Chapter 65: Green Twinkle
"What the hell is this? A Ship?"
All three mouths were wide open, close to dropping down. In front of them was the biggest and fascinating animal-transporter that they ever witnessed. Kutch and Yon saw many bigger ships in their lives, but they were mostly military transport.
The ship - "Green Twinkle" was the size of a football stadium, over a hundred meters in length, about 65 meters wide, and 30 meters in height. The massive construction was mostly green in color with beautiful golden finishing. It had a gigantic panoramic shield. Many people stood there just admiring the beauty.
In disbelief, Safo pulled out his disk-key and turned on the holographic image of the ship. It was the exact copy.
"Damn, it is huge." Safo couldn't stop complimenting the thing.
The trio then moved towards the gates that were open to load the cargo, mostly provision, some weapons, and the engine batteries. The Green Twinkle had two engines, an anti-gravitation type to land and take off from the planet's surface without using the main, more power-consuming, engine. And the primary engine, which utilized the energy from the synthesized neutron star.
At the entrance, a man, almost an android, was yelling at everyone who passed by. He had a human-like face but the rest of his body was replaced with metal. The bio-android prosthesis could save lives. But the man had ninety percent of his body removed and replaced by biotech.
"Aahh, who is this if not the owner of our magnificent ship. Welcome! Let me introduce myself, I'm the hired Captain, you call me simply Captain Seaghoul." The loud screaming voice of the captain was overwhelming for those who saw him for the first time.
A bit of a dazzled trio greeted the captain. Seeing the awed owner and his friends, the captain proposed to them a tour.
"There are twenty bedrooms with personal bathrooms, two giant cages one for bigger animals and other for smaller ones including tiny cages for insects, bugs, and fish. A gym, kitchen, main engine room, secondary engine room, and jaw-dropping deck." As they walked checking out almost every room they saw running crew members. Captain more often than not yelled at them, motivating them to move faster and to carry more weight.
"Don't mind me, they love when I scold them. Youngsters these days are lazy so I have to remind them who is the boss here." Then he laughed so loud that it almost scared the trio that the captain went insane.
After watching the whole ship including the cockpit, gunports, central control room, and a calculation room that was appointed to gauge the teleportation points, the trio, and the captain head back outside.
"So tell me Safo, when do we sail off. I couldn't help but notice that you can't walk, meaning that you probably need some time. Tell me the exact day so I and my crew will be ready." Captain Seaghoul had to finish many small tasks to make sure that the ship was ready for the long-term trip.
"The day after tomorrow will be fine. I will be able to walk, and we will choose the mercenary order so you will know the destination in advance as you asked before." Safo was happy about his new ship and the captain. He loved straightforward people. Those who talked openly often were the kindest people.
"That will work. I will be looking forward to working with you." With that, he excused himself and returned to his favorite thing to do - yelling at his subordinates with a smile on his face.
"Man, this ship is mind-blowing. I can't wait to go on a mission but first, we have to choose one. Here I have a tablet with the orders. Take a look at them, if you like any, we shall go after or before going hunting." Kutch presented the tablet to Safo and explained how the Orders worked.
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Due to most of the psiora being mercenaries they had a Mercenary Bureau where anyone could choose available order. Public orders were usually divided into five types, depending on difficulty. From 1-star up to 5-star order. Clients paid a big reward, some of which always went to the New Tenga treasury as a commission to maintain the Bureau.
"I also think that you should choose which task from the list you will complete first. Number 7 - to catch animals for breeding or number 2 and 3 - Orders from the Mercenary Bureau." Yon had finished his 2 and 3 tasks with 4 Star results. Both tasks were to bodyguard a VIP.
"I think we can go hunting first, it is easier and much faster. We can just go to the Green planet. Most of the psiora vessels come from that planet. It is a great place to start." Kutch suggested finishing the order after the hunting, so Safo will gain a bit more experience on the field.
"Then agreed, I will read these orders from the Mercenary Bureau on the ship. We will finish the hunting first, I need two more intellectual level 4 animals to go." Safo pulled up the tasks to remind himself what he needed to do. So far from seven tasks, he didn't finish any, seven out of seven.
[1. The task from the Financial Advisor - Attract investments for more than 500.000 zees.
2. The task from the Military Advisor - Finish any order from the mercenary bureau
3. The task from the Internal Security Advisor - Finish any order from the mercenary bureau
4. The task from the Development Adviser - Launch an innovative way of doing certain things in New Tenga
5. The task from the Environment Adviser - Help to improve general condition on Atan or Hfen
6. The task from the Regal Advisor - Earn a Status
7. The task from the Curators - Find three 4 star animals for breeding.]
[ 5. Safo Nur - son of Princess Tala, grandson of the Great King Admaloo. Age - 18.
Tasks:
Task 7: Intellectual level 4, invisible (while in motion) Dogs. 4 Stars
Total stars: 4 Stars ]
'4 Stars. So bad.' Safo was behind everyone, even the mysterious M.M. was in 4th place after earning some status.
"What is status, guys? Yon, I know that you have one. Could you explain it to me?" Safo still lacked general knowledge about the universe with all its rules and orders. It started to bother him, so he made a mental note to spend some time on his education in the future.
Yon started explaining to Safo the basics that the Empire made over the years of ruling and conquering new planets. Status - was the title that one could get via actions that brought respect to one's name. There were few nations such as the Empire which could grant the Status. New Tenga did not have the authority to appoint a Status to someone.
All in all, were four Statuses that one could achieve and no one could get the Status above before receiving those that were below. It was supposed to be done step by step. The first step was to get a Status of an "Exceptional" person.
Exceptional people - those who were able to learn and master the subject of their field. For soldiers, it was martial arts, commanding skills, weaponry, etc.
Yon and M.M. received their Statuses in the Imperial army. Both were Exceptional in what they were taught. The Empire gave the first Status easily so the reputation of the generals, who had more Exceptional soldiers under their control, would rise. With that, the influence of the Empire would strengthen in the universe.
Yon voiced his opinion that Safo could get the first status with relative ease. According to Yon it usually took a long time for psiora to achieve several skills with limited resources. An additional advantage would be that Safo already had two resources making him truly extraordinary psiora.
Unfortunately for Safo, he couldn't obtain any Status in New Tenga. The Empire potentially could grant him Status but he would have to serve in the army for at least three years.
With that, they voted to drop the subject of getting Status for the future and head back home. Safo needed to rest and consume his daily portion of his first course of the Immortality Path. It helped to heal his bones and made Safo's body taught and strong.
He already finished more than halfway through the course and Safo could feel the changes in his body. Starting with his hair, which was thicker, shinier, and healthier ending with his internal organs which worked like well-oiled cogs inside the watch. His muscles had been widened and were more flexible, ready to be used and eager to grow. Nails went harder, his eyesight improved along with hearing. Even his brain capacity developed, he could think and analyze events faster which was the main purpose of the course - to be able to think fast and clear on the battlefield.
On the way to their vehicle, Kutch suddenly exclaimed on top of his lungs, scaring everybody around. "I know! We will go after those bastards! We will wipe them out this time."
Kutch revealed his plan.