Right on cue, the air vents begin pumping in fresh oxygen into the bridge.
After 5 minutes the reading is enough to breath and the window hasn’t exploded.
I slowly release the helmet and take it off.
*puwsh* and the air escapes, allowing me to breath without a helmet for the first time in a week.
Ahhh finally..
I could really use a shower now too.
Unfortunately all I’ve got left in me is enough energy to peel out of my stinky suit, curl up in my bed in the corner of the bridge and drift off into the sleep of relief.
The deep sleep of someone who has done enough.
Zzzzz Some time later… warm beds can be the hardest to escape.
The dimness of the bridge welcomed me back, it felt like a brand new day.
No more fear.
No more dread.
It felt truly refreshing and new.
The butterfly waking up from being a caterpillar.
Making the bed felt, it felt like a made bed would help me be more organized.
Whatevs ‘Morning Exie, how are you today?’ [All systems are good, host.
How do you feel?
You used quite a lot of mana yesterday.] ‘I feel great.
Like I’ve been working out all week and today’s a rest day.
Although I’m definitely feeling famished.
I remember you mentioned you can help me make some food.
We should probably get on that today sometime.’ I said, walking towards the galley to eat something.
The galley was just a simple countertop with a water filling station and cabinets for storing supplies.
You could adjust the temperature of the water, making it easy to heat up packages of prepared food.
Fortunately none of that was needed to eat nutrient packs or nutripacks.
You just twist off the top and squeeze it into your mouth, like toothpaste.
It’s actually not too different from toothpaste but without the chalkiness and gritty texture.
Nutripacks are thick as toothpaste to be dense with all the vitamins and minerals and carbs and proteins necessary.
But flavor is secondary.
Think thick, store bought smoothies dehydrated but without all the sugar.
Not to say there aren’t some better than others.
Some are definitely ‘tastier’.
The regular ones most miners eat are only 5-10 credits each but some ‘premium’ ones go for 50, 100, even 1000s for one ration.
Food isn’t necessarily so expensive, it is that nutripacks are so cheap.
And they last for years.
While not having premium nutripacks, there is a single upgraded one that I’ve been saving for a special occasion.
The current forecast was to save it for my final meal.
But now we don’t have to and I’ll probably eat it today.
Yes right now is a perfectly good special occasion.
Self-convinced to eat the good stuff, I pull out my remaining few packs.
3 regulars: 2 reds and a green.
Ugh everyone hates greens.
One shiny foil covered pack shows it’s better than the rest.
Beef flavor.
mmmMm Before I can dig in exie chimes in.
[We should make more food before you eat that.
It’s more cost effective to copy than create, especially with your low level and reservoir.] “Did you say level?
There’s levels?” My ears perk up.
[Not in the RPG sense.
It’s more a measure of how many times stronger you are than when you first awoke your power.
Your ‘call’ power only seems to work out to about 5 meters, and your resonance is probably double that.
When you can call out to 10 meters and resonate out to 20meters, then that’s level 2.
Calling out to 15 meters is level 3.
And so on and so forth.
It’s just a measurement of your growth, not some golden finger reward system.] ‘Dammit.
Guess no more freebies.
I’m already kinda OP, so no complaints… so copying then it is’ Resonant vision pops up and the resonance of my nutripacks pops up.
They are surprisingly each made of two materials: the food and the packaging and each has its own resonance.
The food signature and package signature are both obvious in my resonance.
Even though it’s my first time copying two things at once, the difficulty is within reason.
About to walk to the cargo hold for raw materials, Exie chimes in again.
[You might want to use different raw materials from the ore.
I know a better one that you can make more nutripacks with] Minutes later we are standing outside as an exterior panel opens up, ejecting a large block of ice.
Poop ice to be exact.
Most captains eject it when they fly away so as not to get some on their own ship.
“You sure this is the best raw materiel?
I mean it does make sense, I guess, but making food from poop just seems wrong.” As I grimace in light disgust.
Once its remade, it will obviously not be poop anymore.
I’m already drinking recycled piss, so it’s not too much further to stretch.
The process is probably better than the one I’m already using.
The piss is just filtered and reverse osmosised, leaving behind most of the salts and smells.
Most of them.
With no time to waste, I stop worrying about it and get busy.
The two materials at once and definite shape requirements are harder than before, but within 10 seconds another premium ‘beef flavor’ appears in my empty hand, then another, then another.
By the time 5 are made, I can feel a bit of drain on my stamina and mana.
It’s ok, only about ⅓ is used up.
So my current limit would be around 15 nutripacks per full reservoir.
Level 1 becomes 15 nutripacks.
Once I can do 30 then I’ll be level 2.
I dont even bother making the regular nutripacks.
Why bother?
It’s all premium packs from here on out!
I make a few more just to have extra on hand and bring them inside to eat one.
No longer thinking of the poopcicle outside, I hesitatingly put some in my mouth.
It’s exactly the same as the purchased ones.
Ahh premium slop.
Now all sorts of new moneymaking ventures start popping up one after another.
Making food at space stations from their own refuse.
Feeding troops or refugees.
I could even open a food trading company, but none of those interest me.
They are just quick money grabs if I ever need cash or if I just want to help.
Is this a shit eating grin?
Who cares?
Not me.
It’s food.
Beef flavor, the good stuff.
25 credits a pop.
That’s 200 credits I just made sitting in my hand now.
Without thinking I open a second pack and wolf it down.
The feeling of fullness is good once in a while.
These packs just give you enough to live, they don’t ‘fill’ you up.
The second one doesn’t feel like it’s gone to waste; the machine requires more fuel.
All this resonating and calling and copying actually uses a lot of energy.
And the best way to replenish energy is: beef flavor packs.
Thinking of real ‘premium’ premium packs gets me even more excited, some sell for thousands of credits for single serving.
How about making those?
Would these 8 new packs be 8000 in my hand now instead of 200?
If they were the regulars, then they would only be worth 20.