[A Very Early Sunday Morning of 20XX]

  [Ship Spirit Core Chamber] [The Skylark/The Harrier]

  [The Docks] [Holdport] [Somerset] [The UK]

  [Universe Sierra-Hotel-1] [The Local Parallels]

  [Katie McCabe, 1st Person]

  The ritual circle for this, what was below The Lase-Comp AI Core and The AI Crystal Core and The Traditional Computer AI Core. Traditional with a bit of magical cheating, while the Crystal Core was completely cheating. And not the fiddle of what would be a Quantum Computer, not getting into how there are people who are doing good work on trying to make a practical Quantum Computer.

  Like those people working on the Room Temperature Carbon based Superconductors.

  But the AI Cores hadn’t started up yet, regardless of how there was a LILAC, ELI, and LCI built into the boat. Connected to those AI cores to act as a subconscious and the basic systems for what would be the Ship Spirit of the Boat.

  The Limited Intelligence Laser Algorithm Computer, the Electronic Limited Intelligence, and Limited Crystalline Intelligence were already running. It was just as a bit of a basic setup for the boat as she was meant to be.

  However, I knelt in front of the circle. What was in the wooden room, with it being a golden circle of Aurumanite. Of magical metal made out of gold, of what was two hundred and fifty times stronger than high grade steel and fifty times more magical than gold. Of what was in The Deep Brown Wooden Room, with a ritual and runic circuit painted around it of golden paint.

  Tara was by the door, at the little observation post by it. Hector was beside her in the mentioned observation post, the Spirit, their voice whispered to me in just my ear. What was currently his voice delivered to my ears. And he simply told me, “Light it up.”

  I gave a simple nod, Vi of The Elan Vital (or Vitality) flowed out into the Ritual and Runic Circuit, energy hummed and thrummed as it lit up in golden glowing light. Power sang around me, the power invisibly flowed into every part of the boat. A feeling of static filled the air. And within the Circle manifested the avatar of The Skylark.

  The four foot ten (147.32 cm) tall avatar of the ship? Who looked the same age as me with my Alchemic Immortality keeping me in my prime of my early twenties. Pink hair spiked up with gel in her hair, green eyes almost glowed an emerald green.

  She wore a white tank top with an unbuttoned smart black shirt, a Bandolier went from her right shoulder to her left hip, with smart black trousers, deep brown smart looking leather boots, and added to by a brown leather belt with a golden belt buckle.

  She grinned as she looked at me, she greeted me with, “Hi, Mum!” She paused for a moment, “Med-Scanners and Mat-Fab-Scanners are online and operational! As part of the Transit Systems plugged into my brain and I can operate them as and when needed!”

  I rolled my eyes as I rose, to tell her, “In this form it’s Red Hen, Sky McCabe. Like how you The Skylark is The Harrier when she flies into battle when in a Suit Fight or such,” Suit or Suits being the term for heroes and villains. “Yes, thank you for giving fine control over The Med Systems and Mat-Fab Systems an LI doesn’t have the fine touch to properly use.”

  She paused and had to ask, “So, Boss-Hero! What’s my Suit name as a Hero?”

  I met her gaze and told her, “You get to name yourself when it comes to a Hero name, this isn’t like being named by your parent or parents.”

  Her face scrunched up, before a ripple of her avatar had a black mask form on her face, a mask in Vampire Hunter and Monster Hunter culture would mean ... Of the Meaning of Mask Colours? A pure black one being mourning, a pure white mask being purity of The Hunt of a Hunter, a completely red mask represents vengeance, pure green would be for hope.

  Pure blue would be serenity, pure yellow would be a warning, pure orange would be or change like the Autumn Leaves, pure violet/purple would be of magic. Silver or grey as a whole would be of nothing, of nobody, as when used in a combination example to add to another colour, to not detract from the colour it’s added to. Pure silver of pure grey would be like being Nobody in The Odyssey, a Captain Nemo style mask of a statement.

  And yes, there are other colours, for the record, no, I am not getting into them right now.

  While as an example a hybrid of black and red? They would mean mourning and vengeance combined. And, yes, fans of the original KOTOR Video Game, the Hunter community took Revan’s mask to be one of vengeance and they wrote quite a bit of fanfic about it.

  What was prior to the comic to come out to explain the mask, and then The Hunter community online completely ignored it. You know, as a fandom or internet group will do so about such facts of canon and fanon.

  What the Natural Fanfic community was infected with from said notions and there is a whole concept of mask colour and culture in parts of the internet for various fictions. Including hero and villain stuff of the classical comics involving them.

  Sky didn’t acknowledge such a fact though when she burst out, “I am Shiplord!”

  And I had to point out, “Well, Shiplord. Who are you mourning with your black mask?”

  She scowled at me, her finger came out to jab at me, and she retorted, “Hey! Don’t bring in Hunter Meaning for the Mask! I’m a Hero, not a Hunter. I mean your helmet is red!”

  I had to say, “Young Lady, you’re not wearing a Helmet. A Helmet is different to a Mask in said culture, a motorcycle helmet doesn’t count as a Mask in Hunter culture. There’s a white mask underneath this!”

  I heard what was now Hazel, or Haze, she went and explained the whole meaning of basic mask colours to Tara.

  Even as she did, the newly named Shiplord verbally shot back, “It’s not like we’re going to run into a Traditionalist Monster Hunter or such!”

  I sighed, as I had to complain, “And Tempts Fate is not just a Goblin,” Sky rolled her eyes. “No, Young Lady, pick a different mask!”

  She let out an annoyed sound, and what was her mask rippled into a white one, with a huff she asked, “Better?”

  I nodded, to agree, “Better. Now? Come along, Pond. We have work to do, and little time to do it in.”

  She walked over with me to where Tara was, for me to go, “Tara, this is your new second cousin who for practical purposes I’m calling your niece,” I waved from Tara to Sky. “Sky, this is your second cousin who for practical purposes is your aunt. Now, I have some work to do Tara. So, Sky is going to manifest a second avatar to go talk with you in the Lounge and for her to make a new account on The Nicklebook.”

  I glanced at Hazel, to ask her, “And, Hazel. What do you want to do?”

  She paused, and nodded, as she explained, “I want to try to track down where those vampires came from. I need to ask London if they came from within their limits.”

  I couldn’t help but go, “So you mean,” and I sang out, “London calling?” and grinned.

  Hazel jabbed an index finger at me, at the same time she gave me a grin. For her to tell me, “No, it is not. Now I’m going to talk with Londinium.”

  Sky had to object, “Wait, Polis has a black mask! They can—!”

  I interrupted with, “—No, Shiplord. You do not get to change your mask. There are rules, also Polis is a City Spirit and far older than you. If they want to get in trouble with Hunter Culture they can run around with a black mask, you on the other hand are a young ship spirit of a Space-Boat. Your telekinetic emitters and levitation emitters do not give you the powers to deal with this.”

  Levitation being different to Telekinesis and Telekinetic Engines as Levitation Engines repel off a Gravitational Field. The stronger the Gravity Well, the more power in the Levitation Engines. Also, note. Current engines aren’t designed to take infinite gravity from a black hole so don’t suggest what is such a theoretical thing, the engineering isn’t there yet. Nor does the engineering currently need to yet, it is however theoretically possible.

  She let out a little exhale as she seemed to collapse in on herself, before as she crossed her arms across her chest, came with an explosive exhaled word of, “Fine!” and she stomped her foot. She proceeded to glare at me.

  I rolled my eyes, to tell her, “Go make an account on Sky Fortress, The Server will check who you are. I would suggest say, ‘Boat-Chan,’ a User Name not taken by anyone else, or, ‘Fisher-Person,’ or, ‘Spirit of The Skylark,’ or a similar name you can come up with.”

  She paused, and she brightly went as she chose a name, “I like Boat-Chan, getting my Lase-Comp online to do so!”

  I nodded to her, and half-ordered to my daughter, “Go have fun with your aunt now! I have some work to do.”

  She bobbed her head like a nodding dog, she entwined her arm with Tara and pulled her away. Hazel grinned at me after we watched the Spirit who had super strength due to being the Avatar of The Skylark. Who had the durability, shields, and flight of The Skylark added into her avatar.

  Plus, there’s the telekinetic emitters to give telekinesis, levitation emitters to give levitation based telekinesis, and Anweald point defence pulses and beams. Of what the internet and popular culture would wrongly call Mana point defence pulses and beams. Don’t do cultural appropriation, people! Use the word for Magical Power English borrowed from Old English.

  What her nature basically made her Avatar into a Flying Brick with extras, which yes, the Term Flying Brick is the term used by The Home Guard as a power classification. (Or how the term Stereotype is another one for the one of Flying Brick.)

  Like how someone with the power of flight is a Flyer, or someone with superspeed is a Runner, or someone with fire powers is a Burner. Or someone with super strength and durability is just a Brick as taken from the term Flying Brick when not using the term Stereotype for such a power set. Don’t over complicate it please, peoples of The Earth.

  Hazel looked at me, to comment simply, “Kids.”

  There was the sound of Sky’s voice around us, as she complained, “Hey!” I raised an eyebrow at Hazel, because I knew I was being included as a kid. Due to being twenty seven and not the ancient being of Holdport, so I channelled Spock with the eyebrow to state my issues with being called a kid. Hazel just laughed at both our reactions as her avatar just broke into motes of light with a swirl and she went to go and do what she needed to do.

  A projection of Sky appeared next to me, a volumetric display projection of an illusion generator. A generator not yet fine-tuned enough for her to use to generate illusions of many different 3D images, other than copies of herself. While she has The Classic Powered Hero Seven rituals as I call them in my head. With her going to be given the Bone Gift, Regenerator Gift, and the Plant Gift like I should.

  Also, yes, she’s going to have the Regenerator Gift. I can translate it to repair her structure, as well as healing her avatars and such. While making a magical version of a repair spell based on what would be her structure, it’s a logical extension of how the Intrinsic Field of a Regenerator Gift works.

  Sky’s projection rippled there, she paused, as she said to me, “Wait, Mum. System wants to talk to you, and she’s given me a game I can play. I will allow her to project herself through the systems, as the security protocols allow.”

  Sky’s avatar shimmered away, only for a projection of System appeared. Of a six inch (15.24 cm) tall green wearing blue Winged Fae appeared, again Winged Fae as to The Fair Folk the word Fairy is like calling a human a monkey. Then you have to consider The Fair Folk are The Fair Folk and see why calling them such a name is a bad idea.

  She fluttered around to be hovering in front of my face a distance away to where someone’s head would be when standing next to me. Blue wings fluttered, tiny little blue eyes glowed, bright blue hair complemented her Kalaria bright blue skin, and her ability to manifest an avatar was there. Joined by tiny pointy ears at just the tips of her ears but otherwise human-like ears and not the ridiculous fantasy ears from some fictional elves.

  She commented, “Firstly, did you really have to install those software systems in The LILAC, The ELI, and The LCI? While I appreciate the gesture of them being able to support me if I needed to run myself on them, did you really need to build them able to run what are AI instances of myself?”

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  I met her gaze as she fluttered there, solid apparition of her spirit form, and I explained to her, “You never know what might happen. You get to have somewhere to escape to rather than just haunting the planet if some John Connor Reject is successful. Consider it your own home away from home.”

  She paused as rolled her tiny little eyes, even as I started to walk, and she fluttered by flying at the side of my head at the height someone would stand at. For her to continue, “Secondly, did you really need to install seven Matter to Energy Reactors of a Transit System,” Think teleporter for what a Transit is. “Each converting one tonne of water,” one metric ton, or a 1,000 kg, “from the Elemental Realm of Water per second? One for Engines, one for shields, and one for weapons, one for Hull Energising, one for Boost of Teleportation Systems of Transit systems,” to get through jamming of a Counter Ward.

  She didn’t stop, “one for Dedicated Gyges Cloaking, one to be an extra power source for one of those six or for something else. With what are the secondary power systems being seven Helium-3 fusion reactors of the same, and the Seven Krustallos Backup power systems? With how if the power isn’t used, it goes into Sky’s Magic Corpus to give her said magical power.”

  Each Matter to Energy Reactor gives off and produces 21.481 Gigatons of power each per second. While the fusion reactors with their connection to The Elemental Realm of Air is 1% of matter to energy and takes the same amount of Helium-3. So, 214.81 Megatons each. And the three one tonne Krustallos Crystals of Magical Crystal drawing on The Ambient? Is 21.481 Megatons each.

  So, for Weapons, Engines, Shields, Hull Energising, punching through Teleport Jamming of a Transit Counter Ward ... take a breath .... Enhanced Gyges systems, and an extra reactor for other needs and power for them? The standard operation for each system is 21.717291 Gigatons of power per second, or 90.863625 exawatts. While full power is 152.021037 Gigatons of power per second, or 636.045375 exawatts.

  Or, to use a bad turn of phrase from Star Trek. Due to the Writers not understanding there are prefix units above giga-, and not measuring an amount of power in billions of gigawatts? It would be 90.86515 billion gigawatts for specific power of each system, or 636.045375 billion gigawatts.

  So, say you had a hypothetical ship with a power output of 12.75 exawatts aka 12.75 billion gigawatts? Say a certain Enterprise-D? What would be 3.0473 Gigatons of TNT, it may or may not have been per second, due to how watts were used, let’s go with per second to be fair?

  For just weapons, shields, engine power, or one of the other main power systems it would exceed it by just over seven times (What would be about 7.12655882353 times). Alternatively for full power would be just nearly fifty times (what would be about 49.8859117647 times).

  It is also before you get into what are the teleport based batteries as designed and made by me when being inspired by Rare Robot Repairer (R3). A Transit Battery of what is made out of a Transit based Teleporter’s Storage system to store Transit Patterns in? The Batteries able to be stopped from exploding as a weapon via the Explosion Counter Wards?

  Those batteries can store a thousand times its weight at Matter to Energy Conversion by Sickle Steel or similar metals. While an Aurumanite Transit Battery can hold fifty times the amount of say Sickle Steel.

  So, while those Aurumanite Transit Batteries probably wouldn’t be needed, the ship could run at about 1,000 times main power for 50 seconds with the seven batteries. Of what each battery would be 21.481 Teratons of power per second of operation, or 150.367 Teratons of power per second of operation. 89.875 zettawatts for each battery, or 629.125 zettawatts for all the batteries together. Of zettawatts being a trillion gigawatts if you want to put it in such a way, TNG Canon Writers.

  But with what was main power with the combined reactors and batteries, would be for each specific set system for full power for fifty seconds of 21.502717291 Teratons per second. Or what is 21 Teratons, 502 Gigatons, 717 Megatons, and 291 Kilotons.

  The combined main power of what ship systems was also designed to be channelled to put all power into one output would be 150.519021037 Teratons per second. Or 150 Teratons, 519 Gigatons, 21 Megatons, and 37 Kilotons per second.

  What is 89.965863625 zettawatts per ship system per second for fifty seconds, of 89 zettawatts, 965 exawatts, 863 petawatts, and 625 terawatts. What is for full main power per second for fifty seconds, is 629.761045375 zettawatts. Or 629 zettawatts, 761 exawatts, 45 petawatts, and 375 terawatts.

  Or, TNG Canon Writers? The per ship systems of power for fifty seconds would be 89.965863625 trillion gigawatts and full power for fifty seconds? Would be 629.76104537 trillion gigawatts. If you’ve ever actually learnt what metric prefixes are and have forgotten, Canon Star Trek writers.

  And as said power generation without the batteries? It was being converted into magic per second, or what was not just a technological portal to The Elemental Realm of Water or Elemental Realm of Air to create said power?

  While the Power Batteries with Elemental Realm of Water creation could be recharged in a minimum of fifty seconds. Of what I’d made into part of what was Sky’s soul, so it was an unjammable magical connection?

  Yes, I may have gone a little OTT. The fact was, this was a universe with people flying through the skies, or Cultivators running around Imperial China. Which, yes, The Boxer Rebellion in this universe had some Cultivator support. And as someone against the idea of monarchy, the Empress of Imperial China can go fuck herself.

  ... Unless you want to, say, be meta about Earth Sierra-Hotel-1. As with the fact I am a reincarnate who knew and knows the Isekai Genre, it is theoretically a setting with those things. I’m not some fourth wall aware being who can see the constraints of a comic book, or talking in little yellow boxes, Deadpool. Because? In a large enough multiverse? Everyone is fictional somewhere, it’s just basic interplanar physics.

  I know enough there’s probably some poorly drawn and poorly plotted webcomic about me in the parallels. A webcomic I shall call Single Digits, as to refer to the number of Readers and Site Traffic it gets for each update. And yes, fuck you too, theoretical author writing this.

  How the webcomic of Single Digits probably doesn’t have its own website and is posted somewhere else. And thus, in this blender of blenders of a bunch of different tropes and knockoffs of settings mixed together?

  It’s better to be over prepared before the shit hits the fan. Or if I crossover into the actual, proper, comic book stuff of Heulwen doing the A-List stuff and I get put through a near literal blender as a not-even-a-D-Lister.

  Just in case as a kinda preventive measure for both conventional things and Philosophical Fourth Wall Awareness as a potential concept. Or about the issue, to reference the XKCD comic of Privacy Opinions and quote the Alt Text of said comic? ‘I'm the Philosopher until someone hands me a burrito,’ as the Sage who is beyond worrying about the Meta and instead eating something good.

  And till that point, on whether it’s The Philosopher, The Sage, or as I would think of myself ... The Soldier defending against things without considering a theoretical Fourth Wall? To reference the greatness of Schlock Mercenary, I’m fully ready to say, ‘bake me a chupaqueso,’ if needed with all the potential bullshit hitting the fan. As? This universe ... Well, to put it one way? ...

  ... I looked at System, and I firmly stated, “Have you seen this world? Heulwen is flying through the skies with more power than this ship? Have you seen The Sol Defence Fleet with Missile Boats and Corvettes to fight the Sethari when they’re not dropping Fighters off in Atmo? I reserve the right to be more than reasonable when building and designing Sky.”

  Or in other words, to be highly specific and concise, ‘It’s fucking crazy,’ and I will bake a chupaqueso if needed to defend what I have decided to defend.

  There was a little explosive breath from System, as she had to note, “And thirdly, what exactly are you doing with The Absolute Immortality empowerment?”

  I stared at her, to easily admit, “I’m not going to sell it, if you think I was going to do so. No, I want to protect my immediate family without the Bitch of Mother Dearest. For me to give it to anyone I trust who is willing to join The Harriers. My invocations to Hecate, at the same time of being one of her champions, means she’s covering it with The Deception. Like how Tyche and Alectryon are doing so. Just like my Heroic Identity, and the gods have rules about having gods handing out immortality to people. Of what counts as my own Mystery Cult and Mystery Tradition for legal purposes.”

  And, just to note? It was a different Alectryon to the one cursed by Ares, who Alectryon had renamed himself after said Alectryon cursed by Ares. Like how the renamed Alectryon of Alcaeus had his father of Sol Invictus/Heracles had renamed himself two times from originally having called himself from Alcaeus originally. If Sol Invictus still answered to Heracles or Hercules.

  However, past said point about the god Alectryon and not the cursed mortal he named himself after. I went and added, “Though if you have someone you want for me to make immortal? Then please, just ask and I will vet them to check they are worthy,” I entered my workshop. I gestured around as System let out another breath, “We can talk about it while I do my work on my kit and what I want to make as artificial spirits.”

  System looked at me for a long moment, she fluttered her wings, as she said, “I’m going to have to keep an eye on you about this.”

  I couldn’t help but verbally jab back, “Join The Harriers! You can keep an eye on me if you do!”

  She rolled her eyes and I went to work on my projects.

  [Lore]

  [Explosion Counter Ward] [How when the Deception Falls]

  [They will change how the world works ...]

  [... forever!]

  An Explosion Counter Ward is the second line defence if a Transit Counter Ward fails for some reason. Even if most Transit Counter Wards are more multiple different types of Transit Counter Wards which Counter Matter to Energy Conversion when used as a weapon.

  Rather than blocking what would be a Matter to Energy Conversion Reactor, such a reactor can be shielded from said Counter Wards. As long as it doesn’t explode. An Explosion Counter Ward it works differently taking a little power from the Explosion to power the Spell of Warding’s action, it shunts the energy into The Ambient. It converts the energy of an explosion into said Ambient.

  Prior to what was the start of The Deception in 1712? It was on average of The Height of The Age of Pre-Conceptual Magic? Enough for such a spell of warding to be able to stop a castle slighted with explosions, not one able to stop a gun. And yes, such a level was achieved before The English Civil War, so a lot less castles were slighted due to those Explosion Counter Wards. While there was technically no limit to one, one was designed most of the time to have a maximum limit out of practicality instead of what some saw as over engineering.

  The modern Counter Ward for an Explosion, whether Natural or Supernatural, is able to stop the individual explosions of gunpowder in a gun. From an original gunpower of black powder for a gun, to the modern smokeless powders, a Modern Counter Ward having no maximum limit as standard.

  The Deception requires not just blocking all explosions regardless of them being Natural or Supernatural. To instead block and counter explosions who people could use to nuke a whole city. Whether from a Nuke, a Matter to Energy Conversion Bomb, a Transit Storage Battery Weapon, or something else.

  There are also spell versions of an Explosion Counter Ward to stop guns working, and you can switch off the guns using smokeless powder. Rather than say a telekinetic accelerator of a gun or some other form of gun like a Railgun, a Gauss Gun, a Coil Gun, a Taser, or some form of Energy Weapon.

  The knowledge of them would make the freakout happening in US Gun Culture due to a Bullet Shield to be so much worse. An Explosion Counter Ward or Explosion Counter Spell would change the world a lot if used on The Naturals.

  To note: as an exception to The Deception, if a Natural is attacking somewhere with Explosion Counter Wards with explosives to harm the Supernatural Community? Deliberately harm it, not mattering how many different levels of separation between the Natural person(s) in the know about The Supernatural? Then an Explosion Counter Ward would and will stop it.

  Like how such magicks could reshape combat on the battlefield in the tactical and strategic sense. The King of Battle of Artillery being rendered nearly useless, before considering adding in the Counter Wards and Counterspells to Kinetic Rounds?

  Joined by what are Bullet Shield Wards, of Bullet Shield Counter Wards and Counterspells? Added to the notion of creating an Intrinsic Field and Magical version of it to make an Explosion Shield of a power to add to the Bullet Shield?

  It would also change the tactical and strategic field of combat quite a lot.

  It means a Transit Storage Battery exploding will not work as a weapon. From the simplest of a Sickle Steel Gram Detonator making a 21.481 Megatons of TNT explosion. Due to the energy being channelled by the magicks into The Ambient.

  Not considering the fact a Transit Storage Battery Gram Detonator when attached to a bit of matter to cause it to be converted from matter to energy. It won’t have the weight to yield a Transit Storage Battery when converting what is ordinary matter.

  And this is just the Mortal Versions of them, and not the divine versions maintained by The Alliance of Pantheons and The Covenant of Spirits. Although, the world would be made better by the specific ones to block dust explosions, for places like Grain Silos.

  [Lore]

  [On Transit Counter Wards]

  [And getting past them]

  The Teleport Jamming of a Transit Counter Ward can be beaten if you chuck a whole lot of power at it. However, the power to punch past said magicks? They are teleporting matter to energy to matter. The Wards, covered also by an Explosion Counter Ward as a backup?

  They don’t allow matter to energy Transit weaponry, or energy to energy transfer when transferring already matter converted to energy to a place to blow it up. If doing a normal Transit Weaponry conversion, or transferring power from a Matter to Energy Reactor to be teleported to a target point?

  Power in this case does not matter, a proper Transit Counter Ward will block the attempt to explode the target on the other end. To also note: Explosion Counter Wards also stop you teleporting in a bomb and having it explode, even if it is not a Conversion Weapon of Matter to Energy Conversion and just a lesser bomb.

  So, trying to get around said Transit Counter Wards blocking of said Weaponised Teleportation also stops someone blowing up the enemy with another bomb. No, the power is to punch through and stabilise the Transit Shape of matter being placed down somewhere.

  It is by forcing enough energy through the Teleport to have the matter reintegrate at The Transit Location. To stabilise the matter from how The Counter Wards would try to block it, and also by running a type of Hull Energisation field into the teleported matter. To add to the stabilisation field.

  Thus, with enough power? You can Transit someone into or out of a place from where you want to teleport them to, as either a Transit Rescue or Transit Insertion. The fact of the matter is, with a dedicated amount of reactor power to boost a Transit? Sometimes there is not enough power to do so. It depends on the Spell of Warding being used as a Transit Counter Ward.