When we had finished, their amazement was obvious. Typically, only one question was asked, and that was from Astrid, “So, how much did you get from the bank? Elyek’s five million would be amazing enough. Although it’s clear you’ve got a lot more.”
“Uprising Inc. has approximately 60 million senlars,” Elyek said.
Both Ember and I turned to look at Elyek in disbelief.
Astrid laughed, “Thanks, Elyek! These two would never have told me.”
“No, we wouldn’t,” Ember said, half smiling, “You’ll be wanting new clothes and everything now.”
“No. I don’t want anything; I’m simply happy to be part of the Uprising. And thanks for having us.”
C7
Brighten Up!
We traveled for just over a week before we approached Tanath and its moon, after making two depressingly short jumps with the folding drive; we now had to stay within the Thoth’s and Seshat’s capabilities. We were just under a day away from the moon using our standard engines. Again, it was a slower pace than we would have done with our ship alone, but I'd have to stop whining about that. It was what it was! And having another 150 friends out here did, kind of, negate that disappointment.
I asked Elyek to sort out the video links to the other two ships, so I could have a meeting with Astrid and Rufus. I'd had a comm link with Rufus on the way to give us time to become acquainted. He came across as a good man, steady and calm. And he seemed incredibly happy with the new situation; apparently, our merger had caused a massive increase in morale on his ship, which was always good to hear.
We had the meeting in our room. There were plans to be made and things to discuss. Astrid popped up first on our screen, then the screen halved as Rufus and his quarters appeared.
“Hey, guys,” Ember said to start off proceedings, “How are you both doing?”
“Great, thanks. This last week has been a breath of fresh air,” Astrid replied, “People are starting to have ambition once more, rather than just desperation.”
“Yeah. Same over here. It’s just the little things, like the noise level in the canteen. Now, there’s the constant buzz of chatter in there at mealtimes, rather than the low intermittent groan of people grumbling,” Rufus added.
“That's really great to hear, guys. Hopefully, we can make it even better for everyone once we’ve been to Tanath,” I said, happily.
“I thought we were going to Tanath’s moon?” Astrid replied.
“Oh. Well, we are. But afterwards, we’re going to go to Tanath to pick up work. We don’t know if the Uprising has been marked as a wanted vessel after the Torax incident. Elyek assures us we can get repairs on Arus, the moon, and run less of a risk of being stopped or checked there,” Ember explained.
“Why would the moon's inhabitants be any less likely to stop or detain you than the planet? That seems rather odd,” Rufus asked.
“From what we know, the moon is kind of a smuggler haven. According to Elyek, its existence is well known by the Empire, but they turn a blind eye to it. I’m sure it's convenient for them on some level to allow such places to exist and remain unmolested,” Ember replied.
“I can’t imagine politicians are any less a bunch of lying wankers in space than they were back on Earth. Nonetheless, that’s where we’re going,” I added.
“So it makes sense for one or probably both of you to go to Tanath, as we will need a lot of supplies, I’d imagine. But it’s the only viable option for picking up some mercenary work.
“While you're there, make sure to fill your cargo hold with an extra full load of fuel and synthesizer supplies, and anything else you can think of. We should be able to get what we need for the Uprising from Arus.”
“Sure thing,” Rufus said. “We really do need a stop off. Everything is running dangerously low. It’ll be nice to have some back-up supplies, as well.”
“Hey. While we're on the subject, do you guys have any more of these uniforms? Because mine has taken a fair hammering. I know it’s self-repairing, but it doesn't seem to be doing it very well anymore. It's started to look pretty jaded.”
“For someone who has achieved so much, it’s surprising how little you know. We can make as many suits as we’ve supplies for,” Astrid said, a wry grin on her face.
“Really. How so?” I asked. I was used to brushing off the insults of assholes, even if I did like those assholes… Ah, shit. Stupid inner monologue! That’s not what I meant!
“We’ve a textile synthesizer, similar to a food synthesizer,” Astrid continued, and I was happy to be brought out of my head.
I thought this was supposed to get better after I had increased my Mental Clarity? And if it was just down to a personal mental deficit, I thought the game had fixed all that shit? There was a lot I still didn’t know or understand, but one thing was for sure, now my Mental Clarity had increased, I suddenly had an appetite for learning. I wanted to know exactly what the fuck was going on in every facet of my life, and in this stinking fucking galaxy. I realized I had once again gone off into my own little world. Everyone was looking at me, waiting for me to respond. “How much raw material do you have?” I asked, thoughts and plans springing up in my mind.
“Quite a bit still. We haven’t had any reason to use it that much. In fact, funnily enough, I think you probably accounted for around 80% of what we had used, anyway,” Astrid replied.
“That’s actually pretty funny. But seriously. Could we make uniforms for the Torax and Veiletians, too?”
“We may need to stock up a little afterwards, but sure,” she answered.
“Can you make it fireproof?” Elyek said dryly from my side. It was a valid point.
When Astrid responded, it was with uncertainty
