Oliver couldn't help but be disappointed. From the moment the shuttle did its environmental check on the next planet, to the moment he returned from the salvage run... Nothing really happened.

Sure, the crew got a bit of useful salvage. Oliver even found a few interesting plants that he was considering putting up for auction. And some of them really were quite novel for him. One looked very similar to a rose, but with every petal being a different color of the rainbow... And it gave off a sweet nectar that tasted like maple syrup, a fact which seriously made him consider keeping it to see if it would grow on Earth. He grabbed five of them.

Another looking like nothing more than a cluster of roots, except it was somehow able to creep across a forest floor in search of small rodents and insects... Which it would trap within itself and slowly breakdown for nourishment. He definitely planned to sell that one, though it was a bit morbidly fascinating to watch..

An orange tuber that looked like a potato, but tasted like a banana. Kind of tough and starchy, but tasty. He only found a few of those, unfortunately, and was undecided as to whether to sell them or not.

A moss that was edible, but smelled like corndogs... He wasn't interested in that one, though the Rach were. Apparently it would serve as an excellent fertilizer for some of their crops. He considered grabbing some to sell, but changed his mind when Vadrin explained that it wasn't worth cultivating... Something about the resources put into growing it making the whole thing a net loss overall. It was only worth taking for them because they would use it immediately. That, and taking enough to be worth selling would take up too much warehouse space- especially since he had access to better fertilizers on Earth.

But there were no real threats. No sentient races, or remnants of their societies. No large predators. Not even many small predators. The most dangerous thing he saw was a few thorny plants that weren't even capable of puncturing the hazard suits everyone wore.

Maybe the planet was still in the early stages of the evolutionary tree? Or maybe they would never develop anything bigger... He didn't know.

The worst part- or perhaps the best part, from the Rach's perspective... The next three planets were the same. Great for the Rach, boring for him. Especially since it didn't give him any reason to test out his new abilities... And he didn't want to just randomly start blowing things up and send the crew into a panic. It may have just been a job for him, but there was no reason to cause problems for his coworkers.

Besides, they had all been pretty nice to him. So why rock the boat?

With the rest of the planets in the system being inaccessible, there was nothing to do but move on... And, unfortunately, the next system was almost a week away.

Which left Oliver with almost nothing to do but sit and wait... Well, that and the next auction, which would be available just a couple days before they arrived in a new system.

Opening Auction House...

Initiating Virtual Space...

Distributing Invitations...

The MDMS Auction House is now open for business!

Mislandor has joined the auction.

Grill Master Rusty has joined the auction.

Anonymous has joined the auction.

Anonymous has joined the auction.

High Shaman Priya Valde Umrona has joined the auction.

Lady Moonthistle has joined the auction.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Brismo has joined the auction.

The Sacred has joined the auction.

Mad Scientist Imogen has joined the auction.

Unit E4250B1131 has joined the auction.

Anonymous has joined the auction.

Ves of the Ascendant Pride has joined the auction.

Regent Dustbrin has joined the auction.

Silk(Host): Welcome, everyone! I am back with more wonderful items and delightful deals! I hope you are all prepared for another fun auction!

Mad Scientist Imogen: An auction! Excellent! Do you have more of that wonderful substance... I believe you called it Vintage? It had shown great promise in my experiments... I'm quite certain that it is a key ingredient in my attempts to reverse the zombification process...

Mad Scientist Imogen: ...though all of my tests have resulted in unstable mutations. Perhaps if I swap out the Star Lotus in favor of Sleep Root? Sleep Root is a depressant, after all. Would it help to counteract the portion of Vintage that acts as a stimulant?

Mad Scientist Imogen: Also, do you have a less addictive stimulant for sale? I would prefer not to indulge in my limited supply of Vintage . It is far too precious to be wasted on me staying up for three more days to experiment...

Oliver was stunned slightly at the sudden interruption of his introduction, and could only chuckle helplessly at it. He had seen enough obsessive personalities... and the fact that this person's title was 'Mad Scientist'... He found it quite amusing, if a bit worrying.

All he could really do was press on.

Silk(Host): While I am glad to see such enthusiasm, I do not currently have more Vintage available for sale. Perhaps in a few weeks, as I must reach out to my source first.

Silk(Host): Though I do not have some of my earlier items available for this auction, I have brought a whole new selection for everyone!

Silk(Host): Tonight's auction covers a variety of items. Strange plants that I have encountered in my travels, a small but aggressive animal- one of them attempted to rip my face off, though they are quite adorable in my opinion... Adorable and vicious...

Silk(Host): A new weapon as well. Unfortunately, I only have one for sale... And access to them is quite a challenge, so don't miss out!

Silk(Host): And our last item of the night will be a Relic left behind by a fallen civilization!

Silk(Host): I hope you all came prepared, as I'm sure these items will garner quite some attention. But enough of me talking! I'm here to sell; You're here to buy. So let's get started!

Silk(Host): First up, we have this odd predatory plant! Capable of independent motion, I first found this bundle of roots creeping along a forest floor in search of rodents for it to devour...

The Creeping Roots, as Oliver deemed them, sold for about what he expected. Many of the auction attendees viewed it more as a novelty, though a few saw greater potential in it. He was more than happy with the 25,000 credits he got for it.

He knew some auctions liked to lead off and end with big items, but he preferred to build up from the lowest item to the big finale.

The second lot was a cluster of the hallucinogenic bulbs he had collected on the first planet- while he had traded most of them to the shady Rach on the Ark, he held a few back for the auction. Unsurprisingly, this lot was snatched up by the Mad Scientist for 50,000 credits.

He really didn't want to know what they had planned for the bulbs...

Mad Scientist Imogen: ...and if I combined it with Sleep Root and Dream Dust, it should induce astral projection. Maybe now I can finally punch that annoying ghost in the mouth and shut him up!

Oliver was sure that most of the auction didn't really want to know either, even if all of them were forced to endure the explanation... Not that he really understood it. While he wasn't a scientist, the fact that he didn't recognize a single ingredient the crazy individual listed-or any of the processes they rambled on about- was a bit confusing. Were they a Mad Scientist? Or a Mad Alchemist?

But he had more important things to focus on. Namely the Auction itself.

Especially since he was getting to the big items next.