Through the conversation Elias felt he started to get to know Mouse and Slim. While Mouse was outwardly jovial there was a hidden depth that came out when he was truly enjoying himself. The first laugh that followed Slim's story of Mouse's first expedition with Jed made most of those after seem a little hollow. Mouse had been a landlord at an inn before Jed persuaded him to join in a life of adventure and he had brought more beer than water when planning the supplies for their first trip. His character fit with his old job, friends with a few but friendly with all. As the ice broke with Slim Elias warmed to her quickly too. A manager in the company where Jed had his third contract she had also left her previous life to join him as independent contractors. She had been wary at first but let down her guard and showed a quick wit and sarcasm that Elias found refreshing.

"Nidus was Jed's dream." Said Slim. "His company, he wanted to break free of the powerful companies that monopolise the colonies and create somewhere independents can call home. Did you know it means nest?" She asked, probably rhetorically as she carried on without waiting for reply. "He chose the word intentionally. A nest to grow up in and then leave. More than that though, he was always clever with words. It also meant a place to multiply. Somewhere to take over from." She stopped talking once more, taking a sip from her drink.

At some point Mouse had ordered food. Simple bar food, burger and chips, reconstituted and basic but it filled a hole. It didn't take much for Elias to see the vision his uncle had. He learnt that their last few missions had been to gather funds; they were close to fulfilling their needs when Jed disappeared.

"That's why we brought you here." Said Mouse. "Organised it before we declared him officially missing and dead."

"Mouse," Slim said with caution, "are you sure it's the right time?"

"He needs to know Slim. If we don't show trust from the start it'll be harder to build back later on." She shrugged and motioned for him to continue.

"Thing is." Said Mouse. "Once he died, the accounts for Nidus locked. The whole company shut down. All its resources are locked to us." He looked at Elias with a grin. "They are only accessible by the one Jed named his successor."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"Me?" Said Elias. They both nodded and Mouse slid a console showing a legal document over to him. He browsed the first page of text. "There is an option here of liquidising the estate." His eyes nearly popped out of his head. "For a value of just over a million credits." He slumped back in his chair, how had his uncle been so rich?

"That's why we wanted you here. The estate is valued off the company assets and there is a single asset that makes up the bulk of that value." He picked up the console and flicked through the document before stopping about halfway through. "Here." He pointed.

"An unattuned Crystal." Elias gasped. "That's worth a million credits?"

"No." Joined in Slim. "It's worth much more. There are only eight settlements on Carus at the moment, that Crystal will represet the ninth. To anyone with the ability to get to the planet and then use it to form a successful settlement, its value is counted in the millions, plural."

Elias put the pieces together but felt he had to speak them out loud to clarify.

"So you knew Jed had left me the Crystal? And you knew that if I received notice of the inheritance elsewhere I would cash out and sell it? So you brought me here before letting me know?" At least Mouse had the decency to look uncomfortable. "Now you want me to keep the company; hire you on and set up the home my uncle imagined?" Ok, now they both looked uncomfortable. Elias thought about his answer, looking them both in the eyes before he felt ready to say anything more.

"So, where do I sign up?"

A tension he hadn't noticed building over the past hour suddenly lifted.

"Seriously?" said Slim, smiling deeply for once, eyes misting as her shoulders dropped.

"Seriously." Said Elias.

It had only been a few hours but he could tell what his uncle had been planning to build here. The memories and stories had shown him how subtle care and attention in his uncle's letters had been guiding him to make better choices. More than that, for the first time since he had left his home station on his first contract, he felt like he was with friends. In a group put together through choice rather than because their contracts lined up, waiting until one would be sent away to work elsewhere.

The conversation moved on once more. Slim had already arranged a meeting with a lawyer the next day who could arrange the transfer of the company to Elias. Like most spaceports the bars and offices existed on a twenty-four hour clock with busy and quiet times depending on arrivals and departures. Though the bar stayed open all the time, Elias did not feel like spending all him time there until the meeting with the lawyer. He had a lot to digest and was actually keen to get some time to himself.

Mouse found them a hotel that rented out sleeping pods for a reasonable fee. The stumble from the bar reminded Elias that he had been drinking solidly all day after two months in cryo. Not an activity that was on the recommendations on how to help your body to adjust back to normality. The others shared contact details with him via neural link and then left together to 'make some plans'. Too tired and overburdened with thoughts to do much else, Elias headed straight to his pod.