(Dimiya Industrial Shipyards, Dimiya System)
“Well, I gotta say, Mister Mollen, I was kindof surprised when you reached out to us for work, what with you having your own yards and all.”
The man in front of me was a greasy, slimy, and generally disreputable-looking knelfi businessman named Elmer Sarphine. Literally, he was the only fat knelfi I had ever seen. The only reason I was bothering with an odious little man like him is because he was the owner of the industrial shipyard here in Dimiya. Which meant I needed to come here to get the ships I needed for my expedition.
“Well, you know how it is. Our slips are full up at the moment, working through the backlog of orders we’ve had. We’d have to push projects back to make the ships ourselves, which wouldn’t win us any favors. You had open slips, and the plans and setup already in place to make the mining and processing ships. We make mostly freighters and small craft. Sure, we could make the industrial ships, but we’re just not set up for that kind of thing, you know? Would have to retool a few lines to set up for that.”
The fat knelfi man nodded at that. “Sure, sure. And your freighters don’t cut into our profits any, cuz we’re specialized, like ya said. Least you’ve got sense about coming to someone who knows these things, rather than trying to throw something together on your own.” He then looked at my companion, and said, “And I can’t complain about you bringing her by to brighten the place up a bit.”
Raven shifted slightly in her seat, but simply smiled at the man. I was around her so much that it was sometimes easy to forget that the drone body she’d inhabited was originally designed as a high-end sexbot, and was easy to fool people, especially with a full ship suit on, like she was wearing. The fact that her ship suit was skin tight did nothing to help the man’s concentration, but that was neither here nor there, and was certainly not the reason I had Raven with me at the moment.
“Now, as I said in my message, we have a few hulls ready to go, but they were spoken for, way back. It’ll cost more to bump those customers, and I’m only doing this because you’re an influential man.” The yard owner brought up several files on the wall screen, showing seven ships.
Name
Description
Cost
MX-32
Standard asteroid mining craft for extended missions. Basic design has been used for one hundred years, though the electronics and other essentials have been updated on this newest model.
229,000 Credits
Saronite
New model short range mining vehicle, with experimental alloy in the hull.
30,000 Credits
Baccarat-class refinery
The Baccarat-class is the newest in Card Industry’s line of mobile refinery craft for deep space mining needs.
520,000 Credits
G-234a
New model mining vessel, designed primarily for short range asteroid mining.
173,000 Credits
Mac-Than Digger
The Digger line of mining vessels is another proven design with updated electronics. Strictly no-frills, but easy to build and maintain.
75,000 Credits
Kinkō
A modern mid-range mining ship design in use for the last twenty years. Highly modified to increase efficiency without sacrificing crew comfort.
130,000 Credits
Moneymaker
A proven mobile refinery suitable to deal with any industrial space mining effort the buyer may engage in.
302,000 Credits
Raven: Captain, the Saronite is currently the cheapest craft he has because three separate owners have returned the craft for the initial deposit and it is only a year old. Reports say that the alloy in the hull has bad effects on those who come in contact with it.
M.Mollen: Well, that’s not entirely unexpected. What about the other hulls?
Raven: They all appear to be in decent shape, from the internal records I was able to access. Several of them have been idle for some time, however, as the recent chaos caused the initial buyers to cancel their orders.
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M.Mollen: Recommendations?
Raven: The MX-32 is built on a proven design, which is known to be rugged and reliable, if somewhat unimaginative and lacking in upgrades. A comparable situation to the Colt 1911/1991 pistol. And if things do break in the field, it will be easy for us to repair.
Raven: The Digger and Kinkō are the other two mining ships I would suggest, as they are solid designs, and capable of independent action for short periods. The G-234a is more like a mining shuttle that operates from a base ship.
Raven: The Baccarat-class is overpriced, especially as it is one of the canceled orders, but it is the best of the two refinery options. The Moneymaker is an old design that has had some problems in recent years, and would likely require more effort to maintain.
Looking up from the files once Raven had given me the low-down, I smiled at the fat man, and reached out with just a hint of Influence to make sure he saw things my way. “Now, Mr. Sarphine, we’ll just skip the part where I call you out on which ships you’ve listed that are actually orders that have been canceled due to the recent unpleasantness, and get to where I’m doing you a favor clearing them from your slips.” The man sputtered slightly, but I didn’t give him a chance to speak as I continued. “I will buy the MX-32, Digger, Kinkō, and Baccarat, and I will pay you 525,000 credits for all four of them. That will still net you a profit, and will clear the canceled orders from your yards, allowing you to build new ships. In addition, I will transfer ownership of one of the new private yachts that are coming off of our slips to you. I can assure you that they are quite good for entertaining prospective clients, or impressing the ladies.”
The fat man sighed, and said, “They told me you drove a hard bargain, Mr. Mollen, but I see they were understating things. Still, that yacht would help enhance my image when dealing with clients. Very well, we’ve got a deal.”
“Excellent. My people will be over in two hours to collect the four ships. Your yacht will be delivered at the same time.” We shook hands, signed the necessary paperwork, and then Raven and I left, happy to be rid of the man and one step closer to starting on the expedition.
(Berlin Ruins, Earth)
“YOU STUPID PIECE OF CRAP! GET! IN! THERE!”
The sounds of industry and percussive maintenance rang out through the rubble that was once Berlin. The nanoweapon unleashed by the Empress and her forces had ravaged the city, destroying any machine more complex than a steam engine, and causing many modern materials to disintegrate as the nanites used them to increase their numbers. The nearest ‘safe zone’, according to the news that had gone out just before the wave hit, was somewhere in Italy.
In a cave of concrete lit by torches, a man was working on his latest ‘invention’. Well, not really an invention, since it was little better than a steam engine, wheels, and a way to steer, but as the first working vehicle on Earth outside the safe zones since the nanopocalypse, it surely counted, right? Well, it would once he actually got the damn thing working.
Unfortunately, Berlin in game was rather resource poor at the moment, and food was hard enough to come by, what with refrigeration units and hydroponic gardens going away. To say nothing of the synthetic packaging many foods were wrapped in. The only reliable source of protein around, now that anything fresh was rotten, was the smoked ‘jerky’ he had made shortly after all the idiots with implants went and died because nanites ate their brains. After Jagloth, he wasn’t putting any tech in his body, not this time!
Sure, making ‘people jerky’ was grim work, but he had to survive to get out of here and make it to civilization. If he didn’t, he’d never be able to track down that bastard that stole his ship and took credit for all his hard work. Gemroth was a genius, in game and out, if he did say so himself, so this was only an inconvenience. He’d make sure to get that bastard to pay for the work he’d stolen. Once he got out of here, and to a safe zone, he’d make a new ship, with even better tech! That would show the bastard.
A clatter came from behind him, and Gemroth whirled around, holding his hammer like a weapon, but relaxed when he saw it was just his pet. “Ah, Mina. Don’t sneak up on me like that. You wouldn’t want ol’ Gemroth to go and hit you with his hammer by mistake, would you? Might mistake you for one of those bandits, trying to steal from an old man again.”
Mina whimpered, cringing back against the wall on the rough bed Gemroth had fashioned for himself from whatever he could find. He was lucky in his scrounging the first day, and had found the chains and collar that he used on this prize. One of the few people left in the city who wasn’t either dead or insane from their implants getting eaten. Like him, she was clean. Well, technology-wise, at least. Neither of them had washed in days, as water was too scarce to waste like that. The little Gauz female didn’t say much, but that was fine by him. He didn’t care to listen to her.
“Now, don’t give me that whimpering, girl. I’ll be over in just a bit to give you all my attention, once I get this dagnabbed engine working. Then, in the morning, we’re going to ride in style as we head back to civilization, and we’ll see how good you are at giving road head. Don’t that sound fun? Now shut up and let me work or I won’t give you any jerky tonight!”
(Firebranch Range Farming Solutions, Dimiya)
“Ah, Captain Mollen! So good of you to join us. I was told you were putting together something of a deep space run, and wanted your people to be properly fed, is that correct?”
I smiled at the proprietor of my next stop in preparing for a long journey with lots of people “Indeed I am, Ms. Zindan. We all know that keeping people fed is the most important part of any expedition, after making sure the ships are maintained, and while rations will keep you alive, I’ve yet to find any that actually tasted good. And there’s only so much you can do with soypaste solutions. Sure, they have the right ingredients, and you can mimic the taste a little, but the texture just isn’t there.”
The half-knelfi woman smiled back at me, and said, “Naturally! You want to keep your people happy, then real food is what you want. And we’re happy to set you up with what you need. I understand you were interested in both our Farmtainer and CloneVat product lines, right?”
“Indeed. Several of my ships are equipped with the standard soy growth-vats, but as you know those are really best used as supplementals and are only a step or two above emergency rations. When possible, most captains want to resupply with real food. But on deep space runs, like the one being planned, the ships will potentially be out of contact for an extended period of time, so we are looking at replenishable solutions that can keep our people fed indefinitely, even if they don’t hit port.”
“Hmm. Well, lets start with the ‘meat’ of things, then, yes? CloneVats are perfect for flash-growing almost any meat you can culture, from various livestock species. There will be a difference in texture that some people may notice. Beef from cattle, for instance, gets a certain texture from working the muscles and the type of feed that you can’t replicate with flash-grow methods. This isn’t a problem if you’re getting a hamburger, though steak lovers will notice the difference.”
I laughed, and said, “Well, if they want to complain, we’ll toss them on emergency rations, to show them how good they have it.”
Zindan chuckled. “A common response, I assure you. The Farmtainers are really what Firebranch is known for. Farmtainers are modular hydroponic garden solutions that can be adapted to suit your needs, based on a standard cargo container size. Unfortunately, that basic size does not allow for efficient production of Earth grains such as wheat, but there is a knelfi equivalent that is nearly identical in taste and utility, but grows low enough to the ground to make vertical farming an effective means of growing them. Using similar solutions with other crops, we have been able to replicate pretty much any staple crop. You will not be able to grow some fruits, like apples and oranges, but most berries will thrive in the Farmtainers.”
I had already checked with Raven. All told, there were over six thousand people in Black Star that would be coming on this expedition. “I will need active Farmtainers and CloneVats to feed seven thousand, with spares and backups to feed another ten thousand if need be.”
“You… don’t think small, do you, Captain?”
“More fun to dream big.”