Well…I say “head back” to my ship, but really, she's been sitting in my pocket as a mouse all evening: I just need a convenient space to get her back out…and I should probably refit her, as long as I'm here. So we walk to a spaceport, enjoying the… well, okay, The Drift doesn't have a day/night cycle, so “evening air” isn't quite right, but still… enjoying the ambiance.

When we get there, I rent a hangar, and get to work refitting my newest ship.

Now, my budget is getting past the point where Tiny ships like this fighter actually make sense, for a few reasons:  First, they can't carry the big weapons,they just have too much kick, it doesn't work.  Moreover, Tiny ships are limited to at most two weapons per arc.  You very quickly hit the point where what you’re shooting isn’t going to do much beyond annoying whomever you’re shooting.  Bigger ships can carry bigger weapons, and more of them on the same arc.  Next up, limited power: Even if they could carry bigger guns, the most you can do for power for a Tiny starship is an Arcane Dawn power core (which costs extra above and beyond what a more traditional power core costs - you’re paying a premium for that extra oomph)… and even that will only power so much.  Bigger ships have the option of bigger power cores, and additional power cores, without nearly so much of a premium… and thus, they can better use those additional weapons they can carry.  Moreover, the bigger power cores are also better for when the engineer wants to reinforce the shields (which will be quite often in a fight).  Even past the power problem, though, there’s the crew issue: A fighter seats two people, and that’s it.  You NEED a pilot, you want an engineer, and you pretty much need one person for each gun you're gping to use.  You can extend that a little with a good VI to fill an officer slot, a Consciousness Uplink Drive to let one of the people do a bit more, and link the weapons in a given arc to let them be fired as one… but all of those options cost (and a good VI costs a LOT).  A bigger ship can support a bigger crew to manage much better: Again, the little ship is paying a premium to get what the larger ships already have.  The little ships have one advantage in that they are harder to hit… but they’re also significantly more fragile, so that balances out quickly.  They’re just not really worth it with the kind of budget I have.  But you don’t go to war with what you want, you go to war with what you’ve got. So I go ahead and work on the ship.

I’m satisfied enough with it when I’m done.  The fifty foot long, twenty foot tall ship is quite small for a Starship (classified as Tiny, in fact), and most of the space is taken up with the engines, power core, and life support… but there’s also twin apartments of decent size, and yes, they’re wired up with holographic decor (and I did repaint the inside, so it’s not hot pink everywhere), and of course there is the cockpit, which uses the holographic displays for quick flexibility.  Without the buffs I add, it won’t win a fight against a well-designed Explorer (those still make sense at my budget)... but I DID buff it up.  As long as I don’t need to worry about boarders, we should be fine… and boarders will have other issues, as there’s a few spells that cause issues for enemies that have no effect on allies; a little Alteration Sphere magic for Permanent Transformation like I did on Ocean: Flight plus Starflight (for when I need to navigate without engines or the Drift), Unspeakable Presence (fear aura that affects only enemies), and Spiritual Touch (in case of incorporeal opponents getting close) from there.  The Aura of Terror spell boosts Unspeakable Presence, so everyone breaks and runs on the first failed save and I don’t need to worry about boarders too much.  As it’s a Permanent Transformation, it’s even still compatible with Shapechange!  I’ve basically changed the ship’s “default” form: The Shapechange spell overrides it temporarily, but the ship will return back to the new normal afterwards: It’ll be great.

And of course, I'm leaving a Magnificent Mansion spell running here, so - theoretically, at least - I’ll be able to return to Alluvion whenever… which will be good for shopping.

Speaking of shopping… there are  some things I want to buy: A couple of Swarm Batteries (they're 40 charge batteries that recharge themselves at a rate of one charge per hour if there's ANY electricity nearby… including hat produced by living creatures): I figure two for Stephanie's little body (so she doesn't need to worry about charging again, ever: The swarm battery recharges itself at the same rate her body uses charges; the second is to power a personal com unit, so both batteries are always in range of something that uses electricity, satisfying the charging condition for both), and a few for me.  I plan on using them similarly: Pop one into my body, and I no longer need the backup generator (I'm alive, and have other gear, so it will recharge near me). They're relatively low level items, and produced easily enough, which makes them available for purchase, no problem.

And here, again, the shopkeeper doesn't seem to blink when I eat one.

Installation is easy: I just disconnect, pull out the old battery, plug in the new, store the old, and I'm done. I reconnect to my body, thank the shopkeeper, and go on my way back to the starport, where we plot a course (after getting Patricia hooked up into the ship: Duplicating Instant Upgrade to give her an Accelerated Datajack), and head out.