After lunch, everyone got back to work, and Ranarth had even more data on historical combined pattern energy weapons for Nico's team to go over.
By comparison, Max's team had it easy, as they were only going to try to stabilize their design for the Orbital Lance today and prevent it from accidentally setting off a thermonuclear chain reaction.
If they did it on purpose, that was fine, but a random side effect from a weapon was no good for them. What they needed was a reliable replacement for their current energy weapons that could be used against every target that they were likely to face in the Great Enemy's fleet while fighting on defended planets.
They had caused quite a bit of damage the first time and upset the locals, but if they had just blown up the planet, the other species would start questioning what team they were on.
"Alright, so we need to modify the energy pattern so that it does affect the plasma within the beam, but without chain reactions that will affect the rest of the atmosphere. Who has an idea?" Max asked once they were back at work.
"We could change to a rare gas that might stop the chain reaction." One of the researchers suggested.
"It could, or it could make the problem worse if we encountered a lot of that rare material. We will keep it in reserve. What else do we have as an idea?" Max asked.
"We could increase the carrier energy frequency. It would reduce the ability of the Disintegrator to create a fission event, which should prevent any more incidents of runaway reactions. It will take some testing to get it right, though." Nala suggested.
"Then that's what we are doing today. Let's get this simulation set up and start working on the adjustments." Max agreed.
The first few results were predictably brutal within the simulation, but the next few they overcompensated on, and the disintegration effect didn't break down the Plasma at all.
That was a bit disheartening for the team, but now they had the full variability range for the proper functioning of the weapon, and they could start to fine-tune.
When the end of the day came, Nico's team looked positively exhausted, but they had a huge amount of data sorted and categorized, ready to be analyzed beginning the next day.
Max's team had a somewhat functional Orbital Lance, but the effects were still far too unstable to put it into production as a Mecha's main weapon.
"That's it for the day. Night shift will be in soon, working on the same issues we were, but under their own direction and not using our experimental data. That way, we have completely different patterns of development, and we're not limiting the other team's creativity." Max explained to Ranarth when they were ready to leave.
"Oh, that is wonderful. I have always admired human creativity. Now, I believe I will retire to my quarters and finish these reports. Tell me, how far is it from my room to the dining quarters?" The Darkling asked.
"There are food creation facilities inside your suite, but if you wish to experience the various popular cuisines based on public input or other criteria, I have a map of all of the shops near your unit." Uncle Lu explained as he transferred the data.
"Marvellous. I shall take the time to fully experience the new aspects of your culture. My people only need one hour of daily rest, you see, so I have some spare time tonight." Ranarth announced.
Despite his age, he was quite excited to try new things, including new foods, and from the thoughts Max read, he intended to sample them based on how many people he saw eating there when he passed by. If they were busy, they got priority to be added to his data set to send home.
"I recommend that you try the shop called Spice Boat, two blocks down from your unit, along the storefronts on your street. It should give you a taste of home, and they offer five spice levels for all sorts of species, including the ones that find capsaicin sweet." Nico recommended after using her System Function to review the data.
They were only two doors down from the Darkling Envoy, so they would all be looking to eat at the same spots, and Nico liked to get breakfast on her way to work.
"Not a bad choice. But what is this Bramha's Wild Wings? I have no record of a species of bird named Bramha." He asked.
"It's actually named after a location, and the wings are chicken wing portions. They can also be spicy if you like, or dozens of other available flavours." Nico explained.
"Understood. I will see you all in the morning for our shift. I have set an appropriate alarm to account for the difference in travel times between evening and morning shift change, based on the width of the streets and population density."
Ranarth made his way to his unit, while the Innu began to immediately discuss methods of altering their own schedules to become more efficient. If they could more accurately calculate the necessary travel time, they could add as much as seven more minutes of sleep to their mornings, they believed.
It was a very different reason than Ranarth, who simply wanted to know exactly when he would be at work and had calculated that he would arrive fifteen minutes before their scheduled start time. The Innu were already pushing the change time to get into their work-issued safety gear, and any more would make them late for work entirely.
Perhaps he was going to have to give them an incentive to show up on time if they got any worse, but Max suspected that the topic of their new project would be enough to rebuild their enthusiasm for work and get them to bed the seven to ten minutes early so that they could be at the office without shorting themselves their carefully scheduled sleep.
In the minds of the Innu, the recommended six hours was a precise number, not a minute more or less, for optimal performance. And if that number were wrong, they would nap during downtime. Innu logic was very rarely logical when it involved their own biology, Max had found.
