Hailey marched into the ship sale hangar. Chong wanted a top-notch ship, and that was what he was gonna get. She shopped around and found the most expensive one available: a massive gleaming purple craft that looked vaguely like a giant lightbulb, with a pinch in the middle where a set of four black rings rotated endlessly around its frame. "Certainly not the prettiest vessel in the shipyard by any measure. The hell's this thing so expensive?" she asked the seller, a sallow Lombax with an off-putting smile.
"It's the fastest ship in the universe!" he announced proudly. "It'll take you from zero to lightspeed in a split second. With an optional upgrade, the multi-core hyper-engines can even be fine-tuned to allow for instantaneous hairpin turns, even while pulling out of lightspeed!"
Hailey frowned. "Sounds like some sort of fast yet fragile fighter jet. We're looking for something bigger and stronger."
"They don't get stronger than this beaut!" the seller assured. "Quadruple-reinforced unobtanium-alloy deflector plates capable of withstanding up to Class A ordnance with nary a scratch. For an additional fee we can add an energy-siphoning kinetic shield that makes laser or plasma weapons completely ineffective!"
"Okay, fine, so it's tanky. But what about its own weaponry?"
"It comes with four available weapons; for free you get the two anti-tank turrets capable of being manned by gunners or operating via built-in AI. The ship's nose can also be fitted with an array of different laser nozzles letting you choose whatever form of energy weaponry you'd like to fire forward. The back can release an array of bomblets in a wide cone that superheat and explode when they come in contact with anything. It's also great for punching through asteroid fields or laying waste to a planet!" His eyes gleamed. "But if you're really feeling luxurious, the final attack involves those three black rings. They're time-distortion dampeners; turn them on, and they'll absorb anything fired at your vessel, be it bullets, rockets, etcetera. It'll store up to 5,000 cubic yards of matter in a pocket dimension, until you press the button and it "slingshots" all of those projectiles back through time and into whoever fired them!"
Hailey cocked her head. "Wait, so you mean if we get in a fight, we can turn those on, sit there for a while as our enemies fire shit at us, then hit that button and all of their cannons will suddenly explode from their own attacks?"
"Amazing, isn't it?" The seller nodded. "They can't even block the counterattack because it travels through time. The time-distortion dampeners almost triple the cost of the ship, but I've never had a buyer who wasn't completely satisfied with them. And last but not least, the ship carries enough fuel to drive at maximum speed for over 2 years without refueling, but you'll never use any fuel because we offer three different spatial-energy generators to create your own self-sustainable power as you travel!"
Hailey read that part of the advertisement pamphlet. "Solar, kinetic, and radiation conversion generators? How many can fit on the ship at once?"
"You could take all three, if you had a truly insane amount of money." The seller nodded. "The flexibility and versatility of the different available expansions are another reason we highly recommend this ship. You can pick and choose which parts you care about most if you're feeling short on cash!"
Hailey checked the last page of the pamphlet. “And what are these?”
“A few more optional upgrades I haven’t mentioned. There’s a cloaking device for stealth capabilities, a jammer to prevent your ship from showing on scanners or radar, and a holographic yeoman who can materialize anywhere in the ship and entertain or interact with the crew.” The seller palmed a tiny emitter and displayed a soft light projection of a scantily-clad Markazian saluting with a giggle.
"Not bad. How much would the ship cost with evey single upgrade?" Hailey asked, nodding approvingly.
The seller chuckled. "They always ask that, until they hear the price. With the absolute best option in every category, including speed, armor, weaponry, and power, this ship comes out to over 2 billion bolts! But it'd be silly to think anybody would ever be able to afford that--"
"We'll take it." She told the seller. "Give us every single one of those expansions you mentioned. We'll pay in cash, and we want it immediately." She knew Chong had enough money to buy any ship he pleased, and that she would be richly rewarded when he heard just how much this ship was capable of.
