Chapter 11 - First Certificate
ITI First Fleet Academy ,VR Simulation facility (S-17)
Jako sit in his pod, staring at the simulation test results in front of him. He couldn't believe his eyes. They have finally done it. After days of hard work, his team have succeed where they had failed before.
He leans back on the chair and let out a sigh of relief. The decision to appoint Pong as the engineer lead had been a difficult one, but it has been the right call. Pong's technical skills are unparalleled, and his attention to detail is unmatched. Jako had known that Pong is the key to the problem, while the start was chaotic, once Pong got used to commanding Ping around the synergy is amazing.
There was a round of applause as Jako exit the simulation pod, he and his team has been regulars now at this simulation facility and the engineer here have gather around to congratulate the team. Jako turn to face the rest of the team, who were gather around his pod. Jako knew that this is a proud moment for them, and he is grateful to have been a part of it.
"Good job, everyone," Jako said, addressing the team. "I told you it could be done, but still I couldn't be more proud of all of you. Especially you Pong, great call on that last issue." Pong steps forward, looking a little bashful. "It was a team effort," he says, waving off the praise. "Everyone here contributed to this success."
"Let's celebrate this success with some lunch and after that we can get to work." Jako said, clapping his hands together.
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Name: Jakobsen Bedivere
Citizenship: 2nd Class ITI Citizen
Specializations: None
Institute Points (IP): 19
Credit: 3
Current Schedule: Register team with the Academy Task Force.
[Team Members]
Astrid (position not registered)
Huang Ping (position not registered)
Huang Pong (position not registered)
[Certification]
Corvette Certification (Completed)
Basic Weaponry (97.3%)
Basic Navigation (Completed)
Basic Piloting (Completed)
[Physical Attributes]
Strength: 0.6
Dexterity: 0.7
Endurance: 0.6
Not affected by any alignment - Healthy – Heart rate elevated.
[A.I. Abilities]
Knowledge Injection - experimental
Skill Injection - experimental
A.I direct Body management - experimental
IRIS provides a candid summary: Host determination is admirable, but, seriously, his stubbornness is something else. He always has to have the last word and never wants to admit when he's wrong. And those excuses, don't even get me started! It's like, just once, can he take responsibility for something? Fortunately, despite all that, he manages to exceed expectations. It's like his determination and stubbornness work together to get him to the finish line, pretty impressive, till he fails.
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ITI First Fleet Academy , Academy Task Force Centre
Jako arrived early at the Academy Task Force Center with a purpose in mind - to gather information. As he stepped into the main lobby, his eyes were immediately drawn to the striking introductory poster displayed prominently at the forefront.
"ITI Directive STF - 002 state that, ITI Fleets are responsible for all space-related activities within its sphere of control. This includes but not limited to the movement of people and goods from system to system, mining, communication and exploration. All space faring ships are provided by the ITI Fleets, who are the governing authority for all space activities in the region. This means that every ships technically belongs to the nation's military forces.
Ship from other nation would need to transfer their goods and duties in designated Trading system and is not allowed deeper into ITI controlled space. Private companies can raise requests with the Fleets Services Administrators to raise such requests.
The Academy Task Force (ATF) is a vital department in the school, where students are given the opportunity to showcase their skills and earn income. It form a portion of the overall logistic setup in ITI. This facility serves as a platform for students to register their team with the task force and take on tasks based on their certification. Students are allowed to take on easier non-critical requests or take part as an attachment to a bigger request. If required the task force will loan students with a factory default ship allowing them to take on such requests.
ATF is thus an essential part of the student experience, providing an opportunity for students to gain practical experience and hone their skills in a real-world setting. It's a win-win-win situation for the fleet, the patrons and the students, as the Fleet benefits from the increased manpower, the patrons gets their request fulfilled while the students benefit from the income and practical experience.
With its strict management and focus on safety, students can be confident that they are engaging in legitimate, well-supervised operations. Whether you're a pilot, engineer, or a navigator, the ATF is the perfect place to get started in your career and make a name for yourself in the galaxy."
As he finish reading the poster, his team slowly start to arrive, each of them making their way up the steps of the facility. With their team gathered, Jako, the team's captain and navigator, led the way with a confident stride, while Astrid, the vice-captain and pilot, followed closely behind. The engineering duo of Ping and Pong brought up the rear, chatting animatedly about their future.
After the simple team registration he bring his team towards the ship management office.
"Finally, we have officially register our team." Jako declared, his voice ringing with excitement.
"It's about time," Astrid said with a smile. "I miss flying missions."
"Me too," Ping and Pong chimed in unison.
As they arrived at the office, Jako was approached by a representative from the ATF. "Captain, welcome to the Academy Task Force Center," the representative greeted them warmly. "I see you're the new team and you are interested in loaning one of the Z7 Coverette class ship."
"Yes, that's correct," Jako confirmed. The staff point to the ship display and ask the team to wait there while he fills up the details on the contract.
The ship display was loop its introduction of the ship, "The Z7 Coverette class is nicknamed the 'little bird' due to its compact size. However do not let that fool you. It's one of the most advanced military ships in our fleet. It can carry 120m cube of cargo with a FTL drive processing speed...."
Astrid ran her hand along the model ship's sleek hull, a look of reverence in her eyes. "I'm back..." she whispered.
Ping and Pong, meanwhile, were already discussing the technical specifications, eagerly planning out their modifications.
"I remember the last time we flew a little bird," Ping said, a nostalgic look on his face. "It the default configuration make for a wild ride."
"Yeah, and we had to work overtime to change everything before we can fall asleep." Pong added, grinning at the memories.
After a short wait, the staff come by for Jako final confirmation, the contract is straight forward and only have one major condition, return the ship in one pieces or pay the price for replacement.
With the formalities out of the way and their ship secured, Jako, Astrid, Ping, and Pong left the ATF. Jako is eager for his first adventure in a real ship. Little did he know that the challenges they would face in the coming days.
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Selene's Space Port Alpha - Dock 81A
When Jako and his team first received their ship loan from the Academy Task Force, they were met with a bit of a surprise. The ship was an old reuse covertte, nothing like the sleek models they had seen in the management office. Astrid, Ping, and Pong had always received ships in decent shape, so they were shocked to see the state of the covertte they were now in charge of.
"What happened here?" Astrid, exclaim in disbelief. "The ships we've been assigned before were in decent shape when we got them, but this... this is just a mess."
Ping and Pong, the engineering crew, nodded in agreement. "Yeah, i know it's going to be bad but this is a disaster. we're definitely going to need a few days to clean everything up and check all the system before we can even undock." they added.
Jako surveyed the scene with a heavy heart. 'IRIS, can i lodge a complain.', IRIS promptly reply, 'No, the covertte is specially assigned to you by the headquarter. There is a few surprises in there.'
'Let me guess, surprises that can make a ship become a great ball of fire , or something similar? Perhaps...', Jako thought is broken by Ping shouting from the rear of the ship. "Captain, you should name your ship, no bird names though, we have enough of that."
Shaking his head, Jako resign to his fate. He shouted back to the team, "I will think of something, for now let do what we can. It's going to take a bit of elbow grease but we'll get this ship up and running in no time."
And so, the team set to work, cleaning and fixing the ship over the course of the next three days. Finally, they were ready to take on their first request and It was a few uneventful delivery missions, nothing too demanding, but it was a start.
It was during one of these missions that Jako received a surprising call from Chloe Casteer, a long-uncontactable acquaintance. "Jako, I have a mission for you and your team...."