5 hours 17 minutes later my eyes open wide and I stretch out, checking for soreness and find there isn’t any.
Score.
Checking the time, it indeed seems I’m asleep for less time than previous ‘lights out’.
It’s something to look forward to.
In the future, it might take only 4 or even 3 hours to fully recharge.
Grinding 3 ‘lights out’ a day doesn’t seem so impossible anymore, but they would still be wasted days, so I’m in no hurry unless it’s absolutely necessary.
Deciding to do something different, I start making all the simple, one or two component parts to fix the food materializer.
My skills of manipulation are improving along with my mana reservoir capacity, not as fast, but definitely improving.
As the parts were created and checked they were affixed in position so that by the end of the day it was complete.
The last thing to do before testing it is to copy all the Food Packets for the Materializer.
They are about twice the size of nutripacks, so I’m hoping for 50 or so before my mana runs out.
The thing is that when in use, the texture and base packets get used up the fastest.
They are the main bulk of what it produces.
The remaining food packets are for spices and flavor and are used up much more slowly.
Thus over half of the packets we’ve got are the base packets and the rest are spice/flavor packs.
Starting with all 12 packets, I make 4 copies of them immediately.
No longer feeling the debilitating pain from such a drain on mana, it’s not a problem to keep going.
For the remaining mana, I copy individual base food packets, eventually making 4 more before passing out.
That’s the equivalent of 104 nutripacks.
We continue on towards Beta, using my mana to make food packets and parts for the laser systems.
After a day of this we’ve got enough to upgrade Bessie’s laser.
Adding the modulator and capacitors is easy, just adding to the existing equipment.
The barrel change requires a short EVA so outside the ship I go.
Swapping out the barrel only takes a few minutes before I’m back inside.
Immediately heading for the bridge to see the changes.
[Host, all upgrades successfully completed and test firing will commence now.
The 7mm barrel has been replaced by a 9mm barrel and enough capacitors have been added for 10 quick fire shots then one every 3.2 seconds after that.] Exie is definitely proud of their improvements, even though it’s only going from a pop gun to a .22.
It’s enough for now and a true improvement in fighting ability.
The laser shots seem longer and closer together, firing faster than ever before.
The color seems to shift as Exie tests the different wavelengths, so pretty.
Ghetto fireworks.
I’ll take it.
While not much of a threat to thicker armor, it can vaporize individuals in space suits and hit external equipment mounted to the ship like life support devices and conduits.
Take out enough of these and the whole crew is done for.
The upgrades for Amadeus will take a couple more days, so I continue grinding food packets and laser parts.
Once these are done I’ll start making trike parts.
2 days later I’ve completed the parts for Amadeus’s laser upgrades and both ships link up to transfer me and the parts.
I’m planning on staying on Amadeus for the rest of the trip, so one ton of soil is brought over for me to continue making food packets.
You never know when you will need extra food, and when you need it, it’s too late to make it.
Maybe not so much for me, but it’s better to stockpile these things up when I have spare mana and nothing else to use it on.
Like right now, or actually after the upgrades later on.
With just under 400 food packets, I’m feeling food secure.
If it were more than just me, it would go quickly, but with just one person it’s enough for a whole year probably.
The food materializer is calling me, but it’s important to prioritize safety over satiety.
Needs over wants.
The food materializer is definitely in the ‘want’ category, while the lasers go in the ‘need’ category.
Thus over the hours, the upgrades are slowly completed until it’s time to test them out.
Now instead of 2 10mm lasers, it’s 2 12mm lasers and they can fire 20 shots in quick succession, with a 2.5 second delay between each pair of shots after that.
These 12mm shots are not insignificant.
They can blast out a hole in 8mm of armor equivalent, or take out a chunk of thicker stuff.
2 shots at the same spot will take out 15mm of armor equivalent, which is enough to pierce most frigates and shuttles.
They can damage some lightly armored destroyers, but not most.
Standard armor for destroyers is 18-20mm equivalent, much stronger than smaller craft.
The shielding is also stronger, but that’s for later.
It’s important to understand that small craft shields are mainly to prevent small particles of space dust from colliding with the ship while enroute.
A tiny particle at full speed can cut a hole or gash into armor, bigger pieces the size of a marble can collapse the front of a ship.
The shield generators mainly protect from these tiny pieces of matter floating in space, but too small to avoid.
Thus laser fire can usually turn smaller shields into swiss cheese in seconds.
The laser fire test brings me back from daydreaming.
They seem bigger than when we previously dug the hole to hide Beta in, but they are so fast it’s hard to tell.
I’ll just trust Exie on this one.
They know what they are doing with equipment.
Now that the lasers are taken care of, I put the food materializer together and attach the food packets to it.
The moment of truth has arrived.
I press the button for roast chicken dinner, and it asks if I’d like it baked after production, or make it to taste like baked chicken.
The post production baking is about making it taste more like real food, with the oils and flavors melding together and the fat bathing the meat in juicy mouth watering oils.
It’s a bonus feature I was unaware of, so baking it sounds delicious.
The sound of machinery whirring and then sounds of almost microwaving and a fan come out.
Scents of baked chicken and potatoes begin to come out of the vent, and it smells awesome, just like real food.
Then within barely 5 minutes a baked chicken with potatoes and veggies is pulled out.
Damn, it looks sooooo good.
My mouth is watering and I can’t resist pulling a chicken leg apart to try it.
I’m so excited, this is my first time trying a food materializer.
If successful, then good bye nutripacks.
The grease and flavors are just like I remember, but the texture is a little weird.
It’s like meat glue without meat, kind of spongey, but very tasty.
Ignoring the food glue feel, the rest of it is the same as the real thing.
I’m sold.
This is my new best friend.
Sorry Exie.
I wolf down over half the chicken and some of the veggies.
They even soaked up the oils and juices from the baked ‘chicken’, making them almost identical to the real thing.
Meat juice soaked veggies baked to perfection, a little crispy here, soft and juicy there.
It’s beyond anything this body has tasted, as far as manufactured food goes.
No comparison to nutripacks.
Even with the ‘food glue’ texture of the meat it’s a home run.
I’m sold, never going back.
Cya nutripacks, I’m a Food Packet Man from now on!
After lunch, the rest is saved and put in the fridge.
It’s so nice to have some convenient appliances.
The only thing on Bessie is a hot/cold water dispenser for tea.
No fridge.
No freezer.
No fun at mealtime.
But now, I’m a new man.
No more toothpaste dinners.
Now I’m a toothpaste made food kinda guy.
Similar but different.
Then it’s on to the next job, which should be shield upgrades, but it’s not.
Nonono, I’ve waited long enough for my space trike.
I can barely wait to arrive at Beta to try it out.
Since we’re just over a day away, it’s fine to be a little selfish.
I can’t always just work.
Fun down time is very important as well.
Exie starts 3D printing the big stuff like the frame and wheels, while I focus on the smaller items I can make.
I’d like to start making more complex items, but it’s so technical and exact, my patience is probably not enough to make anything big.
But my determination is strong so I try to copy the motors to see if I can.
I hold one of the electric motors and try to copy it.
The stream of materials pour from the leftover ore onboard, which I saved for just this purpose, towards my empty hand and slowly, ever so slowly a motor appears.
First it’s the shaft, then the core and framework.
Finally copper windings appear around the frame, and some magnets outside the copper windings.
90 seconds later I’ve a new electric motor in my right hand.
So cool.
Referring to how it feels making nutripacks, this feels like just under half my mana has been drained.
Not bad, 2 small electric motors is my estimated mana pool size.
We can work with this, although making a second right now is out of the question.
Running out of mana in the middle would likely ruin the whole thing as it’s not made completely sequentially.
It was built up in a way that each piece supported the next one but in a way that they were all incomplete until the last moment when they all finish together.
Thus stopping in the middle would end up with half a motor, literally.
Not a problem, I was just testing out how difficult it would be.
This is my first complete motor, so I definitely want to try it out.
Plugging it into a battery and turning it on, I rev the motor up and down, listening for any sounds or vibrations.
Then I try the purchased one to compare, and they sound identical.
The revolutions seem just slightly higher than the one I made but if that’s my only mistake, then I’ll take it.
It’s my first one.
“Exie, can you evaluate this motor?
Or do we need to install it first?” I ask, hoping Exie can tell me how I did.
[It’s a functional motor.
Everything on it is working fine, the lower speed seems related to the windings of the copper and the magnets.
If you replace the magnets, it should speed up a bit more.
Otherwise, it works well, with 98% efficiency of the purchased motor.
Not bad on your first try.] Thanks for the encouragement Exie.
I put the purchased one away to save for making copies, but will need to make a second motor later since it’s a 2 motor trike.
Both rear wheels get a motor, so it’ll be a quick, rear wheel drive baby.
That means I can do drifting… yes please.
After some more testing Exie calls the new motor 19.96 horsepower, I’ll call it 20.
So with 2 that will be a 40 horsepower trike, it should be quick.
The whole thing is estimated to weigh just 100 pounds, and with me and a space suit at 200, that’s 40hp for 300 pounds.
No idea what that will end up feeling like but I’m sure it’ll be great.
Most go carts have a fraction of that power, and they’re fun.
Most of the weight of the trike isn’t the motor, it’s the batteries.
Yep 50 pounds of batteries make up the floor, giving it a great low center of gravity.
Once the frame is made, it’s as simple as mounting all the parts: motors, batteries, throttle assembly, wire harness, etc.
Just 2 hours later I’m staring at a complete trike, ready for voyage.
With nowhere to ride it until we get to Beta, I just charge the batteries and get back to upgrading the shielding.
It’s nice to be busy.
Using my powers for things other than making nutripacks is nice, but I always come back to them in the end.
They’re just too convenient for draining the last little bit of mana to achieve ‘lights out’.
Speaking of ‘lights out’ it’s now down to 5 hours and 10 minutes of sleep afterwards.
Quite a drop from the 6 hours when I started, not even 3 weeks ago.
I’m also officially level 6 now, with my call power reaching 32 meters.
Also quite a lot more than the 5 meters I started with.
This growth seems pretty fast to me, but I’m not sure.
I’ll just call it fast and move on.
I’m a quick learner.
Heh By the time we reach Beta, I’ve made all the parts for the shield generators, but have only installed 1 on Amadeus.
That leaves 3 more on Amadeus, and 2 on Bessie.
The one I installed is at the nose of Amadeus, usually where the most fire is received.
Looking through the view screen, Beta seems the same.
Same S class rock, grey and full of dust.
Although when I look to the south pole where Beta is located, why the hell is there a massive hole next to where Beta is parked?!?!
What’s going on, have we been attacked?