The ARC System 4

"Hold up. The armor on this thing can withstand heavy cruiser fire?"

Donovan had to make sure that he heard that right.

"Reaffirming. That is correct. While angle of incidence will play a massive roll in just how much damage is taken, the armor will hold should that caliber of fire be received to the sides or rear. Continuation. The frontal armor is the thickest and sturdiest. depending on the power level of the ship firing, it is entirely possible to receive capital class fire without damage."

Now Donovan was sure there was some strange wizardry at play. That or he was being straight up lied to.

"Addendum. While it is true the armor will hold from such a blow, there is an almost 100% guarantee that most vital systems will be knocked out and any organic matter in the ship will be turned into a, quote on quote, 'Fine Paste'. Discretion is advised in regards to getting into a brawl with a capital class ship."

Once again he found himself thinking "Yeah, No shit?" to himself. Of course organic matter (him) would be turned into a red puree by that sort of force. Even solid steel would be turned into a pulp by something like that.

"Angling the thickest portions of the armor to a potential threat is still advised as it will serve to greatly reduce your target profile. While relative angles tend to be irrelevant at ranges measured in the thousands of kilometers, corvettes and destroyers equipped with jump drives may prove to be something of a nuisance should they get a bearing on your location as this ship is not equipped one itself."

ARC paused itself for a moment, as if calculating something.

"Disregard my previous statement. Low displacement ships equipped with jump drives pose little immediate threat as they are ill equipped to deal with armor on this scale. As long as they are quickly dispatched and are unable to call for reinforcement in a timely matter, it should be feasible to relocate before the heavier ships and potential capital support fire are able to arrive on target."

ARC once again paused, seeming to be in thought. This state of being 'spaced out' continued for a few minutes before Don finally finished processing what ARC had said.

"Is that the end of the run-down?"

"Negative. I was running scenarios simulating the circumstances previously mentioned. Should a group of scout ships be sent along our path and they somehow manage to detect us, how many could possibly be taken out of various classes if they came from a given bearing? What targeting pattern would be most optimal? Depending on range, could they all be taken out before reinforcements arrive? How long might we have to spend neutralizing the threat before we would be forced to retreat? What path would be the most optimal given the formation of the main battle line and the pattern of incoming warships?" ARC explained.

Don was amused, while simultaneously impressed. "So even computers can get sidetracked now huh?"

"That was not my intention. I have been told that thinking about potential scenarios not covered in any trainings or programs would not only help increase our chances of survival should that situation occur, but also help me become more mature as a thinking being as I start to come up with different solutions. Would it be okay if I ran these simulations a little longer? Or would you like to continue with our briefing? I can continue them later."

"If you can continue them later please continue with the briefing. I can't help but feel I'm on a tight leash."

"Disappointment. Very well." Although there was no change in its tone, Don did really feel bad after that 'Disappointment'.

Talking to something, no someone, without a face or any skills with changing tone to match their emotion was going to make interpreting meanings and expectations difficult.

"The final items on the list are the offensive and defensive weapons systems. You will naturally be in control of the offensive weapons as it was deemed that something inorganic should not be capable of directly taking another humans life. I shall primarily be in charge of the defensive systems. which would you prefer to hear about first?"

"Defensive systems and countermeasures please."

"Very well." Once again, the hologram in front began to light up. "There are no projectile countermeasures on board. There are no ejectable noisemakers either. The decision to not include an anti-seeker turret was made due to concerns over space and decreasing the armor's thickness. A similar reason was given for the exclusion of heat, electromagnetic, gravitational and nuclear noisemakers as well, with added concern of them going off inside the ship should the recoil of the main battery knock them out of alignment or worse, we receive heavy fire from enemies and they set off. You agree that being subject to any combination of extreme heat, electric shock, extreme gravitational pulsation and extreme nuclear dosage would not be a good way to die correct?"

After giving a quick chuckle, Don mockingly replied, "Well it wouldn't last for too long now would it?"

Yet another pause from ARC.

"Answer, depending on location of the noisemaker, the longest you would be expected to live is 15 minutes and 23 seconds. I suppose that makes you correct."

Hearing that, Don couldn't help but find ARC's direct approach and calculation speed quite disturbing.

"What would I die from in that scenario?" A morbid curiosity.

"Answer. Surprisingly, a lack of oxygen. Should a nuclear noisemaker set off in the corner of the ship furthest from your current location, it would most likely disrupt the primary circuitry for the life support and auxiliary systems. in that location it is far enough away with enough heavy materiel in between that you would not be expected to suffer an immediately lethal dose of radiation before you suffocated. I will have to think of precautions and preventative measures to take should something similar happen to the life support systems. Your feedback would be welcome in this matter."

"Yeah..." Don muttered, clearly more disturbed than he was before, "We'll definitely have to think of some..."