Alex and Helena , thinking they could return to their home , were suddenly accosted by Sam and Sarah demanding from them to get a full tour of the colony once they exited the gate .
So Alex asked Da’grass to stock their apartments with food for 3 days and went reluctantly with Helena , who was in high spirits to show them everything , back through the gate .
Before leaving , he put Jack and Mary in charge and pointed out to them how important it was to keep everything a secret as long as possible while interacting with the crews of the shipment deliveries .
He would open the gate everyday at the same time and asked them to send him a message when transport to the colony had finished .
After getting confirmation from them he followed Helena , Sam and Sarah who were already making their way to their first destination .
They made the same tour in the same order like they did last time and Sam and Sarah were enjoying every moment of it .
After the first day , Alex got a message with all the kinds of pets and quantity from Mary with excuses that it took so long .
Alex replied that excuses were not necessary and thought to himself that not even a natural disaster would keep Mary far from her deadlines.
Da’grass would make the arrangements for the pets to be delivered at the same time together with all the supplies needed for a happy pet .
On the second day they explored the inner city and when they saw a brewery , Sam reminded Alex that he would buy a data to seed converter for him so that he could brew alien alcohol on Mars .
Helena chuckled and Sarah just laughed .
Da’grass told him he should use the Etherean mall for decent schematics , other species converters tended to be flawed or not 100 percent accurate in replicating the seeds which gave different variations of the seeds .
Though he already made grand purchases , he still had to swallow his saliva when he saw the price of said machine .
Cathy wasn’t joking when she said it was expensive .
Still , with the accumulation of his credits over the years , it hardly made a dent in his finances and he would be able to taste a lot of alien drinks in reality in the future .
Sam couldn’t be happier and Alex promised him that he could have a brewery on the colony which increased his happiness even if he knew that Alex would do so anyway .
This reminded him of the loan project he intended to do among the population on the island and he let Da’grass send a message to them all with the conditions and he stipulated that they could work together or alone .
He knew through Da’grass investigations that most people had dreams that got shelved because they didn’t have the recourses or connections so he expected a lot of requests .
He only asked that they wouldn’t take to long to decide and he would be available for a week in the Nexus when he came back from the colony .
Sarah and Sam looked at him wide eyed when he formulated the message .
“You’re not doing it for nothing are you?” asked Sam .
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“I hope you’re smarter than that if that was the case” said Sarah .
“Relax , I’ve talked him out of it , he’ll be asking 30 percent of the endeavour they’ll be starting and to keep it simple it’s the only thing he will be asking” said a proud Helena .
That reminds me , you should include the business opportunities on the colony , no reason to keep the shops and so empty .
Da’grass can you make an interactive page of the colony’s businesses and people needed to keep everything going without a hitch while sending the update on the first message ?
“Most of the positions are automated but human interaction is most of the time appreciated by all , I will do so” answered Da’grass .
They continued the tour of the city while Sam already claimed the farmland for raising the necessary plants for his brewery .
It appeared that nothing would stand in his way to bring elven wine to Earth .
After the third day of exploring the colony , the curiosity of Sam and Sarah was quenched and they decided to return to the island .
What they didn’t expect was that somebody of the inhabitants was watching the gate for them to come out after which he immediately sent a message to someone .
Half a minute later , Alex got swamped with messages from what appeared to be everyone on the island .
Helena just said that he promised them and that he should take it seriously , she suggested to log in as soon as possible and read every suggestion personally and not only to rely on Da’grass .
She looked at her bracelet and continued , Mary says she’s sorry but the people were afraid you would come back on your word and she compromised by saying that they should wait with their messages until you at least exited the portal .
Alex relented and began walking to their home , the only thing he said was “you know where to find me should you need me for something” and they watched him leave .
“You would almost be sorry for him” said a dazed Sarah .
“Almost , he knew what he was doing by proposing this agreement , he even said himself that he wanted those people to be the spearhead of humanity , I’ll be keeping him company” said Helena and she followed after him .
“I wonder why she keeps him company so much” asked Sam .
“She loves him and she is afraid that he would bite off more than he can chew if she’s not with him , once things settle down more they’ll be doing their own things” replied Sarah .
From what I heard she already intervened a few times .
“I didn’t know that” answered Sam .
He always seem to be knowing what he’s doing .
“He’s got a rough plan at best and he’s winging it , he’s lucky to have Da’grass and Helena but his heart is on the right place and I wouldn’t wish anyone else for her” said Sarah.
Once Alex and Helena returned to their home they went straight for the pods and logged in .
“You know , you didn’t have to leave so abruptly” said Helena to Alex once they appeared in their home in the Nexus .
“I’m sorry , I was just overwhelmed with all the messages I got , I’ll try to do better next time” promised Alex .
“That’s good enough for me , I’ll get some snacks and drinks , you project the messages on the big screen one by one and we’ll discuss them if needed” answered Helena and she left for the kitchen .
Reluctantly Alex started with the first proposal and Helena joined him for what was going to be a marathon of decision making .
Minutes became hours and hours became days (Nexus time) and there were a lot of interesting proposals ranging from ordinary bars and restaurants to film making and talent scouting .
There were those that wanted to start trade firms as those that wanted to R&D.
People that wanted to join firms of him or try to make it on their own with VR games .
There were proposals for about anything that you could think of .
Sometimes , these proposals came from groups formed on the island , while others would be recruiting among the people present in the Nexus.
Da’grass was working overtime , setting up contracts and purchasing buildings for the soon to be established firms .
At one point , Alex received a message from John Carther from the government. The message was simple , asking if the ongoing activities were Alex’s doing .
No other details were mentioned .
Alex responded affirmatively and suggested they should meet up another time .
Following this , Alex and Helena proceeded with the next proposal .
It felt like a week had passed in the Nexus , going through all the proposals .
A significant portion of the colony’s businesses were even accounted for .
After the final proposal was addressed they turned to each other and shared an embrace , filled with relief and happiness at having finished .
With Buying the buildings and distributing starting funds he definitely felt a pinch in his virtual wallet this time .
However , he knew it was for the greater good .
As time passed , he was confident that the credits would be earned back .
After all , it was an investment .