible, depending on the technology of course. It may require a space dock to make alterations if they are substantial."

"I was thinking of equipping the Tempest with a shield generator." I said

"Unfortunately, because of the power core, this ship cannot make use of an energy based shield. The power generated is very substantial and a large portion of it is openly bled into space as radiation, giving the ship a large radioscopic signature as a result; but it also gives us the ability to map space three dimensionally, including voids and cloaked ships. If the ship had energy based shields it would prevent the radiation because the energy would be trapped within the shield bubble blinding us and eventually melting the hull."

"Humm, that would be bad." I said mostly to myself before raising my voice and calling out to Briggs. "How's the leg?"

"I'll live. Still hurts a bit but your computer buddy patched me up quite well." He stopped at the bottom of the ramp and took in my appearance with a raised eyebrow. "Wow kid, not just a change of threads but body armor too, you don't waste any time." He said before climbing the steps on the side of the ramp.

"Let me introduce you to Taimia, she is the ship's A.I.". I said to Aaron

"Hello, if you need anything just ask." Taimia said

"Uh, hi." He replied awkwardly as he looked around the interior of the ship's hanger.

I led him over to a lift door. "You can just leave that in the hangar here." I gestured at the shield generator and he put it down. We got into the lift and rode it up to the top deck. He let out a low whistle when he saw the expansive room. I showed him to the bar and pulled out two plates of food from the dispenser under the counter. I had eaten earlier but I was hungry again.

He was only shocked for a moment before he dug in. "Mmmgm" he purred as he bit off a piece of chicken smothered in white gravy. He scooped up green beans and carrots, shoveling them into his mouth.

We had identical meals, right down to the fall of the gravy over the chicken and the placement of the individual pieces of vegetables. "I'm enjoying the meal too but I at least can taste mine." I said to him.

He paused for a moment and looked up, then rotated his head to look at me. "Huh?"

"Slow down man. Foods not goin to grow legs."

"Oh", he said with a short laugh. "Sorry but it's really good and I'm really hungry. Anyway, I've been thinking about where we should go, and I think Brigand's Hold would be our best bet." He said before stuffing his mouth again.

"Where's that? I've never heard of it." I asked

"EQ Pegasi. The two red dwarfs are Flare Stars and that basically makes it impossible to terraform a planet in the system to be habitable. It's kept the Starforce's expeditionary forces out for a long time. They have no interest in the system. Brigand's Hold is located within a small moon that orbits the only gas giant of the system."

"Why do you want to go there?" I asked.

"My brother owns it." He said with a smirk. "He's the one who needs the shield generator."

"Good enough for me. Taimia, set a course for EQ Pegasi and take us out whenever you're ready. Also, if you wouldn't mind, pass along my thanks again to Zeveriah. He is being very generous and I appreciate it greatly."

"Aye Captain" Taimia said as a gentle thump could be felt. "The hanger door is closed and I have passed along your message. Zeveriah says 'good luck and godspeed'. We are departing now. A mild rumble was more felt than heard as the RCS thrusters raised the ship off the dock floor and propelled us out of the bay into space.

"The power core is still not charged enough to make a star jump. However, as we move to the outskirts of the system, the reduced stellar gravity well will dramatically lower our power requirements for jumping. I estimate we will have enough power to perform a star jump to EQ Pegasi in approximately nine hours and twenty two minutes."

I stood and watched out the forward windows as Briggs shoved more food into his mouth. "At least we have time to get some sleep." After telling Briggs where his quarters were I went down and climbed into bed myself.