“That smells heavenly, darling. What in the world is it?” Mama-san asked as she leaned over the counter, wafting some of the rising steam to her nose.

“It’s originally called as a ‘trail mix.’ A lot of hikers in the olden times used to make these when going up mountains. They’re nutritious and easy to transport. They didn’t have the ration bars or instant food packages we take for granted now. The recipe is a bit dated so I’ve put my own spin on it. Wanna try?” I held out one bar that came out of the earlier batch. The golden brown bar was glistening enticingly at my curious observer.

“Why thank you! Of course, I would like to try one.” Mama-san produced a kerchief from her voluminous dress and delicately plucked the bar from my hand. She took a moment to appreciate the aesthetics of the bar then took a good bite.

“Oh, this is wonderful! Is this what you normally eat on that ship of yours? If I knew you eat this well, I would have learned how to fight myself.” I blushed at the compliment but quickly quashed her assumption.

“No, no. Not really. This actually a test item that I’ll be presenting to some of our people. The ration bars they eat… I dunno, mama-san. I wouldn’t even want to inflict the horror of feeding it to an animal. I don’t understand why they even have something so horrible. It’s not like the chance of dying is bad enough, they have to eat something so disgusting too.” I shook my head in confusion. I’d never be willing to stick something so vile in my mouth if I had a choice.

“Darling, you are missing the fundamental reasoning behind the ration bar. You are a cook. You’ve grown to appreciate the nuisances of cooking and how it affects the people that eat your food. Ration bars are there to provide the necessary nutrient for the soldier. It doesn’t matter if it tasted like cultured algae. It just needs to keep the soldier healthy. Also, those bars are extremely cheap and easy to produce. You could buy a small box of one hundred wrapped pieces for twenty GalCreds.” Mama-san succinctly explained. She continued to nibble at the slowly disappearing trail mix.

“Well, I’m not eating any more company-approved ration bar, that’s for sure. Once is enough. I’m going to run down a couple of the guys from the ship and let them have a taste, we’ll see what they think. I’m hoping management approves of my version of it.”

“Not to rain on your parade but you do know that money talks, right? How much is all of this going to cost? Not to mention how much effort does it require to make these?”

“I’ve thought about those too. I’ve made a small presentation that I’ll be showing the management guys if they want to take about making more of these.” I waved grandly at the cooling goodies on the counter.

“Why are you so set on this anyway? Do you have to make for everybody?” Mama-san asked.

“To be honest with you, I’m really doing this for me. I’ve seen what’s out on the market and I just knew I could make something just as good at a cheaper price. I’m planning to sell the idea to Red Tiger and if they like it, we’ll go into production. I’m angling for a cut of the profits for it. I’ve already patented the recipe for this a long time ago, when I was still running my eatery. Ceres has a lot of good hiking spots and I wanted to get into the portable food business before but I didn’t have the time nor the financial backing to do so. I figured that Red Tiger would be more amenable to feeding their people better if the price is just right. I have a vested interest in keeping costs down. These are my people I’m planning to profit from here.” I expounded. Mama-san nodded along during my explanation while she finished her bar.

“Such as sensible man you are, darling. Best of luck to you then. I have to go now. Some of the girls are probably awake. They’re useless in the mornings with direction.”

“Sure, see you later. Oh, thanks for letting me use the kitchen. I’ve also made you some peach crumble pie. It’s that thing cooling off beside the stove.” I pointed at the wonderfully made pastry. Mama-san shrieked in delight and went around the counter to give me a big kiss on the cheek.

“You lovely, lovely man! Thank you. That would make for a fine dessert for later. Anyway, see you!” She patted me on the cheek the sauntered out of the kitchen, dabbing her mouth clean with her kerchief.

***

Mama-san is quite the character. T introduced her to me after our shopping trip the first day. T pulled over and parked the rented grav car in a parking lot beside a homey looking building.

Like most of the building in Sheer Alkan, It was a wide building. It was only three floors but it looked a lot bigger once you get close to it. The façade of the building was paneled with local wood but T told me that underneath the paneling is ceracrete. The building itself was decorated with simple wood engravings, giving it that country-style cottage look. I looked about and saw the sign proclaiming it as ‘The Tiger’s Den’

We entered the main parlor and found a middle-aged Asian woman supervising a cleaning crew that was working on the receiving area. She was elegantly attired, the stout woman was wearing a beautiful light blue floral dress. She was slowly fanning herself with a long, feathered fan that complemented her outfit.

The woman turned to face us when she heard the manual door open. The woman was sturdy looking and I felt a sense of brightness that she seemed to exude. Her hair was done in a long braid, accentuating her slightly angular face. She has puffy cheeks and bright red, luscious lips that forced you to focus on them. Her deep brown eyes that sparkled with mirth made me feel real comfortable.

“Titus! It’s good to see you again, love. Now, who is this good-looking man you have beside you? Did I say that I’m single? Because I think I forgot to tell you I’m single. Yes, I’m single.” I was a little thrown off by the woman’s aggressiveness but it didn’t last long. She just reminded me too damn much of my auntie.

“Kon’nichiwa, mama-san. Good to be home. This ugly bastard right here is the newest member of our galley crew. Careful, man. She’s been known to steal hearts. A real heartbreaker our mama-san is.”

“How awful of you to say that! I’m merely a very discerning woman. I can’t help it if I want to test the merchandise first before I decide on purchasing it.” Mama-san said in an outraged voice. She slapped T on the shoulder with her fan. T made a show of rubbing his shoulders though the grin on his face was spoiling the effect.

“See how she calls us ‘merchandise’? that’s cold, mama-san. Real cold. I tell you, you’ll find your match some day. I’m not gonna be surprised if you suddenly got married.” T said. Mama-san’s laugh was an unrestrained belly laugh. She filled the room with her laughter.

“That will be the day. Anyway, come here so I have a good look at you.” The woman waved me to approach her. I obliged while feeling I was twelve again.

“Hello, I’m Albert Mayon. Like what T said, I’m a cook on Woglinde. Nice to meet you.” I stuck my hand out for a handshake and she just looked at my outstretched arm. Using her fan, she gently shoved it away and gave me a hearty hug. She smelled nice.

“No handshakes for family, dear. Once you’re Red Tiger, you become family. This is our family home. One of them, actually. There are a few more hostels around Sheer Alkan and the planet but this is the best one, if you ask me. I’m the building administrator and your house mother so don’t piss me off or I’ll turn off your water. My name is Aoi Tanaka but that’s a mouthful and I’m more comfortable being called mama-san. Now, you can bunk in a shared room or if you’re willing to pay more, you could get a smaller room with fewer roommates. Heavily discounted of course.” She explained. I thought about it a bit then decided that I didn’t really mind sharing a room with more people. It would give me a chance to get to know the other crews better.

“I’m fine with the larger rooms, mama-san. I just spent a whole lot of creds earlier and I’m gonna have to stretch it out for them time we are here.” I said with a bit of embarrassment. I did spend quite a bit on my knives and on the Vellager shirt so I was just trying to be careful not to bankrupt myself. Mama-san tsked and gave me a look of pity.

“You spacers. I swear It’s a miracle anyone of you is able to scrape enough credits for retirement. I’ve yet to meet a spacer with a responsible bank account, officers excluded, of course.

Here, let me send you the door code. Please remember to clean after yourself. The staff will not mop up your vomit. If you throw up on our beds, you’ll pay for the sanitation cost. Yes, sanitation. Not just cleaning. Lord knows how rancid you spacers get when drunk.” I would have been insulted if she wasn’t so practical and businesslike about it. It also kinda makes sense. If some of the crew that gets hammered during their off time in Punch Drunk is anything to go by, it was a very reasonable rule.

“No problem. I’ll keep a bucket beside me.”

“Good. Now, Titus, come here, give me a hug. It’s been so long since I’ve seen you. Genki datta?”

“Yeah, mama-san. I’m doing good. Ship’s been roughed up a bit but we’re fine. Gonna be staying here for a couple of weeks though so we’ll be hanging about for quite a while. By the way, I got you this.” T unwrapped the gift that he was carrying and raised it up so mama-san could see. I was wondering what he bought from the market while I was shopping around for things. Mama-san giggled in delight as she gently took a box of very expensive-looking chocolate. Judging from the label, it was made by a chocolatier rather than a mass produced one. Must be one of those delicacy shops around.

Mama-san gave T another hug. She went on talking about how she loved the shop that makes the chocolates she got and how much she appreciate it. It took a while and some more small talk before T and I got away to find out room. The layout was pretty simple so it wasn’t really that hard to find it.

Our room was spacious yet homely. There were four beds with a bio-locked dresser each. T and I grabbed the open two beds on the far side of the room and dumped our stuff inside the trunks on the foot of the bed. They’re also bio-locked. We sat around to rest a bit and chatted about what we’ll be doing for our liberty. T was gracious enough to show me around for the next two days then he had to leave for the eastern continent of Tyr. I didn’t really have any plans nor enough cash to go crazy so I’ll be sightseeing and try to visit as many of the tourist areas as much as I can. I declined an invitation to go with some of the maintenance crew that I was friendly with because they were a rowdy lot and I just want to do touristy shit like taking still images and eating unusual food. I did promise to meet them at Red Tiger’s regular haunt, Horny Sam’s, whenever I can. I was intent on getting the most of my time planetside.

***

That was four days ago. I’ve been checking out some of the historical sights on Sheer Alkan and I got to say, there are some pretty nice places here. I particularly enjoyed the tour at the nearby Vellager settlement. We were bundled in a commercial submersible and took a slow cruise around the underwater town. It was like any other town but with people swimming around rather than walking. I watched some humans and Inugorians in sealed dive suits chatting with Vellagers. It was a surreal experience that I would never forget.

I also spent the time to work on the various projects that I had planned. Now that I'm at the mercy of an employment contract, there was no way I would be able to scrape enough galcreds to build another eatery in Ceres. The land values had changed drastically over the years and the credits that I paid for the land title before would cover only half of the market price now.

I've no plans to leave it at that.

The admiral made good on his promise and paid me back for the destruction of my eatery. I also earned a tidy sum after selling my spot in the entertainment district. I had hopes of keeping ownership of the land but Ceres law does not allow for undeveloped land in the city. I would have been forced to sell it at fair market value in three months as per city laws so I put it up for sale. It didn't even take three days before I bio signed the transfer of titles. My bank account sat happy with the credits readily available for use.

This new venture that I came up with is my ticket in earning enough money to build a new eatery. Granted, it's a high risk, high reward sort of thing but I've got nothing to lose other than, well, credits.

I've two projects in mind and the first one mama-san already had tasted. Ration bars production was not the sort of business I've ever even considered entering before but research suggested that I could find my niche here. Most of the ration bars that most mercenary companies buy are uniform with what we have on Woglinde. I've bought samples from all available ration bar retailers, from the cheapest to the most expensive, and they are not drastically different. The cheapest ones taste like crushed rocks while the most expensive bars are more like synthesized candies. Pleasant to the taste buds but not really filling. I'm confident that my trail mix would do a better job than what's available. It surprised me that nobody even bothered to improve the quality of the things. It's not like it was difficult to do.

The second project was a little bit more involved. After packaging my homemade bars in baggies, I drove my rental to a small storage unit that I've rented. It's the size of a large bedroom and I got it for cheap. Most people that need storage units need a bigger space. I parked my car and carried my stuff to my unit. It was located at the end of a warehouse strip near a marina. My ArmComm automatically released the locks on the personnel door to let me in.

The storage unit was mostly empty, the ceracrete floor bare and the walls unadorned. I dumped my belongings in a crate sitting on the corner of the room then approached my workspace.

I've converted a small area into a brewing floor. A couple of large fermenter buckets were on a stand beside a work table. A simple thermal stove sat at one end of the table. A large box under it was filled with the ingredients needed to make my cherry ale. It wasn't really hard to brew ale, it just takes precision and patience.

I learned how to brew from my uncle who worked in a large brewery. He taught me the basics and my imagination took over. I found that ale was more to my taste than the more common lager. Most drinkers are concerned how their alcohol look, smell, and taste. It just needs to be good then you're set. The appeal of ale is that it has a rich history and vibrant. Since ancient times, humans had been drinking ale. Lager was invented hundreds of years later. In the time since, ale slowly had become less and less known until it was completely forgotten in most planets. People attributed it to the popularity of lager. It's known as the party drink. If you want to have a good time, drink lager. Companies ran with that and it has become the defacto beverage of choice of humans. Second, people couldn't differentiate ale from lager. In general, they have almost the same ingredients but ale uses different yeast strains and fermenting process. Ale brewers gave up too quickly, in my opinion since I could make some pretty good ale.

It was time to reintroduce it to the masses.

The thought made me smile as I as adjusted the parameters on the fermenters. I had let the ale sit for two days before I planned on accelerating the process. I've tried hurrying up the fermenting process before using the accelerators but it never really tasted right. I found out that letting the ale ferment a bit naturally before applying the accelerators would keep the ale from becoming wonky.

I checked the readout on the screen one more time before hitting the begin button. The fermentors hummed softly as they did their work. It took about half an hour to finish. In the meantime, I cleaned sixty custom bottles that I've had made. I made sure they were as sterile as I could make them and prepared the sealing caps. The fermenters dinged not long after I was done. I opened the buckets to check if everything went well and was rewarded by a sweet-smelling fragrance. I eyed the ale critically and was satisfied with the color. The deep red ale was already making my mouth water.

Using a hose with an automatic cut off, I filled each bottle with the properly fermented ale. There was a little bit more left when I ran out of bottles so I went back outside to grab the water bottle I was drinking from earlier. It was made with edible plastic but it was a good enough container. I cleaned it out and topped it off with ale.

Bottling done, I placed the bottles in the refrigerator that I've rented. It was old school tech. It would take a couple of hours to chill the ale properly so I closed up and notified the owners of the equipment that I'll be returning them tomorrow. I was driving back home to relax when I saw an advertisement for Ri'sta Undar and The Star Dreamers Band. They were performing in a few minutes in a park near where I'm right now. Best part is that it was a free concert so I diverted to catch the show.

***

"Mayon, you better have a damn good reason for making me wait. I was planning to see a lady friend of mine." The irritated man said to me. He was glaring at me with his arms crossed as he sat on one of the comfy living room chairs in the sitting room of The Tiger’s Den.

“Keep your shirt on, this won’t take long. You might even enjoy it. Let me just get some things from my carrier.” I placed my small food carrier on the wooden coffee table with a thump. I had to rush back to The Den after I got confirmation that First Sergeant Sokolov would indeed meet me. I’ve talked to him before in passing, normally during meal times so this is the first time I was able to converse with him outside the confines of the galley.

I opened the carrier and its cover unlatched with a hiss. I dug inside and took out a bottle of chilled cherry ale. I also retrieved a bar of wrapped trail mix and laid it on the table beside the ale. I slowly pushed both items in front of the first sergeant. The man tracked the items and looked up at me with a raised eyebrow. I gestured grandly at my creations with a flick of my hand.

“Try it.” I grabbed a bottle myself since I didn’t get a chance to taste it fully earlier. I twisted the cap and a satisfying pop indicated that my bottling went well. I took a whiff of the fruity aroma as bubbles started to build up. I took a large swig and felt the welcoming burn as the reddish nectar of the gods slid down my throat. I smacked my lips and let out a loud ‘ahhh’ in satisfaction. I think I outdid myself. Usually, when I make a batch of these, I was either pretty tired after a day of work or was in a hurry to do something. This was the first time I was able to really concentrate on what I was brewing. Water hardness, temperature, quality of wort, all of those things were taken with careful consideration.

“Well, shit. If you’re going to drink it like that, lemme have a taste then.” I didn’t notice that the first sergeant was watching me closely. In a quick and efficient manner, my taster opened his bottle and took a slower and more moderate first swallow of my ale. He took a moment as he stared at the bottle then took another sip. He then sat back and looked at me.

“That was some good beer. Real fruity. Those were cherries, weren’t they? Had some kick in it but it’s gonna take a hell lot more than a bottle to get me real buzzed. Very different, though. I really like it. What brand is this? There’s no label on the bottle.” Sokolov asked. I was very happy that he liked it.

“That, my friend, is an original. I made that myself. That’s not beer like you know it, by the way, that’s cherry ale.” I said, tipping my bottle at him. He was mildly surprised then he took another mouthful of my creation. He swirled it a bit in his mouth then swallowed. He just gave me shrug.

“Looks like beer, taste like beer. It’s beer to me. Good job anyway. You should make more of these. The crew is gonna love them.” He said as he eyed the bottle. I just smiled and pointed at the wrapped trail mix.

“Why the hell do you want me to eat a ration bar? It’s enough that I have to eat that shit when I’m humping through some truly nasty terrain or hiding out in the sticks and you want me to stick that in my mouth?” The first sergeant said.

“I’m not feeding you those horrible things. Like that ale you’re drinking, I made that too. C’mon, give it a try. I promise you that it would be way better.” Sokolov thought about it for a moment before he snorted and picked up the trail mix. He unwrapped it took a good look at the bar. He commented about how at least it looked appetizing before taking a large bite. I couldn't really tell if he liked it as he just sat there chewing on it until he placed the bar back on the table. He took another swig of the ale before making a comment about it.

"You're right. This shit is way better. A lot better. So much better. Them nuts help in the texture department. It's nice to be able to chew on something that's a little denser. Chewing on hardened sponge gets old real fast. This taste like chocolate caramel, am I right?"

"Yep. I've two more flavors I want to try."

"It's damn good. If you're selling these, I'll buy everything you have." The first sergeant said. He was dead serious about it too. He was already messing around with his ArmComm to transfer payment to me. I hastily waved it away.

"Wait, I just made a test batch. I got about sixty of the things. You're the first one to get a taste of my creations. I'm going to pitch the idea of producing them in-house to the brass. I figured that if the common trooper likes it, it goes to say that a lot of the others would." I explained.

"Well, I like it. I suppose that would count as one but I hope that you're not just counting on my take on it."

"No. That's another reason why you're the first one. Now that you got a taste of it, how about you introduce me to one of the squads? I'll let them try these too. That is, if you could find them. They're probably on vacation somewhere or something." I frowned in thought. I really want to get some feedback from the troopers.

"That wouldn't be a problem. A number of them are planning to meet up at Horny Sam's later. I'll send them a message to pass by here first. I'll tell them they're for a free beer. That'll make them come." The first sergeant started fiddling with his Arm Comm

"Ale."

"What?"

"It's ale. It's a kind of beer."

"Sure. Ale beer then." He didn't even pause from working with his ArmComm

"Ugh. Savage." I said in frustration. Sokolov took just a moment to send the message then he stood up.

"I gotta go. Nice work. I hope your proposal pushes through. If you need a recommendation, hit me up. I'll gladly explain to them why I would rather kill a fucker than to swallow those damn ration bars again. See ya." And with that, he strode away. Mama-san was coming in and gave the man kiss on the cheeks before he left. I could see Sokolov blushing.

"Darling, it's such a nice night out. Why are you here?" Mama-san inquired. She was wearing a beautiful, shimmering silver Yukata. It was tastefully embroidered with leaves and flowers. She even has a matching fan.

"Oh, hello mama-san. I just needed something from the first sergeant. Since you're here. How would you like to try some ale?" I opened the carrier and took out the last bottle inside. I handed it to the curious proprietress. She delicately plucked it from my hands and eyed the bottle as she slowly turned it on her hand.

"Ale?"

"It's alcohol. Kinda like the lager that's popular now but it's not." She nodded and twisted open the cap. She took a small sip at first to gauge if she would like it before she took a bigger mouthful.

"This is wonderful. I'm really loving the cherry aftertaste. Did you make this?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to make more?"

"Hopefully. I'm trying my hand in entering the beverage industry. I got some cash but nowhere near enough to fund even a micro-brewery business. I'm letting people taste it first before approaching the admiral. I'm hoping that if I impress Admiral Chander, I could get a loan or even their financial backing to make something of it."

"Darling, that is a very ambitious plan. Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Mama-san meant well but I could hear the doubt in her voice.

"Yes. I did my research and I know what I'm doing. I actually just finished my presentation earlier. How about you listen to my proposal? Kinda like a practice run before I bring this to the admiral?"

"Sure. I have the time." mama-san took the seat the first sergeant occupied earlier and looked at me expectantly. Mentally organizing myself, I took out a holotab and placed it in the middle of the coffee table. I accessed my presentation file and threw it on the tab. I cleared my throat and started with my presentation.

After thirty minutes of talking, figures, and graphs, I ended my presentation with some numbers of predicted profits results. I finished off my ale and sat back to relax. I waited while mama-san digested the whole mess of information she got. I was thankful that she was a good listener. She was attentive during the entire thing and even asked a couple of really good question.

"You really did your research, didn't you?" mama-san said as she also finished her bottle.

"It was a lot of legwork getting all that data collated. I don't want to go up to the admiral and not be prepared." I explained.

"Good point. I'm impressed. Yes, this is a really good idea and I think I can help you." mama-san softly said. I sat up and stared at her.

"You can!?"

"Yes. Darling, you must have forgotten who you are talking to. I'm not just the manager of this hostel, I'm also very good with people. I normally accompany the admiral and the other officers during official engagements that require an escort. You know how delightful I am." mama-san covered her mouth with her fan and fluttered her eyes at me. It made me laugh. her fan snapped closed and she reached over to swat me playfully with it.

"Stop laughing! it's true. I'm an amazing people person."

"I'm not disagreeing. I could see you being the life of a party, mama-san. Thanks, I could really use some help but how are going to do it?" I was curious as to how her help is going to manifest. If she's going to need me to do something, it's better if I know about it early.

"Oh, don't worry your cute butt about it. Have some fun. I'll send you a message when I've set up everything for your presentation. I'll also be there. I do have a request though, if your, what do you call it, 'ale' gets the backing you need, I hope you would not forget the Tiger's Den."

"Mama-san, If I get the money I need, The Den would have regular shipment of ale at production cost. I can promise you that. You'll have regular deliveries for free if the business proves marketable." I said with confidence.

"Thank you. Now, if I'm to help you, I have to make a few calls. I'll see you soon, darling." Mama-san stood up and gave me a peck on the cheek. She then made her way out of the room.

The squad the first sergeant messaged earlier came in some time later. They arrived as a group and were asking about the free beer. I didn't correct them as I'm starting to feel that it would be a lost cause.

The troopers collectively approved of it. There were some that were ambivalent to the taste and some asked if it could be made less sweet. I took note of their complaints and suggestions, thinking about making another batch with some changes to the recipe. Still, they were pretty happy about it and all agreed that they would willingly pay good creds for a bottle of it.

They were less than enthusiastic in trying the trail mix. I had to carefully explain to them that this was not standard-issue ration bars but in fact something I would be suggesting to replace that. They all took a wrapped bar and tried it. The three Inugorians in the squad were really pumped up when they saw the outer coating of nuts. Inugorians are great fans of nuts.

Everybody, and I mean every single one of them, loved it. I was happy and relieved but I was privately expecting that they would be. The ration bars set the satisfaction meter very low. I explained to them that there would be more flavors available if Red Tiger supports the production of it. The troops were all voicing their support and even suggested rallying the other ground pounders to petition for it. I calmed them down when they started plotting in how to buy and deliver the necessary ingredients and appliances to the ship. I did make a promise to make some for them even if the idea gets shut down. I think Franny would allow me to make some for the Woglinde troops at least.

After the troopers left for their party, I sat back and contemplated on the past few days. Though I had some fun, It was still a very busy three days. It was really an audacious and ambitious plan but this was something I could see myself succeeding in. I might have lost my eatery but it doesn't mean I'm not planning on getting back into the restaurant business.

Oh no, my friends. I'm not done yet...