Spatial Domestication 3

"I suggest you finish reading the booklet as soon as possible. We do not know when Mercedes was last fed, so it would be a good idea to start a schedule. Feeding when you finish the book should put you on a track that matches somewhat neatly with your current sleep schedule."

"Fair enough."

Don once more returned his attention to the guidebook, leaving a hand free to rub the dog. The next chapter was a rundown of how to treat potential illnesses that might arise. Seeing as the author could not expect every sailor to be a trained veterinarian, it was really more of an in depth run-down than a detailed explanation of every case scenario.

It summed up what the dog might be doing if it has some form of injury or disease. If it wasn't easy to resolve for the standard serviceman, that being more experience required than tricking the dog into eating a pill or restraining it in a way to heal a physical wound, it recommended that the dog be taken to a medical scanner.

If this required a transfer between ships, it was to be done.

"ARC, is there any form of medical scanner onboard?"

"The capabilities of the onboard medical scanners surpass those of the ones installed on the Ranger and Bunker. It covers the entire interior of the cabin and is intended to give me information on your vital signs in the middle of combat to better control the inertial dampener. Naturally, it is also capable of monitoring the condition of Mercedes."

"You never cease to surprise."

"I recall informing you of this earlier, but I will accept the compliment. In anticipation of your acceptance of Mercedes as a crew member, I have prepared to register her as an official operator. In accordance with the 'Official Handbook for Rank Relation of Military Canines', her Operator Code will be 0-2. Will this be acceptable?"

"Yes, though I have a question. My Operator Code is 0-0, and Mercedes' will be 0-2, who is 0-1?"

"While I am restricted from divulging the information of operators of the 0 level authority, even to those of a higher sub tier, nothing restricts me from informing you of their role. I feel their role is best summed up with the statement 'Someone had to fly the Noah to the Ranger.'"

"Fair enough."

He immersed himself in the next chapter, which promised to be interesting.

'Spatial Domestication: Acclimating Canines to a Zero Gravity Environment'

Messing with gravity is always fun.

'In order to prepare for the eventuality that is the cutting out of artificial gravity, it is essential to acclimate your dog to it in a controlled environment. This process is known as "Spatial Domestication" and should be considered a duty with a level of importance on par with training your dog to stay out of the way in a combat situation.

The process is fairly simple, slowly doing away with generated gravity until there is none, and then both keeping the dog calm and safe. The most difficult part of this process is the length of time it takes. A full three hours where work may be hindered in a certain part of the ship may limit shipboard operation to an extreme degree and place a large work burden on the crew of smaller ships, however this process is essential in preserving the dog's health and safety.

Some conditions need to be met in order to keep work to a minimum.

The first is that the dog should not have eaten in the last three hours. This is primarily to prevent the dog from throwing up in a panic.

The second is that the dog should have recently relieved itself. The reasons should be self evident.

The third is that whoever is acclimating the dog be prepared to give it their full attention for an extended period of time.

Now that these are out of the way, the actual process of getting your dog to tolerate weightlessness will take some time. Start off by distracting it, throwing a tennis ball will usually do the trick. While it is distracted, the gravity should be reduced to zero at a linear rate over ten minutes.

While this is happening, it is imperative that you make sure that the dog is not exhibiting anomalous behavior. Confusion is fine, in fact it is expected, but if it shows signs of extreme panic then you need to act.

Because the intent of this exercise is to acclimate dogs to a condition they may find themselves in, it simply will not do to halt and return to normal at this point. Instead, stay at the level that the dog began to perceive danger at for a while. If it fails to calm down for an extended period of time at this level, slowly raise the gravity to a point where it does become calm.

You will have to repeat this process until you reach total absence of gravity.

Once there, you may begin training. It is a good idea to spend the first session simply holding onto the dog for an hour or two, you will need to learn how to physically control it while floating just as much as the dog will have to learn to be held while floating.

During this period of time, you should do everything in your power not to rile the dog up. The first sessions will be both extremely stressful and frightening for it, so it is very likely that it will injure itself in some way trying to move like it would while constrained to the ground.

Once the dog is at the very least comfortable with floating, there are really only two things you can teach it.

"Curl" is where the dog bends down and holds onto its tail gently with its mouth. This serves two purposes, protecting the dog and keeping it out of the way. Curled up like this, there is little risk to its safety unless something hits it relatively hard. At the same time, its tail will not be wagging nor will its legs be waving in a way that might impede the crew.

"Sprawl" is where the dog spreads itself out as much as possible. This is for when the gravity is being turned back on, and will get the dog in a position to land.

You should prioritize Curl as the dog can land safely even without sprawl.'