Preemptive Strike 1

Being isolated for extended periods of time cannot be considered beneficial to one's mental wellbeing, and while Don was certainly isolated from human contact, he was not alone. ARC was proving itself to be an incredibly entertaining partner.

A good reason for this is that ARC is knowledgeable about pretty much every topic, with those few topics that are outside of its sphere of knowing being subjects of intense curiosity to the young sentient. It reasoned as such that there would never be a lack of things to talk about, even if certain topics died off fairly quickly.

Many questions have definite answers that ARC need only search for.

However discussions over topics such as philosophy, government, history, tactics, and pretty much any theatre that discussed whether or not something is correct, but which option or process is the 'most right' or 'least wrong' could last for hours.

This phenomenon was especially noticeable when it was DON who was the uneducated one, as he would have to learn about the topic pretty much from scratch and form many of his own opinions over time. He did not have the information gathering or processing abilities that ARC had.

In spite of this shared curiosity and debate over the 'what-ifs' of the universe and society, what both parties found more amusing was a little hobby that ARC had picked up in response to one of their previous conversations over the topic of video games.

"All targets down. The way the enemy craft maneuver has gotten much smoother since you started. VERY well done."

To stave off some of the physical boredom it had detected in Donovan, ARC had taken the liberty to develop a sort of combat simulation in the form of a video game.

The first iteration was terrible to be completely honest. Hit detection on everything did not match what was displayed and the way that the artificial craft maneuvered made them impossible to hit, their velocities rapidly changing as though they were not subject to inertia.

The next few generations were much better. Collision worked, hit detection was phenomenal if not perfect, movement felt much better for the pilot's ship, even environmental hazards like dust clouds found their way into ARC's simulations.

However the movement of enemy craft simply did not entertain Don. The primary reason for this was that they were too easy to hit.

"Your suggestion to shunt some of my processing power and dedicate it towards learning to pilot a ship was essential."

That was the solution that Don had suggested. It was the equivalent of having somebody dedicate half of their body to fighting the other half until one of the two sides was forced to capitulate.

It really just meant that ARC had to split itself in two and fight itself in its own simulated space so as to better understand how to fight. No harm other than a slightly increased power draw was done. ARC couldn't really die from something like this, and it was forbidden from killing anyway.

"I will attempt to use this problem solving skill in predictive combat simulations. Being in command of both sides while remaining unaware of what is happening on the other will give a more accurate idea of what could happen in the opening acts of a conflict."

"I thought you were no good at tactics?"

"I feel I can accurately simulate what a human commander might do when faced with a situation such as this. I will be operating under the assumption that more precise knowledge of what an enemy might do will ultimately save lives. I will not be issuing the orders that result in someone's death after all."

"So it isn't restricted by your directives." Don was actually quite worried about how much ARC was beginning to bend both his thought process and the rules so as to do things it might not have been able to do before.

Tactical analysis was just one such subject ARC was experimenting with. Had Don done something to precipitate such a change in ARC's reasoning process? Had he ever done anything while training or talking that suggested that twisting the rules to fit your goal was acceptable?

He was actually worried about this. He may trust ARC but the threat of another Skinnik was horrifying.

The blinking that indicated a message from the Admiral ended their simulation session.

'This command order is to be followed to the letter as closely as possible.

Entering hostile zone in 200 minutes. Refuel and rearm with what you need in that amount of time. The bow hangar will be kept closed as much as is feasible while in enemy territory, so you will need to exit before then. All future orders will be sent through the proper encoded channels.

I have received word that instead of returning to the inner ring to regroup after striking a few of their fleet anchorages, we will instead be steaming towards the limits of the solar system. They will either have to chase us and leave their backs open to the main fleet or work to halt the main fleet and leave their stations exposed to our raiding.

In either situation we are guaranteed to have a long and drawn out campaign. It is tantamount that you of all people are in prime condition to fight. Rest is a high priority for the moment.

I am issuing a top priority command to all forces that consumption of intoxicants while on duty is prohibited until I a time I see fit for it to continue. While I have no doubt that you will not partake in such activities, duty requires I inform you of this decision as you are an independently operating craft.

Fast flying - Admiral Adirondack.'

A fully fleshed out fleet order.

This was his second time receiving one, his first being notice of his assignment. The only real differentiating factor that separates the fleet order from the fleet command is that the order is formatted in the same way as a letter, while a command tends to be a few sentences.

Disobeying a fleet command might mean a slap on the wrist or some time in the brig at worst.

Disobeying a fleet order could get you executed.

Donovan did not think he would be having any problems being executed for now, even though he would have preferred to stay within the bosom of the carrier.