Excitement, pure excitement and ambition filled me as I thought over those words: upgrade and rebuild!
OoOOo Not sure about you, but the little boy in me never gave up dreams of cruising the stars in a fast ship filled with the best weapons, cause you never know whats out there.
My day dream feels like forever but within a few seconds I’m pulled back down to here and now.
Fix the ship.
Get back home.
Make some money!
Actually make a lot of money!
I had originally only mined a few days before the accident so my hold was barely 15% full, far from the break even amount for this trip.
Break even was usually 50% full capacity of lower to mid grade value resources.
These were usually the best minable resources Bessie could get with her outdated mining equipment and anemic electrical generator and power plant.
“So you’re saying we can go home?
No problem?” [yes, definitely.] Whew… a sigh full of relief and slight joy escaped me involuntarily..
With this new information I needed to shift my focus.
Fix the ship.
Fill the ship.
Get home.
Everything else can be figured out along the way.
“Ok then.
Tell me how we can fix my ship.” Back inside the ship [I thought you’d never ask.
Based on your description of the damage, it’s only the two holes that need to be fixed.
One in the front command center Crysteel High Vis screen and the other in the roof through the inner and outer hull.
So three holes to fix.] “Yes the debris from your collision, thanks for that btw, came in through the windshield and shot out through the ceiling.
I’ve managed to repair the outer hull seal but the Crysteel High Vis screen is impossible to fix all the way out here and have it hold till we can get somewhere safe and the inner hull hole was too big for the repair kit I had.
It’s just a simple kit for fixing small holes, not huge gashes.
And the emergency foams won’t fit the huge gap in the ceiling.
If I tried to use it to fill the windscreen it would spider web crack and then explode with rapid decompression when repressurizing.” [Ok now that you have received the Cosmic Resonance you have the power to sense and manipulate the vibrations of all matter.
It’s simple to sense the resonance of any object or matter and then call upon the nearby matter and draw those matching vibrations over to you until they perfectly match the object and you will recreate it.
Highly reactive metals are simpler to manipulate than crystalline structures like glass.] “So I can make more of the Crysteel High Viscreen(windshield)?
And the Extra Dense Alumasteel inner hull as well?
This is great so I’m not stranded anymore!!” Waves of relief crashed into my consciousness over and over again, slightly relaxing my tense body.
It feels like I’m not at death’s door finally.
A whole week of life and death struggle takes quite a toll on your mind and body.
My arms and legs wobble a little as I try to shake it out.
Release it all.
All the stress about unlikely survival slowly ebbs away from me.
It feels like I’m slightly exhausted but refreshed.
A shower before bed.
[Definitely!
Although your stress and cortisol levels are quite elevated but dropping quickly.
You might experience a crash as your hormones recalibrate to your normal levels.
It might be best for you to lay down.
You seem to be about to pass out.] It does seem like it’s been a while since I slept.
My body is starting to feel heavy and lethargic.
“You might be right.” as I stumble to the only pressurized cabin airlock between the cockpit in the front and cargo hold in the rear, to reach the mid section living cabin where I’ve been living this past week.
Once through, the helmet is off in a flash with a hiss of air escaping.
Not even bothering to take off my suit, I fall face first into my bunk and am deep asleep in moments.
As my body recuperates from the past week’s ordeal, it is also adjusting to all the new power flowing through it.
Even a few new organs appeared.
Small as rice grains, they are unnoticed, but very important.
Sleep, glorious sleep masks the discomfort of such rapid change.
The next day I reawaken feeling refreshed and upbeat, even a bit energized.
Except for some light discomfort in my stomach area.
“It’s probably from all the stress and eating those low grade nutrition packs”.
[Good Morning, Host.
Are you ready for a long day of fixing this jalopy up?] “Ouch do you have to hit below the belt.
It’s not much but it’s all I have and I am proud of it.” [Don’t worry host, we will get her fixed up, better than new.
We also have to start familiarizing you with your new powers.] “Yeah yeah, why does it feel like you’ve already planned my whole day?” [Because I have!
Very astute of you.
With your pitiful reservoir of mana, the things you can do with it are still very limited.
So in order to fix that I’ve designed a 2 day schedule to jump start your growth and fix your ship.
You may thank me now.] “Ha barely 24 hours and you are trying to run my life.
What are you, my mother?!’ I asked incredulously.
No one wants to be told what to do, but secretly in my heart I’m relieved.
This new power and capabilities need a firm foundation for me to flourish.
Otherwise I’m just grasping in the dark trying to find my way.
‘Tell me your plan and I’ll think about it’, I say, asserting my dominance like a child.
[of course, host.
Since you have negligible amounts of mana we need to help it grow while at the same time getting tasks done.
If we start with the simple tasks and get more complex over time then your abilities will increase with the difficulty.
That way you aren’t doing the most difficult tasks before you can even finish them.
Complex creations take much more energy and focus than simple materials.] “Ok that makes sense”, softening my tone in agreement.
“So where do we start?” [Since most metals respond to mana well let’s try fixing the roof hole then later we can fix the windscreen in the cockpit.
If we are lucky you will be able to complete both of these tasks before your reservoir runs out.
Shall we begin?] motherly taskmaster, yep.
“Ho ho hold up a minute.
I’ve gotta eat and sleep and shit, too.
Also my food is running low, the storage rack in front of the inner hull hole contained mainly foodstuff: nutripacks and snacks.
They got splattered into space and the void between my inner and outer hulls.
I guess cramming into the void and licking the walls might get me some calories…” I contemplate as my thoughts drift off slightly, food can do that.
Especially if you’re hungry.
[Not a problem.
All of those concerns are factored into the next two days plan.
Also we will be able to reach your home in time for your planned return in 7 days.] surprisingly considerate, at times.
Thanks Originally being stranded here, I just wanted to return to civilization as soon as possible, if at all.
Now different thoughts were crowding in.
Namely Greed and Desperation.
Returning now would only leave me further in debt.
It would be so much better to come back with a full cargo hold, loaded with high value, high density metals.
Pay off the debt.
Give my little sister a chunk of money to help with school, heh and after school too.
Let her be a kid as long as possible.
I’d also love to fix up or even upgrade to bigger and better ships.
Who doesn’t want more?
OoooOoO Yes, please.
But one step at a time.
Filling up the cargo hold as much as possible sounds like the first thing to do.
As long as I can actually fix Bessie and make some food.
Enough waiting around lets get busy.
This is the only way I can get rid of the anxiety of still being stuck here, and this is all some hypoxia delusion.
“Ok!
Lets do this”