Author's corner: Another chapter ready for more fun, will soon start time skipping through the monologue of crafting and questing for money and brewing.

Also, thanks to everyone that posted ideas last chapter. The ideas were great though most of them weren't fit for the the current progress that the mc and crew can accomplish at the moment. You can keep posting ideas since it will help me and my idea bank think of more ideas that would most likely be chopped down by warhawx and then remade with his Logic-fu.

Enjoy!

These last days have been busy to say the least. We have completed our mission finally and cleared out all the caves.

The terraformers did their part and besides placing the bombs, they weakened the caves to collapse. At the moment we were at the mining camp in the space that was set up to detonate the bombs remotely.

We were all watching the monitor.

“Alright, after all the work from both our sides we have finally completed our part. Now let us see the fruits of our labor.” The leader says and with a nod to one of his men, who returned it, we focused on the screen.

“Detonating in 3, 2, 1” He said.

*Click*

On the screen there was a satellite view of the volcano that was live feed and we see several explosions for the cave but it is soon stopped as the caves all collapse. Next cracks appear near the top and smoke began to leak.

“Detonation success, seismic activity in the volcan rapidly rising! Readings show magnitude 8 earthquake spreading from the volcano and it seems it struck the several nearby volcanoes that have left the dormant state and are activating.” the man that clicked the button said.

The next moment the imagine of the volcano vanished and all that was left was a puff of black smoke.

“Eruption confirmed!” The man announced the terraformers cheered.

The next moment we began to feel the tremors coming from the volcano. The mines had been cleared out because this area was to close to the volcano that it would definitely be hit by the earthquake.

We leave the room and look towards the volcano’s direction and we could see far in the distance a black cloud that was expanding.

“Thank you all for the help and here.” The terraformers leader said as he pulled out a package of credits which were bills about the size of a 100 dollar bill.

I take the money and store it and shake the man’s hand.

“Thanks for the work and sorry we couldn’t resolve it earlier.” I said.

“At least it was done which is what matters. I suggest investing that money in weapons and upgrades.” He said and I nodded.

“We will, don’t worry.” I tell him.

He turns and leaves to his men but I call out.

“Will you remain planetside or return to the station?” I asked.

“We will remain here, we need to monitor the volcanic activity in the surrounding volcanoes. We need to make sure that a chain reaction is successful or making a new atmosphere won’t be happening so soon.” He replied and left.

With a nod I turned to the others. I grinned as does everyone else and soon we all cheered.

Mission: Kelha TerraformingDifficulty3With your effort, Kelha II terraforming project stage 1 has begun without problem. Your mission is complete and reward obtained.

Report to Kelha II Space station to submit report.

As we all received this mission we didn’t really wait as we board the shuttle and leave for space after making sure all our things are packed and on board.

After a quick check of the ship to make sure it was working right and the permission to lift off we leave the planet heading for space. Our first mission as a crew and it was to this difficulty, we were a bit over our heads with this. If I went down without my robot suit then we surely would have lost. Not to mention my stats still suck but that will change when we get up and I start training.

Money problems won’t be a problem since it’s been a few weeks and dad’s alcoholic drinks should be ready to sell. I think with Level 1 he can probably get around 500 - 2k credits for each liter of alcohol.

Since we had a while to go before we return to the station I go about checking the ship itself. Specifically the systems like life support, gravity generator and others we need. I need to know what we need so that we can repair our own ship.

As I was looking through the gravity gen systems to understand how it worked the ship suddenly rocked heavily.

The next moment Alex’s voice came from the loudspeakers.

“We are being attacked by pirates!” She shouted.

I was shocked.

“Lia, what defense systems does this shuttle have?” I asked

Empty turret bay on the left side that Jessica used for sniping. Upper turret on top of the ship with Plasma cannon.

“Good, lead me to the cannon.” I tell her and she makes a hologram map of the ship and I follow the directions.

When I get to the stairway there was a sign directing me to put on the helmet and air tank

I look up and see an air lock door like those on naval ships.

I put them on and climb up and unlock the door and climb in. It was already inside the turret pilot seat. It was a tight room with lots of controls.

I sit down after closing the hatch tight and making sure my helmet and air tank was attached before turning on the turret.

Turret systems online. Deploying plasma cannon.

The system notified me and soon a round holoscreen appeared showing the hatch above opening and the vacuum of space around me. The screen went 360 around me and I could see all around me.

“Noah, can you use this?” Lia asked.

“Show me how to turn and fire.” I tell her.

Some instructions appear and after a quick read I found that there were two petals that turned to the left and right and that the single handle like a helicopter control controlled up and down.

Looking around I notice that we were being attacked by 5 small old looking fighter ships used in combat. They were faster than us which mean we couldn’t outrun them.

“Plasma cannon charged and ready to fire.” Lia informed me.

I began to turn the pedal making the turret turn with it. There was a box with a cross in it showing where the shot would go.

I target one of the fighters and begin to aim. Since they were moving all over the place it was hard to catch them but there was one weakness to all fighters and that was the need to face your target and move in a straight line to fire at them.

Alex was swerving all over the place while still trying to maintain the course towards the station since they were better equipped.

I on the other hand was trying to maintain focus on one target and when I finally spotted one coming our way to shoot I aimed at it and let it rip.

The massive cannon glowed for a moment and a massive shell of plasma flew out a frightening speed hitting dead center causing a large explosion that quickly did out as the escaping air was spread out in the vacuum of space leaving only dust.

“Time until recharged, 1 minute!” Lia informed me.

A big gun with a big charge, seems fair.

I turn the turret towards my next target and wait for the call.

Before I could though a fighter shot something that hit just shot of the turret I was in but it didn’t explode and was just stuck there.

“Guys, reinforcements will be arriving in a few minutes, they are sending fast ships to cover the distance!” Alex said.

Feeling relieved I turn to the ship coming our way and fire the cannon but he barrel rolls when he sees the cannon charging so I miss.

After that it was an exchange after another with neither side really advancing much but we were on the receiving end as we ran.

Finally after a few minutes two really fast fighter jets appeared and shooting beams at the wings of the fighters.

In moments they cleared the remaining pirates leaving me a bit shocked.

I swallow hard seeing the effectiveness of the weapons on specialized fighter jets.

“Guys we will be escorted to the station so we can relax now.” Alex said and I nod.

I press a few buttons and the plasma cannon began to descend and the hatch closed above storing the cannon. I get up and climb downstairs.

From there we go without problems back to the station

Only after the ship was in the hangar did we finally calm down.

I enter my robot and with it held bring down the boxes of my parts for the robot which the dwarfs already there say will be stored in a storage area for me. As a dwarf fighter I get one to store parts when not in use.

Opening the chest I look at the others.

“So what are we going to do now?” I asked.

“Well… we don’t know?” Hilda said.

“Then let’s get individual missions and get more money for upgrading our gear. Hilda, Jessica how much for the next durability upgrade you both need?” I asked.

“3500 credits.” Jessica replies making me frown.

I take out the sum and hand it to Hilda.

“I’ll leave it to you two to decide the rest.” I said and took another 1000 credits and gave it to dad.

“Dad us that money to produce more alcohol to sell. Also go sell those you made and bring buy more ingredients but make sure to leave 3500 for the durability upgrade that is remaining.” I say.

“Sure thing.” Dad says taking the money.

“What do I do?” Alex asked.

I think a bit wondering myself.

“Come with me. I’ll be going to get contract for mining and you can get one for being the pilot. We can earn twice the money and with my robot I can dig much faster.” I tell him and he nods back. “Now we just need to go report the mission and we are finally done but before that...” I said.

I float up on to the Shuttle and move to the area where the missile hit.

When I found the spot I found the thing. I was surprised to find that the outer shell was gone and only a block that was stuck to the ship’s plate.

With psi I pulled and found it was magnetic.

Seeing this I go and grab a metal sheet and after forcing it under the thing I lift the sheet until the magnet thing came off finally.

With psi I take it and walk down and land back near the Alex.

“What's that?” He asked

“Don’t know?” I said as I look on both side.

“That’s a tracker!” Someone said.

When I looked I saw Major Snocon looking with a serious look at the tracker.

“Where did it come from?!” He asked.

I tell him the rundown of the incident.

He sticks his hand out and I hand the tracker to him.

“We will investigate this. Trackers work by letting out a signal so we may be able to find the base of the pirates if we trace the signal of this tracker.” He replied.

“Alright.” Was all I said and he gives me a salute and leaves.

I shrug and look at the others.

“Well, shall we go?” I said to Alex and he nods.

The others split off with Lisa going with dad and Jessica and Hilda leaving together.

I go with Alex to locate the place to get contract mining and a ship that can transport my robot which is more efficient than mining with the small tugs.

Roktar PoV

Me and Lisa enter the elevator and head up to the Guard quarters so I can check out how my drinks were.

Lisa followed out of curiosity when she heard I made wine as well as beer.

Inside, I open my closet and pull out the barrels and glass cylinders.

“Why do you keep it in the closet?” She asked.

“No other place to safely leave it, this room is bare of any other storage places.” I replied and looked at the room.

Looking back at the glass cylinder I saw that the Sindew Grape juice had splendidly fermented and taking a cup from the cabinet in the small kitchen used for water I scoop up some of the wine and drink a bit.

You have gained a new skillBrewingRarity3Level 5An age old skill that is owned by those who take fruits, grains and any other vegetable and with practice, trial and error, they make alcoholic beverages of any intensity.

Improves quality of drinks by 12%

Improves control of drink textures and smoothness by 12%

A wide smile appears on my face.

“Something happen?” Lisa asked.

“Yah, I gained the brewing skill and it started at level 5 from the get go.” I replied.

Her face was shocked when she heard that.

“How…” she started but I put the cup out for her to take.

The quality of the drink was really good to say the least, as I had expected.

From the next batch on it will get serious.

“How can it taste so good.” She said but very quickly her face began to blush.

“It seems you’re a weak drinker so I will probably need to make a specific drink for you. This is a bit stronger than what anyone but dwarfs would take. Come on hold this.” I tell her as I hand her an empty bottle.

She just holds it confused until I added a small funnel and began to slowly pour the wine inside until it reached the required height so I could put it to sell.

From the two 1 liter casks I divided it into 4 500 milliliters glass bottles and put a cork on it.

Then it was the beer’s turn.

I turn the small 1 liter barrel and turn the small faucet letting a small hit of beer drip out into the cup and close it.

I take a sip to test it.

The beer runs down my throat like a hot river and that satisfying feeling washes over me.

Brewing has leveled up 2x

“As expected, beer does take more experience.” I mutter.

“Something happen again?” Lisa asked.

“Just level up to my new skill, brewing beer is harder than wine by a long shot since beer passes through many processes that wine doesn’t need.” I explained.

“So will you split this into bottles as well?” She asked.

“Nope, beer is sold in barrels. I made small barrels more as a sample to get people to test out my own market brand. After I have people interested is when I make it in large quantities. This room won’t be even close to optimal to make it. We might need to gather a lot of money to buy a crappy generator to power the life support on the ship as well as my brewery so that I can work on it safely there and have a more appropriate cooling area.” I explained as I pick up both barrels.

“Now then, let’s go see those drinkers at the dwarf fighters air field.” I said with a smile.

She nods and picks up the bottles and follows me out as I close the door.

We leave the guards quarters and pass through the guards airfield and enter the dwarf fighter airfield.

A quick scan of the area and I find Colonel drilling some of the more experienced men.

As I approach the men in front of him look my way and he looks.

He sees the small barrels then at me.

“I brought my first batch to see if any of you want a sample.” I say.

“This the famous drink that will drop a dwarf?” Colonel asked.

“Nope, need to learn about the properties of the resources I can get my hands on. I’ll get it eventually after some trial and error.” I say.

“Trial and error? Don’t you already have the recipe?” Colonel asked.

“No recipe, I have the processing method but the recipe changes depending on the resources which is why I said I need trial and error. You will know when I am getting close when I tell you guys that you need to drink my beer in shots.” I replied.

“Shots! HA! A mug is a proper container for a beer.” Colonel replied.

“Aye, it is but the drink is too potent to let you do that. Also, it’s the brewer that decides which cup to drink from. Well, anyways the barrels have beer and the bottles in Lisa’s arm is wine for weaker drinkers. It’s still slighter stronger stuff.” I told them.

Colonel looks at the bottles. “Lass, take that to any non dwarf. Boys go get the shots cup. This is a samples barrel so we can’t get much to drink but let’s at least humor the fool.” Colonel said.

I roll my eyes and walk over to a table and put the barrels down.

Lisa goes and calls the others and does the same.

After a bit a dwarf brings a tray with small glass cups.

Colonel takes one and fills it before downing it in one gulp.

His eyes widen a bit then he starts to lick his lips.

“What the hell did you do to this drink! It’s taste great and still has such a good kick to it?” Colonel asked.

The other dwarves were surprised and one by one took a cup and began to drink.

After the first cup they all began to murmur about it. Colonel went for a second cup and I could see this was a full hook, line and sinker. An idiot will go and make a large barrel of beer or wine without experiments. Then he will go and randomly selling it. A pro thinks, first make a sample, then take it to pro’s who have years of experience with drinks. Once you trapped them with a good drink you will easily have a number of customers already waiting.

I openly tell Colonel and the others what I did to make the beer and they are rather surprised but then I say something that makes them surprised.

“It’s a shame that I don’t have a storage place for the beer or it would have been higher quality.”

“Where did you store this?” Colonel asked.

I got close and whispered, “Stored in my closet.”

His jaw dropped.

“You have that ship right?” He asked.

“No power in it.” I replied back and he nodded understanding the problem.

“Ah no wonder, fuck if you had at least a generator. Even a shitty one just to improvise.” He said rather sad.

“How much is a weak one used for basic Fighter ships?” I asked.

“Around 100,000.” Colonel said making me frown.

“What about those reserved generators used during blackouts planetside?” I asked.

“Those? About 4-5k credits.” He replied.

“Where can I get one.” I asked.

“Shouldn’t be to hard, you can put an order for the station and in about 2 or 3 days it should be done. They can’t even be compared to proper ship generators but if its life support, Lights and that brewery of yours it’s more than enough. Anything more though you will have to buy a second one.” He replied.

I scratch my chin and looked at the little barrel.

“How much would those barrels of beer cost in your opinion?” I asked.

Colonel looked at the barrels and thought a bit. “Between 300 to 500 credits for a barrel of this size.”

“So 1 liter is that much. That means if I sell by 20 liter barrels it will be 6000 to 10,000 credits each. Hmm, subtract 1000 like selling in bulk would still give lots.” I mutter.

“Don’t bother removing that thousand. Buying in bulk means buying several hundred barrel so selling small number of barrels won’t be needed.” Colonel says.

I raise a brow and nod interested.

“Sir, did you make that fantastic wine?” A voice behind me suddenly asked.

I looked back and saw a young elf man with a small smile on his face looking up at me.

“Yes, it was me, is there a problem?” I replied

“Absolutely! Where are all the other bottles! I am an avid drinker of fine wines and I can say that I absolutely loved that drink. The Sindew grape’s lingering scent and the alcohol strength being mild but having just enough strength to feel the warm rising when it enters your mouth. Not to mention that bitter and sweet taste that came from some slightly indistinguishable fruit that was bathed in the wine! Tell me sir how many are you selling?!” He asked with sparkling eyes.

“Well those were samples bottles, I still haven’t begun to produce in bulk.” I replied.

The mans face turned into shock.

“The man is brewing in his room, he said the quality wasn’t better because of the cooling wasn’t sufficient.” Colonel said.

The next moment the mans eyes burned with a passion that man me startled since elves until now were rather emotionless and had a refined noble feeling.

“Tell me sir, how much would it take for you to obtain a sufficient refrigeration system to store the drinks to obtain a better quality?!” He asked in a very serious manner.

“Eh?” I said confused and looked back to colonel. Suddenly got an idea.

“Colonel, to repair the lights on the shuttle cost how much?” I asked.

“Lights? I think it was around 1200 credits for the entire ship.” Colonel said.

“Then I will need 7200” I told the elf.

“What are lights needed for?” The elf asked.

“I own a derelict shuttle so the lights would be for the ship's interior lights, 1200 credits, 5000 credits would be for a generator to power the life support, lights and my brewery. The cargo is sufficiently cold to house the alcohol. The remain 1000 credits would give me money to buy materials to work with.” I explained.

The man nodded understanding and in a moment that sum was in his hand passing into mine.

“Oh before anything else, for a 1 liter bottle of wine of that quality you drank, how much would you put the price range.” I asked the elf.

“Price? Hmm, if I consider what I drank as low quality produces I would say between 800 to 1000 credits.” He replied.

My eyes shined seeing the rather good income cost. I store the money in my inventory and already begin to start thinking but then quickly looked at Colonel.

“Do I talk with you or do I need to go to the hanger to get the ship down there for more repairs of the lights and leave the order for the generator?” I asked.

“I will pass it along. When the generator is complete we will call noah so he can help fix up and then we will turn the lights on.” Colonel said.

“Great, I’ll leave that to you. I need to go buy the ingredients and get brewing.” I said excited and run off.

Lisa spokes me running and floats up and flies after me after collecting the bottles and barrels.

“Wait up!” She shouts and follows me as I go to the market in the resident ring and buy a huge amount of material for building the 20 liter barrels and ingredients for the alcohols.”

Jessica PoV

After we left for the residents ring me and Hilda were discussing who would upgrade.

“Really! Noah just tossed us the responsibility to choose who would upgrade!” I said annoyed.

“Come on, don’t blame him. Yeah it's irresponsible but I guess he thought it would be favoritism if he had chosen for us.” Hilda replied.

“So how do we decide?” I asked.

“Well we should take our positioned and occupations into account.” She said.

I quickly understood what she meant. She is in the frontlines and gets damaged more than I do.

“It’s fine, you can get the durability upgrade first. I stay far out of reach compared to you. I have some schematics to finalize before I show it to Noah.” I told her.

She makes a complicated smile but can’t say anything else as he get into the elevator.

We head to the upgrade specialist and while I wait she undergoes the upgrade.

It takes a few hours until she is rebuilt and when I see her I was surprised. Most of her armor was replaced with the parts and looked much more durable.

“How much of improvement did you get?” I asked.

“Ricky, mail the upgrade results to Jessica.” Hilda said.

Physical Proficiency: 23 -> 29

Resilience: 24 -> 35

Dexterity: 21 -> 27

Agility: 19 -> 25

Overclock Potency: 10 -> 12

Processor cooling: 20 -> 25

It was a good upgrade and it gave her a lot more HP now. Not to mention the fast rise of Resilience will make her body last longer without repairs.

“Well, what should we do now?” Hilda asked.

“Hmm… I need to finish those plans and go scrapyard diving again to keep finding more parts.” I replied.

“Let’s do a mission together.” She said.

I thought a bit and shrug.

“Why not.” I reply and we both leave going to find a mission that we can do together.