The klaxons sounded the alert status, and the order came down from on high to report to battle stations right as the chief engineer and his technicians had reached Cryogenics. "Chief?" one technician asked as both looked expectantly toward SFC Calhound, as dozens of things flashed through his glasses. 

"I know, I know," he said, "Until further notice these are your battle stations. Coordinate with the other CERT teams to ensure there are no casualties here. Awake, or asleep."

"And you, sir, are you going back to engineering?" the other technician asked.

"No," said Xatih, as he turned down a different corridor, "I am needed elsewhere." After disappearing out of sight he called down to Main Engineering. "Lt. Rorq," he said with a note of effort denoting his pace, and distraction as many schematics passing through his EEGARD. "If ever there was a time for you to prove you can do my job now would be it."

"What? Now!?" the lieutenant hollered back into the comms, while the rush of technicians and engineers could be heard in the background. All hands were on deck, and all were calling to their lieutenant for orders. 

With a nearly audible wry grin the Sargent responded: "Mettle is forged in fire, Lieutenant." 

[hr][color=909090][i]Flashback[/i][/color]

"Congratulations on your selection to join the Arks program, Sargent." The statement came across a table, atop of which rested a single personnel file, over which the statement traveled to the ears of one SFC Calhound. The woman issuing it was standing behind her desk, facing a window looking outward, at the Viate in its cradle. 

A woman of rigid posture, the kind that demanded respect, and whom seemed to embody the full uniform she wore turned to face the equally formally dressed Sargent First Class. "The Army Corps of Engineers insists there is no one more suited to this position than you are." she sternly noted as she sat down across from him at her desk.

"Yes, Commander," Xaith said in acknowledgement of the three bars on her shoulder. "I assume you asked," he added whist catching the commander's glance of dismay at his file, "just to be sure."

Despite their formal dress, it was an informal interview, as far as Xaith was informed. Informal, but not casual. Commander Carter let loose a cutting glare across the table which spoke more than she may have intended to. It would seem both of them had trouble drawing a line between the two.

Xaith clarified: "I merely meant it must have been over your staunch objections, that I was requested to join [i]your[/i] ark." 

CDR Carter flipped open the file to emphasize coming to a point. "I don't know, nor do I care, how you Ground Pounders run your shit-show, but black ops and red tape does not a good engineer make." She flipped through page after page of redacted documents. The black pen of government censorship spared only references to other classified documents, implications of existing schematics, and research programs. In the foot notes were supervisors thoughts, though their names had also been struck from the record, about SFC Calhound's performance and aptitude.

In short the printed page was more black than white, and she continued. "I am assured you've had your hands in the creation or implementation of a majority of the systems the Ark uses; but I can only find a handful of concrete examples. How can that be, Sargent?" CDR Carter closed the file and folded her hands over while she talked, only for the frustration of the stonewalling to creep back into her voice. "How can a drifter like yourself—the son of an Irish Rover, and a Indian Gypsy—be steeped in so much..." she paused for a moment to find a tactful way to express the idea. After a moment of being at a loss, she simply stated "unhealthy mystery?"

Xaith cocked his head and raised his brow. Addressing her concerns one at a time he simply replied: "The army has never had a history of playing well with the navy. As my file suggests, I did not climb the ranks quickly, as that career path did not interest me. Instead I was offered many opportunities for [i]lateral[/i] advancement. You see a drifter, they see an ambitious man willing to do what is needed. Be where he is wanted. Do you want to know the secret of living a charmed life, Commander?"

Now it was the commander's turn to raise her brow in disbelief. Perhaps, if nothing else, his explanation might be entertaining. Some 'wisdom' from the tribalistic subcultures of two otherwise civilized societies.

"It's not about finding a place you're needed. It's about being invaluable wherever you find yourself."  

[hr][color=909090][i]Present[/i][/color]

The reminiscing came to an abrupt stop as Xaith did. He was standing outside of one of computer control's secondary nodes. Nodes through which many of NO4H's procedure execution protocols were routed. Those with the right training and clearance may be able to identify the node as a non-vital portion of Noah's personality. Or, at least, where the hardware was stored that such portions of his personality may be routed through.

"Computer," he stated to the magnetically sealed door, "Engineering Override to AI supplementary interface control twelve. Chief Engineer's authorization N-4-H-Gamma dash twelve."

A pleasant tonal beep came from the door with a corresponding singular LED light which turned from red to green. 

As he addressed the computer again, he stepped inside and inspected the singular console held within a room the size of a closet, that had been filled with shielded drives and data-cores. "This is a technical priority override to NO4H's adjunct/adjutant protocols." The tone played from the console as a light flicked in acknowledgement. "Computer. Initiate conservation of AI processing, and send a general alert to all affected systems. The NO4H program will presently not acknowledge, nor accept, requests from non-essential personnel. The N-O-4-H will disband the operation of non-essential functions and return control to their original facilitators. Issue with the notice, that this is an Emergency Lock-out by the chief of engineering for safety and security of all."

After typing in a long series of command code authorizations, the NO4H AI was reigned in, and a considerable amount of its processing power was freed up. "Noah. Acknowledge."

"Acknowledging."

"Noah, all support functions not required for this ships operation have been re-routed for one singular purpose: you are to establish and calculate a trajectory from the Destiny's current position, to the Hyperspace muti-positional docking array, with specificity of being aligned for imitate use. Further, any deviation to calculated route will constitute a request for recalculation. Acknowledge." 

In a smooth, mechanical voice distinguishable by law from that of an ordinary human's, NO4H responded, "Acknowledged." 

Xaith continued as he brought up the multi-ship consultation protocols, "Once calculations are complete, encode them with the following protocols. Then, await orders to transmit."

"Sir?" Noah paused to verify the orders, "These are weapons modulations protocols."

"Confirmed," Xaith said in equal monotone pitch, before explaining: "While a majority of the Vitae's weapons are projectile weapons, they still have supplementary laser guidance systems. Laser Encoding, while dated, is the most effective manner we presently have to transmit this mass of information to the Destiny.

Noah's voice perked up as the transmission simulations finished. "Utilizing the weapons guidance systems, we could arrange the data in packets designed to be interpreted by the Destiny's shield system."

"Except," Xaith qualified, "It would be interpreted by the on-board defense systems a transmission to engineering, rather than registering damage."

"I'm not authorized to access the ship's weapon systems without direct order from the bridge." Noah said with a simulated note of dismay in his projected voice.

"Chief Engineer to Bridge," Xaith called into the waiting comm line, "We have a plan, but I don't think anyone up there is going to like it." He continued his explanation without interruption, "If we can coordinate a stutter-step for the Destiny, she can get through the Eye before being destroyed." While he hadn't the time to get into what it meant to Stutter-Step he hadn't met an pilot alive, certified to operate a jump capable ship, who wasn't familiar with the idea of overcharging the jump drive to string together two back-to-back jumps. In this case, the secondary jump would instead be a rapid-burst charge to aid the Eye spool protocol. "We can run all the calculations from here, and [i]beam[/i] them to the Destiny, but this plan is not without its risks."

Xaith shook his head and tried to calm his nerves. "Captain," he turned his address to the admiral who was in-charge of the final decision, "It's like threading a needle with a jump engine. I'm confident the Destiny can do it, and that the Vitate can do it, but only [i]one[/i] of us can do it. If one of our ships stutter-steps into docking, and engages the Eye, the enemy fleet will have no choice but to focus the other." 

There were other risks, of course, but the primary concern was to present the option: it was surely possible that one ship may need be sacrificed for the other. It was equally possible that sharing the brunt of the assault, and distributing the damage received equally between them, could save both ships. "The problem is, in order to make the necessary trajectory analysis, the ship performing the calculations can not be in combat. Once in combat, the reserve processing power will be gone."

[hr][color=909090][i]Flashback[/i][/color]

"Don't you care?" CDR Carter asked across her desk as the evening light filtered in through the window. Being back-lit made the question feel even more imposing, until the Commander clarified "About people I mean. About this planet and what's happening to it."

"It's not something that motivates me emotionally," Xaith coldly responded as they concluded their interview, "if that's what you're asking. An enlisted-men's job is doing, and I care about my work." There was a rigid seriousness to his answer, as though he expected it to offend. "Beyond that, no. I don't care about this species. Things are... a lot simpler that way." He could feel the cold stare on him, as though he had confessed to being alien to even the idea of humanity. "When people are overly emotionally invested they make bad decisions. So, I focus instead on what I can do, for myself and for those around me, to see to it my work not only continues but also has a reason to."

[hr][color=909090][i]Notes[/i][/color]

[hider=OOC Laser Encoding] The natural evolution of Fiber Optic data transmission there are a wide array of methods of its use today from [url=http://www.lucidscience.com/pro-laser%20spy%20device-1.aspx]High-Fidelity Listening Devices[/url], to [url=https://www.amazon.com/HDE-Non-Contact-Infrared-Temperature-Thermometer/dp/B002YE3FS4]Thermal Gauges[/url], to straight up [url=http://newatlas.com/3d-holographic-video/16813/]long-ranged holographic projection[/url]. Xaith's wanting to recalibrate the gun's tracking systems to [i]shoot[/i] the required information at the Destiny, so that it can't be intercepted by conventional means. This does not actually require the guns to fire, and may just appear as if the Vitae is establishing a target lock on the Destiny.[/hider]