"Check the nav-com," Jora said, her voice rising in excitement. "The jump calculations... they’re instantaneous. The 0.1.0 isn't just pushing us through space, Kael. It’s folding the Gateway around us."
The ship groaned. The new engine pulsed once—a deep, violet light that made the deckplates vibrate in a way Kael had never felt. The screens flickered, then stabilized. "Check the nav-com," Jora said, her voice rising
"The 0.0.9 is a tractor motor in a race circuit," Kael grunted, hauling a massive, chrome-sealed crate into the hangar. "If we want to make the jump to the Inner Rim before the blockade closes, we need the Gateway 0.1.0." The screens flickered, then stabilized
The neon hum of the Gateway Hub usually felt like a heartbeat, but today it sounded like a death rattle. Kael stared at the diagnostic screen of the Star-Skipper . The error message was blunt: EFFICIENCY: +45% In the fringe sectors
"Initiating handshake," Jora whispered, her fingers hovering over the console.
STATUS: STABLE. EFFICIENCY: +45%
In the fringe sectors, "deprecated" meant you were a sitting duck. The old engine couldn't handle the localized gravity shears of the New Reach anymore.