Tch... There werenât any more attacks while we were travelling back to the station... That means there werenât any more free Credits showing up either.
Oh well...
The Zwerger thanked me again before separating his ship from mine to fly back towards the station.
Ironically, we were given the same treatment as we had before where several patrol ships swarmed us and we were given a personal escort towards the station as though they were afraid that something would try to scratch the paint of my ship.
Seems like they really like this ship... Or more accurately, the guns I have on the ship.
Renata brought our ship to the docking arm of the station and our ship was latched onto the station without incident.
"I wonder if heâs already done with it?" Yumiko wondered as we prepared to leave the ship.
"You think heâll finish it that quickly?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "Itâs only been a few days."
"Thatâs how long it took for him to finish my swords the first time, Mistress. Although now that I think about it... I suppose it would be hard for him to do so when there is a lack of this crystal to begin with."
I shrugged, "I suppose weâll see, wonât we?"
This time, Mara and Lea had chosen to stay on the ship with the former already neck deep in her research while Lea wanted to tend to the plants in the hydroponics room.
She mentioned something about using parts of the parasite as a test for fertilisers or something and I told her not to create some crazy mutated plants.
She promised that she wouldnât make anything like that so I trusted her on that.
Amber also left the ship with us but she would be going to look for the people in charge of disbursing the hustle rewards that we completed as well as the bounty on those ships we shot down.
The rest of us left the ship in their care as we returned to the forge part of the station.
Unfortunately, it seemed like we had arrived while it was their working hours since the workshop was completely empty.
Guess weâll have to wait for them to get off work...
I did a quick check with the local GalaNet and realised that it would be the end of their shift in an hour so we decided to just wait for them to be done within the workshop area itself since there was a sitting area there as well.
Everything was quiet until about ten minutes after the end of their shift where a sudden stampede of Zwergers rushed into the workshop area, all of them looking quite desperate for some reason.
We watched as the previously empty workshop was quickly filled with Zwergers who were squeezing past each other to occupy one of the workbenches within the room.
Even back when we first came here, this place wasnât this crowded so I wonder if this was just something that happened the moment their shift ended.
"Looks like you actually did it, huh?" A gruff voice spoke from the side.
I turned to see Franz standing there with a hand on his hips while a smirk was plastered on his face. In his other hand was a metallic looking box that he was hugging against his side.
"Oh hello there," I greeted him with a wave. "Iâm surprised that thereâs so many people here today."
He nodded and started leading us to the private workshop room, "Thatâs to be expected. After what you did, they finally lifted the restriction to work on Ketrite Crystals so everyone who had their projects delayed because of that rushed here to continue their projects as soon as they could. Who knows when they would restrict its use again?"
"Well... Didnât we solve the problem with the station? I donât think they would just restrict it again for no reason..."
"That is true, but most of the workers here donât even know why the supply of Ketrite crystals was cut off in the first place. Why was it cut off anyway?"
I scratched my cheek, "Well... If you want the short version... Basically an alien parasite was released onto the station and everyone got compromised because of it. We went in and took care of the nest and they managed to recover after that."
"Huh... For that to happen, it means some idiot must have found the alien parasite and brought it back to the station with them. Right?"
For him to instantly come to that conclusion must mean that this was actually relatively common around here, huh?
He didnât seem to be expecting an answer anyway as he unlocked the door and stepped inside his workshop.
There were already a couple of things that were scattered on his workbench with two things that looked vaguely like a sword handle resting amongst them. In the corner of the room was something that resembled a Power Armour frame being left suspended in the air between two poles that seemed to be emitting some field that allowed it to float like that.
Ries immediately saw the Power Armour frame and rushed towards it while gasping, "Wowwww!! Is that what I think it is?! This is my first time seeing a Power Armour being built starting from the frame!! Oh! Youâre doing the multi ball joint system?"
The Zwerger huffed, "Itâs a better one as compared to the hydraulic lever if youâre looking at the cost and performance ratio. And since youâre asking for a general model, this would be the best choice."
Ries turned back to marvel at the Power Armour frame while Yumiko nodded at the two sword handles on the table, "Those look different than I remember..."
The Zwerger huffed, "Of course it would look different. Iâm making a better one, arenât I? Although there is one thing I would need you to do for me first."
He went over to dig through the pile at the side of the workbench and pulled out what looked like a metal stick with a handguard welded on it.
He then handed it over to Yumiko, "I realised that I missed this the last time but I would want to see how you would fight normally with a sword. If I had a better idea of how you might use it, I could improve it much more than just giving you a general upgrade."
Yumiko accepted the stick before raising an eyebrow, "While I donât mind... But where am I supposed to do that? No offense but this room isnât exactly big enough to do much if you really want me to show off."
He waved at her, "Donât worry, I already have a place prepared. Come with me."
He led us out of the workroom and out of the workshop, ignoring all the other Zwergers who were already busy hunched over their own workbenches.
We followed behind him and I realised he was walking down a corridor with a sign that read âTesting Groundsâ pointed down the way we were walking.
I suppose being an arms factory, they would also need a place to test out the weapons they made as well?
We eventually arrived in a completely empty hall that had a wide open space comparable in size to my shipâs cargo hold.
The first thing I noticed was that the walls, ceilings and floors all seemed to be divided up into squares with lines running in between them.
"You guys have a simulation room?" Ries gasped, looking around with wide eyes.
A simulation room? Donât tell me itâs like one of those rooms that can put you in a virtual environment or something?
The Zwerger nodded, "We do test some new stuff here from time to time. Usually this place would be crowded with people but everyoneâs working on their stuff since the restrictions on the materials have been lifted."
He then went over to the side which caused a console panel to pop out from the ground, his fingers tapping on the console deliberately.
A few of the squares on the ground rose up, forming a sort of circular wall around us and blocking us from the other parts of the hall.
Franz then gestured towards the space in front, "Iâll start a combat simulation and you can go ahead and just use that weapon however you like. Iâll go off your combat style to create a blade more suitable for you."
Yumiko said nothing and went towards the space the Zwerger indicated, standing in the centre.
The Zwerger smith then tapped on the console again and parts of the wall slid open to reveal some kind of device before what appeared to be a dozen hard light constructs appeared around Yumiko, all of them in the shape of humans and holding illusionary weapons in their hands.
Some of them were using firearms while I spotted several who were also using swords as well.
"Whenever youâre ready," The Zwerger called out to her.
No sooner had those words left his mouth, Yumikoâs figure suddenly blurred and there was a single loud âclangâ sound before her figure reappeared again.
There was a short pause before all the hard light constructs shattered into pieces with Yumiko looking none the worse for wear.
...
Err... Did you even manage to see anything, Franz?