IV. The Resistance

起死回生 (Revive )

リライトして (Rewrite)

意味のない想像も君を成す原動力 (Even if what is meaningless creates you)

全身全霊をくれよ (Give it your whole body and soul)

-Asian Kung-Fu Generation (Rewrite)

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Trevor: Where are we now?

DIANA: We are in World 128, the head quarters of The Free Jumpers Association

Trevor: Where to next?

DIANA: I am hailing FJA head quarters

Trevor: So I can move to the bridge now right?

DIANA: Yes. Proceed to the boat air lock to your left.

The moment Trevor steps up, he felt dizzy. The gravity kind of feels weird.

Trevor: DIANA, Gravity feels off?

DIANA: I am sorry, Captain, the boat dock is always at 0.5-G when in space to assist with bringing stuff to the transport lift.

Trevor: I see, you figured I would know since my credentials would match Rerillion's, right?

DIANA: Yes Captain.

Trevor starts unloading his stuff. Once he got out of the boat he noticed there is just a tube that directs him to the transport lift. He starts walking to the transport lift.

Trevor: DIANA, How does the dock work?

DIANA: The internal dock is divided in two, the personnel tube that connects you directly to the bridge or living quarters. And the other will bring you to the hold. Machines will usually handle loading the boats and rearming the drones, especially for Vice-Admiral Gapes.

Trevor: In other words, you?

DIANA: a part of me...

Trevor: I am now inside the lift. Bring me to my room.

DIANA: Transporting....

The lift starts moving and after a few seconds...

DIANA: we are now in the officers' common rooms

Trevor: Thank you. Now how does the jump work?

Trevor walks through a large bright hallway... Clean empty rooms, about 16 of them are in the hallway, a room with two doors is in the end of the hall way with the nameplate of Rerillion, he proceeds walking towards the room.

DIANA: The short version is nuclear fission made at a tenth of how much the sun does in a second abruptly ended to generate a tear in the space time and entering that tear.

Trevor: That is approximately 62 million metric tons of hydrogen converted to helium in a fraction. We do not have that capacity.

DIANA: But we do have something similar. Remember the cylinder in that generates our artificial gravity? That is a nuclear fusion-fission device collider that continuously spins to replicate the sun in a smaller scale, of approximately 100 megatons per second continuously. That also powers the ship.

Trevor: But the tube will probably create a Higgs field as multiple particles will continue to hit each other.

DIANA: The Higgs Field and Boson actually helps maintain the energy in a cylinder instead of making a small star and black hole inside the ship. To create the same effect outside we release some of the particles then collide it. This creates a certain frequency of both light and dark at the same time creating a dimensional tear, a small big bang inside the universal expansion. The frequency we select to create will determine a "gate", which will open a tear in the world where the frequency matches, and passing through the gate will transport us to the other dimension.

DIANA: Though current science in World 75 will not reach the same conclusion as it is greatly affected by Orwell-ian principles.

Trevor: True that!

Trevor arrives in front of the doors, they automatically open. He walks inside. He notices a simple room, a bed, an empty side table, and a computer directly plugged to the wall. He drops this stuff on the side. He notices two other doors.

Trevor: DIANA, why does Rerillion's room have two other doors?

DIANA: He wanted a way to get to the bridge easily so he had one door specifically made to transport the master to the bridge. Well that guy is you now. The other one is for the bathroom.

Trevor: Which one is which?

DIANA: the one nearer to the double doors is the bathroom; the one near the foot of the bed is the "Master only bridge-link".

Trevor: Understood.

Just as they end talking, a whole fleet exits an FTL jump.

DIANA: We are being hailed!

Trevor: by whom?

DIANA: FJA Home defense fleet.

Trevor: give me a second I will get to the bridge...

DIANA: understood.

Trevor runs to the bridge-link. A deep breath and he opens the door, he finds himself on the bridge. He runs to the captain's chair, sits and wears the helmet.

Trevor: I am here DIANA. Plug me in and get the juice ready.

DIANA: activating vital plug. Activating augmented visual support.

Trevor: The orbs do the same thing for the ship?

 DIANA: Yes... Why are we preparing to fight?

Trevor: No one sends a fleet to escort a hailing ship unless it is a threat.

DIANA: That analogy may be true. Then, buttons; pinky activates the defense guns, ring fires a missile barrage, middle finger is for the heavy missiles, Thumb fires the torpedoes, Particle Accelerating Cannon, index fingers. Right fires right, left fires left. Press all to fire railgun on current charge level.

Trevor: Charge the railgun and main guns...

DIANA: They are hailing again, Captain.

Trevor: Connect them to my augmented vision, no picture from our side.

DIANA: Connecting...

A picture of a man shows up near a diamond on another battle cruiser class ship, a young looking man in his late 30's with a clean shaved beard and wearing baseball cap with the words "DJS Susotori" written on it.

Susotori Guy: So he did not make it huh?

DIANA: Admiral Joseph McKenzie?

Susotori Guy: DIANA? You are still active?

Trevor: What is going on?

DIANA: The man you are speaking with is the man who Vice-Admiral Gapes considers as his mentor.

Trevor: That dissuades my doubts...

Admiral McKenzie: Who are you young shonen?

Trevor: (whispers to himself) Speaks like him too huh?

Admiral McKenzie: Hey I am talking to you!

Trevor: huh, Nothing, I mean Admiral, I am Trevor Zupang, Rerillion's World 75 Version.

Admiral McKenzie: it's always nothing *EHEM* Well boy let's go to our space station.

Trevor: Lead the way Admiral.

Admiral: FTL to the coordinates, DIANA...

DIANA: Yes Admiral... adjusting

Trevor: FTL?

DIANA: Faster-than-Light travel...  Injecting 100% of Xing Juice allowed.

Trevor: That....

DIANA: Coordinates locked...

Trevor: is...

DIANA: Jumping in 3...

Trevor: Scientifically...

DIANA: 2....

Trevor: Impossible...

DIANA: 1...

Trevor: Right?

DIANA: Jump success... Please check your surroundings...

He can't believe it! He is looking at a space station, the size of a moon. Multiple ships are converging towards the docks. Small boats are patrolling the space. Drone planes, and humanoid robots loading and repairing ships. This all is happening in front of earth.

DIANA: Docking initiated.

DIANA: Captain, the Admiral is on the line.

Trevor: Yes Admiral?

Admiral McKenzie: Have DIANA warp you to the Fleet Admiral's estate, I will meet you there.

Trevor: Understood.

DIANA: Energizing....

Suddenly Trevor is now standing in front of his house.

Trevor: This is my house?

FJA Soldier: Who are you!

A squad of soldiers quickly surrounds Trevor and aims their rifles on him. He Raises his hands up and kneels

Trevor: Okay, maybe not my house....

A second in the situation Admiral McKenzie warps in.

Admiral McKenzie:  Relax boys, he is with me...

FJA Soldier: Admiral McKenzie! Sir!

Admiral McKenzie: Stand up boy! For a version of our Fleet Admiral you are jumpy.

Trevor: Thank you... sir

Admiral McKenzie: Follow me...

The two men walk together. Everything inside the house looks the same. They went up to the second floor. The admiral knocks on the door.

Fleet Admiral: Who is it?

Admiral McKenzie: It's me, I am with him...

Fleet Admiral: Come in!

The two men go in the room. They see someone who exactly looks like Trevor; he is wearing his boxer shorts and boxer briefs. He is busy reading something on his computer.

Admiral McKenzie: So I did my job already... I am off... I am going to be playing some good games...

Fleet Admiral: Sure, sure!

The Admiral pushes Trevor in the room and leaves.

Fleet Admiral: World 75, Zupang, Trevor, A casual gamer who prefers the story than the multiplayer elements. Graduated high school... did not finish any of his college courses, was studying in an online school before he jumped ship in to becoming a full on hikikomori.

Trevor: And you are?

Fleet Admiral: Bob Robertson, World 7, I was a hikikomori, well because our system believes in power. I did not. I believe that people have to be free, to make choices, and to make their own opportunity.

Trevor: But they said the leader of the FJA is a military man?

Bob: That is my friend, Joey Rions, World 8. He is the leader, I am the warrior.

Trevor: World 8?

Bob: Ah, yeah... the world of war "ad infinitum". Age 5 you enter the lion's den, you live long enough to be 10, then you become a Leo, a warring soldier.

Trevor: That's bloody...

Bob: You think? Gutsy and mushy too, I bet.

Trevor: So why am I here?

Bob: I lost a vice-admiral trying to procure you... and I want to make it count.

Bob pauses momentarily

Bob: The thing is; Rerillion runs a gig I gave him, pretty sharp at it too. He is our "asset procurement" specialist. He jumps from world to world, all 199 of them, to allocate resources to the battle front.

Trevor: He basically is a runner.

Bob: A crewless runner, a great runner too.

Trevor: A runner, none-the-less.

Bob: You will do two jobs.

Trevor: Other from being the runner?

Bob: You will be a free world cruise ship.

Trevor: A cruise ship?

Bob: The Largest. You will move people from registered worlds and at the same time procure assets for us; manpower, information, etc. Everything you can think of... and for that you will need a crew.

Trevor: Wait, I will need papers... clearances.

Bob: I have that covered; you just need to sign on the dotted line.

Bob hands Trevor a file-case. The case contains two things; a blueprint for a star-carrier type ship, and a ship's core log.

Bob: I am hiding The ITALICA in that... you name her using the core log.

Trevor: Six subparts that hide a battle cruiser... detachable and can fly alone when needed.

Bob: Exactly. Running the cruise ship will get us funds, and jumping from world to world you will meet contacts.

Trevor: Who will be my crew?

Bob: you decide that... You will need a head cook, a master of ceremonies, a forger, a ship's mate, a navigator, and an engine chief for starters.

Trevor: that is a lot...

Bob: I will have the ITALICA refitted ASAP, you recruit your crew.

Trevor: What ship do I use?

Bob: the unarmed vessel we captured, DJS Chernov. A freighter the size of a destroyer, stealth capabilities too... It is a smuggler's ship. DIANA will be moved to that interface... together with a copy of your captain's chair. Take the file with you...