John looked at the humanoid form that appeared in the screen of the S.A.I.L console.
The humanoid stared at John before it said with a mechanical and emotionless voice, "Greetings, Protector... John Connor. I am S.A.I.L, your Ship-based Artificial Intelligence Lattice. I manage the maintenance of your ship, and I am also programmed to offer you information and advice"
[So this is my S.A.I.L] John analyzed the humanoid figure in the screen. Every S.A.I.L is somewhat different from the other. Be it in appearance or voice tone. Probably because the spaceship John took was a standard edition and was not ready yet for the graduates, the S.A.I.L he got was also the most basic edition, basic looks, and emotionless voice.
"The ship's navigation systems were damaged in our escape" The emotionless S.A.I.L continued, "Our location is currently unknown"
"Wait, what ?" John was shaken from what he had just heard.
"Our location is currently unknown" S.A.I.L unhurriedly repeated.
John fell on his chair and sighed, "There is nothing to help us travel in this unknown place ?"
"None"
John got up and walked toward the glass window. There he was able to see the vast space. Filled with bright dots of lights in the distance.
In face of this outspread space, John felt only solitude and helplessness.
"!!!" John exclaimed in surprise. When the ship slightly rotated he was able to see that they were close to a planet that looked habitable. It was a mixture of blue and green, just like Earth. But what caught his attention is that the planet was close, it was inside the range of the teleport, "S.A.I.L, make an analysis of the planet that is closest from us"
"Yes, Protector" S.A.I.L than disappeared from the console and what appeared was a detailed analysis of the planet.
"Analysis complete" In a few seconds S.A.I.L once again appeared in the console, "Readings indicate the landing site is not unfavorable - the area is safe, and lavish with both flora and fauna. A lush and hospitable place. Threat Level 1, mostly harmless. Geological analysis indicates the presence of iron, coal, gold, copper, and silver. Weather analysis indicates that it has a complete water cycle with rains and, occasionally, storms"
S.A.I.L than looked at John and said, "The ship is heavily damaged and we are unable to leave the planet's orbit. I suggest you beam down to the planet's surface using the teleporter, and search for supplies and perhaps a means of fixing the ship"
John acknowledged S.A.I.L's suggestion. Staying put won't solve anything, he might as well try his luck down there.
He left the cockpit and walked toward the Crafting Room of the ship.
The standard Terrene Protectorate ship has 5 rooms. The Med Bay, the Crafting Room, the Captain Quarters, the Prison Bay and the Cockpit.
The Med Bay is where the Healing Pods are located. The Healing Pods are advanced machines that can automatically identify the problem with the patient and choose the most effective method to heal him. The problem is that they can only heal wounds and sickness that already have treatment and the method of treatment is installed in the Healing Pod's software. Also, the Healing Pod need a lot of energy and medical resources to keep running.
The Crafting Room is where most of the Crafting Stations are located. In this room, there is the Scanner, the Atomic Furnace, Assembler, Armory, Refinery, Bio-Chem Lab and is where most of the cargo is placed as well.
The Scanner is where most of the object can be scanned to understand its materials and how it was made. As soon as the scan is completed the Scanner will create a blueprint on how to make the object and save it in the Data Base so that the Protector can later use the blueprint in another Crafting Stations and recreate the same object. Unfortunately, the Scanner isn't perfect, it is unable to scan extremely complicated objects.
The Atomic Furnace is where most raw ores go to became ingots of the most perfect quality achievable. This ingot can be used in the other Crafting Stations to become any type of object that might help the Protector in his travels.
The Assembler is where most the primary resources and raw materials go to be transformed into something else. Wires, cogs, circuit boards, etc. This crafted components will be used in other Crafting Stations so that they can become something else to aid the Protector in his travels.
The Armory is where weapons, armors and other useful tools are made. The Armory mostly use the Assembler's components, the Furnace's ingots, and the Scanner's blueprints to automatically create the tool the Protector desire.
The Bio-Chem Lab is where natural resources go to create drugs and other medical/chemical useful items. This crafted items can be used in the Healing Pods for a more accurate healing or the Protector can use them in his travels if the situation requires immediate action.
The Refinery is basically where metal ingots can be transformed into Pixels. Pixels is the universal currency used by all the races across the universe.
Moving on, the Captain Quarters is, as the name implies, the Captain's room. There is a big bed, a safe, a kitchen, the bathroom, and a private computer. There is everything possible to make the Captain's time in the ship a very comfortable one.
The Prison Bay is where the Protectors temporarily lock down criminals they catch throughout their travels and then they go the nearest Terrene Protectorate Outpost to move the criminal to a more comfortable jail. The standard Terrene Protectorate ship has only three small cells.
The Cockpit is where the Captain pilot the spaceship. Inside the Cockpit, there is the Fuel Hatch, the S.A.I.L Console, and the Navigation Console. After the invention of the FTL Drive, the whole universe began using only one type of fuel that is able to charge this engine, the Erchius Crystal or Erchius Liquid. The Fuel Hatch on the ship only accept those two types of fuel. The Navigation Console is where the Captain can select a destination from a set of coordinates and the ship will automatically travel toward those coordinates.
When John entered the Crafting Room, he just took a quick glance at the apparatus on the room before moving toward the Shiplocker.
John stopped before the Shiplocker and used the fingerprint of his right thumb to allow access to open Shiplocker.
He looked at the contents inside it. Inside the locker, there was a flashlight, 3 cans of food, a pistol, 10 bottles of water, hunting knife, 3 handcuffs, and a Personal Information Processor System, or PIPS for short.
The PIPS is a very important tool that all Protectors must have so that they can efficiently use their Matter Manipulator. This tool is about the size of a wrist clock and to use it the host has to wear it in his wrist. The PIPS is able to read the stats of the host's body and show it on the screen. Stats like energy, hunger, heartbeat, stress, sanity, blood count, etc. The PIPS also has a Pocketed Dimension inside it. This dimension is able to store all types of object and things for an unlimited time. The size of the Dimension is extremely big. Protector often calls this Pocketed Dimension as Inventory. The PIPS also has a Codex function that everything the host reads or every information that the host desire to save the PIPS will save it in its Data Memory.
John opened the Codex and saw that there was a book in the library, it was called Terrene Protectorate Field Guide.
He clicked in the book icon and immediately after a floating holographic big screen appeared in front of him.
Terrene Protectorate Field Guide
Welcome, new Protector!
The first thing we would like to say is 'do not panic' - you have trained for this position for years, and you would not have graduated if you did not earn the distinction of doing so.
Handy hints to help you keep your head:
- Your commanding officer is not just there to issue orders, but also to guide and support you. Utilize this support and you will quickly find your feet.
- Do not worry about being left on your ship alone, this will not happen at any time. There will always be at least three crew members aboard so that you can aid and assist one another.
- Every ship is equipped with a SAIL. As you will be aware, the AI is a useful source of information, especially when tempered by the reassurance of your crewmates.
- NEVER BEAM DOWN TO A PLANET YOU DO NOT RECOGNISE.
(...)
When John read until there his face twitched a little. He was about to break this last guideline...
(...)
- Always equip yourself for the climate and threat level of the planet you will be visiting. You will be briefed by your captain before you leave the ship and will be able to discuss concerns, should you have any, about the new environment. Though you will be issued with all the necessary equipment remember: there are always untold dangers.
- Always wear your Terrene Protectorate issued uniform, this will allow anyone you meet to identify you as a member of the Protectorate.
- Help others in need. Try your best to defend the innocent where possible, but do not engage in combat above your level. Call for back-up when you need it.
And remember, graduate - wherever you may go, you will always have Earth to come home to.
[Home...] John's eyes teared up when he read the final line, [Home... Earth is now destroyed. I don't have a home to go back anymore]
John stayed silent, absent-mindedly gazing at the holographic screen. His lonesome shadow cast in the pale white metallic floor trembled a little as he started to silently sob.
Even though he was orphan, he still had a lot of friends and other people he regarded as a family on Earth. Now he lost everything. Even when he wanted to stay positive and look at his mission ahead he couldn't forget, [I better take this chance to grieve] John thought, [I have a very important mission ahead and I cannot lose my time and concentration grieving in the future]
He went toward the corner of the room, sat down and started to cry like a child. He must take this chance to let the emotions out of his chest. The road ahead is going to be rough and grim. He must stay focused and cannot spend time thinking about the past.
He was never toughest or the most intelligent of the class, but there is something no one was able to beat him, it was in adaptability. It doesn't matter how grim the situation was he was always the fastest to adapt and move on.
Now is no different from the past. In just a few minutes he stopped crying. He resolutely got up and walked toward the Captain's room.
He went to the bathroom and looked at the reflection of himself in the mirror.
The figure in the mirror was approximately 1.85 meters in height and weighed 90 kilograms. He was Caucasian with jet black short hair and obsidian dark eyes. He wasn't what most people would consider handsome, he was normal, a type of person that could easily blend in the crowd. He was wearing just the standard blue Protector uniform.
John cleaned his reddened and tearstained eyes.
He stared once again at his own reflection, but now there was no more grief or sadness in his face, just a casual smile.
"You must stay strong John" He whispered to himself, "I can do it. Nothing will stop me. The Terran Protectorate..." He looked at the PIPS and saw that S.A.I.L had already fixed the teleportation device, "...Must survive"
He walked out of the Captain's room and went toward the teleportation device that was located near the cockpit.
His eyes were shining with a fiery light of determination when he entered the device.
"Initiate the teleportation device. Protector John Connor ready to beam down"
S.A.I.L than began counting down, "Teleportation starting in 3... 2... 1... Now"