Chapter 1450: Transmogrify!
Traveling Buddha had fired a flare.
Xia Fan gave it a few seconds of thought before he stored the memorial tablet paying homage to Xia Chen into his spatial ring.
He did not want Traveling Buddha to discover the tablet, because his name was mentioned in the text etched on the tablet. As the public enemies of the entire Ashen Moon Universe, anything that involved the Skywings would have to be handled with care.
With that done, Xia Fan headed quickly to the rear of the Avatar vessel. He eventually came across the mark that Traveling Buddha had left at the tail end of the mothers.h.i.+p, and followed the trail to find Traveling Buddha.
!!
“I finally found it. There’s still energy being supplied here,” Traveling Buddha told him. “What you said was right on the money: the Avatar was indeed a modular design, and every module had its own individual energy supply system. I’ve already checked, and the fusion reactor is still working.”
Xia Fan nodded and followed Traveling Buddha to the cabin where the reactor was located.
The Throne Cla.s.s was like a building block, a.s.sembled from different modules. Every module had an independent energy supply, air production system, lighting, etc.
The benefit of such a modular design stemmed from the fact that if the s.h.i.+p were ever attacked, the s.h.i.+p would not lose control and power if the main energy compartment was compromised.
The Avatar had a total of 128 modules, so if one was ruined, all they needed to do was seal the damaged module off and the entire s.h.i.+p could still continue functioning normally.
There were four fusion reactors in this module, high capacity AP 2000 models. Xia Fan tried to turn them on after a cursory inspection, but only three ignited successfully and began providing energy output.
Energy was the basis of everything on a wars.h.i.+p. After energy was created, sealed doors opened up, and a supply of air was provided to the entire section. The lighting system was also working, and the s.h.i.+p’s artificial gravity began working, so people onboard would not be subjected to weightlessness.
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha took off their helmets. They were finally able to breathe in a s.h.i.+p that was pumping usable air.
“What’s our next step?” Traveling Buddha sat down on the ground as he pulled out his cherished tea set from his spatial ring.
With the power back, that meant the kitchen would be able to boil water and prepare a meal, and so the first thing he thought about was brewing himself a nice cup of tea. Truly he lived up to his name as Traveling Buddha. He was someone who had a very high standard for his quality of life.
Xia Fan smiled. Traveling Buddha found that smile to be a little strange.
“We of course have to retrofit the Disaster, and then leave this place.”
Traveling Buddha nodded, “That’s good. I have no intention of being trapped here till I die.”
But Xia Fan quickly looked right at Traveling Buddha and continued, “However…”
“However, what?”
“It’s nothing really. Haven’t you always been complaining that the Disaster is too small, and that it lacks a circular bathtub, or an extra large and comfortable velvet bed?”
The moment Traveling Buddha thought of the life he led on the Disaster, he promptly agreed in an aggrieved tone, “Right? We ought to have at least a hundred and fifty square meters of s.p.a.ce when living on a s.h.i.+p. Only then could it contain a fully functional luxurious bathroom with furniture, sofa and so on.
“I don’t ask for the Disaster to be at the standard of some luxurious cruise s.h.i.+p, with a thousand square meters of s.p.a.ce plus a suite offering a panoramic view, but it needs to at least be decent, right? After all, a single trip out will take us ten days to half a month, and with this frigate being only at about sixty meters square, that bathroom is so cramped, living here is very suffocating.”
Xia Fan burst into laughter after hearing Traveling Buddha’s complaints, but Traveling Buddha had no idea what he was finding so funny.
“Then let me congratulate you. After this retrofit, you won’t have a sixty-meter square cabin anymore, but you will be sleeping on the command deck like me, or taking the corridor.”
Traveling Buddha’s eyes widened, “You’re kidding me?”
Xia Fan shook his head, “I would never joke around with you. Not only will you not have a cabin, the dining area, kitchen or even the food cold storage, plus the activity room. Those non-critical s.p.a.ces will all be gone.
“I want to use the s.p.a.ce available to the Disaster as best as possible, installing weapons and defense systems. Otherwise there’s no way we would be able to make it out of here alive.”
Traveling Buddha was reeling. He had just been complaining that his cabin was too small, but now, in a blink of an eye, he would be left just hugging his pillow and sleeping on the floorboards of the corridor. The Little Old Buddha had not suffered such an indignation ever since he was born!
“Doing away with the dining s.p.a.ce and the kitchen? Then what will we eat?”
“Canned food, or nutrition paste and other supplements that will not require cooking.”
“What the heck, eating nutrition paste? Those things don’t even taste good, dammit!” Traveling Buddha did not dare believe his ears.
This nutrition paste was rich in protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and everything else that the body needed. From a nutrition perspective, the paste was perfect. One only needed to eat a tube of the paste a day, and that would fulfill their daily intake requirements.
But the issue was that the paste tasted extremely disgusting. Not only did it look like toothpaste, it tasted like it, too. Many s.p.a.cefarers who sailed for long voyages would rather eat gra.s.s than nutrition paste, because the taste was really that bad. There was truly no other food out there in the entire Ashen Moon Universe that tasted worse than nutrition paste.
But now, Xia Fan was actually suggesting to do away with the kitchen and not cook any more food in the future. Everyone would just be subsisting on nutrition paste; there was no way Traveling Buddha could endure something like that.
Just the thought of how nutrition paste tasted made Traveling Buddha gag and his stomach churn in reflux, wis.h.i.+ng he could run into the bathroom and vomit.
But on the other hand, Xia Fan really had no other choice.
At the end of the day, the Disaster was just a small frigate, and that was the sacrifice they had to make in order to strengthen the capabilities of the s.h.i.+p.
When asked to choose between delicious food or survival, Xia Fan could only choose the latter!
There were six cabins...o...b..ard the Disaster. Traveling Buddha hoped Xia Fan would at least keep one untouched, but Xia Fan vehemently rejected this compromise.
In the end, Traveling Buddha realized that Xia Fan was someone who was extremely obstinate, so he decided to just give up and accept the conditions Xia Fan had set.
…
Their retrofit work began immediately.
First they drew power from the operating modules to the dock located in the center of the Throne s.h.i.+p, and then used it to begin their retrofit of the Disaster.
Xia Fan did the work, while Traveling Buddha’s job was to gather the necessary materials and parts.
One of the two warp engines was damaged, while the other could only muster twenty percent of its power.
Xia Fan decided to change one of the engines completely, replacing it with a more efficient and even faster destroyer’s engine, a propulsion system with a power output of ten meganewtons.
Xia Fan chose a Charger-cla.s.s destroyer from among the wreckage, and Traveling Buddha carried cables near to the drifting s.h.i.+p. After he was done examining the propulsion system, he tied the cables around the s.h.i.+p and dragged it back to the Avatar mothers.h.i.+p.
…
From the name itself anyone could guess that the Charger-cla.s.s was a destroyer known for its speed. It had a very impressive explosive power, and was a famous sprinter wars.h.i.+p among the s.h.i.+ps in the past.
The Charger-cla.s.s was best at high-speed approaches. The moment they discovered an enemy s.h.i.+p, the Charger-cla.s.s could rely on their powerful propulsion systems and lightweight hull to get in close to enemy s.h.i.+ps immediately, and then deploy explosives and other things around them, leaving the enemy s.h.i.+ps in an awkward situation where they would be unable to move.
The duty of the Charger Cla.s.s would then be considered completed, and they could proceed to use their high speed to quickly leave the battlefield.
The two engines a Charger-cla.s.s was fitted with possessed fourteen meganewtons of propulsion force, while the engine that the Disaster originally had fitted was only three and a half meganewtons. This retrofit upgrade would increase their speed fourfold!
The price for this improvement was the loss of the largest cargo s.p.a.ce in the rear of the s.h.i.+p. After all, the Charger-cla.s.s was a destroyer, a s.h.i.+p an entire tier larger than the Disaster, so the s.p.a.ce required by the engines would increase accordingly.
The most critical component to this retrofitting was the s.h.i.+p’s energy s.h.i.+eld. Without the protection of a powerful energy s.h.i.+eld, there was no way for the Disaster to break through
When Traveling Buddha heard about what Xia Fan was planning, he was instantly dumbfounded.
It had to be said that a destroyer was a tier above a frigate, and above the destroyer was a cruiser, with a battles.h.i.+p being a tier above the cruiser.
The Disaster was only ninety two meters in length, while even the most basic destroyer would span at least two thousand meters.
It was simply astounding to be able to fit a energy s.h.i.+eld system originally for a s.h.i.+p that was two thousand meters in length into the Disaster’s ninety-two meters!
Traveling Buddha felt like his head was having trouble comprehending all this. Someone who was not proficient with machinery like him would think it was a bit fantastic, Xia Fan installing a battles.h.i.+p-cla.s.s defensive system into such a small frigate. Could Xia Fan really do it?
Xia Fan could tell Traveling Buddha had his reservations, so he explained, “This is our only solution when leaving. The cosmic storm devastated the Disaster’s defensive system, and eighty-seven percent of our armor plating has been ruined.
“In addition, the issue we are facing isn’t just getting out, but also surviving the enemy a.s.sault that will most likely be awaiting us. That is why we must arm the Disaster to its teeth, and do everything we can to improve the Disaster’s performance.”
Traveling Buddha nodded, “I can understand why you want to arm the Disaster, but by including the even more powerful engines and defensive systems, what will you do about its power source? If its energy system cannot support these inclusions, then what use is our retrofitting?”
Xia Fan cracked a mysterious smile. “Have you forgotten about that energy core that we just obtained? With that around, we won’t have any problems with energy!
“The only problem now is that once the Disaster is upgraded like this, it would essentially be rendered useless. It’s such a pity that this s.h.i.+p has only been with me for a handful of months.”
Traveling Buddha clapped his chest, “So what! If we survive this and get back, I’ll gift you a brand new s.h.i.+p!”
“Then I’ll have to thank you in advance,” Xia Fan grinned back.
…..
The retrofitting of a wars.h.i.+p was by no means a simple task, but a complex and systematic engineering job.
For example, the replacement of an even more powerful propulsion engine required the energy supply system to be changed to connections with a larger diameter, and its transmission system would need to be strengthened, as well! Only after the shock absorption system was strengthened could it then withstand the harmonics generated by a larger engine.
In short, a single change would affect the entire s.h.i.+p, and it was nothing as simple as being done by just swapping out the engine system for a new one.
However, Xia Fan once had a very great teacher, who was none other than Machinist Grandpa.
As an expert with machinery, Xia Fan had learned well under Machinist Grandpa’s tutelage, and was now a capable machinist in his own right.
If an ordinary machinist saw Xia Fan’s retrofit blueprint, they would surely find it unbelievable, but that was the beauty of mechanical science.
What might seem impossible could be made possible. Such a machinist would have a special moniker: a Transmogrifier!
Transmogrify, meaning to induce a magical transformation!
That Machinist Grandpa of Xia Fan’s had been none other than the miracle maker, The Transmogrifier!
—
With Traveling Buddha’s help, their fantasy was slowly becoming reality.
An engine that originally had a propulsion force of three and a half meganewtons was swapped for an engine with fourteen meganewtons. The battles.h.i.+p-cla.s.s energy s.h.i.+eld generator replaced the originally frigate-cla.s.s s.h.i.+eld.
This modification of its energy system completely demonstrated the full potential that the Transmogrifier possessed. Xia Fan’s wild desire of wanting to dismantle one of the two reactors and replace it with a cruiser-cla.s.s high-fusion reactor created an asymmetric energy system.
As far as the specifics of the work, Traveling Buddha was practically left dazzled. Reactors of two sizes, one big and one small, just happen to occupy the entire s.p.a.ce in the reactor compartment. After they were done with the retrofitting, there was not even s.p.a.ce enough for a leg to stand on in that compartment. Someone would need to jump over the energy output cables in order to get in!
Since Xia Fan was utilizing every possible s.p.a.ce onboard the Disaster to its extreme. In order for him to run new cables, the ceiling was torn apart and he even dug a groove in the corridor walkway, just so he could connect a tertiary controller.
In terms of its outer appearance, the Disaster still had its triangular tusk shape, but its interior was completely different. Like a disorganized construction site, forget even finding a s.p.a.ce to sit down and have tea, there was not even any s.p.a.ce for someone to set their foot on the floor properly.
The dining area was now occupied by the new radar array, while the guest cabin was split in half, with one half given to the power room and the other taken up by the installation of large controller hardware.
There were only two parts of the s.h.i.+p that remained unchanged. One of them was the weapon system.
Xia Fan did not have any plans to get in a fight with Murder Shrine’s fleet when they left the cosmic storm. His plan was to engage in a full retreat and then use the new speed he had gained after the retrofitting to escape the enemy’s envelopment and warp away to safety.
After all, they would be pitted against an entire composite fleet, and even after the transmogrification, they were still unable to put up a fight against the entire fleet with just the Disaster alone. Given the current situation they were in, just being able to escape with their lives would be good enough.
The second area that remained unchanged was the c.o.c.kpit. The floor of this s.p.a.ce was where Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha slept and ate. They had set down two military cots for their beds, and if they were tired, they would just lie on the floor for a bit.
Of course, along with the new equipment, the control console also had to be changed accordingly, but those changes were nothing as severe as what had happened in the other cabins. It did not look much different from how it had in the past, as the c.o.c.kpit did not seem to change much in comparison.
At the moment, the Disaster had both a mechanical core and an energy core, with the engine from a Charger-cla.s.s destroyer, a s.h.i.+eld generator from a Bauhinia-cla.s.s battles.h.i.+p, a high fusion reactor from a Boomer-cla.s.s cruiser, as well as a whole host of strange equipment they salvaged from the other s.h.i.+ps.
Xia Fan’s speed was a decisive factor in all this. Though he was just one person, he had managed to achieve the efficiency of an entire professional retrofitting team, as practically every single part of the retrofitting had been done by Xia Fan alone. Traveling Buddha, who was used to fighting big battles, found the entire affair hard to believe.
In only one week since they had first arrived here in this wars.h.i.+p graveyard, after Xia Fan’s transmogrification, the Disaster, which had been retrofitted to the point it was beyond recognition inside, was finally reborn!