14:00 IST, Tenth day, Eighth month, 3078 PV | Alpha Centauri IEC Megastation / a random dive bar
"Chug, Chug, Chug, Chug!"
The gathered crowd chants, egging the two contestants on in their drinking game. The location: a western style dive bar from the twentieth (Earth-standard) century.
The competitors in this competition are none other than myself, Kovon Ducker, and Rayleigh Inan. We have both configured our augmentation kits to allow us to feel the effects of alcohol. We are currently about twenty pints of fine Potanian beer deep.
Both of us are heavily wasted, and we are running purely on adrenaline to stay conscious. Thankfully, while the augmentation kits aren't removing the alcohol, they do increase our tolerance significantly.
How did we end up in this situation you ask? Well, after our conversations earlier today, we decided to do some bar hopping. After trying out a few places, we ended up here. I believe the name of the bar is The Royal Oak or something. It seems that everything on this station is inspired straight out of human history.
As for why we are engaged in a drinking contest? Well that's simple, we were peer pressured into it. The various patrons of the bar saw a couple of contestants walk in and immediately encouraged us to start drinking.
So naturally, we accepted their challenge. Now the two of us are engaged in a head-to-head competition. The stakes: our pride.
"Two dozen more please barkeep," says Ray.
"Make it three dozen for me sir" I follow.
"C' mon' yall could do at least four dozen more" says a random Arkan in the audience. Something I have learned recently, despite their synthetic nature, the Arkan can consume and feel the effects of alcohol, and they are all serious addicts.
Once again the crowd starts chanting as the barkeep places more beers on the table. "Chug, Chug, Chug, Chug, Chug, Chug!"
"Oh Ko, you aren't starting to get dizzy, are yee? Wouldn't want your renown as an alcoholic to be tarnished by lil ol' me." Ray says in a drunken slurring of words.
"Most certainly not, I can stay here all day. What about you? You seem to be having issues speaking." I say, in a similarly slurred speech.
"Hah, you worthless piece of trash, even when drunk I still beat you at banter. You should give up and kneel before your superior."
"While I do concede that you're better at banter, and far more gifted. I shall not back down in this competition."
We proceed to chug two dozen more pints of beer. I notice that both of us are starting to sway in our seats, it can't be long before one of us collapses.
Once again, the crowd eggs us on, eager to see the limits of our human constitutions no doubt. I sure hope the Itokin aren't watching, I doubt this is what they expect from their chosen purple-haired contestant.
After around a dozen more pints of beer, both of our heads start to droop and we slow down considerably.
After a few minutes, we both fall unconscious. The worst part, our kits identify that we both passed out at the same time. Meaning our competition was a draw.
07:00 IST, Eleventh day, Eighth month, 3078 PV | Alpha Centauri IEC Megastation / Bor Cruiser / Bedroom
"I am very sorry to disturb your much needed rest, Captain Ducker and Lieutenant Inan. I have an incoming priority 6 message from the VPA. Please wake up and offer a response." (By the way, the higher a priority number, the lower the importance)
Bor's voice rouses me from my deep slumber. Thankfully, some time during the night my kit automatically activated to remove the alcohol from my body. I notice that I am currently resting in my bedroom.
Although, I do notice one strange thing. Ray is also in my bedroom. However, it appears the bed has somehow separated into two separate beds. Man, alien tech sure is convenient. I presume that after we passed out from our drinking contest, Alex and Duck (who have been present by the way, they are both saints), carried us back to the Borealis.
Imagine the sight, two MPADs carrying two of the newly officiated contestants slung over their shoulders. The contestants: passed out and reeking of alcohol. I wouldn't be surprised if several of our sponsors retract their offers. Oh well, if they don't know how to enjoy some drinking, I don't think I want them to sponsor us.
By the way, Ray is still asleep. Her face while in the blissful realm of dreams is quite cute. I make sure to take a photograph to save for later.
I decide to let her rest for a while longer, she isn't as used to alcohol as I am. At the request of Bor, I proceed into the bridge in order to receive the communication.
"Greetings Contestant Kovon, I am honored to inform you that your request for crew has been fulfilled.
Your crew are currently awaiting your instruction at the Alpha Centauri IEC Megastation. You can find them located in crew accommodations 7-3. Please either collect them personally or send a drone to inform them of their assigned ship. May your stars shine ever brighter."
With that short message, without even a chance for thanks, the communication ends. It seems we have slept and drank most of the day's wait away. How convenient.
I think I'm going to make some food, pancakes perhaps. By the way, I can cook, just not very well. I can surprise Ray when she wakes up! Though, she may fall unconscious again out of shock.
I then proceed to spend an hour fumbling around in the kitchen making pancakes. Alex repeatedly offers assistance, but I assure him that I am capable. When all is said and done, I produce two meals of (in my opinion) perfect pancakes. As for syrup, I find an interesting Potainan equivalent. Apparently it's made from the roots of a plant native to their homeworld.
I have Alex carry the trays of pancakes into the bedroom. It is now that I use my ultimate technique to awaken Ray. Placing food in front of her! I set her tray of pancakes nearby. Surely enough, it is barely a minute before she wakes up.
"Grr, gimme yummy grub." she mumbles out. "Wait, what, food? Where the hell am I?"
I take up position on my bed, lying on my side facing her. Striking a pose with my hand on my hip, looking very regal.
"Good morning Mrs. Genius. I trust you had a delightful rest after our fun we had last night. As you can see, I have prepared breakfast, all by myself."
"Wat, no way, you actually cooked. Wait, you woke up before me. Got out of bed and found the resolve to make food? Who are you and what have you done with Mr. Worthless piece of trash Ko?"
"I am one in the same. However, in the past three years I have done one thing worth mentioning at least. I can now cook some things."
"I can't believe it, you're complimenting yourself. Are you still drunk? You must be, you are being considerate and thoughtful."
"Cmon, I'm not that much of a worthless piece of trash that I can't cook breakfast for my steadfast ally and best friend every once in a while."
After these words, Ray sits up and puts a hand to my forehead. Checking to see if I have a fever. Even when that is completely impossible as the augmentation kit replaces the immune system with one that is not self-damaging.
"I think I'm about to pass out from shock. You're not sick, you must've caught some strange kindness virus. Anyways, what time is it?"
Bor replies, "It is currently 8:30 IST, Eleventh day, Eighth month, 3078 PV, Lieutenant Inan."
"Really! I've been asleep for twelve hours! How could you let me sleep so long?"
"I attempted to wake you earlier when the VPA sent a communication, but Captain Ducker advised me to allow you extra rest on account of your weaker constitution."
"Oh, that does sound like something Ko would actually do. Now it all makes sense, he was worried about my health. Sure. That's why he made me breakfast and everything."
"Sure, let's run with that." (it's totally not because I just felt like doing something nice). "In other news, the VPA called and said that our crew are ready to be assigned to the ship. We should get ready soon and go meet them."
"For sure, but for now, grub time."
With that, we proceeded to devour the pancakes. Which turned out better than I had hoped. Ray even commented saying that they "Weren't half bad". I take this as the highest level of compliment I shall ever receive about my food.
After we are finished eating we change into more suitable clothes. Ray goes with a simple jacket and jeans, whereas I wear my signature t-shirt but a pair of pants instead. By the way, these augmentation kits come with cleaning functions, so we do not have to shower, brush our teeth or use a bathroom, which is very convenient.
"I guess it's time to head out, to the crew quarters we shall go!"
"For sure, let's go meet our new crew."
We ask Alex and Duck to guide us to our destination. They do so promptly (this time with us walking instead of slung over their shoulders), by using the rail system we arrive in around fifteen minutes. It truly is astonishing how large this station is.
Once we arrive at the barracks, we are greeted by a receptionist. We tell them our purpose for the visit and they quickly make arrangements to summon our new crew.
We are led into a basic antechamber with capacity for several dozen people. Around ten minutes later, our crew enters, in the lead is the pilot, Beck Flap. She appears to be in her mid-twenties (IST standard). Her feathers are a nice sky blue shade. Once all the crew have entered the room, she introduces herself.
"Greetings Admiral and Captin'. My name just so happens to be Beck Flap, and I have been assigned to you as a pilot. I trust you have a mighty fine ship to entrust to me, I shall do my utmost to ensure its smooth function. This is the rest of your new crew."
The rest of the crew proceed to make their own introductions. Then Ray speaks.
"Pleasure to meet yall, as you know we are contestants in this fun game known as Humanity's Trial of Ascension. My name's Captain Rayleigh Inan, though you can refer to me as Capn' Rayleigh if you wish. We hope you will help us win this thing and take home the grand prize.
"It is also my pleasure to meet you all. I see we have a fine crew here. I will be your Admiral, Kovon Ducker. You can address me as Admiral Ducker. I plan to make good use of all your talents, so be prepared for an intense and fun journey."
Beck replies, "For sure, Admiral Ducker. We will do our utmost to ensure your progress in the trials."
With introductions out of the way, it is time to head out to our battleship, the Clack, which is moored (it's just floating in space nearby, battleships and above are too big to dock.) near the station. In order to reach it, one typically takes a shuttle or frigate. This time we are using a frigate due to our large number of people.
Once we arrive on the ship, we are greeted with the massive hangar. The Clak is a 750m long battleship, so its hangar space is pretty large in order to fit four cruisers inside.
Once we step out of our frigate, we are greeted by the shipboard AI, callsign: Cal. Who welcomes us to the ship and informs us that he can perform any duties standard of an AI. However, for determining exact maneuvers and decisions, directions are needed from a trained pilot or other officer.
As we make our way around the ship, we identify all the various places. The spacious crew quarters. Officers bedrooms, bridge, cargo bay, as well as various meeting rooms. There are also guest lodgings for up to twenty four people.
We met up with Beck Flap on the bridge. Which is much more expensive than the ones on the Ae6's. There are several terminals and seats for officers and technical staff. As well as lots of physical monitors that display various information about the ship and its surroundings. The rest of the crew are all off on the ship and have started organizing things, checking maintenance and other essential work.
"My, this thing sure is beautiful. I can't believe I get to start off with a ship this nice. All that hard work at the academy sure did pay off. I, and the rest of the crew, promise to do our best to maintain and manage the ship for you both."
"Good to hear, now, straight to business. We need to plot routes to several locations that we have knowledge of, I will upload the data into the ship. In addition, Cal, could you please make contact with our cruisers and have them navigate and dock in the hangars."
"Sure thing, Admiral Ducker, I will get right on it."
With those matters settled, Ray and I have officially taken command of the Ac6-Clak transport battleship. Our new base of operations as we explore the milky way galaxy in search of information and support.
There is only one thing left to do, and that is kick back, relax and enjoy some voyaging aboard this fine vessel. So, bring it on.
End of Chapter 10
A/N: Hello there, author again, welcome back dear reader. This is the section of the chapter where I ramble about various things and ask for engagement. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was filled with lots of great banter and introductions to our newest character, Beck Flap. Ko and Ray also got to board their first battleship, which is now theirs to use and travel around the galaxy in! I think in a litRPG there would be some fancy thing with quotes that says "Battleship attained" or something. I'm sure they won't get up to too much mischief…
Once again, If you enjoyed please like/follow/review/comment/leave a fun joke behind, it is much appreciated.
Cathrix